WRC WRC - 2015

Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Wow! I've been out for a couple days and out of touch and this is the first thing I find.

I'll post more about how it happened...now I'm sorta wishing I had WRC+...

BREAKING NEWS: Meeke nets maiden win (WRC.com)

26 APR 2015

Kris Meeke claimed his first WRC victory on Sunday when he headed a CitroÃ«n 1-2 finish at XION Rally Argentina.

The Northern Irishman led home team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg by 18.1sec after leading the gruelling four-day rough road event for all but the opening couple of kilometres. Both were driving DS 3 cars.

Elfyn Evans scored his first podium after finishing third in a Ford Fiesta RS despite broken rear suspension in the final stage. The Welshman was 3min 09.3sec behind Ã˜stberg.

World championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier, who finished down the order after fuel supply problems, won the final live TV Power Stage to claim three bonus points in a Volkswagen Polo R. Dani Sordo took two in a Hyundai i20, with Ã˜stberg claiming the final point.

More news to follow.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

SS2: Meeke leads after dramatic opener (WRC.com)

24 APR 2015

Kris Meeke was the surprise leader of XION Rally Argentina after Friday morning’s gruelling opening stage which caused carnage among the frontrunners.

He was fastest in CitroÃ«n’s DS 3 by 31.9sec from Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20, with Jari-Matti Latvala completing the top three a further 1.9sec behind in a Volkswagen Polo R.

The stage lived up to forecasts that it would be a car-breaker and the biggest name to suffer was championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier who parked his Polo R after 45km with suspected engine problems.

Neither Meeke nor Sordo escaped unscathed. Meeke drove the entire test with a broken handbrake while Sordo lost time towards the finish when his power steering broke.

“It was difficult in the hairpins and in the last 10km I couldn’t see for the dust. I took it carefully and was idling into corners,” said Meeke.

Mads Ã˜stberg was fourth, 43.0sec off the lead, despite stopping mid-stage with an engine issue. “Four rallies, four problems. Not good,” said the dejected Norwegian.

Fellow countryman Andreas Mikkelsen dropped two minutes after spinning his Polo R in a fast right corner and puncturing the front right wheel. The rear took a big hit in the spin and Mikkelsen was worried about possible suspension damage.

Thierry Neuville punctured the left rear tyre on his i20 after hitting a stone over a crest. He dropped four minutes after a difficult change.

Elfyn Evans lost time after being slowed by Neuville’s dust when the Belgian rejoined, while Hayden Paddon finished with broken engine mounts, a suspected broken driveshaft and a holed turbo pipe. And the Kiwi was still fifth quickest!

Lorenzo Bertelli stopped his Fiesta RS before the midpoint.
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Ogier and co hit with reprimand and fine for detour (crash.net)

Reprimands and 1000 Euro fines for four WRC drivers after SS2 detour

25 April 2015

Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo and Martin Prokop have all been hit with a reprimand and fined 1000 Euros after going slightly off route on Friday in SS2 of Rally Argentina.

The drivers all made a wrong turn around 8.8 kilometres from the start of the 51.99km Agua de Oro-Ascochinga test.

The detour added an extra 150 metres to the test, as “the distance between boxes 6 and 7 is 90 metres, whilst the distance of the loop which the cars concerned took is approximately 240 metres”.

A statement from the stewards on Saturday accepted the mistakes were a result of errors in the recce with the pace-notes.

However they still ruled that it was an “infringement” of the rules and noted that going “out of the 'protected' stage itinerary may present a safety hazard”.

“It is reminded that more attention must be exercised in taking the notes to avoid such situations,” it was stressed.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Tough roads in Argentina: "Also in trouble was Andreas Mikkelsen who finished with the front right damper protruding through his Polo R’s bonnet."

SS3: Latvala slashes Meeke's lead (WRC.com)

24 APR 2015

Jari-Matti Latvala climbed into second and cut Kris Meeke’s lead in half during Friday morning’s second stage at XION Rally Argentina.

Meeke’s 31.9sec advantage was cut to 15.3sec by the Finn after the Northern Irishman drove two-thirds of the test from Villa Bustos to Tanti with a rear right puncture on CitroÃ«n’s DS 3.

“I had a good run for the opening 5-6km but then punctured and had to drive slowly for the final 15km,” said Meeke, who was fifth fastest.

Latvala enjoyed a great drive and the Volkswagen Polo R pilot was fastest by 10.2sec from a happier Mads Ã˜stberg, now in third and 20.9sec behind the Finn.

Dani Sordo drove the entire test with no power steering on his Hyundai i20 after his opening stage issues. He lost a minute and plunged from second to sixth.

Also in trouble was Andreas Mikkelsen who finished with the front right damper protruding through his Polo R’s bonnet. He dropped three minutes and was caught by Thierry Neuville, who gave the rear of Mikkelsen’s car a nudge before overtaking.

“He was driving slowly and I had to give him a push to let him know I was there. Clearly it was a bit hard,” said Neuville, as he surveyed the damaged front of his i20.

M-Sport duo Ott TÃ¤nak and Elfyn Evans were fourth and fifth overall in Ford Fiesta RS cars, despite Evans touching a rock with his front right wheel near the finish. They were separated by 10.5sec.

Behind Sordo in seventh was Martin Prokop, who spun his Fiesta RS near the finish, while Hayden Paddon dropped from fifth to eighth after losing a minute with host of problems in his i20 including no oil in the gearbox, damaged engine mounts and an exhaust hanging off.
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Argentina retirement roundup (WRC.com)

25 APR 2015

With five WRC retirements in the first full day of competition, XION Rally Argentina bit back hard on Friday.

The good news is that all five crews involved will return on Saturday under Rally 2 regulations. Here's our quick recap of who went out, when and why.

1. SÃ©bastien Ogier.
The Frenchman was the first driver to bow out when a fuel supply problem dropped his Polo R's engine to three cylinders in the opening Aqua de Oro - Ascochinga stage (SS2). He parked by the roadside at the 45km point and the car went back to service on the back of a Volkswagen truck. It was Ogier's first retirement since last August's ADAC Rallye Deutschland. "It was a very small issue," explained VW team boss Jost Capito. "The car was fixed quickly so he will be back out again on Saturday."

2. Lorenzo Bertelli
The Italian, like Ogier, failed to make it out of SS2. Getting going again after a spin, Bertelli had got as far as second gear when the rear-left wheel fell off. That and related suspension damage forced him out. His Fiesta RS has been re-prepped and is all set for Bertelli's return on Saturday.

3. Hayden Paddon
Paddon was another casualty of SS2. The Kiwi hit trouble after just 3km when a gearbox mount broke on his Hyundai i20. He later reported a drive shaft problem, a gearbox drained of oil, a holed turbo boost pipe and an exhaust that was hanging off. Paddon nursed the car through the next stage and got it to the midday 30-minute service. But it went no further. Team principal Michel Nandan said: "We needed to replace the exhaust manifold, and that meant removing the engine."

4. Andreas Mikkelsen
Polo R driver Mikkelsen had an incident-packed morning, with a spin and a puncture on SS2 (pictured below) and suspension damage on SS3 that left a damper poking through the car's bonnet. His retirement, however, came after mechanics had patched up the car in service and sent it on its way to SS4. "We prepared the car properly, then on the road section Andreas noticed a problem with the servo pump for the steering," explained Capito. "It's not a problem we have seen before, and we didn't want him to do the two long stages like that."

5. Ott TÃ¤nak
The Estonian was fourth after the morning loop, but retired his Ford Fiesta RS after a water splash, two kilometres into the afternoon's first test (SS4). "There was just something in the water and we hit it," Tanak told wrc.com. "It broke the bolts and the front-left wheel came off." The car made it 20 metres out of the water before Tanak parked up. "There was no way to continue," he said. His car - the same one that sank to the bottom of a lake at Rally Guanajuato Mexico - is repaired and ready to go again.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Friday summary.

Meeke holds big lead in Argentina (WRC.com)

25 APR 2015

Kris Meeke held a commanding lead at XION Rally Argentina on Friday night after a day of carnage in the rock-strewn plains near Cordoba.

The CitroÃ«n driver led by 68.4sec in a DS 3 from team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg as the rough gravel tracks sidelined a host of frontrunners, including FIA World Rally Championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier.

Jari-Matti Latvala was Meeke’s closest challenger for much of this opening leg until he struck trouble late in the day and ended 15.1sec behind Ã˜stberg.

Meeke, second after last night’s curtain-raising stage, moved ahead on this morning’s incredibly rocky opening test and was never headed, despite dropping 15sec with a puncture on the following test. He won three of the five stages.

“Sometimes things just click in a rally car and today was one of those days. Some sections were probably the roughest I’ve experienced. When the stages are as rough as this you must select a pace that feels good, but my target remains simply to have a clean run,” he said.

Latvala remained within 30sec of Meeke until a damaged gearbox casing slowed his Volkswagen Polo R in the penultimate stage. With only two-wheel drive, he dropped almost a minute in the last two tests to drop behind Ã˜stberg.

Ã˜stberg reset his car’s systems in the opening stage when the engine stopped but enjoyed a clean run afterwards, despite feeling progressively ill as the day went on.

Dani Sordo was almost two minutes off the lead in fourth in a Hyundai i20. He was second early on but broken power steering cost a minute. He was 5.5sec ahead of Elfyn Evans, the Welshman losing 40sec after being trapped in the dust of a limping Thierry Neuville.

Despite a spin and broken anti-roll bar, Martin Prokop was sixth ahead of a recovering Neuville, who shed four minutes after puncturing when he landed on a stone in the opening stage. Khalid Al Qassimi and WRC 2 duo Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Yurii Protasov completed the leaderboard.

Ogier was the most high-profile casualty, the Frenchman stopping near the end of the first stage after a fuel supply problem meant the engine of his Polo R was running on three cylinders.

Team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen punctured after a high-speed spin and then broke the front suspension. His day finally ended on the link section after mid-leg service with broken power steering.

Ott TÃ¤nak retired his Ford Fiesta RS from fourth after hitting a rock in a water splash and breaking the front suspension, while Hayden Paddon (below) went out with a catalogue of problems on his Hyundai i20, including damaged engine mounts and a broken exhaust manifold.

Cars restart at 06.20 tomorrow for two identical loops of two stages north of the rally base of Villa Carlos Paz covering 131.10km.

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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLlkEI86_-8"]Leg 1 - 2015 WRC Rally Argentina - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Apr 26, 2015

MAXRALLY heroes and zeroes (Argentina, Friday) (maxrally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 25th April 2015

Who was touched by the hand of God on day one in Argentina?

Day hero: Kris Meeke

Did you really have to ask? Throughout the opening day, Meeke was simply magisterial, opening up a Loeb-like lead of a minute, despite being delayed with a puncture. Where did he suddenly get the speed from? Nowhere in particular as it’s actually always been there – that’s why Citroen signed him. The difficulty has instead been stringing it together consistently, and nobody is more aware than the Northern Irishman himself that there is still a frighteningly long way to go. “I’m not even thinking about a result,” he said – and that’s just as well. But even if it all ends now, the point has been well and truly made.

Day zero: Paula Hamilton

It’s her fault. British model and actress Paula Hamilton, after starting her career with some mild pornography, shot to fame in an iconic 1987 television advert when she played the part of a jilted wife, throwing away her wedding ring, disposing of her fur coat, and jewellery, but keeping her car keys. Don’t remember that? You can watch it by clicking here. In doing so, she persuaded the whole world that “if only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen.” And we all went along with it. But it turned out that Paula had been lying to us. Because the Volkswagens were anything but reliable on day one in Argentina, with an engine-related problem for Sebastien Ogier and transmission woes for Jari-Matti Latvala. Then Andreas Mikkelsen decided to damage his. So what do you say to that, Paula?
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

SS7: Meeke spins in Saturday opener (WRC.com)

25 APR 2015

XION Rally Argentina leader Kris Meeke received an unwanted wake-up call on Saturday morning’s opening stage when he spun in thick dust in the opening kilometres.

Meeke dropped almost 15sec to closest challenger and CitroÃ«n DS 3 team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg and the gap between the duo fell from 68.4sec to 53.5sec.

“It was very, very dusty. I got mixed up with the braking and spun onto the grass. I had to reverse back onto the road. Hopefully the wind will clear the dust as the day goes on,” said Meeke.

Jari-Matti Latvala was third fastest in his Volkswagen Polo R and admitted poor visibility prompted him to drive cautiously.

“I had to be very careful in places, I couldn’t push to the maximum. I tried to keep a good rhythm but at one point there was a massive rock which I had to drive round,” said the Finn.

Volkswagen team-mates SÃ©bastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen were first and second, while sixth for Dani Sordo left him frustrated but nevertheless enabled him to extend his advantage over Elfyn Evans by almost 10sec in their fight for fourth.

