This Is Rallying

An onboard video of a Polish driver, without his pacenotes for part of the stage, driving like his life depended on it!

With thanks to siemko79 for uploading.

GRN's 2011 round-up: World Rally Championship (Part 2)
Part 2 of GRN's WRC round-up kicks off with the summer spectacular that is Rally Finland, known for obvious reasons as the 'Grand Prix on gravel'.

Sebastian Loeb became the only non-Finn in the history of the World Rally Championship to win Rally Finland, or the 1000 Lakes Rally as it used to be known, twice. After pre-event favourite Mikko Hirvonen crashed on SS1, and Loeb's team-mate Sebastian Ogier picked up a puncture on SS17 so it came down to a fight between Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala. Problems for Latvala and an on-form Loeb denied the Finn the win, but he did show what could have been with an amazing performance in the closing stages of the event, although by his own admission it came too late.

“It feels very good. For sure it was a very difficult race with the other drivers dropping behind me to make me clean the road. But finally we won and in the end it was a big relief and maybe the best win of my career.” said Loeb.

Ogier was demoted to third after his puncture, convinced he could have won the event. Mikko Hirvonen put in probably the best drive of the rally, and possibly of his career too, to fight back to fourth after his SS1 crash. Indeed, such was Hirvonen's pace, that he went from 34^th overall and 2 mins off the lead at the end of Day 1 to fourth overall and just over 1 min off the lead by the end of the rally. Oh yes, and he took 13 stage wins (including the Power Stage) along the way too, more than 50% of the stages of the rally. Fifth was Petter Solberg, who couldn't explain his own lack of pace after his pre-event tests showed all the right things. Fellow Norwegian Mads Ostberg took sixth in his Fiesta, showing some strong times, and sporting a black armband in memory of the victims of the terror attacks in his home county.

Sebastian Loeb was finally beaten in Germany, the rally he has come to dominate in the 8 years it has been run. However, it was another Sebastian in another Citroen that did win the event.

Sebastian Ogier took the lead after Loeb picked up a puncture, one he couldn't explain, on SS14. Dropping 1 min 11 secs to Ogier after the puncture, Loeb wiped over 30 secs out of Ogier, including 15 secs on the rain-hit Dhrontal 2 test. It wasn't enough in the end, with Ogier winning but Loeb won the Power Stage, some consolation at least.

“My team-mate is so strong on this rally so to get the victory and the extra points in the Power Stage is a very good result,” said Ogier. “Mathematically the championship is still possible and I have to believe I have a chance. As long as there is a chance then I am going to try.” said Ogier.

Dani Sordo took third in an excellent display onboard his MINI John Cooper Works WRC, it's tarmac début. Electrical problems halted team-mate Meeke's efforts, but it was nevertheless a good showing from the MINI's. Mikko Hirvonen took fourth, not a bad result considering there were 3 tarmac specialists in front of him, and it's not his favourite surface. Petter Solberg took fifth, plus one point from the Power Stage. Multiple punctures early on in the rally slowed him considerably however. Kimi Raikkonen took sixth in what was a rally with “too many mistakes” for the Finn's own liking.

Citroen's run of 8 straight wins came to an abrupt and embarrassing end when Mikko Hirvonen took the win 'Down Under' in Australia. Both Citroen drivers went out on Friday, with Loeb rolling his DS3 WRC and Ogier having an argument with a tree in his example. Unfortunately the tree won and he too was taken out. Both managed to fight back to 10^th and 11^th respectively, with Loeb winning the Power Stage.

“This is a fantastic feeling and a very important result for the team and for my championship chances. I have to say a big thank you to my team and also to Jari-Matti for slowing down. I’m back in the game but we have to work really hard now to improve our pace on Tarmac [the surface of the next two rounds].” said Hirvonen.

Hirvonen's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala lead into the final day, but dutifully stepped aside to allow his team-mate to win. Petter Solberg took third, delighted to be “back on the pace”, marking his first podium since Italy. Matthew Wilson equalled his best result of fourth with a controlled drive. Khalid Al-Qassimi took his best ever finish of fifth, thanking his co-driver Michael Orr and his team for supporting him. Newly crowned P-WRC Champion Hayden Paddon took sixth in his Group N Subaru Impreza, marking his fourth win from four starts in this year's P-WRC.

The second tarmac event of the year went to Sebastian Ogier, in France. Sebastian Loeb's engine went 'bang' on Day 1, leaving Ogier the sole remaining Citroen works entry. He duly delivered, although after a fight with Dani Sordo's MINI. Sordo took second in the end up, something he was very happy about, only 6 secs behind Ogier. Mikko Hirvonen inherited third after Petter Solberg was excluded from the rally post-event after a technical infringement.

Ogier said: “It’s a very good feeling. It was difficult at the end because there was a lot of pressure after the problem for Seb [Loeb]. It’s very important for the championship but now I must do two good rallies.”

Jari-Matti Latvala took fourth after electing to drop behind his team-mate to aid him in the Driver's Championship. His sportsmanship was rewarded with 3 extra points on the Power Stage. Dennis Kuipers took his best finish, which was coincidently the best finish for a Dutch driver as well, in the WRC with fifth. Henning Solberg inherited seventh when Armindo Araujo crashed his MINI into a wall, and then seventh became sixth when his younger brother Petter was excluded.

Sebastian Loeb returned to winning ways 3 weeks later with a commanding win in Spain. His comfortable gap of 2 mins over Mikko Hirvonen didn't tell the entire story though. For most of the mixed-surface event, Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala scrapped with Loeb over the top spot, and Latvala only really relinquished the lead when he lost a lot of time in the hanging dust during the rather unpopular, with the drivers anyway, night stage. He then, as in France 3 weeks ago, dropped time to let Hirvonen, fighting for the Championship, up into second.

“It was a really good rally for us coming from three bad rallies We did the perfect race I would say with no mistakes. Mikko has taken a lot of points so we stay very close in the championship but the point for the Power Stage could be very important.” said event winner Loeb.

Dani Sordo failed to live up to pro-event expectation from his home fans, owing to a puncture and steering problems, but a strong fourth place in the end was surely deserved. Team-mate Kris Meeke gained his first points with a solid drive to fifth place, winning the Power Stage too. Ironically, Meeke had never taken part in a Power Stage, and was shocked to see he had beaten Sordo to the extra 3 points. Mads Ostberg continued to put in strong drives with a fine sixth place in the Stobart Fiesta.

With Ogier going out with an engine failure, it shaped up to be a tight finish to the season. Ogier was now mathematically out of the running, so it came down to just 8 points between Loeb and Hirvonen, an almost re-run of 2009. 8 points may have seemed like a lot, but with 7 points between first and second places and an extra 3 points for the Power Stage, it was as tight as you like.

Loeb and Hirvonen knew that neither of them could afford a slip-up and had to hell for leather to win the rally, and the Power Stage, and thus the title. The lead changed hands between the pair for the first 6 stages, never far apart. SS7 more-or-less handed Loeb the title after Hirvonen spun, hit a tree & did terminal damage to the engine. He tried to continue, but the engine gave up. Championship over for the young Finn.

Latvala, the sole remaining Ford, set about denying Loeb the Welsh win. He put in an amazing charge against the Frenchman, taking fastest time after fastest time, to knock Loeb's lead out from under him. Loeb wanted to finish the rally, so he duly backed off, and let the other young Finn rocket off into the distance. By the end of the rally, Latvala had taken 11 stage wins, and had a rather comfortable 3 min 42 sec cushion over second place. But it wasn't Loeb in second.

Leaving the Halfway 1 stage, Loeb was involved with a minor collision with a road car on the road section. No-one was injured in the accident (except maybe the pride of the Spanish fan driving the car, who was left with the unenviable title of being the man to have taken Sebastian Loeb out of a rally), but the DS3 WRC's radiator was holed, and he didn't go any further. That gave Latvala a bit of breathing space over second placed Mads Ostberg, who rounded out a consistent but cash-strapped year with a solid second place. Henning Solberg took third, his first podium since Poland 2009, after coming under immense pressure from Kris Meeke in the MINI. Starting the final day 35 secs behind Solberg, Meeke reduced the deficit right down to 1.8 secs. A spin on the Power Stage ultimately prevented his breakthrough podium in the WRC, but it is a sure sign of things to come. Indeed, such was Meeke's pace, Solberg was sure he'd lose his third spot to the flying Meeke.

Matthew Wilson took fifth in his Fiesta, rounding out a very consistent year for the young Briton. Sixth went to Ott Tanak in the DMACK Tyres Fiesta, impressing on his début in World Rally Car machinery.

So that's it for our review of the 2011 WRC Season, a close fought affair between the usual suspects, with a few new names thrown in for good measure. The new era of the WRC is shaping up to be an exciting time, with the arrival of MINI and the imminent and anticipated arrival of Volkswagen, and surely other will follow.

Keep a close eye on Global Rally News over the festive season, we'll be bringing you an equally in-depth review of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, an even more closely contested affair. After which we will be bringing you a team-by-team review of the WRC and IRC, to make sure nothing has been missed and you get to read about everything that went on within the two biggest rally championships in the world.

But for now, Global Rally News wishes you a very Merry Christmas, and an equally Happy New Year!

GRN 2011 round-up: World Rally Championship (Part 1)

To kick off Global Rally News' round-up of the 2011 WRC, we naturally start off with the first round of the season, Rally Sweden, and what an opener it was.

Ford and Mikko Hirvonen got their 2011 campaign off to the best possible start with victory on the Swedish spectacular. Indeed, he didn't lead all of the way. Mads Ostberg, also Ford-mounted, lead after Day 1 and, when Hirvonen took the lead, the Norwegian kept the Finn on his toes, never straying far from the works entry on the time sheets.

“I was really nervous before the last stage but what a fantastic start from the team with the new car. The car has been quick straight away and after a tough season last year I am really pleased with this. But I am not taking this feeling any further. We’ve won here and now we need to move on to the next round in Mexico where it will be a different game. But I’m very happy with this and it couldn’t be better to have a Ford one-two-three.”

Third was Jari Matti Latvala in the other works Fiesta entry. Having a strong rally, he fought for a while with Sebastian Ogier over third place, and took it when the Frenchman filled the Citroen's airbox with snow. In the end up, Ogier took fourth but went fastest over the inaugural Power Stage, netting an extra 3 points in the process. Fifth was Petter Solberg, who managed to get himself banned from driving in Sweden for speeding between stages. His ban kicked in just before the start of the Power Stage, so co-driver Chris Patterson stepped up to drive the stage for Solberg, ensuring they at least scored some points. Patterson dropped just over 1 min to stage winner Ogier, but considering he had never driven the car before and is far from used to driving competitively, it was no mean feat.

Sixth was reigning World Champion Sebastian Loeb. A puncture and a massive time loss running first on the road on Day 1 dropped him to ninth. An extra two points on the Power Stage came as a welcome bonus, with the World Champion saying he lacked motivation that he would usually get fighting at the front.

After the first event of the year, it looked as if the Fords would be on par with the Citroens, but the next few events would prove otherwise.

Loeb did, however, make up for the disappointment of Sweden with victory in the very next round, in Mexico. The Frenchman was involved in a fight with his team-mate Sebastian Ogier up until Ogier crashed out on the final day. Loeb won by 1 min 38 secs over Mikko Hirvonen, who was in turn 45.5secs ahead of his team mate Jari Matti Latvala. Hirvonen also took the Power Stage, and the 3 points it carries.

Petter Solberg, a former winner of this event, took fourth at the end. Taking only one spare and saving his tyres throughout the first two stages of the final loop, he went all out on the Power Stage, hoping the tyres he saved the less weight would help him. He took second in the end, 2.1 secs behind Hirvonen. Fifth place went to Mads Ostberg, a Mexico new-comer, in the Stobart Fiesta. A puncture on Day 1 halted him from a higher place. Sixth went to Henning Solberg, who fought though braking problems and power-steering issues to take sixth.

Back to Europe and back to French dominance. Rallye de Portugal was taken by Sebastian Ogier, the rally he won a little less than 1 years ago. Leading from Day 2, Ogier was never really troubled, but his team mate Loeb kept him honest, never far behind. At the end, Ogier took the winner's trophy by 31 secs over Loeb. Third, and well over 3 mins behind was the Ford of Jari-Matti Latvala.

A broken driveshaft and rear suspension problems slowed Mikko Hirvonen, leaving him 6 mins off the lead and fourth. Fifth was Matthew Wilson, who dropped from fourth after he elected to slow on the rain-hit SS16, but it did guarantee him points. Petter Solberg took sixth from Kimi Raikkonen on the final stage, after starting the day in ninth.

Jordan brought the unbelievable desert heat, but the pace of the WRC's young chargers was surely hotter. Sebastian Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala started the final day separated by over 30 secs, but with Ogier sweeping the road and Latvala driving his Fiesta RS WRC up to and over it's limits, it shaped up to be the closest finish in the WRC's 32 year history. Latvala overhauled Ogier on the penultimate stage, going into the Power Stage half a second ahead. A small mistake on the Power Stage dropped him 0.7secs, leaving him 0.2 secs behind at the end. Indeed, such was Latvala's pace on the stage, he was 4.5 secs behind at one point after the mistake, but reduced it to 0.7 secs.

Behind the Top 2, more specifically 27.7 secs behind, was Sebastian Loeb. Suffering from oversteer throughout the final day, he bided his time until the Power Stage, when he blasted through the stage, taking third, and the final bonus point. Fourth was Mikko Hirvonen, struggling in the conditions took second on the Power Stage, a welcome bonus. Matthew Wilson took fifth after fighting with Kimi Raikkonen for most of the rally. A puncture for the Finn gave Wilson a bit of breathing space, but Raikkonen only dropped to sixth, 30 secs behind Wilson.

Sebastian Loeb ended his team-mate's run of wins with a win in Italy. Loeb came home 11.2 secs ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. A timing mistake was corrected, in favour of Hirvonen, so the gap to leader Loeb was cut to 14secs, but it wasn't enough to give Hirvonen his second win of 2011. Third was Petter Solberg, his first podium of the year, 23.9 secs off the lead.

A broken rear suspension stopped Sebastian Ogier from making it two DS3 WRC's on the podium, but nevertheless he still took fourth, albeit over 1 min off the lead. Fifth was Mads Ostberg, who suffered a big scare on the Monte Olia stage, hitting a bank and spinning the car after mishearing a pacenote. Sixth went to Dani Sordo, in the new MINI John Cooper Works. Sporting an armband in memory of Seve Ballesteros, the golfing legend, he overcame a throttle problem to take sixth. Team-mate Kris Meeke ran as high as fourth on Day 1 on his first outing in a World Rally Car at World Rally level for almost 4 years, until a stuck throttle sent him into a tree.

Back to South America, to Argentina more specifically, and victory went back to Sebastian Loeb. Ogier was in command of the historic event event, only to roll his DS3 WRC on the opening test on Sunday. He got the car going again, but his lead had been slashed from 43.7 secs down to 21.5 secs. He hadn't finished losing time neither, power-steering failure as a result of the roll dropped even more time and made the car “impossible to drive”. This allowed Loeb into the lead, somewhere he thought he'd never be after his 1min Friday penalty, and Hirvonen up to second. Ogier ended up in third.

Day 2 power-steering failure for Petter Solberg took his shot at the win away, but a win on the Power Stage came as a welcome surprise, cementing his fourth as well. Fifth was Mads Ostberg, continuing to impress in his Fiesta. Local legend (he's a 10 times Argentinian National Champion) Federico Villagra took sixth, his best finish for over a year.

Back to Europe again and the Acropolis Rally's reputation for being a car breaker didn't stop Sebastian Ogier from winning in the searing Greek heat. Tactics were employed by Seb Jr. going into Day 2, starting 2.2 secs off his team-mate but crucially behind him. This frustrated his Citroen team, and team-mate, but he still went on to win the rally and the event-closing Power Stage. Mikko Hirvonen came within striking distance of Sebastian Loeb going into the Power Stage, but had to be content with third.

“It was a difficult start on Friday but I managed to find a good rhythm, especially yesterday when we pushed hard. I am very happy and it’s perfect to get this result.” said Ogier.

Even though he lead after Day 1, Petter Solberg came home fourth. Cleaning the road on Saturday slowed him considerably. Just behind his little brother was Henning Solberg, his fifth being the best finish of his season to date. Stobart driver and Solberg's team-mate Matthew Wilson took sixth.

Part 2 to come.

We will be back!

Just a short message explaining why there has been no updates on Global Rally News for the past couple of weeks. We've had a few technical problems and time constraints regarding various things, but we will return with a comprehensive look-back at the world of rally in 2011, with reviews of the WRC and IRC. We will also bring you a comprehensive team-by-team review of the WRC and IRC from 2011.

Even with our difficulties and time constraints, we've been keeping a close eye permanently on the world of rally, so we'll be back to bringing you up-to-date coverage and news stories. We've also got a couple of nice little surprises lined up for you in the coming weeks, in line with the festive season.

And finally, due to our lack of updates over the past few weeks, Global Rally News will not close our offices during the holidays. As 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg showed recently, commitment pays off!

Solberg to bid 'au revoir' to Citroen?

2003 World Champion Petter Solberg has hinted at the fact his time driving a privateer Citroen may be coming to a close.

Solberg will drive his usual Citroen DS3 WRC at the Bettega Rallysprint, part of the Bologna Motorshow, tomorrow (Saturday 10^th December). The annual event is run in memory of Attilio Bettega, the former Lancia driver and winner of six World Rally podiums who tragically lost his life while competing on the 1985 Tour de Corse, his Lancia Rally 037 veering off the road on the fourth stage of the rally.

This weekend may herald the end of Solberg's Citroen privateer career, after campaigning the Xsara WRC, C4 WRC and the DS3 WRC, all in privateer form, since 2009. In his 2 years under the PSWRT banner, he has scored 12 podiums, including 5 second place finishes, but sadly no wins. In recent times, he has struggled to find funding, though has struggled on.

However, in an interview with Motorsport News, Solberg revealed he doesn't want to continue in privateer form. He currently has no plans in place for 2012, and with both MINI's and Citroen's seats full, his only option for a 2012 drive lies with Ford. Volkswagen have not announced their second driver, to partner Sebastian Ogier, but should he sign with the German firm, he would likely not drive competitively in 2012.

“I have one chance for next year and that is with Malcolm [Wilson, the Ford team boss]. I don’t want to do a privateer team any more.” he said.

Other big names from the world of rally are due to start the rally, with both Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) and Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC) looking to put up a good fight for the Norwegian. MotoGP star Andrea Dovizioso will drive a Fiesta too, with World Motocross Champion Tony Cairoli driving a Citroen DS3 WRC. Experienced Italians Luca Pedersoli and Piero Longhi will both drive WRC cars, with Pedersoli driving a DS3 WRC for the first time, a car he hopes to be contesting selected WRC rounds in next year, and Longhi driving a John Cooper Works WRC.