WRC WRC - 2015

Steve · Aug 23, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPbyTR162d0"]Highlights - 2015 WRC Rallye Deutschland - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Aug 23, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouvhiL0VsXg"]WRC RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND 2015 | HIGHLIGHTS BY RALLYSUPPORT - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Aug 31, 2015

"Only a safe rally is a good rally"

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4eoLYNvo20"]FIA Safety Clip - YouTube[/ame]

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.

Crashton · Sep 1, 2015

It was Bernie's fault.

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.
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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.

Crashton · Sep 9, 2015

When I saw that damage to the A pillar I figured it was hard. Plus the word truck was used.

Steve · Sep 10, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ela6m-lz738"]WRC - Rally Australia 2015 - Preview - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 10, 2015

Nice save by Mr. Ogier during the shakedown. I saw some still pics yesterday of the car basically on its side with text that said he kept it from going over and hoped there would be video of the recovery avail today.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-9IaWCzTo"]The pressure is onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Sep 10, 2015

Not the fast way around the corner, but he sure did earn big style points!!! He is a driver & he kept driving, a lesser one would have been on their lid.

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 10, 2015

Clear evidence of how a slowly self-destructing tire can tear a car apart. Evans hit a bank in Stage 4 and ran some miles with the remains of the tire clearly taking its misplaced anger out on the rest of his car. Tough tires.....

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.
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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.
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Steve · Sep 14, 2015

Day 3, end of rally.

Australia win seals Ogier’s title (WRC.com)

13 Sep 2015

SÃ©bastien Ogier claimed his third consecutive FIA World Rally Championship title with victory at Coates Hire Rally Australia on Sunday.

His seventh win of the season enabled the Frenchman to enter an exclusive club of multiple title winners. He joins SÃ©bastien Loeb (nine), Juha Kankkunen and Tommi MÃ¤kinen (four each) as the only drivers with more than two titles to their name.

Ogier won the final seven speed tests of the three-day gravel road event in New South Wales to climb from fourth to first and defeat Volkswagen Polo R team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala by 12.3sec. Kris Meeke finished third, a further 20.3sec behind.

“It’s an amazing season, the best I’ve ever done. No mistakes, so many great performances and this one is once again a very high one. It’s the most difficult rally to open the road and still we managed to win. It’s the perfect way to get my third title,” he said.

Ogier had the worst conditions of the frontrunners for the opening two days, sweeping gravel from the roads to leave a cleaner and faster line for those behind. But he snatched the lead from Meeke in Saturday’s night stage and was unmatched through Sunday’s five tests.

Volkswagen’s 1-2 secured a third manufacturers’ crown for the German squad, but there was a late scare for Latvala as he finished the penultimate stage with an alternator warning light flashing in the cockpit. He fitted a new belt to clinch the runners-up spot.

Meeke admitted he had no answer to the pace of the Polo Rs on Sunday. Having started just three-tenths of a second behind Ogier courtesy of better road conditions in the opening two legs, he quickly fell back and looked set to concede third to Andreas Mikkelsen.

However, Mikkelsen checked in to Sunday’s mid-leg service late and a 10sec penalty gave Meeke the breathing space he needed in CitroÃ«n’s DS 3. He eventually finished 5.9sec ahead of the Norwegian to end a depressing sequence of results.

New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon finished fifth in a Hyundai i20 to the delight of his army of fans who journeyed across the Tasman Sea to cheer him on. He was 16.5sec behind Mikkelsen after briefly flirting with the lead battle on Saturday morning.

Ott TÃ¤nak was sixth, despite a noisy transmission in his Ford Fiesta RS, heading Hyundai duo Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo in seventh and eighth. Sordo led for the first three stages on Friday before brake problems delayed the Spaniard.

Elfyn Evans struggled for confidence throughout and ended a disappointing weekend in ninth in his Fiesta RS, with WRC 2 winner Nasser Al-Attiyah 10th.

The championship returns to asphalt for round 11 next month. The Tour de Corse Rallye de France is based in Corte on 1 - 4 October.
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