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| 2008 Wales Rally GB : WRC Round 15 of 15 : 5th - 7th 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. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroën C4 2h43m09.6s 2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS +12.7s 3. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroën C4 +1m20.6s 4. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza +1m59.6s 5. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Suzuki SX4 +4m04.1s 6. F Duval/D Giraudet B Ford Focus RS +5m07.8s 7. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN Suzuki SX4 +5m25.0s 8. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS +5m38.8s 9. M Wilson/S Martin GB Ford Focus RS +8m13.9s 10. B Clark/P Nagle GB Ford Focus RS +9m53.1s 11. Patrik Flodin 2. Final News Sebastien Loeb snatched the victory from Jari Matti Latvala in a final stage thriller, and coupled with Dani Sordo's third place Citroen grabbed enough points to secure the manufacturers title. Petter Solberg was encouraged by a strong 4th place whilst PG Andersson equalled Suzuki's best result of the season in 5th. 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 Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished second on Wales Rally GB today after a titanic final day battle. The Finns led for most of this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship in their Focus RS World Rally Car. However, their slender lead disappeared during a thrilling final loop of competition that ended with just 12.7sec splitting Ford's rising young star and established master Sébastien Loeb. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "There was more ice than yesterday and when the sun came up it polished the surface. I had two or three close escapes but that's acceptable in these unpredictable conditions. I want to thank the whole team for helping me to second in the championship. I've had no major mechanical problems this season thanks to such a reliable car and the team has done a fantastic job. To claim this scoring record is a great achievement and I want to move into next year and challenge for the title again. I feel stronger after this season and more ready to fight for the world title again," #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "I told myself I would be either first or second, and not waiting in the forest for a trailer to come and collect the wreckage. I'm disappointed but this is my best finish in Britain and the battle has made me mentally stronger. I now feel ready to start next season and fight for the title. I need to be better than the best because it's the winner who is remembered, not the driver who finishes second. #19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "Just finishing this event feels like a victory! This is without doubt the hardest WRC event I have ever taken part in. Just finding the necessary grip to feel confident in the car was near impossible and it means a lot to me to have reached the finish," Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship in Wales ended with Citroën claiming the 2008 Manufacturers' world title. This year's crown comes after those previously notched up by the French firm in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and adds a further line to the make's already illustrious record in motor sport. Today's success comes shortly after the Driver's title which was secured earlier in the season by Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. By finishing this weekend's Wales Rally GB in first and third places, the performances of Seb/Daniel and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí were amply sufficient to hand Citroën the championship double. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "There couldn't be a better reward for this team and the fantastic season it has put in. The added bonus of winning this weekend's highly complex event is the icing on the cake. The regulations which ban gravel note crews and which dictate a single type of tyre made this rally an extremely perilous exercise. To have succeeded in steering clear of all the potential pitfalls to finally finish ahead of our rivals is tremendously satisfying." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "Before the start, we were given a precise mission and I am delighted to say that we fulfilled it to the letter, adding a little style, too, I think. All year long, we have done our best to finish regularly in the points for Citroën. Seeing the team win the Manufacturers' crown* is the best imaginable reward for all those whose work and efforts helped make that possible." Subaru World Rally Team http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5 After a long season, a final brace of four stages on the last day of competition in the 2008 World Rally Championship confirmed both fourth position on Wales Rally GB for Petter Solberg and Phil Mills, and third position in the WRC Manufacturers' Championship for the Subaru World Rally Team. #5 : Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We knew yesterday that if there was ice this morning, we would not have a chance, but if it was normal gravel or mud, it would have been ok because that's where we have improved the car since Japan. On the fast sections I'm as fast as everyone else, just not on the ice. But we are definitely moving right. There are still a few things to sort out, but now the team have some time until next season so I'm sure we'll return strong and able to really fight." #6 : Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: Retired leg one - accident Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 The final round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship has come to a close as has another fantastic year for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team at this weekend's Wales Rally GB. Leading the way for the side were François Duval/Denis Giraudet who finished sixth overall. The event for Duval started off in cracking fashion as he completed the opening stage as the second fastest driver. Unfortunately a big moment, resulting in a small off, on stage 3 knocked his confidence slightly but the Belgian was able to keep his composure for the remaining stages to finish inside the top-six. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin flew in as the next best placed Stobart crew in ninth on their home event. Treacherous weather conditions on the opening day slightly affected the 21-year-old's confidence but fortunately he was able to regain it as conditions eased off and he began setting some impressive stage times on Saturday and Sunday. #7 : Francois Duval/Denis Giraudet: "We found this rally very hard and it was difficult to really get into a rhythm. We had a few spins on the first day and after the accident in Japan I didn't have confidence to be fully committed in the fast sections. The important thing for me here was to get to the end of the rally with no problems and pick up points for the team. The rally was difficult and finding grip was not easy, sometimes the road had ice and sometimes it was just wet but it always looked the same and was very hard to judge." #8 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "It has been very tough from start to finish and not very nice conditions to drive in. The final day was definitely the best for us and we enjoyed it the most. The stages were so mixed and I don't have any experience of driving on frozen ice and gravel so it was hard to get the confidence to push harder. But we did the best we could, didn't make any mistakes and got the car to the finish inside the top-10. At the end of the day it's more experience for me on conditions I've never driven on before so with that in mind it's been a positive end to the season." #16 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't finish the event but I had to have a go to try and catch Andersson. We ran slightly wide and over some rocks which damaged the rear suspension so it wasn't really the best way to end off the year. This was a difficult event for everyone and we started off slowly here as the conditions were so tricky and finding grip on the frozen gravel was hard. We did find a really good setting with the diff on Saturday and after that we set some good times so I was pleased with that." Suzuki World Rally Team http://suzuki.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=12 The Suzuki World Rally Team has finished its debut World Rally Championship season with the SX4 WRC on a high note, equalling the team's best-ever result. Up-and-coming Swede P-G Andersson was fifth at the end of the Wales Rally GB, matching the result he obtained on the Rally Japan last month. Toni Gardemeister was seventh, ensuring that the team placed both cars in the drivers' and manufacturers' points for the second consecutive event. It was a very positive conclusion to a season that has seen Suzuki steadily climb a steep learning curve, underlining the SX4 WRC's pace and reliability. #11 : Toni Gardemeister/Tomi Tuominen: "Generally speaking there has been a surprising amount of grip today; when I opened the curtains and saw the frost this morning I thought that it would be much worse. However, we still found a patch of ice on SS17 and I had to go up the bank, otherwise we would have been off the road. Apart from that we had no real problems at all and I'm pleased to end the season with a points finish. It's very clear that we've improved the SX4 WRC a lot throughout the year in terms of both speed and reliability." #12 : Per-Gunnar Andersson/Jonas Andersson: "It's been a really good rally for me, and the highlight was obviously finishing the first day in third overall. Today we had a big gap to the car in front so it was more a question of maintaining our position and luckily the conditions were a little more consistent than they were yesterday, so that helped us. We've had no problems at all during all three days and equalled our best ever result here despite the tricky weather, so it's an extremely positive way to end the season." 5. Championship Points Full championship points can be found here: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp 6. Next Event The first rally of next season is Rally Ireland, which debuted in the series at the end of last year. It runs on asphalt roads in the town of Sligo from 30 January to 01 February, so the weather is likely to be wet, cold and icy; just like GB! Nineteen stages, including a spectator test in Donegal Town will take competitors through 366.94km of competition. |