[WRC] News & rumours (part II)

[rp]

rs

Finally Ostberg will find a factory seat with MINI?

or kuipers

Very sad for Meeke if things are going this way.

If only Daniel Oliveira has stayed with the MINI. He would be now a works driver :-( There is still Paulo Nobre, but his Palmeirinha Rally has already registered to the series and Motorsport Italia is preparing Paulo´s MINI...

[PLuto]

Kevin Abbring confirmed for VW on Monte - Autosport

[focus206]

Great news about Abbring, very happy for him
Bad news about Meeke instead Is it official? And wasn't Ostberg already "confirmed" on Ford B-Team with Tanak?

[Francis44]

Meeke is fired. Prodrive couldn't keep both cars in the Championship. They will try to rent the second car in each event, using the money for the car's development.

Damn, I feel for Meeke. He was trying really hard and he seemed very gratefull for the opportunity Mini gave him.

I think it's a bit harsh to say he was fired, much fair to say his "boss" wasn't able to gather all the requirements for him to redeem professionaly his job.

[sal]

rs

or kuipers

Or any other no hoper with money...

[RS]

Meeke is fired. Prodrive couldn't keep both cars in the Championship. They will try to rent the second car in each event, using the money for the car's development.

This is pretty sad if true. Car manufacturers do seem to want to be in WRC but they don't seem to want to spend any money doing it. It can't really cost that much to fund one proper driver with the extra car can it if the team are already "on event"?

I don't think an approach like this is going to get them anywhere.

[sal]

Gutted for Kris and Paul and British rallying as well. There was starting to be a buzz amongst British and Irish fans that we had at long last someone again with genuine prospects of wins at the top level. I know it's a cruel commercial world out there where money rather than talent opens the door in many cases however what could be better for Mini's marketing department and their "heritage" than an Irish driver in a Mini on the Monte?

Hope the RAC MSA are shuffling around uncomfortably when they see drivers from countries with backing from their respective motorsport associations in works seats...

[skarderud]

Wild guess, but i think we will see prodrive with another manu from 2013.
The car is good, quite easy and cheap to put the Stuff to another chassis, with the same wheelbase.
Nice deal for a manu!

Really sad about meeke, he dosen't deserve this.
Hopefully he can drive something in 2012, and be back in 2013 with the new prodrive outfit.

[Mintexmemory]

Wild guess, but i think we will see prodrive with another manu from 2013.
The car is good, quite easy and cheap to put the Stuff to another chassis, with the same wheelbase.
Nice deal for a manu!

Really sad about meeke, he dosen't deserve this.
Hopefully he can drive something in 2012, and be back in 2013 with the new prodrive outfit.

Judging by his tweet, I have a feeling that Kris wouldn't ever again touch Prodrive with a 12 foot bargepole that someone else was holding. We don't know the details of his contract and what verbal assurances he was given in the past but the sentiment expressed is not that of someone who thought this was likely to happen.
My view is that all the positive opinion regarding Prodrive Mini that has been built up in the UK in the past year will evaporate very quickly -perhaps Dave Richards is considering relocating to a cost centre in a lower labour cost country? If I worked at Banbury I'd now be very worried. It will all make a good book some day, no doubt.

[noel157]

I imagine the tweet referred to the car (not Prodrive etc) and all the hours he has spent developing it only to find it will be driven by somebody else.