Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) romped to his first victory of the season to announce he is ready to fight for the Moto3 crown once again.
Pole sitter Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) made a blinding start and looked to be streaking clear of the field, however the race was halted by the Red Flags which came out following a crash for Japanese rookie Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) at T14, who eventually walked away from the accident after being aided by medics on the track.
Canet again grabbed the hole-shot from the restart and looked confident to leave the chasing pack in his wake, his practice and qualifying pace suggested he could easily clear off at the front. Fenati though had other ideas, the Italian managed to take the lead on the first lap, only for the Spaniard to retake the lead going up the hill into the first corner, a great jostle between the pair.
The duo were shadowed by Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), Joan Mir (Leopard Racing), Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who were unable to keep tabs on the front twosome.
Disaster then struck for Canet. Pushing hard to create a gap, the 18 year old had a nasty highside coming out of the penultimate corner, leaving Fenati to control the race. The result means the controversial Italian is now fourth in the championship and only 13 points off the top spot, you’d be a fool to rule him out.
The eight time grand prix winner eventually crossed the line 4.5 seconds clear of the two Del Conca Gresini Moto3 Honda riders, with Martin edging out his team-mate ‘Di Gi’ by less than a tenth of a second. This result meant that Martin continued his 100% podium record in 2017 and after the race he told MotoGP.com that “it’s important that we’re consistent.” He leapfrogs British Talent Team pilot John McPhee in the championship to go just six points behind series leader Mir, whilst Fabio sits sixth in the standings after picking up his first podium of the season.
In arrears of the top three were Bastianini and Bulega, who both took their best results of the year by some distance, with the VR46 rider crossing the line as the leading KTM. Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team), also steering a KTM machine pipped Britain’s McPhee on the penultimate corner to clinch his best result of the year, leaving the Scotsman having to settle for seventh. Despite finishing off the podium for the first time in 2017, McPhee was still able to close the gap at the top of the championship as Mir was forced to settle for eighth.
German Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) collected some valuable points in ninth, with Darryn Binder (Platinum Bay Real Estate), brother to last year’s world champion Brad, rounding out the top 10. The South African lead a gaggle of riders past the checkered flag which included Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Racing Team), Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46), Jules Danilo (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers), Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Livio Loi (Leopard Racing).
Jerez is up next for the future premier class protagonists, a rider and fan favourite. With the championship tightened up, the battle in Europe will be an enthralling watch with Mir, Martin, McPhee and Fenati looking to take a stranglehold on the Moto3 world championship.
Time for Round Five! Its back to the rough stuff for the first in five rounds that are going to all feature gravel and no tarmac. This event for the last two years has featured new winners with Kris Meeke winning in 2015 and Hayden Paddon last year.
Incredibly, Seb Ogier has never won this event. Him and Julien have finished in the runner up position three times in seven starts.
Now, you could argue that this event is the modern-day Acropolis Rally, given the unbelievable roughness. This year there are 18 stages covering 357.59km’s! It’s a tough event indeed. Also, it’s held in their autumn, so there will be fog on some stages.
The Citroen team have won this event 10 times since 2004, including the last time they entered this event in 2015 when Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle took their first victory! However last time out they retired from the lead. The team investigated the problem and this is what their Technical Director Laurent Fregosi had to say.
“When we got back from the Tour de Corse, we analysed Kris Meeke’s car to identify the reason for his retirement. The cause was a broken lubrication system connector, so it wasn’t an actual engine issue. Obviously, we studied an alternative solution, which came through with flying colours at our recent pre-event testing. During the five days of testing, we focused on the suspension, which is a very decisive factor in car performance and driver confidence on gravel. Argentina is a tough event, as the loose ground deteriorates between the two passes, exposing large rocks on the road. Combined with the high speeds reached, the impacts subject the chassis and the suspensions systems to considerable stress.”
So, here are the details of each stage awaiting the crews.
RALLY ARGENTINA SCHEDULE (GMT-3)
THURSDAY 27 APRIL
8.00am Shakedown (Villa Carlos Paz – Cabalango)
4.00pm: Start (Villa Carlos Paz)
5.10pm: Regroup (Córdoba)
7.08pm: SS1 – Ciudad de Córdoba (1.75km)
8.18pm: Parc ferme (Villa Carlos Paz)
FRIDAY 28 APRIL
7.00am: Service A (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
8.38am: SS2 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 1 (19.95km)
9.41am: SS3 – Amboy / Santa Monica 1 (20.44km)
10.24am: SS4 – Santa Rosa / San Agustin 1 (23.85km)
12.29pm: SS5 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 1 (6.04km)
1.09pm: Service B (Villa Carlos Paz – 30 min)
3.02pm: SS6 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 2 (19.95km)
4.05pm: SS7 – Amboy / Santa Monica 2 (20.44km)
4.48pm: SS8 – Santa Rosa / San Agustin 2 (23.85km)
7.08pm: SS9 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 2 (6.04km)
7.43pm: Flexi Service C (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 min)
SATURDAY 29 APRIL
7.20am: Service D (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
8.08am: SS10 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 1 (20.80km)
9.21am: SS11 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 1 (38.68km)
10.14am: SS12 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 1 (20.52km)
12.04pm: Service E (Villa Carlos Paz – 30 min)
1.08pm: SS13 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 2 (20.80km)
2.21pm: SS14 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 2 (38.68km)
3.14pm: SS15 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 2 (20.52km)
5.04pm: Flexi Service F (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 min)
SUNDAY 30 APRIL
7.15am: Service G (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
9.13am: SS16 – El Condor – Copina (16.32km)
10.56am: SS17 – Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare (22.64km)
12.18pm: SS18 – Power Stage El Condor (16.32km)
1.41pm: Service H (Villa Carlos Paz – 10 min)
2.01pm: Finish
Right then, let’s hear from the drivers then.
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
It’s remarkable to think that it now two years since Kris won his first WRC event. I was lucky enough to write about this as one of my first ever reports, and to see him go on to win further rallies since then has been fantastic. We saw that the car has very good pace on gravel with Kris and Paul’s win in Mexico last month. There’s no doubt that they will be near the front again.
Kris Meeke said:
“I only have good memories of racing in Argentina: third place on my first appearance and then my first WRC win, which is now two years ago! This rally is also special for its atmosphere and the excitement – some might even call it craziness – of the crowds. As soon as you get off the plane, you can feel that people love motorsport. Even though I didn’t compete here last year, I’ve every reason to feel confident. What with my win in Mexico, the start of the Tour de Corse and the work done in testing this week, I feel good coming into this rally. I’m nonetheless aware of the difficulties of this event, which can be fairly unpredictable.”
Craig Breen said:
“I can’t wait to compete in my very first rally outside Europe! Argentina looks like a fantastic country, with some magnificent stages. I know I’m going to have a lot to learn and I’m aware that it could be a tough weekend for me. It’ll be my first event on gravel in the C3 WRC and it’s a quite a few years now since I last took part in a rally which was completely new to me. I’ll be making the most of every kilometre to build up my experience, without thinking about the final outcome. I’ll be able to use the work done during this week’s test in Portugal: I had a very good feeling in the car.”
M-Sport WRT
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Mexico(MEX) – WRC 08/03/2017 to 12/03/2017 – PHOTO : @World
It’s been great to see M-Sport back at the front again after a long time of no wins. They’ve lead the manufacturers championship from the start and Seb leads the drivers’ championship. He’ll be looking to continue this, but on the first day he’ll be running first on the road. This will make tyre choice critical. Feedback from the safety gravel crews will be extremely important.
Sébastien Ogier said:
“Rally Argentina is the only event that Julien and I have not yet won and, every year, we go there with the ambition of securing victory for the first time. That has not changed this year. We want to win, but it won’t be easy.
“We’ll be opening the road through on the first day which brings its own challenges, and then there are the stages themselves. The surface is unlike anything we have visited so far this year. It’s gravel, but it’s a completely different type of gravel to what we experienced in Mexico.
“In Argentina, the roads are much softer and sandier but also quite rough in places. That means that challenging for the win is always going to be a compromise between speed and endurance.
“I had two days of development testing in Portugal last week and everything is moving in the right direction, so we’ll be hoping for another strong result next week.”
Ott Tänak said:
“It feels good to be heading back to gravel, but we start with a big challenge at Rally Argentina.
“It’s not like my favourite high-speed events where you can use the entire road and slide from one side to the other. Here, there is always something to hit. Rocks can often get dragged onto the stage and you need to keep your eyes open – you have to keep that margin and know which risks are worth taking and which ones aren’t.
“In the past, I’ve not had the best of luck in Argentina, but I feel as though we’ve done a lot to improve ourselves and it would be nice to put that right this year.
“We had a good test last week – working to improve the handling of the car and to get an even better feeling behind the wheel. I’m looking forward to next week and I think we have a fair chance of a strong result, so let’s see what we can do.”
D-Mack WRT
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Mexico(MEX) – WRC 08/03/2017 to 12/03/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Elfyn Evans said:
“We’ve got some special memories from Rally Argentina, and we’re looking forward to getting back on the loose stuff. We’ve not had the best of luck so far this season, but hopefully that’ll change when we get back behind the wheel next week.
“It’s an event that I’ve always enjoyed, but you have to take a fairly measured approach. Each day is really different in terms of character, but there is always very little margin for error with something to catch you out around practically every corner. You have to have a clean rally for the majority and keep mistakes to a minimum.
“That said, it is definitely a real highlight on the calendar. The fans are phenomenal – some camping out on El Condor days before the action begins. There’s a real passion for motorsport in Argentina and it’s always special to compete here.”
Hyundai Motorsport
2016 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 04 / Rally Argentina // April 21-24, 2016 // Worldwide Copyright: Hyundai Motorsport
This team have definitely built the fastest car, and in Thierry a great driver capable of winning. The win last time out in Corsica has kickstarted their season and the team won this event last year with Hayden and John taking their first WRC victory. The team will be determined to continue this and take the fight to championship leader Seb.
Hayden Paddon said:
“When you go back to a rally where you’ve got good memories, it’s very easy to be in a positive frame of mind. I would love to repeat that result again, although I’m obviously under no illusions as to how difficult that it will be. However, once you’ve won it once, you have to go back with the target of trying to win it again and that’s exactly what we are aiming to do. We have a good run of gravel rallies ahead of us and we should have a decent road position, so I’m determined that Argentina will be the real start of my season.”
Thierry Neuville commented:
“The result from Tour de Corse is still fresh in our minds so we want to carry this feeling forward. Argentina is a completely different challenge to what we faced in Corsica, but we will do our best to pick up some momentum in the Championship with another good performance. Rally Argentina is probably the roughest rally of the season. It’s a rally where you need to take extra care in certain sections. The terrain doesn’t suit my style of driving perfectly and it is a rally where I have never found too much speed. Yet, this year we are looking forward to it with our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. I think we will be much better in these conditions and a lot more comfortable as well.”
Dani Sordo said:
“The rallies in the Americas are always special events for me personally. The roads are really rough and there are always so many spectators. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be fantastic, and we can really feel that support when we are on the stages. It gives us a boost. However, Argentina is an incredibly demanding rally for both car and crew, so we know that we will have to be at our absolute best to secure a good result. We always like to drive in Rally Argentina, so we are excited about our chances. It was great to score our first podium of the season in Corsica, despite it being a difficult weekend. I hope we can make a more confident mark on next weekend’s rally and aim for another top-three performance.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Mexico(MEX) – WRC 08/03/2017 to 12/03/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Toyota have made a remarkable return to the world championship, and with Jari-Matti they really do have a great driver. He’s won this event before as well, so despite Toyota not having much experience, they will be near the front I believe.
Jari-Matti Latvala said:
“I’ve always had a very good feeling with Rally Argentina. We’ve won it before, and even last year we were leading until we had a problem and went off on Saturday afternoon. The first two days are fast and flowing, then the last day is slower and more technical, with tricky stages featuring lots of corners and the possibility of very bad weather conditions, especially fog. Although the roads tend to be soft and sandy there is generally quite good grip, I have been working on the differential settings in particular: I didn’t feel that they were the best for me in Mexico, so that is something I really wanted to improve for Argentina, and we have some good solutions now.”
Juho Hänninen said:
“I have many fond memories of Argentina, so I’m really looking forward to getting back there after many years away as it’s one of my favourite gravel rallies. It’s not just the stages that are fantastic, but also the fans, who are so passionate about rallying: even on the road sections. Of course, one big unknown is the weather because everything is possible over there, which makes it difficult if the stage conditions change after the recce. In any case, it won’t affect our set-up a lot: if it’s really muddy you can make the car a bit softer but we won’t make any big changes. Whatever happens, it’s important just to drive naturally without feeling too much pressure.”
Onebet Jipocar WRT
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Sweden (SWE) – WRC 09/02/2017 to 12/02/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Mads missed both Rally Mexico and then also The Tour de Corse events, so comes into the event with good knowledge, but lacking experience with the new generation of WRC cars. Rally Mexico was missed as his wife Beate was due to give birth and then the team missed Tour de Corse as they didn’t get the tarmac suspension in time to do a proper test. The good news is that the team did a two-day test in Portugal to get some seat time and test suspension and differential settings for Argentina. They feel that they are as ready as they could be, and also this event is very different to the Rally Mexico event, even though they are both gravel.
Mads Østberg said:
“I have done only one rally in the 2017-spec car, while most of my opponents has done four. I have a good feeling before Argentina, but must admit I am a bit unsure of what I can expect result-wise in my first competitive outing after nearly three months. I love the stages and the atmosphere, and I am positive to deliver some good stage times, but the competition level has become very high this season and I lack some experience with the new spec car compared to the other guys. My goal for the season is to fight for podium places, I can`t promise this will happen in Argentina.”
So, we are primed for another great rally I believe. Four different winners so far, this season, could that trend continue, or will we see the first repeat winner?
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain. courtesy of Sahara Force India Formula One TeamEsteban Ocon has said he is determined to take away more than just a single point from this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, after finishing each of the opening races of 2017 in tenth place.
Alongside the two seventh- and one ninth-place finishes logged by teammate Sergio Pérez, Ocon’s run of results has helped contribute to Force India’s most
lucrative start to a season since 2014, not to mention making them the only team bar Mercedes and Ferrari to have both cars in the points at every round so far.
But despite the stats, Ocon insists there is more to come from him in 2017:
“After three races in the points I’m feeling happy about my start to the season,” the Frenchman said ahead of Sochi, “[but] at the same time, I feel a bit of disappointment that we haven’t achieved more.”
In Bahrain, Ocon believed that the ill-timing of the safety car “probably cost me three positions”, whilst in China a miscommunication with the team sent him on an unnecessary trip down the pitlane in which he lost at least fifteen seconds of lap time.
“With a bit more luck on my side, I would have come away from China and Bahrain with even more points,” Ocon said. “Finishing tenth three times in a row isn’t enough for me—I want more!”
Nevertheless, those around Ocon have continued to voice their approval of his achievements so far in 2017. Vijay Mallya has labelled Ocon’s first few races with Force India a “super start” to his first full Formula One season, whilst Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said Ocon is on “the right trajectory” as he continues to “benchmark himself against…a very strong teammate in Pérez”.
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10. Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain. courtesy of Sahara Force India Formula One Team
Was it ever in doubt? Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) became the first rider since the late Daijiro Kato in 2001 to win the opening three races in the intermediate class of the MotoGP world championship, a hugely impressive feat. This shows what a talent the Italian is and you’d have to be a very brave man to bet against him to take the 2017 Moto2 championship. He also became the first Italian to win the opening three races of the year in the intermediate class since Luca Cadalora in 1992 and when you think of the amount of top Italians who have come through that class (Capirossi, Biaggi, Melandri, Rossi, Simoncelli, Pasini and Iannone to name all but a few) then you realise just how incredible he is.
Morbidelli was able to control the race from the front throughout, despite team mate Alex Marquez main title rival Thomas Luthi (CarXpert Interwetten), Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) challenging the series leader in the opening stages. The 22 year old was able to break the chasing group mid-way through the race, with Luthi remaining his closest challenger. Pasini, on for his best result of the season, then crashed out at turn one leaving the birthday boy Marquez and Nakagami to fight it out for the final position on the podium.
The 30 year old Swiss looked to be reeling Franco in at the front, but the former European Superstock 600 champion upped the pace to consolidate his lead and eventually took the flag by 2.6 seconds. 2nd place Luthi earned his 50th Grand Prix podium, whilst Nakagami was able to fend off Marquez to grab his second podium of the campaign.
Elsewhere in the race, there was a huge shunt at the first corner after Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46) clattered into Julian Simon (Tech 3 Racing), taking both riders out of the race before completing a corner. The decision to put Manzi into the VR46 Moto2 team is looking increasingly like a mistake, with the young Italian failing to pick up any points in the opening three rounds. Another crash, this time at the end of the back straight saw Yonny Hernandez (AGR Team) make contact with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing Team) and Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten). The Colombian proving just how difficult it is to ride a Moto2 machine and be competitive, despite being used to much quicker MotoGP bikes.
Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) crossed the line in a brilliant 5th place to get his and Suter’s best finish of the season. Not such good news on the other side of the garage though as Danny Kent announced he was leaving the team due to “irreconcilable differences.” A huge shame for the 2015 Moto3 world champion, the first British rider to win a Grand Prix world championship since Barry Sheene. Kent took to Twitter to express his feelings: “I’m still hungry & determined & believe I can be competitive in Moto2. I wish Kiefer Racing the best for the future.” It is believed that Kent’s management are looking for an alternative ride for the rest of the season, so let’s hope he can jump on a competitive bike and prove that he can mix it in the intermediate class.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) continued his and KTM’s impressive start to the season, bringing home a solid 6th to put the Portuguese star 3rd in the championship to leave him 32 points behind Morbidelli. Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) claimed seventh on a track that has often been a good one for the Speed Up chassis, with the last non Kalex win coming at COTA in 2015 with Sam Lowes on board. Corsi finished ahead of Marcel Schrötter (Intact Dynavolt GP) whilst Tech 3 Racing’s Xavi Vierge continues to massively impress on the out-of-favour chassis, he now lies 5th in the championship.
The battle for the top 10 saw Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team) beat Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia), with Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) staging an impressive comeback in the latter half of the race into P12, finishing as top rookie once again.
Xavier Simeon (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) led Brad Binder’s injury replacement Ricky Cardus (Red Bull KTM Ajo) home in P13, with Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completing the point’s scorers after a late mistake saw him drop positions, despite some impressive pace on board Sam Lowes’ old bike.
The field now head to Europe, as the ever popular Circuit de Jerez hosts the fourth round of the Moto2 world championship. Can anyone put a stop Morbidelli’s relentless title surge? For sure the Spaniards will be looking to claw back some of the deficit on home soil as it
promises to be another fascinating weekend of two wheeled racing.
Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17. Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.
Nico Hülkenberg has said he is feeling confident that he and the Renault team can secure a good result in this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, following a fruitful outing at the last race in Bahrain.
Hülkenberg claimed his and Renault’s first points of 2017 at the Sakhir International Circuit two weeks ago, finishing in ninth place after another strong qualifying performance saw him start from seventh for the second race in succession.
He then went on to record the sixth-fastest time at the post-race Bahrain test, just a few tenths off the Williams of Felipe Massa as Renault evaluated new updates to the RS17.
“I have quite a bit of optimism,” Hülkenberg said, regarding the forthcoming Russian Grand Prix. “I think we made good progress to enable us to improve our race pace when testing in Bahrain and we have some new bits for the car to facilitate this too.
“Of course, the Sochi Autodrom is a completely different circuit [to Sakhir], so we can’t accurately predict our performance until we get there, but I’m feeling positive.”
Expanding on the work Renault conducted in Bahrain, Hülkenberg added: “We want more downforce and to improve the car aerodynamically and to use the tyres better in the race. The car is basically good, it’s just a number of details we need to improve.”
His teammate Jolyon Palmer has also praised the development of the RS17, despite settling for a “frustrating” thirteenth-place finish in Bahrain, saying “There’s definitely been progress, but there’s certainly more to come.
“Getting into the top ten in qualifying for the first time in Bahrain was particularly satisfying,” the Briton reflected. “I’d struggled a lot in the FP3 session, so myself and my engineer, Chris Richards, sat down and we changed the set-up of the car so it worked far better.
“The real positive is that the team is taking a step forward at every race so we’re hopeful that Sochi continues in this vein.”
Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17. Bahrain Grand Prix, Friday 14th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.
It was the worst-kept secret in the MotoGP paddock last year: Triple premier class champion, Jorge Lorenzo, was leaving the all conquering Yamaha factory outfit for Ducati in 2017. Signed to deliver the red bike’s first World Championship since Casey Stoner exactly a decade ago.
It has not gone as planned. Lorenzo’s results from the three opening fly-away races read thus:
Qatar: P11 (Started P12), 5 points
Argentina: DNF (Started P16)
USA: P9 (Started P6), 7 points
The warning signs had been evident for any rider joining Ducati: Just a few seasons after winning his title, Stoner became disillusioned with the team and defected to see out his racing days with Honda. Furthermore, since Stoner left in 2010, the Italian team have achieved victory in a grand total of two grands prix (Andreas Iannone and Dovizioso at Austria and Malaysia last season, respectively). Not even Valentino Rossi, with nine world titles to his name, could tame the Desmosedici-RR. The latter’s failure was perhaps Lorenzo’s real motivation for signing. Succeed where his arch rival could not.
Winter testing was a disaster for both team and rider. Although it is always difficult to judge the real performance of riders and teams, as we are not privy to details such as fuel loads and tyre choice, Lorenzo was constantly in the bottom half of the timesheets throughout most of the sessions. This was also because of Ducati discovering that they had lost some ground on their rivals now that the winglets had been banned. The lack of such aerodynamic aids has undoubtedly hurt the cornering performance of the Bologna-based outfit. With this in mind, the Spaniard was clearly always going to be struggling to adapt from the start.
However, in Ducati’s defence, their bike has always been much more physically demanding to ride than others. Therein lies the crux of all problems for the man known to his fans as ‘The Spartan’. Whilst the M1 has garnered the reputation of being arguably the most well balanced grand-prix bike to ever be built, the Ducati is the polar opposite. Designed around maximum straight line speed, the rider must be prepared to haul himself and the bike around every corner, combating the extreme levels of ‘chatter’ through the suspension, as the machine fights against every directional change. It takes an extraordinary rider to tame the beast. There is no place for finesse and smooth trajectories, which Lorenzo has built his career upon to date.
As a result, perhaps it should not have surprised us that the early stages of Lorenzo’s relationship with his new employers have been rocky. Both team and rider have had a stark reality check since joining forces. Ducati almost certainly won’t be able to win the championship this season, and Lorenzo has discovered how much he underestimated the challenge of riding the Ducati would be.
Poorer than expected results, and a completely disconsolate Lorenzo after Argentina, led certain media outlets into speculating how quickly he might part ways with his team. It was telling that it was Lorenzo who moved first to clarify his situation before last weekend’s American Grand Prix: “I don’t want to think about what has happened. In the team we are all optimistic. We’re working well together and this difficult moment will be over soon.”
Whilst ninth place will not bring home any accolades, it is proof that both the rider and team are improving. Lorenzo was understandably more buoyant speaking after the race. Additionally, there was more of a hint of the old bullish Jorge when on top form: “Today I was faster than ever on race pace. For sure we cannot be satisfied with our final position because our target is certainly much higher. We’re here to fight with Yamaha and Honda. But the positive is we’re much closer than before.”
Now that does not sound like a man who’s giving up just yet.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico Friday 31 March 2017. Photo: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _J6I5979
Venturi has confirmed that Tom Dillmann will make his Formula E race debut standing in for Maro Engel at the Paris ePrix, as their regular driver contests a clashing DTM round at the Lausitzring.
This follows Dillmann, the reigning Formula V8 3.5 champion, getting his first taste of Formula E machinery during the Mexico City ePrix weekend, when he deputised in shakedown for Stephane Sarrazin whilst the latter attended the WEC Prologue.
Furthermore, Venturi will continue Dillmann’s acclimatisation to Formula E ahead of his race debut by running him in one of the team’s in-season filming days.
Speaking about the announcement to Motorsport.com, Dillmann called his ePrix debut a “great opportunity…to race on the streets of my capital city.
“After I was in contact with Venturi the first step was getting some running at Mexico although it was very short. But really in Mexico I learnt more from seeing how things operate in the race and how a race is run, this was really useful to experience.”
Dillmann also acknowledged that it will be difficult making his debut against “drivers [with] two full seasons’ racing” in the series, but added “for me the aim is to do a good job for the team” and “look towards season four because I want to race full-time in the championship then”.
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Sunday 16 April 2017. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _31I3281
Two wins in the first three races have moved the Ferrari in the first place on the championship board, not far from Mercedes which is just three points behind.
Sebastian Vettel has found his lost personality and leads the Scuderia to one of the most thrilling seasons. Two chequered flags, a second position in China and 68 points for the four-time world champion so far in this season. Whilst his main title contender, Lewis Hamilton, won one race and finished two times in the second place.
It’s still too early to judge, but I strongly believe that it will be a very close battle between two of the best drivers on the grid. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have the ability to get the 100% of their car and fight wheel to wheel for the title. Lewis Hamilton looks satisfied because finally Ferrari is competitive and Sebastian Vettel is a respected opponent in his eyes. From the other side, Vettel wants to return to the top and win his fifth title in his Formula One career and fulfill one of his childhood dreams.
In China the safety car gave an advantage on Lewis to lead the race, as Ferrari called Vettel into the pits earlier, when the virtual safety car was deployed, but in Bahrain the safety car was in Ferrari’s favour, and a five seconds time penalty which Hamilton received might cost him the race or at least a battle between him and Vettel for the chequered flag.
The only ‘disappointing’ so far is that Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen are not as fast as their team-mates. The Finns, are struggling to follow Hamilton’s and Vettel’s pace, Valtteri showed some of his skills by taking the pole position in Bahrain, but that was not enough to secure him a good race on the following day. But it is not fair to judge Bottas, as he moved from Williams to Mercedes only a few months ago and he is still trying to find an ideal set-up for him.
From the other hand, Kimi Raikkonen is far away from his good side, the Finn is looking lost and unable to help Ferrari at that moment. Kimi finished fourth in Australia and Bahrain, and fifth in China, so far he has scored 34 points in the championship, half the points which Vettel have scored.
Raikkonen had a good season last year, hence everyone was expecting something good from him this year, but he failed to satisfy his fans. He is a very experienced driver, and I hope that he will improve his performance and will manage to fight for a place on the podium and for a victory in the following races.
The new regulations have improved the quality of the sport. Faster cars, wheel to wheel battles and very impressive overtakes make the 2017 season the best season of the last years.
It was obvious from last year that Ferrari wanted to take advantage of these changes and make a reliable and fast car, the risk paid off for the reds until now and Tifosi are dreaming a tittle after almost nine years.
I cannot predict the winner of the 2017 season, but I certainly can say that this year will make us to hold our breath until the final chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.
Is it the desire of McLaren to win their first Indy 500 since 1976 (Johnny Rutherford) or the desire of Fernando Alonso to complete the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’? That is the question of many questions.
There are two current drivers who can achieve the Triple Crown. The only person to grab hold of this elusive title is Graham Hill.
That fact is quite historic.
The ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’ to those who know better includes the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, not the F1 World Championship. There is a thought that it is the F1 World Championship instead of the Monaco Grand Prix, but that is just a modern way of thinking (in the eyes of this writer and many other motor racing fans).
Base the theory on the Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and Le Mans and this year two drivers go head-to-head as the only two people in the world who can achieve this feat.
Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The only man to complete the Triple Crown (in real terms) is Graham Hill.
Alonso has won the F1 Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007. Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2003 and the Indy 500 in 2000. Montoya has one more race to complete the set, whereas Alonso has the Indy and Le Mans.
Now, we all know Alonso wants to race Le Mans, we also know that Montoya is gearing himself up for Le Mans and this, aside from any racing fan-ship, poses a fantastic option.
Which of these two, if any of them, will grab it?
McLaren in association with Andretti Motorsport have recently announced their inclusion for the Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso. That, in itself, should raise some interest in the motor racing family. Some may look back and comment and think it slightly strange.
Take stock for one moment what I said before, there is only one other driver in the history of motorsport who has completed this task, Graham Hill. Now wonder at the thought that there are two drivers who could do this, now in our modern time right in front of our eyes.
McLaren, as a team, last entered the Indy 500 in 1979, their last win was 1976 when Johnny Rutherford won, having won in 1974 and the team finishing second in 1975. A great era.
But what of now?
McLaren in Formula One aren’t doing so well, they want to do better as do their fans, but they aren’t.
Is this some kind of PR stunt? Maybe.
Is it a platform for Fernando Alonso to complete the near impossible at the end of his career? I think it might be.
It is not a hidden fact that Alonso is not the happiest bunny in the world when it comes to the Formula One World Championship, but can McLaren be competitive at the Indy 500?
Can McLaren be competitive at the Indy 500 when they can’t compete at the top in Formula One? Different series, different regulations and different rules.
If Alonso is, and it is strange to say this about the double world champion, as a rookie could win the Indy 500, he would then be on par with Juan Pablo Montoya.
The records:
Juan Pablo Montoya won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2003, he also won the Indy 500 in 2000. He has won two of the Triple Crowns.
Fernando Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix twice in 2006 and 2007 but is yet to win an Indy 500 and like Montoya, a Le Mans.
They are both yet to win the toughest race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Both men want to race Le Mans but only Montoya is in a place at this time to achieve this. Are McLaren putting all their eggs in one basket and putting Alonso out there?
It is no secret that Zak Brown loves Le Mans and the Indy 500 and if Honda in Formula One are not delivering and their ageing, experienced and still talented driver in Alonso is delivering then why not look at another series or race? To see a McLaren team at the Indy 500 is an amazing sight and, if they intimate, to see them at Le Mans would be fantastic.
Zak Brown loves his Formula One history, he is American, he has pedigree in sportscar racing and he likes to make a difference. Based on this information it is not beyond the impossible that Fernando Alonso winning the Indy 500 and then competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That is not fantasy, that is fact.
I put Juan Pablo Montoya into the equation. He has two of the titles and is readily experienced to win the third, the toughest and the hardest to get. The 24 Hours. He is testing cars for this.
Make no mistake, it does not matter whether you are an IndyCar groupie, a WEC fan, a Le Mans veteran, a Formula One addict or a racing fan in general. The battle in mainstream racing is not F1 and Ferrari vs Mercedes or Vettel vs Hamilton, this year or next it is whether the Triple Crown can be equalled and there are only two drivers who can currently achieve this. But who and when? That are the questions.
Montoya and Alonso.
So…..when it comes to the 500 this year, it just got a little more interesting for Alonso and McLaren and for Montoya….well, we all know that pout and that bravado of the man that is Montoya and he will think, ‘All I need to do is win Le Mans”. Alonso will readily accept the 500 challenge and look ahead.
Are McLaren going for the Triple Crown or will Montoya beat them to it?
It won’t be answered this year, but it does pose many other questions, among those, are McLaren moving over to sportscars again?
That is for another article.
For now, where would your money go, Montoya or Alonso?
But what if Alonso won the 500 this year, one of the most difficult races to win? What then?
If Alonso and McLaren win the 500 then it is just Le Mans to win and then THAT is driver vs driver…..Alonso vs Montoya…..Manufacturer vs Manufacturer and a sponsors absolute dream.
McLaren fans will obviously be willing Alonso on, IndyCar and NASCAR fans will be courting Montoya, but proper racing fans and neutrals will be hoping Alonso wins the 500.
Why?
Because if Alonso wins the Indy 500 then the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans just got a whole lot more interesting and the only other drive aside Montoya and apart from Graham Hill, would be in contention to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
Whether you are a Formula One, IndyCar or Le Mans fan I can only offer one piece of advice. Grab your favourite beverage and snack…sit back and watch. You may well watch history in the making. You may not, but you never know.
Alonso vs Montoya. Pick your seat.
And on that…..I will see you at the chequered flag.
This year’s Tour de Corse is a tale of two halves. The Citroen team had done some serious hard work before, to try and get a handle on the car’s behaviour on asphalt after the disappointment in Monte Carlo.
Shakedown suggested that there would be little in it.
1 Ogier 3:50.7
2 Paddon 3:51.3
3 Meeke 3:51.6
4 Latvala 3:51.8
5 Neuville 3:51.8
6 Tanak 3:52.0
7 Sordo 3:52.2
8 Breen 3:52.7
9 Lefebvre 3:54.0
10 Evans 3:55.0
All of the teams have experienced reliability problems this year and this is what would happen here too.
So, the first day’s action would be played over these stages, without a midday service. Should anything happen, then the crews would have to solve it as best as they could.
8.30pm: Flexi Service A (Bastia airport – 45 mins)
At the end of that first stage, Kris and Paul in their C4 would be the only crew to dip below 20 minutes! It was a bit damp under the trees and when Seb got to the end, he explained that he didn’t like the feel of the bumps in the Fiesta in the middle of the stage. Both Jari-Matti and Ott talked about the damp patches in the stage, making it very tricky to be fully confident, so holding back a bit. Thierry talked about the bumps as well and suffering a bit with understeer, so not able to push as hard as he wanted. Kris was very happy though.
1. Meeke – 19:56,5 (93,9kph)
2. Ogier +0:05,7
3. Neuville +0:11,0
It set a marker that the C4 was very capable on this surface now.
Stage two and Kris won this as well, with Seb remaining his closest challenger, just a few seconds slower at the end of the 29,12km stage. Seb adjusted his suspension a little, and combined with the smoother stage, was a little closer to Kris. Thierry also would struggle to be quicker, just lacking his rhythm and in the tree covered roads, seeing where the grip was.
1. Meeke – 18:22,3 (95,1kph)
2. Ogier +0:03,2
3. Neuville +0:06,2
Onto stage three then and this would be where we would we would see the first name fall. Ott would go off a couple of km’s into the stage. They were fine, but the car wasn’t coming out easily. Hayden and John in their i20 would start to have a problem with the rear of the car stepping out, and this would see the car slide out on a right hander and hit a rock face, leading to a little damage to the rear left, but at least it was cosmetic, rather than anything serious. Kris’ lead was now eight seconds over Seb.
1. Ogier – 19:52,1 (94,2kph)
2. Meeke +0:00,8
3. Neuville +0:06,2
Last stage of the day then and Kris would take this as well, thus making his lead a pretty good 10.3 seconds.
1. Meeke – 18:20,4 (95,3kph)
2. Ogier +0:02,2
3. Neuville +0:03,2
Let’s hear then from the top three at the end of the first day.
1st
Kris Meeke said:
“I really enjoyed driving the Citroën C3 WRC on these roads. The rally is far from over, but today’s good result is just rewards for the hard work done by the team, especially during pre-event testing. We managed our day well, particularly in the afternoon when we had to cope with more dirt and gravel pulled onto the racing line and higher tyre wear. I feel good but I have to be wary because I only have a very narrow lead.”
2nd
Sébastien Ogier said:
“We tried as much as we could today. I have to say that I’m pretty happy with my drive, but we also know that we’re still missing a little performance.
“We tried a few things stage after stage and the feeling did get better as the day went on. It’s still not perfect, but we have some ideas for tomorrow that will hopefully help us gain some more speed. It’s all about the set-up and we have to try to improve the feeling in the car so that we can get the most out of it.
“Tomorrow we will continue to push and try our best. It’s only 10 seconds, and there are still plenty of kilometres to come. Of course, it would have been better to have had a 10 second advantage ourselves, but at the moment we are behind and we need to keep the pressure on and continue to push.”
3rd
Thierry Neuville commented: “Everyone seems to be on strong pace here this weekend, which will make it a nice fight. The first stage this morning went OK from my point of view. We had a few things to improve on the car, with understeer in some corners affecting the confidence a bit. Although we had no lunchtime service, we made some adjustments on the ride height to improve the grip at the front axle, which we hoped would give us better steering and turn-in performance. We tried to push in the afternoon loop but the gap to the front was still too big. We were certainly on the limit, so we’ll have to see what improvements we can make overnight to help us reduce the gap to Meeke and Ogier, who have both been quick today.”
The rest of the drivers.
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 4th
“It’s been a good day, especially as we’re not a million miles away from the podium. On the advice of the engineers, I’ve changed my tarmac driving style completely to try and be less aggressive on the brakes. It seems to be working but I feel that there’s definitely room for improvement. I was also trying to adjust the settings of the diff maps on the stages and I think it seems to be better. Everything is going well, the C3 WRC is really nice to drive in conditions like these.”
Stephane Lefebvre 8th
“The main thing is that we have had a clean, consistent day, in line with the target we had set ourselves. Obviously, I’m suffering from my lack of knowledge on this rally. It was only on the first seven kilometres of Pietrosella, which are new for everyone, where I was able to compete with the leading guys. It’s not easy to get the right level of aggression. If you push too hard, you get more understeer and that’s not what we’re looking for either!”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo 5th said:
“It’s been a relatively trouble-free day for us, but we are missing some speed and performance compared to our rivals. It’s difficult to put our finger on what is exactly missing because the car feels quick and I have felt very comfortable with my driving. We tried a few things today, also adapting my driving style, to try and extract some more pace, but there wasn’t any big change. We have to discuss things with the team this evening; I am sure there are more things we can try.”
Hayden Paddon 7th said: “The first stage this morning was not the ideal way to start the rally. It was tricky with some damp patches that did nothing whatsoever for the confidence. The second stage went better but the times were still not there. We couldn’t do much over lunch with just a tyre fitting zone so we persevered for the afternoon loop. In SS3, we had a good first half but we then lost the rear towards the end, which created a few moments. Once you lose the rear, you are a passenger really. The final stage felt fine but we know we can do a better job. The gap is bigger than I would like but we have this evening to work out how we can turn things around for the rest of the event.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017 Hayden Paddon, John Kennard, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala 6th said:
“Today has been OK, but really I’m not too happy with my driving. I think I’m being a bit too cautious, especially in the places where it is damp or slippery. But I’m not so worried about it as I know that these conditions don’t really suit me. Where I think, I am losing time is under braking and acceleration; it’s also a question of getting used to the active central differential with the extra power this year. We’ve had a great start to the season and so the expectation is high but it’s also important to remember that we have a lot of testing and learning to do, so this is a realistic position that we are in at the moment. The car has plenty of potential, so of course we hope to improve tomorrow.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Juho Hänninen (retired)
“It was disappointing for me obviously: there was a slight surface change before a bridge close to the end of the first stage and I just lost the car under braking, which meant that we arrived at the corner much too quickly and went wide. The right-rear of the car hit the bridge parapet, and that caused a fire soon afterwards from the damper oil. We were able to put the fire out and continue to the end of the stage, but the problem was that we had also damaged the front and rear tyres, and like everyone else we had just one spare wheel. So, we had to stop to save the car. It’s not been a good day for us, but at least we have the chance to come back tomorrow.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak (Rally 2 / 23rd) said:
“There was a long corner and a bit more gravel than we were expecting. We understeered wide and the road was quite narrow. We were on the edge for some time and in the end we just missed that little bit of luck to keep us on the stage.
“There was very little damage to the car but we got stuck on a steep bank and it was quite difficult for the tow truck to get us out so we had no chance on our own!
“It’s a big shame because the car felt really nice. I’ve always struggled with this rally but this year I had been really enjoying it. We had a good test in the lead-up and we worked really hard with the notes to get everything perfect.
“I can say that it’s a bit of an empty feeling right now. The times this morning were good and close to the ‘Tarmac experts’ so of course it’s disappointing. But that’s life, and sometimes it’s tough. Now, we just need to have a good sleep and get back out there tomorrow.”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans (18th) said:
“We had a problem with the hydraulics early on in the second stage so it’s been a long day trying to manage the issue. Obviously, it’s been a bit frustrating as this is one of the strongest events on the calendar for us. It’s disappointing, but we have plenty to learn and plenty of purpose to keep fighting for the rest of the rally.”
End of day one:
1 Meeke/Nagle 1h16m32.1s
2 Ogier/Ingrassia +10.3s
3 Neuville/Gilsoul +25.8s
4 Breen/Martin +52.4s
5 Sordo/Marti +53.8s
6 Latvala/Anttila +1m00.2s
7 Paddon/Kennard +1m18.8s
8 Lefebvre/Moreau +2m07.6s
9 Mikkelsen/Jaeger +2m57.3s
10 Sarrazin/Renucci +16m09.4s
Saturday dawned dry and warm, with four stages again in front of the crews.
8:40am SS5 La Porta-Valle Di Rostino 1 (48,71 KM)
10:17am SS6 Novella 1 (17,27 KM)
1:03pm Service C
2:28pm SS7 La Porta-Valle Di Rostino 2 (48,71 KM)
4:08pm SS8 Novella 2 (17,27 KM)
So, stage five and Thierry pushed hard and he mentioned that the conditions were very tricky, with a lot of dust on the road. Seb said that the road was very bumpy and that he didn’t feel comfortable to push hard. Could Kris take advantage and increase his lead? Well, he didn’t win the stage, but he was quicker by almost 9 seconds. He said at the end, very very dirty compared to last year. He was happy though.
SS5 – La Porta – Valle di Rostino 1 (48,71km)
1. Neuville – 32:19,6 (90,4kph)
2. MEEKE +0:08,8
3. Ogier +0:14,9
Stage six would see the demise of Elfyn Evans. He would go off the road on a left-hander and there was no way back on under their own steam. Craig Breen was in a battle with Dani Sordo, but it would go a bit pear-shaped for the C4 crew. They’d lost their intercom and Craig had had to drive blind with hand signals from Scott. He was furious! Thierry would drive a great stage and move ahead of Seb after going through almost nine seconds quicker than the Fiesta pilot! He said the stage was good and that he’d had to back out a little in some places after the sump guard bottomed out on the road! Seb was very unhappy though. He couldn’t explain why he was so slow. Unfortunately, it was the end for Kris and Paul…. Engine let go, one km from the end of the stage. He said the car was incredible, but they were out.
