H&H-192

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Issue 192 • 19 July 2011

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Mark Cronje drifts to another win!

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Team TOTAL records strong result Molly Taylor ticks all the right boxes in Estonia Est Rally Estonia review

“It was a good fight with Bjorn [Waldegard] and a great rally. These are some of the best stages in the world” - Stig Blomqvist, p9

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Contents Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 04 START RAMP 04 Start Ramp - News Shorts

06 SERVICE PARK 06 08 09 09

Team TOTAL records strong result Molly Taylor ticks all the right boxes in Estonia Ford’s Facebook fans designs for Finnish rally Tuthill Porsche legends power to strong finish

10 PARC FERME 10 12 14 15

SARC Volkswagen Rally review IRC Rally Azores review RC New England Forest Rally review auto24 Rally Estonia review

EDITORIAL INFORMATION Editor Evan Rothman

Photojournalist Eva Kovkova

Contributors Liga Stirna, Patrick Vermaak, RallyBuzz, Motorpics, Newspress.

All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007-11. This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom.

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Colin McRae IRC Christian Second was Trophy goes to Reidemann to good for Skoda, Hanninen drive Skoda in says Mikkelsen Volkswagen test Words: Staff Writer

Juho Hänninen has been chosen as the winner of the prestigious Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy following his victory on Sata Rallye Açores this weekend.

The award is presented in memory of the Scottish rallying legend and is handed out on each round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge to the driver whose performance best embodies McRae’s fighting spirit behind the wheel.

Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development of Eurosport Events, the IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager JeanPierre Nicolas and Jimmy McRae, Colin’s father, formed the three-person judging panel.

Roy explained the decision: “It was pretty difficult to decide who should win this award because it was a very intense battle between Juho and Andreas Mikkelsen. In the end we decided Juho was the most deserving driver. When he lost the lead he reacted perfectly with a very strong performance on stage 14, which was a very difficult stage. It was a wonderful performance and completely in the spirit of what Colin used to do in terms of fighting spirit and passion.”

After accepting the award from Roy, Hänninen said: “It’s a great honour to receive this important award – it makes it a perfect rally for me.”

Hänninen, whose ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 was codriven by fellow Finn Mikko Markkula, also secured the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy for his performance on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January. H&H

Words: Staff Writer

Words: Staff Writer The development of the Polo R WRC for entry in the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship is in full swing. As at the upcoming Neste Oil Rally Finland (28 - 30 July 2011), Volkswagen Motorsport will also be fielding two cars of the Volkswagen Group’s Škoda brand at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland (18 to 21 August 2011). And again two young racers will have the chance to qualify for future runs in the Polo R WRC. For the ADAC Rallye Deutschland Volkswagen Motorsport is signing the German Christian Riedemann and the Dutchman Hans Weijs junior.

“The ADAC Rallye Deutschland marks the second step in our talent assessment programme,” explains Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen, who has established similar young talent promotion programmes on the race track before with great success.

“As in Finland, we’ve again selected two young drivers who have already shown great potential in their brief careers.

They are now receiving the unique opportunity to recommend themselves in the toughest competitive conditions for a slot in the Volkswagen rally team in 2013.” H&H

Andreas Mikkelsen has revealed that he was prepared to settle for second place on Sata Rally Açores, which finished on the island of São Miguel on Saturday evening, for the good of his ŠKODA UK Motorsport team.

The 22-year-old had been looked in close battle for victory on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge counter with defending IRC champion Juho Hänninen when the decision was taken for the ŠKODA drivers to hold station with two stages of the gravel rally left to run.

It meant Hänninen took victory, the eighth of his IRC career, to move into the title lead, while Mikkelsen scored his first podium of the season following a hugely impressive drive, which included setting six fastest stage times and winning the rally twice.

“I’m a sportsman and I always love to win – that’s what I want to do but sometimes you have to see things from a different perspective,” said the Norwegian star. “This weekend was really important for ŠKODA UK, for everyone to get the first podium this year. This last service we decided we would not try to push Juho anymore and settle for second place because it’s a lot of points and a really good weekend for us. We had the speed and a good fight with Juho and hopefully we continue to improve and let’s see what the next rallies will bring.”

Mikkelsen’s second-place finish alongside co-driver Ola Fløene moves him in to sixth place in the IRC drivers’ standings. H&H

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Team TOTAL records strong result Words: Evan Rothman Pictures: Motorpics Day One: Day One of the Volkswagen Rally saw Team TOTAL’s Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin (Team TOTAL Toyota Auris S2000) top the timesheet of the day’s final stage.

Claiming their first overall stage win of the season, this crew brought their new rally machine its dream debut at the Port Elizabeth-based event. Moosa and Martin upgraded from their Toyota RunX S2000 to the latest evolution Toyota Auris S2000.

Five stages and 78.11km were completed on Friday, with the route taking in three intimidating gravel speed tests in the Longmore Forest.

Two high-speed tar super special stages in Uitenhage concluded the day’s competitive action.

The three Longmore Forest stages, the traditional Culturama, Sinkdam and Kingsview gravel tests, saw a number of crews fall by the wayside as a result of its demanding character. Technical in nature, with a slippery surface and rock-strewn tracks to tackle, only 26 of the original 34 starters reached the overnight halt.

Moosa/Martin finished Day One in ninth position overall, a mere 0.1sec behind eighth place after 48min of rallying action. Their first event in their new steed, Moosa was visibly growing in confidence with each passing kilometre behind the steering wheel of his Auris S2000.

Teammates Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Carolyn Swan (Team TOTAL Toyota Auris S2000) were running in 12th position until the day’s final speed test. Also debuting his new

Auris S2000, Damseaux was beset with teething problems and rounded out Day One in 13th position overall to highlight his new car’s capabilities. Unfortunately, this pairing retired from the event as a result of gearbox gremlins.

In the hotly contested Class S1600, Team TOTAL’s Craig Trott/Robbie Coetzee and Stefanie Botha/Angela Shields (both in Toyota RunX S1600 machines) showed their speed to finish Day One in fourth and fifth in Class respectively. These front-wheel drive and 1600cc machines are impressive to witness in the Longmore Forest, with their wailing exhaust notes bouncing off the trees to the cheers of the thousands of spectators.

Day Two: The South African Rally Championship’s largest privateer team once again proved to its

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 07

loyal fans and its rivals that it is a force to be reckoned with. After 12 challenging stages and 174.89km of intense competition, Team TOTAL’s Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin brought home their brand new Toyota Auris S2000 in ninth position overall.

Rally action for Day Two comprised of seven stages, three in Longmore Forest, two at the Port Elizabeth Oval Track and two in the heart of the city of Port Elizabeth. The technical yet high-speed Longmore Forest roads claimed a number of victims, but Day Two’s tests proved most challenging for crews. Of the 26 crews that took to the stages on Saturday, only 16 were been classified as finishers.

Moosa/Martin finished a strong ninth position overall, with their nearest rivals only 40sec ahead and the chasing field some 10min behind.

Moosa and Martin’s Class S2000 Team TOTAL compatriots Jean-Pierre

Damseaux and Carolyn Swan retired from the rally at the end of Day One with gearbox gremlins on their similar Toyota Auris S2000’s debut.

Class S1600 is contested by Team TOTAL’s former multiple South African Class Champions Craig Trott and Robbie Coetzee (Toyota RunX S1600), and they finished second in Class after being narrowly beaten by their rivals to the top spot of the podium. It was an event in which Trott/Coetzee were rewarded with their consistent driving and their attacking attitude.

Stefanie Botha and Angela Shields, the all-female Team TOTAL crew in Class S1600, unfortunately crashed out of the event on SS8 after having posted impressive stages times throughout the event.

The Volkswagen Rally, the fifth round of the South African Rally Championship, has again once highlighted to motorsport fans its entertainment and excitement. The

Knysna Rally will form Round Six of the eight-event series and will be held on 26 – 27 August in Knysna and George in the Western Cape.

For news, stage times and photographs live from the event, visit them on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/pBFCpZ and on Twitter at http://bit.ly/jBLu4j. H&H OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) M. Cronje/R. Houghton Ford Fiesta S2000 - 01h 42m 07.1s 02) J. Gemmell/D. Sturrock Toyota Auris S2000 + 36.1s 03) E. Kuun/G. Hodgson Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 01m 32.8s 04) J. Habig/R. Paisley Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 01m 38.9s 05) C. Rautenbach/N. Klinger Ford Fiesta S2000 + 02m 10.6s 06) J. Williams/C. Vrey Ford Fiesta S2000 + 02m 56.5s 07) N. Ryan/A. Du Toit Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 03m 50.5s 08) G. De Villiers/R. Pitchford Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 04m 46.8s 09) M. Moosa/G. Martin Toyota Auris S2000 + 05m 27.7s 10) G. Botterill/S. Van Heerden Toyota RunX S1600 + 15m 37.0s

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 08

Molly Taylor ticks all the right boxes in Estonia Words: Staff Writer Picture: Ian Grainger Motorsport Australian rally driver Molly Taylor will go into her next world rally championship round in Finland with renewed confidence after a shakedown event in Estonia over the weekend.

Despite electrical gremlins causing her Ford Fiesta R2 to cut out on several occasions, Molly posted some very quick stage times, closing the gap on her major WRC Academy rivals and showing her the way to find even more speed on her next outing.

Molly and experienced WRC codriver Seb Marshall contested the auto24 Rally Estonia (July 15-16) as preparation for the third round of the WRC Academy series, which is being run as part of the world rally championship event in Finland over the weekend of July 28-30.

“Obviously having the car cut out when you least expect it is not the ideal way to compete in a rally, but when it was going, we were doing really well,” Molly laughs.

“My aim with this event was to

narrow the gap to some of my fastest WRC Academy rivals in terms of seconds per kilometre and we achieved that. We were about half a second per kilometre away from Craig Breen [champion Irish driver] and because we were able to do that consistently, we’re now at a level where we know how to close the gap.

“Everything gelled with Seb too, which was fantastic. This was our first real rally outing together and it’s a very tough call for someone to start with a totally new pace note system on such a fast event, but it all came together really well.”

Molly says they both loved the event, describing the route as fast and technical, and some of the best roads she has ever driven on.

“The roads here are supposed to be very similar to what we will be competing on in Finland, which is why so many of the WRC crews use it as preparation. Aside from that, it was such a great event – good people, great weather! We had so much fun, I even think I could move to Estonia! But I’ll definitely come back to do the event again.”

Despite being fierce rivals during the competition, the camaraderie that exists between the WRC Academy crews was evident at the podium ceremony – a number of them jumped in to help push the young Australian across the finish line.

Molly and Seb are now en route to Finland where they will do some more testing before the WRC round kicks off on July 28.

They contested the Estonian event in the Ford Fiesta R2 that Molly has been using for all non-WRC rounds this year. It’s an identical car to the one she and the other 17 WRC Academy drivers use in the Academy cup events.

Finland is the third of six rounds the young drivers are contesting as part of a one-make, development series aimed at bringing the best young rally talent in the world to elite levels. Molly is one of six drivers on a fully funded scholarship for the year, covering all her WRC expenses. H&H

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 09

Tuthill Porsche legends power to strong finish Words: Staff Writer

Ford’s Facebook fans fuel food designs for Finnish rally Fiestas Words: Staff Writer Pictures: WorldRallyPics Thousands of Ford rally fans cast their votes to choose colourful foodthemed roof designs for Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team’s entry cars in this month’s Rally Finland.

The team’s Facebook followers picked three designs which will adorn the Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Cars of Mikko Hirvonen, Jari-Matti Latvala and Khalid Al Qassimi during the eighth round of the FIA World Championship.

Fans logging onto the team’s Facebook page were asked to ‘like’ their favourite roof artwork from three specially-commissioned designs for each driver on the theme ‘the food that fuels you’. The winning designs will replace the traditional Ford logo as a one-off livery for the classic Rally Finland – the home event of both 2009 winner Hirvonen and 2010 victor Latvala.

“We had a tremendous response to what was a great opportunity for Ford’s fans to influence

the appearance of the team’s rally cars for the first time,” said Will May, Ford of Europe’s motorsport marketing manager.

“The winning designs are quirky, colourful and fun and I’m sure they will prove popular with the huge number of fans that traditionally give our team such great support in Finland.”

Each driver was asked to identify the first thing they eat or drink in the morning that provides the fuel to kick-start their day. Latvala nominated coffee, Hirvonen selected porridge and Al Qassimi chose mountain honey from Abu Dhabi.

Rally Finland, based in Jyväskylä, runs from 28 - 30 July and the winning designs can be viewed on the Ford Abu Dhabi team’s Facebook on http://www.facebook.com/FordWRC. H&H

The two former World Rally Champions entered by Tuthill Porsche on the Midnight Sun Rally in Sweden have finished third and fourth, with 1979 champion Bjorn Waldegard leading home 1984 champion Stig Blomqvist.

Both drivers were at the wheel of identical 3.0-litre Porsche 911s on home territory: the only one-make rally championship in the world for historic Porsches. Tuthill Porsche also ran local privateer Peter Andersson, who finished 53rd in a similar 911.

The event, based in Vasteras close to Stockholm, took in 170km of stages (mostly gravel with some asphalt) and 1250km of road section over three days.

Both cars reached the finish with no problems, although Blomqvist’s car lost some time earlier in the rally with an engine that was slightly down on power. This was subsequently solved in service, and Blomqvist eventually came home 30sec behind his teammate.

Between them, the Tuthill Porsche duo have racked up 27 World Rally Championship wins, and their participation on the Midnight Sun event was made possible by David Von Shinkel from Team Tido.

Waldegard, co-driven by his son Matthias, commented: “I really enjoyed myself on the event. We had a good run from start to finish and no real problems.

Driving the Porsche was a lot of fun and actually quite easy once you are used to it.”

Blomqvist, co-driven by Robert Jakobsson, added: “It was a good fight with Bjorn and a great rally. These are some of the best stages in the world.”

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill commented: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to welcome Bjorn and Stig back to our cars, and I’m delighted that they both seem to have enjoyed themselves.” H&H

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Event Reports Results

Cronje sweeps to victory on Volkswagen Rally Words: Staff Writer Pictures: Motorpics Privateers Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton completed their domination of the Volkswagen Rally in the Eastern Cape this weekend when they brought their S2000 Sasol Ford Fiesta home in first place at King’s Beach in Port Elizabeth.

Watched by a huge crowd of spectators in warm and sunny conditions, the Sasol Ford pair completed the 175km 12-special stage event 36,1 sec ahead of the factory Castrol Toyota of last year’s winners, Johnny Gemmell and Drew Sturrock. Third, a further, 01min 32,8sec back was the first of the four factory BP Volkswagen Polos, driven by reigning national rally champions Enzo Kuun and navigated by Guy Hodgson.

Kuun just edged out teammates and former champions Jan Habig and Robert Paisley, who were fourth, 6,1sec behind. Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach and French co-driver Nicolas Klinger were fifth in their Green Fuel Ford Fiesta, 02min 10,6sec behind the winners. Jon Williams and Cobus Vrey were sixth in another Sasol Ford Fiesta, 45,9sec behind Rautenbach.

Rounding out the top ten were Nicolas Ryan/Armand du Toit (S2000 Grandmark International Volkswagen Polo), Red Bull driver Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford (S2000 BP Volkswagen Polo), Guy Botterill/Schalk van Heerden (winners of the Super 1600 Class in a Yato Tools Toyota Yaris, and Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman (S2000 Pirtek Peugeot 207).

Cronje and Houghton led at the end of the first day and won four stages

on their way to their second consecutive national championship rally victory. They never put a foot wrong on a tough event made more difficult by recent heavy rains and by the traditionally daunting Longmore Forest stages.

The high-speed slippery surface in the forests took its toll.

On Friday, on the first visit to the forests, top contenders Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich (S2000 Basil Read/ bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000) crashed out a few kilometres into the first stage, to be followed by Japie van Niekerk/ Simon Vacy-Lyle (S2000 New Africa Developments Volkswagen Polo).

Other prominent casualties included Leeroy Poulter/Elvene Coetzee in the second factory Toyota, who rolled while lying second on the second stage on Friday. They competed under nonpoints scoring SupeRally conditions on

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 11

Saturday after overnight repairs and scored a stage win on the penultimate stage (a new tar stage next to the football World Cup stadium).

Botterill and Van Heerden’s performance in the Super 1600 Class was impressive. It was Botterill’s maiden win in his first year in rallying and to finish inside the top ten overall on such a tough rally was a great achievement.

Second in the Class was multiple former Class A6 champion Craig Trott and co-driver Robbie Coetzee (Team Total Toyota RunX) and third was former class A7 Champion Chris de Wit with Frans de Wit in a Toyota Corolla.

Current S1600 championship front-runners Christoff and sister Celeste Snyders (Sabertek Volkswagen Polo) were in a three-way battle for the class lead on Friday when they broke a wheel and their rear suspension after hitting a curb on one of the tar stages. After replacing the rear axle overnight they

went out on Saturday after odometer troubles caused them to get lost and run out of petrol.

Ashley Haigh Smith and James Aldridge (React Ford Fiesta), who had been in the battle with the Snyders’ on Friday, rolled out of contention on Saturday.

Provisional honours in the Super 1400 class went to the only survivors, the all-woman combination of Megan Verlaque/Lirene du Plessis (BP Volkswagen Polo), who did very well to finish 15th overall out of just 16 crews that completed the event.

There were 33 starters. Their joy was all the sweeter as they edged out former national Champions and team-mates Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries in a class S2000 Polo. Fekken and Arries finished last after challenging strongly for second place early on Saturday before breaking a wheel and losing 38min on the road as they effected repairs.

The next round of the championship is the sixth round of the championship in the George and Knysna areas of the Garden Route on August 26 and 27. H&H

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) M. Cronje/R. Houghton Ford Fiesta S2000 - 01h 42m 07.1s 02) J. Gemmell/D. Sturrock Toyota Auris S2000 + 36.1s 03) E. Kuun/G. Hodgson Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 01m 32.8s 04) J. Habig/R. Paisley Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 01m 38.9s 05) C. Rautenbach/N. Klinger Ford Fiesta S2000 + 02m 10.6s 06) J. Williams/C. Vrey Ford Fiesta S2000 + 02m 56.5s 07) N. Ryan/A. Du Toit Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 03m 50.5s 08) G. De Villiers/R. Pitchford Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 04m 46.8s 09) M. Moosa/G. Martin Toyota Auris S2000 + 05m 27.7s 10) G. Botterill/S. Van Heerden Toyota RunX S1600 + 15m 37.0s

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 12

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Hanninen leads home Skoda 1-2-3 Words: Staff Writer Pictures: IRC Media Juho Hanninen has made it three wins from four starts in this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) to move back into the lead of the all-action series with a dramatic victory on Sata Rallye Acores.

Driving a SKODA Motorsport Fabia S2000, the defending IRC champion was embroiled in a close battle with rising star Andreas Mikkelsen starting the final day of the gravel event. But a courageous run through Dat Three’s second stage handed him a slender advantage over the Norwegian that he maintained to the finish.

A hat trick of stage wins on the afternoon of Day Two had propelled Mikkelsen to within 1.3sec of Hanninen starting Day Three. And the fight for glory took another dramatic twist when

Mikkelsen went faster than Hanninen on Day Three’s opening run to snatch the lead by 2.7sec, despite bashing his Fabia’s left-rear wheel on an earth bank in thick fog. With fog still proving a nuisance on SS14, Mikkelsen admitted he was too cautious through the run and slipped back as Hanninen threw caution to the wind to regain the lead with a blistering drive. Mikkelsen won the Grupo Marques superspecial to narrow the Finn’s margin to 10.9sec with two stages remaining when a decision was made for both drivers to hold station to ensure a dominant finish for the Czech manufacturer, which now heads Peugeot in the makes’ standings by 48 points.

The result also means Hanninen, who was using Michelin tyres and has won more IRC rounds than any other driver with eight victories, secured the prestigious Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy, which is presented on all rounds of the IRC to the driver best embodying

the spirit of the rallying legend.

Although he ultimately had to settle for second place, the 22-year-old Mikkelsen can take plenty of positives from his mature performance in the Azores after he recorded a total of six stage wins and his first podium since RACMSA Rally of Scotland last season.

Bruno Magalhaes, the winner in the Azores in 2010, was in third place at the start of Day Three when the rear differential support on his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207 broke, forcing the 31-yearold’s retirement following Day Three’s first stage. “The support was almost on the ground and there was nothing we could do,” he said. “One more time it is bad luck when we are fighting for the podium. I’m very disappointed.”

Magalhaes’ misfortune enabled Kopecky to claim a comfortable third place despite the onset of a powersteering problem on the morning of Day Three morning, which proved a

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 13

particular hindrance to the Czech driver on the very narrow and twisty SS14.

With a clear margin over Bryan Bouffier in fourth, the mechanical failure went unpunished and Kopecky took his fourth podium finish of the season.

Bouffier was the highest-placed event newcomer at the wheel of his Peugeot France 207. The Rallye MonteCarlo winner ran first on the road on the final day and his capture of fourth overall means he remains firmly in contention for the IRC drivers’ crown.

Patrik Sandell said he lacked the confidence to attack on the final day’s opening fog-hit stage and adopted a cautious approach to finish fifth in his SKODA Sweden-entered Fabia, his best result in the IRC to date. He rounded out a solid performance by winning the last stage.

Ricardo Moura dominated the IRC Production Cup category in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer and finished sixth overall in the process. Little troubled the local hero who resisted

the temptation to try to replicate the fifth place he achieved in the Azores in 2010 in order to secure maximum points in the Azorean and Portuguese championships. Vitor Lopes finished seventh in a Subaru Impreza with Vitor Pascoal eighth at the wheel of another Lancer.

Behind Sergio Silva in ninth, Yokohama-backed Fumio Nutahara claimed his maiden IRC Drivers’ Championship point on his first appearance in Subaru’s R4-specification Impreza. The Japanese thought his challenge was over when his car’s engine cut following a water splash on SS14 but he fought back to clinch tenth overall.

Jean-Michel Raoux extended his lead of the IRC 2WD Cup by finishing an impressive second in Class to Paulo Maciel. Defending champion Harry Hunt’s challenge ended on Day Three’s opening stage when he got beached on an earth bank.

After retiring when he broke his suspension nudging an earth bank

on Day Two’s morning loop, Guy Wilks elected not to restart on Day Three under SupeRally regulations in his Peugeot UK 207 S2000. Nutahara’s Subaru team-mate Toshi Arai did restart under SupeRally following his exit on Day Two with an electrical fault, but he suffered further delay when he had to stop to change a tyre on SS14. H&H OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) J. Hanninen/M. Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 - 01h 07m 45.8s 02) A. Mikkelsen/O. Floene Skoda Fabia S2000 + 42.3s 03) J. Kopecky/P. Stary Skoda Fabia S2000 + 01m 46.0s 04) B. Bouffier/X. Panseri Peugeot 207 S2000 + 03m 36.2s 05) P. Sandell/S. Parmander Skoda Fabia S2000 + 04m 33.3s 06) R. Moura/S. Eiro Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 06m 07.0s 07) V. Lopes/H. Magalhaes Subaru Impreza WRX STi + 09m 52.1s 08) V. Pascoal/L. Ramalho Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 12m 47.3s 09) S. Silva/N. Cordeiro Subaru Impreza WRX STi + 14m 00s 10) F. Nutahara/H. Ichino Subaru Impreza R4 + 18m 10.8s

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 14

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L’Estage wins New England Forest Rally Words: Staff Writer Pictures: Matt Janiak, SRTUSA One of the most spectacular seasons in Rally America Championship history came to an end at the New England Forest Rally (NEFR) with Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard atop of the NEFR podium for the second consecutive year. The privateer Rockstar Rally Team took the lead from the start and held it for the entire duration of the event, winning eight of the eleven special stages. L’Estage finished 48sec ahead of Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins.

Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew focused on getting to the finish having to place fourth or better here to secure the National Championship win. Higgins faced overheating issues on Day One and fuel pressure issues on Day Two, but eventually finished second overall to win the title back for Subaru.

This victory marks the third American Championship title of Higgins’ rally career.

Rounding out the podium was Super Production (SP) class driver Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson.

The privateer father/son team put the finishing touches on their flawless season by placing third overall in Maine and third overall in the National Championship. The Hansons dealt with severe overheating issues late in Day Two while battling to stay ahead of Tom Lawless and co-driver Alex Kihurani.

Hanson edged Lawless out of a podium spot by just 7sec. Hanson leaves NEFR with the SP class win and a dominant Super Production Championship title victory.

The New England Forest Rally was based in Newry, Maine and featured approximately 160 competitive kilometres of fast, rugged logging roads. Heavy attrition caused by the rough and rocky stage road surfaces

is expected, making NEFR one of the toughest events on the Rally America calendar. Retirements were in abundance this year, most notably Joseph Burke who blew his turbo on SS1 and Heath Nunnemacher who was in podium contention before crashing out on the famous Concord Pond stage.

Attrition also got the best of Super Production drivers Ramana Lagemann and Lauchlin O’Sullivan.

Lagemann and O’Sullivan came to Maine with only one point separating them as they prepared to battle each other for second place in the SP Championship.

Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis were put out of the event early on Day One with a misfiring engine; O’Sullivan and co-driver Scott Putnam DNF’d on SS4 with a blown turbo and a small engine fire.

Evan Cline and co-driver Greg Dorman scored their season best, finishing second in SP class and ninth overall. Andrew Wickline and co-driver Stephen Kurey also got their first class podium finish of the season, giving Wickline just enough points to take second place in the Super Production Championship ahead of Ramana Lagemann.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, a fierce battle raged between more than 25 crews fighting for a piece of the $15,000 MaxAttack!

Series prize money. Chris Duplessis and co-driver Karl Atkinson set a blistering pace from the beginning to finish well over 3min ahead of second fastest 2WD crew of Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey. Duplessis put his Ford Fiesta R2 in an astonishing fifth overall.

ACP’s rally almost came to an end when his Scion xD’s oil pan cracked late on Day Two, but he managed to finish second in Class and sixth overall.

Ford Racing’s Dillon Van Way and codriver Jake Blattner successfully put a second Fiesta on the class podium and

were the third 2WD crew to finish in the top ten overall.

Wyatt Knox and co-driver Ole Holter had a problematic weekend with fuel system issues on Day One causing their Mazda3’s engine to cut out several times. Knox limped the car late into Day Two before an engine fire finally forced him to retire. Knox and Holter earned enough points in the season that their start at NEFR secured them the 2WD National Championship title.

Last Ditch Racing’s John Cassidy and co-driver Jennifer Daly won the Mexico Regional Rally on Day One of NEFR by 13.4sec over Jason Smith and co-driver Jared Lantzy. Martin Walter and co-driver Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff finished third, rounding out the Mexico Regional podium.

Smith and Lantzy also had a successful Day Two, winning the Errol Regional Rally in their Open Light class 1994 Subaru Impreza by over two minutes on MAP Rally Team’s Mark Piatkowski and co-driver Robert Maciejski. Kevin Turner and co-driver Robert Sockalexis placed third on the Day Two Regional, piloting a 2WD Subaru Impreza to finish only 5sec behind Piatkowski. H&H

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) A. L’Estage/N. Richard Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - 01h 32m 34.3s 02) D. Higgins/C. Drew Subaru Impreza WRX STI + 48.4s 03) T. Hanson/T. Hanson Subaru Impreza WRX STi + 04m 27.2s 04) T. Lawless/A. Kihurani Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 04m 34.5s 05) C. Duplessis/K. Atkinson Ford Fiesta R2 + 07m 28.9s 06) A. Comrie-Picard/J. Wimpey Scion xD + 10m 58.4s 07) A. Yeoman/J. Schulze Subaru Impreza + 15m 30.8s 08) D. Van Way/J. Blattner Ford Fiesta R2 + 15m 56.6s 09) E. Cline/G. Dorman Subaru Imprezam WRX + 15m 57.3s 10) V. Dobasu/D. Jozwiak Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 17m 59.6s

Issue 192 • 19 July 2011 • Page 15

Ostberg beats Märtin to win at Rally Estonia Words: Staff Writer Picture: YouTube Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson were unbeateable on the second day of auto24 Rally Estonia. They took the lead in the first stage on Saturday and were able to maintain it to the finish. This was after a great battle between Mads Ostberg and Markko Märtin, in which Ostberg won by a margin of 24sec.

Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson drove their Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Markko Märtin and Kristo Kraag their Ford Focus WRC 03, making this a battle of WRC cars from different generations.

Mads Ostberg at the finish said: “Can’t be happier as everything worked well for us. Winning here in Estonia feels good especially when Markko was on the start. Markko was very fast and the competition was just great. Otherwise, auto24 Rally Estonia was an important testing before Neste Oil Rally Finland.

We got a good opportunity to test different setups and now we are more

confident to race in Finland.”

Said Markko Märtin: “There was nothing to do as Mads was faster.

Yesterday we had feeling that we can fight for the win. Today it was different.

But our main goal was to have fun driving on south Estonian roads and we did!”

Third place overall and first in Group N went to Martin Prokop and Michal Ernst (Ford Fiesta S2000). H&H OVERALL CLASSIFICATION 01) M. Ostberg/J. Andersson Ford Fiesta RS WRC - 01h 15m 19.9s 02) M. Martin/K. Kraag Ford Focus RS WRC 03 + 24.0s 03) M. Prokop/M. Ernst Ford Fiesta S2000 + 03m 37.4s 04) K. Kruuda/M. Jarveoja Ford Fiesta S2000 + 04m 05.5s 05) S. Parn/K. Jarveoja Subaru Impreza WRX STI + 04m 19.5s 06) K. Koitla/A. Ots Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 04m 22.6s 07) R. Jeets/Erik Lepikson Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 04m 22.8s 08) D. Kuipers/F. Miclotte Ford Fiesta S2000 + 04m 53.1s 09) J. Vorobjovs/G. Zicans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X = 04m 53.4s 10) D. Butvilas/R. Vaitkevicius Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 05m 19.3s