Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rally Sweden (2014)

Steve · Feb 5, 2014

A land of melting snow (best-of-rallylive.com)

04/02/2014 6:41 pm

After the pristine wintry conditions that marked last week’s pre-event tests, positive temperatures in recent days have completely transformed the 2014 Rally Sweden landscape. The thermometer is expected to fluctuate between -2Â°C and +2Â°C this week.

This time last week, there were 40cm of snow as temperatures dipped to -10Â°C in the Hagfors region. Today, the different photos that can be seen on Facebook and Twitter reveal a distinct lack of the white stuff on the local gravel tracks. Indeed, during the 350km drive from Stockholm to Karlstad, we saw very little snow in the fields and, at 5pm today, the thermometer read 2Â°C as we arrived at Rally HQ in the brand new Congress & Culture Center (CCC) by the barely iced-over River KlarÃ¤lven.

“’Torsby’ (SS2/7) and 'Kirkener' (SS3/5) are very muddy,” explained a Michelin technician after scouting the Norwegian part of the route today. “'Finnskogen' (SS4/6) is still fairly icy but the picture is changing very rapidly. There is talk of snow on Wednesday night but the weather should stay relatively mild and we could see rain on Friday and Saturday.” For the moment, however, the organisers don’t appear to be unduly worried…

It’s tough to predict what the ideal start position will be on Day 1 (Thursday) when competitors head for 62km of stages in Norway, without service. Could SÃ©bastien Ogier – who will be first on the road – benefit from relatively good conditions? Or will he end up clearing a better line for his rivals? And in what state will the roads be for the second pass? The format of this year’s Rally Sweden features just 62km of competitive action on Day 1, but there will be almost twice that distance on Friday, and 142km on Saturday, so we could end up having an exciting finish…

Shakedown starts at 8am tomorrow (Wednesday) and will provide an initial idea of the pecking order. With Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen defending its colours, Volkswagen seems to be in a strong position, despite not having organised a test ahead of the season’s second round after its session in December. In contrast, Hyundai-Shell WRT followed up its week in 2013 with another two-day run at the beginning of the month.

CitroÃ«n-Total Abu Dhabi WRT also tested last week, with Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg both on duty. The Briton, who has spent hours watching in-car footage of Loeb in Sweden, soon found his marks in the DS3 WRC and posted some promising times, while Mads Ostberg can hardly wait for the event to start…

In the M-Sport camp, four days of testing were planned for Hirvonen, Evans, Kubica and Ford privateers like Tidemand, Solberg and Tanak. After completing recce, Hirvonen described ‘Lesjofors’ and ‘Hara’ as impossible to drive. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to follow the battle between Solberg (16th Rally Sweden start) and his son-in-law Tidemand, which will also be a fight between the WRC’s two most successful tyre manufacturers!
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Steve · Feb 5, 2014

A slow-motion shakedown (best-of-rallylive.com)

05/02/2014 11:27 am

Mads Ostberg, Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke topped the order on this morningâ€™s shakedown. However, most drivers chose not to push too hard in order to save their studsâ€¦

The Priority 1 and 2 drivers have an allocation of 28 tyres for this weekâ€™s Rally Sweden, including shakedown. As a consequence, given the lack of snow on the stages, they preferred to take care of their studs during their mandatory four attempts at this morningâ€™s test run.

Only Latvala, Ostberg and Meeke turned on a little speed in order to evaluate the handling of their respective cars as the conditions worsened progressively. The best time (1m55.8s) ended up in the Norwegianâ€™s hands after he beat the Finn (1m56.2s) on his final pass.

Hyundai will be reassured with Neuvilleâ€™s fifth place (1m58.0s) at his second attempt, just ahead of Irishman Craig Breen who is driving a WRC car (Ford) for the first time here. Henning Solberg (4th) and Juho Hanninen (7th) also squeezed beneath the two-minute mark.

World champion SÃ©bastien Ogier was a lowly 10th: â€œI wanted to be first into the stage this morning to see what I can expect tomorrow [Thursday]. Thatâ€™s when I posted my best time, so it was a positive sign,â€ related last yearâ€™s rally Sweden winner. â€œAfter that, I just drove slowly to spare my tyres. This promises to be a very complex rally.â€

The week began badly for CitroÃ«nâ€™s Kris Meeke who clouted a stone and damaged his steering. â€œWhen you have a problem on shakedown, the rally always goes well,â€ commented the teamâ€™s Chief Engineer Didier ClÃ©ment as he waited for the DS3 WRCâ€™s return on a trailer.

There was lots of talk about the weather this morning. The latest forecast predicts overnight snow which could be up to 3cm deep on SS2 as it continues to fall on Thursday morning. Rain is then expected on Friday, followed by more snow on Saturdayâ€¦

Competitors now face this eveningâ€™s super-special at Karlstadâ€™s hippodrome (1.9km) at 7pm, just after the Historic competitors have been through. It could turn out to be the snowiest and iciest stage of the rally!
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[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCwQYjt1YL8"]Shakedown - 2014 WRC Rally Sweden - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 5, 2014

Drivers worry about Sweden conditions (WRC.com)

05 Feb 2014

Mild weather sparked anxiety in the Rally Sweden service park this morning that grip will be increasingly hard to find during the three days of action.

Despite heavy snow last week in the VÃ¤rmland region, daytime temperatures are unusually above freezing. Much of the snow has melted, there is little ice and cars quickly cut through to the gravel during this morningâ€™s RÃ¥da shakedown.

Conditions during the recce were similar and drivers fear the gravel will rip studs from the tyres, leaving little grip in what remains of the winter weather.

â€œThere is some snow but the temperature is above 0Â°C so the snow and ice beneath is melting,â€ explained Volkswagenâ€™s Jari-Matti Latvala (pictured above). â€œItâ€™s a thin layer so the winter tyres break the ice quickly.

â€œGravel comes through and offers great grip but at the same time it destroys the tyres quickly and pulls out the studs. I think the second pass of stages will be fully gravel so we need to find a way to drive fast but also to save the tyres,â€ he added.

Latvala said the inconsistent grip would prove awkward. â€œWhen you lose the studs and hit some ice it will be difficult in braking and turning. The car will be nervous where the grip changes so you really need to focus on the road so you are prepared for everything,â€ he said.

M-Sportâ€™s Elfyn Evans is making his debut on a full snow rally and admits the weather will make his task even harder.

â€œWeâ€™ve seen that even in good conditions at the test there was a difference in grip from one day to the next. Here I think there could be massive variances even in one stage. I donâ€™t know what we will face but conditions will be the same for everyone so we just have to get on with it,â€ he said.

With the forecast predicting mild weather for the duration of the rally, tyre management could prove the decisive factor here.
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Steve · Feb 5, 2014

WRC app launched

Exciting content including news, images, videos, live radio and results are available in English, German, French and Spanish in time for Rally Sweden, second round of the championship, which starts in Karlstad tonight.

The new live text feature which was introduced to the relaunched WRC website at WRC.comÂ® - The Official WRCÂ® Website - WRC.com at last monthâ€™s Rallye Monte-Carlo, can also be accessed from the app while the WRC Facebook and Twitter feeds are also integrated.

Oliver Ciesla, managing director of WRC Promoter, said: â€œFollowing the successful relaunch of the home page, it was important to us to make sure that our fans are always kept well informed and up-to-date when they are on the move too.

â€œOur new app is an innovative product that delivers all the important
information and features in a very clear and intuitive menu that is easy to
navigate. We hope that WRC fans will really enjoy using this app,â€ he said.

The free app, created by LAOLA1 Multimedia GmbH, is available for iOS devices at https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/wrc-official-app-fiaworld/id799442789 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.laola1.wrc&hl=en.
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Steve · Feb 5, 2014

WRC briefing: Snow tyres (WRC.com)

05 Feb 2014

On Swedenâ€™s specialised stages, which normally consist of layers of snow and ice on top of gravel tracks, drivers will rely on studded tyres that bite into the surface to generate grip.