SS6 – Novella 1 (17,27km)
1. Neuville – 11:13,1 (92,4kph)
2. Sordo +0:02,2
3. Hanninen +0:03,3
Stage seven would see Seb finally win a stage on Saturday! However, it took a spin for Thierry in a hairpin where he just lost the rear. Seb had a much better handling car, as well after making some changes in service.
SS7 La Porta- Valle di Rostino 2 (90,6kph)
1. Ogier 32:15.9
2. Latvala +0:05.0
3. Neuville +0:06.0
One more stage then on this afternoon of drama. Stage eight… Well, it would be Seb that would hit trouble! The paddle shift for the gear change would completely fail. He’d have to use the gear shift. How much time would he lose? Well, the answer was loads! He was only eighth quickest and 36.7 seconds slower than Thierry. Dani had driven well too and steered his car into a solid third place.
SS8 Novella 2 (17,27km)
1. Neuville 11:17.7 (91,7kph)
2. Sordo 0:03.2
3. Latvala 0:03.6
Well, we had a new leader and Thierry found himself benefitting from his rivals’ misfortunes. Let’s hear from the top three then.
Thierry Neuville 1st commented:
“A fantastic day for us, and a real turnaround from Friday’s stages. The team worked really hard to improve the set-up of the car for today’s loops, and the handling was much better. I felt more confident to push and could carry more speed through the corners. To score two stage wins on the first loop was very pleasing and we finished strongly with another fastest time this afternoon. Aside from a small spin in SS7, we’ve had nearly the perfect day. We won’t take anything for granted even with a 39-second advantage over Ogier. We have one very long stage to start Sunday, so this rally is far from over! To be leading at the end of the penultimate day, though, is an important step closer to our target.”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“It was quite a disappointing day – especially as the fight with Thierry was shaping up to be a really enjoyable battle. A situation with a technical issue is never one that you want to be in, but this is motorsport and it happens.
“This morning we didn’t have a lot of confidence and Thierry was able to get ahead of us. This afternoon we had no option but to try and react, and it was good to see that we were able to do that. We got the lead down to just two seconds, but unfortunately that’s where the fight ended for us.
“I’m happy that we at least saved our second place which means good points for the championship – and that’s the only target remaining for us now. If we manage to finish like this and collect some points in the Power Stage it will be a very good weekend for us.
“It would mean increasing our lead in the championship and every weekend that we’re able to do that is a good weekend. I will be happy with that even if tonight I am a little disappointed. I would have preferred to fight until the very last stage as that would have been exciting for us and for the fans as well.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Dani Sordo 3rd said:
“We started this morning feeling more confident and we were setting better stage times. The team worked hard last night on the differentials, suspension and general set-up of the car. I was much happier and we could immediately notice the improvement. The afternoon wasn’t as good. I pushed as hard as I could but the times were not as fast as this morning. Still, we are in third place and involved in a close fight, so we have to work hard in the final two stages tomorrow to defend our position – and hopefully score my first podium of the season.”
The rest of the drivers
Jari-Matti Latvala 4th said:
“The car was actually transformed after some of the changes that we made at midday service. In the two stages this afternoon I really enjoyed driving it: I was able to push and it was a big pleasure. Obviously, there was a lot of mud and dirt on the road during the second run, so we had to be careful, but we still made a very big improvement compared to the morning. On the first two stages today I didn’t have a good feeling under braking in particular, but we improved this as well during service. Now I think we’re in a strong position for tomorrow, so we’re aiming for a solid finish.”
Craig Breen 5th said:
“The Tour de Corse is undoubtedly the worst place in the world to lose the intercom! We nonetheless managed not to lose too much time on SS6. This afternoon, there was a bit more pressure on my shoulders after Kris and Stéphane’s retirements. I kept out of trouble and I’m still within striking distance of Jari-Matti Latvala. We’ll see tomorrow if we are able to go after fourth place.”
Hayden Paddon 6th said: “We have made steady progress today, trying to close on the top-five. To be honest, we’re in a bit of a no man’s land on the classification, a bit too far away to pose any threat to Breen. After yesterday, we wanted to try a few things to improve our feeling in the car, and the morning loop allowed us to do that. There was a bit more gravel pulled out on the stages in the afternoon loop but the route note crew did a great job to report that back to us. I have enjoyed driving these stages today and we are closer to the front than we were here six months ago, so it’s not all bad. Our focus is now on bringing the car home. Anything could happen yet.”
Ott Tänak (16th) said:
“Overall, it’s not been such a bad day. Yesterday we were pushing quite hard, but today the main priority was to get through the stages and secure some valuable points for the manufacturers’ championship.
“During the second loop the stages were quite dirty and really challenging so we didn’t take any big risks. We might not have been flat-out, but we had a good rhythm and a good feeling with the car. We continued to learn and improved the balance for tomorrow so hopefully we can continue that through the final stages.”
Finally, those that didn’t make it to the end of the second day.
Kris Meeke (DNF) said:
“Obviously, this is not the outcome I was hoping for, but it’s part and parcel of the sport. In order for a car to go as fast as possible, there are tens of people who work on thousands of parts… and sometimes, it doesn’t work quite as it should. In any event, this weekend has given me a huge confidence boost for the future. It was really special to lead this rally, which I think is the most difficult tarmac event. We know that our C3 WRC can win on all surfaces and that’s what we’ll try to do in Argentina, and then in Portugal and everywhere else.”
Stéphane Lefebvre (Rally2) said:
“We didn’t hit the wall that hard, but hard enough to break part of the suspension. We tried to repair it so we could keep driving in the afternoon and pick up more experience. Unfortunately, we arrived at the time control after the maximum thirty-minute limit and were therefore excluded. We’ll be back under Rally2 rules tomorrow. I’ll try to restart at a good pace in order to leave Corsica on a positive note.”
Elfyn Evans (Rally 2 / 26th) said:
“This hasn’t been the Tour de Corse as we have known it in previous years. Luck has definitely not been on our side this time and it was really disappointing to end today’s action so early. It was just a very small and unfortunate mistake. Hopefully we can get the car back out on the stages tomorrow and get some more mileage under our belts.”
Top ten at the end of day two.
1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 2:44:10.2
2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +38.9
3 D. Sordo M. Martí +57.7
4 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +1:09.4
5 C. Breen S. Martin +1:12.2
6 H. Paddon J. Kennard +1:43.8
7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +6:21.7
8 T. Suninen M. Markkula +7:29.6
9 S. Sarrazin J. J. Renucci +7:46.8
10 Y. Rossel B. Fulcrand +9:56.5
Sunday morning then and two stages to decide this year’s winner!
7.15am: Service E (Bastia airport – 15 mins)
8.58am: SS9 – Antisanti – Poggio di Nazza (53.78km)
First up was the longest stage of the whole weekend. A great decision by the organisers to have it first thing on the last day. All the crews choose to go with hard tyres. The stage was identical to last year, so it would be interesting to compare the times.
There was a good battle between Craig and Jari-Matti for fourth overall and by the end of the stage, Jari-Matti was five seconds slower than the young Irishman. Seb ran wide on a left-handed hairpin, losing more time. He was pretty unhappy and didn’t say what was causing all the problems for him.
Thierry and Nicolas was twenty seconds quicker than the champion and Dani had moved into second overall, just a couple of seconds ahead of Ogier.
SS9 – Antisanti – Poggio di Nazza (53.78km)
1. Neuville 32:34,6 (99,1kph)
2. Sordo +0:00,1
3. Breen +0:01,8
Just one stage left then…. Could Jari-Matti get back in front of Craig and could Seb get back into second? Ah, the power stage and Hayden was first in. It wasn’t to be though. He slid into a driveway, under braking for a left hander. No damage to the car, and he finished the stage trailing spectator tape, just like Kris in Mexico.
Jari-Matti, winner two years ago and he was fully committed! He’d lowered the car to make it quicker. It worked! Craig and Scott would be only 1 tenth slower at the end meaning that Jari-Matti had just got ahead into fourth! He also had won the power stage.
At last Thierry had taken his first victory of this new season. The Hyundai team had started slowly on Friday, but had closed the gap to the front through Saturday, into a position to capitalise on Kris’ misfortune with his engine crying enough.
1. Neuville / Gilsoul 3:22:53.4
2. Ogier / Ingrassia +54.7
3. Sordo / Marti +56.0
4. Latvala / Anttila +1:09.6
5. Breen / Martin +1:09.7
6. Paddon / Kennard +2:16.3
7. Mikkelsen / Jaeger +8:10.7
8. Suninen / Markkula +9:17.0
9. Sarrazin / Renucci +9:23.6
10. Rossel / Fulcrand +12:57.1
Let’s hear from the top three then.
Thierry Neuville 1st commented:
“It’s an amazing feeling to take the win here in Corsica this weekend. I am sure there are many people who share in this celebration with us, not least the whole of the Hyundai Motorsport team. They have been so supportive of me since Monte Carlo and Sweden, and I’m really happy. This win is ours! It was a tough start to the rally with some struggles on Friday, but we worked through that methodically to return stronger. With Dani finishing third, we’ve picked up a healthy score of points which helps to get us back firmly into the title fight. An incredible weekend for us.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“It has definitely been a roller coaster weekend for us! We’ve had lots of highs and lows, but I’m happy to say that we finished on a high with some really good points for the championship.
“We’re happy with the pace that we had and things are definitely moving in the right direction. We struggled with the set-up at times, but honestly the car is not too bad and I think we have some performance in the tank.
“We had the pace to challenge Thierry for the win – only two seconds behind him before the technical problems – but of course we have some work to do to ensure we don’t repeat this stressful weekend.”
Dani Sordo 3rd said:
“We knew it would be hard to hold onto second place after we inherited it from Sébastien in the first stage this morning. We pushed as hard as we could and I am still very happy we have finished on the podium this weekend. It has been a strange event and almost a lottery at times with our feeling in the car not matching the times set on the stages. Our target for today was to defend our third place, which we did, so from that point of view it is mission accomplished. This is a great result for the team, and we can now try to build on that in the next gravel rounds.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala 4th said:
“The power stage was completely maximum attack: I was totally focussed on my driving. I knew that if I wanted to have fourth place I needed to have a perfect run and I nearly achieved that: there were a couple of places where we arrived too fast and had some understeer, and also one jump where we arrived completely sideways. I could see people running away, so I’m sorry if I gave them a fright, but in any case, it was all under control, even though it looked spectacular! We’ve taken 17 points with fourth place and the Power Stage win, so this is a really fantastic result for our first rally on asphalt.”
Juho Hänninen (DNF) said:
“About five kilometres from the end of the first stage this morning I just missed a right-hand corner. I think it was maybe a problem with my pace notes, which perhaps were not clear, but in any case, I went straight off the road and there was no chance to come back, so my rally finished there. It’s disappointing because we showed plenty of speed on this rally and came so close to the finish, but of course I am happy for the team as Jari-Matti achieved a very good result here.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 5th said:
“This morning, the conditions were ideal once again, with beautiful weather and magnificent roads. Obviously, it’s very frustrating to lose a position by only a tenth of a second, but that’s also why we love rallying! I have no regrets, because I tried my best on the Power Stage. I have to be pleased with the weekend. We didn’t make a single mistake and we held our own when fighting with drivers with a lot more experience than us. That bodes well for the future.”
Stephane Lefebvre said:
“We completed today’s final two speed tests looking to increase our knowledge of the car and the Corsican stages. We really enjoyed it and that helped to increase our confidence. We won’t be racing in Argentina, so I can’t wait for Rally de Portugal to come around. Last year, I really enjoyed competing at this event.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon 6th said: “Our focus on this final morning was simply on bringing the car home and scoring a few more points. It’s been a learning weekend for us, but we have to find the positives. Even if the end result doesn’t show it, we have been competing closer to the front this weekend and shown an improvement from last year’s Tour de Corse. There’s obviously still plenty to learn but we’re making progress. We must now look ahead to the next rally, the start of a run of five on gravel. We should have a good road position for Argentina so I’m looking to feature more prominently in the next events. Congratulations to Thierry and Nicolas – and everyone back at Alzenau – for the victory.”
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak (Rally 2 / 11th) said:
“It’s been a rally of highs and lows. This has always been one of my least favourite events so it was really good to see that we had good speed through the opening stages. We were on pace with the Tarmac specialists and, for the first time, I was really enjoying these twisty roads.
“That made it really hard when we slid off the road – it was an empty feeling to be honest – but we have to look to the positives. We’ve learnt a lot and my pace has been so much stronger than it had been in previous years.
“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but the pace was good and we’ll come back stronger – all focus now on a proper push at Rally Argentina!”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans (Rally 2 / 21st) said:
“This has always been one of my favourite events so it’s disappointing not to have been in a position to have challenged for a strong result. What with the problems on the opening day, and the mistake yesterday, it’s just not been our rally.
“But it’s not been a wasted weekend by all means. We’ve learnt a lot and collected a lot of information that we can use to be stronger at the next asphalt event. Now, all focus is on Argentina – and it’ll be all guns blazing there!”
So, what a great rally! Our fourth different winner this year and this year, a trend I hope will continue! The next event is in Argentina and we will see who will come out on top there.
2017 FIA World Rally Championship, Round 04, Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, Nicolas Gilsoul, Marc Martí, Photographer: RaceEmotion, Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4
1 S. Ogier 88
2 J.M Latvala 75
3 T. Neuville 54
4 O. Tanak 48
5 D. Sordo 47
6 C. Breen 33
7 K. Meeke 27
8 H. Paddon 25
9 E. Evans 20
10 A. Mikkelsen 12
11 S. Lefebvre 10
12 J. Hänninen 9
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
