s e k a r b Hand s n i p r i a H & of rallying ld r o w e h t o t in t h your insig
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011
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Ogier wins, Sordo and MINI triumph Start Ramp Service Park Parc Ferme
WRC drivers back Action for Road Safety Facebook and the WRC drivers in Finland BRC Ulster Rally review
“I really enjoyed myself on the event: there was a great atmosphere and as always the Porsche was a pleasure to drive” - Jimmy McRae, page six.
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Contents Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 04 START RAMP 04 Start Ramp - News Shorts
06 SERVICE PARK 06 McRae wins Class on Ulster Rally 07 Facebook and the WRC Drivers in Finland
08 PARC FERME 08 10 12 14 15 16
IRC Barum Czech Rally preview SARC Garden Route Rally preview BRC Ulster Rally review WRC ADAC Academy Rallye Deutschland review SWRC ADAC Rallye Deutschland review WRC ADAC Rallye Deutschland review
EDITORIAL INFORMATION Editor Evan Rothman
Photojournalist Eva Kovkova
Contributors Liga Stirna, Patrick Vermaak, RallyBuzz, Motorpics, Newspress. All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007-11. This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom.
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Start Ramp WRC stars support Action for Road Safety Words: Staff Writer Citroen, Ford and MINI have thrown their weight behind the FIA’s Action for Road Safety, a global campaign that focuses the governing body’s resources on advocating for safer roads, vehicles and behaviour. The World Rally Championship’s three registered manufacturers will carry FIA Action for Road Safety branding on their World Rally Cars from ADAC Rallye Deutschland onwards. Their drivers and co-drivers will also help to raise awareness for improved road safety by supporting the campaign. Jean Todt, the FIA president, said: “Now is the time to act; road traffic accidents are the main cause of death among young people. The WRC manufacturers and their drivers and co-drivers are ambassadors and opinion formers and there is no doubt their support will help us spread important messages to millions of people around the world.” Sebastien Loeb, who tops the Rallye Deutschland leaderboard by 7.4s following Friday’s opening six stages, said: “We are happy to support such a campaign with the FIA as this is a very noble cause and a priority. I know it is also very important to Citroen and the PSA group who are involved in developing all sorts of technologies to help increase safety on board its vehicles and help reduce the death and injury rate from car accidents.” Ford’s European motorsport chief Gerard Quinn, whose drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti took part in a photoshoot in support of the campaign, said: “I’m delighted we have the opportunity to work with the FIA on their project. Safety is of paramount importance to Ford so any initiative where we can help to reduce serious injury or loss of life on roads around the globe is something we want to support.” MINI’s Kris Meeke said: “We are in an ideal position to encourage safer driving to millions of fans around the world.”
Team News Videos
Each year the world 1.3 million people are killed on the roads and another 50 million are injured, some of them very seriously. H&H
101 cars entered for OZ Words: Staff Writer A spectacular field of 101 cars will start the WRC Rally Australia on the New South Wales Coffs Coast next month. After all entries were confirmed this week, organisers reported 31 starters, including 25 from overseas, for Round Ten of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship on 8 - 11 September. Companion events bring the total entry to the biggest for an Australian championship rally in recent years. Round Four of the Australian Rally Championship has attracted 43 cars from around the country and the Coffs Coast Classic Rally will start 27 cars. Rally Australia’s sporting chief, Clerk of Course Dr Michelle Gatton, said the huge number of cars heading for the Coffs Coast promised a feast of worldclass motorsport for spectators. “This is really something to look forward to. The absolute best rally drivers from overseas and Australia will be here in just 20 days and the action will be unforgettable,” Dr Gatton said. “Our own target was to achieve 100 entries and we have done that even after a couple of late withdrawals. It is an excellent result that should encourage a big crowd of spectators,” Dr Gatton said. Rally Australia Chairman Ben Rainsford welcomed the big Australian contingent heading for the Coffs Coast. “The Australian rally community has stepped up to play a big part in this event,” Mr Rainsford said. “Not only are the teams demonstrating the healthy state of the sport in this county, they are also taking the opportunity to participate in a world-standard rally event on their own doorstep and to enjoy the privilege of competing alongside the world’s best drivers from the WRC.”
