INDIA in F1

Category: WRC, Rally

  • Team Tata Motors dominate Spirit of Kalinga III, sweep the podium

    Bhubaneswar, November 9: Team Tata Motors continued to dominate the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship as they scored a 1-2-3 in the Pro Stock category in the Spirit of Kalinga III, the sixth round, here on Sunday.

    Sourav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu topped the Pro Stock class after garnering a total time penalty of three minutes, 47 seconds. Second were Rajiv Sarkar and Moulinath Ghosh (7:43). Bangalore’s two-time and defending champions Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar, with a penalty of 10:51 minutes, finished third.

    However, Murthy and Sujith Kumar, who had 106 points before this round, earned 18 points here and still continue to lead the Pro Stock championship table with 124 points. The duo had won four continuous rounds before this weekend’s event.

    “It was unfortunate that we were unable to continue our winning form in Bhubaneswar. But, the good thing is what we are still leading the championship,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “This was a bit of a disappointment because we had a very good run till now. However, we will try to bounce back in the next round in Kolkata next weekend.”

    In the Pro Expert class, Karthik Maruthi and Sankar Anand won. They were also the Overall winners. Team Tata Motors entries of Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan and Ajgar Ali and Mohammad Musthafa finished second and third respectively. Ali-Musthafa still lead the championship with 111 points.

    Results (top three):

    Pro Stock: 1. Sourav Chatterjee/ Ashoke Kumar Basu (Team Tata Motors, 3:47 minutes); 2. Rajiv Sarkar/ Moulinath Ghosh (Team Tata Motors, 7:43 minutes); 3. Chidananda Murthy/ BS Sujith Kumar (Team Tata Motors, 10:51 minutes).

    Pro Expert: 1. Karthik Maruthi/ Sankar Anand (00:50 seconds); 2. Ganesh Moorthy/ T Nagarajan (Team Tata Motors, 01:03 minutes); 3. Ajgar Ali/ Mohammad Musthafa (Team Tata Motors, 1:15 minutes).

    Ends

    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar in action on Sunday. A Tata Team image
    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar in action on Sunday. A Tata Team image

  • MRF Jan Kopecky wins Rally of China; Gill crashes out: APRC

    November 9, 2014: Team MRF completed their best season ever in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) by winning all six races in the 2014 Championship with Jan Kopecky coasting to the win in the China Rally Longyou. Kopecký driving an MRF Skoda Fabia S2000 convincingly won the China Rally reinforcing his and Skoda’s dominance of the series in 2014.

    Kopecký’s task was made easier on Day 1 when team-mate Gaurav Gill who was leading the event at the time, hit a rock on Stage 5 that damaged the Skoda’s steering resulting in a heavy crash and retirement on Stage 6. Team MRF continued to prove that they are the team to beat after winning 3 titles in a row on MRF Tyres. MRF Tyres is the only Indian based tyre company to enjoy such success in international motorsport.

    At the finish-line Kopecký said, “It’s been a great year and thanks a lot to the whole team it was a great opportunity in APRC and hopefully I can come back for some rallies in the future. I think the highlight is we won the championship, our team-mate Gaurav was very strong, he knows the conditions and we managed to beat him.  I’m very happy we showed that Skoda is really strong, a really strong brand and we showed to everyone our car is really fantastic. The tyres have been great so a big thank you to Team MRF for making this possible.”

    Cusco Subaru driver Yuya Sumiyama was second overall and in doing so, won the 2014 Asia Cup for a third time. “Asia Cup champion and overall 2nd position, very very happy and good result for the team. The conditions were very slippery and rough condition so we’re lucky”, said Sumiyama at final service.

    It was another giant killing performance from New Zealander Mike Young bringing his Cusco Proton Satria home in 3rd place overall and securing the APRC Production Cup. Young was the only driver to finish all events in 2014 and doing so moved himself into second place in the drivers points “Its amazing for our team and Cusco, the boys worked so well, not even had a mechanical (problem) this year – we’re over the moon! Malcolm’s done an awesome job all year, kept me on my toes and in the grove so we’re really happy. Consistency has rewarded us with second in the championship in a 1.6 Proton, against all the four-wheel drive cars its just awesome”.

    In only his third APRC event EZY Racing’s Dinesh Deheragoda from Sri Lanka found the conditions very difficult, but is looking forward to the next event in Thailand where he hopes to secure second in the Asia Cup, “Points for second in Asia Cup is more than I expected and my congratulations to Sumiyama who is already the Asia Cup champion mathematically. My target now is to see if I can finish second in the championship with some more points in Thailand.”

    China Rally again proved to be a tough event to finish, especially with the wet conditions on Day 1.  Australian Mark Peddar suffered the same fate as Gill hitting a rock on Stage 5 and retiring with damaged steering. Taiwan’s Huilan Shen didn’t make it past Stage 2 after she when off road in her Fiat Abarth 500.

    There was no finish ceremony or celebrations at 2014 China Rally, after an accident on Stage 6 claimed the life of 20 year old Taiwanese driver Xie Chengxun.

    ends

    Jan Kopecky of Team MRF Tyres wins in China. Image courtesy APRC
    Jan Kopecky of Team MRF Tyres wins in China. Image courtesy APRC

  • Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar looking for fifth consecutive victory

    Bhubaneswar, November 8: The sixth round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship, the Spirit of Kalinga III, is all set to start here on November 9, Team Tata Motors is all geared up and hopes to continue its winning form.

