WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2016

Steve · Apr 15, 2016

Argentina next weekend. The roads are looking...hmmm, do you classify this as a loose surface rally or...

Steve · Apr 20, 2016

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0OMBGVtA8"]WRC - YPF Rally Argentina 2016: 18 challenging Stages - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Apr 21, 2016

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwWX2wyoToQ"]Shakedown - 2016 WRC Rally Argentina - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Apr 23, 2016

Latvala leads after leg one in Argentina (wrc.com)

23 Apr 2016

Jari-Matti Latvala made a determined start in his quest for back-to-back FIA World Rally Championship wins by leading YPF Rally Argentina after Fridayâ€™s first full day of action.

Latvala, victorious at the previous round in Mexico, won four of todayâ€™s eight speed tests to head Volkswagen Polo R team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier by 7.9sec.

Hayden Paddon was 3.5sec further behind in a Hyundai i20 after an intriguing day covering 150.08km, primarily on fast and sandy gravel roads in the Calamuchita Valley, south of Villa Carlos Paz.

Ogier, who tied for the lead in last nightâ€™s curtain-raiser through Cordobaâ€™s streets, topped the order after todayâ€™s first two tests. Latvala made a cautious opening but moved ahead before mid-leg service and extended his advantage this afternoon.

â€œItâ€™s been a very good day with no really big mistakes,â€ said Latvala. â€œA couple of small ones, but thatâ€™s part of the game when youâ€™re fighting hard. It was my plan to take this morningâ€™s first stage steadily because it was the roughest. It isnâ€™t one of my favourites and second time through there were many impacts in the ruts, so I was careful not to push too much again."

He enjoyed the best of the conditions in contrast to road opener Ogier. As temperatures climbed to 22˚C, the surface dried and the Frenchman had to sweep the loose gravel. As Latvala edged clear, Ogier fought with Paddon and the pair exchanged places four times.

Paddon admitted to a few small mistakes initially. However, the Kiwi cleaned up his driving on the repeat run through the stages and was only hindered by a minor damper problem.

Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth in another Polo R, the Norwegian overhauling Dani Sordo this morning when the Spaniard lost time with a sticking throttle in his i20. The gap is 23.3sec.

Mads Ã˜stberg kept clear of trouble in sixth in a Ford Fiesta RS ahead of the similar cars of Henning Solberg and an ultra-cautious Eric Camilli, who is targeting a clean run after an incident-filled start to his rookie season.

Local hero Marcos Ligato was ninth, despite losing three minutes when he skidded into a bank and stopped to release the damaged bumper blocking his DS 3â€™s radiator inlet.

Thierry Neuville completed the leaderboard, the Belgian fighting back after losing almost six minutes when his i20 stopped several times with a loose connection in the fuel system.

Ott TÃ¤nak and Lorenzo Bertelli were the two major retirements. Estonian TÃ¤nak was sixth until a jammed alternator stopped his Fiesta RS, while Bertelli lost all engine power in his similar car.

Tomorrow drivers face two identical loops of three stages north-west of Villa Carlos Paz. Covering 158.82km, it is the longest leg of the event.
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RallyMini370 · Apr 25, 2016

Those roads look like the stages we run in Costa Rica LOL Congrats to Hayden and the Hyundai team! Finally the one horse race is over.

Crashton · Apr 25, 2016

Great to see Hayden Paddon get his first WRC win along with Hyundia. A very close one with a 14.3 margin of victory. I love seeing another auto maker on the top step. Well done Hayden!

Steve · Apr 29, 2016

Excellent onboard video from Paddon's winning run through the Power Stage. He said he went all out and called it the stage of his life.

It's a crazy stage :crazy: esp. the first part. :eek6:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eCm8eTNcBU"]WRC - YPF Rally Argentina 2016: ONBOARD Paddon Power Stage SS18 - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Apr 29, 2016

Man what a place & what a drive. Excellent!

Steve · Apr 29, 2016

I like the co-driver's reaction at the end when they realize how well they've done. That's pure happiness.

minirab · Apr 30, 2016

What a drive and what landscape! I like to think that my KIA Reo is a sister car to his, ha!

Steve · May 18, 2016

Toyota are clearly serious about getting back into this WRC biz.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3YUhUApXv4"]Toyota Yaris WRC 2017 Test + CRASH | Tommi MÃƒÂ¤kinen | Spain by Jaume Soler - YouTube[/ame]

minirab · May 19, 2016

I'll never think the same way about a Yaris again, good to see another mfg. in the running.

Steve · May 19, 2016

Time for Portugal!

Stage 1 as usual is short and reveals practically nothing, though Kris Meeke fans will be happy to see his name on the list as this is one of the rallies he's running during Citroen's year off.

Steve · May 19, 2016

Flashback photo with the caption "cutting corners".

Crashton · May 19, 2016

^^^ You can only do that so many times until it bites you in the arse real hard.

RallyMini370 · May 20, 2016

Eurolamp WRT seem to be have a good time!

minirab · May 20, 2016

Steve said: ↑

Flashback photo with the caption "cutting corners".

Click to expand...

Stiffly sprung? (driver hopes)!

Steve · May 21, 2016

I've been out but here's a bit of a catch-up.

How's this for a summary: Meeke takes the lead, Meeke extends his lead, Meeke leads by more than a minute. Also fire and other drama.

SS2: Meeke claims Portugal lead

SS4: Meeke extends Portugal advantage

SS5: Fiery exits for Paddon and TÃ¤nak (wrc.com)

20 MAY 2016

Fire destroyed Hayden Paddonâ€™s Hyundai i20 after both he and Ott TÃ¤nak rolled at the same place in Friday afternoonâ€™s opening speed test at Vodafone Rally de Portugal.

The Kiwiâ€™s car caught fire after he crashed heavily 11.90km into the second pass of Ponte de Lima. It burned out within five minutes and while Paddon and co-driver John Kennard were unhurt, they were only able to save their crash helmets from the burning wreckage.

Minutes later TÃ¤nak rolled his Ford Fiesta RS at the same location. It also caught fire, but the uninjured crew were helped by locals in extinguishing the flames with a hose pipe and it was reported the Estonianâ€™s car was not badly damaged.

Organisers cancelled the stage and the following competitors drove it non-competitively before continuing to the following Caminha test.

Before the cancellation, Dani Sordo was fastest by 9.6sec in his i20 from SÃ©bastien Ogier, with Thierry Neuville a further 0.5sec back. Nine drivers completed the stage competitively and notional times will be awarded to the remaining competitors, meaning the leaderboard remains unconfirmed.

Mads Ã˜stberg counted himself lucky not to go off at the same point as Paddon and TÃ¤nak. â€œI lost the line in a rutted corner, there were lots of car parts on the road,â€ said the Norwegian.

Jari-Matti Latvala also hit problems, striking a hole and breaking his Volkswagen Polo Râ€™s power steering. The Finn was exhausted after wrestling his car to the finish and dropped 40sec.

Click to expand...

Meeke leads amid drama in Portugal

SS11: Meekeâ€™s Portugal lead nears a minute

SS12: Saturday treble for leader Meeke (wrc.com)

21 MAY 2016

Kris Meeke completed a hat-trick of stage victories on Saturday morning at Vodafone Rally de Portugal to carry a lead of more than a minute into mid-leg service.

Having topped the times in BaiÃ£o and MarÃ£o, the Northern Irishman sealed the treble in Amarante, the longest stage of this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, to head SÃ©bastien Ogier by 62.9sec in CitroÃ«nâ€™s DS 3.

â€œIâ€™m feeling even more relaxed than yesterday, when I was a bit rusty in the first couple of stages,â€ said Meeke, returning to WRC action after a two rally absence. â€œThe stages are definitely cleaning. Itâ€™s an advantage to run this far back and Iâ€™m going to try to make the most of it.â€

Road opener Ogier struggled for grip as he swept the gravel roads in his Volkswagen Polo R and he was third. â€œI couldnâ€™t do more than that,â€ said the frustrated Frenchman at the finish.

Andreas Mikkelsenâ€™s decision to abandon his cautious style paid off as the Norwegian was fourth to climb to third overall in his Polo R, demoting Dani Sordo by 4.9sec. The Spaniard struggled in the slippery conditions with a lack of stability at the rear of his Hyundai i20.

Eric Camilli retained fifth in a Ford Fiesta RS, a further 1min 21.7sec behind. Jari-Matti Latvala was second fastest in the stage to move up to sixth overall in a Polo R as he recovered from yesterdayâ€™s power steering problems.

Mads Ã˜stberg dropped two minutes as his driveshaft issues continued, the Norwegian now with two broken units and slipping back to seventh. WRC 2 leader Pontus Tidemand was eighth with Martin Prokop and Nicolas Fuchs completing the top 10 following Elfyn Evans demise with a roll.
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Steve · May 21, 2016

RallyMini370 said: ↑

Eurolamp WRT seem to be have a good time!
Click to expand...

Yup, they're 12th overall at the moment. :crazy:

Steve · May 22, 2016

Meeke takes calculated win (crash.net)

by Rob Wilkins | 22 May 2016

Kris Meeke took a controlled and calculated victory on Rally de Portugal today to secure his second win in the World Rally Championship, leading for all but one of the stages in his Citroen DS 3 WRC.

Meeke had a comfortable 45.3 second advantage coming into the final leg and with â€œtime in his pocketâ€ was able to take it relatively cautiously through the last four tests, although he was still third quickest in SS16 and SS17 and fourth in SS18. He was then eighth in the Power Stage to finish 29.7 seconds up on his closest rival.

â€œI have to say a nearly perfect weekend - textbook stuff,â€ Meeke said, â€œand a huge thank you to the team and especially my engineer.

â€œThis year is about gathering experience. We had a good road position, especially on Saturday but I couldn't have done any more. It shows the DS 3 is still a very good car. For me too as a driver, it's another good step.

â€œI'm very excited for 2017.â€

Meeke took the lead on Friday in the first 'proper' test, before then going quickest again in SS3 and second in SS4 to return to the mid-day service with an 11.5 second advantage over Volkswagen's Sebastien Ogier.

The Briton then won SS6 and SS7 in the afternoon, and was later awarded the winning time for SS5 after the test was stopped following the fiery exits of Hayden Paddon and Ott Tanak. Meeke eventually ended the first day with a 31.9 second cushion.

On Saturday, the Ulsterman made the most of his superior road position in the morning and was unbeatable, winning all three tests to increase his overnight lead to just over a minute. That meant he could adopt â€œa bit of a safer approachâ€ from then on, en-route to his eventual win.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Motorsport II pilot Andreas Mikkelsen came through to take second, upping his pace on Saturday and then overhauling Ogier when the Frenchman lost time with a puncture in the first test on Sunday.

â€œI'm really happy with the performance, probably one of my best WRC rallies,â€ Mikkelsen said. â€œIt is really nice to win against Sebastien in similar conditions. Big thanks to Richard [Brown, my engineer], who made the car work very well â€“ it was perfect.â€

Ogier lost out with his road position on the first two days and on Sunday actually picked up two punctures, but could still win the Power Stage. The result further increases his lead in the Drivers' Championship now up from 39 points to 47.

â€œWe had some issue before the start again, so I'm happy to be here,â€ Ogier remarked.

Asked about the issue, he told WRC Live: â€œI had another puncture, so two and only one spare. Luckily it was a slow puncture and I was able to get enough air in for the stage.â€

Behind, Dani Sordo was fourth for Hyundai in podium contention on Friday, before slipping back on day two and finishing up over a minute off Ogier and Mikkelsen ahead.

M-Sport's Eric Camilli put in his best performance yet in his Fiesta RS WRC and after a difficult start to the season was fifth, despite a scare in the final stage when he spun after losing the handbrake.

Jari-Matti Latvala had to settle for sixth in his VW Polo R WRC after power steering problems on Friday afternoon that cost him over 3 minutes.

Further back, Mads Ostberg took seventh in his M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC, losing out on Saturday morning with two broken driveshafts that left him with front-wheel drive only.

Ford privateer Martin Prokop completed the top eight in his second WRC event of the season, while WRC2 winner Pontus Tidemand and Nicolas Fuchs came in ninth and tenth.

Tidemand dominated the WRC2 class in his Skoda Fabia R5, winning by over a minute, despite briefly losing the lead on Saturday in SS14 when he had a puncture. Apart from that he led for every single stage.

Of the rest, Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished just outside the top-ten in P11, with Marius Aasen 12th â€“ and third in WRC2, 0.2secs up on Scott Pedder after the latter spun near the end of the final stage.

Khalid Al-Qassimi, Henning Solberg, Thierry Neuville and Stephane Lefebvre all finished under Rally 2 in positions 26th, 28th, 29th and 32nd respectively.

Solberg, who had been 12th, went off the road on Friday in SS7. Lefebvre hit a rock on Saturday in SS10 and was forced out from 6th, while Neuville stopped a stage later when he ran out of fuel. The Belgian had been 5th. Al-Qassimi retired on Saturday afternoon, when he went off the road in SS13 and damaged the front of the car.

As for retirements, in addition to Paddon and Tanak, both eliminated after rolling off the road on Friday at the same place in SS5, Kevin Abbring also failed to finish. Abbring retired on Friday in SS3 when he hit a rock and while he re-started on Saturday under Rally 2, he hit another rock in SS10.

The World Rally Championship now moves to Sardina next, with Rally Italia Sardegna taking place next month from June 9-12.
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