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| 2008 Rally Japan : WRC Round 14 of 15 : 31st October - 2nd November 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 After four years in Obihiro, the rally moves west to Sapporo in the central region of Hokkaido, the country's most northerly island. It is based at the 43,000-capacity Sapporo Dome, a modern baseball and soccer stadium that hosted the 2002 World Cup. The dome also hosts five asphalt speed tests, the first time in WRC history that two cars run simultaneously on a super special stage in a covered arena. All the special stages are new to the WRC but most of the countryside tests have been used for many years in Japan's national championship. Most are based on medium to high-speed gravel forest roads and organisers describe them as flowing with good visibility. Both titles could be wrapped up this weekend, if Loeb and Citroen have a trouble free weekend. 3. Other News " Vouilloz takes IRC title http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=7484 " Live IRC to revolutionise rallying on TV http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=7485 4. Team by Team Preview BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Reigning manufacturers' world champion BP Ford Abu Dhabi lies second in the 2008 standings and must realistically take maximum points to ensure the title fight goes to the final round in Britain in December. Similarly, Hirvonen holds second in the drivers' table and victory is essential. However, even a maximum 10-point haul may not be enough to take the battle into the final round. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Last week's test went well and it was a good feeling to be back on gravel. I have to go to Japan and try to win again, it's the only thing I can do to try to keep the championships alive," #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "Mikko and I have to try to take maximum points and keep the Citroens behind us. The recce is very important because everyone must write new pace notes. We have to be focused because otherwise it can affect the quality of the notes, and when they're not precise then it's difficult to trust them fully and to attack as much as normal. I was happy with my pre-event test in which I made good improvements to my dry weather suspension set-up." Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 Citroën Total has entered the 2008 Rally Japan - the penultimate round of this year's 15-round World Rally Championship - with C4 WRCs for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. The team's trip to the land of the rising sun could prove decisive in both title chases, since Citroën has an arithmetical possibility of clinching one or possibly even both of this year's world crowns. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "If our rivals win," continues the Alsace-born driver, "we will need to come away with at least six points. That means finishing in third place and we will start with that in mind and see how things unfold. We will always have the possibility of adjusting our pace to ensure we stay concentrated and don't make any mistakes. I would like to wrap up the title in Japan so that we can focus our attention on winning when we go to Wales." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: " The switch to a new region will level the playing field and I am encouraged by our recent runs on the loose compared with the drivers who are known to be quick on gravel. It's now up to me to try to catch them. It won't be simple, but we will try to find a fast but safe pace. If we succeed, we should be able to secure a good result to score the points Citroën needs in the Manufacturers' championship." Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 The Subaru World Rally Team will head to the northerly Japanese island of Hokkaido for the last long-haul rally and the penultimate round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. It is the first time that the new Impreza WRC2008 will be seen in its homeland. Whilst still in Hokkaido, this year sees the rally base move from Obihiro to Sapporo, meaning new gravel stages and a whole new challenge. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "My message to the Subaru and WRC fans in Japan is this: please look forward to this rally! We have been shifting our focus to gravel performance for Japan and GB and developing a setup that will get the best from the car in these conditions. Just like when I won Rally Japan in 2004, I will head to Japan thinking of nothing but a victory." #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: "I was the first Australian driver to stand on the podium when I scored my very first podium here on the 2005 Rally Japan so I have some good memories. It also tells you that we can perform better when the average speed is faster. It's an important rally for us and the team, and I'm looking forward to it. It's the team's home and everyone there is a huge Subaru fan!" Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 An all-new location will play host to this year's penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship as crews head to Sapporo for next week's Rally Japan. The event will see the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team field two entrants - Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin and François Duval/Patrick Pivato - in the land of the rising sun. #7 : Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato: "It is not going to be easy for me to go fast from the start in Japan because the last time I was here was three years ago but OK this year the rally is in a new location which means new roads, and pace-notes, for everybody. It took some time for me to find a good setup with the Focus in New Zealand but now I have the gravel kilometres on board from that event we can hopefully transfer the knowledge into speed next week in Japan. There are some big fights for the top places in the championship right now so these guys will be hard to match but hopefully by the end of the rally I will be pushing for a podium like on the last two events in Spain and Corsica." #8 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "Things are going to be quite interesting this year in Japan coming to a new place where it's new stages and potentially a new surface for everybody. From some pictures I have seen of the roads it looks like they are going to be quite narrow so it could be a challenging event next week. I'm looking forward to it though, last year we had a clean run and a great result and hopefully we can do the same again this year. Again thought it will be a challenge and we are going to have to write fresh pacenotes for all the stages and I think this will be a part of everyone's approach to the rally that is going to be crucial." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 The penultimate round of this year's World Rally Championship marks an important occasion for Suzuki, as it is the first time that the SX4 WRC will be seen on its home territory. The rally takes place on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, more than a thousand kilometres away from Suzuki's headquarters in Hamamatsu. But the event is still a source of great national pride for the Japanese team, and drivers Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson will be cheered on by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Japanese fans. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: The key to doing well in Japan is to be very neat and precise, and try to never get off the line. I quite like it, because in some ways this makes it a bit similar to Rally Finland. One big difference though is that the roads are a lot narrower and the grip is much more inconsistent - or at least this was the case when I did Rally Japan in the past." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: We've done a lot of work on the SX4 WRC since the start of the year and now I think it is really starting to pay off. The stages in Japan require proper commitment from the driver, particularly under braking, so I think that they should suit us well. After Corsica my confidence is back now, so my target will be to do my very best and try to finish in the points for Suzuki at home." 5. Event Statistics " 5th Rally Japan (October 30-November 2), round 14 of 15 Surface: gravel. Base: Sapporo. Start ceremony: Thursday October 30 (from 19.30), Sapporo Dome. " Route: the total distance is 1,314.62km, including 343.28km divided into 29 stages (12 different). 6. Event Schedule Thursday 30 October: Ceremonial start Start Sapporo Dome 19.30 Friday 31 October: Day 1 Sapporo - Sapporo Start Sapporo Dome 08.00 SS1 Heper 1 13.24km 09.11 SS2 Yuparo 1 11.10km 09.39 SS3 Isepo 1 13.67km 10.42 SS4 Pipaoi 1 5.74km 11.28 Serv A Sapporo Dome (30 mins) 12.47 SS5 Heper 2 13.24km 14.28 SS6 Yuparo 2 11.10km 14.56 SS7 Isepo 2 13.67km 15.59 SS8 Pipaoi 2 5.74km 16.45 SS9 Sapporo 1 1.49km 18.14 SS10 Sapporo 2 1.49km 18.24 Serv B Sapporo Dome (45 mins) 18.37 Finish Sapporo Dome 19.22 Total 90.48km Saturday 1 November: Day 2 Sapporo - Sapporo Serv C Sapporo Dome (15 mins) 07.30 SS11 Imeru 1 2.57km 08.28 SS12 Nikara 1 31.12km 09.21 SS13 Kamuycep 1 33.66km 10.37 SS14 Kina 1 9.55km 11.32 Serv D Sapporo Dome (30 mins) 12.37 SS15 Imeru 2 2.57km 13.50 SS16 Nikara 2 31.12km 14.43 SS17 Kamuycep 2 33.66km 15.59 SS18 Kina 2 9.55km 16.54 SS19 Sapporo 3 1.49km 18.09 SS20 Sapporo 4 1.49km 18.19 Serv E Sapporo Dome (45 mins) 18.32 Finish Sapporo Dome 19.17 Total 156.78km Sunday 2 November: Day 3 Sapporo - Sapporo Serv F Sapporo Dome (15 mins) 06.00 SS21 Koyka 1 3.57km 07.07 SS22 Iwanke 1 13.57km 07.56 SS23 Sikot 1 27.76km 08.21 SS24 Imeru 3 2.57km 08.53 SS25 Sapporo 5 1.49km 10.06 Serv G Sapporo Dome (30 mins) 10.36 SS26 Koyka 2 3.57km 11.58 SS27 Iwanke 2 13.57km 12.47 SS28 Sikot 2 27.76km 13.12 SS29 Imeru 4 2.57km 13.44 Serv H Sapporo Dome (10 mins) 14.30 Finish Sapporo Dome 15.00 Total 96.43km Rally total 343.69km 7. Championship Points Full standings http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp |