Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Subaru Impreza WRC2008.

Next week's Acropolis Rally in Greece will be the first event in the 2008 WRC season to feature Subaru's new rally car. The Impreza Rally WRC2008 car was originally previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but Subaru has yet to announce the final specifications of its new rally rocket. Obviously, Prodrive has had its hand in developing the new racer, but a BOS sticker indicates that Subaru will be utilizing the French outfit's dampers. Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson will pilot the new Impreza in Greece and Prodrive head David Richards is convinced that this is "the most radically different Subaru World Rally Car in 15 years." We're looking forward to seeing how it fares next week.



[Source: WRC]

It just doesn't stop – now every country and their neighbor seems to want to host a grand prix, and lucky Bernie Ecclestone gets to decide who gets one and who doesn't. Following recent reports of Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi and Portugal all seeking to bring Formula One to their countries, the latest to join the fray is Greece, where the government has pledged its support to seeking the establishment of a Greek Grand Prix.

This past Saturday, Greek President Karolos Papoulias signed a directive opening the door for race organizers to solicit funding from the Ministry of Development. The track would be built on a site at Orchomenos on the Greek mainland 75 miles northwest of Athens, earmarked for a racing track since 1992.

Last year Turkey struck a blow to Greek national pride with the Cyprus debacle at the Turkish Grand Prix, and got away with barely a slap on the wrist while being allowed to keep its race. Aside from the obvious boost to tourism that every grand prix hopeful nation seeks, last year's escalation in the Greek-Turkish détente might have added a little extra motivation for the government to finally support the bid and help get the project off the ground.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

The FIA is incensed after a game of political subterfuge played out on the podium last Sunday at the Turkish Grand Prix in Instanbul. Felipe Massa, the winner of the race, was presented his trophy by Mehmet Ali Talat, introduced by announcers as the President of the Northern Turkish Republic of Cyprus. Problem is, no such country exists except in the eyes of Turkey. The geographic area to which the the man's title refers is a part of Cyprus, the Mediterranean island nation over which Greece and Turkey have been fighting for decades.

Murat Yalicintas, head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, admits that his organization delayed telling the FIA who the podium presenter would be in order to sneak their guy on the stand. For their efforts, the FIA is considering dropping the Turkish GP from next year's schedule, as well as canceling Turkey's round of the World Rally Championship. Lesson learned: it doesn't pay to mess with the FIA.

Thanks for the tip, Noah!

[Source: Planet-F1]