Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rally Italy Sardegna (2013)

Steve · Jun 20, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKxTmm2NyOQ]WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013 - Shakedown and Qualifying Stage by Rallymedia (HD - pure sound) - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 26, 2013

I like this pic.

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

After SS6: Ogier leads while Neuville flies (WRC.com)

21 Jun 13

Volkswagen's Sebastien Ogier leads Rally Italia Sardegna with six of Friday's eight stages completed.

Returning to Olbia for the first proper service of the day, the Frenchman has a 42.4sec cushion over Citroen pilot Mikko Hirvonen.

Ogier took the lead in his Polo R on the rallyâ€™s opening stage, and enjoyed a trouble-free run in slippery conditions that caused problems for many of his rivals.

In dry, hot conditions, and on abrasive gravel roads, tyre conservation has been crucial to success so far, and Ogierâ€™s ability to look after his Michelins better than anybody else has stood him in good stead.

â€œWe have done a good drive so far, and for sure the tyres today have made a big difference,â€ he said after clearing SS6. â€œWhen itâ€™s warm like this I try to be very progressive with the steering, but itâ€™s nothing too special, itâ€™s just my natural driving style.â€

Completing SS6 with his Citroenâ€™s front tyres scrubbed almost down to the canvas, a frustrated Hirvonen was in no doubt about what was holding him back.

â€œI donâ€™t know what more I can do. The car feels perfect, but I canâ€™t keep my front tyres,â€ he said. â€œTheyâ€™re always destroyed at the end of the stage. Thatâ€™s the only thing thatâ€™s slowing us down.â€

Less than five seconds behind Hirvonen is Thierry Neuville, who has proved to be the surprise of the rally so far. Like Ogier, Neuville has held onto his tyres better than most and with the exception of a near miss with a wall on SS3 he has enjoyed a near perfect run in his Ford Fiesta RS.

â€œItâ€™s going pretty well,â€ he acknowledged, â€œI think the tyre issue is the same for everybody, I just took it carefully in some places. I also had some rice with chilli sauce for lunch, and that seems to have helped.â€

With another two stages remaining in Fridayâ€™s marathon itinerary, Mads Ostberg is close to the leaders in fourth, just 7.2sec behind Neuville. After SS6, however, the Norwegian was less than happy with his similar Fiesta RS. â€œIâ€™m struggling with the car. Itâ€™s oversteering, absolutely sideways everywhere. Itâ€™s hard to be efficient at the wheel like this. I had a small spin too.â€

An on-form Dani Sordo is fifth, 6.1sec behind Ostberg in his Citroen DS3.

Volkswagenâ€™s Andreas Mikkelsen is sixth, 27.4sec further back, after losing time when he broke a suspension joint on SS2.

Qualifying stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala is seventh, two minutes off the lead after a puncture on the opening stage cost him any realistic chance of victory this weekend.

Martin Prokop is eighth, with Michal Kosciuszko ninth on his first day in anoher Fiesta RS.

Also getting used to a new Fiesta RS â€“ and a co-driver - Welsh youngster Elvyn Evans rounds off the top-ten, just 7sec behind Kosciusko.

WRC-2

Robert Kubica has won five of the six stages to build a comfortable lead in the WRC-2 category. The Pole's only problem was on stage 3 when he damaged the rear of his Citroen DS3 RRC after clipping a hay bale.

Kubica is 1min 48.5sec ahead of Sepp Wiegand's Skoda Fabia S2000, with Ukraine's Yuriy Protasov third having lost the position to Wiegand on SS6. Just 6.3sec separate the duo.

WRC-3

In the WRC 3 category, Christian Riedemann has led since the second stage and arrived in service 16.2sec ahead of category debutant Stephane Consani.

Bryan Bouffier led initially but retired in the second stage after damaging the front of his car. Quentin Gilbert lies third. Keith Cronin has won three stages after puncturing in the opening test, while series leader Sebastien Chardonnet has topped the time sheets twice after also puncturing. All are at the wheel of Citroen DS3 R3T cars.
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Steve · Jun 25, 2013

Jump (no pun intended) to 3:50 on this one.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UkiXVo1z4M]WRC Sardegna 2013 - Micky's Jump in monte Lerno - Pattada - World Rally Jumpionship - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 25, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pUq1RpZqR0]WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013 [HD] ALL DAYS - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 20, 2013

Latvala wins Qualifying Stage (best-of-rallylive.com)

20/06/2013 2:30 pm

The qualifying stage for the 2013 Rally dâ€™Italia Sardegna was won by Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin). Unsuperstitiously, he decided to run 13th on the road on tomorrowâ€™s stages.

Still high after his recent victory in Greece, the Finn posted the fastest time during shakedown before switching to soft-compound Michelin Latitude Cross S2 tyres for qualifying. The Polo R WRC driverâ€™s best effort (3m12.6s) put him clear of Russian Evgeny Novikov (Ford, +0.7s) and his team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier (+1.6s).

Jari-Matti consequently had the privilege of choosing his start position for Friday morning and unsurprisingly opted for 13th on the road to take advantage of cleaner conditions. The dayâ€™s number one roadsweeper on the Sardinian stages will be CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC driver Khalid Al-Qassimi.

Novikov will start in 12th position, just after the championship leader SÃ©bastien Ogier. Mikko Hirvonen (CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC/Michelin) will follow Belgiumâ€™s Thierry Neuville (Ford) who very nearly didnâ€™t take part in this morningâ€™s festivities after a speeding infringement during recce. Mads Ostberg (8th) will start behind Dani and Andreas Mikkelsen. WRC debutant Elfyn Evans (works Ford Fiesta) was 11th fastest on the Qualifying Stage.

Day 1 start order:

1, Al-Qassimi (CitroÃ«n). 2, Kosciuszko (Ford). 3, Evans (Ford). 4, Andersson (Ford). 5, Prokop (Ford). 6, Mikkelsen (VW). 7, Sordo (CitroÃ«n). 8, Ostberg (Ford). 9, Neuville (Ford). 10, Hirvonen (CitroÃ«n). 11, Ogier (VW). 12, Novikov (Ford). 13, Latvala (VW). Etc.
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqf6IdgcYo]Fly-Cam: Sardinia's Qualifying Stage - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

Holy carp, look at that tire!

SS1: Early blow for Latvala (WRC.com)

21 Jun 13

Stage data: SS1, Monte Lerno (31.08 kilometres)

Stage description:

This is a slightly extended version of the 2012 stage and is the longest of the weekend. Itâ€™s fast, smooth and technical and contains the famous Mickyâ€™s Jump. There is a 2km asphalt section after 22km which breaks up the rhythm. It is slippery and the worst stage of the rally to be running first on the road as it cleans quickly.

How the action unfolded:

After winning yesterdayâ€™s qualifying stage, Jari-Matti Latvala suffered a disastrous start when he dropped almost two minutes after puncturing the front left tyre on his Volkswagen Polo R just 8km into the test.

Latvala, winner in Greece last time out, was second fastest at the second split point after 7.20km and only a second behind team-mate Sebastien Ogier. But the Finn struggled through the rest of the test, completing 1min 56.4sec off the pace in 12th and arriving at the stop control with the tyre completely shredded.

"I don't know exactly where it happened, but suddenly it just felt like a tyre was flat under braking," he said. "I don't have a clear idea of what happened, at first I thought it was the right tyre because I knew I had hit a stone.

Asked if he through this spelled disaster for his rally, Latvala said: "Well, It doesn't look good, but let's keep going and let's see what happens in this rally."

Ogier was fastest by 5.3sec from the Citroen DS3 of Mikko Hirvonen, despite both drivers damaging the rear spoiler on their cars after swiping a low branch.

Evgeny Novikov, second in qualifying yesterday, was third in his Fiesta RS with Mads Ostberg, Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville rounding off the top six.

Andreas Mikkelsen was another to hit the overhanging branch but the Polo R driver still took seventh.

P-G Andersson, driving a Fiesta RS on his maiden outing this season, dropped a minute with a rear right puncture shortly before the finish.

He inadvertently delayed the following Martin Prokop, the Czech driver admitting: â€œWe were quite close to P-G but it was impossible to catch him in the dust.â€
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Jason Montague · Jun 21, 2013

:yikes: That looks like a Flat Run Flat that came into MINI of Dallas several years ago.

Jason

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

SS2: Novikov rolls out of third (WRC.com)

21 Jun 13

Stage data: SS2, Castelsardo (14.00 kilometres)

Stage description:

This is the only stage that is identical to last year when it was run for the first time. It is smooth and sandy, and will quickly become rutted. It is mostly narrow, technical and undulating but offers a little bit of everything - tight and twisty sections, hairpins, rocks lining the road and a 1.6km asphalt main road. As such it has no real flow and it is hard to generate a rhythm.

How the action unfolded:

In third place after the opening stage, Evgeny Novikov rolled out of todayâ€™s competition on the second.

The young Russian put his Fiesta RS off the road in the opening kilometre of the notoriously tricky Castelsardo test. Both he and his co-driver Ilka Minor are okay.

The stage was won by Volkwsagenâ€™s Jari-Matti Latvala, who rolled himself here in 2012.

â€œMy time was quite good but it was very slippery,â€œ he said. â€œI was distracted early on because somebody [Novikov] had gone off but there was no warning triangle. I nearly hit the car. But basically everything is okay. Itâ€™s a shame about the puncture earlier but we just have to accept that.â€

Second fastest in his Polo R, rally leader Sebastien Ogier echoed his team-mateâ€™s opinion on the road conditions: â€œVery slippery and a lot of loose gravel - for sure it would have been worse for the guys ahead. For us okay, it was a good drive.â€

Sure enough, the slippery conditions had caused plenty of problems for the drivers further up the start order.

Dani Sordo was third fastest but spun his Citroen DS3 WRC immediately after the flying finish. â€œIt was okay though, no problems,â€ the Spaniard reported. â€œI wasnâ€™t here last year so itâ€™s my first time on this stage.â€

Volkswagenâ€™s Andreas Mikkelsen completed with his car sporting a front wheel knocked out of alignment. â€œNot too easy, we have some problem with the steering,â€ he said. â€œI donâ€™t know what it is, but under braking we had a small hit on the left. The car is moving around a bit.â€

World Rally Car newcomer Elfyn Evans had a lucky escape when he hit a rock mid-stage. The Welshmanâ€™s Ford Fiesta RS reached the stop control with a bent right-hand front wheel rim but the tyre intact.

Martin Prokop said he was surprised to complete the stage at all after wedging his Fiesta RS between two walls. â€œWe hit with one side of the car, then the other and finally with the front,â€ he explained. â€œIn the end we were completely stuck between two walls. It was a massive impact but still the wheels are straight and the engine temperature is okayâ€¦â€
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Novikov's car after he rolled:

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

One of the Mentos MINIs getting some air:

Nathan · Jun 21, 2013

Novikov did a very good job of tearing up that race car.

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

Dust delay angers flying Kubica (maxrally.com)

by Graham Lister / 21st June 2013

Ex-Formula One racer Robert Kubica has hit out at the decision of the Rally Italia Sardegna organisers to run WRC 2 drivers in one-minute intervals through the opening Monte Lerno test.

The Pole said the hanging dust made conditions â€œvery dangerousâ€ and revealed that he had only been able to drive flat out during the first five kilometres of the 31.08-kilometre test.

â€œI had a big problem in the dust and I was not pushing because I knew it was getting worse,â€ said Kubica. â€œI was getting closer and closer to [Sepp] Wiegand and it was very dangerous. People are not realising we are driving flat out but without visibility you can see nowhere.â€

Despite the dust, Kubica was fastest in WRC 2 by an impressive margin of 31.2s. Wiegand was second with title leader Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari third, 1.0s down on German Wiegand.
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Steve · Jun 21, 2013

Nathan said: ↑

Novikov did a very good job of tearing up that race car.
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Indeed. The team say it's even too damaged to fix it and restart tomorrow. Not surprising...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L38K_34BFDo]Evgeny Novikov Crash Rally d' Italia 2013 by Francesco Ceddera - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCtiTX1ZDT4]WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013: Stages 1-2 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VNxaCa67Bw]WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013: Stages 3-6 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 21, 2013

Ogier clear after first day in Italy (WRC.com)

21 Jun 13

Sebastien Ogier ended today's marathon opening leg of Rally Italia Sardegna with a 46.6sec advantage after a troublefree day on the sun-kissed Mediterranean island.