Yurii Protasov, 10th last night and second in WRC 2, plunged down the order after receiving a 15-minute penalty for driving 1.42km on a public road with three wheels on his Ford Fiesta RRC. It preceded his heroic efforts to replace the rear wheel, damper and driveshaft after the unit flew off his car near the end of SS3 yesterday.

Due to the dust, organisers have increased the gap between competitors from two to three minutes for SS8.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Stage 9 was interrupted, then cancelled, all times scratched, after an accident.

Six fans hospitalised, one left in intensive care (Crash.net)

by Rob Wilkins | 26 April 2015

Six fans were hospitalised and one left in intensive care on Saturday after Hayden Paddon's crash in Rally Argentina.

Two were flown to hospital after the incident in Capilla del Monte-San Marcos 2, the penultimate test on day two. The other four were taken by road.

One person has since been discharged, but the rest suffered fractures of one kind or another and have been kept in for observation. At least one has needed surgery.

The latest statement from the organisers reads:

â€œAt 03:10 pm an alarm regarding an accident was received in SS9 for car #20 and the emergency plan was put in place.

Event medical personnel immediately assisted and two patients were taken to the helicopter point. By 3:30 pm they were taken to the closest hospital. The remaining four injured persons were taken by road transport to regional hospitals.

The condition of the injured people is as follows:

*Male. 23 years old. Broken jawbone. The patient is under observation.
*Male. 24 years old. Minor injuries in lower limbs. The patient has been discharged.
*Male. 30 years old. Open leg fracture and the patient is undergoing surgery.
*Male. 25 years old. Multiple fractures and the patient is under observation in intensive care.
*Male. 25 years old. Thoracic trauma and a fracture. The patient is under observation.
*Male. 54 years old. Thoracic and abdominal trauma and stable pelvis fracture. The patient is stable and referred to a hospital in Cordoba for assessment.

Updates will be issued as they become available and the organiser takes the opportunity to extend their very best wishes to the injured people.â€

Meanwhile, Paddon has admitted that a â€œsmall mistake after a jumpâ€ was the reason for the crash.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Saturday roundup and results after the 10 stages.

Meeke on verge of first WRC win (WRC.com)

25 APR 2015

Britain’s Kris Meeke moved closer to his maiden WRC victory after protecting his lead through Saturday’s second leg of XION Rally Argentina.

Despite an opening stage spin, Meeke will carry a 38.6sec advantage over CitroÃ«n team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg into tomorrow’s final day, with just two tests covering 32km in wait.

Jari-Matti Latvala was third after holding off a determined Dani Sordo over rough gravel roads north of Villa Carlos Paz. Sordo eventually retired in this evening’s final special stage with water in the spark plugs of his Hyundai i20.

Meeke’s overnight 68.4sec lead was reduced when he spun his DS 3 in thick dust. Although Ã˜stberg shaved the gap to little more than 30sec, Meeke regained time in the final test despite stopping briefly after a water splash.

“A sensor alarm went off and I panicked,” admitted Meeke. “I didn’t know what to do so I switched the engine off and on again. Hopefully I will be OK tomorrow, I think it will be like a Sunday drive for me.”

A sick Ã˜stberg admitted he tired in the second half of stages but the Norwegian enjoyed a clear run to finish 25.1sec clear of Latvala. The Finn was lucky to escape when his Volkswagen Polo R hit a bank and went off the road this morning.

That incident would have cost third to a charging Sordo, but the Spaniard overshot a hairpin in the same stage before his demise later on.

Elfyn Evans’ safety-first policy has paid off and the Welshman was up to fourth in a Ford Fiesta RS, and a comfortable 2min 26sec clear of Thierry Neuville, who has recovered well from yesterday’s puncture.

Martin Prokop and Khalid Al Qassimi were sixth and seventh ahead of Sordo, who will restart tomorrow under Rally 2 regulations. WRC 2 frontrunners Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Diego Dominguez completed the leaderboard.

Volkswagen took a clean sweep of fastest times with Andreas Mikkelsen claiming two wins and SÃ©bastien Ogier one. The day’s other stage was cancelled after Hayden Paddon crashed.

Ogier had another disappointing day after dropping four minutes in the final stage with broken power steering on his Polo R.

Competitors restart at 08.00 tomorrow for two passes through the classic El Condor stage, one of the most famous pieces of road in the WRC. The rough, narrow track winds through massive roadside rocks, and the second pass forms the live TV Power stage with bonus points for the fastest three drivers.
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CitroÃ«n rules out team orders (WRC.com)

26 APR 2013

CitroÃ«n drivers Kris Meeke and Mads Ã˜stberg will be free to fight one another on Sunday's final leg of Xion Rally Argentina.

