Category: Tin Top Racing

  • Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 Review – Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio take the win!

    Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 Review – Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio take the win!

    Cast your mind back twelve months, plus a bit more to June 2019. Dani and Carlos took a popular win in the service park. Having not competed since Mexico 2020, the Hyundai crew showed their class to take a very good victory in the delayed Rally Italia Sardegna this season. Here’s the story how it happened.

     

    Thursday as ever saw shakedown take place, and there were a few key moments. In the first run through, Kalle set the fastest time in his Yaris, and then promptly put the car on its roof after the flying finish!

    Ultimately, Ott was fastest in shakedown, with Elfyn and Seb second and third. The Welshman set the same time as his former Estonian teammate. There was also a Citroen C3 WRC being driven by former Hyundai, Citroen and Volkswagen pilot Andreas Mikkelsen, running on the new Pirelli tyres in shakedown, the new tyre supplier running in shakedown and then also running in the power stage on Sunday, with 2003 world champion Petter Solberg driving and Andreas sitting alongside him on the pace notes.

     

    Friday

    With 95km’s over six stages on the first day, this was the start list for day one – Evans, Ogier, Tänak, Rovanperä, Neuville, Lappi, Suninen, Greensmith, Katsuta, Sordo, Loubet.

    At the end of the opening test, SS1 Tempio Pausania 1 – 12.08 km the two M-Sport Fiesta’s were at the top of the field, with Teemu winning the stage by 12 seconds from his teammate! We all know what he said in the interview at stage end! Elfyn and Scott, the first car into the stage, were holding fourth overall, 13.4 seconds from the Finn, and last seasons winner Dani was third. Ott didn’t have a good start, losing 14 seconds in the stage. Oliver Solberg deserves a mention, after setting the seventh fastest time in his Fabia R5, quicker than Thierry, and only 16 seconds from the leader!

    Dani moved closer to the front in SS2 Erula – Tula 1 – 21.78 km with a time seven seconds faster than Teemu, and now the gap between them was just five seconds. First to finish the stage was Elfyn who reported that it was a bit slipperier than expected, ending up fifth fastest and holding fourth overall at this point. Sadly, we lost Esapekka Lappi after his car overheated. Seb was now in third overall.

    Elfyn took his first stage win of the weekend, winning SS3 Tempio Pausania 2 – 12.08 km from Seb and Dani. A good drive from the Welshman, despite being the first car through! Suninen remained in the lead as he and Dani were very closely matched in the stage and the gap just five seconds between the top two.

    Into SS4 Erula – Tula 2 – 21.78 km and Dani won the stage, from Thierry, who was nine seconds slower in the stage, but second fastest and Kalle who was third. Dani was now in the lead, having passed Teemu who was 12 seconds slower than the i20 driver and only fifth fastest. It was going very badly for Ott, who was only ninth fastest in the stage and now almost two minutes from the lead.

    After the lunchtime break, we had two stages to complete the day. The break gave the Hyundai team the opportunity to find out what the suspension problem was with Ott’s car.

    Into SS5 Sedini – Castelsardo 1 – 14.72 km and it was another stage win for Dani, with a fired-up Ott only nine tenths slower and second fastest. Teemu was third in the stage and remained in second overall. Thierry moved past Elfyn in the stage with the Welshman going only eighth in the stage.

    SS6 Tergu – Osilo 1 – 12.81 km ended the day and it was another stage win for Dani, with Thierry second fastest. The Belgians pace lifted them ahead of Seb and into third overall. Ott was third fastest in the stage, making it a Hyundai 1-2-3, and this brought the reigning champion up into eighth overall.

     

    Classification after Day One

    1 D. Sordo C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:12:40.9
    2 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +17.4
    3 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +35.2
    4 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +36.0
    5 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +51.9
    6 G. Greensmith E. Edmondson Ford Fiesta WRC +1:07.1
    7 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:33.5
    8 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:53.7
    9 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC +2:32.3

     

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Dani Sordo (1st)

    “I am happy to be back in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC and pleased to return to this rally which has so many special memories from last year. I have been feeling really competitive all day and some of the stages have been really nice. We made a good tyre choice and we are in an encouraging position. It is only the first day, so we have to keep our feet on the ground. We want to continue like this for the rest of the rally; everyone is pushing hard but we’re here to fight.”

    Thierry Neuville (3rd)

    “Honestly speaking I was expecting better from our day. We didn’t have a great start to the rally on this morning loops. We weren’t comfortable with the settings of the car. We did the maximum to improve our times by trying some different things. I was able to push a bit – actually I pushed quite hard in SS4 and that showed as we set the second fastest time. We made the necessary changes to the car for the afternoon and I felt immediately more comfortable. Unfortunately, and bizarrely, we stalled twice today. It never happened to me before, but the second time the car wouldn’t restart. We lost about 12 seconds in all, which is important time in such a close battle. Tomorrow, with the changes we’ve made, I am confident we will have better pace.”

    Ott Tänak (8th)

    “It has been a demanding day and we’re obviously disappointed. We were getting some suspension issues from the start of the day, and it proved to be something that we could not repair on the road sections with the tools and bits that we had. It is difficult to say what happened exactly, but we could do nothing about it. In the afternoon stages, everything was working fine from our side, just a big amount of cleaning but generally no drama and no surprises. We will try to keep going as we did this afternoon; our position is not great so let’s see. Hopefully the fight is now a bit more straightforward.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (2nd)

    “We had a really good morning and I think we proved what we can do. On that first stage I knew it was going to be challenging for everyone and I tried to take as many seconds as I could – which worked out really well. We lost some aero after that which cost us some time, but it was still a good morning.

    “Then in the afternoon the tyre choice didn’t really work out for us. We thought it was going to be a bit warmer, but the sun went down just as the last stage started and I wasn’t able to make the most of the hard tyres.

    “Still it was a really good day for us, and tomorrow we just have to focus on our own driving and let the others do their own thing. The stages will be a bit faster tomorrow, but the main thing is to do my best – because that’s the way to get the best results.”

    Gus Greensmith (6th)

    “This has definitely been one of my better drives and I’m pretty happy with the way things have gone. There were a few little mistakes here and there, and I was a bit disappointed with myself on the first stage this afternoon (SS5) as I think we could have really taken a big chunk out of the people around us. But the time wasn’t too bad, and I can definitely see an improvement which was exactly what we wanted from this weekend.”

    Esapekka Lappi (DNF)

    “Our initial pace was really promising so it’s really disappointing that things had to end the way they did. It was all over pretty quickly to be honest. About 300 metres before I stopped, we got all the warnings on the screen and the steam from the bonnet and we knew then that it was over. We had a good look and couldn’t see any impacts, but there was no water left in the engine and unfortunately we won’t be back out again tomorrow.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (4th)

    “It was a good start this morning. We were all fearing this first stage a little bit, which was very challenging, very narrow and we were happy to make it through with a good time. Overall, the morning loop was good: We were in third and the two cars in front had a big advantage from their start position. The afternoon was more difficult for us like we had expected. We tried what we could but we lost a bit too much time. Tomorrow should be better with a better road position. I’m looking forward to having some better grip hopefully and to try to make some good times.”

    Elfyn Evans (5th)

    “The morning was quite good for us. The first stage was particularly slippery and I was surprised on the second pass how much grip we had, and we had a good run. There was a bit more loose gravel on the second stage but overall we came through it quite OK and managed to lose not too much time. The afternoon stages had dried quite a lot since the recce and there was a lot more loose than expected and we really suffered a lot. It’s not been an easy day, which we knew would be the case. But tomorrow our road position will be better and hopefully we can look to fight with those around us.”

    Kalle Rovanperä (9th)

    “This morning we took the wrong tyre choice, with three mediums and two hards. I don’t have the experience here to know how much the tyre will wear, and it was quite tricky to drive with one hard tyre on the car all the time and in the end, we didn’t need them. I was preparing to have a better feeling in the afternoon, with some small changes to the car, but we got a steering-related issue at the start of SS5, so we had to drive slowly through both stages to bring the car back to service.  Tomorrow we will have to now open the road so it’s going to be a difficult day.”

