Andreas Aigner and Jürgen Heigl made both the fans and the team very happy, when they won the Production Cup in the ERC Rally Corsica (Andi won it twice in a row now) as well as finishing 7th overall. The race for the PC win was very close between Aigner and Germain Bonnefis on the first day. The tyre choices prooved very important and in the end, Andi and his Yokohama-shod Subaru took the prize.
Andi and Jurgen also took the lead in their respective PC rankings. Their next race will be the ERC Rally Belgium.

While it was all smiles on Team Aigner, the BWRT crew looked a bit crestfallen after the event. Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes were on their way to a top 10 finish, when they came off road on the very last stage and rolled down a steep slope. Fortunately neither of the pilots were injured and the damage to the Ford Fiesta RRC is manageable.

Although the initial plan was for the rally Belgium to be Aigners next competition, the team decided to make an appearance in Corsica next week too.
After his impressive victory last year, Aigner is of course looking forward to the event, which sports an impressive entry list featuring more than twenty S2000 cars. The field of Production Cup contestants will be significantly bigger than in Gran Canaria too.

Aigner doubts that he can repeat a top 10 finish in the overall ranking this time, but he is aiming for the top in his division again. Andreas and his co-pilot Jürgen Heigl will travel to Corsica on Monday.

At the moment Aigner and Stohl Racing are also debating which event they want to do instead of the rally San Marino, which has been cancelled.

Informations regarding the Stockcar Austria Project of Manfred Stohl and Walter Grubmüller as well as a lot of pictures from the first event in Natschbach can now be found at www.stockcar-racing.com



Impressive Performance by Aigner in Gran Canaria

Picture by Daniel Fessl

It was another impressive start into the rally season for Subaru pilot Andreas Aigner, who managed to score another win in the Production Car class. Not only did he finish 1:40.2 ahead of Germain Bonnefis, but he also scored the 4th place overall!

Our second pilot Daniel Oliveira was a little less lucky. A technical problem with the gearbox forced him to retire after the second service on the first day of the rally. Up until then team-manager Manfred Stohl was very satisfied with the performance of the young Brazilian driver.

Picture by Richard Balint

There were a lot of Ups and Downs for Armin Kremer and his copilot Klaus Wicha in the WRC Rally Mexiko.
A test had to be cancelled when, although it was shipped 2 weeks earlier than everyone elses, the sea freight container with Armins car was delayed.
The rally itself went well for Kremer, until a broken rear wheel suspension forced him to drop out early on day 2. He resumed the race on the final day, and managed to score a few important points for finishing 4th in the WRC2 classement.
Armin's next race will be the WRC Rally Argentina in May.

Andreas Aigner will start his 2013 rally adventure in a forthnight on the Canary Islands. Andi and his new co-pilot Jürgen Heigl aim for the European Production Cup title. So far, six rallies have been confirmed, although Aigner is trying to find additional financial support for a 7th race.

Backed by Subaru, Suspension-Specialist TEIN and Stohl Racing, as well as tyre-specialist Yokohama, Aigner can rely on a crew of experienced experts.
Andi and the team will drive a test on March 19th on Gran Canaria to get familiar with the new setup and tyres, but Aigner is optimistic, that he can be as quick as last season.

So far, the following rallys are planned for Aigner in 2013: Gran Canarias, Belgium, San Marino, Romania, Barum and Croatia.

The Brazilian driver Daniel Oliveira and BWRT Team will line up in the European Championship Rally

Taking as example what happened last year, Daniel Oliveira, by BWRT (Brazil World Rally Team), is the only Brazilian driver to compete in the European Championship Rally and will continue to serve as ambassador of his country taking the yellow and green flag across Europe, given as certain that his participation will make many compatriots around the old continent wanting to go to the roadside, to applaud his performance.

Driving a Ford Fiesta RRC, prepared by Team Manfred Stohl and navigated by the Portuguese António Costa, Daniel Oliveira thus giving continuity to his international career, now centered in the European Championship, after last year, have aligned in the World Championship.

World Championship that also is part of his sports project for 2013, since it is his intention to be present at the Rally Argentina 1-4 May. Standing also is the possibility of aligning in a race of the Brazilian Championship Rally of Speed, which takes place in Brazil.

Daniel Oliveira knows that he will face a lot of difficulties, because he doesn’t know any rally course, but he recognizes that it «is with an enormous satisfaction that I am able to continued my international carrier and make use in the European championship all the things that I learned in the World championship and I cannot forget my sponsors, because without their contribution it’s impossible to carry on with this project».

Daniel Oliveira and António Costa have as objectives: «To be regular within the top ten. As we will only be present at eight rallies, of the 13 of the championship, the objectives are decided for each rally. I don’t know much about these rallies, but I’m enthusiast and aware of the work that myself and all the team have to do, during the year»

Armin Kremer and Klaus Wicha, who drive the Stohl Racing Subaru in this years WRC2 championship, kicked off their season with a second place in Monte Carlo.
The race through the hills around Monte Carlow is difficult and Kremer was happy to finish the stages on Saturday without any accident. The final two stages had to be cancelled.
Armin Kremer will not drive in Sweden, instead his car is already prepared for shippment to Mexiko.

After coming 3rd in the National Championship with his gas-powered Mitsubishi, and a well earned 10. place in the WRC rally New Zealand, this season has another treat in store for Austrian rally driver Manfred Stohl.

Rashid Al Ketbi, who will drive the Stohl Racing Ford Fiesta RRC in Dubai, has asked Manfred to pilot his Group N Subaru in the same event. Manfred Stohl: „If it's the customers wish that I drive his car in the rally, than I will happily oblige. Germany's Karina Hepperle will sit in the co-pilot seat - the 37 year old has already had successful performances in Germany and Austria. The race will be a challenge in the group N subaru, but the more difficult a rally is, the more motivated I get. My competitors are really strong - amongst them are Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah as well as Khalid and Abdullah Al Qassimi and Rashid Al Ketbi."“

It was Andi Aigners 3rd win in his 4th rally of the IRC season. The Austrian Duo won the Production Cup ranking well ahead of fellow Subaru driver Toshi Arai. They also finished 7th overall in a highly competetive field.
Andi took controlled risks and made sure he gets his car over the finishing line to score as many PC points as possible. In an interview after the race he praised the faultless performance of his co-pilot, WRC veteran Ilka Minor, as well as the reliability of the Stohl Racing R4 Subaru.

The last two stages of the rally were cancelled, when a spectator died in an accident with a participating car. A tragedy like that is very hard to process for all the teams and drivers. We would like to express condolences to the family and friends.

Andi Aigner's next race will be the IRC finale in Cyprus.

Wow, what a weekend!
Andi Aigner and Daniela Ertl had a top performance in the IRC Rally Belgium, finishing in the top 10 overall and sercuring another win in the PC class. The Subaru Team also made an impression by finishing third on SS12.

Meanwhile in New Zealand: Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor had a faultfree rally and a bit of luck on the last day to finish 10th. They secured a point for the driver/codriver ranking and 4 points for their Team. Stohl/Minor also had the 3rd fastest time on SS19.

Congratulations to the whole team, who did a great job!

Andi Aigner made it very clear, that team boss Manfred Stohl hired the right man for the Subaru IRC project. Aigner won the PWRC-Cup class of the IRC rally Corsica, finishing three minutes ahead of fellow Subaru driver Toshi Arai.
Aigner and co-pilot Daniela Ertl were the best Non-S2000 car in the field, and also outdrove a few stronger cars aswell. Aginer is now on the top of the PWRC ranking, ax aequo with three other drivers.

The next race for Aigner will be the IRC run in Belgium.