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| 2008 Rallye Monte Carlo : WRC Round 1 of 15 : 24th - 27th January Event Preview Other News Team by Team Preview Event statistics Event Schedule Championship Points 1. Event Preview Welcome to the first of fifteen rounds that make up the 2008 World Rally Championship. Rallye Monte Carlo heralds the return of the World Rally Championship with one of the most unpredictable events of the year. In its 76th running, this four day rally is a notoriously tricky combination of snow, ice and demanding routes which often produces some surprise results. Crews will leave the service park in Valence, near the river Rhe´ne in south-east France, for three of the four days of competition until the finish of Saturday's stages, at which point the WRC contingent will decamp to a second service park location in Monaco, opposite the Automobile Club de Monaco headquarters. The asphalt roads twist and flow through the breathtaking but notoriously tricky mountain stages of the region. The rally retains many of last year's innovations while adding several more for 2008. The opening three days are based in Valence, but then the event heads south to Monaco for a fourth day of action high above the Principality in the mountains of the Alpes Maritimes. This is the only WRC round to run four full days' competition. Thursday evening's opening action is in darkness throughout and heads into the Vercors mountains, east of Valence. On Friday the route moves south-west of the city into the Ardèche before Saturday's longest day of the rally north-west of Valence. A free transit section takes competitors to Monaco before Sunday's final loop, which brings the return of the legendary Col de Turini after a year's absence. After the success of last year's test, the rally ends with a short super special stage around the harbour area of Monaco's Grand Prix circuit. Drivers tackle 19 stages in total, covering 365.09km in a route of 1481.25km. The weather in January in Monte Carlo will be typically cold, and this year the rally has been scheduled one week later in an attempt to ensure the snow that the rally just missed last season. In the first rally in which the teams will use the Pirelli championship control tyre, there will be three options: the DS soft slick tyre, the snow WX tyre without metal studs, and the WX tyre with studs that provide extra traction on icy sections. 2. Other News New Impreza Group N debuts in Monte Carlo! Swiss privateer Olivier Burri makes the surprise debut by turning up at Rallye Monte Carlo 2008 tests with a new "GE" generation Subaru Impreza WRX! ttp://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=6706 Welcome to our newly formatted newsletter for 2008. We hope it works well for you, ifyou have any issues feel free to reply. 3. Team by Team Preview BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Just 53 days after ending its FIA World Rally Championship winning season with victory in Britain, back-to-back manufacturers' champion Ford launches its title defence on the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo (24 - 27 January). Much is new for 2008 in the Blue Oval squad with a new team identity, a striking new colour scheme for its all-conquering Focus RS World Rally Car and an exciting new driver line-up which blends youth and experience. The newly-named BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team heads into the opening round of the 15-event series with the same-specification Focus RS that lifted the 2007 title. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, who finished third in the drivers' championship last season after winning three events, will be joined by fellow Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, who have been promoted to the official works team after two years in the privately-entered Stobart VK M-Sport line-up. At just 27 and 22-years-old respectively, both have youth in their favour but also have plenty of experience with 70 and 52 WRC starts to their names. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: This is Hirvonen's fifth Rallye Monte Carlo and with forecasts suggesting wintry weather is likely in the mountains, he knows how tough the event could be. "Monte Carlo is all about the weather. If it is dry and mild then it is like any other asphalt event. If there is snow and ice then conditions can change quickly and nobody can predict what might happen. In such conditions the only safe thing to predict is that the stages will be unpredictable. It's the biggest challenge in the championship. "I can't wait to get started again. I will begin every rally thinking about winning, but if I can't do that then second place is where I need to be. It will be difficult for me to take on Marcus Grönholm's role in the team but I feel ready for it. I learned much from him during the last two seasons and now it is time for me to move on and show that I too can fight for the drivers' title," he concluded. #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: Latvala comes into the team on the back of a superb end to the 2007 season, when he claimed his first podium in Ireland and won a string of special stages in Britain, and he is ready for whatever the rally offers. "I think it will be snowy and icy but rallying is about challenges and in such difficult conditions, if I drive well, then I can gain big time advantages over the others. Driving in the dark is also hard but that's another challenge and that's what makes this sport so exciting. "The new tyre regulations mean I have to get used to Pirelli's rubber, driving without the puncture-resistant mousse and not having the same options as we have had in the past. I've used the new tyres during testing and I could feel they were harder. The ban on mousse means drivers can't cut corners as much as before for fear of puncturing so I will need to be careful going into bends. I learned how to drive like that in the Production WRC so I hope that experience will be useful," added Latvala. #19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi will drive a third official car on his Rallye Monte Carlo debut. The 35-year-old will renew his partnership with co-driver Michael Orr, the pair having won the 2004 FIA Middle East Rally Championship together. "My concern is how I will adapt my driving to the snow and ice. I've never competed in those conditions before so I will need to take it easy. At high altitude, where it can be icy, even just cruising is fast! I need to adapt to that but until I experience it and have a few moments to understand the pace, I will not have a proper idea of how to approach it. "Michael and I have been talking regularly by telephone. We have many ideas, including changes to my pace note system to ensure more accurate distances and braking points. We know each other well and now Michael has been in WRC for three or four years, he has developed his experience and pace further. This means he will be able to help me develop my notes and pace," added Al Qassimi. Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 A year after making its competition debut with a resounding one-two finish on the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally, the Citroën C4 WRC is poised to tackle the World Rally Championship's longest-standing event for the second time. For the first round of the 2008 season, Citroën Sport has entered two cars for four-time World Champions Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their Spanish team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc MartÃ. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I'm obviously dreaming of a white Monte Carlo, with real wintry conditions," says Sebastien Loeb. "The route focuses on three different regions, so the stages will be very varied. Thursday evening's tests are wide, fast and smooth. Those in the Ardche are more technical, narrower and occasionally bumpy. Last year, the conditions were particularly dry but it should be fun if we get snow and ice this time round! I am delighted to see that the Col du Turini and some other classic stages in the southeast corner of France are back. That said, the challenge of having to contest the final day's four stages with the same tyres could well turn out to be quite delicate." "As is often the case at the start of a new season, there are a lot of unknown factors," explains Sebastien. "We will need to find the best match between the tyres we have and the stage conditions, but our aim is to try to win and get the year off to a positive start." Should Seb and Daniel succeed in adding a fifth Monte Carlo victory to their record, they will become the most successful crew in the winter classic's history. "I'm very much looking forward to the start of the Monte Carlo Rally, although we will probably need time to adapt to our new tyres," echoes Dani. "We have prepared thoroughly for this event but nothing can replace actually being on the rally. The Monte's stages are fantastic but we will need to stay focused from start to finish if we want to achieve our objective which is a top-three finish with a view to scoring as many points as possible for Citroen." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: Apologies, quote not available Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 The Subaru World Rally Team have entered two Impreza WRC2007s for Rallye Monte Carlo. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills will drive car number five and Chris Atkinson/ Stephane Prevot will be in car number six. Petter and Phil have competed on these roads seven times. Chris, on his second visit, had his best finish of fourth overall in 2007 courtesy of three stage wins. David Richards, Subaru World Rally Team Principal: -Monte Carlo Rally has often turned out to be a lottery, where the weather has thrown up some opportunistic and historic victories, and if we can snatch those chances, who knows? I wouldn't be at all surprised if either of our drivers climbed the podium. It's one of those events where anything can happen. For the Subaru World Rally Team drivers, the off-season was filled with a mixture of testing and media commitments, time with family and friends and preparations for this season. In early January, Petter and Chris took part in an asphalt tyre test near Lyon, France in preparation for Monte Carlo, followed shortly followed by two days in Sweden. anuary also saw the return of Estonian Markko Martin to the Subaru World Rally Team in the role of official test driver. Martin, who won the Bettega Memorial Rally aboard a works-supplied and run WRC2007 in December 2007, will commence testing before the end of the month. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: It is important to get into a rhythm straight away and settle into a pace you feel comfortable with. With no anti-deflation mousse you can't take risks in the stages as a puncture could finish your rally. There will be a lot of snow I think and Monte is always tricky anyway so it won't be easy, that's for sure. It will be about who can make the most of their tyres and adapt to the conditions fastest, but if someone manages something special with them people will follow quickly. #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: -It's going to be an interesting event for sure. It's raining here in Monaco so I'm sure it's snowing in the stages already. I've never done this event with a lot of snow so it's new for me. Both times I've run this rally we've had good results, but I don't underestimate how much of a challenge it is. Although the tyre choices aren't wide because we only have one slick and a winter tyre, it's going to be important when we choose to take each one, and we have to watch out for punctures. I'm definitely looking forward to starting the season again now though.†Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 New crews, new colours and a new challenge for the Stobart M-Sport Ford rally team as they head to Rally Monte Carlo for the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship's season opener. This will be the third season in which the Stobart outfit will contest the WRC as a privately-backed manufacturer team. Nominated to score points in Monte Carlo is newly-signed Italian star Gigi Galli and his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini, while François Duval/Eddy Chevaillier step into the fourth position in the Stobart camp for this event as the second nominated point scorers. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud will again contest the event for the Stobart team, but not as nominated point scorers on this occasion, however. Despite his illustrious career in the WRC which has earned the Norwegian over 50 WRC starts, this will be just his third attempt at the dual-nation event. Also continuing his quest with the team is British rally sensation Matthew Wilson who has been reunited with fellow countryman Scott Martin for the 2008 season. This will also be Wilson's third attempt at Rally Monte Carlo as the 20-year-old looks to improve on his solid effort from last year's event where he finished as the top-placed Stobart driver. #7 : Francois Duval/Eddy Chevaillier: I am happy to be back in a world rally car on a WRC event as this will be my first event since Corsica last year. It is also good to be back in a Ford Focus WRC which, in the past, has brought me some good results. The last time I competed on Monte-Carlo was in 2006 where some of the route was similar to this year especially on Sunday so I think this will help a bit. #8 : Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini: -Coming into this event I feel a bit rusty because in the last few months the only thing I've been driving is a digger I used to finish my mother's house, it's been fun but nothing to do with WRC cars! Joking apart I believe it'll take a little time to find the right feeling with the car and the right pace again but then when we find the right feeling we will increase our pace and well adjust our targets. Rallye Monte-Carlo is renowned for sudden changing conditions and being the first round of the season it keeps pressure on drivers quite high. Driving a car that won the last two manufacturers titles make us proud. We are also proud to be part of a team that, despite being young, has done very well already. I'm really looking forward to working with the team and it will be great to be part of such an impressive set-up. #14 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud : I am ready for this rally, we will be trying our best here. My plan is to start with the same pace as in Ireland last year and then go from there. We will also go with the same set-up as we had in Ireland because I really liked it and the car felt good. I'm looking forward to driving the new 07 Focus but my experience of the roads in Monte-Carlo is not great because this is only my third time here. It will be great if there is some snow on the roads, the more the better for me. We will go out there and see what sort of pace we have from the start but hopefully by the end of the rally I can finish in the points to start off the season. #16 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin : Well it's a new year, new car and a new co-driver and I'm looking forward to getting things underway in Monte-Carlo. For me this event will be more of a lesson as I get used to the 07 Focus and Scott [Martin] reading the notes. It's not the easiest rally in the world so well be looking to get round without any problems and have a decent finish with a straight car before getting on to Sweden which is an event I really enjoy. Sunday will be a difficult day as I have only covered these stages once in 2006 but it's great to see the traditional tests back on rally route. This event will be a challenge but I just can't wait to get back in the car and start the season off. Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 Following two test events in Corsica and Great Britain last year, the Suzuki World Rally Team now embarks on its first full season of world rallying with two new drivers: Toni Gardemeister from Finland and Per-Gunnar Andersson from Sweden, the reigning Junior Rally Champion with Suzuki. This will actually be Suzuki's seventh Monte Carlo rally, thanks to a successful Junior World Rally Championship campaign that resulted in two titles, but it is obviously the first time in the Principality with the all-new SX4 WRC. The SX4 WRC sports a striking new white and yellow livery for 2008, and it has already racked up a number of testing kilometres in the region following a pre-Monte Carlo test at the end of last year with both drivers. Using the valuable experience gained from the two test events in 2007, the SX4 WRC features new differential and suspension settings for Monte Carlo, as well as a raft of other improvements under the skin. Like all the other cars, the SX4 WRC will run on Pirelli's all-new control tyres introduced for this year. These tyres are not permitted to have anti-deflation mousse, and only one type of tread pattern and compound is allowed per event, in order to reduce costs. However drivers are permitted to hand-cut the tyres to help disperse water or loose gravel, and for Monte Carlo a short stud can also be used if necessary, to find grip in icy conditions. The entire Suzuki team is eagerly awaiting the unique challenge of Monte Carlo, and the whole 2008 season. For the first time, the Suzuki World Rally Team will run two cars, as it will over the rest of the season. The 32 year-old Toni Gardemeister starts his ninth Monte Carlo Rally this year, and it is one of his favourite events. The Finn was on the podium as recently as 2006, and he has finished in the points on five occasions. His co-driver this year is Tomi Tuominen, who knows the SX4 WRC well after partnering Sebastian Lindholm on the Rally GB last year. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: It's fantastic for me to be back in the World Championship with Suzuki, and if things go well for us in Monte Carlo I think we can come away with points. The car is still new, so were not going to be on the pace of the frontrunners yet, but the overall set-up and reliability is good. The SX4 has a very compact wheelbase so it changes direction quickly, which will be very useful on the fast and twisty roads of Monte Carlo. This is always an unpredictable event, but I think that mixed conditions could actually work in our favour. I'm particularly looking forward to the Col de Turini stages on Sunday: these are unique stages and I've always had a very good feeling with them. #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: For 27 year-old P-G Andersson, co-driven by Jonas Andersson, Monte Carlo will be his first-ever World Championship event in a World Rally Car. The young Swede has completed around 500 kilometres of testing with the SX4, so he still has to climb a steep learning curve. Nonetheless, the Monte Carlo Rally is not entirely new to him as he competed on the event in 2004 and 2005 with an Ignis Super 1600. I can't wait to get started! said P-G. Obviously getting to the finish and gaining more experience will be the priority for me. Going from a Super 1600 car to a World Rally Car is quite a big jump as everything happens so much quicker. It's also important to get the pace notes right: there are some corners that you wouldn't even bother noting in a Super 1600 car but in a World Rally Car you really feel them! It's important for me to have a solid run in Monte Carlo, so that I can go into my home event the Swedish Rally, which is next on the calendar with a lot of confidence. 4. Event Statistics The 76th Monte Carlo Rally (January 24-27): round 1 of 15 Surface type: dry or wet asphalt, ice, snow Where: Valence, the Ardèche mountains, Monaco, the southeast French Alps ervice Park in Valence from Thursday to Saturday. Technical matters: the engines and chassis of the C4s are sealed and will also be used in Sweden. he engine will also go on to compete in Mexico. Two gearbox/differential packages are authorised er driver. Five sets of dampers and five hub carriers are authorised per event. Tyres: tyres a draw will decide the allocation of tyres to teams by the FIA. For the Monte Carlo ally, three types of tyre will be available: soft compound asphalt tyres, studded tyres on 18-inch ims and non-studded snow tyres on 18-inch rims. The number of tyres that can be used during hakedown is limited. It is mandatory to fit fresh tyres at the start of each group of stages. It is ossible to carry two spares. Recce: Monday January 21, Tuesday January 22 and Wednesday January 23. Two passes uthorised at a maximum speed of 90kph. Shakedown: Thursday January 24 (08.00 until 12.00). The test stage is new this year and uses a .03km portion of the D21 near Vernoux-en-Vivarais, 42.73km west of the service park in Valence.Press conference: Thursday January 24 (from 14.00) in the conference room of Valence's Exhibition Centre. Start ceremony: Thursday January 24, from 17.30, Place du Champ de Mars, Valence. inish ceremony: Sunday January 27, Place du Palais Princier, Monaco (from 16.30). Post-event press conference: Sunday January 27 (from 17.30), press office, Sporting d'Hiver, onaco. New: this year's rally takes place a week later than it did in 2007. The Ardèche stages have been odified. The portion between Col de la Fayolle (SS3/6) and Antraigues will be run as a road ection. The finish of St Bonnet (SS10/13) has been slightly modified and SS11/14 now runs from amastre to Alboussière. The major difference compared with 2007 is the return of stages in the ountains near Nice. 5. Event Schedule Thursday 24 January: Day 1 Valence - Valence Start Valence 17.30 SS1 St Jean en Royans - Col de La Chau 28.12km 18.46 SS2 La Cime du Mas - Col de Gaudissart 17.58km 19.36 Serv A Valence (45 mins) 21.01 Friday 25 January: Day 2 Valence - Valence Serv B Valence (15 mins) 06.50 SS3 St Pierreville - Col de la Fayolle 29.52km 08.24 SS4 Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 16.30km 10.02 SS5 St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 12.66km 10.48 Serv C Valence (30 mins) 13.02 SS6 St Pierreville - Col de la Fayolle 29.52km 14.51 SS7 Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 16.30km 16.29 SS8 St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 12.66km 17.15 Serv D Valence (45 mins) 19.11 Saturday 26 January: Day 3 Valence - Valence Serv E Valence (15 mins) 05.55 SS9 Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 19.37km 07.31 SS10 St Bonnet - St Bonnet 25.36km 08.13 SS11 Lamastre - Gilhoc - Alboussiere 21.66km 09.38 Serv F Valence (30 mins) 11.01 SS12 Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 19.37km 12.52 SS13 St Bonnet - St Bonnet 25.36km 13.34 SS14 Lamastre - Gilhoc - Alboussiere 21.66km 14.59 Serv G Valence (45 mins) 16.04 Sunday 27 January: Day 4 Monaco - Monaco Start Monaco 07.50 RSZ Gilette (15 mins) 08.50 SS15 La Bollene Vesubie - Moulinet 22.68km 09.50 SS16 Luceram - Loda 15.34km 11.08 SS17 La Bollene Vesubie - Moulinet 22.68km 11.51 SS18 Luceram - Col des Portes 6.25km 13.09 RSZ Gilette (13 mins) 13.54 SS19 Monaco - Circuit 2.70km 15.10 Finish Monaco 15.14 6. Championship Points Check for championship points after the round at:: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp |