WRC: RallyRACC-Rally de Espana (Catalunya, Spain, 2012)

Steve · Nov 10, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvSu5Y37ZiQ]From Gravel To Asphalt - 2012 WRC Rally de Espana - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwl0T7_mCXE]Leg 2 - 2012 WRC Rally de Espana - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 10, 2012

WRC Team MINI Portugal Rally de EspaÃ±a Day Two (rallysportlive.com)

By RSL Staff â€“ November 10, 2012

â€˜Atko here, live from WRC Team MINI Portugalâ€™s Service Area here at Rally de EspaÃ±a. Weâ€™re at the end of Day Two â€“ the first day on Tarmac â€“ and Iâ€™m really glad that both Paulo and I made it through without any dramas.

â€˜After one day on gravel, today we switched to Tarmac for the longest day of the rally with 161.30km of Special Stages. Todayâ€™s itinerary included three stages run twice. The second stage of each loop was the massive 45km El Priorat â€“ one of the longest of the season.

â€˜It has been a few years since I competed here the last time in 2008 when the rally used to be only on Tarmac. These are fantastic stages â€“ I really enjoy them. The Tarmac here is almost like a race track in places and it can be really good fun to drive on if you can find a good rhythm.

â€˜Yesterday was an eventful day! The bad weather made the gravel stages unbelievably tricky â€“ they were conditions that no test could prepare you for! Both Paulo and I made mistakes on the afternoon loop and we had to retire for the day. Luckily we didnâ€™t do any big damage and the guys did an awesome job during Rally 2 service. They changed the broken parts on the MINIs as well as the entire set-up to make the cars ready for the Tarmac today. They worked until 1am to make sure we could both restart.

â€˜It was a shame to retire because we were lying in a comfortable sixth position with big gaps in front and behind us. Butâ€¦ Thatâ€™s rally! The only thing Glenn and I could do was sleep it off and go for a fresh start with a clear mind this morning.

â€˜When you change surface from one day to the other your driving style also has to adjust. On Tarmac the grip levels are completely different. You can brake a lot later than on gravel and you have to be a lot smoother, not sliding too much. Here in Spain it is almost like circuit racing as there arenâ€™t many surface changes. The stages are usually quite clean and thereâ€™s not much broken Tarmac. You have to be aggressive and carry much more speed into the corners. Glennâ€™s pace note rhythm had to change as well to adapt to the different level of speed that you have on Tarmac.

â€˜The first loop this morning was tough because itâ€™s difficult to take the same level of risk and find a good rhythm from the beginning after retiring on the previous day. We probably lost a bit more time than we wanted, but we had a clean and steady run.

â€˜After midday service things worked better and our times definitely improved compared to the morning. I felt more confident with the MINI and I found a better rhythm. We finished today in 11th position and Iâ€™m happy to be closing in on the points positions again. Tomorrow weâ€™ll wait and see what happens and do everything we can to try and score at least one WRC point.

â€˜Paulo had a solid day. He started with a smile on his face and came back to service tonight still smiling, which is the most important thing. He had a small issue with his MINI, Porquinho Verdeâ€™s, water temperature. It started to raise after the second stage this morning but he managed to reach service and the boys easily solved the problem.

â€˜Iâ€™ve been giving him some advice and have seen him progressing a lot on Tarmac rally-on-rally. I think his confidence is really building. He had a power steering problem this afternoon. When I caught up with him he said that he had a good workout on his arms without having to go to the gym! ;-)

â€˜Before I go Iâ€™d like to thank to everyone in the team. Theyâ€™ve been great and made me feel welcome from day one. It has been a pleasure working with Motorsport Italia this year and I really hope that we can continue to work together in the future. A special thanks goes to my mechanics â€“ real professionals â€“ who have always worked very hard to make sure my MINI was in good shape every time!

â€˜See ya,
Atkoâ€™
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papa-j · Nov 10, 2012

Really appreciate your rally postings good sir! keep 'em coming

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Wow! Sordo's return to form on 4 cylinders yesterday was absolutely not a fluke.

Today there were 6 stages. He won the first 3 in a row, took 2nd on the next 2 and then won the Power Stage! :cornut:

In Spain! Who do you think is the national hero today? :biggrin5:

In other great news, his one-race Finnish teammate Jarkko Nikara finished 5th and Chris Atkinson 7th.

