THE STARS ON SHOW
As a motorsport fan, it’s your duty to attend Autosport International – six-time World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier is expecting you.
The WRC was launched at Birmingham’s NEC for the first time last year. But Ogier wanted the fans to see more of the action. The 2018 series was unveiled on Thursday’s opening day of ASI. Why couldn’t we do this on a Saturday, he asked. Why couldn’t we do this on a Saturday?
We could. And Saturday January 12 is going to be good. It’ll be known as the WRC’S very own ‘Super Saturday’.
Ogier is delighted: “This is good news, great news. Last year it was a good event to launch the season, to have everybody together. And if there are going to be even more fans there this year, then it’s going to be even better.
“Without fans our sport would not exist. We need them and the launch is always an exciting time when you come to discover the new liveries. It’s going to be great to see lots of fans joining us – see you soon guys!”
Livery launches are at the heart of ‘Super Saturday’, with three (providing M-sport makes it and signs up with the FIA) of the four factory squads bringing new colour schemes to show off for the first time.
Visit on the first two days of ASI and you’ll find all four works World Rally Cars present in their 2018 paintjobs. For the weekend, it’s all about the year ahead – with Ogier’s own Citroen C3 WRC reckoned to be in for a radical new design.
With the exception of Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (they’re excused on account of being a bit busy on the Dakar Rally), every other driver, co-driver and team principal will be at the launch, answering questions about the season ahead and attending autograph sessions throughout the day.
As well as the main field of factory cars, there will be plenty of WRC2 machinery – including something special from Proton Motorsport – and M-sport’s all-new Junior WRC challenger, the Ford Fiesta R2.
Beyond the action on the centre stage, the World Rally Championship will have a huge stand in Hall 3. This is the area that will host the manufacturer cars. It’s also the place where you can buy WRC merchandise and get behind the wheel and test your pace against the best of the best in the official WRC game.
There will, of course, be more rallying at the show than what’s available on the official WRC stand. There’ll be the usual collection of national and historic cars, offering you the chance to compare and contrast the machinery in a year that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the drivers’ world championship.
The Motorsport UK stand is the home of the British Rally Championship, offering a full rundown of another fascinating season of domestic sport. Tickets for Autosport International, which runs from January 10-13, are available at www.autosportinternational.com.