Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rally Monte Carlo (2014)

minirab · Jan 16, 2014

Steve said: ↑

Kris Meeke onboard, Stage 3.

They hit the snow line at about 5:55 and then road conditions worsen.

They need to put some Aquapel on the glass in front of that camera.

Kris Meeke Onboard SS03/ Rallye Monte Carlo 2014 - YouTube
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wow.

Nathan · Jan 16, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC47DQb4dd4]Rallye Monte Carlo 2014 - Show Time Ostberg & Limit Day 1 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Nathan · Jan 16, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvoCHOEdYtA]Rallye Monte-Carlo Day One - Hyundai Shell WRT 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Nathan · Jan 16, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAQBIpfA0E4]SORTIE DE ROUTE OGIER MONTE CARLO 2014 ES3 COL DE PERTY - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Jan 16, 2014

Slicks on ice & snow = bang! Hope he can recover from this.

Justa Jim · Jan 17, 2014

Looking good Kris.

Crashton · Jan 17, 2014

Happy to see Kris & Robert doing so well.

Thanks for the coverage Steve!

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

So much for Robert.

Mission not accomplished for Kubica (MaxRally.com)

by Richard Rodgers / 17th January 2014

Robert Kubicaâ€™s bid to finish the Monte Carlo Rally is over after the ex-Formula One crashed out on the second running of Vitrolles-Faye this afternoon.

Kubica started stage nine 0.8s behind Kris Meeke in fourth spot but went off the road into a ditch 32 kilometres into the 49-kilometre run inflicting substantial front-end damage to his Ford Fiesta in the process. â€œI saw his car off just before a bridge,â€ said Meeke. â€œIt was very difficult I just backed right off after I saw his car.â€

Prior to the stage Kubica had told MAXRALLY that his aim was simply to reach the finish in Monaco on Saturday night after he survived a brush with a rock face on stage eight, Selonnet-Breziers.

â€œIt was very bumpy in one corner over the crest when we land and the suspension closed completely and launched us into the mountain,â€ Kubica explained. â€œWe were very lucky because we could have bigger damage after I hit the front and rear of the car.

â€œOur position doesnâ€™t matter to be honest. If someone told me I would finish 24 seconds behind the world champion [Sebastien Ogier on the 49-kilometre Vitrolles-Faye stage this morning] in similar conditions because I was running just behind him I would have signed straight away. But the rally is still long and my priority remains as always to be in the end and I hope to achieve it.â€

Kubica wasnâ€™t the only driver in trouble on stage nine: a spin into a field for Bryan Bouffier cost the Frenchman vital time and handed the lead to Ogier, whose advantage after he won Sisteron-Thoard stands at 22.6s.

Following a regroup in Digne Les Bains, stage 11, Clumanc-Lambruisse, begins at 1800 local time.
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Steve · Jan 17, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wciYmUzKko8]WRC Monte Carlo 2014 SS9 Vitrolles - Faye 2 Sebastien Ogier tape un talu ! - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BIwOfNEhiI]Stages 7-8: Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAXnRgbg1xo]Stages 9-11: Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy2_tw-QPCU]Robert Kubica - Crash SS9 - Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Ogier onboard from Stage 4.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OHZHxde8RE]Onboard Sebastien Ogier SS04/ Rallye Monte Carlo 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

News from the halfway point, final day.

Monte Carlo day three update #2 (WRC.com)

18 Jan 2014

Rallye Monte-Carlo reaches its climax tonight after four stages including two runs across the infamous Col de Turini. Here’s what’s a making the news on the final day:

SS13: Hirvonen makes progress

Mikko Hirvonen breathed a huge sigh of relief as his fifth-fastest time was enough to finally edge him past his less experienced team-mate Elfyn Evans. The Finn took the place by two seconds.

Evans couldn’t challenge because of a lack of confidence. He said: “I struggled to carry any speed. It’s no surprise that Mikko has come past.”

Sebastien Ogier was fastest again, beating Kris Meeke by 3.5s. The VW ace was revelling in the heavy rain, but admitted he also had one eye on the second run through the stage, which will be used as the Power Stage. “We changed a couple of notes just in case we push for some more points on the power stage,” he joked.

Even more drama in the WRC category as the head of the leaderboard in WRC2 changed once again. Lorenzo Bertelli overtook Robert Barrable to re-take second place. The Irishman had lost time with a windscreen that wouldn’t demist properly. “I couldn’t see the corners or the lines after one kilometer. It was horrible,” he said.

SS12: Ogier dominates in the wet

Sebastien Ogier set the fastest time on the opening stage across the iconic Col de Turini. But he left it late.

He trailed VW team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala by 4.1s after the final split, but pulled out an advantage of 0.3s at the finish line. It was the mark of a world champion. Only 0.5s covered Ogier, Latvala and Bryan Bouffier in the top-three places.

All of the front-running drivers took studded winter tyres on the opening stage to cope with the snow that their weather crews had reported. But, the snow wasn’t as extensive as many feared and made the driving conditions challenging.

Bryan Bouffier said: “When we went through the snow, it was not easy because there was mainly slush. There was maybe only about 500 metres of hard snow.”

Citroen’s Kris Meeke was beaming after driving across the Col De Turini in a works DS3 for the first time. “I really enjoyed it in there,” he said. “This is just awesome. As young boy I grew up dreaming of days like this.”

The battle for second place in WRC2 failed to materialise. Robert Barrable was expecting Lorenzo Bertelli to challenge him hard, but the Italian’s Ford Fiesta R5 lost the drive to its rear wheels at the start of the stage and he dropped 40s to his Tunnocks World Rally Team rival. That increased Barrable’s advantage in second place to a minute.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Stage 14, the second run across the Turini, was cancelled mid-run. Lots of snow and more falling. First driver got stuck, held up others. They got going again after a few minutes but then the stage was flagged. Ogier and many others didn't even start. And it was supposed to be the Power Stage. I think they cancelled one running of the Turini last year as well. One stage to go.

Justa Jim · Jan 18, 2014

Fantastic. The only thing that would have made it better, would have been Kris, driving a MINI. Good for him.

Crashton · Jan 18, 2014

A grand finish for Kris. I think Kubica will show us what he can do this year, he showed fine form. Quite a challenging rally for all.

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Kubica’s Monte debut the best yet, says Wilson (maxrally.com)

by Richard Rodgers / 18th January 2014

Malcolm Wilson reckons Robert Kubica’s performance on the Monte Carlo Rally was the best yet from a rookie on the traditional WRC season-opener.

Although Kubica took part on the 2010 Monte, engine failure on the prologue stage meant he never got to tackle the rally proper. And while his challenge this year ended when he crashed out on stage nine on Friday, the ex-Formula One racer led after winning the opening two stages, an effort that left Wilson awestruck.

“He was unlucky to go out and he’s really beaten himself up but what a performance,” said Wilson. “I never expected him to be leading the rally, especially not by that margin when they were all on the same tyres [on Thursday morning]. He genuinely just wanted to finish and that’s what he’s so upset about because he understood he needed the experience for next year. There really is a lot more to come from him but to lead Monte Carlo hast to be one of the most impressive debuts.”

Kubica’s stage-winning performance on the Monte follows on from his victory on the ERC-counting Jannerrallye in Austria at the start of the month, his first drive for M-Sport since his close-season switch from Citroen.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Ogier shows his Monte magic (WRC.com)

19 Jan 2014

Sebastien Ogier kicked off the defence of his World Rally Championship title in style after winning Rallye Monte-Carlo on Saturday night.

The VW Motorsport driver won seven out of 15 stages to take victory by 51s from privateer Bryan Bouffier.

But Ogier was forced to draw on all of his world championship-winning experience to make it to the head of the field after suffering a nightmare first day.

Running first on the road, he encountered the worst of the weather conditions and an altercation with a bridge didn’t help his cause either. Partway through day one he was languishing in 9th place.

However, he bounced back on day two to take what would prove to be an unassailable lead. His victory proved to be his first on the Monte Carlo stages as a World Rally Championship driver.

“It’s been a tough weekend,” the Frenchman said. “I had it in my mind that victory was still possible when I lost a lot of time on the first day, but I’m happy the rally is finished.”

Bouffier impressed with an assured drive to second in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. The Frenchman led the rally for seven stages but gave way to Ogier after he spun on SS9.

Citroen’s Kris Meeke completed the top-three and was only 35s slower than Bouffier after 15 stages. The Briton battled with Robert Kubica early on but the pressure dropped when the ex-F1 driver crashed into a ditch on SS9.

“This rally has been so crazy,” Meeke said. “If I can finish this rally with no mistakes, I think I can do it on any rally.”

Mads Ostberg completed a memorable weekend for Citroen as he finished fourth, just under a minute behind Meeke, and Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth in his VW Polo.

The Finn didn’t have the best of starts after stopping to change a puncture on day one, but he ended the rally well by taking maximum points on the rally-ending ‘Power Stage’.

Elfyn Evans was another debutant to emerge unscathed from the perilous Rallye Monte-Carlo in sixth.

Andreas Mikkelsen was the final manufacturer finisher in seventh, while privateer Jaroslav Melicharek completed the top eight in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV9-hczz1Ro]Stages 12 - 13: Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

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