British Superbike race one got underway in Cadwell Park after a delay for rain. Fortunately, the precipitation ceased and we got underway in the dry, Leon Haslam making the holsehot from the middle of the front row, passing pole sitter Bradley Ray into turn one, whilst Jake Dixon held position in third place.
Largely, the positions remained unchanged in the first lap, but on lap two, Ray passed Haslam for the lead, and even began to pull away at the front. That was, until Chrissy Rouse fell at the Hall Bends, and had to be taken away in the ambulance. This saw a safety car period which took us up to lap nine, so we essentially had a ten-lap race to the flag.
Bradley Ray. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
Ray made a superb restart, and began stretching the pack again, initially only dragging Haslam with him. Eventually, Glenn Irwin and Dixon behind managed to match the leading pair, and came back into contention, as Tommy Bridewell found some pace too, setting what was at the time the fastest lap of the race.
Whilst Irwin was able to match the pace of the two leaders, he was unable to do anything about passing Haslam, and in fact he seemed to be slightly holding up Dixon behind, although the RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki was slightly slow in a straight line, so passing was tough for the number 27.
Finally, though, after a failed attempt two laps previous, Haslam passed Ray in Park corner on the third-last lap, and simultaneously Dixon slid through on Irwin.
Haslam’s pass was unintentional. It looked like a proper motocross block pass, standing the Suzuki rider up as he went through, but in reality Haslam’s Kawasaki had yet another with the engine blipping, so he ran on a little, passing Ray only to avoid hitting him. It certainly worked, although the time the pair lost in the move meant that the chasers, now led by Dixon, were right on the back of them again.
Dixon then tried to pass Ray in the first part of Charlie’s on the next lap, but got it wrong, ran wide and dropped back to fifth spot.
The next lap was a stunning recovery from Dixon, passing Bridewell in Park and then having a late lunge on Irwin in the hairpin to reclaim that final podium spot. As he mentioned after the race, there is little point for a person in Dixon’s position to finish fourth, because he needs podium points.
Whilst that was happening, though, Ray was unable to have a go at Haslam, who was strong on the brakes, and so Haslam took his eighth Cadwell Park win in the British Superbike Championship.
It was a superb ride from Haslam, riding around problems to take the victory. Also, his strongest point of the race was going to be at the end, as he had appeared to have next-to-no drop off on used tyres across this weekend, so the safety car did not really work to his favour. With that in mind, the field should be worried for the second outing.
Second place represented a solid return to the podium for Brad Ray, his first rostrum finish since race one at Brands Indy. He certainly seems to have gotten over his front end woes from earlier in the season, and should be consistently back in the frame for race wins in the next races.
Whilst the race win slipped away from Dixon, the sixteen points for third place were enough for him to secure his spot in the Showdown, meaning he can now focus 100% on podium points from this moment on.
Fourth place went to Glenn Irwin, who had enough to stick with the leaders, but just not enough to make a pass, and he was ahead of the Moto Rapido Ducati of Tommy Bridewell who was very impressive, as he continues his superb adaptation to the Panigale.
Christian Iddon took sixth place, ahead of Peter Hickman, who might have expected better from race one at what is one of his best circuits on the calendar, and where he took his first BSB win back in 2014. Perhaps the problems lie simply in the kidney infection he picked up in Thruxton, and is still affecting him this weekend.
Tarran Mackenzie had a strong ride for McAMS Yamaha in his first BSB race at Cadwell, finishing eighth, and as top Yamaha – the first R1 in a line of three with James Ellison and Josh Brookes directly behind the rookie. It was a disappointing race for Brookes, and his frustration was clear as he put a tough move on Jason O’Halloran at the Hall Bends, forcing his compatriot off the track, and costing the #22 another two positions. Anyway, a lot to improve upon for Brookes in race two.
Richard Cooper and Luke Mossey. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
Richard Cooper took eleventh place, ahead of a no doubt disappointed Luke Mossey who was twelfth. O’Halloran finally took thirteenth spot, ahead of Laverty who ran off track at Park and ended up fourteenth. Tom Neave took the final point, his first in BSB.
Gino Rea was sixteenth, ahead of Fraser Rogers, Sylvain Barrier, Shaun Winfield and Aaron Zanotti who was the final finisher in 20th.
Neither Mason Law, nor Andrew Irwin started the race. Law broke his thumb and damaged his neck in warm up, whilst Irwin suffered terminal engine issues on the sighting lap.
Martin Jessopp and Chrissy Rouse failed to finish. Rouse helped Jessopp off at the hairpin on the first lap, whilst the Suzuki rider went down alone later on, and brought out the safety car as he had to be taken to the medical centre via ambulance.
The only other retirement was Danny Buchan, who lost the front at the foot of the mountain on lap three.
After winning race one with the fastest lap, Leon Haslam placed himself in prime position to take a third career Cadwell Park double for race two, which he started from pole.
He didn’t make the holeshot, though, that achievement went to Bradley Ray, as Haslam’s start was hampered by the ‘Pocket Rocket’ seemingly losing his balance whilst sat on the grid, so he slightly missed the start. Still, he managed to get in to turn one in second place, just ahead of Jake Dixon, who started from sixth.
Immediately, the front three started to pull away, led by Ray, and the Suzuki rider wasn’t headed until lap twelve, when Haslam slid through on the inside at Park, and was immediately followed by Dixon who made a superb move to the inside in the middle of Chris Curve.
Bradley Ray and Leon Haslam. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
Pretty much from this moment on, Ray started dropping back, and the final seven laps were between Haslam and Dixon for the victory. For the most part, Haslam shadowed Dixon after the #27 passed him at Park on lap 13, but chose the same corner to reclaim the lead from his training partner on the penultimate lap.
Dixon tried to come back on the next lap, once again at Park corner, but Haslam defended aggressively, manoeuvring his Kawasaki to the inside of the track to block Dixon’s attempt. Dixon tried anyway, but the outstretched leg of Haslam meant Jake had no choice but to release the brake and run off into the gravel, allowing Haslam an easy enough final lap to the flag, as well as letting Ray back into second place.
Much has been made of this ‘incident’ since the conclusion of the race, and it’s fair to say that neither Jake Dixon nor his team are happy with Haslam’s move. However, Haslam’s style is to throw his leg in almost every corner, especially the right handers, and ultimately Leon did nothing wrong. He probably thought that Jake would have gone back to the outside, considering Haslam’s line, or that the RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki rider would have backed out in some way. As it is, I can see the point of Dixon, ultimately this moment cost him the chance to fight until the end for the win, and cost him two podium points, but in reality Haslam did nothing wrong.