Hereâ€™s is some essential info on these very special tyres:

Sweden is the only round where studded snow tyres are compulsory. Only one pattern and compound is allowed.

Each tyre is fitted with tungsten-tipped metal spikes that protrude from the tread by between six and seven millimetres. FIA regulations limit the number of studs to 20 for every 10cm around the circumference.

The number of studs per tyre varies by manufacturer. Michelinâ€™s X-Ice North tyre and DMACKâ€™s DMG-ICE tyre feature 384, while Pirelliâ€™s Sottozero Ice tyre has 380.

All but one of the World Rally Car crews will use Michelin tyres. The exception is Henning Solberg, whose Ford Fiesta RS WRC will be shod with Pirellis. This will be the first time Pirelli will equip a World Rally Car in the WRC since 2010.

WRC-spec snow tyres fit the same 15 inch wheels as gravel tyres. The basic construction is similar to a gravel tyre but the tread is around two centimetres narrower.

WRC and WRC2 drivers are allowed 24 tyres for the rally plus another four for shakedown.

Snow tyre tread design is a compromise. While an open pattern is good at clearing fresh snow, it can also have a negative impact on the carâ€™s stability because of the flexibility of the tread blocks.

The amount of each stud that protrudes also varies. The more they protrude, the better they bite into the ice. However, this also increases their chances of being pulled out of the tread or snapping off as they hit the ground.

The expert view:
George Black, M-Sport tyre engineer: â€œThis is the easiest rally in the championship for tyre choice, because there isnâ€™t any! Thereâ€™s no stud option, no compound option and no tread pattern option. Nothing.

â€œInstead, the skill to master here is tyre management. This will be especially important on Saturday because with a section length of over 70km crews will ideally need six new tyres. With only four available, theyâ€™ll need to bring tyres forward, reusing ones from shakedown for example. In this weather, the drivers are also going to be busy rotating tyres between stages to even wear and allow them to cool down.

â€œWithout a packed snow or ice base the studs face two different issues. The first is down to the gravel underneath. When frozen it is as hard as concrete, but even if itâ€™s loose it can break off the stud tips. Okay, this is bad news, but at least there is some stud left, so they still work to an extent.

The second problem is heat-related. On longer stages the tyre temperature goes up and, especially in milder weather like we have now, the stud can start to move in the rubber blocks or come out altogether. If this happens before an icy section, then the driver could end up wit no grip at all...â€
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MiniCamaro · Feb 6, 2014

I'm eager to see a good Youtube of this 1.7km (or whatever it was) stage. I'm assuming that was the one at the trotting park?

I have many ancestors in this part of the world. Plus, the landscape is just really, really pretty, imho. I wonder if Sweden has its own rally championship. That would be fun to follow a bit of on YouTube.

I don't get the "shakedown". Is that just the recce?

Go, go, Polo!

Steve · Feb 6, 2014

One important thing about the Shakedown, they have to use tires from their allotment for the full rally. So, things like how hard they push and even the number of times they run it depend on how important they feel it is to stress test the car, adjust settings, etc.

Steve · Feb 6, 2014

It's a VW 1-2-3 !

Their updates end up in reverse order this year, need to read from bottom to top...sort of.

Rally Sweden Thursday update (WRC.com)

06 Feb 2014

After Wednesday nightâ€™s Super Special, the WRCâ€™s snow fest moved into the Swedish and Norwegian countryside today. Hereâ€™s our list of the headline-making events and incidents as the day progressed.

SS7: Ogier back in front

Sebastien Ogier regained the lead in todayâ€™s final stage as Volkswagen colleague Andreas Mikkelsen ceded his advantage to save tyres.

Ogier was fastest through the second pass of Torsby by 1.5sec from Mads Ostberg, but it was Mikkelsenâ€™s performance and comments which raised eyebrows. The Norwegian was sixth, dropping six seconds to Ogier to end the leg 5.8sec adrift.

