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Friday, August 13, 2010

Sainz and Al-Aityah to go green on Rallye Deutschland

VW's Dakar drivers Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Aityah will drive a VW Scirocco R as 00 cars on the upcoming Rallye Deutschland. But these arn't normal Sciroccos.

Sainz and Al-Aityah will drive bio natural gas-powered Sciroccos, which produce 80% less Co2 emissions than the standard cars. Sainz will drive the gas-powered 00 on Day 1 while his VW team-mate will drive the car on Days 2 and 3.

“Of course it’s nice to return to one’s personal past and with the Scirocco R it’ll definitely be fun to drive the special stages in front of the field and to make a contribution to the safety of the spectators in the process.” said the double World Champion. Sainz will be navigated by usual co-driver Lucas Cruz.

Al-Aityah will be navigated by Timo Gottschalk, with whom he claimed second on this years Dakar Rally, driving a VW Racing Toureag.

VW Motorsport Director Kris Nissen said: “Our many fans around the road course are already familiar with this technology from the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Now there’s a nice opportunity to present ourselves in another – and very popular – discipline.”

The gas-powered car is based on the Scirocco R Cup car, but the car has had its ride height raised by 20mm (2cm) and a kevlar underguard added to protect the cars underside vitals. The car will run on Dunlop tyres.

Sordo to start Rallye Deutschland with new co-driver

Yet another highly experienced WRC navigator has left the hot seat in the world's top rallying championship.

Marc Martí, who has navigated for Carlos Sainz, Oriol Gomez and Jesus Puras in his career, began navigating in the WRC in 1992 with Gomez, and became a full works navigator at Seat Sport WRT, again sitting with Gomez. Martí joined Puras at Citroen when the French manufacturer joined the WRC in 1999. He then left Puras to join Carlos 'El Matador' Sainz again at Citroen when Sainz navigator of over a decade, Luís Moya, in 2002.

Martí partnered Dani Sordo at Citroen in 2005 in the J-WRC in a C2 S1600. Starting with a fourth in the J-WRC on the Rallye Monte Carlo, the Spanish pairing went on to claim the J-WRC crown after taking four wins from six starts. Both Sordo and Martí then joined the Kronos Citroen World Rally Team in 2006.

Sordo then hit a bit of a downturn after joining Citroen, scoring no wins in four years with the French squad, but as claimed podium finishes 26 times, with 15 of these in second place. The Spaniard says that he needs a bit of a change in the car, so he has enlisted a highly experienced navigator to replace the equally experienced Martí.

"I need a change in the car. Marc has been an excellent partner for all these years, he’s someone I am grateful to and with whom I have learned a lot, but I finally concluded that the best thing is for us not to work together as a pilot and co-pilot.”

So he has chosen Diego Vallejo to replace Martí. Vallejo has previous WRC experiance as he has navigated for his brother, Sergio, in the J-WRC in 2001 in a Fiat Punto S1600, their best finish being 5th. Vallejo has the winning touch though, he has claimed two wins in the P-WRC with Ramón Ferreyros in 2002 and has navigated Sergio to the Spanish Tarmac Championship last year.

He is no stranger to Sordo however, he has been a crucial part of Sordo's gravel-note team on the tarmac events in the WRC.

"I know him personally for a long time, so the human relationship is very good. Furthermore, we did a test for me to check his work and how it fitted with my needs. I am convinced will be a good co-pilot for me at this crucial juncture."

Monday, August 9, 2010

Rali Vinho Maderia: Review

'Fast Freddy' has landed his second straight win in this year's IRC. Loix won the event with 37.8 secs in hand over fellow Skoda driver Jan Kopecky. Third was IRC 2010 Drivers table leader Juho Hanninen. Rounding out the Top 6 was Miguel Nunes, Victor Sá and Filipe Freitas. Nunes was the highest placed driver in the Madeiran National Championship section of the rally.

Rali Vinho Madeira 2010 will not be a rally that Peugeot Sport will remember fondly. First of all, Bruno Magalhaes wrote off his Peugeot 207 S2000 on SS3 when the brakes failed heading towards a right-hand bend. The car went up over an Armco barrier and down a 20ft drop. Both Bruno and Carlos Magalhaes OK after the crash.

After that, Kris Meeke was holding firm in second place until SS17. 2.8 Kms into the stage, Meeke's 207 S2000 ground to a halt after he lost all oil pressure in the engine. Meeke's engine was an almost new engine, which had only seen a part of the Geko Ypres Rally. He had also had some problems during the rally, with the alternator giving some bother on SS15. However, this was not related with the engine failure he suffered on SS17.

One upside for Peugeot Sport was that Burku Cetinkaya finished the rally 17th o/a, her first time competing on the event in a 4WD car.

It seems that Peugeot Sport's cars may be carrying some form of bad omen, with 8 other Peugeot 207 S2000s finishing the rally in one piece. Nunes Miguel finished highest Peugeot driver.

It’s a big disappointment for Kris. He had been fighting from the start of the rally and driving very well. For the championship it is now very, very difficult but for sure he will stay positive and come back from this.”

For the moment we still don’t know exactly what has happened other than he lost oil pressure but it is no relation to the other problem,” Yves Matton added, stand-in for Marc Van Dalen, who wasn't present at the rally.

It wasn't all plain sailing on the rally for the Skoda's either. Hanninen clouted a concrete wall on the final day, damaging the right-rear of the Fabia, which resulted in a puncture, and Kopecky caught a big slide in third gear, going around a left-hander.

Duarte Ramos won the IRC 2WD section of the rally by a massive 18 mins 10.1 secs to Carvalho Filipe. Ramos' win in the 2WD section means that he becomes the seventh winner of the class this year. This moves him into joint third with Kevin Abbring, Harry Hunt, Yeray Lemes, Kris Princen and Marcos Tokarski. Rafael Tulio heads the table on 20 points, and is the only driver with two wins this year to his name. Peugeot now lead the manufacturers table, 4 points ahead of M-Sport.

Loix also won the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy for the most spectacular drive over the course of the rally.

Fretias Filipe was fastest Group N driver in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, with Joao Magalhaes in a similar car second and Pedro Peres third, also in an Evo, but this time in an Evo XI.

Pedro Meireles finished highest Subaru driver in his Impreza, finishing 12th o/a, 5th highest Group N car, around 15 mins off Loix.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Rali Vinho Madeira: Day 1 review

Freddy loix holds the lead of the Rali Vinho Madeira going into Day 2 after Luca Rosetti, with whom he spent the day fighting for first with, crashed his Fiat Grande Punto S2000 out of the rally on the penultimate stage.

Between Loix and Rosetti, the lead changed hands four times, with the Belgian taking eight stage wins over the course of the day. All this, plus Loix is having to compete in extreme discomfort after he came off his motorbike, and injured his shoulder. Loix is receiving painkillers at the moment, but is relieved that the first day is over.

Current leader of the ERC, Rosetti said a 'good feeling' in his Punto S2000 had given him the lead. However, this all ended when the Italian put his Punto S2000 into a wall 12 kms into the penultimate stage. Rosetti escaped injury, but his co-driver Matteo Chiarcossi was taken to hospital with an arm injury.

Another driver to crash out of the event was Bruno Magalhaes. Magalhaes exited the event spectacularly on SS3. After receiving a puncture on the opening stage, he was absolutely flat-out trying to regain time. But, on SS3, Bruno suffered brake failure after a jump. Heading down towards a right-hander, he tried the handbrake to slow the car down, but the car went over a barrier and down a back, writing off the car in the process.

I was trying, trying everything after the puncture. I tried to pull the handbrake to stop but there was nothing I could do and I think the chassis is destroyed. Since 2003 I have had no accident so this is very disappointing because we had the speed.”

Local driver Bernardo Sousa retired on SS5 when the car's engine bay caught fire. However, there is a chance that he will return tomorrow under SupeRally regs.

Reigning IRC Champion Kris Meeke lead after SS1, but quickly fell to third when the fight between Loix and Rosetti. Meeke's explanation was that the car was a bit hesitant leaving tight hairpins and was slightly twitchy over bumps.

IRC 2010 leader Juho Hanninen holds fourth, this being his first time competing on the island. Team-mate Jan Kopecky is third, only 1.1 secs behind second-placed Meeke.

Burku Cetinkaya is 20th, returning after a crash which heavily damaged her Peugeot Sport Turkey 207. Daniel Olivera has also returned after skipping the last round. His 207 S2000 being, like the similar car of Cetinkaya, being wrecked on the Geko Rally Ypres in June.

Luís Serrado is 14th o/a and leads the IRC 2WD class on-board his Peugeot 206 with Duarte Ramos second in his Peugeot 206.

New manufacturer linked to WRC return

Yet another manufacturer has been linked to a return to the WRC.

Saab have been linked to an entry in the 2012 WRC, with possible base cars being the 9-1 or the 9-2. Rumors suggest that the engines will be supplied by BMW Motorsport, the same 1.6 turbocharged power plant to be used by MINI in their Countryman WRC

Saab were on a knife edge only last year in regards to the firms finances. General Motors, the then owners of Saab, announced that Saab was 'under review', meaning that it was either going to be sold or discontinued. 27 possible buyers surfaced, but only 3 held extended talks. Koenigsegg announced in June 2009 that they were to buy the brand, but by November 24th, they decided not to continue the purchase. GM said that they would discontinue the brand should a buyer not be found by the end of 2009.

However, on 26th January 2010, GM and Dutch supercar constructor Spyker came to an agreement which permitted Spyker to purchase the brand from GM. On 23rd February 2010, Spyker purchased Saab from GM. The European Investment Bank provided a loan of US $74m, made payable to GM, and shares in Spyker worth US $320m.

Saab are no stranger to the sport. Regulars in the WRC until 1979, they had drivers such as Stig Blomqvist. Their cars included the Saab 96 V4, Saab 99 EMS and the Saab 99 Turbo. Second in the 1971 International Cup for Manufacturers was their best International finish.

Motorsport magazine AUTOSPORT source' said:"The initial meeting [between Saab and WRC officials, believed to include both the FIA commissions and promoter North One Sport] has happened and there's a huge amount of enthusiasm from all concerned. Like Mini, Saab has a great heritage in the sport and a return to the WRC makes a lot of sense."

Head of North One Sport Simon Long says that other manufacturers will follow MINI's footsteps, but won't say which manufacturers.

"I think Mini's announcement has given people a lot of confidence in the sport. The messages we're getting are all positive."

Other manufacturers are due to enter the WRC, with Volkswagen due to start selected rounds in 2012, and may enter full time in 2013. Toyota are due to announce whether or not they will enter the WRC by the end of this month (August).

Finland: Otsberg's best performance yet

Up-and-coming young driver Mads Ostberg has said that last weekend's Neste Oil Rally Finland was his best ever drive.

On SS5, Ostberg broke a wheel on his Subaru Impreza S12B, dropping 2 mins in the process and plummeted down the order, down to 25th. Undeterred, he fought back from SS6, setting times as fast as sixth quickest to claw his way back up to 7th, only 7 secs behind Stobart M-Sport Ford driver Matt Wilson.

Ostberg best finish on the rally was 8th in 2007, on only his second start on the event.

Of course, I was disappointed with the puncture on the first morning, but I never stopped pushing after that. We were 2m50s behind Matthew after [the stage with the puncture] and then we got back to less than 10 seconds. I think this is the best rally I’ve ever done. I’m really pleased. And with the old car, you know, it’s not the same spec as the others.”

I’m really confident on these roads,” said Ostberg. “I’m really happy with my pace notes and the driving and everything. I feel like I can go on the limit for a long time without doing any problems when the car is working. I think we proved that at the weekend. It’s a shame we couldn’t catch Matthew Wilson - for the third time this year - but okay, we ended up having some problems and we fought back again.” he said.

Ostberg will not compete in his usual Subaru Impreza WRC for Rally Deutschland and Rallye de France, because he doesn't have the setup suitable for the tarmac events, so he will swap to a Ford Fiesta S2000 for the tarmac rallies.

I’m really looking forward to the Fiesta. I’m feeling very confident at the moment. I can’t wait to get to Germany and push like hell. I don’t have any asphalt kit for the Subaru World Rally Cars and this is a good chance to see what these Super 2000 cars can do.” Ostberg said.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Johnson, Wilson and Martin to test fitness

The fitness trainer of the M-Sport operation Barry Johnston will cycle 150 miles, run 17 miles and swim the length of three lakes in the Lake District (in the North West of England) this Sunday to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Johnson is also aiming to complete this in less than 24hrs.

I wanted to do something significant to celebrate my 70th birthday but I also wanted to raise money on behalf of a young man, Peter Knox, who has suffered from Cystic Fibrosis for most of his life. Peter is from my home village in Eaglesfield but is currently studying at Warwick University – he’s very academic but Peter has to endure five hours of physiotherapy and takes up to 200 tablets every day.”

I did this challenge 25 years ago but in a slightly different format and last time, I completed it in 22 hours and 40 minutes but want to finish it in 22 hours and 30 minutes this time round. There’s no pressure on me or the boys this year though – we just want to raise money for what we consider to be a very worthwhile charity. We’ve had a fantastic response from locals and various sporting stars who want to join us along the way and I’m really looking forward to Sunday.”

Johnston is the trainer of Matt Wilson and Scott Martin, who will partner the 69-year old on the epic challenge. Wilson and Martin are not strangers to such challenges, after completeing a 1000 km cycle around Corsica, cycling over some of the toughest peaks of the Lake District, 740 km Raid de Alpes in Antibes and cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats.

Scott and I are always up for a challenge and we jumped at the chance to do something in the Lakes which is so close to where we both grew up. Barry has been our trainer for several years and we wanted to help celebrate his birthday and also wanted to help raise money for a good cause. It’s going to be a really hard challenge but after taking part in the Tour de Corse in June and preparing for a triathlon in October, I’d say that our fitness levels are better than ever. We’re aiming to finish the challenge but won’t put too much pressure on ourselves as we have Rallye Deutschland in just under two weeks which we also need to concentrate on.” said Wilson.

Martin siad:“After two big challenges in France over the past year, it’s great to be able to do something in our home country of Cumbria. The Lake District is a beautiful part of the world and I’m really proud to be from the area. We really wanted to help Barry in his mission as he’s been a fantastic trainer over the past few years and we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for Barry’s help. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is also a very worthwhile charity and we know that any money we help to raise will go a long way to those that really need it.”


Cystic Fibrosis (CF) affects 1,200 people in Ireland and 2,500 births in the UK. People with CF in the UK are only expected to live 31 years. By the time a child with CF is 10, they are usually taking 40 tablets per day, hours of phisiotherapy, on one or more antibiotics (even when the appear healthy, to suppress the infection) and excercises.





The CF Trust has funded research into the disease and cures. One possible prevention of lung damage, which CF causes, is replacing the faulty gene. The CF Trust is also funding a group of scientists in Edinburgh, Oxford and London who invented a product which can activate the gene and make the lungs fully functional. This reserach will cost £6.5 million and take two years (2010 – 2011) to compelete.

Latvala back in Escort for Lahti Historic Rally

Jari-Matti Latvala will be back rallying in a in Finland in a Ford again this weekend, but its not quite the Ford that he's used to.

Back behind the wheel in a MK2 Escort BDA for the Lahti Historic Rally this weekend, Latvala will be hoping to repeat his 2009 win. After having so much fun in last years event (he spent most of the time sideways), Latvala is back in his Dad's Escort.

Latvala landed the win after team-mate rolled out of the event quite spectacularly early on Day 1. Latvala then overtook the then leader Petter Solberg, and withstood pressure from Sebastian Ogier on the final day to take the win, and the record of the youngest winner of Finland, beating Markku Alén by two months.

It’s so much fun driving the Escort. Of course, it’s completely different to Focus, completely different! But I love going sideways - and the noise from the BDA is just fantastic. I’m really looking forward to the event again. It’s fantastic to come to this rally after winning Rally Finland, the best way for me to relax.” siad the Finn.

Miikka Anttila won't be navigating Latvala, instead Asko Sairanen, who navigated for Jari-Matti's dad, Jari, in the early 1990's, will partner Latvala Jr..

The Lahti Historic Rally is a world-renowened event, with competitors from Norway, Britan, Austria, Belgium, Italy and even Andorra entering the event. Cars present include Escorts, Stratos', Saabs, 911s, Avengers, Asconas and Talbot Sunbeams.

Lurgan Park 2010 review [photos]

So it looks like 'King of the Park' Kenny McKinstry will have to wait for one more year to claim his 12th Lurgan Park Rally win. Ah well, at least it was one of his cars that won!
Former Pirelli Star Driver in the BRC Darren Gass won the event by 1.3 secs with Kenny in second. Derek McGarrity was in third, rounding out a Subaru Impreza 1-2-3.
1st o/a 1st Class 4 Darren Gass/Nathan Gass Subaru Impreza WRC
Gass had no co-driver before 12:00 the morning of the rally, so a quick phone call was placed to his cousin Nathan at 12:00 AM. Nathan had never navigated before so this was some debut for him! However, Darren said that a good rally, albeit messing up a few time.
Nathan & Darren Gass
I had my fingers crossed at the start of the last stage that it wouldn’t rain. We had a good day, a couple of messy stages. I had no co-driver last night and at midnight phoned my cousin Nathan and he offered to sit in. He has never done a rally!”

Derek McGarrity lost the rally lead on SS5 when he stalled the S12C at the 90 right where the gravel goes to the tarmac. McGarrity also seemed upset when the Darren Gass incident came to light.
3rd o/a Derek McGarrity - James McKee Subaru Impreza S12C WRC
Darren slid wide onto the grass near the end of SS5 but cut across the inside of the next bend to get back onto the stage. However, Kenny dismissed the incident at the finish ramp: “Darren’s incident is over and one with. It wasn’t deliberate. The car was on the grass and ended up out of shape.” Kenny went n to say. “I was pushing hard at the end but not hard enough to make mistakes. I very much enjoyed the day it was a really good rally”.

5-times Irish Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly was back behind the wheel after a long lay off. Eugene was piloting the Toyota Corolla WRC that took him to three Tarmac titles.
4th o/a Eugene Donnelly - Darragh Mullen Toyota Corolla WRC
I really enjoyed the day., It was great to get behind the wheel again. The Corolla hasn’t quite the speed but it was still good and this young co driver Darragh Mullen did a good job”

Mark Massey won Group N in his N12 Impreza with Paul McKenna on the notes. Kieron Graffin broke a driveshaft on SS1, so he put in a very good fight back to come in 10th.
8th o/a 1st Group N 1st Class 1 Mark Massey - Paul McKenna Subaru Impreza N12B
Wesley Patterson was fastest 2WD and fastest in the MK2 Challenge in his 2.5 Escort. Brian O'Mahony claimed the 6R4 Challenge with relative ease when the 6R4 of Denis Biggerstaff had its gearbox failed. Dessie McCartney was fastest Historic in his Porsche 911.
6th o/a 1st 2WD 1st Mk2 1st Class 2 Challenge Wesley Patterson - Martin McGarrity Ford Escort MK2
1st Historic 1st Class 5 Dessie McCartney - Maurice Jellie Porsche 911


Early leader of the Metro 6R4 Challenge Denis Biggerstaff retired on SS4 after he ran out of time changing the gearbox and clutch. Brian O'Mahony, as the only other 6R4 contender, inherited the lead and stayed there to claim the win.
7th o/a 1st Metro 6R4 Challenge 1st Class 3 Brian O'Mahony - John Higgins MG Metro 6R4
1st Class 6 Stanley McKnowen - Graham Patterson Toyota Corolla
The Irish Slowly Sideways crew were present in the Park. Some of the cars present were an ex-Colin McRae Subaru Legacy, Audi Quattro S1, ex-Bertie Fisher Ford Escort MK2 (Rally Belgium 1981) ex-Billy Coleman Opel Manta 400, 2 Renault 5 Turbos and a little Autobianchi A110 Abarth, which was drive by the late Atillio Bettega on the Rally Sanremo in 1977.
Audi Quattro S1 (Ex-Stig Blomqvist, 1984 Rallye Sanremo)
Renault 5 Turbo (Ex-Jean Ragnotti, 1981 Monte Carlo Rally)

Subaru Legacy RS (Ex-Colin McRae, 1988 Manx Rally)
(All images copyright Jordan Murphy)

Monday, August 2, 2010

Neste Oil Rally Finland: S-WRC & P-WRC review

(S-WRC)

Juho Hanninen showed why he is currently leader of the IRC Series after taking a domiant win in the S-WRC class of the Neste Oil Rally Finland.

There was nothing special today because we just had to keep up the concentration and not make any mistakes. We did that and I’m very pleased with this result.”

Nominated as a wildcard driver, alongside Matti Rantanen, Hanninen drove a Skoda Fabia S2000, run by Austrian Baumschlager Rallye and Racing firm, to a 1:10.7 victory over the fast, tree-lined roads.

Many S-WRC drivers were claimed by the Finnish roads, with Jari Ketomaa breaking the oil cooler for the gearbox (which left the car with no oil in the gearbox (not too hard to guess what happened to the gearbox then)), Albert Llovera succumbing to engine issues, Matti Rantenen going out with suspension problems and Denis Kuipers crashing out.

P-G Andersson jumped back into his Fabia S2000 after competing in a Ford Focus RS WRC for the Stobart M-Sport Ford team on Rally Bulgaria. Patrick Sandell completed a Skoda and Red Bull 1-2-3 sweep of the podium.

Reigning J-WRC champion Martin Prokop claimed fourth in his Ford Fiesta S2000. Michal Kosciuszko, on his debut with the Skoda Rally Team Italia, landed fifth with former Skoda WRT driver Janne Touhino sixth.

Nasser Al-Attiyah had to restart under SupeRally, alongside a few others, after he broke the suspension on his Fiesta S2000.

Current S-WRC Championship leader Xevi Pons decided to pass on this event, so Andersson closed the gap to Pons down to 18 points

(P-WRC)

Ott Tanak, the protege of Markko Martin, stormed to a dominant win in the P-WRC class. Tanak eventual winning margin was 1:28.3 over Jukka Ketomaki with Hayden Paddon third, over 3 mins behind Tanak.

I am very pleased with this result. It was hard against the Finnish drivers yesterday but today it was a clear route to victory.” siad Tanak.

It’s a great result for me, but yesterday morning I lost a lot of time due to many problems and that was not good.” said Ketomaki.

Part of the Pirelli Star Driver programme, alongside Paddon, Tanak gained a huge lead over the first day's 8 stages. Tanak's job was made easier when Patrick Flodin's engine went on SS14.

Fourth, fifth and sixth were Anders Grondal, Alex Raschi and Martin Semerad.

The rest of the Pirelli Star Drivers, Nicholi Geogiu (10th), Peter Horsey (9th) and Alex Raschi (5th), all completed the fast Finnish stages.

Early leader Juho Salo, like last year, lead for a time until, like last year, he crashed out of the event on SS7. Paulo Nobre went out on SS17 with mechanical problems.

If there was an award for the most spectacular exit from the rally, Alessandro Bruschetta would of won if with ease. The Italian drifted wide on a fast left-hander, put the back of the car into a ditch and rolled his Impreza N14 eight times. The car came to a rest just at the edge of the stage. Both Bruschetta and co-driver Edoardo Civiero were OK (but probably dizzy).