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Tag: WRC, Rally
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Tanak takes lead: WRC Rally Deutschland
Ott Tänak has turned a 4.1 second mid-leg deficit into a 5.7 second overnight advantage during the afternoon loop of stages on Rallye Deutschland. Despite a tricky afternoon during which many of the drivers have slid off the road, the Estonian included, he retakes the lead and heads Andreas Mikkelsen who took the surprise advantage this morning despite a poor starting position. Championship contenders Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville have also swapped positions with Neuville now climbing to third when his rival spun in the final stage.
After torrential rain during the mid-day service, crews headed back out to the same two vineyard stages this afternoon before returning to the super special stage. The repeated Mittelmosel stage was rain soaked and again the crews ran different configurations of tyres, but mostly on full wets. Tänak took the stage win, even though he went straight into a vineyard on a tight hairpin, and managed to overhaul Mikkelsen in the following test. He then got stuck on some mud in the final stage and struggled to get back on the road on the slick tyres but held on to his advantage after a very tricky day of competition. Mikkelsen, in only his third outing in the C3 WRC, has excelled and barely put a foot wrong, showing the true potential of the car on tarmac. Behind him, Neuville climbed from sixth to third during the afternoon; he had a spin in the first stage, struggled with wheel spin and braking and then also ran wide in the final stage but was able to take Ogier when the Frenchman spun and lost 20 seconds, dropping him down to fourth but only 2.4 seconds adrift.
Elfyn Evans continues to hold fifth after a reasonably uneventful afternoon and the Welshman heads Juho Hänninen who is now the lead Toyota driver after Esapekka Lappi ended up in a wall with broken suspension and had to retire. Craig Breen struggled with confidence this afternoon and then spun into a field. Nevertheless he is seventh and within striking distance of Hänninen. Latvala has moved into eighth but is now nearly two minutes adrift of the lead after his engine woes of the morning. Hayden Paddon admitted to needing to regain his confidence tomorrow and the Kiwi is ninth with asphalt ace Jan Kopecky moving into the top 10 in his Škoda Fabia R5. The Czech driver heads the FIA WRC 2 Championship but is in a close battle with category leader Pontus Tidemand, the Swede only 5.8 seconds behind. The FIA Junior WRC Championship was a close-fought fight until series leader Nil Solans retired with suspension damage. With him out of the game today, his closest championship rival, Nicolas Ciamin, will be looking to capitalise and close the gap in the standings before they head to Spain for the final round of their series.
Rallye Deutschland – Provisional results after Section 3
1. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 07min 23.0sec 2. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger Citroën C3 WRC 1hr 07min 28.7sec 3. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 07min 51.2sec 4. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 07min 53.6sec 5. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 08min 15.1sec 6. Juho Hänninen / Kaj Lindström Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 08min 37.7sec 7. Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroën C3 WRC 1hr 08min 47.5sec 8. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 09min 17.7sec 9. Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 09min 52.5sec 10. Jan Kopecky / Pavel Dresler Škoda Fabia R5 1hr 10min 59.2sec -
MRF’s Veiby surges ahead; Gill third: APRC
Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 12 Aug 2017: Ole Christian Veiby of Team MRF survived treacherous conditions and rode his luck to take a seemingly winning lead in the International Rally of Johor, the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, here on Saturday while defending champion and team-mate Gaurav Gill was a distant third following a string of mishaps.
Veiby, the 21-year old from Norway, driving the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5, finished the day marked by incessant rains which rendered the
Ole Christian Veiby in action at the Malaysian Rally, a round of the APRC on Saturday. An MRF image terrain into a virtual skating rink and led to cancellation of a Stage, four minutes, 32.5 seconds ahead of Finland pair of Jari Ketomaa and co-driver in a Mitsubishi Mirage.
For Delhi-based Gill, 35, it was a wretched outing as he first clipped a tree stump due to “purely a driving error” as he put it in the day’s first Special Stage leading to a bent steering arm and later in the day, suffered alternator problem which fogged the windscreen.
