RALLY-PREPARED HONDA CIVIC TYPE R MAKES GB DEBUT
First gravel event for JAS Motorsport competition car

JAS Motorsport’s Honda Civic Type R R3 will make its gravel debut on the Wales Rally Great Britain this week, the final round of the 2007 World Rally Championship.

Former Junior World Champion Dani Sola will drive the car in Great Britain, having given the Civic Type R R3 its asphalt World Championship debut on the Catalunya Rally in Spain last month. In that event, Sola won the R3 class against well-established opposition.

Although the car has proved its credentials on tarmac – most recently with a remarkable fifth overall on the Rallye du Valais in Switzerland – gravel will be a whole new challenge. The Rally GB, which runs through the forests of south Wales, is one of the most challenging gravel events that drivers face in the WRC. There is also a bigger entry list than has been seen on any other WRC event this year, with 121 cars expected at the start in Cardiff.

The R3 Type R complies with new FIA rally regulations. The class is for two-litre, two-wheel drive cars that have been built to a strict set of cost-effective criteria. The Civic Type R R3 is powered by a new Honda engine developed by JAS Motorsport in collaboration with Mugen.

Dani Sola says: “Great Britain is one of my favourite gravel events because the stages really reward commitment. However, we are not underestimating the challenge ahead of us. As a team, we haven’t competed on gravel since July – and this new R3 car has never competed on gravel at all. Our mission will be to get the car to the finish and try to prove that we can be as competitive on gravel as we are on asphalt.”

Stefano Fini, JAS Motorsport’s chief engineer, added: “Our new R3 car is now on sale for our customers. The car is fully ready for any 2008 season, and we have already had a lot of interest from several different drivers and teams. We are confident that we will provide a competitive package for our customers, who will become valued members of the Honda family.”

The Wales Rally GB runs from November 30 to December 2.

More information on the JAS Civic Type R R3 is available at:
www.jasmotorsport.com

SOURCE: Honda

Who cares if there is a Honda Civic in the Wales Rally GB?


The more important thing is the debut of the MG3 Streetwise!
:err: Sorry, S2000

http://automagazin.co.yu/slike/vesti/20070809002622_photo_0.jpg

The last event of the 2007 WRC season will begin on 30 November when Wales Rally GB launches its title-deciding competition. Once known as the RAC Rally, the race has been a classic reference point of many campaigns for the crown.


Top welsh rally driver Stuart Jones has confirmed that he will change cars for the final round of the 2007 Production World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB

His home round of the year will mark his competition debut in the exciting new MG S2000 Sport.

Jones, the only Welshman contesting the PWRC in 2007, was recently involved in test and development work on the MSD built MG and on the back of this multi day test was able to conclude a deal to drive the car on Wales Rally GB.

It will make the 22-year-old the first registered driver in the Production World Rally Championship to use one of these exciting new age rally cars in the series.

"The MG S2000 Sport is an exciting new project and having spent time with the team testing and developing the car I decided that this is the way forward," he said. "The team were obviously pleased with my feedback because they have committed to running me on Wales Rally GB. Now it is up to me to prove that their decision was the correct one."

MSD is eager to put the MG into some top flight competition so that it can show its colours.

"Stuart is a fine young driver with enormous potential," MSD's David Whitehead said. "We are delighted to be working with him at Rally GB and look forward to a solid performance."

I suppose it is showing my age hoping for Gwyndaf Evans to be driving...

I suppose it is showing my age hoping for Gwyndaf Evans to be driving...
You could hope for his son Elfyn! But not in the MG as far as I know.

The McRae family on the other hand :dddc:

What Alistair Mcae? Its not going to be Colin :(

Anyway getting back on topic, that Honda looks really nice in rally spec, I hope it does we need another manufacturer in WRC, Come on Honda get a 4x4 version out!

(Cant say the MG looks nice! :lol:)

It's interesting, I am finding that the Honda Civic appears to be the runaway winner of the 57 reg competition. The rally version should reinforce that...

I don't expect we'll see that MG on the telly but maybe someone can post one of those youtube thingies afterwards...it seems one of the most positive bits of MG news I have heard in Britain...

I don't expect we'll see that MG on the telly but maybe someone can post one of those youtube thingies afterwards...it seems one of the most positive bits of MG news I have heard in Britain...
Here is one of the practice sessions in Mid Wales from a little while ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7BwWUUlSg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKXYF4BuQVE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ4f0XF66b0&feature=related


And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zoiz2Xg4F4
Nice echoes on bits of that and beter coverage than on the telly! :)

Here is one of the practice sessions in Mid Wales from a little while ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7BwWUUlSg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKXYF4BuQVE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ4f0XF66b0&feature=related


And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zoiz2Xg4F4
Nice echoes on bits of that and beter coverage than on the telly! :)wow! a fully-functional MG Rally Car? where has that one been hiding? Is there more gen about it somewhere? I note "made by MSD". I am not familiar with the various formulae but presume that (unlike the 6R4, and like the Streetwise - and the previous rally ZR?) it is FWD. It also seems to have a good turning circle, though this may be due to rally-style drifts on gravel...

wow! a fully-functional MG Rally Car? where has that one been hiding? Is there more gen about it somewhere? I note "made by MSD". I am not familiar with the various formulae but presume that (unlike the 6R4, and like the Streetwise - and the previous rally ZR?) it is FWD. It also seems to have a good turning circle, though this may be due to rally-style drifts on gravel...
From memory, its 4wd and uses the K4 2000 engine used in the Touring Cars but with a higher rev limiter - about 280bhp. The S2000 is a new group and the MG is the first of the class to enter a serious rally.

I'll look up some more details...

From memory, its 4wd ...about 280bhp...:yikes: sounds a bit like the ZT260 in terms of technical challenge, then...but 4WD and 280bhp from 2 litres? more so!

I hope Ian doesn't mind his thread being taken right away from Honda! But it is an MG forum :)

http://www.kitcarsweb.com/zajimavosti/gallery/64/14.jpg

MG could soon have a presence again in the FIA World Rally Championship and in the new Intercontinental Rally Challenge following news that the marque has developed a Super 2000 car.

MSD has been working on this project for the past 18 months and has now confirmed that it is ready to start competing and selling the car, which is based on the MG ZR and which is the first to use the Xtrac 4wd transmission in the Super 2000 category.

Orders are being taken from teams, with demand, apparently, already strong.

http://www.crash.net/images/blank.gifhttp://www.crash.net/images/blank.gifhttp://www.crash.net/images/blank.gif
MSD and MG are currently looking at participating in the IRC in 2008, as well as the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship [PWRC] rounds of the WRC. The car will also eligible for all regional, national and local rally championships – including the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship.

“We are delighted with the performance of the car out of the box,” said MSD managing director, David Whitehead.

“In the testing done thus far we the car has run faultlessly and the drivers have raved about the performance, especially its nimble handling and responsive power.

“The MG S2000 Sport should be a very attractive package for those wanting more performance over Group N without costing too much more; or for those wanting to dramatically reduce their world rally car expenditure whilst remaining in a topflight category.

“The Super 2000 category is the future of rally as it offers affordable and exciting rally for competitors and spectators alike; I am looking forward to a rally revival as a result.”

MSD is working with British team BGM whom have purchased the first car and will now act as the preferred customer team.

