WRC WRC 2014

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

Another pic of Latvala's car.

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...

Steve · Aug 24, 2014

Neuville nets maiden win in Germany (WRC.com)

24 Aug 2014

Thierry Neuville claimed a rags-to-riches first world rally victory in Germany today (Sunday), three days after virtually destroying his car when he rolled six times at pre-event shakedown.

In a chaotic final day at ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Neuville climbed from third after first Jari-Matti Latvala and then Kris Meeke crashed out of the lead.

The win on this ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship was the first for Hyundai in its debut year back in the series. Dani Sordo added icing to the cake by finishing second for the Korean manufacturer.

Twelve months ago Neuville came close to victory in Germany as he and Sordo fought a final stage duel when driving for different teams. Sordo won on that occasion to secure his first win when Neuville slid off just before the finish.

Neuville’s story began on Thursday morning when he barrel-rolled through the vineyards near Trier. Team mechanics worked for 18 hours to rebuild the battered i20 car and Neuville repaid them in style, becoming only the second Belgian to win a world rally and the first since FranÃ§ois Duval in 2005.

I think we did an unbelievable job during all three days of the rally and I can only say thank you to our team,” he said. “They did a fantastic job after our roll on shakedown and I couldn’t believe we could do such a good result. We put pressure on the others and it paid off.”

Latvala, chasing his first asphalt win to reignite his title bid, was almost a minute clear when he started the first of the final four stages in the vineyards on the banks of the Mosel River.

However, he crashed his Volkswagen Polo R in treacherously slippery conditions, handing Meeke an 8.4sec advantage over Neuville. But the Northern Irishman hit a wall early in the next test after a recce pace note error, ripping the left rear wheel from his Citroen DS3.

Neuville, who admitted dropping two wheels into a ditch in the opening stage, was in the clear and finished 40.7sec ahead of Sordo. The Spaniard enjoyed a clean run on his first rally since May, aside from a sixth gear spin yesterday after aquaplaning.

Andreas Mikkelsen survived a spin where Latvala crashed to take third in a Polo R, 17.3sec further back. Elfyn Evans excelled on his debut asphalt event in a World Rally Car, matching a career-best fourth place after outgunning more experienced Ford Fiesta RS team-mate Mikko Hirvonen by 6.9sec.

Mads Ã˜stberg was sixth, admitting he failed to get the best out of his DS3, with Martin Prokop and Dennis Kuipers in seventh and eighth. WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand finished ninth with Ott TÃ¤nak completing the leaderboard.

Robert Kubica retired before the opening stage when the gearbox in his Fiesta RS jammed in third as he warmed his tyres while Bryan Bouffier crashed his i20 early in the final test.

Despite retiring after two crashes, SÃ©bastien Ogier’s retains a 44-point lead over Latvala in the standings. Although a wretched weekend meant it failed to clinch the manufacturers’ title, the results guaranteed a Volkswagen driver – Latvala, Ogier, or Mikkelsen - will win the drivers’ crown.
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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]

Dave.0 · Aug 28, 2014

Maybe they do not have lawyers in Latvala so they do not have to deal with silly lawsuits.

Steve · Aug 28, 2014

As far as I'm concerned the lawsuit topic shouldn't enter into it, there shouldn't even be any need. Someone does significant damage to property and livelihood of another, something ought to be done about it without anyone even asking much less demanding. Should apply to all sorts of things, not just damage done by racing. If someone drives his car into your living room, wouldn't it be right of you to expect him to take responsibility or be held responsible if he doesn't?

Seems to me locals should be able to expect damage done along a route to be repaired (or at least paid for), I'm just wondering who, if anyone, agrees to deal with damage post-rally. I've wondered the same in the past about damaged buildings, bridges and even the loose surface roads they practically ruin. Or am I just naive to think people should take responsibility for their actions?

I've pretty much always assumed the local organizer is the responsible party.

Dave.0 · Aug 28, 2014

Steve I do agree.

Steve · Sep 11, 2014

So, this started today.

Coates Hire Rally Australia (WRC.com)

01 Jan 2014

Info
Coates Hire Rally Australia
Start Date: 11.09.2014
End Date: 14.09.2014
Timezone: UTC 10
Category: WRC3
WRC2
WRC
Stages: 20 (319.58 km)
Distance: 946.54 km
Servicepark: Coffs Harbour
Website: Home - Coates Hire Rally Australia 2014

Route

Based in Coffs Harbour, almost halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the New South Wales coast.
Stages held over a mix of shire roads, in public use throughout the year, and private tracks.
Compact route which rarely strays more than 35km from Coffs Harbour service park.
After a Thursday evening town centre start ceremony, Friday and Saturday’s route heads south.
Friday’s itinerary includes the new Hydes Creek test while Saturday’s highlights is two passes over the 49.37km Nambucca, one of the longest stages of the season.
The final day journeys north of Coffs Harbour.

Challenge

A mix of hard base roads, some tight and twisty and others fast and flowing.
Shire roads are lined by trees close to the edge in many places.
Many stages travel through dense rainforest and the low angle of the sun in mornings and evenings can create a ‘strobe’ effect as it flashes through the branches.

Car spec

Gravel suspension.
Hard compound tyres with soft options also available in case of rain.

History

Australia hosted WRC from 1989 to 2006 in the west coast city of Perth.
Langley Park super special stage next to Swan River provided the template for such tests.
Won the accolade for the best rally three times in the late 1990s.
The rally moved to the east coast in New South Wales in 2009 and two years later was relocated to Coffs Harbour in 2011.

What’s new for 2014

New mixed surface super special stage which will be run in darkness at the end of Friday and Saturday’s action.
Service park switches to the Cex Coffs International Stadium, which adjoins the super special stage.

Don’t miss

Oscar winning actor Russell Crowe. He owns a cattle farm just outside Coffs Harbour which contains a chapel where he was married in 2011.
Coffs Harbour is the centre of Australia’s banana industry and the Big Banana is its biggest tourist attraction. It hosts a three-storey high inflatable waterslide, which is the biggest in the world, and a walk though banana. Honestly….
Click to expand...

Steve · Sep 11, 2014

Only 3 stages done but ... Go, Kris!

Meeke moves ahead in Australia (WRC.com)

12 Sep 2014

Leg 1: Friday – SS2 Bellingen 1 (10.72km) and SS3 Newry 1 (24.91km)

Both tests were identical to 2013. Bellingen threaded through forests on narrow roads, with trees close to the edge. It was undulating with plenty of dips and jumps. Newry was fast and flowing but rough in places, with narrow sections in the forests.

Two consecutive fastest times for Kris Meeke promoted the Citroen DS3 driver into the lead of Coates Hire Rally Australia midway through Friday’s opening leg.

He climbed from third to first after winning the Bellingen and Newry tests, returning to service in Coffs Harbour with a 2.4sec advantage over Andreas Mikkelsen’s Volkswagen Polo R.

Meeke, eighth in the start order, made the most of roads swept clean of gravel by those ahead and said: “I did the best job I could. When you are eighth on the road you like to think you can lead. We’ll soldier on and see what happens in the second pass.”

Tyre selection was the big talking point. Mud in the opening stage gave way to drier conditions and the choices were varied as drivers searched for the best mix of Michelin’s hard and soft compounds for the inconsistent grip.

Mikkelsen was unsure whether hard rubber was the best choice but the Norwegian was 0.9sec clear of Mikko Hirvonen’s similarly-shod Ford Fiesta RS overall. Hirvonen was edged out of fastest time by just 0.3sec by Meeke through Newry.

Early leader SÃ©bastien Ogier found the drier conditions more difficult as road opener and the Frenchman dropped more than 10sec in Newry to slide to fourth in his Polo R, 8.4sec off the lead.

He was 0.6sec ahead of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who bled the brakes before Bellingen to fix his opening stage issue. Thierry Neuville climbed to sixth after his earlier overshoot with top four times in both stages, with Hayden Paddon, an out-of-sorts Mads Ã˜stberg, Robert Kubica and Chris Atkinson completing the leaderboard.

Elfyn Evans dropped 15sec after stalling his Fiesta RS at a Bellingen hairpin, the Welshman admitting he was struggling for confidence.

Yazeed Al Rajhi leads WRC 2, despite a second stage stall. He is 7.3sec clear of Nasser Al-Attiyah with Jari Ketomaa third, the Finn going off briefly in Newry after pushing too hard to compensate for a turbo boost issue. Ott TÃ¤nak is more than three minutes back after a front differential problem.
Click to expand...

Steve · Sep 12, 2014

Meeke:

MiniCamaro · Sep 14, 2014

Steve said: ↑

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

Crash SS14 Bryan Bouffier/ ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014 - YouTube
Click to expand...

Wow, those were some pretty randomly placed spikes! I like that stage.

Steve · Sep 14, 2014

Ogier heads VW 1-2-3 in Australia (WRC.com)

14 Sep 2014

SÃ©bastien Ogier led Volkswagen’s first podium clean sweep at Coates Hire Rally Australia as the German squad secured its second consecutive FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title.

The Frenchman held off Jari-Matti Latvala in a tense final leg to win the three-day gravel event in New South Wales by 6.8sec in a Polo R. Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium lockout in third, a further 1min 11.2sec behind.

Ogier’s 22nd career win, and his sixth of the season, moved him closer to a second consecutive drivers’ title. He leads Latvala by 50 points with three rounds remaining and could secure the crown at his home rally next month.

Volkswagen’s dominance was emphasised by the fact that the manufacturers’ title has not been decided so early in the season since 1989.

Ogier acknowledged his victory was not achieved with the same dominance as his 2013 win.

