Rally d’Italia Sardegna review
Rally d’Italia Sardegna was always going to be special.
Not only was it to be the round of this years World Rally Championship in which we saw the highly anticipated return of Mini, with Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke at the helm, but it was also the weekend that Volkswagen officially announced that they will join the WRC in 2013 – much to the delight of rally fans around the world.
But the real action was on the stages and there was only word to describe it: carnage.
Despite running first on the road for all three days of the rally, and therefore effectively cleaning the road, it was Sébastien Loeb who dominated this weekend and stamped his authority over the rest of the field; eventually finishing 11.2 seconds ahead of second placed Mikko Hirvonen. Although Loeb admitted having to push hard and take a lot of risks during day two, he still finished with very few noticeable mistakes.
Team mate Sébastien Ogier made a steady start to the rally apparently finding it difficult to get into the rhythm of the tight and twisty Italian roads. Some bizarre slowing tactics at the end of day one dropped him down to 4th overall leading into day two and throughout the rest of the rally he battled hard with Hirvonen and Solberg. However he made a mistake (and hit a rock) during SS17 and he finished the rally in 4th.
Mikko Hirvonen took second place in the overall standings after a relatively tidy rally. One small moment during SS6 and a puncture in SS7 ensured he could never realistically challenge Loeb, however a power stage win on top of his second position gave him the best points score he could hope for.
Fellow factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala was the first of the front runners to suffer misfortune. An incorrectly called pace note from co-driver Miikka Anttila led Latvala to roll his Fiesta on the opening stage. And by stage two the extensive suspension damage had taken it’s toll and Latvala was forced to retire for the day.
However upon restarting he tallied up a total of 7 stage wins and came 2nd in the Power Stage to secure him 2 much needed points.
Turbo problems and a puncture for Petter Solberg still wasn’t enough to keep him off of the podium. However his brother Henning had a somewhat more disastrous rally.
The older Solberg brother hasn’t had the easiest of runs this year and as he crossed the line to complete SS3 his Fiesta caught alight leading him and Ilka Minor to make a hasty exit from the car. SS5 delivered him a broken drive shaft while SS7 brought an end to his rally.
Fellow Stobart team mates fared no better. P.G Andersson hit a rock on the opening day and suffered a broken steering arm while Østberg and Wilson both had issues with their brakes.
Mini’s first event was full of mixed results. Kris Meeke had two very costly problems in the form of a sticking throttle leading to an off on day one. And after restarting on day two a water leak lead him to pull up in SS10. He did manage some impressive stage times – a promising prospect for the other 5 rounds in which they will contest.
Sordo also experienced throttle problems however he battled hard and brought the car home in an incredible 6th position.
The final top 10 results are as follows:
1. Loeb 3:45:40.9
2. Hirvonen +11.2
3. Solberg +23.8
4. Ogier +1:31.5
5. Østberg +2:42.6
6. Sordo +3:27.6
7. Tanäk +7:10.9
8. Hänninen +7:37.6
9. Wilson +8:00.4
10. Prokop +11:28.2
The support championships led to equally exciting racing.
In the SWRC Ott Tanäk lead the event from the first stage and continued to dominate over the rest of the field. Although Juho Hänninen pushed him hard all the way it wasn’t enough to unsteady Tanäk. The Estonian driver leads the championship by 2 points over Karl Kruuda.
Hänninen and Al-Attiyah rounded off the podium positions although both experienced a myriad of problems. Hänninen with a puncture and brake issues while Al-Attiyah spun, had a puncture and caught fire. Both cars also experienced following in the dust of another car.
Martin Prokop had started the rally looking promising however an unfortunate three fires and a penalty dropped him well down the order. Prokop did well to recover to 4th position.
Gassner, Kruuda and Turán rounded off the finishers but it was not without their issues. Gassner broke his rear differential but was able to continue unlike Kruuda (clutch failure) and Turán (broken exhaust) who both had to restart during day two. The point finishing positions somewhat making the pill less bitter to swallow.
There were three non-finishers this weekend: Sousa who suffered alternator problems in his Ford Fiesta, Brynildsen had to retire with an engine failure and Llovera who rolled his car early on in the event.
The next round of the SWRC will be in Greece.
The SWRC results are as follows:
1. Tanäk 3:52:51.8
2. Hänninen +26.7
3. Prokop +4:17.3
4. Al Attiyah +5:22.9
5. Gassner +13:31.6
6. Kruuda +29:53.8
7. Turán +42:18.8
Egon Kaur has won the second round of the WRC Academy after an incredibly action-filled event.
Amazingly only 8 crews survived to the end and for many it was one stage in particular that caught them out.
SS4 caused problems for a total of 9 crews who all unfortunately managed to run into a large rock which no-one had factored into their pace-notes. Extensive sump damage for the majority of them brought their overall rally to an end, however after quick repair work overnight three of the stricken crews were able to continue.
Ward and Niinemäe both rolled on the opening day while a broken steering arm for Černý brought his day to an early end. Upon restarting day two he eventually finished 4th.
Alistair Fisher suffered from engine problems during SS1 and Brendan Reeves had an oil cooler issue. Reeves was able to restart day two, and although he could feel his engine giving up on him as the day drew to an end ,he still finished 5th overall.
Eventual rally winner Kaur had a disastrous start to his rally when he went the wrong way at a junction and spent 4 minutes digging his car out. Although this loss was huge Kaur was definitely the benefactor of everybody else’s misfortune, once again showing that taking risks isn’t always the way to win a rally.
Day two was just as drastic for many of the crews. It was SS10 that caused problems this time for Karyakin, Taylor and Brunello – all three suffered damage to their Fiestas after heavy landings over a jump, each driver with cars beyond repair.
Rounding off the podium finishers was Baldoni and Åhlin in 2nd and 3rd respectively, both also had their problems. Baldoni hit a rock early on in the rally while Åhlin was plagued with damaged steering on the opening morning.
The WRC Academy is really living up to expectations of being a truly exciting and unmissable support championship.
The final results are as follows:
1. Kaur 3:29:39.4
2. Baldoni +1:42.1
3. Åhlin +2:42.3
4. Černý +16:42.9
5. Reeves +17:23.1
6. Crugnola +17:33.9
7. Breen +20:54.2
8. Niinemäe +32:05.2
Somerset Stages
I had every good intention of heading to the Somerset Stages and really being on top of the results, starting order, retirements etc… I even brought my notepad and pen in an attempt to write up all the information to post on my blog. My attempts this weekend however were thwarted – but I wasn’t the only one to be pretty lost with the action in Minehead.
Having never been before I made sure to log onto the website beforehand to get some information on stage locations, times and car parking areas where I found out that there was only one stage that the organisers wanted spectators to watch from (something to do with the forestry commission and Exmoor National Park).
I also noticed on the website it said that the stage was a ten minute walk from the car park however there would be a ‘steep climb out’.
I’m not sure about you, but ‘steep climb out’ in a designated spectator stage means, to me, a little hill that you would get slightly out of breath on. Oh no, this was the side of a mountain. I actually saw one gentleman on crutches and I’ve no idea how he got back up to the car park. It was difficult enough for some of those who were relatively fit! I noticed many taking advantage of the strategically placed bench half-way up.
Picking our seat on the side of said mountain, it seemed that the organisers had also chosen the one corner of the entire rally with little to no sunshine – I like to think this is the reason my photos leave little to be desired… numb fingers.
They had also managed to chose an area within stage that contained a concealed marsh which one poor soul discovered much to the amusement of the rest of the gathered crowd after he (accidentally) ventured in and subsequently sunk and lost a shoe.
Soon enough the cars were gracing the stage and while I absolutely adored watching them I found the whole thing completely confusing, Maybe it’s because I’m too used to following the rigid structure of the WRC and IRC – most probably – but even my dad (who had competed on these stages back in the 80’s) found it somewhat disjointed.
This stage (in Chargot Woods) had previously been run in the morning and was to be run twice that afternoon. But instead of running completely through the order and then starting all over again it seemed the runners started as and when the got to the start-line after the first pass. Even the commentator was slightly lost by the whole set-up.
Some cars even passed up by with him having ‘no idea who the hell’ they were!
Obviously this meant following the actual results became impossible (especially with no phone/3g signal but that‘s hard enough in the local supermarket so I‘ll ignore that!)
However you can’t take away the fact that the action itself was great and it was a fabulous day out. And I did get some (pretty bad) pictures, don’t worry though I’m not thinking of taking up photography full time! 😉
3 Power Stages down – how well is the concept working?
It doesn’t take a lot to see that the World Rally Championship can be a difficult sport to first discover having fallen out of favour with mainstream media over the years. So it came as no surprise when it was announced last year that new measures would be implemented this year in an effort to push the sport to new audiences. And one of the best ways to achieve this is through live stages.
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge has successfully managed this for the past few years. Tuning into Eurosport earlier this year the prestigious Rally Monte Carlo had extensive live coverage which other sporting fans, who may not have even seen a rally car on TV before, could easily stumble upon while checking the schedule and waiting for the tennis, football, snooker etc…
This year the introduction of the live televised Power Stages mean that the WRC is heading in the right direction in terms of exposure – although on a pay-only channel, the inclusion of it at all on British TV is quite an achievement.
Three of these such stages have been completed (Gustavors in Sweden, Guanajuato in Mexico and Santana de Serra in Portugal) so now is the perfect time to analyse how this addition is really affecting the rally and the overall spectacle.
The Power Stage is the last of the rally and offers an extra 6 points to the top three finishers (3 points for 1st place, 2 points for 2nd place and 1 point for a 3rd place stage finish) therefore giving anyone needing or wanting a points top-up an extra incentive to attack the stage. It also means that any drivers who have suffered set backs, and who’re running well down the order, have the opportunity to bag some much needed points.
Of the three stages we have seen live so far Portugal’s Santana de Serra was the longest by quite a margin, a total 31.04kms, while Sweden’s and Mexico’s stages were 3.16km and 8.28km respectively.
Run slightly different to the rest of the rally weekend, in which road position is decided on previous days’ order, the Power Stage is started in a reverse top 20 order to add an extra element of anticipation as the leading drivers come through faster towards the end. Beating previous splits and smashing overall stage times.
But has it provided the excitement and spectacle we had all hoped for? Yes, because as rally fans any live coverage is bound to be exciting. To see drivers like Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg driving on the limit through a tough stage only to be beaten live on air by Sébastien Loeb is without a doubt great to watch. The driver’s reactions in these situations are also brilliant to see.
In Sweden we saw an unprecedented move (in modern day rallying at least) by Chris Patterson who piloted Solberg’s car after a speeding incident on a road section a few days before – thrilling to watch – and some seriously on the edge driving in the high altitude of Mexico has left this live stage of each rally a definite to watch.
There is however potentially one downside to the Power Stage which Mikko Hirvonen has pointed out.
By the end of the penultimate stage the overall rally result has pretty much been decided and with this being the case the top drivers are unlikely to be pushing quite as hard as those playing catch-up – which could make this stage slightly subdued over the coming months when consistent overall finishes become even more vital. Hirvonen has suggested finishing the rally on the previous stage (handing out the overall rally points here) and leaving the Power Stage separate to encourage drivers to fully attack for the extra points.
This would definitely provide a more competitive stage but won’t work in the favour of those lower down the order who have nothing to lose and all to gain while chasing these crucial extra points.
Personally I have enjoyed the Power Stage’s a lot. I think it adds a different element to the rally weekend and that can only be a good thing. But I’d like to know your opinion, do you agree with Hirvonen about changing the format? Or should it remain as it is? Is the WRC heading in the right direction with this live stage inclusion?
WRC Academy: Rally Portugal
While Rally de Portugal has given the rallying world the opportunity to watch the Ford Fiesta and the Citroen DS3 World Rally cars go head to head properly without the extreme circumstances of snow and high altitude to deal with, it has also marked the inaugural round of the WRC Academy.
