Lotos Team WRC

Lotos Team WRC
Full nameLotos Team WRC
Team principal(s)Italy Bruno di Pianto
DriversPoland Michał Kościuszko
Co-driversPoland Maciej Szczepaniak
ChassisMini John Cooper Works WRC
Ford Fiesta WRC
TyresMichelin
World Rally Championship history
Debut2013
Manufacturers' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0
Rally wins0

The Lotos Team WRC is a Polish motor racing team that made its debut in the World Rally Championship at the 2013 Rallye Monte Carlo.[1]

Competition history

2013 season

Lotos Team WRC: Michał Kościuszko and Maciej Szczepaniak in Cologne, August 2013

The team was formed by Motorsport Italia team manager Bruno di Pianto from the remains of the WRC Team Mini Portugal[2] (which closed at the end of the 2012 season)[3] with the support of Polish oil conglomerate Grupa Lotos. The team was scheduled to contest the 2013 season with a Mini John Cooper Works WRC driven by Polish driver and 2012 Production Car World Championship runner-up Michał Kościuszko.[1] However, the team abandoned the Mini John Cooper Works WRC halfway through the season and withdrew their entry from the Acropolis Rally to focus on changing to the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, making their debut with the new car at the Rally d'Italia in Sardinia.[4]

Although the team was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as a manufacturer team for the 2013 season, only the team's best eight results from thirteen rallies will be counted towards the team's final points tally.[5] Ultimately, the team only contested seven rounds of the championship; after competing in Sardinia, Kościuszko skipped Rally Finland before returning for Rallye Deutschland in what would be his final appearance during the 2013 season.

The team finished the season in eighth and last place, with twenty points and a best finish of seventh place in the Rally d'Italia.

Complete WRC results

Year Car Driver
Co-driver 		Rounds WDC Points WMC Points
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2013 Mini John Cooper Works WRC Poland Michał Kościuszko
Poland Maciej Szczepaniak 		MON
10 		SWE
14 		MEX
Ret 		POR
Ret 		ARG
Ret 		GRE
WD 		18th 7 8th 201
Ford Fiesta RS WRC ITA
7 		FIN GER
Ret 		AUS FRA ESP GBR

Notes:

  • ^1 — Although the team is recognised by the FIA as a manufacturer team, only the best eight results from thirteen rallies were counted towards the team's final points tally.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "81e Rallye Monte Carlo 2013 List of entries in seeded order" (PDF). rallylink.it. Monte Carlo Rally. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Caution: Mini WRC coming through". minimotorsport.com. Mini. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  3. ^ "81e Rallye Monte Carlo 2013 Entry List" (PDF). rallye-magazin.de. Monte Carlo Rally. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Kosciuszko ditches Mini for M-Sport Fiesta". WRC.com. WRC.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b "2013 FIA World Rally Championship For Manufacturers — List of Entrants". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 13 January 2013. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.