Brazil World Rally Team
Encyclopedia
The Brazil World Rally Team is a Brazilian
World Rally Championship
team, based in Banbury
, England
. They will make their début in the 2011 season
at the Rally de Portugal
, round three of the 2011 season. They will use a Super 2000
-spec Mini
before switching to the Mini John Cooper Works WRC for their next round, the Rally d'Italia Sardegna
. The team has registered as a WRC Team entry, and plans to add a second car to the lineup by 2013.
The team currently have young Brazilian driver Daniel Oliveira
signed up for the 2011 season, along with his Portuguese co-driver Carlos Magalhaes. The main goal for the team is to increase the popularity of rallying in Brazil. The reason for this is that Brazil has not had much success over the 38 years of the existence of the WRC. The country held two WRC events before in 1981 and 1982, won by Ari Vatanen
and Michèle Mouton
respectively. There have also been very few Brazilian rally drivers that have had any success.
The Brazil World Rally Team will receive technical and operational support from Prodrive
in the United Kingdom, who develop the Mini WRC and S2000 cars, with respected team manager Paul Howarth and engineer Nick Navas heavily involved in the project. Brazil World Rally Team’s president, Frank Allison Maciel, and manager, Paul Handal, will also perform key roles.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
team, based in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They will make their début in the 2011 season
2011 World Rally Championship season
The 2011 World Rally Championship season was the 39th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season has 13 rallies, beginning with Rally Sweden on 10 February...
at the Rally de Portugal
Rally de Portugal
The Rally de Portugal is a rally competition held in Portugal. First held in 1967, the seventh running of the race, the 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal was the third event in the inaugural FIA World Rally Championship in 1973...
, round three of the 2011 season. They will use a Super 2000
Super 2000
Super 2000, also known as S2000, is an FIA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification is split to cover both rally and touring car racing. Super 2000 rally cars are also permitted to compete in Super 2000 World Rally Championship events...
-spec Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
before switching to the Mini John Cooper Works WRC for their next round, the Rally d'Italia Sardegna
Rally d'Italia Sardegna
The Rally d'Italia Sardegna is a rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship schedule and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge . The rally is held on narrow, twisty, sandy and bumpy mountain roads around the town of Porto Cervo...
. The team has registered as a WRC Team entry, and plans to add a second car to the lineup by 2013.
The team currently have young Brazilian driver Daniel Oliveira
Daniel Oliveira
Daniel Oliveira is a Brazilian rally driver.On entering the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in the 2010 season Oliveira was known only locally...
signed up for the 2011 season, along with his Portuguese co-driver Carlos Magalhaes. The main goal for the team is to increase the popularity of rallying in Brazil. The reason for this is that Brazil has not had much success over the 38 years of the existence of the WRC. The country held two WRC events before in 1981 and 1982, won by Ari Vatanen
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament 1999–2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times....
and Michèle Mouton
Michèle Mouton
Michèle Mouton is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982...
respectively. There have also been very few Brazilian rally drivers that have had any success.
The Brazil World Rally Team will receive technical and operational support from Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
in the United Kingdom, who develop the Mini WRC and S2000 cars, with respected team manager Paul Howarth and engineer Nick Navas heavily involved in the project. Brazil World Rally Team’s president, Frank Allison Maciel, and manager, Paul Handal, will also perform key roles.