"Big points haul vital" says Nagle

2009 IRC Champion co-driver Paul Nagle says a big points haul is vital on the forthcoming Rally d'Italia-Sardegna is they want to retain the IRC title.

A crash in Monte Carlo, steering failure in Argentina & a puncture on the Rally Islas Canarias, which demoted Meeke to fourth, have delt a serious blow to the Irish pairing's Champioship aspirations.

“Sardinia will probably be the biggest field of the year so far. We’ll be doing a gravel test sometime in the next two weeks and we've simply got to get everything right ahead of Sardinia because we need a big, big result. It’s vital.” says Nagle

Meeke & Nagle are 17 points behind Skoda's Juho Hanninen & Peugeot are 31 points behind Skoda in their respective Championships.

BBC documentary announced on Donegal International.

The BBC has commissioned a two-part documentary about the Donegal International Rally. The documentaries, which is to be aired in autumn, will concentrate on the the drivers, marshals, the hotel staff, supporters of the event & organistaion of the event.

The two-part series will be produced by The Picturehouse Belfast. Producers Gavin Halpin & Grainne McGuinness wanted to capture the passion for rallying in the North-West in a film. Director will be Sonia Nic Giolla Easbuig, who hails from Gaobh Dobhair.

‘‘Being from Letterkenny ourselves, and with the director Sonia Nic Giolla Easbuig a native of Gaoth Dobhair, we know how important the Rally is to people across the region. This is a huge annual sporting occasion and we want to show what this event means to the drivers, the organisers, and the fans, who support it in such huge numbers.’’ said Halpin.

Latvala finishes Nurburgring 24h race

Ford No.2 driver Jari-Matti Latvala has enjoyed his circuit racing debut at the Nurbergring 24h. Latvala ran as high as 42nd o/a (2nd in the SP4T class) during the gruelling event, but engine damage dropped the team well down the order.

Latvala was racing a Ford Focus RS which was developed, prepared & entered by Team FH Koln Motorsport, which is made up entirely of sutdents from the University of Colonge who are studying applied science.

The team was challenging for the class win, but engine damage sustained after running over debris left by an accident forced the team to swap the engine in the Focus. The team completed this task in 3.5 hrs.

"It was a great experience to race in front of 220,000 fans. The atmosphere around the track was fantastic, the car worked extremely well and the whole team did an outstanding job. I drove at dusk on Saturday and at dawn on Sunday, but not during the night. That's why I cannot consider myself a true 24-hour race driver yet. There is still a task to be fulfilled …

"After four hours, before we changed the engine, we were in 72nd position and set the fastest lap in our class so it was a shame we had a problem. I drove the final leg and slowed on my last lap so that I reached the finish just after 15.00 and didn't have to drive an extra lap. I was the first car to take the chequered flag – I thought maybe I had won the race!" joked Latvala.

"I will drive four asphalt rallies in the second half of the World Rally Championship season in Bulgaria, Germany, France and Spain. Rally Deutschland, in August, is based quite close to the Nürburgring," Latvala said.

Cheif Engineer Dirk Densing praised the students efforts. The student turned the Focus RS from road car state into a fully fledged racing car in only six weeks.

"You have to remind yourself constantly that the team FH Köln Motorsport powered by Ford consists of students. I cannot rate highly enough the quality of these young people's work, which was truly professional. It became obvious once more that a 24-hour race is a completely different ball game compared to the regular season events," said Densing.

Encouraged by his team's performance, Team Manager Jan Derenbach said: "After the engine's belt drive was damaged by some debris picked up on the track, we had to change the engine during the night. Our mechanics did an outstanding job, completing the task in just three-and-a- half hours. But obviously this forced break sent us a long way down the overall standings. Before and after that our Ford Focus RS ran like clockwork. Looking at our lap times we could have finished at the very front of our class."

The team went on to finish 117th out of 196 other competitors.

Team FH Koln Motorsport has won its class twice this year already & finished 3rd o/a in the first three rounds of the Nurburgring Endurance Championship.

Keith Cronin to drive JRM Evo X on Donegal International

JRM has announced that 2009 BRC Champion Keith Cronin will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Group N on the 2010 Topaz Donegal International Rally (18-20 June).

JRM has begun a series of events to promote its cars. Jari Ketomaa was entered by JRM on the second round of the Finnish Rally Championship & he delivered the squad's first international win. Former BRC Champion Gwyndaf Evans won the Pirelli International Rally in April after Keith Cronin & Craig Breen both retired.

Operations Manager John Barnes said: “We were delighted when Keith agreed to join us for this one-off event. We wanted to showcase our cars in Ireland with an Irish driver who has a high profile, so who better than Keith.”

“Although I haven’t driven an Evo X before, I won my British title in a Mitsubishi, so it will be interesting to see how good the new car is against the older version. I’m looking forward to competing in Ireland with a different car and I must thank JRM, TEG Sport and Pirelli for allowing me this great opportunity." said Cronin

JRM have thanked both Pirelli & TEG Sport, to whom Cronin is contracted to, for releasing him for this event.

Rally New Zealand: Day 3 review

After the daunting Whaanga Coast 2 stage, Jari-Matti Latvala won Rally New Zealand in an 'unbelievable' fashion by beating Sebastian Ogier & Sebastian Loeb after the final stage threw up some suprises.

First to go was rally leader Sebastian Ogier who spun the C4 & then stalled it three corners from home. Second into the bushes was 6-time World Champion Sebastian Loeb, who put the car off the road & lost around 50 secs. Finally, Petter Solberg, who was on a hard charge, put his car off the road, cutting an electric pole in half (much like his former team-mate Chris Atkinson did at Rally Ireland 2009). Both Petter & Phil were okay, but the front of the Citroen was too badly damaged to continue.

Just before the finish ramp, Latvala said:“This is unbelievable. I spoke to [Ford team boss] Malcolm Wilson before the start of the last stage and he just told me to keep going like I had been. I tried not to be too hard at the start in case I made a mistake. At the last split I realised I was 2.7s down so then I did try. But at the end I could not believe it.”

Julien Ingrassia said about his drivers mistake:“We can’t be disappointed when you look at what we have achieved. It was a very good rally, a fantastic place and incredible stages. It was a left/right sequence, second or third gear where we tapped a bank and spun. Unfortunately we stalled the engine and lost a lot of time.”

Filling the rest of the Top 10 were Dani Sordo, Matthew Wilson, Henning Solberg, Jari Ketomaa, Federico Villagra & Xevi Pons.

Jari Ketomaa claimed his first win in the S-WRC. The Finn stormed home in first, almost 1 min ahead of current Championship leader Xevi Pons.

“We didn’t feel much pressure but it wasn’t easy either,” said Ketomaa. “Although we had some problems with the car on Friday we always had the performance but I still need more confidence before I can really push. But I am really happy with the result, especially for my team.” said the Finn.

Pons conceeded that he came under a bit of pressure when Martin Prokop set some fast times on the final day. The Czech's final day charge was ultimately not good enough to demote Pons to the bottom step of the podium.

“I had to concentrate a lot when Martin started to close but it wasn’t really a problem. This is a great result for me because it really helps with the championship.” said Pons.

Local hero Hayden Padden has beaten a clutch problem to take the win in the P-WRC class. Padden inherited the lead when another local driver Richard Mason retired on Day 1.

“It’s been a great event. On the first morning, we were just playing ourselves in. The plan was to attack in the afternoon stages on Friday. But with the problems Richard [Mason] and Toshi [Arai] had, we didn’t really have to. For the last two and a half days, we’ve been able to drive without taking any major risks.”

“The clutch wasn’t slipping or anything like that, we just started to lose the pedal. In the last couple of stages, I didn’t use the clutch at all. You can do that with this gearbox, but it took some time to get used to doing it.”

Emma Gilmore said at the end of the event:“I’m the top female finisher, which is great. The car seemed a bit down on power. The boys made some changes to the car last night. It wasn’t so good this morning, but it felt better in the afternoon when there was a bit more grip around. This is a great result for the Kiwis.”

Rally New Zealand: Day 2 review

End of Day 2. Sebastian Ogier holds the lead going into the final day, but Sebastian Loeb is only 5.3 secs behind. Jari-Matti Latvala sits third with Dani Sordo fourth, Day 1 leader Petter Solberg fifth, Latvala's team-mate Mikko Hirvonen sixth, Matthew Wilson seventh, Henning Solberg eigth, Jari Ketomaa ninth & Federico Villagra tenth.

Sebastian Loeb's comeback drive from seventh to second has been hailed as 'one of the best comeback drives in history. Loeb gained almost 1 min 20 secs over the course of todays stages. "It has been in incredible day; flat-out from the start to the end and now we've made up the gap to first place," said Loeb. "We're five seconds behind Sebastien [Ogier] and everything is possible again. I'm really happy. I think I couldn’t do better," "It has been in incredible day; flat-out from the start to the end and now we've made up the gap to first place," said Loeb. "We're five seconds behind Sebastien and everything is possible again. I'm really happy. I think I couldn’t do better," added the six-time World Champion.

Sebastian Ogier capitalised on his third place road position. Scoring wins on both all-asphalt Super Specials, Ogier was the only driver to interupt Loeb's monopoly of stage wins.“We had a good morning and we tried to push hard but Sebastien has just been too fast,” said the young Frenchman.

Petter Solberg, still hunting for his first win since 2005, could do nothing about his leaderboard position as he was was doing the monotonous duty of road sweeping. Solberg has fallen to fifth, 53.6 secs behind the leader. “I knew before the start it was going to be tough but there was so much [loose] gravel on the road in the morning that there really was nothing I could do,”

Jari Ketomaa still holds his lead in the S-WRC over Championship leader Xevi Pons & has now extended it to 1 min 9.4 secs. “It was not perfect because we were struggling in the slow sections with understeer,” said Ketomaa. “I was at the limit and knew there was not much more time left in me but it has been a good day and I have got into a good rhythm.”

Barring disastar for the Finn, Pons' winning streak is about to come to an end. “It was not bad today and we have to remember that second place is still very good for the championship,” said Pons. “I had a spin this afternoon and Ketomaa has been pushing very hard but it is okay.”

Janne Touhino rolled the Fiesta S2000 yesterday on SS6 but has re-joined under SupeRally rules. Touhino is now over 23 mins off the lead.

Albert Llovera withdrew his Fiat Grande Punto S2000 today but will continue tomorrow.

Local driver Hayden Paddon is holding a 2 min 26 sec lead over Emma Gilmore. Keeping the local 1-2-3, Kingsley Thompson is third but is 5 mins behind Emma Gilmore.

Paddon said: “It was quite tough this morning. The car was oversteering quite a bit. We were trying to get some more grip from the rear, but I think it might have been due to the level of loose gravel on the roads. It was better through the afternoon, when the roads had been completely swept. It’s been another good day for us, but with a good lead in the Production class, we have to just keep our concentration through the final day.”

The local driver was embarrased on the Super Special when he was caught by Patrick Sandell & then Sandell promptly passed the Kiwi. Even on the straights, he was pulling away from me,” said Paddon. “I was quite surprised, I thought the Group N cars had more power - but it pulled away.”

Rally New Zealand: Day 1 review

End of Day 1. Petter Solberg leads by 1.3 seconds to Jari-Matti Latvala with Sebastian Ogier in third. Dani Sordo is fourth with Mikko Hirvonen fifth, Matthew Wilson sixth, Sebastian Ogier seventh, Henning Solberg eighth, Jari Ketomaa ninth & Xavier Pons tenth.

Sebastian Loeb sits in seventh for two reasons, a) road sweeping duties & b) he hit a bridge on SS4. 4 kms into the stage, at a part of the stage where the road tightened going into a right-hander over a bridge, Loeb braked too late & the back end broke away, hitting the bridge. Loeb said that it was a less than 50 kph mistake, but it caused enough damage to cause his drivers door to open later on in the stage. Although all hopes have gone of a win, but the Frenchman is still positive about a podium finish. “It’s going to be tough but we will try,” he said.

Matt Wilson set 2nd fastest time on SS2, but his phenominal pace took a downturn on SS3 when his drivers side window came in round him. “What a nightmare,” Wilson said. “We were on a long straight and it just fell down. It’s never happened before and it’s not like we went through a compression or anything.”

Ford No.1 Mikko Hirvonen said that he was not happy with his pace. “I have been pushing really hard and haven’t made any mistakes but I just couldn’t go any faster,” said Hirvonen. “It has not been a good day.”

Jari Ketomaa leads the S-WRC class in his Fiesta S2000 from Xevi Pons with Martin Prokop in third, completing a lock-out of the podium places for the 'Blue Oval'. Andorran Albert Llovera completes the S-WRC catagory after Janne Touhino retired.

In the P-WRC, Hayden Padden leads after local hero Richard Mason retired after the Kiwi put his Impreza into some trees. Emma Gilmore holds second, 2 mins behind Padden, & Kingsley Thompson rounds out a local 1-2-3.

Cartel.ie Rally of the Lakes review

Denis Cronin has won the Cartel.ie Killarney Rally of the Lakes. Aaron MacHale mounted a charge but had to be content with second place. Craig Breen overhauled Alastair Fisher for third. Paul Bird finished fifth, Brian O'Mahony sixth, Colm Murphy seventh & Robert Barrable eighth.

Tim McNulty was on course for his second consecutive victory by a clear margin until the gearbox gave up on SS12. Gareth MacHale went out on SS2 with engine failure, Darragh O'Riordan crashed out on Gortnagane stage & Denis Cronin's new engine wasn't pulling as well as the old unit so there was not to be too much opposition on Day 2.

Denis said at the end of the rally: "I’m thrilled. When I started rallying in 1981, my ambition was to win the Rally of the Lakes. I didn’t think it would ever happen, and to win at this stage of my life is fantastic. I got a bit downhearted yesterday, but it went well today."

Cronin's navigator Helen O’Sullivan said, "This is a dream come true. I can hardly believe it."

Aaron MacHale said "It was nip and tuck with Alaistar, but I tried as hard as I could this afternoon."

Craig Breen said at the end of the rally "I was happier with the pace today, and a fastest time on Caragh Lake, seemed like I was back on form. It has taken a while."

Breen won the Group N class in his S2000 Fiesta, Alastair Fisher came second after damaging his suspension on the final stage & then collected a puncture & Colm Murphy rounded out the Group N podium after surviving a bust brake pipe.

Barry Meade won the National catagory after Phil Collins lost an argument with the scenery on SS12 & retired.

Robert Barrable won the Cirtoen Racing Trophy (& €5000) & Marty McCormack finished second after getting away with hitting a gatepost on the final stage.

Todd Falvey won the Historic catagory in his Porsche 911, Ray Cunningham second in his Mini & Niall O'Connell third.

Kevin O'Connor has won the Junior catagory in his Citroen C2 R2.

Rally of the Lakes 2010: Day 1 review

End of Day 1. Tim McNulty holds a 1:46.0 sec lead over Denis Cronin with Alistar Fisher third. Aaron MacHale, Craig Breen & Colm Murphy round out the Top 6.

Absent from the Top 10 are Gareth Machale (out with engine failure on SS3) & Darragh O'Riordan (crashed out on the Gortnagane stage).

Tim McNulty won the Fisher Memorial Trophy with fastest time over 'The Gap'. An elated McNulty said at Parc Ferme: “Yes we had a good run over the Gap, a serious cut even though the tyres were pretty well shot. We had a puncture in the Gortnagane stage and had to do about 6km on the flat. It is great to win the Fisher Award. It is just a pity Gareth MacHale isn’t still in the rally, we really wanted to race him here”.

Denis Cronin, uncle of 2009 BRC Champion Keith, was in poor form after the new engine fitted to the Impreza for this rally was reported to not be pulling as well as the old engine. Cronin set second fastest time over Molls Gap, a few seconds shy of McNulty.

Alistar Fisher has been setting a good pace, but lost a few seconds over 'The Gap', the stage his late uncle Bertie favoured. Fisher also leads Group N by just under a minute & a half.

Phil Collins leads the National section in his Escort over the similar car of Barry Meade.

Marty McCormack leads the Citroen Racing Trophy in his Citroen C2 R2 Max.

Other news from the rally: Kevin O'Donoghue blew up the engine in his Escort on the way to SS3; Barry Meade suffered a bent chassis rail after a heavy landing on Molls Gap; Danny MacBride almost burnt out the clutch at the start of SS5; Thomas Fitzmaurice almost had a nasty accident after the car got out of shape over some bumps heading towards the bridge on Molls Gap & Mark Donnelly crashed his C2 R2 out of the rally on SS3.

New Richard Burns Foundation website launched

A brand new website has been launched for the Richard Burns Foundation.

The Foundation was set up at the 2006 Goodwood Festival Of Speed in honour of the 2001 World Rally Champion, who died in November 2005 as the result of a brain tumor, after being in a 'medically induced' coma for many days. Burns was diagnosed with the tumor at the of 2003, shortly before Rally GB. Richard was driving his Porsche 911 when he blacked out. Markko Martin, who was in the passanger seat at the time, managed to get the car stopped & then took Burns to hospital.

The website includes comprehensive details about the Foundation, future objectives, information on how to get involved, details on the people the Foundation has helped & a calander announcing upcoming events.

Double World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm as been appointed Patron on the Richard Burns Foundation & now has his own blog section.

A 'your stories' section has also been added, as well as a gallery & a section about Richard himself.

More information can be obtained via e-mail: info@richardburnsfoundation.com.

Latvala puts Rally of Turkey mistake behind him

Jari-Matti Latvala has said that he has put his Rally of Turkey roll behind him & will now concentrate on preparations for Rally New Zealand, which takes place next weekend.

Latvala rolled on Saturdays opener, the 18.17 km Gocbeyli test, but fought back to lay claim to a very creditable 8th overall. The accident echos last year's turbulant season, but the Finn has matured since the start of the 2010 season. as this is his only real mistake this year so far.

Latvala said: “It’s important that when these things happen you analyse them quickly, then push them away and concentrate to the work again. You don’t need it playing in your head all the time - that would always make it more difficult on the next event. I’m not doing that now. In a sense, I have become older and wiser. The mistake I made in Turkey was more something that happened in the recce, I noted the corner too fast. I have learned that lesson and moved on. Now I focus on New Zealand.”

Malcolm Wilson added: “This is nothing like the situation that was happening last season. Okay, Jari-Matti cost us points in Turkey, but Mikko [Hirvonen] made a mistake in Jordan, that’s the sport some times. What we have seen from Jari is a bit improvement on last year and there was absolutely no need to lay into him for what happened [in Turkey]. In fact, I put my arm around his shoulder; he made a mistake, it happens.”