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Tag: WRC, Rally
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Rally de Portugal: Thierry Neuville takes control, extends lead
Thierry Neuville….well placed to claim victory in Rally de Portugal. Photo: WRC Matosinhos, 19 May 2018: Thierry Neuville gave his World title hopes a major boost after doubling his lead in Saturday’s penultimate leg of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. He starts Sunday’s short finale with a 39.8sec advantage in his Hyundai i20, and victory would propel him back to the head of the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time since February.
Conditions were more benign than yesterday when rock-strewn dirt roads caused carnage among the frontrunners, and the Belgian focused on the double pass through the 37.60km Amarante speed test, the longest of this sixth round of the series.
He protected his Michelin tyres through the two previous stages of the morning and afternoon loops, before attacking in Amarante. He distanced closest rival Elfyn Evans on both occasions to build a comfortable advantage.
“I was comfortable in the car, especially in the long stage. I tried to make a difference in there and it worked twice. It’s not finished yet but it could be a great weekend,” said Neuville whose conservative mix of hard and soft compound tyres was ideal for the wet final test.
Evans won two of the day’s six stages in his Ford Fiesta, one more than Neuville, and the Welshman looked increasingly secure in second as the day progressed. He struggled for confidence in both passes through Amarante, but had a 17.4sec margin over Dani Sordo.
The Spaniard stiffened his i20’s set-up following the morning’s opening test but slipped back into the clutches of Teemu Suninen with a final stage spin. The margin between them narrowed to 4.7sec.
The young Suninen had a stellar day in his Ford Fiesta, holding off fellow-Finn Esapekka Lappi in a furious fight. Both were on the limit throughout as they traded seconds in every stage and Lappi ended 11.1sec adrift in his Toyota Yaris.
Mads Østberg was a distant sixth, the Norwegian conceding almost a minute after sliding onto a bank at a muddy corner. The Citroën C3 driver was almost 1min 40sec clear of team-mate Craig Breen.
Breen endured a tough day opening the roads in the sandy conditions but gained a place following more disappointment for Kris Meeke in the French squad’s third C3. The Ulsterman slid wide on a fast left bend and his C3 rolled heavily down a bank and into trees. Both Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle were unhurt.
Pontus Tidemand took the WRC 2 lead and held eighth place, ahead of fellow support category drivers Lukasz Pieniazek and Stéphane Lefebvre.
Five more stages covering 51.53km lie in wait on Sunday, including two passes through the classic Fafe test and its famous jump. The second pass forms the Power Stage with bonus points on offer to the fastest five drivers.
Pontus Tidemand recovers to forge ahead
Pontus Tidemand….grand recovery to lead WRC 2. Photo: WRC Tidemand recovered from a disappointing Friday to claim all six Stage victories on Saturday and move into the lead of the WRC 2 category. The Skoda Fabia R5 driver started the day 1m 44.6sec off the lead in fifth place after two a double puncture yesterday, but he combined blistering pace with bad luck befalling his rivals to move his way up the order. By lunch-time service, he was second, with 49.4sec to make up to Stéphane Lefebvre. Another three wins on the afternoon loop sealed his place at the top of the class at the end of the day.
He was helped by a puncture for Lefebvre on SS14 and then brake and transmission problems cost the C3 R5 driver more than two minutes one stage later. The Frenchman finished the day in third.Overnight leader Gus Greensmith had a day to forget in his Ford Fiesta. On the opening Vieira do Minho test, he had a puncture which forced him to use his spare, and then another tyre de-beaded. With no more spares, he had to be cautious through the next two stages. Having slipped to sixth, he was quickly reclaiming the time he lost but had to retire with broken suspension on the road section before the second run of Amarante.
Benefiting from his retirement was Lukasz Pieniazek in a Fabia R5, who kept his second place despite a puncture of his own on SS14. Fourth place went to Pierre-Louis Loubet. The Hyundai i20 R5 driver had a clean run through the tests to move to within 8.0sec of compatriot Lefebvre.
Toyota development driver Hiroki Arai grew in confidence as the day went on, with top-five stage times allowing him to claim fifth place before the final stages on Sunday. Juuso Nordgren ended the day sixth in his Fabia, despite a puncture on SS14 slowing his progress.