â€œWe could have chosen to take new tyres now, but then we would have used tyres tomorrow morning. I preferred to lose time here and have new tyres in the morning. It would have been nice to fight for the lead overnight but itâ€™s a long rally and thatâ€™s what we must think about,â€ he said.

Ott Tanak, probably the driver of the day, was third in the stage and he overnights just 2.6sec behind third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala. Another good performance came from Kris Meeke, who was fourth fastest.

SS6: Mikkelsen back in the lead

Andreas Mikkelsen, who led after last nightâ€™s opening super special stage, regained top spot when he was quickest through the second pass of the 16.82km Finnskogen test.

The Norwegian was 0.7sec faster than Volkswagen colleague Sebastien Ogier to move into a 0.2sec advantage. His motivation? â€œWhen you see so many Norwegians cheering you on, you want to do well!â€ he said.

Ogier was first through the stage and predicted his own demise. â€œI think Andreas is going to be faster. The [driving] lines are not so good for me. The cars that last drove the stage are not World Rally Cars and I lost the rear of the car a few times."

Jari-Matti Latvala was third fastest despite nudging a snow bank, 1.0sec behind Ogier, and that was sufficient to preserve Volkswagenâ€™s domination of the top three.

SS5: Tanak is back!

After more than a year away from the WRC, Ott Tanak posted fastest time on the second pass through Kirkener - only his fifth stage back at the top level.

The Estonian was quickest by 0.5sec in a Ford Fiesta RS, depriving Thierry Neuville of what looked as if it was going to be Hyundaiâ€™s first stage win for the new i20 car.

â€œWe did some very small mistakes but I have such a good feeling. I'm just getting going!â€ promised Tanak.

Andreas Mikkelsen maintained the pressure on Volkswagen colleague Sebastien Ogier at the head of the leaderboard with third fastest time, 1.4sec further back. He narrowed the gap to just 0.5sec and there could have been a change of leader had Mikkelsen not made a slight error.

â€œI went wide into a corner and it dragged the front of the car into the loose stuff. My mistake,â€ he admitted.

Mid-leg round-up

As competitors reached the regroup in Kirkener after three of todayâ€™s six stages, Volkswagen held sway at the top of the leaderboard.

Sebastien Ogier won two of the three stages and leads by 1.6sec in his Polo R. However, fastest time in the last test of the group allowed Andreas Mikkelsen to reduce the gap from 8.7sec.

Jari-Matti Latvala lies third, 4.5sec behind the Norwegian, with surprise package Ott Tanak, Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Ostberg completing the top six.

SS4: Pride of Norway

After a pair of short and technical stages, the 16.82km Finnskogen was the first opportunity of the day for drivers to really stretch their legs. It was in Norway too â€“ a fact not lost on local heroes Andreas Mikkelsen and Henning Solberg who dug deep to set a Norwegian one-two, setting first and second fastest times respectively.

â€œI really enjoyed that one,â€ said a delighted Mikkelsen. â€œI remember driving it before in a Group N car and Iâ€™m really happy with how it felt this time.â€

Solberg felt his time was helped by some pre-stage set-up changes to his Fiesta RS WRC. â€œIâ€™m not saying what I did, because all the other Fiesta drivers will copy me,â€ he explained.

Jari-Matti Latvala was third quickest and feeling far happier than after SS2. "When it's fast and flowing I have a great feeling to drive, but I'm not doing so well on the technical stages," he said.

SS3: Frustration for Latvala

Volkswagen drivers dominated Thursdayâ€™s short second stage, with Ogier the winner by a massive 5.7sec and Mikkelsen and Latvala second and third fastest.

Latvala arrived at the finish control shaking his head, extremely frustrated at being 6.6sec slower than Ogier over the 7.6km stage. â€œMy driving is bad,â€ he said. â€œI donâ€™t like the gearbox in the car, it is very difficult to change gears here. But that doesnâ€™t explain Ogierâ€™s time. Itâ€™s incredible.â€

SS2: Ogier takes the lead

Sebastien Ogier began Thursdayâ€™s competition strongly, going fastest by 2.6sec on the opening stage, to topple his Volkswagen team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen from his overnight position as rally leader.

After a light dusting of snow overnight, conditions were super slippery on the 7.03m Torsby section, but Ogier felt he had been too cautious. â€œThere were perhaps two centimetres of loose snow on top, but I could have pushed a bit more â€“ especially at the end,â€ he said. â€œNot a perfect start, but not bad.â€

After an early retirement from Rallye Monte-Carlo, Martin Prokopâ€™s luck showed no sign of changing. The Czech driver dropped more than three minutes when his Fiesta RS WRC slithered off the road and into a ditch. â€œLuckily there were some spectators around to help us back on the road, but a lot of others were more interested in filming us with their phones,â€ he said.

On his first event in a World Rally Car Craig Breen was also in trouble. â€œWe have a misfire after changing gear, it sounds like the engine is tting out briefly with each shift,â€ he explained. â€œI also had to change my crash helmet last night and this one is moving all over the place.â€
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Steve · Feb 7, 2014

Ogier: Iâ€™m after Meeke (maxrally.com)

by Richard Rodgers / 7th February 2014

Kris Meeke is a wanted man on Rally Sweden. The Briton is in sixth place on the WRC event but is being hunted down by world champion Sebastien Ogier, who plans to complete his comeback from his trip into a snow bank on Fridayâ€™s first test by bagging sixth spot.

Ogier, in a works Volkswagen, was leading by 5.8s starting day two but turned in too early for a right-hander and ended up being fired into a snow bank. He dropped more than four minutes off the lead but has won five stages since. Prior to the Hagfors Sprint stage close to the event service park, Ogier is in 10th place - more than one minute behind Meeke - and confident of making more progress.

â€œI can just blame myself, I am so stupid,â€ said last yearâ€™s Rally Sweden winner. â€œThe most difficult day was yesterday, today I just had to drive. I will not do any more mistakes this year. Sixth place is now the target.â€

Despite Ogierâ€™s fall from grace, Volkswagen is still on course for more silverware in Karlstad tomorrow night with Jari-Matti Latvala 10.1s in front of team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen after 14 stages. Mads Ostberg, who is third for Citroen, is 38.4s down on Mikkelsen.

Robert Kubica has dropped out of contention after twice getting stuck in snow banks this afternoon. Factory Hyundai drivers Juho Hanninen and Thierry Neuville are also out of the running with Hanninen tearing the front-right wheel from his i20 WRC after Neuville suffered broken suspension on the first pass through the Lesjofors test. Meeke (pictured) is in sixth behind fifth-placed Ott Tanak and Mikko Hirvonen in fourth.
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Rally Sweden Friday update (WRC.com)

07 Feb 2014

As Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen shape up for a great fight tomorrow, we round-up the biggest stories from day three of Rally Sweden:

SS14: Kubica off road again

Robert Kubicaâ€™s attempts to come to grips with his first proper snow rally took another setback in the final country test of todayâ€™s second leg when he plunged into a snowbank for the second time in three stages.

Having planted his Ford Fiesta RS in the snow and dropping 10 minutes in Lesjofors, the Poleâ€™s vertical learning curve took another step when he did exactly the same near the finish of the 22.76km RÃ¤mmen.

â€œI lost the rear of the car and the snowbank was soft and it pulled us in. It has been a very bad afternoon. I made two mistakes, I was a bit unlucky, but thatâ€™s how it is. When you touch snowbanks itâ€™s very easy that they pull you in. Thanks to spectators we are back, and I hope tomorrow will be better,â€ said Kubica.

Mads Ostberg almost became involved in Kubicaâ€™s incident. As spectators worked furiously to dig the Fiesta RS out of the snow, the Norwegian flashed by, just missing fans and car. â€œThat was incredibly close,â€ said Ostberg.

SS12: Trouble for Kubica and Hanninen

Robert Kubica and Juho Hanninen both hit problems as the afternoon began with a second pass through the 15.00km Lesjofors stage.

