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| 2008 Rally Deutschland : WRC Round 10 of 15 : 15th - 17th August In this issue: 1. Leg 1 Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Leg 1 News 4. Leg 1 Team by Team News 5. Remaining Event Schedule 1. Unofficial Leaderboard 1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën C4) 1 h 00 min 22,5 s 2. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Ford Focus) + 19,9 s 3. D. Sordo/M. Martí (Citroën C4) + 25,6 s 4. F. Duval/P. Pivato (Ford Focus) + 38,7 s 5. JM Latvala/M. Anttila (Ford Focus) + 55,7 s 6. P. Solberg/P. Mills (Subatu Impreza) + 1 min 03,9 s 7. C. Atkinson/S. Prevot (Subaru Impreza) + 1 min 34 s 8. H. Solberg/C. Menkerud (Ford Focus) + 1 min 36,2 s 9. U. Aava/K. Sikk (Citroën C4) + 1 min 39,4 s 10. T. Gardemeister/T. Tuominen (Suzuki X4) + 2 min 12,4 s 2. Leg News Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) won all the day's stages to build an overnight advantage of 19.9sec over Hirvonen. Dani Sordo (Citroen) is just 5.7sec behind, the Spaniard unhappy with his soft compound tyre choice this morning, with Stobart driver François Duval (Ford) in fourth. The Belgian dropped time this morning with minor gearchange difficulties. Behind Latvala, team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson (both Subaru) traded places on virtually every stage. The day ended with Solberg leading Atkinson by 30.1sec after the Australian overshot a junction on the final test before it was cancelled. Gigi Galli (Ford) retired from eighth on the penultimate stage when his car crashed into trees. He was airlifted to hospital with a fractured left femur and is due to have an operation tonight. This 10th round of the year is the drivers' first taste of asphalt since the season-opener in Monte Carlo in January. Huge crowds flocked into the rally base in Trier, Germany's oldest city, last night for the start ceremony before the competition began in earnest this morning. Forecast rain failed to materialise and drivers enjoyed bright and sunny conditions throughout. However, dust and dirt on the narrow and bumpy vineyard roads made the tests slippery for all. Drivers were due to tackle two identical loops of three special stages alongside the Mosel, covering 108.16km. However, the penultimate test was cancelled after 12 cars following an accident, before the final stage was scrapped for safety reasons after just three cars completed the test, due to the high volume of spectators lining the route. The second day of Rallye Deutschland is what many believe will decide the outcome of this event. Eight stages and a shade fewer than 160 competitive kilometres, it includes the longest and most gruelling of the rally. The Arena Panzerplatte stage runs for 30 kilometres along the cracked, dirty and abrasive concrete of the Baumholder military range and packs a real sting for wayward cars. Weather is always a lottery here, but rain tomorrow would make the shiny tarmac even more slippery and treacherous. 4. Team by Team News BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen produced an outstanding opening day performance on their least-favoured asphalt surface to hold second in Rallye Deutschland tonight. On the debut of the 2008-specification Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, the FIA World Rally Championship leaders lie 19.9sec off the lead after a shortened day's action in tricky vineyard speed tests on the banks of the Mosel river. Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are fifth in a similar Focus RS WRC after a solid and mature drive. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen, who opted for soft compound Pirelli tyres throughout the day, was engaged in an enthralling battle for second with acknowledged asphalt expert Dani Sordo. The 28-year-old Finn held third initially before closing on Sordo to end the opening loop tied in second. Sordo briefly regained the upper hand this afternoon, but Hirvonen claimed second in his own right on the penultimate stage with a superb time just one-tenth of a second slower than rally leader Sébastien Loeb. "I've had a good feeling all day, especially this afternoon, and I'm having so much fun," said Hirvonen. "The speed was there this morning but on the second loop things went even better. There's not much more room before I start taking big risks but I will try to keep the pressure on Loeb tomorrow. I've made fast times on this rally before so my pace didn't surprise me, but I tried to focus on my own driving and not think about the pace of others. "It was slippery in the narrow sections and where the surface changed, especially on the opening stage, and I don't think I've ever been as sideways on asphalt as I was this morning. When it's dry the car feels great and I hope I can take that feeling into the second leg. Tomorrow's stages are fast and the tests on the Baumholder military land will be tricky," he added. #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: Team-mate Latvala also feels less comfortable on asphalt rallies than loose surface events. He completed the opening loop in seventh, despite feeling the set-up of his Focus RS WRC was too soft to suit his driving style. The team stiffened the suspension by fitting harder springs and the 23-year-old Finn was immediately happier, climbing to fifth this afternoon on a rally where gaining more experience of sealed surface competition is as important to him as the outright result. "I had a lot more confidence this afternoon with the harder springs," said Latvala. "A top five position was my target tonight. I want to maintain that tomorrow because I know it will be difficult to catch the guys ahead. The Baumholder stages will be tough tomorrow and even though they are difficult they are enjoyable to drive. I hope it stays dry because they aren't quite so nice in the wet." #19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr are 18th in the team's third Focus RS WRC. "My pace notes were prepared for a wet rally and it's been dry - it's important to be cautious when your notes don't reflect the conditions," said Al Qassimi. "In stage four I knocked 20sec off my morning time, almost a second per kilometre. I was all set to try and do the same in stage five but I was stopped on the start line because of Gigi's crash. Stage six was also cancelled so it was a frustrating afternoon." Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The first day of this weekend's Rallye Deutschland, round 10 of the 2008 World Rally Championship, turned out to be particularly successful for the Citroën Total squad which saw both its C4 WRCs finish on the overnight podium. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are on the highest step, with Dani Sordo and Marc Martí following in third place. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Following their success on the home soil of their main championship rivals in Finland, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena had no intention of being caught by surprise this morning as they started the Rallye Deutschland, an event they have dominated for the past six years. They kicked off at the same fast pace that earned them the spoils in Jyväskylä! "The conditions stayed dry all day," explained Sébastien. "I immediately felt comfortable with my car and I was able to push hard from the outset. By choosing the soft compound Pirelli tyre, I knew I would have to adapt my driving style and be on my guard all the time, especially where there were changes in the amount of grip available. It also gave my confidence a big boost, though, and I made the most of that to pull out an early gap. On dry asphalt, it's not easy to build up big leads, so I was naturally pleased to see that we were 15.3 seconds clear at the end of the first loop." "I decided to keep the same set-up as this morning and stay on soft rubber, and that paid off," said Seb who claimed the fastest time on all today's stages. "Running on soft tyres over roads soiled by the first pass, we were able to make the most of our C4's potential to increase our lead. It's been a very positive day, but a gap of 19.9s isn't yet sufficient to start thinking in terms of controlling from in front. I have an excellent feeling with my car and that will be important for tomorrow's tough, long leg." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were just as pleased with their morning's run in the second Citroën Total C4 WRC: "I gradually started to find my marks on asphalt again," reported Dani. "I made a few small adjustments to my set-up between stages to try to adapt it as closely as possible to the conditions. It would have been nice to have felt a little more comfortable with the soft compound tyres, but I know where I lost time. I will try to make the most of the second loop to defend second place." Dani chose hard compound tyres for the afternoon, and also ran a harder set-up compared with this morning. He did his best to defend his position on the two stages that were covered, but the last test of the day was neutralized. The young Spaniard was looking for a better feeling in the slippery conditions but succeeded in staying close to the driver in second place, despite a small mistake at a junction. His objective tomorrow will be to challenge for silver, which would naturally be an excellent result for both him and Citroën. Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 As the Impreza WRC2008 took to asphalt competitively for the first time, the opening day of the wildly popular Rallye Deutschland was characterised by an overwhelming number of spectators and a surprising lack of rain, given the tendency for sporadic showers in the region. Both cars successfully completed their first day of sealed surface rallying at the hands of Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson, who experienced no major problems despite the significantly different challenge posed by tarmac as opposed the gravel roads that dominated the past three events. Under skies that clouded as the day progressed, the fact that the precipitation stayed at bay didn’t stop the dirty tarmac roads from being perilously slippery. Tyre decisions were less predominant than in previous years with the introduction of the championship’s Pirelli control tyre, but on the very first day of competition with their new PZero asphalt offering, teams still had to make the crucial call between hard and soft compounds as the ambient temperature fluctuated. Before the Impreza WRC2008’s asphalt outing this weekend, Solberg and Atkinson had two days’ testing on sealed surface using the PZeros, and the car itself has only a further five days’ tarmac testing at the hands of official test driver Markko Märtin. Therefore much of what was experienced today formed a steep learning curve for the team. It was a case of a new car on new tyres and on a new surface. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: It’s not been bad today, you know. The car’s been consistent, and although we’re sixth, it’s been feeling pretty good” said Petter Solberg. “There are a few areas we’re lacking in, but we haven’t run much on tarmac so it’s sort of expected at this point. We’re trying very hard and we’re learning and have some ideas for tomorrow, but we had no problems today. It’s a shame about the final stage, but you have to respect the decision of the organisers and accept that it was the right thing to do. It’s too bad for the people who are actually coming to watch the stages, but that’s a part of the game. It’s unbelievable the number of people here, like Finland, and it’s great for the sport anyway.” #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: OK, today has not been perfect, we’re not as quick as we wanted to be and seventh isn’t what we were aiming for, but it’s not been so bad” said Chris Atkinson. “The car is getting better on tarmac. There are still a few things to fine-tune to get the speed we’re missing, but we keep working on it this weekend and I think if we can get there we’ll be ok. We’re still lacking a little confidence in these conditions, but then we haven’t done much testing. People were changing tyre compounds from the morning to the afternoon, from hard to soft, so for me I don’t think our tyre choice made so much difference. Some areas we lost a bit, but some weren’t so bad so it pretty much worked out. Tomorrow will be difficult and we’re a little way down the order, but we’ll keep working hard and improving as much as we can.” Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 After day 1 of ADAC Rallye Deutschland, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship, François Duval/Patrick Pivato lie in fourth place. Unfortunately Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini retired from the event after an accident on stage 5 this afternoon which saw the Italian driver airlifted to hospital with a fracture to his left femur. To increase the chances of a speedy recovery Galli will be operated on tonight in the Barmherzige Hospital in Trier. Co-driver Bernacchini was also taken to hospital for precautionary checks and was given the all-clear this afternoon. Galli's accident occurred on a flat right-hand corner 11.3 kilometres into stage 5 when a cut on the inside of the corner bounced his car across the road careering him into trees at high speed. Luckily the safety rollcage of his Stobart Ford Focus RS WRC07 did its job and prevented further injury in what could have been an horrific accident. Organisers and event medical staff did a fantastic job working efficiently to help the Italian out of his car after he became trapped in it for several minutes after the accident. Officials cancelled the stage to allow medical crews easier access to the Italian's car. Unfortunately for crews running down the order the rally action became very slim when organisers were forced to cancel stage 6 after just three cars had completed due to a very large number of spectators which posed a safety issue. All remaining cars were given notional times by rally officials. #15 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "We've made a good start to the rally and I'm in a much better position than I thought I would be so I am very happy. We had a bit of a problem with the revs dropping low on some of the hairpin corners on stage 5 and I stopped twice which lost us some time but OK I'm happy to get through it; we are now just a couple of seconds off seventh place. We are taking things slowly and trying to build up the speed over the rally so hopefully this plan will work." #8 : Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini: Retired #16 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "We have been improving steadily over the day and after having a good run through the first three stages this morning we pushed a bit harder on stage 4 and it felt really good. I had more confidence in the car and hopefully the conditions will stay dry for tomorrow and we can continue to improve more. Our goal here is to gradually close the gap on the top drivers but we are also having a battle with the two guys in front so it should be a fun day tomorrow." #7 : François Duval/Patrick Pivato : "I'm still getting used to the car and these new soft Pirellis but we made some changes to the setup of the car for this afternoon's stages and this seemed to work better so hopefully we can continue this into tomorrow. The car was under-steering a little and I was not getting things quite right on the slower hairpins. The gear changes on stages 2 and 3 were a bit slow and the roads are quite dirty for me as well. Tomorrow I will have a big push and see if we can make up some time on the guys in front." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 After an action-packed opening day of the Rallye Deutschland, the Suzuki SX4 WRC of Toni Gardemeister is in the top 10 - and the similar car of P-G Andersson is right behind him in 11th. Both cars were perfectly reliable throughout the first day of the event, which was formed of six stages split into two loops of three with service at Trier. However, the action was cut short by an accident that stopped SS5 and spectator overcrowding that forced the cancellation of SS6. The drivers used the opening day of the Rallye Deutschland to get back into the groove of asphalt driving for the first time since Monte Carlo more than six months ago. Despite a completely new surface and a new specification of Pirelli tyre, neither Suzuki SX4 WRC encountered the slightest mechanical problem throughout the day. Having used the shakedown test yesterday to start work on finding the best possible set-up for the event, both drivers continued to make solid progress throughout the day and they are equally confident of being able to improve their positions tomorrow. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: "The day didn't start very well for me - I stalled the engine at one hairpin which meant I dropped time. There are so many corners and junctions in these stages that it's really hard on the brakes. Apart from that, the day has been good and the car has been absolutely fine." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: "I have had a good feeling with the car today. It's been nice to drive. The stages are really tough and a big challenge for the car and driver. The SX4 WRC has been perfect, no problems at all. We made some changes to the set-up of the suspension this afternoon, which helped to get the car turned into corners easier. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It's always a big test to go into the Baumholder stages and there are always a lot of people out there watching." 5. Remaing Event Schedule Saturday 16 August: Day 2 Trier - Trier Start Trier Viehmarkt 06.15 Serv C Messepark (15 mins) 06.25 SS7 Bosenberg 19.12km 08.18 SS8 Freisen / Westrich 16.16km 08.51 SS9 Birkenfelder Land 14.22km 09.26 RSZ Birkenfeld (15 mins) 10.01 SS10 Arena Panzerplatte 30.38km 10.44 Serv D Messepark (30 mins) 12.49 SS11 Bosenberg 19.12km 14.57 SS12 Freisen / Westrich 16.16km 15.30 SS13 Birkenfelder Land 14.22km 16.05 RSZ Birkenfeld (15 mins) 16.40 SS14 Arena Panzerplatte 30.38km 17.23 Serv E Messepark (30 mins) 18.58 Finish Trier Viehmarkt 19.58 Total 159.76km Sunday 17 August: Day 3 Trier - Trier Start Trier Viehmarkt 06.15 Serv F Messepark (15 mins) 06.25 SS15 Dhrontal 22.22km 07.28 SS16 Moselwein 18.08km 08.03 Serv G Messepark (30 mins) 09.23 SS17 Dhrontal 22.22km 10.41 SS18 Moselwein 18.08km 11.16 SS19 SSS Circus Maximus Trier 4.37km 13.08 Serv H Messepark (10 mins) 13.31 Finish Porta Nigra, Trier 16.15 Total 84.97km Rally total 352.89km |