These mishaps cost him precious time, yet, he came up with a superb drive to make about five places, overtaking two cars on different Stages in the process to finish the day third, some 12 minutes behind Ketomaa,
Veiby, who leads Gill by two points in the championship standings, has all but clinched the title here with just two loops of three short Special Stages to be run on Sunday.
“It’s been a good day overall. But for sure, it was not easy as it is my first time down here. I have never driven in such conditions. It was so slippery. I was a bit lucky in some places. On the first stage, I went straight into a tree and after that I used the grass to see how the grip level is. Now I know how fast I could do. In these conditions, it is so easy to do mistakes.
“We have a good gap, but can’t just roll down the Stages tomorrow. My aim is to try to make it to the finish, but I have to keep the pressure up. I am so lucky to be here at the finish today,” said Veiby.
Looking back on his day, Gill said: “Obviously it was not my best day. About 18 Kms into the first Stage, I hit a tree stump which I didn’t see. It was purely a driving error. It bent the steering arm. On finishing the stage, I had to go under the car and repair the steering control arm. It cost us a lot of time. Thereafter, we made time on others in spite of the bent steering.
“Overall, we were down to seventh or eighth, but had some good times. In the day’s third Stage, we had alternator problem and almost immediately, caught up with Sumiyama who held me up for about 30 seconds before I nudged him to pass. But with the windscreen fogging, I had almost nil visibility and had to slow down which again cost us time. So, one drama after another!
“Thereafter, we again made time on others, and I passed Young on one of the Stages and we are now placed third, but with one Stage cancelled today and only short Stages to be run tomorrow, I have to settle for what I have. The gap is too much to make up.”
Classification after Leg-1 (Provisional):
FIA APRC: 1. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (1hr, 58mins, 27.9secs); 2. Jari Ketomaa / Ville Mannisenmali (Mpart Sport, Mitsubishi Mirage) (02:03:00.4); 3. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:15:17.6).
Asia Cup: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:15:17.6); 2. Michael Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing, Subaru Impreza) (02:18:19.5); 3. Yuva Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:13:44.6).
eom/AP Media Communications release
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MRF’s Gill sets early pace in Rally of Johor: APRC
Gaurav Gill (right) and Ole Christian Veiby during FIA press conference a Johor on Friday. An MRF image Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 11 Aug 2017: India’s Gaurav Gill and Norwegian youngster Ole Christian Veiby set the benchmark while showcasing their pace in the International Rally of Johor, the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as the Team MRF duo topped the time sheets during this morning’s shakedown here ahead of the ceremonial flag-off and the Super Special Stage later on Friday.
Delhi-based Gill, 35, was the quickest of the lot as he put in six laps around the 1.6 Kms dirt track clocking a best of one minute, 39 seconds as against 21-year old Veiby’s 01:39.6. The pair was well ahead of the pack that included WRC regular Jari Ketomaa from Finland and Swedish ace Robert Blomberg.
“Since this is my first drive in the Skoda Fabia R5 in nearly three months, I was keen to put in as much seat time as possible and am happy with how everything went today,” said Gill during the pre-event FIA press conference today. “However, the Malaysian Rally is the toughest of the championship with changing conditions and high humidity, but I am well prepared for it.”
Veiby, who is driving a brand new R5 which came here straight from the factory, said his goal was to maintain his lead in the championship, referring to his two-point advantage over Gill who had won the first round in New Zealand while the Norwegian took the next in Australia.
“My target here is to stay ahead in the championship. I know Gaurav is very quick and has the experience driving in these conditions, while this is my first time in Malaysia. I hope to do well,” said Veiby who recently won in the WRC-2 category in Poland.
After tonight’s Super Special Stage which will be run at the same premises as the shakedown, but with a few modifications in the track configurations, the cars head to the nearby palm oil plantations for the Special Stages spread over the next two days.