---------------------------------------------------------------

MSD is really accelerating with that MG S2000 project. The project only came to us a few weeks ago as a rumour. Now we learn that Alex Bengué is in contact with the MG Rover consortium. Asking what means "in contact" it turns out he is happy with how talks are going, they are into details already and it looks 95% definite Alex will debut the car in Rallye du Valais! This may be the only IRC start this year.
MG Rover is now Chinese owned and the owners wanted a debut on the China Rally with a local driver. While it is sad that MG Rover is no more its own British entity, it appears to its consortium owners have a lot more sense than the horror we sadly hear of most of the Chinese car makers. Chinese car makers have quickly gained a name that they just steal European designs and make cars that are utterly unsafe. In a rare move in Europe, several car brands are joining forces to sue the Chinese car makers in question altogether. Whatever the name of the consortium, the MG Rover owners now have changed mind. They don't want a Chinese driver now, because they want to develop their car with a front line driver. They don't necessarily want the car on the China Rally, since they came to believe the car should first be competitive on asphalt and it is easier to turn a good hard- surface car working on gravel than the other way round. Plus asphalt is better marketing for road car customers, although that does not necessarily apply to the Chinese market. And that is also why the Chinese (they must have looked at the scene carefully) wanted Alex Bengué for now. There are even considerations of Alex and MG starting the WRC Rally Ireland rather than IRC China, tho at the moment this is just a wild idea. At least there should be a team presentation on the last two WRC events, which may mean they are also interested in a PWRC program 2008. That is only rumour at the moment, but fact is MG Rover want to do a full 2008 IRC program with a 2-car team. The candidates may be asphalt ace Alex Bengué and likely one of those rare British drivers with talent who has not fallen off the sky yet, with maybe a 3rd car for a Chinese driver possibly only on the events outside Europe (lesser supported events = also more likely for the Chinese driver to find attention)... Well, so far all sounds extremely sensible to me!

That's an interesting quote with a UK press release followed by (Chinese?) comment.

I do hope the Mattel case is not attracting the lawyers, though! In a rare move in Europe, several car brands are joining forces to sue the Chinese car makers in question altogether. Obviously the word "sue" is supposed to mean "bring"...

...just googling for "MSD" - expect that must be "MotorSport Developments". I note the rally MG3 has a much smaller octagon than the road version - to discourage Beastie Boys?

...first Google match is this site of course...

EDIT 8/8/07 : Preparation firm MSD disappeared from the scene when its relationship with Korean manufacturer Hyundai (for building its Hyundai Accent WRCs) went sour and headed for the Courts in 2003. Now, MSD is back........with a new Super 2000-specification MG. The car, which is based on the original MG ZR, could appear in rallies as early as next month and has been seen testing at Turweston Aerodrome in the hands of Ian Gwynne. Nottinghamshire-based Bill Gwynne Motorsport has purchased the first customer car. MSD began talking to MG's Chinese owner, Nanjing Automotive, in late 2005 and the resulting MG S2000 Sport is powered by a 2-Litre engine mated to a bespoke 6-speed Xtrac 4wd transmission. David Whitehead of MSD hopes to sell at least 20 of the new cars in the coming year.SOURCE: http://www.motor-sport.uk.com/main.php?page=24&title=rally

...first Google match is this site of course...

Of course :), would be better if their own site was first though, then you would have found the spec:

http://www.msd-world.com

MG S2000 Specification

Chassis: MSD Fully Integrated Roll Cage

Engine: NASP 2.0 Litre Twin Cam DOHC, 270 hp @ 8,500 rpm

Brakes: Front 4 Pot AP Callipers, 295mm (gravel), 355mm (tarmac) Ventilated Discs, Rear 4 Pot AP Callipers 295mm Ventilated Discs

Transmission: Xtrac 4wd 6 Speed Sequential, Mechanical Differentials Front, Middle & Rear, Rear Hydraulic Handbrake Disconnect

Dampers: Exe-tc Dampers, Three Way Adjustable with Hydraulic Bump Stop

Electronics: Pi User Configured Dash

Weight: 1100kg Tarmac, 1150kg Gravel

http://www.mad-world.com/ ? Why didn't I try there first? :slap: ;)


And they say the cars are running and they say they're hard to brake.
Cos they have so many horses it's the most the shell can take.
And they show them on the Sweet Lamb and they show them out in Wales
Cos when MGs run in circles it's a very very... mad world...

Anyone got any news?

