|
|
| 2008 Rally Australia : WRC Round 10 of 12 : 3rd - 6th September In this issue: 1. Event Preview 3. Other News 4. Team by Team Preview 5. Event statistics 6. Event Schedule 7. Championship Points 1. Event Preview Teams are looking forward to an exciting new challenge Down Under this week as the FIA World Rally Championship moves towards its climax at Rally Australia. The WRC is making its hotly-anticipated return to Australia for the first time since 2006. With a new Gold Coast venue 4000kms east of its previous home in Perth, the revamped rally will provide a new challenge for all of the 44 entered crews, with a staggering 35 stages, more than any other rally this season, included on the itinerary. The new-look event will be based around the Tweed and Kyogle Shires in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. A beach-front Service Park in the town of Kingscliff will act as the base for the teams, while the 344.72kms of competitive stages will take place on the loose gravel roads of the region producing a high-speed spectacle for the Australian fans. The new format includes an exciting sealed-surface Super Special Stage where three cars at a time will run on the 2.55km course bringing the thrilling spectacle of night time rallying to the town of Murwillumbah on three nights of the rally. With two passes over the stage on the opening night it will be the first time that a rally has run two stages on a Thursday evening this season. The rally kicks off on Thursday night with those two runs over the Kyogle Super Special Stage and a packed crowd is expected to turn out to watch on the specially designed Murwillumbah track. On Friday morning the crews head west of Service Park where they face 11 stages before returning to Murwillumbah for two more passes over the Super Special S! tage taking the day’s total to 106.79kms. Saturday’s 113.45km of competitive stages are based around Kyogle and the Stobart crews will again be relying upon the Pirelli Scorpion control gravel tyre to sweep the expected loose gravel from the roads. At 124.48kms Day Three is, unusually, the longest of the rally with the action taking place west of Service Park around the town of Bonalbo. The final day includes a remote service and two passes over the longest stage of the rally, the 21.52km Castrol Edge West before the official live televised finish in Kingscliff. 3. Other News * News archive: http://www.rallye-info.com/news.asp 4. Team by Team Preview BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team takes its four-event winning run to Australia next week intent on strengthening its lead in the FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings. Three successive victories for Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in the record-breaking Ford Focus RS World Rally Car have propelled the Finnish duo into a three-point advantage! ahead of a new-look Rally Australia (3 - 6 September). The Ford squad is surfing a wave of success after equalling the team's best ever winning run in the WRC last month. Victory for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in Italy preceded Hirvonen's hat-trick in Greece, Poland and an emotional home town success in Finland. Just three of the 12 rounds remain and the virgin rally territory of the Tweed region, home to the Aboriginal people for 10,000 years, and the Kyogle area, known as The Gateway to the Rainforest, will provide a tough challenge. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen claimed his first WRC win in Australia in 2006 but the 29-year-old Finn acknowledges that will count for nothing on new roads. "This is a brand new rally so I don't know what to expect," he said. "The roads in the west where I won in 2006 are different to those we will experience here. The tracks were covered in slippery marble-like stones ! but I understand these roads are more traditional gravel, which should suit me. I love Australia, the people are friendly and easy going - like me! "It's a crucial rally for the championship. I will try to win but if I can't, then I must score as many points as possible. Zero points and the title fight could be over for me this year. I have a good record on new rallies, although I don't feel I do anything differently in either the recce or the rally itself. But I'll be happy if I can maintain that record," added Hirvonen, who hopes to help 40-year-old Lehtinen celebrate his 100th WRC start in style. #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: Latvala, starting his third Rally Australia, identified the arduous schedule as a key factor. Drivers must spend more than 14 hours behind the wheel during the first leg, over 15 hours on the second day and more than 11 hours on the usually short final leg. "They are long days and it wi! ll be important to adapt quickly to the time difference after the flight there and sleep a lot to be ready for this rally," said Latvala. "Maintaining concentration will be harder than usual. In most rallies the stages are held in groups of three, but it's different here. The opening section on the first leg includes seven tests so it will be important to remain focused during the long liaison sections. "Shorter stages usually mean the competition is close because it's more difficult to open big time gaps on short tests than it is on longer sections. The drivers' championship is looking set for an exciting finish and my job in Australia will be to score solid points to help Mikko maintain his challenge for the title," added 24-year-old Latvala. #15 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr will drive a third Focus RS WRC for the team. Al Qassimi is eager to maintain the form tha! t has seen the 37-year-old driver claim points on four occasions from six outings this year. "I am very much looking forward to the Australian east coast rally experience. The stages will be new to everyone, so we are all in the same position to give it our best shot and get the most out of the challenge. I have great confidence in my car and the team, so I just need to prove that I can perform on the unknown stages," said Al Qassimi. Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will have just one aim during the new-look event, and that will be to return to their winning ways with a view to keeping their chances of scoring a sixth consecutive world title alive. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti are just as motivated and have demonstrated on several occasions recently that they are capable of ri! valling with the world's best crews on every type of surface, a claim they will be keen to confirm in Australia. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Sébastien Loeb won the 2004 Rally Australia and is targeting the same sort of result this year: "Our goal is to win, or at least finish ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. As the situation stands at the moment, the way the championship finishes is in my hands. If I win the last three rallies, I will be the World Champion. My mission will become somewhat more complex, however, if Mikko beats me just once! This weekend's event promises to be extremely close because Mikko is particularly strong on fast gravel, especially when the stages are new to everyone. The way recce goes will be vital, not only in terms of the precision of our pacenotes but also regarding the quality of the information we are able to provide the team in order to decide on the best set-up for the start. I feel rested after the recent four-week break and I have! nothing against this sort of relaxed rhythm, but it is always a little bit harder to get back into the swing after a month without driving competitively." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "I always enjoy discovering new places. Australia is a dream for many because there are few destinations which are further away from Europe. I can't wait to get back behind the wheel of my car. Even though I've been enjoying myself since Rally Finland, I never tire of driving my C4! I only contested Rally Australia once when it was based in Perth, and I don't have a particularly fond memory of that because my gearbox broke on the first stage. I really don't know what to expect this time round, although I do know that the stages won't be carpeted with the small round stones which used to make the Perth-based event so difficult…" As his podium finishes in Portugal, Argentina and Poland testify, the young Spaniard is now in a position to challenge the very best WRC drivers! on the loose: "As usual, I will try to go as quickly as possible! Citroën has a lead of 14 points in the Manufacturers' World Championship standings and my objective in Australia will be to keep the same sort of gap in order to ease the pressure going into the last two rounds. Obviously, if the situation arises, I will also do all I can to help Seb in his bid to win the Driver's title…" Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 After a disappointing result due to a suspension breakage in the last round of the championship, Rally Finland, Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud will be looking to strengthen their position in the Drivers’ Championship and again challenge for a podium place. The absence of Solberg’s brother Petter from proceedings gives him the perfect opportunity to consolidate his fantastic fifth place in the standings which would mark his best ever season in the WRC. Meanwhile, Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin have only failed to finish in one round of the championship so far this season in their Ford Focus RS WRC, taking top-eight finishes in seven events, and will be looking to maintain their consistent record in Australia. In his only previous outing in the rally in 2006 Wilson finished 26th. But he will be aiming considerably higher than that this time around as he chases down Petter Solberg in the drivers’ standings. #6 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: “I really enjoy the fast gravel rallies and from competing in Australia before I know that I enjoy it there. I had an accident there last time so I really don’t want a repeat of that. I hope that I can achieve another top-five finish as, with Petter not competing in Australia, that would help my position in the drivers’ standings; so I need to make the most of his absence and score good poin! ts. I have had a lot of bad luck recently, and I know that anything can happen, but I hope that it is my turn to have some good luck.” #5 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: “It’s a completely new rally so it’s going to be really exciting but with 35 stages it’s going to be a pretty challenging weekend for us. We haven’t seen a rally with that many stages for a while so it’s definitely going to be different. I have done Rally Australia before, but it will be a new experience for Scott [Martin] and being in a new venue it will be a great challenge for us both as a team. From what we have heard that are some great, flowing stages, with wide, fast roads so I’m really looking forward to seeing them on the recce.” 5. Event Statistics Host town: Kingscliff Practical information: Rally HQ is in the Mantra building on SALT Beach at Gunnamatta Avenue in Kingscliff. The med! ia centre is in Peppers SALT Resort and Spa on Bells Boulevard. The service park is located at Kingscliff sports field, 5km from Rally HQ. Australia's east-coast is (GMT +10). During the rally, the sun will rise at 05:55 and set at 17:35. The local currency is the Australian dollar (1 Euro = 1.70 Australian dollars). Technical matters: The Citroën C4 WRCs will be equipped with engines that have to be used again in Spain then in Great Britain. For Rally Australia and Rally Great Britain, each car is allowed two gearboxes and two sets of differentials for the pair of rallies. Each car is also allowed a spare turbo on each rally. Steering racks and subframes will be sealed before the start of the event. Tyres: The crews will each have 42 hard-compound Pirelli Scorpion WRC 265/65R15 tyres at their disposal for shakedown and the rally. Each car is allowed to carry two spare wheels but cutting the tyres is forbidden. Recce: Tuesday, September 1 (! 7am until 5pm) and Wednesday, September 2 (9am until 7pm). Two passes per special stage. Depending on the stage, speed is limited to either 60, 70 or 80 kph unless local road signs indicate otherwise. Shakedown: Thursday, September 3 (8am until 12 noon) at Dunloe Park, on a 3.29km stage which is 27km from the service park. Press conference: Thursday, September 3 (1.30pm), media centre. Start ceremony: A rally show will be held from 4.30pm at Murwillumbah. Route: The total route length is 1,733.75km, including 344.72km divided into 35 special stages (16 different). 6. Event Schedule Thursday 3 September: Day 1 Murwillumbah - Kingscliff Start Murwillumbah 18.45 SS1 Tweed I &n! bsp; 2.55km 18.53 SS2 Tweed II 2.55km 19.08 Finish Kingscliff 19.48 Friday 4 September: Day 1 (continued) Kingscliff - Kingscliff Serv A Kingscliff (15 mins) 05.30 SS3 Kyogle I 7.32km 07.38 SS4 Repco I 22.41km 08.36 SS5 Kyogle II 7.32km 09.24 SS6 CTEK East I 11.33km 10.37 SS7 Mooball I 5.85km 11.40 SS8 Kidney Health I 5.74km 11.58 SS9 Castrol Edge East I 6.85km 12.16 Serv B&nb! sp; Kingscliff (30 mins) 13.05 SS10 Castrol Edge East II 6.85km 14.03 SS11 CTEK East II 11.33km 15.03 SS12 Mooball II 5.85km 16.06 SS13 Kidney Health II 5.74km 16.24 SS14 Tweed III 2.55km 18.30 SS15 Tweed IV 2.55km 18.45 Serv C Kingscliff (45 mins) 19.25 Finish Kingscliff 20.10 Total 106.79km Saturday 5 September: Day 2 Kingscliff - Kingscliff Serv D Kingscliff (15 mins) 05.30 SS16 Dayco I 20.31km 07.28 SS17 Bosch I 18.75km 08.13 SS18 Armor All I 8.20km 09.04 SS19 Urliup 5.24km 10.42 Serv E Kingscliff (30 mins) 11.42 SS20 A! rmor All II 8.20km 13.55 SS21 CTEK West I 8.59km 14.34 SS22 Dayco II 20.31km 15.27 SS23 Bosch II 18.75km 16.12 SS24 Tweed V 2.55km 19.15 SS25 Tweed VI 2.55km 19.30 Serv F Kingscliff (45 mins) 20.10 Finish Kingscliff 20.55 Total 113.45km Saturday 6 September: Day 3 Kingscliff - Kingscliff Serv G Kingscliff (15 mins) 05.00 SS26 Monroe I 7.40km 07.14 SS27 Castrol Edge West I 21.52km 07.36 SS28 Gondwana I 10.88km 08.37 SS29 Upper Clarence I 6.94km 08.56 SS30 CTEK West II 8.59km 09.40 Serv H Kyogle (15 mins) 10.17 SS31 Monroe II 7.40km 11.03 SS32 Castrol Edge West II 21.52km 11.25 SS33 Gondwana II 10.88km 12.26 SS34 Upper Clarence II 6.94km 12.45 SS35 Repco II 22.41km 13.27 Serv! I Kingscliff (10 mins) 16.04 Finish Kingscliff 16.14 Total 124.48km Rally total 344.72km 7. Championship Points Drivers 1. M Hirvonen 68pts 2. S Loeb 65pts 3. D Sordo 44pts 4. J-M Latvala 31pts 5. H Solberg 27pts 6. P Solberg 25pts Manufacturers 1. Citroen Total 119pts 2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 105pts 3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 64pts 4. Citroen Junior 33pts 5. Munchi's Ford 20pts Full standings http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp |