Flying Finn Pentti Airikkala dies

Pentti Airikkala, one of the stars of British and World rallying in the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 64 after a year-long battle with illness.

The Finn, who took the British Rally Championship in 1979, made 37 starts in the World Rally Championship during his career, making his debut in 1973 on the 1000 Lakes Rally and competing through to 1990 before retiring – although he did come out of retirement to return to the stages of Rally GB in 2003.

His greatest success, however, came late in his career when he won the British RAC rally in 1989 at the wheel of a Group A Mitsubishi Galant - becoming the third oldest driver to win a WRC event.

Since retiring from full-time competition, Airikkala established a driving school to teach the art of left-foot braking to race and rally drivers. His list of ex pupils includes WRC star names like Colin McRae, Richard Burns, and Jari-Matti Latvala.

On the eve of Rally de Espana, Ford rally team manager Malcolm Wilson paid tribute to his former team-mate and rival.

"My first memories of Pentti were of battling against him in 1979 and 1980 when he was driving for Vauxhall and I was in the Escorts. We later joined forces in 1981, along with Ari Vatanen, at the Rothmans team when we drove the Mk2 Escorts. He joined Ford again in 1990 for three rallies in the Sierra Cosworths. He was one of these guys with an incredible talent, and although he never got to challenge for the world title, his win on the RAC really stood out - it was a fantastic drive."

Ronan McNamee was his long time co-driver....

"Pentti and I shared lots of days and nights together in lots of differnt events.All were on the edge and lots of fun. He was a great driver and friend.He lit up the faces of so many people around him. Thanks for the memories. May the road rise before him and please God may he rest in peace".

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CROFT LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Despite the High Court Injunction back in January, which has had a detrimental effect on Croft Circuit's operations and has resulted in four people losing their jobs so far this year, as well as seriously reduced activity, plans for 2010 continue at a pace with further big events scheduled for the North's only permanent motorsport facility.

The country's two biggest race series, British Touring Cars and British Superbikes, are planning to revisit the track near Darlington next season and in addition, a series of meetings for club competitors on both bikes and cars will be held along with a number of motorsport associated shows and attractions.

"Sadly, we've had to make three people redundant this year and also, a member of staff left last Christmas and wasn't replaced so the High Court ruling has had a serious impact on us, as we expected it would. However, we plan to battle on and we have a number of exciting developments planned for next season so hopefully, there are plenty of positives to draw on. We've had so much support that we want to set up a Croft Supporters Club to keep everyone informed as to future events and we are looking at offering a range of benefits to members, too," said BARC Chief Executive Dennis Carter.

As well as plans for next season, there are still a number of exciting, high profile events still to take place this season starting with the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship over the weekend of September 12/13th followed by the Darlington & District Motor Club Sedric Bell Trophy Race Meeting two weeks later.

The cream of Europe's rallycross competitors will be visiting Croft on October 31st/ November 1st for the spectacular SG Petch Get Connected Rallycross Superprix and then over the Christmas holidays, thousands of fans descend on Croft for the popular Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally which takes place on Monday 28th December.

Further information is available at www.croftcircuit.co.uk or call 01325 721815.

World Motor Sport Council MEETING 24/06/2009

The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 24 June 2009. The following decisions were taken:

FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

All currently competing teams have committed to the FIA Formula One World Championship.

There will be no alternative series or championship and the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009.

As part of this agreement, the teams will, within two years, reduce the costs of competing in the championship to the level of the early 1990s. The manufacturer teams have agreed to assist the new entries for 2010 by providing technical assistance.

The manufacturer teams have further agreed to the permanent and continuing role of the FIA as the sport’s governing body. They have also committed to the commercial arrangements for the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2012 and have agreed to renegotiate and extend this contract before the end of that period.

All teams will adhere to an upgraded version of the governance provisions of the 1998 Concorde Agreement.

The following teams have been accepted for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

TEAM SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM RENAULT F1 TEAM PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO RED BULL RACING AT&T WILLIAMS FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM CAMPOS META TEAM MANOR GRAND PRIX TEAM US F1

CONSTRUCTOR FERRARI McLAREN MERCEDES BMW SAUBER RENAULT TOYOTA STR TBA RBR TBA WILLIAMS TOYOTA FORCE INDIA MERCEDES BRAWN TBA CAMPOS COSWORTH MANOR COSWORTH TEAM US F1 COSWORTH

In view of this new agreement and with the prospect of a stable future for Formula One, FIA President Max Mosley has confirmed his decision not to stand for re-election in October this year.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

The date for introduction of the 1600cc turbo engine for the WRC car has been brought forward to 2011 to bring it in line with the engine used in the cars on sale to the public.

Event organisers will be given flexibility to evolve the character of their events to create a unique flavour. Rallies may be run over two, three or four days, but must finish on a Saturday or Sunday. To increase the spectacle, there will be freedom to mix asphalt and gravel surfaces either within a stage or within the itinerary of a day.

A ‘WRC Cup’ for Super 2000 cars will be introduced for 2010. Teams must register and contest at least seven nominated rounds, including at least one outside Europe. Conditions for registration will be finalised in due course.

2010 FIA World Rally Championship Calendar
14 Feb 07 Mar 04 Apr 18 Apr 09 May 30 May 11 July 01 Aug 22 Aug 12 Sept 03 Oct 24 Oct 14 Nov	Sweden Mexico Jordan Turkey New Zealand Portugal Bulgaria* Finland Germany Japan France Spain Great Britain
*Subject to the 2009 Observer’s Report

GT

The FIA has reached agreement with SRO to be the promoter of the new FIA GT1 World Championship from 2010.

As part of this agreement, the FIA GT Championship (GT1 and GT2) and the GT3 European Championship, will be split into three distinct and easily identifiable FIA GT Championships. The FIA GT1 World Championship will be for independent teams and professional drivers, the FIA GT2 European Championship for independent teams and pro-am driver crews, and the FIA GT3 European Championship for independent teams and non-professional drivers.

The Bucharest event, scheduled for 8-9 August 2009, has been replaced with an event in Budapest event on 29-30 August 2009.

WORLD TOURING CAR

Yokohama has won the tender to be the single tyre supplier to the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship Calendar
07 Mar 11 Apr 16 May 30 May 20 June 04 July 18 July 01 Aug 05 Sept 19 Sept 31 Oct 21 Nov	BR MEX MA I B P GB CZ D E Oct MO	Curitiba Puebla Marrakech TBA** Zolder Algarve Brands Hatch Brno Oschersleben Valencia* Okayama Macao
*subject to the agreement of the ASN concerned **the name of the event will be confirmed in due course

KARTING

The CIK-FIA will launch a new karting world championship, aimed at young drivers under 18 years old. The new series will compliment the current CIK-FIA Karting World Championship, which is open to all age groups.

Set to launch in 2010, the new championship will involve three events scheduled to take place in the summer months, when under-18s will be available to compete. The concept will be backed up by the creation of a Karting Academy for drivers aged 13 to 15 years old.