Event News Breaking News
Heading the international entry list are seven-time world champion Sebastien Loeb and fellow Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, from the Citroën Total World Rally Team, and their Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team rivals Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, both from Finland. Seven Australian teams are in the final WRC field. The top-seeded Australian is WRC Academy regular Brendan Reeves, from Wedderburn, Victoria. Nathan Quinn from Coffs Harbour and Leigh Gotch from Evans Plains, NSW, have won wildcard entries to the Production Car World Rally Championship division, which will field entries from 11 other international crews. Rally Australia will cover around 369km of competition in 26 Special Stages between Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. Following a rally show and official start from 16h30 on Thursday, big crowds are expected at the Super Special Stage in Coffs Harbour’s beachside Jetty precinct on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and on the H&H daytime rural Special Stages.
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Service Park
Interviews Features
Profiles Technical
McRae wins Class on Ulster Rally Words: Staff Writer Picture: Tuthill Porsche Five-time British champion Jimmy McRae has taken his second victory in the Tuthill Porsche Challenge to lead the series, thanks to another win on the Ulster Historic Rally in Northern Ireland this weekend. The Scottish legend, who has won in Northern Ireland on two previous occasions, encountered no problems from start to finish, to claim an impressive class win by nearly two minutes. Adding to a successful weekend for the Tuthill Porsche team – the UK’s premier preparation firm for historic 911s – was a class triumph for Dessie Nutt, who dominated his opposition in the two-litre category after a masterful display. McRae, co-driven by Pauline Gullick, moved into the lead on stage nine of 13, building on his advantage after making a cautious start to the event in tricky mixed conditions on Friday night. As usual, the roads around Antrim were narrow, slippery and bumpy – requiring instinctive reactions from the drivers and a perfect set-up on the car. McRae used harder tyres in the warmer conditions of Saturday to set a series of impressive stage times. “I’ve not driven in Northern Ireland for a while and it’s quite a specialised place,” said McRae. “That’s why I took it easy at the beginning, to get used to it all again. Then when
it was drier it was easier to push a little harder. I really enjoyed myself on the event: there was a great atmosphere and as always the Porsche was a pleasure to drive. It’s nice to be leading the Challenge too, as it’s a great concept, which is very friendly.” The Tuthill Porsche Challenge – the only one-make rally series for Porsches in the world – supports five rounds of the Dunlop/WONAGO. com MSA British Historic Rally Championship, with Ulster being the only sealed-surface event of the year. McRae was driving for the JLT Rally Team, deputising for regular driver John Lloyd. Unfortunately, Tuthill Porsche competitors Edmund Peel and Andrew Barnes – the winner of the last round on the Severn Valley Rally – were forced to retire on stages eight and nine respectively. Peel was stopped by a gearbox problem after climbing as high as fourth in class, while Barnes went off but emerged unscathed. Richard Tuthill, the founder of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge, commented: “It’s great to see an asphalt element on our calendar, with such a legendary event like the Ulster Rally bringing a real sense of occasion on some classic roads. It’s a rally where Jimmy McRae has shown his class on plenty of occasions in the past, and it was great to see him do that once more with us. Not only did he enjoy himself but the spectators did as well; these Porsches are absolutely great to watch and listen to, particularly on stages of this quality.” H&H
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 07
Facebook and the WRC Drivers in Finland Words: Evan Rothman Picture: Evan Rothman The WRC is a serious championship in a sport renowned for it danger and adrenalin-fulled antics. It can, at the same time, be fun for all involved. Drivers such as the Solberg brothers Henning and Petter don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re able to poke fun at themselves and to highlight the lighter side of the sport and the world. It was in this vein that we created this tongue-incheek fake Facebook page... The above image is a clip from the full “Facebook Page”, but to view the page in its entirty you can download the full image for FREE H&H by clicking on the image.
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Parc Ferme
Event Reports Results
Battle of the SKODAS in Czech Rep. Words: Staf Writer Picture: IRC Media
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The battle for the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge title will take another twist in Czech Republic this weekend when the series returns to asphalt for Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Round Seven of this scintillating chase for the prestigious drivers’ crown. Based in the industrial city of Zlin in south-east Czech Republic, the event has appeared on the IRC schedule since 2007 and takes place for a 41st time this year. Famed for its tricky stages on bumpy and sometimes broken asphalt through narrow woodland areas, experience and commitment are often rewarded. Another feature of the event is the huge numbers of spectators who traditionally flock to the stages in there thousands to provide raucous support to the competitors, particularly the massed ranks of local crews. Following the ceremonial start in front of Zlin town hall, the event begins with a superspecial stage through the streets of the host city on the night of Friday 26 August. Crews are released from the start in regular intervals, which means there will be as many as seven cars on the concrete wall-lined course at any time. Run under the cover of darkness, the stage comprises three laps of Zlin’s central area and crosses over a railway line at one point. With part of the stage on cobbled streets, grip is at a premium, particularly in the event of rain. Competitors tackle the stage in reverse order from 21h15. Saturday’s action features four repeated stages, including two runs of Trojak, which at 28.29km is the longest of the rally. Although
some of the stage names might be familiar to Zlin regulars the competitive route is 70 percent different from 2010 in an effort by organisers to increase the challenge facing crews. Sunday’s route covers three repeated stages, including Majak, which is back for the first time in 20 years. In other changes, the Kudlovice and Halenkovice stages will run in reverse and will also include a handful of small changes. Following the sixth and final service halt in Otrokovice, crews head to Zlin for the traditional finish in front of the city’s old cinema at 15h17 local time. In total the rally consists of 15 special stages over a competitive distance of 248.48km. Shakedown will once again take place close to the service park in Otrokovice, albeit over a new route of 4.30km. While the weather in central Europe in August is characterised by sun and warm temperatures, rain is a frequent hazard on the event. With chunks of the route running under tree cover, grip levels can be unpredictable and drivers running further up the order often benefit from a cleaner stage surface due to the practice of corning ‘cutting’ dragging mud and debris onto the optimum line. Tyre choice is also a factor with crews often leaving their selection until the last possible moment to try to ensure they are using tyres best suited to the conditions. Zlin regularly attracts a big entry and the tradition is maintained this year with 122 crews, including 29 in S2000 machinery, set to take the start. All eight IRC manufacturers – Abarth, Honda, M-Sport, Peugeot, PROTON, Ralliart, SKODA and Subaru – are represented, while seven IRC event winners will be taking part.
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 09
Of these no driver has won more IRC rounds than Juho Hanninen, who made it eight wins with victory on last month’s Sata Rallye Acores in his SKODA Motorsport Fabia S2000. Hanninen’s success on the gravel round – the Finn has also triumphed twice on asphalt this season – has given him a 13-point title lead over team-mate Jan Kopecky and Freddy Loix, who drives a Fabia for the factory-run BFO-SKODA Rally Team and won in Zlin last season. Kopecky had this to say ahead of the event: “It’s my home rally and I’m really excited. For the last two years we have been the quickest but in 2010 we made quite a small mistake and we finished in the forest but without any damage to the car. It’s a big and famous rally and we will get some great support from the Czech fans.” While Belgian Loix is an established frontrunner in the IRC, his victory on the Czech Republic round in 2010 owed much to local hero Kopecky’s costly mistake when he was leading comfortably. Bryan Bouffier could also have capitalised on Kopecky’s error, but he lost vital ground when a water leak caused him to go off the road but not before the Peugeot France driver had created a strong impression in his 207 S2000. Bouffier is one of several Peugeot drivers in action in Zlin this season and will be determined to regain some of the ground he has lost in the title fight following his exclusion from the results of June’s GEKO Ypres Rally due to a technical infringement. Other Peugeot runners include Tour de Corse winner
