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| RallyeNewsletter 2009 Rally Sardinia : WRC Round 6 of 12 : 22nd - 24th May In this issue: 1. Leg 2 Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Leg 2 News 4. Leg 2 Team by Team News 5. Remaining Event Schedule 1. Unofficial Leaderboard 1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 58min 03.5sec 2. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 58min 13.4sec 3. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Citroen Xsara 2hr 59min 16.1sec 4. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 2hr 59min 18.3sec 5. E Novikov/D Moscatt RUS Citroen C4 3hr 00min 49.5sec 6. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 03min 06.3sec 7. K Al Qassimi/M Orr UAE Ford Focus RS 3hr 05min 01.4sec 8. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 07min 22.3sec 9. M Řstberg/V Engan NOR Subaru Impreza 3hr 10min 32.5sec 10 H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 3hr 10min 33.6sec 2. Leg News Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) hit trouble today when he got a puncture on this afternoons penultimate stage. The Frenchman performed the remarkable feat of changing the puncture in one minute, but victory looks out of the question now. Instead, Ford look set to take their first 1-2 of the season. 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 strengthened its one-two position at the head of the leaderboard in Rally d'Italia Sardegna today. Overnight leaders Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila retained top spot in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car despite enduring the worst of the dusty and slippery road conditions. The Finns are 9.9sec ahead of team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and the Ford pair extended the advantage over ! their nearest challenger to more than a minute. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "The situation looks good now. I took time from Jari-Matti today and he must clean the roads again tomorrow. It has been a great rally so far, but tomorrow won't be straight forward and it's easy to make a simple, but costly, mistake here." #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "The gap to Mikko is very small and it will be hard for me to hold him off tomorrow as I will again open the stages. I would have liked a lead of about 25sec tonight, or to be behind Mikko and force him to do the cleaning role that I had to do today. But if I can drive like I have today then a win isn't out of the question,"#19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "I entered a muddy corner and was trying to keep the car on the line but it slipped out and I lost control. We were heading for some trees on my left but at the last second I pulled the ha! ndbrake and hit a tree side-on. I was doing about 50kph and if I'd hit the tree head-on at that speed the impact would have caused far more damage," Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The second leg turned out to be Citroën Total World Rally Team's most troubled day of the season to date, with Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena losing time after suffering a puncture as they attempted to home in on the leaders. The five time World Champions are still in the running for a top three finish, but mechanical problems prevented Dani Sordo and Marc Marti from building on the excellent comeback performance they produced this morning. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "We picked up a puncture after brushing a tree and we had to stop to change wheels. We beat our own record doing the job, but a minute isn't something you can make up easily." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "It's such a shame because I was feeling really comfortable with my C4 WRC here in Sardinia. We posted some good times before our problem," Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson remains on track to score more important manufacturer points for the team having moved up to sixth place overall at the end of day two of Rally d'Italia Sardegna. But team mate Henning Solberg fell victim to the punishing conditions as broken suspension ended his day midway through SS11 Fiorentini. #6 : Henning Solber/Cato Menkerud: "I had been trying all day to work on the set-up of the car. We've had some good improvements with the diff map! making the car more stable on the faster sections and we're making good progress. But we slipped up under braking for a left-hand corner and I couldn't slow in time for the bend. We hit the front right corner of the car on a tree and I knew immediately that we would not be able to continue. I hope that tomorrow I'll be able to get back out there and score some manufacturer points for the team." #5 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "Today was probably one of the most difficult days of the World Rally Championship so far this year so I'm pleased that it has been mostly trouble-free for us and that we've made it to the end of the day. The first stage was unbelievable. There was a lot of very loose gravel and it became really deeply rutted very quickly. We lost some time catching and passing Dani Sordo. It was on a very narrow section so the dust was hanging in the air and it was hard to! see the trees. But today ended well and we've not put a wheel wrong and I'm hoping to continue that form tomorrow." Citroen Junior Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 Having proved their pace from the very start of the Rally d'Italia Sardegna, Evgeny Novikov and Dale Moscatt end day two of the event in fifth overall. Conrad Rautenbach / Daniel Barritt and Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia did not manage to make the end of the second day, which was extremely tough on all the cars. #7: Evgeny Novikov/Dale Moscatt: "We found a setup that suited us. We're in a good overall position but we will still have to sweep the road clean during the opening loop of stages tomorrow. It's certainly going to be a tough task. On the other hand, with the gaps we have both in front and behind us, there should be ! no need to push too hard. My goal is to finish the rally: that's my absolute priority." #8 : Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt: Damper failure #12: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia: Suspension damage 5. Remaing Event Schedule Sunday 24 May: Day 3 Olbia - Porto Cervo6. Subscription Information Serv F Olbia (15 mins) 06.00 SS13 Monte Olia 19.31km 07.08 SS14 Sorilis 18.66km 07.42 Serv G Olbia (30 mins) 09.03 SS15 Arzachena 10.24km 10.19 SS16 Monte Olia 19.31km 11.46 SS17 Sorilis 18.66km 12.20 Serv H Olbia (10 mins) 13.24 Finish Marina Vecchia, Porto Cervo 14.15 |