Shakedown results: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (01min, 39secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (01:39.6); 3. Yuma Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing, Skoda Fabia R5) (01:41.2).
eom/AP Media Communications
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Latvala tops Toyota 1-2-3 on Saturday morning: WRC Rally Finland
Jari-Matti Latvala set a string of four fastest times during Saturday morning’s loop of stages to reclaim the lead of Rally Finland and head an impressive Toyota one-two-three on the team’s home event. He heads last night’s leader Esapekka Lappi by 7.8 seconds at the mid-leg service with Juho Hänninen, in the third Yaris WRC, climbing from fifth to third.
After the longest day of the rally yesterday, today’s route takes in two loops of four stages, including the legendary Ouninpohja where cars just fly from jump to jump in the most spectacular fashion. Latvala, who is on supreme form, was on the pace from the outset and slashed the gap to Lappi in the first stage, his young team-mate once again cautious in the opening stage of the day. In the following stage Latvala took the advantage and maintained his lead to top a dream result for the team. Lappi has been unable to match the pace but the young Finn’s performance continues to be outstanding in only his fourth event in the car. Whether he will push this afternoon to try and re-take the lead remains to be seen. Hänninen has run wide a couple of times but was able to move into fourth when Craig Breen spun in SS15. He then also benefitted when third-placed Teemu Suninen missed a chicane in the following stage and lost over 20 seconds.
Suninen’s fourth position sees the Finns lock out the top of the leaderboard and but for missing the chicane, he has avoided problems. Elfyn Evans has had a far better run today after set-up changes last night, the Welshman moving from seventh to fifth and, like Suninen, is battling for the final podium position. Breen continues to struggle; he overshot a junction in the first stage, had a spin in the next and is finding it impossible to commit and find a rhythm. He has now dropped to sixth. Thierry Neuville’s rally is also getting no better and the Belgian has only moved one position up the leaderboard to seventh, making little inroads on the potential he had to slash the points deficit to Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman did not re-start this morning, co-driver Julien Ingrassia suffering mild concussion following their accident yesterday. Kris Meeke is languishing behind too; after damaging the steering yesterday, he has somehow carried an issue with it into today and will doubtless be happy to put his Rally Finland outing behind him on Sunday. Ott Tänak and Dani Sordo round off the top 10 with Mads Østberg dropping to 11th after going off the road, damaging the suspension and picking up brake issues. Hayden Paddon retired for the second time this weekend after hitting a rock and breaking the suspension on the Hyundai.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship, three out of four stage wins keeps Jari Huttunen in the lead ahead of Quentin Gilbert and Tom Cave. Nicolas Ciamin continues to top the Junior standings having also won three stages.
eom/FIA press release
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Neuville-Tanak battle it out; Latvala slips to 3rd
Thierry Neuville has maintained his advantage at the head of the Rally Poland leaderboard but the Belgian is battling hard with Ott Tänak who took the lead for two of the morning’s four stages. At the mid-leg service the rivals are split by 1.3 seconds with Jari-Matti Latvala holding station in third, albeit seemingly unable to consistently match their pace.
Saturday’s route covers another two loops of four stages before returning to Mikolajki for the final run around the super special stage. After yesterday’s persistent rain, the morning has been dry providing much less treacherous conditions for the crews as they fight for seconds over the fast gravel roads. Neuville, with the same advantage over Tänak last night, managed to extend his lead to 2.6 seconds after this morning’s opener, despite worrying he had picked up a puncture after hitting a rock. With Tänak setting the pace in the second stage and snatching the lead – despite an off – the Belgian then had to up the pace and with a final stage win in SS14 the Belgian re-took the number one slot as the crews headed into service. Tänak was again fastest in the third stage and is continuing to push hard as he battles for a second consecutive WRC victory.