Pedro Heller dropped out of the top five after a challenging day of his own. After a puncture this morning, he retired with mechanical issues 6.4km into SS15. His team-mate Nil Solans also hit trouble on the final stage, retiring at the 24.1km mark.
Finnish ŠKODA junior Juuso Nordgren was delayed by another two punctures and are sixth after the Saturday leg.
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Ott Tanak sets early pace in Super Special Stage; Suninen, Ogier tied second
Ott Tanak in a Toyota Yaris sets the early pace in Rally de Portugal. Photo: WRC Lousada, 17 May 2018: The duo of Ott Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja in a Toyota Yaris WRC was the quickest on the Super Special Stage (3.36 Kms) in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal which commenced here on Thursday evening.
The Estonian, the recent winner of the Rally of Argentina, beat Finn Teemu Suninen (Ford Fiesta) and five-time champion and World champion Sébastien Ogier (Ford Fiesta) by 0.4 seconds, who set an equal mark to reach second fastest time.
Kris Meeeke was the fastest in Citroën, as was Andreas Mikkelsen at Hyundai, both finishing the special at 1.4s off Tanak.
Suninen outpaced Hayden Paddon, returning after missing the last three WRC rounds, while Ogier was more than a second quicker than Thierry Neuville in the evening’s headline heat. Tänak dictated the previous round in Argentina but acknowledged a repeat is unlikely this weekend.
“It will be tough to dominate here. We know how loose the roads will be tomorrow and there will be a lot more cleaning than in Argentina. It will be a key tomorrow to get a good position so we can fight hard on Saturday,” he said.
Citroën C3 pilot Kris Meeke and Mikkelsen, driving a Hyundai i20, were fourth, a full second behind the tying Ford pair. Neuville completed the top six.
Jari-Matti Latvala dropped almost four seconds after stalling his Yaris in a hairpin. “Under braking, the engine cut completely. There’s something strange happening with the engine and we need to investigate that. It doesn’t worry me, but it annoys me,” he said.
M-Sport Ford mechanics replaced the cooling pack in Elfyn Evans’ Fiesta before this evening’s start at Guimaräes Castle after damage caused by a heavy landing in this morning’s shakedown.
Friday’s first full day is based close to the Spanish border. Two identical loops of three stages are split by service in Matosinhos, before the leg ends with two short street tests in central Porto. The eight stages cover 148.66 Kms.
JARI-MATTI LATVALA QUICKEST IN SHAKEDOWN
Jari-Matti Latvala. Photo: WRC Latvala edged Origer and Neuville to win Thursday morning’s shakedown. The Toyota Gazoo driver was fastest by 0.3sec through the 4.60 Kms Baltar speed test. Ogier and the Hyundai i20-mounted Neuville tied in second. Conditions were dry and dusty and the stage, which ended with a loop of Baltar’s rallycross circuit, was closely contested. The top eight drivers were covered by a second.
Latvala set the pace in the first run, before Kris Meeke went top of the timesheets in a Citroën C3 at his second attempt. The Finn set the benchmark in his third run as most drivers posted their best time in their final pass.
It has been a disappointing year for Latvala. He is eighth in the points after retiring from the previous two rounds in Corsica and Argentina and views this rally as an opportunity to turn around his fortunes.
“Springtime has been difficult for me and I would really like to use this rally as a turning point for the season. I want to see the finish line, have a clean rally and find the speed I can do. I believe the car is competitive enough, so I have to stay cool and do my job,” he said.
“Three runs in a row this morning and no changes. You normally know that when you don’t need to do any changes then the set-up is correct and that’s the way it should be. If you have to start working in the shakedown, it’s normally not a good sign.”
Meeke, driving a C3, and Andreas Mikkelsen, in an i20, were tied in fourth 0.4sec adrift of Ogier and Neuville. Hayden Paddon, returning to the WRC after a three-rally absence, was another tenth behind in sixth.
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Rally Argentina: Tanak-Jarveoja snatch win for Toyota; double podium for Hyundai
Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja who scored a win for Toyota in Rally Argentina. Photo: FIA Villa Carlos Paz, 30 April 2018: Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the legendary Rally Argentina on Sunday after a weekend-long display of dominance in which they won 10 of the event’s 18 stages. The Estonians were able to manage their pace over the closing three stages to take their first victory with Toyota by 37.7 seconds. Last year’s winners Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were second and team-mates Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio made it a double podium celebration for Hyundai with third.
In the FIA World Rally Championship, Neuville has managed to close the gap to Championship leader Ogier to 10 points with Tänak 18 points further adrift in the standings. Hyundai’s double podium also sees the Korean manufacturer extend its advantage over M-Sport Ford to 15 points. Toyota is third with Citroen trailing in fourth.
In the second run of El Cóndor, counting towards all-important Power Stage points, Tänak was able to control the pace and points for fourth fastest added to his Championship haul. Neuville was flat-out however and the Belgian set fastest time to add five points to his tally, his objective always to be ahead of Ogier. Sordo was happy with his Rally Argentina outing and the Spaniard finished well ahead of Ogier in the overall classification.
Ogier and Mikkelsen went into the stage fighting for fourth but the reigning FIA World Rally Champion managed to hold onto his position by just four seconds at the end of the event. Both Elfyn Evans and Kris Meeke moved up the standings into sixth and seventh respectively after Lappi dropped time with a puncture this morning. He finished eighth on his debut outing in Argentina, the Finn lamenting a huge amount of bad luck in Argentina. Teemu Suninen finished ninth, another debutant on the event.
Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson snatched the FIA WRC 2 Championship category win after Škoda team-mate Kalle Rovanperä rolled in the penultimate stage while leading. Tidemand beat Gus Greensmith by over seven minutes to take the lead in the Championship standings.
The sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the contenders back to Europe for Rally de Portugal (17-20 May).
Rally Argentina – Final Unofficial classification (subject to scrutineering)
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 43min 28.9sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 44min 06.6sec 3 Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Couple WRC 3hr 44min 44.6sec 4 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 45min 27.5sec 5 Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger Hyundai i20 WRC 3hr 45min 31.5sec 6 Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 46min 35.2sec 7 Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 WRC 3hr 46min 54.6sec 8 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 48min 01.5sec 9 Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 49min 07.5sec 10 Pontus Tidemand / Jonas Andersson Škoda Fabia R5 3hr 55min 44.7sec -
Tidemand keeps nerve to win Rally Argentina; leads WRC 2 Championship
Pontus Tidemand (right) and co-driver Jonas Andersson celebrate Rally Argentina win. The Swediesh pair leads WRC 2 Championship standings. Photos: SKODA Motorsports Villa Carlos Paz, 29 April 2018: Reigning WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand and co-driver Jonas Andersson from Sweden repeated their last year’s victory at Rally Argentina, the fifth round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship, here on Sunday. The Swedish pairing takes the lead in the WRC 2 championship standings from ŠKODA teammate Jan Kopecký who did not compete in Argentina.
ŠKODA factory-supported crews Tidemand and Andersson, and Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were leading the WRC 2 category going into the event’s last day. But in the penultimate stage, Rovanperä went off the road close to the finish. Thanks to the safety package of the ŠKODA FABIA R5, the crew was unhurt, but had to retire. Norwegians Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermœn, another duo of ŠKODA juniors, finished second in RC 2 class, which includes the WRC 2 category.
On the final day of Rally Argentina, three more stages, covering 55.27 kilometres, had to be driven. Tidemand tried everything to catch their young Finnish teammate. With a tremendous effort on the opening “El Condor” stage, he was 13.3 seconds quicker than Rovanperä, reducing the gap to only 9.9 seconds.
Kalle Rovanperä On the penultimate stage, the Rovanpera went off the road close to the end of the stage. Thanks to the safety package of their ŠKODA FABIA R5, they escaped without injury, however. With the WRC 2 lead back in his hands, Tidemand drove cautiously in the last stage and won the category with the huge margin.
The Swedish crew moved as well into the lead of the WRC 2 championship standings. “Sorry for Kalle. We had a tense fight and I always followed our Team instructions. I believed in my speed myself and obviously did not want to win this way,” Tidemand said.
After two punctures on the Saturday stages, ŠKODA junior Ole Christian Veiby managed to regain the third position in RC 2 class after a fast time on the opening Sunday stage. In the end, the Norwegian finished in second place.
ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek commented: “Accidents are a part of the game. Luckily, the safety standards of modern rally cars like our ŠKODA FABIA R5 are extremely high. So Kalle and Jonne escaped from that accident without being injured. Nevertheless, I want to thank both crews for the tremendous performance they delivered, the whole ŠKODA Motorsport Team did an excellent job.”
Final Result Rally Argentina (WRC 2): 1. Tidemand/Andersson (SWE/SWE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 03hrs, 55mins, 44.7 secs; 2. Greensmith/Parry (GBR/GBR), Ford Fiesta R5, +7:39.1 min; 3. Heller/Olmos (CHL/ARG), Ford Fiesta R5, +9:02.9 min; 4. Dominguez/Galindo (MEX/MEX), Hyundai i20 R5, + 15:49.6 min; 5. Solans/Ibanez (ESP/ESP), Ford Fiesta R5, +37:43.9 min.
Current standings WRC 2 (after 5 of 13 rounds): 1. Tidemand (SWE), ŠKODA, 68 points; 2. Kopecký (CZR) ŠKODA, 50 points; 3. Greensmith (GBR), Ford, 36 points; 4. Heller (CHL), Ford, 30 points; 5. Katsuta (JPN), Ford, 29 points.
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FMSCI nominates Gaurav Gill for Arjuna Award
Chennai, 29 April 2018: Three-time Asia Pacific Rally Champion Gaurav Gill of Mahindra Adventure team won the 40th South India Rally, the season opener of the Indian National Rally Championship, at Irungattukottai, about 40 km from here on Sunday to strengthen the Federation’s demand for an Arjuna Award.“Talent Personified,” was how former FMSCI president Vicky Chandhok, who brought F1 to India said about Gill on Friday. Talking to media, he had said that India needs a Hero in rallying and no one has come close. Gill is talent personified and definitely his going to the world stage will improve the profile of rallying in the country,” he added.
FMSCI, the Indian Motorsports Federation has announced in a tweet that the name of Gaurav Gill was nominated for Aruna Award. This is the third time that the federation has nominated his name. Gill, if selected, would become the first Indian sportsman from Motorsports to get the coveted honour. However, Narain Karthikeyan was honoured with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in 2010.
#FMSCI nominates India’s Top rallyist Gaurav Gill, a three-time winner of the prestigious FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, for the Arjuna Award.Coming back to INRC, Gill was ably navigated by his long-time co-driver Musa Sherif, a veteran of 266 rallies till date. The five-time National champion clocked 1 hour, 28 minutes 43.1 seconds to take a massive lead of close to two minutes to the nearest rival and teammate Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) who fought hard for the second place with 2016 champion Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai.
“The first South India Rally was held in 1953. It was a TSD Rally from Madras to Pondy and back,” recollected Vicky Chandhok, who took a well-deserved podium as a senior citizen taking the third place in the INRC 1 class behind Gill and Ghosh. Chandhok clocked 1:34:31.7 in his Volkswagen Polo R2 factory-prepared car. Incidentally, his last rally in 2010 was the South India Rally, before he retired. `I kept in touch with driving and had 100 other things to do with motorsports,” Chandhok said.
Vicky Chandhok tweeted soon after the rally saying:
Podium in class & 8th overall on my return to the driver’s seat with
@VWmotorsportind after 18 years!! Congratulations to the very talented@Gillracing on winning the@MMSCChennai South India Rally. He first rallied when i last did in the year 2000!! YES!!! -
Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja extend lead; set-up Toyota for Rally Argentina honours: WRC
Ott Tanak, navigated by Martin Jarveoja take a big jump towards Rally Argentina win for Toyota Yaris. Photo: FIA Villa Carlos Paz, 29 April 2018: Ott Tänak will take a 46.5 second advantage into the closing stages of Rally Argentina having once again dominated proceedings on Saturday. The Estonian won five of the day’s seven stages and only missed out on a clean sweep of victories in the mountains with a couple of technical problems in the final stage of the day. Thierry Neuville remains second overnight but when Kris Meeke was forced to stop and change a puncture, Dani Sordo climbed into the final podium position.
On 27th April, Tanak won his 100th Stage in WRC at Rally Argentina and tweeted: It’s my 100th
@OfficialWRC stage win in World Rally Car! What a journey it has been so far! #RallyArgentina#WRC#GoOttThis afternoon saw the crews head back out into the Punilla Valley for three stages, two of which were shrouded in fog this morning. Clear conditions were a welcome sight and Tänak was again immediately setting the pace, instantly claiming another two stage wins. However, in the final stage of the day, he briefly lost the power steering and then the oil from one of the dampers and could only manage fourth fastest. Even so, the Estonian’s 46.5 second advantage leaves him well-placed to take his first victory with Toyota tomorrow afternoon.Tyre preservation was the name of the game for Neuville this afternoon and he now heads team-mate Sordo by 21.7 seconds. The Spaniard has been flying again and set the fastest time in the final 40 Kms stage.
Sébastien Ogier has had a trouble-free run and is now up to fourth with Andreas Mikkelsen nearly 15 seconds adrift, the Norwegian with a better feeling having made changes to the i20 Coupe WRC before the final stage.
Esapekka Lappi passed Elfyn Evans for sixth and the rivals will head into the final day split by 6.2 seconds. Kris Meeke’s puncture dropped him to eighth, yet more disappointment for Citroën after Craig Breen retired during the mid-leg service with roll cage damage.
Teemu Suninen is ninth, comfortably ahead of FIA WRC 2 Championship category leader Kalle Rovanperä. The 17-year-old Finn won six of the day’s stages and has 23.6 seconds in hand to Škoda team-mate and reigning FIA WRC 2 Champion Pontus Tidemand.
The final day of Rally Argentina takes in three stages in the rock-strewn Traslasierra Mountains: El Condor and Mina Clavero, the second run through El Condor counting as the Power Stage.
Rally Argentina – Unofficial results after Section 8
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 58min 33.9sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr 59min 20.4sec 3 Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Couple WRC 2hr 59min 42.1sec 4 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 00min 32.9sec 5 Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger Hyundai i20 WRC 3hr 00min 47.7sec 6 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 01min 16.8sec 7 Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 01min 23.0sec 8 Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 WRC 3hr 01min 54.3sec 9 Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 02min 51.5sec 10 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen Škoda Fabia R5 3hr 09min 24.1sec -
Gaurav Gill tops time charts to take comfortable lead: INRC MRF South India Rally
Action, Gaurav Gill on a charge. Photos – Anand Philar Chennai, 28 April 2018: The legend of Gaurav Gill continued to grow following another superlative performance that put him firmly in control of the MRF South India Rally, the first round of the Indian National Rally Championship here today. At the end of Leg 1, Gill, piloting the XUV 500 for Mahindra Adventure, led the field by over a minute and with just five more Stages to be run tomorrow, victory for the three-time Asia Pacific Rally Champion is virtually assured.
With his vehicle suffering from a locked hand-brake leading to overheating of the turbo and the engine, Gill, with Musa Sherif in the co-driver’s seat, still had enough in the tank to destroy the opposition.
“We had an issue with the hand-brake during the first loop in the morning. The rear wheels got locked and the turbo temperature soared. So, we were down on power which is reflected in the Stage timings.“During service after the first run, we decided to do away with the handbrake. It meant I had to change my driving style. It was absolutely wild to drive this XUV without handbrake especially the Track Stage being very twisty. Anyway, I still managed to make plenty of time on others. Tomorrow, I will just cruise as the priority is to bring the car home safely,” said the 36-year old Delhi-based ace.
Second overall after Leg 1 was Younus Ilyas (co-driver Harish KN) of Race Concepts, driving a Mitsubishi Cedia in the INRC 2 class.
Younnus Ilyas He came up with an excellent drive to lead Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) of ARKA Motorsports, albeit by just 4.7 seconds to set up a thrilling battle on Sunday when the remaining five Stages will be run.
Slotted in fourth place and 3.8 seconds behind Kadur was Mahindra Adventure’s Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik), also in the XUV 500 while young Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival), piloting the VW Polo (INRC 3) was placed fifth overall.
Among the front-runners, Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) of Falcon Motorsports struggled with his VW Polo R2 after losing the third gear at the very first corner in the day’s first Stage, the SSS, and lost precious time to finish the day overall sixth.
Veteran Vicky Chandhok (Chandramouli), also in a VW Polo R2, ended up overall 11th after starting the day by topping the time sheets in the Super Special Stage, some three seconds ahead of Gill! The nimble R2, running on slicks, had the advantage on the bulkier XUV 500, but that should not take anything away from Chandhok’s competitiveness.
But as the day wore on, 61-year old Chandhok, returning to competitive rallying after a lapse of 18 years, dropped down the charts, but seemed pretty pleased with his performance.
“The R2 is an excellent vehicle, but needs to be driven hard. I pushed a bit, but had to remind myself that I was not here to prove a point to anybody. Overall, it’s been a fun day,” said Chandhok.
The extreme heat and humidity was among the topics of heated discussion in the garages and also those connected with the event. The weather conditions took a heavy toll on just about everyone and for sure, there will be no respite on the morrow!
Provisional classification (Leg 1):
Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) (44mins, 35.0 secs); 2. Younus Ilyas / Harish Kumar (Race Concepts, Mitsubishi Cedia) (45:39.5); 3. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (ARKA Motorsports, VW Polo) (45:44.2).
INRC-1: 1. Gill / Sherif; 2. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) (45:48.0); 3. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (Falcon Motorsports, VW Polo R2) (45:56.7).
INRC-2: 1. Ilyas / Harish Kumar; 2. Kadur / Pai; 3. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (ARKA Motorsports, VW Polo) (46:57.7).
INRC-3: 1. Mascarenhas / Padival; 2. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya AG (Falcon Motorsports, VW Polo) (46:10.2); 3. Chetan Shivram / Rupesh Kholay (Team Akshara, VW Polo) (46:16.4).
FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1. Adith KC / Suraj K (Pvt, Honda City V-tec) (46:46.0); 2. Suraj Thomas / Sob George (Pvt, Honda City V-tec) (47:56.5); 3. Ravi MS / Priyamvada Saradhi (Pvt, Maruti Baleno) (50:48.4).
FMSCI 4WD Cup: 1. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra (Pvt, Maruti Gypsy) (01:00:55.5).
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Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja dominate Friday stages: WRC Round 5 Rally Argentina
Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja take lead in the 5th round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship at Rally Argentina on Friday, April 26-19, Photo by Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Ott Tänak has dominated Friday afternoon’s stages of Rally Argentina, the Estonian winning each of the three repeated tests to claim a 22.7 second advantage after just over 155 competitive kilometres. Kris Meeke moved ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen for second position and Thierry Neuville has climbed from sixth to third overnight
This afternoon posed an equally tough challenge for the crews and only three of the top 10 retained the positions they held leaving the mid-leg service. Tänak has taken total command and has flown through the stages, his rivals at a loss to match his stage-winning pace. As such, he has extended his slim 0.8 second advantage to 22.7 seconds this evening, happy the car is really starting to suit him. Meeke started the afternoon third behind Mikkelsen, but when the Norwegian had a puncture in the first stage and dropped nearly 30 seconds, he was able to move ahead into second. Meeke then dropped time with a puncture of his own in the last stage, but is happy to remain in contention with potentially bad weather forecast tomorrow. Thierry Neuville took a bit of a tyre gamble this afternoon and while he knew his hard selection wouldn’t fare best on the first stage, he is just a handful of seconds behind Meeke and in the fight after a clever drive this afternoon.
He and team-mate Dani Sordo have been trading positions and from fifth at the mid-leg service the Spaniard is now up to fourth having overhauled Sebastien Ogier. He and Neuville are still however locked in a fight with only 0.9 second between them, with Ogier just 6.9 seconds further behind. The Frenchman has been on the limit today and minimised time loss running at the head of the field. He is looking to capitalise with a better road position tomorrow. Craig Breen has had a better afternoon and is sixth and battling to stay ahead of Mikkelsen who, from leading this morning, is now seventh after the puncture. Esapekka Lappi continues to be frustrated by small mistakes and problems and after a great run this morning picked up two punctures and is now over a minute adrift of the lead in eighth. Elfyn Evans has had a disappointing day and the Welshman is ninth ahead of team-mate Teemu Suninen who rounds off the top 10. Toyota also confirmed that Jari-Matti Latvala would not be returning to competition tomorrow, damage to the engine oil lubrication system forcing him out terminally.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship, Pontus Tidemand continues to lead and the Swede has 20.2 seconds in hand to team-mate Kalle Rovanperä. Gus Greensmith retains third.
Rally Argentina – Unofficial results after Section 5
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 30min 38.6sec 2 Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 WRC 1hr 31min 01.3sec 3 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 31min 07.2sec 4 Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Couple WRC 1hr 31min 08.1sec 5 Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 31min 15.0sec 6 Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroen C3 WRC 1hr 31min 19.8sec 7 Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 31min 37.1sec 8 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 31min 46.5sec 9 Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 31min 48.9sec 10 Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 32min 12.3sec -
Gaurav Gill odds-on favourite to win MRF South India Rally: INRC Round 1
Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif of Mahindra Adventure, all set to defend their Indian National Rally Championship crown. The 2018 INRC season commences in Chennai this weekend. Photos: Anand Philar. Chennai, 27 April 2018: Reigning champion Gaurav Gill, driving the Mahindra Adventure’s XUV 500, heads a 31-car field as the MRF South India Rally which kicks off the 2018 FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship season here this weekend.
Organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, the event which commences with a ceremonial flag-off at the GRT Hotel here on Friday, will see the participants tackling 106.6 Kms of Special Stages over the following two days.
The two physical Stages are located at the iconic MMRT racing circuit where a 10.15 Kms of dirt track has been specially prepared, and the 13.85 Kms AAVISA, about 24 Kms away from MMRT, off Chennai-Bengaluru National highway.
Much of the attention will be on 36-year old Delhi-based Gill who will be making his entry into the World Rally Championship 2 category later this year, backed by MRF Tyres who had supported him through 10 seasons in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship that he won thrice.
Ahead of the season-opener, there are plenty of expectations. For one, Gill is the overwhelming favourite to retain the National title with the seasoned Musa Sherif in the co-driver’s seat.
The top-end INRC 1 class has six entries, besides Gill. His team-mate Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) will be in the second XUV 500 vehicle while the field also includes two Toyota Liva entries representing Team Thums, and Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) of Falcon Motorsports in a VW Polo R2.
Creating a big buzz in the INRC circles is 61-year old Vicky Chandhok who is making a comeback of sorts after a gap of 18 years. He is partnered by the highly rated co-driver M Chandramouli. Former FMSCI president Chandhok who is also the president of the FIA APRC, will be driving a factory-supported VW Polo R2 in the INRC 1 class.
“It feels great to get back into a rally car and drive it with anger. I hope to do well. The last rally I drove was in 2000 in the same event in a Mitsubishi Lancer. But the R2 is a whole lot different package, but fun to drive,” said Chandhok, looking far trimmer after a month’s absence from his favourite whisky! “I haven’t touched a drop in the past one month, but will enjoy my drink on Sunday after the rally,” he added.
The competition in the INRC 2 and INRC 3 classes appears wide open. Both categories showcase a lot of experience and youth besides talent. Rahul Kanthraj and his co-driver Vivek Bhatt (Arka Motorsports) head the INRC 2 field and will be seeking a winning start in their bid to retain the crown in this class. The duo will be starting their 19th season together and form one of the most enduring partnerships in the National championship.
Kanthraj will have to keep a sharp eye on his talented team-mate Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) who is among the most talented rally drivers in the country, but has never quite been able to match his potential. For the South India Rally, Kadur’s big issue is his brand new VW Polo whose engine is still to be run-in, and as such, face overheating problem that cropped during the test session yesterday. So, Kadur will have his fingers crossed.
In INRC 3, young Mangalorean Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Shrupta Padiwal in Falcon Motorsports livery are the odds-on favourites, having won the championship in this class last year. However, they can expect stiff competition from rookie Fabid Arakkal (co-driver Fayaz Arakkal) from Kerala who is being spoken of highly by the connoisseurs.
