Academy winner set for Portugal prize

Elfyn Evans is preparing to reap the rewards of his 2012 title winning season by cashing in the first of five prize drives on the forthcoming Rally Portugal.

 

By taking victory in last year’s WRC Academy, the FIA’s young driver category, Evans, 24, earned himself a five-round WRC programme in a 4WD car this year.

Graduating from the two-wheel drive Fiesta R2 he campaigned in 2012, Evans will take the wheel of an M-Sport run Ford Fiesta RRC when he makes his WRC season debut in Portugal next month, where he and co-driver Daniel Barritt will compete in the WRC 2 category.

The youngster will return to the WRC 2 series with M-Sport’s latest challenger – the Ford Fiesta R5 – when it is released later in the year.

Evans’ Fiesta will carry full Qatar M-Sport team livery, and will be run from the team’s service area alongside the Ford Fiesta RS WRCs of Mads Østberg, Evgeny Novikov, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Thierry Neuville.

“Nowhere else could a young driver hope for such an opportunity and I am really looking forward to starting the season and developing my career with the team,” said Evans.

“Elfyn is a talented driver with a promising career ahead of him,” added M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson. “Elfyn started rallying with the Ford Fiesta ST when he contested the FordFiesta SportTrophy series in 2007 and has grown with the Fiesta R2 through the WRC Academy.
“He’ll now progress to the Ford Fiesta RRC – and eventually the Fiesta R5 – and I am sure it won’t be long until we see him challenging for results at the highest level.”

Rally Portugal marks the start of this season’s championship for young drivers, which has been re-named the FIA Junior WRC Championship.

FIA WRC Manager, Michele Mouton, said: “Once again we are seeing how the FIA’s junior series is developing young drivers and giving them the opportunity to make that step in to the FIA World Rally Championship. We all wish Elfyn the best of luck with his career.”

(24/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/academy-winner-set-for-portugal-prize/?fid=18395)

Portugal entries: 13 WRC cars, 4 classes, 1 F1 star...

Thirteen World Rally Cars will head the entry for Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship, which takes place from 11-14 April.

 

Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo top the list as DS3 drivers for the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. Portugal is not one of the handful of rallies that their team-mate, and reigning World Champion, Sebastien Loeb will contest in his retirement season.

After missing the last round in Mexico, Khalid Al Qassimi returns to the French firm’s line-up, driving a DS3 for the Abu Dhabi squad.

Volkswagen Motorsport has entered cars for championship leader Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. They will be joined, for the first time this season, by Andreas Mikkelsen, who will drive a third works team Polo R.

Last year’s Portugal winner Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov are the points nominated drivers for the Qatar M-Sport World Rally team, while Nasser Al-Attiyah and Thierry Neuville will represent the Qatar World Rally Team. Martin Prokop will also drive a Fiesta RS for his Jipocar Czech National Team.

Michal Kosciuszko completes the WRC runners in his Lotos Team WRC MINI John Cooper Works.

Rally Portugal is the first rally this year to feature a full programme from the WRC support championships.

The WRC 2 entries feature Skoda pilot, and championship leader, Sepp Wiegand as well as Subaru Driver Yuriy Protasov who is second in the standings. Rally Mexico class winner Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari returns in his Fiesta RRC and is likely to face some tough competition from last year’s FIA WRC Academy Winner, Elfyn Evans who will be at the wheel of an identical Fiesta RRC - part of his prize for winning the championship.

Topping the entries – in terms of fame – is F1 star Robert Kubica, who will make his WRC debut in a Citroen DS3 RRC.

A packed WRC 3 field is dominated by nine Citroen DS3 crews, all competing in the French firms ‘Citroen Top Driver’ scheme. Topping the entries is the class winner on the opening round in Monte-Carlo, Sebastien Chardonnet.

Portugal also marks the start of the FIA’s Junior WRC Championship. The opening round has attracted a strong field of 10 drivers who will do battle in identical Ford Fiesta R2s.

(20/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/portugal-entries-13-wrc-cars-4-classes-1-f1-star/?fid=18391)

Atkinson optimistic after Mexico appearance

Chris Atkinson thinks he did enough on his outing with Citroen on Rally Mexico to justify more WRC appearances this year, even though he missed his own goal of a top-five finish.

 

The Australian, 33, was gifted a factory spec DS3 for Rally Mexico when he took the place of Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT driver Khalid Al Qassimi.

But Atkinson’s chances of a good points finish took a knock on stage three when he hit a rock and damaged his car’s steering.

“The target was top-five, and we ended up sixth after losing more than five minutes on the first day and then being stuck with a bad road position,” Atkinson told wrc.com. “I am sure we would have been fourth or fifth without being unlucky with the rock - but that’s Mexico.”

Despite missing his goal, Atkinson was satisfied with his speed when compared to the full-time World Rally Car drivers.

“It’s difficult to turn up and be straight on front-running pace against guys who are in the cars so regularly,” he explained. “But we were about 0.3 sec per km off Mikko when we didn't have any problems, and I can see where the time was being lost.

“If I was flat-out and doing those times I would be worried, but the plan was to drive at a safe speed and I know we can go faster. Citroen are a smart team, they know the details and can see if I was doing a good job or not.”

“I would love to have a few more rallies to get up to speed and help the team with the manufacturers' championship. But its not my decision, I have done what I can,” he added.

(19/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/atkinson-optimistic-after-mexico-appearance/?fid=18390)

Ostberg’s 60-metre snow jump

Mads Ostberg is claiming a new world record after jumping his Fiesta RS World Rally Car 60.48 metres on snow.

 

Ostberg, who drives for the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team, made the jump on Saturday night at a winter extreme sport festival at Trysil in his home country of Norway.

In front of thousands of spectators, Ostberg set off from the top of a ski-slope in his own Fiesta, equipped with studded tyres, reaching more than 145kph in sixth gear before hitting the packed-snow launch ramp.

Watch what happened next here.

“It’s a fantastic feeling - I loved it,” said Ostberg. “When I was flying I just wanted to be in the air even longer. You just want a bit more, a bit more and you don’t want to land.”

Ostberg made five attempts at the jump, recording his longest leap on the final run after damper adjustments enabled him to get more speed at take-off.

“Getting enough speed was the biggest challenge,” explained Ostberg. “There was another smaller jump further up the slope which launched us about 30 metres and that cost us some speed on the approach.

“We were hitting 150kph, but we need more than that to break 60 metres. This was the longest we could jump tonight. Maybe we’ll go even longer next year!

The jump was more than twice the 28 metres he jumped over Colin’s Crest at Rally Sweden in February.

Want to hear more about the jump? Mads spoke to WRC Live presenter Becs Williams for a wrc.com podcast special. Listen to it here.

Portugal the hardest rally, says Kubica

Four weeks before he makes his World Rally Championship debut on Rally Portugal, Robert Kubica has admitted that the loose-surface event is likely to be his hardest test of the year.

 

The ex-Formula 1 driver announced a switch to rallying a fortnight ago and revealed further details of his 2013 programme at a press conference in Warsaw yesterday.

The Pole will contest the seven-round WRC 2 championship in a Citroen DS3 RRC, tackling the remaining events in the WRC calendar except the rounds in Argentina, Australia and the season finale in Great Britain.

Alongside him will be experienced Polish co-driver, Maciek Baran, who since 2003 has navigated for WRC regular Michal Solowow. The pair will also take part in four rounds of the European Championship, starting with next week’s all-asphalt Rally Islas Canarias.

As he unveiled the livery of his new Citroen, Kubica explained that his objective for 2013 was to build experience of the rallies and of driving with pace notes.

“Each and every rally will be new to me,” he said. “This year Rally Portugal will be the hardest. Although some sources apparently claim that I have already done some test on gravel, in fact I haven't done it yet. We will test after the Canaries Rally. Rally Portugal will be my first world championship event, first gravel rally and for the first time I will tackle such long stages – one of them has over 50 kilometres. It will be a steep learning curve for us.”

“My goal is clear: to learn, learn, learn. Experience is essential here, more important than in racing. On circuits we do a lot of laps, the driver knows the track by heart. Here you have to trust the pace notes completely. For me it is important to work on my pace notes system, I feel it can be improved and this is the key to success,” he added.

Kubica acknowledged that the decision to switch from racing to rallying hadn’t been easy, and he didn’t rule out a return to the racetrack.

“Everything I do in my life, I do with one hundred per cent commitment,” he said. “My approach to rallies will be the same, but I will not put racing aside. Probably I will test a lot on circuit this year, but only if my rally schedule allows it.”

“The most important thing to me was to come back to competing at highest possible level in motorsport. I guess it worked out – only Formula 1 is at higher level than World Rally Championship, although in fact it is impossible to compare these two series. These are two different kinds of sport, so it's like comparing one of the most famous marathon runs in the world to 100 metres sprint run during Olympic Games,” he added.

(19/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/portugal-the-hardest-rally-says-kubica/?fid=18386)

Block takes career best but wonders, 'what if...?'

Ken Block left Rally Mexico with the best result of his WRC career but wondering what he could have achieved with the benefit of a proper testing programme.

 

The American has been absent from the WRC since last year’s Rally Finland but impressed on his return, driving his Hoonigan Racing Division Fiesta RS to seventh with no pre-event testing.

“It’s funny because I started the rally just trying to enjoy myself on the stages and ended it with a good result,” he said. “It’s just one of those rallies that can take a lot of people out really fast and a conservative pace led to seventh overall.”

On his 20th event in a WRC car, Block came within three stages of taking sixth place but was unable to keep his former team-mate Chris Atkinson behind on the rally’s final day.

“Of course I’d have liked to have kept Chris behind but I didn’t want to push and make a mistake and go off,” said Block. “It’s been great though, I enjoyed it. We had a great battle with Benito [Guerra] and it was fun watching the times of the other drivers."

Block’s 2013 schedule of X Games, Global RallyCross championship and Rally America events means he has no more WRC outings planned – something he feels will limit his WRC potential.

“There is no way to match the top guys unless you have a good programme of rallies and plenty of testing,” he said. “I don't have enough testing. I can still be inside the top 10, which makes me happy. But sometimes I think what if, what if, what if..?” 

(15/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/block-takes-career-best-but-wonders-what-if/?fid=18385)

the results after WRC Mexico

Sébastien Loeb - The Artist of Rallying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBITgght8uo

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtN8-IR4xvA&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4&index=1

Sordo seeking test breakthrough

Dani Sordo hopes a pre-event test for Rally Portugal will help get his gravel performance back on track after a frustrating time on Rally Mexico.

Mexico was Sordo’s first gravel rally for Citroen since he rejoined the manufacturer this year after two seasons with Mini. It was also his first taste of gravel with the DS3 World Rally Car, the model that replaced the C4 he drove from 2007 to 2010.

Sordo struggled to find a comfortable set-up in Mexico and he spent much of the rally frustrated by oversteer and a lack of traction.

His fourth place matched his best result to date on the event, however his stage times rarely troubled the leaders and he finished more than six minutes adrift of the winner Sebastien Ogier.

“The result was good for the manufacturers and drivers points but it was the best result we could take so we must keep working,” Sordo told wrc.com.

“It’s hard to say exactly what the problem was. I found the roads extremely slippery and that didn’t give me the confidence I needed. Maybe we need to look at the suspension and the differential?

“It’s difficult always on gravel and it’s a little more difficult for me than on other rallies, like tarmac, but we need to find something with the set-up to have more confidence - especially for the first pass through the stages.

“I could feel in a lot of places on the stages where I was losing time. We will work hard at our tests before Portugal and hope to have a better rally there,” he added.

Rally Portugal, round four of the 2013 World Rally Championship, begins on 11 April.

(14/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/sordo-seeking-test-breakthrough/?fid=18384)

Hirvonen: “We need to go back to the drawing board”

Mikko Hirvonen has acknowledged that he and his Citroen team have hard work ahead if they are to challenge Volkswagen's Sebastien Ogier for this year's drivers' title.

 

Hirvonen drove his DS3 to second position on Rally Mexico but the Finn was a distant 3m28.9s behind Ogier, who took victory on the Polo R’s gravel debut.

On the stages Hirvonen was rarely able to match the pace of his French rival, winning just two tests compared to Ogier’s tally of 16. Ogier now heads the drivers' standings on 74 points, with Hirvonen third on 30.

After the podium ceremony in Leon, Hirvonen said he was relieved to get a top-three result after a lacklustre start to his season in Monte-Carlo, and losing any chance of a decent finish in a crash on Rally Sweden.

“It looks like Volkswagen has raised the game and we have to fight hard,” said Hirvonen. “We have to work even harder now, I am sure we can improve everything. I am still sliding a little too much and losing time. Without the power with the altitude you lose even more time like this.”

“I was maybe a bit sleepy in the first stage on Friday but, after that, I was quite pleased with my driving. But I was not able to match Seb’s pace so we have to go back to the drawing board again.”

“We always want to fight for the win. People know I have been in this position many times and we will try again,” he added.

(12/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/hirvonen-ldquo%3Bwe-need-to-go-back-to-the-drawing-boardrdquo%3B/?fid=18383)

Neuville:I was right to takethe risk

Thierry Neuville doesn't regret putting his maiden WRC podium in jeopardy by chasing Mikko Hirvonen's second position in the final morning of Rally Mexico.

 

 

The Belgian, 24, scored a career best third but almost threw it away on Sunday’s opening test when he slid into a ditch after misjudging a corner whilst in pursuit of Hirvonen.

Neuville began the final day 7.5sec adrift of his Citroen rival and with the green light from his Qatar team boss to go for broke.

“Malcolm [Wilson] told me to push and I tried hard until 15 kilometres where we were equal [with Mikko],” he said. “Then I made a mistake and I knew we must just finish the day for the team.”

Neuville was lucky to emerge from the ditch with his car undamaged, but dropped more than 20 seconds and settled for third. Despite losing the gamble on this occasion, the youngster said he had no regrets.

“I slept well and my head was clear to push. I knew it was the right choice. I think, okay, sometimes you take a decision and I decided to push.”

Neuville’s performance was one of the most impressive of the weekend on only his third appearance in a Ford Fiesta RS. “Honestly, I have to say I felt confident in the car and, after qualifying, I thought we could find the pace and be competitive,” he said.

Asked whether he would be aiming for more podiums this year, Neuville added: “It will be very difficult against Sebastien Ogier but I will try on the tarmac rallies. We are working hard to prepare the car and be competitive.”

(12/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/neuville-i-was-right-to-take-the-risk/?fid=18382)

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Stage 22-23 video

http://www.youtube.com/user/wrc

WRC wrap: Ogier reigns supreme

Sebastien Ogier claimed his second consecutive WRC victory today after dominating Rally Mexico in a Volkswagen Polo R.

 

The Frenchman led after Thursday’s opening sprint tests, and despite losing the lead briefly on Friday, he quickly regained his advantage and was never again troubled. He eventually took this third round of the 2013 season by 3min 28.9sec from Mikko Hirvonen’s Citroen DS3.

Thierry Neuville claimed his first WRC podium in a Ford Fiesta RS. The Belgian gave up his pursuit of Hirvonen after sliding into a ditch on this morning’s opening stage, and he finished 54.9sec behind the Finn.

Ogier won 16 of the 23 stages, covering almost 400km in the hills above Leon, and claimed maximum points from the weekend having also taken bonus points for winning the Power Stage earlier today.

His victory came on the Polo R’s gravel debut, and in its first season of competition the duo have finished second on Rallye Monte-Carlo’s asphalt, won in the snow and ice of Sweden and now laid down a marker on gravel.

“The start of the season is just amazing for us,” said Ogier. “We want to thank the team because the car was perfect again all weekend. Okay, just a small alarm this morning with a sensor but it was not a drama, and here we are again at the end with a perfect amount of points.

“Now we have quite a good lead for the championship after just three rallies. For sure the season will be long, but already it’s not bad,” added Ogier, who heads Sebastien Loeb in the drivers’ standings by 31 points.

Hirvonen climbed to second when Mads Ostberg, the only driver capable of matching Ogier’s times, was sidelined with a broken alternator on his Ford Fiesta RS yesterday. Hirvonen held off a charging Neuville to claim his best result of the season and climb to third in the points.

“Second place - back to normal!” joked the Finn. “Of course, I’m happy to get my first podium of this year but Sebastien was so fast and we couldn’t match his pace. Okay, we have lots of work to do but I’m happy we’ve finally got on the podium and taken a solid result.”

A buoyant Neuville celebrated with a champagne shower on the podium from his rivals.

“We did a job we can be proud of and learned a lot. This morning I tried to push but okay, it went wrong, but we are still here with no damage on the car. It’s been a long wait for a podium, last year many things went wrong. We showed everyone we can learn, we took another step, now we are ready to go forward again and win,” he said.

Dani Sordo finished fourth, despite frequently feeling uncomfortable in his Citroen DS3, the Spaniard more than six minutes behind Ogier. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fifth on his debut in a Fiesta RS WRC and Chris Atkinson shrugged off a 3min 30sec time penalty after breaking his Citroen DS3’s steering to claim sixth.

Ken Block scored a career-best seventh place and the leaderboard was rounded off by Benito Guerra on his World Rally Car debut, Martin Prokop and Evgeny Novikov.

WRC 2

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari dominated the WRC 2 support category to bring his Ford Fiesta RRC home 9min 14.6sec clear of Mexico’s Nicolas Fuchs.

The Qatari was the only driver present in a new-generation WRC 2 car and he won 21 of the 23 stages on his Rally Mexico debut.

Fuchs’ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX finished 8min 19.6sec ahead of the Evo X Lancer of Ricardo Trivino, while Armin Kremer and Yuriy Protasov completed the finishers – both completing under Rally 2 rules having retired earlier.

Sebastien Loeb tribute 2012ᴴᴰ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8U0Yl0xQIk

check it out http://rallynow.tk

WRC wrap: Ogier reigns supreme

Sebastien Ogier claimed his second consecutive WRC victory today after dominating Rally Mexico in a Volkswagen Polo R.

 

The Frenchman led after Thursday’s opening sprint tests, and despite losing the lead briefly on Friday, he quickly regained his advantage and was never again troubled. He eventually took this third round of the 2013 season by 3min 28.9sec from Mikko Hirvonen’s Citroen DS3.

Thierry Neuville claimed his first WRC podium in a Ford Fiesta RS. The Belgian gave up his pursuit of Hirvonen after sliding into a ditch on this morning’s opening stage, and he finished 54.9sec behind the Finn.

Ogier won 16 of the 23 stages, covering almost 400km in the hills above Leon, and claimed maximum points from the weekend having also taken bonus points for winning the Power Stage earlier today.

His victory came on the Polo R’s gravel debut, and in its first season of competition the duo have finished second on Rallye Monte-Carlo’s asphalt, won in the snow and ice of Sweden and now laid down a marker on gravel.

“The start of the season is just amazing for us,” said Ogier. “We want to thank the team because the car was perfect again all weekend. Okay, just a small alarm this morning with a sensor but it was not a drama, and here we are again at the end with a perfect amount of points.

“Now we have quite a good lead for the championship after just three rallies. For sure the season will be long, but already it’s not bad,” added Ogier, who heads Sebastien Loeb in the drivers’ standings by 31 points.

Hirvonen climbed to second when Mads Ostberg, the only driver capable of matching Ogier’s times, was sidelined with a broken alternator on his Ford Fiesta RS yesterday. Hirvonen held off a charging Neuville to claim his best result of the season and climb to third in the points.

“Second place - back to normal!” joked the Finn. “Of course, I’m happy to get my first podium of this year but Sebastien was so fast and we couldn’t match his pace. Okay, we have lots of work to do but I’m happy we’ve finally got on the podium and taken a solid result.”

A buoyant Neuville celebrated with a champagne shower on the podium from his rivals.

“We did a job we can be proud of and learned a lot. This morning I tried to push but okay, it went wrong, but we are still here with no damage on the car. It’s been a long wait for a podium, last year many things went wrong. We showed everyone we can learn, we took another step, now we are ready to go forward again and win,” he said.

Dani Sordo finished fourth, despite frequently feeling uncomfortable in his Citroen DS3, the Spaniard more than six minutes behind Ogier. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fifth on his debut in a Fiesta RS WRC and Chris Atkinson shrugged off a 3min 30sec time penalty after breaking his Citroen DS3’s steering to claim sixth.

Ken Block scored a career-best seventh place and the leaderboard was rounded off by Benito Guerra on his World Rally Car debut, Martin Prokop and Evgeny Novikov.

WRC 2

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari dominated the WRC 2 support category to bring his Ford Fiesta RRC home 9min 14.6sec clear of Mexico’s Nicolas Fuchs.

The Qatari was the only driver present in a new-generation WRC 2 car and he won 21 of the 23 stages on his Rally Mexico debut.

Fuchs’ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX finished 8min 19.6sec ahead of the Evo X Lancer of Ricardo Trivino, while Armin Kremer and Yuriy Protasov completed the finishers – both completing under Rally 2 rules having retired earlier.

(11/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/wrc-wrap-ogier-reigns-supreme/?fid=18378)

Rally Guanajuato Mexico: Stage 21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYpj_BdYWC4&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4&index=1

WRC wrap:Ogier reigns supreme

Sebastien Ogier claimed his second consecutive WRC victory today after dominating Rally Mexico in a Volkswagen Polo R.

 

The Frenchman led after Thursday’s opening sprint tests, and despite losing the lead briefly on Friday, he quickly regained his advantage and was never again troubled. He eventually took this third round of the 2013 season by 3min 28.9sec from Mikko Hirvonen’s Citroen DS3.

Thierry Neuville claimed his first WRC podium in a Ford Fiesta RS. The Belgian gave up his pursuit of Hirvonen after sliding into a ditch on this morning’s opening stage, and he finished 54.9sec behind the Finn.

Ogier won 16 of the 23 stages, covering almost 400km in the hills above Leon, and claimed maximum points from the weekend having also taken bonus points for winning the Power Stage earlier today.

His victory came on the Polo R’s gravel debut, and in its first season of competition the duo have finished second on Rallye Monte-Carlo’s asphalt, won in the snow and ice of Sweden and now laid down a marker on gravel.

“The start of the season is just amazing for us,” said Ogier. “We want to thank the team because the car was perfect again all weekend. Okay, just a small alarm this morning with a sensor but it was not a drama, and here we are again at the end with a perfect amount of points.

“Now we have quite a good lead for the championship after just three rallies. For sure the season will be long, but already it’s not bad,” added Ogier, who heads Sebastien Loeb in the drivers’ standings by 31 points.

Hirvonen climbed to second when Mads Ostberg, the only driver capable of matching Ogier’s times, was sidelined with a broken alternator on his Ford Fiesta RS yesterday. Hirvonen held off a charging Neuville to claim his best result of the season and climb to third in the points.

“Second place - back to normal!” joked the Finn. “Of course, I’m happy to get my first podium of this year but Sebastien was so fast and we couldn’t match his pace. Okay, we have lots of work to do but I’m happy we’ve finally got on the podium and taken a solid result.”

A buoyant Neuville celebrated with a champagne shower on the podium from his rivals.

“We did a job we can be proud of and learned a lot. This morning I tried to push but okay, it went wrong, but we are still here with no damage on the car. It’s been a long wait for a podium, last year many things went wrong. We showed everyone we can learn, we took another step, now we are ready to go forward again and win,” he said.

Dani Sordo finished fourth, despite frequently feeling uncomfortable in his Citroen DS3, the Spaniard more than six minutes behind Ogier. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fifth on his debut in a Fiesta RS WRC and Chris Atkinson shrugged off a 3min 30sec time penalty after breaking his Citroen DS3’s steering to claim sixth.

Ken Block scored a career-best seventh place and the leaderboard was rounded off by Benito Guerra on his World Rally Car debut, Martin Prokop and Evgeny Novikov.

WRC 2

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari dominated the WRC 2 support category to bring his Ford Fiesta RRC home 9min 14.6sec clear of Mexico’s Nicolas Fuchs.

The Qatari was the only driver present in a new-generation WRC 2 car and he won 21 of the 23 stages on his Rally Mexico debut.

Fuchs’ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX finished 8min 19.6sec ahead of the Evo X Lancer of Ricardo Trivino, while Armin Kremer and Yuriy Protasov completed the finishers – both completing under Rally 2 rules having retired earlier.

(10/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/wrc-wrap-ogier-reigns-supreme/?fid=18378)

BREAKING NEWS: Ogier wins Rally Mexico

Sebastien Ogier has taken victory in Rally Mexico and secured a maiden win on gravel for Volkswagen's Polo R World Rally Car on only the manufacturer's third event.

 

Ogier, 29, held the lead of the Leon-based rally from Friday’s sixth stage, eventually winning by 3min 28.9sec from Citroen Total Abu Dhabi team driver Mikko Hirvonen at the wheel of a Citroen DS3.

Thierry Neuville was third, 54.9sec behind Hirvonen, in a Qatar World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS.

(10/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/breaking-news-ogier-wins-rally-mexico/?fid=18377)

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Stage 16-20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kcf1yBTH7k&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Stage 12-15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENExQlI6VVA&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Stage 7-11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3zzpoUutAE&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Stage 1-6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyeHZ1aIWw0&list=PLODyu6T9_emw6EGt81Zw9_LKSqnzX-Dr4

Ogier’s time reduced after gate incident

Sebastien Ogier's stage time though SS18 (Otates) has been reduced by 40 seconds after he was forced to stop to open a gate that blocked the road.

 

The clerk of the course examined GPS data and split times from Ogier’s Polo R before deciding on the amount of time to be credited.

The decision makes Ogier the fastest driver through Otates, and gives him an extended rally lead of 3min 29.7sec ahead of Sunday’s competition.

(10/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/ogiers-time-reduced-after-gate-incident/?fid=18373)

Saturday WRC wrap: Ogier in command

Sebastien Ogier delivered another masterclass at Rally Mexico today to close on his second consecutive WRC victory and a potential debut success for the Volkswagen Polo R on gravel.

The Frenchman returned to Leon tonight having extended his overnight lead from 33.0sec to 2min 52.4sec. Just three stages covering 80.41km tomorrow stand between him and the win.

His cause was helped when Mads Ostberg retired from second with a broken alternator on his Ford Fiesta RS. Then Mikko Hirvonen, who inherited second in his Citroen DS3, dropped two minutes with a puncture.

Ogier won five of the seven stages and his serene progress was only interrupted by a bizarre incident near the end of the final high-altitude test when he encountered a closed gate across the road.

Co-driver Julien Ingrassia leaped out to open it and the duo dropped 40sec. Organisers are investigating why the gate was shut.

Ogier was so relaxed that he could laugh at the incident at the stage finish. “Maybe somebody didn’t want me to win,” he joked. “There’s still one day to go and in the morning we have the longest stage of the rally so we must keep our concentration. I want to drive at a good rhythm and have fun.”

A leaking pipe in the clutch hindered Ostberg in the opening test. On the following road section he had to turn off his Ford Fiesta RS each time he stopped and restart it in gear. When the alternator failed, his battery quickly ran out of charge and he was stranded.

“It’s the biggest disappointment I’ve ever had in rallying,” he said. “I’ve been disappointed previously but never this bad. It’s very frustrating after fighting for a good result.” He is expected to restart tomorrow under Rally 2 regulations.

With a large time gap to Ogier and no challenge from behind, Hirvonen eased his pace to hold position. However, a puncture dropped him into the clutches of Thierry Neuville and the pair are separated by just 7.5sec.

“I’m lucky to be second,” he admitted. “I drove 23km with a rear left puncture so now we’ll have a fight tomorrow as well. The fight looked to be over when Ostberg went out but the gap is small and the first stage is 50km so anything can happen there. He will try, so I need to push as well.”

Neuville damaged the steering of his Fiesta RS in the opening stage and when it jammed in the next test he spun and lost almost a minute. Fears of overheating later were eased when the Belgian discovered the dashboard warnings were prompted by a disconnected fan.

“I’m disappointed for Mads because he was doing well on only his second time here but sometimes that happens in rallying and for us it was good. We won a place and we’re now on the podium so we should continue like this and try to finish there,” he said.

Dani Sordo is fourth, but the Spaniard remains perplexed by his lack of pace in the Citroen DS3.

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Ken Block round off the top six, the Qatari driver relieved to escape a huge sixth gear moment in his Fiesta RS. Chris Atkinson has his sights set on Block, the Australian only 26.7sec behind.

The top 10 is rounded off by Benito Guerra, Martin Prokop and Evgeny Novikov, the Russian driver back in the points after losing 12 minutes yesterday with ECU problems.

WRC 2

Ford Fiesta RRC driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari continues to dominate the WRC 2 support category. The Qatari won six of the seven stages to return to Leon 6min 11.8sec ahead of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo of local hero Nicolas Fuchs.

After battling with brake problems for much of the morning, Ricardo Trivino lies third in another Group N Mitsubishi with Yuriy Protasov completing the runners in fourth.

Armin Kremer retired from third this morning with a broken steering arm on his Subaru Impreza.

(10/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/saturday-wrc-wrap-ogier-in-command/?fid=18370)

Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2013: Friday Highlights

http://www.youtube.com/user/wrc

Team bosses reflect: Friday in Mexico

Back in the service park in Leon, here's what Jost Capito (Volkswagen Motorsport), Yves Matton (Citroen Total Abu Dhabi) and Malcolm Wilson (Qatar M-Sport) had to say about the competition so far:

Q. Jost, a strong day here in Mexico for Volkswagen Motorsport. Sebastien Ogier leads by 33 seconds. Is he unbeatable at the moment?

Jost Capito: “It was a really good day for Sebastien. It’s the first time on a gravel rally for the new Polo R WRC and we did not really know what to expect, so I think we found today two things: the first is that the car is competitive on gravel and the second, with the bad luck that Jari-Matti had, is that we still have to work on the car.”

Q. Jari-Matti had a disappointing start to the day, he was hardly 500 metres into the opening stage before he hit a rock. What exactly happened?

Jost Capito: “He hit a rock that was in the middle of the road and that was not there before. He didn’t have a chance to get around it. So the rock hit the car. Normally that should be okay for the car but this is the sort of experience that we have to gain on our first gravel rally. We broke a part so we couldn’t continue but he will be back on the stages tomorrow.”

Q. Yves, Mikko Hirvonen is in third overall. We saw yesterday that Mikko set the fastest time on the Qualifying Stage to give himself the best position today. Do you feel that that he hasn’t capitalised on that or do you think he’s done a good job?

Yves Matton: “His feeling was good today and he’s very happy with the car but he’s not able to be fast. We will see what we can do tomorrow. The stages are a little bit different and we hope tomorrow he can do some best times and try to catch second place. Then after we’ll see what’s possible.“

Q. Benito Guerra is competing in the Citroen DS3 on his home event. It’s his first time in a WRC car and he’s really impressed on the stages today. What have you thought of his performance?

Yves Matton: “He’s doing very well. It is important for him to do all of the rally, and when you are coming from a Production Car and jumping into a World Rally Car with just one day of testing it’s a big job. For sure he enjoys a lot and he will improve during the rally. We hope that he can be in a good position at the end of the rally.”

Q. Malcolm, we’ve seen a great performance from Mads Ostberg today. He’s been challenging Sebastien Ogier and setting fastest stage times, but at the end of the day he is now 30 seconds off the lead. Can he continue to challenge for the lead or are you already going to try and settle for second?

Malcolm Wilson: “That’s a good question. I think for sure we’re going to keep the pressure on. It’s a very difficult rally, it’s very hard on the cars so anything can happen, as Jost has witnessed today with Jari-Matti. So we will try to keep the pressure on, but I have to say I’m really delighted with Mads’ performance. He’s done a fantastic job to come here with the level of experience that he’s got and be able to post fastest times. It’s only been Sebastien and Mads that have done that today."

Q. Thierry Neuville has had a strong rally so far. This morning he wasn’t receiving splits into the car. He said he didn’t like it but his times were good. This afternoon did you let him have splits to improve the performance or not?

Malcolm Wilson: “I said earlier that it would be best not to give them to him and I think I’ve been proved right because this morning he was really strong. He’s been getting the splits this afternoon and he’s lost more time. So no more splits for Thierry.”

SS11: Advantage Ogier

SS11, El Chocolate (30.57 kilometres)

Stage description:
Named after a small town halfway through, El Chocolate is a new stage that features a 5km section of the former Ortega stage at the end. It’s a mid-sized road with a lot of loose gravel and a varied character that includes climbs and descents, narrow, technical sections and flat-out blasts. The road surface varies too, with five distinctly different types of gravel.

How the action unfolded:

Rally leader Sebastien Ogier ended Mads Ostberg’s run of stage wins on the repeat of El Chocolate, powering his Polo R through the 30km test an incredible 10.4 seconds quicker than anybody else.

Competing the stage before Ostberg, at the finish control the unflappable Frenchman acknowledged that the time was ‘okay’ but said the road cleaning effect could still benefit those drivers following.

In the event Ostberg was third fastest, 11.2 seconds adrift. “I tried to push Ogier and on some sections we were equal or we gained a bit, but in other places it’s like I’m not even driving - we were one second per kilometre down and I have no idea why," he said.

“There is something missing and I think it must be related to the grip changes. Compared to the ones before, this stage is like tarmac. It’s a bit like Monte Carlo. And I don’t like Monte Carlo.”

Mikko Hirvonen was second fastest in his Citroen DS3 to consolidate third overall. “The stage was okay but Ogier is going really quickly and it’s difficult to match his times,” he said. “That’s really the only problem because otherwise the car feels good, the set-up is okay and I’m feeling good about my driving.”

Fiesta RS pilot Thierry Neuville was fifth fastest but felt lucky to have got through at all.

“Not a good stage, it was so rough and I was extremely careful in some places,” he said. “Then I made a little mistake on the exit of a corner, I hit a post and had to reverse to get going again. It cost me a couple of seconds but I lost my confidence a bit thinking that I didn’t want to retire here. But okay, we dropped a bit of time but at least we are here.”

Hirvonen’s Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo remained in the WRC doldrums. The Spaniard completed the stage 52.8sec slower than Ogier. “I’m not happy but its like that. I just don’t know why. The car is moving a lot, it’s impossible to drive,” he said.

Michal Kosciuszko arrived at the stage end with the left-hand rear wheel of his Mini knocked out of alignment. “I have no idea how that happened,” he said. “I didn’t go off the road. It shouldn’t be like that.”

(09/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/ss11-advantage-ogier/?fid=18357)

SS9: Ostberg fastest on Las Minas repeat

SS9, Las Minas (15.31 kilometres)

Stage description:
First run in 2012, Las Minas has an unusual character for a Rally Mexico stage. It is generally narrow and twisty and also features some sharp climbs and descents. The first 6.3km are narrow, tight and technical and there’s a lot of loose gravel around. At 6.3km the stage changes and the road opens up and gets much faster.

How the action unfolded:

In a repeat of his performance on the morning loop of stages, Mads Ostberg was the fastest driver through the second running of Las Minas, this time taking a 5.2sec bite out of Sebastien Ogier’s rally lead.

The Fiesta RS driver narrowed the gap to Ogier to 18.9sec, to keep himself within striking distance of his French rival. “I don’t know why we’ve done so well on this stage, I suppose it’s just a road I like,” Ostberg shrugged at the stage end.

“The swept line of the previous stage make it almost like tarmac, while this is a proper gravel stage and I really enjoy it. For sure we will keep trying to catch Ogier - I promise we are doing all we can. We will see on the next one, I will push there – and on the last one too,” he added.

Ogier was fourth fastest and seemingly unfazed by the Norwegian’s progress. “It’s okay, no problem,” he said. “This is one of the slower stages and we’ve lose some time, but there will be no change to our approach.“

In the battle for third, Hirvonen responded to Neuville’s pace on the previous stage by going second quickest and extending the gap between them from a perilous 0.4sec to a slightly more comfortable 5.2sec.

Neuville, however, blamed himself for some of the time loss. “I made a small mistake on a hairpin,” he explained. “We lost about 1.5 sec because there was lots of dust about and I couldn’t see anything. Generally though I’m feeling much more comfortable in the car. It’s going better and better.”

Behind Neuville, the gap to fifth placed Dani Sordo widened to 1min 04sec. At the stage end a deflated Sordo still couldn’t explain why.

(08/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/ss9-ostberg-fastest-on-las-minas-repeat/?fid=18353)

SS8: Ogier nets three in a row

SS8, El Cubilete 1 (21.91 kilometres)

Stage description:

A repeat of this morning’s opening test, this stage was first used in this direction last year. Fast, with plenty of high speed straights, it climbs to 2247 metres. It starts on a smooth, wide road but after 1.7km the surface changes from gravel to cobble stones. The cobbles run for 10kms before the surface reverts to gravel all the way to the finish.

How the action unfolded:

Sebastien Ogier claimed his third consecutive stage victory and looks increasingly comfortable at the top of the leaderboard with his advantage now up to 24.1sec.

The Frenchman won the stage by 3.7sec in his Volkswagen Polo R. Conditions were cleaner and more grippy than this morning and Ogier emphasised that by completing the test almost seven seconds faster than previously.

The downside of more grip is the potential for tyres to wear more quickly. However, Ogier seemed unperturbed and pointed to the presence of two hard compound spares in the rear of the car as a safety net.

Thierry Neuville claimed second fastest, the Belgian now receiving the split times of his rivals into his Fiesta RS. Such was his pace that he has closed to within 0.4sec of relegating Mikko Hirvonen from the final step of the podium.

Evgeny Novikov was third in the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team Fiesta RS, the Russian admitting that his problems this morning meant his targets were limited. “I just have to keep going. There was good grip in the lines but if you go out of the lines then it’s not so good,” he said.

Hirvonen and Mads Ostberg were tied for fourth, the Finn at a loss to understand why his time was not better.

“I don’t know why I’m so slow on this stage,” said the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi team leader. “I thought I drove well, especially at the end.”

Ostberg was also concerned at his time, although if this morning is any guide, the set-up of his Fiesta RS is more suited to the following two tests. He was fastest on both in the first pass.

“It was very difficult to find my rhythm. I’m trying to drive cleanly and use the whole road but it’s not easy,” said the Norwegian.

Nasser Al-Attiyah completed the top six, the Qatari happier with the cleaner line this afternoon, but less pleased with the number of large rocks he encountered.

Martin Prokop was struggling as co-driver Michal Ernst was feeling unwell. “He has no power and is losing concentration,” said Prokop.

SS3: Early exit for Latvala

SS3/SS8, El Cubilete 1 (21.91 kilometres)

 

Stage description:
This stage was first used in this direction last year. Fast, with plenty of high speed straights, it climbs to 2247 metres. It starts on a smooth, wide road but after 1.7km the surface changes from gravel to cobble stones. The cobbles run for 10kms before the surface reverts to gravel all the way to the finish.

How the action unfolded:

Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala is out of Friday’s competition on Rally Mexico after his car struck a rock just 500 metres into the opening stage.

Reports suggest the rock had been flicked into the middle of the road by another car before Latvala’s Volkswagen Polo R hit it, breaking a front suspension wishbone.

Friday’s opener turned out to be a mixed affair for Volkswagen, with the squad’s second driver Sebastien Ogier taking the stage win to extend his overall lead of the rally. “It was okay, a clean drive, but I’m not quite happy with the car set-up yet,” said Ogier.

Ford Fiesta RS driver Mads Ostberg was second fastest, five seconds slower than Ogier, and also feeling he had some set-up work to do. “The car is over-steering a lot so I’m having to work all the way, I need to make some adjustments, I can’t drive it like this,” he explained.

Thierry Neuville, also in a Fiesta, was third quickest, 2.1sec off Ostberg’s pace. The Belgian said he had adopted a cautious approach after encountering a lot of loose rocks in the road.

Citroen team-leader Mikko Hirvonen was fourth fastest, and frustrated with an opening stage time that was 10.4sec slower than Ogier. “I had a bad start on the tarmac section. I was not driving well and lost a load of time on the cobbles. Okay, we need to catch up now,” he said.

Evgeny Novikov had a terrible start to the day when his Ford Fiesta stopped mid stage with an electrical problem. The Russian dropped more than seven minutes before tweaks to his car’s ECU brought it to life again and he could complete the stage.

Chris Atkinson was seventh fastest and arrived at the stage end with his Citroen DS3 sporting a cracked front bumper and a damaged left-hand front wheel. “We clipped a rock in the inside of a corner. It felt like a puncture but it looks okay,” he explained.

After the two Super Specials on Thursday night, El Cubilete was Benito Guerra’s first ‘proper’ stage in a World Rally Car and the Mexican completed it in the ninth fastest time. “That was fun to drive but running third in the start order there’s still a lot of dirt on the road and it’s tricky to find the lines of the guys ahead and get traction,” said the Citroen DS3 driver. “The second pass should be much better.”

Running first on the road, Michal Kosciuszko reported an intermittent lack of power from his Mini JCW’s engine.

(08/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/ss3-early-exit-for-latvala/?fid=18343)

WRC Mexico: Friday Stages and Start List

Michal Kosciouszko and Maciej Szczepaniak in their Lotos Team MINI John Cooper Works will be first onto Friday's stages.

 

Here's the timetable for the day:

0615 Service A (15 mins)

0723 SS3 El Cubilete 1 21.91km
0811 SS4 Las Minas 1 15.31km
0852 SS5 Los Mexicanos 1 9.76km
0935 SS6 El Chocolate 1 30.57km
1138 SS7 Street Stage León 1 1.23km

1210 Service B (30 mins)

1333 SS8 El Cubilete 2 21.91km
1421 SS9 Las Minas 2 15.31km
1502 SS10 Los Mexicanos 2 9.76km
1545 SS11 EL Chocolate 2 30.57km
1800 SS12 Super Special 1 2.21km
1805 SS13 Super Special 2 2.21km

1845 Parc Fermé/Flexi Service C (45 mins)

Friday total 160.75km

Here's the start list - they run at 3-minute intervals:

Kosciusko, Prokop, Guerra, Al-Attiyah, Block, Atkinson, Latvala, Sordo, Ogier, Østberg, Neuville, Novikov, Hirvonen... then the rest.

Opening stage is SS3 El Cubilete 1 21.91km, under way at 0723 local time

 

(08/03/2013 http://irallylive.com/ir_news.htm?00003371)

Loeb: Citroen will be fine without me

Citroen's sequence of title triumphs in the FIA World Rally Championship is set to continue in 2013. That's the view of Sebastien Loeb, who reckons it will be business as usual in the French camp despite his decision to enter just four rounds of the series.

 

Loeb, the nine-time champion is trimming his roster of events next year as he prepares to make a full-time switch to circuit racing in 2014. However, he reckons leading Citroen drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo have what it takes to secure more success for the make.

“Citroen will manage without me next year,” Loeb told Motorsport News. “If it is completely ready and on the level of Citroen then [Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier at] Volkswagen can have some fight, but if the car is not completely ready - because Citroen has a lot of experience of all the rallies - for sure, it will be difficult for Volkswagen to be on the same level immediately.”

Despite Loeb’s prediction, Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team head Yves Matton’s fears life without his number one pilot.

“For sure when you lose Sebastien Loeb, who is nine-time world rally champion, you are concerned,” said Matton in an interview with WRC.com. “But I would not say I am worried because the drivers will change in nearly all the teams next year so it’s a different game. We have a car doing very well the job, fast and reliable. We will just need to learn a little bit to manage the championship in a different way next year.”

(07/03/2013 http://www.wrc.com/news/loeb-citroen-will-be-fine-without-me/?fid=18092&page=8119)