Jari-Matti Latvala has been unable to fully match the pace of the leaders, despite being comfortable with the conditions and the feeling with the Yaris WRC. He is 9.5 seconds off the lead and now ahead of Hayden Paddon, the Kiwi up to fourth after Sébastien Ogier dropped time. Paddon lost the feeling with the brakes early this morning but is enjoying the more consistent conditions. Dani Sordo is up to fifth, also benefitting from Ogier’s problems, but he is only 6.8 seconds ahead of the Championship leader who picked up a slow puncture in the first stage, then another in the following stage. With the tyre off the rim, Ogier then spun and clouted a kerb, losing the front bumper, aero devices and therefore downforce. He dropped from fourth to fifth and then sixth with the on-going problem.
Teemu Suninen continues his fine run in the Fiesta WRC, his first outing in a 2017 specification car, and holds seventh ahead of the lead Citroën of Stéphane Lefebvre who was happy to get through the morning loop. Mads Østberg continues to push him hard but lost ground with an overshoot in the final stage. Juho Hänninen has had to get through the stages with an engine issue, meaning he’s had to be at high revs and the Finn rounds off the top 10. Elfyn Evans is 11th ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen who went off in the second stage.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship, Ole Christian Veiby continues to hold the advantage and the Norwegian heads category leader Pontus Tidemand by 13.6 seconds after three fastest times.
eom/FIA press release -
Latvala leads after opening loop: WRC Rally Poland
Jari-Matti Latvala has slipped into the lead of Rally Poland after Friday morning’s opening loop of sodden stages. Overnight and persistent rain has made conditions tricky for all the crews but those running nearer the front of the field have taken a small advantage in the muddy conditions. Surprised by his position, Latvala is topping a close battle and heads Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier, the trio all less than 7.3 seconds adrift of the lead.
Rally Poland, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is normally a hot and dry affair but persistent rain has turned the soft and sandy roads into muddy, wet and rutted stages that are worsening with the passage of cars. A heavy storm yesterday afternoon forced the organiser to cancel the official start but last night’s opening super special stage ran as scheduled and saw Elfyn Evans take the overnight lead.
Today, however, crews headed out to the fast and flowing countryside stages, again in pouring rain, for two loops of four stages before returning to Mikolajki for a second run around the purpose-built super special. Neuville was on the pace in the opener, but Latvala took the lead in the longer second stage with a fastest time, despite feeling he wasn’t driving particularly well. Victory in the third stage and second in the last one cemented his advantage and the Finn arrived at the mid-leg service happy with his performance. Neuville added a second stage win in SS5 to his tally, despite trying to find a good rhythm all morning. He is just five-tenths of a second ahead of Ott Tänak, the Estonian so close to winning here last year. He ran wide at a junction early this morning and then stalled on the start line of the last stage but has otherwise adapted to the ever-changing conditions. Team-mate Ogier is hot on his heels, the World Champion also trying to judge the level of grip and how much of a risk to take in the treacherous conditions.
Behind the leading quartet, Hayden Paddon is further adrift in fifth, the Kiwi driver struggling with his later road position and simply trying to survive the opening loop. His Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo hates inconsistent conditions and the Spaniard has had a couple of spins as he struggles to find a good feeling. Juho Hänninen took a 10 second jump start penalty into the day but has otherwise run without problems into seventh. Teemu Suninen, driving a 2017 specification Fiesta WRC, is a fine eighth and ahead of factory driver Elfyn Evans. Stéphane Lefebvre heads the Citroën challenge in 10th, the Frenchman taking no risks. Andreas Mikkelsen, again drafted in by the French squad, is 12th after damaging the suspension in the last stage and Craig Breen had a broken drive-shaft in the first stage, a gutting start for the Irishman who was looking for a clean run after problems on the last event in Italy. Esapekka Lappi is currently the only retiree, the Finn out with broken suspension on the Yaris WRC.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship, the fight is intense and youngster Ole Christian Veiby currently takes the advantage. The Norwegian, who has set three fastest times this morning, heads series leader Pontus Tidemand with Gus Greensmith third. In the Junior WRC Championship, Dennis Radstrom has taken the lead in what is proving to be a very close battle.
eom/FIA press releaseLatvala during the opening loop in Rally Poland. An FIA image -
M-Sport’s Ott Tanak leads Rally Italia: WRC
M Sport’s Tanak takes a big jump in Rally Italia which he leads. An M-Sports image M-Sport’s Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja lead the way at Rally Italia Sardegna – currently holding a 24.3 second advantage at the head of the field.
