Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rally GB 2013

Steve · Nov 20, 2013

I don't think this is from GB but I don't care, just found it.

Dani Sordo has a high 5 for a little fan.

Crashton · Nov 14, 2013

Love the RAC, the old farts name for Rally GB.

Thanks for keeping us informed & for posting that video. Looks like it may be an good old fashioned RAC rally this year. Oh boy!

Crashton · Nov 16, 2013

Man that is one lucky marshal, about got taken out by Kubica. Why he was on the outside of that corner only he knows. ut:

Steve · Nov 16, 2013

Ogier leads in Wales with one day to go (WRC.com)

16 Nov 13

Sebastien Ogier will take a lead of 20.3 seconds into the final day of Wales Rally GB as he chases his first victory on the World Championship counter.

The Volkswagen Polo R driver began Saturdayâ€™s third leg with a lead of 20.1sec over his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, and he maintained that advantage despite a determined challenge from the Finn.

Ogier wasnâ€™t fastest on any of the dayâ€™s seven stages, but judged his pace perfectly on the slippery forest roads of mid-Wales to round off the day with a clean run through the short asphalt stage at Chirk Castle in front of thousands of spectators.

â€œWe just conserved the gap today, that was the plan,â€ said the Frenchman, whose current personal best in Wales is the 11th he achieved in 2011.

â€œI wanted to keep Jari-Matti at the same difference and we did that. Now there are fifty kilometres to go, but Rally GB is never finished before the end. Itâ€™s very tricky and we have to stay concentrated. We need to do the same job weâ€™ve done up to now.â€

Between them, Ogierâ€™s team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Latvala won all of the dayâ€™s five forest stages, with Mikkelsen fastest on the first two and Latvala taking a hat-trick in the afternoon.

But while Latvala was encouraged by his ability to take time out of Ogier on the latter tests, he ended the day concerned by his lack of pace earlier on.

â€œI donâ€™t have a clear answer, and I wish I did,â€ he said. â€œIt seems that especially in the morning on the gravel I donâ€™t find the rhythm and it takes a couple of stages for me to get into it. I need to concentrate tomorrow. Maybe Iâ€™m loading too much pressure on myself but to beat Ogier you have to be ready in all conditions.â€

Thierry Neuville is third on his last outing in a Ford Fiesta RS before a switch to Hyundai for 2014. The Belgian had a largely trouble free day, but was kept under pressure from Mikkelsen behind.

A lack of split times in Neuvilleâ€™s car in the afternoon didnâ€™t help him judge his speed, but the Belgian competed the day with a 20sec advantage. â€œIâ€™ve always been close to the fastest except on the long stage, so I can be really pleased with my day,â€ he said.

Mikkelsen was satisfied too, having come out best in a three-way battle for fourth that became a duel on SS11 when Evgeny Novikov rolled out. â€œItâ€™s been a great day, Iâ€™m happy that we managed to pull a little time back, [from Neuville] and we set some great times with no moments. Itâ€™s been fantastic,â€ he said.

Mads Ostberg is fifth, just 7.3sec further back, in his Qatar M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS. The Norwegian got a big step closer to Mikkelsen on the final forest stage, thanks in part to some suspension set-up advice from his father, and has fourth place in his sights on Sunday.

â€œItâ€™s been a pretty good day for us,â€ he acknowledged. â€œWeâ€™ve found some improvements today and we can definitely try to fight back. Iâ€™m off to bed now for a good sleep. Tomorrow Iâ€™ll start with a good breakfast and then itâ€™s flat-out!â€

After Ostberg there is a gap of almost five minutes to Ford Fiesta RS driver Martin Prokop in sixth.

Dani Sordo is seventh, and Citroenâ€™s sole remaining factory entry after Robert Kubica crashed out today for a second time. The Pole restarted after a crash on day two, but went off the road on SS11 after a pace-note misunderstanding.

WRC 2 leaders Elfyn Evans, Jari Ketomaa and Mark Higgins round off the top ten.

Sundayâ€™s final day kicks off at 0856hrs with the 21.34km Dyfnant stage. The rally winner is scheduled to cross the finish podium in Llandudno at 1311hrs.
Click to expand...

Crashton · Nov 20, 2013

I love that picture!

Steve · Nov 13, 2013

Kubica appeals for calm ahead of WRC debut (WRC.com)

04 Nov 13

Robert Kubica has warned people not to expect too much from him at November's Wales Rally GB, when he will make his competitive debut at the wheel of a factory-spec world rally car.

The one-off outing in a Citroen DS3 WRC comes at the end of a remarkable debut season for the former Formula 1 driver, who won the FIA WRC 2 championship with a Citroen DS3 RRC.

Kubica won five of the seven rounds he contested in the car, which has a modified gear selector system after a crash in 2011 left him with limited strength in his right hand.

But despite his rapid ascent to the top of the WRC 2 standings, Kubica played down speculation that he could do the same in the premier category.

â€œI know many people would like to see me go very fast in GB, but I think it will be very difficult. It will be impossible for me to be on pace or close enough to the top five or six, otherwise â€“ with all the other driversâ€™ experience, something will be wrong in the system,â€ he said.

â€œI cannot be 20 years circuit driver, then jump into the stage at the end of March and in six months be able to fight with the top guys in the world, where they are the best. We have to stay calm and I am staying very calm,â€ he added.

Kubica will drive the DS3 WRC, with the same gear selector modifications as the RRC, at a test in Wales on Monday 11 November.

â€œThe rally is a great opportunity to learn a new rally and new stages. This is my target,â€ said Kubica. â€œIt is a bonus for me, normally my season should have ended now and I have to thank CitroÃ«n, Abu Dhabi and Lotos for the opportunity. I see it as fun, if this guy has the chance after six months to drive the factory car for the first time, then I would say this is good!â€
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Up against the big boysâ€¦ (best-of-rallylive.com)

13/11/2013 8:00 am

Bryan Bouffier, Michal Kosciuszko, Pontus Tidemand and, this weekend, Robert Kubica are among the drivers who have made their debut in a World Rally Car this year. For most of them, it was a memorable moment.

Pontus Tidemand, 23, was the youngest driver to join the premier league this season, in Sweden. That said, his first taste of WRC machinery was actually when he drove the â€˜zeroâ€™ car on the 2012 Malarrallyt.

Pontus performed particularly well in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC in Sweden. He was lying fourth after SS3 and was holding sixth when he retired (engine). Again in Sweden, 43-year old Hasse Gustafsson was the oldest driver to compete in a WRC car for the first time in 2013. He came 22nd overall after posting two top-15 times.

Ahead of Wales Rally GB, the best â€˜rookieâ€™ performance in a WRC car was that of Frenchman Bryan Bouffier, 35, who was fifth on the Rallye Monte-Carlo after claiming one fastest time in a CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC. The winter asphalt round also marked the big league debut of Michal Kosciuszko in a Mini John Cooper Works WRC after two outings in Poland driving a Ford Focus WRC. His best result came in Sardinia (8th) where he traded his Mini for a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. A back injury in Germany brought his 2013 programme to an unfortunate halt.

Mexicoâ€™s Benito Guerra, 28, steered a PHâ€™Sport CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC to eighth spot on his home round after securing a top-five time through the streets of Leon. In Australia, Nathan Quinn, 27, was no doubt the most inexperienced driver to contest his first event in a World Rally Car. He nursed his Mini John Cooper Works WRC to eighth place.

That was also the place secured by Hayden Paddon, 26, in Catalonia last month after recording nine top-eight stage times in a Fiesta RS WRC. The same event saw Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, 34, achieve a top-10 finish in a similar Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Meanwhile, the debut of Czech driver Tomas Kostka in a CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC this year was much less successful. He was eliminated by suspension failure on SS2 in France and failed to start on two occasions: his co-driver was poorly in Finland, and he didnâ€™t realise that there was a day on gravel in Spain!

Of special note this weekend in Wales will be the first competitive outing of 29-year old Robert Kubica in a WRC car.

However, neither Juho HÃ¤nninen (one fastest time on the Monte Carlo) nor Gabriel Pozzo (11th in Argentina) made their WRC car debut this season. The Finn was seen several times in a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC in 2006 and 2007, while the Argentine contested five world championship events in a Skoda Octavia WRC around 10 years ago.
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Steve · Nov 14, 2013

Looks like Old Lady Nature might give us a traditional Wales rally this year.

It’s raining in Wales (best-of-rallylive.com)

14/11/2013 10:07 am

The rain was falling almost horizontally as we arrived at the service park in North Wales this morning. The WRC drivers are busy with shakedown about 30km from the event’s headquarters in Deeside, with ‘Qualifying’ due to start at 10:45am, followed by the rally’s first three stages this evening, at night.

While competitors were busy completing recce on Wednesday, there was a long meeting in Deeside between representatives of the WRC’s factory teams, Michelin and the championship’s promoters. Different topics were discussed, including the issue of start orders for 2014.

Later, Malcolm Wilson (M-Sport), Jost Capito (VW) and Yves Matton (CitroÃ«n) took advantage of the traditional ‘Happy Hour’ gathering in the Qatar M-Sport hospitality facility to address the media jointly: “We want to assure you that we are all working together, along with Hyundai and Michelin, to propose the best solution possible. It was a positive meeting.”

Their reaction was in response to a suggested change to the current situation which would have seen the championship leader run first on the road on Days 1 and 2, with positions reversed for Day 3. On gravel events, this solution would most likely penalise the championship leader, and this is something Capito does not want. “It is inacceptable. We don’t want to have to ask our drivers to finish fourth or fifth on the season’s early rallies in order to be in a good position for the rest of the championship.”

“I don’t want to pay my drivers to drive slowly,” added Wilson.

“The proposal we made today is a step in the right direction and we are unanimously behind it. It will be debated at the next World Council meeting on December 6,” noted Matton.

Later during the Ford Happy Hour, Thierry Neuville’s co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul was presented with the Michael ‘Beef’ Park Trophy which has gone to the ‘co-driver of the year’ since 2006. This year, the jury of experts chose the Belgian ahead of Julien Ingrassia who was also on the shortlist.

“I am very touched,” said Nicolas. “This has been a fantastic season for Thierry and me. In 2005, the year Michael Park died, I was a co-driver on Belgian events. My first experience of Wales Rally GB was in 2007 when I was team coordinator for Bernard Munster.”

The Qatar M-Sport drivers each had a day of testing before the event, and Evgeny Novikov crashed during his. There were no pre-rally tests for CitroÃ«n Abu Dhabi Racing’s nominated drivers, although Robert Kubica was given a chance to try the DS3 WRC with his new co-driver Michele Ferrara, whose last competitive outing was in a Twingo R2 in Sanremo! VW’s trio had one day of testing each.

This morning’s shakedown times were topped by Ogier (1m54.9s), Neuville (1m56.9s) and Novikov (1m57.2s).
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Ogier edges out Neuville in GB qualifying (WRC.com)

14 Nove 13

Sebastien Ogier won what is likely to be the WRC's last qualifying stage at Wales Rally GB after edging out Thierry Neuville by seven hundredths of a second.

In wild weather, the Frenchman was fastest through the 3.11km Llandegla stage in his Volkswagen Polo R and earned first pick of his start position for tonight’s opening leg during the selection process this afternoon.

Qualifying is set to be scrapped for 2014 and conditions this morning were extremely unpleasant as hail, heavy rain and fierce winds brought typical Rally GB weather for the narrow but fast forest test.

Ogier was unconcerned and told wrc.com at the finish: “Sometimes conditions mean it’s an advantage to be first on the road and today it wasn’t a disadvantage. The grip was good, in fact the rain helped with the grip and it’s OK to be first through.”

Neuville, who aims to secure the runners-up spot in the championship, was disappointed not to beat the 2013 champion in his Ford Fiesta RS. “It wasn’t my best stage. I tried to push hard near the end but lost a few tenths near the start when I was too careful in places,” said the Belgian.

Ogier and Neuville were significantly faster than anyone else. Evgeny Novikov shrugged off a crash while testing in north-west England last week to post third fastest time in his Fiesta RS, but the Russian was 1.8sec behind Ogier.

Jari-Matti Latvala, who is fighting Neuville for second in the championship, was 2.1sec down in fourth, the Finn unsure whether softening the set-up of his Polo R since the pre-event test brought any benefit.

“I was too careful. I wasn’t confident enough and slowed in the faster sections. I’ve changed the set-up since my test. It was too hard before but I think I had better grip then,” he explained.

Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen completed the top six, but Hirvonen was not happy. “I didn’t have a good feeling, it’s not a good start,” said the Citroen DS3 pilot.

Robert Kubica was seventh on his World Rally Car debut, the Pole satisfied with his performance but admitting he ‘had a lot to learn’.

Qualifying times were:

1. Sebastien Ogier 1min 52.708sec
2. Thierry Neuville + 0.070
3. Evgeny Novikov + 1.889
4. Jari-Matti Latvala + 2.168
5. Mads Ostberg + 2.759
6. Mikko Hirvonen + 2.979
7. Robert Kubica + 3.381
8. Dani Sordo + 3.483
9. Andreas Mikkelsen + 3.732
10 Martin Prokop + 6.183
11 Michal Solowow + 12.115
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Steve · Nov 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS5Z_xsVc8k]Shakedown - 2013 WRC Wales Rally GB - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 14, 2013

Ogier leads in Wales after opening leg (WRC.com)

14 Nov 13

Sebastien Ogier won two of tonight's (Thursday) three stages to lead Wales Rally GB by 3.2sec from Thierry Neuville as cars returned to the rally base in Deeside after a short and sharp opening leg.

