DIFFICULT THOUGH POSITIVE DEBUT FOR MOLLY TAYLOR AT THE GEKO YPRES RALLY

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

At the Geko Ypres Rally, valid for the European Rally Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge seated in the picturesque town of Ypres in Belgium, Australian Molly Taylor, codriven by Englishman Seb Marshall, concluded the race with honour despite the difficulties encountered in the first special stages.

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During the first day of competition, the United Business crew experienced a slight off in the first special stage, but despite the damages they were able to complete the first three special stages and to return to service where the team promptly repaired the Citroen DS3 R3 allowing them to continue and to complete the first leg. During the second and final day Molly and Seb, progressively improved their results also thanks to the increasingly greater feeling reached with the car from BP Racing.

Molly Taylor said: “After the time lost in the first stage we stuck to bringing the car back to service, where the Team did a fantastic job to put it back on track. Then in the second loop on Friday and on Saturday we chose only to gain experience rather than overdoing it, there is so much to learn! On the special stages on Saturday we went always better event though not as we wanted, but we focused on reaching the finish. This is the first race, a very difficult one which I did not know, as it was the first time I drove the Citroen DS3 R3 on event, to take it to the finish was the goal that Pier Liberali of United Business had given us, we reached it, for the next races in our programme I know that we will always do better, because what I have available, Pirelli tyres, car and team are a great sporting and technical package. Race after race, we will have plenty of satisfaction”.

The next events, as per schedule d for the United Business crew will be in Italy at the Rally Coppa Città di Lucca followed by Neste Rally Finland and ADAC Rally Deutschland.

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Wales Rally GB news

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

Britain’s round of the 2012 World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB, will be held this year from the 13th – 16th September and will return to the world famous Walters Arena Motorsport Complex, last used for the WRC event in 2009.

Photo:D.Darrall

For the third consecutive year, Wales Rally GB will also play host to a complementary National event – competitors in the Wales Rally GB National will also compete on the Likes Land Rover at Walters Arena stage on the Sunday.

WALES RALLY GB RETURNS TO WALTERS ARENA
For 2012, the venue will host the Likes Land Rover at Walters Arena Qualifying Stage on Wednesday 12th September and two competitive stages on Sunday 16th September, including the final Power Stage where crucial extra points will be on offer which could decide the event’s winner.

The Walters Arena Motorsport Complex is owned and operated by plant hire and civil engineering business, The Walters Group. The site hosts a variety of activities throughout the year, including manufacturer testing and driver training, as well as accommodating the BMW Off Road School attended by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman before their worldwide adventures.

In the three years since the venue was last used for Wales Rally GB, Walters Arena has undergone a series of infrastructure investments and is being transformed into an Eco Park, featuring thirteen wind turbines and miles of access roads, which are now available for rallying.

The Walters Arena Qualifying, Sunday morning and Power Stages for the 2012 Wales Rally GB have been supported by Likes Land Rover at Walters Arena, a reference to the successful Walters Group Land Rover and Range Rover dealership situated between Brecon and Hay-on-Wye.

Photo: D.Darrall

NATIONAL RALLY CELEBRATES THIRD YEAR AT WALES RALLY GB 2012
The Wales Rally GB National, which takes place on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th September, will utilise many of the stages of this year’s pan-Wales WRC route, including the Likes Land Rover at Walters Arena stage on Sunday 16th September.

Wales Rally GB National is open to both historic and contemporary cars. Registrations for the event, which has been oversubscribed in previous years, will open from Wednesday 11th July 2012, with the final closing date falling a month later on Tuesday 14th August 2012. The maximum number of entries for the event is 100, with the first 100 entries received before the closing date being accepted on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. All other entries received will be advised if they have been accepted after 14th August 2012, when additional capacity on the event may be made available. The entry fee for the event will be £665 +VAT.

Covering over 100 miles of classic Welsh forest stages, Wales Rally GB National will be based out of Cardiff, with the finish ceremony taking place on the international podium in Cardiff Bay on Sunday 16th September. Competitors will start day one in Newtown, before tackling nearly 13 miles in Dyfnant, 15 and a half miles in Hafren Sweet Lamb and over 17 miles in Myherin. On Saturday, the action will move to Crychan for just over 12 miles, followed by around five miles in Epynt and 11 and a half miles in Halfway. The event will culminate on Sunday, with almost 11 miles in Port Talbot, 5 and a half miles in Rheola and the 9 and a half mile Likes Land Rover at Walters Arena stage.

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New Zealand – Driver of the Rally:Thierry Neuville

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

New Zealand is a rally with some of the best roads in the world, fast, flowing high speed cambered corners, and its take only the best drivers in the world with experience of these roads and stages to impress.

Photo:D.Darrall

The 2012 Rally NZ may have been won by Sebastien Loeb. But this feature is all about the ‘Driver of the Rally’. The Driver that impressed the most with their skill and talent.

And its 5th place, Belgium Driver Thierry Neuville who is InsideRally’s ‘driver of the Rally’. Thierry Neuville made his mark in the 2009 Citroën Racing Belux Trophy. The following year he raced in the Junior World Rally Championship in a Citroën C2 Super 1600 winning his category in the Bulgarian Rally. In parallel, the Belgian took part in his first IRC events.  Last season in this championship he gave a glimpse of his potential by winning the Tour of Corsica and the Sanremo Rally, and was in the running for the title till the very last round. Co-Driver Nicolas Gilsoul inherited a family passion and he began his career as co-driver in historic rallies. He very quickly became one of the rising stars following in the footsteps of a long line of great Belgian navigators. He teamed up with Thierry Neuville in 2011. The programme in the World Rally Championship with the Citroën DS3 WRC will enable him to make his debut at the top level of the sport.

Photo:D.Darrall

Neuville was never originally meant to drive in NZ, But due to Qatar World Rally Team Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah being unable to compete because of his preparations for the olympics, Neuville stepped in.

On day 3 of the Rally, he claimed his first Proper Stage wins. And not just 1 of them. But Three. A very relaxed Thierry began the day with two stage wins. Over the weekend he was in a great battle with Ott tanak, After cutting Tänak’s lead to 16s by the day’s half-way stage, he looked set to keep up the pressure! Indeed, Thierry then went on to win SS20, while his Estonian rival was forced out of the rally after rolling his car.

“I’m sorry for Ott, but that’s racing, and I’m happy to make it into the top 5 at this rally. If I hadn’t lost so much time on day one, we might have finished fourth,” concluded the Belgian. “I’m pleased to have reached the end of the rally without making any significant mistakes. These three days of racing have been extremely beneficial for me and I would like to thank Nasser Al-Attiyah once again for having given me this superb opportunity! I really enjoyed driving on this magnificent stages and I can’t wait to come back.”

Photo:D.Darrall

The young driver is said to be Loebs Replacement when the 8 times champ retires, so theres a lot of pressure and expectation on his shoulders.

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Loeb wins rally New Zealand 2012

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

Sebastien Loeb takes his 72nd career win on Brother Rally New Zealand. Heading a Citroen 1-2 with Mikko Hirvonen. The 3rd 1-2 finish in a row for the team. Loeb takes 25 points for the win and 1 for 3rd fastest on the Powerstage which puts him 38 points in the lead over 2nd place Hirvonen in the Drivers standings. Meaning the 8 time champion is now well on his way to his 9th WRC title.

“Forsure, it was a great fight with Mikko. We are here at the end of the rally and that is important. The most important is to be here, every chance I get I take it.” said the Frenchman. Loeb made no mistakes and that was the key to his victory, he battle a little with Hirvonen on Day 2 where he seemed to lack a bit of pace in the morning, and had Hirvonen just 1.7 seconds away from him. But after he picked up the pace in the afternoon, he opened up the gap. Day 3 was just about getting to the end without any mistakes. And with his team mate coming in just behind him, it made for another perfect weekend for Citroen. Hirvonen said at the end of the Rally, “It was a fantastic weekend, we had a great fight for the first 2 days. right before Finland, I think it is looking good.”

Photo:D.Darrall

The weekend turned into another one to forget for Ford. It all went wrong from the start for them, With Petter Solberg starting out in wet conditions on the wrong tyre compound, (Hards) he lost archers of time, and then in the afternoon Jari – Matti Latvala, after battling for the lead, went off in a fast right-hander and got caught up in a fence and lost around 4 minutes. The only consolation for Ford in NewZealand was that over the course of the 3 days, Solberg managed to get to 3rd to claim a podium finish, with fastest stages times throughout the weekend by both Ford drivers, they’ve shown that they do have the pace, the car and the drivers to win. But a constant stream of mistakes has dropped them far down in the standings. Trailing Citroen in the Manufactures standings by nearly 100 points, And Solberg 50 points behind Loeb in the Drivers standings. A disappointing first half of the season for the team.

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At the end of the Rally Solberg said, “We came here with a good car and a big opportunity, but unfortunately Fridays mistake ended our hopes of a win. That was sad for the team, but a podium is still a good result. The key today was to stay calm to secure third, and taking bonus points in the PowerStage was a good ending. We need some luck and make sure we’re fully prepared for the next Rallies to try to secure that elusive win at last. The speed of the car is fantastic and everyone in the team is pushing hard for victory, so I’m Confident it will come soon.”

Latvala finished 7th overall. “Today I started to regain my speed and confidence and im happy to earn bonus points for winning the Powerstage. I struggled on Friday and after my spin I focused on testing. That brought some good ideas for the next round in finland. Looking at the points, i have no chance for the drivers title now but the main thing will be to keep fighting for victory on ever rally”.

Photo: D.Darrall

Ford World Rally Team and M-sport Director, Malcolm Wilson said, “we made a mistake with the tyres on friday which proved expensive, but he (Petter) fought back well to finish 3rd. Of course, its disappointing to come away with just third, especially after Jari- Matti was fighting for a win. we have the speed from the car and drivers, but we need to put together the pieces of the jigsaw to convert our pace into victories. I’m confident we can do that in the second half of the year.”

Ford took the honors on the Final power Stage, With latvala winning it and taking the extra 3 Bonus points, and Solberg 2nd.

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Despite Rally New Zealand being one of them Rallies where Experience counts, Evgeny Novikov did a great job in the customer Ford. With his consistent speed and always setting top 6 fastest times on most stages, and making very little mistakes, his showing his maturity as a driver and pulling out some great results. the Russian finished the rally in 4th place. “very good result, very difficult rally, even a small mistake can cost you. Its a very good result.”

Photo:D.Darrall

Thierry Neuville was the most impressive of the rest. His first full year in the WRC and showed great pace for his first time in Rally NewZealand, not only setting his first fastest stage time but set 3 fastest times on day 3 of the Rally, and battling with Tanak throughout the weekend. “i.m really happy with the weekend. Ok I have to thank the team, the car worked well and they helped me to progress more and more.”

Photo:D.Darrall

The biggest drama was Ott Tanak. After battling for position in 5th place with neuville, On SS20 the young junior Ford driver went wide on a fast right-hander and rolled into a ditch just 6km into the stage.

Dani Sordo in the Mini was a little disappointed in ending the rally in 6th place overall. Mini Prodrive felt they could go well here in New Zealand, But starting off on Hard tyres and a gear box problem on day 1 put them down the order, and like many, after a mistake its hard to come back from it. But Sordo did set a fastest stage time on the final day. “I think it was a really difficult weekend. I do not do very well. we need to look now for the next rally.”

Armindo Araujo in the team Portugal Mini was happy to finish in the points in 8th place. American Star ken Block also Finished in the points down in 9th overall. And felt that Rally New Zealand was one of his favorite events, enjoyed the stages very much. regarding them as “The best stages in the world”. Very pleased with his performance at the end of the Rally. “absolutely loved this Rally. decent pace, really enjoyed it, yesterday best day of my rally career. Feels good.” Making a WRC return since 2007, Mafred Stohl rounded out the top ten. “The nice dream is over – and back to work now.”

Down in SWRC. It was a bit of a disaster for almost everyone. Almost all the SWRC drivers had to retire, all except for home boy Hayden Paddon. despite having a problem on Almost every stage, he got to the end of the rally and won his class, showing that he still has what it takes to become one of the worlds best. “Its been a very odd rally for us. We got maximum points in the championship, which is great, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.” In PWRC Marcos Ligato wins.

So After another interesting rally NewZealand, an event full of scenery, high speed drama with some of the best stages in the World. its Sebastien Loeb who leads the way. Can Ford pull it back in the 2nd half of the season? or will it be another 9th title for Loeb? In Rallying anything can happen. The next round is Finland.

Final Results Rally NZ
Loeb wins
Hirvo+29.6
PSolberg+1.36.4
Novikov+2.13.6
Neuville+2.42.4
Sordo+3.03.1
JML+4.52.9
Araujo+9.36.4
Block+10.30.3
Stohl+11.26.3

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