First to suffer was Kubica, the Pole piling into a snowbank after a crest early in the stage. It took 10 minutes to rescue the Ford Fiesta RS from the white stuff and his place in the top 10 leaderboard has gone.

Hanninen came to a halt in the second part of the test with a damaged front wheel on his Hyundai i20. It is not known what happened but it spells the end of Hyundaiâ€™s interest in the day following the retirement of Thierry Neuville in the first pass through the stage this morning.

There was also concern in the cockpit of second-placed Andreas Mikkelsen. His Volkswagen Polo R finished with the radiator packed full of snow. Warning lights showed the water temperature soaring and the Norwegian headed off quickly to take a look.

SS10: Latvala leads

Jari-Matti Latvala moved into the lead of Rally Sweden in the RÃ¤mmen stage when Andreas Mikkelsen dropped time after sliding into a ditch near the finish.

Mikkelsen ceded five seconds to his Volkswagen colleague and admitted he was fortunate to escape so lightly. â€œWe went out in a ditch in fourth or fifth gear and filled the front of the car with snow. Weâ€™re lucky we got out of there to be honest. We were keeping up with Jari-Matti until then,â€ said the Norwegian.

Latvala moved ahead by 1.8sec but the Finn also found the stage tough. â€œI pushed a lot. At the start there was a lot of snow and I had a good feeling. The stage then climbed the mountain and there were some long corners where I was loading the rear tyres. They overheated and then I was struggling a little,â€ he explained.

SÃ©bastien Ogier set fastest time in his Polo R while Mads Ostberg consolidated third place in his Citroen DS3, extending his advantage over Mikko Hirvonenâ€™s Fiesta RS to 7.4sec.

SS9: Mikkelsen fights back

After watching Jari-Matti Latvala almost wipe out his advantage in this morningâ€™s opening stage, Andreas Mikkelsen reasserted his authority on Rally Sweden by widening his lead in the classic Fredriksberg test.

The Norwegian was second fastest in his Volkswagen Polo R, 2.8sec behind team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier. But, more importantly, he was 2.7sec quicker than Latvala to open the gap to 3.3sec overall.

â€œWe fitted new tyres and it was the right choice,â€ said Mikkelsen. â€œWeâ€™ll see how much we used them but this rally is all about tyres. Iâ€™m trying to balance my speed. Before I have been too eager in this situation and made mistakes but now I want to control it more. Thereâ€™s still room for improvement, but then you start taking risks.â€

Latvala is relishing the battle. â€œItâ€™s a very good fight at the moment and Iâ€™m enjoying it. The car feels good but Andreas is pushing hard and is doing a very good job. He has the young spirit!â€ said the Finn.

The three-car battle for third continued unabated. Fourth fastest time for Mads Ostberg enabled him to widen his advantage over Mikko Hirvonen to 1.6sec, but Ott Tanak is only 2.5sec further back.

The day is over for Thierry Neuville. After hitting a rock and damaging the front right hub assembly on his Hyundai i20 in the previous test, he eventually emerged from the stage but the damage was too great to continue.

SS8: Ogier and Neuville in trouble

Big dramas in the opening 15.00km LesjÃ¶fors stage when both SÃ©bastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville hit problems.

Ogier planted his Volkswagen Polo R into a snow bank in a slow corner 3km from the finish. â€œI missed a little bit the entry point. I wasnâ€™t concentrating. I wanted to push, it was a stupid mistake,â€ he said.

Ogier dropped 4min 30sec and his chances of points are slim. â€œIâ€™ll do my best now. I donâ€™t know what is possible but I guess it will be hard.â€

Neuville parked his Hyundai by the side of the road 9.5km after the start with what his team described as a damaged wheel carrier on the front right. After working on the car for more than 25 minutes, Neuville restarted but stopped again soon after. He eventually got his car to the end but with the loss of 41 minutes.

Jari-Matti Latvala was fastest by 5.8sec from Volkswagen colleague Andreas Mikkelsen to close the gap in the overall standings to just six-tenths of a second.

â€œItâ€™s a big day,â€ said Latvala. â€œConditions are more demanding than yesterday. Itâ€™s soft and thereâ€™s a lot of snow at the side of the ruts, so we really need to keep the car in the tracks.â€

Ott Tanak spun his Ford Fiesta RS near the finish in a narrow section. It took the Estonian considerable time to manoeuvre his car back in the right direction and he dropped to fifth behind Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen in the standings.
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Steve · Feb 9, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmOc0u7k5Tg]Stages 16-20: Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLcPofN1FUQ]2014 Rally Sweden - Summary - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 9, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D1QSzZAiGo]WRC Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=panzeuQuSV0]WRC Rally Sweden 2014 Crash & Show - Highlights from the rally! - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ese72keL21o]Kubica CRASH after jump on SS12 - WRC Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnM20EnLCXU]Robert Kubica - Crash SS20 / Wypadek OS20 ONBOARD & HELICAM - Rally Sweden / Rajd Szwecji [1080p] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 9, 2014

Late frustration for Kris in Sweden (krismeeke.com)

08 February 2014

Kris encountered late frustration on Rally Sweden, when a last-day spin into a snow bank cost him several minutes and a potential top-six finish. He recovered to finish 10th overall, securing manufacturersâ€™ points for the Citroen World Rally Team in the process.

The second round of the 2014 World Rally Championship concluded with a leg comprising eight tests and not far off half of the total stage mileage. Kris and his co-driver Paul Nagle started the day in sixth position overall, and focusing on gaining further experience on their first pure snow rally.

However, on SS18 their Citroen DS3â€™s front wheel got caught in the snow on the inside of a slow corner, pulling them into the bank. With no fans around to help with the DS3â€™s extraction, Kris lost several minutes, dropping outside the top 10 and losing any chance of scoring points for himself. He recovered in the afternoon, though, to make sure Citroen left Sweden with an improved points haul in the manufacturersâ€™ series.

â€˜I think I can be pleased with this first rally on snow,â€™ Kris said. â€˜The only minor mistake we made proved very costly. If there had been spectators around, we would probably have only lost 15 seconds or so, but we had to get the car out ourselves.

â€˜However, the rest of the weekend went very well. We have learned a lot. The main thing for me is that we managed to get close to the leading guys. And finishing in the points is encouraging for the rest of the season.â€™

The next round of the World Rally Championship is Rally Mexico, which takes place on 6-9 March.

Rally Sweden â€“ provisional final results:

1 Jari-Matti Latvala (VW Polo WRC) 3h00m31.1s
2 Andreas Mikkelsen (VW Polo WRC) +53.6s
3 Mads Ostberg (Citroen DS3 WRC) +59.5s
4 Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2m26.9s
5 Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3m00.5s
6 Sebastien Ogier (VW Polo WRC) +4m29.9s
10 Kris Meeke (Citroen DS3 WRC) +11m18.0s

WRC Driversâ€™ points after two rounds:
1 Jari-Matti Latvala 40 points
2 SÃ©bastien Ogier 35 points
3 Mads Ostberg 30 points
4 Andreas Mikkelsen 24 points
5 Bryan Bouffier 18 points
6 Kris Meeke 17 points

WRC Manufacturersâ€™ points after two rounds:
1 Volkswagen Motorsport 72 points
2 CitroÃ«n Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 56 points
3 Volkswagen Motorsport II 26 points
4 M-Sport World Rally Team 22 points
5 Hyundai Shell World Rally Team 8 points
6 RK M-Sport World Rally Team 4 points
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Steve · Feb 9, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnhu3zB_Hhw]Stages 22-24: Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 9, 2014

Ogier broke the Colin's Crest jump distance record by, I think, 4 meters.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaygFPmtRdI](HD) Colins Crest record jump - Sebastien Ogier 41 meter, Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Angib · Feb 9, 2014

Yeah, and it was Ken Block's record at 37m.

Nathan · Feb 9, 2014

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVTZJ8Xs7o]RALLYTHEWORLD: Rally Sweden - The Stage - Colin's Crest Award - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Feb 9, 2014

Despite Ogier's record breaking 41m jump, he didn't win the award this year. It went to Hanninen in his Hyundai at 36m. Confused?

Apparently, they base the annual award on the first run through the stage; Ogier's big jump came on the second run. Here are the top 10 overall (on the first run).

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfbFif7OVA]Colins Crest Award 2014 - Top 10 jumps - Rally Sweden 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Angib · Feb 10, 2014

Did your rally coverage include one of the Czech driver Prokop's trips into the snow banks? Many fans pulled him after a few minutes and he then set off quickly - with two spectators still attached. Nice guy!

Right at the end of this clip:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWZ2Xd3thBw]WRC Sweden Prokop Too Rude To Say Thanks After Off - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Feb 10, 2014

I saw that on a video. We don't have WRC coverage here sorry to say. Steve TV is all I get & I'm happy to have his reporting.

He was very lucky not to have injured those fans. Can you imagine if one had gotten hung up in the rope. Yikes!!!

Steve · Feb 10, 2014

Latvala tops Drivers’ championship for the first time (best-of-rallylive.com)

10/02/2014 11:13 am

In addition to collecting his third Rally Sweden victory, Jari-Matti Latvala’s notched up his 300th stage win and now sits at the top of the Drivers’ championship, a career first. Unsurprisingly, he is eyeing the 2014 title.

Being on top of the points table could have a negative side, however, for it means he will be first on the road in Mexico, which isn’t necessarily a good idea. “I don’t care,” said the Finn before savouring Saturday’s podium ceremony. “I’m looking at the overall championship picture and not just on a rally by rally basis. After winning here in 2012, I had a series of poor runs. But that’s not going to happen again. My aim is to be as consistent as possible. Everyone has lows during a season. It’s a case of dealing with them and trying to score points, as I did in Monte Carlo.”

His team-mate SÃ©bastien Ogier appears not to be envious of the Finn’s lead going into the first gravel rally of the year. “Being first on the road is a handicap in Mexico, so I’m glad to be second in the championship [+5 points] at the moment,” says the Frenchman. “We made a mistake but we also showed our speed in Sweden, so I’m not unduly concerned.”

Volkswagen’s third man Andreas Mikkelsen was delighted after securing his first ever podium finish at the age of 24, after 41 WRC starts. “There’s just one more step to climb,” he smiled, “but for that we will need to be more consistent.”

Andreas posted three fastest times and led for four stages, while fellow Norwegian Mads Ostberg won two stages, including the Power Stage, and completed the rally just 5.9s short of second spot after being slowed by Kubica and team-mate Meeke on stages. “We built up speed gradually,” explained the CitroÃ«n youngster who is now third in the championship, 10 points behind Latvala. “I’d never driven the DS3 WRC before in these conditions and I wasn’t at ease to begin with. I had been hoping for the win but I feel confident ahead of Mexico where I was competitive last year.”

Mikko Hirvonen and Ott Tanak rounded off the all-Nordic top five. “I had a few scares on Saturday morning, so I lifted and Mads pulled out a gap,” said the experienced Finn (152 starts). “It’s nice to have won my first points of the season. The Volkswagens are very fast. To be honest; it’s not going to be easy…” Volkswagen Motorsport tops the Manufacturers’ table, six points clear of CitroÃ«n-Total-Abu Dhabi WRT.

Although many thought his WRC career had ended after the 2012 Rally de Espana, Ott Tanak bounced back – smiling – in Sweden where he posted a fastest time (SS5, helped by his road order) and finished fifth. “Mads and Mikko got away after my spin on SS17 and I suffered from under-steer on Day 2. I missed the WRC but I’ve been quite busy with my team which runs five or six cars in Estonia. I didn’t think I’d be competitive this quickly.” Ott will be back in a Fiesta WRC in Portugal.
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