WRC: Australia (2013)

Crashton · Sep 15, 2013

If it was easy everyone would do it. :wink:

Steve · Sep 15, 2013

Victory in Australia, but no title for Ogier (best-of-rallylive.com)

15/09/2013 7:51 am

Although SÃ©bastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (VW/Michelin) won this weekendâ€™s Coates Hire Rally Australia, they failed to wrap up the 2013 world title when Thierry Neuville (Ford/Michelin) rescued second place and pocketed two bonus points on the Power Stage!

A score of 19 stage wins from 22 saw SÃ©bastien Ogier dominate the 10th round of the season and he even appeared to be heading towards the 2013 Driversâ€™ world title. However, that reward was snatched from his grasp by the result of the Power Stage (â€˜Shipmans, 29.44km) which brought the weekendâ€™s action to a close.

To clinch the crown in Australia, Ogier needed to win both the rally and the Power Stage, with Thierry Neuville failing to finish second overall AND second on the Power Stage.

At the start of the ultimate test, Ogier enjoyed a lead of 1m4.1s over Mikko Hirvonen, with Neuville trailing a further 25.2s adrift in third place. In keeping with the weekendâ€™s trend, the VW driver dominated the stage, but Hirvonen had a problem with one of his rear wheels, and the delay was enough to hand second place to Neuville!

Ogierâ€™s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala (4th) also had a wheel-related problem and was unable to prevent Neuville from collecting the second best time on the Power Stage. As a consequence, Ogier was deprived of the title by one point!

The Power Stage also dealt a knock-out blow to Kris Meeke (CitroÃ«n, wheel damage) who had re-joined on Sunday morning under the Rally2 ruling. Mads Ostberg (Ford) ended up in fifth spot, ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen (VW) and Evgeny Novikov (Ford). Nathan Quinn (Mini) celebrated his first outing in a World Rally Car by collecting eighth place.

Qatarâ€™s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Ford/Michelin) picked up his third victory of the year in the WRC-2 class and has moved to the top of the championshipâ€™s provisional standings. Ukraineâ€™s Yurii Protasov (Ford) led for a while but was delayed by an â€˜offâ€™. He still finished second, though, ahead of Yazeed Al-Rahji (Ford) who also figured in the lead at one point. Hayden Paddon (Skoda) overcame electrical trouble to claim fifth place.
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Poor Kris Meeke. He rolled out on Day 2 while under orders from the team to not push, to finish the rally and score some points. The team manager was not amused. Then he restarts and, very like he did in Finland, he wrecked the car on the final stage.

Steve · Sep 15, 2013

Best Result of Season for Quinn and Motorsport Italia

In what has been the dream run for Coffs Coast local 27 year old Nathan Quinn, he and fellow Austrailian Glenn MacNeall have done a fantastic job bringing the Motorsport Italia MINI John Cooper Works WRC home in 8th place outright, Motorsport Italia's best performance for 2013 so far.

"Ever since we signed to do this event with Motorsport Italia I have been unable to wipe the smile from my face. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without all my supporters, especially my family who've always backed me and also the support of Coffs Coast Council and Rally Australia. After that, it was over to me and Glenn! If you had said to me a month ago that not only would we finish but we would be eighth there's no way I would have believed you" explained an elated Quinn.

In a drive that proved he had a clear objective to finish the rally and learn as much about the car and this level of competition as he could, Quinn has impressed many around the Championship. Speaking of his approach he said: "After the first full day of stages it was pretty obvious that these guys have been doing this for a fair while longer than me. So, after speaking with *Bruno [De Pianto*, Motorsport Italia Team Manager] we came up with a strategy to drive fast but not take any chances. We knew that if we had a solid drive, we would achieve a good Top Ten finish."

Driving the MINI has been a steep learning curve for Quinn who has previously been competing in an Group N production car on Australian and Chinese event: "I've only scratched the surface in this car. There is so much more to it than what I got out of it this week and now I am just so hungry now to get back in that driver's seat. To see it packed up tonight ready to leave is something I don't think I can watch."
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Steve · Sep 15, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHcgIgHRsls]HELI-SPECIAL/ WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

Nathan · Sep 16, 2013

That is some dusty dust they toss up.

Steve · Sep 17, 2013

Cool because onboard split screen (plus English notes so I can understand for a change...sort of).

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sElXFd7tq2A]Yazeed Racing - Coates hire Rally Australia 2013 - SS7 (OnBoard) - YouTube[/ame]

MCS02 · Sep 18, 2013

All 3 days are up

2013 WRC Season

RallyMini370 · Sep 21, 2013

How did the G2 Mini do?

Steve · Sep 21, 2013

RallyMini370 said: ↑

How did the G2 Mini do?
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I wondered about that, couldn't find him on the entry list, no mention in any of the stage results, etc. Then I got busy and lost track. Here's the team release, via the Australian Rally Championship site.

Ric Cary Rallysport Puts The Brakes On The Mini â€“ For Now (rally.com.au)

Tuesday, 10 September 2013 21:06

AFTER AN INTENSE build which has seen many a late night at the Sydney-based RCR Headquarters, Rally Australia hopefuls Ric Cary and Harvey Smith have decided to withdraw their Mini Cooper from the ARC section of this weekend's event.

The team has decided not to run the highly-hyped vehicle, which has been transformed from a dedicated Mini Challenge circuit car into rally-spec over the past seven months; instead choosing to focus on their 2014 campaign without the rush of the Rally Australia deadline.

"Withdrawing from Rally Australia was a hard decision to make, especially after all the long hours that the crew have put into the build," said Cary.

"But after weighing up the good and the bad, we have decided it was better to focus on next year.

â€œThereâ€™s been some long, long nights, two and three in the morning, and we have tried everything to get this car across the line â€“ but with the complex nature of these vehicles, plus time zone differences and ordering parts from the UK and Europe along with fabricating many specialised items, we have simply run out of time,â€ he admitted.

Cary said that while the team still could make the Coffs Coast-based event, the vehicle would not be prepared to the level the team desires.

â€œWe currently have some electrical chatter to solve, where parts of the car are not talking the same language as the ECU â€“ and learning a new language takes time,â€ he explained.

â€œWe will still be there, cheering on our mates from the sidelines! But the car will stay home, where we can use the time after the WRC to test the car, iron out all the new wrinkles, and be really ready for 2014.â€

Cary hopes to shake down the Mini at several low-key local events before Rally Victoria this year, then complete a full ARC program in 2014.

Further updates and images can be found at www.facebook.com/RCRALLYSPORT
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RallyMini370 · Sep 21, 2013

Thanks Steve...nice in some ways to know other folks have had some problems...

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