Category: WRC

Twelve months ago, Jari-Matti came to this event after two low scoring events. He went on to win the rally! That was also the last time he and Miikka stood on the top step! This year has seen a very different situation. He’s finished on the podium twice, and leads the WRC championship after his victory in Sweden last month.

This does bring its own challenges though. On the first day, they’ll be first on the road and as this event is a gravel rally, they’ll be sweeping the loose gravel for all those behind.

Here are the details for each stage.

RALLY GUANAJUATO MÉXICO SCHEDULE (GMT-6)

WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH

4.00pm: shakedown (Llano Grande)

10.00pm: start of the rally (León)

THURSDAY 9 MARCH

6.05pm:

SS1x – CDMX Street Stage Presented by Michelin 1 (1.57km)

SS1y – CDMX Street Stage Presented by Michelin 2 (1.57km)

FRIDAY 10 MARCH

10.00am: Service A (León – 15 min)

11.28am: SS2 – El Chocolate 1 (54.90km)

12.36pm: SS3 – Las Minas 1 (19.68 km)

2.41pm: Service B (León – 30 min)

4.14pm: SS4 – El Chocolate 2 (54.90km)

5.22pm: SS5 – Las Minas 2 (19.68km)

6.12pm: Additional headlamp fitting zone (Guanajuato – 10 min)

6.34pm: SS6 – Guanajuato Street Stage (1.09km)

7.49pm: SS7 – Autódromo de León 1 (2.30km)

7.54pm: SS8 – Autódromo de León 2 (2.30km)

9.04pm: Flexi Service C (León – 45 min)

SATURDAY 11 MARCH

7.30am: Service D (León – 15 min)

8.33am: SS9 – Media Luna 1 (27.42km)

10.01am: SS10 – Lajas de Oro 1 (38.31km)

11.08am: SS11 – El Brinco 1 (10.09km)

12.58pm: Service E (León – 30 min)

2.16pm: SS12 – Media Luna 2 (27.42km)

3.49pm: SS13 – Lajas de Oro 2 (38.31km)

4.37pm: SS14 – El Brinco 2 (10.09km)

5.47pm: SS15 – Autódromo de León 3 (2.30km)

5.52pm: SS16 – Autódromo de León 4 (2.30km)

6.57pm: Flexi Service F (León – 45 min)

8.50pm: SS17 – Street Stage Feria de León (1.33km)

9.00pm: Parc ferme

SUNDAY 12 MARCH

9.40am: Service G (León – 45 min)

10.43am: SS18 – La Calera (32.96km)

12.18pm: SS19 – Derramadero Power Stage (21.94km)

1.53pm: Service H (León – 10 min)

2.30pm: Podium

Last year’s result

J. M. Latvala / M. Anttila 4:25:57.4

S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia +1:05.0

M. Østberg / O. Floene +5:36.4

D. Sordo / M. Martí +5:37.9

H. Paddon / J. Kennard +6:22.6

O. Tanak / R. Molder +9:59.5

M. Prokop / J. Tomanek +12:58.5

L. Bertelli / S. Scattolin +14:09.6

T. Suninen / M. Markkula +18:01.8

V. Gorban / V. Korsia +32:37.3

So, what are the key challenges of this event. Well, the stages are fast, but also very slippery, so tyre choice is very important. After the cold temperatures of Monte and Sweden, we will see that climbing to 30c plus and then it’s the thinning air as the rally runs in the mountains around Leon anything between 1,800 and 2,700 above sea level!

So, what do the drivers have to say about this incredibly challenging event?

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala said:

“I have some very happy memories of Mexico after I won last year, but I also know some of the reasons behind it. I started with a good road position, towards the back, and I took advantage of the cleaner roads to take a big lead – while the people at the front were really struggling. So this year for me, it’s going to be the other way round! In these circumstances, you have to take away what you can and I would be really happy with a place in the top five. Nothing has changed for me since Sweden, but I think this emphasises the importance of just trying to do your best wherever you can and staying consistent. If you do that, you can maybe be in a good championship position at the end of the year, even though that was not really our objective for only the first season. There’s always a great atmosphere in Mexico: the fans called me ‘La Bala’ – which means ‘the bullet’ – last time, so I hope not to disappoint them this year!”

Juho Hänninen said:

“I’ve done the rally only once before, a long time ago, but I really liked it. I always feel happy on gravel and I think on Friday, with the long stages like El Chocolate, there could be a very good opportunity for me. I should have a nice starting position and I need to make the most of it. While Sweden wasn’t a great rally for me personally, I learned a lot about how to be more clever on certain things in future: in particular making sure that I am well-prepared after testing. My test before Mexico was very good: we changed a few things on the car with the suspension but not very much, and I am close to having the confident feeling that I enjoyed with the car after the Monte-Carlo test. The work that the engineers have done on the engine is really impressive, I think even with the altitude it should be OK so hopefully I will not have to adapt my driving style too much.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Hayden Paddon commented: “I’m looking forward to Rally Mexico. It feels like a long time since we’ve been on gravel and rallying outside of Europe. It’s an event with a nice atmosphere with passionate fans and enjoyable roads. The altitude is a key characteristic of this rally. We have to adjust the car and ourselves to the conditions. We have to make sure that we put in the extra effort so that we’re fully prepared. Maintaining hydration levels in the hotter conditions is obviously important too. We’re going to try everything that we can to put in a solid performance and to secure a positive result.”

Thierry Neuville commented: “Mexico is a unique event and one which brings back happy memories of the team’s first WRC podium back in 2014. It is the first hot event of the season, which combined with the fact that the event takes place at such a high altitude, makes it special. It’s an enjoyable rally; we can really push because of the knowledge and experience we have from the previous seasons. We are confident that we can perform well. The car has already demonstrated what it can do in Monte and Sweden, so we have to go out there and show what we know we are capable of. We’re determined to fight back!”

Dani Sordo said: “I am excited about Rally Mexico because it is the first gravel event of the year and for our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Thanks to the additional power that is present in the new car, it should be an even more spectacular rally than normal, as usually we would expect the performance to drop slightly as a result of the altitude. Making the transition from wintry conditions in Sweden to the warmer climate of Mexico is all part of life in the WRC. We have spent time preparing for the change, with the most important process being adapting our bodies . I am confident we can put ourselves in the podium fight.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier said:

“I made my WRC debut in Mexico so it is always nice to come back here. We always receive such a warm welcome from the fans and they have a real passion for the sport.

“For the first time in a number of years we won’t be opening the road but it will still be a big challenge. We’ll be the second car into the stages so we’ll still have to contend with quite a lot of road cleaning. We’ll need to try to stay as close as we can over the opening day and then see what’s achievable when the conditions become more consistent.

“We’ve had a good start to the season, but now we’re going to experience something totally different. This is where we’ll get a feeling for these new cars on gravel and where I’ll get to experience the Fiesta’s performance on this kind of surface. We had a really useful test last week with a lot of kilometres, but there really is no substitute for competition.

“It’s going to be an interesting rally and I hope we can continue our good performance and continue to progress.”

Ott Tänak said:

“There are two things that you need to keep in mind in Mexico – the heat, and the altitude. We’ll head out to the event a little earlier to get used to the climate but when it comes to the stages, you need to be on it from the word go.

“The high altitude means that we have a lot less power to play with and you need to constantly have that in your mind. You need to be very clean and precise and make sure that you keep the speed up all the time.

“The stages themselves are nice and smooth, but they could become quite rough and rutted over the second pass and that makes it even more important to have a clean run. There is a lot of new aero on these cars and you don’t want to lose any of it.

“We racked up a lot of kilometres during the test last week, but we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out on the rally. We’ve not had a lot of gravel running so far this year so I think the key will be to find a good rhythm early on.

“We’ll also be opening the road again and that is something I’ve never experienced on gravel. It’s going to be an interesting rally with a lot of things to discover, but I’m looking forward to it and to seeing what we can do.”

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans said:

“The first gravel rally of the year will certainly be an interesting one and I think everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what they can do. The altitude makes this a really unique event and when you combine that with the high temperatures it’s a big challenge – for the crews and the cars.

“We’ll need to be at the top of our game to contend with the physical demands, but we’ll also need to adapt our driving style to get 100 percent of the performance. Because of the thinner air, there’s a reduction in power and you need to be really smooth and not so aggressive behind the wheel.

“You’ve got to be so tidy at this event and keep momentum through the corners. If you scrub speed before a long straight or sequence of corners the engine doesn’t have the power to carry you though and you can lose a lot of time.

“We’ll have to wait and see how the conditions suit us, but I am looking forward to this one. It’s an event I’ve done well at in the past and a clever run can deliver results – it’s just a case of getting the balance between risk and speed just right.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke said:

“Mexico is one of the rallies I know the least, but it’s a course that I like. I think that we headed in the right direction during testing and I’m looking forward to checking that in racing conditions. Despite the loss of power, it should still be pretty enjoyable to drive the cars because we’ll be at more or less the same level as last year’s WRCs. We’ll have to guard against being too aggressive behind the wheel so as to avoid losing time. I’m also pleased to be going to Mexico City for the super special stage. If the atmosphere at the F1 Grand Prix is anything to go by, then it’s going to be a very special occasion in an iconic setting. I’ll bring my dinner jacket along in honour of 007!”

Stephane Lefebvre

“Apart from the mud at Wales Rally GB, I haven’t competed on gravel since Rally Poland last July! Testing helped me gradually to get into the swing of things. As we moved between various stretches of road, I was able to define a set-up that gave me confidence in the car. That’s the most important thing in order to learn and improve in a relaxed frame of mind. I’m pleased to be back in Mexico again. I really enjoyed being in the country during my only outing here in 2015. Beyond the sombreros and the cactus, it’s more the warmth and friendliness of the people, the atmosphere in the streets of Guanajuato and the magnificent scenery that make it worth the trip!”

So, this year’s Rally Mexico looks to be just as exciting as previous events, with long and tricky stages!

If you wish to watch any highlights or live coverage, then I’d suggest Redbull TV.

Friday Highlight Show: Saturday 11 March from 4:00am.

Live Coverage: Saturday 11 March at 4:50pm-6:05pm.

Saturday Highlight Show:

Sunday 12 March from 4:00am.

Event Highlight Show: Monday 13 March from 4:00am.

So, can Jari-Matti make it another victory, or will Seb conquer these stages to take a second victory. One person hoping for a result will be Kris and the Citroen team. With a good road position, could they score a podium or even a victory? It will be what they want for sure!

Enjoy, and Viva Mexico!

Warren Nel

6th March 2017

It was Thierry’s rally. Once again, he damaged his car on the last stage of Saturday. This time Jari-Matti was there and picked up his first victory in nearly a year.

Here’s a reminder of the stages awaiting the crews for this year’s Rally Sweden.

THURSDAY 9 FEBRUARY

8.00am: shakedown (Skalla)

8.04pm: Start of day 1 (Karlstad)

8.08pm: SS1 – Karlstad 1 (1.90km)

9.54pm: End of day 1 (Torsby)

FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY

6.50am: Start of day 2 and service A (Torsby – 15 mins)

7.59am: SS2 – Röjden 1 (18.47km)

9.06am: SS3 – Hof-Finnskog 1 (21.26km)

10.20am: SS4 – Svullrya 1 (24.88km)

11.56am: Service B (Torsby – 30 mins)

1.20pm: SS5 – Röjden 2 (18.47km)

2.27pm: SS6 – Hof-Finnskog 2 (21.26km)

3.51pm: SS7 – Svullrya 2 (24.88km)

5.15pm: SS8 – Torsby 1 (16.43km)

5.55pm: Flexi Service C (Torsby – 45 min)

SATURDAY 11 FEBRUARY

6.54am: Start of day 3 and service D (Torsby – 15 mins)

8.08am: SS9 – Knon 1 (31.60km)

9.17am: SS10 – Hagfors 1 (15.87km)

10.08am: SS11 – Vargåsen 1 (14.27km)

11.29am: Service E (Torsby – 30 mins)

12.58pm: SS12 – Knon 2 (31.60km)

2.17pm: SS13 – Hagfors 2 (15.87km)

3.08pm: SS14 – Vargåsen 2 (14.27km)

5.45pm: SS15 – Karlstad 2 (1.90km)

7.41pm: Flexi Service F (Torsby – 45 min)

SUNDAY 12 FEBRUARY

6.35am: Start of day 4 and service G (Torsby – 15 mins)

7.55am: SS16 – Likenäs 1 (21.19km)

9.58am: SS17 – Likenäs 2 (21.19km)

12.18pm: SS18 – Torsby 2 (16.43km)

1.00pm: Podium (Torsby)

The event started with a short stage on Thursday evening.

Jari-Matti showed that even though the Toyota is very new, it’s got good inherent pace and with him behind the wheel, it’s going to be at or near the front.

1. Latvala – 1:34,1 (72,7kph)

2. Neuville +0:00,6

3. Sordo +0:00,7

Seven stages awaited the drivers on Saturday. A day of fast flowing roads on the snow and ice, through the forests in the north of Sweden. The running order of the drivers is in championship order.

Ogier

Latvala

Tanak

Breen

Evans

Lefebvre

Neuville

Hanninen

Meeke

Paddon

Ostberg

Thierry picked up where he finished from in Monte Carlo and won stage two and move into the lead!

1. Neuville – 9:37,3 (115,2kph)

2. Meeke +0:02,0

3. Tanak +0:02,8

Seb’s starting position was clearly affecting his pace, only tenth fastest through the stage and dropping to eighth overall, whereas, Ott was clearly pretty comfortable with third on the road and was now Thierry’s closest challenger.

Stage three fell to Thierry as well, with Jari-Matti just six tenths slower though and bringing the Toyota back into second overall and Craig, who was making his debut in the new C3 WRC third fastest.

1. Neuville – 10:10,3 (125,4kph)

2. Latvala +0:00,6

3. Breen +0:02,3

Jari-Matti also jumped ahead into second overall with his drive through this stage. Clearly his road position was not affecting him at all.

Stage four and Jari-Matti stormed through this 8.5 seconds faster than Thierry and moved into the overall lead! What a drive! Seb found some grip and was third through this one meaning that he’d moved up into fourth overall.

1. Latvala – 12:52,3 (116,0kph)

2. Neuville +8,5

3. Ogier +9,6

Stage five was won by Thierry with Jari-Matti only fourth fastest, surrendering the lead back to the Hyundai driver. just four tenths slower at the end of the 18km stage. Ott found some good speed through as well and demoted Kris to fourth overall.

1. Neuville – 9:25,7 (117,5kph)

2. Paddon +0:04,1

3. Tanak +0:07,4

Stage six saw Thierry and Jari-Matti continue their duel at the front and there was very little to separate them at the end of the 21km stage.

1. Neuville – 10:06,4 (126,2kph)

2. Latvala +0:02,3

3. Paddon +0:03,8

So, just two stages left on this first day of competition and another stage fell to the quick Belgian, with Kris nearly 12 seconds slower and Jari-Matti nearly 18 seconds slower meant that Thierry had a very comfortable lead.

1. Neuville – 13:04,0 (114,2kph)

2. Meeke +0:11,8

3. Ogier +0:16,4

Last stage of the day then, and Ott took the 16km stage by just seven one thousands of a second from Thierry with Jari-Matti four seconds behind.

1. Tanak – 9:24,8 (104,7kph)

2. Neuville +0:00,7

3. Latvala +0:04,8

So, day one was over and Thierry had built a very good lead with his consistency throughout the day, only once not in the top three and with 5 stage victories was stamping his authority on this event just like he did in Rallye Monte Carlo.

Here’s the top ten after day one.

1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 1:16:24.7

2 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +28.1

3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +49.7

4 K. Meeke P. Nagle +51.8

5 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +55.7

6 H. Paddon J. Kennard +1:17.8

7 D. Sordo M. Martí +1:40.3

8 C. Breen P. Nagle +1:54.3

9 E. Evans D. Barritt +3:01.5

10 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau +3:23.6

So, the thoughts of the drivers….

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “All in all, it’s been a good day’s work for us. To lead the rally by such a margin is obviously very encouraging, but we are not getting carried away because we know how unpredictable this rally can be. There’s a long way to go! We had a decent first loop today, although it wasn’t perfect. In SS4, there were a lot of deep cuts and I hit something very hard with the front. I took it carefully after that in case it was a puncture. Our pace notes were good for the afternoon loop and we looked after the studs so our tyres had performance right to the end. My door kept opening slightly on the final stage, which was a distraction but overall the car has been working very well here and I’m optimistic for the rest of the weekend.”

Hayden Paddon said: “I’m not going to lie, it’s not been the start to the rally that we wanted. Things just weren’t coming very naturally on the morning stages, so we had to be patient. It was really a case of battling myself, rather than the stages. I sat with my engineer at lunchtime service and he suggested some changes that really helped us for the afternoon. I had more confidence from the start and felt that I was driving the car, not the car driving me! We lost time as the loop continued because we’d only taken five studded tyres, as opposed to six. But we’re in the top-six and I hope to have a more positive Saturday.”

Dani Sordo said: “We had a good morning loop, generally speaking. The car was working well and I was enjoying the stages. The only real issue we had was in SS4 (Svullrya) where I got distracted and missed a hairpin. We lost a lot of time and I couldn’t get back into the rhythm. As expected, the conditions were not easy in the afternoon, so we took no risks. It was difficult to keep the car in the lines, so I was lacking a bit of confidence. In the final stage, in the dark conditions, this was especially hard, so we just played it safely. These stages are fast and fun to drive, so I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of our i20 Coupe WRC tomorrow.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala

” I’m very happy with our progress today. We were able to make some adjustments to the car ourselves after the first stage today, and then it felt a lot better. I only had one stage I was not happy with, which was SS7. Although we were quick there in the morning, in the afternoon I lost confidence and started over-driving. That cost me a lot of time, which is a pity. But I cannot complain: tonight’s end result is very good and the car has been perfect. Now we stay concentrated for tomorrow.”

Juho Hänninen

” I felt that I was losing time in the slow corners this morning, so we made some changes at service. In the afternoon the car felt better and I had more confidence but unfortunately we just went wide at the end of SS5 and this meant that we hit a tree with the front of the car and caused quite big damage. We finished the stage but we stopped the car afterwards to save the engine, as we were losing cooling. Hopefully we can restart, as the most important thing for me is time in the car.”

M-Sport WRT

Ott Tänak said:

“It’s been a really difficult day. This was my first experience of being one of the guys opening the road and I never knew how hard the job was for Seb – now I can say that it is very difficult! Even with those challenges, I think we managed the day really well and I think we can be happy with our performance.

“The gaps were really close before the last stage and I pushed really hard to get the position for

tomorrow. The further back you are the better the conditions will be and I gave it everything. It was a big effort, but there will be some really fast stages tomorrow so the push will have to continue.”

Sébastien Ogier said:

“We really tried everything we could, but it’s clear that the conditions have not been on our side today. Following the historic cars this afternoon was especially difficult as the first car on the road and there really wasn’t much we could do.

“I’ve been pleased with our drive and I think we did a good job with the challenges we had. Tomorrow we will have better conditions so we’re looking forward to a more enjoyable day. We weren’t able to show our true performance today, and tomorrow I think we’ll have a better indication of where we are.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke said:

“After a good morning, I lost time in the afternoon. On SS5, I dropped about fifteen seconds stuck in a snow bank. The car hit a bump, we ran wide on the next corner and were lucky not to lose more. On the final stage, I had no grip. My tyres were completely shot, they had lost most of their studs. But we’re still in contention for a place on the podium, so I still feel positive.”

Craig Breen said:

“It hasn’t really been our day today! I made a series of mistakes, I damaged certain parts of the bodywork and I lost some of the aero package. It’s incredible what a difference the aerodynamics of the C3 WRC make. Despite all that, we’re still in the race, less than a minute off sixth place.”

Stephane Lefevbre said:

“It’s been a good day, I think I’ve made quite a lot of progress on this surface. This morning, maybe I was driving a bit too much in the middle of the road, not daring to use the little snow banks on the side of the road. I enjoyed myself a bit more on the second pass. I would like to push more to close the gap to the guys ahead, but the risk with that is you end up being less effective. You have to find the right balance, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Jipocar World Rally Team

Mads Østberg said:

We felt we were being properly competitive, and the car is absolutely fantastic to drive when everything functions as it should. I have a much more positive feeling, also drive-wise, than I had after the last events some months ago. I am already looking forward to Saturdays stages, even if we are far behind.

In regards to losing the rear wing during stage five, he said, “It was a nasty and dramatic experience. The aerodynamics on these new cars generate so much downforce and when you lose the rear wing and consequently more or less all rear downforce and grip, it’s not nice at all!

Day two was another early start. Seven stages awaited the crews, including Vargasen, which included Colin’s Crest! First up was the 31.6km Knon stage nineStage ten which stage winner Ott flew through at an average 137,6kph! The fastest stage for more than 30 years! Seb and Thierry were placed second and third, less than half a second between Ott and Seb. Thierry was still firmly in control however, with a lead of 30 seconds over Jari-Matti.

1. Tanak – 13:45,5 (137,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:02,6

3. Neuville +0:04,2

In fact, this stage was due to be run again, but due the high speed, it was cancelled on the recommendation of the FIA.

Stage ten next then and Ott continued his strong start to the day, completing the 15,67km stage one tenth faster than Thierry, who increased his lead over Jari-Matti a little. Ott was doing really well and certainly taking control of third place over Ogier who was 10 seconds behind the Estonian.

1. Tanak – 8:03,0 (118,3kph)

2. Neuville +0,1

3. Ogier +0,9

Into stage eleven then! Vargasen, featuring Colin’s Crest! There were literally hundreds of fans camped out in the snow, just waiting for the drivers to launch the cars over! Who would go the furthest?

On the first run through, Mads was the guy who jumped 42 metres! Tanak, Latvala, and Neuville, all took it easy over there. Well, after all they were in the pound seats! Ott had closed the gap a little more to Latvala as well.

1. Tanak – 8:20,7 (102,6kph)

2. Latvala +0:03,4

3. Neuville +0:03,8

As mentioned, stage twelve was cancelled, so after service the cars headed for the second run of Hagfors. Latvala won the stage from Ott who was continuing to try to pile pressure on the experienced Finn. Thierry still had a good gap to second placed Jari-Matti.

1. Latvala – 7:50,9 (121,3kph)

2. Tanak +0:01,1

3. Neuville +0:01,2

The second run of Vargasen beckoned, and Mads was in a pretty determined mood to jump further than earlier! Ott, really put the pedal to the metal, and closed the gap to Jari-Matti some more through here, the gap coming down to just four seconds! Mads drove pretty well and just missed out on the longest jump by setting a big jump of 44 metres! This stage spelled disaster for Kris however- Going over a crest which turned right and then left straight afterwards, he slid off and his car got beached… he had been in a solid fifth place, a good minute ahead of Dani Sordo. The time loss was massive; nine minutes.

1. Neuville – 8:07,5 (105,4kph)

2. Ogier +0:03,3

3. Tanak +0:05,7

One last stage then left and, well we didn’t expect this….! The short 1.9km stage saw leader Thierry hit a marker on the edge of the course, and he broke his left-front wheel. He was out! Jari-Matti was our new leader! Dani won the stage, with Seb and Ott second and third!

1. Sordo – 1:33,9 (72,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:00,3

3. Tanak +0:00,4

Jari-Matti had a lead of 3,8 seconds over Ott, with Seb now 16,6 behind in third.

Saturday end of day standings

1 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila 2:04:59.3

2 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +3.8

3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +16.6

4 D. Sordo M. Martí +1:39.5

5 C. Breen P. Nagle +2:04.5

6 E. Evans D. Barritt +3:44.7

7 H. Paddon J. Kennard +5:00.2

8 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau +5:37.0

9 P. Tidemand J. Andersson +6:36.7

10 T. Suninen M. Markkula +7:52.9

The thoughts of the drivers then for you, starting with our new rally leader!

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala

” It’s been another good day for us, although not without some small issues: but these were actually nothing to do with the car. There was quite a lot of loose snow and it was hard to keep control in places, especially on the downhill sections. At one point, I even thought I had a puncture. We decided to take just one spare tyre in the car for the afternoon to help us in this big fight. But we also had some problems with tyre wear, as well as losing time behind another car. Tomorrow will be a big day so we have to try our best. The car and the team is getting better all the time, so I feel good.”

Juho Hänninen

” Today has been a different type of day for us: obviously, there is a different focus when you are not competing at the front. Looking on the positive side, we got more time in the car, which is exactly what we needed, and we also did some useful testing. We have to remember that this is a learning year, so the goal for myself and the team is just to take as much away from every rally as possible”

M-Sport WRT

Ott Tänak said:

“It’s been a really enjoyable day. We had some more consistent grip levels and were able to really push. The morning loop was really good for us and I think we can be happy with the job we have done.

“We’ve had a clean run and a really good feeling with the car. We lost a little bit of time passing Kris [Meeke] through the second pass of Vargåsen (SS14), but apart from that everything has been working really well and it’s been a really clean drive.

“The gaps are really small both ahead and behind, but of course the situation has changed a little bit now and it’s the battle for the victory. Honestly, that hasn’t changed my approach. Whether it was the battle for second or the battle for the win, we have to keep pushing and we will just go out there and do our best.

“Anything is possible and, like everyone else, I’m actually quite excited to see what will happen.”

Sébastien Ogier said:

“I think we can be quite happy with our day. I would have liked to have found a bit more speed but unfortunately that just wasn’t possible. I really tried to push, but every time we were struggling with the grip and hitting the snow banks.

“It was much better than yesterday, but we know that it is a big advantage to start at the back of the field at this rally. We didn’t have the optimum road position, but there is still a fight going on.

“It’s going to be an exciting day tomorrow and we all want to achieve the best result. I’m sure we’ll all be flat-out and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “I enjoyed driving the very fast stages today, but obviously we are all sorry to see Thierry lose the lead of the rally this evening. It was hard to take comfort from winning that stage considering what happened to our team mates. Generally, we have tried to get into a rhythm today and to pick up our pace, but it’s not been easy. On the opening stage this morning, it was difficult to keep the speed through the corners. I then made a small mistake in the first Hagfors stage, SS10, which lost some time. Vargåsen is always fun, especially with the Colin’s Crest jump, but overall I could’ve done better on the loop. We couldn’t take it too easy in the afternoon with Breen so close behind, so Sunday will be about managing our gap to him, and securing fourth place.”

Hayden Paddon said: “Another day of two halves for us. This morning was difficult and physically demanding. Rallying on these stages with no power steering is a just incredibly tough. It felt like an extended gym session, or wrestling a lion – and coming off second best! To make it through the loop was an achievement in itself. With power steering back in the afternoon, it was like having a feather at the fingertips. We hadn’t done the two stages at speed so we were playing catch-up to find a rhythm. We are overdue a change of fortune, but I’m determined to end this rally on a high.”

Thierry Neuville said: “There are really no words that convey how I feel right now. It was a very sudden end to what had been a good rally for us. We had spent all Saturday with a deliberate strategy to take things steady and to stay in control of the rally. We didn’t want a repeat of Monte, but that’s exactly what we got. I am so disappointed for the team, for Nicolas, and myself but we have to put it quickly behind us. We can’t dwell on such things, however frustrating. We know we have the pace to win rallies with the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. We have the confidence and I am sure the results will come. Tomorrow, we come back under Rally 2 and we’ll go for Power Stage points. We will then fight back again in Mexico.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Craig Breen said:

“It was a good learning experience for us today. I tried to keep it clean so as to avoid making any silly mistakes. The afternoon was a bit more mixed: I had a good feeling on the Hagfors stage, but not so much on Vargåsen, where I was struggling to keep the car on the road. I’m pleased to be in the top 5 and I’ll try to keep it going right to the finish.”

Kris Meeke said:

“This morning, I had the impression I was driving well on the stages but my times weren’t good enough to hold onto fourth place. I got caught out on the second run on Vargåsen: the rear snapped away from me coming into a left-hander and I couldn’t turn in. We went off the side of the road and got stuck in the snow. Thanks to the spectators for helping us so we could finish the day!”

Stephane Lefebvre said:

“The first loop was difficult, because I was second on the road and had to contend with sweeping the five centimetres of fresh snow on the racing line. My pace notes weren’t perfect either, so I also used the morning to make a few corrections. In the afternoon, I lost about thirty seconds after hitting a snow bank. The rest of the leg went well and I’m pleased to be in eighth place overall.”

Jipocar World Rally Team

Mads Østberg said

“I really set out to beat he record second time through. On a day where we have had very little to drive for, I thought it would be funny to flatten the competition over the jump. And we really did that, both times. But the conditions didn`t give me enough speed out of the last corner before the jump to beat the record. Still a 44 metre jump in a car is quite long, says Mads somewhat jokingly…

I am not using the full potential of the car. I haven`t yet explored the possibilities with active center differential, but have been driving with a locked differential. Another key area is the aerodynamics. These new cars give so much more downforce and grip, but to trust the downforce to keep you on the road in the really highspeed corners is something you have to experience and learn. I had a little fright Friday with the rearwing disappearing, but it was a real ‘eyeopener’ experiencing the downforce the car actually generates.

So, Sunday dawned for the first time since 1999 with a Toyota leading a WRC event! Could Jari-Matti actually win this, or would one of those M-Sport Fiesta’s blast past him?

Well, we got an answer pretty fast on that. First driver to crack was Seb. He spun right near the start of the stage and lost 27 seconds! Jari-Matti won the stage from Tanak by seven seconds, and his lead was now extended! Hayden was finding some good pace as well, just a couple of seconds slower than his teammate Dani, and fourth fastest ahead of Kris.

1. Latvala – 11:06,9 (114,4kph)

2. Tanak +0:07,1

3. Sordo +0:07,7

The next stage, was actually the same stage again, and Jari-Matti also won that as well! He was not going to let this one slip through his fingers! Tanak and Paddon were second and third, but Ott had lost another nine seconds to Jari-Matti, meaning that his lead was now 20 seconds over the Estonian! Juho had also set a very good time, going fourth fastest.

1. Latvala – 11:06,3 (114,5kph)

2. Tanak +0:09,1

3. Paddon +0:13,6

Just one stage remained then, for what would be a remarkable result for the returning manufacturer, in a year which they expected to be a development year.

You’d have understood if Jari-Matti and Miikka just stroked it home. What they actually did was go out there and win the stage and take all five power stage points, beating Seb and Thierry, who had managed to get three points from a weekend that promised so much! Kris and Hayden also scored points in that stage, so at least they didn’t leave empty handed.

1. Latvala – 8:51,1 (111,4kph)

2. Ogier +0:01,2

3. Neuville +0:01,5

But the big story was that Jari-Matti and Miikka had won their first rally for Toyota and their fourth Rally Sweden as well! Just an incredible result!

Here’s what the drivers had to say at the end of a truly classic event, starting with the winner!

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala

” I am so, so happy. For a new team and new car to win its second rally: I really have no words. I think I drove my best power stage ever today. Huge thanks to all the team. Now we are super-motivated to continue like this: I just can’t wait to get to Mexico. It’s fantastic to win but I also feel very sorry for Thierry Neuville, who lost the lead yesterday at the super special stage. I have been in a similar situation myself in the past, so I completely understand how he must be feeling now. We know we were lucky, so we need to carry on improving and working for our goal.”

Juho Hänninen

” I am so proud to be part of this team of dedicated and hard-working people and so happy. This is an amazing result for all of us. From our point of view, we spent the rally recovering from our mistake on Friday, but we completed plenty of useful testing and I increased my time and confidence in the car.”

M-Sport WRT

Ott Tänak said:

“I think it’s been a really good weekend for us. I had a new experience opening the road on Friday but when the conditions were more equal yesterday we had some really good speed. I’m happy with that and what we have achieved this weekend has given us a lot of confidence.

“Today, we knew straight away that Jari-Matti would be hard to beat. At the beginning of the first stage we knew that we didn’t have the same feeling as yesterday. It was a bit disappointing at the time, knowing that we had no option but to settle for second, but I’m still really happy with my weekend.

“It’s been a great start to the season and I have a really good feeling with the car. We’ve got a great package to build on and, although there is still some work to do behind the scenes, we’re ready to give it another big push in Mexico next month.”

Sébastien Ogier said:

“It’s been a tough weekend so it’s great to be on the podium at the end of the rally. It was a really difficult weekend but we have to look to the positives and we’re taking some good points away from this event.

“I didn’t have the chance to fight for anything more today as I made a really silly mistake on the first stage of the morning. On the first corner – just 50 metres into the stage – we were caught by the inside of a snowbank and spun. I knew I couldn’t fight for anything more after that, but looking at the weekend as a whole, I think we have to be happy.

“We knew at the start of the season that we would have a lot less preparation then everyone else. We still need some time to find a perfect feeling with the car but to see the results that we have achieved so far is really encouraging.

“We still need to do some work of course, but I think we have good pace and have had a really positive start to the season so let’s see what Mexico brings.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “I have enjoyed this rally a lot, with some very fast and breath-taking stages. We knew our target this morning was to take fourth place, and pick up the important points of the Championship, so we took it carefully. These stages in Sweden are tricky and slippery, so we had to be cautious not to make any mistakes. The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC has been a pleasure to drive, very competitive and with good pace. We need to take the consistency from Monte-Carlo and Sweden and build on this for Mexico, where I will be aiming for the podium.”

Hayden Paddon said: “That was most certainly not the easiest of weekends but getting to the finish feels like a release of pressure. Things just didn’t click for us 100% but we used this morning to try a few things and there are definitely things we can learn for future rallies. We gave it a bit of a push in the Power Stage and finishing P7 gives us some points to kick-start our Championship. I am positive about this car and the direction we are heading, so it’s a case of onwards and upwards.”

Thierry Neuville said: “We gave it everything in the final stage but we had to settle for three points instead of the five we wanted. It was a very close-run stage with just 1.5-seconds separating the top-three. The result overall is of course a big source of frustration. I feel disappointed for the whole team that we lost the lead of the rally for a small driving mistake. It was another issue with big consequences for the Championship. I am sure that our approach to this rally was correct, until our misfortune, however our potential is clear and we have to focus on moving forward positively.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Craig Breen said:

“I’m pleased to have made it to the finish and to score my first points for a factory team! It was a pretty cool weekend, even though we weren’t always completely happy with our performance level. We have to move on. The Citroën C3 WRC has so much potential and I can’t wait to be driving it again!”

Kris Meeke said:

“We haven’t finished were we wanted to be. We have a lot of work to do and we need to analyse all the information that we’ve collected so we can improve. After two winter events, we’re now going to switch to gravel and so the next test session will obviously be very useful. It’s hard for me to feel confident after two difficult rallies, but I’m not about to give in.”

Stephane Lefebvre said:

“I feel like I really learned how to drive on snow this weekend. The first day gave me chance to get my bearings. Yesterday, I was at a disadvantage due to my road position but I still managed to improve before confirming my progress today. I think we did a lot of good work, especially on making the most of the tyres and managing tyre pressure. It was a very positive weekend for us, with some very useful information for us for the future.”

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans, DMACK WRC driver, said: “Overall it’s been an encouraging weekend after having limited testing before the rally. Our pace was strong on the first day but unfortunately the mistake dropped us time and also meant we were disadvantaged by running at the front of the field. However, it’s another good haul of points, we are sixth in the championship and I’m confident as we head to the more traditional gravel events.”

Jipocar World Rally Team

Mads Østberg said:

For sure we need more mileage, and will be concentrating on doing some testwork before the next rally. This is especially important as the next event is on tarmac and so far, I have just driven the car a few kilometres on that surface during a test in France before Christmas. We can see from the splits in Sweden that we have been quite competitive on the technical parts of the stages, but I need a bit more confidence to actually trust and use the aerodynamic possibilities the car gives me in the really fast sections. But I am positive and have definitely enjoyed driving the new and very fast WRC-car.

After two rounds, it is clear that Hyundai have built a very good car, and I would say that the combination of Thierry with his pace and experience and the speed of the car have a very good platform to take this year’s championship. However, he needs to eliminate these mistakes, to get him into the hunt. Right now, you’d say that Seb has a great opportunity to win the title with the dark horse being Jari-Matti.

Citroen will be hoping their luck will change, with all their problems. Of all the teams, they are the ones most on the back-foot. They will want a strong run to the podium next month in Mexico. Who would have thought that Craig would be their top performing driver after two rounds? After all, he did drive a DS3 in Monte Carlo.

Mads will not be driving in Mexico, as his wife is due to give birth, so we will see him back in the Fiesta WRC in April’s Tour de Corse.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Sweden

1 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila 2:36:03.6

2 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +29.2

3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +59.5

4 D. Sordo M. Martí +2:11.5

5 C. Breen P. Nagle +2:51.2

6 E. Evans D. Barritt +5:26.6

7 H. Paddon J. Kennard +5:31.2

8 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau +7:14.7

9 P. Tidemand J. Andersson +9:11.1

10 T. Suninen M. Markkula +10:02.9

11 O.C Veiby S. Skjaermoen +10:18.5

12 K. Meeke P. Nagle +10:28.7

13 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul +11:31.5

2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings

After round 2

1 J.M Latvala 48

2 S. Ogier 44

3 O. Tanak 33

4 D. Sordo 25

5 C. Breen 20

6 E. Evans 18

7 S. Lefebvre 10

8 T. Neuville 8

9 H. Paddon 7

2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings

After round 2

1 M-Sport World Rally Team 73

2 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 53

3 Hyundai Motorsport 40

4 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 26

Warren Nel

 

After last year, when there were problems with the lack of snow on the run in to the event, this year Rally Sweden will be run further north in Torsby. The result of this is that 58% of the stages are completely new.

The total number of stages is 18, over a distance of 331.74km’s. This event brings special challenges, with setting up the car, including the new active diff that the 2017 WRC cars feature. All the cars run special, only for this event studded tyres, helping the cars gain traction over the snow-covered stages. This means that the cars are travelling much faster than you could ever imagine!

RALLY SWEDEN SCHEDULE

THURSDAY 9 FEBRUARY

8.00am: shakedown (Skalla)

8.04pm: Start of day 1 (Karlstad)

8.08pm: SS1 – Karlstad 1 (1.90km)

9.54pm: End of day 1 (Torsby)

FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY

6.50am: Start of day 2 and service A (Torsby – 15 mins)

7.59am: SS2 – Röjden 1 (18.47km)

9.06am: SS3 – Hof-Finnskog 1 (21.26km)

10.20am: SS4 – Svullrya 1 (24.88km)

11.56am: Service B (Torsby – 30 mins)

1.20pm: SS5 – Röjden 2 (18.47km)

2.27pm: SS6 – Hof-Finnskog 2 (21.26km)

3.51pm: SS7 – Svullrya 2 (24.88km)

5.15pm: SS8 – Torsby 1 (16.43km)

5.55pm: Flexi Service C (Torsby – 45 min)

SATURDAY 11 FEBRUARY

6.54am: Start of day 3 and service D (Torsby – 15 mins)

8.08am: SS9 – Knon 1 (31.60km)

9.17am: SS10 – Hagfors 1 (15.87km)

10.08am: SS11 – Vargåsen 1 (14.27km)

11.29am: Service E (Torsby – 30 mins)

12.58pm: SS12 – Knon 2 (31.60km)

2.17pm: SS13 – Hagfors 2 (15.87km)

3.08pm: SS14 – Vargåsen 2 (14.27km)

5.45pm: SS15 – Karlstad 2 (1.90km)

7.41pm: Flexi Service F (Torsby – 45 min)

SUNDAY 12 FEBRUARY

6.35am: Start of day 4 and service G (Torsby – 15 mins)

7.55am: SS16 – Likenäs 1 (21.19km)

9.58am: SS17 – Likenäs 2 (21.19km)

12.18pm: SS18 – Torsby 2 (16.43km)

1.00pm: Podium (Torsby)

Last year’s result looked like this.

1. S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia (F/F), 1h 59m 47.4s

2. H.Paddon/J.Kennard (NZ/NZ), + 29.8s

3. M.Østberg/O.Fløene (N/N), + 55.6s

4. A.Mikkelsen/A.Jæger (N/N), + 1m 10.8s

5. O.Tänak/R.Mõlder (EST/EST), + 1m 50.7s

6. D.Sordo/M.Martí (E/E), + 2m 24.0s

7. H.Solberg/I.Minor (N/A), + 2m 40.0s

8. C.Breen/S.Martin (IRL/GB), + 2m 44.6s

9. E.Evans/C.Parry (GB/GB), + 5m 17.0s

10. P.Tidemand/J.Andersson (S/S), + 5m 31.7s

Now, in Rallye Monte Carlo, Thierry was driving brilliantly and just a little mistake meant he didn’t take the win. He’ll be looking to put that right in Sweden though. Also, Kris in his C3 WRC will want to get his challenge for the championship underway, after a nightmare Rallye Monte Carlo which ended with getting hit by a spectators car.

Here are the thoughts of the drivers ahead of this amazing rally.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “Rally Sweden is a unique event on the calendar, as it is the only event where the cars are fitted with proper studded tyres on the snow for the duration of the rally. Also it is one of the fastest rallies of the season, with the average speeds through some of the stages higher than anywhere else that we’ll see this season. Obviously with the snow, the tyres and the high speeds, a lot of experience is necessary to mount a challenge, but I’m confident having competed here on many occasions. We have had some good results in previous years. We are looking forward to trying to build upon those with even more success – particularly after the promise and ultimate disappointment of Monte-Carlo.”

Dani Sordo said: “I think that everyone involved with the team would agree that Rally Sweden is a very special event. If we can get good conditions on the road with the snow and the snowbanks, it becomes a really enjoyable event, because the speed gets quicker and quicker. We had a good finish in Monte-Carlo, so we are looking to push on from there and try our best to get a strong result in Sweden.”

Hayden Paddon said: “Rally Sweden is a bit of a winter wonderland. Along with Finland, it’s one of my favourites. It is very fast and filled with lots of jumps. The sensation of driving on snow and with the snow banks is like no other. We came second in Sweden last year and we’re hopeful that we can go one better this time out, especially given the speed of the new cars this season, and the potential shown by our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“I have some very nice memories of Sweden as this was my first rally win, back in 2008, but the circumstances are very different now! I did some snow testing before Christmas with the Yaris WRC and last week as well: even in that short time there have been some big improvements in the car and the whole team, which is the main aim as our target more than anything else this year is just to keep getting better. The result in Monte was a very nice surprise but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect the same in Sweden: we need to remember that this is still a completely new team and brand new project. So far the temperature in Sweden seems to be quite warm, so we could find conditions similar to previous years, which are never easy. I hope we get some nice minus degrees soon, as that will provide the best show for everyone.”

Juho Hänninen

“I have done three days of testing on snow, with the aim of finding a good set-up. In Monte, I had a really good set-up before the start of the rally, which actually I did not change much: this was a key to finding good confidence with the car. I learned a lot from Monte, but as Sweden is so different, it’s really like starting over again. Of course, it will depend a lot on the conditions: during the test we also tried to find roads that were a bit damaged so we could simulate what we might find on the rally and see how the car moves when the studs come out of the tyres. I’m looking forward to the weekend, as Sweden is one of the rallies I have done most and of course the tyre choice is a lot simpler than it is on Monte. But we will still approach it in the same way, step by step, as our preparation time has not been big.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier said:

“We had a dream start to the season at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but we can’t let that distract us. There is still a lot of work to do and Rally Sweden is a truly unique event.

“It’s an event that I really enjoy and we reach incredible speeds on the snow and ice – something that will only increase with the new cars this year. That means that there are no margins for error and you have to be very precise. There are often just a handful of seconds separating each competitor, so every second really does count.

“If we can secure another podium result next week, it would be a fantastic start and surpass all of our expectations this early in the year. I see no reason why we can’t be quietly confident of that, but at the same time it will require a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

“We’ve not yet seen everyone’s true potential, and I’m expected a very exciting and very close-fought Rally Sweden.”

Ott Tänak said:

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Sweden. It’s one of my favourite events on the calendar and the high-speed stages give you such an adrenaline rush. This year, with the more powerful cars, it will be something very special.

“The stages are so much fun to drive – really fast and flowing, and very smooth. We need to be relaxed and focused and get into a good rhythm. I hope for nice ice conditions and to be in a position to fight at the top.

“The most important thing will be to have a good feeling from the start and then have a clean run. Hopefully the weather conditions will be in our favour and we can have some nice snowbanks to give us some extra support if needed.

“The lines are also very narrow and that’s maybe the most difficult part of the rally. In case of fresh snow you need to make sure you stay in the line – otherwise you go from good grip to no grip at all!

“I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel, and I think we have the potential to secure another good result.”

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans, DMACK WRC driver, said: “We had a successful event last year winning WRC 2 and made a confident start to this season with a strong performance on Monte. Sweden is never an easy rally but I enjoy the high-speed stages and the challenge this unique event delivers. We will be giving it our all once again.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“After a disappointing Monte-Carlo, both for me and the team as a whole, it’s difficult to feel fully confident coming into Rally Sweden. We have learned the lessons from the opening round and we’ll come back stronger at the upcoming events. It’s a long season. I’m happy to be back at one of my favourite rallies. In theory, I come here aiming to win, but we know that everyone’s performance level will depend in large part on the weather conditions. If it snows before the rally, my starting position for the first leg will be ideal. On the other hand, if we have a mild spell that melts the ice, then my chances would be reduced. We’ll do our very best.”

Craig Breen

“I’m very excited about making my competitive debut with the Citroën C3 WRC! I can’t wait to get started. This is something that I’ve been waiting for all my life. I have good memories from this rally, not least the 2016 event, which was my first WRC outing with Citroën. I’d also say that this surface is little bit more forgiving of minor mistakes, or at least that is the case when there are really compact snow banks! I feel confident in these surroundings, in the car and with the team. And although we don’t really know what to expect, I’m ready to rise to the challenge.”

Stephane Lefebvre

“Rally Sweden is certainly the one where I have the most to learn, since I have only competed here once before, two years ago, in the DS 3 R5. So, from that point of view, I won’t be frustrated to be driving a previous-generation car. With the pressure off, I’ll be able to progress at my own pace. My aim will be to bounce back after a difficult Monte-Carlo. It’s difficult to make predictions or to set myself a specific target, but we’ll be looking to seize the slightest opportunity to score points.”

Mads Østberg will run his own independent team in the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship. The team is a joint operation with Martin Prokop’s Jipocar World Rally Team, and Østberg will start the season at Rally Sweden with a Ford Fiesta WRC entered by M-Sport.

“Now I am feeling optimistic,” said Østberg. “Things have happened in a very short time, M-Sport managed to deliver a car last week and I got two very good days of testing in Sweden, Saturday and Sunday. Nobody should doubt that I’m still hungry as a rally competitor, and I will drive for top positions this season.”

“How much faster we will drive on the stages is difficult to calculate,” said the Norwegian, “but I can tell you that these new cars are seriously fast machines! We had 250 kms of testing in Sweden last weekend and I really enjoyed driving the Fiesta. I think I have found a good base set-up, but the car is so much faster than the old Fiesta that the biggest challenge is to adapt to the extra speed and braking into corners.”

Østberg’s best result in Sweden came in 2011 when he shocked the establishment by taking the lead in the rally and also keeping it until the last day. In the end he was beaten by only 6.5 seconds to Mikko Hirvonen.

“Rally Sweden is definitely one of my favourite rallies,” said the Norwegian. “With the feeling I have for the new car after the test I am really looking forward to show that I’m still able to stay with the fastest guys.”

Now, this event has some great stages, including Vargåsen stage which is run twice on Saturday and features Colin’s Crest. The drivers look to get some serious air from this one and last year Eyvind Brynildsen set a massive 45 metre record. With the more powerful cars and better aerodynamics, what chance a new record this year?

Of course, the teams find this event massively challenging, with sub-zero temperatures making service very, very hard for the mechanics. Laurent Fregosi, Citroen’s technical director, explains the challenges with the setup of the cars:

“Over the years, we have learned to cope with the specific challenges posed by this rally. The settings are different to those used on gravel and we have noted in testing that the C3 WRC responds well with our usual solutions. If the conditions deteriorate, with less snow and ice, we will need to be able to adjust the set-up, adapting the suspension to the ruts that form on the racing line. In those sorts of conditions, the tyre’s studs tend to break, so we would need to limit this phenomenon by making changes to certain settings. As the cars cover more ground, snow tends to build up on the car and the increased weight can reduce performance. We took this into account when we designed the bodywork, but this phenomenon remains inevitable.”

Also, M-Sport’s Miguel Cunha, Chief Technician to Seb and Julien explains how hard it can be to work on the cars.

The cold; we service outside and trust me when I say that it is cold. Rally Sweden might not be known as a car breaker, but it definitely delivers the most challenging services for the technicians.

The simplest of jobs are made that much harder in those temperatures. You lose all feeling in your hands and that is a technician’s worst nightmare!

I believe that we are set up for a fantastic event and year, but I will say that it’s really important to for the spectators to stand in the right places. Spectate safely, all those that will be stage side. The latest news from the organisers is that it snowed last week, the roads are icy and that the forecast looks good. It’s currently minus 3 degrees centigrade!

Warren Nel

6th February 2016

 

It was a classic Monte Carlo. Sadly, it was marred on Thursday evening with the death of a spectator when Hayden Paddon lost control of his i20 in stage two. Hyundai took the decision to withdraw that car out of respect for the family and friends of the individual concerned.

The overnight leader was Thierry and Nicolas in their i20.

1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 15:01.1

2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +7.8

3 J. Hänninen K. Lindstrom +15.0

3 K. Meeke P. Nagle +15.8

4 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +19.4

5 E. Evans D. Barritt +21.0

6 C. Breen S. Martin +25.4

7 D. Sordo M. Martí +26.6

8 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +28.4

These were the thoughts of the drivers after the Thursday evening stages.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “We have used today to really discover the car in competitive rally conditions for the first time. The stages here are tough, but we have had a decent start. We were probably running the car too soft and it was moving around quite a lot, but the times look encouraging nonetheless. We have more to come and areas where we need to improve, so that will be our focus on tomorrow’s stages.”

Dani Sordo said: “It’s still early days. Today, it was important to have a clean run through the opening stages. The feeling from the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC was actually better than expected; the car felt strong and fast. I enjoyed getting a taste for it now we are in full competitive mode even if the times were not so good. It’s going to be a long weekend, so we have to focus on learning about our new car and improving all the time.”

Hayden Paddon commented: “That wasn’t the start we wanted to this first rally of the season. We got caught out by some black ice near the end of the first stage. The car snapped sideways and, from there, we were just passengers. There wasn’t much damage to the car but I’m sorry for the team, who have all put in so much work to get here. I am incredibly saddened by today’s accident and my thoughts are with the family and friends of the person involved.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier said:

“It’s always tricky to start Rallye Monte-Carlo in the dark, but I think it’s been okay. I definitely took it on the safe side and could have gone faster for sure, but it’s just the first two stages. Tomorrow will be a very different day so we’ll discuss with the team and be sure to continue at our best.”

Ott Tänak said:

“It was very tricky out there this evening. The car feels really good, but we just need to find our rhythm. This is the very beginning, and we made it through which is good. Tomorrow will bring some more really challenging stages so we just have to stay focused and see what happens.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“It’s not how I imagine anyone wanted to start the season, with a stage cancelled because one of the competitors went off. SS2 was tricky, especially due to the gravel dragged onto the racing line by the first few cars. When you’re as cautious as I was, it ends up costing you quite a bit of time. We learned some new things about the car and overall, I’m fairly pleased with this first leg.”

Craig Breen

“I was pleasantly surprised when I learned my time at the end of SS2. I thought I would be a lot further behind the 2017 cars! It’s quite good fun, although it was difficult to read the road in some places. I’m pleased with my opening stage.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“The conditions were really tricky: it was damp, slippery and there was a lot of ice. I was very cautious on the ice, perhaps a bit too cautious, but I wanted to make sure that we got through it without a problem. We will make some set-up changes as the car is too low at the moment: we are touching the ground in places.”

Juho Hänninen

“It was not an easy start as we had to wait a long time to begin the stage and everything was cold: brakes and tyres and everything. But we did a good job and in the end, it was a nice stage time, even though we did not get the chance to drive the first stage at all. The car is definitely good, now it depends also on the driver.”

So, to the start of the first full day of the 2017 season. This were the stages that the crews were facing.

10.11am: SS3 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 1 (24.63km)

10.44am: SS4 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 1 (38.94km)

11.47am: SS5 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 1 (16.83km)

1.02pm: Service C (Gap – 33 mins)

2.28pm: SS6 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 2 (24.63km)

3.01pm: SS7 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 2 (38.94km)

4.04pm: SS8 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 2 (16.83km)

5.14pm: Flexi service D (Gap – 48 mins)

So, the first stage of the day saw drama, with Seb running wide and losing a huge 40 seconds or more after getting stuck in a ditch on the outside of a very slippery right-hander. Ott won the stage from overall leader Thierry and with Seb’s problem, he’d moved up to third. Also to benefit was Kris Meeke, who’d jumped up from fourth to second place. The icy conditions catching out some indeed!

1. Tanak 19:17,8 (76,6kph)

2. Neuville +0:01,6

3. Meeke +0:02,3

Stage four saw Kris sadly crash. On a left-hander, he understeered wide and hidden under a bush on the edge of the road was something very hard, as it broke the front right suspension, with the impact causing the car to spin round. A big shame, as Kris and Paul were starting to get into the groove.

1. Neuville – 25:41,9 (90,9kph)

2. Ogier +0:04,9

3. Tanak +0:08,0

Stage five saw Thierry continue to pull away from the M-Sport duo. No-one appeared to have the pace to live with him. Juho Hanninen, was in third place before this stage, but crashed into a tree on a very tight left-hander. He’d damaged the cooling systems on the car, so would retire at the end of the stage. This meant that after his earlier delays, Seb was up to third place, half a minute down on Ott.

1. Neuville – 11:22,2 (88,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:04,8

3. Tanak +0:05,9

Midday service at Gap provided a chance for everyone to eat and get their cars ready for the afternoon.

So, into the afternoon’s action with a repeat of the morning stages. Thierry picked up where he’d left off, with another stage victory and increasing his lead further over Ott in stage 6

Neuville 18:09,6 (81,4kph)

Tanak +0:06,5

Ogier +0:13,2

With the snow and ice starting to melt, it would even things up for Seb, who was the first car into the stage. He took his first stage win for M-Sport, with Ott second and Jari-Matti in third, Toyota’s first top three stage time in this return. Thierry was fourth, still with a very healthy 33 second lead over Ott. Craig Breen, in a previous generation DS3, couldn’t quite believe his eyes. He’d moved ahead of Dani into fifth place! Giantkilling driving, from the young Irishman.

1. Ogier 24:17,8 (96,2kph)

2. Tanak +0:14,9

3. Latvala +0:16,0

The last stage of the day, and Thierry was second. He’d been on form all day, never looking like cracking. Seb found some good speed and won the stage, finishing 19 seconds quicker than Ott, this moving him into second overall by just three tenths of a second! Dani found some good speed as well, moving back ahead of Craig, who was still driving very well.

1. Ogier 11:05,4 (91,1kph)

2. Neuville +0:07,6

3. Tanak +0:19,5

The overnight halt provided the teams with the opportunity to service the cars. Citroen and Toyota had some work to do with some damage as well.

This was the top ten after Friday’s stages.

1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 15:01.1

2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +45.1

3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +45.4

4 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +2:09.7

5 D. Sordo M. Martí +2:57.8

6 C. Breen S. Martin +3:04.1

7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +5:50.8

8 E. Evans D. Barritt +8:12.1

9 P. Tidemand J. Andersson +8:22.4

10 J. Kopecky P. Dresler +8:38.2

Here’s the thoughts of the drivers then.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “I felt really comfortable with the car in this morning’s loop, even if there were a few settings we wanted to change at lunchtime service. We experienced some understeer in the tight corners, and it was a bit more slippery than we thought it would be. We started the afternoon well but in SS7 we found our pace notes to be set up more for ice and snow, when the terrain was, in fact, more slushy. We lost too much time there. Then, in the final stage, we were going well until an engine stall at a hairpin that cost us around ten seconds during the restart procedure. It was not the best end to the day but we have to be happy to lead this rally by such a margin. It’s never enough around Monte-Carlo, though, and we know that Seb and Ott will push us tomorrow. There’s a long way to go, so we’re not getting carried away.”

Dani Sordo said: “It’s very difficult for everyone out there, but we’ve lacked pace today. The stages are nice but it has been hard to know where the grip is, and where we can push. It seems to be a moving target, so we’ve not been able to build our confidence in the car on any of the stages. We have tried to be careful and to make sure we get through the day, which we have achieved. Our aim is to find some improvements on Saturday and to target a solid points finish on Sunday. We hope to catch Jari-Matti (Latvala) but the first goal is to not make any mistakes.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:

“It’s been a tough day with some very difficult conditions which were made all the more challenging as the first car on the road. We had a moment this morning which certainly wasn’t the start that we were looking for, but things got better this afternoon.

“I wasn’t completely happy with the set-up over the opening loop, but we made some positive steps with that this afternoon. We still have some work to do to feel completely comfortable, but we are getting there step by step.

“We have had such a warm welcome into the team. Everyone is working extremely hard and we can see how much they want to succeed. We want to deliver that and a podium would be a really good start. For the moment, we’ll continue as we are and see what tomorrow brings.

Ott Tänak (3rd) said:

“It’s been a tricky day with some difficult conditions and, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t expecting to be in this position on this rally. Of course, the car felt really good in testing and we were quietly confident but you never really know until you’re out there competing against everyone else.

“We planned to come here and find a good, consistent rhythm and that is what we’ve done. The partnership with Martin is working really well and we’ve both felt really comfortable in the car.

“The car is handling almost exactly as I would like it to and we’re just enjoying every minute of it. There is a little work to do before we are 100 percent where we want to be, but this is a very good start.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“This was a very important day for us and we made the most of it. We had a couple of minor problems but we are still here at the end of the day and I am very happy with our progress. Conditions were extremely difficult, so just to stay on the road was a good achievement. But the car is improving all the time.”

Juho Hänninen

“In a downhill braking area on SS5 we just made a small mistake and lost the car on the ice, which put the car into a tree and damaged the suspension. Luckily the damage is not big and we will be able to start again tomorrow: thank you to our mechanics for a great job. That will be another very tricky day, so it will be important to make the right tyre choice in particular.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“The conditions were difficult, as is often the case in Monte-Carlo. Some corners were covered with a layer of sheet ice and it was difficult to judge the level of grip. I got caught out on a left-hand corner. The car drifted towards the outside and the right-hand side of the car hit a bank. With the front suspension arm broken, we couldn’t go any further. It was disappointing for me and for the team. This is obviously not the sort of start we were hoping to make. Clearly, we can no longer aim for a good result, but we’ll keep going tomorrow to try and learn more about the C3 WRC.”

Stephane Lefebvre

“We started our race in earnest today. I was struggling a little bit to get to grips with the car in these conditions, which I have never experienced before. As we completed more stages, we learned a lot. I now have to find a bit more consistency and speed to reduce the gap to the leading drivers. To do that, I think I need to make better use of the studded tyres.”

Craig Breen

“I’m pleased. To be honest, I didn’t think I would be so close to the 2017 cars! We lost fifth place after a minor off, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve never felt so confident at this rally and we set some good times in what were very tricky conditions. We’re eager to keep up our good form tomorrow.”

Day three then, and an early start for the teams!

7.17am: Start of day 3 and service E (Gap – 18 mins)

8.08am: SS9 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 1 (31.17km)

8.58am: SS10 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 1 (16.78km)

10.07am: Service F (Gap – 33 mins)

11.13am: SS11 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 2 (31.17km)

12.08pm: SS12 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 2 (16.78km)

1.17pm: Service G (Gap – 33 mins)

3.03pm: SS13 – Bayons – Bréziers 2 (25.49km)

4.23pm: Service H (Gap – 48 mins)

9.11pm: Parc ferme (Monaco)

Thierry would be looking to continue his good pace, whilst Seb and Ott were ready to pounce on any mistakes from the Belgian!

The start list looked like this; Evans, Breen, Sordo, Latvala, Tanak, Ogier, Neuville, Lefebvre, Hanninen, Meeke.

Well, Thierry didn’t disappoint. He won the first stage of the day and increased his lead a little. Craig was continuing to do well with fourth fastest time, even quicker than Ott and moving back ahead of Dani Sordo on the overall leaderboard by a couple of seconds.

1. Neuville 24:02,9 (77,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:02,6

3. Evans +0:05,8

Now, it was time for Elfyn Evans to make a statement and he won stage 10. Dani moved back ahead of Craig after producing a great time through the stage to put him third fastest, a few seconds slower than his rally leading teammate whose lead was now a minute! The rally went from bad to worse now for Kris. He suffered an ignition problem in the stage and had to stop. He got the car going again and completed the stage, knowing that there was a service break next which could be used to look into the problem.

1. Evans 9:15,2 (108,8kph)

2. Neuville +0:01,0

3. Sordo +0:05,4

Stage eleven now and Seb won his first stage in the Fiesta at last. Thierry was right in his wheel tracks though and kept the lead looking very healthy indeed. Dani was doing well too, now starting to pull away from Craig.

1. Ogier 22:53,0 (81,7kph)

2. Neuville +0:02,1

3. Latvala +0:14,4

Stage twelve saw the young welsh speed wizard Elfyn top the times again! Dani was also right up there, definitely finding his mojo and moving a little closer to Jari-Matti as well in the battle for fourth overall.

1. Evans 8:56,7 (112,6kph)

2. Ogier +0:07,4

3. Sordo +0:11,6

Unlucky for some, lucky for others, stage 13 lived up to its number! Thierry’s bid for his first WRC victory in Monte Carlo came off the rails… He went a little wide on a fast-left hander and broke his rear right suspension. His lead at the time to Seb was 51 seconds…. He stopped in the stage to see what could be done, did his best to patch it up, and completed the stage and ultimately losing half a minute. Of course, the demise of the Belgian meant that Seb was now leading with Ott in second place and the wily Jari-Matti now in third! Elfyn won the stage from Seb and Kris was third in his C3. Dani lost all the time that he had and then some, after he started getting problems with his powersteering. Losing over a minute, he dropped behind Craig into fifth place.

So, what a day! Well, the drama wasn’t over at all. Whilst driving back to Gap, Kris and Paul were involved in a road accident with a spectators’ car, with damaged the right rear suspension. They we’re out of the rally for good.

Saturday end of day top ten.

1. S.Ogier / J.Ingrassia 3:26:10.7

2. O.Tänak / M.Järveoja +47.1

3. J.M Latvala / M.Anttila +2:20.6

4. C.Breen / S.Martin +3:47.3

5. D.Sordo / M.Marti +4:03.2

6. E.Evans / D.Barritt +7:27.2

7. A.Mikkelsen / A.Jaeger +9:15.2

8. J.Kopecky / P.Dresler +12:34.4

9. B.Bouffier / D.Giraudet +14:41.9

10. P.Tidemand / J.Andersson +14:59.3

Thoughts of the drivers.

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (1st) said:

“One month ago, we started a new project with M-Sport. We knew we had no time to prepare and we knew that it would be a big challenge to fight for the victory this weekend. But I felt some potential in the Fiesta and now, to be in the lead of our first event together at Rallye Monte-Carlo, it feels amazing.

“Of course, I’m sorry for Thierry as he was doing a great job, but that is the way this rally goes sometimes. The last 53 kilometres are going to feel very, very long. We’ve seen a lot of really tricky conditions and tomorrow won’t be any easier. We need to finish the job and it would be incredible to start this new chapter with a victory.”

Ott Tänak (2nd) said:

“It’s been a big challenge – the biggest I’ve ever had in Monte – but we’re in a really strong position and it feels good… it feels really good actually!

“We’ve put three tricky days behind us and we just have one more to go. Of course in Monte it’s never over until it’s over so we just need to keep focused and be smart.

“So far the performance has been good and the feeling inside the car has been really nice as well. All we need to do now is keep our fingers crossed and keep going.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“Honestly, I would never have expected to end up in this position before the final day of Monte-Carlo! We tried to keep a margin of safety all day in order not to have any problems because the stages were still very tricky and changeable. I just made a few changes to the settings and my driving style during the day to suit the different conditions. I enjoyed myself a lot, but now we have to stay concentrated in order to finish the rally well.”

Juho Hänninen

“It was a difficult day as it wasn’t so easy to get back into the rhythm after going off yesterday: I didn’t want to make another mistake. On the final stage I had the puncture less than one kilometre after the start. I’m not really sure what caused it but I lost the car in quite a fast corner and went into the ditch. Everything else is working fine, so we continue like this tomorrow.”

 

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“It was good to be back in the rally today. We spent the day learning. It was a bit difficult to get the confidence back and find the right pace in these conditions. The last stage was drier and we managed to find some decent speed. We gathered a lot of information, so we’ve now got some work to do to analyse all of that and make progress. Although I could no longer aim for a good overall result, I’m very disappointed not be able to contest the final leg. The Col de Turini is always one of the highlights of the season.”

 

Stephane Lefebvre

“Today was pretty tough, especially on the snow, where I struggled to feel confident. I constantly had the feeling that I was almost about to go off. I’d have loved to set a better time on SS13, but I stalled at the start of the stage and that cost me a few seconds. Tomorrow’s stages are more familiar and I hope the weather conditions will be a little milder!”

Craig Breen

“It’s been an incredible day for us. We had some really nice stage times in the morning on the snow and ice, but we couldn’t match the pace of the 2017 WRCs on tarmac. And now we find ourselves in fourth position: it’s surprising and fantastic! Well done to the team, the guys are working really hard and my ice-note crew are doing an amazing job. And now on to Monaco!”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “We had a much-improved morning compared to the struggles we faced on Friday. The conditions were better, and we were able to find more grip. I was generally a lot happier and more confident in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. We still needed to work on the balance but we could set quicker stage times and move up the classification a bit. The afternoon loop continued this trend but then, in the final stage, we suddenly lost the power steering. We were very fortunate that nothing happened and we could make it to the end of the stage. We need to use the positive aspects from today to prepare for the final stages on Sunday – and hopefully to make up a position and score some Power Stage points.”

Thierry Neuville said: “We started this morning knowing that Sébastien would be pushing hard, so we responded to that confidently with a stage win. Our lead was up to one minute so we took a strategic decision at the start of the afternoon loop to play safe on tyre choice. We lost a bit of time but we were still in control. In the final stage, I felt comfortable. At the start of the stage, I played with the diffs to get into a good rhythm, and things felt fine. But we went wide into a third or fourth gear corner and there was a lot of gravel. We knew this from our gravel crew, but I must have been too quickly back on the throttle because the car went wide and we hit something like concrete. Immediately, we knew something had broken so we had to stop and fix it. It was a small mistake. I am very disappointed, more so for the team to be honest because they’ve worked so hard. We wanted to bring home the win for all of them but unfortunately, it’s not to be this time. The pace we have shown this weekend has been exceptional so let’s see what we can salvage on Sunday.”

The last day arrived, with M-Sport looking in a good position to score their first win in Monte Carlo since 2006 and their first victory since Wales Rally GB in 2012.

It wasn’t as early a start as day three, and Dani set about getting back ahead of Craig. He won stage 14 and closed to within eleven seconds. Jari-Matti had worked hard with his team and clearly found a sweet spot to so close to winning the stage. Seb increased his lead over Ott to nearly a minute.

1. Sordo 3:35,7 (91,8kph)

2. Latvala +0:01,1

3. Ogier +0:01,4

It had taken a long time, but finally Citroen had something to celebrate, with Stephane winning stage 15, after a gamble of running soft tyres all round. Dani had also set the second quickest time, to move back in front of Craig by a couple of seconds. Ott’s rally nearly fell apart though on this stage, with his engine lapsing onto 3 cylinders. Something had failed in the electronic management system and he lost a minute and a half in the stage. Now Jari-Matti was up to second overall and Ott was thirty seconds behind in third. News then came in that stage 16 had been cancelled as there were too many spectators’, that were not standing in the right places. The organisers weren’t taking any chances.

1. Lefebvre – 13:51,1 (92,5kph)

2. Sordo +0:01,5

3. Evans +0:13,5

So, there was just one stage left then, the Power Stage and with a tweak, the top five would now score points.

1. Neuville 14:14,4 (90,0kph)

2. LEFEBVRE +0:30,1

3. Hanninen +0:55,0

4. Evans +1:13,7

5. Sordo +1:42,8

Thierry got the consolation prize and took the stage victory and the 5 points that go with it. The drama was could Ott get his car to the line, as it still sounded horrible. There was the added aspect that it had started snowing up on the Col du Turini. Somehow, he squeezed every last ounce of performance from the car and got the car across the line to finish a fine third. He was sideways coming out of the last corner!

So, the news was that Seb had won and Jari-Matti had scored an incredible second place in the Yaris WRC! There were cheers and hugs in the M-Sport hub! They’d finally won after 5 years and also scored a fine third place.

It was also Seb’s fourth victory in a row, joining some special names for such a remarkable feat!

The final standings after a truly classic event.

Final Overall Classification – Rallye Monte-Carlo

1 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia 4:00:03.6

2 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +2:15.0

3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +2:57.8

4 D. Sordo M. Martí +3:35.8

5 C. Breen S. Martin +3:47.8

6 E. Evans D. Barritt +6:45.0

7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +9:32.7

8 J. Kopecky P. Dresler +12:58.1

9 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau +14:43.8

10 B. Bouffier D. Giraudet +16:09.4

Here’s the thoughts of all the drivers then after an amazing but also sad rally.

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (1st) said:

“Obviously, I feel really great. It always feels good to win at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but this year we had one of the most difficult challenges we have ever had. We had to contend with some really demanding conditions and also had a new car and a new team – it’s really incredible.

“We joined the team only a month ago, and have only had a couple of days in the car so far. Of course, we know that anything can happen at this event, but I really thought that we would be lacking the necessary preparation to challenge for victory this weekend.

“To be here now, on the top-step of the podium, I’m very happy and so happy for the whole team who really deserve this. We could never have won if they had not given us a good car, so congratulations to them.

“We still have some work to do, but we have started in the best possible way. I’m looking forward to the next events and there is nothing that does not allow me to be confident.”

Ott Tänak (3rd) said:

“It’s great to be here! For a moment, we didn’t know if we would make it, but the Ecoboost engine is clearly a very strong and at least we added a little spice to the final day.

“Of course, it’s a shame to have had the issue, but this is Monte-Carlo. We know it’s a tricky event and we have to be pleased with our performance.

“I was quite surprised to see how competitive we were. Normally I don’t enjoy challenging conditions but I felt quite comfortable in the car. We were quietly confident during testing, but you never know until you get into competition so all credit to the guys at M-Sport.

“We’ve got a great base car in the Fiesta WRC and also quite a bit that we can still improve. We had consistent speed this weekend and I think we are only going to get better as we continue to learn throughout the season.

“I must also say thanks and congratulations to my co-driver, Martin. This was one of the trickiest Rallye Monte-Carlo’s that we have ever seen and he did a really great job. He did his job so that I could concentrate on mine and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve in the coming events.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“I am so happy with the result, although I am sorry for Ott Tanak, who was second before he had a problem. If you had told me before the start of the rally that this is where we would finish, I would never have believed it. In fact, this equals my best-ever result on this rally. The last stages were very difficult, like the whole rally was in fact, and my main priority was to look after the tyres. On the final stage, there was some snow so it was hard to find the grip. It’s been an amazing rally, and it’s been fantastic to feel all the support of the fans in particular.”

Juho Hänninen

“Today I tried to be as careful as possible in order to be sure of us bringing two cars home on our first rally, which is a fantastic result: especially with one car on the podium. On the last stage, it was really difficult to see exactly where the snow and ice was. It’s a pity that we made a mistake on Friday as otherwise we had no problems and our pace was good. Considering my lack of experience, it was still a good result here for me and as a team we have learned a lot, which is the most important thing. We will try and keep improving now.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “It has not been a good rally for us but there have been positive signs for the rest of the season. Today’s opening stages were really enjoyable. The stage win was good for the confidence and we were able to close the gap to Breen. There wasn’t much between us going into the Power Stage but the conditions were really terrible in the mountains. Unbelievable! All we could do was minimise the time loss and thankfully it was enough to hold onto fourth and to score some important Manufacturer points. The team has put in a lot of hard work on our new car and from the speed we showed this morning, it’s definitely competitive. We need to use all of the encouraging aspects of this weekend and look for a better weekend in Sweden.”

Thierry Neuville said: “We had to put the disappointment of Saturday afternoon behind us, and look to return to form. We definitely did that today. We wanted to push hard in the Power Stage and to pick up some points. When we could see, the snow was falling, we knew it would be tricky but thankfully we did enough. It’s a consolation for what we missed out on this weekend. I would like to say thanks to the whole team for a super job. The i20 Coupe WRC is fantastic to drive and offers us genuine promise for the season. We can leave Monte-Carlo in a positive frame of mind and confident in what we can achieve against strong opposition.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Stephane Lefebvre

“The rally finished a lot better than it started! It was a morale-boosting finish to the rally with two good times, including a stage win on the Col de Turini. We made the right call on tyre choice and I felt confident in conditions that I know well. At the same time, I didn’t want to take any risks because it was important to make sure we scored points for the team.”

Craig Breen

“The conditions were unbelievably difficult. I guess that’s why the Col de Turini has become such an iconic test! I did wonder whether or not to go with the snow tyres for the final test, but I kept the slicks and it became more and more difficult the further we went on the stage. But we managed to make it to the end and stay in the top five, which is a great result.”

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans, DMACK WRC driver, said: “It’s a fantastic start to the season for us. We didn’t have a great day on Friday but Saturday’s performance more than made up for that and really raised some eyebrows. I was very happy with my driving and the feeling with the car and tyres was really positive. It was easy to work with Daniel again, everything gelled together right from the start.”

So, what an amazing event! Its tinged with sadness though after the death of the spectator on Thursday evening.

The championship tables look like this

Drivers

1 S. Ogier 25

2 J.M Latvala 18

3 O. Tanak 15

4 D. Sordo 13

5 C. Breen 10

6 E. Evans 10

7 A. Mikkelsen 6

8 S. Lefebvre 6

9 T. Neuville 5

10 J. Kopecky 4

11 J. Hänninen 3

12 B. Bouffier 1

Teams

1 M-Sport World Rally Team 40

2 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 24

3 Hyundai Motorsport 20

4 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 10

Next rally up is Rally Sweden! What chance a second victory for M-Sport, but you can count on Hyundai and Citroen taking the fight to our early surprising championship leaders!

Warren Nel

WRC 2017 is here! On the 19th of January, a new era of the WRC will start in Monte Carlo. Volkswagen may have left, but lining up will be the reigning drivers champion Seb, who as you will all be aware has signed to drive M-Sport’s newest creation!

Citroen are back after their part season last year, with Kris leading their challenge to the French 4-times world champion. Their new car is based upon the brand new C3.

Hyundai return with another brand-new car based on the i20 Coupe and with an unchanged driver line

up, will be looking to win both the drivers and manufacturers championship. They can expect a big fight

with both Citroen and M-Sport.

Finally, Toyota return to the WRC after an absence of 17 years. With 4 times world champion Tommi

Makinen heading the team, and Jari-Matti in one of the cars, they have all the right elements in place to

have a very good season.

This was last year’s result, when Seb won Monte for the third year in a row.

01. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen, 3h 49m 53.1s

02. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N), Volkswagen, + 1m 54.5s

03. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai, + 3m 17.9s

04. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene (N/N), Ford, + 4m 47.7s

05. Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau (F/F), Citroën, + 7m 35.6s

06. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (E/E), Hyundai, + 10m 35.5s

07. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder (EST/EST), Ford, + 11m 39.9s

08. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry (GB/GB), Ford, + 18m 30.8s

09. Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN), Škoda, + 20m 41.0s

10. Armin Kremer/Pirmin Winklhofer (D/D), Škoda, + 20m 43.9s

Here’s a look at the stages that will make up this season opener. There are 17 stages in this year’s 85th edition of this classic event. Snow and ice can really make tyre choices very hard and there are stages that are run in complete darkness.

SCHEDULE FOR THE 85TH RALLYE MONTE-CARLO

WEDNESDAY 18 JANUARY

4.00pm: shakedown (Gap)

THURSDAY 19 JANUARY

6.11pm: Start of day 1 (Monaco – Place du Casino)

8.14pm: SS1 – Entrevaux – Val de Chavalgne – Ubraye (21.25km)

10.57pm: SS2 – Bayons – Bréziers 1 (25.49km)

00.02am: Flexi service A (Gap – 48 mins)

FRIDAY 20 JANUARY

9.00am: Start of day 2 and service B (Gap – 18 mins)

10.11am: SS3 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 1 (24.63km)

10.44am: SS4 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 1 (38.94km)

11.47am: SS5 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 1 (16.83km)

1.02pm: Service C (Gap – 33 mins)

2.28pm: SS6 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 2 (24.63km)

3.01pm: SS7 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 2 (38.94km)

4.04pm: SS8 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 2 (16.83km)

5.14pm: Flexi service D (Gap – 48 mins)

SATURDAY 21 JANUARY

7.17am: Start of day 3 and service E (Gap – 18 mins)

8.08am: SS9 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 1 (31.17km)

8.58am: SS10 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 1 (16.78km)

10.07am: Service F (Gap – 33 mins)

11.13am: SS11 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 2 (31.17km)

12.08pm: SS12 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 2 (16.78km)

1.17pm: Service G (Gap – 33 mins)

3.03pm: SS13 – Bayons – Bréziers 2 (25.49km)

4.23pm: Service H (Gap – 48 mins)

9.11pm: Parc ferme (Monaco)

SUNDAY 22 JANUARY

7.40am: Start of day 4

9.22am: SS14 – Lucéram – Col St Roch 1 (5.50km)

10.12am: SS15 – La Bollène Vésubie – Peira Cava 1 (21.36km)

11.16am: SS16 – Lucéram – Col St Roch 2 (5.50km)

12.18pm: SS17 – La Bollène Vésubie – Peira Cava 2 (21.36km)

1.53pm: Parc ferme

3.00pm: Prize-giving ceremony (Place du Palais Princier – Monaco)

So, here’s the views of the drivers ahead of this iconic event!

Hyundai WRT

Hayden Paddon commented:

“I am feeling in good shape and raring to go for the season ahead. I am cautiously optimistic about the potential of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC but we never really know where we stand until we’re out on the stages. Monte-Carlo is a baptism of fire for everyone, particularly with the new regulations, so it promises to be an exciting rally. However, it is also the most challenging event of the year so the focus for us is to finish and get more miles in the new car for the rest of the season.”

Thierry Neuville said:

“I am looking forward to starting the new season. My experiences in Monte Carlo have been mixed in the past, but I finished on the podium last season. Undoubtedly it’s a great event and a spectacular one for the fans. There is a lot of strategy to it, which makes it interesting as it means that everyone on the team is involved. With the increased power of the new car too, we are confident that we can challenge here!”

Dani Sordo said:

“It has been good to be back behind the wheel of our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC in pre-event testing this week. I cannot wait for the new season to start properly. There have been a lot of changes with the regulations so it will definitely be exciting to see how everything unfolds in this first round of 2017. I am personally happy with the approach we have taken with our new car. I know the team has worked incredibly hard so now we want to get onto the stages and do our best for a good start to the new season.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke said

“We’re getting close to the point where should be ready to start a rally in the best possible conditions! After our last test sessions, I can’t wait to move onto the next stage. I have the feeling that we’ll be in the spotlight here, but I hope I can concentrate on my driving. It’s never easy to compete at Monte-Carlo. At each service, we’ll need to put our heads together to come up with the right – or the least wrong – tyre choice. People have no idea of the mountains of work done during test sessions to acquire data and then work out whether a given option is the right one. In this area, Citroën Racing has a great deal of experience that I can make use of. For this first rally, my aim is pretty simple: stay relaxed and enjoy myself in the car. They do say, and rightly so, that anything can happen at Monte-Carlo.”

Stephane Lefebvre said

“Gradually, I realise that the day of reckoning is getting closer. What we have been talking about for months as being in the future is now here, in the present! We have been discussing all sorts of things with the engineers, every day, talking about the slightest detail related to my car. Nothing has been left to chance and it’s genuinely fascinating to be in the middle of this works team. On this, my first rally with this status, I will be aiming to finish in a good position and score as many points as possible for Citroën. I think I’m still short of time behind the wheel with the C3 WRC and I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I have to get to grips with the car in racing conditions before trying to drive on the limit. I think we’re all in the same boat to some extent, with a number of unknowns in all areas.”

Craig Breen said

“I will certainly be the driver under the least pressure this weekend! I’m pleased to start my season in an old car, because I don’t have a lot of experience at Monte-Carlo. This appearance will give me the chance to learn about the rally. It will also be an opportunity to note the gap between the two generations of World Rally Cars. My priority is to rack up the miles, but I will also be pleased if I manage to score a few points. They may come in handy in the final reckoning at the end of the season.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala, Driver (Yaris WRC #10)

Two months ago, I would never have imagined that I would be starting Rallye Monte-Carlo with Toyota, so that’s really exciting. In total I’ve done 12 days of testing: four days on snow, one day on gravel, and seven days on asphalt. That’s a good amount of testing and we’ve made some useful steps in that time. The car feels very strong but in terms of performance it’s difficult to say, as everyone comes with a new car. In any case this year is all about development: For Monte I would like to finish the rally well, then maybe towards the middle of the season we can start to think about podiums.

Monte-Carlo is so unpredictable that it’s not a good idea to set too many targets: in 2015 I didn’t have a particular plan and I finished second, so in 2016 I was aiming for the podium and then I ended up making a mistake! For any driver, Monte is quite a big stress during the event, because of all the unknown factors and tyre choices, but when you cross the finish ramp in front of the Royal Palace on Sunday, it is one of the best feelings you will ever experience in the sport.

Juho Hänninen, Driver (Yaris WRC #11)

I’ve done Rallye Monte-Carlo four times before, but just one time with a WR car. And actually the last rally I did was Finland in 2015 so as you can imagine I really can’t wait to get started now! I’ve had a very good feeling with the Yaris in testing but of course you never know what happens when you put numbers on the doors, and it’s been quite a long time since I last competed.

I’m not thinking so much about the result in Monte: I just want to have a relaxed drive and of course get to the finish. We still have plenty to learn but I think it will get easier once we are into the season.

This is the first rally I will drive with Kaj and he is a fantastic guy to work with: I think I have spent more time with Kaj than with my family over the last few months with all the preparation we have done. In fact the whole atmosphere within the Toyota team is very nice: It’s a family feeling, which is something that Tommi has taken care of. The guys have been working so hard, but they are still smiling and joking all the time. Like me, everyone is really looking forward to getting started.

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans, DMACK WRC driver, said: “It’s a great feeling to be back at the top level of the world championship again and Monte Carlo is certainly a tough way to start the series. It’s unpredictable, a huge challenge but I’m very focused and motivated so really looking forward to getting the action underway.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier said:

“It’s a new season in every sense of the word – a new era, a new car and a new team. We all know that experience is an important factor in rallying and it would have been nice to have had more time with the team, but we have learnt a lot over the past month.

“Over the years, I have learnt to be pragmatic in my approach and to focus on the job in hand. That is exactly what we plan to do next week. We’ve not had a lot of preparation, but we go to this first event determined to do our best.

“We had two days of testing in typical Monte conditions last week and we all know the secret to doing well at this event – it’s all about making the right tyre choice, anticipating the conditions and judging the grip levels. If we can do all of that whilst continuing to grow as a team, then I think we could be in a good position.

“I’ve had a lot of success at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but I never fail to feel humbled in the face of such a historic and challenging event. It is an event like no other, and if you do well there then you know that you have delivered your best.”

Ott Tänak said:

“I can’t wait to start this season. There are a lot of new things happening and it’s a whole new challenge – I’m sure that it’s going to be interesting.

“So much hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point. The work that the whole team has put into this car is incredible and there’s a real sense of excitement. It’s all new, and no one will really know where they stand until we get out there on the stages.

“The feeling is good, but we start with what is one of the most difficult rallies on the calendar – Rallye Monte-Carlo. It’s such a challenging event but actually the trick to doing well there is quite simple.

“Firstly, you need the experience from previously years. Secondly, you need to be consistent over all of the conditions. You need to avoid mistakes, make good tyre choices, and find a good set-up. If you can put that whole package together then you know you are going to have a strong event.

“The aim for this season is to be consistently strong. We’ve got quite a lot of experience now and we want to be scoring strong results, regularly. I’m so excited to chase my goals for this season, and there is not long to wait now!”

So, here we go! This is going to be amazing. New cars and drivers- A world champion out of his comfort zone, and Colin Mcrae’s former protégé in a top car! We’ve got new talent as well, with Juha Hanninen in the Toyota. It great to see Ott back with a top team and Elfyn Evans back in a top car.

Enjoy!

Warren Nel

18th January 2017

@Warren_S_Nel