I hear they took the ZR version which now needs some repairs, driver and co-driver also needed repairs...
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1535/img6119ib4.jpg

Anyone got any news?...I'm sure we will all be following this challenge for x-part very closely.

What a shame.

And Marcus isn't the champion - yet again, the Alsatian is top dog!

On his debut outing in the MG ZR S2000, Stuart Jones (GB, Mitsubishi) - with only 70 kilometres of testing in the car - spent much of the first day familiarising himself with its capabilities. He had a puncture on SS3 which he drove with for 10 kilometres, costing about a minute. Ineffective rear brakes by the end of leg one accompanied by a dirty light pod made progress difficult and half way through SS9 the power steering stopped working. By leg three he had more confidence in the car but an off-road excursion on SS12 saw him sidelined. As his co-driver injured his shoulder, the pair was forced to retire.

A different version which sounds more serious:

"Stage 12 at Halfway had to be abandoned tonight when the MG of Stuart Jones and Andy Bull went off the road.

Co-driver Bull, 36, from Birmingham, was reported to have broken a collar bone and was taken to Merthyr Tydfil Hospital."

Got the story at last:

MG S2000 - "an incredible eighth fastest overall, beating a number of World Rally Cars!"

Source: crash.net (http://www.crash.net/motorsport/wrc/news/157896-0/pwrc_jones_im_disappointed_but.html)

http://pix.crash.net/motorsport/view/399927.jpg

Stuart Jones showed good pace with the new MG on the Rally GB until his off on day 2, which left his co-driver, Andy Bull with a broken collarbone.

Stuart Jones impressed on his debut in the new MSD-built MG Super 2000 Sport last weekend despite crashing out of the Wales Rally GB in the penultimate stage on day 2.

The 22-year-old, who was the only Welsh driver contesting the
Production World Rally Championship this year, only had limited testing in the brand new car prior to the event, however he was not concerned and his strategy showed real maturity.

A cautious approach to the opening day of competition, run in the hills above Swansea, saw Jones - co-driven by Andy Bull, face some of the most atrocious weather conditions experienced in many years. A puncture in the third stage cost the pair valuable time but they returned to service in twelfth position.

Feeling comfortable with the car and the conditions the former Peugeot Sport Cup champion opted to increase his pace in the afternoon, taking his first top ten time of the rally on the second run through Resolfen.

The final stage of the day, Rheola 2, was run completely in the dark and with most of the crews experiencing heavy fog this was truly a test of driver, co-driver and machine against the elements. Jones though excelled, posting not only the second fastest Production class time but also going an incredible eighth fastest overall, beating a number of World Rally Cars.

Day two saw the crews tackle another six stages and with his confidence building by the stage Jones was beginning to set some impressive top ten times. Despite losing his power steering halfway through the last test of the morning he was now inside the points.

A top three time through Crychan in the afternoon showed how fast he was adjusting to the new breed of car and was not only outpacing the other Super 2000 spec cars on the event but was also impressively climbing up the leaderboard to sixth overall in the PWRC class.

However, once again his luck didn't last and after losing his power steering in the last stage of the day, he drifted a little bit wide on a fast bend and was unable to turn back on to the road. Jones then slide off and hit a mound of earth with quite some force, an impact that ended his event and left Bull with a broken collar-bone.

“I feel sorry for Stu because we'd actually backed off through that stage,” Bull explained. “The impact was quite big and once the world had stopped moving I could feel this incredible pain in my shoulder. It's a clean break so should heal no problem.

“The car was great though and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'm really impressed with how fast Stuart adapted to the flat shift and adjusted his driving style to suit the high revving car.”

Jones was also keen to look on the bright side: “I'm disappointed that our rally ended this way but I can't help but draw so many positives from the weekend,” he continued. “The MG Super 2000 Sport is the best handling car I have ever driven. Hopefully we have shown that it has potential and I'm certain that the MG can be comfortably competitive with Group N cars.”