Following the start in Conwy, Ogier stamped his authority on the rally by winning the Gwydyr and Penmachno tests in his Volkswagen Polo R. However, Neuville hit back in Clocaenog to post fastest time in his Ford Fiesta RS.

Heavy rain and strong winds this morning brought testing conditions in qualifying but Ogier was fastest. The Frenchman, wary of just how slippery the gravel tracks in the north Wales forests would be from first in the start order, opted to start second and it paid dividends.

Neuville flirted with disaster in the opening stage when he slid into a ditch and then hit a huge rock in the second stage which flung his car into the air.

Jari-Matti Latvala was brave enough to opt for first in the running order in his Polo R. The Finn was second fastest in both opening stages but dropped 3.4sec with third fastest in Clocaenog and ended the night 5.2sec behind his team-mate in third.

Mikko Hirvonen is fourth in a Citroen DS3, 16.2sec off the lead. The Finn twice slid wide in the opening test and admitted the lack of a pre-event test hadnâ€™t helped his cause. â€œThe car feels OK, but it could be better, but Iâ€™m not sure which way to go with any changes,â€ he said.

Despite struggling with gearchange issues, Mads Ostberg is fifth in a Fiesta RS and the Norwegian lies 3.1sec ahead of fellow countryman Andreas Mikkelsen. Strong times from Mikkelsen in the first and last stages were offset by a poor second test when he couldnâ€™t absorb all the detail from his pace notes.

Robert Kubica is seventh on his World Rally Car debut, the Pole opting for caution as he comes to terms with a new car, a new co-driver, pace notes in Italian and his first time on slippery gravel stages in the dark. â€œI have a lot of things to learn,â€ was probably the understatement of the night.

Evgeny Novikov, WRC 2 leader Elfyn Evans and Martin Prokop round off the top 10, all in Fiestas of one sort or another.

Dani Sordo lies 46th after receiving a five minute pre-start penalty when his Citroen team admitted his DS3 was the ninth chassis it had used this season â€“ the limit is eight.

Competitors restart at 06.30 tomorrow and make the long journey south to mid-Wales for two identical loops of three tests, including the classic Hafren and Myherin. With 137.06km of action and only a 15-minute service in Newtown separating the loops, it will be a challenging day.
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Steve · Nov 14, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trhuz4QVG2I]Wales Rally GB 2013 Qualifying Shakedown - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

So, Kubica is out...

He and co-driver reportedly fine. Car, not so much.

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

Crashton · Nov 15, 2013

That looks like quite a hard lick. Very glad Kubica & his Co-driver escaped unharmed. The Welsh forests are an unforgiving place.

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEg9UWdh8wo]Evening kick-off in Wales Rally GB - CitroÃ«n WRC 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

Hirvonen also rolled today.

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwSUhXc--yY]Leg 2 - 2013 WRC Wales Rally GB - Best-of-RallyLive .com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

Kubica's car, again.

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

Hirvonen after his roll.

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

More on Hirvonen's crash:

Blame me for GB smash, says co-driver Lehtinen (MaxRally.com)

by Graham Lister / 15th November 2013

Jarmo Lehtinen says he was to blame for the crash that means he and his driver Mikko Hirvonen have failed to win a round of the world championship for the first time since 2005.

The Finns, winners in the WRC every season from 2006 to 2012, crashed out four kilometres from the finish of Rally GB’s Myherin stage this morning when Lehtinen failed to utter the word “tightens” while calling the pace note for a flat right-hander that… erm… tightened.

Lehtinen’s mistake left their works Citroen DS3 WRC in need of extensive repair to the extent they are unlikely to restart on Saturday morning.

“It was my mistake,” said Lehtinen. “I can’t explain why, but I do know what happened. We have a long flat-right tightens into medium-right and what I said was: “Long flat-right right tightens…” And then after a while I thought: “****! I didn’t say it until the end.” So I said it then, but we were already rolling by then.

“You know, sometimes in the normal life you want to say yes and you say no, it’s this kind of thing. I don’t know what happened. I can’t explain. We should have been in fifth gear for the corner, instead we were on the wrong line in sixth.”

Lethinen explained that Hirvonen stopped short of lambasting him for the error. “As soon as I got out of the car I said this was my mistake, but Mikko said: “Hey, come on how many mistakes I have done…” This says something about our relationship, big respect for him.”

Hirvonen and Lehtinen were fourth overall when they crashed.

Photo: William Jones
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjgN9Y1Z3iI]WRC Wales Rally GB Big Crash Mikko Hirvonen CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC HD - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 15, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPjX7mCIOys]Wales Rally GB 2013 SS5 & SS8 SweetLamb - YouTube[/ame]

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