Haslam is in charge but will his batteries go flat come race day?
This is it. 23 races gone, 11 rounds down but here we are, at the final round of the 2017 British Superbike championship. The season has flown past, each chapter carved into the tarmac at each circuit we’ve graced, each dramatic twist and turn of the year has shaped the championship table but still, it is far from decided. Brands Hatch beckons for one last opportunity for the championship to take another surprising turn. Three races offer the chance to add extra spice to a series that has been far from mild in 2017.
Leon Haslam comes to Brands Hatch staring down the barrel of his first British Superbike title. Haslam has had a great season, taking six wins and six other podiums throughout the year, placing him as a favourite for the championship at Brands Hatch. Haslam has taken two wins at the Brands Hatch GP round before, both of which have been the last race of the year – on an Airwaves Ducati in 2005 and 2006. The ‘Pocket Rocket’ was 3rd and 5th in the July meeting this year but never scored a podium in the final round last season. All Leon needs to do is finish on the podium in every race, regardless of whether or not Byrne or Brookes romp away at the front. It could be Haslam’s title to lose if race one goes his way.
There are many candidates for ‘story of the year’ in BSB but for me, the achievements of the fully privateer Anvil Hire Tag Racing Yamaha team are astonishing. Josh Brookes comes into the final round of 2017 with a chance of championship success. The Australian, who was champion in 2015, has taken two wins and six other podiums in his comeback season and will finish top Yamaha regardless of his performance this weekend – an incredible achievement on its own. Whilst Haslam may look the favourite with the points gap, ‘Brookesy’ should be considered the favourite out of the two at Brands Hatch. Nine wins for Brookes, including four on the R1 Yamaha, make him one of the most successful riders at the Kent circuit. Add on to that the fact that he has five other podiums and is the current lap record holder, you’d be mad to discount him based on points. Could the phenomenal season for Tag Racing be capped off with a championship victory?
Brookes holds the lap record at Brands, set earlier this year. He and his team know exactly what they need to do.
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne has won 17 times at the Brands Hatch GP since he rocked up in 1999, with his winning starting in 2003. Byrne has had a difficult year in 2017, failing to score points in three of the first four races and a further four DNFs since then. Five wins have seen him come to Brands Hatch 3rd in the championship, just 1 point shy of Josh Brookes and 33 points behind Leon Haslam. At 40-years-old, Byrne is one of the oldest, yet still one of the fastest on the grid and if he were to become champion, he would be the oldest champion since the series was reformed in 1996. One thing that ‘Shakey’ has never done is – despite winning five championships – defended one successfully. In other words, he has never won back-to-back championships. Ducati in turn haven’t won back-to-back championships since 2002 and 2003 with Hislop and Byrne respectively (both of which were riding for Paul Bird) – that achievement came after Ducati won every title from 1999 until 2003. Can Byrne break records and write history?
Byrne is the King of Brands but he needs to make that title count this weekend
Jake Dixon is the next rider along in the championship. Whilst being 54 points back of fellow Kawasaki rider Leon Haslam in the championship, Dixon can still mathematically win the championship. He needs to score four points more than Haslam on Saturday to have a chance going into Sunday’s races. The 21-year-old has been a headline maker in 2017, storming to a double victory in Scotland at Knockhill, before taking three further podiums and two pole positions. Dixon was only 11th and 10th on the last visit to the Brands Hatch GP round in April and because he isn’t a main title contender, the pressure is somewhat off him. It has been an outstanding achievement from Lee Hardy’s RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team to make The Showdown and that is something that he can be very proud of indeed. Jake’s future is secure for 2018, staying with the outfit. More success on the horizon?
The last championship contender is Peter Hickman on the Smith’s BMW. Louth’s finest has endured a stellar season, taking a win and a podium at Thruxton and another podium at home – Cadwell Park. The gap between Hickman and Haslam is 63 points, meaning that Hicky must take 14 points off Haslam in the first race to remain in the championship chase. Although it doesn’t look like Hickman will take a surprise championship, anything can happen in British Superbikes and he may well be an interference. He is flying the flag for BMW in 2017, after they failed to get into The Showdown with the Tyco outfit as well as enduring a terrible World Superbike campaign. The German marque will be watching on in hope of Hickman to secure a top four in the championship. It is also easy to forget that Hickman has never been inside the top-6 placings before, so already it is a successful season for him. The Isle of Man TT runner-up took two-4th places at Brands in July, as well as a win and a 3rd last season. Hickman only has six other top-10s at Brands Hatch GP however, so there really is no guarantee of anything regarding Hickman – results-wise. It will all come down to race day.
Although he is in The Showdown, Jason O’Halloran can’t mathematically win the championship in 2017. A sensational campaign has seen the popular Aussie make the brand new Honda SP2 Fireblade work well and for that, he’s been rewarded. Three third-places have seen O’Halloran give the Honda Team its first podium across the world. He is 54 points from Josh Brookes so 2nd place is still on, although it looks unlikely to go to the other Australian in The Showdown. O’Halloran may well be in a race for 4th place, with that looking a likely battle in the races. Teammate Dan Linfoot will also want to get involved and help Jason where possible. Neither of the Honda riders are confirmed as staying with the team for next year, with rumours circulating that Linfoot will leave and that Jason is unhappy. Time will tell on the outcome of next year’s rider line-up.
Outside of The Showdown, the Rider’s Cup is still up for grabs. 8 riders can still take 7th place, from Christian Iddon to Glenn Irwin. However, it looks likely to go to either Iddon, James Ellison or Luke Mossey, who are all covered by just 7 points. They could all be winners themselves. There is a lot of room for upset in the races, with Dan Linfoot looking good, Bradley Ray coming stronger and Glenn Irwin slowly getting nearer to the front. Sylvain Guintoli may look to carry his momentum from Assen to Brands Hatch, to show everyone that the Suzuki is a regular race winner. Don’t discount John Hopkins either; the American has gone well at Brands Hatch before.
It may also be worth noting that Taylor Mackenzie and Billy McConnell are both absent this weekend. Mackenzie is expected to be replaced by Richard Cooper and it is confirmed that Kyle Ryde will make his BSB debut at FS-3 Kawasaki.
Whatever happens at Brands Hatch, we will leave the gates on Sunday evening (or Monday morning, depending on the extent of the hangover) knowing who the 2017 MCE Insurance British Superbike champion will be. Could we see Leon Haslam finally take the ultimate prize in British motorcycle racing? Will Josh Brookes give Tag Racing a historic and phenomenal title? Is it going to be the wily old fox, Shane Byrne, who takes a 6th title, his 2nd consecutive title victory. Maybe we will see an upset from Dixon or Hickman. Everything will become clearer come Sunday afternoon.
Joan Mir has his first opportunity to clinch the 2017 Moto3 World Championship this weekend, as the Moto3 circus arrives at the Twin-Ring Motegi circuit, Japan.
The Spaniard leads his nearest rival, Italian, Romano Fenati by 80 points. Should Mir (Leopard Racing) win Sunday’s Grand Prix, then he will be crowned champion. Simple as that. Additionally, Mir can also seal the title even if Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) should win the race, as long has he loses no more than 5 points of his lead. For example: should Fenati finish first (25 points) and Mir second (20 points), it will be enough for the Spaniard to claim the championship. His lead would be reduced to 75 points – the same maximum number of points which would remain for the final three rounds. However, even if the two should finish the season level on points, Mir would win the championship by virtue of number of race victories this season.
Although Mir heads into this weekend as bookies’ favourite, it would be unwise to underestimate anyone from the regular front-runners. Fenati will undoubtedly be going all out to win and keep his hopes of winning the championship alive, as will Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Whilst it is a long shot, Canet can still mathematically win this year’s championship. Admittedly he will be relying on both Mir and Fenati to suffer non-point-scoring finishes but this is Moto3, so it is still possible. Canet has to win every race between now and the end of the season in addition to bad luck befalling his rivals. In short he has nothing to lose, which could perhaps make him the sting in this season’s tail.
There will be close quarter racing right through the field, as always in Moto3 this weekend. The Del Conca Gresini team will once again be expected to be in the mix for rostrum honours with both their riders – Jorge Martin and Fabio di Giannantonio. The latter has grown in confidence throughout the season and produced a stunning ride to finish in second place last time out. Another podium finish on Sunday would cement his position as the field’s rising star – as well as provide a very welcome belated birthday present (he turned 19 on Wednesday).
As for Martin, well, if Grand Prix racing handed out a ‘Man of Steel’ award, he’d win it hands-down. His horrendous crash at the Sachsenring would have ended the season for the majority of riders but Martin has battled on remarkably, scoring podiums in Austria and Great Britain and a hard fought fourth place at Aragon. Whilst his injury ended any hopes he had for the championship this year, make no mistake, Jorge Martin has already put down his marker for next year.
The rider to watch out for this weekend is Canet’s teammate – the rejuvenated Enea Bastianini. The 19-year-old Italian has made a welcome return to form since the summer break, scoring podium finishes at Silverstone (2nd place) and at Aragon (3rd place) last time out. Winner last year at Motegi, the lightweight class veteran will be very keen to repeat that performance as he looks to secure his place in the Grand Prix paddock for next year.
For John McPhee however, it is truly make-or-break now for the remainder of the season. Despite a promising start to the season with the Dorna-backed British Talent Team, the Scot has struggled to put together a consistently competitive season. His best finishing position for this season remains the second place he acquired at the opening round in Qatar. McPhee has not yet been offered a new contract to stay with the team for 2018, so desperately needs a strong finish to the season, to prove his worth in the world of Moto3.
Jonas Folger will miss the Japanese Grand Prix, having been flown back to Germany with a suspected virus. The rookie German said that he has been feeling weak since the San Marino GP and said that “even leaving the hotel room was impossible”.
“I came to Japan and was motivated for these three flyaway races, but I’ve been feeling really weak since the Misano and Aragon rounds. On arrival here, I have been struggling with my energy levels, even leaving the hotel room was impossible for me, and unfortunately, I had to miss some Yamaha events, which I’m very sorry for”, stated Folger – 10th in the championship.
“I met with Hervé (Poncheral) on Wednesday night and we agreed to go for a check with the doctors this morning. I met with Dr Charte and the Clinica Mobile team and they have advised me to return to Germany right away for a series of blood tests”.
“I’ve had Epstein Barr virus in the past and it’s a possibility that this has flared up again and resurfaced but we can’t be sure until I’ve had these tests in Munich. I am sorry for my whole team and for Yamaha at their home race. I would like to thank them for all their support. Also, sorry to my personal sponsors, I appreciate them all standing by me at this difficult time. Now we must remain positive and aim to come back stronger.”
Folger’s absence means that his 10th place in the championship could be under threat from Alvaro Bautista, who has scored a podium in the premier class before at Motegi, in 2012. The German will be replace by Kohta Nozane, a 20-year-old Japanese rider, who described the call-up as “a big surprise” and that he “can’t believe” he will be racing at the Japanese GP.
Gary Winfield has said that his Anvil Hire Tag Racing Yamaha team have “proved everyone wrong” in 2017, following the sensational success of BSB returnee, Josh Brookes.
The privateer team, which runs out of Swadlincote in Derbyshire, has had an incredible season, achieving their first ever win in the Superbike class, courtesy of Josh Brookes at Thruxton. As well as that, there has been one other win for the Australian – at Silverstone – and also six other podiums.