Thierry Neuville, who competes under the Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg banner, and Peugeot UK’s Guy Wilks. “Having not done a rally for two months could be a problem but we will test for two days next week and that should allow me to get back into the rhythm,” said Neuville. “I know a bit the rally from last year although a lot of the stages are in a different direction. But having a Czech team-mate [Pavel Valousek] will really help for this rally.” Pavel Valousek, the reigning Czech champion will also rely on Peugeot power. Like Neuville and Wilks, he will drive for the Kronos Racing operation from Belgium. With backing from Peugeot’s Czech importer, Valousek will be determined to build on the third place finish he achieved in Zlin in 2010. SKODA UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen has competed in Zlin on two occasions and will start the event on a high following his impressive second place finish in the Azores. Roman Kresta will also be at the wheel of a Fabia and is a three-time winner of the event. SKODA Sweden’s Patrik Sandell and TGS Worldwide’s Toni Gardemeister will be in the thick of the top ten battle, while Irish privateer Robert Barrable impressed with a points finish on his IRC debut in Ypres in a Fabia. Estonian teenager Karl Kruuda has scored points on both IRC rounds he has started this season. PG Andersson and Giandomenico Basso head PROTON Motorsports’ challenge in their Satria Neo S2000s and will impress, as will Pole Michal Solowow and young Irishman
Craig Breen in their M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000s. Said Basso in an interview: “The most important thing is to set the car up for the bumpy surface, and that means you have to do a lot of work with the suspension dampers. But we have made a lot of progress in that area, which we hope to confirm with a test in Czech Republic on Monday. We continue to improve and there is no reason why we cannot get a strong result.” H&H EVENT ESSENTIALS Base: Zlin, Czech Republic Starts: Friday 26 August Finishes: Sunday 28 August Entries received: 122 IRC appearances: Four 2010 winners: F. Loix/F. Miclotte (Skoda Fabia S2000) Surface: Asphalt Number of stages: 15 Special stage distance: 248.48km Liaison distance: 371.25km Total distance: 619.73km
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 10
Cronje aims for third win of 2011 Words: Staff Writer Pictures: Evan Rothman
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With five rounds completed and three remaining the next event, the inaugural Garden Route Rally in the George and Knysna areas on 26 and 27 August, sees matters extremely tight at the top of the South African Rally Championship. According to the official points released last week by Motorsport South Africa, just 15 points cover the first five drivers all of whom are contesting the premier S2000 Class. It’s even tighter in the Co-Drivers competition, with the top five covered by only nine points. There have been three different event winners to date and seven different driver/codriver combinations have featured on the podium in the first five events. Leading the Drivers’ Championship with two wins to his credit is Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach (Green Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000) with 85 points. Second with 79 points is Mark Cronje (Sasol Ford Fiesta S2000), winner of the last two rounds, followed by reigning champion Enzo Kuun (BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000), who is yet to win but has scored three third place finishes and accumulated 78 points. Johnny Gemmell (Castrol Toyota Auris
S2000) is currently fourth with 72 points from two seconds and a third. Just two points further back is former champion Hergen Fekken in the second of the four factory BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000s. Rautenbach’s French co-driver Nicolas Klinger competes with a French licence and does not qualify for points which puts Kuun’s codriver Guy Hodgson in the lead with 82 points. Cronje’s co-driver Robin Houghton is second with 81 points followed by Fekken’s co-driver Pierre Arries on 75, Gemmell’s Scottish co-driver Drew Sturrock also on 75 and Greg Godrich, co-driver to Charl Wilken (Basil Read/bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000) on 73 points. Wilken, with two second place finishes in the last three events, is sixth in the drivers’ standings. The winner of the Garden Route Rally could well come from one of these crews, all of whom will be pushing hard for a victory as the season draws to an end and point scoring opportunities diminish. Not to be discounted as potential winners are former champions Jan Habig and Robert Paisley in the third BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000, who have seen two non-finishes hurt their Championship chances. Habig is eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, 30 points behind the leader, while Paisley is sixth in the
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 11
Co-Drivers’ competition, 21 points in arrears. Despite their lowly positions in the Championship, S2000 rookie Leeroy Poulter (12th among the drivers) and Elvene Coetzee (11th among the codrivers) have already shown that they are capable of winning, having taken the honours in Round Two, the Sasol Rally, in Mpumalanga in the second Castrol Toyota Auris S2000. Strong performances in the Garden Route Rally can also be expected from Team Total’s two Toyota Auris S2000 pairings, Jean-Pierre Damseaux/ Carolyn Swan and Mohammed Moosa/ Grant Martin, Nicholas Ryan/Armand du Toit (Grandmark International Volkswagen Polo S2000), Jon Williams/ Cobus Vrey (Sasol Ford Fiesta S2000), Giniel de Villiers/Ralph Pitchford (BP Volkswagen Polo S2000) and Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe (Pirtek Peugeot 207 S2000). It’s equally close and competitive in the Junior Rally Drivers’ Championship, contested by the Super 1600 and S1400 classes. Veteran former champion Craig Trott (Total Toyota RunX S1600) heads the standings with 97 points, followed by Guy Botterill
(Yato Tools Toyota Auris S1600) and Christoff Snyders (Sabertek Volkswagen Polo S1600), both on 84 points. Trott’s co-driver Robbie Coetzee leads that championship with 97 points and is followed by Snyders’ sister Celeste (84 points) and Botterill’s co-driver Schalk van Heerden (67 points). Ashley Haigh Smith (React Ford Fiesta S1600) will be looking for a second win after his success in the Total Tour Natal the opening round in KwaZulu-Natal. Two non-finishes since have dropped him to fourth in the Drivers’ championship, 38 points behind Trott. Highest-placed among the S1400 contenders are Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis (BP Volkswagen Polo Vivi S1400), who are fifth overall in the Junior Championship with 47 points. Their closest rivals for Class honours are Henk Lategan and Pierre Jordaan (Q8 Oils Volkswagen Polo S1400), seventh overall with 45 points. The rally will start from the Garden Route Mall near George airport at 12h00 on Friday 26 August. The first day will consist of four gravel special stages, three of which will be in the Outeniqua forests, and a short tar stage
at the overnight stop in Knysna. Saturday’s action starts at 08h00 from Simola Estate in Knysna and the route will include a repeat of three of Friday’s forest special stages plus a fourth forest stage and a final tar stage at Simola Estate. H&H
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 12
McCormack makes history in Ulster Words: Staff Writer Pictures: Jakob Ebrey Photography
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Driving his Citroen DS3, this weekend’s Toddsleap Ulster Rally NI saw Marty McCormack record the first ever victory for an R3 car in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship and score the first win for a two-wheel-drive car since September 2000. McCormack from Draperstown and his co-driver David Moynihan led the way from the first stage and, although they had to drive hard to maintain their position, remained in control throughout the event’s 14 stages to win by a substantial margin of 1min 18sec. Second place also went to a 2WD car, with the pairing of Tommy Doyle and Liam Moynihan (Renault Clio R3) posting such an impressive performance that Doyle was presented with the Pirelli Star Driver Award at the finish. After a challenging event, third place went to three-times winners this year David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Evolution Lancer Evo IX) and, in doing so, the two Scots extended their British Rally Championship lead. Starting from Antrim Town Centre on Friday afternoon, the first leg of the rally took crews north for a loop of three stages before a service halt at the town’s Junction One retail complex. However, as crews crossed the start ramp, rain started to fall, which meant that the talk between the teams was that of tyres. As it turned out, the first loop remained dry and McCormack and Doyle set the pace from the word go, topping the British Championship time sheets after SS1. However, by the time cars
got back to Antrim after SS3, Jonny Greer had moved up to second in his Skoda Fabia S2000. Most unfortunate of the BRC runners in SS1 were Elfyn Evans (Pirelli Star Driver Subaru Impreza) and Mikko Pajunen (Renault Twingo R2). Both clipped the same rock at the side of the road and punctured a rear tyre, forcing them to stop, change a wheel and lose over 3min in the process. Another potential front-runner to hit problems early on was Mark Donnelly, when his Renault Clio started to miss-fire during the opening stage. Although doing all they could to try to fix fault, his team were unable to trace the cause and it meant that Donnelly had no option but to do the best he could for the remainder of the rally which eliminated any chance they had of mixing it at the head of the R3 field. However, not to be outdone, Evans went on to set fastest times on the remaining two stages before service. In contrast, Renault Clio driver Peter Taylor was the first to exit the chase when a problem with his car’s transmission forced him out of the rally after the third stage, making the Carlisle driver the first of the BRC retirements. The following stages were a repeat of the first three, but this time the weather spiced things up when the mainly slick-shod competitors arrived at the start of SS4 to find it raining. Predictably, crews aired on the side of caution as they tried to find grip and it was McCormack who triumphed again, with Evans repeating his performance on the following two stages, which had remained mostly dry. Of all the front-runners, it was Greer who was hampered the most during this loop
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 13
when his car’s rear differential stopped working and he had to complete SS6 in 2WD only – not the ideal configuration for an S2000 Skoda. Therefore, when cars returned to Antrim for the overnight halt, the timesheets showed McCormac ahead by 32.2sec ahead of Doyle and then Bogie just 7.6sec behind in third. Callum Black in his Suzuki Swift had managed to keep out of trouble and was up to fourth, whilst Greer was now in fifth. With Day Two dawning dry and bright, tyre choice was not to be an issue on Saturday. However, that didn’t stop the first of the day’s eight stages being extremely slippery, with sections of the road covered in mud and gravel. Unfortunately for Black, SS7 was to be his last when he stopped halfway through the stage, which meant that, as cars pulled in for the first service halt of the day after SS8, Greer was in fourth with Evans, who had incredibly made his way through the field, now in fifth. For the remaining six stages of the rally, the leading five positions didn’t change, although most had to deal with a variety of problems as the day progressed. It was then Evans’ turn to have problems when, during the next loop of two stages, his car started to lose power due to a turbo issue. But once the offending item was changed, he continued to set a blistering pace. There was a worrying moment for McCormack, when he felt his Citroen’s engine start to hesitate, the fault thought to be electrical. However, it had little effect
on his performance and he went on to extend his advantage. Behind the leaders, a battle raged for R2 category honours between Jussi Kumpumaki in a Fiesta and Dessi Henry in a Citroen C2. Eventually, the tussle was resolved in favour of Kumpumaki when Henry went off the road in SS10. A similar fate befell local driver Alan Carmichael, who was debuting his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Having had concerns about his brakes from the word go, his suspicions were confirmed on SS12, when he planted his car firmly in a hedge. Retiring in far more spectacular fashion on the same stage were Alex Laffey and co-driver Chris Williams, when they were caught out by a bump on a fast section and launched their Fiesta into a series of horrifying endover-end rolls through the trees next to the road. Although their car was severely damaged and both of them were taken to hospital, thankfully the worst injury was a broken collar bone sustained by Williams, who later thanked the rescue and medical teams for their work. With his Subaru now running perfectly, Evans went on to win the final two stages, which brought his tally of fastest times to nine out of the event’s 14. However, it was McCormack’s day and still pushing hard right to the end, his stunning drive was rewarded with the result he was looking for: his first ever BRC victory. Doyle had also delivered a masterful performance to make it a
2WD one-two, a result which bodes well for next year when the Championship becomes exclusive to R1, R2 and R3 cars only and 4WD vehicles will be ineligible to score points. Bogie was relieved to get to the finish and claim the final spot on the podium, his third place increasing his lead in the drivers’ points table. Greer was fourth and pleased with his pace, although he could not help thinking that the outcome may have been better if it wasn’t for transmission troubles on Friday night. The same frustration – in fact more so – was felt by Evans in fifth, who’s pace was such that, without his SS1 puncture, a second BRC victory may well have been on the cards. The sixth round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship sees the UK’s premier series revert back to a gravel surface for the International Rally Yorkshire next month. H&H OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) M. McCormack/D. Moynihan Citroën DS3 R3 – 01h 51m 44.3s 02) D. Bogie/K. Rae Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 01m 36.8s 03) J. Greer/D. Roberts Skoda Fabia S2000 + 01m 42.4s 04) E. Evans/A. Edwards Subaru Impreza R4 + 01m 48.0s 05) M. Donnelly/B. McNulty Renault Clio R3 + 06m 01.3s 06) J. Kumpumaki/M. Korhonen Ford Fiesta R2 + 06m 24.6s 07) M. Pajunen/J. Salo Renault Twingo R2 + 08m 20.8s 08) J. McGonigle/N. Burns Citroën C2R2 Max R2 + 08m 45.1s 09) S. Plangi/M. Sarapuu Renault Twingo R2 + 09m 53.3s 10) O. Pryce/I. Williams Ford Fiesta R2 + 11m 50.7s
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 14
Breen wins it in Germany Words: Staff Writer Picture: Pirelli
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Craig Breen and co-driver Gareth Roberts defeated Yeray Lemes in a tight finish to win the fourth round of the 2011 FIA WRC Academy Cup at ADAC Rallye Deutschland this weekend.Breen’svictory ends the seemingly impenetrable winning streak of Estonia’s Egon Kaur and makes him the second man to win a round of the new series for identically-prepared Ford Fiesta R2s running on Pirelli tyres. Breen walks away from ADAC Rallye Deutschland with 30 Cup points, including five bonus points for his stage wins, under the WRC Academy rule which gives drivers a bonus point for each stage win. The young Irishman’s haul makes a considerable dent in Kaur’s lead in the standings. Kaur, who finished the event eighth in the series, sees his advantage cut from 52 points to 26 with two of six rounds remaining. The WRC Academy Cup was turned upside down this weekend as the crews took on their first Tarmac event of the season. It was the turn of the Tarmac specialists to prove what they could do and Lemes immediately took to the lead. However,the versatile Breen didn’t intend to let him get away without a fight, but with wins on all but one of the day’s five special stages, Lemes looked set to run away with the rally as he claimed a 32sec overnight lead over the young Irishman. With Day Two dawning dry, hot and sunny, Lemes might have expected a fairly straightforward run to the win. But a mistake by the Spaniard on SS8, the second stage of
the day, threw the Cup Class wide open again. Lemes missed a junction and his 40sec lead over Breen at the start of the stage turned into a 16sec deficit. Having stolen the lead, Breen protected a narrow margin of under 20sec for most of the final day,r efusing to succumb to any pressure as Lemes remounted a challenge for the victory. With the battle for third place between Andrea Crugnola and Jose Suárez, then over a minute behind Breen, it was essentially a two-man race with six stages to go. From SS9 to SS13, Lemes took three stage wins to Breen’s two, setting up their grandstand finish on the daunting, 34km Panzerplatte test. But Breen’s lead of just under 10sec proved more than enough as he defeated Lemes by 05sec on the last of the 14 special stages and stormed home 15.1sec ahead. H&H
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) C. Breen/G. Roberts - 03h 07m 54.0s 02) Y. Lemes/R. Peñate + 15.1s 03) A. Crugnola/M. Ferrara + 01m 43.2s 04) J. Suárez/C. Carrera + 01m 58.2s 05) J. Černý/P. Kohout + 02m 26.0s 06) F. Åhlin/M. Abrahamsen + 03m 08.5s 07) S. Wiegand/C. Harloff + 03m 55.8s 08) E. Kaur/E. Lepikson + 04m 27.7s 09) A. Fisher/Daniel Barritt + 06m 10.3s 10) T. Van der Marel/E. Berkhof + 06m 33.8s
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 15
Ott Tanak comes good in Germany Words: Staff Writer Pictures: M-Sport
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The Estonian crew of Ott Tänak and Kuldar Sikk took a big step towards the top of the points table as they cruised to a comfortable win in their Michelin-shod Ford Fiesta S2000 at ADAC Rallye Deutschland this weekend, the sixth round of the 2011 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship. Tänak’sf ive-minute triumph over 2011 Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah earned the 2010 Pirelli Star Driver 25 SWRC points, promoting him to second place in the Championship standings,only 18 points behind series leader Juho Hänninen. It was Tänak’s second win of the season, following his excellent display at Rally d’Italia Sardegna, the third round of the Championship. The Day One retirements of early leaders Martin Prokop and Hänninen promoted Tänak into the lead for SS7, the opening stage of Day Two. 2009 JWRC Champion Prokop won the first stage, but then had an accident on SS2, forcing him to superally, while Hänninen hit a rock close to the end of SS6, the final stage of Day One, and lost a wheel - an accident uncannily replicated by his team-mate Hermann Gassner Jnr - forcing him to retire on the road section back to evening service. Having taken the lead, Tänak wasn’t about to give it up and after starting Day Two with a lead of over a minute and a half, he took it cautiously as Prokop waltzed to victory on every stage of the day. The powerful Tänak’s lead had grown by the end of the day though to over four minutes. On Day Three he had more freedom to attack and won his fourth stage of the event on SS17 en route to a commanding victory. Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was competing at ADAC Rallye Deutschland for the first time, was unable to reel in Tänak or intimidate the relentless Estonian.Al-Attiyah was however delighted to come home second and pick up 18 Championship points, after a tricky
start to the season. Having moved into secondplace on SS8 his goal was simply to be safe and keep his position, and he succeeded in staying out of trouble. The 2006 PWRC Champion can now add a podium on his German début to his alreadyimpressive CV. Six-times Hungarian Touring Car Champion Frigyes Turán scored his second podium of the season as he came home third in the SWRC. Turán had his share of difficulties in the rally and wasn’t entirely satisfied with his Fiesta’s set-up on Day One, which he finished seventh in the SWRC, but showed great determination and application to hang on and start moving up the order on Days Two and Three. By the end of Day Two he had claimed third, with Hänninen - victim to Day One superally penalties - having to settle for fourth, unable to threaten his Hungarian rival from five and a half minutes behind, despite taking three out of five stage wins on Day Three.Karl Kruuda briefly held second place behind Tänak following Hänninen’s Day One accident, but a puncture on SS8 gifted the place to Al-Attiyah. Difficulties on SS13 then put Kruuda, the youngest driver in the2011 SWRC, out of Day Two, which left him superallying on Day Three with limited possibilities. Fifth place and ten SWRC points was a good result. Prokop, who lay second in the Championship before the event and finished second in the SWRC on last year’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland, couldn’t come back from his Day One retirement, which left him almost 25 minutes behind then leader Tänak, but did finish a healthy sixth to pick up eight SWRC points. H&H
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) O. Tanak/K. Sikk Ford Fiesta S2000 - 03m 46m 04.8s 02) N. Al-Attiyah/G. Bernacchini Ford Fiesta S2000 + 05m 38.6s 03) F. Turan/G. Zsiros Ford Fiesta S2000 + 08m 03.3s
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 16
Ogier steals the win from Loeb Words: Evan Rothman Pictures: WorldRallyPics, Citroen Racing
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The spell was finally broken. Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Citroën Total World Rally Team) claimed the win at this weekend’s WRC ADAC Rallye Deutschland ahead of their deflated team-mates Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena. Loeb, winner of the previous eight editions of this all-asphalt event, was on form to produce another record-breaking feat in his already-illustrious career when a left-front tyre puncture on the final stage of Day Two dropped the reigning champion over a minute in stage time behind his fiercest rival. Ogier, who was trailing Loeb by a handful number of seconds throughout the weekend up to that point, inherited a cushy lead and a genuine opportunity to win on this surface as he had only four stages on Day Three to contend before claiming the winners’ champagne in Trier. Loeb did, however, strike back with all his anger on Day Three’s speed tests to close in over 30sec to Ogier. The Loeb Show knocked up a total of nine stage wins - including the Power Stage - but it was not enough to leapfrog the younger Frenchman.
Such is the pace of the two Citroën Total World Rally Team’s crews that third-placed Dani Sordo/Carlos De Barrio (MINI John Cooper Works WRC) ended the 19 stage event some 01min 55sec off the leading pairs. Although the speed, commitment and sheer driving skill from Ogier and Loeb was spectacular in itself, the excitement and drama in the event was created by the crews behind the Sebastiens. German rally fans were treated to a truly thrilling performanced, even with the weather adding its blend of mystic to the mix. Tyre choice played a part on the weekend, but it didn’t play a role that changed the outcome of the event as was hoped by many. Sordo, in only his third outing for MINI in 2011, scored the team’s first podium result after a strong run throughout the three days of competition. This despite the best efforts from the Ford Fiesta RS WRC piloted by Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team), who were secure in third place until they befell tyre woes to slip behind the Spaniard and were unable to challenge confidently for the final podium position. Hirvonen’s luck on this weekend was summed up as his left-front tyre delaminated on the Power Stage to force him to limp through the Trier-based super special
Issue 197 • 21 August 2011 • Page 17
stage… Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila, Hirvonen’s team-mate at the Ford factory team, set the pace on SS1 but an ‘off’ put paid to his top ten aspirations after his SupeRally rules re-start on Day Two as a result. He fought up the leader board to finish just outside the top ten, but was unable to move higher than 11th overall. Privateer Petter Solberg and co-driver Chris Patterson (Petter Solberg World Rally Team) completed their second successive event with a lackluster performance, scooping fifth overall in which a single bonus point from the Power Stage eased his frustration somewhat. This succinctly rounds up Kimi Raikkonen’s weekend of rallying: “There were too many mistakes and I didn’t drive many stages well. It’s behind me now.” The Finn finished in sixth place ahead of Henning Solberg (M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team) seventh and the brave Portuguese star Armindo Araujo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC) in eighth place. Peter van Merksteijn Jr scored his first WRC points with ninth place in
his privateer Citroen DS3 WRC after a close battle with Dennis Kuipers (FERM Power Tools World Rally Team), who rounded out the top ten a little under 8sec behind Van Merksteijn Jr in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Sordo’s team-mate Kris Meeke was left in despair as his factory MINI John Cooper Works WRC machine ground to a halt on the penultimate stage with suspected alternator problems after looking set for a fifthplace finish. Mads Ostberg crashed out of contention on SS15, but his speed on asphalt was encouraging for the Norwegian ace. German Aaron Burkart restarted his rally on Day Two and as then punished further on SS19 with another puncture. His aims of top ten are within grasp of this talented driver, but more time behind the steering wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC will arm him with more weapons for furture rounds of the WRC. Hotshot Corsican rally youngster Pierre Campana finished 18th overall on his debut in a MINI John Cooper Works WRC, and is surely a star of the future. H&H
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia Citroën DS3 WRC - 03h 32m 15.9s 02) S. Loeb/D. Elena Citroën DS3 WRC + 39.8s 03) D. Sordo/C. Del Barrio MINI John Cooper Works WRC + 01m 55.6s 04) M. Hirvonen/M. Anttila Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 02m 43.7s 05) P. Solberg/C. Patterson Citroën DS3 WRC + 03m 48.0s 06) K. Raikkonen/K. Lindstrom Citroën DS3 WRC + 07m 24.6s 07) H. Solberg/I. Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 07m 45.9s 08) A. Araujo/M. Ramalho MINI John Cooper Works WRC + 09m 29.8s 09) P. Van Merksteijn/E, Mombaerts Citroën DS3 WRC + 10m 01.6s 10) D. Kuipers/F. Miclotte Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 10m 09.0s