    The highlight of the championship so far has been the dominating show by Team Tata Motors entrants. The lead entry from Team Tata Motors is driver Chidananda Murthy and co-driver BS Sujith Kumar from Bangalore. The duo is taking part in the Pro Stock category and has won four rallies in a row. The wins came in Jaipur, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Goa and the duo is leading the Championship points table with 106 points.

    Murthy and Sujith Kumar have been the Pro Stock National champions in 2012 and 2013 and they hope to make it a hat-trick by winning in 2014.

    “Winning four rounds of the INTSDRC on the trot is a great thing for us and we hope to make it five in a row here. This will help us get closer to the 2014 title,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “The break after the fifth round of the INTSDRC has refreshed us. We look forward to the event this weekend and a win is just what we are looking at in order to bag the National title for the third consecutive time.”

    Another Team Tata Motors entry of Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu is second in the Pro Stock championship.

    In the Pro Expert category, Team Tata Motors is fielding three teams. Here too, as in the Pro Stock category, the Team Tata Motors pair of SK Ajgar Ali and MK Mohammad Musthafa is leading the championship with 96 points. Needless to say, Ali and Musthafa are looking to win.

    The other two entries from the Indian automobile giant are Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan and M Chandrashekar-Srikanth Gowda and they too hope to do a good job in the Spirit of Kalinga III.

    The ceremonial flag-off was held on Saturday evening from the Kalinga Stadium. Thirty cars and 10 motorbikes have entered the event which will be mostly on tarmac.

    Ends

    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar gunning for hattrick of titles. A Tata Motors image
    Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar gunning for hattrick of titles. A Tata Motors image

  • Team MRF looking to make it six wins out of six rallies: APRC final leg

    Longyou (China) 7 Nov 2014: Team MRF will be hoping to complete the perfect season at this weekend’s China Rally Longyou, when they aim for their sixth win from six starts in the 2014 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). With Czech driver, Jan Kopecky, clinching the 2014 APRC driver’s crown at the previous round, he and team-mate, Gaurav Gill (India), will be going head-to-head for victory in the Team MRF Skoda Fabia S2000s. Team MRF’s title win is their fifth, and their third in a row, and the team will be celebrating their success after the China Rally.

    2013 APRC Champion and Indian Gill_NC1 (1)Rallying Ace Gaurav Gill is hoping to finish the season on a high and is cautious of the challenge that lies ahead this weekend. He said, “It is always very tough and difficult here in China because of different changes in the Stages. You know you can go from gravel to wet and rocky surfaces and then onto the really fast concrete roads. It can also be very unforgiving with long and winding roads. The season has not turned out as well as I had hoped but am still proud to be part of Team MRF and our unbelievable record this year. I will be going for the win here and am confident of fighting for the win.”                                                         

    Both drivers have been evenly matched this year, with Kopecky being a little more consistent on his first season in the APRC. His 2014 title comes after he won the 2013 European Rally Championship. Kopecky said, “It’s been a great experience competing together in all these different countries, and again China will be something new. Hopefully we can get a good result in China, because it would be the perfect way to finish this incredible season.”

    Team MRF’s first win in this hat-trick of titles came in 2012, when Australian Chris Atkinson took the crown, with current driver, Gaurav Gill, tasting success last season. Team MRF Technical Head Lane Heenan, said, “The victories have been hard fought and are a real credit to all the Race Torque guys who prepare the cars. The APRC provides some of the most challenging conditions in world rallying, from the fantastic roads in New Zealand, right through to the slippery tracks and unpredictable weather in Malaysia.Throughout the past three seasons the Skoda Fabia S2000 has been the car to beat, and has really proved itself in these conditions.”

    This weekend, Jan Kopecky and Pavel Dresler, and Gaurav Gill and Glenn Macneall, will face 13 closed road special stages over a mixture of gravel and concrete surfaces that will test them to the limit. In a total competitive distance of 231 kilometres, the event’s longest stage is the 25.64km Mu Chen test, which will be run as stage eight and 11.

    The China Rally is based in the city of Longyou, 400 kilometres south-west of Shanghai and 200km from Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province. Longyou has a long history. It’s 2236 years since its foundation, and on one side of the city, there are bamboo covered mountains, hills, plains and rivers; on the other side peaks, cliffs, caves, stones, pools and lakes.

    Team MRF’s main opposition will come from Australian Mark Pedder in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, and Japan’s Yuyu Sumiyama.

    eom/Adrenna Press Release

  • World champions again*! Winners in Spain! Ogier and Ingrassia defend WRC title with Volkswagen

    • Ogier, Ingrassia World Champs agains after winning WRC Spanish rally on 26 Oct 2014. A Volkswagen Motorsports image
      Ogier, Ingrassia World Champs agains after winning WRC Spanish rally on 26 Oct 2014. A Volkswagen Motorsports image

      World champions*: Ogier/Ingrassia out of reach after seventh victory of the season

    • Eleven victories in one season: another record for Volkswagen in the WRC
    • Ogier ahead of Latvala and Mikkelsen: three Volkswagen drivers in front at the end of the season*

    A big day for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. A big day for Volkswagen. With their victory at the Rally Spain, the old world champions have been crowned the new world champions*. After their seventh victory of the season, the 23rd of their career, the French duo cannot be caught in the overall standings of the FIA World Rally Championship. Not even by their team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), who with second place in Spain clinched the tenth one-two victory for Volkswagen in the WRC and staged a thrilling battle with their team-mates for the rally win. Going into the WRC finale at the Rally Great Britain, Ogier/Ingrassia have extended their lead over Latvala/Anttila to 31 points. Only 28 of those can be reduced in three weeks’ time. In the “mini final”, Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene also achieved an early result with seventh place in Spain – no one can push Andreas Mikkelsen out of third place in the drivers’ standings.

    The crowning glory: Ogier/Ingrassia new kings of the rally world

    World champions in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings for the second time in a row: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are only the fourth duo since 1977 to have successfully defended their title. This made the ninth time of popping champagne corks for Ogier and Ingrassia this season all the more special on the podium at the Rally Spain: Seven victories and two second places secured them the early title victory. In 2013 Ogier and Ingrassia won the titles in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings with Volkswagen. They are now the eighth duo to be added to the list of double world champions. Before them Walter Röhrl, Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, Carlos Sainz, Tommi Mäkinen, Marcus Grönholm and Sébastien Loeb achieved more than one world championship title.

    Icing on the cake: The battle of the season was the battle for the Rally Spain

    Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia’s team-mates didn’t exactly make it easy for them to defend the title before the end of the season. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila kept up the pressure until the finish line. It was clear going into the Rally Spain: If Ogier finished before Latvala, the title would be decided. If it was the other way around, the concluding Rally Great Britain would be the grand finale. An appropriately thrilling duel developed right up until the final day. While Latvala/Anttila lost 36.6 seconds on gravel on Friday, on the following two days on asphalt they reduced this to 11.3 seconds bit by bit.

    It’s all in the mix: Gravel and asphalt make for a unique challenge

    138.54 kilometres on gravel, 234.42 on asphalt – the Rally Spain is a real challenge for drivers, co-drivers and teams alike. Besides needing a good feel for the gravel, total precision on asphalt is required – without any time for the drivers to adjust. Also typically Spanish: On the gravel stages on Friday the clouds of dust stirred up hung around in the windless conditions between the hills and limited visibility. On Saturday the special stage “Escaladei” that was driven twice was a focal point of the Rally Spain. In unusually warm temperatures, the 50-kilometre longest stage pushed the asphalt tyres to their limits.

    Record for Volkswagen: eleven victories in one WRC season

    Twelfth rally, eleventh victory – with the success at the Rally Spain, Volkswagen secured another top spot in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) rankings. Eleven victories in one season equals Citroën’s previous two best results (2005 – eleven out of 16 rallies; 2008 – eleven out of 15 rallies). One rally before the end of the season and Volkswagen has already achieved the highest winning ratio in WRC history. At least eleven out of a possible 13 victories means a rate of 84.61 percent – a solitary top score.

    XXL team performance: the mechanics’ rally

    The mechanics’ performance at the Rally Spain was also record-breaking. On Friday evening they modified the Polo R WRCs from a gravel to asphalt set-up in less than 75 minutes. Exactly how much effort is required, a task usually completed in an hour, is illustrated by the number of individual components that were swapped. The mechanics swapped a total of 13 components that are made up of 1348 parts on each car – making a total of 4044 on all three Polo R WRC. The Rally Spain is the only rally on the WRC calendar that is held on both gravel and asphalt, and the service on Friday evening is the longest that is scheduled for the season.

    Statistics update – the Rally Spain facts

    14 of 17 special stages won, 20 additional top 3 times achieved – Volkswagen added more successes to their statistics at the Rally Spain. The number of special stage victories now stands at 327 out of a possible 463. With regard to top 3 times, the number increased to 751 out of a possible 1313 since first competing with the Polo R WRC at the Rally Monte Carlo in 2013. For Volkswagen it was the 21st rally victory in 25 WRC appearances and the 39th and 40th podium spots.

    The Volkswagen drivers’ favourite discipline: the power stage

    Bonus points are particularly appealing to the Volkswagen drivers. Bonus points, which are awarded to the top three for the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings, have gone to drivers of a Polo R WRC 43 times on 24 power stages. At the Rally Spain, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila bagged the three points for the best time, one went to Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene.

    Quotes from the day 03 at the Rally Spain

    Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
    “It’s a fantastic feeling to become world champion for a second time! I’m over the moon, it was a real battle to defend the title. In particular, my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala showed an incredibly strong performance in the last few months. Now Julien and I have a great sense of happiness and relief. Big thanks to our fantastic team at Volkswagen. Not just for giving us a fantastic car throughout the season. But also for the unique solidarity that we have. It doesn’t matter whether things are going well or badly – the team stands by every driver crew and that is extremely motivating. I’m happy and proud to be part of this team. Today we will have a big world championship party, that much is clear!”

    Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
    “Congrats to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, they showed a strong performance here in Spain and deserve to be world champions. My co-driver Miikka and I tried to keep the fight for the title open for as long as possible. Unfortunately we lost too much time on gravel on Friday for us to be able to make up the deficit on asphalt. I was very happy with our performance on asphalt, but we still have some work to do on loose gravel. We’ll deal with that when we are next testing, but first the whole Volkswagen team will party hard this evening.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
    “First I’d like to congratulate my team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia on winning the title. They prevailed despite Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila not making it easy for them. Hats off to them for that performance too. With regard to my own rally, I intended to do more than finish seventh. However, I’m happy with the result. A flat tyre on Saturday cost me more than two minutes on Saturday. If that hadn’t happened I might have made it onto the podium. It was unlucky. Then all that was left was for me to fight Thierry Neuville for sixth place. In the end we lost that battle because we were too late starting the final stage and received a ten second time penalty. But at least we got a point in the power stage – for Ola, who is still fighting for third place in the co-drivers’ standings.”