The Volkswagen Polo R driver led after the opening stage and was already 20 seconds clear after the opening loop. He won two more stages and there was no disguising the Frenchmanâ€™s ambitions as he emerged from the final night test.

â€œI came here with the motivation to win because itâ€™s two rallies since I had a win and I want that feeling again. But only half the rally has gone so we have to make sure we complete the job tomorrow,â€ said Ogier.

The fight for second was closer. Mikko Hirvonen, Mads Ostberg, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo were covered by 20sec for much of the day, but Hirvonen repelled the attacks in his Citroen DS3 to hold a narrow advantage over Thierry Neuville.

In many ways Neuvilleâ€™s performance was the drive of the day. The Belgian revolutionised the handling of his Ford Fiesta RS by adjusting the brakes after the opening loop and he charged from fifth to third, slashing a 20sec deficit to Hirvonen to just 3.1sec.

â€œEverything went well except for a small spin this morning,â€ he said. â€œI hope weâ€™ll continue like this tomorrow. I would be happy with third but I have two third-place finishes, so second would be nice. Weâ€™ll have a talk and come up with a plan.â€

Sordo fell back over the final two tests, the Spaniard overnighting almost 30sec behind Neuville. â€œIt was an OK day. Itâ€™s never good because you always want more. I didnâ€™t do the rally last year so that was a bit of a disadvantage but weâ€™ll be fighting for the podium tomorrow,â€ he said.

The big loser in the quartet was Mads Ostberg. The Norwegian held third for much of the day in his Fiesta RS, and was happier with the handling after fitting new springs for tonightâ€™s final two stages. However, he rolled out early in the last test.

His demise promoted Jari-Matti Latvala into fifth in a Polo R. The Finn dropped two minutes with a puncture in the opening stage and spent the rest of the day recovering, posting three stage wins en route.

Andreas Mikkelsen is sixth, the Norwegian being overhauled by Latvala in the final stage. Martin Prokop is three minutes further back in seventh, more than 90sec clear of Michal Kosciuszko.

World Rally Car debutant Elfyn Evans lies ninth, the youngster growing in confidence as the day progressed, with WRC 2 leader Robert Kubica completing the top 10.

Evgeny Novikov retired after a big roll in the second stage and will not restart. P-G Andersson retired in SS6 after struggling with a broken rear driveshaft.

Kubica holds a commanding lead of 1m 11.8s in the WRC-2 class, having won six of the eight stages in his Citroen DS3 RRC. Second is Ford Fiesta RRC driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, while local hero Lorenzo Bertelli is third, 59.6 sec further back in another Fiesta RRC.

Series newcomer Stephane Consani holds a slender 16.1sec lead in the WRC-3 category, having moved ahead of Christian Riedemann on the final stage. Championship leader Sebastien Chardonnet is third, 10.1sec behind. All three are driving Citroen DS3 R3Ts.

The second and final leg starts at 07.00 and drivers tackle two loops of four stages covering 157.38km before the evening finish in Olbia.
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Kubica comfortably ahead in WRC-2 (WRC.com)

21 Jun 13

At the end of Friday's competition at Rally Italia Sardegna, Robert Kubica holds a commanding lead of 1m 11.8s in the WRC-2 class, having won six of the eight stages contested so far in his Citroen DS3 RRC.

Second overnight is Ford Fiesta RRC driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, while local hero Lorenzo Bertelli is third, 59.6 sec further back in another Fiesta RRC.

Three weeks after securing his maiden WRC-2 victory in Greece, Kubica dominated from the outset, emerging from Fridayâ€™s opening test an astonishing 31seconds clear of the rest of the field â€“ despite catching the dust cloud from Sepp Wiegandâ€™s Skoda ahead of him in the running order.

Apart from that, Kubicaâ€™s only other problems came on SS3, when he damaged the rear of his car after clipping a hay bale, and on the penultimate test, SS7, when he again caught the dust from Wiegandâ€™s car and had to slow to 10kph.

Fabia S2000 driver Wiegand was Kubicaâ€™s closet rival for much of the day, but the Germanâ€™s challenge evaporated on the penultimate stage, SS7, when an engine misfire cost him almost two minutes. He later retired on SS8.

This should have left the door open for Ford Fiesta RRC driver Yuriy Protasov to move into second, but unfortunately for the Ukrainian he went off on the same stage and dropped more than 35 minutes. He later retired.

Instead, Italian Lorenzo Bertelli moved into the provisional runner-up spot, helped by a stage win in the Ford Fiesta RRC he is driving here for the first time, having switched from a Subaru Impreza.

Bertelli lost the place on Fridayâ€™s final test, however, when he too was hampered by dust clouds from the car in front and dropped more than a minute.

This promoted Al-Kuwari up to second, and on course to consolidate his championship lead on Saturday.
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Steve · Jun 22, 2013

Ogier in charge with four stages to go (WRC.com)

22 Jun 13

With just four stages of Rally Italia Sardegna to go, Sebastien Ogier remains firmly in control, the Volkswagen ace returning to the midday service with a lead of 1min 15.9sec over Thierry Neuville.

Ogier has led from the rally’s opening stage and was quickest on two of Saturday morning’s loop of four stages. With the repeat of those stages to come this afternoon, the Frenchman is on course for his fourth win of the season.

“Everything is perfect, we are trying to control the race now,” the Polo R driver said after SS12. “It’s a long day, and there’s still a long way to go. We just have to stay focused.”

Behind Ogier, Saturday morning has seen plenty of churn in the top five, most notably the retirement from second of Mikko Hirvonen after the Finn went off on SS10 and got his Citroen DS3 stuck in a ditch.

This promoted Ford Fiesta RS driver Neuville into the provisional runner-up spot and, despite a couple of worrying moments on SS12, the Belgian remains on track to take the best WRC result of his career today.

“I went a bit wide at a junction on a very fast section but there was no damage,” he explained. “ I went really high on a jump too, but the [engine] temperature looks okay so hopefully no problems.”

Behind him, the story of the morning has been the progress of Volkswagen Polo R drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen.

Latvala’s recovery from a costly puncture on the opening day has been remarkable, and the Finn is now third, 35.5s adrift of Neuville, after moving ahead of Citroen’s Dani Sordo on SS11 when the Spaniard spun his DS3.

Asked whether he could have a go at catching Neuville as well, Latvala said: “No, he’s been driving so well I have no chance. I don’t want to drive as hard as I did yesterday – it’s too risky. Now I try to control the position. I want to finish third. I’d be very pleased with that after our puncture on the first day.”

Sordo is fourth, but feeling the pressure from Mikkelsen behind who is just 20.8ec away in Volkswagen’s third factory Polo.

“In SS12 I told Carlos [Del Barrio, co-driver] not to give me any split times because I just wanted to try and drive as fast as possible,” he said. “It went okay, but it’s been really slippery this morning and the rear of the car is sliding around a lot”

Mikkelsen was almost two seconds quicker than Sordo on SS12 and has been given the green light by Volkswagen to fight for the place – potentially his best finish to date for the German manufacturer.

“The roads are cleaning so much that it’s difficult but we will see what we can do. Nothing crazy but we will push,” he said.

Czech driver Martin Prokop is well cushioned in sixth, more than four minutes behind the top five and more than two minutes ahead of Michal Kosciuszko in seventh.

Kosciuszko is embroiled in a close scrap with Elfyn Evans, both of whom are competing in Ford Fiesta RS cars for the first time.

World Rally Car debutant Evans had been seventh after SS11, but slipped 6.3sec behind his Polish rival after missing a braking point on SS12 and overshooting a junction.

Mads Ostberg is ninth, having restarted this morning following his roll on Friday night, while Khalid Al-Qassimi rounds off the top-ten places.

In the WRC 2 category, Robert Kubica won all four stages this morning in his Citroen DS3 RRC to stretch his lead to 2min 31.9sec. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari remains second in a Ford Fiesta RRC, with Lorenzo Bertelli 1min 15sec behind in third in another Fiesta.

The battle for supremacy in WRC 3 looks as though it may go down to the final stage.

