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| 2008 Rally Japan : WRC Round 14 of 15 : 31st October - 2nd November In this issue: 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Final News 4. Final Team by Team News 5. Championship Points 6. Next Event 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 03.0sec 2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 34.1sec 3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 27min 33.6sec 4. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 28min 45.4sec 5. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Suzuki SX4 3hr 30min 15.9sec 6. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN Suzuki SX4 3hr 31min 12.4sec 7. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 32min 08.3sec 8. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Subaru Impreza 3hr 38min 22.9sec 9. F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 3hr 40min 43.8sec 10 D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 42min 11.5sec 2. Final News Today, Sunday November 2, 2008, will be remembered in rallying's record books as the day Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena claimed their fifth consecutive world title, a unique feat in the history of the sport. Indeed, the pair has reigned supreme since 2004, initially with the Citroën Xsara and, more recently, with the Citroën C4. As in 2005, they made sure of the crown in Japan, this time with one round remaining. BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a magnificent one-two result with the record-breaking Focus RS World Rally Car in Rally Japan today. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen led from the opening speed test on Friday morning to take their third victory of the FIA World Rally Championship season. Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila completed the team's domination of the 14th and penultimate round of the series by finishing second, 31.1sec behind their fellow countrymen. Third place was sufficient for Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) to become the first driver to win five world titles, despite a spin on the penultimate stage. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) claimed fourth. Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki) climbed two places to take fifth, ahead of team-mate Toni Gardemeister, who also overhauled Stobart driver Matthew Wilson (Ford). Petter Solberg (Subaru) took the final points' position, despite breaking an exhaust manifold this morning and incurring a 30sec penalty. Next round (championship positions subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA) 4. Team by Team News BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 It was the squad's third formation finish of the season following one-two triumphs in Sweden and Turkey. The result also means the battle for the manufacturers' title, which Ford is hoping to clinch for a third consecutive year, will go to the final round in Great Britain next month. The team is 11 points behind the leaders with a maximum 18 at stake. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen powered into the lead on the opening stage and was never headed. The 28-year-old built up a comfortable advantage over Latvala during Friday's opening leg. With no pressure from behind, Ford's Finns continued to dominate during the second day and maintained their positions during today's treacherous conditions. Hirvonen won 11 stages to secure his third win of the campaign while 23-year-old Latvala claimed three victories en route to his first podium since June. "I'm delighted with the win but at the same time disappointed that my hopes of the drivers' title are over," said Hirvonen. "We did all we could but it wasn't enough to prevent Sébastien Loeb winning the title, which he richly deserves, and I congratulate him. Conditions were so changeable that it was a difficult and nervewracking weekend and I never had the luxury of being able to ease off. I didn't want to take risks in the wet weather today. I was aquaplaning many times and had several lucky escapes. "Although the drivers' championship is out of reach we will go to the final round with the manufacturers' title still possible and my thoughts will now focus on that," he added. #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: Latvala was delighted to score a podium for the first time since Rally of Turkey. "It feels fantastic to take a top three finish on gravel again. After a bad August this is my third strong rally and I really wanted this result. The conditions were probably the worst I've seen and I can't explain how much water there was in the forests. We seemed to be aquaplaning all the time," he said. "The difficult rallies really suit the Focus RS WRC, which is incredibly strong. We've had no problems during the weekend and when you have to attack in the rough and tough conditions then it's encouraging to know that the car excels on that type of road," added Latvala. Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The curtain is scheduled to come down on the season in three weeks' time in Wales where Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí will be out to secure the Manufacturers' title, too, at the wheel of their respective C4 WRCs. As was the case on Friday and Saturday, Sébastien and Daniel made no attempt to deal their rivals an ipponstyle knockout blow, especially since the conditions were once again wet and muddy. Not surprisingly, the state of the stages produced a certain amount of anxiety within the team's ranks. In the end, however, the Citroën pair completed the rally in third place which was enough to hand them their fifth world title in just six full WRC campaigns! This score takes Sébastien and Daniel clear of the record they previously shared with Juha Kankkunen and, more especially, Tommi Mäkinen, who was the only driver before them to succeed in racking up four consecutive championship wins (1996 to 1999). After today's podium ceremony, Olivier Quesnel was clearly moved by his first title as the new boss of Citroën Sport: "It's very, very satisfying," he smiled. "The fact that Sébastien and Daniel have sewn up the Drivers' title means we have now achieved half the target we set ourselves before the start of the season. We will take time to celebrate today's result with all the Citroën Sport staff back at our base in Satory, but we will then immediately re-focus with a view to wrapping up the Manufacturers' crown in Wales where the skill of our crews and the motivation of everyone in the team promise to be valuable allies…" #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It's a fantastic feeling," beamed Sébastien at the finish. "Along with Daniel and everyone in the team, the objective we set ourselves for this year was to win another world crown, and it's tremendously satisfying to have met that target today. I really wanted to wrap up the title here in Japan to enable us to go into Wales Rally GB with a totally free mind. That made the weekend very long and very frustrating, and I have to say that it wasn't much fun. Our C4 and our Pirelli tyres functioned very well together on this event, though, and we did what we could to keep any thoughts about the championship out of our minds, but it wasn't easy. The title just seemed to loom larger after every stage, and it was well worth the wait in the end!" "I cannot say whether this year's title is any finer than the others," said the now five-time World Champion*. "I will always have special memories of our first crown and I don't want to give the impression that winning is something you get accustomed to; it's just that each title feels different. One thing that has been the same each time is the thrill of being able to share our joy with everyone in the team. They have always given us a car with the potential to challenge for victory, and this is their title, too. That includes Dani Sordo and Marc Martí whose own results contributed to our success. Our thoughts now turn to Cardiff where we will try to make it a championship double for Citroën…" "It's been a long year, but winning the title is such a great feeling," agreed Daniel Elena. "This is our fifth qorld crown together, and each one has given me tremendous pleasure. I'm not interested in the statistics, though; what counts the most is enjoying the stages, profiting from the terrific atmosphere within the team and working with Seb." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "I am very pleased for 'Sébastian' and 'Danos'," added Dani Sordo. "They have scored ten wins so far this year and they fully deserve the title. It's an honour for Marc and me to be in the same team as them. There is still one more round to come and we will do our best to score the points Citroën needs to take the Manufacturers' crown and for us to finish third in the Drivers' championship." The Spaniards failed to finish the Rally Japan, however. Following their turbo trouble on Friday, the team asked them to stop before the finish to enable them to run a new engine on the Wales Rally GB, in accordance with the regulations. Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 The final day of Rally Japan was by far the most treacherous as torrential rain hit the stages, creating rivers that flooded the roads, huge ruts in the thick mud that bounced rally cars left and right and very little traction. Through this, Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot performed solidly to clinch fourth position overall, whilst teammates Petter Solberg and Phil Mills won a further three stages on their comeback after yesterday's retirement. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: After a fantastic effort by the team to repair the number five Impreza overnight, Solberg and Mills restarted in style with their second stage victory on this rally. The duo were unfortunate to suffer a cracked exhaust manifold in stage 23 which robbed them of engine power on the longest test of the day, but a great performance by the team repaired the car during the midday service to allow the duo to take a double win on the last two stages to propel themselves to eighth position. "I must say that we and Subaru have done a very good job and I'm very happy with my performance on Saturday and Sunday. We have improved the speed quite a lot and we have many stage wins and that's very important" said Petter Solberg. "There really are a lot of good things to come from this rally and we need to continue to work with the car from exactly where it is now. "Today was so difficult in the conditions. We had a few problems like a puncture and the screen fully blocked with fog on the long stage in the morning [SS23] so I think we could have won a few more stages actually. I've enjoyed coming back again today, and the team did a very good job to get the car ready and I'm very proud of them. If I'm fourth, or fifth, or sixth, for me, honestly it doesn't matter. The main thing here is that we get the car faster and get back to the top and to fight for a win again. That's absolutely the main thing." #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: Atkinson survived the conditions unscathed, consolidating his fourth position overall. With a comfortable gap behind and too far behind Loeb to fight for third, he was nevertheless unable to drop his guard for even a moment as the conditions waited to strike. His result means he retains fourth position overall in the championship standings with one round to go. "The conditions were very tricky today and we just focused on maintaining our place" said Chris Atkinson. "There was no need to push for position; we had two minutes behind us and a minute and a half in front after the morning so there was no need to do anything silly, but it was still so easy to make a mistake as it's so slippery with full rain and mud. The top three had no problems, so that's the best we could do. It's been a tricky weekend for everyone as the conditions were really difficult with a lot of rain and a lot of water standing in the road, and even at the pace we were going it was difficult to keep the car on the road. We were aquaplaning everywhere so it's good to get through and to finish the rally." Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin have scored a points' finish on the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship by finishing Rally Japan in seventh position today. The 21-year-old driver battled some treacherous conditions to post his sixth points' finish for the 2008 season. #7 : Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato: Unfortunately François Duval/Patrick Pivato retired from the event after an accident on stage 6 saw the French co-driver airlifted to Higashi Tokushukai hospital in Sapporo with a fractured pelvis and fractured tibia. He currently remains in a stable but critical condition with Doctors reporting continued positive improvement in his progress. #8 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "The first day went really well for us and I really enjoyed it apart from the incident with François. I think everyone in the whole WRC community did an amazing job to help and support the situation and I hope Patrick gets well soon and will be back on the rallying scene in no time. Days two and three were a lot more difficult for me and I really struggled in the conditions which were some of the toughest and most demanding I have ever experienced. When I knew I was slipping out of the fight with PG and Toni this afternoon I backed off a lot to preserve the car and just cruised to the end to make sure I secured the points and move up to 10th in the championship." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 The Rally Japan has been a resounding success for Suzuki, with the cars claiming their best-ever results on home territory. At the end of this challenging event, up-and-coming Swede P-G Andersson has finished in fifth place while his Finnish team mate Toni Gardemeister was sixth. As well as scoring driver and manufacturer points with both cars, the Suzuki World Rally Team set its first fastest stage time on Saturday and was never out of the top six times throughout the whole of Sunday. The SX4 WRCs were perfectly reliable from start to finish, despite tough conditions and harsh weather on this brand new event that challenged all the top runners. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: "This has been a very tough but a very good rally for us, which has confirmed what I always thought: when we have a nice clean run with no problems, we are able to fight for a good position. I was also really proud to set Suzuki's first fastest stage time on Saturday. Given that we have not even finished our first full year yet and that we have done no testing, it really shows our potential for the future. We head now to the final round of the season in Great Britain with quite a lot of confidence." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: P-G Andersson: "I've really enjoyed this event and I hope that we've given all the Suzuki fans here something to remember! The car has been completely reliable and without the time we lost to stop and change a puncture yesterday, I think we could have been even closer to the leaders. This rally shows that all the hard work and development we have put in over the course of the year really works and it is a very encouraging sign for the future. After struggling a bit on the asphalt rallies, my confidence is back to full strength and I am looking forward to a solid season finish now." 5. Championship Points Drivers 1. S Loeb 112pts 2. M Hirvonen 102pts 3. D Sordo 59pts 4. J-M Latvala 50pts 5. C Atkinson 50pts 6. P Solberg 41pts Manufacturers 1. Citroen Total 175pts 2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 164pts 3. Subaru 93pts 4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 64pts 5. Suzuki 28pts 6. Munchi's Ford 22pts 6. Next Event After the cold of Japan, the final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship in Wales will be no different. Wales Rally GB runs from 4 - 7 December, during which the challenging gravel roads will be made tougher by ice and fog. The rally is again split with Rally HQ based within Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and the service park based in Swansea's SA1 waterfront development. For the first time in eight years Friday's stages venture into mid-Wales through Brecon and north towards Aberystwyth. The rally visits Cardiff three times, for the ceremonial start and finish, and Saturday's spectator stage within the Millennium Stadium. The rally comprises 19 stages totalling 353.92 competitive kilometres. |