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Tag: Sebastien Ogier
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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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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 -
Ogier, Ingrassia celebrate 50th World Rally win
24 Jan 2021: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia celebrated their 50th World Rally win and a record eighth victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo on Sunday afternoon.
Ogier opened the defence of his 2020 FIA World Rally Championship title with a sublime performance in the French Alps, mastering snow and ice to head Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Elfyn Evans by 32.6sec in a dominant 1-2 for the Japanese squad.
The Frenchman’s eight victories span three decades and have been achieved with five different manufacturers. He ended a perfect weekend by winning the final Power Stage to add five bonus points and seal a maximum 30-point haul from the rally.
The Toyota driver shrugged aside early brake problems in his Yaris WRC. He launched a charging recovery after losing the lead on Saturday following a spin and a puncture to regain top spot ahead of Sunday’s finale in the mountains above Monaco.
Ogier, who delayed retirement for one final WRC season, more than doubled his lead in the final leg for an emotional win on a rally based in his birthplace of Gap. A 1-2 marked a dream start to Jari-Matti Latvala’s management career as team principal.
Evans led on Saturday night after Ogier’s time loss, but the Welshman could not repel his colleague and felt he had been over-cautious in the difficult conditions.
Last year’s victor, Thierry Neuville, finished a further 40.9sec behind in a Hyundai i20. It marked an impressive result for the Belgian who split with long-term co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul less than a week before the start and did not partner replacement Martijn Wydaeghe until Thursday’s opening speed test.
Neuville climbed to third when Kalle Rovanperä’s hopes of achieving a Toyota clean sweep of the podium ended with a Sunday morning puncture. The Finn finished 1min 20.1sec adrift.
Dani Sordo was fifth in another i20 after a frustrating weekend for the Spaniard on his last rally with co-driver Carlos del Barrio. Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta rounded off the top six in another Yaris.
FIA WRC2 winner Andreas Mikkelsen was seventh in a Toksport-run Škoda Fabia ahead of Gus Greensmith’s Ford Fiesta. Mikkelsen’s class rivals Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford) and Eric Camilli (Sports & You Citroën C3) completed the leaderboard in ninth and tenth.
Yohan Rossel overcame Power Stage drama to seal his first ever FIA WRC3 victory. He had been locked into a ding-dong duel with fellow Citroën C3 driver Yoann Bonato for much of the event, with the lead toing and froing between the French pair throughout the opening three days. Bonato finished second, over a minute behind, while Nicolas Ciamin completed the all-French, all-Citroën C3 podium.
Round two of the championship features northern Finland’s all-new Arctic Rally Lapland. The series’ only pure winter rally is based in Rovaniemi on 26 – 28 February.
2021 Rallye Monte-Carlo – Final unofficial results:
1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 2 hr 56min 33.7sec 2. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 2 hr 57min 06.3sec 3. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martin Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2 hr 57min 47.2sec 4. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 2 hr 59min 07.3sec 5. Dani Sordo (ESP) / Carlos Del Barrio (ESP) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2 hr 59min 47.9sec 6. Takamoto Katsuta (JAP) / Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3 hr 03min 35.0sec 7. A. Mikkelsen (NOR) / O. Floene (NOR) – FIA WRC2 Škoda Fabia Evo 3 hr 03min 57.3sec 8. Gus Greensmith (GBR) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 3 hr 04min 54.8sec 9. A. Fourmaux (FRA) / R. Jamoul (FRA) FIA WRC2 Ford Fiesta MK II 3 hr 05min 49.5sec 10. E. Camilli (FRA) / FX Buresi (FRA) FIA WRC2 Citroën C3 3 hr 07min 14.7sec -
Ogier leads his first shakedown in the Toyota Yaris WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown
Sebastien Ogier and J Ingrassia during shakedown in the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo on Jan 22, 2020. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Monte Caarlo, 22 Jan 2020: Sébastien Ogier recorded the fastest time in shakedown for Rallye Monte-Carlo: his competitive debut behind the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC. Two-thirds of the team’s all-new line-up featured in the top three, with Elfyn Evans in third, while Kalle Rovanperä was seventh as he prepares for his first appearance at rallying’s highest level, a Toyota Yaris release says.
The shakedown was held on a 3.35-kilometre stage close to the service park in Gap, with dry conditions giving the drivers a chance to get a good feeling with their machinery.
Ogier recorded a time of 1m57.1s on his first run over the stage, with that time remaining unbeaten. Evans was just six tenths of a second slower with his best effort, set on his second run. Rovanperä also improved on his second pass, finishing less than three seconds behind his team-mates.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top 10 as he prepares for the first of eight events this season in an separately-run Toyota Yaris WRC.
Quotes:
Tom Fowler (Technical Director)
“Going into our first rally with the new drivers, they were all pretty settled on their setups after our successful pre-event tests, so there wasn’t much to do from a setup point-of-view in shakedown. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather on the Monte, we have a few different settings for the car depending on the conditions, so we did change a few things during shakedown just to run the parts in anticipation of the different possibilities that can come up over the weekend. Everything went smoothly for everybody, and Ogier posted the fastest time with the first run. You can’t take too much from the shakedown results, but it’s always nice. The road was then getting muddy so it was difficult to take much from the later runs. But everyone is feeling confident, so it’s a good start.”Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“So far, everything is good and running like we were hoping. Shakedown doesn’t mean much and you don’t need to make any conclusions from the results, but it’s always a good sign if you are in the rhythm already. I’ve had the chance to have a good amount of testing already in the car before the start of the season. Of course, there are still some details to learn but the general feeling is there, and the sensations from the test came straight away here in shakedown. We can be confident heading into the rally, but this is probably the one rally of the season where you need to stay humble at the start as the conditions can make it so tricky.”Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It was a really nice feeling to get started with the Yaris here in shakedown. I found a good feeling pretty much straight away. The car was working really well and I’m looking forward to getting going now. The shakedown was very dry to begin with, so I doubt it will be representative of the whole rally, but that’s typical Rallye Monte-Carlo. It would be nice if we can start the first stage with a clear, dry road, but I’m sure it will get interesting after that.”Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It felt amazing to be in the car in shakedown. It was my first time back on asphalt after one month, and it was not so easy on the first run, but the second run was already better. The car was feeling really good and the setup also, and I think the small changes that we did in the test were now correct. There is still some work to do with myself for sure, but it feels good.”Shakedown times:
1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1m57.1s
2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +0.1s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +0.6s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1.2s
5 Teemu Suninen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.3s
6 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.6s
7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2.9s
8 Gus Greensmith/Elliott Edmondson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3.1s
9 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +3.3s
10 Takamoto Katsuta/Daniel Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.8sWhat’s next?
The rally starts from Monte Carlo’s famous harbour on Thursday evening before two night-time stages en-route back to Gap. The first test, Malijai-Puimichel, is being run for the first time since 1994. The darkness and falling temperatures can often combine to make a particularly tricky start to the season. -
WRC Round 9 resumes in Finland with all the jumps
Jyvaskyla (Finland), 31 July 2019: The FIA World Rally Championship resumes after a six-week break with Rally Finland (August 1-4), round nine of the 2019 season and one of rallying’s most demanding events.
Part of the WRC schedule since the inaugural season in 1973, the event was formerly known as the ‘1000 Lakes Rally’ and is famed for its fast and smooth gravel roads, which test both the bravery of the drivers and the performance of their machines. Co-drivers also play a crucial role on the rally, as accurate pace-notes are vital for the crew to carry maximum speed on the stages lined with numerous jumps and crests.
With six events to go, the fight for the drivers’ championship remains intense. Ott Tänak, who took an impressive win in Finland 12 months ago, is at the top of the 2019 standings since the last event in Sardinia. But the Toyota driver only holds a very slim margin over his closest rivals: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) is just four points behind him with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville only three points further back.
Elfyn Evans, currently fourth in the overall classification, will miss Finland while he recovers from a back injury sustained in the recent Rally Estonia – a round of the European Rally Trophy’s Baltic series which took place mid-July. His place among the top-class contenders will be taken by WRC 2 Pro regular Gus Greensmith, who will get a second outing in the Ford Fiesta WRC, following an encouraging debut in Portugal. Also joining the M-Sport line-up as an additional third entry for Finland is Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander is making his first WRC appearance this season, just like Craig Breen, who makes his debut for the Hyundai team alongside Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen.
A native of the rally’s host city Jyväskylä, Finland’s young gun Kalle Rovanperä will be out to add to his FIA WRC2 Pro championship lead on his home event. Škoda Motorsport enters an all-Finnish line-up with Eerik Pietarinen driving a second Fabia R5 Evo. M-Sport meanwhile gives a WRC debut to its new Ford Fiesta R5 with the Frenchman Eric Camilli at the wheel.
Camilli’s fellow compatriot Pierre-Louis Loubet heads the FIA WRC 2 entry after back-to-back wins in Portugal and Sardinia, and upgrades to the latest-specification Škoda for Finland. The Corsican will face tough competition with the fast young Finns Jari Huttunen and Emil Lindholm, Russia’s Nikolay Gryazin, as well as Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta.
Rally Finland is the fourth round of five in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, with Spaniard Jan Solans leading the standings. Debutant Sami Pajari will be one of the youngsters to watch as the latest product of the Flying Finn Future Star initiative.
THE 2019 ROUTE
This year’s Rally Finland route features only small changes to the 2018 itinerary. The traditional mixed-surface Harju test kicks off the action in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening, before a total of 10 stages on Friday, held mostly to the west. Saturday features a return of the Leustu stage – last run in 2014 – in a marathon day that totals 132.98 kilometers. Two passes of the Laukaa and Ruuhimäki tests provide an exciting finale on Sunday.
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Ogier sets the pace on drama-packed Day 1: WRC Mexico Rally
Ogier leads after Day 1. An FIA image Mexico, 9 March 2019: Defending World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia defied their disadvantageous starting position to turn the heat up on their rivals with their Citroën C3 WRC after five afternoon stages on Rally Mexico’s Day One. M-Sport Ford’s Elfyn Evans survived the carnage to hold second and Toyota’s Kris Meeke is in third place.
After a dramatic afternoon, which saw both Hyundai drivers Andreas Mikkelsen and Dani Sordo retire whilst holding first and second overall respectively – Mikkelsen was forced to stop in the stage and Sordo had an electrical fall-out – Ogier overcame a puncture to deliver a near-faultless display for Citroën to grab an overnight advantage of 14.8 seconds. The Frenchman said he was a lot happier with the grip and the conditions in the afternoon, which enabled him to manage his pace and keep a good starting position for the next day.
It was a leg of mixed fortunes for the M-Sport team. Elfyn Evans delivered a solid performance in his Ford Fiesta WRC to hold second place overnight. Teemu Suninen, on the other hand, crashed in this morning’s El Chocolate stage, his Ford Fiesta coming to rest hanging off the side of the track with front and rear damage.
Kris Meeke was Toyota Gazoo Racing’s shining light on an event where the Yaris WRC has struggled to achieve good results in the last two years. The Brit held third overall at the end of Day One, 6.3 seconds behind Evans.
A fascinating duel developed between Meeke’s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and fellow Finn Esapekka Lappi for fifth. The duo traded stage times, but it was Latvala who sneaked ahead in Ortega 2 to head the Scandinavian challenge. He was promoted to fourth when Sordo was sidelined later on, but then suffered his own reported alternator issues on the road section to the last two stages and retired.
Lappi was overtaken by Ott Tänak and reached the León Service Park in fifth while series leader Tänak and 2018 WRC runner-up Thierry Neuville were made to pay for their unfavourable starting positions – not to mention a flat tyre in the first stage of the day for the Belgian – to hold fourth and sixth.
Bolivia’s Marco Bulacia and Mexico’s Benito Guerra became embroiled in a fascinating battle for the FIA WRC 2 honours. The 18-year-old held a 0.3-second lead over the local hero at the midday service and went on to finish the leg 9.8 seconds in front of the Mexican in seventh overall.
Poland’s Lukasz Pieniazek – the sole FIA WRC 2 Pro entrant with a Ford Fiesta R5 – at to retire from Leg one with car damage in Ortega 2.
Tomorrow the crews will tackle two loops of three gravel stages and three spectator specials.
2019 Rally Guanajuato México – Unofficial results after Section 2 (end of Day One):
1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Citroën C3 WRC 1hr 18min 33.8sec 2. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 18min 48.6sec 3. Kris Meeke (GBR)/Sebastian Marshall (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 18min 54.9sec 4. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 19min 10.9sec 5. Esapekka Lappi (FIN)/Janne Ferm (FIN) Citroën C3 WRC 1hr 19min 12.9sec 6. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 19min 34.5sec 7. Marco Bulacia (BOL)/Fabian Cretu (ARG) Škoda Fabia R5 (WRC 2) 1hr 23min 49.9sec 8. Benito Guerra (MEX)/Jaime Zapata (MEX) Škoda Fabia R5 (WRC 2) 1hr 23min 59.7sec 9. Alberto Heller (CHIL)/ José Diaz (ARG) Ford Fiesta R5 (WRC 2) 1h 25min 05.3sec 10. R. Trivino Bujalil (MEX) / M. Marti Moreno (ESP) Škoda Fabia R5 1h 27min41.0sec -
Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier resume their battle with opening Super Special Stage: WRC
Thierry Neuville tops the opening Super Special Stage on Thursday. An FIA image Karlstad, 15 Feb 2019: Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Ogier resumed their battle where they left off on Rallye Monte-Carlo: the pair separated by 0.8s after Rally Sweden’s short opening superspecial in Karlstad in first and second place. Neuville’s team-mate at Hyundai, Andreas Mikkelsen, is only 0.3s behind in third on Thursday night.
Wet and slushy road conditions welcomed the drivers on Karlstad’s 1.9km superspecial, causing quickly forming ruts on the arena’s surface. Ogier went wide with his Citroen in the last corner on the outside loop, a fate that befell several drivers in this section of the track. Ott Tänak, third on the Rallye Monte-Carlo podium, was not one of them, and finished fourth fastest, 1.9s behind Neuville.
Finnish drivers dominated the bottom half of the Top 10. In his 197th start in the series, Jari-Matti Latvala marked a momentous occasion, going fifth fastest. Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi were next for M-Sport and Citroen in sixth and seventh respectively, while two-time FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm marked his one-off return after nine years away from the WRC with the eighth fastest time, at the wheel of a private team entry Toyota Yaris WRC.
Ahead of several WRC’s top drivers, FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Eerik Pietarinen navigated his factory Skoda Fabia R5 to ninth quickest overnight, tied with Toyota’s Kris Meeke and FIA WRC 2 pilot Jari Huttunen.
This meant several factory WRC drivers were outside the Top 10: Elfyn Evans, Pontus Tidemand and nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, all within six seconds of stage winner Neuville.
Rallye Sweden – Unofficial results after Section 1
1 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 34.9sec 2 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1min 35.7sec 3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 36.0sec 4 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.8sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.9sec 6 Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 1min 37.6sec 7 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 1min 37.9sec 8 Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.0sec 9 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.3sec 10 Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen Škoda Fabia R5 1min 39.3sec -
6th win in a row for Ogier-Ingrassia: Monte Carlo thriller
Ogier-Ingrassia duo wins at Monte Carlo for their sixth triumph. An FIA image Monte Carlo (Monaco), 28 Jan 2019: The reigning FIA World Rally Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their sixth victory in a row on Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of a thrilling season opener which held the crowds of spectators spellbound.
Ogier won the rally by only 2.2 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, having started the final Power Stage with a fragile lead of 0.4 seconds. On the event’s final day, the Frenchman had to battle a defaulting throttle which affected the behaviour of the car. Nonetheless, he finished second on the Power Stage, 1.7 second faster than Neuville, to claim the championship’s lead on his first rally back with Citroen. It was also the manufacturer’s 100th WRC win, in the company’s 100th anniversary year.Neuville fought hard in the intense battle at the front but he admitted that he definitely gave Ogier a bit of a present on Friday when he made a small mistake in SS7. The Belgian’s little consolation is that he won’t be opening the road at the next event in Sweden.On the Monte-Carlo podium for the third consecutive year was Ott Tänak. The Estonian was the leader of the rally up to the end of SS3 and scored seven stage wins in total over the course of the event, beating Sébastien Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala in the fight for the podium.Loeb, a seven-time winner on Rallye Monte-Carlo with his long-time partner Citroën, was putting his Hyundai car to the test for the first time. The Frenchman, who had just returned from the Dakar Rally in Peru, set two fastest stage times and finished fourth overall.Latvala was fifth, dropping in the rankings on the final day. The Finn said he wasn’t feeling happy with his driving and the set-up of the car.His new team mate Kris Meeke finished sixth in his Toyota debut after facing tyre trouble on Saturday. Nonetheless, the driver from Northern Ireland won the final Power Stage to secure five bonus points, which put him fourth in the championship.Gus Greensmith from Great-Britain claimed seventh overall as well as the winner’s spot for M-Sport Ford WRT in the newly created FIA WRC 2 Pro category, one place ahead of Yoann Bonato in eighth, who took the FIA WRC 2 win. Stephane Sarrazin and Adrien Formaux completed the top 10.Retirements included Esapekka Lappi, who faced mechanical problems, as well as Andreas Mikkelsen and Elfyn Evans, who both made driving mistakes.Next up on the FIA Rally Championship calendar is Rally Sweden from 14 to 17 February, a classic winter event that ventures deep into the frozen and remote forests of Sweden and Norway.Rallye Monte-Carlo – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)1 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 3hr 21min 15.9sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 21min 18.1sec 3 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 31.1sec 4 Sebastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 23min 44.1sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 45.8sec 6 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 26min 52.1sec 7 Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson Ford Fiesta R5 3hr 34min 20.5sec 8 Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud Citroen C3 R5 3hr 35min 12.4sec 9 Stephane Sarrazin / Jacques-Julien Renucci Hyundai i20 R5 3hr 35min 22.7sec 10 Adrien Fourmaux / Renaud Jamoul Ford Fiesta R5 3hr 37min 19.3sec -
Ogier continues to lead after Saturday morning stages: Rallye Monte Carlo
Sebastien Ogier on Saturday. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 26 Jan 2019: Sebastien Ogier has maintained his Rallye Monte-Carlo lead after Saturday morning’s two stages and the Frenchman has marginally extended his advantage over Thierry Neuville, the rivals still only split by 5.3 seconds. Jari-Matti Latvala has moved up into third, following the retirement of Andreas Mikkelsen.
Today’s route, which ultimately takes the crews to Monaco this evening, takes in two repeated loops of two stages covering 93.38 competitive kilometres. Tyre choices were more straight-forward today and Ogier went into the loop adopting a cautious approach. He immediately took 3.6 seconds out of Neuville in the opener and while the Belgian attempted to strike back in the second stage, he was unable to significantly close the gap. Neuville admitted his tyre choice was not the best in the second stage but was happy with his performance otherwise.
