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Category: WRC, Rally
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An island adventure for Team MRF Tyres in the ERC
San Miguel (Portugal), 16 Sept. 2021: Team MRF Tyres returns to the FIA European Rally Championship as the second half of the season gets underway with the Azores Rallye held in the Portuguese island of San Miguel.
WRC ace and multiple winner, Dani Sordo joins the team as the aggressive development push continues.
Cándido Carrera will sit beside Sordo in the MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 for the first of the Portuguese rounds that takes place on the Azores archipelago, some two hours flying time off the Portuguese mainland.
The Azores Rallye sees the Championship return to gravel, and with the volcanic nature of the island, the surface will present a unique challenge to the crews.
With 13 stages and 201km of competitive action, the crews will face a series of long stages. To complicate matters, the weather on the Azores is notoriously fickle, where rain and fog can come and go at a moment’s notice.
The rally commences on Thursday with free practice and qualifying with a blast around the 3.12km Lagoa test, which will help determine the starting order for the Friday stages.
Friday takes the crews into the forest on the east of the island where the crews will face six stages and 111.90km of competitive action.
The drivers will have to concentrate from the first kilometres as a 24.03 km Graminhais test starts the rally. Immediately, the 21.89km Tronqueira 1 stage follows before the 15.96km Lagoa de São Brás completes the leg.
The first two stages are repeated in the afternoon loop but the final stage of the day is a run around the spectator super special stage of Grupo Marques.
Saturday is the final day of the 55th Azores Rallye and sees seven stages and 88.84km of competitive action. The day starts to the north of the Ponta Delgada service park with the 11.40km Coroa da Mata stage.
Feteiras follows at 7.46km before the legendary 24.01km Sete Cidades stage takes the crews around the edge of the volcano on the east of the island. A second run around the spectator super special stage ends the loop.
The final three stages are a repeat of the morning’s three stages, meaning that the rally will end on the spectacular Sete Cidades stage. Ending the rally on a 24.01km stage means that concentration is needed to the final metres.
Team MRF Tyres along with Sordo and Carrera will be looking for important data on this unique surface.
Fans on the Azores can spectate in a Covid-19 safe manor and those at home can follow each stage live on FIA ERC radio (www.fiaerc.com/live-radio).The pre-event press conference will be live-streamed on Thursday. Stages two and five will be streamed on Friday and stages nine and 13 will be streamed on Saturday. The FIA ERC will host their live streams on Facebook and YouTube.
You can follow Team MRF Tyres throughout the rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Dani Sordo, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5“It is the first time that I am in the Azores and the first time I am with MRF Tyres. I have to say it looks amazing. I was happy with the conditions in testing and the MRF Tyres worked well.”
“I am happy to be here to help develop the tyres. They have a lot of potential and running here this weekend will gain a lot of data for the development.”
“Primarily we are here to develop the tyre but we also want to fight for a good result. I am looking forward to starting the rally.”
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Double delight for Team MRF Tyres: Italian Gravel Rally
Chennai, 12 Sept 2021: Team MRF Tyres secured second and third places on the podium as MRF Tyres also won the Female Championship in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT).
Team MRF Tyres continued its podium winning form in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT) and the Rally dei Nuraghi e del Vermentino. The fifth round of the CIRT saw seven stages and 68.08km of competitive action with Paolo Andreucci/Rudy Briani in their Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, Simone Campedelli/Gianfrancesco Rappa in their VW Polo GTi R5 and Tamara Molinaro/Piercarlo Capolongo in their Citroën C3 Rally2 propelling Team MRF Tyres to podium finishes.
Going into the rally, the team was in a strong position after winning the previous round and had high expectations of a good result and gathering important tyre data.
The rally started well for Team MRF Tyres with the first two stages, Telti being run twice on Friday night. Campedelli/Rappa had won SS2, while Andreucci/Briani were equal leaders of the rally at the end of the day. Saturday had the bulk of the competitive action and the fight was intense.
Podium for Andreucci Paolo, left, and Briani Rudi, of Team MRF Tyres. Photo: INDIAinF1.com Andreucci/Briani pushed hard, winning SS4 Oschiri 1 and SS7 Monte Olia 3. Throughout the rally, they were inside the top three on every stage, ensuring they were in the mix. Campedelli/Rappa were also putting in a strong performance winning SS3 Monte Olia 1 and finishing second on the rest of the day’s stages.
These performances ensured that the gaps at the top of the timesheets were tight. Going into the final stage, the top three were separated by less than 10 seconds with Team MRF Tyres drivers fighting hard with Umberto Scandola/Danilo Fappani.
By the end of SS7, the final stage of the rally, Team MRF Tyres drivers fought to within 3.5 seconds of the win, with the top three being separated by incredibly small margins.
A technical problem for Campedelli/Rappa after the final stage saw them check-in to a time control late, taking a 20-second penalty in the process. However, the podium success for Team MRF Tyres could not be denied with Andreucci/Briani taking second and Campedelli/Rappa finishing third.
