Tag: Rally

Jari-Matti Latvala has slipped into the lead of Rally Poland after Friday morning’s opening loop of sodden stages. Overnight and persistent rain has made conditions tricky for all the crews but those running nearer the front of the field have taken a small advantage in the muddy conditions. Surprised by his position, Latvala is topping a close battle and heads Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier, the trio all less than 7.3 seconds adrift of the lead.

Rally Poland, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is normally a hot and dry affair but persistent rain has turned the soft and sandy roads into muddy, wet and rutted stages that are worsening with the passage of cars. A heavy storm yesterday afternoon forced the organiser to cancel the official start but last night’s opening super special stage ran as scheduled and saw Elfyn Evans take the overnight lead.

Today, however, crews headed out to the fast and flowing countryside stages, again in pouring rain, for two loops of four stages before returning to Mikolajki for a second run around the purpose-built super special. Neuville was on the pace in the opener, but Latvala took the lead in the longer second stage with a fastest time, despite feeling he wasn’t driving particularly well. Victory in the third stage and second in the last one cemented his advantage and the Finn arrived at the mid-leg service happy with his performance. Neuville added a second stage win in SS5 to his tally, despite trying to find a good rhythm all morning. He is just five-tenths of a second ahead of Ott Tänak, the Estonian so close to winning here last year. He ran wide at a junction early this morning and then stalled on the start line of the last stage but has otherwise adapted to the ever-changing conditions. Team-mate Ogier is hot on his heels, the World Champion also trying to judge the level of grip and how much of a risk to take in the treacherous conditions.

Behind the leading quartet, Hayden Paddon is further adrift in fifth, the Kiwi driver struggling with his later road position and simply trying to survive the opening loop. His Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo hates inconsistent conditions and the Spaniard has had a couple of spins as he struggles to find a good feeling. Juho Hänninen took a 10 second jump start penalty into the day but has otherwise run without problems into seventh. Teemu Suninen, driving a 2017 specification Fiesta WRC, is a fine eighth and ahead of factory driver Elfyn Evans. Stéphane Lefebvre heads the Citroën challenge in 10th, the Frenchman taking no risks. Andreas Mikkelsen, again drafted in by the French squad, is 12th after damaging the suspension in the last stage and Craig Breen had a broken drive-shaft in the first stage, a gutting start for the Irishman who was looking for a clean run after problems on the last event in Italy. Esapekka Lappi is currently the only retiree, the Finn out with broken suspension on the Yaris WRC.

In the FIA WRC 2 Championship, the fight is intense and youngster Ole Christian Veiby currently takes the advantage. The Norwegian, who has set three fastest times this morning, heads series leader Pontus Tidemand with Gus Greensmith third. In the Junior WRC Championship, Dennis Radstrom has taken the lead in what is proving to be a very close battle.
eom/FIA press release

M-Sport’s Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja lead the way at Rally Italia Sardegna – currently holding a 24.3 second advantage at the head of the field.

Having delivered an intelligent drive through the challenging terrain, the Estonians are now in with a chance of securing a maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory and another win for the Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC.

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: “It’s been a fantastic drive from Ott and Martin. Working with the team they made a great decision on the set-up for this afternoon and now have a good lead going into tomorrow. “I was actually speaking with Markko Martin yesterday evening and I said that if Ott could just fine-tune the set-up then he would have a real chance of challenging – he has done exactly that today. “As we’ve already seen, anything can happen, but he’s in a strong positon at the moment. He’s looking comfortable behind the wheel and just has to continue exactly as he has all weekend. “Fingers crossed that we can deliver another magic WRC moment tomorrow.”

TÄNAK AND JÄRVEOJA RALLY LEADERS AFTER STAGE FIFTEEN

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have delivered an intelligent strategy to lead the way at Rally Italia Sardegna – maintaining a margin through the early stages and increasing their advantage this afternoon. With a good feeling behind the wheel of their Ford Fiesta WRC, the Estonians posted a top-three time through all of today’s speed tests and claimed three stage victories on their way to the head of the standings. Stage performances: SS10: =3rd (+4.2) SS11: 3rd (+5.1) SS12: 1st SS13: 1st SS14: 1st SS15: 3rd (+1.9) Ott Tänak (1st) said: “It’s been a big fight all rally and I’ve really enjoyed it. Some guys have been dropping out, but we’ve been doing a good job and all we need to do now is keep going and continue exactly as we have been. “I think we had a good strategy for this weekend. Sardinia is a very special event and it needs a very special approach. You always need to keep that margin and that is what we have done and what we plan to continue doing.  “A massive thanks to the team as the car has been perfect this afternoon. They’ve been working flat-out all hours of the day – literally – and we wouldn’t be sitting here in the first position if it weren’t for them. “There’s still 40 kilometres of very demanding stages left to come, but there’s a good gap now and we just need to finish the job.”

Rally Italia (8-11 June) marks the mid-point of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship and takes the crews to the picturesque Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The scenery may be spectacular, but the sun-baked gravel tracks make for gruelling, rough and rocky competition, leaving little room for error.

Originally known as the Rally of the Flowers and dating back to 1928, Italy’s round joined the Championship in 1973 and was traditionally a mixed surface event based in Sanremo, on the mainland, before moving to Sardinia in 2004 and becoming a full gravel rally. Run during Europe’s summer months, temperatures are normally high and the hard base roads covered with a sandy surface disadvantage the early runners on the first passage. However, when the loose has been swept away, rough and rutted conditions can easily catch out the unwary. Michèle Mouton, President of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, claimed her first WRC victory on Rallye Sanremo in 1981 and remains the first and only female to win a round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

An impressive entry list includes three nominated crews from each of the four registered manufacturers and for the first time this season Andreas Mikkelsen will drive a 2017 specification World Rally Car, the Norwegian joining Citroën Racing for his debut outing in the C3 WRC. The fight in WRC 2 is again sure to be intense and the FIA Junior WRC Championship contenders are back in action for the second round of their series.

Three stages will be broadcast live; Saturday’s Coiluna-Loelle stage (SS13) and both runs through Sassari-Argentiera on Sunday, the second run counting for extra points as the closing Power Stage.

ROUTE GRAPHICS

THE 2017 ROUTE

The rally is based out of the northwest town of Alghero but after the start and opening super special stage, the crews head to Olbia on the northeast coast for an overnight halt, allowing the organisers to re-introduce the tough Terranova and Monte Olia stages on Saturday. The mid-rally leg is the longest and toughest with 143.16 competitive kilometres run over six stages, while Sunday is identical to last year with two loops of two identical stages, culminating in the all-important Power Stage.

WHAT WE SAID…

“The heat and rough roads really define Rally Italia, making it a very tough challenge for the crews as well as the cars,” said Jarmo Mahonen, FIA Rally Director. “In these conditions it’s going to be important to mix car preservation with speed over the rock-strewn stages; the days are also lengthy and the sanctuary of service potentially a long way away for anyone who hits trouble.”

RALLY DATA

Total distance: Stage distance: Number of stages:

1,495.36 km 312.66 km (20,89%) 19

Defending FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier has won Rally Portugal, strengthening his grip on the first season of the new era of the sport.

The M-Sport Ford driver entered the final four stages today 16.8s ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville. He would go on to win one more stage (SS17), before setting the fifth fastest time on the Power Stage to deliver his second victory for his new team, after taking out Rallye Monte-Carlo at the start of the season.

It was a comfortable final day for the Frenchman, who tied Markku Alén for most victories in Rally Portugal with five in the event’s 50^th running.

He now leads the 2017 championship by 22 points over Neuville.

“It feels great for sure,” said the three-time champion. “It’s fantastic to be back on the top of the podium again.

“Thanks to the team – the new car was perfect… Amazing! A new car in Monte and we won – a new car here too!”

For Thierry Neuville, second place continued to show him as a force to be reckoned with in the championship. The Belgian closed on Ogier marginally on the final loop of the rally, but had too much work to do, eventually coming home comfortably ahead of his Hyundai team mate Dani Sordo.

“A good stage for me, I tried my best but it wasn’t enough. Ott was faster,” said Neuville after being pipped by Tanak for the Power Stage win by 0.4s.

“I struggled this weekend with the rear of the car. The Fiestas were quicker – we couldn’t catch them.”

In contrast to the first day of the rally, Sunday saw comparatively little change among the WRC crews, Dani Sordo finishing third ahead of Friday’s overnight leader Ott Tanak’s Ford Fiesta WRC. Citroën’s Craig Breen completed the top five with a solid performance ahead of Elfyn Evans, sixth in the third Fiesta and another one ruing something of a missed opportunity.

The only change among the top ten overall runners saw impressive WRC rookie Esapekka Lappi charge home to claim the final point, setting a series of eye-catching stage times in his Toyota Yaris WRC – including fourth in the Power Stage, just 0.2s behind Evans in third.

The Finn combined flashes of immense speed with some rookie mistakes over the course of the rally, but certainly showed something special for the future.

The other notable driver on the final day was New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon, who took two stage wins to give him a total of four for the event. It was a case of ‘what might have been’ for the Hyundai Motorsport driver, who showed excellent pace in between the electrical and power steering problems that cruelled his rally.

The drama of the day, however, was in WRC2 as Skoda Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen started Sunday three minutes ahead of team mate Pontus Tidemand and Ford driver Teemu Suninen after dominating the class all event (both Tidemand and Suninen also suffered punctures in the final stage on Saturday).

The Norwegian entered the last stage, still with over three minutes in hand – until he sensationally rolled the Fabia R5 one kilometre in, gifting the win to Tidemand with Suninen closing on the Swede by almost 15 seconds in the last stage to ultimately fall 11.2s short. Simone Tempestini was third in the Citroën DS3 R5.

On the day’s first stage, Quentin Gilbert, who would have been in line to complete the WRC2 podium after the Mikkelsen incident, ended his rally in spectacular fashion at the famous Fafe jump. The French former WRC3 champion landed heavily on the nose of his Skoda Fabia R5, before flipping and coming to rest across the road. Both driver and co-driver were unhurt, however the stage was interrupted for all remaining drivers.

In WRC3, Mexican Francisco Name (Citroën DS3 R3T) prevailed over Spain’s Nil Solans (Ford Fiesta R2) and Italy’s Enrico Brazzoli (Peugeot 208 R2).

 

RALLY PORTUGAL – OVERALL

FINAL STANDINGS:

1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	3:24:55.7
2. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	+17.5
3. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	+1:00.1
4. Ott Tanak / Martin Järveoja	Ford Fiesta WRC	+1:32.5
5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin	Citroën C3 WRC	+1:54.7
6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	+3:10.6
7. Juho Hänninen / Kaj Lindstrom	Toyota Yaris WRC	+3:48.9
8. Mads Ostberg / Ola Floene	Ford Fiesta WRC	+5:29.7
9. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	+5:43.6
10. Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	+8:13.4

 

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS – AFTER RALLY PORTUGAL:

1. Sébastien Ogier	Ford Fiesta WRC	128 points
2. Thierry Neuville	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	106
3. Jari-Matti Latvala	Toyota Yaris WRC	88
4. Ott Tanak	Ford Fiesta WRC	83
5. Dani Sordo	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	66
6. Elfyn Evans	Ford Fiesta WRC	53
7. Craig Breen	Citroën C3 WRC	43
8. Hayden Paddon	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	33
9. Kris Meeke	Citroën C3 WRC	27
10. Juho Hänninen	Toyota Yaris WRC	21

 

MANUFACTURERS’ STANDINGS – AFTER RALLY PORTUGAL:

1. M-Sport World Rally Team	197 points
2. Hyundai Motorsport	173
3. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	107
4. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	81

eom/FIA press release

M-Sport’s Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC continues to lead at Rally de Portugal, but it’s all change at the top with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia taking over the reins.

The four-time World Championships hold a 16.8 second advantage over championship rivals Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul going into tomorrow’s final 42.93 kilometres.

A brush with the scenery for both Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans may have dropped them down the order, but the Fiesta’s proven strength and performance ensures that all three crews remain inside the overall top-six.

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:

“Sébastien has had a fantastic day. He and Julien have delivered a faultless drive and it’s great to see them challenging for another victory with the Fiesta – hopefully we can make it stick tomorrow.

“It was disappointing to lose Ott from the battle, but he was lucky to get away with what he did and he had a good fight back this afternoon to get up to fourth. If we can maintain those results we’ll be very happy tomorrow afternoon.

“We’ll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed, but there’s still a lot of pressure. Anything can happen and you just have to look at how many different leaders we’ve had to see just how close it is out there.

“It’s been an incredible rally and let’s hope that we deliver a great end to it for M-Sport.”

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia lead the way at Rally de Portugal after delivering a faultless drive behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta WRC.

Never out of the top-two on individual stage times, the Frenchmen posted the fastest time through three of the day’s six stages to establish a 16.8 seconds advantage at the head of the standings.

With just four stages remaining, Ogier and Ingrassia are now tantalisingly close to securing a fifth Rally de Portugal victory – and their first in the north.

Stage performances:

SS10: 1st
SS11: 2nd (+5.2)
SS12: 1st
SS13: 2nd (+1.0)
SS14: 1st
SS15: 2nd (+6.2)

Sébastien Ogier (1st) said:

“I’m very happy with how my day went. It’s been a very long time since I‘ve been able to do this kind of performance – having always been first or second into the stages. I think I did the same kind of driving as yesterday but the road position is quite different and I’m very pleased with the gap that we have managed to build.

“For sure the rally is not over yet and we still need to finish the job. With 16 seconds you can never relax completely so we need to continue in the same way – keeping the same speed and staying clear of trouble.

“We have some beautiful stages still to drive tomorrow and I really love Fafe – it’s fantastic. For sure we still have to push because no one is going to back off. We still need to give it all we have and the Power Stage is always important for those extra points.

“I’m really looking forward to this last day and hoping to bring home another good result for the team and the championship.”

1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) 3:15:24.6
2. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai 120 Coupe WRC) +16.8
3. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti (Hyundai 120 Coupe WRC) +51.3
4. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:29.6
5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC) +1:32.4
6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:01.8
7. Juho Hänninen / Kaj Lindstrom (Toyota Yaris WRC) +3:29.8
8. Mads Østberg / Ola Fløene (Ford Fiesta WRC) +5:16.6
9. Jari-Matti Latvala / Mikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +5:32.7
10. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (Skoda Fabia R5) +7:06.6

eom/M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta press release

 

Thierry Neuville snatched one of the closest FIA World Rally Championship wins in history at YPF Rally Argentina on Sunday afternoon.

He edged out longtime leader Elfyn Evans by just 0.7sec in a pulsating final speed test when the Welshman clipped a bridge, ending his dreams of a maiden victory. Only two rounds have been decided by a smaller margin in the WRC’s 45-year history.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe driver trailed Evans by 11.5sec heading into the last leg of the four-day dirt road encounter. Brake problems for Evans and a fierce Neuville attack sent the pair into the final 16.32km test at the famous El Condor separated by just 0.6sec.

Both drivers threw caution to the wind on the rough mountain tracks, and early split times showed Evans more than three seconds ahead. But as his grip lessened near the finish, his Ford Fiesta swiped a bridge, handing Neuville a second consecutive win.

“Watching that was the worst time in my life,” said Neuville, after viewing Evans’ run from the finish. “I gave it everything I had but I didn’t have the best tyres because I had been pushing hard for two stages already.”

An emotional Evans, who led by more than a minute yesterday, said: “I’m gutted to lose by such a fine margin after so many issues. I hit a bridge and that was probably the difference. It’s difficult to take now after holding such a big lead, but part of it is my own doing and I need to come back stronger to win in the future.”

Rock-strewn roads took a heavy toll and merely surviving Friday’s opening leg became the aim of many. Ott Tänak’s patient strategy paid off as he steered clear of trouble and thrived on the smoother weekend roads to finish third in another Fiesta, a further 29.2sec back.

Reigning champion Sébastien Ogier made it three M-Sport World Rally Team cars in the top four, and the Frenchman increased his championship lead to 16 points after five of 13 rounds. He was almost a minute adrift of Tänak.

Jari-Matti Latvala was Evans’ closest challenger early on but the Finn slipped back to finish fifth in his Toyota Yaris. Broken power steering completed a torrid weekend for Hayden Paddon, who claimed his maiden win in Argentina 12 months ago. He was sixth.

Juho Hänninen was seventh after lacking engine power for much of the event and Dani Sordo was eighth after a final stage puncture. Mads Østberg and WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand completed the leaderboard.

Rally de Portugal hosts round six of the championship in Matosinhos, near Porto, on 18 – 21 May.

eom/FIA press release

M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt continue to lead Rally Argentina behind the wheel of their Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC. With less than 30 seconds separating the top-three in the overall standings, the stage is set for an incredible final-day showdown.

With Ott Tänak in a fine third place, M-Sport are on course for a double podium and have all three manufacturer-points registered drivers in the overall top-four with Sébastien Ogier just behind in fourth.

Proving a force to be reckoned with, the Fiesta has claimed 10 out of a possible 15 stage victories and the team have no intentions of closing their tally just yet.

With just one day of competition left to contest, the team have left no stone unturned this evening – determined to give Evans the best possible chance of securing a maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory.

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:

“Elfyn has had a difficult afternoon, so there is only one plan for tomorrow and that will be to push for the victory. He’s put in a fantastic performance and led for two full days so he’s not going to throw it away without a fight.

“We know how good Thierry is and we know that he’ll be pushing tomorrow, but I think Elfyn has developed so much on this rally. When everything has been working well his speed has been untouchable and there’s nothing like that to give a driver confidence.

“As we’ve seen in previous years, anything can happen on the final day in Argentina. But we’re in a strong position. With Ott in third and Sébastien in fourth, we have a good reserve for the manufacturers’ championship so Elfyn can give it everything tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans rally leaders after Stage 15

Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt continue to lead Rally Argentina but will have to deliver the drive of their lives through tomorrow’s final stages – their lead slashed to just 11.5 seconds.

The day started well for the Brits who reminded their rivals of their impressive speed by posting the fastest time through the opening stage (SS11).

A couple of punctures through the morning’s two remaining speed tests may have cost the pairing a handful of seconds, but their advantage remained intact at 44.1 seconds come the midday service break. As the crews embarked on the afternoon stages however, the Welshman’s lead started to shrink.

Suffering a spin and struggling with the rear of his DMACK-shod Ford Fiesta WRC, Evans may have lost time but maintained his advantage.

With three exceptionally challenging stages left to contest anything can happen. When comfortable behind the wheel, the Welshman has been untouchable this weekend and one thing is for sure – Elfyn Evans is hungry for victory.

Stage performances:

SS10: 1st
SS11: 6th (+6.2)
SS12: 8th (+14.0)
SS13: 4th (+3.2)
SS14: 6th (+15.1)
SS15: 6th (+18.9)

eom/M-Sport Ford Fiesta press release