WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo 2012

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

A good start.

A Cautious Start... (best-of-rallylive.com)

The first stage of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship was the 36.87km classic between Le Moulinon and Antraigues. Best-of-RallyLive was at Saint Julien du Gua.

SÃ©bastien Loeb (CitroÃ«n-Michelin) was the first driver away this morning at 9:03am. Soon afterwards, we could hear the engine of his Citroen DS3 WRC echoing along the valley before the eight-time world champion arrived at out vantage point in the small village of St. Julien du Gua. He was visibly quick through the 90-degree left-hander before beginning the climb to Col de la Fayolle.
Next through were his new team-mate Mikko Hirvonen and Fordâ€™s Latvala and Solberg. All of them took the slippery, greasy turn cautiously. Despite the bright morning sunshine, the temperature was still below zero degrees in the village.
There werenâ€™t many spectators at our spot, but we could see a bigger crowd at the Col de la Fayolle where there was no doubt more of a festive atmosphere.
Mini drivers Dani Sordo and Pierre Campana were an impressive sight and prompted spontaneous applause. One local, watching from his window, called out to his neighbour: â€œHey, Francis! Did you see the Minis? Werenâ€™t they spectacular? And to think the same car has just won the Dakar!â€
Dani Sordo went on to complete the stage just one second short of SÃ©bastien Loeb, while Campana was sixth fastestâ€¦
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Tire choice can make (or break) your day...

Latvala tops Monte Carlo Order (best-of-rallylive.com)

Finlandâ€™s Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford/Michelin) has taken over at the top of the provisional leaderboard after the first group of two stages. Loeb follows in second place (+30.5s), while Petter Solberg is third (+40.3s).

Not many people at the SS2 finish control near Saint Martial believed that the Finn would emerge from the test in front. To nobodyâ€™s surprise, SÃ©bastien Loeb (CitroÃ«n/Michelin) had posted the fastest time on the opening stage (SS1, Le Moulinon-Antraigues) with Spaniard Dani Sordo (Mini/Michelin) finishing in the Frenchmanâ€™s immediate wake. The two factory Fords were already more than 20 adriftâ€¦

What people didnâ€™t take into account, however, was the fact that the Fiesta drivers were on the â€˜super softâ€™ version of the Michelin Pilot Sport asphalt tyre, which was better suited to the conditions of SS2. Indeed, Jari Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg profited from the icy run from Burzet and Saint Martial â€“ which runs very close to Mont Gerbier de Jonc, source of the Loire River (1,012km) â€“ to claim the two fastest times.

The super soft compound was definitely the best choice for the first group,â€ commented Jari-Matti at the finish control. â€œThe conditions were very tricky, and there was a lot of ice before the village of Lachamp-RaphaÃ«l, as well as along the final downhill section. In fact, we ran two different types of tyre: the studded Michelin Alpin WRC snow tyre at the front-right and rear-left corners â€“ which we had as spares for SS1 â€“ and the Super Soft dry weather tyre on the other two cornersâ€¦â€

Indeed, the regulations permit drivers to fit a combination of studded winter tyres and the Pilot Sport asphalt tyre, but mixing studded and non-studded snow tyres is not authorised.

On SS2, Dani Sordo put both his two studded tyres on the same side (left) of his MINI, but he lost control of the rear of his car early on the stage and suffered quite a lot of rear-right damage. The Spaniard still managed to post a quick time and he is currently fourth overall, in front of Mikko Hirvonen. Skoda Fabia S2000/Michelin driver SÃ©bastien Ogier is a remarkable sixth overall, ahead of Russiaâ€™s Novikov â€“ who also dropped time on SS2 â€“ and the French veteran FranÃ§ois Delecour.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Wilson: Early lead means nothing (MaxRally.com)

18th January 2012 | By Charlie Contadeli

Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson is refusing to get carried away despite Jari-Matti Latvala racing into a 30.5s lead over Sebastien Loeb after the opening two stages of the Monte Carlo Rally.

Latvala struggled for pace on the mainly dry first test using supersoft compound tyres all round but capitalised on stage two, which was coated with snow and ice in parts, by using a combination of two studded and two slick tyres fitted in a diagonal configuration to his Fiesta RS WRC.

"It was a great performance by Jari particularly on the second stage," Wilson told World Rally Radio. "We felt we paid a price on the first one but we got it right on the second one and had we done the same with Petter [Solberg, Latvala's team-mate] then we would have been in an even better position.

"But on this event 30 seconds means nothing and we don't expect to see the same differences this afternoon. It's a lot of stress for the team and with the weather playing such an important part it keeps you on your toes. There is quite a lot of pressure for everybody I suppose. It's early days and there's limited tyres and who knows what will happen later on in the rally. But we felt we had to take advantage whenever we can."

Wilson added that Ford had positioned four personnel in the first stage and three in second to assist with weather information and timing splits.

"It's not ideal with more people and in one sense a disaster because it's a lot of extra cost we could well do without," said Wilson. "But we're here to win the rally and we need to give ourselves the best possible chance."
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Sordo's car needed a little work after Stage 2...

Sordo 4th, Campana 7th, Araujo 14th and Nobre 28th on Stage 3.

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Latvala crashes and hands the lead to Loeb (MaxRally.com)

18th January 2012

Jari-Matti Latvala's glorious Monte Carlo Rally run ended on SS4 when the Finn rolled his Ford into apparent retirement on the final stage of day one.

Latvala's exit means normal service has been resumed in the famous event, with five-time winner Sebastien Loeb moving into the lead.

Until Latvala's mistake, it was starting to look like he had a shot at achieving the apparently impossible and outpacing Loeb to win in Monte Carlo. The Ford driver had surged into a half-minute lead when his choice of two supersoft slicks and two studded tyres mounted on opposite corners paid off spectacularly on SS2 this morning - Latvala taking 52 seconds out of Loeb on that stage alone.

Loeb could only trim a few tenths of a second out of Latvala's advantage on SS3 this afternoon, and seemed to be facing an uphill struggle to claw the time back. But then Latvala's crash made everything rather straightforward again.

Latvala had taken soft rather than supersoft tyres for the afternoon loop, and Loeb reckoned that might have contributed to his rival's exit.

"I think we had a much better [tyre] choice than him and he was under a lot of pressure in this stage because he had the same **** tyre choice that we had in the morning," said Loeb.

"I had good grip in the stage, good balance with the car and it was really hard because I was trying to make a gap again."

Latvala's Ford team-mate Petter Solberg confirmed that the sister Fiesta was out, and expressed his sympathy for his Finnish stablemate. Both Latvala and co-driver Miikka Antilla were reported to be unhurt.

"I saw he went straight over a bank, I don't know what's there but it seems like a big drop. It was at the start of the snow area," said Solberg.

"He was doing so well and was so focused and I feel really, really sorry for him. This was not what we wanted but I have to keep on pushing and do my best for the team now."
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=impYe_1C4Pg]Before starting - 2012 WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

The leaders have all finished Stage 4. That's the last stage today, they ran two stages and then repeated them. They'll do the same sort of thing tomorrow but three stages run twice = six stages.

Stage 4 results for the MINIs: 3rd Sordo, 13th Araujo, 14th Campana, 24th Nobre.

Standings after Stage 4 (2 in the top 10 ): 2nd Sordo, 8th Campana, 14th Araujo, 27th Nobre.

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Hey Crash, there was snow on Stage 2/4 today (I'll be looking for video of course) and there's talk of snowfall tomorrow on the Col du Turini.

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

MINI Motorsport's summary:

Sordo sprints into second place.

18 January 2012
After a challenging start to the Rally Monte Carlo, Dani Sordo put in an excellent performance on the second loop of stages to secure a good starting position on day two.

Special Stage 4: The first pass suggested the stage would become increasingly challenging as various crews experienced difficulties with the icy conditions. So it proved on the second run, with the leader after the morning loop, Jari-Matti Latvala, sliding off the road and rolling out.

By contrast, Dani Sordo mastered the section almost perfectly. The third-fastest stage time enabled the driver of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC car number 37 to move into a provisional second place overall. "The second pass was a lot better than this morning," said Dani at the finish. "The car had a good balance, everything was okay." Thus Dani lays 1:04.2 minutes adrift of SÃ©bastien Loeb, who heads the field ahead of the Monteâ€™s second day.

Pierre Campana, too, improved in the afternoon, moving the number 52 MINI WRC up from tenth place to eighth overall. Privateers Armindo Araujo and Paulo Nobre â€“ both in a MINI WRC â€“ occupy 14th and 27th places respectively.

Special Stage 3: The fourth-fastest time after the service break secured a front-running place for Dani. He suffered no residual problems after a minor excursion on the second stage after the MINI WRC Teamâ€™s mechanic put in some sterling efforts. Pierre recorded the seventh fastest time to hold the same position overall.

Special Stage 2: The second special stage was a tough one with the final eleven kilometres going downhill covered with lots of ice and snow. Almost everybody has problems here. Except for Jari-Matti Latvala who seems to rise above the adversity. He finishes 30 seconds ahead of SÃ©bastien Loeb heading into an early service break.

Both Dani and Pierre wrestle with the difficult stage conditions. Dani brakes too late going into a right corner and hits the entry of a bridge which damages his left rear wheel. In spite of this he still posts a good stage time while finishing sixth. Overall he is fourth.

Pierre spins in the first section of the stage and loses circa 15 seconds. He finishes 14th on special stage 2 and is tenth overall heading into the brake.

Special Stage 1: Superb start into the Rally Monte Carlo for Dani. On the 36+ kilometre opening special stage he is only a second behind Loeb who sets the best time. "I could have been quicker," says Dani. "For four kilometres I have been waiting for an icy spot. But it just was not there."

Meanwhile Pierre has a good first run for the MINI WRC Team in his MINI WRC car number 52. With only 40,2 seconds behind Loeb he scores the sixth quickest time.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Monte day one review: Latvalaâ€™s false dawn (MaxRally.com)

18th January 2012

For a few hours, it looked like we were on for an epic chase. Monte Carlo master Sebastien Loeb trying to hunt down upstart leader Jari-Matti Latvala, who had stolen his thunder with one of the classic tyre choice masterstrokes critical to so many Monte victories. Then Latvala rolled his Ford out of contention on stage four, and yet again the Monte Carlo leaderboard was headlined 'Loeb' with everyone else a minute or more adrift.

Monte Carlo invariably hinges on the weather, which brings two pitfalls: the danger of being stranded on woefully inappropriate tyres amid a surprise abundance, or lack of, snow and ice; and the related likelihood of smacking into something solid when the surface is covered in something you're not expecting.

Initial reports suggest that it was a missed pacenote that led to Latvala tumbling off the road on the second run through Burzet-St Martial, but that at the time he was focused intently on the changes from dry asphalt to ice and snow patches - with Loeb suspecting that his rival was pushing hard to make the most of the latter having run two snow tyres for a stage where in retrospect they probably weren't necessary. Or as Loeb also put it, it had been Latvala's turn to make "a **** tyre choice".

Both men had gone for the innovative combination of two snow tyres mounted on diagonally opposite corners, with slick on the other wheels, for SS2 this morning, but where they differed was that Latvala's slicks were supersofts while Loeb's were standard softs - and that compound disparity, and surely also some sublime driving from Latvala, translated into a 52-second difference in their stage times and a 30s lead for Latvala afterwards.

When Loeb could only take a couple of tenths out of Latvala on SS3, the prospect of the Finn winning suddenly looked a lot more realistic, and Latvala was if not confident, certainly very upbeat when he compared their times at the end of the stage. Loeb reckoned he had been hampered by running supersofts on one side of his Citroen and softs on the other, but predicted it would be the conditions and tyre choice on SS4 that really made the difference. In the end, Latvala's shunt made it fairly irrelevant.

Behind Loeb now sit a horde of drivers either slowed by misfortune or misadventure, or still settling into unfamiliar machines and/or stages. Dani Sordo had stunned with the second-fastest time on SS1, just one second slower than Loeb, seemed to throw it all away when he mangled his Mini's suspension on SS2, but survived it all to find himself back in second at the end of the day. The variable success of Petter Solberg's tyre choices (second-fastest on four slicks amid SS2's ice and snow being the highlight, over-cautious snow tyre choice on the repeat of that stage the low point) were the main reason his Ford came through in third, and third for Mikko Hirvonen on SS1 preceded a slump back to sixth, primarily due to breaking a brake disc when he clipped an SS3 wall.

Of course had Citroen's all-Seb line-up of last year not imploded over the winter, Loeb may well be under a lot more pressure now - as his 2011 nemesis Sebastien Ogier underlining by completing day one a remarkable fourth overall in the S2000 Skoda that his move to Volkswagen has relegated him to for 2012. Ogier certainly is rather enjoying himself - might he even manage to make it onto the overall podium?

It was a good day for S2000 underdogs overall, with some very rapid times from Peugeot driver Mathieu Arzeno - who was in the top 10 for a while but retired on the final stage - Ogier's team-mate Kevin Abbring, and last year's Monte winner Bryan Bouffier, although the latter's ninth-quickest time on SS1 was an anomaly in a leg that saw him off the road repeatedly, leaving him 16 minutes back already in 23rd overall.

None of the above underdogs are actually registered for the SWRC class itself, which saw a paltry three-car turn-out for the Monte. That shouldn't detract too much from class leader P-G Andersson's achievement in getting his Proton into 10th overall at present (four minutes ahead of remaining SWRC rival Craig Breen, who had an eventful day and is now focused on collecting points), but does underline why Andersson's team-mate Giandomenico Basso crashing out on stage one will go down so badly back at base...

There has been attrition in the WRC ranks, but the field is hardly decimated, so the S2000 stars' elevated positions are not flukes. Evgeny Novikov is currently the best of the 'independent' WRC runners in fifth overall - very respectable on his Monte debut - with his M-Sport Ford team-mate Francois Delecour showing no rustiness whatsoever in seventh, and going second quickest on SS4.

Pierre Campana's inclusion in the Mini line-up in place of Kris Meeke attracted many frowns, but the young Frenchman has done a solid job today and runs eighth.

Ford and Citroen's future hopes Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville had quiet first days, with Tanak ninth and Neuville stopping with reported mechanical problems on the final stage. The Belgian had previously lost time behind an apologetic Paolo Nobre as the Mini driver recovered after one of many excursions, but impressed with the sixth quickest time on SS3.

Yesterday morning Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg were not certain they would even be starting. Last night confirmation of their Go Fast Energy backing secured their seasons. Today, 'going fast' is something they wish they could have done more of - tyre choice mistakes for Wilson and driveshaft and brake issues for Solberg leave them 12th and 16th respectively at present.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21S18PmuHhk]Leg 1 - 2012 Rallye Monte-Carlo - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Out of order, I know, I post them when I find them.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgSTAJOBHHA]Rallye Monte-Carlo 2012 - Shakedown [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Jan 18, 2012

Sweet! Man that really gets the old blood pumping.

Steve · Jan 18, 2012

Now I know why Latvala couldn't get going again after his off :eek6: (pic lifted from the article below). The only way they could have gotten that back on top of the round rubber things would have been to roll it away from the wall...down the hill.

WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2012 â€“ Day 1 Overview (RallySportLive.com)

By RSL Staff â€“ January 18, 2012
At the end of the opening day of competition on Rallye Monte-Carlo, round one of the FIA World Rally Championship, reigning World Rally Champion SÃ©bastien Loeb heads the leaderboard. Spaniard Dani Sordo is second with Petter Solberg in the final provisional podium position.

One of the worldâ€™s most historic rallies started last night in Valence, but it was today when the action kicked off in earnest. The route covered two stages, both run twice, but the 134.70 competitive kilometres proved tricky for the crews with tyre choice proving to be a decisive factor. As always on Rallye Monte-Carlo, road conditions change from stage to stage, with dry Tarmac, ice and snow all playing a part in the tyre gamble.

SÃ©bastien Loeb took the early lead but a bold tyre choice by Ford catapulted Jari-Matti Latvala into the lead of this famous rally after only the second stage. The Finn maintained a 60-second advantage through stage three but in the final stage of the day he went off the road â€“ pre-occupied by the icy surface rather than the road ahead â€“ and rolled into retirement. SÃ©bastien Loeb therefore re-took the lead and has more than a minute in hand heading into day two.

Sordo, second in the MINI John Cooper Works WRC, went off the road twice this morning but the Spaniard was lucky to escape without major problems. He and Solberg are neck and neck and the pair go into day two of this five-day rally separated by just one second. SÃ©bastien Ogier, now driving a Super 2000 car with Volkswagen as it prepares to enter the WRC in 2013, has set a stunning pace and is fourth overnight.

Russian Evgeny Novikov is however within striking distance, just 5.4 seconds adrift, with Mikko Hirvonen sixth in his first outing for CitroÃ«n. Rallye Monte-Carlo legend FranÃ§ois Delecour is back in a factory-specification World Rally Car for the first time in 10 years and the Frenchman holds seventh in a Fiesta RS WRC.

The second day of competition on Thursday takes in two loops of three stages totalling 131.76 kilometres.

WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2012 â€“ Unofficial Results after Day 1

1. SÃ©bastien Loeb/Daniel Elena -- CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC -- 1 hr 30 min 30.1sec
2. Dani Sordo/Carlos Del Barrio -- MINI Cooper Works WRC -- 1 hr 31 min 34.3sec
3. Petter Solberg/Chris Patterson -- Ford Fiesta RS WRC -- 1 hr 31 min 35.3sec
4. SÃ©bastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia -- Skoda Fabia S2000 -- 1 hr 32 min 51.2sec
5. Evgeny Novikov/Denis Giraudet -- Ford Fiesta RS WRC -- 1 hr 32 min 56.6sec
6. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen -- CitroÃ«n DS3 WRC -- 1 hr 33 min 00.1sec
7. FranÃ§ois Delecour/D Savignoni -- Ford Fiesta RS WRC -- 1 hr 33 min 20.0sec
8. Pierre Campana/Sabrina de Castelli -- MINI Cooper Works WRC -- 1 hr 34 min 39.8sec
9. Ott TÃ¤nak/Kuldar Sikk -- Ford Fiesta RS WRC -- 1 hr 34 min 44.1sec
10. Per-G Andersson/Emil Axelsson -- Proton Satria S2000 -- 1 hr 35 min 03.9sec
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Steve · Jan 19, 2012

Sordo finished Stage 5 3rd, Campana 8th, Araujo 12th, Nobre 21st.

SS5: Solberg snatches second (wrc.com)

19 Jan 12
Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS5, Labatie dâ€™Andaure-Lalouvesc (19.00 kilometres)

Petter Solberg has snatched second place from Dani Sordo on Rallye Monte-Carlo after setting a faster time than the Spaniard through Thursdayâ€™s opening stage.

Using a combination of soft and supersoft Michelin tyres on his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Solberg was 2.9s slower than stage winner and rally leader Sebastien Loeb but crucially quicker than Sordo.

â€œIt was two different tyres each side and it was quite tricky from the start,â€ said the Norwegian. â€œBut once I got the temperature in the tyres I kept the speed. Everything can happen on this rally so there will be no crazy pushing. The car is fantastic and Iâ€™ve got to get the rhythm. But there will be no risks or going over the top. I will keep it steady.â€

Loeb admitted to being too cautious in places amid fears of icy sections during the stage. However, the overnight frost reported by his safety crew had all but dispersed by the time he tackled the stage in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

â€œConditions were okay,â€ said Loeb. â€œI had some information for a little frost but finally since the gravel crew went through it had nearly disappeared. I was careful in some places because I expected it to be very slippery but the grip was okay.â€

Dani Sordo was 5.8s slower than Loeb in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. He said: â€œAt the moment itâ€™s okay. Sebastien is really fast and we will see with Petter. The conditions were much better than I expected.â€

Mikko Hirvonen was fourth fastest in his factory Citroen but remains in sixth overall behind fifth-placed Evgeny Novikov (M-Sport Fiesta). Sebastien Ogier maintains his grip on fourth overall in his Volkswagen Motorsport-run Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia.
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Steve · Jan 19, 2012

Sordo back in 2nd!

Stage 6 result: 3rd Sordo, 10th Campana, 13th Araujo, 29th Nobre.

SS6: Sordo fights back to runner-up spot (wrc.com)

19 Jan 12
Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS6, St Bonnet-St Bonnet (25.22 kilometres)

Dani Sordo has reclaimed second place on Rallye Monte-Carlo as the battle for the runner-up spot on the world championship season-opener continues to intensify.

Sordo, in a factory MINI John Cooper Works WRC, was 2.2s faster than rival Petter Solberg, who slips back to third in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. World champion and rally leader Sebastien Loeb won the stage in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

â€œI tried to go faster but it was difficult to push in this stage because it was some places very slippery,â€ Sordo told World Rally Radio. â€œI tried to do my best.â€

Despite losing second place, Solberg continues to impress on his return to the factory Ford line-up following an absence of more than a decade: â€œIt was okay, no major problem. Itâ€™s just very difficult on the ice. I knew it would be tricky. My tyre choice is working well, we lost quite a bit to Loeb but this is how it is.â€

Citroen driver Loebâ€™s overall lead now stands at 1m9.6s with one stage left before midday service in Valence. He said: â€œThe stages are nearly clean but tricky in some places because they are humid. The tyres were working well in this stage.â€

Mikko Hirvonen has climbed ahead of Evgeny Novikov and Sebastien Ogier into fourth overall after going second fastest through the stage in his Citroen. â€œThis one was a little better,â€ said the Finn. â€œIt takes a bit of time to find the rhythm and to be confident with the grip level but itâ€™s not too bad. Iâ€™m learning all the time and for sure I want to finish the rally.â€

Francois Delecour reported a problem with the intercom in his Fiesta, which made it virtually impossible for him to hear the instructions of his co-driver Dominique Savignoni.

Briton Matthew Wilson lost a few precious seconds stalling his Go Fast World Rally Team Fiesta at the stage start, while Armindo Araujo said he found it difficult to find optimal braking points in his MINI.

Swedenâ€™s PG Andersson continues to top the Super 2000 World Rally Championship leaderboard for Proton.
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minimark · Jan 19, 2012

Sweet!!!

Steve · Jan 19, 2012

Solberg takes 2nd overall back from Sordo but there are only 3.7 sec between them.

Stage 7 result: 3rd Sordo, 8th Campana, 10th Araujo, 19th Nobre.

Now the mid-day break and then they run the same 3 stages again.

Overall standings after Stage 7: 3rd Sordo, 8th Campana, 14th Araujo, 25th Nobre.

Loeb, Monte Carlo and a delicious godiveau... (best-of-rallylive.com)

At the end of the first loop of the second day, Frenchman SÃ©bastien Loeb continues to dominate the leaderboard. But there is a thrilling battle developing in his wake for second place between Solberg and Sordo.

Thursday, January 19. Weâ€™re back in the ArdÃ¨che Mountains. The spectators had been hoping for snow. Instead, weâ€™re sitting outside beside the fountain in AlboussiÃ¨re. To celebrate the Rallye Monte-Carloâ€™s visit, the villagers have laid on a fanfare, live Eurosport coverage (sound but no picture) and an open-air canteen. The dayâ€™s menu comprises mussels and chips, merguez and chips, or the local speciality godiveau sausage andâ€¦ chips. Unfortunately for the competitors, they havenâ€™t got time to sample the local gastronomy as they rush back to the service park in Valence after SS7â€¦

SÃ©bastien Loeb appears to be heading for the sixth â€˜Monteâ€™ win of his career. The Frenchman enjoyed a perfect run on the three stages of this morningâ€™s loop and now leads by almost a minute-and-a-half, with Petter Solberg chasing in second place. But as the lady munching a sandwich next to us said: â€œLoeb isnâ€™t alone in the car; his co-driver deserves a big â€˜bravoâ€™, too!â€ We will pass on the message, Madameâ€¦

The gap between Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo (Mini/Michelin) is extremely close. The Norwegian succeeded in easing into second spot after SS5, but his Spanish rival bounced back on SS6 (Saint Bonnet), before the Ford/Michelin driver recovered the position on the 21.66km AlboussiÃ¨re test. SÃ©bastien Ogier has been in excellent form, again, and has succeeded in defending fourth place, ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. Indeed, Loebâ€™s new team-mate seems to be having difficulty finding the right rhythm on the seasonâ€™s curtain-raiser, even on the same stage that saw him pull clear of the field on his way to winning the 2010 Rallye Monte-Carlo.
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Steve · Jan 19, 2012

Sordo wins Stage 8! Others also do well: 6th Campana, 9th Araujo, 21st Nobre.

SS8: Stage best for Sordo (wrc.com)

19 Jan 12
Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS8, Labatie dâ€™Andaure-Lalouvesc (19.00 kilometres)

Dani Sordo said an increase in confidence behind the wheel of his MINI John Cooper Works WRC enabled him to set the fastest time on the rerun of Labatie dâ€™Andaure-Lalouvesc to close up to second overall on Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Sordo was 0.2s faster than event leader Sebastien Loeb and 2.2s quicker than second-placed Petter Solberg, the 2003 world rally champion.

â€œI have more feeling with the car, the road is better and I have more confidence with the soft tyre,â€ said Spaniard Sordo, who is now 1.5s behind Norwegian Solberg. â€œI can push more because I also did some small modification in the shocks and also the gearbox [in service].â€

Loeb, at the wheel of a Citroen DS3 WRC, said the stage surface wasnâ€™t entirely to his liking: â€œIt was a bit more tricky with some little mud in some corners because of the cut of some other cars so it was more slippery but it was okay, no problem.â€

Solberg reported making a minor mistake in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC: â€œIt was a very, very tricky stage. I did one mistake, thatâ€™s how it is sometimes. Iâ€™m happy with the time so no problem. I just locked up in a hairpin and thatâ€™s enough to lose the time.â€

Volkswagen Motorsportâ€™s Sebastien Ogier said the dry conditions would rule out further progress in his Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia. He has slipped to sixth overall behind M-Sport Ford driver Evgeny Novikov as a result. Mikko Hirvonen maintains his grip on fourth in the second factory Citroen.

The bulk of the leading runners have opted to run on soft-compound Michelin tyres with one spare only for Thursday afternoonâ€™s loop of three stages. Stage nine, St Bonnet, gets underway at 15:31hrs local time.
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Steve · Jan 19, 2012

SS9: Solberg fights back (wrc.com)

19 Jan 12
Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS9, St Bonnet-St Bonnet (25.22 kilometres)

Fordâ€™s Petter Solberg has increased his margin over third-placed Dani Sordo to 2.4s after beating the MINI driver through the ninth stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Solberg, who has spent the last three seasons competing as a privateer, completed the 25.22-kilometre test in a time of 12m33.2s, which was 1.2s faster than Sordo managed. Afterwards the Norwegian said: â€œItâ€™s fantastic, I am enjoying so much to drive. It is very difficult conditions and sure we can go quite a lot faster but we still need to learn all the details with the car. Iâ€™m happy with my time.â€

Out front, Sebastien Loeb continues to extend his advantage after setting the fastest time in his works Citroen. â€œFor the moment Iâ€™m happy with the day but there is still one stage to go,â€ said the eight-time world rally champion. â€œThe feeling was good, the car is perfect so no trouble. Iâ€™m trying to keep a very good speed and not to do any mistake - itâ€™s tricky with the mud on the road.â€

Russian Evgeny Novikov shone with the fourth fastest time, 8.1s off Loebâ€™s pace, in his M-Sport Fiesta although he suggested at the stage finish that he still has to improve his driving on his Rallye Monte-Carlo debut. He is now 9.4s behind fourth-placed Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen who was 2.7s slower than Novikov.

Novikovâ€™s team-mate Ott Tanak recorded the sixth fastest time in his Fiesta, completing the stage in 12m47.4s. Corsican driver Pierre Campana said he was extra cautious in the muddy sections in his factory MINI. He was 0.8s faster than MINI privateer Armindo Araujo from Portugal.

Henning Solberg completed the previous test with sparks trailing from his Go Fast Energy Fiesta. He reported no problems on this stage, however.
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