Rumormill: Raikkonen to leave Ferrari for new Fiat rally team, VW to follow?

Noah Joseph — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Volkswagen, Ferrari, Fiat, Rumormill

Raikkonen drives Rally Finland in a Fiat Punto Abarth

The World Rally Championship is targeting the participation of four major manufacturers within the next two seasons, and according to the latest scuttlebutt, they just might get what they are wishing for. At the turn of the millennium, the premier rally series had seven manufacturers, but series organizers and promoters reportedly feel that four would make for a more competitive environment.

Suzuki and Subaru recently withdrew their works teams from the championship, leaving Ford and Citroën as the only manufacturers in the sport together with the independent customer teams. Both Volkswagen and Fiat are expected to launch WRC efforts in the near future, but it's Fiat's initiative that's garnering the most interest in the motorsport press, as it's rumored to include one very big name.

According to rumors, Kimi Raikkonen will leave Formula One and Scuderia Ferrari to lead the Fiat rally team, expected to compete under the Abarth name. Raikkonen recently contested a series of rallies in his spare time behind the wheel of his own S2000-spec Fiat Punto Abarth (pictured above), adding fuel to the speculation suggesting that Raikkonen could have his existing contract with Ferrari simply transferred over to the Abarth outfit, as it falls under the same Fiat group umbrella as Ferrari. The move would make room for Fernando Alonso to take Kimi's place in the culmination of a long anticipated move for the Spanish champion.

[Source: Autosport and Pitpass | Image: OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty]

Rumormill: Raikkonen to leave Ferrari for new Fiat rally team, VW to follow? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen considers joining World Rally Championship

Noah Joseph — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Volkswagen

Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Scirocco GT24

Ever since 2006, when Peugeot, Skoda and Mitsubishi pulled their factory works teams out of the World Rally Championship, the WRC has been desperate to attract another major automaker back to reinvigorate the series. Emerging reports suggest that Volkswagen has been inquiring about joining the championship after the company's motorsport chief Kris Nissen visited the Finnish rally to meet with series officials and team leaders.

Despite being one of the largest automakers in the world, the Volkswagen Group's racing division is proportionately very small. Audi's programs in Le Mans-class prototype racing and German touring cars (DTM) stand out as the biggest exceptions, while SEAT campaigns Leons in both the British and World Touring Car Championships and Skoda in the production-car-based Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Nothing in Formula One, NASCAR or the WRC. The Volkswagen division itself only dabbles in racing periodically, with the Touareg in Dakar and the Scirocco at the Nurburgring 24-hour enduro, in addition to its low-level Formula 3 program. However, the top-tier World Rally Championship would give Volkswagen a chance to claim honors against Ford, Subaru, Citroen and newcomers Suzuki, as well as the privateer teams. Fiat and Renault have also been touted as potential additions to the WRC roster. However, only time will tell which automakers will take the big step up.

Gallery: Volkswagen Scirocco GT24

[Source: Rallye-Magazin via Stage Times]

Volkswagen considers joining World Rally Championship originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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