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  • Rally of Chile 2019 Review – Ott Tanak takes the first win in Chile!

    Rally of Chile 2019 Review – Ott Tanak takes the first win in Chile!

    Here’s the story of how the first ever round of the WRC in Chile panned out.

    Friday’s action would be the longest day. The start list looked like this- Neuville, Ogier, Tänak, Meeke, Evans, Mikkelsen, Latvala, Lappi, Loeb, Suninen.

     

    First on the road would be a challenge for Thierry and Nicolas, but they were ready for it. First up, was SS 1 – El Pinar 1 (17,11 km). First stage was very foggy, and we saw that Kris and Jari-Matti shared the first stage win. Elfyn Evans was right there as well, showing that there are certain drivers that excel in such conditions! Esapekka Lappi went wide after the water splash and lost time having to reverse his car, so he could continue. Championship leader Thierry had a good stage, only losing 3.6 seconds to the fastest time, despite opening the road.

     

    The second stage, SS 2 – El Puma 1 (30,72 km) was interrupted for safety reasons when Thierry was driving through. Once sorted, Ott Tanak powered through fastest, taking the lead as well. Ogier also moved up the leaderboard into second place. Our previous top three were now in third (Kris), fourth (Latvala) and fifth (Elfyn). Further back, Loeb was also on the move, passing Andreas for sixth.

     

    More fog in SS 3 – Espigado 1 (22,26 km), the final stage of the morning loop saw Thierry take an impressive stage win, from Jari-Matti and Ott. The Estonian’s lead over Ogier increased as well to six seconds between them. Thierry’s great pace, plus the nominal time given to him after stage two, meant he was now in third place overall. Latvala also passed Meeke- the Finn was finding some good form.

     

    After service, SS 4 – El Puma 2 (30,72 km) was once again won by Ott, who was now really in the groove. Loeb was his closest challenger, but was still nearly ten seconds slower! Thierry suffered in this one, seventeen seconds slower and fell behind Jari-Matti who moved into third overall.

     

    SS 5 – Espigado 2 (22,26 km) saw some leaderboard changes, just not at the top, as Ott continued to dominate with another stage victory and increased his lead over Ogier by almost six seconds. Loeb on the other hand was finding some pace out there going second fastest and passing Elfyn for fifth place. Meanwhile, Teemu with co-driver Marko was making his moves as well, passing Andreas into eighth place.

     

    Final stage of the day then, SS 6 – Concepcion – Bicentenario (2,20 km) and Loeb was fastest from Thierry and Kris. The only change in the leaderboard was Andreas getting back eighth place. Ott held a 22 second lead over Ogier.

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1

    1. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1:24:12.8
    2. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +22.4
    3. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +28.8
    4. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +29.5
    5. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 46.5
    6. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +48.7
    7. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:01.4
    8. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +2:08.1
    9. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2:09.1
    10. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +2:18.3

     

    Here’s the drivers views after the day’s action.

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (1st)

    “It was very challenging this morning driving these stages for the first time, but we had a really good afternoon. The engineers did a good job over lunchtime: they managed to fine-tune the setup a bit and I got a good feeling back and I had the confidence again that I need. Everything on the car is just working. The roads here are demanding, but they’re really nice when you get to know them a bit. This afternoon my pace-notes were a lot better than in the morning and I could start to enjoy it. Tomorrow the roads look to be faster, and usually that’s quite good for our car.”

    FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 06 / Rally Chile / 9th-12th May, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Jari-Matti Latvala (3rd)

    “I’ve really enjoyed the first day of Rally Chile. The morning started well, and then the second stage was really difficult: the wide roads were a bit like in Finland, but the grip was nothing like as good. In SS3 we got back into the rhythm, the feeling was good, and it was going really well this afternoon. I did have a spin towards the end of SS5, and I was very annoyed with myself for that. Tomorrow’s stages are more flowing and wider. I’m looking forward to them, and I’ll try and keep up the speed that we had this afternoon”

    Kris Meeke (5th)

    “We started well this morning with the fastest time on the first stage, but I struggled on the next two to get a rhythm and some confidence. Today’s stages were recced in the fog and maybe I just struggled a bit more than others with that – I just couldn’t trust the road. It was getting better and better in the afternoon though and I felt a bit more confident. I was still missing a bit of commitment, but we’ll continue to push. With the team in first, third and fifth we can see that the car is performing well here. Hopefully I can find a bit more of a rhythm in the morning.”

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “It was a tricky first leg, so I’m pleased to have completed it without making any significant mistakes and having given it everything I have. It was difficult to match Ott’s pace this afternoon, but we’ll be back fighting tomorrow. The stages will be quicker, so I hope that will suit us a bit more. In any case, I’m pleased with the improvements made to my C3 WRC in the short timeframe available after Argentina.”

    Esapekka Lappi (10th)

    “Obviously, I was hoping for more from today’s opening leg, but it was a really complicated day for many of us. My pace and my confidence in the car were better in the afternoon, though.”

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (4th)

    “It has been a tough and demanding first day here in Chile, as we discover brand new stages. The morning loop went quite well overall. Our pace notes were made when we had foggy conditions so it was difficult at times. It was fast with crests and blind corners. You have to push here because otherwise you lose a lot of time. Unfortunately, there was a lot of cleaning this afternoon. I really tried but I had a lot of wheel spin.”

    Seb Loeb (6th)

    “The stages here in Chile have been interesting, very technical and far from easy. They have been incredibly fast in some sections, and particularly the Espigado stage. It has been important to find a good rhythm, but the demands of the routes have made that a challenge. I was able to push harder this afternoon, as the conditions were more favourable. I felt more comfortable and had a good feeling with the car.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen (8th)

    “It has been a tricky day. The opening stage started well and we were on the pace. In SS2, we hit a big rock in the middle of the road. After that, I really struggled with the confidence. We made some changes at lunchtime service to address the lack of stability. Initially, in the afternoon, I felt that we were heading in the right direction but in SS5, I lost the rear of the car and almost rolled. We need a fresh start tomorrow.”

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (7th)

    “We had a pretty good run through most of the stages, but it just didn’t quite click with the rhythm on the second one this afternoon [SS5]. We recced that stage in the fog so we were expecting to lose a bit, but it was obviously really disappointing to give away as much as we did. The stages are a bit wider and a bit more flowing tomorrow. We’re not going to have the best road position, but we’ll give it our all and see what we can do.”

    Teemu Suninen (9th)

    “It’s good to get all the kilometres and get the experience for the future, but I didn’t come here to fight for eighth place and it would have been nice to have had a bit more pace. We just need to do a good job tomorrow, try to improve, and try to be faster than those around us with a similar road position.”

    Saturday

    Onto day two then and with six stages totalling 121km, what would we see happen? The start list looked like this – Lappi, Mikkelsen, Suninen, Evans, Loeb, Meeke, Neuville, Latvala, Ogier, Tänak.

     

    First stage then, SS 7 – Rio Lia 1 (20,90 km) and with a reasonable start position Thierry set the pace quite high, passing Latvala and moving into third overall. Kris Meeke rolled his car, but not so badly that he was out, with the worst of the damage being to the windscreen and he completed the stage but fell out of the top eleven. At the front, Ott once more increased his lead over Ogier, the gap now almost 28 seconds. The closest battle in the top ten was between Loeb and Evans, who lay in fifth and sixth places, with just a little under nine seconds separating them.

     

    Next up, SS 8 – Maria Las Cruces 1 (23,09 km) and Kris removed his windscreen from his car in the control zone as it was starting to come away from the shell. There would be consequences for this at the end of the rally. Most of the top ten made it through fine, but Thierry rolled his car after hitting a bank, the car rolling around seven times before it came to rest on its side. It was a violent crash and the stage was red flagged at that point. Thierry and Nicolas escaped with bruises and scratches and both were taken to hospital to be checked over. Loeb won the stage from Latvala and Tanak, with Kris going well despite no windscreen!

    Into SS 9 – Pelun 1 (16,59 km) then, and Ott just pipped Loeb for the stage win, just two tenths of a second between them! Top three overall was now Ott, Ogier and Latvala. Evans was now seeing the gap between him and Loeb grow. Kris was looking forward to service and getting a new windscreen as well as his car getting some good repairs.

     

    SS 10 – Rio Lia 2 (20,90 km) after service saw Ogier close the gap to Ott, taking four and a half seconds out of the Estonians lead, but not enough to make him worry. Loeb was now closing on Latvala for third place though, with just eight seconds between them.

     

    SS 11 – Maria Las Cruces 2 (23,09 km) saw some fog in places, but it didn’t hinder Ott who took yet another stage victory. Loeb took more time from Latvala as well, just three seconds now between them.

     

    Last stage of the day then, SS 12 – Pelun 2 (16,59 km) saw yet more fog and as a result, Elfyn was second fastest in the stage. We also saw the demise of Latvala who had hit a rock in the stage, damaging the car. He would go no further. The fog was almost like heavy rain. Everyone moved up one place as a result.

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2

    1. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:41:05.5
    2. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +30.3
    3. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +35.4
    4. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:06.3
    5. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:03.0
    6. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +3:13.3
    7. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +3:43.4
    8. Rovanperä / Halttunen (Skoda Fabia R5) +6:33.2
    9. Østberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +7:09.3
    10. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 7:21.9

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers.

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (1st)

    “It’s been a tough day and in these kinds of changing conditions it’s very difficult to control anything. We saw today that anything can happen. I tried to be in a good rhythm but the last stage was particularly tricky, with the rain, fog and hard tyres on. But we managed to make it through with no issues, and we have a good gap to the others going into tomorrow. We just need to focus on managing the first three stages well, and hopefully we could get a couple of points on the Power Stage too to help our championship situation.”

    Kris Meeke (10th)

    “Not far into the first stage this morning there was a junction right and then immediately a long slow left. My notes weren’t correct and I ran wide and touched the bank. It was a slow-speed incident but we finished on our roof, so we lost a lot of time getting back on four wheels. The car was driving fine but we had to remove the windscreen, so at speed it was difficult to hear the pace-notes and difficult to breathe too. Given that, the times weren’t so bad. The afternoon was OK; we’re just trying to score some points now for the team.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala (13th)

    “It was an eventful morning: in the first stage we had to drive behind Kris for a bit after his incident, but we were given the time back so it wasn’t a problem. Then in the third stage of the loop my tyres were already very worn, but we were still right in the fight for second place. In the afternoon, the stages didn’t seem to be suiting my setup so well: I didn’t have the same good feeling I had yesterday. On the final stage, I hit a rock in a ditch and damaged the front-left, and the driveshaft was broken so we couldn’t continue. It’s really disappointing after a strong weekend up to this point, but we won’t give up.”

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “I hoped for more this morning, but the second loop went better. This was mainly due to the substantial changes made during the mid-leg service, although the grip was also naturally better too. We were a bit unlucky on the final stage with the fog and rain, which cost us about ten seconds. Tomorrow’s stages look like being difficult as well, with the narrowest test of the weekend and lots of loose gravel on the Power Stage.”

    Esapekka Lappi (6th)

    “I’m pleased that my confidence behind the wheel improved as we completed more kilometres, and with the adjustments made to the set-up of my C3 WRC. The afternoon loop went better than the morning, and I’m beginning to enjoy it a bit more. I hope we can keep it up tomorrow, without taking any unnecessary risks. Keep it clean and tidy, and remain consistent.”

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Seb Loeb (3rd)

    “We have had a very good day, I would say. The last stage was tricky because there was a lot of fog at the beginning. I had to stay concentrated. We have had a great feeling from the i20 Coupe WRC on the stages today, which has allowed us to get a good rhythm and to find the pace that we need to fight near the front. I feel that I’m starting to understand how to drive the car and to find the confidence to get the times we need. Our goal remains to get as many points as possible for the team.”

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 05, Rally Chile
    9-12 May 2019
    Sebastien Loeb
    Photographer: Austral
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Andreas Mikkelsen (7th)

    “We started the morning loop just taking it very carefully as we were discovering the new routes and didn’t want to take any risks. We tried to maintain our concentration and stay safe at the same time. It was better this afternoon; I had a good feeling with the car and we stepped up the pace a little bit. I had good fun driving the car in the second pass.”

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (4th)

    “It’s not been a bad day by all means and it’s good to be in fourth place at the end of the day. We’ve been pushing pretty hard, but there are still some areas where we’re struggling to find the ultimate confidence in the car; in the high-speed sections I just don’t have the stability that I’m used to. The stages are tighter and more twisty tomorrow, but the gaps are pretty big now and I don’t think we’ll have an opportunity to do anything on pace alone. But we’ll keep pushing and see what happens.”

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “It was a more enjoyable day today – we had better pace and were able to set some good times. We’re now in fifth place, but Esapekka [Lappi] will be keeping the pressure on tomorrow. I just need to focus on myself and my driving and do the best job I can.”

    Sunday

    With four stages remaining and a total of nearly sixty kilometres, what else would happen? Our start list looked like this – Latvala, Bertelli, Meeke, Mikkelsen, Lappi, Suninen, Evans, Loeb, Ogier, Tänak.

     

    SS 13 – Bio Bio 1 (12,52 km) was won by Kris, with his teammate Jari-Matti just four tenths slower. The battle was now on for second place between Loeb and Ogier! The nine-time champion wanted second place from Ogier and after that stage, the gap was just one second!

     

    SS 14 – Lircay (18,06 km) saw Ogier hit back, giving himself some breathing space over Loeb with the gap now increased to five seconds. Ott’s lead was now 24 seconds over the two Frenchman. Kris was making his way backup though, moving into ninth place.

     

    SS 15 – San Nicolàs (15,28 km) saw Loeb win from Ogier as their battle continued, but the gap remained quite large after Ogier was only seven tenths slower.

     

    The final stage then, SS 16 – Bio Bio 2 Power Stage (12,52 km) and Ott took the stage victory from Ogier, Latvala, Loeb and Meeke. Teemu and Elfyn were a little over one second slower than Kris sixth and seventh fastest, just missing out on powerstage points.

     

    FINAL STANDINGS

    1. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 3:15:53.8
    2. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +23.1
    3. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +30.2
    4. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:36.7
    5. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:15.6
    6. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +3:45.4
    7. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +4:39.0
    8. Rovanperä / Halttunen (Skoda Fabia R5) + 7:52.5
    9. Østberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +8:16.1
    10. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 7:33.4

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers.

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (1st)

    “It’s great to take this victory here on the first time in Chile. It was a very demanding event and it required a lot of focus to not make any mistakes. Today wasn’t easy: With the two Sebastien’s pushing hard behind, the gap was not so big. We had to keep going and we collected maximum points from the Power Stage. We have had some disappointing setbacks in the last couple of events and to fight back like this with a perfect weekend is very positive. It was really important, especially for the team, to keep the motivation high and keep pushing, and these kinds of results definitely do that. Now we are looking forward: We are back in the fight.”

    Kris Meeke (10th)

    “Today was nice. We had to catch a couple of cars in front of us to take eighth place. In the Power Stage I think the road cleaned a bit for the guys running at the back but we did what we could. It was a struggle from the recce and through day one, and I made a mistake at the start of day two. Still, we took some points for the team and it’s great to see Ott take the victory. I’m just desperate to have a clean rally now, as we have the speed to fight for the podium on every event.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala (11th)

    “After the mistake last evening, we needed to look forward and see what we can take from the final day and the Power Stage. I had a good feeling on the first run over the stage and we were second quickest. After that we relaxed over the next two stages and saved our tyres for the Power Stage, where we had a very good run. I think it was cleaning and drying out a little bit behind us and in that sense I’m really happy to be third quickest. It’s been a hard event but the most important thing is that the car is performing really well and I was able to be on the pace.”

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “This podium further confirms our very good start to the season. We have been very consistent and the points are good for the championship. It wasn’t an easy weekend, however, even though things moved in the right direction after Saturday’s mid-leg service. We got the best out of the C3 WRC once again. We now need to develop the car even more so that we can be more competitive in low-grip situations.”

    Esapekka Lappi (6th)

    “We had a difficult start, but we managed to make progress bit by bit. We also managed to improve the set-up of the C3 WRC with the team and our pace started to be pretty decent today. I really hope that we can keep going forward like this in our forthcoming tests. In any case, it ended up being a positive weekend in terms of my confidence.”

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Seb Loeb (3rd)

    “Rally Chile has been a difficult but enjoyable and productive event from my point of view. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so comfortable inside a car that I can be in the game. The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC has given me that feeling and it shows we are heading in the right direction. There was no chance to catch Ogier in the Power Stage; I was happy to be battling with him but the gap was too big today. We’ve scored some important points for the team, and I am pleased to be able to support their defence of the championship title.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen (7th)

    “This rally has been a real disappointment after the high that we had in Argentina. I am sure we can pinpoint the error back to the recce. We took very aggressive pace notes, and following a few small moments, I was never truly able to trust the notes as much as we need to. In the end we were in a bit of no man’s land, so we took a cautious approach and focused on making improvements for the future. We look forward to the next rally.”

    M-Sport

    Elfyn Evans (4th)

    “It’s been a difficult rally and there were some places where we struggled for sure. But overall, it hasn’t been too bad. We managed to stay out of trouble and had some pretty good pace on Saturday. But we just weren’t 100 percent confident and couldn’t find the last little pieces we needed to fight for the podium. With some big gaps ahead and behind it was all about bringing the car safely home today, and fourth place is definitely a good end to a difficult rally.”

    Elfyn and Scott drove to a very good fourth overall. Photo credit, M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “It has been a difficult rally, but we have improved a lot. I was struggling a bit with the rhythm in the beginning and didn’t have the confidence to push the limits. But it got better and better as the weekend went on and we were able to set some really good times today. I think fifth place is a good result at the end of a difficult weekend.”

     

    Summary

    Ott had won the rally and powerstage to take maximum points, with Ogier and Loeb in second and third. A talking point which emerged today (Monday) was the decision to give Kris Meeke and Seb Marshall a penalty of a minute for removing their windscreen in the control area at the start of stage eight on Saturday morning. They were told they should have done it on the road section. Now, I can understand if they broke a rule, then that’s fair enough, but to give a large penalty like that, when there was already a large timeloss because of the roll and also having to complete the two morning stages as well without a windscreen seems harsh to me. Plus, we had to wait till after the event to find out about this anyway, for something that happened at the start of day two.

    FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 06 / Rally Chile / 9th-12th May, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

     

    Anyway, let’s talk about Thierry and Nicolas’ accident. It was a big one, and it goes to show the level that these drivers are pushing. It was good to see the spectators not getting caught up in it as well, showing that the organiser had really done a good job with the positioning of the places to spectate and the marshals making sure that people where they should be.

     

    Now this championship is shaping up to be a big rivalry between Ogier, Tanak and Neuville. Six podiums for Seb Ogier sees him at the top of the championship, with Ott Tanak moving into second place now and Thierry Neuville in third.

    The next round of the championship is on the weekend of the 30th of May to the 2nd of June in Portugal.

    DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Sébastien Ogier – 122 points
    2. Ott Tänak – 112 points
    3. Thierry Neuville – 110 points
    4. Kris Meeke – 56 points
    5. Elfyn Evans – 55 points
    6. Sébastien Loeb – 39 points
    7. Andreas Mikkelsen – 36 points
    8. Esapekka Lappi – 34 points
    9. Jari-Matti Latvala – 32 points
    10. Teemu Suninen – 30 points

    MANUFACTURERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Hyundai WRT – 178 points
    2. Toyota Gazoo Racing – 149 points
    3. Citroën Total WRT – 143 points
    4. M-Sport Ford WRT – 100 points
  • Phil’s 2019 Tour de Corse Diary

    Phil’s 2019 Tour de Corse Diary

    ‘6 notes per line, 3 lines per page, 2 pages per kilometre… 347km. That is about twelve and a half thousand pieces of information delivered, to split second accuracy, over the Tour de Course – at a conservative guess.

    It’s a hell of a challenge for a co-driver.

    It is also one of the most rewarding challenges. Tour de Corse is my favourite event on the WRC calendar not just because of the epic roads and incredible views, but also because there is a huge amount of satisfaction to be gained in completing it.

    Phil Hall. Photo credit, M-Sport

    Recce itself is requires huge attention to detail, not just from the driver – noting every bend and hazard – but also the sheer logistics of it; we stayed in three different hotels on each of the three recce days as the stages are so spread out across the island. Food stops, petrol opportunities, and long days all had to be taken into account weeks before the rally started.

    Likewise, the ceremonial start was held at the opposite end of the island, and so hotels had to be booked for that, as well as coordination of our team to meet there.

    This all adds to the adventure and flavour of undertaking the Tour de Corse, it’s not like any other rally.

    And when we reach the competition itself, you have to be totally focused on delivering the notes exactly on time – there are so many corners, all coming so quickly, that you cannot think about anything other than the task at hand. I find it quite a nice place to be, in the car on those stages. Obviously, you have to be focused on every stage of every rally… but Corsica is another level.

    We had a great rally, we finished 5th in JWRC which puts us 6th overall in the Championship. All the time we are learning and building, and the JWRC is such a great place to be. I’m really enjoying everything about this championship and can’t wait for Sardinia in June.’

    Tom Williams and Phil Hall. Photo credit, M-Sport.
  • Rally Chile Preview 2019- The WRC ventures to new territories!

    Rally Chile Preview 2019- The WRC ventures to new territories!

    This is going to be interesting! The first ever WRC round in Chile. Totally new notes need to be written during the even more important reece days. This makes everything a much more level playing field, and we may see an upset as a result.

    Almost certainly at the top will be Seb Ogier, Ott Tanak, Kris Meeke, Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville. Looking to impress on the stages will be Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi. Making another appearance this season are nine-time champions Seb Loeb and Daniel Elena.

    Looking to get a good run of results will be Andreas Mikkelsen who scored his first podium for over a year last time out in Argentina. Can he repeat this in Chile? Kris Meeke also scored his best result of the season so far and will hope that he can go one better and get his first podium, whilst Elfyn Evans will want to put the accident behind him and bring home another podium for M-Sport and himself.

    A total of sixteen stages lie ahead of the crews and a total of 304,81km of competitive stages over the three days will offer a interesting challenge. I suspect the second run of the stages that are run twice will see much faster run times, as the crews learn more about each stage on their first runs.

    Friday is the longest day as it features the longest stage of the whole event at just over 30km. The stages are run four hours behind GMT, therefore five hours behind current BST. There are six stages run each day on Friday and Saturday, with four on Sunday. Having seen some photos of the area, there seems to be a lot of similarity to stages in Wales. One thing is for sure, discovering what it’s really like is going to be part of the fun!

    Full stage schedule

    THURSDAY 9 MAY

    10.00am: Shakedown (6,45 km)

     

    FRIDAY 10 MAY

    6.30am: Start day 1

    8.00am: SS 1 – El Pinar 1 (17,11 km)

    9.33am: SS 2 – El Puma 1 (30,72 km)

    10/36am: SS 3 – Espigado 1 (22,26 km)

    12.51pm: Service A (Talcahuano – 40 mins)

    3.24pm: SS 4 – El Puma 2 (30,72 km)

    4.27pm: SS 5 – Espigado 2 (22,26 km)

    6.40pm: SS 6 – Concepcion – Bicentenario (2,20 km)

    7.15pm: Flexi service B (Talcahuano – 45 mins)

     

    SATURDAY 11 MAY

    6.30am: Start & service C (Talcahuano – 15 mins)

    8.08am: SS 7 – Rio Lia 1 (20,90 km)

    9.08am: SS 8 – Maria Las Cruces 1 (23,09 km)

    10.20am: SS 9 – Pelun 1 (16,59 km)

    12.05pm: Service D (Talcahuano – 40 mins)

    2.08pm: SS 10 – Rio Lia 2 (20,90 km)

    3.08pm: SS 11 – Maria Las Cruces 2 (23,09 km)

    4.20pm: SS 12 – Pelun 2 (16,59 km)

    5.45pm: Flexi service E (Talcahuano – 45 mins)

     

    SUNDAY 12 MAY

    7.00am: Start & service F (Talcahuano – 15 mins)

    8.08am: SS 13 – Bio Bio 1 (12,52 km)

    9.30am: SS 14 – Lircay (18,06 km)

    10.20am: SS 15 – San Nicolàs (15,28 km)

    12.18pm: SS 16 – Bio Bio 2 Power Stage (12,52 km)

    1.15pm: Finish (Talcahuano)

    Let’s hear from the crews.

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville

    “For everyone, Rally Chile will be a step into the unknown. It’s hard to set too many expectations when it promises to be a rally of surprise. We are only going to discover the stages for the first time during the recce but it will be a nice challenge, and it’s good to have a new event on the calendar. We are still in a positive frame of mind following our two recent victories, and an important period of progress for the team. Leading the championship means we will be first on the road; a lot of work awaits us but I am looking forward to it.”

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 05, Rally Argentina
    25-28 April 2019
    Thierry Neuville
    Photographer: Austral
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Andreas Mikkelsen

    “I was so pleased with our performance and our result in Argentina, I am ready for more of the same in Chile! It will be a fresh challenge for everyone but from what I have seen in videos it looks like we are in for some beautiful stages. We know what we can achieve with the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, as we showed at the last rally, so our target is to repeat that level of performance and build some momentum.”

    Seb Loeb

    “The fact that it’s a gravel event is one of the only things I really know about Rally Chile. Like the rest of the WRC community, I am looking forward to finding out more. Chile is not a country I have been too often, in fact only once to watch the Dakar. From what I have seen, the roads appear to be quite flowing, in the forest and on smooth gravel. There’s no question that it will be an interesting experience and a nice event to have on the calendar, but we’ll have to wait until we are out there to learn all about it.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier

    “From what I can tell by watching the videos available, the roads do seem really quite different to those we had in Argentina. The stages seem to be fairly flowing and fast, somewhat reminiscent of the ones you get at Wales Rally GB with all these sections through the undergrowth. I hope we’ll have slightly better performance here. There is still a significant layer of fine gravel on the road surface, which may make life complicated for the early runners. We’ll have to see whether the rain that has fallen recently limits the extent to which the roads clean or not.”

    Esapekka Lappi

    “After a tough start to the season, I’m determined to get back on track in Chile and come away with a decent result, and regain confidence behind the wheel step by step. I hope that the weather will be kind to us on Friday. If it stays dry, the roads are likely to clean. That would enable us to make the most of being down the running order and get off to the ideal start. The stages look really nice and interesting. The road surfaces look good, or at least they did when they were filmed for the videos provided by the rally organisers.”

    Photo courtesy of Citroen Racing

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans

    “This is going to be a brand-new experience for everyone. It’s rare to have to write completely new pacenotes like what we’ll have to do next week, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

    “Logistically, it’s also a massive challenge for the team – especially when someone damages the car on the previous event! A big thanks to the mechanics who have been working to repair the car – and hopefully we can repay them with a strong result next week.

    “Looking at the video, the stages don’t look too dissimilar to Wales – medium width, flowing and technical. They look really nice to be fair, but we’ll be better placed to judge after the recce.

    “Before then, we’re spending some time in Santiago with Pedro [Heller]. We’ve been up to the Andes and we’ve also been out on the bike. It’s a really beautiful landscape and I look forward to learning more about the country – hopefully Pedro can give us a few tips about the rally as well!”

    Elfyn and Scott. Photo courtesy of M-Sport

    Teemu Suninen

    “Looking at the recce videos from the organisers, Rally Chile appears to be a very smooth event. We’ll have to wait for our own recce before we have a chance to see the stages in more detail, but to me it looks really interesting. I think I will like this event, but we will have to wait and see how things go.

    “I think we can assume that the top three drivers will be fighting at the front, but after that the results can be very mixed. As we saw on Corsica, anything can change the game and make it more equal. So, I am really looking forward to next week where I want to continue to show my performance.”

     

    Gus Greensmith (WRC2 Pro)

    “I’ve heard a lot of different things about this new rally and only the Heller brothers have been able to give me a clear insight on what to expect. But it will still be a huge unknown for everyone.

    “The organisers provided some onboard videos that I have spent a lot of time studying, but it’s hard to get an exact feel for how the stages will be – especially in terms of how wide or narrow they will be.

    “They look quite fast and flowing which I believe will suit the Fiesta, but we won’t get a clear indication until we recce them for the very first time – and for sure it won’t be exactly how we thought.

    “I just have to do my part as well as I can to try and bring home the first victory in Chile!”

    Gus and Elliot continue their WRC2 Pro title bid. Photo courtesy of M-Sport

    Summary

    We are set for a great event. Who from our group of elite rally drivers will be standing on the top step? You can follow the event on the WRC app, with live timing. On Monday the 13th there are highlights on 5 Spike at seven in the evening.

  • Rally Argentina Review 2019- Thierry Neuville Takes Victory!

    Rally Argentina Review 2019- Thierry Neuville Takes Victory!

    Thierry Neuville took a remarkable victory in Argentina with Andreas Mikkelsen and Seb Ogier completing the podium. Here’s the story of how it happened. In the days before the event, there had been a lot of rain and thunderstorms before and this would make things very interesting!

     

    After the short SS 1 – Super Especial Villa Carlos Paz (1,90 km) on Thursday night the top ten was covered by just three and a half seconds, with Ott holding the lead and Teemu Suninen in tenth place.

     

    Friday

    With seven stages due to run, including a double run of SS 3 – Amboy – Yacanto 1 (29,85 km), the longest stage of the day, plus very different conditions since the reece, getting through the first full day would be a big challenge.

     

    The start list looked like this, with the cars entering in championship order – Neuville, Ogier, Tänak, Evans, Meeke, Lappi, Sordo, Latvala, Suninen, Mikkelsen, Greensmith, Ostberg.

     

    First up then was SS 2 – Las Bajadas – Villa Del Dique 1 (16,65 km), and it was Kris who set a great pace, winning and closing on his teammate for the lead. The big loser was Ogier, who could only manage eighth fastest and fell down to seventh overall. However, Thierry was doing really badly, now 14 seconds from early leader Ott.

     

    Sadly SS 3 – Amboy – Yacanto 1 (29,85 km) was cancelled for safety reasons, so it was a long wait for the next one, SS 4 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 1 (23,44 km). It was a drama filled stage, with Thierry hitting back and winning the stage from Meeke and Ogier and Ott, who lost 10 seconds and fell to second overall. However, the worst happened to Esapekka Lappi, who had been in sixth, picked up a puncture and fell down to ninth! Elfyn was also on the move, going fifth fastest and climbing from eighth to sixth overall.

     

    The short SS 5 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 1 (6,04 km) was won by Andreas, with Seb and Thierry setting identical times for equal second fastest. The Norwegians pace saw him move up into sixth overall. Thierry was now Kris’ closest challenger, just five seconds separating them at the top of the leaderboard.

     

    After service, SS 6 – Las Bajadas – Villa Del Dique 2 (16,65 km) saw more changes. Ott won the stage from Dani Sordo, with Andreas third. Kris could only manage sixth in the stage and now his lead was just seven tenths of a second! Thierry had now dropped a place, but was still in podium contention.

     

    SS 7 – Amboy – Yacanto 2 (29,85 km) next up and with conditions better than expected, Ott moved into the lead after Kris dropped 20 seconds, falling to fourth overall, now behind Thierry and Ogier.

     

    The final stage of the first day then, SS 8 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 2 (23,44 km) and there was drama once more for Lappi who crashed after sustaining another puncture. It was a scary crash, as there were some spectators far too close to the road. The outcome could have been so different. Thierry won the stage and with Ott only sixth fastest the Belgian took the lead, whilst Ogier was now second, ahead of Ott, who was now third. Further back, Elfyn moved up to sixth overall after setting the third fastest time in the stage.

    Well, the first day had produced lots of drama, and it’s fair to say that it was a surprise to see Belgian pairing Thierry and Nicolas in the lead. The standings looked like this.

     

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1

    1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 1:11:13.9
    2. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +11.9
    3. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +13.4
    4. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 28.1
    5. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 29.4
    6. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 38.2
    7. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +41.1
    8. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:13.6
    9. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:59.2
    10. Østberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +6:11.1

     

    Here’s the thoughts of the drivers at the end of day one.

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “We didn’t really expect to be leading this rally at the end of the first day, especially considering our starting position as first on the road. It’s a pleasant surprise but it has been a complicated day with tricky conditions. We know things will be equally challenging as the weekend continues. Even with the wet weather, there were times when it was better to be earlier on the road and other stages when it was not. The car has performed well today and we are in the fight, so we will do what we can to defend our lead on Saturday.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen (5th)

    “We had a good morning loop and were able to set some encouraging times. The only issue was a puncture in SS4. Anders noticed we had a front-left issue after 5km into the stage so we took it carefully after that so we didn’t lose the tyre off the rim. We were lucky, and were able to remain in the fight. I was happy not to lose more time to be honest. It’s been a bit of an up and down day, and by the end of the afternoon loop I really felt that our starting position was hurting us. Saturday we will be more in the middle of the pack, so we will hopefully fare better.”

    Dani Sordo (7th)

    “The day had been going quite OK and we were having more fun on the stages than I thought we would be able to in these conditions. Some of the stages were so difficult to read; you didn’t really know what speed was possible. We tried to push a bit harder in the afternoon and the times were good until the final stage. We went into a ditch in a slow corner and had to reverse out, so we lost some time there. Not the greatest way to end but tomorrow’s another day.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “The opening leg at Rally Argentina is always very complicated and rough. I’m pleased to finish the day in this position. It was all the more difficult because we did recce on these stages before the rain fell. We fought as hard as possible, and although the car isn’t running perfectly as yet, we’re still in contention for victory and it’s still open at the front. The second leg looks like it will be very difficult again, probably with fog early on, as is often the case on these stages.”

    Seb and Julien in flight! Photo credit, Citroën Racing

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (3rd)

    “It has been a tough day with conditions that were very hard for the cars. With the engineers we were able to make some changes in service, and that improved things for the afternoon so that I could have a bit more confidence. I was quite enjoying it and some good stage times were coming. We had the issue with the driveshaft on the last stage, but we could make it back to service to get it fixed tonight. I believe we should have a good car for tomorrow’s stages, and we’ll push hard. There’s a long way to go so everything is still to play for.”

     

    Kris Meeke (4th)

    “It has been a challenging day for everyone in these conditions. I really enjoyed it this morning. It wasn’t about ultimate pace it was a case of reading the road and trying to work out where it would be really slippery. For most of the stage it would be fine with good grip, and then there were some really deep patches of mud that you had to try and anticipate before you hit them. The afternoon was tough. We had a couple of issues with the car that slowed us a little bit, but I simply didn’t have the pace anyway. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we can still challenge for the podium.”

     

    Jari-Matti Latvala (8th)

    “This morning was quite good, it was consistent and we were up there, not far from the leaders. This afternoon was much tougher. It started well but I was too fast in one corner in the ruts and pushed a tyre off the rim, so we had to finish the stage with a flat tyre. That made me a bit cautious on the next stage, and then on the final stage of the loop I had a spin and lost some more time there. We still have two days left and a lot can happen, especially in these conditions, so we will stay positive.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (6th)

    “Obviously it’s not where we wanted to be at the end of the day, but we’re not a million miles away and there is still a long way to go. I felt that we were driving quite well at points, but I didn’t always have the feeling to push that little bit more – just struggling with the balance here and there. The midfield battle is pretty close, so we have to keep fighting for the best possible position tomorrow.”

    Teemu Suninen (9th)

    “Today has been quite difficult. The conditions have changed a lot from the recce with a lot more mud and a lot of surprising places. This made it difficult to get into a good rhythm as I was always expecting some tricky conditions. But then on the second loop when I had a bit more knowledge, I was able to improve my times – except on the last stage where the engine took in some water and we lost some time.”

     

    Saturday

    With 146.52km of competitive stages, Saturday would be the longest day of this event. The start list looked like this- Suninen, Latvala, Sordo, Evans, Mikkelsen, Meeke, Tänak, Ogier, Neuville. The rally leader was in a good position to move further ahead of his competitors, but this event was certainly not decided.

     

    SS 9 – Tanti – Mataderos 1 (13,92 km) first up, and Thierry won the stage from Ott, and with Ogier only fifth fastest as well, the Frenchman dropped to third. Elfyn also started well, going fourth quickest and closing on Andreas in their battle for fourth overall.

     

    SS 10 – Mataderos – Cuchilla Nevada 1 (22,67 km), saw the battle between the Hyundai and Toyota drivers continue with Ott winning the stage, but Thierry keeping the timeloss down to just two and a half seconds. There was drama though for Elfyn and Scott. Approaching a quick right-hander, the Welshman lost the rear of the Fiesta, and all was well until the front hit a huge boulder, which had the effect of spinning the car around, which then caused the tyres to dig in and the car to roll off the road, coming to rest back on it wheels. They were out, bringing an end to a good start.

    SS 11 – Cuchilla Nevada – Characato 1 (33,65 km) was won by Ott, and he took six seconds out of Thierry as well, thus reducing the gap to just five seconds between them. However, Ogier lost a huge amount of time- over half a minute after his powersteering failed- falling behind Kris as well into fourth place. Any hopes for victory had now almost evaporated as he was 46 seconds from the leader.

     

    SS 12 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 2 (6,04 km) was won by Andreas from Dani and Jari-Matti, whilst Kris fell from third to fourth and Ogier lost more time due to his powersteering problem, falling to sixth overall, over a full minute from the lead.

     

    After service, SS 13 – Tanti – Mataderos 2 (13,92 km) Ogier with his problem fixed flew through the stage, setting the fastest time. Andreas continued his good form, with the second quickest time, keeping himself ahead of Kris.

     

    SS 14 – Mataderos – Cuchilla Nevada 2 (22,67 km) saw drama for two drivers. Ogier continued his scorching pace by winning this stage and passing Dani Sordo. This would have been good enough for fifth overall, but the Yaris piloted by Ott suffered a failure, making him retire for the day.

     

    SS 15 – Cuchilla Nevada – Characato 2 (33,65 km), the final stage of the day saw Andreas set the fastest time, with Thierry and Seb second and third. The Norwegian had had one of his best days in his car. There would be drama away from the stages though. Seb talked about the road book, and about their being changes to the results later.

     

    This statement from Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal sheds some light on it –

    “”It wasn’t an easy day for Sébastien and Julien. They lost a lot of time this morning when the power steering broke, after they were confused by the gate left open, which should have been closed. We are therefore expecting the rally organisers to take the appropriate decisions for those crews that didn’t follow the route indicated in the roadbook.”

     

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2 

    1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:37.23.6
    2. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 45.7
    3. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) + 1:03.2
    4. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:06.0
    5. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:12.0
    6. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:28.3
    7. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:48.4
    8. Ostberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +12:04.5

     

    Here’s the thoughts of the drivers.

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “We are in a very strong position but we still can’t take anything for granted. It has been an excellent day. We have enjoyed a good feeling in the car on all stages. We knew it would be tough to defend but we were able to maintain our lead and then saw that increase when Ott unfortunately retired. Knowing we had a margin, we were able to take it easier on the last stage, avoiding rocks and punctures. Even then the confidence we had in the car allowed us to set a competitive time. We have three iconic stages tomorrow, but the aim is clear: we have to keep it clean.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen (2nd)

    “I am incredibly happy with how we have ended today’s stages. I wasn’t overly pleased with the morning loop, and I struggled in the opening two stages. I felt a lack of grip from the rear of the car and it was hard to push without sliding. However, we made some suspension changes at lunchtime service that improved my feeling and we could generate some excellent performance. We drove cleanly and precisely, finishing the day with a fantastic stage win. Bring on Sunday – and a push for the podium!”

    Dani Sordo (5th)

    “The battle for the podium is very close and it is pleasing to see all three of our cars featuring strongly on the classification. I lost some time on the first stage but we were able to bring ourselves back into contention. I enjoyed the stages a lot. There was a bit of cleaning in the morning but we were still able to make up ground. We find ourselves in a strong situation now with Thierry and Andreas 1-2, and what promises to be a fun and interesting fight for third place on Sunday.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo WRT

    Kris Meeke (3rd)

    “I was enjoying the driving this morning: the rhythm was good and the speed was quite OK, we were taking some seconds from Ogier in the fight for the podium. On SS11 I had a brake problem after a watersplash, which caused me to slide wide in a later corner and I touched the rear which punctured two tyres, so we had to do the super special with one flat. This afternoon, our setup wasn’t perfect, with the stages having dried out quite a bit. Ogier took a little bit of time out of us, but we’re still in the battle and tomorrow is going to be an intense fight.”

    Kris Meeke and Seb Marshall, Photo credit, Toyota Gazoo Racing

    Jari-Matti Latvala (6th)

    “I was satisfied with how the morning went. I hadn’t done this group of stages for two years and some sections were completely new, but I enjoyed them. I knew I could improve doing them for the second time, so I was really confident going into the afternoon. The first two stages went well. On the last one, the engine took on some water in a watersplash, but I managed to get it restarted. Then I did a mistake myself, so in all we lost five or six seconds in our fight for fifth place, but I want to keep fighting tomorrow and let’s see what we can do.”

     

    Ott Tänak (Retired/Rally2)

    “We had a good start this morning. The roads today were very different to what we had yesterday: really smooth and fast in places. There were still a few slippery places, so the grip was inconsistent. We were looking forward to having a big push in the afternoon, but we knew in the first stage that we had a problem, that the battery voltage was going down, and in the second stage we had to retire. Of course, it’s disappointing. With the performance we have I believe we are capable of winning any rally, but we still have some work to do. Tomorrow we’ll do what we can, and we’ll keep pushing: it’s a long season.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (4th)

    “We had an up and down day. After dropping a lot of time this morning, I had very little to lose this afternoon, so I pushed hard with the C3 WRC. There was also a bit more grip and that appeared to help us. I’m expecting to move up a position or two this evening, after the rally organisers look at what happened at the gate this morning. Tomorrow, the goal will be to keep out of trouble on these rough roads and score as many points as possible.”

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (7th)

    “Today was a difficult day for us. We were first on the road where the conditions were a bit more slippery and we couldn’t match the times of the fastest drivers. Then in the afternoon the intercom was cutting and I couldn’t hear all of the notes from Marko. He had to give me the instructions by hand which took away some of the confidence.”

    Elfyn Evans (DNF)

    “I’ve used these notes for quite a few years and not had a problem before, but when I arrived at the corner, I felt I was carrying just a little bit too much speed. I threw it in, and we made the corner to be fair, but I couldn’t recover the oversteer. I planted the throttle but couldn’t get the car straight and we hit a fairly massive boulder that was lining the road.”

    Sunday

    Well, just three stages left, and the start list looked like this – Tänak, Suninen, Latvala, Sordo, Ogier, Meeke, Mikkelsen, Neuville. Also, the classification had changed, with Ogier now in third, ahead of Dani and Kris who had been given a time penalty.

     

    Kris hit back with the best answer to this situation, winning SS 16 – Copina – El Condor (16,43 km) and moving into fourth place, just half a second from Seb who was struggling for traction. Thierry remained in the lead, now 36 seconds ahead of Andreas.

     

    SS 17 – Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare (20,30 km) was won by Thierry, but the big news was that Kris had passed Seb on the overall leaderboard and was now third. Also, on the move was Jari-Matti who passed Dani Sordo.

     

    The final stage then, SS 18 – Power Stage El Condor (16,43 km) and Ogier flew through and won the stage, taking all five power stage points. His pace, plus a problem for Kris saw the Frenchman regain third overall. In the Toyota, Kris got a warning that his tyre pressures were low. It was enough to lose the third place that he had so convincingly gained. Still, it marked a great result, the best yet this year.

    What a victory though for Thierry, Nicolas and Hyundai? Retained the championship lead in both the drivers, co-drivers and manufacturer tables. Impressive stuff.

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 05, Rally Argentina
    25-28 April 2019
    Hyundai Motorsport President Scott Noh
    Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Anders Jaeger, Andreas Mikkelsen
    Photographer: Helena El Mokni
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    FINAL STANDINGS

    1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 3:20:54.6
    2. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +48.4
    3. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:04.8
    4. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:06.2
    5. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:21.1
    6. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:26.7
    7. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +4:57.3
    8. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +14:24.8
    9. Østberg / Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +14:28.5

     

    Let’s hear from the drivers!

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “This is a really great feeling! The car has been absolutely perfect all weekend and I have felt comfortable, quick and in control throughout the event. We have taken some strong stage wins and shown the performance of our i20 Coupe WRC in some very challenging conditions. It has been an amazing team result, not only at the rally, but also everyone working tirelessly in Germany. I am so thankful to everyone for their hard work, dedication and professionalism. We have scored some important points for the championship and I am really proud of what we have achieved this weekend.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen (2nd)

    “It’s been a really tough really so I am overjoyed with this result. We have had to wait a long time for this, and we’ve certainly battled through some frustrating times. It might be second place but it really feels like a victory to me. We have been working so hard and I am incredibly thankful to the team for their support. We found great pace from the car this weekend and finally been able to show what we – and the car – are capable of. To finish 1-2 gives us such important points for the championship, and I couldn’t be happier.”

    Dani Sordo (6th)

    “I am really happy for the team, and pleased that our manufacturers’ position has been strengthened. I really wanted to push for third place today but I just didn’t have the pace that was needed. I have done my best all weekend but ultimately the 1-2 result for Thierry and Andreas gives the team maximum points, which is the most important thing. There are some things I can learn from this weekend personally, and I will aim to return stronger next time.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (3rd)

    “It’s a pretty good result in terms of points, but we can’t be pleased with our out-and-out performance level. There are some conditions, like those we saw in Mexico or here on the second runs, where we are fairly competitive. But we have to improve when there is less grip or when the road is more technical. I’m pleased to see our persistence rewarded, because once again this weekend we pushed as hard as possible right to the end.”

    Esapekka Lappi (DNF)

    “Despite not knowing the roads here particularly well, I was obviously hoping for a better outcome from this round. But after we had picked up a puncture, I was caught out when the tyre suddenly came loose. This caused the car to understeer, we hit a bank at the side of the road and rolled the car. Obviously, I’m sorry for the team, but after a few days’ rest with my family, Janne and I will back raring to go and have the best Rally Chile possible, where we’ll all be on an equal footing in terms of experience.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Kris Meeke (4th)

    “The time penalty last night dropped us back to fifth, but everything was still there to fight for. The car was working really well this morning and I enjoyed it. The rhythm was good and we continued that into the Power Stage, but about six kilometres from the end, I got a warning light to say the tyre pressures were going down. I have no idea where it happened. I tried my best, and sometimes it’s like this. It’s a bit frustrating, because in the last three rallies we could have had a top result. I’m really enjoying driving this car, and I enjoyed today even though it didn’t quite work out. I have to keep doing what I’m doing, I know it’s going to come right.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala (5th)

    “Honestly, I’m feeling happy at the end of the rally. The season has been difficult for me so far, and we had a bad start here on Friday. But step-by-step we started to come back on Saturday, and today I felt I was back on the level where I was at the end of last year. I’m really happy about that. I wanted to attack a lot on the Mina Clavero stage: it’s a stage where you can make big differences if you’re confident. This strategy worked out, which gave me an extra boost for the Power Stage, where we had a really good fight for the fastest time. Now I’m looking forward to Chile and the fast and flowing stages we’re expecting there.”

    Ott Tänak (8th)

    “It was pretty demanding for us today. We were early on the road so we really struggled to set any good times. The positive was that we just managed to catch and take eighth place. It’s been a very frustrating weekend with the issues we had. We had good performance but no big result, so there is a lot to improve. We will keep doing our best, so let’s see in Chile how we can fight back.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Teemu Suninen (7th)

    “This has been a difficult rally for me and I’m sorry for the team that we didn’t perform as well as we wanted. We know that we have a good car and we want to be pushing for better results. But at least we finished the rally and got some good experience for the future. Now, I’m looking forward to Chile and to seeing what we can do there.”

    Teemu and Marko, Photo credit M-Sport

    M-Sport team principle, Richard Millener had this to say as well;

    “Teemu has done a solid job this weekend. It’s only his second time here and he had to contend with some really challenging conditions. Anticipating those conditions when the rally is so different to the recce requires a certain level of experience, and he’s gained some good knowledge for the future whilst keeping our points scoring record intact.

    “But overall it’s been a pretty frustrating rally for the team as we had the potential to secure another really strong result this weekend. But that’s the way it goes sometimes, and we’re already focused on the next event in Chile.

    “The technicians started the re-prep on Elfyn’s car yesterday afternoon and it’s already starting to look like a proper rally car again! It’s been stripped and washed, the chassis has been repaired, and most of the rear has already been rebuilt.

    “We’ll continue the re-prep on both cars over the next two and a half days, and then the technicians are going to have a couple of days holiday before flying to Chile on Saturday. We’ve actually got some mountain biking planned on El Condor which should be good fun!”

     

    DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Thierry Neuville – 110 points
    2. Sébastien Ogier – 100 points
    3. Ott Tänak – 82 points
    4. Kris Meeke – 54 points
    5. Elfyn Evans – 43 points
    6. Andreas Mikkelsen – 30 points
    7. Jari-Matti Latvala – 28 points
    8. Esapekka Lappi – 26 points
    9. Dani Sordo – 26 points
    10. Sébastien Loeb – 22 points

     

    MANUFACTURERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Hyundai WRT – 157 points
    2. Toyota Gazoo Racing – 120 points
    3. Citroën Total WRT – 117 points
    4. M-Sport Ford WRT – 78 points

     

    Summary

    Well, what a great rally! Those Thierry Neuville fans out there will be very happy indeed! He has a small lead in the championship over Seb, with Ott right there too. Kris moved up another position into fourth, after Elfyn Evans’ non finish. Andreas Mikkelsen drove well, scoring his first podium since last year’s Rally Sweden, and he was pretty pleased with that. Dani also went well, helping the team retain a good lead over Toyota in their battle for the manufacturer crown.

    Next up is the first ever Rally Chile, held from the 10th to 12th of May.

  • Rally Argentina 2019 Preview- Back to gravel!

    Rally Argentina 2019 Preview- Back to gravel!

    This event marks the start of five straight events on gravel before a return to tarmac in Germany in August. Road position will be very important for those challenging for the championship as we head through these events. Thierry Neuville leads the championship giving him the situation where he is opening the road. Last year when he was in that position, he was not troubling the top positions, meaning that it’ll be interesting how he deals with this. Can the Hyundai teammates get themselves into good positions to take points away from his rivals in the championship?

     

    Seb Ogier and Citroen have to be considered as potential winners, but incredibly the Champion has never won this rally, but has stood on the podium four times. Perhaps this will be the year that sees him and Julien take their first win.

    Can Sébastien Ogier – Julien Ingrassia take their first victory in Rally Argentina this weekend? Photo credit Citroën Total WRT.

    Two years ago, Elfyn Evans almost won this event, finishing just seven tenths from Thierry Neuville. This year, he comes to this event, having driven incredibly fast and consistently in Tour de Corse, with terrible heartbreak in the end for the Welshman, missing out on his second victory.

     

    Now twelve months ago, Ott Tanak took his first victory for Toyota and will be hoping for a repeat, but perhaps we’ll see Kris Meeke win instead. After all, he did take his first victory in this event in 2015, and what of Jari-Matti, who has also done very well, winning in 2014 for Volkswagen during their first season. One driver missing from the event is 2016 winner Hayden Paddon, and what a shame he is not competing.

     

    Well, let’s have a look at the stages that make this year’s event. There is a total of 347,50km’s competitive tests making up this year’s event, with minor changes to the event and the penultimate stage, SS17 being run in the same direction as 2017. The start times for the stages are three hours behind GMT.

     

    THURSDAY 25 APRIL

    10.00am: Shakedown (4,25 km)

    6.30pm: Start (Service park – Villa Carlos Paz)

    7.08pm: SS 1 – Super Especial Villa Carlos Paz (1,90 km)

    7.33pm: Parc ferme

     

    FRIDAY 26 APRIL

    6.25amp: Start & service A (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 mins)

    8.08am: SS 2 – Las Bajadas – Villa Del Dique 1 (16,65 km)

    8.55am: SS 3 – Amboy – Yacanto 1 (29,85 km)

    10.08am: SS 4 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 1 (23,44 km)

    12.03pm: SS 5 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 1 (6,04 km)

    12.43pm: Service B (Villa Carlos Paz – 40 mins)

    2.51pm: SS 6 – Las Bajadas – Villa Del Dique 2 (16,65 km)

    3.38pm: SS 7 – Amboy – Yacanto 2 (29,85 km)

    4.51pm: SS 8 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 2 (23,44 km)

    6.41pm: Flexi service C (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 mins)

     

    SATURDAY 27 APRIL

    6.57am: Start & service D (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 mins)

    7.47am: SS 9 – Tanti – Mataderos 1 (13,92 km)

    8.38am: SS 10 – Mataderos – Cuchilla Nevada 1 (22,67 km)

    9.25am: SS 11 – Cuchilla Nevada – Characato 1 (33,65 km)

    11.26am: SS 12 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 2 (6,04 km)

    12.02pm: Service E (Villa Carlos Paz – 40 mins)

    1.17pm: SS 13 – Tanti – Mataderos 2 (13,92 km)

    2.08pm: SS 14 – Mataderos – Cuchilla Nevada 2 (22,67 km)

    2.55pm: SS 15 – Cuchilla Nevada – Characato 2 (33,65 km)

    4.55pm: Flexi service F (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 mins)

     

    SUNDAY 28 APRIL

    7.45am: Service G (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 mins)

    9.08am: SS 16 – Copina – El Condor (16,43 km)

    10.31am: SS 17 – Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare (20,30 km)

    12.18pm: SS 18 – Power Stage El Condor (16,43 km)

    2.01pm: Service H (Villa Carlos Paz – 10 mins)

    2.31pm: Finish

    Let’s hear from the drivers then.

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville

    “Rally Argentina is a fantastic event with some tough stages and a great atmosphere. As one of the roughest rallies of the season, it requires a careful approach. On the one hand, we need to look after the car but on the other there are some sections where you can really attack. It’s a balancing act; we have to find a good rhythm but also be ready to push more or less when necessary. We’d like to add more victories after the success in Corsica but we know it will be a demanding event, especially starting first on the road.”

    2018 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 05, Rally Argentina
    26-29 April 2018
    Photographer: Helena El Mokni
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Andreas Mikkelsen

    “Argentina is without doubt one of my favourite gravel rallies. There are a huge number of spectators and passionate fans, which creates an incredible atmosphere. The stages are in really nice condition, a little bit sandy compared to other gravel events that increases the grip level. As a result, we can set the car sideways into the corners and then push to the maximum. There are also the classic Argentina stages El Condor and Mina Clavero, which offer the ultimate test of man and machine.”

    Dani Sordo

    “I always look forward to Rally Argentina, a special event with some truly amazing supporters. Despite being one of the roughest events on the calendar, there are some very nice stages – including El Condor and Mina Clavero – that are a real privilege to drive. We showed our pace on gravel in Mexico, fighting at the front on the opening day. We want to repeat that level of performance in Argentina and do all we can to get a good result for ourselves and the team.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier

    “Although I have never won in Argentina, it’s a rally that I like and I have often been quick here in the past. So, I come into this round with the same high hopes as usual. I would even go as far as to say I feel slightly more motivated by the prospect of winning this rally for the first time and with Citroën. It’s also true that being second in the running order gives me a bit more of a chance than in previous years. The

    type of roads used varies a lot, but I would say that what really stands out is how rough the gravel can be in places. You really do have to think about looking after your car sometimes, whilst continuing to drive quickly.”

    Esapekka Lappi

    “With only one previous appearance at this rally, which doesn’t change much from one year to the next, in principle, I start with a bit of a disadvantage compared to many of my rivals. Having said that, I’ll have a good place in the running order and I’m very determined to build on my promising outing on gravel in the C3 WRC in Mexico and bring home the best possible result from Argentina. I remember that the stages here are fairly nice, but you have to watch out for the countless embedded rocks, because they pose a real risk in terms of punctures.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak

    “I’m feeling good about Rally Argentina. It’s the event where we managed to take our first win for Toyota last year, and we are expecting nothing less this year. I believe that we should be able to perform well again there. The fast roads and the kind of surface that we have in Argentina should really suit our car quite well. It’s a really tough event, as the stages can turn very rough in places, so there are points where you need to take some extra care. As for Chile, I don’t really know what to expect, as I haven’t been there before. There are a few things that we’ve been able to find out in advance, but we’ll only really discover how the stages are when we get there and see them for ourselves in the recce.”

    2018 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 05, Rally Argentina / April 26-19, 2018// Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Jari-Matti Latvala

    “Rally Argentina is one of the greatest events we have in the WRC. There is a lot of passion and a lot of spectators: some of them camping in the mountains, waiting to see the rally cars come by. The rally itself has some very nice, beautiful stages. The main challenge is that they can get quite rough for the second pass. On the other hand, I have been looking at how the roads are in Chile, and that won’t be a rough event: there are no rocks and the sides of the road are very clean. Some places actually remind me of how the forest stages in Britain are when they’re dry. My motivation is now very high, and I’m looking forward to getting started on these two events and being in the fight.”

     

    Kris Meeke

    “Argentina has always been a rally that I’ve enjoyed and I have some good memories from there, particularly my first ever WRC win in 2015. I’ll be hoping to try and have a clean rally. Mexico and Corsica could have been a lot better for me, so I’m definitely looking to have a top result. I had three days of testing on gravel in Portugal last week and I think we’re in good shape for Rally Argentina. We’ve got five gravel events in a row coming up and they’re all rallies I go well on, aside from Chile which is new for everyone. As drivers we won’t know exactly what we’re facing until we get to Chile and do the recce, but events in South America are always really well-supported with a great atmosphere, and I’m sure this one will be no different.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans

    “I’ve always enjoyed Rally Argentina and I’m looking forward to heading back there again this year. The Argentine fans are amazing and make it a really special place for rallying – and for me. It’s where I got my first podium back in 2015, and where I came pretty close to victory in 2017.

    “We’ve had a pretty good start to the season and we want to see that continue that next week. We’ve had the speed; we’ve made some good steps forward with the car and we’ve secured two back-to-back podiums.

    “The goal will be to continue that with another podium in Argentina. The competition is exceptionally strong at the moment and it’s fair to say that we struggled here last year. But I’m confident in the work we’ve been doing and if everything goes to plan, I see no reason why we can’t challenge for another top result.”

    FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World

    Teemu Suninen

    “I’m really looking forward to next week and it will be interesting to see where we are. The start of the season has shown that the team have clearly taken another step forward with the car. There are still some question marks, but based on the previous events I feel that we can be competitive in Argentina.

    “I competed here for the first-time last year and really enjoyed it. It’s not a particularly rough rally, but it is fast and requires a lot of strength. On a long straight you can feel the holes in the road as they bounce the car in the air! You also need a lot of traction and the car needs to handle well in the ruts – which is one of the things we focused on at our test last week.

    “Personally, I don’t feel the same pressure that I had before Corsica but I still need to finish this rally with a good result. The good thing is that we can rely on our old pace notes from last year as there aren’t many changes to the route.”

     

    I held a Twitter poll from my account (@Warren_S_Nel) asking to predict the winner and got 118 votes.

    Sébastien Ogier got the highest percentage score of the votes, with Thierry deemed least likely to take victory.

    Sebastien Ogier33%
    Elfyn Evans29%
    Ott Tanak26%
    Thierry Neuville12%

     

    Well, we are set for a fascinating battle, and you’ll be able to follow all the action on WRC+ in the app, plus highlights on 5Spike Monday evening the 29th of April at 7pm for an hour.

  • British GT – Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris Win GT3 Opening Race

    British GT – Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris Win GT3 Opening Race

    Rick Parfitt Junior and Seb Morris took a popular victory in the opening round of the season after an eventful start to the race on JRM’s British GT debut.

    Phil Keen and Adam Balon were second as the lead two cars were in a class of their own, before Bradley Ellis and Ollie Wilkinson held off Jonny Cocker and Sam De Haan.

    The two Century Motorsport BMWs driven Ben Green/Dominic Paul and Jack Mitchell/Adrian Willmott were next ahead of Jonny Adam/Graham Davidson and Adam Christodoulou/Richard Neary.

    Rounding out the GT3 finishers were Marco Sorensen/Andrew Howard and Nicki Thiim/Mark Farmer, the latter spinning early on and unable to make inroads thereafter.

    Drama found the British GT series as early as the second lap when Ryan Ratcliffe’s optimistic move on polesitter Iain Loggie had predictable consequences, the Scotsman spun around and both drivers left out of the race after just two minutes.

    A lengthy clean up operation saw the Safety Car out for over ten minutes, and Parfitt was able to capitalise on his inherited lead having passed Sam De Haan at the start.

    Parfitt was able to pull out a lead of over four seconds over De Haan, who had the attentions of both Century Motorsport BMWs of Paul and Willmott to contend with for much of the opening stint.

    While almost all of the GT3 competitors pitted as soon as possible, Parfitt allowed an extra lap to avoid traffic in a tight Oulton Park pit lane. De Haan found out to his cost how tight the pit lane can be, as he lost several positions when handing over to teammate Cocker.

    Cocker would pressurise the Aston Martin of Bradley Ellis for the duration of their second stint for third place to little avail at a narrow and twisty Oulton Park, with third place through to ninth covered by five seconds.

  • British GT – GT4 Qualifying – Multimatic Motorsports Dominate in GT4 qualifying

    British GT – GT4 Qualifying – Multimatic Motorsports Dominate in GT4 qualifying

    Scott Maxwell and Sebastian Priaulx took an unusual qualifying clean sweep in GT4 as the Multimatic Ford Mustangs dominated proceedings at a baking Oulton Park.

    Canadian Maxwell, having previously never visited Oulton Park, took pole for the morning race on Monday ahead of teammate Jade Buford, with the HHC McLaren duo Dean MacDonald and Tom Jackson very much the best of the rest.

    The TF Sport #95 entry of 16-year-old Patrick Kibble was the highest placed Aston Martin of the early session for TF Sport ahead of Tolman’s Jordan Collard and defending GT4 champions Century Motorsport with Mark Kimber.

    Alex Toth-Jones in the Academy Motorsport Aston Martin was eighth, while James Dorlin was ninth for Tolman having graduated from the Renault Clio Cup last year ahead of Pro/Am category Championship contender Kelvin Fletcher in the Beechdean Aston Martin.

    In Race Two qualifying, Priaulx was over a second clear of the field as he annihilated his GT4 counterparts.

    Scott Malvern’s Team Parker Racing Mercedes was the next best, 1.1s behind the Ford Mustang with Michael Broadhurst third to make it an AMG 2-3.

    Martin Plowman backed up teammate Fletcher’s earlier top ten starting position with fourth for Beechdean Aston Martin, with Tom Canning’s TF Sport Aston rounding out a competitive top five.

    Matt George was sixth in the Invictus Racing Jaguar ahead of Luke Williams in the HHC McLaren and Lewis Proctor’s Tolman McLaren, with defending champions Century Motorsport ninth on the grid with Angus Fender and Josh Smith in the second Tolman completing the top ten.

    Elsewhere, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the three Ford Mustang entries, as Sam Smelt and Aron Taylor-Smith hit strife in the Race Performance #23 to start from the back of the field on Bank Holiday Monday.

     

  • British GT – GT3 Qualifying: Loggie and Keen take qualifying spoils.

    British GT – GT3 Qualifying: Loggie and Keen take qualifying spoils.

    Iain Loggie will start from pole position for the first race of the British GT 2019 season after an impressive display during AM qualifying.

    Loggie was over half a second clear in his first race since switching from Bentley to a Mercedes for this season at a hot Oulton Park.

    The Scotsman will lead Ryan Ratcliffe’s Bentley away from the lights on Monday morning after a strong showing from the Welshman, with Sam De Haan’s Lamborghini completing the top three.

    Rick Parfitt Junior will go from fourth after again teaming up with Bentley and Seb Morris, ahead of Dominic PAul and Adam Balon.

    Callum Willmott and Mark Farmer complete row four as Aston Martin still try to find their feet with the new V8 Vantage ahead of Richard Neary and Graham Davidson, with the troubled Shaun Balfe McLaren and Ollie Wilkinson’s Aston Martin on the penultimate row ahead of Andrew Howard’s Beechdean Aston Martin.

    In GT4 Pro qualifying, it was another strong RAM Racing showing as Adam Christodoulou was able to qualify third behind a stunning lap from Phil Keen in the Barwell Lamborghini and Callum Macleod’s excellent showing for Bentley.

    Seb Morris’ fourth place to back the earlier result up of his teammate Parfitt suggests that Bentley are back on song after a difficult 2018 campaign for the 2017 champions.

    Jonny Cocker was fifth for Barwell ahead of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the Aston Martins, while the Century Motorsport BMW duo of Jack Mitchell and Ben Green were eighth and ninth.

    Defending champion Jonny Adam was only 10th in the TF Sport Aston Martin V8 Vantage, with Bradley Ellis and Glynn Geddie rounding off the GT3 class after Rob Bell’s McLaren failed to set a time.

    IMAGE: Xynamic via @RAMRacing

  • Tour de Corse 2019 Review – Heartbreak for Elfyn, Joy for Thierry!

    Tour de Corse 2019 Review – Heartbreak for Elfyn, Joy for Thierry!

    History will record that Thierry, Nicolas and Hyundai won this rally. Those that followed it, will know it should have been M-Sport duo Elfyn and Scott on the top step in Bastia.

    We were treated to a fantastic fourth round of this year’s championship. Here’s the story of how it all unfolded.

    Friday

    With 86km’s of stages on Friday, including a double run of the long Valinco and just a tyre fitting zone as well in the middle of the day, just getting to the end of day one would be tough. The start list looked like this – Tänak, Ogier, Neuville, Meeke, Evans, Lappi, Loeb, Latvala, Sordo, Suninen.

     

    SS 1 – Bavella 1 (17,60 km) saw Elfyn set a great time, with Thierry and Dani a few seconds behind. Ogier spun in a hairpin and was already 12.5 from the lead. Kris however had a terrible stage, getting a puncture and losing almost a minute.

     

    SS 2 – Valinco 1 (25,94 km), saw Kris go fastest from Ott and Dani. Elfyn could only manage fifth fastest and so Ott was now in the lead, but only by six tenths of a second. Dani’s pace saw him pass Thierry into an early third place. Esapekka also moved past Teemu, for the battle to be the top Finn.

     

    SS 3 – Alta-Rocca 1 (17,37 km) Ott also took the next stage with Kris and Elfyn less than a second behind him. Elfyn may have been passed by the Estonian, but he was keeping him in-sight, with just a little over a second between the top two. Thierry also moved past Dani who could only manage ninth fastest. Also moving up the leaderboard were Teemu and Jari-Matti, who both passed Esapekka Lappi who spun in a hairpin.

     

    After the midday tyre change, we had the rerun of SS 4 – Bavella 2 (17,60 km). Once again, Elfyn struck back and took stage victory number two for the weekend, and deposed Ott once more from the lead after the Estonian was 2.7 seconds slower. Esapekka Lappi lost seventh place to his teammate, Seb. Thierry also increased the gap to Dani.

     

    Elfyn’s great Friday continued in SS 5 – Valinco 2 (25,94 km), where he took another stage victory and increased his lead further over Ott. Jari-Matti had a problem and dropped right the way down from sixth and into tenth having lost three minutes. A big shame for the 2015 winner.

     

    The final stage, SS 6 – Alta-Rocca 2 (17,37 km) and Ott Tanak forced himself back into the lead, with Thierry winning the stage and Ott just 1.3 seconds behind with Elfyn losing time after getting stuck behind Kris Meeke in the stage. Kris did let the young Welshman past, but he’d lost a lot of time and the lead at this point. The organisers did the right thing and gave Elfyn the same time as Ott, meaning he’d retain the lead.

     

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1

    1. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1:09:39.6
    2. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.5
    3. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +9.8
    4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +26.1
    5. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +30.9
    6. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +36.3
    7. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +46.3
    8. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +2:27.9
    9. Camilli / Buresi (VW Polo R5) +2:46.4
    10. Bonato / Boulloud (Citroën C3 R5) +3:06.4

     

    An interesting first day then! Let’s hear from the drivers.

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (1st)

    “It’s been a positive day and the car has felt really good. This is the type of rally where you have to be smart and efficient, and I felt like we drove well. We were able to carry the speed through the corners, and keep a smoothness in the driving which seems to be doing the trick.

    “There’s going to be a big battle tomorrow and our plan is to stay in this position. Ott [Tänak] and Thierry [Neuville] will both be pushing hard, but we know when everything is working that we can be faster. I’m really looking forward to the day. There’s quite a mix of stages with a bit of everything. It’s all about being adaptable.”

    Elfyn and Scott at speed. Photo credit, M-Sport

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “It’s been a really good day for us and the pace has been good. I could go faster for sure, but I have this monkey on my shoulder holding me back. I have made some mistakes in the last rallies and I need to bring the car home this weekend. But the driving has still been on a good level so we can be happy with that.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (2nd)

    “I am quite happy with my day. In the morning I was not actually in the best rhythm, as my notes were not perfect on these new stages. This afternoon it was definitely better in that sense, and we had a good feeling. We haven’t been pushing the limits yet, but the car is performing well and I quite enjoyed it. Our closest rivals have been setting good times, so it’s clear that we will need to push quite hard tomorrow if we want to beat them. The long stage will be the key stage of the rally: It’s very tricky so it won’t be easy, but I believe it will be possible for us to make a big difference there.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala (13th)

    “The middle stage of the loop was difficult for me today. In the morning my notes were not working well there and we lost a lot of time. We did a lot of work on that over lunch and I was really confident that we could make a good time in the afternoon pass. Two kilometres into the stage there were quite a lot of cuts where gravel had come onto the road, and I think a sharp stone went through the tread. Slowly caused the tyre to started to slowly going down – it was just one of those unfortunate things that can happen., We decided to try and carry on but eventually we had to stop and change it. The car has been feeling good, I’ve really enjoyed the driving. We will keep going and see where we are at the end of the rally.”

    Kris Meeke (16th)

    “It’s been a difficult day to be honest. On the first stage, in a long fast left-hander, I had ‘keep to the inside’ in my pace-notes, and we hit something that I obviously hadn’t seen in the recce. After that the pace was good and we were trying to make up some places. In the afternoon, there was a fast left with a cut, I caught some gravel and we touched the kerb on the outside and broke a suspension arm, which I had to carry through the last stage. I’m very happy that Elfyn has been given a fair time: In no way did we intend to hold him up. Today just hasn’t been good enough. We had a package capable of winning this rally: The Yaris has been incredible to drive. We will continue to enjoy driving the car and try and keep it clean for the rest of the weekend.”

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (3rd)

    “I think we have had a pretty satisfactory day today, and we’ve done a good job with the car since shakedown. The feeling has not been 100% perfect, and our pace notes were a bit too slow on the first stage, but we’ve made some good progress. To be in contention for the lead of the rally at the end of this opening day is all we could have hoped for. We are perhaps missing some grip to go ever faster, but it’s a solid base from which we can build tomorrow.”

    Dani Sordo (4th)

    “It has not been a straightforward day, although we have had some positive moments. The first stages were really nice and I was able to set some encouraging and fast times. It was more difficult in the afternoon loop as the speed was not there. We have to look at the areas where we can find improvements for Saturday, which is an incredibly gruelling schedule. We have a big distance to cover tomorrow so it will be a crucial day for the rally result.”

    Seb Loeb (8th)

    “Things have got increasingly better as the day has progressed, and I ended the afternoon loop feeling quite confident in the car. We lost a lot of time at the beginning of the first stage this morning. I made a small mistake and on the exit of a corner and broke something on the suspension, which we had to fix. With no lunchtime service, we had to do what we could to keep going. We changed the settings during the day and found some good improvements, which we hope to carry over into Saturday.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (6th)

    “It was a difficult day, where we struggled with understeer. We made a few minor adjustments mid-leg and that helped us to limit the time lost in the afternoon, but it wasn’t enough. We have a few ideas about how to change the set-up in order to resolve the issues, so I have high hopes that we can move in the right direction tomorrow. We’ll certainly be doing everything we can to move back up the standings.”

    Esapekka Lappi (7th)

    “I pushed hard on the wide, fast sections of today’s stages but I had the same issues on the corners as Seb. And we also had a spin, which didn’t help matters. I have faith in the team to put things right and obviously on my side, I’m going to give it everything.”

     

    Saturday

    It was a bright morning at the start of the longest day of this event. The start list looked like this – Meeke, Latvala, Loeb, Lappi, Ogier, Suninen, Sordo, Neuville, Tänak, Evans. 

    First stage, SS 7 – Cap Corse 1 (25,62 km) went to Ott, closing the gap a little to Elfyn who was second fastest and Loeb getting into the groove at last. The changes that the Citroen team made to their C3 weren’t really making much of a difference other than making the car feel more comfortable to drive, just still no speed.

     

    SS 8 – Désert des Agriates 1 (14,45 km) next up and Ott flew through, taking 3.7 seconds from Elfyn’s 3.9 second lead and further back, Kris passed Jari-Matti into ninth place. The fight was on between Ott and Elfyn.

     

    SS 9 – Castagniccia 1 (47,18 km) saw a Hyundai driver finally win a stage, with Dani setting the fastest time from Ott and Ogier who found some pace as well and climbed into fifth. Elfyn was fourth fastest, but 3.3 seconds slower, which meant that he’d dropped behind Ott in their battle for the lead.

     

    After the lunchtime service, SS 10 – Cap Corse 2 (25,62 km) was won by Kris Meeke, with Elfyn and Thierry second and third. It was Ott’s turn to be fourth, and now the gap between the top two was just 1.6 seconds. Ogier was now closing on Dani Sordo for fourth place.

     

    SS 11 – Désert des Agriates 2 (14,45 km) saw Elfyn retake the lead, after Ott had a puncture which he stopped to change losing two minutes and dropping to seventh overall. Thierry won the stage and was now in second overall, 11.5 seconds behind Elfyn.

     

    Another fastest time for Thierry in SS 12 – Castagniccia 2 (47,18 km) and the last stage of the day saw the Belgian go 16 seconds faster than Elfyn and would assume the lead over the Welshman. Ogier had a shock, nearly going off the road after his anti-lag system which had stopped working, suddenly started working again further into the stage! Despite all this, the Frenchman moved another place up the overall leaderboard and was now ahead of Dani in third place. Further back, Ott was moving up as well, now ahead of Esapekka into sixth place.

     

    STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2

    1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:56:50.0
    2. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) + 4.5
    3. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +44.8
    4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +49.9
    5. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:32.1
    6. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:54.5
    7. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:59.3
    8. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +3:21.4
    9. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +3:55.9
    10. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +6:35.4

     

    Well, what a great day Saturday was. Changes in the lead, drama with tyre failures and engine problems, and Thierry in the lead! Let’s hear from the drivers.

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “We have had a really good day and I am delighted we can finish Saturday in the lead of the rally. Anything can happen when people are driving on the edge. This is a long and demanding rally so it’s important to stay focused. This morning, during the long stage particularly, we couldn’t really find the feeling we wanted, but things came good in the afternoon. When you have the right rhythm in the car, it’s possible to set fast times without taking risks. That’s exactly what we could do and we now need to defend our lead on Sunday. It won’t be easy but we’ll certainly give it our best shot!”

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 04 Rallye de France
    28-31 March 2019
    Rallye de France
    Day 2, Action, Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
    Photographer: Fabien Dufour
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Dani Sordo (4th)

    “We had a very strong opening loop this morning. My pace notes were very clear and we showed our potential with the fastest time in the long Castagniccia stage. I had a great feeling and the car was very nice to drive. We didn’t manage the same advantage in the repeat loop, as others seemed to make up more time, but we are pleased to enter the final morning in a close fight for the podium. Ogier made up a lot of time on us in the final stage today but we know we can also find some gains, so it promises to be a big battle tomorrow. We’ll try our best.”

    Seb Loeb (8th)

    “We are not in the same rally as everyone else after our issues on Friday, so we have used today to improve our feeling with the car. Things started well but on the long stage in the morning loop we had a tricky moment. I understeered in a left-hander, which tightened, and I couldn’t turn which then sent us into a ditch. We lost a lot of time getting going again. The afternoon followed the same strategy to make adjustments to the car. Things were not perfect all the time but for the majority of stages we had a good car and a nice feeling. We will continue in this way tomorrow and aim to finish on a positive note.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (2nd)

    “It had been a good day for us and the pace was really strong, so it was a real shame about that last stage. Honestly it was a bit of a shock to lose that much. We didn’t feel that we had a bad stage – maybe not a perfect stage – but to lose that much time was disappointing.

    “But we have to forget about it now. Four and a half seconds isn’t too much and we can fight for that tomorrow. We know that we have the pace to win this rally, and that’s what we’ll be focused on. We came here to challenge for the win, and that’s what we plan to do.”

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “I think we can be quite happy with the day. We didn’t make any mistakes, and the driving started to be on a good level through the clean stages. There is still some work to do in places where there is a lot of gravel on the road, but this is only my first time here with this car and I need the experience.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (3rd)

    “It’s a shame that we lost a lot of engine power about ten kilometres from the end of the last test, because otherwise I think we would have claimed our first stage win this weekend. Fortunately, it only lasted for two or three kilometres and then normal power came back. I’m pleased to be back in the top three. I hope that the slightly better feeling we had this afternoon will be confirmed tomorrow and we can keep improving. Because it looks like we’re going to have to fight right to the end if we want to hold onto third place. We have been losing most time on the wider, circuit-like roads but tomorrow’s stages are less like that, so I hope that they are more suited to us.”

    Seb Ogier and Julien Ingrassia tackle one of the many corners! Photo credit Citroen Total Racing

    Esapekka Lappi (7th)

    “Although we’re still not where we had hoped to be, the main thing is that we improved today. Our rhythm was better. Seb also set some good times, so that would suggest that we are moving in the right direction. We’re going to give it our all to finish the rally on a high tomorrow.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tänak (6th)

    “We were having a good day: The car was feeling good and we had a nice clean rhythm with no mistakes. It’s still difficult to understand what happened on SS11. It’s really disappointing. The team has done a great job, the car has been incredible this weekend and I did everything I could myself. I knew this is one of the hardest events for us, so I prepared really hard. After the work we’ve done it’s difficult to accept this. We still have some points to score tomorrow, and whatever happens, we can still take some positives away because we’ve been performing very well.”

    Kris Meeke (9th)

    “I enjoyed it today, particularly this afternoon. Being first on the road this morning was maybe not ideal – the surface felt quite slippery with no rubber having been laid down. We made a few adjustments in mid-day service and the car was working very well. To do a fastest time when the leaders are fighting hard shows the rhythm was pretty good. I’m still annoyed that I wasn’t able to translate the car we had this weekend into fighting at the front, but now we will focus on the Power Stage tomorrow and see what we can do there.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala (10th)

    “It has been a difficult day my driving has not been good enough. This morning I was missing some performance, while this afternoon I tried to push more, but we had to stop and change a flat tyre. That was down to my mistake: On a right-hand corner there was a hole on the edge of the road and I hit it. I will try to have a good drive tomorrow: That would give us a boost at the end of the rally.”

    Sunday

    Just two stages remained totalling a little over 50km’s. The start list looked like this – Latvala, Meeke, Loeb, Lappi, Tänak, Suninen, Sordo, Ogier, Evans, Neuville. With the gap so small between Thierry and Elfyn, we’d be treated to a really amazing battle.

     

    That’s exactly what we got! Elfyn flew through SS 13 – Eaux de Zilia (31,85 km), a full 16 seconds faster than Thierry, and incredibly the same time difference that Thierry had been faster than Elfyn in the final stage on Saturday. He now had an 11.5 second lead over the Belgian with one stage left. It marked the fourth stage that the Welshman had won this weekend. Impressive stuff.

     

    Just one stage left then, the SS 14 – Calvi Power Stage (19,34 km). Second into the stage, Kris Meeke set the fastest time as a gauntlet to the others… As rally leader now, Elfyn would be the last driver through. Loeb, Lappi and the others tried, but couldn’t get close to Meeke’s time. Finally, Elfyn came through and the first split looked okay, but then he lost time in the second split to Thierry, and quite a bit. What had happened? Well, he’d hit a loose rock with his right-front wheel, and it just fell apart! He lost so much time, that he fell to third place, over a minute from the winner, Thierry. Elfyn, Scott and M-Sport were gutted. The top five in the stage were, Meeke, Tanak, Suninen, Neuville and Ogier. 

    FINAL STANDINGS

    1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 3:22:59.0
    2. Ogier / Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +40.3
    3. Evans / Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:06.6
    4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:18.4
    5. Suninen / Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:24.6
    6. Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:40.0
    7. Lappi / Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +2:09.1
    8. Loeb / Elena (Hyundai i20 WRC) +3:39.2
    9. Meeke / Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +5:06.3
    10. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +6:44.6

     

    What a drive then from Elfyn and Scott! They’d really shown the doubters out there, with a fantastic drive. Once more, Toyota confirmed what we all knew, that their car is great on all surfaces and the Hyundai team, when their car worked, it worked well, but that clearly it needs some improvements. Finally, Citroen didn’t show the kind of pace you’d expect here, with neither of their drivers winning a single stage. Here then are the thoughts of the drivers.

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Thierry Neuville (1st)

    “What an incredible rally and a fantastic result! I would like to extend my thoughts to Elfyn and Scott; I am really disappointed for them. It had been a great battle and they were undoubtedly the quicker crew this weekend. We didn’t really know what had happened until we saw our mechanics at the end. I pushed hard in the Power Stage and the points we’ve scored this weekend are hugely important for the championship. It is testament to the hard work of everyone at Hyundai Motorsport. We may not have been the fastest in outright pace, but there has been a significant improvement in our tarmac performance and this victory is perfect thanks for all their efforts. We made a big difference on Saturday afternoon’s stages to put ourselves in contention, and that enabled this result to be possible. It’s never over until it’s over!”

    Dani Sordo (4th)

    “We came to Corsica with a target of taking a good amount of championship points for the team, and we have achieved that. We have shown some positive pace this weekend, most notably on Saturday’s long stage, but we’ve also struggled at times. We didn’t have the consistency we needed to fight for the podium but finishing fourth is not so bad. Congratulations to Thierry, Nicolas and the team for taking the victory. I am pleased to see us back on top of the manufacturers’ standings. I look forward to the next rally in Argentina.”

    Seb Loeb (8th)

    “A great result for the team today. Unfortunately, our own rally was effectively over after our issues in the opening stage on Friday. We lost so much time; we were on the back foot from then onwards.  The motivation is not quite the same when there’s nothing really to fight for. We tried instead to work on the car set-up, making adjustments that will benefit us for the future. Despite our challenges, it has still been an enjoyable rally, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC has been nice to drive and I’ve had fun on the stages. Hopefully I can do better next time.”

     

    Citroën Total WRT

    Sébastien Ogier (2nd)

    “In terms of points, it’s a good result, scoring nineteen points at a difficult round. On the other hand, we really suffered in terms of pure performance. We need to understand why, so that we don’t have the same problem again on this surface, on which the C3 WRC had performed well previously. In any case, I’m pleased to have managed to get the most out of the car I had and also that I don’t have to open the road on gravel in Argentina.”

    Esapekka Lappi (7th)

    “We all had high hopes coming into this round, so obviously we can’t be satisfied with this result. We were short on performance and suffered quite a lot of understeer throughout the weekend. We’re going to work hard to put things right for the next rounds on tarmac, in Germany and then in Spain. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to getting back on gravel in Argentina.”

     

    M-Sport WRT

    Elfyn Evans (3rd)

    “It’s disappointing right now, but overall it’s been a really positive weekend and we know that we had the speed to win. The first stage this morning felt really good, and we had a good rhythm going into the Power Stage. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but it felt like we were in the middle of the road and just unfortunate to hit a stone or something in the line. Straight away I knew it didn’t sound good, and sure enough a couple of hundred metres later we got the puncture alarm. We had 11 kilometres to go and I knew that if we stopped to change it we would lose a lot of positions. We decided to continue, and thankfully made it to the end to salvage a podium. “Perhaps it’s not the result we wanted, but the pace is there and I think we can all take confidence from that moving forward. We’ve had a pretty strong start to the season so far and I’ve been really happy with the Fiesta on all four of the opening rounds. The guys back at M-Sport are working exceptionally hard and making improvements all the time so I see no reason why we can’t continue this form into the coming events.”

    Teemu Suninen (5th)

    “This weekend was really good for us and I can be happy with the job we have done. Before the rally I thought that this would be the hardest on the calendar. It’s the only event I’ve not done in a world rally car and there were also a lot of slow corners where I have been struggling a bit. But on the clean sections like today I have been able to be really fast and set some top times. We still have some work to do in the dirty sections. But we finished the rally in a good position and with three points from the Power Stage. That was good.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Ott Tanak (6th)

    “Generally, it has been a good event for us: We had a strong performance and I actually quite enjoyed this year’s Tour de Corse. Of course, the final result is disappointing, but this was a rally I didn’t enjoy at all a couple of years ago, and we are now right on the pace and driving with a good rhythm, so there is something for us to smile about. Today was just about collecting some points from the Power Stage, and we had a clean run with no risks. The fight continues.”

    Kris Meeke (9th)

    “We went for it in the Power Stage today and came away with the full five points. Of course, I don’t really like to have to do it like this, as I would rather be fighting for the rally win. But we had a luxury of a time gap, which allowed us to protect our tyres in the first stage this morning. That gave us good tyres for the Power Stage so we went for it, keeping in mind to bring the car home. The Yaris WRC has been incredible all weekend, I’ve really enjoyed driving it right from shakedown. I just have to keep the confidence and I’m sure a big result will come.”

    FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 04 / Tour de Corse, Rallye de France / 28th-31st March, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Jari-Matti Latvala (10th)

    “We were closing to scoring one or two points on the Power Stage, which I would have been happy with because I didn’t have the confidence in myself to take any risks. I have been missing some speed all weekend, so it was important to just bring the car to the finish. I know that I have some things to think about to improve on asphalt, but that is for the future. For now, I will put this event behind us, and try to go to the next events in South America with some new energy.”

    Here’s the points standings. Thierry takes over at the head of the championship, with pre event leader Ott falling to third. Elfyn’s podium lifts him into fourth overall, which ironically, he would have been in even if he’d won, but missing the extra ten points which would have put him closer to the top three.

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 04 Rallye de France
    28-31 March 2019
    Rallye de France
    Day 3, Podium, Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Seb Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin
    Photographer: Fabien Dufour
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Next event, round five Rally Argentina runs from 25th to 28th of April. Pop back then for my preview.

    DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Thierry Neuville – 82 points
    2. Sébastien Ogier – 80 points
    3. Ott Tänak – 77 points
    4. Elfyn Evans – 43 points
    5. Kris Meeke – 42 points
    6. Esapekka Lappi – 26 points
    7. Sébastien Loeb – 22 points
    8. Dani Sordo – 16 points
    9. Jari-Matti Latvala – 15 points
    10. Teemu Suninen – 14 points

    MANUFACTURERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    1. Hyundai WRT – 114 points
    2. Citroën Total WRT – 102 points
    3. Toyota Gazoo Racing – 98 points
    4. M-Sport Ford WRT – 70 points
  • The 2019 BTCC Season Preview – Going Through Changes, But The Song Remains The Same

    The 2019 BTCC Season Preview – Going Through Changes, But The Song Remains The Same

    The British Touring Car Championship gets underway next weekend at Brands Hatch, and with so many changes during the off-season, 2019 looks like being one of the best seasons yet.

    There are new title sponsors in the form of Kwik Fit, who replace long standing sponsor Dunlop. While a change in title sponsor is usually big news, it has been overshadowed by a wide range of developments and changes.

    Perhaps one of the biggest announcements over the winter is the return of Toyota in a manufacturer capacity. Having won two titles in the 1980’s with Chris Hodgetts at the wheel, the Japanese marque are no stranger to success, and with the new Corolla, the team will be looking to start on the right foot.

    To do this, they have taken on 2018 runner up Tom Ingram and his formerly independent team, Speedworks Motorsport. Touted as a future champion of the BTCC, Ingram has high hopes for 2019. Speaking to Pit Crew reporter Warren Nel in January, Ingram said: “The plan is very much to hit the ground running at Brands Hatch Indy, kind of start where we left the 2018 season and be in a position to look to win the championship.”

    Though he understands success may not be instant: “Realistically we’ve got to look more at the following season as our go to year, but of course whenever you enter a season, you enter to win, not finish second. Our goal is very much to win it, but we’ve got a bit of a mountain to climb to get there.”

    Another big story is that reigning champions BMW have retired their 1 series in favour of the all-new 3 series. The model which had title success with Tim Harvey in 1992 and Jo WInkelhock in 1993 has been brought back in its current guise. With current champion Colin Turkington behind the wheel, the 3 series is bound to be successful from the start.

    While some faces remain on the grid, there is fresh blood, and not all of it is fresh faced youngsters. Former Formula One and IndyCar driver Mark Blundell will be making his BTCC debut at the age of 52, showing that age doesn’t matter in the world of tin-tops. Racing for the brand new Trade Price Racing team in an Audi S3, all eyes will be on Blundell as he looks to back up his illustrious CV.

    Another of the old guard making headlines was Jason Plato, who returns to Vauxhall, where he won his first title in 2001. Currently backing the Power Maxed Racing team, Plato is joined by former BMW man Rob Collard in the Astra.

    There will still be 30 rounds of the championship, with three races at ten meetings throughout the year. Though there won’t be a return to Rockingham this season. The Corby based circuit has been sold, and as a result won’t see the BTCC return to the unique oval circuit. Instead there will be an extra round at the high speed Thruxton circuit in August.

    Circuit Date
    Brands Hatch Indy 6-7 April
    Donington Park 27-28 April
    Thruxton 18-19 May
    Croft 15-16 June
    Oulton Park 29-30 June
    Snetterton 3-4 August
    Thruxton 17-18 August
    Knockhill 14-15 September
    Silverstone 28-29 September
    Brands Hatch GP 12-13 October
    Team Drivers Car
    Team BMW Colin Turkington &Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport
    BMW Pirtek Racing Andrew Jordan BMW 330i M Sport
    Sterling Insurance With Power Maxed Racing Jason Plato & Rob Collard Vauxhall Astra
    Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Ash Sutton & Senna Proctor Subaru Levorg GT
    Halfords Yuasa Racing Matt Neal & Dan Cammish Honda Civic Type-R FK8
    Team Toyota GB With Ginsters Tom Ingram Toyota Corolla GT
    Team Shredded Wheat With Gallagher Tom Chilton & Ollie Jackson Ford Focus RS
    RoKit Racing With Motorbase Nicolas Hamilton Ford Focus RS
    Excelr8 Motorsport Rob Smith & Sam Osborne MG6
    Cobra Sport AmD Tuning With RCIB Insurance Rory Butcher & Sam Tordoff Honda Civic Type-R (FK2)
    BTC Racing Chris Smiley & Josh Cook Honda Civic Type-R (FK8)
    Trade Price Cars Racing Mark Blundell & Jake Hill Audi S3
    Team Parker Racing Stephen Jelley BMW 125i M Sport
    Laser Tools Racing Aiden Moffat Mercedes A Class
    (Team HARD) GKR Scaffolding With Autobrite Direct Bobby Thompson & Michael Crees Volkswagen CC
    (Team HARD) RCIB Insurance With Fox Transport Jack Goff & Carl Broadley Volkswagen CC
    Ciceley Motorsport With MAC Tools Adam Morgan Mercedes A Class
    Ciceley Motorsport With Cataclean Racing Dan Rowbottom Mercedes A Class
    Simpson Racing Matt Simpson Honda Civic Type-R (FK2)

    While there are plenty of changes afoot in the BTCC, one thing we can all rely on never changing, is the level of excitement and door-to-door action that the championship always promises.

    All images credit: Matthew Pigg.