Having delivered an intelligent drive through the challenging terrain, the Estonians are now in with a chance of securing a maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory and another win for the Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC.
Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“It’s been a fantastic drive from Ott and Martin. Working with the team they made a great decision on the set-up for this afternoon and now have a good lead going into tomorrow.
“I was actually speaking with Markko Martin yesterday evening and I said that if Ott could just fine-tune the set-up then he would have a real chance of challenging – he has done exactly that today.
“As we’ve already seen, anything can happen, but he’s in a strong positon at the moment. He’s looking comfortable behind the wheel and just has to continue exactly as he has all weekend.
“Fingers crossed that we can deliver another magic WRC moment tomorrow.”
TÄNAK AND JÄRVEOJA
RALLY LEADERS AFTER STAGE FIFTEEN
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have delivered an intelligent strategy to lead the way at Rally Italia Sardegna – maintaining a margin through the early stages and increasing their advantage this afternoon.
With a good feeling behind the wheel of their Ford Fiesta WRC, the Estonians posted a top-three time through all of today’s speed tests and claimed three stage victories on their way to the head of the standings.
Stage performances:
SS10: =3rd (+4.2)
SS11: 3rd (+5.1)
SS12: 1st
SS13: 1st
SS14: 1st
SS15: 3rd (+1.9)Ott Tänak (1st) said:
“It’s been a big fight all rally and I’ve really enjoyed it. Some guys have been dropping out, but we’ve been doing a good job and all we need to do now is keep going and continue exactly as we have been.
“I think we had a good strategy for this weekend. Sardinia is a very special event and it needs a very special approach. You always need to keep that margin and that is what we have done and what we plan to continue doing.
“A massive thanks to the team as the car has been perfect this afternoon. They’ve been working flat-out all hours of the day – literally – and we wouldn’t be sitting here in the first position if it weren’t for them.
“There’s still 40 kilometres of very demanding stages left to come, but there’s a good gap now and we just need to finish the job.”
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Hayden remains in control: Rally Italia
Rally Italia Sardegna leader Hayden Paddon remains in control of the leaderboard after Saturday morning’s loop of three stages as some of his nearest rivals hit problems in the final stage. The Hyundai driver has marginally increased his lead, now over Estonian Ott Tänak, and has crucially stayed out of trouble on stages he loves and that suit the i20 Coupe WRC. With the gaps opening up more, Tänak now sits 13.8 seconds ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, the Finn climbing from fourth last night.
This morning’s stages have proved tricky and tough, the opener in particular as hanging dust made for poor visibility. Paddon powered on however, seeing it as an opportunity rather than a disadvantage. Fastest time underlined his commitment and the Kiwi was able to extend his advantage to 13.1 seconds over Neuville in this single stage. Maintaining a comfortable pace over the following two stages, he was one of the few drivers to avoid problems and arrives at the mid-leg service 9.4 seconds ahead. Tänak, third last night, was losing the brakes in the final stage but was still fastest and has otherwise fared well. Latvala has been pushing hard but then furiously lost out in the last test when he was held up by Mads Østberg who had stopped to change a puncture.
Thierry Neuville has been hit hard this morning. The Belgian was pushing in second, with a fastest time in the middle stage, but then had no brakes for the whole of the last test, losing him over a minute and two positions. Juho Hänninen has moved into fifth for Toyota, benefitting from Østberg’s puncture, the Norwegian dropping from an overnight fifth to eighth. Esapekka Lappi has exercised a bit of caution this morning, not entirely confident on the slippery stages, and while he too got held up in the dust of Mikkelsen – who also stopped to change a puncture – the Finn remains upbeat in only his second outing for Toyota. He is now sixth with a reasonably comfortable advantage over Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman struggled for traction and then he too had to change a wheel in the final stage. Mikkelsen continues to try different settings on the C3 WRC and is ninth with Eric Camilli rounding off the top 10.