Also in INRC 3 is the experienced Bengaluru pair of Chetan Shivram and co-driver Rupesh Kholay who have moved up a class after winning the 2-Wheel Drive Cup last season.
`Champions’ from Coorg raring to go! Meanwhile, a new team called “Team Champions”, hailing from Kodagu district in Karnataka, will be making a debut in the INRC with a two-car entry in the INRC 3 class.
The two non-championship categories, 2-Wheel Drive Cup and 4-Wheel Drive Cup, complete the grid with the former having seven entries and the latter, just one, a Maruti Gypsy, driven by Nikhil J, which a few years ago was phased out from the championship.
After this morning’s recce run, the competitors were unanimous in their praise of both the two Special Stages which are likely to see very high speeds. A few jumps over crests will no doubt add spice to the proceedings. The AAVISA Special Stage was said to be quite fast despite the many tight corners. The track stage which was specially prepared for this event and which will serve as a training / practice circuit, should see plenty more action with several high-speed jumps that should be a photographer’s delight. Overall, MMSC have put in a lot of effort to provide excellent Stages that in more ways one are “driver’s delight”. -
Tidemand eyeing repeat win in Argentina and take WRC 2 championship lead
Pontus Tidemand seeking a repeat win in Argentina. Photo: SKODA AUTO Mladá Boleslav, 24 April 2018: With a repetition of their last year’s win at the upcoming Rally Argentina (26 – 29 April), reigning WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson (SWE/SWE) could move into the championship lead again ahead of their SKODA Motorsport team-mates Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) who won two of the four rounds so far.
Kalle Rovanperä, the 17-year old ŠKODA junior from Finland, is the youngest driver in the Rally Argentina entry list and together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen (FIN) proved his speed on the gravel tracks of the recent Rally Mexico. Norwegians Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermœn, another duo of ŠKODA juniors, will contest Rally Argentina without being registered for WRC 2 championship points.
Rally Argentina, fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, will see ŠKODA Motorsport competing with Tidemand and Rovanperä. One year ago, Tidemand achieved a dominant win in Argentina for the Czech brand in the WRC 2 category.
Kalle Rovanpera. Photo: SKODA AUTO On the other hand, Rovanperä and Veiby are newcomers to Rally Argentina. Veiby finished fourth at the recent Tour de Corse. In Argentina, he is not registered to score points for the WRC 2 championship.
ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek says: “So far, the 2018 Motorsport season is running very well for ŠKODA. After winning in Monte Carlo, Mexico and Corsica we have a double lead in the WRC 2 championship standings. And the development program for our young drivers runs perfect as well. Kalle and OC have shown great performances on World Championship level.
“Juuso Nordgren made a good impression finishing on the podium with an excellent third place at the last round of the Czech Championship. We will see him during the 2018 season on selected events including some of WRC 2.”
A strong pillar of the ŠKODA motorsport programme is the activity with customer teams. The ŠKODA FABIA R5 is currently the most successful car in its category and will do its best to keep its position after getting a recent engine upgrade.
“We’re proud, that with no fewer than seven ŠKODA FABIA R5 in Argentina. We’re the strongest brand in WRC 2 and RC 2 category there. It absolutely proves that our strategy is working. With the presence of our works team we demonstrate the attractiveness and competitiveness of our rally car,” says Hrabánek.
In Argentina, around 360 Kms over 18 special stages, ranging from the Argentine prairie to altitudes of more than 2,000 metres, sandy tracks across flatlands and rutted mule trails high in the mountains, are waiting for the crews. Demanding tracks in the foothills of the Andes near Cordoba are quite similar to those of Rally Mexico.
The two ŠKODA FABIA R5, the one that carried Tidemand to victory in Mexico and Rovanperä’s car, were transported directly from Mexico to Cordoba. To a certain extent, they are already “acclimatised” to the Argentine environment.
The Rally Argentina starts on the evening of Thursday, 26 April, with a spectacular show stage close to the service park in Villa Carlos Paz. The winner is expected on the podium at the shores of Lake San Roque on Sunday, 29 April.
SKODA AUTO Press Release
What a journey it has been so far! 