MSD team principal David Whitehead meanwhile was philosophical about how things turned out: “Stuart did a great job and his feedback was really helpful. His two top three times certainly gave us something to cheer about. The power steering problem will be easy to cure. It's inevitable for a brand new car to have teething problems but we've shown it can run at the front,” he concluded.

http://pix.crash.net/motorsport/view/399926.jpg

Jones is now examining his options for next season and an announcement is expected soon.

"The MG Super 2000 Sport is the best handling car I have ever driven"well that's good publicity...

Jones impresses on Super 2000 debut.

Welshman Stuart Jones impressed on his debut in the exciting new MSD built MG Super 2000 Sport when he set a string of highly impressive times on the final round of the 2007 Production World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB over the weekend.

22 year old Stuart, the only welsh driver contesting the PWRC in 2007, only had limited testing in the brand new car prior to the event. However the former Peugeot Super cup champion was not concerned and his strategy showed a mature head on young shoulders. A cautious approach to the opening day of competition, run in the hills above Swansea, saw Stuart, co-driven by Andy Bull, face some of the most atrocious weather conditions experienced in many years. A puncture in the third stage cost the pair valuable time but they returned to service in 12th position. Feeling comfortable with the car and the conditions Stuart opted to increase his pace in the afternoon, taking his first top 10 time of the rally on the second run through Resolfen. The final stage of the day, Rheola 2, was run completely in the dark and with most of the crews experiencing heavy fog this was truly a test of driver, co-driver and machine against the elements. And young Stuart excelled, posting not only the second fastest Production class time but also going an incredible 8th fastest overall, beating a number of World Rally Cars!

Day 2 saw the crews tackle another 6 stages and with his confidence building by the stage Stuart was beginning to set some impressive top 10 times. Despite loosing his power steering halfway through the last test of the morning Stuart was now inside the points. A top 3 time through Crychan in the afternoon showed how fast he was adjusting to the new breed of car and was not only outpacing the other Super 2000 spec cars on the event but was also impressively climbing up the leaderboard.

However, once again Lady Luck dealt a cruel hand. After loosing his power steering in the last stage of the day Stuart drifted a little bit wide on a fast bend and was unable to turn back on to the road, sliding off and ending his strong run.

I’m disappointed that our rally ended this way but I can’t help but draw so many positives from the weekend. The MG Super 2000 Sport is the best handling car I have ever driven. Hopefully we have shown that it has potential and I’m certain that the MG can be comfortably competitive with Group N cars.

MSD team principal David Whitehead was philosophical about the weekend. Stuart did a great job and his feedback was really helpful. His two top 3 times certainly gave us something to cheer about. The power steering problem will be easy to cure. It’s inevitable for a brand new car to have teething problems but we’ve shown it can run at the front.

Stuart, who is backed by Silverstone, PIAA, Teng Tools, Sparco, Custom Cages, Delivered on Time, Drive Me, R and D, Dacha Oak Floors and Rallytech, is currently examining a variety of possibilities for 2008 and an announcement will be made soon.

For more on Stuart please visit www.stuartjonesrallying.com

For more on the MG Super 2000 please visit www.msd-world.com

Here are the two photos - with full credit to www.rally-shots.com - that support the above press release...

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4025/cid02ba01c83670ab596a20rc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5099/cid02bb01c83670ab596a20bn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Lovely photos, Him!

Great username too. I have spent the last 15 minutes trying to establish the public identity of Captain Chaos... ;) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Chaos

Thanks 'Pat' on both counts! I am actually signed up to a few other MG and motorsport related forums as Captain Chaos, but as that username was already taken on here (tut, tut!), I had to think of something else - 'Him!' sounded suitably appropriate!

Thanks 'Pat' on both counts! I am actually signed up to a few other MG and motorsport related forums as Captain Chaos, but as that username was already taken on here (tut, tut!), I had to think of something else - 'Him!' sounded suitably appropriate!I'm a firm believer in names that combine driving with comedy. For some reason.

And would you believe I would not have recognised "Captain Chaos"? So I learnt something today.