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| 2009 Rally Portugal : WRC Round 4 of 15 : 2nd - 5th April 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 FRA Citroen C4 3hr 53min 13.1sec 2. M Hirvonen! /J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 53min 37.4sec 3. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 54min 58.5sec 4. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Citroen Xsara 3hr 55min 57.7sec 5. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 3hr 58min 59.4sec 6. M Řstberg/O Unnerud NOR Subaru Impreza 3hr 59min 33.9sec 7. F Villagra/J Diaz ARG Ford Focus RS 4hr 06min 12.6sec 8. K Al Qassimi/M Orr UAE Ford Focus RS 4hr 11min 34.8sec 9. A Araújo/M Ramalho POR Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 15min 31.6sec 10 M Prokop/J Tománek CZE Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 16min 38.7sec 2. Final News Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) stormed to his 4th win out of 4 this season after Mikko Hirvonen failed to capitalise on running second on the road this morning. The Ford man settled for second after making no inroads into Loeb's lead this morning. Dani Sordo rounded off the podium for Citroen whilst Petter Solberh brought his private Xsara home 4th ahead of brother Henning. 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 Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen maintained their perfect record of podium finishes this season when they finished second in Rally de Portugal today. It was the fourth consecutive podium for the Finns and their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car and keeps them in second place in the FIA World Rally Championship after four of the 12 rounds. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "It's frustr! ating to see Loeb on top again but I'm not giving up on the championship title just yet - we are only a third of the way through the season. I go to every event hoping to win and without him I would do that! The car was excellent here and I really enjoyed the rally, although it was tough yesterday when I had to clean the road at the front," #14 : Khalid al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "This was my best gravel rally. Friday was hard because I slid off the road and then lost time with a turbo boost problem. The team did a great job in fixing it and I stepped up my pace as the weekend continued. My times steadily improved and I'm really happy with this result," Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and the Citroën Total World! Rally Team extended their unbeaten run since the start of the 2009 World Rally Championship by securing their fourth win from four - and their 51st world class success - today in Portugal. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were also on form in the Algarve where they notched up their second podium finish of the year to put Citroën further clear at the top of the provisional Manufacturers' standings. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "As ever, it wasn't an easy weekend. We made a small error on Day 1 which forced us to push hard to make up for lost ground, but the second leg went perfectly for us and we were able to control from in front this morning. It's good that Ford chose not to play a tactical game on Friday afternoon. We preferred to play it straight on Saturday, too, and it's nice to have won that way." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "As soon as it became clear that I wouldn't be able to catch Mikko today, I decided not to ta! ke any risks. I felt very comfortable with my car throughout the rally, and that's a good omen for the rounds which come next." Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team extended their lead over the Citroen Junior team in the FIA World Rally Championship manufacturer standings despite a final day drama which saw Matthew Wilson retire from the rally on the penultimate stage. Henning Solberg kept up his challenge in the driver standings, finishing the Rally de Portugal in fifth, and earning valuable points for the Stobart team as they consolidate their position. #5: Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "To finish the rally like this is a huge disappointment. We had put in a really encouraging performance this week and our times and consistency have improved a lot in the! last two rallies so for this to happen is a big set back to my confidence. The brake pedal felt a bit soft at the start of the stage but then seemed to be ok. But going into a slow corner I couldn't brake enough. We slid off sideways, rolled over but managed to get back on the road. But the clutch had burnt out and after another kilometre we had no drive and that was our rally over." #6 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "I'm very pleased with this result, it give us more important points for the drivers' championship and also for the Stobart team. But I'm not happy about the way it happened and it's a real shame for Matthew. This rally wasn't easy as the stages are very tricky with differing sections and it's so hard to get a nice flow and rhythm in some of the stages. We tried to battle with him this morning but it was over before it had even begun. Our screen misted up badly and we had to stop for a while to let it clea! r; but the dust was also a lot worse on the last day, very patchy and inconsistent. Generally it was a good rally and we had a fantastic road position during the second day. We really used this to our advantage and put in some competitive times." Citroen Junior Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 No information available at time of writing. Please check site later. 5. Championship Points Full championship points at: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp? 6. Next Event Round five takes competitors outside of Europe for the first time this season. Rally Argentina, one of the championship's classic fixtures, is another gravel event and! is based in Carlos Paz on 23 - 26 April. |