WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Crashton · Aug 31, 2015

Video removed by the user??? Not safe enough? :wink:

Steve · Aug 31, 2015

That's strange, it was an actual FIA video posted, I thought, by the FIA... It's a puzzler. Oh well, you didn't miss much.

Steve · Sep 9, 2015

Australia this weekend. Should be some good video of this one. :fingerscrossed:

There's already a bit of drama from the recce.

Lefebvre to replace Ostberg (best-of-rallylive.com)

09/09/2015 11:53 am

An accident during recce has forced Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson to sit out this weekâ€™s Rally Australia. StÃ©phane Lefebvre, who had initially only planned to do the recce, will take part in the event in the NÂ°4 DS3 WRC.

Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson left the road during their recce of the final stage on Tuesdayâ€™s programme. Their Mitsubishi Lancer was unable to avoid a collision with a truck through a narrow portion. The CitroÃ«n pair was taken to hospital for checks but was later authorised to continue.

Today, although Mads woke up suffering from two broken ribs and Jonas from multiple bruising, they resumed their pace note-taking in a replacement vehicle but finally decided to withdraw. Their entry in the NÂ°4 DS3 WRC will be taken by StÃ©phane Lefebvre.

The reigning Junior World Champion, who had only travelled to Australia to take part in recce, will consequently take part in his second world class event in a DS3 WRC/Michelin. His recent debut in a World Rally Car in Germany harvested 10th place.

The WRC regulations allow crew changes in the case of force majeure. In 2012, for example, Matthew Wilson replaced Nasser Al-Attiyah in the NÂ°6 Ford Fiesta in Sweden but had to compete with the Qatariâ€™s Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini. Similarly, Elfyn Evans stood in for Al-Attiyah in Sardinia in 2013.

In Australia, however, Lefebvre will be partnered by his usual right-hand man StÃ©phane PrÃ©vot who will therefore start his 170th WRC event to go one better than Daniel Elena. The Belgian came 10th in Australia in 2014 alongside Chris Atkinson.

Staying with landmark statistics, Estoniaâ€™s Ott Tanak is starting his 50th WRC event since his debut in Portugal in 2009. That takes him level with MichÃ¨le Mouton. Australia will be Elfyn Evansâ€™ 40th WRC start.
Click to expand...

Crashton · Sep 9, 2015

I can't image the pain one would go though driving a WRC car with broken ribs, wouldn't be fun for the co-driver either. Good call to sit this one out. Hope they both make a full quick recovery. That looks like a big hit they took.

Steve · Sep 9, 2015

The pic in that article was carefully cropped for some reason. Here's the rest. No surprise they ended up a bit bruised and battered.

Steve · Sep 10, 2015

Some real weirdness in OZ so far. Sordo won the first 3 stages and so, of course, led the rally for 3 stages. Then Meeke won Stage 4 and took the lead.

Something tells me things will change sooner or later but here are the top 10 overall half way through the first day.

Steve · Sep 11, 2015

Meeke held the lead until the last stage of Day 1.

Latvala in front in Australia (WRC.com)

11 SEP 2015

Jari-Matti Latvala grabbed the lead of Coates Hire Rally Australia in the final stage of Friday’s opening leg after charging up from fifth during a strong afternoon attack.

The Volkswagen Polo R driver ended a slippery morning in New South Wales almost 11sec behind leader Kris Meeke. But a hat-trick of wins in the repeated speed tests promoted him to second before passing Meeke in the last stage to lead by 2.0sec.

“This morning I didn’t have the spark and lacked the last two per cent to attack, but I attacked in the first three afternoon stages. In the last stage I didn’t have the best feeling because my tyres were used. I calculated if I didn’t lose more than five seconds I’d be happy. I dropped only 4.7sec to Ogier, but was faster than Meeke,” said Latvala.

Tyre management was key all day, both this morning when most drivers opted for Michelin’s soft compound rubber and this afternoon when hard compounds were the preferred option.

Meeke led for four stages in CitroÃ«n’s DS 3 but was hampered by hanging dust in the final test. “I couldn’t see the end of the bonnet. Driving in sixth gear when you can’t see anything isn’t easy,” said the Ulsterman.

The roads near Coffs Harbour disadvantaged the early starters who swept surface gravel to leave a faster line for those behind. Road opener SÃ©bastien Ogier was worst affected and struggled in sixth before quickest time in the cleaner final stage promoted him to third, 4.6sec behind Latvala.

Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth, despite his Polo R ‘driving like a snake’ in the last stage. The Norwegian was 3.0sec clear of Dani Sordo, who took advantage of a low start position to lead after winning the opening three tests.

Hayden Paddon held second initially but slipped to sixth after handling problems in his Hyundai i20. Team-mate Thierry Neuville was behind after demoting Ott TÃ¤nak, who suffered a differential problem this afternoon in his Ford Fiesta RS to add to a spin and engine stall earlier.

Elfyn Evans struggled for confidence and dropped more time with a rear left puncture after spinning his Fiesta RS into a bank. He was ninth with Lorenzo Bertelli completing the leaderboard, despite handbrake problems in his similar car.

The only major retirement was StÃ©phane Lefebvre who hit a rock and broke the front right wishbone in his DS 3. Lefebvre was a last minute replacement for Mads Ã˜stberg, who was ruled out after cracking two ribs in a practice crash.

Tomorrow features two passes through the 50.80km Nambucca, one of the longest stages of the season. It opens the morning and afternoon loops and is followed by the 7.94km Valla, which will be tackled in darkness as the final test. The four stages comprise 117.48km.
Click to expand...

The final stage result left (Stage 8) and overall on the right.

Steve · Sep 14, 2015

Quick summary first.

MAXRALLY turbo tweet

14th September 2015

Rally Australia has run its course. Read on for 140 words on the way day three played out.

Hat-tricks all round for Sebastien Ogier and his Volkswagen team. The Frenchman makes it three Rally Australia wins on the bounce with a commanding final-day drive. More importantly, he, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen Motorsport celebrate three successive FIA World Rally Championship titles. Ogier’s unbeatable on Sunday’s five stages and wins from team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala – the Finn has no answer to his French rival’s exceptional pace in New South Wales. Kris Meeke spoils the German team’s plans for a podium lock-out by beating Andreas Mikkelsen to third place. Meeke led this rally for longer than any other driver – but a mistake by Mikkelsen’s co-driver, checking them into service late, took some of the pressure off the Citroen star. Fifth behind Mikkelsen was top Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon, while Nasser Al-Attiyah extended his WRC2 lead with a class win in his Fiesta.
Click to expand...

Steve · Sep 14, 2015

Quick summary first.

MAXRALLY turbo tweet

14th September 2015

Rally Australia has run its course. Read on for 140 words on the way day three played out.

Hat-tricks all round for Sebastien Ogier and his Volkswagen team. The Frenchman makes it three Rally Australia wins on the bounce with a commanding final-day drive. More importantly, he, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen Motorsport celebrate three successive FIA World Rally Championship titles. Ogierâ€™s unbeatable on Sundayâ€™s five stages and wins from team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala â€“ the Finn has no answer to his French rivalâ€™s exceptional pace in New South Wales. Kris Meeke spoils the German teamâ€™s plans for a podium lock-out by beating Andreas Mikkelsen to third place. Meeke led this rally for longer than any other driver â€“ but a mistake by Mikkelsenâ€™s co-driver, checking them into service late, took some of the pressure off the Citroen star. Fifth behind Mikkelsen was top Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon, while Nasser Al-Attiyah extended his WRC2 lead with a class win in his Fiesta.
Click to expand...

Steve · Sep 14, 2015

End of Day 2. Pretty tight at the top, eh?

Ogier leads Australia thriller (WRC.com)

12 Sep 2015

SÃ©bastien Ogier led Coates Hire Rally Australia after Saturday’s penultimate leg to set up a thrilling finale with just 2.6sec covering the top three.

He snatched the lead from Kris Meeke in the dusty and dark final speed test to head the Ulsterman by just three-tenths of a second, with Jari-Matti Latvala a further 2.3sec behind after a titanic daylong battle.

Victory in this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship tomorrow would secure a third consecutive world title for Ogier.

Meeke snatched the lead from Latvala in the marathon 50.80km Nambucca test which opened today’s action in New South Wales. Ogier, who had the worst conditions of the top drivers on the slippery gravel roads, was fourth after that stage in his Volkswagen Polo R.

But when the two morning stages were repeated on cleaner and faster roads, the Frenchman won both and overturned a 2.4sec deficit in the final test.

“I’m really happy of course – I did not expect to be in the lead tonight,” said Ogier. “Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the fight resuming. There is a very small gap to Kris and even Jari-Matti, so everything is still open. At least tomorrow I will start at the back of the field together with them and we will have pretty similar conditions.”

Meeke gambled on soft compound tyres for CitroÃ«n’s DS 3 in the opening Nambucca. Although his pace was sufficient to demote Latvala from the lead, he was disappointed not to have taken more time from his rivals with the advantage of a better road position.

Latvala was uncomfortable in both passes through the test and ran wide in the final stage, the Finn admitting he must be more consistent tomorrow to deny team-mate Ogier.

Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth in another Polo R. The Norwegian was 9.1sec off the lead and survived a bizarre incident when his baseball cap landed in the footwell after being dislodged from the back of the car following a heavy landing.

Hayden Paddon vaulted into contention when he won both morning stages, having diagnosed a differential problem on his Hyundai i20 last night. However, gearshift problems and worn tyres left the Kiwi 19.4sec from the lead in fifth.

Ott TÃ¤nak climbed from eighth to sixth in his Ford Fiesta RS and Thierry Neuville came out on top of an intra-team fight with Dani Sordo to hold seventh. Sordo, who led yesterday morning, lost time with brake problems.

A despondent Elfyn Evans was ninth, his lack of confidence not helped by a massive sixth gear incident in the final stage which cost almost 20sec. WRC 2 leader Nasser Al-Attiyah completed the leaderboard after Lorenzo Bertelli retired his Fiesta RS with engine problems.

Sunday’s final leg restarts at 07.10 (local) and contains five stages and 68.76km of action. It ends with the 9.23km live TV Power Stage through Wedding Bells, with bonus points to the fastest three drivers.
Click to expand...

RallyMini370 · Sep 15, 2015

Imagine I still have not caught up on the highlights since Portugal day2!!!! too many nights working on the Mini.

Steve · Sep 19, 2015

Kris Meeke onboard.

:eek6:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dTQUzPoC-s"]WRC - Coates Hire Rally Australia 2015: Onboard Meeke SS04 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Oct 2, 2015

Rally Corsica (France) stages started today. It's just 3 stages per day for 3 days this year. Weather in Corsica has been rather severe and Stage 2 today was cancelled due to weather damage to the stage. Pics to come.

Big surprises today. Ogier officially retired (will rejoin under Rally 2 tomorrow) but not until after he finished the 3rd stage and his transmission decided to pack up before he made it back through the road section. But he'd already finished the third stage well down the order due to a puncture prior to the post-stage retirement.

So, the big surprise is Elfyn Evans leads! His first WRC lead of his career. It started out with a similar surprise as Kubica finished Stage 1 tied in 1st with Ogier.

WRC Tour de Corse: Ogier, Kubica tie for lead post-SS1 (crash.net)

Sebastien Ogier and Robert Kubica have completed Friday's wet opening stage of Tour de Corse â€“ Rallye de France tied for the lead.

Ogier and Kubica both went through the 29.12 km Plage du Liamone-Sarrola test in 19 minutes 44 seconds, with Jari-Matti Latvala next up in third, 5.8s slower.

Despite torrential rain overnight â€“ and concerns there could possibly be a â€œmedicaneâ€ today, a rare weather phenomenon, similar to a hurricane, which forms over the Mediterranean â€“ there was no rain in SS1, although flooding has subsequently forced organisers to cancel SS2.

â€œI'm happy with my start,â€ Ogier told the official WRC site back in service. â€œThe first stage was not as bad as I expected to be honest. My gravel crew had been told to expect more standing and running water. There was still very little grip though, and it was not so easy to find a rhythm.

â€œLet's see what's coming next.â€

Despite his time, Kubica was less pleased, reporting a problem before the test - although he refused go into specifics.

â€œBefore the stage we had a bit of an issue and I was pretty upset. We don't have the right set-up on the car. Not easy. We took it quite steady. This is not driving - so difficult and the car is understeering.â€ he remarked.

Speaking back in service and quizzed on the issue, he added: â€œWe had the wrong set-up with the car and that's it. You would never run this type of set-up - even on normal roads. The car was not working properly. In service now we will have to make it correct - like it was yesterday.

â€œI was surprised by how good the time was. There was so much mud on the road except for the final split. It looks like we gained a lot of time there. I'm happy to be here.â€

Meanwhile, behind the top-three, Dani Sordo trails Latvala by 6.7s in fourth, while Mads Ostberg holds fifth, 1.8s further back.

â€œNot so bad,â€ said Sordo. â€œThe conditions on stage were damp but nothing like the heavy rain here. A lot of the corners were muddy already. Some slippery moments and a lot of understeer. A good start though.â€

Elfyn Evans is next up in sixth, ahead of Kevin Abbring, Kris Meeke and Andreas Mikkelsen. Stephane Sarrazin then rounds out the top ten, followed by Martin Prokop, Ott Tanak, Stephane Lefebvre, Bryan Bouffier and Hayden Paddon in positions 11 through to 15.
Click to expand...

Full article here.

Steve · Oct 2, 2015

Seems they might have had good reasons to cancel Stage 2.

Steve · Oct 2, 2015

Stage 4, the first to run tomorrow, was to be a repeat of the stage cancelled today due to road damage, etc. It has already been cancelled, so just two stages tomorrow. They're long stages, though, so still about 85km total.

Steve · Oct 3, 2015

MaxRally's 140 word summary does pretty well.

MAXRALLY turbo tweeet (maxrally.com)

3rd October 2015

With the dayâ€™s opening test cancelled, three stages became two for the second day in succession. M-Sportâ€™s Elfyn Evans held his lead through SS5, but a spirited charge from Jari-Matti Latvala narrowed the gap between the Volkswagen and the Fiesta RS WRC out front to just 1.7s. The Finn moved to the front on the next stage â€“ the longest of the rally at 48.46km â€“ but Evans turned in a fantastic drive to stay close to the front. Heâ€™s just two seconds behind Latvala, who admitted heâ€™d struggled downshifting his Polo R WRC, with one day remaining. Andreas Mikkelsen and Kris Meeke moved up to third and fourth respectively, demoting Kevin Abbring and Mads Ostberg to fifth and sixth. After a day of weather-related chaos yesterday, Saturday was more straightforward with soft tyres this morningâ€™s preference and the hard this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Steve · Oct 3, 2015

Stage 4 was cancelled, leaving only 5 and 6 today.

Stage 5:

Stage 6 (end of day 2):

Steve · Oct 3, 2015

Steve · Oct 4, 2015

Ogier struggles for a change and VW take it anyway, this time via Latvala. They also took third thanks to Mikkelsen. Congrats to Elfyn Evans on his best finish ever in second overall!

Latvala completes French double (wrc.com)

04 OCT 2015

Twelve months after scoring his maiden asphalt WRC victory in France, Jari-Matti Latvala returned to repeat the feat on Sunday afternoon.

While last yearâ€™s success came in the countryâ€™s Alsace region, todayâ€™s victory in the Tour de Corse â€“ Rallye de France was in Corsica as the event returned to the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time since 2008.

Latvala became only the second Finn to win the Mediterranean island rally, following Markku AlÃ©nâ€™s victories in 1983 and 1984. After taking the lead near the end of Saturdayâ€™s second leg, he pulled clear in todayâ€™s three speed tests to win by 43.1sec in a Volkswagen Polo R.

Surprise early leader Elfyn Evans withstood a late challenge from Andreas Mikkelsen to secure a career-best second in a Ford Fiesta RS by 3.2sec.

Torrential rain and resulting flood damage forced the cancellation of two of the nine special stages. The twisty and narrow asphalt mountain roads were treacherously slimy after the storms and survival through Fridayâ€™s opening leg was the sole aim of many.

â€œWeâ€™ve not had to push to the maximum at any point, but it was a faultless drive in difficult conditions. After winning last year, I have now done it again in Corsica and itâ€™s important for me to show I can be competitive on all surfaces,â€ said Latvala.

His victory was especially sweet after a heavy accident during his teamâ€™s pre-event test forced his German squad to halt its preparations.

Evans led until he was overhauled by Latvala on Saturdayâ€™s final stage and started today with a 28.8sec advantage over Mikkelsen. The Volkswagen driver was on course to snatch second midway through the final stage before a late push in the last few kilometres kept Evans ahead.

Kris Meeke kept out of trouble to retain fourth in CitroÃ«nâ€™s DS 3, ahead of Hayden Paddon. The Kiwi belied his lack of asphalt experience to climb from 15th following Fridayâ€™s opening stage to demote Mads Ã˜stberg in the penultimate stage and claim fifth in a Hyundai i20.

Dani Sordo gained four places today to finish seventh as he continued his recovery from Fridayâ€™s puncture, with the Fiesta RS cars of Bryan Bouffier, StÃ©phane Sarrazin and Ott TÃ¤nak completing the leaderboard.

Robert Kubica restarted after Saturdayâ€™s puncture-induced retirement and claimed two bonus points after finishing second in the live TV Power Stage.

The championship heads to Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada in Spain for the penultimate round on 22 - 25 October, the only mixed surface event of the season.
Click to expand...

Angib · Nov 4, 2015

The cameras did catch Mikkelsen being interviewed in-car at the finish of the stage when he was told that Ogier had crashed out, so he (Mikkelsen) had won.

It was amazing how long it took for him to believe it and then he diplomatically said "That's terrible news and not the way I would want to win" as a huge grin spread uncontrollably across his face....

Forums

WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Crashton Club Coordinator

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

RallyMini370 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

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Angib New Member

Useful Searches

WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Crashton Club Coordinator

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

RallyMini370 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

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Angib New 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

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