WRC: Rally Sweden 2012

Steve · Feb 6, 2012

Sandell thrilled following MINI test (WRC.com)

07 Feb 12

Patrik Sandell has raved about his Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC after he tested the machine during a one-day session in his native Sweden on Sunday.

Sandell will contest his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia this week with backing from the new Sweden World Rally Team, which has been established to help find the countryâ€™s next world champion.

â€œThe car was really good from the start so we did not work so much with the set-up, but could concentrate on finding the feeling,â€ said Sandell following the test at co-driver Staffan Parmanderâ€™s facility near the town of Kall. â€œItâ€™s roads Iâ€™ve driven on before and to start driving the car on a stage that I know already meant it was quicker for me to find the feeling and the confidence.â€

Sandell, the 2006 Junior world champion, was also full of praise for the British Prodrive team. He said: â€œIt is great to work with Prodrive, such a professional team. Our engineer, Teena [Gade], is really dedicated and talented. I felt that we got on very well very quickly and it will be really fun to work with her and Prodrive.â€

Dani Sordo, who will drive a second Prodrive-run MINI in Sweden and completed his pre-event test on Saturday, said: â€œI am very satisfied after the test. I did not contest this rally last year and itâ€™s two years since I last competed on ice so the distance we covered has helped. It will be difficult to keep up with the Nordic drivers but I will make every effort and fight to be as high as possible in the classification as on Rallye Monte-Carlo.â€

Rally Sweden is based in Karlstad from 9-12 February.
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Steve · Feb 7, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNj-rCtIarM]2012 WRC Patrik Sandell testing in Mini Couper for the Sweden Rally - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 7, 2012

Rally Sweden finalises its own deal to keep event on international TV (AUTOSPORT.com)

By David Evans | Tuesday, February 7th 2012, 16:53 GMT

The organisers of this week's Rally Sweden have confirmed there will be international television coverage of the event.

Event CEO Glenn Olsson concluded a deal on Tuesday afternoon to ensure that the second round of the World Rally Championship will be filmed with footage available across the world.

Motors TV is expected to screen the footage in the UK, with nightly reports and a round-up on Sunday afternoon.

Olsson said: "We are doing this for all our fans to save the championship and its organisers and teams, and not least for our own sake and our sponsors. This is a multi-million [euro] project and, as we are not ready with the economics, this is very hazardous for us."

Scandinavian fans are well-covered this year. Terrestrial deals are already in place for Sweden, Norway and Denmark, although these will have to be renegotiated now with each round of the series.

This is the first time in 20 years that an individual round of the WRC has negotiated its own television rights. The FIA stated late last week that events would have to do this following the break down in negotiations with Eurosport - the French firm which had been expected to film and distribute WRC footage throughout 2012.
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Justa Jim · Feb 7, 2012

Sandell mighe finish near the front....if he finishes.

Jim

Steve · Feb 8, 2012

Rally Sweden: five reasons to get excited (WRC.com)

8 Feb 12

The FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia heads to Sweden this week for the annual snow spectacular. Here are five reasons why fans of the WRC should be getting excited right now.

1: Flying over Colinâ€™s Crest

One of the most spectacular features of Rally Sweden is the Colinâ€™s Crest jump located on Saturdayâ€™s Vargasen stage. Named in memory of the late Colin McRae, jumps are recorded and a special trophy handed out. Last year Gymkhana legend Ken Block earned the prestigious accolade for a leap of 37 metres in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC (pictured).

2: Sandellâ€™s MINI adventure

The former Junior world champion gets his big break on his home round of the WRC when he makes his competition debut in a Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC with backing from the new Sweden World Rally Team initiative. Sandell is a huge talent and richly deserves this opportunity.

3: Return to Norway

Norway was a big hit when it hosted its first WRC qualifier in 2007. And the country has produced several leading drivers including 2003 world champion Petter Solberg and emerging star Mads Ostberg. Day oneâ€™s action is contained almost entirely in Norway and the action is set to be electrifying.

4: Nasser is back

The WRCâ€™s all-action hero is back after missing Rallye Monte-Carlo to contest the clashing Dakar Rally in South America. And heâ€™s armed with a World Rally Car for the first time, entered by the new Qatar World Rally Team.

5: Racer Goransson steps up

After shining on his rally debut in Sweden 12 months ago, the circuit racer returns to Rally Sweden in a MINI John Cooper Works WRC. He showed great promise last year and could surprise again in 2012.
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Steve · Feb 8, 2012

Qualifying Stage start order set (WRC.com)

8 Feb 12

The starting order for the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia's first Qualifying Stage has been confirmed with eight-time champion Sebastien Loeb set to go first over the 3.99-kilometre course near the Hagfors service park.

Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena are among 21 Priority 1 and Priority 2 crews eligible for the test on Thursday morning, which allows the fastest drivers to choose their starting order for Fridayâ€™s stages.

Prior to the Qualifying Stage getting underway, crews will be allowed to complete two non-timed runs of the stage from 08:00hrs-10:00hrs local time. They will then get a single timed run over the stage, setting off in championship order in two-minute intervals from 10:30hrs.

Following the Qualifying Stage the driver with the fastest time will be allowed to choose pick their starting position first with the second fastest driver next to choose until all available positions have been selected.

Ford World Rally Teamâ€™s Petter Solberg is a big fan of the concept. The 2003 world champion said: â€œItâ€™s a great idea. Every driver has the possibility to earn the start position they want with a good performance in qualifying. It also provides another opportunity for the media to talk about the rally in the build-up to the start.â€

To see the full running order click on this link.
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Justa Jim · Feb 8, 2012

Nice work, as always Steve.

Jim

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

Latvala fastest on inaugural Qualifying Stage (WRC.com)

09 Feb 12

Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala has gone quickest in the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia's inaugural Qualifying Stage, beating his former team-mate Mikko Hirvonen by half a second on a 3.99-kilometre ice-coated test near Hagfors.

The result means that Latvala will be able to choose where he wants to start the first full day of Rally Sweden on Friday, in order to make the best possible use of road position.

â€œI had no problem in the stage at all,â€ said the 2008 Rally Sweden winner. â€œMaybe on one corner I was a little bit slower after I saw some rocks and went around them, but otherwise it was the perfect time for me. I am happy with the time I set and the position I am in, but certainly there is a lot to be thinking about before we decide what place we take. We have to think about the weather and a few other factors: itâ€™s not so straightforward.â€

Hirvonen, the winner of the last two rallies in Sweden, edged out M-Sportâ€™s Ott Tanak by a mere five-thousandths of a second, to claim second place in his factory Citroen. It was a remarkable performance though from the young Estonian, contesting only his third world championship event in a World Rally Car.

â€œThe stage was pretty good, to be only five thousandths of a second behind Mikko was a good result for me,â€ said Tanak - whose mentor is former Ford factory driver Markko Martin.

The quickest of the World Rally Car debutants was Eyvind Brynildsen, who was eight-fastest in another Ford Fiesta RS WRC, 2.213s behind Latvala. Patrik Sandell was the top Swede in ninth overall on his first run in a MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

Conditions were cold and bright on the stage, which benefitted from a good covering of snow and got quicker as more cars passed over it. The cars started the qualifying stage in championship order, meaning that Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb went first. The eight-time world champion was sixth quickest.
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Steve · Feb 9, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49QRY8sCmkI]Qualifying stage - 2012 Rally Sweden - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

Swedish rally fans backing Sandell! (best-of-rallylive.com)

For many years, Rally Sweden was dominated by the countryâ€™s home-grown stars. This year, the nationâ€™s hopes are pinned on 30-year old Patrik Sandell. It is the 2006 Junior World Championâ€™s first outing in the MINI John Cooper Works WRC/Michelin.

Swedish drivers have marked the history of world class rallying. Saab test driver Erik Carlsson is said to have been the sportâ€™s first â€˜worksâ€™ driver, while Bjorn Waldegard claimed the first Driversâ€™ world title in 1979.

As for Patrik Sandell, he could well be remembered in years to come as the person who had the shortest ever career as a WRC factory driver! When entries for Sweden were published on January 12, he was listed as a â€˜worksâ€™ MINI driver in a Prodrive-run car. Since then, however, Prodriveâ€™s status as the brandâ€™s factory team was terminated last Friday. That makes 23 days in totalâ€¦

â€œTo be honest, it doesnâ€™t change much for me,â€ Patrik told us after todayâ€™s Qualifying Stage. â€œMy entry on this event is entirely funded by my sponsors and the fact that I was eligible or not to score Manufacturersâ€™ points didnâ€™t have any influence on their decision to back me. My programme was finalised well before anybody knew that I might, or might not, be nominated alongside Dani Sordo.

â€œAbove all, my partners want me to deliver a strong performance. Prodrive has been through a difficult period, but our pre-event testing went ahead as scheduled â€“ and in good conditions â€“ last weekend.â€

Although the 2012 Rally Sweden is Patrik Sandellâ€™s 39th world championship appearance, it is only his first in a WRC car. There will consequently be pressure on his shoulders to follow in the footsteps of such successful compatriots as Blomqvist, Eklund, Waldegard and Kenneth Eriksson, with whom his current co-driver â€“ Staffan Parmander â€“ used to compete. â€œI have driven a Skoda Fabia WRC at national level, but the latest WRC machines are completely different. For example, you can really feel the aerodynamic downforce through the fat corners. Itâ€™s amazing. I think Iâ€™ve found a good set-up for the weekend.â€
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Justa Jim · Feb 9, 2012

So where is Dani???

Jim

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

I know, I'm clicking everywhere. You should be able to find a full list of qualifying stage finish positions and times by now but they're nowhere to be found...well, by me anyway.

According to Citroen's site the first 7 are:
1 - Latvala (Ford)
2 - Hirvonnen (Citroen)
3 - Tanak (Ford)
4 - Novikov (Ford)
5 - P Solberg (Ford)
6 - Loeb (Citroen)
7 - Ostberg (Ford)

I guess there are no MINIs ahead of at least 8th.

Keep in mind, the qualifying order does nothing other than determine CHOICE of starting position, and it might be just for the first stage. I'm not even sure whether the qualifying times count against the cumulative total for the rally.

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

The single special stage today is already underway and I still can't find the qualifying order anywhere. Oh well. Here's the SS1 starting order based on qualifying stage order driver choice.

Gotta love Nobre's comment.

Top drivers choose lowly start slots for day one of Rally Sweden (AUTOSPORT.com)

By David Evans | Thursday, February 9th 2012, 18:55 GMT

Brazilian Mini driver Paulo Nobre will run first on the road through tomorrow's opening day of Rally Sweden after the drivers chose their starting positions for the first time in the history of the World Rally Championship.

The 21 priority seeded drivers made their choice of position in the running order, with the leaders all preferring to run further back on the road - clearly expecting the stage to sweep clear of loose snow on tomorrow's first day of competition.

Qualifying stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala was the first driver to go over the start ramp at the ceremonial start and select his positions â€“ the Finn went for 17th on the road. Immediately behind him, his former team-mate Mikko Hirvonen chose 18th.

"As soon as I saw the result of the qualifying stage, I sent Jari-Matti a text saying I would chose the place right behind him on the road, as long as he promised to move over for me when I caught him in the stage!" said Hirvonen.

Defending world champion Sebastien Loeb starts from 19th on the road, one place ahead of Mads Ostberg.

Petter Solberg is the factory driver furthest ahead, the Norwegian's Fiesta RS WRC will be 13th into the first stage which takes him from Sweden across the border into his homeland.

Nobre said: "I was determined to lead this rally â€“ and now I am! Thank you very much!"

1 Paulo Nobre (MINI)
2 Thierry Neuville
3 Peter Van Merksteijn
4 Richard Goransson (MINI)
5 Michal Solowow
6 Nasser Al-Attiyah
7 Armindo Araujo (MINI)
8 Sebastien Ogier
9 Jari Ketomaa
10 Henning Solberg
11 Dani Sordo (MINI)
12 Martin Prokop
13 Petter Solberg
14 Ott Tanak
15 Patrik Sandell (MINI)
16 Evgeny Novikov
17 Jari-Matti Latvala
18 Mikko Hirvonen
19 Sebastien Loeb
20 Mads Ostberg
21 Eyvind Brynildsen
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Steve · Feb 9, 2012

The first stage, and the only one to run today, is an incredibly short 1.9km so I'm guessing it's probably run in town through spectator-lined streets. You therefore can't take much (if anything) from the results, but it looks like Sordo has the lead.

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

SS1: Sordo takes superspecial glory (WRC.com)

09 Feb 12

SS1: Sordo takes superspecial glory

Stage data: SS1 Super Special Stage Karlstad 1 (1.90 km)

Stage description by Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen's co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen:

"This is a typical superspecial stage, which is never very enjoyable for competitors, but an important part of the rally. It will be a bit strange this year as there is no snow, just ice on the grass. But that at least means consistent grip for everyone so I'm not complaining."

How the action unfolded:

Dani Sordo took the spoils at tonight's opening 1.9km Super Special Stage in Karlstad. The Spaniard, piloting a MINI WRC, finished 0.3 seconds ahead of snow specialist Mads Ostberg in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Sub-zero temperatures and a glorious firework display greeted the WRC crews ahead of Rally Sweden's opening Super Special, and on his competitive debut on snow in the MINI, Sordo was out to impress.

"The stage was really, really nice," he said. "We are happy now but it was just a short stage and tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Estonia's Ott Tanak was third quickest, 0.3s behind fellow Fiesta RS WRC driver Ostberg. "For me, that stage was like a Mickey Mouse stage. The aim was to make it through without any problems and then the real competition starts tomorrow," said Tanak.

Seven-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb completed the Super Special matching Norway's Petter Solberg's time to sit joint fourth overnight in their Citroen and Ford respectively.

An elated Solberg said he could not wait to compete on home soil tomorrow: "That was a fantastic start. I am really, really pleased with that! I'm very excited for the rally moving to Norway tomorrow. It's going to be an amazing atmosphere with my home fans!"

Finns Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Latvala reporting a loss of time at the start line.

In the SWRC category, Proton's P-G Andersson - a firm favourite with locals - completed the stage quickest.

Hayden Paddon finished second quickest in SWRC with Alister McRae, bringing the legendary McRae name back to the WRC, in third. Ireland's Craig Breen is sixth in the support series after losing time with a right-rear puncture on his Fiesta S2000.
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Justa Jim · Feb 9, 2012

No mention of the #2 Prodrive MINI. :confused5:

Jim

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

Good point, thanks.

1 - Sordo (MINI)
2 - Ostberg
3 - Tanak
4 - Loeb
5 - P Solberg
6 - Hirvonen
7 - Latvala
8 - Sandell (MINI)
9 - Prokop
10 - Goransson (MINI)

16 - Araujo (MINI)
26 - Nobre (MINI)

Actual times and differentials are here.

Steve · Feb 9, 2012

Sweden SS1: Super night for Sordo (MaxRally.com)

9th February 2012

There's very little chance that he will still be up there when the event gets going properly in the icy forests tomorrow, but in the week that Prodrive found itself distanced from Mini, Dani Sordo gave the Banbury team cause for a wry smile as he took the Rally Sweden lead on SS1.

The Spaniard was quickest around the short Karlstad superspecial by 0.3 seconds over Mads Ostberg, as the long-time leader of last year's Rally Sweden made a promising return to the World Rally Championship after skipping Monte Carlo.

Ott Tanak popped up in third place in another Ford, just ahead of the big guns: Sebastien Loeb, Petter Solberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala.

It was a good night for Prodrive's Minis all in all. Patrik Sandell - this week's occupant of the second 'not quite works anymore' seat - took eighth, while touring car ace Richard Goransson belied his lack of rally miles to sit 10th at the end of the stage.

The full-length stages commence just after 8am local time on Friday.
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Justa Jim · Feb 9, 2012

I can't believe I'm betting against the "factory team" this season. As long as Pro Drive finishes ahead of them, podium or not, I'll be happy.

Jim

Steve · Feb 10, 2012

SS2: Ostberg blasts to the front (WRC.com)

10 Feb 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS2, Mitandersfors (27.07 kilometres)

Stage description:
By Citroen Total World Rally Team co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen: "This is the longest stage of the rally and new for everyone: a big wake-up call! The only person who might know it is Petter Solberg, as he has a house in the middle of the stage. It's a really nice and flowing road, which is generally in good condition. I really like the character of this stage. The stage crosses the Sweden-Norway border: on the Norwegian side there is a bit more snow than on the Swedish side. There are a lot of places where you need to tighten your belts and do that thing we call sisu in Finland: bravery!"

How the action unfolded:
Mads Ostberg moved into the lead of Rally Sweden as he shared the fastest time on stage two with Jari-Matti Latvala.

A repeat of last year's Sweden battle between Ostberg's independent Ford and a works Fiesta driver already appears to be brewing, as Ostberg and Latvala set equal best times of 14m13.0s on Mitandersfors.

"It was a good stage for us," said Ostberg. "I took it very steady in many places but I think that's what paid off really.

"It was a clean stage for me, not a big push, just very confident through the stgae. I'm not pushing, we'll just stay on this speed and see how it goes."

That performance gave Ostberg an early 1.9-second lead over Latvala, who is just 0.1s ahead of his former Ford team-mate - and double Sweden winner - Mikko Hirvonen. The factory Citroen driver was third quickest on the stage, and felt there was a lot more to come as his confidence in the car on snow builds.

Petter Solberg thoroughly enjoyed himself on the stage that passes his house, and felt that being only fifth fastest was largely due to others having better road positions.

"It was a fantastic stage, fantastic," said Ford driver Solberg. "I think people behind will be getting much cleaner roads all the time but I'm very happy with my stage and hello to all the people on the farm!"

World champion Sebastien Loeb pipped Solberg to the fourth fastest time, but is only sixth in the overall order behind super special winner Dani Sordo's MINI. Loeb took a 10s penalty first thing this morning for being a minute late out of service.

"It took a little bit too much time to change something on the car so we had this penalty," Loeb explained.

"We decided to put two spare wheels in and it took some time to adjust everything for that."

Ott Tanak's M-Sport Ford was third quickest on last night's super special but went off early on today's opener and lost an enormous 25 minutes getting his car out of the snow.

There was also early disappointment for Team Portugal MINI driver Paulo Nobre, who spun and got stuck in a snow bank early on the stage. The popular Brazilian pulled up and stopped shortly afterwards.
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