     

    Saturday

    With 101km’s over six stages in day two, the running order would be key once again, with the leader from day one being the last car through. The running order looked like this – Katsuta, Rovanperä, Tänak, Loubet, Greensmith, Evans, Ogier, Neuville, Suninen, Sordo.

     

    The first stage of the day, SS7 Monte Lerno 1 – 22.08 km features Mickey’s Jump and this year was just 500 metres into the stage. The top three was Seb, Elfyn and Thierry with just 3.6 seconds between them. The two leaders, Dani and Teemu were fourth and fifth fastest, Seb’s pace lifted him up into third overall, and was now just 8.4 seconds behind Teemu.

    Dani was back to his best in SS8 Coiluna – Loelle 1 – 15.00 km, winning the stage from Elfyn and Thierry. Unfortunately, Teemu’s run near the front came to an end as he set the sixth fastest time and ultimately dropped two positions into fourth with Seb moving into second and Thierry into third. Ott was also moving up the order, now into seventh.

    The rerun of SS9 Monte Lerno 2 – 22.08 km was won by Seb from Thierry and Dani who continued to lead the rally from the Frenchman by a huge 31 seconds. Elfyn was closing on Teemu as well in their battle for fourth overall, the gap now just two seconds between the former teammates.

    SS10 Coiluna – Loelle 2 – 15.00 km, and Thierry was fastest from Dani and Elfyn, once again just three seconds covering the top three. Both the Belgian and the Welshman moved up the order, with Thierry moving into second place and Elfyn passing Teemu. The top four cars were Hyundai, Hyundai, Toyota, Toyota. Ott continued to climb up the leaderboard and was now into sixth overall.

    Seb won SS11 Sedini – Castelsardo 2 from Thierry and Ott. Elfyn was sixth fastest, and holding onto fourth overall behind Dani, Thierry and Seb. Going well was Oliver again, setting the seventh fastest time in his Skoda Fabia, and he moved ahead of Jari Huttunen into eighth overall.

    The final stage of the day SS12 Tergu – Osilo 2 – 12.81 km was won by Seb as well, and this pace lifted him ahead of Thierry who was third in the stage behind the leader who was still Dani Sordo. Elfyn doubled the gap to Teemu, going 4.6 seconds faster then the Finn and securing fourth at the end of day two.

     

    Classification after Day Two

    1 D. Sordo C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:14:35.5
    2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +27.4
    3 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +28.9
    4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +58.4
    5 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +1:06.9
    6 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2:25.3
    7 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +3:37.0

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers.

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Dani Sordo (1st)

    “We end today in the same way we finished on Friday, feeling very positive and pleased with our performance. We have had to be careful to manage our tyres today, making the right selection for each loop and pushing when we could, while also conserving when needed. At the end of the final stage of the day, our tyres were finished so we had to take it a bit more cautiously. In rally, we know from experience that there is no such thing as a comfortable advantage. We have to maintain this pace and rhythm on Sunday morning if we want to get the job done.”

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 06, Rally Italia Sardegna
    8 – 11 October 2020
    Dani Sordo
    Photographer: Austral
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Thierry Neuville (3rd)

    “I was happy with our morning, even if I feel that carrying an extra spare was not the best option. Our target was to get P2 and to try and increase our gap. We ended the loop with a stage win and were ready to resume the fight in the afternoon. There were different tyre strategies at play and the times were really close. I tried very hard but Ogier seemed to have a bit more speed. Unfortunately, we lost 1.5-2-seconds on the bridge in the final stage, when I was late on the brakes. When you’re pushing to the max, these things can happen. We go again tomorrow.”

    Ott Tänak (6th)

    “Today was a clean day with no drama. More or less everything was working well and we did what we could. I guess we achieved all that was planned, so there was nothing more we could have done ourselves. The feeling with the car was all good. Tomorrow, we can expect more of the same typically Sardinian stages – narrow and twisty. Our first priority is to get to the Power Stage and then try to push. Every point is critical at the moment.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “I feel pretty happy with my day today, winning four stages out of six. Unfortunately, the two other stages were not so good and were a bit costly in terms of time: On the first pass I was not on the limit enough and on the second one I really tried harder but I stalled the engine in a hairpin and lost some seconds. But overall, it’s still a positive day. Tomorrow we’re going to fight for second place and put the pressure on the leader until the end. You never know what can happen on these tricky stages.”

    Elfyn Evans (4th)

    “Overall, the morning loop wasn’t bad. For the most part I was driving pretty well. I just gave away too much time in SS9, being a bit too careful and too focused on being smooth and not pushing hard enough. Then in the first stage of the afternoon I tried to push a bit more and ended up going slower, so in the final stage I just kept it clean. Now we need to keep hold of fourth tomorrow, that will be key. It’s not going to be possible to catch the guys in front on pace alone on such short stages, but we have to keep going until the end.”

    Kalle Rovanperä (DNF)

    “On the second stage of the day, we went a bit wide in the final part of the stage: It was a narrow section where we had some things to avoid on the inside. We hit a tree on the outside and then the impact sent us into a second tree, and the damage was too much for us to restart tomorrow. It was clearly not our weekend, starting already from the shakedown. We had a bit of bad luck also yesterday which was not our fault, but today was my mistake. It’s been a tricky weekend.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “It’s been a challenging day for us. It started okay this morning – we lost a few seconds to the guys at the front but we were on good pace with Elfyn. Then we had some issues with the handbrake and lost a lot of time in the slower sections.

    “But we came back again in the afternoon – taking time out of Elfyn on the first stage [SS11] and then losing a bit to him on the second [SS12]. It’s going to be a tight fight tomorrow, and I will give it my best. It’s only two seconds per stage, and we will keep the pressure on.”

    Gus Greensmith (29th)

    “It was one of the best days of my career yesterday. I was really pleased with the way I was driving and really pleased with the car – everything was working well. It started okay again this morning – maybe my pacenotes were a little bit slow and the second spare wasn’t the best choice, but we seemed to make it work.

    “Unfortunately, we then had a low voltage warning on SS9 and as soon as we left the stop line the whole car died – right in the bottom of a dip! So even though we managed to change the alternator belt, we could never get enough momentum to bump start it. After about 45 minutes of trying we had to call it a day, and tomorrow we’ll just focus on continuing the improvements we have made so far.”

     

    Sunday

    With 42km’s over four stages, the question was could either Seb or Thierry do anything about Dani? The start list looked like this – Katsuta, Greensmith, Loubet, Tänak, Suninen, Evans, Neuville, Ogier, Sordo.

    Seb flew through SS13 Cala Flumini 1 – 14.06 km and with Dani Sordo only fourth fastest behind Thierry and Elfyn, the gap was now just fifteen seconds between the top two. Thierry was right with Seb, just 1.7 seconds between them in their fight over second overall.

    The short blast of SS14 Sassari – Argentiera 1 – 6.89 km was taken by Thierry with Dani and Seb second and third fastest. Now the gap between second and third was just one tenth of a second! Dani’s lead was actually increased a little to just over sixteen seconds now. Elfyn was a comfortable fourth both in the stage and overall, as well.

    SS15 Cala Flumini 2 – 14.06 km, the penultimate stage was won by Seb, and the gap opened up a little to 1.7 seconds to Thierry in third. What would we see from the Belgian in the final stage? Dani was just bringing the car home for a very good victory, his lead now 9.2 seconds over Seb.

    The final stage then, SS16 Sassari – Argentiera 2 [Power Stage] – 6.89 km. The top five fastest were Ott, Thierry, Seb, Elfyn and Dani. Thierry was 2.7 seconds faster than Seb, and passed him for second overall as well. Seb missed out on second position by just one second in the end.

     

    Final Overall Classification – Rally Italia Sardegna

    1 D. Sordo C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:41:37.5
    2 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +5.1
    3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +6.1
    4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +1:02.3
    5 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +1:33.9
    6 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2:27.5
    7 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +4:43.8
    8 J. Huttunen M. Lukka Hyundai i20 R5 +8:41.7
    9 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia R5 +10:02.9
    10 P. Tidemand P. Barth Škoda Fabia R5 +10:20.9

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Dani Sordo (1st)

    “This is an amazing result and I am really happy to have taken my second victory for Hyundai Motorsport, at the scene of my first one last year. This place is really special, and we have seen a strong performance across the whole team. I am not particularly pleased with my pace today; we had a big lead coming into Sunday morning, but I wasn’t able to set the same times as Thierry and Ogier, so things were a bit too close by the end of the Power Stage. Still, we were able to get the job done and to help the team move into the lead of the manufacturers’ standings. Mission accomplished. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to send – on behalf of myself and Carlos – our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Laura Salvo. We will always remember her.”

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 06, Rally Italia Sardegna
    08-11 October 2020
    Dani Sordo, Carlos Del Barrio
    Photographer: Helena El Mokni
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Thierry Neuville (2nd)

    “I am so happy to finish in second place and to collect four points from the Power Stage. The result moves us to third in the drivers’ standings after a fantastic battle with Sébastien. I really enjoyed it. We did the best we could all weekend after a few issues which lost us some valuable time. Huge congratulations to Dani and Carlos for a beautiful victory, and to the team for this incredible 1-2, which has really helped our position in the manufacturers’ championship.”

    Ott Tänak (6th)

    “It has been a difficult and disappointing weekend for us. From the suspension problems on Friday, we knew we wouldn’t be able to mount a serious challenge. We still kept pushing and supporting the team as best we could. Aside from the issues on Friday, the car has been OK, but we know we could have done so much more this weekend. We managed to complete the rally on a more positive note with five points in the Power Stage. The team is working really hard, as it has all season long, and they are doing a great job. We haven’t had things go our way, but we’ll push through and surely improvements will come.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (3rd)

    “It’s been very intense for more or less the whole weekend. Of course, at the end, third place maybe doesn’t show the performance that we had here, but that’s how it is. We had to be second on the road for a big part of the rally and a lot of time was lost there. After that it was always going to be difficult. But I think we tried our best and I cannot be disappointed with my performance, I gave everything I had and it’s still solid points for the championship. I’m getting more and more settled in the Yaris WRC and the performance is there. I just need to continue with that and I’m confident about the future.”

    Elfyn Evans (4th)

    “Today the main objective was to stay ahead of the driver behind and make sure that position was secure. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as many points on the Power Stage as I would have liked, but all in all at least we secured the result and came away with solid points at the end of the weekend. Of course, you always want more than fourth place but we knew coming here starting first on the road was going to be tough, and we were almost out of the fight for the podium by the end of the first day. We continued to push but the times were close and, in the end, I think fourth was realistically the most we could achieve. Going onto asphalt, being first on the road should normally be an advantage and we’ll be hoping that will be the case.”

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “We started this rally really strongly and had great speed in the slower sections – proving that we can be competitive when the conditions are right. But we also had some small issues and were struggling a bit in the faster sections – meaning that fifth was the best we could do this weekend. Still there are a lot of positives that we can take away, and we’ll focus now on the Tarmac rallies where the Fiesta has always been strong.”

    Gus Greensmith (25th)

    “I think we made some really good steps forward this weekend, and a lot of that was due to the time I spent at M-Sport before the rally. Going through all of the data with my engineer we were able to find a lot of ways to improve and also tried something new with the set-up which gave me a lot more confidence. For me it was definitely one of my better performances. It was pretty disappointing about some of the issues we had, but that’s rallying and we’ve shown that we can fight a lot closer to the top.”

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
    After round six

    1 E. Evans 111
    2 S. Ogier 97
    3 T. Neuville 87
    4 O. Tänak 83
    5 K. Rovanperä 70
    6 T. Suninen 44
    7 E. Lappi 38
    8 D. Sordo 26
    9 C. Breen 25
    10 S.Loeb 24

     

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
    After round six

    1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 208
    2 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 201
    3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 117
    4 Hyundai 2C Competition 8

     

     

    Warren’s Thoughts

    At Hyundai it was a good drive by Dani Sordo. Five stage wins gave him the lead, and he was able to keep his pace high enough so that when others hit the pace that they needed to challenge, he had enough in reserve to hold on the lead and therefore take the victory. Unfortunately, the issue with the subframe being underweight by 24kg’s has slightly taken the shine off the result. The significant fine that the team picked up because of this will set some minds at rest, but others may think more should have been done. Ott Tänak was really held back with his woes on Friday, but once the problems were resolved, he was on the pace. Sadly, it makes it even harder for him to retain his title. Thierry kept his title hopes alive with a strong drive, and nearly took the win from his teammate. He is now Hyundai’s best hope for the driver’s championship.

     

    At Toyota the championship leader, Elfyn Evans did what he could given that he was opening the road on Friday, including a stage win and finished in fourth. His teammate, Seb, did what he could to finish higher up, but third overall could have been second, and a smaller gap to close come the end of the year. Kalle showed well, but retirement beckoned for the young Finn.

     

    Finally, at M-Sport they started really well, holding a 1-2 after the first stage, with Teemu ‘Sending It’! As the rally went on throughout Saturday, the pace was too much for the Finn to hold the faster cars behind and ultimately ended the event in fifth. We didn’t get to see what Esapekka could do, after his engine overheated and he retired. Gus Greensmith went well, setting eleven top ten times. Reliability cost him a decent result, but we shall see what he and Elliot his co-driver can do in the last couple of events.

     

    One more thing to mention is that Petter Solberg and Andreas Mikkelsen teamed up in a Citroen C3 WRC running on next year’s Pirelli tyres, with the younger Norwegian on the stage notes as they completed the final stage. We don’t know what time they set, but nevertheless it is a significant moment for the tyre manufacturer.

    Petter Solberg (NOR) and Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) of team Citroen C3 WRC. Photo credit Red Bull Content Pool

    Looking ahead, we now have two events left to complete this season. Ypres in Belgium at the beginning of November, and now in December, Rally Monza. This event was announced on Friday afternoon!

  • BTCC Croft – Ingram takes win from Cammish as Turkington struggles

    BTCC Croft – Ingram takes win from Cammish as Turkington struggles

    Tom Ingram boosted his title credentials with a win in round 21 of the British Touring Car Championship at Croft. He held off Honda’s Dan Cammish as title contender Colin Turkington had another nightmare race.

    Dubbed the ‘King of Croft’, Turkington’s retirement in race two was compounded with a driveshaft issue on lap one. He pitted and rejoined five laps down on the leaders. Scoring no points and falling to third in the title race.

    Ingram rocketed from third on the grid past Cammish at turn one, and past Tom Chilton by the end of lap one. Stephen Jelley had a spin in his BMW 125i at turn two.

    On lap three the safety car was out as Bobby Thompson’s impressive weekend ended in a horror smash as he got put onto the grass and his car dug in and rolled over multiple times. Thankfully he was unhurt.

    On the restart Cammish was fighting Chilton, with both Honda Civic FK8’s struggling with brake temperature issues. The discs were glowing as they were pushing hard. Cammish finally got past him on lap 13 and set about hounding down Ingram.

    Ash Sutton, who started 20th after suffering a puncture in race two, was up to sixth, with Tom Oliphant in his way. He got past him and was fighting Matt Neal for fourth.

    Cammish was on the tail of Ingram coming into the final lap. Ingram did all he could to keep the Honda behind and held on to take the win. Cammish finished three tenths behind. Chilton rounded off the podium with Neal and Sutton having a drag race over the line. Neal took fourth by 17 thousandths of a second.

    Ash Sutton has the championship lead by seven points from Cammish with Turkington in third as the title race hots up going into the final six races of the season at Snetterton and Brands Hatch.

    Pos Driver Car Interval
    1 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla
    2 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +0.278
    3 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +5.001
    4 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +6.453
    5 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +6.472
    6 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +7.129
    7 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +8.099
    8 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8 +8.548
    9 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +10.235
    10 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +10.435
    11 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +10.894
    12 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST +11.438
    13 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +13.535
    14 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +16.681
    15 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +16.825
    16 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +17.677
    17 Mike Bushell VW CC +18.639
    18 Jack Goff VW CC +18.975
    19 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +25.669
    20 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +29.487
    21 Nicolas Hamilton VW CC +31.497
    22 Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport +1:22.945
    23 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport +4 Laps
    Retirements
    DNF Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon Crash
    DNF Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 Mechanical

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • BTCC Croft – Josh Cook takes win as Neal penalised – title contenders hit trouble

    BTCC Croft – Josh Cook takes win as Neal penalised – title contenders hit trouble

    Josh Cook took his second win of the weekend as Matt Neal was given a 0.7 second penalty for hitting Cook on the final lap.

    Cook had led all race but Neal had more pace, and his move three corners from the end was judged to have been gaining an advantage by the stewards, and so the places were reversed.

    Meanwhile the two title contenders had a race to forget. Colin Turkington locked up at the start going into turn one and put it in the wall. Ash Sutton had a golden chance to capitalize but made a rash move on Jake Hill on lap seven and suffered a puncture, finishing 20th and out the points.

    Hill was holding Sutton off, and the Infiniti driver dove down the inside at the final hairpin. Sutton made contact and punctured his tyre, but he’d gone past the pits before realising his tyre had punctured.

    With the two title protagonists stricken, Tom Ingram and Dan Cammish both picked up good points to close the gap.

    Towards the end of the race Neal had bags of pace. He passed Hill into second and was soon on the back of Cook. He closed the three second gap in a matter of laps and by the end of lap 14 he was on the back of his fellow Honda Civic driver.

    On lap 16, Cook was holding Neal off, with an extra 60kg of ballast on his car, but Neal dove down the inside into the final section of the lap. He tapped Cook on the inside and nearly tipped him into a spin. He passed Cook and finished first on the road but the stewards swapped the positions.

    Pos Driver Car Interval
    1 Josh Cook Honda CIvic Type R FK8
    2 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +0.700*
    3 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +1.164
    4 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla +1.616
    5 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +5.202
    6 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +8.693
    7 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +8.875
    8 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +9.489
    9 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +14.573
    10 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +15.473
    11 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +17.396
    12 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +19.052
    13 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +22.835
    14 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +22.976
    15 Mike Bushell VW CC +23.269
    16 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +27.980
    17 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +28.900
    18 Jack Goff VW CC +31.145
    19 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +46.635
    20 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +1 Lap
    21 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 +4 Laps
    Retirements
    DNF Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST Crash
    DNF Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Crash
    DNS Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport
    DNS Nicolas Hamilton VW CC

    *Matt Neal received a 0.7 second penalty for causing a collision.

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • BTCC Croft – Josh Cook takes win from Jake Hill and Colin Turkington

    BTCC Croft – Josh Cook takes win from Jake Hill and Colin Turkington

    Josh Cook took his second win of the season at Croft in the British Touring Car Championship with Jake Hill second and title contender Colin Turkington third.

    Power Maxed Racing’s entry Jac Constable was set to make his first ever BTCC appearance but had to pull out before the race as he felt unwell.

    Cook led from lights to flag despite pressure from Hill. Ash Sutton recovered from a first lap spin to finish fifth. He was promoted to fourth as Butcher received a penalty for the spin.

    Coming into the final complex, Sutton was tapped by Rory Butcher and spun, falling to 11th. Hill got close to Cook on the end of lap one, but didn’t get another chance to take the lead.

    Bobby Thompson, who qualified an impressive fifth, had some slight damage concerns as his wheel was rubbing on some bodywork, but it fixed itself and he powered on.

    Tom Ingram and Senna Proctor were both disqualified from qualifying yesterday for ride height issues, and both started to fly through the field. Ingram fought back to 13th with Proctor finishing 18th.

    Sutton’s favoured move throughout the race was to dummy into the final hairpin and dive down the inside. He did it to three drivers before finding veteran Tom Chilton a little harder to pass. He finally did it on lap 13 and finished fifth.

    Jack Butel retired from the race for his first DNF of his BTCC career. Nic Hamilton and Sam Osborne also failed to finish.

    Cook took the win but as is a common theme this season Sutton takes the plaudits for his surge through the field. Sutton and Turkington are now tied at the top of the standings.

    Pos Driver Car Interval
    1 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8
    2 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +0.653
    3 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport +3.573
    4 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +10.348
    5 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +10.592*
    6 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +13.245
    7 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +13.436
    8 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +16.909
    9 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +17.248
    10 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +17.663
    11 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +17.890
    12 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +21.148
    13 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla +21.553
    14 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST +23.441
    15 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +23.748
    16 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +25.347
    17 Jack Goff VW CC +27.187
    18 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +27.663
    19 Mike Bushell VW CC +28.220
    20 Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport +40.219
    21 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +55.454
    22 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 +1 Lap
    Retirements
    DNF Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class Crash
    DNF Nicolas Hamilton VW CC Mechanical
    DNF Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 Mechanical

    *Rory Butcher received 2 second penalty for causing a collision.

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 – Preview.

    Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 – Preview.

    We come to this event much later in the year than normal. It will be interesting what the weather does, as it is normally a dry and hot rally. As I write this, the weather reports suggest that there will be rain at the start of the week, but that it will warm up and the rain will stop.

    Of course, as championship leaders, Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin will be opening the road on Friday. The last time they did that in Mexico, they finished in fourth place. What kind of a result will they be able to get in this rally? They hold an 18-point lead over their teammates and former champions.

    Seb and Julien, and will be working hard to get a good result for their championship challenge. The former champions will want a strong result, and at least a podium finish to set up a title decider in the Ypres Rally. I suspect they will target winning on the island of Sardinia.

    Third on the road, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja lie 27 points from the championship leader. The Hyundai team know how to win here, with Thierry taking victories in 2016 and 2018. The Estonians hopes of getting a top result and successfully defending their world title, make this event very important. They have to outscore both former teammates, and ideally win.

    Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio and, who won this event last year will start for Hyundai as well, their first competitive start in the car since Rally Mexico.

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 08, Rally Italia Sardegna
    13 – 16 June 2019
    Dani Sordo
    Photographer: Austral
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    At Toyota, Kalle Rovanpera, who has just turned 20 will have much to learn about getting to grips with this event, but will have the best teammates alongside him. He also competed last year in a Skoda Fabia R5, and finished in ninth place. This season he has taken some very good results in this first season at the top, sitting fourth in the championship.

    At M-Sport, Teemu is the only driver to have stood on the podium this season, taking third in Mexico and took second place last year in this event behind Dani. It gives all three drivers hope that they can secure a good result in this event, and to finish the season strongly.

    Petter Solberg and Andreas Mikkelsen will be driving the final stage of the rally in a Citroen C3 WRC on Pirelli tyres. The Norwegian pairing have been helping Pirelli test their tyres, in their preparations for next season when they become the tyre supplier for the championship.

    Here’s the stage information for you. Sixteen stages and 238km of action in total.

    Let’s hear from the drivers!

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Sébastien Ogier

    “Sardinia is a rally that I like, but we’re going to be competing there at a different time of the year compared to usual, so the challenge might not be the same as what we are used to. For this reason, the test that we did there last week was important preparation. At this time of year, the weather can be more uncertain than normal, and on an island like Sardinia it can change very quickly anyway. In the test we had some heavy rain showers and the conditions on the stage changed completely in just a few minutes. Everything is still open in the championship, so we have to keep doing our best and target the maximum points in Sardinia.”

    Elfyn Evans

    “Whenever you finish one rally on a high like we did in Turkey then it’s always a good boost for the following round. Leading the championship is certainly a good position to be in, even though it does come with an added challenge in that we will need to sweep the road in Sardinia. It is how it is but it’s not going to make it an easy event for us – providing it stays dry, of course. Going to Sardinia in October could change the weather forecasts somewhat. It might make it a little bit less demanding for the tyres, but we will still have some difficult choices: We face some loops of stages where we have to choose the tyres for the first and second passes of stages without returning to service, so it’s still going be a big challenge.”

    FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 08 / Rally dÕItalia Sardegna / 13-16 June, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Kalle Rovanperä

    “In my pre-event test for Sardinia I had a good feeling straight away in the car, and it got even better once we made some changes, so I’m happy going into the rally. In Sardinia there’s usually a lot of road cleaning on the first pass, so it will be important to have good grip there. It can also be quite rough in some places and on the second pass there will be big ruts, so you need to have a good setup to deal with that also. It seems we can expect to have some rain showers and that they can be quite local – so it will only be wet in some parts of the stages. The information from our weather crews is going to be really important to know if there will be rain or not and what tyres we need to take, especially as I’ve heard that the stages can be really slippery when it rains.”

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville

    “There are nice beautiful roads at Rally Italia Sardegna, with flowing, narrow stages. The natural characteristic of the stages suits my pace notes system and my driving style. It’s a rally where we have always demonstrated good speed, and we’ve also won there twice in the past. The weather could be different to what we’re used to during the usual summer slot, so that could be challenging on that side, particularly if it rains. Most of the stages are well known to us from previous years, so we are looking forward to the event.”

    Ott Tänak

    “Rally Italia Sardegna is normally a hot and tough event; this year the rally is taking place a bit later in the season so we might face some difficult weather conditions. Wet weather can change the full concept of the rally, so we have to expect a range of situations. The stages are made up of high grip roads typically, which can be tough on the tyres, so tyre management is generally important. We hope to show the performance of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC on this different type of gravel roads and be in the fight for victory.”

    Dani Sordo

    “This is a very special rally for me, with some incredible memories from last year’s event. I will never forget the feeling of taking that victory with Hyundai Motorsport and I hope we can repeat it this year! The stages are normally quite slippery on the first pass because there is a lot of loose gravel on the surface; this can benefit those crews starting further back on the order. The second pass is much more aggressive on the tyres, offering greater grip levels. I tested the car recently and had a good feeling, so the objective is victory.”

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 08 Rally Italia Sardegna
    13 – 16 June 2019
    Day 3, Podium, Dani Sordo, Carlos Del Barrio, Anders Jaeger,
    Photographer: Fabien Dufour
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    M-Sport WRT

    Esapekka Lappi

    “We’re heading to Sardinia a bit later than usual so things could be a little different this year. The temperatures might not be as high, and the weather could be a bit more unpredictable. This has never been an event where you can push flat-out all the time, and that could be even truer this year. We’ll have to complete two loops of stages without service so there’ll be a compromise to consider when deciding set-ups and tyre strategies that will work over both passes. It’s going to be a challenging weekend, but we’re determined to produce a good result and I think this is an event where we have a good chance of doing that.”

    Teemu Suninen

    “I’ve always performed well in Sardinia and it’s an event I look forward to every year. It’s the first event I did with Jarmo, and where I secured my best ever result last year. Of course, we’ll be competing in the autumn this time which will make things a bit different, but I hope we’ll be able to show the same good pace. As always in Sardinia, we’ll need to be really focused and careful to mark every stone on the recce. We’ll also have to think carefully about the set-up and strategy as we’ll have to drive two loops without service – meaning that myself and Jarmo will have to make any changes remotely with what we carry in the car.”

    Teemu Suninen and Jarmo Lehtinen took three stage victories last year on their way to second overall. Photo credit M-Sport WRT

    Gus Greensmith

    “I’ve only competed in Sardinia once before, but I really like the island and the stages. They’re not quite as rough as those in Turkey, but they’re certainly not smooth and we will need to deliver another good performance if we want to secure another good result this week. That’s our aim and I see no reason why we can’t achieve it. We know from Teemu’s performance last year that the car is suited to Sardinia’s stages, and I also feel as though I am developing better consistency every time I get behind the wheel.”

     

    Summary

    We are really set for an incredible finish to the end of the championship. There are only three crews who can realistically win the title, two at Toyota and one at Hyundai. Kalle at Toyota and Thierry at Hyundai still have a mathematical chance, but it’s unlikely to be their year.

    In terms of who will be fighting for victory, I think that Seb and Ott will fight it out for victory, with either Thierry, Dani or Teemu getting the final podium position. Ott will hope that Thierry or Dani can finish ahead of Seb and Elfyn, taking points away from his championship rivals, as he bids to win his second title. Elfyn will want to get a good result, as he bids for his first world championship title.

    In the manufacturers’ battle, Toyota lead the way, but Hyundai who are the reigning champions will want to score well. With three winners at Hyundai, they have a good chance of doing just that.

  • BTCC Silverstone – Jackson takes maiden win in shortened race

    BTCC Silverstone – Jackson takes maiden win in shortened race

    Ollie Jackson took his maiden BTCC win in a shortened race three at Silverstone following a horror smash from Jackson’s team mate Rory Butcher.

    The Ford Focus crashed on lap six of the original race and brought out the red flag. Jackson held his nerve despite pressure from Tom Oliphant and a resurgent Ash Sutton to take the win.

    Jackson took the lead into Copse. Butcher had the best start and flew up to ninth by the end of lap one.

    Andy Neate and Jade Edwards continued their on track scrap as Neate didn’t give Edwards enough room. Neate was put into the wall as Edwards drove away.

    Tom Ingram also went off as he was squeezed at Luffield and span off.

    On lap six the red flag was brought out as Butcher was spun and hit the wall in a massive shunt. His car was destroyed and thankfully Rory was okay and walked away.

    On the restart Jackson led again, with Oliphant fighting hard, with the pair colliding into Brooklands, but thankfully no damage was done.

    Sutton was flying, starting 14th on the restarted grid, he was up into sixth by lap six, fighting the top five in what was a frenetic race.

    Oliphant made a move into Copse and briefly held the lead but Jackson maintained his composure and took it back again.

    Senna Proctor had another solid race, and made an impressive triple pass into Becketts. He passed former team mates Tom Chilton and Josh Cook, as well as Aiden Moffat.

    On the penultimate lap Sutton was on the tail of Jackson and Oliphant. He managed to pass the BMW but Jackson was just beyond his reach.

    But Sutton now leads the championship again as the teams leave Silverstone. Another three brilliant races, and the championship battle is wide open.

    Pos Grid Driver Car Interval
    1 1 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST
    2 14 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +0.312
    3 2 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +0.576
    4 9 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +1.130
    5 6 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +3.827
    6 10 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +3.947
    7 4 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8 +4.238
    8 5 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +4.472
    9 11 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +4.599
    10 8 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport +4.911
    11 7 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +5.453
    12 12 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +6.191
    13 16 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +7.178
    14 18 Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport +7.241
    15 3 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +10.661
    16 17 Jack Goff VW CC +10.838
    17 22 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +11.030
    18 15 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +11.328
    19 20 Tom Onslow-Cole VW CC +12.921
    20 13 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +14.645
    21 23 Nicolas Hamilton VW CC +23.487
    DNF 24 Jade Edwards Vauxhall Astra Mechanical
    DNF 19 James Gornall Audi S3 Saloon Mechanical
    DNF 21 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 Mechanical
    DNF N/A Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Crash
    DNF N/A Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST Crash
    DNF N/A Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla Crash

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • BTCC Silverstone – Turkington profits from Ingram and Sutton punctures to take championship lead

    BTCC Silverstone – Turkington profits from Ingram and Sutton punctures to take championship lead

    Colin Turkington profited from the misfortune of others to take the win in the second race at Silverstone to retake the British Touring Car Championship lead.

    Punctures to title rivals Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton late in the race saw Turkington take the win and open up a six point lead at the top.

    Race one winner Dan Cammish was fastest off the line but lost the lead to Ingram at Luffield. Sutton passed Turkington at Copse but fell down the order after a small collision with Rory Butcher, who spun to the back of the grid.

    Sutton was tenth and seemed to be struggling, but his Infiniti team mate Aiden Moffat was storming through the field in his 200th BTCC race. He was stuck behind Sutton but finally made a move.

    The top three of Ingram, Turkington and Cammish were all close, fighting hard for the win. Turkington’s team mate Tom Oliphant retired from race one with a suspension issue, but he made up for it by flying through the field to finish ninth.

    On lap 17 Sutton suffered a puncture, ruining his race and putting him at the back for race three. Ingram then suffered a puncture a lap later, with Turkington the big winner, inheriting the lead and seeing his two title rivals fall to the back of the grid.

    He guided his BMW home to take the win and his 150th BTCC podium, with Cammish and Adam Morgan rounding off the podium.

    Matt Neal was fourth, with Moffat’s storming drive being rewarded with fifth. Josh Cook, Jake Hill and Ollie Jackson all had strong finishes, with Tom Oliphant going from 25th to ninth at the chequered flag, with Hyundai’s Senna Proctor rounding out the top ten.

    Pos Grid Driver Car Interval
    1 4 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport
    2 1 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +1.245
    3 6 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +3.172
    4 8 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +7.876
    5 11 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +12.576
    6 10 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8 +13.804
    7 7 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +14.500
    8 13 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST +14.910
    9 25 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +15.102
    10 14 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +16.911
    11 15 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +17.115
    12 17 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +17.831
    13 18 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +18.380
    14 3 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +18.559
    15 16 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +20.016
    16 22 James Gornall Audi S3 Saloon +20.404
    17 20 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +21.098
    18 19 Tom Onslow-Cole VW CC +21.446
    19 27 Jack Goff VW CC +21.913
    20 9 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +22.858
    21 23 Jade Edwards Vauxhall Astra +25.507
    22 21 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +26.205
    23 12 Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport +43.244
    24 24 Nicolas Hamilton VW CC +1 Lap
    25 2 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla +1 Lap
    26 5 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +2 Laps
    Retirements
    DNF 26 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 Mechanical

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • BTCC Silverstone – Cammish takes win after fascinating fight with Ingram

    BTCC Silverstone – Cammish takes win after fascinating fight with Ingram

    Dan Cammish took the seventh win of his British Touring Car Championship career after holding off the Toyota of Tom Ingram in a thrilling race at Silverstone.

    Cammish made a good start with Ingram close behind. The pair traded the lead a few times, with Ingram passing on the exit of Becketts and Cammish taking it back into Brooklands.

    The Safety Car was brought out on lap five as Michael Crees was tipped into a spin and collided with James Gornall, with Crees beaching his Honda Civic in the gravel. Cammish and Ingram were fighting hard to be ahead for the SC period, with the pair separated by just nine thousandths of a second.

    On the restart Cammish and Ingram continued to fight, with the battle for third being the more intriguing. Rory Butcher was holding off Colin Turkington and Ash Sutton while Tom Oliphant retired as his BMW went over a kerb and broke his suspension.

    With Sutton breathing down his neck, Turkington had to be careful when plotting a move on Butcher ahead. The Scotsman in his Motorbase Ford Focus held off the hard charging duo to take third, with Turkington and Sutton fourth and fifth.

    Cammish pulled away to take his seventh BTCC win with Ingram behind, who makes further inroads into the championship lead.

    Adam Morgan, Jake HIll, Matt Neal, Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook rounded off the top ten. Jade Edwards, the first female driver to race in the BTCC since Fiona Leggate in 2007, finished 23rd after being pushed off track by Andy Neate.

    Sutton still leads the championship but his lead has been cut down by Turkington and Ingram.

    Pos Grid Driver Car Interval
    1 1 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8
    2 2 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla +1.081
    3 3 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +4.468
    4 4 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport +4.815
    5 7 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +5.049
    6 8 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +7.516
    7 10 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +8.957
    8 6 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +9.368
    9 14 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +10.856
    10 12 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8 +14.030
    11 15 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +17.706
    12 13 Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport +18.898
    13 11 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST +18.915
    14 16 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +19.500
    15 9 Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R FK8 +19.713
    16 21 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +20.870
    17 17 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +22.368
    18 19 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +22.812
    19 20 Tom Onslow-Cole VW CC +23.639
    20 27 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +24.784
    21 23 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +25.131
    22 26 James Gornall Audi S3 Saloon +25.412
    23 25 Jade Edwards Vauxhall Astra +27.430
    24 24 Nicolas Hamilton VW CC +29.812
    Retirements
    DNF 5 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Suspension
    DNF 22 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 Crash
    DNF 18 Jack Goff VW CC Mechanical

    Image Credit: BTCC Media

  • Rally Turkey 2020 Review – Elfyn and Scott take their second win of the year!

    Rally Turkey 2020 Review – Elfyn and Scott take their second win of the year!

    Shakedown saw a fight for the fastest time between Thierry and Ott with the Belgian emerging fastest. The Toyota’s were next, with Kalle and then Ogier and Elfyn with Loeb sixth fastest. Fastest of the M-Sport Fiesta’s was Teemu and then Gus and Esapekka. Loubet went well in his i20, setting the second fastest time on the second run through!

     

    Friday

    Thierry Neuville took the first stage of the weekend, winning SS1 İçmeler – 13.90 km from nine-time champion Loeb, with Ott making it a 1-2-3 for Hyundai. Elfyn was next up in his Yaris, with Ogier fifth and Teemu the fastest Fiesta.

    Ogier took SS2 Gökçe – 11.32 km, from Loeb and Kalle. Loeb’s pace moved him into the lead from Thierry and Ogier, whilst Elfyn held fourth overall.

    Classification after Day One

    1 S. Loeb D. Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 18:50.9
    2 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1.2
    3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +1.3
    4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +2.1
    5 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC +2.7
    6 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +4.2
    7 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +4.8
    8 E. Lappi J. Ferm Ford Fiesta WRC +6.6
    9 G. Greensmith E. Edmondson Ford Fiesta WRC +16.1
    10 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +28.5
    2020 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 05, Rally Turkey
    18-20 September 2020
    Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
    Photographer: Helena El Mokni
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Saturday

    The start list looked like this – Loubet, Greensmith, Lappi, Tänak, Suninen, Rovanperä, Evans, Ogier, Neuville, Loeb.

    The first stage of the day, SS3 Yeşilbelde 1 – 31.79 km saw Ogier win the stage from Thierry and Elfyn, who’d jumped into third. The gap between Ogier and Neuville was just 1.7 seconds at the top of the leaderboard. It was a disaster for Ott however. 25km into the stage he’d stopped and the reason was that he had a steering problem. He was out for the day.

    Next up, SS4 Datça 1 – 8.75 km and Ogier opened up the gap to Thierry, with the gap afterwards now three seconds between them. Elfyn continued to hold third overall, and was now eleven seconds from the lead. Best of the M-Sport drivers was Teemu, and he was in sixth overall, and 45 seconds from the lead, but still in the running for a good result.

    Thierry came back at Ogier on the next one SS5 Kızlan 1 – 13.15 km, halving the gap to the leader. Was this the start of the push to remove the Toyota driver from the lead? Elsewhere, the gaps remained much the same.

    After the service break, the second run of SS6 Yeşilbelde 2 – 31.79 km saw Thierry set a really fast time, jumping into the lead. Sadly, Ogier’s good run in the lead was brought to an end with the Frenchman coming to the stage end with a left front puncture. Elfyn was now in second place overall and 21 seconds from our new leader. Ogier still held third however.

    Thierry also took SS7 Datça 2 – 8.75 km as well, with Ogier second in the stage. Elfyn could only manage the seventh fastest time and dropped behind his teammate, and Loeb was now just 8 tenths from the Welshman.

    It was a stage win for Loeb in SS8 Kızlan 2 – 13.15 km which moved him into second overall behind his Belgian teammate, who now held a 33 second lead. Esapekka was finding some pace now, going fourth fastest in this one. Just such a shame that he’s lost so much time already. Ogier and Elfyn held third and fourth overall.

    Classification after Day Two

    1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:36:38.6
    2 S. Loeb D. Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +33.2
    3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +33.2
    4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +1:00.8
    5 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC +1:18.8
    6 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +1:35.0
    7 E. Lappi J. Ferm Ford Fiesta WRC +2:28.0
    8 G. Greensmith E. Edmondson Ford Fiesta WRC +3:15.4
    9 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +4:20.4

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “This afternoon went much better than the morning. We worked a lot on the set-up, and I was much happier with the car on the repeat loop, especially in the rougher sections. We found what we were looking for and, although it’s not quite 100%, we’re heading in a good direction. I am very pleased with the work of the team that has allowed us to fight at the front. Tomorrow is going to be the toughest day of the rally; we will have to avoid punctures and damage, while also pushing to drive fast. I am going to try my best and hope we’ll come through in one piece!”

    Sébastien Loeb (2nd)

    “We were frustrated after the first loop because a poor tyre choice lost us a lot of time, when we were determined to give it everything. In the afternoon, thankfully, we were able to fight back. We were still at the limit with the tyres, so we had to save a bit on the middle stage, but we managed it well. We have been able to regain ground to second overall, but it’s too early to think about what we might be able to achieve tomorrow. There are still a lot of kilometres to cover.”

    Ott Tänak (DNF) Rally 2

    “Not much positive for us to report today, as we were forced to stop on the first stage of the day with a steering issue. There was no warning, it was quite instant and nothing we could do. It had generally been a pretty demanding stage with very low grip and a lot of cleaning. The conditions were not particularly harsh, just loose. Tomorrow, we will go again and try to score some points in the Power Stage; there’s little else for us to do unfortunately.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (3rd)

    “It was a good morning loop for us, winning two stages and being in the lead of the rally. The car was working well and we had some ideas to make it even better for the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was not exactly the afternoon we were looking for. But it’s part of the game sometimes in motorsport, and in the end I’m happy to still be here tonight. Of course, it is frustrating not to be in the fight for the win, but at least we are still in a position to fight for the big points and for the podium. I’m sure the team can fix the car tonight and we can finish the rally well tomorrow. There are still some long stages with conditions that are probably even more challenging than today, so nothing is over yet.”

    Elfyn Evans (4th)

    “It was a decent morning for us. Already from the first stage it was very hot in the car, but everything was working well. We had a good feeling in the car and the rhythm was good. We knew the afternoon would be tough. The time in the long stage was not so bad but my tyre wear was much higher than expected. We need to study it to find out why, but I wasn’t managing the tyre well. That made the next two stages very difficult: It was a case of trying to manage it as best as we could. It’s still all to play for tomorrow. The long stage will be very challenging and there could still be an opportunity to be on the podium, so we have to go and try our best.”

    Kalle Rovanperä (5th)

    “The morning was quite OK for me even though the road was quite slippery and it was still cleaning. The afternoon was really tough. On the longest stage we had a puncture: The conditions were really rough and rocky all the time so it’s impossible to know where we got it. After that we had to be careful to get through the other two stages. The overall position is still good for us though, and tomorrow is a long day so anything can happen. If we can keep this position or even gain something more, that would be good.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (6th)

    “I’ve been quite happy with the day. I felt like I was driving well and that our tyre management was good. We were pushing hard while still taking care of the tyres and we were able to set some good times this afternoon. But then on the last two stages we had quite a lot of dust in the car when one of the small windows on the side popped open – which was really distracting. Tomorrow the plan is to continue what we are doing and get through the day. We have some really rough stages – the roughest of the weekend I would say – so we need to keep our eyes open and make sure we get to the end with some more good times.”

    Esapekka Lappi (7th)

    “It’s been really hot and challenging out there today – it’s tough on the cars, on the tyres and on the crews as well. It was tricky running so early on the road, but we tried to drive well and learn as much as we could about the car on these kinds of roads. We learnt quite a lot and things got better this afternoon, but there’s still some more to do so let’s see what we can discover tomorrow.”

    Gus Greensmith (8th)

    “We were making quite a few changes after each stage and on the long one this afternoon the splits were looking really strong. But unfortunately, we picked up a puncture. I’m not sure where we got it, but we did, and for the last two I had a bald tyre on the rear which made things pretty interesting with some pretty big slides! I’m trying to do the best I can and it seems to be getting better with every stage. We’ve been pretty good on the rough sections, and that’s what we’ll have to contend with tomorrow so let’s see what we can do.”

    Sunday

    With four stages to run, totalling almost 89km, the drama would really happen in the first stage of the day. The start list looked like this: Tänak, Loubet, Greensmith, Lappi, Suninen, Rovanperä, Evans, Ogier, Loeb, Neuville.

     

    As Ott started the first stage of the day, SS9 Çetibeli 1 – 38.15 km, there was a problem for the Estonian pairing! Their intercom had failed, and Ott couldn’t hear what Martin was saying. Martin resorted to using hand signals to guide Ott through and they still took second fastest in the stage, behind Elfyn who was 30 seconds fastest than the Hyundai crew. It was a stage of drama, with first Loubet and then Suninen stopping. The Finnish pairing had broken his left rear suspension and they were out. The stage was living up to its reputation to be a car breaker. Then Ogier had a puncture at 18km and stopped to change the wheel. Lappi then also got a puncture at 10km, and so did Kalle! Rally leaders, Thierry and Nicolas were another crew to suffer a puncture, albeit much closer to the end of the stage at 25km’s. Loeb also suffered a puncture, losing a minute and twenty seconds! Elfyn now led, from Ogier who was 47 seconds from his teammate and Thierry dropped to third, just one second from second place.

     

    Thierry won SS10 Marmaris 1 – 6.22 km, and moved ahead of Ogier into second place. Loeb and Ogier were second and third fastest in the stage. The new leaders Elfyn and Scott were fifth fastest, and were now just making sure that they completed the remaining stages with no problems.

     

    There was more drama in the rerun of SS11 Çetibeli 2 – 38.15 km! Our leader suffered a stall in a hairpin, but was still second fastest behind Thierry. Ogier was the big loser though, with engine failure, and he stopped at 16.7km’s into the stage. Lappi completed with a puncture, but was still faster than his teammate Gus Greensmith by 7.3 seconds who was now in fifth overall. Loeb was now into third overall, with the demise of his former Citroen teammate.

     

    A tweak to the running order then before the final stage of the rally, and the starting order looked like this: Brynildsen, Fourmaux, Tidemand, Heller, Avci, Bulacia, Kajetanowicz, Tänak, Lappi, Greensmith, Rovanperä, Loeb, Neuville, Evans.

     

    Thierry won SS12 Marmaris 2 [Power Stage] – 6.22 km, with Ott just four tenths from the stage victory, picking some points up, but not the result that he and Martin wanted. Elfyn was third fastest in the stage, sealing a very good third victory. Kalle and Loeb completed the top five in the power stage.

    There you go then, with all kinds of drama on the morning of the final day, Elfyn and Scott took a remarkable victory, with Thierry and Nicolas taking second position, and Seb and Daniel completing a good third place for Hyundai.

     

    Final Overall Classification – Rally Turkey

    1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 2:43:02.7
    2 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +35.2
    3 S. Loeb D. Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +59.4
    4 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC +2:35.9
    5 G. Greensmith E. Edmondson Ford Fiesta WRC +4:08.3
    6 E. Lappi J. Ferm Ford Fiesta WRC +5:36.2
    7 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia R5 +12:35.5
    8 P. Tidemand P. Barth Škoda Fabia R5 +12:59.7
    9 A. Fourmaux R. Jamoul Ford Fiesta R5 +14:42.6
    10 M. Bulacia M. Der Ohannesian Citroën C3 R5 +14:46.4

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Elfyn Evans (1st)

    “It obviously feels good to come away from a really tough rally with a win. We showed some good pace from the start. We were perhaps not the fastest driver out there this weekend, but we were there or thereabouts and we knew that today was going to be critical. We really tried to focus on keeping it in the middle of the road and that paid off for us, and I’m happy to come away with all those points. It’s probably not the sweetest victory because we know that others had some bad luck, but this is the nature of Rally Turkey and we knew this coming into the weekend. It’s a great result towards the championship and a good position to be in.”

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 05 / Rally Turkey / September 18-20, 2020 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Kalle Rovanperä (4th)

    “This is another good result for us. It’s nice to keep finishing these rallies with good points. I have to say a really big thank you to the team, because they are doing a very big job in a rally like this to keep the car in a good condition as it’s really rough for the car. The long stage today was tough as we expected. On the second pass we were really careful to save the car and the tyres. Then in the Power Stage we couldn’t push too much because we wanted to get the points for the manufacturers’ championship, but we still managed to set a nice time and get some more points.”

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (2nd)

    “I have the feeling we deserved to have taken more away from this weekend, but it is still a great feeling to be back on the podium again. We showed a strong performance and the car was working really well; we made some changes on Saturday afternoon and the speed was definitely there. Unfortunately, we were among the unlucky crews to pick up a puncture on the first stage today, which prevented us from taking the victory. Still, we fought back to take P2 and five Power Stage points, so from a championship point of view it was a good move. Even if we didn’t take the win, we did the maximum we could. I have to say thanks to the team for all their efforts.”

    Sébastien Loeb (3rd)

    “It has been a tough final day of this rally. The first stage this morning was a bit of a lottery and we didn’t get the right numbers! There was a lot of dust and I was driving carefully because I knew there was a chance of a puncture, and suddenly that’s exactly what happened. We only had ten pages of notes left so we decided to bring the car to the end, but I lost the tyre completely so had to drive really slowly. We were still in the battle for the podium. Our aim in the second loop was the get the car through safely and we were able to do that to secure third place – and a great podium finish.”

    Ott Tänak (17th)

    “Since the beginning of the weekend, it has been a very challenging event for us. Friday night, we had some demanding conditions, then on Saturday morning we had to retire with the steering issue. Today, we had to drive through the first three stages with a target of getting something from the Power Stage. I didn’t really have the full commitment to go flat out, somehow it was only at 90%, but we made it through and got four extra points which is much better than nothing.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Gus Greensmith (5th)

    “I’m pretty pleased at the end of this one and happy with how our weekend panned out. That long stage today was so rough, and considering where we were, I decided that caution was the better act of valour. That turned out to be the right decision – it worked out, and we come away from this weekend with our best ever result.

    “I was hoping that we would be able to transfer our Shakedown pace to the rally, but without a pre-event test that proved difficult and we still made a lot of improvements over the course of the weekend – so a big thanks to the team for that. And I think I’ve also made an improvement inside the car. Whereas I might have just sent it once upon a time, I’m now focused on being mistake-free and getting the mileage under my belt – and the confidence will come with that.”

    Esapekka Lappi (6th)

    “It’s always a challenge coming here, but I think you also need a little bit of luck and that wasn’t really on our side today. That long stage is the roughest of the weekend and we got a puncture on both passes through there. The first one was quite early on so we had to stop and change, and the second was about five kilometres from the end.

    “It was a shame because the times on both passes of that stage were actually looking pretty good. We’d made quite a few changes throughout the weekend, and it looked as though everything was starting to come together. So hopefully that’s all good information that we can take forward to Sardinia in two weeks times.”

    Teemu Suninen (DNF)

    “It’s really disappointing how we had to end the day as I think we could have achieved another good result this weekend. I would say that we were quite unlucky. There were so many big rocks on the stage and so many people having problems – unfortunately for us, our problem was quite a big one as the damper was completely broken and it meant that we couldn’t continue.

    “It’s a shame because I think we were driving well and the time looked pretty okay too. We’ve still learnt a lot this weekend, and it’s all good practice for Sardinia where we’ll try again to close the gap and bring home a good result for the team.

    “And there was some good news from today as we found out that my engineer Callum has become a father for the very first time – so I would like to say a big congratulations to him and his girlfriend.”

     

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
    After round 5

    1 E. Evans 97
    2 S. Ogier 79
    3 O. Tänak 70
    4 K. Rovanperä 70
    5 T. Neuville 65
    6 E. Lappi 38
    7 T. Suninen 34
    8 C. Breen 25
    9 S.Loeb 24
    10 G. Greensmith 16

     

    2020 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
    After round 5

    1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 174
    2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 165
    3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 101
         

    Summary

    This event lived up to its reputation as the modern-day Rally Acropolis. Just when you thought it was settled, the first run of the Çetibeli 38km stage threw Thierry’s hopes for victory right out.

    Elfyn and Scott were a minute from the leader at the start, but came through to win that stage, and take the lead of the rally. All three crews in front of them suffered punctures, and lost so much time. It was a great victory for the Toyota pairing, and as you can see, this has moved them back into the championship lead.

    Thierry and Nicolas kept their heads and showed their pace, coming through to second place, after winning seven stages. Definitely one that got away from the Belgian pairing though, who at least got their second podium of the year, after their win in Monte Carlo.

    Seb Loeb and Daniel Elena showed their class, with a first podium since Rally Chile last year, but again a puncture meant that they were always playing catchup.

    Kalle has proved that Tommi made the right decision, with a good drive to fourth place, now holding fourth in the championship.

    At M-Sport, Gus Greensmith got his best finish to date, with fifth place. What could he do next time out in Rally Italia? He still has a lot to learn from his teammates. Teemu would have been ahead, but for the damage to the left-rear wheel and suspension.

    Next up is Rally Italia Sardegna in two weeks’ time! Another gravel event, and as championship leaders Elfyn and Scott will open the road. Pop back before the 8th of October to check out my preview for this event.

  • BTCC Thruxton – Josh Cook takes race three win for BTC Racing

    BTCC Thruxton – Josh Cook takes race three win for BTC Racing

    Josh Cook led from lights to flag his first official win of the season. He had won previously but lost the win due to technical infringements. Team mate Tom Chilton came second with Rory Butcher in third.

    Carl Boardley spun at the final chicane on lap one and broke his suspension, ending an unfortunate weekend for the Team HARD driver. Team mate Nicolas Hamilton had similar issues and retired.

    Tom Ingram had won the first two races of the day and was fighting new championship leader Ash Sutton for fourth. The pair were involved in a race-long battle.

    With Cook and Chilton pulling away, Butcher had to fend off Sutton and Ingram, who were both charging.

    Cook cruised to a win with Chilton and Butcher in second and third respectively. Butcher did well to hold off Sutton and Ingram, who were both incredibly quick throughout the weekend.

    Tom Oliphant, Matt Neal, Colin Turkington, Jake Hill and Dan Cammish rounded off the top ten. Guest driver Rob Austin ended his impressive weekend with 11th.

    Pos Driver Car Interval
    1 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R FK8
    2 Tom Chilton Hnoda Civic Type R FK8 +3.475
    3 Rory Butcher Ford Focus ST +4.397
    4 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 +5.096
    5 Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla +5.628
    6 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport +7.119
    7 Matt Neal Honda Civic Type R FK8 +7.451
    8 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport +8.447
    9 Jake Hill Honda Civic Type R FK2 +8.912
    10 Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type R FK8 +9.629
    11 Rob Austin Vauxhall Astra +10.345
    12 Senna Proctor Hyundai i30N +13.729
    13 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST +14.270
    14 Jack Goff VW CC +16.000
    15 Bobby Thompson Audi S3 Saloon +17.840
    16 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N +22.384
    17 Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport +23.032
    18 Adam Morgan Mercedes Benz A Class +28.005
    19 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST +30.904
    20 Jack Butel Mercedes Benz A Class +31.263
    21 Tom Onslow-Cole VW CC +35.369
    22 Michael Crees Honda Civic Type R FK8 +35.560
    23 Sam Osborne Honda Civic Type R FK2 +35.595
    24 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 +6 Laps
    Retirements
    RET Nicolas Hamilton VW CC Mechanical
    RET Carl Boardley BMW 125i M Sport Suspension
    DNS James Gornall Audi S3 Saloon Mechanical

    Image Credit: BTCC Media