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Tag: Thierry Neuville
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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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Thierry Neuville takes the lead after the Spanish rally switches to asphalt
Thierry Neuville takes the lead as the rally switches to asphalt on Saturday. An FIA image Catalonia (Spain), 26 Oct 2019: Thierry Neuville took the lead from his teammate Sébastien Loeb as Rally de España, the penultimate round of the 14-event World Rally Championship, made the switch from gravel to asphalt on Saturday morning. Dani Sordo is in third place as Meeke crashed out, completing an all-Hyundai Top three.
After the cars were converted into asphalt specification during a longer than usual service on Friday night, the crews faced a loop of three stages this morning on Catalonia’s smooth and fast sealed surface roads.
A charging Neuville, who had previously led briefly on Friday morning, won the first speed test of the day, SS7, to move ahead of Loeb, the overnight leader. The Belgian was fastest again in SS8 and despite a braking issue in SS9, he increased his advantage at the top to 11.4 seconds, hence keeping his hopes of winning the driver’s title alive.
2018 Rally de España winner Loeb is second, 5.4s ahead of Sordo, who initially lost third place in the morning’s first stage after a second-quickest time from Toyota’s Kris Meeke.
But Meeke then crashed out at the start of SS8, hitting a barrier with his Yaris WRC and ripping off the rear-right wheel. This moved the Spanish favourite back to third and Toyota’s Ott Tänak to fourth.
Tänak had a steady start to the day but still took a stage win in SS9, coming closer to a maiden World Champion title.
Jari-Matti Latvala is fifth ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen, while Sébastien Ogier is up to eighth, following the hydraulic issues he suffered on Friday on his C3 WRC. Just behind Ogier, Mads Østberg and Eric Camilli round out the overall top 10 in their Citroën machinery and lead FIA WRC 2 Pro and WRC 2 respectively.
Østberg leads the Škodas of 2019 WRC 2 Pro champion Kalle Rovanperä and his teammate Jan Kopecky. In WRC 2, Pierre-Louis Loubet is second in front of Kajetan Kajetanowitz.
Ninth overnight, Toyota’s protégé Takamoto Katsuta stopped at the start of the day’s first stage as he struggled to select gears in his Toyota, but he was able to continue after losing 17 minutes.
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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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Dayinsure Wales Rally GB: Gill and MRF finish 12th; Ogier survives Latvala challenge for title
Gaurav Gill and MRF Tyres had plenty to cheer after finishing 12th in RC2 at the Wales Rally GB. Photo: MRF Racing Llandudno, 7 October 2018: Gaurav Gill and MRF Tyres had reasons to feel satisfied after finishing 12th in the RC2 class in the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship which ended here on Sunday with Sébastien Ogier winning the title after a pulsating final leg.
Gill and MRF who are focusing more on tyre development in preparation for a full WRC 2 season next year, maintained good pace, if opting to err on the side of caution in view of the treacherous conditions.
Yet, Gill, partnered by Australian Glenn Macneall and driving the M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R5, was on anything but a leisurely Sunday drive as he progressed through the standings, moving from overall 15th to 14th to 12th over three consecutive Stages before holding position in SS-22. MRF did not run SS-23, the concluding test, following changes in the wake of a motorbike accident not related to the rally.
“It is great to reach the end of the rally – it has been a challenging rally because of the slippery conditions and the changing weather,” Gill said. “Wales Rally GB is much different to Rally Finland and Rally Italy so it was a new experience for us and the team.”
Gaurav Gill negotiating a treacherous section. Photo: MRF Racing The crews did not return to service on Sunday, rather relying on a tyre fitting zone, meaning that any damage would have to be repaired by the crews. For Gill and Macneall, they would not have to worry about this as they skilfully navigated their way through the stages.
“Like the other days, today was tricky because of the narrow and slippery muddy stages,” Gill said. “We concentrated on getting through the stages and getting the data needed to develop our product.
“It is a shame we didn’t get to do the second run on Great Orme Llandudno due to the injury of a bike rider and our thoughts are with him. However, it was great to be able to rally in front of the massive Welsh crowd.”