Stephane Consani leads Christian Riedemann by just 12.7sec. Series leader Sebastien Chardonnet, back up to third after a puncture yesterday, fell back with damaged steering to allow Keith Cronin into a podium place. All drivers are at the wheel of Citroen DS3 R3Ts.
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Steve · Jun 24, 2013

Ogier takes Sardinian laurels (best-of-rallylive.com)

22/06/2013 6:13 pm

SÃ©bastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo R WRC/Michelin) returned to his winning ways with an emphatic success in Sardinia today. He was joined on the podium by Thierry Neuville (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) and Jari-Matti Latvala (VW).

Frenchman Ogier led the Rally dâ€™Italia-Sardegna from flag to flag to collect his fourth victory of the 2013 campaign and extend his lead in the WRC Driversâ€™ standings to 64 points. He built up a strong early lead, while his chief threat in terms of speed was his own team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, winner of the pre-start Qualifying Stage and also winner of the highest number of stages on Day 1.

Unfortunately, the Finn dropped almost two minutes on SS1 after sustaining impact damage to the sidewall of his front-left tyre. He bounced back from the setback to earn a place in the final top three, thanks in part to the misfortunes of some of his rivals. Evgeny Novikov (Ford) crashed out for good on SS2, Mikko Hirvonen (CitroÃ«n) did the same at the start of SS10, and Andreas Mikkelsen (VW) broke his suspension on SS14.

Thierry Neuville (Ford/Michelin) completed the event in second place. Thatâ€™s his best ever result at WRC level and takes him a step closer to his first world class victory. With the exception of a spin early on, the Belgian kept up a strong pace during his fight for second spot with Hirvonen. He then backed that up with a consistent run to the finish.

Dani Sordo (CitroÃ«n), who wasnâ€™t in Sardinia last year, finished just shy of the podium to harvest valuable points for CitroÃ«n-Total Abu Dhabi. The French squad is currently 46 points adrift of Volkswagen in the Manufacturersâ€™ points table.

Martin Prokop (5th, Ford) and WRC car rookie Elfyn Evans (6th, Ford) also took advantage of the front-runnersâ€™ various troubles to clinch good results. Michal Kosciuszko (7th) finished just 0.9s behind the Welsh youngster. Mads Ostberg survived two accidents to come eighth, just clear of Robert Kubica (CitroÃ«n DS3 RRC/Michelin).

The Pole picked up his second straight WRC-2 win with a handsome advantage of almost five minutes over Al-Kuwari. Lorenzo Bertelli completed his second WRC rally in a Ford Fiesta RRC with a top-three finish, ahead of Nicolas Fuchs. The second round of the CitroÃ«n Top Driver 2013 was won by Christian Riedemann, ahead of Keith Kronin and Quentin Gilbert.

The FIA World Rally Championship will resume in Finland at the beginning of August after a short summer break.
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Kubica cruises to second WRC-2 win (WRC.com)

22 Jun 13

Robert Kubica secured his second victory in the WRC-2 championship today, dominating the second day of Rally Italia Sardegna to win by a comfortable 4min 17sec from Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari.

Three weeks after securing his maiden WRC-2 victory in Greece, the ex Formula 1 driver was dominant throughout in his Citroen DS3 RRC, taking the lead on the opening stage and going fastest on all but two of the eventâ€™s 16 tests.

The Pole carried a lead of 1min 11sec into Saturdayâ€™s competition and extended that with every stage to secure another maximum 25 points haul.

â€œItâ€™s never easy to win, but it has been good weekend,â€ acknowledged Kubica. â€œWe had some problems with visibility in the dust and an intercom problem but we never lost our concentration. Where we were not sure of our pace we took care to finish the rally.

â€œActually, on todayâ€™s first loop we were driving so carefully that we were not learning anything, so I tried to push some more in the afternoon â€“ of course taking care not to do too much. I still have much to learn.â€

Kubica now lies fourth in the WRC-2 standings, but has contested less rallies than any of the drivers ahead of him.

Nonetheless, Ford Fiesta RRC driver Al-Kuwari was delighted to add another 18 points to his impressive season tally for second place.

â€œItâ€™s a good result after a tough rally,â€ said the Qatari. â€œWeâ€™ve extended our championship lead and now Iâ€™ll let the European drivers fight it out in Finland and Germany. We expect to be back in Australia.â€

Italian driver Lorenzo Bertelli finished third, 2min 01sec behind Al-Kuwari on his first rally in a Ford Fiesta RRC. â€œItâ€™s been a long time coming, and weâ€™ve had our problems, but I knew we could be here in this position. Third is great and Iâ€™m really happy â€“ finally,â€ he said.

The top five in WRC-2 were unchanged during Saturdayâ€™s competition, and Nicolas Fuchs brought his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X home in fourth, 2min 29sec behind Bertelli. It was the Peruvian driverâ€™s fifth consecutive win in the Production Cup.

Fifth place went to Germanyâ€™s Armin Kremer, the Subaru Impreza STi driver finishing 1min 53sec behind Fuchs.

Juan Carlos Alonso, Alaâ€™a Rasheed and Marco Vallario were the only other finishers in WRC-2.
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Steve · Jun 24, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_aPJj9q8I4]DAY 2 WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jun 24, 2013

Kubica values rally experience over wins (Racer.com)

Matt Beer | June 24, 2013

Robert Kubica says the experience he is gaining of gravel rallying is far more important to him than the WRC 2 victories he is racking up.

The Pole has now won his class in two of the three World Rally Championship events he has contested, which have been his first competitive gravel rallies.

Asked what the dominant Acropolis and Italy WRC 2 wins meant to him, Kubica replied: "It doesn't mean a lot, to be honest. What I have learned means a lot, it's very big knowledge.

"I did only three events, but when you have zero experience those three events bring you, percentage-wise, a lot of experience."

Although he regards this season as a learning quest, Kubica reckons he learns more when flat-out.

"From experience comes lessons and knowledge," he said. "When you drive slow, you try to finish the rally but you don't learn so much because you have to be close to the limit to see if the pace notes are right, in order to see how the car behaves, how the surface grip is changing. So you have to find the balance."

He also insists he is under no illusions about how much progress he must still make despite his recent wins.

"Of course it looks nice but I know that from my point of view there is a long way to go and in order to achieve things I want to improve my pace." Kubica said.

CAN KUBICA BE WRC 2 CHAMPION?

Kubica is only fourth in the class standings, 35 points behind leader Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who finished a distant second in Italy. But the title battle is still wide open under the WRC 2 system. Competitors enter seven rallies of their choice from the 13-round calendar, and count their best six scores.

Al-Kuwari has already done five rallies to Kubica's three, while second and third placed Nicolas Fuchs and Yuriy Protasov have now done six rounds. Despite stating concerns about how far his budget will stretch, Kubica is expected to do a full seven-round program, so has a fair chance of outscoring those ahead.

He must also watch for works-supported Skoda drivers Sepp Wiegand and Esapekka Lappi. Wiegand has done four rallies and is three points behind Kubica, while the highly-rated Lappi might only have 25 points to date, but has only started two events.

WRC 2 standings after seven of 13 rounds:

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4

Pos Driver Points Rallies contested

1. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari 93 (5)

2. Nicolas Fuchs 78 (6)

3. Yuriy Protasov 65 (6)

4. Robert Kubica 58 (3)

5. Sepp Wiegand 55 (4)

6. Armin Kremer 40 (4)

7. Ricardo Trevino 39 (5)

8. Rashid Al-Ketbi 26 (4)

9. Yazeed Al Rahji 25 (1)

10. Esapekka Lappi 25 (2)

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Steve · Jun 24, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZNLnTSqCN8]WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2013 by Rallymedia (HD - pure sound) - YouTube[/ame]

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Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Pos	Driver	Points	Rallies contested
1.	Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari	93	(5)
2.	Nicolas Fuchs	78	(6)
3.	Yuriy Protasov	65	(6)
4.	Robert Kubica	58	(3)
5.	Sepp Wiegand	55	(4)
6.	Armin Kremer	40	(4)
7.	Ricardo Trevino	39	(5)
8.	Rashid Al-Ketbi	26	(4)
9.	Yazeed Al Rahji	25	(1)
10.	Esapekka Lappi	25	(2)

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