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| 2008 Wales Rally GB : WRC Round 15 of 15 : 5th - 7th November In this issue: 1. Leg 1 Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Leg news 4. Leg 1 Team by Team News 5. Remaining Event Schedule 1. Unofficial Leaderboard 1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 31min 20.5sec 2. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 31min 33.4sec 3. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Suzuki SX4 31min 43.0sec 4. M Østberg/O Unnerud NOR Subaru Impreza 31min 44.5sec 5. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Subaru Impreza 31min 47.9sec 6. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 31min 52.7sec 7. F Duval/D Giraudet BEL Ford Focus RS 32min 12.5sec 8. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 32min 15.3sec 9. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 32min 25.2sec 10 M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 32min 53.5sec 2. Leg News Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila overcame savage weather conditions to lead Wales Rally GB following today's opening leg. Making the best of the improved conditions further down the start order were inexperienced youngsters Sébastien Ogier (Citroen) and Mads Ostberg (Subaru). This year's junior world champion Ogier, making his debut in a WRC car, led until the second pass through Myherin when he stopped briefly with a gearbox problem and slipped to eighth. Ostberg held second until he spun in the same test and ended the day in fourth. Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) won two stages to climb to second, ahead of Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki). Behind Ostberg, Petter Solberg (Subaru) and Dani Sordo (Citroen) rounded off the top six. Stobart driver François Duval (Ford) lost 20sec after spinning on stage six, but the Belgian holds seventh, while team-mate Henning Solberg (Ford) had differential problems this morning and is ninth. The only major retirement was Chris Atkinson (Subaru) who crashed on the penultimate test and his car briefly caught fire. 4. Team by Team News BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila overcame savage weather conditions to lead Wales Rally GB following today's opening leg. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team pair leads this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 12.9sec in their Focus RS World Rally Car after wintry weather decimated the schedule. Team-mates and fellow Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are 29th in another Focus RS WRC after crashing this afternoon. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "I drove through the famous watersplash near the end of the stage and I knew it would throw the car sideways, but it threw me further than I expected. The car hit a bank and rolled onto its roof. The spectators weren't allowed to help us push the car back onto its wheels and it took us nearly four minutes to get going again," #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "Conditions were extreme with heavy rain, snow, ice, mud and water - but I'm happy! Today's stages are the most difficult of the rally but the weather made them even harder. In places I couldn't see because my wipers couldn't work fast enough. Loeb will attack tomorrow and I have to be prepared for that, especially on the opening stage where there might be more ice. #19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "I didn't have confidence in those conditions so I had to learn what to do. They were brutal and staying on the road was the sole objective in most places. Every time I thought I was finding some rhythm, I hit a patch of road which was just pure ice." Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The first day of the Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship, has put Citroën Sport in a favourable position in its bid to clinch a fourth Manufacturers' world title on Sunday afternoon. The five-time World Champions* Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are second overall this evening in their C4 WRC, while their team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Martí follow in sixth place in the second factory Citroën. Today will also be remembered as the day that Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia marked their debut in world class rallying with a WRC car by posting the fastest time on the opening test before leading outright for three stages. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "The start of SS6 was even delayed because of a hailstorm! Our hard compound tyres weren't exactly in their element in the mud and couldn't provide enough grip. We aren't allowed to 're-cut' the tread patterns either, so we couldn't get extra grip that way. All in all, though, I think we came through the day fairly well…" #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "Everything has gone to plan so far, but driving this cautiously is really not what I enjoy. But the prospect of the reward that possible awaits us on Sunday made it well worth the effort..." Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 Amid the ice, mud, pounding rain and hail storms the SWRT crews of Petter Solberg/Phil Mills and Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prévot were running strongly in fifth and sixth positions overall until stage seven when the Impreza WRC2008 No.6 of Chris and Stéphane crashed at speed. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We were very careful this morning just trying to find out how the roads were and the limit, and we were in a quite ok position. We made some changes in the midday service and on the long stage [SS6] we started fastest, then the screen fogged up so we couldn't see anything. I was driving from Phil's notes, but the stage is very fast so we lost time quickly. I lost I'm sure 14 or 15 seconds so I think we could have been fighting for the lead. When I heard about Chris when we were waiting to start the stage after him it's scary, very difficult. It makes you more cautious. With these tyres and no tread cutting, no gravel crew, full ice and rock hard tyres; I just don't know. I think the next two days will be the same road conditions too." #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: No quote available Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Treacherous weather conditions have seen a manic start to the closing round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship with just 49.7 kilometres of competitive distance covered on day 1 of Wales Rally GB. A day which has thrown numerous challenges at WRC crews sees François Duval/Denis Giraudet as the best placed Stobart VK M-Sport Ford crew in seventh position. #7 : Francois Duval/Denis Giraudet: "We've had a few problems today mainly with the intercom not working but we also had two spins in the long stage. It's very difficult with the ice and after my accident in Japan I'm not fully committed in the fast sections. The ice is making the braking very slippery so the important thing is to be careful out there." #8 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "It's been a really long day and a really difficult day and I'm glad to be back here in one piece. The conditions are starting to get dangerous. The tyres are strong but obviously not working well in these conditions; it's a shame we are not allowed to cut them anymore. I'm just hoping that tomorrow will be better we need to get a few good stages under our belt." #16 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "The conditions have been very difficult today and we had a small spin in the long stage. There was lots of rain and fog and it really was very difficult to drive in there. In the morning the grip and feeling with the car wasn't very good but things went better this afternoon; it's been a really hard day and hopefully tomorrow will prove to be easier." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 On the final event of this year's World Rally Championship, both the Suzuki SX4 WRC entries are in the points, confirming the solid progress made throughout the season. P-G Andersson finished the day in third - Suzuki's best-ever result - while his team mate Toni Gardemeister was 11th after being slowed by a badly misting-up windscreen. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: "When the windscreen misted up in the afternoon it was really bad; I could hardly see at all, and I was having to ask my co-driver Tomi about what he could see through the right-hand bends. It got much worse after the watersplash, so some water must have got into the car. But when conditions are good, we can set some nice times so I'm hoping for another strong day tomorrow. It was definitely the right decision to cancel the stages, as the ice was really bad in the morning." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: "It's been a great day today, and I am very proud to be on the podium overnight; the first time that this has happened for me or Suzuki with the SX4 WRC. This just goes to show that all the hard work we have put in over the year is really starting to pay off. Conditions today have been as bad as I can remember on the Rally GB: even the road sections were slippery! But I've really enjoyed today and I am aiming for another strong run tomorrow." 5. Remaing Event Schedule Saturday 6 December: Day 2 Swansea - Swansea Start Swansea 07.15 Serv C Swansea (15 mins) 07.25 SS9 Resolfen 1 30.68km 08.18 SS10 Halfway 1 18.57km 09.47 SS11 Crychan 1 14.86km 10.13 Serv D Swansea (30 mins) 12.13 SS12 Resolfen 2 30.68km 13.21 SS13 Halfway 2 18.57km 14.50 SS14 Crychan 2 14.86km 15.16 SS15 Cardiff 0.99km 18.15 Serv E Swansea (45 mins) 19.23 Finish Swansea 20.18 Total 129.21km Sunday 7 December: Day 3 Swansea - Swansea Start Swansea 06.50 Serv F Swansea (15 mins) 07.00 SS16 Rheola 1 27.96km 07.55 SS17 Port Talbot 1 20.09km 09.03 Serv G Swansea (30 mins) 10.00 SS18 Rheola 2 27.96km 11.10 SS19 Port Talbot 2 20.09km 12.18 Serv H Swansea (10 mins) 13.03 Finish Law Courts, Cardiff 14.56 Total 96.10km Rally total 348.99km |