Behind them, the battle for third was intense but ultimately swung in Latvala’s favour. The Finn had a good feeling with the Yaris and from fifth, this morning moved into fourth after the first stage when Andreas Mikkelsen was forced to retire at the end of the stage having taken a wheel off when he hit a wall. Sebastien Loeb initially moved into third after SS9 but then dropped behind Latvala when he stalled at the start of the next stage. He and Latvala are now just 4.7 seconds apart going into the afternoon’s repeated loop.
Ott Tänak has also moved up the leaderboard courtesy of two fastest times, and retirements, the Estonian lucky to escape after nearly going off the road in SS10. Kris Meeke is in the sixth, managing his pace and focusing on points in the Power Stage tomorrow such is the gap to the fifth position.
Gus Greensmith is seventh and leading the FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship ahead of Kalle Rovanperä, the rivals each winning one of the morning stages. Yoann Bonato has also maintained his WRC 2 Championship lead and heads Guillaume de Mevius by over two minutes.
In addition to Mikkelsen, Esapekka Lappi was forced into retirement with an unconfirmed technical issue, and Elfyn Evans went off the road.
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Sebastien Ogier takes lead: Rallye Monte-Carlo
Sebastian Ogier takes lead on Friday. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 25 Jan 2019: Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier has moved into the lead of Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of the first full day of competition, but the Frenchman has just two-seconds in hand to Thierry Neuville after a total of eight tricky mountain stages. Andreas Mikkelsen has leapt from fifth at the mid-leg service to third overnight, albeit over a minute adrift already.
The repeated afternoon loop of three stages ran without problems and Ogier closed the gap to Neuville in the opening stage to just 1.4 seconds having set joint fastest time with Jari-Matti Latvala. While the Frenchman didn’t win either of the following stages, a consistent but cautious pace maintained his advantage heading into Saturday. Neuville dropped at least 15 seconds in the first stage when the car wouldn’t turn in and he had to spin his Hyundai back onto the right road. Otherwise, the Belgian has had a good day and high confidence in the last stage helped him reel in another fastest time. Mikkelsen is exercising a degree of caution and has had a clean run, overhauling Ott Tänak and Sebastien Loeb during the afternoon loop.
Latvala took a safe tyre choice which helped him equal Ogier’s fastest SS6 time and the Finn is just 7.4 seconds adrift of Mikkelsen. Loeb knew he would struggle with his tyres on the first stage, gambling on gaining in the following two. He set another fastest time in the middle stage to rocket from seventh to third, only to drop back to fifth in the final stage. He is however only eight-tenths of a second off Latvala. Elfyn Evans had a great feeling in the middle stage but had to take it easy over the icy sections in the final stage; he is sixth, 21.6 seconds behind Loeb. After a great start and the rally lead last night, Tänak is now seventh having stopped to change a puncture which dropped him from third. Kris Meeke had a frustrating afternoon, sustaining another broken rim and a broken damper as a consequence. The Northern Irish driver nevertheless remains upbeat, confident the speed has been there.
Gus Greensmith has now moved into ninth overall and leads the newly-created FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship. He is trading fastest times with Kalle Rovanperä but continues to have a healthy advantage after the Finn lost time off the road last night. Yoann Bonato is also inside the top 10, leading WRC 2 in his Citroen C3 R5. He won one of the afternoon’s three stages and heads Adrien Fourmaux by nearly two minutes.
The leading retirements of the afternoon were Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand. Lappi hit a rock, damaged a wheel and broke the wishbone and driveshaft, while Tidemand was also forced out with a broken wishbone.
Rallye Monte-Carlo – Unofficial results after Section 3
1 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1hr 37min 17.3sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 37min 19.3sec 3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 38min 35.0sec 4 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 38min 42.4sec 5 Sebastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 38min 43.2sec 6 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 39min 04.8sec 7 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 39min 52.2sec 8 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 42min 50.3sec 9 Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson Ford Fiesta R5 1hr 44min 17.4sec 10 Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud Citroen C3 R5 1hr 44min 24.0sec
