This will be Grönholm’s first experience of top level rallycross and the opening round of the championship will be in Portugal on 3-4 May. After retiring from rallying at the end of last season, the 40-year-old Finn took up a role as an ambassador for Ford of Europe.
Ford of Sweden rallycross programme with Marcus Grönholm
April 16th, 2008Suzuki takes away valuable lessons from a rain-swept Argentina
April 16th, 2008There is often dense fog, and huge rocks that can catch out the unwary. In these challenging conditions, P-G Andersson set an eighth-fastest time – beating many more experienced competitors and hinting at the potential of the SX4 WRC on a clean run with no problems. The Swede’s visibility was hampered through the El Condor stage as his windscreen misted up in the damp conditions, but he eventually finished the rally to score a precious manufacturers’ point for Suzuki.
Toni Gardemeister re-started the final day in order to rack up some test kilometres, but unfortunately was not able to make the finish.
This year’s Rally Argentina – which took place in the southern hemisphere’s early autumn – presented the crews with an unprecedented range of weather conditions, meaning that only eight of the original 14 World Rally Car starters made the finish.
Car news – Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Both drivers experimented with set-ups on the soft and wet stages, concentrating on learning as much as possible for the future. The first day of Andersson’s rally was halted by a turbo boost pressure sensor failure, while a suspension breakage stopped his consistent run on day two. He got to the end of the final day with no major problems.
Gardemeister had a reliable run on the opening day before hitting a rock that was on the racing line in the afternoon. He re-joined for day two but was held back by a combination of hydraulic and electronic problems that prevented him from completing the leg. The Finn managed to complete most of the stages over the three days of the rally and has acquired some valuable information to help the SX4 WRC’s development.
The Suzuki SX4 WRCs arrived in Argentina with some bodywork modifications to cope with the watersplashes, as well as a revised head gasket. Both of these evolutions worked successfully, and the team was able to continue its testing programme on what is still only the fourth event of the SX4 WRC’s first full season.
Driver news:
P-G Andersson: “I’m pleased to get to the end of what has been a very tough rally for us. I’m also pleased that we have scored a manufacturers’ point for Suzuki, although I would have been even happier if we had been able to score some drivers’ points for ourselves as well! We had a good solid run through the Giulio Cesare stage this morning, without pushing too hard, and that indicates the sort of thing we can do when everything is working well. We just have to treat the problems we have experienced here as opportunities to improve and move on. Now we will be working hard in preparation for the next event, Jordan, which is brand new. Nobody starts with an advantage in terms of experience there, so I hope we can do well.”
Toni Gardemeister: “We’ve had a few problems on this event, but the conditions have been even tougher than we expected. The surfaces were extremely slippery, and it was very easy to make a mistake. We just tried to keep the car on the road as much as possible and get to the end. Unfortunately we weren’t quite able to manage that, but we learnt several important lessons along the way and we have a very clear idea of the areas in which we can improve.”
Team news:
Nobuhiro Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal: “It’s clear that we have a lot of work still ahead of us, and although we are very disappointed we have also been quite unlucky here. The boost pressure sensor that stopped P-G on the opening day is a very small component, and it was very unusual for Toni to find a rock that was right on the racing line. We seem to have solved some of the reliability issues that have affected us in the past, but we need to keep working hard in order to solve all the issues we encounter. Only when we have achieved this will we be able to reach our eventual target of competing regularly amongst the frontrunners.”
Goaaaalll… for Loeb, Sordo and Citroën!
April 16th, 2008The final leg of the event was once again marked by wet weather, with fog also making an appearance high in the mountains of the ‘Giulio Cesare’ and ‘El Condor’ tests. These were the only true stages of the day before one last visit to the super-special in Córdoba and the finish ceremony in Villa Carlos Paz.
Just like Diego Maradona in the days when he starred with the N°10 jersey in Argentina’s national soccer squad, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena deftly dribbled round the weekend’s countless pitfalls to put their rivals on the wrong foot as they powered home to victory with their Citroën C4 WRC. During Thursday’s shakedown session, as guest passenger alongside Seb, ‘El Pibe de Oro’ had been able to see at first hand that the defending World Champion is not just strong technically but also that it’s not only with a ball that a top sportsman can juggle!
Ford maintains world series lead after gruelling Rally Argentina
April 16th, 2008BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team retained its lead in the FIA World Rally Championship after a punishing fourth round in Argentina this weekend. Resilient performances from Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in Ford Focus RS World Rally Cars earned the squad a solid points score on the rain-hit Rally Argentina. The double world champions now lead the manufacturers’ standings by three points.
Hirvonen and Lehtinen staged a tremendous fightback after suspension problems on the opening day to finish fifth, while fellow Finns Latvala and Anttila recovered from a first day roll and a broken starter motor yesterday to finish 15th. The double points haul was far more than had looked possible midway through yesterday’s second leg as rocky roads and treacherous conditions sparked a high rate of attrition among the leading drivers.
Heavy rain before and during the event meant the sandy gravel roads near Carlos Paz in Cordoba province were muddy and rutted. As the roads became softer, rocks that had not been visible during the recce became exposed, causing problems for many. Despite the rain, an estimated 1.5 million people flocked into the pampas and the mountains to watch the three-day event, which was fought out over 21 speed tests covering 347.91km.
Hirvonen was a comfortable leader during the first morning until he hit a rock, breaking a track control arm in the front suspension and he was sidelined for the day. The 27-year-old Finn restarted yesterday in 25th and avoided the carnage affecting those around him to power back to sixth. He took no risks on today’s final leg, the bulk of which was based amid the lunar-like landscape of the Traslasierra mountains and contained two of the rockiest and toughest speed tests of the season. He gained one more position and leaves south America second in the drivers’ standings, five points behind the leader.
“After Friday’s problems, I never thought I could climb this high,” said Hirvonen. “I’m surprised to score points and luckily Loeb isn’t so far ahead in the championship. He’s only five points in front and I thought it would be nine, so that’s some comfort. But I’m still disappointed because I made such a good start to lead and I could have won, but that’s life. I found more speed than I had on the last round in Mexico but today I drove carefully because conditions were slippery and foggy.”
Latvala dropped nine minutes with a roll on the opening morning, but recovered to eighth until an impact with a rock yesterday morning shattered his car’s starter motor and he exceeded the permitted time limit. He restarted this morning in 21st and won two of the three special stages to climb to 15th, which was good enough for two points in the manufacturers’ championship. The 22-year-old is now fourth in the drivers’ standings.
“My performance was disappointing but I think these were the most difficult conditions I’ve encountered,” he said. “I’ve had to adapt to different ways of driving to match the conditions. I’m surprised to score points for the team because yesterday I thought we had lost everything and wasn’t motivated, but my confidence came back this morning. One thing I learned from yesterday was that I need to check the engine after an impact, even when everything seems OK. I’ve also gained good experience of Pirelli’s tyres in wet and muddy conditions which will be good for future events.”
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson reflected on an event that he described ‘as the worst for the team since the China Rally in 1999′. “But our team spirit shone through after a tough opening day, we recovered well and we still lead the championship. We salvaged good points from a tricky situation and that was far better than it looked earlier in the rally,” he said.
Ford of Europe motorsport director Mark Deans said: “This proved one of the toughest rallies in recent years. We had our share of problems but the Focus RS proved strong enough and fast enough to fight back and score the points which keeps us at the head of the championship table.”
News from our Rivals
Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) secured his fourth consecutive Rally Argentina victory, crossing the finish with a 2min 33.2sec advantage. Petter Solberg (Subaru) was on course for second but the Norwegian stopped on the opening stage with electrical problems. Team-mate Chris Atkinson benefited to take his second consecutive runners-up position ahead of Dani Sordo (Citroen). Privateer Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen) took a career-best fourth with Munchi’s Federico Villagra (Ford) claiming his best WRC result in sixth. The problems continued to pile up for the leading drivers. Stobart’s Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg (both Ford) each stopped with broken front suspension while Toni Gardemeister (Suzuki) suffered his third retirement of the weekend with broken power steering.
Next round
The championship’s third consecutive event outside Europe takes teams to Jordan next month for the first time. The all-gravel Jordan Rally is based at the Dead Sea on 24 – 27 April.
Ford stretches world championship lead in Rally Mexico
March 3rd, 2008
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team increased its advantage at the head of the FIA World Rally Championship after a strong double points haul in Mexico today. The team, chasing its third consecutive manufacturers’ world title, is 12 points clear with the Focus RS World Rally Car after Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished third in Rally Mexico and team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen claimed fourth.
Hirvonen retains the lead in the drivers’ standings after this third round of the 15-rally series, the 27-year-old Finn ahead by one point. Latvala lies third, five points behind his team-mate.
This opening gravel event of the season proved a tough challenge and few escaped problems over the three days and 331.45km of competition in the mountains of central Mexico, near León. The high altitude speed tests, which climbed to more than 2700m, meant engines lost about 25 percent of their normal power in the thinner air while the rocky tracks proved a constant hazard for the unwary.
Latvala, who led after Friday’s opening action, started today’s final day in third after a turbo pipe problem yesterday afternoon. With no pressure from behind and no chance of making progress up the leaderboard, the 22-year-old Finn paced himself through the final three special stages (the second test was cancelled for safety reasons due to the volume of spectators), but was still fastest on the opening stage to secure a podium finish.
“It’s an important result for me and it’s a good result for the team and our championship challenge,” he said. “I achieved my goal of being on the podium and it’s just a shame we had a problem yesterday when fighting for the lead. But if I think about things closely, it has been a good weekend and I don’t have any complaints. The best aspect was being able to challenge Loeb and match his times and I hope I can get just as close to him in the future because I had good speed this weekend.”
Hirvonen began the morning in fifth, after losing time through punctures on Friday and Saturday combined with being first in the start order and sweeping the roads clean of loose stones on the opening day. He was within striking distance of fourth and fastest time on the penultimate test moved him just ahead of Henning Solberg. He consolidated fourth on the final stage when the Norwegian struck trouble.
“I tried to catch Henning but when stage 18 was cancelled, I decided I didn’t have enough kilometres left in which to do it,” said Hirvonen. “I was lucky he had a problem and I’m glad to finish fourth and take good points after a difficult weekend. It just wasn’t my rally unfortunately. Jari-Matti and Loeb were very fast and I couldn’t reach their pace but I’ll have to find that speed or say goodbye to the championship. I was unlucky with punctures but fourth is OK in the circumstances and hopefully this is the worst rally I’ll have this year. Unfortunately I will be first on the road again on the next round in Argentina, but it feels good to be still leading the championship.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson said: “After what we encountered, we’ve come away with a great result which increases our lead in the championship. And for Mikko to still lead the drivers’ standings after his problems is more than we thought we would achieve on Friday night. I’m pleased we showed the speed to lead the rally and that’s promising looking forward to another high altitude event in Argentina later this month.”
Ford of Europe motorsport director Mark Deans was equally happy. “This was the first gravel rally of the season and for the Focus RS WRC to prove its speed on what is the dominant surface of the year bodes well. Five Focus cars finished in the top seven and for BP Ford Abu Dhabi to maintain its lead in both championships after three rounds represents an excellent opening sector of the year,” he said.
News from our Rivals
Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) paced himself through the final stages to claim his third consecutive Rally Mexico victory. The Frenchman finished 66.1sec ahead of Chris Atkinson (Subaru), who scored his best ever result, despite feeling unwell and only three hours’ sleep. Behind the BP Ford Abu Dhabi cars, Henning Solberg (Ford) took fifth, the Munchi’s driver losing fourth place after front right punctures on the final two tests. Stobart driver Matthew Wilson (Ford) rounded off the top six while Munchi’s Federico Villagra (Ford) equalled his career best result in seventh. Petter Solberg (Subaru) claimed the final manufacturers’ point in 12th, despite a front right puncture on the penultimate stage and a spin on the final test.
Atkinson excels with highest WRC career finish as SWRT continue strong season
March 3rd, 2008
Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot completed Rally Mexico in spectacular style, recording their highest ever finish together in a World Rally Championship event with a hard-fought second place. Meanwhile Petter Solberg and Phil Mills pushed hard to clinch the final Manufacturers’ Championship point, keeping the Subaru World Rally Team in second position in the overall standings.
Atkinson’s second podium in three rallies this season jumps him to fourth overall in the Drivers’ Championship, just six points shy of the top of the standings. It’s his best start to a WRC season, and firmly establishes the Australian as a contender for WRC victories. Solberg and Mills lie just behind in fifth in the Championship standings, as the team continue their strong start to 2008 with more solid points.
On a day when the avid local fans were out in force to support the late inclusion of this event into the WRc calendar, spectator numbers overwhelmed stage 18, the 22 kilometre Guanajuato test, and the decision was taken to abandon it. The longest of the day, its cancellation reduced the day’s competitive length by one third.
“Chris did a fantastic job and I firmly believe he can win an event before the end of the year” said Subaru World Rally Team Principal David Richards. “We’ve had a very encouraging start to the year and we’re putting ourselves in a very strong position for when we launch our new car, the WRC2008. Petter did a good job today, and from our performance here in Mexico it is clear to me that we have made some positive steps forward since Sweden, and will continue to do so as we look to Argentina in a few weeks time.”
Atkinson started the final day in second position with a comfortable buffer of over one minute behind him to third. As the Australian promised yesterday, he had a steady day to ensure he did enough to clinch his highest ever WRC finish without taking any unnecessary risks. Opting for two spare wheels as an added safety buffer along the rough and jagged gravel speed tests, the 28 year old was leaving nothing to chance, knowing how easy it is to fall foul of these conditions.
Despite the punishing routes, soaring temperatures and oxygen-thin air over the last three days, his Impreza WRC2007 suffered no significant problems. The Australian felt comfortable with the handling and balance of his car all weekend, and drove a solid rally to be awarded eight points for both himself and the team, the single largest haul of his World Rallying career.
“It’s a fantastic result, my best in the WRC!” said Chris Atkinson. “All the team, the guys on my car, Subaru all did a top job. It was good fun to beat Sebastien [Loeb] on the Superspecial at the end there! It’s a great start to the year for me and also for the team, and I hope we can keep building on this. We’re making good steps forward and the car felt really good this weekend. We did some work on the dampers after Sweden and that was a big help – they were good here in the heat which is always a tough test. Now we look to Argentina and to keep this performance going. The sooner I can win the better!”
Solberg and Mills restarted this morning under Superally regulations, and left the morning’s service fighting fit. On the day’s opening stage and with a car the team worked on fervently yesterday afternoon, Solberg felt happy with the balance of his Impreza WRC2007 and was able to push hard to post the second fastest stage time, almost three seconds clear of the rest of field.
Over the final day’s 38 kilometres of stages, Solberg and Mills fought hard to climb to 12th overall, displaying their characteristic grit and determination to the very end to keep the team in second position in the Manufacturers’ Championship and keep himself close enough to fight for a top spot in the Drivers’ Championship as the season develops.
“Today we were ok in the first stage, but with big gaps between everyone at the front people were backing off” said Petter Solberg. “We scored a Manufacturer point which is important, but other than that it’s been a frustrating weekend really. But we keep working and pushing, and Argentina will be better.”
The third day of Rally Mexico brought more of the weather crews had come to expect. Temperatures rose to 28 degrees Celsius by midday, and the dry roads yielded clouds of dust with every passing car. The modified route consisted of just three stages, ended with the final running of the immensely popular Nextel spectator Superspecial stage.
WRC – Rally Mexico – A Mexican hat-trick for Loeb/Elena and Citroën
March 3rd, 2008
The final day of the 2008 World Rally Championship saw Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and Citroën collect their third consecutive Rally Mexico win. Their hat-trick in the land of sombreros takes them to within a single point of the provisional Drivers’ championship leader, while Citroën has made up a little of its deficit in the Manufacturers’ classification.
“The last day featured a little more than 60km of competitive action divided into three stages, plus a final attempt at the super-special in León,” commented Sébastien Loeb. “Despite our overnight lead, we approached today’s leg cautiously because of the risks inherent in being first on the road, like having to sweep a clear line, punctures, etc.”
Despite their apprehension, the World Champions came through the day unscathed and the cancellation of the day’s longest test (SS18) for safety reasons didn’t upset them unduly. Today’s result marks the 38th world class win for Sébastien and Daniel who were given a heroes’ welcome by everyone at Citroën Sport on their return to the Poliforum service park.
WRC – Rally Mexico – Day 2: sierra showdown for Loeb/Elena and the Citroën C4
March 3rd, 2008Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC completed Day 2 of the 2008 Rally Mexico on top of the provisional leaderboard.
With a total of 157.32 kilometres of competitive action to cover, the second leg was the longest of the weekend and featured two loops of three stages – all more than 20km in length – before concluding with two visits to the super-special in León this evening.
The arid sierra, twisty dirt roads and cacti provided a fitting backdrop for this modern-day western which saw Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena star as steady-handed pistoleros. Their mission today was to make up the 9.6-second gap that separated them from the overnight leaders and the Citroën crew profited from the form of their C4 WRC to take control by midmorning.