Dani Sordo, Eflyn Evans and Craig Breen all returned under Rally 2 regulations this morning, but Sordo once again hit problems with an intermittently working gearshift.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship category, Jan Kopecky continues to head the field and has nearly a minute in hand to Ole Christian Veiby. Nil Solans also remains in control of the Junior WRC category but now leads Nicolas Ciamin in second and Terry Folb in third.
After the mid-leg service in Alghero, the crews return to the same three stages for the afternoon’s competition.
eom/FIA press release -
Rally Italia: WRC 2017 season reaches midpoint
An FIA image Rally Italia (8-11 June) marks the mid-point of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship and takes the crews to the picturesque Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The scenery may be spectacular, but the sun-baked gravel tracks make for gruelling, rough and rocky competition, leaving little room for error.
Originally known as the Rally of the Flowers and dating back to 1928, Italy’s round joined the Championship in 1973 and was traditionally a mixed surface event based in Sanremo, on the mainland, before moving to Sardinia in 2004 and becoming a full gravel rally. Run during Europe’s summer months, temperatures are normally high and the hard base roads covered with a sandy surface disadvantage the early runners on the first passage. However, when the loose has been swept away, rough and rutted conditions can easily catch out the unwary. Michèle Mouton, President of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, claimed her first WRC victory on Rallye Sanremo in 1981 and remains the first and only female to win a round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
An impressive entry list includes three nominated crews from each of the four registered manufacturers and for the first time this season Andreas Mikkelsen will drive a 2017 specification World Rally Car, the Norwegian joining Citroën Racing for his debut outing in the C3 WRC. The fight in WRC 2 is again sure to be intense and the FIA Junior WRC Championship contenders are back in action for the second round of their series.
Three stages will be broadcast live; Saturday’s Coiluna-Loelle stage (SS13) and both runs through Sassari-Argentiera on Sunday, the second run counting for extra points as the closing Power Stage.
ROUTE GRAPHICS
THE 2017 ROUTE
The rally is based out of the northwest town of Alghero but after the start and opening super special stage, the crews head to Olbia on the northeast coast for an overnight halt, allowing the organisers to re-introduce the tough Terranova and Monte Olia stages on Saturday. The mid-rally leg is the longest and toughest with 143.16 competitive kilometres run over six stages, while Sunday is identical to last year with two loops of two identical stages, culminating in the all-important Power Stage.
WHAT WE SAID…
“The heat and rough roads really define Rally Italia, making it a very tough challenge for the crews as well as the cars,” said Jarmo Mahonen, FIA Rally Director. “In these conditions it’s going to be important to mix car preservation with speed over the rock-strewn stages; the days are also lengthy and the sanctuary of service potentially a long way away for anyone who hits trouble.”
RALLY DATA
Total distance:
Stage distance:
Number of stages:1,495.36 km
312.66 km (20,89%)
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Ogier-Ingrassia win Rally Portugal: WRC
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Portugal (POR) – WRC 18/05/2017 to 21/05/2017 – PHOTO : @World Defending FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier has won Rally Portugal, strengthening his grip on the first season of the new era of the sport.
The M-Sport Ford driver entered the final four stages today 16.8s ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville. He would go on to win one more stage (SS17), before setting the fifth fastest time on the Power Stage to deliver his second victory for his new team, after taking out Rallye Monte-Carlo at the start of the season.
It was a comfortable final day for the Frenchman, who tied Markku Alén for most victories in Rally Portugal with five in the event’s 50th running.
He now leads the 2017 championship by 22 points over Neuville.
“It feels great for sure,” said the three-time champion. “It’s fantastic to be back on the top of the podium again.
“Thanks to the team – the new car was perfect… Amazing! A new car in Monte and we won – a new car here too!”
