Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rally Sweden 2013

Steve · Feb 10, 2013

Loeb: I lost the rally on Thursday (iRallylive.com)

10.02.2013 18:47

9-times World Champion SÃ©bastien Loeb says he believes he lost Rally Sweden before the stages even began, with a poor performance during Qualifying on Thursday.

The CitroÃ«n Total Abu Dhabi driver could only manage eighth quickest over the 3.99km stage, finishing over 3.4 seconds behind SÃ©bastien Ogier. It meant Loeb was only eighth in line to choose his starting position for Friday's stages, and ended up running tenth on the road.

Ogier, first to choose, elected to run seventeenth, which proved the optimum position.

By the end of Friday, Loeb was 31.4 seconds off the lead, and that was too much:

"I think I lost the rally on Thursday morning during Qualifying......we had decided to change the set-up, but it didnâ€™t work out and the gap grew throughout day one. From then onwards, we matched Sébastien Ogier, but it was too late."

Loeb, though, generous towards the other SÃ©bastien, who now leads the Drivers' Championship:

"Congratulations to him and his team for this first win, they produced a flawless performance this weekend.â€

And CitroÃ«n chief Yves Matton now saying he's under no illusions about how tough the Volkswagen opposition will be this year:

â€œI would also like to congratulate the winners of the rally, who produced a perfect performance. It gives us an idea of how tough this season, which has only just started, is going to be."

"Our performance levels were in line with our objectives, but weâ€™ll now need to complete error-free rallies if we are going to win racesâ€
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peep · Feb 10, 2013

While I wish we could watch. This is the next best thing ! Thanks for the coverage !!

Steve · Feb 11, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5pLFij-xOc]WRC 2013 Sweden Day 3 Highlights - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 11, 2013

Nikara ready for more Mini action (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 11th February 2013

Finland Jarkko Nikara will contest the Rally of Portugal and his home round of the World Rally Championship â€“ Rally Finland â€“ in a Prodrive-run Mini John Cooper Works WRC.

The 26-year-old former Pirelli Star Driver endured a tough Rally Sweden in the Mini last week, crashing at shakedown then spending 45 minutes in a snow bank on SS3. The upshot of those two incidents meant he would spend the weekend as a snowplough for those following â€“ and would be unlikely to beat the fifth overall he managed in Spain on his Mini debut last season.

Nikara will, however, be back for more. He will drive the Mini on the Faro-based Rally of Portugal and Rally Finland in Jyvaskyla this summer.

The Finn, who was suffering from the flu throughout the event, said: â€œThis has been a tough rally. I did testing before the event, but only around 70km, which was difficult to get used to using these tyres. My times have got better, but Iâ€™m looking forward to Portugal now. I drove there in 2009 and it was a rally I liked.â€
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Never mind the F1 angle (below), here's the John Deere--rally connection.

Tractor driver Nikara gets Formula One boost (MaxRally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 11th February 2013

Jarkko Nikara, possibly Finlandâ€™s fastest tractor driver, is hoping some Formula One expertise will help to ensure a long-term future in the WRC.

Nikara, who is contesting a selection of world championship rallies in a Prodrive Mini this season, has signed a management contract with Mika Saloâ€™s Finnish Motorsport Academies.

Salo drove in Formula One for eight years, but his best-known season was 1999, when he substituted for an injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. That year would have resulted in his first grand prix victory, in Germany, were he not forced to help his team-mate Eddie Irvine (who subsequently gave him the winnerâ€™s trophy as a token of gratitude).

â€œMika has lots of experience and some good connections,â€ said Nikara. â€œHe is also a rally driver himself: heâ€™s taken part on the Arctic Rally lots of times and he knows the sport very well. He has given me plenty of useful advice and hopefully he can help me to put together a programme for the rest of the year.â€

Nikara, who finished 25th on Rally Sweden on Sunday following a succession of early delays, receives vital backing from John Deere tractors through his familyâ€™s farming business.

â€œJohn Deere gives me very good support and I am very grateful to them,â€ said Nikara, who is set to return to the Prodrive fold for Rally of Portugal in April. â€œWe have a farm and we use all their equipment, which is how we arranged this deal. â€œIn fact, when I am not driving a rally car, itâ€™s ost likely I am driving a tractor.â€
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Steve · Feb 11, 2013

Nikara looks to Portugal as he rounds off Sweden with strong stage times (Prodrive.com)

11/2/2013

Jarkko Nikara, driving his John Deere-supported MINI John Cooper Works WRC, set three top ten stage times on the final day of Rally Sweden, as he continued to sweep the road for the following drivers. Indeed it would have been four top tens, but for stalling off the line on stage 21, which cost him around ten seconds.

Sweden is only the Finnish driverâ€™s second outing in a World Rally Car, following his amazing fifth place on his debut at Rally Spain in November. Nikaraâ€™s poor road position over the weekend hampered his progress. It was initially a consequence of missing qualifying after a high speed accident during free practice, but then he lost 45 minutes in a snow bank on stage three, meaning he was set to sweep the road for the rest of the rally. The highlight of his weekend was his third place on stage 21.

Dave Wilcock, Prodrive WRC Team principal said: â€œYou have to say that Jarkko has driven his first full snow event in a WRC very well. Despite driving on loose snow at the front of the field, he has still been able to demonstrate his raw pace with some excellent splits, while showing maturity to complete all 22 stages. Only the excursion into a snow bank on stage three has cost him a top ten finish, which in a field of this strength, with so many full works drivers with so much testing under their belts would have been quite an achievement. I look forward to seeing him back in the car for Portugal and hopefully some further events. All he needs is time behind the wheel to really show his true potential.â€

Jarkko Nikara said: â€œWhen the roads were clear and icy the car was really fun to drive, but when there was loose snow on the surface it was much harder for me. I have definitely improved as the event has gone on and I am pleased with my speed and I have learnt the car more and more as I only had 70km of testing before the event. The other guys here have had a lot more time in their cars and they know these stages much better than me, so I am pleased with my performance. I am now looking forward to Portugal. I drove there in 2009 in group N and it is an event I like.â€

Nikara will compete for the Prodrive WRC Team at Rally Portugal in April and it is hoped to add further events including Finland.
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Steve · Feb 12, 2013

Neuville the high-flyer at Colinâ€™s Crest (WRC.com)

12 Feb 13

Thierry Neuville won this year's Colin's Crest Award for recording the longest jump over the famous blind crest on Rally Sweden.

Neuville, 24, took top honours after launching his Fiesta RS into a 35-metre flight from the crest, which formed part of Saturdayâ€™s Sagen stage.

The Belgian, who drives for the Qatar World Rally Team went on to finish Rally Sweden fifth overall, taking his career best result from a winter rally.

â€œIt's a good feeling to take some silverware from only my second time at Rally Sweden!â€ said a delighted Neuville. â€œI didnâ€™t take it [the crest] flat-out, but the car jumped very high and it was a nice moment for me.

â€œThe car was perfect and we managed to up the pace throughout the weekend, so it was nice to be able to reward the team in this small way,â€ he added.

Neuvilleâ€™s team-mate Juho Hanninen was his closest rival, with a 34-metre jump in an identical car. Henning Solberg was third, with a jump of 33 metres in another Ford.

The award was first made in 2008 to commemorate the spectacular driving style of 1995 world champion, Colin McRae. American driver Ken Block still holds the outright record after a jump of 37 metres in 2011.

Here are this yearâ€™s top-10 jumpers

Thierry Neuville: 35m  
Juho HÃ¤nninen: 34m 
Henning Solberg: 33m 
Evgeny Novikov: 33m 
Pontus Tideman: 32m
Daniel Sordo: 30m
Mikko Hirvonen: 29m 
Mads Ã–stberg: 28m 
Eyvind Brynilsen: 27m 
Sebastian Ogier: 27m
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Steve · Feb 12, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_p2HK_s_U]WRC Rally Sweden 2013 - highlights, Sony ActionCam Shot - YouTube[/ame]

The music in this one ends at about 1:20

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFYiSOix9Uk]WRC Rally Sweden 2013 The Race - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7yg8INgjz4]WRC - Rally Sweden 2013 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 13, 2013

Here's a good one. Love the spectator assist starting at about 2:40!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyCybw8prq0]Crash & Show Rally Sweden 2013 The best of [Passats de canto] Wilson Roll - YouTube[/ame]

peep · Feb 13, 2013

awsome coverage !!! thanks so much !

Steve · Feb 14, 2013

Solberg thanks fans after historic win (WRC.com)

14 Feb 13

Petter Solberg has paid tribute to the legions of fans that turned out to watch him take victory in the Historic class of Rally Sweden.

Solberg, the 2003 world champion, made a guest appearance on the rally he won in 2005 with Subaru, this time driving his own Ford Escort Mk2, with wife Pernilla as co-driver.

The Historic rally ran during Friday and Saturdayâ€™s main WRC competition and included 84 timed kilometres on stages including Vargasen, Sagen and Fredriksberg. The Solbergs took victory by 1m49.9s from Audi Quattro driver Erik Johansson. Mats Myrsell was third in a Porsche 911.

Solberg told wrc.com that the reaction from the fans on the stages had spurred him on. â€œIt was incredible to see so many people standing on the side of the road waving and encouraging us, I really canâ€™t thank them enough,â€ he said. â€œWe tried to give them a good show, and they seemed to love the sound of the Escort â€“ we had the engine at 10,400 revs a lot of the time.â€

A gearbox problem on the opening Vargasen stage enabled Johansson to take the early lead. But after attention from Solbergâ€™s team, including former co-driver Phil Mills whose Viking Motorsport outfit built the car, Solberg was back on the attack. â€œWe got it fixed okay, even though the repairs left us without a reverse gear, so we couldnâ€™t afford to spin on day two,â€ he said.

â€œAnd I must thank my co-driver, who did a great job,â€ added Petter. â€œWeâ€™re still married, but we did have a small fight in the last stage because she was watching my driving rather than reading the pace notes. I think she got a bit bored. She started talking about how my feet looked on the pedals.â€

After his classic rally outing, Solbergâ€™s focus has switched to modern machinery and preparations for a busy season of rallycross. â€œWe have a car now, a Citroen DS3, and we have put together a good team of people. Itâ€™s a big job and thereâ€™s lots to do but our goal is to make the opening round of the European Championship at Lidde Hill at the end of March,â€ he said.
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Steve · Feb 15, 2013

Some great video here but you'll have to click through to iRallylive to see it. Def. need to use the full screen button on this one.

iRally | The free independent Rally App for the iPhone, iPad and Android

Steve · Feb 17, 2013

It's not about Sweden but it's a long wait until the next rally in Mexico 7 Mar, so...

Hirvonenâ€™s weekend Spa doesnâ€™t go to plan (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 16th February 2013

Heâ€™s used to wearing red, but Mikko Hirvonen took on a new role at the Boucles de Spa legend rally in Belgium this weekend: fireman.

The Citroen driver was competing in a Group B Visa 1000 Pistes at the classic event, with his boss Yves Matton driving a similar car.

But sadly it turned into a nightmare for Mikko on only the second stage, when a fuel line broke in the engine bay and sprayed fuel onto the engine, causing a massive fire. â€œFireman Mikko today!â€ tweeted the Finn.

Other past and present WRC stars contesting the Belgian event include Thierry Neuville in a Group 4 Ford Escort and Bruno Thiry in an Audi Quattro, as well as Francois Duval in another Escort and P-G Andersson in an Opel Kadett. From the world of racing thereâ€™s former Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and ex-Formula One driver Eric van de Poele.

Patrick Snijers was due to take part as well but broke his collarbone before the start of the event.

Neuville is currently leading the event, with Matton an extremely creditable 12th.
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Crashton · Feb 17, 2013

That is a some picture. Burning vintage cars make me sad.

Crashton · Feb 17, 2013

That co-driver sure had loads of enthusiasm.

minirab · Feb 17, 2013

That was great!

Steve · Feb 18, 2013

Here's another good one, gotta love it! (video below the story)

Treasures in a Swedish barn (best-of-rallylive.com)

18/02/2013 11:39 am

Last weekend’s Historic Rally Sweden was won by ex-world champion Petter Solberg. Judging by the popularity of the event, Scandinavia clearly hasn’t escaped the passion for classic competition cars. And there are some real surprises to be found in Sweden’s snowy countryside…

From the outside, it is just another one of the brightly-painted barns you pass when driving in Sweden or Norway. Like so many, this one is red, so there is nothing to distinguish it from countless similar buildings. On a normal day, you would drive through the small village without noticing it…

But this isn’t a normal day. Ford has kindly invited us to join YouTube channel PolePositionP1 to visit ice-driving school owner Jan who has arranged a ride in the forest for the website’s presenter Rosanna in a Ford Escort RS2000. It doesn’t take long to realise that Jan is a classic sports car enthusiast…

On arrival, we find five collectible Fords lined up in the snow: a red RS2000, a Mk1 Escort, a V8 Mustang, a V8 Falcon and an AC Cobra (“A replica,” admits Jan). They are sitting on skinny studded winter tyres and are normally used by the ice-driving school which boasts rally legend Stig Blomqvist as one of its instructors.

As we take photos of the neatly parked machines, we are asked if we would like to take a peep inside the red barn. Of course we would…

The big double doors open to reveal 20 or so classic cars; mostly Fords and mostly American – and some are quite rare. As our eyes become accustomed to the dark, it is clear that Jan is a huge Ford Galaxie 427 fan. There are several of these sixties ‘muscle cars’, including a seven-litre version that is being prepared for Blomqvist to race. “When it’s finished, it will deliver 580 horsepower – possibly the fastest Galaxie ever.” Under a sheet in a corner, there’s a GT40 bodyshell. Nearby sit a dusty two-door 1947 Cadillac and an original red Mustang. Some of these cars can be hired for historic racing, and there’s a 1960s Volvo Amazon for drivers who want something a little tamer to rent.

All too soon, it’s time to move on to a nearby forest where PolePositionP1’s Rosanna is treated to a high-speed icy drive through the trees alongside Kjetil Bolneset, six-time Norwegian Rallycross champion. It’s a ride the rally-novice reporter will no doubt remember for a long time to come…
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RepPtIA5Ue8]Ford Escort MKII put through its paces on a snowy Swedish rally stage | Pole Position - YouTube[/ame]

minirab · Feb 18, 2013

Yes, but she was pretty!:biggrin5:

Steve · Feb 20, 2013

Need to click through to Vimeo for this video. Includes a few views from VW's drone.

Drone at Rally Sweden 2013 - MAKING OF - on Vimeo

Crashton · Feb 20, 2013

I sure hope we can see some drone shots from Sweden. Hells bells it is!!!

I sure hope at the end of the season they hook all of these videos together. That'll be one heck of a film. :fingerscrossed:

MCS02 · Feb 20, 2013

Thanks Steve. Its good to know i'm not the only WRC nut.

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