WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC 2014

Steve · Aug 20, 2014

Watch out Mrs Meeke, Ogier’s got his eye on your man (maxrally.com)

by Giles Wade | 20th August 2014

They’re both married men but world champion Sebastien Ogier has announced that he’s got his eye on Kris Meeke.

Meeke outgunned Ogier for a time on Rally Finland earlier this month, prompting the Frenchman to list the Briton as one of his main rivals for victory on his Volkswagen team’s home WRC qualifier this week.

“We have some real asphalt specialists in the field – including Thierry Neuville, who was in contention here last year,” said Ogier, the WRC title leader. “I believe Hyundai will be very strong. And I will also be keeping an eye on Kris Meeke. He was damn quick in Finland and is very good on asphalt.”

Meeke hasn’t competed on a pure asphalt rally for three years but the Citroen driver isn’t overly concerned having finished third on the Tarmac-based Monte Carlo Rally in January. “It all comes back to you quickly, it’s like riding a bike,” he said. “I know that the DS3 WRC is competitive and that team knows the rally perfectly. I have everything I need to do well here.

“I have some very fond memories of competing here in the C2 Super 1600 and of my experience in the WRC in 2011. There are three very different types of road. The pace is constantly changing. I’ll have to get to grips with some things in the DS3 WRC, but I hope I can pick up where I left off in Finland.”
Click to expand...

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Dramatic end to opening day in Germany (WRC.com)

22 Aug 2014

Jari-Matti Latvala leads ADAC Rallye Deutschland following a dramatic conclusion to the opening day when team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier crashed out of first place.

The Volkswagen duo dominated on the asphalt roads. Ogier claimed three fastest times to Latvala’s two to hold a 5.5sec advantage heading into the final delayed Moselland stage.

However, the championship leader crashed his Polo R at a tight corner 7.5km into the hilly vineyard test. He emerged from the shrubs onto a different road below the stage, which he drove along in an effort to regain the correct route.

It did not lead back to the stage and Ogier eventually found a way to the public road and drove to the Trier service park. The car was undamaged and he will restart under Rally 2 regulations tomorrow with a 10 minute retirement penalty.

His demise handed Latvala a 37.0sec advantage over Kris Meeke’s Citroen DS3. Last year’s winner, Dani Sordo, overcame the worst of the conditions to hold third in a Hyundai i20, a further 5.6sec behind.

“We got a message in the car that Ogier had stopped and then saw another message to say he was out,” said Latvala. “I lost my rhythm a little because I didn’t know whether to drive fast or slow down. Miikka (co-driver Anttila) told me I was in the lead and could back off, but I slowed too much and found it hard to concentrate.”

Meeke dropped a handful of seconds after an opening stage spin, but was a model of consistency to finish third in every stage.

After a limited programme this season, Sordo started well down the running order. When he drove the stages the roads were slippery as previous competitors cutting corners had dragged mud and dirt onto the ideal line.

However, the Spaniard was always among the leaders and could threaten Meeke tomorrow when the start order is reset to tonight’s classification in reverse.

Andreas Mikkelsen is 3.0sec behind Sordo in fourth in a Polo R, despite a morning puncture, with Thierry Neuville fifth. Mechanics worked all last night to repair the Belgian’s i20 after his shakedown roll but he had a scare when his car filled with smoke in the last test.

Mikko Hirvonen is just 1.9sec behind in sixth, despite overshooting his Ford Fiesta RS into a field in the opening stage. Team-mate Elfyn Evans and Mads Ã˜stberg are next, the Norwegian slipping back from third as he struggled on the dirty roads.

Bryan Bouffier and Martin Prokop complete the leaderboard, but Robert Kubica dropped four minutes after his Fiesta RS went off and had to be lifted back onto the road by spectators.

Tomorrow’s second leg starts at 06.30. Drivers face two loops of four stages covering 148.30km, including two passes over the daunting Panzerplatte tests in the Baumholder military area.
Click to expand...

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Holy crap, look who won the first stage of the day (Stage 7)!

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Wow, dramatic start to Stage 8. Ogier the first runner went off and no one else started the stage. Reports he damaged about 30 meters of Armco and they've cancelled the stage and sent the others on to Stage 9!

Also reported that Ogier and co-driver are ok.

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Not a good picture but here's the Armco. No pics of the car yet.

Leg 2: Saturday â€“ SS8 Peterberg 1 (11.08km) (WRC.com)

23 Aug 2014

After a new opening 3.56km section, Peterberg followed the same route as 2013. It is fast through the open sections but when it turns into the forest it becomes damper and narrower.

Peterberg was cancelled after SÃ©bastien Ogier crashed his Volkswagen Polo R heavily into a roadside barrier 1.1km after the start.

Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, starting first on the road after crashing out of the lead last night, were not injured but both were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.

The impact damaged the barrier which separates the stage from the motorway and the test was halted for safety reasons. It is unknown whether the barrier can be repaired to allow the stage to be run this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Crashton · Aug 23, 2014

Sure glad that rail didn't spear them. That type of guard rail scares me.

Sucks to be a DNF, but they are OK & that part is great.

minirab · Aug 23, 2014

He would probably still be rolling if that guard rail was not there.

Crashton · Aug 23, 2014

Maybe, but being speared is what scares me. Probably still scares Kubica too.

As long as the rail stays intact all is well, if it doesn't. :frown2:

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Crashton said: ↑

Maybe, but being speared is what scares me. Probably still scares Kubica too.

As long as the rail stays intact all is well, if it doesn't. :frown2:
Click to expand...

Funnily -- maybe not to him -- Kubica was meant to be the next driver on the road after Ogier hit the Armco.

Crashton · Aug 23, 2014

Robert has big attachments. I'm thinking in fact he fears nothing. At least that's how he drives his rally car.

minirab · Aug 23, 2014

^^^^^
To me he is fearless, just to get back into any car after his crash in Canada,

%#@+&*%!!

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

No restart for Ogier.

Ogier crash: Photo special (WRC.com)

23 Aug 2014

Sebastien Ogier will take no further part in ADAC Rallye Deutschland after a high-speed crash today left his Polo R World Rally Car badly damaged.

Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia were lucky to walk away from the accident, which happened early in Saturdayâ€™s second stage, Peterberg.

It was the second crash in a miserable event for the defending world champion, who drove off the road on Fridayâ€™s opening leg but rejoined today as a Rally 2 entrant.

The accident happened about a kilometre into the eighth stage,â€ Ogier explained. â€œWe were in sixth gear on a long straight. Then there was a slight right turn over a crest. The jump was a bit further than we thought, the rear broke off when we landed and I lost control of the car.

â€œWe smashed into the crash barrier and came to a stop on a slope with smallish trees. The most important thing at that point was that Julien and I realised that we were both okay. They took us to hospital for routine tests but we both walked away without injury.â€

The Polo R was taken back to Volkswagenâ€™s service area where engineers discovered its roll cage had been damaged. Ogier said: â€œThe car suffered a bit more because unfortunately the jump was pretty brutal.â€

Volkswagen Motorsport boss Jost Capito retired the car on safety grounds, even though he believed it could have been repaired in the three-hour period allowed for Rally 2 entrants, and Ogier and Ingrassia were keen to rejoin on Sunday.

Click to expand...

Steve · Aug 23, 2014

Latvala in comfort zone in Germany (WRC.com)

23 Aug 2014

Jari-Matti Latvala moved within touching distance of his maiden asphalt victory after extending his lead to almost a minute at ADAC Rallye Deutschland in today’s second leg.

The Finn won five of the seven special stages on often wet and muddy roads to stretch his lead to 56.6sec with four speed tests remaining tomorrow. Kris Meeke repelled a fierce challenge from Thierry Neuville for second and holds a 4.3sec advantage in a Citroen DS3.

Latvala admitted that barring problems he could drive cautiously tomorrow to secure his second consecutive win, boosting his world title hopes following the demise of championship leader and team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier who crashed for a second time.

“It should be fine. I think we can take it easy tomorrow on stages that are a bit shorter than in previous years. You never want anything bad for your team-mate but I need this victory to happen to open up the championship fight. But first I have to finish and keep my head cool,” said the Volkswagen Polo R pilot.

The battle for second was thrilling. Neuville, who restarted in fifth in his Hyundai i20, leapfrogged Andreas Mikkelsen and team-mate Dani Sordo in the first pass through the marathon Panzerplatte military zone test and set about catching Meeke.

He reduced the deficit to 0.4sec when Meeke dropped a handful of seconds with a puncture, but the Northern Irishman battled back to hold the advantage.