For Thierry Neuville, second place continued to show him as a force to be reckoned with in the championship. The Belgian closed on Ogier marginally on the final loop of the rally, but had too much work to do, eventually coming home comfortably ahead of his Hyundai team mate Dani Sordo.
“A good stage for me, I tried my best but it wasn’t enough. Ott was faster,” said Neuville after being pipped by Tanak for the Power Stage win by 0.4s.
“I struggled this weekend with the rear of the car. The Fiestas were quicker – we couldn’t catch them.”
In contrast to the first day of the rally, Sunday saw comparatively little change among the WRC crews, Dani Sordo finishing third ahead of Friday’s overnight leader Ott Tanak’s Ford Fiesta WRC. Citroën’s Craig Breen completed the top five with a solid performance ahead of Elfyn Evans, sixth in the third Fiesta and another one ruing something of a missed opportunity.
The only change among the top ten overall runners saw impressive WRC rookie Esapekka Lappi charge home to claim the final point, setting a series of eye-catching stage times in his Toyota Yaris WRC – including fourth in the Power Stage, just 0.2s behind Evans in third.
The Finn combined flashes of immense speed with some rookie mistakes over the course of the rally, but certainly showed something special for the future.
The other notable driver on the final day was New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon, who took two stage wins to give him a total of four for the event. It was a case of ‘what might have been’ for the Hyundai Motorsport driver, who showed excellent pace in between the electrical and power steering problems that cruelled his rally.
The drama of the day, however, was in WRC2 as Skoda Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen started Sunday three minutes ahead of team mate Pontus Tidemand and Ford driver Teemu Suninen after dominating the class all event (both Tidemand and Suninen also suffered punctures in the final stage on Saturday).
The Norwegian entered the last stage, still with over three minutes in hand – until he sensationally rolled the Fabia R5 one kilometre in, gifting the win to Tidemand with Suninen closing on the Swede by almost 15 seconds in the last stage to ultimately fall 11.2s short. Simone Tempestini was third in the Citroën DS3 R5.
On the day’s first stage, Quentin Gilbert, who would have been in line to complete the WRC2 podium after the Mikkelsen incident, ended his rally in spectacular fashion at the famous Fafe jump. The French former WRC3 champion landed heavily on the nose of his Skoda Fabia R5, before flipping and coming to rest across the road. Both driver and co-driver were unhurt, however the stage was interrupted for all remaining drivers.
In WRC3, Mexican Francisco Name (Citroën DS3 R3T) prevailed over Spain’s Nil Solans (Ford Fiesta R2) and Italy’s Enrico Brazzoli (Peugeot 208 R2).
RALLY PORTUGAL – OVERALL
FINAL STANDINGS:
1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 3:24:55.7 2. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +17.5 3. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:00.1 4. Ott Tanak / Martin Järveoja Ford Fiesta WRC +1:32.5 5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroën C3 WRC +1:54.7 6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC +3:10.6 7. Juho Hänninen / Kaj Lindstrom Toyota Yaris WRC +3:48.9 8. Mads Ostberg / Ola Floene Ford Fiesta WRC +5:29.7 9. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +5:43.6 10. Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC +8:13.4 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
DRIVERS’ STANDINGS – AFTER RALLY PORTUGAL:
1. Sébastien Ogier Ford Fiesta WRC 128 points 2. Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 106 3. Jari-Matti Latvala Toyota Yaris WRC 88 4. Ott Tanak Ford Fiesta WRC 83 5. Dani Sordo Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 66 6. Elfyn Evans Ford Fiesta WRC 53 7. Craig Breen Citroën C3 WRC 43 8. Hayden Paddon Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 33 9. Kris Meeke Citroën C3 WRC 27 10. Juho Hänninen Toyota Yaris WRC 21 MANUFACTURERS’ STANDINGS – AFTER RALLY PORTUGAL:
1. M-Sport World Rally Team 197 points 2. Hyundai Motorsport 173 3. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 107 4. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 81 eom/FIA press release