Featuring 18 young drivers (so far, others may join before the next rally), including 6 Pirelli Star Drivers, the Academy is a one mark series held over 6 WRC events this year; Portugal, Sardinia, Finland, Germany, France and Great Britain.
The chosen car for the series is the M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R2 and it is forbidden to make any modifications to the car. Although good news for the drivers in the sense that they all have a level playing field in which to prove themselves.
Differing from other championships running this weekend the Academy lasted only two days and awarded points not only for the top 10 finishers but also one point for every stage win. The driver with the most points come the end of the season wins a 500,000 Euro prize scholarship to use towards launching their 2012 career within the WRC.
To ensure that every driver gets as much experience from the Academy a variety of workshops and driver briefings will be held throughout the year. These aim to cover everything from health and fitness to dealing with the media. Guests will also be invited to talk to the drivers – the honour in Portugal went to Ken Block who gave some words of wisdom to the drivers before he made his way home after a nasty accident in shakedown.
While the Academy is a great way to encourage young drivers to the sport there is another aspect that has made this weekend different from most. As part of a brand FIA incentive to encourage more women to get into motorsport (in all areas) one girl from each country the Academy visits get the chance to work alongside the support championship’s communications officer Katie Traxton. This weekend aspiring rally driver Daniela Rodrigues has been in the service park learning all about the championship and blogging about her experiences – they can be read here on the official WRC website. http://www.wrc.com/fanzone/blogs/
I have a vested interest in this Women & Motorsport Commission incentive because, as an aspiring communications officer myself, I have luckily been chosen as the girl to head along to Rally GB – needless to say I have been reading Ni’s blogs and Facebook updates with great interest.
The Academy started on Thursday night with a quick dash through the streets of Lisbon, almost 300km’s away from the Algarve base, with the huge crowds lining the way – 10 people deep in places, a sign of just how popular rallying is in Portugal. Spaniard Jaray Lemes clinched the first point up for grabs and led by 0.6 seconds going into the Friday’s stages.
As Friday morning got underway Irishman Craig Breen set the pace with 4 consecutive stage wins leaving him with an overall lead of 48.4 seconds going into the final day. Egon Kaur and Alastair Fisher picked up wins in the final two stages of the day. Overnight they sat 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Brendan Reeves had the unenviable experience of being the first of the Academy drivers to suffer a set back. As has plagued many a driver in the other championships running this weekend, a puncture in SS3 left him 4 minutes off the place. However after setting some strong times throughout the day he managed to claw his way back up to 11th.
Thankfully all 18 cars returned to mid-day service however the afternoon loop was a lot more destructive for the crews. Calle Ward suffered engine problems during SS5 and stopped on the stage and both Lemes and Andrea Crugnola were affected by driveshaft problems in SS6 – all three retired for the day. As did Argentinean Matteo Baldoni whose car was sidelined with broken suspension.
Molly Taylor was a late casualty as she rolled her Fiesta R2 on the final stage of the day, luckily she was able to continue and was lying 13th overnight – unfortunately for Jose Suarez after his roll in this stage, he could not continue.
Heading into the final day and Craig Breen had a huge lead to defend. A fastest time on SS9 meant he extended his lead to 56 seconds however bad luck was to hit him after a consistent day one – his car left the road during SS10. The crew were reported to the OK however the car was stuck and unable to be recovered for him to continue. The only saving grace being the 5 points he picked up earlier for his fastest stage times, so all was not lost. He’ll be hoping the next round fares better for him.
Fisher inherited the lead and took a stage win amidst Breen’s problems. However similar circumstances struck him in SS12 when he rolled apparently due to ‘spectators having caused him to take his eyes off the road.’ The young Brit was able to complete the stage but lost over 5 minutes in the process.
Other casualties in the morning’s loop were Jan Cerny (broken driveshaft), Suarez and Lemes(rear suspension failure) who were all unable to continue. The day had begun with 17 of the 18 Fiesta’s taking to the stages (Ward was unable to SupeRally) however by mid-day only 13 remained.
After Fisher’s misfortune Egon Kaur inherited the rally lead and put in two fastest stages times on SS11 and SS12 missing out on the hatrick as solid second place runner Victor Henriksson set the bench mark for SS13. A steady rally from Christian Riedemann put him on the final podium position.
Frederik Ahlin had been lying in 4th position before his retirement on SS12 and both Sergey Karyakin and, the youngest driver in the championship, Miko-Ove Niinemae also retired on the last stage of the rally.
18 drivers started in Portugal and only 10 finished. All drivers will use Sunday for extensive debriefing and analysis.
The final standings were:
1. E.KAUR 3:30:13.8 25 points
2. V. HENRIKSSON 3:30:30.2 18 points
3. C. REIDEMANN 3:33:45.0 15 points
4. B. REEVES 3:34:57.2 12 points
5. A. FISHER 3:36:09.4 10 points
6. M. BALDONI 3:36:55.2 8 points
7. A. CRUGNOLA 3:42:39.8 6 points
8. M. TAYLOR 3:43:05.7 4 points
9. M. BRUNELLO 3:51:43.2 2 points
10. T. VAN DR MAREL 4:11:05.6 1 points
Stages winners points:
Y. Lemes 1 point
G. Breen 5 points
A. Fisher 2 points
E. Kaur 3 points
F. Ahlin 1 points
V. Henriksson 1 point
Academy standings:
1. E. Kaur 28
2. V. Henriksson 19
3. C. Reidemann 15
4. B. Reeves 12
5. A. Fisher 12
6. M. Baldoni 8
7. A. Crugnola 6
8. C. Breen 5
9. M. Taylor 4
10. M. Brunello 2
11. T. Van dr Marel 1
12. Y. Lemes 1
13. F. Ahlin 1
Rally Sweden Day 3
New season, new challenges, new drivers, new cars. Rally Sweden marked the start of a brand new era in the World Rally Championship. Gone are the the days of the C4 and Focus as this weekend we welcomed the DS3 and Fiesta in to the arena, with the Mini Countryman arriving later this year.
And with the excitement of days one and two, day three looked to be just as promising – thankfully it didn’t let us down. Mikko Hirvonen was first to take to the roads. While many thought this road sweeping position would hinder him, overnight plummeting temperatures seemed to help him find the speed somewhere as he set the fastest time in all three of the morning’s stages, enough to take the rally win. Mads Østberg followed him closely with top three finishes in 5 out of the 6 stages. Ultimately though this wasn’t enough to fully challenge Hirvonen but a hugely successful debut with the Stobart M-Sport WRT gaining him his first podium.
Jari-Matti Latvala finished the day strongly making his way up to the final podium position. Securing a Ford 1-2-3.
By far the most exciting aspect of the day was the introduction of the live Power Stage. Held on the short 4.16km Gustavsfors stage this was to be broadcast live around the world. Run in reverse rally order, Monster’s Ken Block was the first to tackle the stage – although finishing almost 17minutes off the pace overall Block, who has never driven using studded snow-tyres, was extremely ‘stoked’ to have made it to the end of Rally Sweden… almost incident free.
However the biggest shock of the day came in the shape of Petter Solberg. Or should that be Chris Patterson? After a quick set of stage times on Friday, Solberg was caught using that speed on a public road between stages. This run in with the Swedish police left him with only a 48hr temporary license which, unfortunately for him, expired just before the live Power Stage. But not to fear co-driver Patterson was on hand to take the reigns and complete the rally. Of course this time was well off the pace, in fact it was last, but considering he is the co-driver and has never driven the DS3 this was an incredible sight to behold. A huge smile at stage end and a well deserved 5th place overall for the Petter Solberg WRT.
Taking home the extra points from the Power Stage were Sébastien Ogier (who has had a solid rally with very few mistakes and some stunning stage times), Sébastien Loeb (although he did have to push his car away from the finish line) and Jari-Matti Latvala (who managed to tear off goodness knows how many bumpers and still set a blisteringly fast pace at times). Each take home 3,2 and 1 points respectively.
Now the WRC circus moves to Mexico – with much warmer weather guaranteed. If Sweden is anything to go by we’re in for one of the most cracking years in recent memory.
Rally Sweden Day 2
Sébastien Loeb fought to reduce his deficit during day two of Rally Sweden, after leg one left him over two and a half minutes off the pace. Not having to clear the roads for others Loeb managed 4 stage wins however he was still dogged with problems throughout the day. An excursion in a snow bank on SS9 left him with visual damage to the front right of his DS3; consequently damaging his tyre. After a quick change Loeb suffered yet another puncture in SS10 forcing him to use the wheel damaged from earlier for the last stage of the morning’s loop.
After a number of strong finishes on Friday Stobart’s Henning Solberg had a spectacular roll on the Saturday’s opening stage which put paid to his rally, even though he did eventually manage to finish the stage. Trust Henning to find the most flamboyant way to exit the rally – a broken roll bar means that that’s the last we shall see of him in Sweden. Thankfully both Solberg and co-driver Ilka Minor were unhurt in the accident.
Younger brother Petter Solberg was desperately looking to get his own season off to a flying start with a podium however after checking in late at time control all his hard work seemed the be undone. The Norwegian was understandably furious and while he will be contesting the decision his anger helped him to rack up three stage wins.
While Østberg was cleaning the road ahead Mikko Hirvonen was making the most of the opportunity and shot past clinching the rally lead on SS11.
As the stages started to rut one driver seemed to be in his element, Jari-Matti Latvala who closed the gap on the front runners ensuring that going into the final day there are 5 drivers all with a shot at the win – and only 15.8seconds separating them.
Without a doubt the shock of the day has got to be Kimi Räikkönen who has steadily been improving his pace placing him 7th going into the final day of the rally. He’s been putting in times equal, and on occasion, fast than the likes of Hirvonen and Solberg.
Sunday’s leg will include the new to 2011 Power Stage which will be broadcast live on TV (ESPN in the UK). It will also be one of the most exciting days Rally Sweden has seen for quite some time.
The standings going into day three are as follows:
| Pos | No | Driver | Time | Diff Prev |
Diff 1st |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 | M. HIRVONEN | M | 2:34:56.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2. | 6 | M. ØSTBERG | M | 2:35:03.5 | +7.4 | +7.4 |
| 3. | 11 | P. SOLBERG | 2:35:05.0 | +1.5 | +8.9 | |
| 4. | 4 | J. LATVALA | M | 2:35:07.0 | +2.0 | +10.9 |
| 5. | 2 | S. OGIER | M | 2:35:11.9 | +4.9 | +15.8 |
| 6. | 1 | S. LOEB | M | 2:36:38.2 | +1:26.3 | +1:42.1 |
| 7. | 8 | K. RÄIKKONEN | M | 2:40:01.6 | +3:23.4 | +5:05.5 |
| 8. | 16 | P. ANDERSSON | 2:40:26.8 | +25.2 | +5:30.7 | |
| 9. | 18 | P. SANDELL | 2:42:40.9 | +2:14.1 | +7:44.8 | |
| 10. | 15 | M. WILSON | 2:42:42.3 | +1.4 | +7:46.2 |
Rally Sweden Day 1
A stunning, if somewhat unexpected, drive from Norwegian Mads Østberg left the M-Sport Stobart Ford WRT with a record on their hands during leg 1 – for the first time the team were leading a rally at the end of the days running. And while day one was going great for Østberg others were finding the heavily falling snow challenging.
The biggest casualty being current world champion Sébastien Loeb who, fulfilling his usual role of road sweeper, was loosing time left, right and centre in these difficult conditions. Further time was subsequently haemorrhaged during SS7 when he sustained a puncture.
P.G Andersson won the opening stage on Thursday night – a quick 1.9km blast through the Karlstad Super Special Stage. It was only thanks to fan donations that the Swede was able to compete in this his home event. Having secured an entry to the event, sponsorship was thin on the ground but after fans learned of his plight they donated generously giving him the chance to compete this weekend. In an effort to pay them back P.G was likely a little too over exuberant, and on Friday’s opening stage as he rolled his Ford Fiesta – he unluckily suffered a puncture later that morning too. However two stage wins (one tied with Østberg) helped him to regain some lost time.
Rally leader Østberg was steadily pulling out a lead over everybody else – one of the few runners who appeared to make no mistakes. He took 3 stages wins (one tied with the aforementioned PG) and later stated to reporters, ‘I don’t know why everyone else is driving so slowly.’
Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala took stage wins in SS6 and SS7 respectively.
Ken Block took away the Colin’s Crest award after an amazing jump of 39metres, told of his achievement he said, ‘I’ve sucked everywhere else so at least I was good there!’
After leg on the results were as follows:
| Pos | No | Driver | Time | Diff Prev |
Diff 1st |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 | M. ØSTBERG | M | 1:17:21.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2. | 3 | M. HIRVONEN | M | 1:17:36.0 | +14.8 | +14.8 |
| 3. | 11 | P. SOLBERG | 1:18:18.6 | +42.6 | +57.4 | |
| 4. | 4 | J. LATVALA | M | 1:18:31.2 | +12.6 | +1:10.0 |
| 5. | 5 | H. SOLBERG | M | 1:18:41.5 | +10.3 | +1:20.3 |
| 6. | 2 | S. OGIER | M | 1:18:42.8 | +1.3 | +1:21.6 |
| 7. | 18 | P. SANDELL | 1:19:56.3 | +1:13.5 | +2:35.1 | |
| 8. | 20 | E. BRYNILDSEN | 1:20:04.7 | +8.4 | +2:43.5 | |
| 9. | 1 | S. LOEB | M | 1:20:09.6 | +4.9 | +2:48.4 |
| 10. | 10 | K. AL QASSIMI | 1:21:33.6 | +1:24.0 | +4:12.4 |
79th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo
In stark contrast to the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge series finale (in Cyprus) 120 crews are entered to start the spectacular opening round of the IRC, held in Monte Carlo.
The rally will be celebrating it’s 100th birthday and to prove how popular this historical test of skill has become, organisers received a bumper amount of applications. In fact the last time such a high rate of applicants were received was in 1982.
World Rally Championship driver and 2003 world champion Petter Solberg is the biggest name on the entry list and has quickly become the favourite to take the win. Unlike his WRC car Solberg will be piloting a Peugeot 207 S2000. Having tested extensively in the south of France earlier this week Solberg, who has participated in the Monte 8 times previously, will be using the weekend as a chance to prepare for the 2011 WRC season – in which he will be looking to halt Citroën’s Sébastien Loeb’s championship winning run.
However tough competition will come in the form of current IRC champion Juho Hänninen who will be on top form after a truly stunning 2010 season. The Skoda Fabia driver will be making the switch to the SWRC this season so the Monte looks to be the only IRC event he will be contesting this year.
There will be ‘new team’ debuts from Guy Wilks (taking Kris Meeke’s vacant seat at Peugeot UK) and Andreas Mikkelsen who controversially snapped up Wilks’s seat at Skoda UK. Both drivers will continue to participate throughout the IRC season.
Formula One star Robert Kubica was scheduled to take part however a lack of car and contractual obligations seem to have put his IRC plans on the back burner – for the second Monte in a row.
In total 39 S2000 cars will be competing. The likes of P.G Andersson, Chris Atkinson, Freddy Loix and Bryan Bouffier are among the ranks of many talented drivers preparing to tackle this rally of attrition.
Over three days a total of 1341.75km will be covered, 337.06km of this being competitive. Day one will see the longest stage of the rally – SS2 Burzet – St-Martial – at a length of 41.06 km.
However it’s leg three that should provide some of the most thrilling viewing as the drivers pass through the Moulinet – La Bollène-Vésubie stage which runs through the infamous Col De Turini. The road known for its tight hairpins will be a huge challenge for all taking part. And if the weather seen in pre-rally tests is anything to go by, chances are that snow and ice will make it even more difficult and that’s as well as running in the dark! Further hazards could come from over-zealous fans renowned for throwing snow/ice on the road which has caught many of the best out over the years.As is tradition, only the top 60 drivers will be eligible to compete on these stages.
The rally will benefit from 14 hours of live Eurosport coverage – the details of which can be found on their website.
Last year only 57% of the field made it to the finish line, with almost double the amount of entrants this year I think yet again we will be in for an incredible rally.
Rally stats:
Date: 19th-22nd January 2011
Round: 1 of 13, FIA Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Stage surface: Asphalt – possible ice/snow also to be expected
Longest stage: SS2 Burzet – St-Martial. 41.06km
Service park: Valence, France
Wales Rally GB – a spectators viewpoint
(Apologies – I had this saved as a draft and apparently never his the publish button. No idea how that happened. So better late than never, eh? My Rally GB viewpoint.)
Staring in the mirror at 5am with 7 layers of clothing on, and an image staring back at you that’s more reminiscent of the Michelin man than yourself, it’s hard to comprehend what type of environment this would look good in. It seems that winter rallying in Britain is about the only time you can get away with such thick clothing that you’re limited to 50% movement and still look normal among the masses.
Heading across the bridge to Wales on a cold Saturday morning you could have been forgiven for thinking that nothing was out of the ordinary save for a few yellow signs warning of expectant delays. It was only a while later, and out of Cardiff, that the first signs appeared – Harry Hunt’s bright green Fiesta was the first clue.
Our tactic for the day was to head to Dixies and from there on in it was a case of traipsing through the forest to find a nice corner and hopefully some great company. Luckily for us we found both.
After what felt like miles of walking we found a long run in to a tight corner with a massive rock on the inside – here’s hoping for some action here, we thought. But who are we kidding? These drivers are not considered the best in the world for no reason. Not one came close to even brushing that rock!
With this being the last year of the current WRC cars it was certainly a moment to remember for life and a chance to get some great pictures to mark the sad occasion. Although the normally aspirated S2000 cars were also a joy to see screaming through the forests and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing the next batch of World Rally cars next year.
After many giggles, observations and cars later it was time for us to depart our new found friends and move to the more popular areas of the stages. It soon became apparent just how many people had turned up and although spectator figures are yet to be released it certainly seems as though this could have been a bumper year.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to service park however what what was going on in the forests instead was not to be missed. There is nothing quite like standing in the dark and hearing the growl of car hurtling towards you with spotlights blazing. It somehow makes the whole experience even more worth while.
And then the rain finally fell, up until this point Wales had provided us with the most stunning day. A brilliant rally.
Škoda UK
A lot has been made in the press recently about Škoda UK’s driver announcement and having read/heard all the negative comments I wanted to add my voice to the mix.
I personally rate Andreas Mikkelsen highly as a driver. I like his attitude and as Carlton Kirby said, ‘he’s a PR’s dream.’
Yes, he may have used ‘Daddy’s money’ to get him to the World stage and where he is now but so what? Look at the Cyprus Golden Stage Rally – he blew everyone out of the water.
Alright, many will argue that the competition just wasn’t there (the likes of Hanninen, Meeke etc.) but how do you explain Wales Rally GB? I was stage side watching and for me he was the most exciting driver out there.
When Guy Wilks announced he was leaving Škoda UK for Peugeot there was always a question as to who was going to replace him. Everybody guessed a Brit would rise up to the plate – maybe someone from the BRC? So when the shout came many fans were left reeling and full of questions.
In the UK we have a brilliant array of drivers however what we are lacking is the support system and structure to nurture and develop them. Other countries in Europe are prepared to put time, money and effort into their young driver programmes – we don’t have this sorted to perfection yet.
When we do suss it out, we will have every right to complain if a British driver is snubbed by a ‘British’ team. For the time being if a driver wants a seat and is prepared to pay (therefore putting money into a sport largely ignored by the masses) then let them and wait the popularity and choice to come around again.
*Preparing for the backlash*
Through Shakedown And Stage 