Sordo remained in contact until he aquaplaned in sixth gear in standing water and spun onto the grass. He dropped 10sec but retained fourth ahead of Mikkelsen, who lost time after misjudging a hairpin bend. The gap between them is 10.2sec.

Mikko Hirvonen heads Elfyn Evans by 4.9sec after a daylong battle in which the Welshman briefly headed his more experienced Ford Fiesta RS team-mate. Mads Ã˜stberg has closed to within 1.2sec of Evans in eighth.

Martin Prokop and Robert Kubica complete the leaderboard in Fiesta RS cars. Kubica, first in the start order, won two stages as mud and dirt dragged onto the road slowed those following him into the tests.

Ogier restarted under Rally 2 regulations after retiring yesterday but smashed into a roadside barrier in the second stage after a sixth gear jump. The Frenchman and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were uninjured but the roll cage on their Polo R was too badly damaged to restart tomorrow. The stage was cancelled.

Bryan Bouffier also retired after crashing his i20 into a huge hinkelstein (kerbstone) in the military area.

Tomorrow’s action returns to the Mosel vineyards. After a 06.15 restart, drivers face two loops of two tests covering 74.60km.
Click to expand...

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bD9kQRD8dQ"]Leg 1 - 2014 WRC Rallye Deutschland - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpkOOp4WDTY"]Leg 2 - 2014 WRC Rallye Deutschland - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

Ouch, that's 1 to the hinkelsteins...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5RDISVwLhc"]Crash SS14 Bryan Bouffier/ ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

According to the announcer here, Ogier went over the barrier.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P4j20coGPA"]Stages 7 - 10: ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

Latvala out on the first stage of the day.

Look who's leading now (left side is Stage 15 result, right side is the overall). Latvala was nearly a minute ahead of Meeke but it's close enough now that the top 3 are all in the race with 3 stages to go.

Go, Kris!

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

And now Meeke is out as well and the Hyundais are currently 1 & 2!

Latvala and Meeke crash in Germany (WRC.com)

Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke both crashed out of ADAC Rallye Deutschland in an astonishing opening to Sunday’s final leg to leave Thierry Neuville on the verge of his maiden WRC victory.

Leader Latvala went off the road in a vineyard section about 14km after the start of the opening 18.03km Dhrontal stage. His car dropped through the vines and came to rest near a road below at the 8.7km point.

The Finn’s demise left Meeke with an 8.4sec lead over Neuville, but Meeke crashed into a wall early in the following Grafschaft stage, ripping the rear left wheel from his Citroen DS3.

The drama means Neuville has a 35.7sec advantage over Dani Sordo with a second pass through the same two stages remaining before the Trier finish.

Their Hyundai team is on course to record a maiden WRC victory and a 1-2 finish. If Neuville wins, he will be only the second Belgian to win a world rally following FranÃ§ois Duval’s success in Australia in 2005.

Latvala was aiming for his second consecutive victory, and his first ever on asphalt, after winning his home round in Finland last month. He left Trier this morning with a 56.6sec lead in his Volkswagen Polo R over Meeke.

Volkswagen have lost both Latvala and team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier to crashes this weekend and it brings to an end the team’s winning run of 12 events which started in Australia last year.

Andreas Mikkelsen spun his Polo R at the same point where Latvala went off, but the Norwegian lies third. He is chased by Elfyn Evans, who is just 8.5sec behind, with Mikko Hirvonen fifth a further 9.6sec behind his team-mate.

Bryan Bouffier and Yuriy Protasov also reported spins in Dhrontal, while Robert Kubica retired his Ford Fiesta RS before the stage when the gearbox became stuck in third gear as he warmed his tyres.
Click to expand...

Crashton · Aug 24, 2014

Great breakthrough win for Hyundai. The fact much of their competition ended up in the ditch shouldn't diminish their feat. Well done guys!

Steve · Aug 28, 2014

New view of Latvala's late off.

So, who reimburses the vineyard owner?

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-EttsHRkw"]WRC Germany - Latvala Crash - YouTube[/ame]

Forums

WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC 2014

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

minirab Well-Known Member

Crashton Club Coordinator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

minirab Well-Known Member

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Useful Searches

WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC 2014

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

minirab Well-Known Member

Crashton Club Coordinator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

minirab Well-Known Member

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Crashton Club Coordinator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator