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| RallyeNewsletter 2008 Rally New Zealand : WRC Round 11 of 15 : 29th - 31st August In this issue: 1. Event Preview 3. Other News 4. Team by Team Preview 5. Event statistics 6. Event Schedule 7. Championship Points 1. Event Preview For the third year running, the Rally New Zealand is based in Hamilton, capital of the beautiful Waikato region and 125km south of Auckland. The route focuses essentially on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island and is divided into 16 stages totalling 354.58km. Mikko Hirvonen and Ford will be looking to seize back the initiative in the championship after two straights win in a row for Sebastien Loeb. 2. Event linksEntry List3. Other News " The IRC's Barum Rally took place last weekend, for our Barum event index including news, results and photos please click here: http://www.rallye-info.com/event.asp?sid=11&event=482 " Rallyeinfo.com now also produce a newsletter for IRC, to update your subscription options to include IRC newsletters, please click here: http://www.rallye-info.com/newsletter/user/login.php 4. Team by Team Preview BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team journeys to New Zealand for the third rally in just five weekends intent on putting its world title challenge back on track. The world champion dropped to second in both the manufacturers' and drivers' standings in the FIA World Rally Championship on Germany's asphalt roads earlier this month and is keen to make amends on the team's more favoured gravel surface. The flowing roads of Rally New Zealand (28 - 31 August) offer the perfect opportunity for the all-Finnish line-up of Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and colleagues Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila to fight back in their Focus RS World Rally Cars. Fast, smooth as a billiard table and cambered, the North Island roads gently wind through lush, green countryside and are similar to Finland. They are widely regarded as the most enjoyable of the season and invite drivers to attack. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "The engine improvements on the new car that we debuted in Germany have made a difference. The tight regulations mean it's not possible to make big steps forward but the engine response has definitely improved. Everything happens a little faster than it did so I hope that will benefit us in New Zealand also. It's important to win rallies for our title challenges but if I can't do that then I have to score as many points as possible," #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "This is a rally that I enjoy and after my disappointment in Germany earlier this month it will help to go to a rally that I like and feel comfortable with. I prefer to go here now than a tough, rocky rally like the Acropolis in Greece for example," Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The 2008 Rally New Zealand takes place some 19,000km from Citroën Sport's headquarters and the squad travels to the other side of the world on top of the provisional Manufacturers' and Drivers' standings. Two C4 WRCs have been entered for the team's usual crews, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. This foursome will be joined by Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk and Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior in cars prepared and run by PH Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Sport Technologies, making a total of four C4 WRCs for the 11th round of the 2008 World Rally Championship. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: We will be first on the road, but just how big a handicap that turns out to be will depend on how damp the conditions are. There are quite a few stages that we will only contest once, so we potentially stand to lose quite a lot of time. That said, the fact that we will be first on the road on Day 1 means that we are on top in the championship, and we intend to do all we can to defend that lead! The key will be to find a set-up for our C4 WRC that works with the Pirelli Hard tyre. The set-up we ran in Finland was very good and I had a great feeling with my car. It will be up to us to find ourselves in the same sort of position in New Zealand." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "You can really just focus on your driving without fear of damaging the mechanicals, and that's very nice! This is only my third visit, of course. The pace is so quick that it's essential to have a good feel for the terrain and I still perhaps lack sufficient experience. That said, our performance in Finland suggests that a good result is possible. Indeed, there are a few similarities between the two events, so that will be a big confidence booster in New Zealand. I'm expecting it to be very close again, and I intend to approach the three days very cautiously, although I would very much like to target another podium finish." Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 Just one week after competition in Germany, the Subaru World Rally Team heads for the gravel roads of Repco Rally New Zealand, the eleventh round of the World Rally Championship, for an event marked by milestones both past and present. The rally marks the 15th anniversary of Subaru's first World Rally win, on the 1993 New Zealand Rally, at the hands of Colin McRae in what was the last rally for the Subaru Legacy. The win was pivotal in the introduction of the iconic Impreza to the World Rallying scene, effectively heralding the new era for the team. It was also to be the first of three wins for Colin in New Zealand, putting him in the elite group of only three drivers to have ever claimed a hat-trick of victories on the event. Now, 15 years on, the event also marks the 200th World Rally start for the Subaru Impreza. Although now in its latest iteration, the Impreza's heritage within the WRC is unquestionable and Subaru's road-going iterations carry more WRC lineage than any other marque. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I like New Zealand as it is fast and flowing, and you really have to have the confidence to commit to be quick. At the end of Germany I was feeling really good, it was a definite step forward. But now we are back to gravel so it's totally different, so we work on what we had in Finland and see where we go from there. I hope we can keep the same feeling from Germany and then I think we'll be quite strong." #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: "I'm really looking forward to New Zealand but we need to find a little more speed if we're going to compete with the likes of Seb, Mikko and Jari-Matti. We have some good ideas from Finland, so if everything works out, I think we could be strong there. As with last year it's the closest to my home rally this season so I'm looking forward to getting there, meeting all the guys who are coming over from home, and closing the gap to those in front." Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin and François Duval/Patrick Pivato will head to the southern hemisphere for round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship next week; Repco Rally New Zealand. With regular Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team member Gigi Galli sidelined after last week's accident in Germany, Duval has been called up for the NZ event after his impressive third place result on the German stages. #7 : Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato: "I haven't competed in New Zealand for two years so it will be difficult going back there with some new stages and knowing most of the other competitors have the advantage of experience on the roads. But I know that the Ford Focus is a fantastic car on gravel and that is a good feeling for me; I am confident that I will be able to a find a comfortable setting with it quite soon. It is also a benefit to have spent time in the car just last week. My plan for the rally is firstly to try and finish in the points and if the confidence is good then maybe I will be able to increase the speed." #8 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "This is probably my favourite event so I'm really looking forward to it and getting back on gravel after Germany. We are also nominated to score points on what is one of my stronger events so hopefully we can help the Stobart team out in New Zealand. I like the nature of the stages and the camber of the corners plus the high speeds which give the event a Finland sort of feel. I have heard reports of quite bad weather recently in Hamilton so it will be interesting to see how the stages hold up once we are out there." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 Both Suzuki drivers have been extremely pleased with the SX4 WRC's level of reliability over the last two rallies, and the team now plans to continue this solid form on the other side of the world in New Zealand. The suspension and damper settings will be specifically refined for the local roads, making the shakedown test on Thursday morning an important opportunity to fine-tune the SX4 WRC to yet another rally that is entirely new to it. A raft of improvements to the car originally introduced for Rally Finland - such as evolutions to the bodyshell and engine - should be well-suited to the roads in New Zealand as well. The cars will use Pirelli's hard compound Scorpion gravel tyres for the first time since the Rally of Turkey in June. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: "It's been a long time since I drove in New Zealand and most of the stages will be new to me, but I'm looking forward to them and I think they should suit us well. I've always had a good feeling in New Zealand and if things go well we have a decent chance of a good result. The most important thing is that our SX4 WRC seems very reliable now, so if we stay out of trouble again we can hope to score some points. Certain parts of Rally New Zealand are a little bit like Finland, but you don't need so much power: it's more a question of carrying the momentum through all the bends and finding a good rhythm." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: "It's the sort of place where you can't force a car: you have to drive naturally and let the rhythm come to you. In that respect, it's a little bit similar to Sweden. I'm going to try not to make any mistakes, and hopefully we should have a good result to show for our efforts." 5. Event Statistics 38th Rally New Zealand (August 28-31): round 11 of 15. Surface: gravel. Base: Hamilton. Practical information: the time difference between New Zealand (UTC+12) and continental Europe is 10 Technical: The chassis and engine for New Zealand are paired with Japan. The cars used in Hamilton will go Tyres: only one type of tyre is available, namely the Pirelli Scorpion WRC 205/65R15 Hard. It is possible to Recce: scheduled for Tuesday August and Wednesday 27 August (08.00 until 18.45). Two passes are Shakedown: Thursday August 28 (08.00 until 12.00). the 3.08km test stage uses the super-special which is Press conference: Thursday August 28 (from 13.30), press office, Mystery Creek. Start ceremony: Thursday August 28 (from 18.30), Hood Street, Hamilton town centre (cars start in Route: the total distance is 1,218.38km, including 354.58km divided into 16 stages (10 different). 6. Event Schedule Thursday 28 August: Ceremonial start Start Hood Street, Hamilton 18.30 Friday 29 August: Day 1 Hamilton - Hamilton Start Mystery Creek 08.20 SS1 Pirongia West 1 24.22km 09.18 SS2.1 Waitomo 1 part 1 25.85km 10.21 SS2.2 Waitomo 1 part 2 17.36km 10.54 Serv A Mystery Creek (30 mins) 12.39 SS3 Pirongia West 2 24.22km 14.07 SS4.1 Waitomo 2 part 1 25.85km 15.10 SS4.2 Waitomo 2 part 2 17.36km 15.43 SS5 Mystery Creek 1 3.14km 17.03 Serv B Mystery Creek (45 mins) 17.18 Finish Mystery Creek 18.03 Total 138.00km Saturday 30 August: Day 2 Hamilton - Hamilton Serv C Mystery Creek (15 mins) 06.50 SS6 Port Waikato 17.22km 09,08 SS7 Possum 13.78km 09.46 SS8 Franklin 31.58km 10.24 SS9 Mystery Creek 2 3.14km 12.37 Serv D Mystery Creek (30 mins) 13.15 SS10 Te Akau South 31.92km 15.03 SS11 Te Akau North 32.36km 15.46 Serv E Mystery Creek (45 mins) 17.46 Finish Mystery Creek 18.34 Total 130.00km Sunday 31 August: Day 3 Hamilton - Hamilton Serv F Mystery Creek (15 mins) 07.45 SS12 Te Hutewai 1 11.23km 09.23 SS13 Whaanga Coast 1 29.72km 09.51 RSZ G Raglan (15 mins) 10.57 SS14 Te Hutewai 2 11.23km 11.28 SS15 Whaanga Coast 2 29.72km 11.56 SS16 Mystery Creek 3 3.14km 14.00 Serv H Mystery Creek (10 mins) 14.18 Finish Mystery Creek 15.00 Total 85.04km Rally total 353.04km 7. Championship Points Full standings http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp |