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| RallyeNewsletter ______________________________________________________________________ WRC Rally Spain - Final In this issue: 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Final News 4. Final Team by Team News 5. Championship Points 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 1. S Loeb/D Elena (FRA) Citroën C4 3h22m14.7s 2. D Sordo/M Marti (ESP) Citroën C4 +12.0s 3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen(FIN) Ford Focus RS +54.1s 4. P Solberg/P Mills (NOR) Citroën C4 +1m12.4s 5. S Ogier/J Ingrassia (FRA) Citroën C4 +1m41.6s 6. J-M Latvala/M Anttila (FIN) Ford Focus RS +2m49.8s 7. M Wilson/S Mart! in (GB) Ford Focus RS +7m15.5s 8. F Villagra/J P Companc (ARG) Ford Focus RS +8m28.1s 9. H Solberg/C Menkerud (NOR) Ford Focus RS +9m07.6s 10. D Snobeck/G Mondesir (FRA) Peugeot 307 CC +10m56.0s 2. Final News Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have succeeded in closing to within a single point of Mikko Hirvonen in the 2009 Drivers' standings, while second place for Dani Sordo and Marc Marti handed Citroën sufficient points to wrap up the firm's fifth Manufacturers' world crown. The outcome of the Drivers' title chase will be settled on Rally GB (October 23-25) 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 claimed a podium finish on Rally de España today to retain the lead of the FIA World Rally Championship and set up an exciting final round showdown later this month. The Finns' third place in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car on the flowing asphalt roads of Catalonia means they will journey to the last round in Great Britain with a one-point advantage in the drivers' standings. Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished sixth in another ! Focus RS WRC after three days' demanding competition in the hills near Salou, south of Barcelona. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "It took me longer to get used to asphalt than I would have liked but I learned a lot and I think I now know what I need to do to improve my pace here next year. For the last two days I've driven at a safe speed, at a pace which was sufficient to keep Petter Solberg behind me in fourth. That was the sensible thing to do with the title in mind. #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "My speed here wasn't as fast as I expected but I drove sensibly and carefully and improved with every day and every stage. I'm looking forward to getting back onto gravel in Britain later this month. I enjoy that rally and hope I can play a part in an exciting end to the championship." Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The Citroën Total World Rally Team's flag-to-flag domination of this weekend's RallyRACC Catalunya was rewarded by the outfit's third one-two finish of the season. Thanks to their sixth win of the year, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have succeeded in closing to within a single point of Mikko Hirvonen in the 2009 Drivers' standings, while second place for Dani Sordo and Marc Marti handed Citroën sufficient points to wrap up the firm's fifth Manufacturers' world crown. The outcome of the Drivers' title chase will be settled on Rally GB (October 23-25). Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo ended Saturday's action split by just 1.5 seconds and in a strong position to fulfil the mission they had been given by Olivier Quesnel before the start. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It was important to come first and second here, not only to ! wrap up the Manufacturers' championship but also to keep our chances very much alive for the Drivers' title. Everyone did a great job this weekend and both cars ran perfectly. I would like to thank Dani, too, for playing his part as team-mate to the letter. Had the stakes not been so important this weekend, I am sure the spectators on this year's Rally Catalunya would have treated to a terrific scrap." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "This title is the result of a real team effort. You cannot disassociate the engineers, mechanics and everyone in the squad from today's success." Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg set up the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team for a strong finish to the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship season at the team&r! squo;s home event, Rally GB in three weeks time, earning another solid points-scoring finish at the Rallye de España. With both drivers improving on their performance from last year at the tricky Tarmac event, Wilson completed his ninth points-scoring finish of the year taking seventh place overall, while Solberg finished ninth, still contributing a manufacturer point for the team. #6 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: “We knew this rally wasn't going to be easy but I've come away with more points for the team. I really concentrated on trying to improve my driving, to be neat and careful and try to find the right lines. It wasn't easy with no test and such a long time driving gravel rallies but we made some progress on Saturday which helped my confidence.” #5 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: “It’s been a difficult rally. It’s definitely one of the hardest Tarmac rallies as it is so fast and there are lots of cuts. We had a frustrating st! art on Friday, but it got much better as the weekend went on. This equals my best ever position on a Tarmac rally and it’s my best result on this event. It’s great to get some more points on an event where very few of the top drivers retired.” Citroen Junior Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 On their first participation in the Catalunya Rally at the wheel of a Citroën C4 WRC, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have finished the event fifth after setting two fastest stage times. This result has underlined the potential of the Citroen Junior Team on a wide variety of surfaces. Conrad Rautenbach and Daniel Barritt ended the rally just outside the top 10. Making their debut in Spain with a Citroën C4 WRC, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia used the first day to get to grips with the conditions but alr! eady put in some first rate performances to climb to fifth overall. The Equipe de France FFSA backed crew confirmed their pace the following day with two fastest stage times, before concentrating on consolidating their position at the end of the 45th Catalunya Rally today. #7 : Evgeny Novikov/Stephane Prevott: Retired (accident) #8: Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt: "With just one asphalt rally on the calendar at the end of the year, it’s hard for us to get our bearings on this surface again quickly. Nonetheless, I was able to perform better towards the end of the event." #11: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia: "We worked hard during our test to prepare for this event. After easing ourselves into things on the opening morning in Spain, everything went perfectly. It’s a really good result to have behind us heading into the final rally of the season!" 5. Championship Points Full championship points at: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp? |