Other MINI drivers Alkuwari and Nobre finished 14th and 30th, respectively.

Despite Sordo's loss of 20min 14.4sec on Day 1 (nearly all due to his retirement) + 4min 40sec in penalties and running the first half of Sat on only 3 cylinders, he managed to claw his way back to 9th, 25min 40.6sec behind Loeb.

Official reports and releases to follow.

Gil-galad · Nov 11, 2012

I'm a little verklempt to think of what might have been, had it not been for that one unfortunate encounter with the mud...

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Correction: Dani did not win the Power Stage. He won the short last stage, Stage 18, and I assumed that was the Power Stage, as usual, but for some reason this time the Power Stage was next to last, Stage 17.

He finished the long, 26.51km Power Stage 2nd, just 2.4sec behind Latvala and 8.3sec ahead of Loeb. ...and then he won the final stage, making it 4 wins and 2 2nd places out of 6 stages today.

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

MINI FINISHES 2012 WITH MOST STAGE WINS IN SPAIN (Prodrive)

Fantastic performance by Dani in the MINI today to round off 2012

Dani Sordo continued the last day of Rally Spain where he finished on Saturday, by winning four more stages in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC, taking the tally to six. He won all three stages this morning and for the afternoon, with rain forecast, Sordo gambled on running only hard
Michelin tyres and it paid off winning the last stage and only coming second on the Powerstage due to the onset of rain. Meanwhile Jarkko Nikara, in his first event in a World Rally Car, finished in fifth place overall, one of the best WRC debuts in recent years, confirming what a great talent he is.

After going off the road on the first dayâ€™s very wet gravel stages, Sordo returned to competition under Rally 2 on Saturdayâ€™s tarmac stages. Unfortunately, on the first stage of the day, a fuel injector failed meaning the car ran on just three cylinders for the morningâ€™s stages. After a heroic effort by the Prodrive WRC Team during service, the problem was fixed and Sordo went out and returned the favour by immediately setting two fastest stage times, showing just how fast the MINI WRC is.

Nikara meanwhile was setting competitive stage times in his MINI on the tarmac and steadily moving up the leaderboard during Saturday and Sunday as drivers ahead of him found trouble.

Dave Wilcock said: â€œI have mixed emotions. Really pleased that we have shown just how fast the MINI is and that it is already more than a match for the Ford and Citroen, but also disappointed thinking â€˜what ifâ€™. If Dani had just come through the first day unscathed and not had the injector fault, we could have been challenging for at least a podium and possibly a win.

â€œJarkko has achieved an amazing result on his WRC debut. He has driven with maturity and soaked up all the advice we have given him over the weekend. He clearly has what it takes to become a world class driver and follow in the driving boots of the other great Finnish drivers.

â€œThanks to all our partners this year, particularly Michelin and BP. Now itâ€™s back to Banbury and our development programme. Just last week our race engineers found some significant extra performance in the engine, which we didnâ€™t have time to include here, and there is another major mechanical upgrade due in March. Itâ€™s too early to say what our WRC programme will be for next year, but we aim to be in Monte Carlo in January and carry on where we left off here.â€

Dani Sordo said: â€œIt was really good today and the car was great, but it was disappointing we had rain in the powerstage when the others did not, otherwise we could have won that too. It has been great working with the team this year and I hope something can come together for next year, everyone has worked so hard.â€

Jarkko Nikara said: â€œThe weekend was difficult and a real challenge, but we came through and we got a great deal of experience. I was fifth, but the gap was quite big, still everybody else also made some mistakes as it was difficult conditions. The car felt fantastic, but it is not easy to be quick straight away, so I need some more experience and confidence o push really hard.â€
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Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Spectacular Season Finale. (MiniMotorsport.com)

11 November 2012

In rounding off the 2012 WRC season Dani Sordo once again proved the big potential of the MINI WRC. On the final day of the Rallye Spain, Dani won four of six special stages.

The 13 rallies making up the 2012 WRC season have now been consigned to history. Once again world champion SÃ©bastien Loeb proved unstoppable. In Spain the Frenchman took a perfect ninth win of the season while he will only contest selected WRC events next season. Meanwhile, Dani Sordo of the Prodrive WRC Team was once again responsible for several highlights during the season closer. Driving the number 52 MINI John Cooper Works WRC, the Spaniard flew through the first three stages of the final rally day to win all these stages in succession in front of his home crowd.

After placing second on the Powerstage, Dani gave it his all in spectacular style on the last test to take his sixth win in Spain, completing an impressive run from 30th overall to ninth in just one-and-a-half days. He had once again extracted the maximum from the MINI WRC, as he had already done on the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo, where he finished a sensational second overall. Although further targeted podium finishes evaded him, his promising performances on the second and third days of the Rallye Spain certainly ensured a rewarding end to the season for Dani and the MINI marque. â€œI gave it everything, and Iâ€™m looking forward to the future,â€ said Dani afterwards.

Three MINI WRC in the Top Ten.

The overall fastest MINI WRC in Spain was that of Finlandâ€™s Jarkko Nikara, who celebrated his MINI debut with a highly promising fifth place for the Prodrive WRC Team. He was followed closely by Chris â€˜Atkoâ€™ Atkinson in seventh in the number 12 MINI WRC entered by the WRC Team MINI Portugal, making it a triple in the Top Ten for MINI in Spain. Atko, too, celebrated a successful end to the season, having four times scored points in five starts, and registering the best finish for MINI on a gravel event this season with fifth place overall on the Rallye Italia. â€œItâ€™s been a great season for me,â€ said Atko. â€œDriving the MINI has been enormous fun.â€ Abdulaziz Alkuwari of the Seashore Qatar Rally Team was the fourth MINI home in 14th place, with the finish of Paulo Nobre in the second WRC Team MINI Portugal entry completing the MINI quintet on the 2012 Rallye Spain.

The WRC now takes a short winter break before the 2013 season kicks off with the Rallye Monte Carlo on 15 January. However, MINI motorsport fans need not wait long for more action. The MINI Motorsport website, Facebook.com/MINImotorsport and Twitter.com/MINImotorsport will shortly be bringing extensive coverage about StÃ©phane Peterhansel title defense in the X-raid Teamâ€™s MINI ALL4 Racing at the 2013 Rallye Dakar. So from 5 to 20 January it will be again: DUST. DESERT. DAKAR. Be MINI.

Top 5 Rallye Spain:

1. Loeb, 2. Latvala, 3. Hirvonen, 4. Ostberg, 5. Nikara.
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Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Time to catch up, but here's a bit of a recap article from yesterday for anyone just "tuning in."

Praise for team following service park heroics (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Dave Wilcock has praised members of the Prodrive WRC Team following their heroics in keeping Dani Sordo in the fight on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana on Saturday.

Sordoâ€™s MINI John Cooper Works WRC had been hobbled by an engine misfire and the Spaniard came within three minutes of going over the time limit at midday service while Prodrive technicians worked to trace and rectify the fault. Sordo rewarded their efforts by winning two stages in succession.

â€œAfter we changed all the control units, all the coils and all the plugs and engine loom we realised it was a fuel injector and it took all the skill and effort of the boys to replace that as itâ€™s not something you practice because weâ€™ve never had one fail,â€ said Wilcock, the Prodrive WRC Team principal. â€œBut the guys did a stunning job getting the car out after only taking 27 minutes of penalty. It was a miracle really because at one point it was looking like another Rally 2 for us, we simply had three minutes to spare and it really wasnâ€™t looking good at one point.â€

Sordo went quickest on the subsequent two tests, which triggered scenes of jubilation in the Prodrive service area. â€œIt was absolute jubilation when you see green sectors and a string of fastest splits. He was lighting the board up like a Christmas tree and that was our reward. The performance is in the car and we proved that today after a couple of body blows. The plan is to go out and prove it again on Sunday.â€
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Steve · Nov 11, 2012

SS13: Sordo on a charge (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS13, Riudecanyes 1 (16.35 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œThis was the Power Stage last year, which more or less ended with the roundabout when we will do the loop. This will be nice for the spectators. The stage is well known for being twisty. In the downhill section there can be some cutting, which is tricky. We go by a dam in this stage where itâ€™s wider and faster. Itâ€™s nice and good for the pictures.â€

How the action unfolded:
Dani Sordo has thrilled the thousands of fans on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana by going fastest on Sundayâ€™s opening test in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

In dry and bright conditions Sordo was 2.1s quicker than event leader Sebastien Loeb. He said: â€œThe car on this stage was unbelievable. The balance was really nice and I was happy with the tyres. Itâ€™s a really nice stage and I was pushing really hard.â€

Loeb, in a Citroen DS3 WRC, has grown his overall advantage ahead of Fordâ€™s Jari-Matti Latvala to 27.5s. He said: â€œIt was really good, a clean road, nearly completely dry and no tricky places. I was not doing any big pushing but still I had a good rhythm so it was okay.â€

Latvala, who is carrying two soft compound spare tyres compared to the one hard spare in Loebâ€™s car, said: â€œHeâ€™s going really, really fast. I have no chance against him. I was pretty happy with my driving. I improved my set-up but itâ€™s not enough.â€

Belgian youngster Thierry Neuville impressed with the fourth best time for the Citroen Junior World Rally Team.

Mikko Hirvonen and Ott Tanak, in third and fourth overall respectively starting day three, werenâ€™t entirely happy with their performances at the stage finish. Tanak was 6.4s down on Sordo with Hirvonen 7.1s adrift.

Mads Ostberg, meanwhile, was more satisfied after set-up changes overnight transformed the handling of his privateer Fiesta after going sixth quickest, 6.9s down on Sordo. â€œI did a very big change for the car, which helped a lot and I have some parts with me that will make it even better,â€ said the Norwegian, who remains in fifth overall.

Petter Solberg is running on soft compound tyres on his factory Fiesta. â€œWe just want to test and compare with Jari,â€ he said.

Evgeny Novikov, who has been saddled with a 10-minute time penalty when it was discovered the depth of his tyre tread was below the 1.6-milimetre limit, admitted to â€œdriving slowlyâ€ due to concerns over tyre wear.
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SS14: Tanak error aids Ostberg (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS14, Santa Marina 1 (26.51 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œThis stage is exactly the same as last year expect we did it in the dark before sunrise on the final day. Itâ€™s a very nice stage with good grip and very wide for eight kilometres. In the middle part itâ€™s tricky, not so wide with gravel on top. Everybody knows this and it will be demanding for the tyres, especially on the last downhill section.â€

How the action unfolded:
Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala shrugged of rain and damp conditions to outgun Citroenâ€™s Sebastien Loeb by 2.6s and narrow the nine-time world championâ€™s lead on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana to 24.9s as Dani Sordo set the pace once again, going fastest by 5.5s for MINI.

However, in the battle for third place in the final championship standings, a mistake by Ott Tanak could have handed Mads Ostberg a lifeline.

The Norwegian has moved ahead of the Estonian into fourth place overall and two positions behind key rival Jari-Matti Latvala. The current order means Latvala will finish on 151 points and Ostberg on 149. However, Ostberg can move ahead of Latvala if he lands three points for going fastest on this afternoonâ€™s Power Stage providing Latvala is outside the top three places. But with Latvala outpacing Loeb on this stage, it still remains a tall order for Ostberg.

Ostberg, who trails third-placed Mikko Hirvonen by 19.2s, said: â€œIâ€™m still struggling. When the tyres are hot the balance is not perfect but apart from that itâ€™s working quite okay. I will keep pushing but unless itâ€™s raining in the afternoon and it gets difficult I have no chance to catch Mikko.â€

Tanak, now 1.9s behind Ostberg in fifth, said he was â€œsurprisedâ€ to have reached the finish following his error: â€œWe went off and hit the barrier. It was quite a big crash and Iâ€™m surprised the car is still running. We lost at least 10 seconds, it was quite a big accident.â€

Loeb, meanwhile, opted for a slightly cautious approach in the damp conditions as he bids to preserve his overall lead.
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SS15: Hat-trick for Sordo (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS15, La Serra dâ€™Almos 1 (4.11 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œItâ€™s a very high pace for the first three kilometres, which are either downhill or flat. The last one kilometre is uphill and itâ€™s nice for the spectators who can see most of the stage from here.â€

How the action unfolded:
Dani Sordo has made it a hat-trick of stage wins on the final morning of RallyRACC-Rally de Espana despite making a small mistake in his Prodrive MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

Sordo was 0.6s faster than Jari-Matti Latvala through the 4.11-kilometre test and reckoned he could have gone even quicker: â€œI make a mistake in the middle when I did not understand very well if it was a left or right crest and lost one second. I am very happy with the car, itâ€™s really nice.â€

Latvala was second fastest, 0.2s quicker than Sebastien Loeb and heads to service in Salou trailing the Citroen ace and rally leader by 24.7s. â€œItâ€™s good but itâ€™s not a lot to be honest,â€ said Latvala. â€œThe differences are very small but itâ€™s positive to be going in the right direction.â€

Meanwhile, a spin for Ott Tanak has all but ended the Estonianâ€™s bid for a second consecutive podium in the FIA World Rally Championship. â€œI had a spin, I was pushing too much in some places,â€ said Tanak, who is almost 30s behind third-placed Mikko Hirvonen in fifth overall.

Hans Weijs has stopped approximately 2.5 kilometres into the stage in his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen with possible suspension damage. His misfortune means Jarkko Nikara is up to sixth overall in his MINI.

Drivers reported slippery conditions with mud and gravel on the road in some places. Following a 30-minute service halt in Salou, stage 16, Riudecanyes 2, gets underway at 11:52hrs local time.
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Sunday midday wrap: Loeb closes on victory (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Sebastien Loeb is three stages away from winning RallyRACC-Rally de Espana for the eighth time after he completed Sunday morning's loop of three stages with a lead of 24.7s.

Loeb, who will call time on his career as a full-time driver in the FIA World Rally Championship later today, has adopted a degree of caution this morning with light rain and damp conditions affecting the stages.

â€œFor sure winning this rally would be better than losing and for sure I would like to win but I will be back for some rallies next year so it is not like I stop now,â€ said the factory Citroen driver. â€œMy feeling is good but itâ€™s important not to make a mistake. I am not relaxed but I think my gap is enough to keep the position.â€

Jari-Matti Latvala, meanwhile, remains on course to snatch third place from Mads Ostberg in the final driversâ€™ standings. Latvala is second overall for the works Ford squad but still needs to score points on the Power Stage this afternoon assuming Ostberg continues to hold fourth place behind Citroenâ€™s Mikko Hirvonen.

Ostberg started the day in fifth place but moved ahead of Ott Tanak when the young Estonian spun into a barrier on stage 14 and lost time, slipping to fifth in the process.

While Loeb has driven slightly conservatively, Dani Sordo has thrown caution to the wind by claiming three stage bests in his Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC. The Spaniard is out of contention for a points finish after picking up a handful of lateness penalties while his mechanics rushed to replace a faulty fuel injector in midday service on Saturday. He has vowed to win as many stages as possible.

Behind Tanak, Jarkko Nikara has moved into sixth place in the second Prodrive MINI after Hans Weijs stopped with suspected suspension damage on stage 15.

Craig Breen continues to lead the Super 2000 World Rally Championship with Benito Guerra on top in the Production Car World Rally Championship.

Three stages remain on the WRC season finale. The finish is scheduled for 15:02hrs in Salou.
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Steve · Nov 11, 2012

SS16: Tanak crashes, Latvala fastest (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS16, Riudecanyes 2 (16.35 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œThis was the Power Stage last year, which more or less ended with the roundabout when we will do the loop. This will be nice for the spectators. The stage is well known for being twisty. In the downhill section there can be some cutting, which is tricky. We go by a dam in this stage where itâ€™s wider and faster. Itâ€™s nice and good for the pictures.â€

How the action unfolded:
Ott Tanakâ€™s first season in the FIA World Rally Championshipâ€™s big league is over after he crashed out of RallyRACC-Rally de Espana.

Tanak was in fifth place on the WRC season-closer when he struck a barrier in a high-speed section in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC, fortunately without injury to neither he nor co-driver Kuldar Sikk.

With the bulk of the leading runners opting for a mixture of soft and hard compound tyres to counter the threat of rain on stage 17, Jari-Matti Latvala was fastest for the works Ford team, ending Dani Sordoâ€™s run of stage wins by 0.3s after the Spaniard reported slowing down slightly at the scene of Tanakâ€™s crash.

Citroenâ€™s event leader Sebastien Loeb was third quickest, 4.9s down on Latvala. However, his margin ahead of the Finn is now 19.8s with two stages remaining.

Ford privateer Mads Ostberg has closed on third-placed Mikko Hirvonen by outpacing the Citroen driver by 4.6s. The gap between them is now 15.3s. â€œI was pushing quite hard in the beginning,â€ said Ostberg. â€œWeâ€™ve made some changes and the car is better now but thereâ€™s too much time to catch to Mikko.â€
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SS17: Latvala wins Power Stage (WRC.com)

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS17, Santa Marina 2 - POWER STAGE (26.51 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œThis stage is exactly the same as last year expect we did it in the dark before sunrise on the final day. Itâ€™s a very nice stage with good grip and very wide for eight kilometres. In the middle part itâ€™s tricky, not so wide with gravel on top. Everybody knows this and it will be demanding for the tyres, especially on the last downhill section.â€

How the action unfolded:
Jari-Matti Latvala has thanked the factory Ford team after winning RallyRACC-Rally de Espanaâ€™s Power Stage to earn three FIA World Rally Championship bonus points.

Latvala, who beat event leader Sebastien Loeb by 10.7s to cut the nine-time title winnerâ€™s advantage to 9.1s with one stage remaining, said advice from his engineers to use hard compound tyres paid dividends.

â€œI have to be honest and say thank you to the team,â€ said Latvala. â€œWe did absolutely the correct choice. We were expecting only a little rain so hard tyres was the right decision. Unfortunately we are now running out of kilometres [to catch Loeb].â€

Latvalaâ€™s performance means he is virtually assured of third place in the final driversâ€™ standings ahead of Mads Ostberg, who trails Mikko Hirvonen in fourth overall.

Ostberg narrowed the gap to Hirvonen to 7.2s but has conceded the deficit is too great for the final 4.11-kilometre test. â€œI tried at least,â€ said Ostberg, who was fourth quickest and outside of the bonus point positions. â€œI couldnâ€™t do anything more. Thatâ€™s it.â€

Dani Sordo was second fastest to earn two bonus points in his Prodrive-run MINI. â€œIt was impossible to do the best time when there is raining,â€ said Sordo. â€œJari-Matti do really well in the stage before but on this stage it was all the time with the wipers and in the middle it was sliding and wet [but dry for him].â€

While Latvala flew, Loeb rued his decision to use a combination of soft and hard compound tyres in the mistaken belief it would rain heavily on the stage. â€œIt was not wet enough, we expected rain but we got just a few drops,â€ said Loeb, who claimed the final bonus point with the third best time for Citroen. â€œWe had two softs and two hards [tyres] and we really pushed hard to do this time. We are still in the lead but the gap will be a bit smaller now. There are only four kilometres to go so we will see.â€
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SS18: Sordo wins stage, Loeb wins rally (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS18, La Serra dâ€™Almos 2 (4.11 kilometres - asphalt)

Stage description:
By Prodrive WRC Team co-driver Carlos del Barrio: â€œItâ€™s a very high pace for the first three kilometres, which are either downhill or flat. The last one kilometre is uphill and itâ€™s nice for the spectators who can see most of the stage from here.â€

How the action unfolded:
Dani Sordo has brought the curtain down on the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship season by winning the final stage of RallyRACC-Rally de Espana.

The Spanish aceâ€™s stage best by 0.1s was his fourth of the day in his Prodrive-run MINI. He said: â€œItâ€™s really a nice end of the rally. We make a mistake on the first day then we had a small problem with the car. But we have been fighting for the best times, which is very good and I am happy to finish the year like this.â€

Jari-Matti Latvala ended his career as a factory Ford driver by going second fastest. The Finn, who will switch to Volkswagen Motorsport from next year, was 2.1s quicker than Sebastien Loeb, who claimed his 76th WRC victory for Citroen by 7.0s.

Thierry Neuville and Evgeny Novikov shared the third fastest time, 1.4s down on Sordo, with Mikko Hirvonen fifth quickest and Loeb sixth. Hirvonenâ€™s performance means he pips Mads Ostberg to the final podium spot. Ostberg was eighth quickest to finish in fourth overall.

An emotional Craig Breen secured the Super 2000 World Rally Championship five months since his co-driver Gareth Roberts lost his life in a crash on a rally in Sicily. Meanwhile, Benito Guerra clinched the Production Car World Rally Championship title.
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Sunday wrap: Loeb bows out in style (WRC.com)

11 Nov 12

Sebastien Loeb marked his final outing as a full-time driver in the FIA World Rally Championship with the 76th victory of his career on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana, which finished in Salou this afternoon following three days of thrilling competition.

After struggling for pace through Fridayâ€™s rain-hit, mainly gravel tests, Loeb moved in front on the asphalt of day two and remained at the head of the field thereafter in his Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC.

The win, shared with co-driver Daniel Elena, was their eighth in Spain and the 250th in the WRC for tyre partner Michelin.

Jari-Matti Latvala signed-off as a factory Ford driver in second place with Mikko Hirvonen third in the second works Citroen. Latvalaâ€™s finishing position and victory on the Power Stage this afternoon earned sufficient points to land third in the final driversâ€™ table ahead of Mads Ostberg, who led after day one but slipped back on day two with set-up issues and a costly spin.

â€œFor sure I really wanted to win this rally,â€ said Loeb, who is targeting a partial programme of WRC events in 2013 as he revs up for a planned assault on the FIA World Touring Car Championship with Citroen two years from now. â€œWe were really struggling in the start because it was really tricky on the first day. On the Tarmac I was able to take the lead but today was not easy because we had some strange tyre choice and Jari-Matti was pushing very hard and getting closer.â€

Loeb opted for a combination of soft and hard compound Michelin covers for Sundayâ€™s closing trio of stages in the belief it would be raining in the middle test - the 26.51-kilometre Santa Marina Power Stage.

However, while it was damp in sections due to light drizzle, the anticipated heavy deluge didnâ€™t materialise and Loebâ€™s tyre choice proved far from ideal for the conditions. Latvala, meanwhile, opted for hard compound tyres and set two fastest stage times to narrow Loebâ€™s winning margin to seven seconds.

â€œI would like to have done one more stage because it has been good to fight with Loeb,â€ said Latvala, who will join Volkswagen Motorsport from 2013 as his former team M-Sport prepares for a new era following Fordâ€™s decision to end its WRC sponsorship. â€œI have had some fantastic years with Ford and thanks to Malcolm Wilson for being so supportive even though Iâ€™ve had many crashes.â€

Ford privateer Mads Ostberg finished fourth, 9.6s behind Hirvonen, with Jarkko Nikara moving up to a fine fifth after Ott Tanak and Hans Weijs both crashed out. Craig Breen secured the Super 2000 World Rally Championship crown in a career-best sixth overall with Chris Atkinson seventh for WRC Team MINI Portugal.

P-G Andersson finished eighth for PROTON with Dani Sordo battling back to ninth following early delays. But it was a case of what might have been for the Spaniard, who won a total of six stages, including four on Sunday, in his Prodrive-run MINI. Evgeny Novikov beat Petter Solberg to the final driversâ€™ championship point in tenth despite a 10-minute penalty when the tread depth of his soft-compound DMACK tyres was found to be under the 1.6-milimetre minimum requirement due to excessive wear on Saturday afternoonâ€™s dry stages.

Next yearâ€™s WRC season fires into life on Rallye Monte-Carlo on 15 January 2013, 65 days from now.
Click to expand...

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fT64C_YSuM]Highlights - 2012 WRC Rally de Espana - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Jason Montague · Nov 11, 2012

:cornut: A RED POPPY(that grew wild on Flanders Fields) for us veterans. Thank you very much!

Jason

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Yep, I had to include that one. A very nice touch IMHO.

I know this is a diversion from the rally news but since it's timely...

For anyone too young or otherwise unfamiliar with the Flanders Fields references you hear from time to time or who wonder why you see veterans wearing or giving out poppies:

In Flanders Fields

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

Great videos:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lRQ_zebLes][HD] WRC Rally Spain 2012 (RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada) - BUN - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FsdKl2mSok]WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 11, 2012

papa-j said: ↑

Really appreciate your rally postings good sir! keep 'em coming
Click to expand...

I do what I can, glad you enjoy it. :smile5:

Gil-galad said: ↑

I'm a little verklempt to think of what might have been, had it not been for that one unfortunate encounter with the mud...
Click to expand...

I'll second that. :yesnod:

Steve · Nov 13, 2012

More good videos:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XSEySgfY0s]WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHvgw_EA-WE]WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 (HD - pure sound) - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se13RCekYyI]48 WRC RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de EspaÃ±a 2012 by Jaume Soler - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjrYYbFN2SM]WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 - Nobre crash - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LuwPCLfzTg]Tanak crash at WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 16, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z0qg1gq1aI][HD] WRC Rally RACC Catalunya 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 22, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI8iXSJK9ZY]WRC Rally Catalunya 2012 Riudecanyes SS13 ZP2 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLuy5lKYTkQ]WRC Rally CataluÃ±a 2012 shakedown - YouTube[/ame]

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