With just two stages and 32.64km to go, Meeke leads the event from his team-mate by 38.6sec, while CitroÃ«n is on course to record its best result since Rally Finland 2012.

But even with so much at stake, CitroÃ«n Racing Team Principal Yves Matton denied he would order his two DS 3 drivers to hold positions.

"I told them the same as I have asked since the beginning of the weekend, and that is to have two cars in a good position at the end," he explained. "In this case, and with the gaps they have, they are clever enough to know what they have to do."

Matton admitted that the chance to secure CitroÃ«n's first rally win since ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2013 left him "feeling stressed" - especially with two passes through one of the championship's most difficult stages remaining.

"Okay, two stages to go, maybe that's not so long, but we know that El Condor is always rough and things can happen. But for sure, when you have two cars, it's always more easy," he said.

"It's now a long time that we are waiting for a good result and especially a victory. For all the team who have been working so hard it would be the perfect thank you."
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[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJQpFSgD83s"]Leg 2 - 2015 WRC Rally Argentina - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

MAXRALLY heroes and zeroes (Argentina, Saturday) (maxrally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 26th April 2015

Who doesn't Argentina have to cry for on day two?

Day hero: Andreas Mikkelsen

The young Norwegian provided a shred of consolation to what is turning out to be a miserable event for Volkswagen by finishing either first or second on every stage that was run on Saturday. It’s going to make little difference to the overall result as Mikkelsen is still 14th and some way off the points – but at least he’s beating Ogier (currently 23rd). And more importantly, he’s showing the speed that we all knew he was capable of.

Day zero: Rally Argentina stewards

Yuri Protasov started the day with a 15-minute penalty, handed to him by the stewards, for driving on three wheels following his problems on Friday’s SS3. Yes, this nanny state rule has been in place for a while now (mostly as the result of Sebastien Loeb ripping up a Greek motorway in 2006: still one of the most exciting pieces of WRC footage you will ever see). But let’s look at the circumstances of Protasov’s particular case. After the end of the stage, he ran back into the stage to retrieve the wheel and upright. He had no intention of driving with three wheels on the road section back to service. Then he drove slowly, for around one and a half kilometres, on a piece of road that was not open to spectator traffic, to find a safe place to carry out repairs. Then he fixed the problem, and drove to service. For that piece of responsible endeavour, he got the penalty. As M-Sport principal Malcolm Wilson pointed out: “I just don’t get this sport sometimes.” Neither do we.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

SS11: Latvala retires in Sunday's opener (WRC.com)

26 APR 2015

Jari-Matti Latvala retired from third place in Sunday’s opening special stage of XION Rally Argentina with engine problems in his Volkswagen Polo R.

He stopped for about 25 minutes on the liaison section from the Villa Carlos Paz service park to the start of the famous El Condor test after issues with the fuel supply to one of the engine cylinders.

He started the stage two minutes late and drove at reduced speed through the early part of the test before the car stopped after 12km and again 600 metres later. His retirement was confirmed shortly afterwards.

Leader Kris Meeke was seventh fastest in CitroÃ«n’s DS 3 but the Northern Irishman, closing on his maiden WRC win, wasn’t in the mood for talking at the finish.

Team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg was 11.6sec faster than Meeke and the gap between the duo at the head of the leaderboard stood at 27.0sec as they headed back up the mountain for the second pass through the stage.

Latvala’s retirement promoted Elfyn Evans into third in his Ford Fiesta RS, the Welshman on the verge of his maiden WRC podium.

Andreas Mikkelsen was quickest in a Polo R by 5.7sec from Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20, with championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier third in another Polo R.
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Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Emotional Meeke wins in Argentina (WRC.com)

26 APR 2015

Kris Meeke scored his maiden WRC victory at XION Rally Argentina today to become the first British driver to win a world rally since 2002.

The Northern Irishman headed CitroÃ«n team-mate Mads Ã˜stberg by 18.1sec as the French manufacturer claimed its first 1-2 finish for almost three years. Elfyn Evans completed a great day for Britain by taking his first WRC podium.

The late Colin McRae was the last British winner at Kenyaâ€™s Safari Rally and mentored 35-year-old Meeke through the early part of his career.

â€œThe one guy who did most for me isnâ€™t here to see this. This is for Colin. He helped my career out at the very beginning. He supported me financially through to the world championship. Without his support I wouldnâ€™t be here,â€ said an emotional Meeke.

He led the four-day gravel rally for all but a handful of kilometres in his DS 3, ending a torrid start to the season in which he crashed in the first three rounds.

He ended the first leg with more than a minuteâ€™s lead and measured his pace over incredibly rocky conditions which sidelined many frontrunners to finally reach the top step of the podium on his 58th start.

Ã˜stberg fought a fever and an early engine problem to secure his second consecutive runners-up spot. He climbed to second in the championship standings behind SÃ©bastien Ogier (bottom), who finished a lowly 17th after fuel injection issues.

Evans survived final stage suspension problems in his Ford Fiesta RS to finish 3min 27.4sec behind Meeke, conceding a minute as he nursed the car through the test. It was a fitting farewell for the current Fiesta RS, which will be replaced by a new evolution at the next round.

Czech driver Martin Prokop matched a career-best fourth in another Fiesta RS while Dani Sordo recovered from the electrical problem which stopped him last night to overhaul Khalid Al Qassimi for sixth in the final stage.

WRC 2 winner Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Diego Dominguez, Gustavo Saba and Federico Villagra completed the leaderboard.

There were just two stages in todayâ€™s final leg, but the famous roads of El Condor provided a sting in the tail to a gruelling weekend.

Jari-Matti Latvala retired from third with fuel supply problems in his Volkswagen Polo R during the first pass of the test. Team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen and fourth-placed Thierry Neuville both crashed out after hitting the same rock in the repeat run.
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Power Stage results (L) and final standings (R).

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYe7Tg21Vvg"]The Race - 2015 WRC Rally Argentina - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Apr 26, 2015

After Latvala was forced to retire on the final stage, he stopped along the 4km walk to the finish to buy something to eat from a roadside stand. Apparently he offered to buy for the nearby spectators as well.

Then, he offered to buy drinks! Within two minutes, this happened...

Steve · Apr 26, 2015

Kris Meeke enjoying his first WRC win.

Steve · Apr 28, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEs_YFXSX34"]WRC - XION Rally Argentina 2015: Review - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · May 18, 2015

WRC+ live coverage for Portugal this weekend.

Steve · May 22, 2015

Portugal (WRC), after Day 1: seven drivers covered by 30 seconds! (best-of-rallylive.com)

22/05/2015 7:15 pm

Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) has concluded the fiercely-fought opening day in Portugal on top. Kris Meeke (CitroÃ«n, +11.1s) and the Finnâ€™s team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen (+16s) are second and third. Tanak, Sordo and Ogier are covered by eight seconds and the top seven are all within half-a-minute.

The first day of the Rally de Portugal at the very north of the country delivered its fair share of drama, including a forest fire that broke out overnight, threatening the cancellation of â€˜Ponte de Limaâ€™ (SS2/5).

The first pass finally remained on the menu, despite the fact that the double-zero car caught fire and set alight to the trees. After that, the stage was interrupted and the second visit was dropped.

The soft ground prompted most Michelin drivers to choose the soft-compound LTX Force S4 for the morningâ€™s run, except Thierry Neuville who opted for â€˜hardâ€™ rubber. By the end of SS4, the Belgian was almost a minute adriftâ€¦

The soft conditions meant that the stages cut up quite badly for the afternoonâ€™s loop. Following the cancellation of SS5 (27.65km), only two tests remained, so some drivers remained on soft tyres, but others switched to the hard compound, while most of them ran a combination of both. Their numbers included Latvala who left lunchtime service with three â€˜hardsâ€™ and two â€˜softsâ€™. SS6 saw him extend his lead at the top of the order.

The Finn, who had the benefit of running ninth on the road, completed the day with an 11.1s cushion over Meeke (CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC) who posted several top-five times today. The Briton is 4.9s clear of third-placed Mikkelsen (VW). Ott Tanak, who chose five soft tyres, has closed to fourth place, just 1.3s shy of the podium.

SS2 winner Dani Sordo (Hyundai) is fifth, four seconds behind the Estonian and 4.1s clear of SÃ©bastien Ogier (VW). The championship leader has suffered from being first on the road all day, and his woes were compounded by a slow puncture on SS2 which ruined his morningâ€™s tyre strategy. Mads Ostberg (CitroÃ«n) won a stage and is seventh, just 31.3s behind Latvala, despite running second in the start order.

This is turning out to be a close contest, possibly because the stages are new to everyone, and Saturdayâ€™s programme features 165km more competitive action. It will be the turn of Elfyn Evans to go first on the road after he was forced to make use of the Rally2 ruling following his â€˜retirementâ€™ on SS2 with an electronic sensor problem.

In WRC2, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford) overcame a puncture on SS6 to finish the day 13.5s better than Al-Rajhi (Ford). Pontus Tidemand is third (+43.4s) in the new Skoda Fabia R5, ahead of StÃ©phane Lefebvre (CitroÃ«n).

The Junior battle is topped by the championshipâ€™s provisional leader Quentin Gilbert who appeared in front after SS6, pursued by Terry Folb and Ole Christian Veiby.
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[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmFeAG0tICM"]Leg 1 - 2015 WRC Rally de Portugal - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · May 24, 2015

Been busy, time to catch up.

The V-dub guys made a big comeback after disastrous results in Argentina to fill the Portugal podium, 1-2-3, 4th Meeke, 5th Tanak, 6th Sordo.

Latvala ends barren run with Portugal win (WRC.com)

24 May 2015

Jari-Matti Latvala ended a bleak sequence of results by holding off team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier to win Vodafone Rally de Portugal on Sunday.

After failing to score in the previous three rounds, Latvala finished 8.2sec ahead of the FIA World Rally Championship leader in the four-day gravel event to claim his first victory since October last year.

Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium a further 20.4sec behind to provide a clean sweep of the top three for Volkswagen Motorsport with its Polo R car.

“After the last three rallies some people were doubting if I would come back,” said Latvala. “It was one of the worst situations in my rally career so to come and win here is unique. I really appreciate this victory feeling.”

It was the 13th career win for the 30-year-old Finn, who benefited from a low start position and cleaner road conditions to take the lead on Friday afternoon and was never headed.

Despite overshooting a junction yesterday morning, he saw off challenges from firstly Kris Meeke and then Ogier to climb from ninth to fifth in the drivers’ championship.

Tyre choice and management played a crucial role in the first WRC round in the north of the country since 2001. Sandy roads hampered the early starters and exposed rocks offered further difficulties during the second pass of stages.

Ogier endured the worst conditions for the opening two legs, sweeping loose gravel from roads. However, he roared up the leaderboard from sixth to second yesterday, reducing his deficit from almost 26sec to less than eight as he threatened to snatch an unlikely victory.

Second was sufficient for Ogier to extend his championship lead to 42 points after round five of 13.

Mikkelsen led early on his debut in the 2015-specification Polo R and traded seconds with Kris Meeke in their battle for the final podium place. With the gap at 0.4sec, a broken anti-roll bar on Meeke’s DS 3 in the penultimate stage decided the outcome.

Meeke finished 20.1sec behind the Norwegian but the Northern Irishman, who claimed his maiden WRC win in Argentina last month, was the only man able to challenge Volkswagen’s trio.

Ott TÃ¤nak finished a confidence-boosting fifth on the debut of the new Ford Fiesta RS, ahead of Hyundai’s Dani Sordo who came out on top of a three car battle for sixth involving team-mate Hayden Paddon and Mads Ã˜stberg.

Ã˜stberg lost time yesterday with a turbo boost problem in his DS 3 and while he overhauled Paddon today, he fell just 4.3sec short of passing Sordo too. Robert Kubica and Martin Prokop completed the top 10.

Round six takes drivers to the Mediterranean for the all-gravel Rally Italia Sardegna (11 - 14 June).
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[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zislr034YiY"]Highlights - 2015 WRC Rally de Portugal - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · May 24, 2015

Interesting quote from Ogier after losing to Latvala.....

â€œI know it will be a happy event for some people - some people will be happy because the best didn't win. It is not the best feeling for me, but still a fantastic weekend,â€ said Ogier, after the final stage.
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Steve · Jun 2, 2015

Kubica opens up about WRC team switch (crash.net)

1 June 2015

Robert Kubica has shed some light on his split with World Rally Championship squad A-Style, explaining he had 'no other options' but to switch to M-Sport support.

The former F1 Grand Prix winner began the 2015 WRC season as a privateer entry under the A-Style banner but after a dismal run of results he opted for a last-minute pull-out of Rally Argentina so he could restructure his squad.

The Polish driver returned for Rally Portugal with an updated Ford Fiesta RS WRC with support from factory squad M-Sport. As a result he notched up his best result of the year, a ninth place finish, and post-Portugal says he made the decision to switch from A-Style because it was the only suitable setup open to him.

â€œIt's not that I did it because I wanted. The situation came to the place where there were no other options,â€ Kubica told WRC.com. â€œThis car has been built together with the M-Sport guys and we are supported by some M-Sport people.â€

The BMW and Renault F1 driver has also moved his RK World Rally Team to Italy because of the country's logistical links with the rest of Europe.

The move reconnects previous links with M-Sport, whom he competed with under the RK M-Sport World Rally team banner in 2014 after splitting from the Citroen factory squad.

Reflecting on his ninth place finish at Rally Portugal, the 30-year-old hails it as one of his best career finishes in the premier class of rallying.

â€œIt was definitely one of my best rallies because I felt like I was driving well with everything that we had, the grip level and the balance of the car,â€ he added. â€œMaybe the final position is not confirming it but it was a really good weekend from a driving point of view.â€

Kubica will hope to build on the positive result at this month's Rally Italia Sardegna, which will act as round six of the 2015 championship and is scheduled for the 11-14 June.
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Steve · Jun 12, 2015

Italy this weekend, and it's already well underway...and there are surprises...

After the only stage Thu: SS1: Prokop surprise leader in Italy (WRC.com)

Martin Prokop was the surprise winner of Thursday night’s opening special stage at Rally Italia Sardegna when he sped to fastest time over the harbour roads in the island’s capital city, Cagliari.
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That's not huge, it was just one of those super short arena stages, but read the full article here if you're so inclined.

At the end of 9 stages today, surprise #2: Paddon on top in Italy (WRC.com)

12 JUN 2015

Hayden Paddon surprised the expected pacesetters to lead Rally Italia Sardegna after Friday’s opening leg.

He won three of the four morning rough road gravel speed tests to build an advantage he defended this afternoon to head FIA World Championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier by 8.8sec. Jari-Matti Latvala was 25.8sec behind in third.

Paddon’s low start position gave him a morning advantage of roads swept clean of loose gravel by those ahead. But he maintained his pace in equal conditions this afternoon and earned the accolade of being the first New Zealander to lead a WRC round outside his home country.

However, he survived a last stage scare. “Something broke on the right rear of the car with half the stage to go. Then in one corner the back of the car went sideways and hit a bank. We decided to take it easy afterwards so we lost a bit of time.

“It was an amazing day and we have a road position advantage again tomorrow morning, so if we can benefit from that who knows what will happen,” said the Hyundai i20 driver.

Road opener Ogier had the worst of the conditions, sweeping the gravel all morning in his Volkswagen Polo R. However, a clever tyre strategy limited the losses and two stage wins kept him on Paddon’s tail.

Latvala was Paddon’s closest challenger most of the day. He won three stages but an error in the penultimate test when he bounced his Polo R off a chicane and into a bank cost more than 20sec when the impact knocked the rear left tyre off the rim.

Ott TÃ¤nak was fourth in a Ford Fiesta RS, the Estonian winning a stage this afternoon after earlier struggling for rhythm. CitroÃ«n’s Mads Ã˜stberg ended a lacklustre morning in eighth but climbed to fifth in his DS 3.

He headed Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 by 1.3sec, the Belgian losing a minute with a broken turbo pipe this evening. Martin Prokop, who led after last night’s curtain-raising stage in Cagliari, was seventh with Lorenzo Bertelli eighth, both in Fiesta RS cars.

WRC 2 leader Paolo Andreucci and Elfyn Evans, who dropped more than three minutes with a broken driveshaft, completed the leaderboard.

The rocky conditions took a heavy toll. Andreas Mikkelsen hit a hole in SS3 and broke his Polo R’s rear right suspension. He made repairs but retired from third on the following liaison section with no fuel pressure.

Kris Meeke rolled his DS 3 in the morning’s opening stage, Robert Kubica crashed his Fiesta RS into a chicane in the next stage and Dani Sordo retired from fourth after an impact ripped the rear left wheel and hub from his i20.

Tomorrow’s second leg will be the longest WRC day since 2002. After a 06.00 restart, drivers face nine stages covering 212.83km in a near 17-hour leg.
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See the Friday casualty list (and a few photos of the carnage) here.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3y_1zzEXig"]Leg 1 - 2015 WRC Rally Italia Sardegna - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

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