The win for Haslam marked his third double win in Cadwell Park, two years after his most recent maximum score in the Lincolnshire track. It also strengthened his advantage at the top of the championship, and critically in the podium points standings, where his advantage is now more than one race win. A controversial ride, but a strong one from Haslam, and the points he gained could be crucial for the championship.
Another second place for Bradley Ray means that Cadwell was his best scoring round since he doubled up in Donington Park at the beginning of the season, walking away with forty championship points and six crucial podium credits. He has three races in Silverstone to keep hold of his top 6 spot, and it looks as though it will be a fairly straightforward target for the #28 to achieve.
Bradley Ray taking taking 2nd in races 1 and two. Images courtesy of Suzuki racing
Of course, Dixon was disappointed to miss out on the victory, but nonetheless he left Cadwell Park with two podiums, and still in the championship hunt. He must look now to Silverstone as a round which he must take advantage of. That triple header could provide the opportunity for Jake to enter the Showdown in real contention.
Peter Hickman and Glenn Irwin were both valiant in fourth and fifth places respectively; Hickman suffering with the kidney infection he picked up back in Thruxton as well as contending with the after effects of a fortnight of little-to-no rest; whilst Irwin was struggling with a shoulder injury he picked up in Friday practice. Considering this, both did brilliant jobs to score solid points, and help their Showdown cases.
Christian Iddon repeated his race one result with sixth spot. In theory, Silverstone should suit the BMW better than the twisty Cadwell Park, and Iddon will be hoping to capitalise on that to fire himself into the Showdown.
Michael Laverty came home in seventh, ahead of Danny Buchan who made a solid recovery ride from a poor grid slot caused by his race one crash, and thus keeping his Showdown hopes alive.
Richard Cooper came home in ninth spot, whilst Luke Mossey rounded out the top ten to end a somewhat disappointing weekend after such a promising Thruxton meeting.
Eleventh went to Jason O’Halloran, who was ten seconds ahead of his very impressive temporary teammate, Tom Neave, who took twelfth place in just his fourth British Superbike race.
Meanwhile, Martin Jessopp took thirteenth, ahead of Sylvain Barrier and Shaun Winfield who rounded out the points, and was the final finisher in fifteenth.
James Ellison failed to start the race. He was pulled off the grid before the warm up lap, then sent back out, at which point his R1 started smoking. He lined up on the grid, but was pulled straight off again when the race started.
Tommy Bridewell was the first DNF, crashing out on lap six, one lap after he set the fastest lap of the race (later bested by Dixon). It was a shame for Bridewell. He made a bd start from the middle of the front row, but charged through from tenth for fourth by lap six. He was chasing down the leaders when he crashed, which he admitted was his fault. Still, the number 46 is positive ahead of the rest of the season, where he will hope to get better acquainted with the Panigale, a bike which he is already greatly enjoying.
One lap after Bridewell went down, Andrew Irwin dropped out of the race at Charlie’s, and a couple of corners later, Gino Rea’s OMG Racing Suzuki expired.
Tarran Mackenzie then dropped out on the McAMS Yamaha after nine laps, before Aaron Zanotti stopped. It got worse for McAMS on lap 12, when Josh Brookes’ decent ride was brought to a halt by mechanical problems after climbing up into the top five. Finally, Fraser Rogers retred three laps from the flag.
It was a somewhat straightforward qualifying session for British Superbikes in Cadwell Park, the eighth round of the 2018 season. The people who you would expect to be fast, were, and vice versa.
Finally, it was Bradley Ray who took pole position, the second of his career, his second of the season, and first since Brands Hatch Indy back in April. Ray claimed to have found solutions for his front end woes in Thruxton, and they bore fruit today, and he will be hoping that that continues tomorrow as he seeks to solidify his place in the Showdown.
Bradley Ray on pole. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing.
Leon Haslam has shown supreme pace all weekend, and looked odds on for pole position, and whilst he lost out in the end to Ray’s Suzuki, it seems that the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider has been focusing solely on race pace. So, whilst he was matched in qualifying, he could have the speed and consistency to get away in tomorrow’s races.
The front row of the grid is rounded out by Jake Dixon, despite some health issues through the weekend. If anyone can go with Haslam tomorrow, it is probably Dixon.
Glenn Irwin will be fourth on sunday’s grid , and seems to be back to top form after a difficult Thruxton. In the same vein, Irwin will be hoping to return to the podium tomorrow, especially in view of his Showdown and championship hopes.
In the middle of the second row for the first race will be Tommy Bridewell, who continues his impressive adaptation to the Ducati. Of course, Cadwell Park was the scene of Bridewell’s first BSB win, back in 2014, so the planets seem to be fairly well aligned for a big result for the number 46.
Danny Buchan has been strong all weekend, despite a crash on Friday. He took sixth on the grid, and will be in the hunt for the top positions, as will Peter Hickman who qualified eighth, on row three between Christian Iddon (7th) and Josh Brookes (9th). Brookes, in comparison, has struggled this weekend – just like last season – and it looks like it will be a day of damage limitation for the Australian.
Luke Mossey and his side of the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team made a critical error in Q2. Whilst the rest of the grid came in for a new tyre in the middle of the session, Mossey did not make a second run with a fresh rear slick. As a result, Mossey was knocked out of qualifying at the second stage, and despite some decent-looking race pace, he will have to start from 10th.
Tarran Mackenzie, like teammate Brookes, has not had such a strong weekend in Cadwell as in previous meetings, making their relative lack of pace seem like a McAMS Yamaha problem, or even just a straight Yamaha problem when you consider the results of the other R1s. Mackenzie, like the other Yamaha riders, will be hoping for a step forward tomorrow, but barring that it looks like it could be a long day for the rookie.
Row four is rounded out by Jason O’Halloran who, as you might imagine at the calendar’s most physical circuit, is struggling with his ankle injury. It’s going to be a tough couple of races for the Honda rider tomorrow, but he needs to make it work if he is to remain in contention for the Showdown.
Continuing the struggling Yamaha theme, James Ellison could only manage P13, ahead of Richard Cooper and Michael Laverty who join him on row five.
Meanwhile, Andrew Irwin joins Martin Jessopp and Gino Rea on the sixth row, and Mason Law, Chrissy Rouse and Sylvain Barrier make up row seven.