    Jost Capito, director of Volkswagen Motorsport
    “A worthy winner of a fantastic battle throughout the season. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are deserved old and new World Rally Champions*. They withstood the pressure from Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila perfectly, managed their advantage cleverly, and emerged victorious from this battle. That deserves the utmost respect. All three drivers showed an outstanding performance, unfortunately Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene were a bit unlucky on Saturday and lost more than two minutes through no fault of their own. With eleven victories in one season, Volkswagen has set a new record. That’s thanks to the whole team, on site, in Hannover and in Wolfsburg. All in all a great day for Séb, Julien and Volkswagen.”

    Title winning facts

    Age of the three youngest double world champions in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)

    • Juha Kankkunen (1986, 1987):
      second title win aged 28 years, seven months and 26 days
    • Carlos Sainz (1990, 1992):
      second title win aged 30 years, seven months and 17 days
    • Sébastien Ogier (2013, 2014):
      second title win* aged 30 years, ten months and ten days

    Successfully defended titles in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)

    • Juha Kankkunen (1986, 1987)
    • Tommi Mäkinen (1996, 1997)
    • Sébastien Loeb (2004–2012)
    • Sébastien Ogier (2013, 2014)

    All double world champions in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)

    • Walter Röhrl (1980, 1982)
    • Juha Kankkunen (1986, 1987, 1991, 1993)
    • Miki Biasion (1988, 1989)
    • Carlos Sainz (1990, 1992)
    • Tommi Mäkinen (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
    • Marcus Grönholm (2000, 2002)
    • Sébastien Loeb (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
    • Sébastien Ogier (2013, 2014)

    And then there were …

    … the most beautiful dents imaginable for chassis 21. In Spain this particular Polo R WRC was used for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia for the sixth time this season. One of its highlights: the Rally Australia. The World Rally Car had a lot to put up with there – seven team members celebrating on its roof after Volkswagen secured the manufacturers’ title* in the WRC. Although the roof was fixed properly afterwards, you can still just about see the dents. Talking about today: New dents were added thanks to Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia’s second title.

    And then there were also …

    … 150 employees from the Volkswagen plant in Pamplona/Spain. The body in white for the Polo R WRC, on which the World Rally Cars are based, is made in Pamplona. Invited by Volkswagen Spain, the employees attended the twelfth race of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season in their home country and saw their three Polo R WRCs in action.

    * Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Spain – Final Results
    1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 3h 46m 44.6s
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen + 11.3s
    3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Ford + 1m 42.2s
    4. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Citroën + 2m 13.3s
    5. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (E/E), Hyundai + 2m 22.2s
    6. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai + 4m 01.0s
    7. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N), Volkswagen + 4m 02.9s
    8. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek (CZ/CZ), Ford + 8m 06.8s
    9. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai + 9m 12.4s
    10. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini (Q/I), Ford + 12m 39.8s
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Spain – Power Stage Results
    1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen 10m 00.1s
    2. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 1.7s
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N), Volkswagen + 1.9s
    FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Overall Standings
    Drivers’ Championship
    points
    1. Sébastien Ogier 242
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala 211
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen 150
    4. Mikko Hirvonen 108
    5. Mads Østberg 92
    6. Thierry Neuville 91
    7. Kris Meeke 84
    8. Elfyn Evans 71
    9. Martin Prokop 42
    10. Dani Sordo 40
    11. Henning Solberg 26
    12. Bryan Bouffier 20
    13. Juho Hänninen 20
    14. Hayden Paddon 18
    15. Robert Kubica 14
    16. Ott Tänak 11
    17. Benito Guerra 8
    18. Chris Atkinson 7
    19. Pontus Tidemand 6
    20. Dennis Kuipers 4
    21. Jaroslav Melichárek 4
    22. Nasser Al-Attiyah 4
    23. Lorenzo Bertelli 2
    24. Matteo Gamba 2
    25. Craig Breen 2
    26. Yuriy Protasov 2
    27. Jari Ketomaa 1
    28. Karl Kruuda 1
    29. Khalid Al-Qassimi 1
    Manufacturers’ Championship
    points
    1. Volkswagen Motorsport 416
    2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 187
    3. M-Sport 180
    4. Hyundai Motorsport 175
    5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 133
    6. Jipocar Czech National Team 45
    7. Hyundai Motorsport N 26
    8. RK M-Sport WRT 25

  • Volkswagen’s Ogier leads Spanish Rally: WRC

    Sébastien Ogier heads the leaderboard of Rally

    Sebastian Ogier of Volkswagen leads in the Spanish Rally, a leg of the WRC. A Volkswagen image
    Sebastian Ogier of Volkswagen leads in the Spanish Rally, a leg of the WRC. A Volkswagen image

    RACC Rally de España, the road sweeping effect at the front of the field proving to be less disadvantageous than hanging dust and poor visibility for his rivals in the opening day of gravel competition. Championship rival Jari-Matti Latvala has managed to climb to second, but crucially for Ogier his team-mate is nearly 40 seconds adrift and unless the Finn can claim more points in Spain than Ogier, the title fight will be over. A close third position is held by Citroën DS3 driver Mads Østberg.

    The 50th edition of RallyRACC Rally de España got underway last night with a spectacular 3.20 kilometre street stage in the heart of Barcelona where Andreas Mikkelsen set the pace in front of a crowd of over 20,000. Rally de España is the only dual surface event on the calendar and today crews were faced with 138.54 competitive kilometres over predominantly gravel stages. While Championship leader Ogier would normally have been hampered opening the road, the Frenchman was able to power ahead while his rivals faced clouds of hanging dust in the still weather conditions. As such, he took the lead by the mid-day service after setting fastest time in the fourth stage. This afternoon conditions were much less tricky and the Frenchman ended the day with a handy 36.6 second advantage as the crews head into a weekend of asphalt stages. Latvala has had a difficult day, the Finn clueless as to his lack of pace on gravel. He has managed to climb from seventh to second, but the gap to Ogier is seemingly enough to ensure the Frenchman clinches back-to-back world titles in Spain. Østberg is only sixth-tenths of a second further adrift, the Norwegian having a great day in the DS3 WRC despite a spin in SS4 and then a loss of time in the final stage when he was caught in the dust of Thierry Neuville. But for that, and also getting stuck in Kris Meeke’s dust this morning, he would probably have been second overnight.
    Battles throughout the top of the leaderboard and tight competition see Andreas Mikkelsen and Mikko Hirvonen also fighting for third. Mikkelsen has had an uneventful day and is just one-tenth of a second behind Østberg, while Hirvonen – who wasn’t comfortable with the set-up this morning – is only 4.1 seconds further behind. Robert Kubica holds sixth and local hero Dani Sordo is in a disappointing seventh, nearly 90 seconds off the lead. The Spaniard also had to make changes to the car at the mid-day service and ran better this afternoon but then dropped more time starting the penultimate stage late. Martin Prokop is eighth and Thierry Neuville went from hero to zero in the final stage when he got distracted by dust in the car, hit something and had to stop to change a puncture. He dropped from second to ninth after losing nearly two and a half minutes. Team-mate Hayden Paddon won stage three but had two punctures in the following stage, a spin and then another puncture in the final stage of the day. He is 14th overnight. The two leading retirements of the day were Kris Meeke and Elfyn Evans. The Ulsterman won the first stage of the day but then two punctures in the following stage and only one spare meant he was forced into retirement. Evans was ultimately forced out when he went off the road and damaged the radiator.
    RallyRACC Rally de España – Unofficial Results after Section 4
    1.   Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC 1hr 29min 04.0sec
    2.   Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC 1hr 29min 40.6sec
    3.   Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson Citroën DS3 WRC 1hr 29min 41.2sec
    4.   Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene Volkswagen Polo R WRC 1hr 29min 41.3sec
    5.   Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Fiesta RS WRC 1hr 29min 45.4sec
    6.   Robert Kubica/Maciej Szczepaniak Ford Fiesta RS WRC 1hr 30min 01.0sec
    7.   Dani Sordo/Marc Marti Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 30min 28.9sec
    8.   Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek Ford Fiesta RS WRC 1hr 31min 22.2sec
    9.  Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 31min 33.5sec
    10. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini Ford Fiesta RRC 1hr 33min 54.4sec

     

  • Latvala eyeing his first asphalt victory: Rallye de France 2nd Day

    Latvala, Mikkelsen and Meeke continue to battle for Rallye de France Alsace honours

    Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jari-Matti Latvala has consolidated his advantage during the second day of Rallye de France Alsace and the Finn now has 28 seconds in hand with just 63.38 competitive kilometres to run on Sunday. Fellow Polo R WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen has maintained second and while Kris Meeke continues to hold third, the Ulsterman has slipped further back, determined not to risk his position in an all-out fight.

    The second day took the crews south of Strasbourg for two loops of three stages separated by a remote service in Colmar, before heading down to Mulhouse for a short super special stage of just 4.86 kilometres. Latvala has been supreme during the event and dominated the morning, winning each of the first three stages to increase his lead. He won one of the repeated stages this afternoon, losing out to team-mate Sébastien Ogier on the other two, but has such a command of the leaderboard that he remains unchallenged by his rivals. He rounded the day off with a win on the super special stage too. Both Mikkelsen and Meeke have similarly run without problems and Meeke is determined to focus on his own rally and not get drawn into a fight that could push him into errors. He has however pulled clear of the chasing pack during the day.
    The battle for fourth has been intense; Dani Sordo, Mads Østberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Robert Kubica have all been fighting for the position and while Sordo held the advantage over the stages, the Spaniard has come under increasing threat from Kubica who has climbed from seventh to fifth and was just three-tenths of a second adrift of Sordo before the closing super special stage. At the end of the day, the rivals are split by only nine-tenths of a second. Hirvonen has maintained sixth, but also increased his advantage over Østberg when the Norwegian picked up a penalty for starting the penultimate stage late while he tried to repair a leak in the rear differential. Elfyn Evans has climbed from 10th to eighth and Bryan Bouffier is ninth despite a couple of half spins. Thierry Neuville rounds off the top 10, the Belgian not comfortable with the car set-up.
    Rallye de France Alsace – Unofficial Results after Section 6
    1.   Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2hr 06min 40.4sec
    2.   Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2hr 07min 08.4sec
    3.   Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle Citroën DS3 WRC 2hr 07min 34.1sec
    4.   Dani Sordo/Marc Marti Hyundai i20 WRC 2hr 08min 22.1sec
    5.   Robert Kubica/Maciej Szczepaniak Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2hr 08min 23.0sec
    6.   Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2hr 08min 35.0sec
    7.   Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson Citroën DS3 WRC 2hr 09min 45.0sec
    8.   Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2hr 09min 57.2sec
    9.   Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri Hyundai i20 WRC 2hr 10min 27.4sec
    10. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 WRC 2hr 10min 44.1sec

    eom

  • MRF Tyres’ Jan Kopecky wins APRC title with a round to spare; Gill misses out after Rally Hokkaido accident

    Hokkaido, 28 Sept 2014: Team MRF Tyres driver Jan Kopecky from the Czech Republic won the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title after a convincing win in the Rally Hokkaido. 2013 European Rally Champion Kopecky takes an unassailable 50 point lead with only one round remaining. His main rival and Indian Rallying ace Gaurav Gill crashed out of the lead of the rally and his team was unable to get the car ready in time for the final day.

    Rally Hokkaido in northern Japan is traditionally one of the fastest rallies in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship where the faster cars often reach 240kph on the narrow tree lined roads, but also an event that can get very rough as the surface breaks up into deep ruts. 

    While Kopecky won the event easily by 42 seconds from his nearest rival, he controlled his speed and saved the car over the rough sections. Kopecky commented, “The car was great, the team was great and I would like to thank everyone from Team MRF Skoda to making this possible. They did an amazing job these past five rallies and hopefully we can do it again iMRF's Kopecky wins APRC title at Hokkaido 28Sep2014 MRF-Adrenna picn China”.

    Kopecky was also quick to thank his co-driver Pavel Dresler also from the Czech Republic. He said,“ I was trying my best and big thanks to my co-driver, he’s a part of the game and 50% of the result. Without him I would be lost somewhere in the forest and am happy that we didn’t make too many mistakes in the last 5 rallies. It’s been a great experience competing together in all these different countries”.

    With a total of 154 points accumulated over the past five events Kopecky wins the 2014 Asia Pacific Rally Championship Drivers title as he cannot be beaten, even with one round to go in China. India’s Gaurav Gill is currently second on 104 points but with only 39 points available to win in the one remaining round, it’s now impossible for Gill to retain the title he won in 2013. 

    Sanjay Takale from India finished 10th overall and won the Production Cup in Hokkaido, driving a Cusco prepared Subaru Impreza. “This was our goal to come here and win a round of the Production Cup as this will my last APRC event of the year. We’ll be back next year though, preparation for that begins now” said Takale at the finish.

    The next event in the 2014 Asia Pacific Rally Championship and the MRF Tyres Skoda team is the China Rally 4-7 November.

    Overall Classification:

    STAGE CLASSIFICATION

    OVERALL CLASSIFICATION

    Pos

    No

    Cls
    Pos

    Driver
    Vehicle

    Time

    Diff Ldr
    (Prev)

    Pos

    No

    Cls
    Pos

    Driver
    Vehicle

    Time

    Diff Ldr
    (Prev)

    1

    1
    AP/T

    RC2
    1

    		 J.KOPECKY
    SKODA

    39.8

    *.*
    (*.*)

    1

    1
    AP/T

    RC2
    1

    		 J.KOPECKY
    SKODA

    2:12:29.5

    *.*
    (*.*)

    2

    11

    RC2
    2

    		 Toshi.ARAI
    SUBARU

    41.5

    +1.7
    (+1.7)

    2

    11

    RC2
    2

    		 Toshi.ARAI
    SUBARU

    2:13:11.8

    +42.3
    (+42.3)

    3

    3
    A/T

    RC2
    3

    		 Y.SUMIYAMA
    SUBARU

    42.3

    +2.5
    (+0.8)

    3

    5
    T

    RC2
    3

    		 H.YANAGISAWA
    SUBARU

    2:16:09.2

    +3:39.7
    (+2:57.4)

    4

    4
    AP/A

    RC2
    4

    		 J.XU
    SKODA

    42.6

    +2.8
    (+0.3)

    4

    3
    A/T

    RC2
    4

    		 Y.SUMIYAMA
    SUBARU

    2:17:17.4

    +4:47.9
    (+1:08.2)

    5

    15

    RC2
    5

    		 T.NIIHORI
    SUBARU

    42.7

    +2.9
    (+0.1)

    5

    15

    RC2
    5

    		 T.NIIHORI
    SUBARU

    2:22:10.1

    +9:40.6
    (+4:52.7)

    6

    5
    T

    RC2
    6

    		 H.YANAGISAWA
    SUBARU

    42.9

    +3.1
    (+0.2)

    6

    14

    RC2
    6

    		 F.TAKAHASHI
    SUBARU

    2:25:49.1

    +13:19.6
    (+3:39.0)

    7

    13

    RC2
    7

    		 H.ISHIZAKI
    SUBARU

    44.1

    +4.3
    (+1.2)

    7

    20

    RC2
    7

    		 T.YOSHII
    MITSUBISHI

    2:26:21.9

    +13:52.4
    (+32.8)

    8

    23

    RC2
    8

    		 K.KOIDE
    MITSUBISHI

    44.5

    +4.7
    (+0.4)

    8

    16

    RC2
    8

    		 T.OHASHI
    SUBARU

    2:26:31.6

    +14:02.1
    (+9.7)

    9

    20

    RC2
    9

    		 T.YOSHII
    MITSUBISHI

    45.0

    +5.2
    (+0.5)

    9

    4
    AP/A

    RC2
    9

    		 J.XU
    SKODA

    2:27:11.6

    +14:42.1
    (+40.0)

    10

    18

    RC2
    10

    		 T.NASU
    MITSUBISHI

    45.2

    +5.4
    (+0.2)

    10

    6
    AP/A/T

    RC2
    10

    		 S.TAKALE
    SUBARU

    2:31:58.3

    +19:28.8
    (+4:46.7)

     

  • Heartbreak for Gaurav Gill; Chances of retaining APRC crown bleak

    Hokkaido (Japan), 27 Sept 2014: Indian rallying Ace and Team MRF Tyres driver Gaurav Gill put in a blistering performance at the Rally Hokkaido before an accident caused extensive damage to his car in the penultimate round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Any chance of retaining the Asia Pacific Rally Championship that Gill won in 2013 now appears to be remote, although the Team MRF Tyres are working to get the car repaired in time to restart tomorrow. With Gill’s retirement, MRF Tyres driver and teammate Kopecky took over the lead of APRC Rally Hokkaido, 25 seconds ahead of Japan’s Toshi Arai.

    After seven stages and 70 kilometers of flat out competition, MRF Skoda driver Gaurav Gill from India led the 2014 APRC Rally of Hokkaido. Through the first morning of competition Gill has built a steady lead on MRF team-mate Jan Kopecky, arriving at the first break confident he had the right strategy. Unfortunately for Gill  on stage 8 Yam Wakka, a high speed crash ended his rally. Gill commented “I was a little surprised this morning that Jan was faster than me on the first stage, but after that I dug in and put in some good (stages) times to take the lead. We’re not pushing, looking after the car is really important here. It’s a shame what happened as the car felt really good this weekend.” 

    Kopecky, who started the Rally with an 8 point lead is looking to finish the race tomorrow after seeing his main competitor go out. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Gaurav, we were having a good battle but these roads are very unforgiving. Our plan today was to keep the same safe pace especially through the long stages. Tomorrow the stages are very tricky, very difficult and are different from today, so hopefully we can keep our position and bring the car back to the finish. We must finish tomorrow as this will win for the MRF team, the APRC Manufacturer’s award”.

    eom/Adrenna Communications

  • Ogier wins Aussie leg: Volkswagen sweeps podium to clinch Manufacturers’ title

    3..2..1, World Champion*! Volkswagen wrapped up the title in the Manufacturers’ Championship of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a one-two-three at the Rally Australia. With three rallies still remaining this season, the best result in the history of the team means Volkswagen can no longer be caught at the top of the overall standings. Winners in Australia, Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, who finished runner-up down under, successfully defended the title in record time. This is the earliest in a season that a World Championship title has been won for 25 years. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) finished third in the final Polo R WRC to round off a perfect team result. The three Volkswagen crews also top the standings in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship. Ogier/Ingrassia and Latvala/Anttila will battle it out between themselves at the remaining three rallies to see who is crowned World Champion at the end of the season.
    The Sign of Three: Polo R WRC claims its first one-two-three down under

    All good things come in threes – especially when it comes to popping champagne corks: Volkswagen’s one-two-three at the Rally Australia was the first in the team’s history in the World Rally Championship. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia claimed the 19th victory for the Polo R WRC in only its 23rd outing. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila added podium number 35 to the 315-hp World Rally Car from Wolfsburg’s impressive record since making its debut at the 2013 Rally Monte Carlo. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene secured podium number 36, for good measure.

    The route to the historic success was anything but a stroll in the park: the Rally Australia put both man and machine to the test with its very technical, winding rollercoaster sections through the forests of New South Wales on the one hand, and high-speed passages over open land on the other. Constantly varying gravel surfaces – from rough, coarse grit to smooth, clayey, loamy ground – and the relentless switching between light and shadow made life difficult for the drivers and co-drivers. Over the course of the 20 special stages, the World Rally Cars completed 302.26 kilometres against the clock. The longest and most distinctive stage was “Nambucca”, which took the crews on a marathon 48.92-kilometre route through forests with steep uphill sections, across farmland and over small wooden bridges.

    The Sign of Three: Successful title defence in record time
    World Champion* after just three quarters of the season – only once in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has a manufacturer wrapped up the Manufacturers’ Championship sooner than Volkswagen in 2014. With nine of ten possible victories to its name – six of them one-twos – Volkswagen has already successfully defended its title. Ogier and Latvala also spearheaded the team that took the Manufacturers’ title to Wolfsburg in 2013 – with the biggest winning margin in the history of the WRC (145 points). Volkswagen goes into the remaining three rallies of the season – in France, Spain and Great Britain – with a lead of 194 points.

    And then there were two: All-Volkswagen duel in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship
    Even before the Rally Australia it was already certain that the battle for the title in the WRC Drivers’ Championship would be played out between the three Volkswagen drivers – Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen. After the result down under, the three-way battle has now been whittled down to a duel. Although Andreas Mikkelsen was able to significantly increase his advantage over fourth place, he can no longer have a say in the destination of the Drivers’ title. And so it is that the duel that has dominated the season will also determine who wins the World Championship: Sébastien Ogier vs. Jari-Matti Latvala. This duel has already produced three of the top ten closest finishes in the World Rally Championship. Ogier defeated Latvala by just 0.2 seconds in Jordan in 2011, while Latvala finished a mere 2.4 seconds ahead of Ogier in New Zealand in 2010. The closest finish since the two drivers have been in Volkswagen colours came at this year’s Rally Finland, when Latvala came home just 3.6 seconds ahead of Ogier to win his home event. In Australia, 6.8 seconds was all that separated the champion and his challenger.

    Bonus points for the leading two on the Power Stage: Latvala ahead of Ogier
    Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila won the Power Stage, on which bonus points are up for grabs for the first three crews, to pick up an extra three points towards the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship. Second place, and with it two World Championship points, went to their Volkswagen team-mates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia. Over the last two years in the World Championship, Volkswagen duos have won 16 of 22 Power Stages, bagging extra points on 39 occasions in total.

    Facts and figures from the Rally Australia
    20 special stages, 17 stage wins – Volkswagen enhanced the already impressive record of the Polo R WRC at the Rally Australia. Since the World Rally Car made its first competitive outing at the 2013 Rally Monte Carlo, the four-wheel drive powerhouse has won a remarkable 297 of 428 stages. It has also ended special stages in the top three on 679 occasions. The Rally Australia’s 20 special stages yielded a further 42 top-three results for the Volkswagen drivers.

    Quotes after day three of the Rally Australia
    Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
    “Absolutely fantastic. I am made up for our team! They really deserve this success so much. It is hard to put this feeling into words. The fact that we have wrapped up the World Championship title with the first ever all-Volkswagen podium is an incredible success. We can really be proud of ourselves today, here at the other end of the world. Julien and I tried to control our slender advantage over my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala right through to the finish – and it worked out. I think we put on an exciting duel at the top for the fans. It is awesome that Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene rounded off this triumph for the team. A win would be enough for me to secure the Drivers’ title now. It would be magnificent to pull it off in France.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
    “A fantastic success. I am delighted for the entire team. The Manufacturers’ title is a great recognition of the fact that everyone at Volkswagen has been utterly committed to being successful, and also shows that the Polo is the best rally car around. We also produced some first-class racing again – Miikka and I tried to put Sébastien and Julien under pressure right up until the finish, but they were unbeatable. Congratulations on a deserved win. I am very happy with my own performance. Unfortunately we lost crucial seconds with the wrong tyre selection, which probably cost us the win. In any case, it is phenomenal to stand here on the podium with all three Polos. There can be no better way to win a World Championship title.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
    “What an incredible result for the entire team. World Champions, and with the team’s very first one-two-three to boot. I am delighted for all the mechanics, engineers and helpers who have made this possible, here in Australia and throughout the entire season. We had a huge lead over fourth place going into the final six special stages, but we could not do much in the way of catching the two cars ahead of us. Caught in no man’s land, our priority was to control our pace so that we did not make any mistakes and brought the result home. My goal ahead of the rally was to defend my advantage over fourth place in the World Championship. We have actually managed to increase it. I am absolutely delighted with my fourth podium of the year. Today is just a fantastic day.”

    Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
    “What a way to put the icing on the cake at the end of such an impressive season! Winning the Manufacturers’ title with a one-two-three – it doesn’t get any better. Last year we surpassed all expectations, particularly our own. Even then, everyone in the team consistently pushed themselves to their limits to win the World Championship. It is always more difficult to successfully defend the World Championship title than it is to win it in the first place. What the team has achieved this season, and the extent to which it has improved, demands my utmost respect. A chain is only ever as strong as its weakest link, as they say. With us, every link is as strong as the next. I would like to thank my colleagues. Volkswagen is proud of them. And this title is for everyone at Volkswagen around the world, whose support has been magnificent.”

    * Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.

    And then there was …
    … the perfect parking place. To welcome the new champions, the Volkswagen mechanics unrolled brand-new service awnings for the three Polo R WRCs. At the closing service, ahead of the podium ceremony, the three World Rally Cars from Wolfsburg were parked in their own places as usual, where the sign above them read: “Champions Parking Only”.

    Volkswagen team poses after clinching the Constructors' Championship title in Australia on Sunday. A VW image
    Volkswagen team poses after clinching the Constructors’ Championship title in Australia on Sunday. A VW image
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Australia – Final Results
    1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 2h 53m 18.0s
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen + 6.8s
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N), Volkswagen + 1m 18.0s
    4. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 1m 44.0s
    5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Ford + 1m 53.6s
    6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai + 2m 56.2s
    7. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai + 4m 28.2s
    8. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (GB/GB), Ford + 5m 10.0s
    9. Robert Kubica/Maciej Szczepaniak (PL/PL), Ford + 6m 39.8s
    10. Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot (AUS/B), Hyundai + 9m 29.4s
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Australia – Power Stage Results
    1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen 5m 20.7s
    2. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen + 1.2s
    3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 3.8s
    FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Overall Standings
    Drivers’ Championship
    points
    1. Sébastien Ogier 214
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala 164
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen 125
    4. Mikko Hirvonen 83
    5. Thierry Neuville 79
    6. Mads Østberg 74
    7. Kris Meeke 67
    8. Elfyn Evans 61
    9. Martin Prokop 37
    10. Henning Solberg 26
    11. Juho Hänninen 20
    12. Bryan Bouffier 18
    13. Dani Sordo 18
    14. Hayden Paddon 16
    15. Robert Kubica 14
    16. Ott Tänak 11
    17. Benito Guerra 8
    18. Chris Atkinson 7
    19. Pontus Tidemand 6
    20. Jaroslav Melichárek 4
    21. Dennis Kuipers 4
    22. Nasser Al-Attiyah 3
    23. Lorenzo Bertelli 2
    24. Matteo Gamba 2
    25. Craig Breen 2
    26. Yuriy Protasov 2
    27. Jari Ketomaa 1
    28. Karl Kruuda 1
    29. Khalid Al-Qassimi 1
    30. Julien Maurin 0
    Manufacturers’ Championship
    points
    1. Volkswagen Motorsport 348
    2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 154
    3. M-Sport 146
    4. Hyundai Motorsport 141
    5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 109
    6. Jipocar Czech National Team 40
    7. RK M-Sport WRT 25
    8. Hyundai Motorsport N 22