Next up for Team MRF Tyres is Kennards Hire Rally Australia on more familiar roads. Joining Gill and Macneall in action on MRF Tyres will be the Australian Rally Championship, where MRF Tyres is the control tyre supplier.
SEBASTIEN OGIER HANGS ON TO POUCH TITLE
Sebastien Ogier had every reason to smile after winning the Wales Rally GB. Photo: WRC Meanwhile, in the WRC battle, Jari-Matti Latvala snatched Ogier’s slender overnight lead before the Frenchman fought back to regain the initiative in the penultimate speed test and win the four-day gravel road encounter by 10.6sec in a Ford Fiesta.
Latvala, driving a Toyota Yaris, finished 24.5sec ahead of team-mate and fellow-Finn Esapekka Lappi.
In the battle for the FIA World Rally Championship, Thierry Neuville’s final day surge to fifth left him with a seven-point advantage (189-182) over Ogier with two rounds remaining.
After narrowing Ogier’s overnight lead to 1.7sec with second fastest time in the opening Elsi speed test, Latvala threw caution to the wind in the following Gwydir special stage to move into a 3.6sec lead and claim maximum bonus points.
Ogier fought back in the following asphalt Great Orme Llandudno test to claim fastest time and defeat the Finn by 3.4sec – reducing the Toyota Yaris pilot’s advantage to a tantalising 0.2sec with two stages remaining.
The gravel forest roads were treacherously slippery after cold overnight temperatures and Latvala’s face at the finish of Gwydir revealed just how much of a roller coaster ride it was.
“An extremely difficult stage. It was very, very low grip and on the asphalt there was a lot of mud. I went flat over a crest, the car was already sideways and I thought I was going to hit the impact, but luckily I got away with it. It was a big push,” he said.
Ogier, who was third in both forest tests, admitted: “It was a difficult morning, the feeling wasn’t really great in the first two stages so I couldn’t push. The Toyota is very strong but we’re going to keep pushing until the end.”
Lappi was fastest in Elsi and the Yaris driver watched the lead battle from a safe third place after Craig Breen’s hopes of a podium took a knock when the Irishman spun his Citroën C3 in Gwydir and dropped 10sec.
Andreas Mikkelsen overhauled Mads Østberg to climb to fifth in his Hyundai i20, while team-mate Thierry Neuville’s scramble for vital championship points improved when he moved ahead of Hayden Paddon by a tenth of a second into seventh. He trails Østberg by 6.9sec.
After yesterday’s problems Ott Tänak and Neuville were desperate for Power Stage points to boost their three-way championship battle with Ogier. Tänak fared best to claim four bonus points while Neuville took two, one fewer than Ogier.
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Dayinsure Wales Rally GB: Gaurav Gill placed 14th in RC2; Dominant Tanak leads WRC
Ott Tanak….a dominant show on Friday. Photo: WRC Deeside Rally Village (Wales), 5 October 2018: India’s Gaurav Gill and Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall of MRF Tyres made steady progress to be placed 14th in the RC2 category and 23rd Overall at the end of Leg 1 in the Dayinsure Wales Rally GP, the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ott Tänak mastered wet and muddy conditions to dominate Friday’s proceedings as he chased a fourth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory.
Tänak, who won the previous rounds in Finland, Germany and Turkey, ended a tough day in the north Wales forests with a 28.8sec lead in his Toyota Yaris over series leader Thierry Neuville.
Gaurav Gill….Solid and steady. File photo: MRF The highpoint of Gill’s performance came in the afternoon when he clocked the fourth fastest time on the second loop of the 1.70 Kms-long Slate Mountain stage driving the Ford Fiesta R5. After the regroup, the competitors returned to the repeat three of the morning Stages with Gill clocking faster timings to finish the day on a satisfactory note.
Through the day, Gill maintained a steady pace in the M-Sport prepared car and stepped it up during the second loop in the afternoon when he was noticeably quicker even as he shaved off precious seconds on his morning run.
Tanak reeled off a hat-trick of speed test wins this morning, building a near-10sec cushion that allowed for caution in the next two foggy and rain-soaked tests. He won two more this afternoon when the first three stages were repeated.
Frequent surface changes and inconsistent grip in the constantly changing conditions left drivers struggling for confidence on the predominantly gravel roads, but improved afternoon weather played into Tänak’s hands.
“It was a really good day,” said the Estonian, whose recent form has propelled him into a three-way title fight with Neuville and five-time champion Sébastien Ogier. “It looks like we’ve made a good step with the car and in the really low-grip conditions we were competitive.”
Local hero Elfyn Evans scored his maiden win here 12 months ago and was Tänak’s closest challenger until an engine misfire stopped his Ford Fiesta en route to the afternoon stages.
Neuville capitalised to take second after a frustrating start in his Hyundai i20. The Belgian’s car would not handle as he wished and he overshot a junction and hit a chicane before set-up changes did the trick and he climbed from fifth.
He headed a quartet of drivers covered by less than 10 seconds. Jari-Matti Latvala briefly held second in another Yaris, but ended 2.5sec behind Neuville after losing his rhythm in this afternoon’s long Brenig stage.
Esapekka Lappi recovered from an early spin to make it three Yaris cars in the top four. The Finn was 4.6sec adrift of his fellow countryman and 2.3sec clear of Ogier’s Fiesta.
Ogier was third until first and second gears broke which, combined with two spins, relegated him to eighth before a late recovery. Craig Breen completed the top six in a Citroën C3.
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Dayinsure Wales Rally GB: Gill opens with tied 16th; Lappi tops timesheets after SS-1
Gaurav Gill – file photo courtesy MRF Racing Tir Prince (Wales), 5 October 2018: India’s Gaurav Gill of Team MRF Tyres, driving a M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R5, finished a creditable tied 16th, just 4.5 seconds off the pace after completing last night’s 1.70 Kms Special Stage as the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, a round of the FIA World Rally Championship got off to a spectacular start.
The action switches into the north Wales forests on Friday. Three early morning tests are repeated in the afternoon following mid-leg service in Deeside, with two short fan-friendly tests at Slate Mountain completing the pre-lunch loop. The eight stages cover 110.76km.
Gill, partnered by his long-time Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, clocked one minute, 28.3 seconds, the same as British pairing of Rhys Yates-Elliot Edmondson in a Skoda Fabia R5 while Skoda factory driver Kalle Rovanpera (Jonne Haltunnen) was the quickest in the RC2 group with 01:23.8.
Meanwhile, Esapekka Lappi (01:21.6) headed a Toyota Gazoo Racing 1-2 in the WRC category after edging team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala (01:21.9). Lappi completed the dusty 1.70km stage at the Tir Prince trotting track 0.3sec quicker than fellow Finn Latvala. Both were at the wheel of Yaris World Rally Cars.
Championship leader Thierry Neuville matched Latvala’s time in his Hyundai i20 to tie for second, ahead of title rivals Sébastien Ogier (01:22.3) and Ott Tänak (01:22.5). Ogier finished 0.4sec behind the Belgian in a Ford Fiesta, with Estonian Tänak a further 0.2sec adrift in his Yaris.
Tänak recovered from a frustrating start to the day when he crashed in his first pass at this morning’s shakedown test in Clocaenog. After missing the braking point on slippery gravel roads, he slid straight on into a bank and returned to the Deeside service park where his team replaced the cooling package.
Thursday evening’s curtain-raiser was a short floodlit blast at Tir Prince trotting track and included a slalom section, donuts and two eye-catching jumps. After a high-speed lap around long and flowing bends of the oval horse racing track, the stage ended with a twisty section on adjoining roads.
Gaurav Gill’s Ford Fiesta R5 at the MRF bay ahead of the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB. Photo: MRF Racing A view of the MRF service bay at the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB. Photo: MRF Racing
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Dayinsure Wales Rally GB: Thrilling three-way battle involving Neuville, Tanak and Ogier
Photos: Courtesy Dayinsure Wales Rally GB official website Tir Prince, 4 October 2018: A dramatic opening night under the floodlights; challenging new speed tests in the legendary Welsh forests and a stunning finale with cars racing through the closed streets of Llandudno – the first free-to-attend WRC stage in the UK for more than 20 years. Then there’s the added excitement of thrilling three-way title fights for both Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ WRC Championships as well as a local Welshman – Elfyn Evans – gunning for back-to-back GB victories after his 2017 success. It all adds up to an absolutely unmissable sporting spectacle.
More than 150 competitors will be based in the Deeside Rally Village with those contesting round 11 of this year’s 13-round FIA World Rally Championship facing 23 speed tests totaling nearly 200 miles (312kms) spread over four days of epic high-speed action.
The introduction of an awesome new generation of turbocharged, four-wheel-drive cars attracted record crowds to last year’s event and, as a result, an even more fan-friendly route has been devised for 2018.
It all blasts off under the lights at the Tir Prince Raceway on Thursday evening and concludes with the history-making Great Orme Llandudno Street Stage on Sunday morning – the first time World Championship motor sport has ever been seen on closed roads in Great Britain.
“There really is something for everyone,” enthuses Ben Taylor, managing director of Dayinsure Wales Rally GB. “We have an unsurpassed breed of stunning cars, the most exciting title race in memory, a local hero in Elfyn Evans, all the classic stages in the Welsh forests plus an amazing finish on the streets of Llandudno – it adds up to an incredible four days of epic entertainment. Even the weather seems to be set fair!”
The Welsh Government’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Lord Elis-Thomas, is equally excited. He says: “North Wales is very familiar with adventure, and for a weekend in October – Wales Rally GB becomes part of the family and adds to the adrenaline and excitement. Wales is home to some of the world’s most legendary rally stages – and this year’s route is a showcase of our fantastic Welsh scenery – with a spectacular finish along the coast during the Year of the Sea. We look forward to another successful event as some of the sport’s legendary drivers take on the challenges of the Wales Rally GB.”
TITLE FIGHT REACHES FEVER PITCH
Not for 15 years has the WRC produced such a captivating title battle among both drivers and manufacturers. With three rounds remaining on the 2018 calendar, just 24 points separate series leader Thierry Neuville, fast finishing Ott Tänak and five-time World champ Sébastien Ogier. With 90 points still on the table, the crown cannot be won in Wales, but, with time running out, all three protagonists will be flat-out in the forests.
A campaign that appeared to be building towards a duel between defending champion Ogier and heir apparent Neuville has been gate-crashed by man-of-the moment Tänak. The Estonian arrives in Wales having won the previous three rounds in Finland, Germany and Turkey in his Toyota Yaris and now finally admits he’s a title threat. “We are in the fight now,” he acknowledges.
Neuville still has his Hyundai’s nose in front but knows he has a battle on his hands. “We are fighting for the championship against some very hard guys to beat,” says the Belgian.
“It’s a three-way fight,” agreed Ogier. “There are still three rallies to go and everything is possible. Nothing is finished yet.” Now fans in Wales can witness the next page-turning chapter in this WRC thriller.
GOOD EVANS: A WELSH WINNER!
While many eyes will be focused on the title fight, local fans will be hoping home hero Elfyn Evans can again upset the form book.
Last year, the Welsh wizard from Dolgellau, made history by becoming the first Welsh driver ever to win a round of the World Rally Championship – a feat he’s now aiming to repeat. “Competing at home always bring a special motivation and we are targeting another victory,” he says. “The fans were amazing last year and I hope it’s going to be same again.”
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Neuville snatches dramatic win over Ogier to extend WRC title lead
Thierry Neuville reacts after scoring a sensational win over Sebastien Ogier in the Rally Italia Sardegna. Photo: WRC Alghero, 10 June 2018: Thierry Neuville snatched a thrilling Rally Italia Sardegna victory on Sunday afternoon after edging WRC title rival Sebastien Ogier in an electrifying shootout in the final speed test. He trailed Ogier by 0.8sec ahead of the 6.96 kms test, but delivered a daredevil drive in his Hyundai i20 to overhaul the Frenchman and claim his third win of the season by 0.7sec. Neuville extended his championship lead over Ogier to 27 points.
Esapekka Lappi finished third in a Toyota Yaris, a further 1min 51.3sec behind. The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak. It was a breach of regulations which prohibit the crew receiving items from a third party.After investigating the issue, stewards removed the 22 points Ogier and Ingrassia gained from the rally and the 18 earned by their M-Sport Ford team. The penalty was suspended, meaning it will only be applied if the pair repeat the offence before the end of the season. They were also fined 10,000 Euros. The decision means Ogier remains 27 points adrift of Neuville with six rounds remaining.
Ingrassia admitted his mistake at the hearing. He said they left the stage finish without checking the time card had been returned by marshals and when he realised the error, it was too late to return to the finish line by car or on foot. Stewards accepted it was a genuine mistake which had no effect on the performance of their Ford Fiesta.Neuville won the final live TV Power Stage to claim five bonus points. Ogier took four points for second with Ott Tänak scoring three in third in a Yaris. Andreas Mikkelsen and Elfyn Evans took two and one point respectively.
It was the third smallest winning margin in the WRC’s 45-year history, matching Neuville’s dramatic success in Argentina last year when he performed a similar snatch and grab on Elfyn Evans.
The Belgian started the sun-kissed short final leg along Sardinia’s north-west coast 3.9sec adrift of Ogier. He won the opening three tests before both drivers threw caution to the wind in the finale. Both made mistakes on the dusty, rocky tracks but Neuville emerged on top.
“I gave it everything, it was a really great fight and such a small difference at the end,” he said. “We needed to make a decision at the start of the last stage and our decision was to go for the win. We believed strongly and pushed hard.”
Ogier was far from downhearted. “We lost one battle but definitely not the war. It’s not the time to panic. I tried everything I could today but I was always losing a few tenths here and there,” he said.
Kopecky takes third WRC 2 win of the season
Jan Kopecky on a high after enjoying a comfortable win in WRC 2, his third of the season. Photo: WRC A clean run through the final day of the rally enabled Jan Kopecky to seal his third WRC 2 win of the year by more than three minutes. After Stéphane Lefebvre’s retirement on Saturday, the Skoda Motorsport driver knew all he had to do was clear Sunday’s four stages cleanly to claim victory, and that is exactly what he did. He kept his Fabia R5 out of trouble on the rocky and rutted roads to win by 3m 02.6sec.
Twenty-five points for victory keeps Kopecky second in the drivers’ standings, behind team-mate Pontus Tidemand. But with the Swede not participating in Italy, the gap between them slims to 18 points.
“The feeling is really nice because the Czech fans are everywhere here,” Kopecký explained. “The rally didn’t start completely perfect, but we’ve been fast the rest of the weekend and there were no mistakes.”
Ole Christian Veiby…..brilliant run. Photo: WRC Ole Christian Veiby secured runner-up spot in the second Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5. The Norwegian claimed a hat-trick of stage wins to add to his six from Saturday as he overhauled Hyundai i20 driver Nicolas Ciamin on the rally’s penultimate stage.
Ciamin claimed the final podium spot, deciding to focus on bringing the car home in one piece as the gravel tracks got rougher on the second run and rocks were pulled onto the racing line.
Pierre-Louis Loubet was one of the drivers caught out by the rough conditions in his i20 R5, he lost more than two minutes on the second run of the 14.06km Cala Flumini stage. That dropped him from fourth to sixth as Fabio Andolfi and Lukasz Pieniazek both squeezed their Skodas into the top five, despite a stall for the latter on the same stage.
Loubet’s woes were compounded when he was forced to retire at final control. That promoted Benito Guerra to sixth after his retirement yesterday. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Lefebvre rounded out the finishers – the Frenchman showing strong pace in his Citroën C3 R5 by claiming fastest WRC 2 time in the Sassari-Argentiera Live TV Power Stage.
Toyota development driver Takamoto Katsuta retired on SS17 with a broken driveshaft in his Ford Fiesta R5, while Simone Tempestini was unable to restart after mechanical issues with his Citroën on Saturday.
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Rally Italia Sardegna: Gaurav Gill shows good pace; Ogier, Neuville locked for title
Gaurav Gill with M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson, OBE, at the Rally Italia Sardegna. Photo: M-Sport Alghero, 09 June 2018: Having taken a restart after retiring yesterday following a hard nose-dive on SS-5, Indian champion Gaurav Gill showed why his credentials should not be taken lightly as the three times Asia Pacific Rally Champion showed impressive pace to end Leg 2 of the Rally Italia Sardegna in 14th spot among RC2 cars.
Gill, the 36-year old from Delhi, backed by MRF Tyres and with Aussie Glenn Macneall as his co-driver, enjoyed a much better outing in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5 today when seven Special Stages were run and despite suffering mechanical problems early in the day.
He was 11th quickest in SS-11, 10th in SS-12, fourth in SS-13, ninth in SS-14, 10th in SS-15 and ninth in SS-16 to finish Leg 2 in 15th position. Having re-started under Super Rally format, but with a heavy time penalty, Gill seemed determined to show that he belonged at this level and his pace on some of the Stages underlined the long-held belief that he could more than hold his own on the World stage.
As a non-priority driver, Gill, participating in WRC 2 is not eligible for points, but will be classified.
World champion Sebastien Ogier looking hot . Photo: WRC Ogier leads Neuville by just 3.9secs in WRC!
Title rivals Sebastien Ogier and Theirry Neuville face a thrilling final day victory showdown after gripping duel in the sun on Saturday. They traded seconds across seven dusty and rocky speed tests in the north of the Mediterranean island before Ogier finished with a slender 3.9sec advantage. Neuville, who heads Ogier in the WRC championship battle by 19 points, claimed three stage victories in his Hyundai i20, compared to Ogier’s two at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta.
Ogier extended his overnight advantage to almost 20sec before an overly-cautious drive through the famous Monte Lerno stage cut his lead to less than 5sec. As temperatures soared this afternoon, in contrast to yesterday’s torrential rain, both had problems. Ogier stalled his engine at the Ittiri stage start while Neuville punctured in the next test. With just one spare tyre onboard, he had no room for error in the final two stages.
“It’s so tight,” said Ogier. “It was a big push for me this afternoon because I was so angry with the last stage this morning. All the time I lost to Thierry was there. There’s pressure but it’s been like that all weekend and if we want to win we’ll have to fight for it.”
Thierry Neuville pushing hard. Photo: WRC Neuville said: “I knew if I had one more puncture I would lose a lot of time but it was our decision to carry on pushing. That was the risk we had to take and we managed it well – there were a couple of stones I had to avoid. The fight is open and tomorrow will be intense.”
There were battles across the leaderboard. Jari-Matti Latvala and Toyota Gazoo team-mate Esapekka Lappi fought tooth and nail for the final podium place. Latvala’s lead never rose above 7.0sec and he ended the final stage with a 5.3sec advantage.
However, his Yaris stopped on the liaison section back to Alghero with an alternator problem, believed to have been caused by an impact with a rock. Despite the efforts of the Finn and co-driver Miikka Anttila, they could not restart the car and retired.
Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg dueled for what became fourth following Latvala’s exit. Østberg began the day in front in his Citroën C3, but his Kiwi rival moved his i20 ahead and held off the Norwegian’s afternoon pursuit. The gap between them was 2.1sec.
Craig Breen was sixth in another C3 after a frustrating day, ahead of WRC 2 leader Jan Kopecký. Ott Tänak recovered to eighth after yesterday’s engine damage, despite stopping to change a puncture in the final stage. Martin Prokop and Nicolas Ciamin completed the top 10.
Sunday’s short finale comprises two loops of two stages along the coast north of Alghero. They add up to 42.04km, the action ending with a spectacular Power Stage which runs alongside the beach and offers bonus points to the fastest five drivers.
Esapekka Lappi finished third in a Toyota Yaris, a further 1min 51.3sec behind. The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak. It was a breach of regulations which prohibit the crew receiving items from a third party.
Ingrassia admitted his mistake at the hearing. He said they left the stage finish without checking the time card had been returned by marshals and when he realised the error, it was too late to return to the finish line by car or on foot. Stewards accepted it was a genuine mistake which had no effect on the performance of their Ford Fiesta.