“Well this is it, the final round of the season, the last three races of the year and 32 points separates us from the championship lead. It’s going to be a big ask, but that is what everyone said at the start of the year, and look at us now”, began a determined Winfield, who is the team manager of his father’s team.
“The points gap won’t stop us trying, we’ve come this far and we won’t be giving in. We’ll be pushing Leon all the way, giving him a bigger headache each time we head out on track”, he continued.
Winfield continued to state how impressed he is with the whole of his team in 2017. It is easy to forget amidst the success of the outfit this season, that they only scored three points in the whole of 2016.
“I need to put on record how proud I am of everyone involved, this year we’ve proved everyone wrong, and we still can this weekend. I don’t need to say anything about Josh, he’s been a class act all year, he’s going to be fully focussed from the word go at Brands and we hope he’ll bring home the goods come Sunday evening.
“Shaun is ready to fight again, he’s rested up well and is fully fit again for this weekend after the crash he had at Assen. Points is what we expect from him to end his season on a high.”
For those at home wishing to watch the final chapter of the 2017 British Superbike Championship unfold, you can tune into Quest TV (free-to-air) on both Saturday and Sunday.
Maverick Vinales has declared that he and his Yamaha team must keep fighting in the championship battle, even though his chances of title victory took another blow at Aragon. The Spaniard finished 4th once more, handing more points to Marc Marquez. This means that the next four races are crucial for Maverick, who hasn’t won since Le Mans, in May.
“The next Grand Prix, held in Japan, is very special for me since it’s one of my favourites of the season and it’s also the home race of Yamaha. I hope to do a good job and be able to collect more points for the championship, which is crucial to continue fighting for the title”, began Vinales, ahead of the Japanese GP – an event at which he finished 3rd in last season.
“For the next races we have to try to work even more than usual. We have to keep fighting and working with high motivation, even though it will not be easy to complete the last part of the season and bridge the gap between the championship leader and me”, he said. Vinales is 28 points behind Marquez in the championship.
“I will try to work even harder and I arrive in Japan with the aim to learn and be even stronger. I’m convinced that, with the support of the amazing fans at the Motegi circuit, we will be able to give our 100%.”
Whilst taking four podiums at the Motegi circuit, Vinales has never won. That is one statistic he will want to change for 2017 and also for the good of his championship credentials.
The first of the three fly-aways gets underway this weekend for Moto2, with Franco Morbidelli coming into the final four rounds with a 21 point lead. That means that he can finish 2nd to Tom Luthi in every race that remains and still finish as overall champion.
The Italian out-battled his fellow countryman and hard-charging Mattia Pasini in Motorland Aragon, to re-claim a sizeable championship lead over the Swiss veteran, Tom Luthi. The 22-year-old will have his work cut out in ‘The Ring’, with Motegi being a happy hunting ground for the 31 year old Interwetten rider, who won there in 2014 and 2016. He also stood on the podium in 2011 and 2013, but crashed out in the wet in 2015.
Morbidelli, of course, is no slouch in Japan. He claimed third place here last year and the same again this weekend would be the bare minimum, especially if Luthi gets to the chequered flag first. All things being considered, if the Marc VDS rider can come out on top in Japan, you have to feel like the championship is his to lose – if it isn’t already.
Takaaki Nakagami is the home-hero in Moto2, placed as top Japanese in the class. The British GP winner will be more determined than ever to take his second win of the year in front of his adoring fans. The team is also run by another Japanese sensation, Tadayuki Okada. Okada himself is an intermediate class race winner in Japan, back in 1994 at Suzuka.
The Idemitsu Honda Team Asia pilot, soon to be in MotoGP with LCR Honda, is riding without the added pressure of a title fight or looking for a ride for next year. A sixth podium of 2017 is certainly on the cards this weekend for the 25 year old.
Alex Marquez is another rider who has fond memories of the Twin Ring Motegi track. The 21-year-old took points as a wildcard in 2012, won his first Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi as a rookie in 2013 and then followed it up a year later with another win at the venue, on his way to the Moto3 World Championship. A healthy younger Marquez brother is a dangerously quick younger Marquez brother but will his fitness allow him to challenge for the win this weekend?
Mattia Pasini and Miguel Olivera are two others who will be looking to spoil the party. Mattia has developed a habit of starting from pole this season and has won at Motegi in his lightweight class days; you’d be a fool to count him out. Olivera has a podium in Japan in Moto3 and his pole last time out shows he’s got some fight left in him in 2017. He’s been the spearhead in KTM’s first season in Moto2 onboard the Red Bull KTM Ajo machine, with teammate Brad Binder looking to finish the season strongly as he continues to recover from a terrible arm injury, sustained earlier in the year.
With so much at stake, neither Morbidelli or Luthi can afford to slip up. What will the championship look like after Sunday? It’s only a matter of time before we find out.
Words by Elliott York. Follow on Twitter for more – @journoyork
The Asian leg of Ferrari’s and Sebastian Vettel’s title bid has seen their title challenge hit the buffers somewhat.
After a double-DNF in Singapore when Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen sandwiched the Red Bull of Max Verstappen at the start, Raikkonen failed to make the grid at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Vettel started last after engine problems in qualifying there and his pace through the race as he rose to fourth suggested all was not lost, despite a 34-
point gap to Lewis Hamilton going into the Japanese Grand Prix.
At Suzuka, a promising start to the weekend once again unravelled. Vettel’s spark plug issues pre-race were solved for all of half a lap before they returned, and neither an out-of-position Raikkonen nor a hard-charging Verstappen could prevent Hamilton’s third win in four races.
Vettel is now 59 points behind Hamilton with just four races, and 100 points, left this season.