Tom Neave will line up 25th in race one tomorrow, ahead of Shaun Winfield and Fraser Rogers on row eight, whilst Aaron Zanotti is the only rider on the ninth row, back in 25th spot.
Santino Ferrucci is set to return to the IndyCar paddock for the last two rounds of the season at Portland and Sonoma, four months after making his debut at the Duel in Detroit. This announcement has been met with a rather confused reaction, primarily because of the events of the British F2 races at Silverstone, but we’ll get onto that later…
Santino Ferrucci. Image courtesy of Haas f1
First things first, Dale Coyne turned to Ferrucci because of his performances at the two races in Detroit earlier in the season. On the face of it, the results don’t seem that great with 22nd and 20th place finishes in the respective races, but there’s more to it than that. In Race 1, the American was hit from behind by Charlie Kimball and ended in the barriers while, after initially running well in Race 2, he spun on pit exit and it was a recovery drive from there.
The impressive part of Ferrucci’s weekend was that he was often out-pacing his vastly experienced teammate, Sebastien Bourdais. After putting in strong performances in both practice sessions, Ferrucci qualified just behind his teammate for Race 1, starting eighteenth, but then went onto out-qualify Bourdais by three places for Race 2, starting thirteenth. So, while he failed to deliver in the races, Ferrucci showed excellent pace all weekend.
Judging by just this, there would be very little questioning of the decision by Dale Coyne – he has the pace, he just needs to string a race together. However, there’s a lot more to the Ferrucci case than just his performances at Detroit…
Many people, myself included, thought that Ferrucci had hit self-destruct for his racing career after his conduct during the F2 weekend at Silverstone earlier this year. He pushed his Trident teammate, Arjun Maini, off the track in Race 1 and received a 5-second penalty before deliberately crashing into Maini on the cool-down lap of Race 2. Subsequently, Ferrucci was called to the stewards to explain his actions but did not attend and was therefore excluded from the Race 2 results.
He ended up being banned for the following two F2 events – Hungary and Belgium – after driving his car between the paddock and pitlane while holding his phone, as well as for the previously mentioned incidents. There were also rumours of racist remarks towards Maini, but these reports are unconfirmed and were not addressed by the stewards.
Unsurprisingly, Trident fired Ferrucci and he seems to have been let go by Haas, who he was a junior driver for – or though there has been no official announcement.
This seemed to be game over for Ferrucci’s career, but Dale Coyne have thrown him a life-line by putting aside his actions at Silverstone – which were very briefly mentioned in the press release – and going on just his Detroit performances.
Ferrucci will pilot the #39 as a third car for Dale Coyne, alongside teammates Bourdais and Pietro Fittipaldi, for the last two IndyCar races of the 2018 season. He will also test at Portland during the open IndyCar test on the Thursday, a day before the weekend officially gets going.
This announcement has been met by various amusing GIFs from fellow drivers along with a lot of questioning from fans and journalists. The team know what went on at Silverstone but, for whatever reason, they have decided to give him another chance based on his performance at Detroit.
Ferrucci will take that chance with open arms, no matter what everyone else thinks, and his performances at Portland and Sonoma will decide whether he’s in the market for a 2019 IndyCar drive or not.
Red Bull has confirmed that Pierre Gasly will join the team for 2019, stepping up from Toro Rosso to replace the outgoing Daniel Ricciardo.
Gasly will join the senior Red Bull team for his second full season in Formula One, having made a late season debut with Toro Rosso at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Since then Gasly has recorded three top ten finishes, with his best being fourth place at this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, and contributed all but two of Toro Rosso’s 28 points.
It’s believed that these performances (as well as his experience of Honda power at Toro Rosso and in his 2017 Super Formula campaign) made Gasly the favourite to take Ricciardo’s vacant seat even before fellow Red Bull junior Carlos Sainz removed himself from the market by signing with McLaren.
Mark Thompson, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
“To be awarded a drive at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing from 2019 is a dream come true for me,” Gasly said. “It has been my goal to race for this team since I joined the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme in 2013, and this incredible opportunity is another step forward in my ambition to win Grands Prix and compete for World Championships.
“I wish to thank Franz Tost and everyone at Toro Rosso for giving me the golden opportunity of a drive in Formula One. My focus now is to do everything I can to give them a season to celebrate.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “Since Pierre stepped into a Formula One seat he has proved the undoubted talent that Red Bull has nurtured since his early career. His stellar performances this year, in only his first full season in Formula One, have only enhanced his reputation as one of the most exciting young drivers in motorsport.”
Mark Thompson, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Alexander Rossi took his third win of the season and first at Pocono to take Scott Dixon’s title lead down to 29 points in a race that was overshadowed by a huge crash for rookie Robert Wickens, causing a two-hour delay.
Alexander Rossi. Indycar 2018: Round Fourteen – Pocono, Philadelphia. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu
The race didn’t get off to the best of starts with Graham Rahal and Spencer Pigot making contact before they even crossed the start line for the green flag. It was a very slow start and Rahal was caught out, accelerating into the back of Pigot who was still moving at the pace of the rest of the pack. Pigot was taken out of the race but managed to briefly get back in it after the red flag period.
That incident caused the first caution, and, after hardly any green flag laps, we soon had the second. Robert Wickens was fighting with Ryan Hunter-Reay when he tried a move through Turn 2 that was a bit far gone. Wickens and Hunter-Reay touched, spinning both and causing Wickens to fly through the air, rotating multiple times and destroying large parts of the catch fence. Pietro Fittipaldi, James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato all got caught up in the wreck but all managed to get away relatively unscathed. Hunter-Reay was very lucky, as his onboard showed, with Wickens’ car taking out his roll-hoop but leaving him uninjured.
Wickens was less lucky. The rookie Canadian received multiple injuries including two broken legs, spinal injuries, a broken right arm and a bruised lung. It could’ve been a lot worse and it was a very anxious wait for all teams, drivers and fans as we waited on news on Wickens – thankfully he was reported as awake and alert and the race was able to be restarted.
Fittipaldi, Sato and Hunter-Reay all participated in interviews once cleared from the medical centre to explain their point of view while Hinchcliffe chose to leave the track and get to the hospital to see his great friend teammate Wickens once he was cleared, after initial fears of arm injuries.
Quite understandably, the race took second place in the priorities but, nevertheless, it still happened. Rossi took the win but not in such as dominant fashion as we’ve seen earlier in the season – he led after the restart and only lost the lead once but was under constant pressure from Will Power. Rossi’s lead yo-yoed throughout the race, varying from over 11 seconds to under 1 second, and even nothing at one point when Power got past Rossi.
Will Power, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6 races to a 2nd place finish Sunday, August 19, 2018 during Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for Chevy Racing)
At the penultimate stops, Rossi had a slow in-lap and was jumped by Power who stayed ahead, despite Rossi having the momentum on track. Power looked like he was building a lead when Rossi dived down the inside in a risky move that was rewarded with the race win. Power closed the lead back down in the final stint when Rossi got stuck behind Sebastien Bourdais and Dixon, who narrowly avoided being lapped, but Power was never able to get on terms with Rossi again.
The third driver on the podium was championship leader Dixon who held off a strong, late charge from the previously disgruntled Bourdais. The Frenchman was unhappy with the repairs to the fence following Wickens’ crash and had a very animated phone call with the race director but was eventually convinced to get back in the car. You wouldn’t have a clue about all that once they got racing, Bourdais was one of the fastest drivers on track and was not shy of an overtake, even at Turn 2.
Dixon himself was on a recovery drive after qualifying well down the field in thirteenth. The #9 Chip Ganassi driver had already made it to seventh by the restart and, from there, he made continuous progress throughout the race – only losing 17 points in his lead in a race that could’ve been a lot worse for him as he only just missed the wreck.
Josef Newgarden was one to have a fairly quiet race, actually getting lapped and very nearly being passed by Andretti rookie Zach Veach. After initially running third, Newgarden lost time during the pit stops and slowly dropped through the pack after he lacked the pace of the leaders. Veach, meanwhile, was one of the most impressive drivers of the race, looking very confident and having pace not far off race leader and teammate Rossi despite the fact that this was his very first visit to the Tricky Triangle.
Marco Andretti and Simon Pagenaud both struggled at Pocono with neither having the expected pace all race and eventually finishing seventh and eighth, not far off going two laps down. You know it’s been a strange race when Penske’s are being lapped but that’s what Pocono does, especially when there are long runs without cautions as we had following the restart.
Robert Wickens earlier this year in happier times. Indycar 2018 Round 01: St. Petersburg, Florida. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu
This is a race that is going to, and has already, drawn a lot of questions of IndyCar. The catch fence is the main problem and, even though Wickens hasn’t sustained life or career threatening injuries, many have argued that he shouldn’t have sustained any at all, especially in a series like IndyCar. The repercussions will rumble on but, for now, IndyCar will move onto Gateway with the shadow of Pocono hanging over them.
Full Race Results:
Alexander Rossi
Will Power
Scott Dixon
Sebastien Bourdais
Josef Newgarden
Zach Veach (R)
Marco Andretti
Simon Pagenaud
Charlie Kimball
Ed Carpenter
Matheus Leist (R)
Ed Jones
Max Chilton
Graham Rahal
DNF – Conor Daly, Spencer Pigot, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Robert Wickens (R), James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, Pietro Fittipaldi (R)
McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris will make his F1 race weekend debut at the Belgian Grand Prix, taking over Fernando Alonso’s car for Friday practice.
The running will mark Norris’ third time driving McLaren’s MCL33, following appearances at the in-season tests in Barcelona and Hungary, and could be followed by another FP1 drive next weekend at Monza.
McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran called the Friday practice role “part of [Norris’] ongoing development”. He added that the team would “take a strategic view race-by-race” whether to give Norris any more outings in future Grands Prix.
Zak Mauger, LAT Images / FIA F2 Media
Coming after Alonso’s decision to leave F1 at the end of 2018, it’s understood that McLaren will use Norris’ Friday performances to judge whether he is ready for a promotion to F1 for next year in place of Stoffel Vandoorne.
Norris had been tipped to join McLaren in 2019 after storming to an early lead in this year’s Formula 2 championship. But a run of varying results in the mid-season triple header, which led to George Russell taking the title lead in Austria, have raised questions about whether next year is too soon for the 18-year-old to make his F1 debut.
Norris is currently 12 points behind Russell in the standings, and has one win to Russell’s four.
Renault director Cyril Abiteboul has said that the team will begin trialling concepts for its 2019 car at Spa this weekend, as focus at Enstone turns towards the new wing regulations coming for next year.
“Most of our resources are now focused in preparing for 2019,” Abiteboul said. “We are pushing on with aero developments, and will bring some concepts at upcoming races onto the R.S.18 that are ultimately destined for next year’s car.
“We have been offensive and decisive in the driver market [in signing Daniel Ricciardo] and now we have to do the same on both chassis and engine development.”
Renault Sport F1 Team
Abiteboul also said that, despite looking ahead to 2019, Renault will still “keep bringing developments to this year’s car to find gains wherever possible”.
Technical director Nick Chester said that maintaining their development pace will be key in making sure Renault stays ahead of Haas and Force India in the fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship:
“We’re in a super tight battle in the midfield. We’re being pushed hard and we have quite a lot of work to do.
“The objective is to find raw car pace. We have to put more performance on the car to have a good fight until the end of the year. We have a new floor for Spa and some other bodywork parts to go with that, which should be helpful.”
It was one of the most dramatic races ever – It’s worth mentioning also that the team hadn’t done that well that year, with numerous DNF’s and a very slow car as well. However, when the team changed their designer, bringing Mike Gascoyne on board and he introduced a new floor and sidepods. Damon Hill drove the improved car to fourth in the German and Hungarian races, the two races before Belgium.
During the Friday’s free practice sessions, Damon placed the car fourth and then third fastest, showing the changes were making a dramatic difference. Then in qualifying Damon put the car third on the grid, ahead of Michael Schumacher and behind only Mika and David in their McLaren Mercedes.
In the wet and raining warm up on Sunday morning the two Ferrari’s led the way, with Michael ahead of Eddie Irvine, whilst Damon was sixth.
At the first start there was a massive accident taking out nine cars. The drivers who didn’t restart were Rubens who was injured, Olivier, Salo and Rosset.
The rain eased off and after the clean up that saw so many cars out, the grid lined up for a restart with the drivers opting to switch to intermediate tyres.
At the start, Damon Hill took the lead, but Mika Hakkinen spun at La Source and was hit by Johnny Herbert who clipped the front of the McLaren. With Mika and Johnny colliding at the first corner, the safety car came out for a couple of laps whilst the mess was cleared up.
1998_belgian_grand_prix_by_f1_history-d9iq172
At the restart after those safety car laps, Jacques passed Jean Alesi, moving into fourth place. Seven laps into the race, Damon and Michael were lapping a full three seconds faster than all the other drivers and were eight seconds ahead of Eddie Irvine who was third.
After eight laps, the rain started to fall harder and Michael Schumacher took the lead from Damon, out braking the Brit into the bus stop chicane. Once there, with his set-up on his Ferrari set to the track getting wetter. Each lap saw the German pull away from Damon and the lead by lap 13 was ten seconds.
Lap nine saw Eddie spin off and damage his front wing and further back the remaining Stewart driven by Jos Verstappen retired after his Ford engine failed. Twelve laps in and Michael had a nine second lead over Damon. Williams driver, Heinz Harald Frenzen was now in third place, but Jean in his Sauber was actually catching the German ahead of him. On lap 14, Frenzen ran wide into the gravel in the final third of the lap, and Jean passed him, moving into third and was now lapping faster than Damon. The lap times were starting to increase as the rain began to fall heavier and Jacques had now caught his teammate. On lap 16, having not stopped for full wets the Canadian spun out and retired from the race. The result of that was our top three was now Michael, Damon and Ralf.
However, the race was to have a dramatic moment on lap 25, when Michael struck the rear of David’s McLaren as he was coming through to lap him, and this ripped off his right-front wheel and suspension, and David’s rear wing being knocked off! The two drivers completed the lap, Michael driving on just three wheels, but then Michael stormed down to the McLaren pits and had a go at David. He was pushed away by his own team who had tried to stop him from going down there in the first place.
The net result of this was that Damon was back in the lead. A couple of laps later, Damon ran wide at the bus stop chicane and took a skip over the grass. No big drama though, as he had a good lead over his teammate. In third place by this point was Jean Alesi in his Sauber and at points, he was lapping faster than the two Jordan’s ahead of him.
The following lap saw an identical crash – Fisichella in his Renault hit the rear of Nakano’s Minardi as they came down to the bus stop chicane, with the result that he lost control and also hit the barrier at the start of the pit lane. A small fire started on the side of the car, which was put out quickly and given the position of the car, race control released the safety car which stayed out for five to six laps whilst the mess was cleared up. A number of cars pitted during the safety car period and Damon managed to pit and re-join in the lead.
David’s McLaren had been rebuilt with a new rear wing and re-joined the race in seventh place but was four laps behind the sixth-place driver. With 12 laps remaining, the safety car was still out there but preparing to pit and the race would restart.
With 10 laps remaining, Damon had everything under control and was pulling away from his young teammate, Ralf, who in turn was keeping a good gap to Jean in his Sauber and four seconds covered the top three with eight laps remaining, but the gap then started falling as the rain eased off and with just five laps remaining just three seconds covered the top three.
Three laps to go and Damon had opened up a bit more of a lead now with the rain falling harder again. Jarno Trulli, running in the final points position was lapped safely by Damon on lap 42.
The final lap passed without incident and Damon Hill crossed the line to win his twenty-second race and Jordan’s first. Ralf took second place and Jean Alesi took Sauber’s first podium in third place with a brilliant drive. Heinz Harald-Frenzen was fourth and Pedro Diniz, driving for Arrows was fifth and taking the final points position of sixth, Jarno Trulli in his Prost.
I’d say, that this race is definitely one of my favourites, and not just because Damon won, but for the incredible drama and excitement it brought to the those who watched.
Shakedown took place on Thursday morning, with Ott showing great pace, and the two top championship protagonists in third and fourth.
SHAKEDOWN STANDINGS
Tänak / Jarveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:52.9
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:53.1
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:53.5
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:53.6
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:53.8
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) 2:54.3
Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:54.3
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:54.7
Ostberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 WRC) 2:55.4
Suninen / Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:55.9
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:57.3
Later in the same day, we had the first stage of the day and with Ott taking and early lead from Kalle Rovanpera who is driving a Skoda Fabia WRC2 in this event! Real giant killing driving! In fact, there were a number of WRC2 drivers inside the top ten.
Onto Friday’s action and with six stages, who would emerge in front? The start list looked like this – Neuville, Ogier, Tänak, Lappi, Sordo, Mikkelsen, Latvala, Evans, Ostberg, Breen, Suninen.
Seb won SS2 from Thierry and Ott third and with it took the lead by just eight tenths of a second from the Estonian. The road was becoming quite gravel strewn by the time Craig came to it, with him finding he needed to be cautious, and getting his braking points right, so made it through with no moments.
Onto SS3 and there was a change in the lead, with Ott five seconds faster than Seb in the stage. Everyone who finished the stage before Craig had a clean run, but three or four km’s into the stage the heavens had opened and it was really wet! His Citroen teammate, Mads had a spin in a hairpin as well, so not a great stage for their team.
It was a Toyota 1-2 in SS4 with Ott faster than Esapekka, and Thierry taking third, closing the gap to Ogier a little. Further back, Latvala passed Elfyn, moving into sixth.
It was time for service, and the opportunity to change some aspects in the car set up.
Into the afternoon stages, and Ott won SS5 by just three tenths of a second from Seb. There was a big change though, with Elfyn jumping from seventh to fourth overall with a great stage time. Mads sadly had a car problem, losing engine power. Craig was also on the move in his Citroen, passing Andreas in their battle for eighth overall.
FIA World Rally Championship 2018 / Round 09 / Rallye Deutschland 2018 / August 16-19, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Well, SS6 had dried out since the run in the morning and Ott won again, increasing his lead a little bit over Seb. Mads lost some more time with his engine problem dropping out of the top ten. There was another change in the top ten, with Dani getting past Esapekka Lappi into sixth.
The final stage of the day and SS7 was won by Ott again, whilst Lappi and Sordo were ahead of Seb. Ott’s lead over Seb was now 12.3, with Thierry in third overall. Craig was optimistic that Saturday would be better too.
Here’s the top ten then after Friday’s stages.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 59:22.6
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 12.3
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +27.4
Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 37.8
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 38.8
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 42.7
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 42.8
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) + 58.0
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 59.0
Suninen / Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 1:21.4
Ostberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:28.1
Here’s the thoughts of the drivers then – Top three first
Ott Tänak
“I think we have had close to a perfect day today. The driving was clean and the car was working really well. Everything was new for me, driving this car on these very specific stages, but I could adapt quickly, the rhythm was there from the first stage and I was able to push hard all day. This afternoon it was more difficult because it rained during lunchtime and every corner had a different level of grip, but we had a clean run with no mistakes. Tomorrow is a different day with more demanding stages on Baumholder, but the mindset is still the same. There is a long way to go and we just need to keep focused and keep concentrated.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m pretty happy with my day. I was pushing hard all the time and the car feels good. The chassis is working really well this weekend and I had a lot of fun driving.
“Hats off to Ott [Tänak] for a really strong day – but of course it is frustrating to see him just that little bit faster than us on almost every stage; making the gap 12 seconds at the end of the day.
“We need to keep trying tomorrow and with Baumholder having a different characteristic you never know what’s going to happen.
“The main target is to stay ahead of Thierry [Neuville], but the second target is to win the rally – so I’m only halfway there! Tomorrow will be a long day and we have to keep trying.”
Thierry Neuville
“I think we have done all we could today with no real mistakes. We had one minor problem this morning, which we were able to resolve and we can reflect on a safe start to this rally. In the morning loop we took the safer option with two spare tyres, and lost some time because of the extra weight. It was also quite dusty. It’s been difficult to match the times of Ott and Seb, but we are in the podium fight, which is good. I am not in the mood to take big risks being in the lead of the championship.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Elfyn Evans (4th)
“It’s been an okay day and I think we can be pretty happy with the way things have gone. It was a bit of a shame to lose so much time this morning, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes and we have to keep trying. It’s extremely close in the mid-pack, but we’ll give it a good push for the podium positions tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans, Dan Barritt. Rally Deutschland. Photo credit M-Sport
Teemu Suninen (10th)
“The feeling has been getting better and better and I have been really happy with the car. This is my first time with this car on Tarmac, but already the level is quite good. There is still a lot to learn and the main thing is the braking and turning with these cars, but I’m enjoying and looking forward to another challenge tomorrow.”
Toyota Gazoo WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (5th)
“This morning I lacked a little bit of confidence in the conditions: with my road position there was more dirt coming on the road than I was used to here before. In service we made some changes with the front differential and the afternoon was definitely better for me. I was very happy with what we did on the second run over Mittelmosel in particular. It’s going to be a good fight tomorrow. For me, tomorrow’s stages are the best ones on this rally. It’s wider and you can use racing lines more, and that’s what I like. Also, the roads will be cleaner than today and that should suit me better.”
Esapekka Lappi (7th)
“I was quite pleased with the morning loop. The conditions were quite nice and the car worked really well. The afternoon was then quite tough. The vineyard roads got really dirty in some corners and I struggled a lot in these places. The car feels fine, it’s just a lack of confidence on my side because I don’t want to make a mistake and I am backing off too much. Still, tomorrow is a long day and we have a good road position, and we are only five seconds away from fourth place.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo (6th)
“It has been a difficult start to the rally for us. I wasn’t particularly happy on the morning loop and struggled to find grip. We have continued to push as hard as possible but the times at the front are very quick and we haven’t been able to match them. We have suffered with understeer and just haven’t been able to get into the required rhythm. The stages tomorrow will give us a different tarmac challenge, so we will continue to do what we can. The fight for fourth place is very close!”
Andreas Mikkelsen (9th)
“We have spent the day working hard on adapting my driving style as well as making some adjustments to the car. It was clear during the morning loop that I had to be more aggressive on the steering. We looked closely at the situation at service, and my engineer did a great job to help us make improvements. The afternoon was definitely a step in the right direction. Changing my style of driving after ten years is not the work of a moment but I hope we can continue in this way for the remainder of the weekend.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Craig Breen (8th)
“It really does seem that I can’t get a break on a Friday. Things didn’t go the way I had hoped, but there’s still a long way to go. The weather is forecast to be dry and sunny tomorrow and I’ll have a decent road position, so hopefully I can show what we’re capable of.”
Mads Østberg (11th)
“I’m still learning about the car, and getting used to racing on tarmac again as well. Given the conditions, the morning went fairly well for us in terms of our pace. The afternoon was harder with the engine issue, but I really hope that tomorrow’s leg will work out better for us.”
Day Two – Saturday
Into Saturday then and with eight stages run, a much longer day to deal with. The start list reflected the top ten – Serderidis, Ostberg, Suninen, Mikkelsen, Breen, Lappi, Sordo, Latvala, Evans, Neuville, Ogier, Tänak. Certainly, Craig was looking to a better day, with his best road position since Sweden.
The first one, SS8 saw Latvala go fastest with Dani and Craig just a tiny gap behind. Jari-Matti’s pace took him past Elfyn. Craig’s pace took him closer to Lappi, with the Citroen driver so much faster than the Finn.
The next one, SS9 saw a fastest time from Dani Sordo and with that, he jumped into fourth passing Elfyn who now fell to sixth. Ott Tanak’s lead was now 13 seconds over Seb. Mads, who was looking to get back into changed part of the setup, but it introduced understeer when on the power, making the car hard to drive. Craig was fourth as well, getting a little closer to Lappi.
It was Lappi though who hit back in SS10, winning the stage from Jari-Matti with Ogier third. This moved him ahead of Elfyn. Mads and Teemu continued their battle for the final points position, with just a little over a second between them, but in Teemu’s favour.
Disaster would befall Elfyn in SS11, after he went off. Craig Breen won the stage, from Lappi with Mads and Ott sharing the third fastest time. Dani could only manage the eighth fastest time whilst Thierry was ninth, meaning they’d both been passed by Jari-Matti who was now in third place overall.
A service break followed, with Thierry looking to make some changes to his car, so that he would feel a lot more confident with it. Ott said that he wasn’t that happy with his car
Into SS12 then, and Dani won the stage, moving ahead of his teammate, Thierry, who was now in fifth place. The gap closed a little between Ott and Seb, but not really anything to get too excited about with the gap still at over 13 seconds between them.
Massive change happened in SS13. Another stage victory for Dani – he was really in the groove – moved him ahead of Jari-Matti, and with Ogier getting a puncture 8.4km into the stage, he only managed 21st fastest, losing 1 minute 43 seconds and dropping to ninth overall. Mads didn’t understand why he was slow, after reporting that his car felt great in the stage. Dani was now in second overall.
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 09, Rallye Deutschland 16-19 August 2018 Dani Sordo, Carlos Del Barrio, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Just two stages remained and the first, SS14 was won by Seb, fighting back after his problem in stage 13. Lappi and Latvala were second and third after setting the same time. Top three overall was Ott, Dani and Jari-Matti. Ogier’s pace was good enough to put him up one place into seventh, Teemu dropping behind. Andreas will be Seb’s next target, with just 3.5 seconds between them.
Okay, the final stage of the day, SS15. Drama for Craig, who went off the road, damaging the rear left tyre. He lost so much time and dropped to tenth place, behind Mads. Winner of the stage was Jari-Matti, four tenths faster than Esapekka whilst Ogier set the third fastest time and this meant the gap to Andreas had come down to just half a second. But what a day that Ott had?! His lead over second placed Dani stood at 43.7 seconds and now Jari-Matti was just eight tenths of a second behind the Spaniard.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:23:2711
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 43.7
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 44.5
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +52.5
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 58.8
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 1:50.7
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 1:51.2
Suninen / Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 1:57.0
Ostberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 WRC) +2:20.4
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) + 2:34.4
Thought’s then of the drivers – Top three first
Ott Tanak
“Obviously it has been another good day. This morning it wasn’t easy, because I had to get used to driving on different types of road in this car for the first time, and I needed to push hard because it was a really close fight. In the afternoon my feeling was much better and I was enjoying it a lot. The changes we made during lunchtime service were a good step in the right direction and the car is really comfortable to drive. Now we have a big gap behind us and there are some nice stages tomorrow, so the most important thing will be just to enjoy it.”
Dani Sordo
“All in all, it has been a competitive day for us and it’s encouraging to be involved in such an exciting fight for the podium in the team’s home rally. We have taken three stage wins and have pushed really hard throughout the day, I felt really comfortable and competitive in the Panzerplatte stages, getting absolutely everything out of the car. We struggled a bit in some other stages, especially in the morning, but we couldn’t do more. Jari-Matti closed the gap a lot on the final stage, after I lost quite a lot of time, so we will be focused on defending our position from him on Sunday morning.”
Jari-Matti Latvala
“It has been a really enjoyable day. It started well this morning and then I was delighted with how the afternoon went. I couldn’t match Dani Sordo’s pace in the military area, but then on the Saarland stages on the farm roads I tried to push harder. He was better in one area and I was better in the other and now we are really closer to each other. To be fighting like this is a really nice feeling and I am looking forward to continuing the battle tomorrow.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (4th)
“We have to accept that we haven’t really been on the pace today. We have struggled with the handling of the car, and have had to be careful not to push too much because we know how easy it is to make a critical mistake. There’s a lot to think about so we have to remain calm and just do what we can. I didn’t do some of these stages last year, so we have been using Dani as a reference and have to be satisfied, even if we’re not completely happy.”
Andreas Mikkelsen (6th)
“It has been another challenging day, that’s for sure, but we have fought hard and continued to find out little things which we can use to improve. All the stages have their own characteristics so we have had to continue trying and evaluating different driving styles. We have been working closely with the team and I’ve tried to be more aggressive with the handbrake. We want to be fighting for better results than we are currently. The time sheets don’t make for good reading but we are taking steps and that is the most important thing right now.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Esapekka Lappi (5th)
“Overall, today has been quite average for me. In the Baumholder area I struggled a bit. This morning I had too soft a setup for those stages, and although I think I managed to improve that for this afternoon, I still lost a lot of time there for some reason and that is frustrating. On the other hand, on the other stages among the fields everything felt nice and the times were good, even when there was dirt on the road on the second pass. The gap to fourth place is still quite small so let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Sébastien Ogier (7th)
“We had some bad luck today. We know that this stage has a lot of stones everywhere and that it’s always a bit of a lottery whether you will pick up a puncture. Unfortunately, this time, we didn’t win that lottery.
“It was a slow puncture after seven kilometres and we had to stop and change it. After that I took some crazy risks as I had nothing to lose. I was pushing super hard to finish the day, but there isn’t so much we can do now – only some points in the Power Stage.
“We made a good effort this weekend and were doing a good job. It’s frustrating not to get the reward for that, but we will come back stronger.”
Seb at speed. Photo credit, M-Sport Fordd
Teemu Suninen (8th)
“It’s been a good day and the driving is starting to be on a good level now. I was able to be much closer to the fastest guys which was really good, and I know where we can be faster. That is a big positive as I already know how to make the fastest times.”
Elfyn Evans (Rally 2)
“It didn’t go fantastically well for us today. We spun at the start of the third stage in the loop [SS10], and then on the fourth one [SS11] we hit some gravel and understeered off into a field. Unfortunately for us, there was a big concrete block on the line we took and that broke the suspension which meant we could go no further.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Mads Østberg (9th)
“There were highs and lows today, with some difficulties in finding the right rhythm in the military base. The main thing for me was that I managed to set a few good times, particularly the third-place finish this morning. I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow to keep learning about this car on this surface, especially as the Power Stage, for example, is being contested on similar roads to the sections where I have been the most comfortable so far.”
Craig Breen (10th)
“It had been a positive day for us, setting quite a few good times, until this final stage. Unfortunately, on a fast, difficult right-hander, there was a bump on the inside of the corner that sent me slightly off the line and I ran wide into a field. Obviously, I’m very disappointed for the team, but I’m going to try and find some confidence again tomorrow and the same sort of pace we had today.”
Craig Breen, Scott Martin. Photo credit Citroen Racing
Sunday
The final day then and three stages remained. Interestingly, the power stage would only be run once. The start list looked like this – Serderidis, Breen, Ostberg, Suninen, Ogier, Mikkelsen, Lappi, Neuville, Latvala, Sordo, Tänak, Evans. We had just a little under 45km’s to run.
There would be drama from the get go in SS16! First up, Jari-Matti had the bonnet up on his car before the start of the stage…. What was happening? Meantime, Dani had lost time, and there were reports of a damaged right-front corner and a smashed windscreen. Trouble for both of those in second and third… Jari-Matti appeared to have a problem with changing gear, as he was using his manual gear change. It all came to naught, just a kilometre from stage end, Jari-Matti pulled over and it looked like transmission failure for the Finn. With Dani, he reported that he’d lost the car in a right-hand corner and hit the vineyards. Mads also went off in the stage, so it was all over for him. All of this had the result of bringing Thierry, who won the stage, and Esapekka into second and third!
Before the re-run of the same stage, both crews were attempting to start the next stage. Sadly, despite their best efforts, they didn’t manage to do it. Still, SS17 saw Seb win from Thierry and Craig who was now up to seventh overall.
Mads Ostberg and Torstein Erikson. Photo credit Citroen Racing
The final stage then – SS18. Top five was Seb, Ott, Esapekka, Craig and Thierry! Ott was so close to taking the stage, just one tenth slower than Seb! The Estonian was bringing himself back into the title fight though. What a drive, and it meant that he now matched Markko Martin for WRC victories, both of them on five apiece. A very impressive drive from Esapekka Lappi, plus a mechanical failure for his teammate Jari-Matti, brought him to a good podium, but he still has more to learn, as Dani, Craig and Elfyn could all have finished ahead of him.
FINAL CLASSIFICATION
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 3:03:36.9
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 39.2
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 1:00.9
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 1:34.5
Suninen / Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 2:02.9
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 2:13.8
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) + 2:39.1
FIA World Rally Championship 2018 / Round 09 / Rallye Deutschland 2018 / August 16-19, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Drivers points after Rallye Deutschland
Thierry Neuville – 172 points
Sébastien Ogier – 149 points
Ott Tänak – 136 points
Esapekka Lappi – 88 points
Andreas Mikkelsen – 65 points
Dani Sordo – 60 points
Jari-Matti Latvala – 55 points
Elfyn Evans – 52 points
Mads Ostberg – 48 points
Craig Breen – 47 points
Manufacturers standings
Hyundai WRT – 254 points
Toyota Gazoo Racing – 241 points
M-Sport Ford WRT – 224 points
Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT – 159 points
Here then are the thoughts of the drivers – Top three first
Ott Tanak
“This was definitely the hardest victory I have ever had. For the majority of the weekend it was a really close fight and I had to push so hard. On Friday in the vineyards I felt very comfortable with the car. On Saturday morning I did not feel so confident, but the team really improved the car in service. Today I just needed to keep it clean. I am really happy for the whole team: we were really strong this weekend. We are moving in the right direction in the championship but I am still taking it event-by-event: Now my focus is on Turkey and trying to be as well prepared as possible.”
FIA World Rally Championship 2018 / Round 09 / Rallye Deutschland 2018 / August 16-19, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Thierry Neuville
“It has been a challenging weekend so to come away with second is a job well done. I have been able to increase my lead in the drivers’ championship slightly, which was the objective. I was hoping to take a few more points in the Power Stage but unfortunately, I made a mistake and had to reverse, so I took it steady after that. We have struggled with confidence and pace, even if we have been consistent over the weekend. Not an easy weekend but we’ve done what we needed. The championship battle is going to be closely fought right to the end of the season!”
Esapekka Lappi
“It has been a difficult weekend but it was also a clean one with no issues and that has brought us this podium. There was a lot of drama for the others yesterday and this morning as well. That is rallying and we have been in that position before. I think we made some good progress during the weekend. I think I still need some more mileage to understand what the limits are when these roads are dirty. There is not much room for mistakes and I really didn’t want to make one this time.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Sébastien Ogier (4th)
“We deserved more this weekend so I can’t say that I am happy with the result, but that’s rallying and we just need to accept it. We saved the day by winning the Power Stage and now we just need to focus on the next one.”
Teemu Suninen (5th)
“It was a really great weekend of us and I was improving the driving a lot and finding a good set-up with the car. From the beginning of the rally until the end we made a lot of progress and I was able to set some really good times. Of course, I couldn’t drive all of the stages like this, but I know what it takes – I just need the experience.”
Elfyn Evans (25th)
“We had a positive first day and, considering our road position, I think we did a pretty good job. But unfortunately, Saturday just didn’t go our way at all. We lost a bit of time on the opening stage [SS8], had a spin in the third one [SS10] and then a trip into the field in the fourth [SS11] which ended in retirement. It certainly wasn’t the result we came here for, so now we just have to look forward to the next one.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Andreas Mikkelsen (6th)
“This weekend has been one of experimentation with the car, trying to adapt the settings and my driving style to match the demands of these tarmac stages. We have found some things that have given us a positive feeling but there have also been things that worked less well. To get a top-six finish is not too bad considering. We didn’t take any risks at all in the Power Stage because these points are too important for the manufacturers’ championship. When you don’t feel completely comfortable, it’s easy to make a mistake when you push. We have a lot of homework to take away from this weekend, to prepare for the tarmac stages in Spain. For now, I am looking forward to getting back on gravel where I feel more confident with the car.”
Dani Sordo (DNF)
“I am incredibly disappointed for the team and for myself. We had put ourselves into a strong position after Saturday’s stages and the car this morning – in the first kilometres – felt amazing with lots of grip. I had a lot of confidence. I was a bit late braking into a corner with some gravel in the road that sent us wide into the vineyards. The windscreen was completely smashed and there was some damage to the radiator. We tried to repair it but the temperatures were too high to continue. In any case, our rally was already over with the time lost in the stage. We take comfort from knowing we were able to fight for the podium. The speed was there, but the result this time was not. I can now only look forward to my home event in Catalunya in October.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Craig Breen (7th)
“Obviously, it’s a shame about the rain on Friday and my mistake yesterday afternoon, because I really wanted to fight with the very best drivers throughout the race. But we managed to make it through yesterday and I also had a good feeling again in the car today. I’m going to give it my very best shot to secure a good result in Turkey. Everyone will be starting from scratch there, so we should be in with a serious chance.”
Mads Østberg (DNF)
“On a fast left-hander, I oversteered and ran wide into the bushes. The impact caused damage to the car’s cooling system and we were unable to continue. It’s a shame, but there were still some positives this weekend. We gradually upped our pace and managed to set some decent times despite a lack of knowledge of the car on this surface.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (DNF)
“On the road section to the first stage I stopped and when I selected first gear it didn’t take the gear. The hydraulic pump stopped, and although I could switch to the manual gear lever, there was a lot of stress for the gearbox and eventually we lost drive completely. We have had a lot of bad luck this year, but I had a great feeling this weekend. The car’s performance was very good, I was really enjoying the fight and that’s the most important thing.”
Well, just an incredible event. Two wins in a row for Ott Tanak has done amazing things for the championship. At the end of Sardinia, the points standings between the top three looked like this
The gap between Ott and Thierry stood at 72 points. After Finland it had reduced to 46 points, and now just 36 separate them. Now, it’s a tall order with four events remaining for Ott to catch and pass Thierry and win the title, but he’s certainly capable of winning the remaining events. Turkey next time out will be an all new event, so anything could happen there. It will be a fascinating championship run in.