“This year it wasn’t possible to have that. Jari-Matti was strong but today I knew that without mistakes I would be OK. I tried to stay concentrated, pushing when it was clean and being more cautious in the tricky parts. It wasn’t a big winning margin but enough to win the rally and another crucial step towards winning the title,” he said.

Latvala held a slender lead until the pendulum swung Ogier’s way on Saturday afternoon. Although rain was forecast, he opted for harder compound Michelin tyres than Latvala.

The gamble worked as the rain stayed away and Latvala’s tyres overheated in the warm weather. Ogier turned a four second deficit into a nine second advantage in just one stage, a blow from which Latvala could not recover.

Mikkelsen fought tooth and nail with Kris Meeke for the final podium place. But after Meeke was penalised more than a minute on Saturday night for cutting a corner illegally, the Norwegian cruised to his fourth podium of the year.

The penalty dropped Meeke’s Citroen DS3 behind Mikko Hirvonen, but the Northern Ireland driver moved back into fourth to head the Finn’s Ford Fiesta RS by 9.6sec.

Hayden Paddon matched a career-best sixth in a Hyundai i20. He dueled with Mads Ã˜stberg until the Norwegian’s DS3 suffered broken rear right suspension in the penultimate stage and dropped off the leaderboard.

Thierry Neuville was seventh, having dropped time in the first day with broken suspension on his i20, ahead of Elfyn Evans.

Robert Kubica was ninth, despite losing more than a minute after crashing when distracted by a cockpit warning light, and Chris Atkinson completed the leaderboard in 10th.
Click to expand...

Steve · Sep 27, 2014

Full Rally Australia Stage 3 on-board: Kris Meeke.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kLm0TmB3WY"]Onboard: Kris Meeke SS03/ Rally Australia 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

papa-j · Sep 27, 2014

Nice. Inspiring teamwork.

Steve · Sep 27, 2014

I thought it looked quick so I checked and that was one of the 3 stages Meeke won.

minirab · Sep 28, 2014

More concentration from both of them than I could ever muster.

Crashton · Sep 28, 2014

True teamwork at its finest.

Steve · Oct 1, 2014

France is next, 3-5 Oct.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PygSzsWZ7DE"]Preview: Rallye de France-Alsace 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Rallye de France-Alsace (WRC.com)

Info

Rallye de France-Alsace
Start Date: 03.10.2014
End Date: 05.10.2014
Timezone: UTC 1
Category: WRC3
WRC2
WRC
JWRC
Stages: 18 (303.63 km)
Distance: 1232.9 km
Servicepark: Strasbourg
Website: Rallye de France Alsace

Route

Historic Strasbourg, nestled on the German border between the Vosges mountains and the Black Forest, is the hub for a fifth year.
It is the shortest round of the season with just over 300km of stages. The opening leg visits the Bas-Rhin and Vosges mountains while the second day journeys further south into the Haut Rhin, with remote service in Colmar.
Sunday is based around the town of Saverne, replacing the traditional final dayâ€™s action around SÃ©bastien Loebâ€™s home town of Haguenau.
The Strabourg city stage, which ends outside the European Parliament, has been moved back 24 hours from Thursday to Friday evening.

Challenge

Inconsistent roads traverse both narrow and fast sections.
Cold temperatures and rain likely, creating plenty of tyre choice dilemmas.
Working efficiently with safety note crews, who drive the stages ahead of competitors, to have up-to-date information about road surface and weather.
Vineyard stages are wider than those used in Rallye Deutschland.
Speeds top 200kph on undulating forests roads, steep climbs and long corners in the Vosges mountains.

Car spec

Asphalt suspension but set-up is a compromise for different types of roads in the same group of stages.
Hard compound rubber available for warm and dry conditions, with soft option for wet or cold weather. Roads are not abrasive so tyre wear is not an issue.

History

Franceâ€™s WRC round was held on the stunning island of Corsica from 1973 to 2008.
After a yearâ€™s absence due to rotation, the rally moved to Alsace in 2010.
Alsace is SÃ©bastien Loeb country and he secured his seventh world title at the end of a street stage through his home town of Haguenau that year.
Loebâ€™s final WRC event was here last year. Even the great Frenchman shed a tear.

Whatâ€™s new for 2014

Almost half the stage distance has never been used before.
A completely revised street test in Mulhouse ends Saturdayâ€™s action.
Sunday â€“ everything is new for 2014.

Donâ€™t miss

Visit Strasbourgâ€™s ZÃ©nith arena where the service park is based. Itâ€™s the best of the year with loads to see, loads to do and a buzzing atmosphere.
Remember Petter Solbergâ€™s trip through the vines in 2012? Take another look: (below)
Click to expand...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5m_qi4HVKc]Petter Solberg SS9 Crash WRC 2012 Rally France - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Oct 2, 2014

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz4wOw4_K64"]Shakedown - 2014 WRC Rallye de France - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

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