This was the season that was meant to finally return silverware to Maranello after nine years without any kind of end-of-season honours for Ferrari.
While the car has shown ultimate pace, particularly around more technical circuits, Mercedes’ knowhow and coolness appears to have seen off the challenge from Italy.
Vettel needs to put together a run not seen since his record-breaking nine-race winning streak in 2013 to have even half a chance of matching Juan Manuel Fangio’s total of five World Championships this season.
Vettel may look to lost points in the British Grand Prix, where from third he lost four places and nine points due to a puncture, or strategy calls in China and Spain that didn’t quite come off.
Quite simply, Mercedes have succeeded where on Hamilton’s car they failed last year, with robotic consistency and bulletproof reliability.
Having a co-operative teammate this time around has certainly helped too.
Steve Etherington / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
Where in 2016 Champion Nico Rosberg there was eventually a man willing to fight his own corner and scrap for every point over his teammate, Valtteri Bottas has certainly followed the rules.
It is that teamwork that has subtly won Hamilton points over the course of this season.
So, there we have it.
It might not be the last-race decider that everyone had predicted, and hoped for, but it has twisted, turned, thrilled and occasionally spilled.
While Mercedes have once again got it right, it is far from the end of the story for Ferrari.
Add Red Bull’s improved form to the mix and 2018 could be something special.
The foundations for Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle’s victory were laid on Friday’s gravel stages. After just two stages, Kris was in the lead and despite some mistakes in the afternoon, at the end of that first day’s action, he was just three seconds from the lead.
Overnight leader was Andreas Mikkelsen on his first outing for Hyundai. His fellow teammates, Dani and Championship challenger Thierry were in sixth and seventh position. The wrong tyre choices and hotter than expected conditions on the stages had meant that there was little that Thierry could do other than get through the day and see what he and Nicolas could do on the smooth wide tarmac on Saturday.
It was an impressive Friday for Seb Ogier that despite running at the front of the field on the loose gravel, he was just 1.4 seconds from the lead. Ott Tanak was also driving very well. Third on the road, he maintained top ten pace in each of the six stages and holding fourth overall.
Also setting a great pace in his Fiesta was Mads, although in the final stage of the day the heater in his car got stuck on! What with the high temperatures outside, plus the heater on, it quickly became unbearably hot inside the Fiesta WRC. The two Norwegians therefore did well to make in to the end of the stage, just five seconds from the lead.
The first retirement of the event was Jari-Matti in his Toyota. After a very solid start in the morning, he won the first stage of the afternoon, but later in stage five he noticed that the car was starting to lose oil. This was the result of a strong impact under the car which made the lubrication system fail. He would not start the final stage of the day, and the damage to the engine would prove to be too severe. The team would be looking to Juho and Esapekka to bring the team some good results.
Elfyn Evans, running on D-Mack tyres, would start well, but after struggling in the afternoon, it was a case of get around and see what he could do on Saturday.
Here’s the driver quotes for day one.
Andreas Mikkelsen said: (1st)
“We could not have asked for a better start to our Hyundai Motorsport career. It has been a good day and I have been pleased with our approach. We started this morning carefully, to understand the car’s behaviour and generally just finding our feet.”
“A few changes to the settings allowed us to gain some time through the first Terra Alta run. The car felt very stable and there were no surprises. In the afternoon, we became more and more confident in the car. The final stage wasn’t ideal; we thought we had a puncture so took it a bit easier. We made it to the end safely and it’s nice to be fighting at the very top. It’s really close but it has definitely been a positive start for Anders and myself.”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“I’m really happy with our day. It wasn’t easy, but our position this evening is really amazing. Being so close to the lead after a full day opening the road is not something we expected, but it’s a very nice surprise.
“The gaps are all so close so we’re all going to have to keep pushing tomorrow. For sure Andreas [Mikkelsen] and Kris [Meeke] will push hard, but I’ve always had a good feeling with the Fiesta on Tarmac so hopefully we can stay in the fight for the victory.
“But the most important thing for us was to stay ahead of Ott [Tänak] and Thierry [Neuville], which we have managed to do so far. Our target is clear, and we will keep our main focus on Ott, Thierry and the Championship fight.”
Seb Ogier, Friday, Rally Spain 2017
Kris Meeke (3rd) said:
“This morning, we didn’t make the right tyre choice. The soft tyres went off on Terra Alta, so I had to manage my pace a little and drop some time. It didn’t matter that much, because the gaps remained pretty small. On hard tyres, I was able to push almost from start to finish and I really enjoyed driving the C3 WRC. It’s a bit frustrating to have made a mistake on SS4; if it weren’t for that, I’d be leading. But in any case, I’m in a good position and am pleased with the day.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Ott Tänak (4th) said:
“Overall I think the performance has been very good today. We expected to lose quite a lot with the loose gravel but actually the gaps are very small at the end of the day.
“It will definitely still be interesting tomorrow. It looks promising for the moment so let’s see how it goes in the morning and if we can find a good rhythm. These Tarmac roads are very unique but also very enjoyable, so we’ll try to find a good set-up with the car and see what we can do.”
Mads Østberg (5th) said:
“Really disappointing with the heater, and extremely hot and uncomfortable for us both with nearly 100 degrees Celsius inside the car. It`s hot enough inside these cars without hot air blowing into it, but we didn`t manage to turn it off.”
“As it was a very long stage we lost a bit of concentration and focus and of course we lost some time. Still I am happy with our performance this Friday, without the problems on the last stage we could have been in the lead. We also had some issues with dust coming into the, but that we could cope with.”
“In the preparation for the rally we have concentrated mainly on the tarmac set-up and driving. This will be the first time I drive the Fiesta “in anger” on tarmac, and we have much less experience with this than our competitors. A special challenge for me will be the much more advanced aerodynamics on the 2017-car than the car I have driven before. The aerodynamics plays a much bigger role on fast tarmac roads than on the loose.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Dani Sordo (6th) said:
“It is great being back rallying at home, and I am so thrilled with the support of the fantastic spectators. We had a solid start today. The morning loop was tough for tyre selection, as the softs were a bit too soft, and the hard compounds were a bit too hard. However, we found a good compromise and it was a very close fight at the front. The grip levels were better in the opening afternoon stages, and I was pretty happy with the car. The repeat of Terra Alta was more slippery with not much traction, but we made it through the opening day in a respectable position – and with only ten seconds to the lead, I think it will be an exciting battle this weekend.”
Thierry Neuville (7th) said:
“We know what we need to do this weekend, and our sights are firmly set on achieving that. It wasn’t the easiest of starts after we opted for soft tyres on the opening loop. The temperatures were higher than we expected compared to our data from testing. We started to lose grip quite early in the long Terra Alta stage. It was a real pity because we had a good feeling in the car and we were pushing hard. In the afternoon, we were carrying six tyres, which slowed us a bit too much, particularly in the repeat of the long stage. It is very close on the timesheets, so although we are not in the position we would want to be, we are definitely in striking distance.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (ret) said:
“In the morning it was difficult and the car was oversteering a lot, but we made some changes and things were starting to get better. We won stage four. I made a couple of mistakes in stage five and then we noticed we were losing oil, and before we got to stage six the engine stopped and wouldn’t start again. At the time we didn’t know whether anything was damaged but sadly it will not be possible to restart tomorrow.”
Juho Hänninen (8th) said:
“Today was not as good as I had hoped; I lost too much time to the top guys. I wasn’t fully confident, I was hesitating in some places, and you can easily start to lose time with that. I was struggling a little with the rhythm when the grip was changing. Tomorrow we need to make it better. There are some really nice stages coming up so I’m looking forward to that.”
Esapekka Lappi (10th) said:
“This morning I was happy with the balance of the car but then on the last stage I overheated the brakes and lost them completely towards the end. In service we made some changes to the suspension and on the first stage this afternoon, which was really smooth, it helped us to set a good time. But I really struggled on the last one with the dampers in these settings. We were a bit unlucky today but at least we have done the stages twice, which is good experience, and tomorrow will be a new start for everybody on asphalt.”
Stéphane Lefebvre (9th) said:
“After a long break, it was difficult to come back and compete at event that is almost unknown to me. I took it easy in the trickier sections and pushed when I felt more confident. We didn’t make any mistakes and I managed to add to my experience. The two passes on Terra Alta showed that you really need time to understand this type of stage. We’ll have to reset in order to tackle tomorrow’s leg on tarmac in the best possible shape.”
Elfyn Evans (11th) said:
“The feeling in the first two stages was okay but it’s fair to say that we struggled after that. This just wasn’t our day, but we made it through and tomorrow is a completely new day with a completely new surface so let’s see what we can do.
Khalid Al Qassimi (19th) said:
“I had a good feeling this morning, although I felt the car lacked precision on occasions. I was cautious, especially on the tarmac section on Terra Alta. We made quite a lot of progress with the set-up during service and I was happy with the handling. I think the upgrades on the dampers are a definite improvement.”
Saturday morning dawned warm and sunny. The cars had been switched into tarmac spec and were ready for the day’s action.
Kris Meeke took the lead from overnight leader, Andreas, in the first stage of the day and then proceeded to pull away from his closest challengers.
The Hyundai’s all experienced problems throughout the day with Andreas and Dani both hitting rocks hidden at the edge of the road in stage 12. Thierry’s rally wasn’t going so well either, suffering hydraulics problems which affected his handling of the car. This lead to a spin before stage nine which resulted in damage to the rear of the car. The team did a good job to get the car fixed before the afternoon stages and this lead to a better afternoon for the Belgian driver.
M-Sport duo Seb and Ott were both driving well, with just minor issues holding them back through the morning, mainly being setup. With some tweaks, they Seb was able to push much harder and won all three afternoon stages. Ott heard a strange noise from the gearbox, so the team decided to change it during the midday service break.
The remaining Toyota drivers, Juho and Esapekka both enjoyed a very good day on the unique Spanish roads. Juho was third fastest on the opening stage before winning stage eight and nine. Lappi was focused on understanding the level of grip available, and with an imperfect setup on the car, struggled for confidence. However, after making a few changes in the service break, he felt more confident and this lead to a better afternoon.
Mads Østberg had a good day too. Despite hitting the same rock in stage twelve, that had put Andreas and Dani out, he got some luck and was able to finish. There were further technical issues with the car, but Mads made great progress throughout Saturday and completed the day in sixth.
Let’s hear from the drivers then.
Kris Meeke (1st) said:
“Today couldn’t have gone any better, to be honest. We’ve known about the potential of the C3 WRC on tarmac since the rounds in Corsica and Germany, but I was nonetheless a bit apprehensive because we hadn’t done any pre-event testing on this surface. The first stage looked like it would be tricky with the rain, but everything went well. The rest of day went much the same way, although it was pretty close with the other drivers. I’m very pleased to be leading and I obviously want to convert this first place into a win tomorrow. There are still six stages to go before we get there, the first of which will be contested in the dark. So, we won’t get ahead of ourselves: one step at a time!”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“The general picture is a positive one for us at the moment and, if we can secure this podium at the end of tomorrow, it will be another good step towards the championship.
“Of course, I always want to fight for the victory but, realistically, I think Kris [Meeke] is probably a bit too far ahead. We lost quite a lot of time to him this morning when I wasn’t super confident with the car. When you’re not perfectly committed you lose tenths everywhere and that can easily amount to ten seconds at the end of the stage.
“We worked hard on the set-up throughout the day and I had a much better feeling this afternoon. Hopefully we can start tomorrow morning with that same feeling as we will for sure still have to push.”
Ott Tänak (3rd) said:
“The podium is always the target, and we’re in a good position to secure that at the moment so it has been a good day. We weren’t so happy with the feeling in the car first thing [this morning], but we soon found a good balance and improved the times after that.
“The goal is to secure as many points as possible but, as we have already seen, everyone is pushing very hard and it’s difficult to make the difference. Even if you have the perfect stage, you can still miss out on the fastest time by a couple of tenths.
“Kris is very strong so it’s going to be hard to compete with him, but we’re still in a very competitive position and it will be important to get to the end and secure these points for the team and for ourselves. We’ll certainly keep the pressure on, so let’s keep it going and see what happens.”
Juho Hänninen (4th)
“It has been a really good day. I was a bit disappointed after yesterday but I knew that the asphalt would be better for me. Even still, I was a bit surprised with how good the stage times were this morning. I was really, really happy with the car and I didn’t need to change anything in service. I drove the afternoon the same as in the morning and it felt good. I haven’t really been looking at the overall classification and it could be difficult to catch the guys ahead, but I haven’t given up and I will push tomorrow for sure.”
Thierry Neuville (5th) said:
“I honestly think we deserved far better than we got today. We experienced hydraulic problems at the end of SS8, which we worked on at stage-end to keep the car going. Suddenly, the car wouldn’t start, and when we finally got going we had to move quickly to get to the next stage. Without hydraulics under braking we spun the car, which caused some rear damage. We checked into SS9 three minutes late, so we were given a time penalty. The team did an incredible job to get the car repaired at service in time for the repeat loop, where we were able to show good pace again. The rally is not over but it was another frustrating day and not representative of what we know we can achieve. We set some of the quickest times in the afternoon stages, and were much happier and confident with the car. It’s hard to keep up the fight when you lose so much time, but others can have problems, especially with a longer than usual Sunday with six stages. We won’t give up.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally de Espaa 05 – 08 October 2017 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi (6th) said:
“On the first stage this morning I was not confident enough, as the grip was much higher than in my test, but step-by-step during the morning I found the confidence. I wasn’t completely happy with the set-up but we managed to improve it during service and the car felt even better in the afternoon, especially on the penultimate stage: it was the best that the car has ever been on asphalt. So I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. We will try to carry on in the same way and maybe get some points on the Power Stage.”
Mads Østberg (7th) said:
“It really has been the best day at school ever! This is my first proper tarmac experience with the 2017 spec car, and I was very uncertain how we would manage and how fast we could expect to be. Yesterday we led the rally after four stages, but that was on gravel. Today we have lost some time to the leaders, but that was expected. I am learning on every stage and the progression from the start of the day, not to mention my understanding of the car, has been enormous. We started the day 1 second per km slower than the fastest guys, now we are down to 0.3 seconds”.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Speaking about the rock that he hit…
“There was a massive rock right on the driving line in a corner where we were cutting. I hit it hard, but for once I had some luck. The steering and a wheel was damaged, but I could continue and finish the stage without much loss.”
In the final stage, Mads suffered an additional problem with the hydraulics.
“The car became nearly impossible in the very tight corners. It was frustrating, but as it was a short stage the time loss wasn`t extensive.”
Finally, he explained how much fun the car was to drive on these roads.
“I feel we are getting more and more competitive, which hasn`t really been the case for some time on tarmac. The split-times on several stages shows that I am closing in on the fastest tarmac guys. I am also enjoying every moment as the driving experience with the 2017 Fiesta on these roads really is awesome.”
Stéphane Lefebvre (8th) said:
“The switch from gravel to tarmac between the first and second day is not easy at all, especially as this is the first time I have experienced this situation. I feel like I made progress throughout the day, without making any mistakes. The handling of the C3 WRC helped to give me confidence. On SS10, for example, I pushed and my time was about 2/10ths per kilometre off the pace of the stage-winning driver. I’ll be able to build on this experience to try and finish on positive note tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans (9th) said:
“It’s been another pretty tough day for us. The pace isn’t there and we’ve just been struggling for grip. That’s the way it is and we need to focus on getting all the kilometres under our belts and collecting as much information as we can for the future.”
Khalid Al Qassimi (18th) said:
“This was my first competitive outing with the C3 WRC on tarmac. And I hadn’t driven on this surface for a year! I’m pleased with the day, I had a good feeling in the car. However, I opted to take it easier on the second pass, because the roads were very dirty. I preferred to stick to the lines.”
Sunday morning was much like Saturday- warm and sunny.
Could Kris take his and Citroen’s second victory of the year? Could Thierry score some points to stop Seb opening a big lead in the championship?
Six stages awaited the crews and no service break either. They all took spare tyres in their cars. One puncture could destroy all the hard work.
The first stage was held in darkness, but it didn’t trouble Kris. He took the first stage of the day and then added the other two, thus increasing his lead to almost 25 seconds over the M-Sport duo of Seb and Ott.
Stephane Lefebvre was also pushing hard through these stages, bringing him closer to Mads. Stage 16 would see Thierry retire from the event after hitting something out of sight and damaging his right front suspension. Esapekka would also retire after sliding on some slippery tarmac and hitting a barrier.
Setting some good times as usual were Seb and Ott, ultimately bringing their Fiesta’s to a double podium behind Spanish master Kris. Juho would also have a very Sunday morning, guiding his Yaris into fourth place overall- pretty impressive given that he’d not driven this event for six years!
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Fifth place fell to privateer Mads in his Adapta Motorsport Fiesta. With Torstein Eriksen alongside him through the weekend, they found good consistency, even leading on Friday for a short while. The pre- event testing, they did on the tarmac clearly paid in off in spades.
Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen both had an up and down event, but Dani came through and won the power stage. Andreas would suffer a broken windscreen after his bonnet came loose and flipped up in front of him! It was all good learning for next year though, having never driven the i20 on these surfaces.
Elfyn Evans in his D-Mack shod Fiesta drove as best he could to seventh place, as his tyres couldn’t give him the consistent grip on the tarmac he needed. However, there were positives and it was the best result he’d scored in this event.
8 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Ford Fiesta R5) +8m22.7s
9 Jan Kopecky/Pavel Dresler (Skoda Fabia R5) +8m54.5s
10 Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjaermoen (Skoda Fabia R5) +9m04.8s
Here’s what the drivers had to say.
Kris Meeke (1st) said:
“This completes an exceptional weekend for me. Since our win at Rally Mexico, we’ve had some tough moments, but we’ve picked ourselves up each time by working hard. We always knew this car was terrific on asphalt and I think that we have demonstrated that since yesterday! This win shows the quality of the work done by the entire team and it gives us all a huge confidence boost for the rest of the season.”
Kris and Paul take their fifth WRC victory.
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“We’ve taken a really positive step towards the championship this weekend. I think we were on course to extend the lead anyway, but with Thierry’s mistake that changed the picture completely and we’ve been able to extend the gap even more.
“We were never really in a position where we had to take all the risks, but we still had to keep a good rhythm. There was no chance to fight with Kris [Meeke] as he was just on another level on the Tarmac, but we had a clean drive and it’s definitely been a positive weekend.
“It’s been good news for the team too as the manufacturers’ championship is now pretty much done and we can start to plan a bit of a party for their home event in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Ott Tänak (3rd) said:
“We feel good at the end of this one. This result was more or less the maximum we could do this weekend so a great result overall.
“I think our first day was particularly good. We were quite early in the running order and still managed to stay close to the lead. Then on Tarmac we had a couple of small issues but generally a good run and a good feeling with the car.
“For sure there will be a big fight for second place in the drivers’ championship now. Sébastien is pretty safe, but there is still something to fight for and two more exciting events ahead.”
Juho Hänninen (4th) said:
“I’m very happy with this result. Yesterday and today have been two of the most enjoyable days of rallying I’ve ever had. Yesterday was really good and today I tried to keep it quite steady because there was a big gap behind. On asphalt we have had a really, really good car. I have felt really confident with it and I haven’t had to take any big risks. It’s really important for me to see that I am able to fight for the leading positions even though I haven’t been here for a long time.”
Juho Hanninen, Rally Spain 2017
Mads Østberg (5th) said:
“The team performed brilliantly. Its five years since we did a WRC rally with our own Adapta Motorsport crew, but it`s like they haven`t been away at all. I would also like to thank Torstein Eriksen, who did only his second WRC-event and really did a professional and great job.”
“The tarmac experience from Spain will be put to good use later, but not until next season as the championship finishes with gravel events. Already in less than three weeks the stage is set for fog, mud and possibly sleet and snow in Wales.”
“It`s one of my favourite rallies where I have been very competitive before. The gravel stages here in Spain gave us the answer that we are right on the mark on the loose stuff. My goal for Wales is to fight for a possible victory.”
Stéphane Lefebvre (6th) said:
“We tried to push and managed to claw back some time on Mads Østberg in the first loop. After that, it became more difficult with some hydraulics problems and then we lost the intercom. From that point onwards, I was just making sure I held position. Sixth place is pretty good, considering my limited knowledge of this event. I would say this result was more or less comparable with my top-five finish in Poland. Little by little, as I gain more experience, I’m improving and I hope to be able to confirm my progress in the future. Congratulations to Kris and Paul on winning again – it’s a morale-boosting result for everyone in the team!”
Elfyn Evans (7th) said:
“Everyone knows that this was a tough weekend for us, but we kept our heads down and got the job done. It’s not been easy, but we managed to get a lot of information from all of the kilometres and now we can start to focus on Wales Rally GB.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Teemu Suninen (Fiesta R5) (8th) said:
“This has been a really good weekend for us and I think we have made a big improvement on Tarmac. We’ve had good pace on both surfaces and I think I can be really happy with the rally and what we have done.”
Khalid Al Qassimi (17th) said:
“It was a very good day. As the day wore on, I enjoyed driving the car more and more and I’m very pleased with the progress made by the Citroën C3 WRC. But I’m most pleased of all about Kris Meeke winning the rally. He had a fantastic race this weekend, it’s a great moment for us all and I’m very proud to see Abu Dhabi promoted by these performances.”
Well, there you go…. Two rounds left and M-Sport have almost secured the manufacturers championship. Also, it’s looking very likely that Seb will win the drivers crown after Thierry failed to score any points in Spain.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
A great drive from Kris and Paul in the number 7 C3 WRC for Citroen’s 98 WRC victory and his fifth as well, puts to bed any worries about his abilities behind the wheel.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Catalunya (SPA) – WRC 05/10/2017 to 08/10/2017 – PHOTO : @World
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 11:
1 Sebastien Ogier 198
2 Ott Tanak 161
3 Thierry Neuville 160
4 Jari-Matti Latvala 123
5 Dani Sordo 94
6 Elfyn Evans 93
7 Juho Hänninen 71
8 Craig Breen 64
9 Kris Meeke 60
10 Hayden Paddon 55
11 Esapekka Lappi 49
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 11:
Last year during The Nicky Grist Stages, Chris Wheeler suffered a big accident. He very kindly agreed to have a chat with me about his recovery and the rebuild of himself and his DS3 R3.
Chris looks pretty happy!