Paolo Andreucci, Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, “It was a great rally and I am happy to be able to take a podium position with Team MRF Tyres. The car worked well throughout the rally and we were always at the front. “We were able to take another podium position and get more data for the tyres. Thanks to the team for the weekend and I am looking forward to the final round of the season.”
Meanwhile, Molinaro/Capolongo ran a strong rally in their Citroën, maintaining their 100 percent winning form in the Female category. The result allowed the pair to take home the Female Championship, one round before the end of the season. Bringing the car home on every stage with consistent pace, they were able to finish inside the top 10 in the CIRT and, in addition, took fourth position in the Under 25 category. Tamara Molinaro, Driver, Citroën C3 Rally2, said “We had some technical issues during the rally so we lost time with that. It was a challenging rally but we gained a lot of experience and won the Female Championship with one rally to spare so that is fantastic. A big thanks must go to MRF Tyres this year as well! The tyres worked well through the rally and allowed us to get this result.”
One round remains in the CIRT with the 12th Liburna Terra Rally taking place on 5-6 November. Team MRF Tyres will be in action again this week with the fifth round of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship as Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera join Team MRF Tyres to drive the Hyundai i20 R5 in the Azores Rallye.
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WRC star Dani Sordo teams up with MRF Tyres
Sao Miguel (Portugal), 7 Sept 2021: Team MRF Tyres will continue the aggressive development push at next round of the FIA European Rally Championship at the Azores Rallye that takes place on the Portuguese archipelago.
For the Azores Rallye, Spanish ace and multiple World Rally Championship winner, Dani Sordo joins the team to drive the MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5.
Sordo is the third driver to compete in the Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i29 R5 in 2021 after Craig Breen started the year, taking a podium in Rally Liepaja, and Jari Huttunen competed in the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
The development program now has a rotational roster of drivers, with the cooperation of Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing.
After two rallies in a row on tarmac, the FIA European Rally Championships starts the second half of the season on gravel with the 55th Azores Rallye.
Sordo and Team MRF Tyres will compete over 13 stages and 201.94km of competitive action.
For many rally fans, Sordo needs no introduction. A WRC veteran with 174 starts to his name, he has taken three overall wins, two with the Hyundai World Rally Team. Additionally, he has won the Junior World Rally Championship and the Spanish Rally Championship in 2005.
He has made just one appearance in the European Rally Championship. In 2018 he started the Barum Czech Rally Zlin a Hyundai i20 R5, taking third place.
His mission for MRF Tyres will follow the strategy that the team has been following for the past two seasons – that is data gathering and tyre development for the next generation of MRF rally tyres.
MRF Tyres is taking advantage of its unique position to access multiple drivers from the Hyundai stable to help provide additional experiences to its development program.
In addition, MRF Tyres have engaged the services of Paolo Andreucci, Simone Campedelli, Tamara Molinaro and Emil Lindholm in testing and competition to help gather data for the development of the tyres.
Round five of the FIA European Rally Championship, the Azores Rallye will take place from 16-18 September and you can follow the progress of Team MRF Tyres on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.Quotes
Dani Sordo, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“I am really excited to do the Azores Rallye with Team MRF Tyres and the Hyundai i20 R5. The Azores Rallye is an amazing rally to drive. I will give a lot of information for the tyres. We will use this rally as a test for the development of MRF Tyres.”“We will be there to get more information, to get a good result and to work with the MRF Tyres.”
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Czech dream ends early for Team MRF Tyres: ERC
Zlin (Czech Republic), 29 August 2021: Team MRF Tyres’ visit to the FIA European Rally Championship’s Barum Czech Rally Zlin ended early after showing good pace.
The rally got to a good start for Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka in the Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 by taking fifth spot in the qualifying session.
The duo would take the fifth starting position and drove safely through the first night stage in the streets of Zlin.
The event was able to welcome spectators to both the stages and the service park, providing a carnival atmosphere.
Saturday’s stages started well, with the tyre development program front of mind. The potential of the tyres was shown through top six stage times.
However, the rally came to an end on Stage 7, the 18.86 Hošťálková stage. An off damaged the rear side on the driver’s side. It also damaged the engine, and that was too great to repair onsite within the timeframe allowed.
Team MRF Tyres will be back in action in the FIA European Rally Championship with the Azores Rallye from September 16-18.
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Jari Huttunen, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“We were enjoying the Barum Czech Rally Zlin for Team MRF Tyres. We were going through our plan to get more data for the tyre. Unfortunately, we crashed on SS7 and the damage was too great to repair on site and we have to retire. Both Mikko and I are ok and want to get back behind the wheel. I feel bad for the team. The MRF Tyre was performing well to that point.” -
Czech point for Team MRF Tyre development
Zlin (Czech Republic) 26 August 2021: The 2021 FIA European Rally Championship heads to the famous tarmac of the 50th Barum Czech Rally Zlin this weekend. It marks the halfway point of the 2021 season and Jari Huttunen joins Team MRF Tyres.
The 50th Barum Czech Rally Zlín, is a tarmac rally held in Zlín, Czech Republic. It is currently part of the European Rally Championship and previously has been part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Founded in 1971, it is part of the ERC schedule since the championship’s streamlining in 2004. Barum Czech Rally Zlín is based in the South Moravian university city, 300 kilometres south of the Czech capital Prague. It is a Tarmac test like no other due to the bumpy and sometimes broken nature of the road surface. To add to the challenge, several stages feature high-speed blasts through forests and intermittent showers are always possible. While the weather might be hard to predict, huge numbers of fans follow the action, especially on the opening night-time Zlín superspecial stage. The long-term ERC rally turns 50 in 2021.
Huttunen with codriver, Mikko Lukka are joining Team MRF Tyres as the team’s tyre development strategy evolves.
Through the driver pool that Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing has developed, MRF Tyres can take advantage of the feedback from a variety of drivers, starting with Huttunen and Lukka who are joining the team for the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
Coming into its 50th edition, the Barum Czech Rally Zlin will offer a tarmac rallying feast for drivers and fans alike.
The crews face 15 special stages and 210.92km of competitive action. Friday sees the qualifying stage, with an early start for the crews. From 7:30 am local time (11:00 am in India), Huttunen and Lukka will have the opportunity for shakedown before qualifying starts at 9:30 am (1:00 pm in India).
The 4.07km stage will set the starting order for the rally that gets underway with a street stage through Zlin on Friday evening.
Saturday is a monster day with eight stages and 127.18km of action.
After a late finish on Friday, there is no chance to catch up on sleep with the first of the day’s stages getting underway at 9:31 am local time (1:01 pm in India).
The day sees two stages Březová (12.73km) and Hošťálková (18.86km) before morning service.
After service, a loop of four stages awaits the crews, with Komárov (8.46km) and Pindula (18.95km) before a repeat of Březová and Hošťálková. With almost 60km in the loop, a measure of speed and patience will be important.
The day then ends with a repeat run through Komárov and Pindula with the last stage due to start after sunset.
It is another early start on Sunday with the day’s six stages getting underway at 8:03 am local time (11:33 in India).
Sunday sees two loops of three stages with repeated runs through Halenkovice (8.85km), Biskupice (7.59km) and Májová (25.43km).
With the longest stage of the rally making up the final stage of the loop and of the rally, there will be no chance for the drivers to relax throughout the event.
With a huge field of world-class competitors, the 50th edition of the Barum Czech Rally Zlin is one not to be missed.
You can follow the action at home with every stage live on radio (www.fiaerc.com/ive-radio) or with SS5 and SS7 streamed live on Facebook or Youtube on Saturday and SS12 and SS15 streamed live on Sunday.
You can follow Team MRF Tyres throughout the rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Jari Huttunen, driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“It is nice to be part of Team MRF Tyres here at Barum Czech Rally Zlin. I am looking forward to getting into the rally on the tyres. It will be my first rally on MRF Tyres. So far in testing, I am impressed.”“We have come to Zlin to help develop the tyres. Our main aim is to gain data for the development of the tyres. I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the team.”
“I have rallied here before in 2017. Rally Zlin is a difficult rally and the weather will also play a part. I will try to drive without any mistakes as gaining data here on this unique rally is very important for me and for Team MRF Tyres.”
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Breen-Nagle take first podium for MRF in ERC
Talsi/Liepaja, 3 July 2021: With a second place finish at the Rally Liepaja, Team MRF Tyres today registered their first ever podium since entering the European Rally Championship in 2020.
It was a hard fought podium with Craig Breen and Paul Nagle battling against Europe’s best throughout the day.
The day’s action saw six stages and 90.92km of action in warm and sunny conditions on roads around the Latvian coastal town of Liepaja.
The Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 started the day in second place, involved in a great fight with Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (VW), Efrén Llarena/ Sara Fernández (Skoda) and Alexey Lukyanuk/Dmitriy Eremeev (Citroën). Just 13.4 seconds separated the four cars.
The day started with the 18.42km Neste stage. The roads on Saturday differed from the previous day with a harder surface being presented to the drivers.
Breen and Nagle came in third in the stage with a time of 9:18.2, just 3.4 seconds off the lead.
The pace was repeated on the second stage of the day, with Breen/Nagle taking second just 3.1 seconds off the stage win on the Invest in Liepaja! stage.
Third on stage nine, solidified Team MRF Tyres second place going into the final service. With just three stages remaining, Breen and Nagle sat in second 15.2 seconds off Gryzain/Konstantin in the lead and 16.0 seconds ahead of Lukanuk/Eremeev in third.
After final service, the need to push still existed. All of the drivers were at 100 percent, and there would be no room for mistakes.
SS10 saw a repeat of the Neste stage with Breen/Nagle coming home in fifth, 3.9 seconds off the stage win.
The eleventh stage would be a new one for the rally with the 9.93km blast setting up a setting up a grandstand finish.
Breen and Nagle were able to bring the car home third on the final stage to finish second in the overall standings as they stood at the final stopline.
The result demonstrates the advancements that Team MRF Tyres have made in the development of their tyres.
In Rally Poland, just the second gravel rally for Team MRF Tyres, Breen and Nagle took the first stage wins on gravel for MRF Tyres.
In Latvia, the first repeat rally for MRF Tyres, the team takes the first podium.
MRF Tyres customer cars Michal Pryczek/ Jacek Pryczek (Subaru Impreza N15) and Igor Widłak/Daniel Dymurski (Ford Fiesta Rally 3) ran strongly over the day.
Pryczek/Pryczek finished third in the ERC2 category and Widlak/Dymurski also finished third in the RC3 category.
Team MRF Tyres will be out in the next round of the European Rally Championship with the Rally di Roma Capitale on 23-26 July.
Quotes
Craig Breen, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“We had to push all rally long. There was no room to relax this weekend. This series is so strong and you have to fight for the podium.”“Team MRF Tyres has achieved so much in this campaign and a podium was a big part that was missing. To achieve a podium for Team MRF Tyres is very satisfying.”
“The Hyundai i20 R5 felt so good through the rally but we had to push the entire way. The entire team at MRF Tyres should be proud of what we have achieved in a short amount of time.”
“We entered the European Rally Championship a year ago and Rally Liepaja is only our third gravel rally. It is a great result.”
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Ogier santches Safari win after Neuville heartbreak: WRC
Nairobi (Kenya), 27 June 2021: The French crew of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia emerged unscathed from a gripping final morning’s action to secure victory in Safari Rally Kenya and increase their leads in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Third overall at the start of the day, the Toyota Yaris WRC driver moved up to second when Thierry Neuville damaged his Hyundai’s rear suspension on the opening stage. Ogier then displaced Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta on the penultimate special and went on to record victory by the margin of 21.8 seconds.
“One out of one (Safari) is not so bad,” said Ogier, who now leads the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points after his fourth win of the season. “We had amazing support from the people. It has been incredible. The people have been cheering for us on the road sections. It is a beautiful country. It is a great win for us. After the trouble on Friday we had a good weekend. Well done also to Taka. It was not easy to catch him.”
The victory was Toyota’s first on the Safari since Japanese driver Yoshio Fujimoto and Swedish co-driver Arne Hertz won the 43rd Safari in 1995 in a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD. It was the Japanese manufacturer’s ninth in total after winning for the first time in Kenya with the late Björn Waldegård and fellow Swede Hans Thorszelius in 1984.
Safari success marked Ogier’s 53rd WRC win as he continues to close in on fellow Frenchman Sébastien Loeb’s record 79 successes.
Partnered by Daniel Barritt, Katsuta’s second place marked a career best finish and first ever WRC podium for the young Japanese talent. “It’s feeling very good,” said Katsuta. “It has been a very long weekend. Everybody had some problems but we survived.”
The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team suffered agony and disappointment for the third consecutive rally. After Ott Tänak’s woes in Portugal and Sardinia, it was Thierry Neuville’s turn to suffer the same cruel twist of fate in Kenya.
The Belgian had dominated the Safari for two days and looked set to cruise to the finish and take the win until a rear-right damper exploded on the first stage of the morning and he was not able to continue. It was a bitter blow to the Belgian’s title challenge and a major setback for the team in the battle with Toyota for the Manufacturers’ title. They now trail their rivals by 59 points.
“Basically we came to a very slow left-right corner and something broke on the car,” said Neuville. “We saw that the damper exploded and we had to retire there. It is a big disappointment, not only for me but for the whole team. It’s a tough time after three rallies in a row retiring from the lead.”
Ott Tänak’s third place was scant consolation for the effort that the team had put in over the weekend. But the Estonian claimed five maximum bonus points for winning the Power Stage and closed to within eight points of third-placed Neuville in the title race.
The Safari was a success for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in the absence of senior management because of the UK’s Covid quarantine rules for arrivals from Kenya.
Adrien Fourmaux and Gus Greensmith were closely matched throughout the event, but a career-first fastest stage time and a pacey morning enabled Fourmaux to overhaul his English team-mate to secure a personal best fourth position. The ever-improving Greensmith finished fifth.
Kalle Rovanperä won two stages and led the rally outright after the fifth one, but the Finn suffered his very own disappointment on Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the weekend avoiding trouble to give himself a chance to gain Power Stage points. He finished sixth overall and second in the Power Stage with his Toyota.
Throughout WRC history, rallies with a high rate of attrition – like the Safari and the Ivory Coast – enabled amateur drivers to score WRC points for impressive performances.
This year’s returning African classic was no exception and Kenyan driver Onkar Rai finished a superb seventh overall. The Volkswagen Polo GTi driver won the WRC3 category and devoted the victory to his brother Tejveer, who crashed heavily and sustained a spinal injury on Friday.
“It’s amazing,” said an overwhelmed Rai at the finish. “I hope he’s watching (brother). It was a really hard drive and I am so happy that Kenya has got it back (WRC).”
Fellow countryman Karen Patel and five-time Safari winner Carl Tundo were Rai’s closest challengers and crossed the finish line in eighth and ninth places.
After losing any chance of taking a win on Friday, title contender Elfyn Evans fought back from the lower reaches of the top 20 to finish in 10th place and collect a solitary WRC point to add to the three he scored on the final Power Stage. He now trails team-mate Ogier by 34 points in the Drivers’ Championship.
Sunday – as it happened
Evans was handed road-sweeping duties on the first pass through the 11.33km of the narrow and twisty Loldia stage and completed in 7min 49.4sec.
Dani Sordo had been 20 minutes late leaving service because of a reported fuel pressure issue and then clocked in 10 minutes early to the stage start and lined up in third place behind Lorenzo Bertelli with 13min 20sec of additional time penalties to his name.
Fourmaux and Greensmith were separated by just 12 seconds at the start of the day and locked in a tussle for fifth place. The Frenchman threw caution to the wind to post a time of 7min 41.2sec and reduced his M-Sport team-mate’s advantage to just six seconds.
Ogier opted for four soft tyres in his quest to hunt down Katsuta and snatch second place and the Japanese saw his 18.1-second cushion whittled down to 4.6 seconds when the seven-time World Champion carded the fastest time of 7min 37.1sec.
Neuville struggled through the stage with right-rear suspension damage and haemorrhaged 59.2 seconds to the Frenchman. But the Belgian somehow managed to hold on to a lead of 11.7 seconds after a stunning development at the start of the final morning.
The first pass through Hell’s Gate was shortened to 5.63km by rally officials after regrading and repair work. Crews were then permitted to recce the repaired section for the subsequent Wolf Power Stage after the stage finish.
Hyundai confirmed that Neuville would not be able to continue after breaking a rear damper. The Belgian’s demise lifted Katsuta into the outright lead, but he was running on a far from ideal tyre option and was coming under severe pressure from Ogier.
Evans was closing in on 10th overall and he carded the fastest time of 3min 14.3sec to move within seven seconds of Lorenzo Bertelli.
Fourmaux pinched another tenth of a second from Greensmith, who summed up his thoughts: “It’s hard to put into words this rally. One minute it’s fine and then it’s going end-over-end – metaphorically!”
Ogier continued to reel in Katsuta and his team-mate’s lead was reduced to 0.8 seconds heading to a single pass through the abrasive Malewa (9.71km) stage. But Katsuta led a WRC rally for the first time with three stages to go.
Malewa may have been a short stage but it was rough and demanding. Evans managed to pass Bertelli and claim 10th place and a potential WRC point with a time of 7min 21.9sec.
An inspired Fourmaux delivered a scintillating time of 7min 01.1sec to go 15.8 seconds quicker than Sordo and his efforts were rewarded when he displaced Greensmith to take fifth place by 2.3 seconds. He also confirmed a first personal stage win in the WRC.
Ogier erred on the side of caution to preserve his soft compound tyres and moved into a tie for the outright lead after beating Katsuta by 0.8 seconds. The pair headed to the re-run of Loldia tied to the fraction of a second to set up a grandstand finale in Kenya.
Evans beat his opening run by two seconds to consolidate 10th place and Fourmaux continued to push hard and extended his advantage over Greensmith to 4.7 seconds in the fight for fourth overall. The Frenchman was 8.5 seconds faster than Evans and second quickest on the stage.
Ogier was quickest and managed to snatch the outright lead for the first time since the super special on Thursday afternoon. He headed to the final special with an 8.3-second cushion over Katsuta, with Tänak a distant third.
Attention turned to the Wolf Power Stage and the second run through the regraded Hell’s Gate (10.56km) with crucial bonus points at stake for the fastest five drivers.
After the Kenyan trio of Rai, Patel and Tundo had confirmed the top three places in WRC3, Sordo laid down the Power Stage gauntlet with a run of 6min 17.517sec but a flying Evans was 9.135 seconds faster than the Spaniard.
Rovanperä pushed hard and managed to sneak inside Evans’s target by 1.183 seconds with a new fastest time of 6min 07.199sec. Fourmaux and Greensmith were unable to match the Finn’s time but confirmed two solid finishes for the M-Sport team.
Tänak was desperate for Power Stage points and the Estonian managed to beat the benchmark by 0.734 seconds to snatch the fastest time with Ogier and Katsuta still to run. The Japanese confirmed a career-best WRC finish but was not able to match the target time.
That left the stage free for Ogier but the Frenchman was more concerned with securing a first Safari win and he finished the Power Stage in fourth place to seal outright victory by the margin of 21.8 seconds.
2021 Safari Rally Kenya – positions after SS18 (@14.35hrs):
1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 18min 11.3sec
2. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 18min 33.1sec
3. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 3hr 19min 20.8sec
4. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Renaud Jamoul (BEL) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 19min 56.0sec
5. Gus Greensmith (GBR)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 20min 05.9sec
6. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 29min 04.7sec
7. Onkar Rai (KEN)/Drew Sturrock (GBR) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 47min 37.7sec
8. Karen Patel (KEN)/Tauseef Khan (KEN) Ford Fiesta (WRC3) 3hr 51min 41.7sec
9. Carl Tundo (KEN)/Timothy Jessop (KEN) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 54min 52.0sec
10. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 4hr 07min 34.0sec
11. Lorenzo Bertelli (ITA)/Simone Scattolin (ITA) Ford Fiesta WRC 4hr 08min 28.8sec
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Neuville-Wydaeghe survive storm to stay ahead on Saturday
Nairobi (KENYA), 26 June 2021: The Belgian crew of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe survived heavy rain on the last stage to extend their overall advantage to 57.4 seconds at Safari Rally Kenya on Saturday.
The Hyundai driver had managed to keep Toyota rival Takamoto Katsuta at bay over the leg’s other five stages on what had developed into a processional day for the leading crews. But the leading group were badly affected by the onset of a sudden downpour and Neuville was fortunate to escape relatively unscathed to take a good lead into the night halt.
Katsuta dropped over half a minute to seven-time World Rally Champion and team-mate Sébastien Ogier on the last special, but the Japanese retained second position by just 18.1 seconds. “It was very scary,” said Katsuta. “I never feel that kind of feeling. In the beginning it was okay and then the storm came and I could not see anything.”
Ogier won three stages and managed to pass Estonia’s Ott Tänak and snatch third place when the Hyundai driver was forced to stop in the last special and clear a misting windscreen. The delay proved costly for the 2019 World Champion and he trails Ogier by 65.7 seconds heading into the final day.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team colleagues Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux were locked in their own little tussle for much of the day. The Briton maintained his advantage to consolidate fifth place, with his French team-mate heading to the night halt 12 seconds behind in sixth.
Seventh-placed Kalle Rovanperä was too far behind the Fords to attack and comfortably ahead of the WRC3 runners. The Finn achieved his goal of finishing the day’s stages as he prepares for a push for bonus points on Sunday’s Power Stage.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai’s Dani Sordo continued to climb back towards the top 10 after their retirements on Friday. Sordo benefited from missing the final stage storm to claim the fastest time.
Local driver Onkar Rai led WRC3 in a fine eighth with his Volkswagen Polo GTi. Fellow Kenyan Karen Patel and five-time Safari winner Carl Tundo rounded off the top 10.
Poland’s Daniel Chwist stopped a short distance into the ninth stage and lost his place amongst the leading WRC3 group.
Saturday – as it happened
Young Oliver Solberg and WRC2 runner Martin Prokop were unable to restart after accident damage sidelined their cars on Friday.
Dani Sordo, Elfyn Evans, Lorenzo Bertelli and Kalle Rovanperä all returned to action and were given road opening duties at the start of day two and the first pass through the 14.67km of the Elementieta stage.
Rovanperä managed to rejoin in seventh overall after his seventh stage issues in the fesh-fesh, but Bertelli (17th), Evans (19th) and Sordo (20th) were realistically too far behind to challenge for serious WRC points other than the final Power Stage.
Bertelli stalled briefly and Evans and Rovanperä set the early target of 9min 18.6sec. Greensmith increased his advantage over Fourmaux to 33.6 seconds with an impressive run of 9min 12.0sec but Neuville recorded the fastest time of 9min 01.4sec and extended his overall advantage over Katsuta to 26.3 seconds.
The Soysambu (20.33km) stage incorporated a pair of tricky water crossings and followed a very short road section. A lack of rain in the area nullified the risks associated with the water hazards, however, and a hard-charging Fourmaux clocked the early target time of 14min 16.1sec on only his third WRC event in a World Rally Car.
The Frenchman managed to claw 10.3 seconds back from team-mate Greensmith, as Ogier carded the quickest time of 14min 11.9sec and closed to within 43.5 seconds of Tänak in the battle for third place.
Katsuta was forced to slow for zebra on the track, as Neuville was third quickest and extended his overall advantage over the Japanese to 28.9 seconds. Onkar Rai continued to lead the way in WRC3 in eighth overall, but Polish rival Daniel Chwist stopped after 3.4km.
The Sleeping Warrior (31.04km) stage completed the morning loop before the return to service at Navaisha. Sordo pushed harder on the faster opening kilometres and eased off over the rock-strewn final tracks to post an impressive target time of 17min 44.0sec.
Most of his rivals erred on the side of caution on the deteriorating surface and Ogier was the first to beat the Spaniard’s opening run. The Frenchman was quickest with a time of 17min 26.6sec and shaved another 5.9 seconds off Tänak in the battle for third.
Fourmaux’s roof vent came off and let in vast quantities of dust. The issue cost the Frenchman valuable seconds and he ceded another 16.1 seconds to Greensmith in the battle for fifth. Katsuta beat Neuville by 0.8 seconds and reduced the deficit to 28.1 seconds.
Elementeita had been the easiest stage in the morning loop, but no-one was taking anything for granted on the second pass over the twisty gravel trails by the lake.
The four cars that failed to finish on Friday safely negotiated the special without issues and Fourmaux then set the target of 8min 59.5sec. He trimmed another 1.8 seconds off Greensmith’s hold on fifth place.
Ogier still had his sights set on a podium finish and a stunning run of 8min 47.5sec enabled the Frenchman to set the fastest time and nibble another 2.1 seconds out of Tänak to trail the Estonian by 35.5.
Katsuta was safe in second place but dropped time to Tänak and another 4.4 to leader Neuville, who was forced to brake on a long straight to avoid a dazzle of zebra.
One mistake from any of the top four drivers would prove costly on the second pass through Soysambu. Stage openers, Sordo and Evans, were locked in their own little tussle as they climbed back towards the top 10 and were closely matched in 15th and 14th overall at the start of the stage. Evans beat the Spaniard by 15.3 seconds to move clear in his quest for a points-scoring finish.
A flying Fourmaux clipped a low banking and survived a two-wheel moment before a water crossing to post the target time of 14min 01.9sec for his five closest rivals.
Greensmith beat his team-mate by 4.1 seconds and Tänak stemmed the flow of time to beat Ogier by a mere second and claim his first stage win of the weekend.
The Estonian’s pace was such that he reduced Katsuta’s hold on second overall to 14.5 seconds heading to the last test of the day. Neuville was fourth quickest and headed to SS13 with a 35-second advantage.
With dark storm cloud gathering ominously overhead, would the re-run of the Sleeping Warrior stage be the sting in the tail after a relatively processional day at the Safari?
Sordo was 19 seconds quicker on his second pass in dry conditions and that pace gave the Spaniard the fastest time after a heavy shower caused chaos amongst the other front-runners.
Greensmith had to stop and clear his screen after spinning the Fiesta on the saturated surface (known locally as ‘black cotton’) but he maintained a 12-second advantage over Fourmaux.
Ogier survived what he described as like ‘driving on ice’, but Tänak suffered more than anyone and was forced to stop and clear a misting windscreen. A time loss of two minutes pushed the Estonian down to fourth place – 1min 05.7sec behind Ogier.
Neuville and Katsuta were also caught out in the changing weather conditions but were able to stay in first and second places with the Belgian extending his lead to 57.4 seconds after a hard charge in treacherous conditions.
Sunday
Crews tackle five special stages on the final morning, starting with the first of two passes through the 11.33km of the Loldia special – located close to the tracks used on Wednesday’s shakedown.
A first run in the high-speed Hell’s Gate (10.56km) follows and starts close to a geo-thermal plant. Kenya is second in the world for producing geo-thermal energy after Iceland.
A single pass through the abrasive Malewa (9.71km) special precedes a repeat of Loldia and the televised Hell’s Gate Wolf Power Stage finale.
2021 Safari Rally Kenya – positions after SS13 (@17.30hrs):
1. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 2hr 45min 04.6sec
2. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 46min 02.0sec
3. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 46min 20.1sec
4. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 2hr 47min 25.8sec
5. Gus Greensmith (GBR)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 47min 44.0sec
6. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Renaud Jamoul (BEL) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 47min 56.0sec
7. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 56min 08.9sec
8. Onkar Rai (KEN)/Drew Sturrock (GBR) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 11min 03.7sec
9. Karen Patel (KEN)/Tauseef Khan (KEN) Ford Fiesta (WRC3) 3hr 16min 36.4sec
10. Carl Tundo (KEN)/Timothy Jessop (KEN) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 18min 30.6sec
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Breen and Campedelli ready for ERC challenge for Team MRF Tyres
Mikolajki (Poland), 18 June 2021: Team MRF Tyres is in Mikolajki for the opening round of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship that will be held from 18-20 June.
Two cars will fly the Team MRF Tyres colours with Irish ace Craig Breen being joined by Paul Nagle in a Hyundai i20 Rally2 and Italian Simone Campedelli joined by Tania Canton in a Volkswagen Polo R5.
The crews will face fast and narrow gravel roads for this special version of Rally Poland. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first time the event was held, with six cars starting the original test in 1921.
Fast forward 100 years and the event offers a hugely competitive field with more than 40 Rally2 cars competing for the outright win.
There are 14 special stages that wait for the drivers, offering 202.76km of competitive action.
The first stage gets underway on Friday night, with a short 2.5km blast through the Mikołajki Arena. The bulk of the rally takes place on Saturday with 133.12km of action across seven stages.
The first look sees the 18.20km of Świętajno, 17.16km of Olecko and 28.70km of Wieliczki. This loop is repeated again in the afternoon but with the Mikołajki Arena ending the day. With such long stages between services, the drivers will have to balance speed with maintaining their car.
Sunday’s action gets underway early with 07:25 Mikołajki MAX stage of 9.34km getting underway at 7:50am. It is followed by the 15.55km gm. Mrągowo stage before the crews head back to service.
The afternoon loop sees these stages repeated before the crews take the long drive to Warsaw. On the way they will complete a 17.9km stage of Przasnysz before the rally takes a special ending.
For the 100th anniversary, a 1.96km stage will take place in Warsaw before the ceremonial finish is held in the Polish capital.
MRF Tyres will also be represented with eight crews from the Polish Championship who will be rallying in the national section of the rally..
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this rally will be held behind closed doors. For those following at home, the FIA ERC will free live radio of all the stages which can be found on their website at www.fiaerc.com and will live stream selected stages on their Facebook page.
You can follow Team MRF Tyres throughout the rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Craig Breen, Hyundai i20 Rally2
“It has been a while since the European Rally Championship competed on gravel and I am looking forward to driving the MRF Tyres on gravel again.”“This rally will be very fast and the road conditions in some places will be quite rutted. We had a successful test day, where we were able to see how the car performed in the ruts and on a good surface. It will make for an exciting rally!”
Simone Campedelli, VW Polo R5
“I am excited to be starting in the ERC with MRF Tyres. I have been in the Italian Championship for many years but coming to Rally Poland, I will have to learn the roads. I am looking forward to the challenge.”“Team MRF Tyres have done a great job in developing the tyres and I am looking forward to continuing the development work with them. The aim is to get more tyre data so stage miles are important. Though I am looking forward to pushing on these fast Polish roads!”
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Ogier-Ingrassia claim 4th Rally Sardinia victory: WRC
Sardinia, 6 June 2021: Sébastien Ogier stretched his FIA World Rally Championship lead with a convincing but surprise victory at Rally Italia Sardegna on Sunday afternoon.
The reigning champion headed a Toyota Yaris 1-2 finish on the Mediterranean island’s punishing rock-strewn gravel roads to claim his third win of the season. He finished 46.0sec clear of Elfyn Evans, extending his lead to 11 points after five of the 12 events.
It was reckoned Ogier could not win this fifth round. As championship leader, he started first in the order on Friday’s opening leg, ploughing a line through loose gravel which became progressively cleaner and offered more grip with the passage of each car.
The Frenchman was expected to haemorrhage time but ended the day just over half a minute adrift of a dominant Ott Tänak and Hyundai Motorsport team-mate Dani Sordo.
In improved conditions on Saturday, Ogier punched in a series of fastest times.
When Tänak ripped a rear wheel from his i20 World Rally Car after hitting a rock and Sordo rolled, Ogier was clear to ease through Sunday’s finale and claim a 52nd career win.
Evans was initially out of sorts and trailed by more than a minute after the first leg. Set-up changes improved the Welshman’s feeling with his car and a handful of stage wins propelled him up the order to increase Toyota’s manufacturers’ series lead over Hyundai to 49 points.
There was a late scare when his car spluttered to a halt after the same watersplash that troubled Ogier. He remained motionless for almost 20sec before the engine restarted.
Third place for Thierry Neuville, a further 19.2sec behind, was scant consolation for Hyundai. The Belgian spent all weekend fine-tuning his i20’s set-up but none of the changes delivered the pace to match the pair ahead.Such was the level of attrition that fourth-placed Takamoto Katsuta was the only other top-level driver to avoid retirement. The Japanese pilot matched his career-best finish from the previous round in Portugal, despite a bee buzzing inside his Yaris during one Sunday test.
Fifth went to FIA WRC2 winner Jari Huttunen. The Hyundai i20 driver relegated Mads Østberg (TRT WRT Citroën C3) when the Norwegian punctured on Sunday’s second stage and held off a determined charge through the final two tests to end 7.5sec ahead.
FIA WRC3 winner Yohan Rossel finished seventh in a Citroën C3 with Pepe López and Jan Solans next up. Huttunen’s class rival Marco Bulacia (Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia Evo) completed the leaderboard despite a final day roll.
The championship reaches its midpoint with an emotional return to Africa for the first time since 2002. The legendary Safari Rally Kenya is based in Naivasha on 24 – 27 June.
Final unofficial results:
1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 3 hr 19min 26.4sec 2. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3 hr 20min 12.4sec 3. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martin Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3 hr 20min 31.6sec 4. Takamoto Katsuta (JAP) / Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3 hr 25min 37.6sec 5. Jari Huttunen (FIN) / Mikko Lukka (FIN) – WRC2 Hyundai NG i20 3 hr 28min 58.1sec 6. Mads Ostberg (NOR) / Torsten Eriksen (NOR) – WRC2 Citroën C3 3 hr 29min 05.6sec 7. Yohan Rossel (FRA) / Alexandre Coria (FRA) – WRC3 Citroën C3 3 hr 30min 04.1sec 8. Pepe Lopez (ESP) / D. Vallejo (ESP) – WRC3 Škoda Fabia Evo 3 hr 30min 30.1sec 9. Jan Solans (ESP) / R. Sanjuan (ESP) – WRC3 Citroën C3 3 hr 30min 52.7sec 10. Marco Bulacia (BOL) / M. Ohannesian (ARG) – WRC2 Škoda Fabia Evo 3 hr 31min 01.0sec