Warren
Your accident was last year in June, if my memory serves me correctly?
Chris
My accident was in July last year on Epynt. This year have been a rebuild year, using just small events to get my confidence back while the DS3 has been rebuilt.
Warren
Yes, a good thing to do. Back in your Fiesta. Must have been a bit of a shock, after the high tech DS3?
Chris
The DS3 is a completely different world compared to the Fiesta, it has been enjoyable to drive but it has been a shock to the system. On the Stages it feels like the time is just bleeding away down the straight’s as it is under-powered compared to the DS3, but it has been the ideal way to get back into a rally car & get my pace built up again.
Warren
Yes, it was a good plan indeed. Tell me, did your dad co-drive you when you first started? He’s been alongside you through all the events this year.
Chris
When I first started, I did not have my dad co-drive for me, I had a family friend sit in with me first of all before Yan came along. This has been the first year that my dad has sat with me.
Warren
Ah, that must have been interesting!
Chris
It has been very interesting season, even though it’s been dad’s first season in the car with me he has done a great job getting me through the stages.
Warren
Would you say you’ve got closer because of it, or were you very close anyway?
Chris
We were close anyway before this season as we do work together on a daily basis but if anything it has made us closer together.
Warren
That’s good. Just thinking about the car rebuild then- What did you first think when you first saw the damage to it?
Chris
I first saw the damage when I got lifted out of the car soon after the accident, I got the doctors to turn me round so I could look back at the car, I was devastated once I saw it. My personal opinion was that it would never go again, but luckily, I am proved wrong.
Warren
I think I can imagine that. When did the work start to rebuild the car?
Chris
The work started just one week after the accident, & has been a long & hard journey since then to get the car running again.
Warren
Wow, yes. 15 months? Could you list what was done?
Chris
To list the full, rebuild but would take too long. Here’s a few ideas, Complete new feline end right up to the windscreen. Bumper, bonnet, windscreen, engine, radiator, gearbox, under guard, water pipes, scuttle, the roof had to be done to get them dents out & also the rear quarter of the car.
Warren
Yes, I realised when I asked that one that it might be a long list… Who did the work to get him stage ready?
Chris
All work was done by my dad to get this car ready again, every weekend putting in a lot of hours to get me back out there again.
Warren
Oh, wow. Just to ask, what is the feline end?
Chris
Opps sorry, autocorrect, meant to say front end.
Warren
Ah, hahaha!
Chris
Haha that’s phones for you.
Warren
Definitely! Just thinking back to the beginning, did your dad think the car could be rebuilt?
What a cool car. Ready for the night stages!
Chris
It was touch & go for a while, nothing was ever certain until our first test to see if the car would handle & steer straight. Once we got our testing, it all became worth while, the car is perfect & now ready to go!
Warren
Right, so until you actually drove him, you didn’t really know for definite if was going to be okay?
Chris
No, it was never certain until our first test, we were confident, but never certain.
Warren
Okay. Thinking then about the test, where did you go and did you have a list of things to kind of tick off?
Chris
We tested at Llandow Race Circuit in South Wales. This was just a small track but it was enough to test the car & to get myself confident with the car again. Once we started we could test the steering, brakes, suspension, performance & also the set-up of the car. We did everything possible & it all went to plan. We now will be testing for the build-up of 2018.
Warren
Of, course, it wasn’t just the car that needed rebuilding. You weren’t in a good way either after the accident.
Chris
At the time I had a broken knee, my left knee had a crack the whole way through the knee, also I had torn all my ligaments, had internal bleeding all in the same knee. I had internal bruising across my chest & in my middle to lower back. I was in a huge amount of pain. It took me six weeks to walk. My body took around three months to be semi normal again & I have also been using 2017 to get fit again & let my body rebuild over the course of the year.
Warren
That’s excellent news. Now, when do you plan to have your next test and what’s happening about co-drivers?
Chris
We will hopefully be testing again in November. Late this year/early next year we will be running a test with a few Co-Drivers to see who I get on with in & outside the car & also a test to see how well they do on the notes.
Warren
Good to hear. I guess that you won’t know which event you’ll enter yet, or have you got something in mind?
Chris
We have a few things in mind for 2018, we have a good idea of where we will be heading but we will have it confirmed this side of the Christmas break.
Warren
Ah, okay. Brilliant. Great stuff.
Chris
Should be a big year ahead.
Warren
Now, perhaps you could give a bit of detail as to how different the Fiesta and DS3 are to drive?
Chris
The Fiesta is far easier to drive compared to the DS3. First of all the Fiesta is a H Shift gearbox and the DS3 is paddle shift, with the Fiesta you do have to use to clutch to change gears, but the DS3 is six speed & you can change gears without using a clutch making the gear changes without any loss of time.
The DS3 has a turbo charger too, the power is far more advanced & to top it off has a few different modes on the car which controls which surface you’re on, how much anti lag you’d like & if you’re on a road section or stage.
The Fiesta on the other hand has none of this. It’s a simple get in & go. The other big difference with the DS3, is once the car is started which isn’t easy in itself as there is no key to turn (all done my switches & buttons) the DS has to warm up properly before moving, otherwise it does not like to select gear or even begin to work properly without being up to temperature. There are major differences between the two, even down to set up, tyre choices to use, compound of tyres & suspension set ups. It goes into a huge amount of detail.
Chris Wheeler with his rebuilt Citroen DS3 R3
Warren
Finally, is there anything you’d like to add?
Chris
I’d just like to add a thank you my dad for all his hard work rebuilding the car which we thought was gone for good & also for doing a good job all year on the pacenotes getting me through this Southern Championship.
Warren
Thanks for your time Chris. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
Here’s a video of Chris testing his rebuilt Citroen DS3
