Ypres Rally Fast Freddy Reigns Supreme
PLUS the first half of the season in numbers
Issue 11, July 2013
Review of the first half and Preview of the second half of the 2013 WRC season
The road to wales rally gb by Michael Jenkins
Ogier has been flying high and is the man to bea t this season Image: Bas Romeny
Portugal is alwa ys busy, for the photograph ers too Image: Bas Romeny
No time for latv ala to appreciat e the epic mexican la ndscape Image: Bas Romeny
Kuipers looked good during his one off retu rn this year Image: Bas Romeny
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Contents
Halfway Home
This Month
Seven months, seven rallies. The WRC season reached its halfway point and boy did time fly. It seems like just yesterday that we were talking to a very cautious director of Volkswagen Motorsport, Jost Capito, in Monte Carlo. He preached modest goals, predicted a steep learning curve and thought that by doing a ‘proper job’ they should be in position to challenge for the podium in the second half of the season. That second half just started in Finland and what a difference seven months make. The WRC crowd by now is starting to fear that after a decade of Loeb dominance the next Sebastien will simply take over. From the very start the Frenchman has been on the pace as has the car. Five out of seven wins have gone to Volkswagen, with Ogier taking four of them. His lead in the championship seems all but insurmountable. While Citroën is struggling with performance and Ford with taming their young drivers, the Volkswagen team is the fastest, steadiest and look like they have been doing this for years.
First half Review - Wrap up of the rallies so far Page 10
Ypres Rally
Number Crunching
- Fast Freddy Reigns Supreme
- The first half in numbers
Page 21
Page 18
Second half Preview The Road to Wales Rally GB
- A look at what is to come Page 38
Dawn of a New Era - First glimps at the R5 cars Page 29
- Michael Jenkins’ quest Page 35
In this month’s issue we take a look at how it all came about and preview the rallies that are still to come. We also start our new series featuring the quest of Michael Jenkins to participate in Wales Rally GB. A story of an amateur who like so many is trying to make it int he world of rallying.
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Enjoy reading! Steven van Veenendaal Editor
Who made it? Publisher: Rally-eMag Words: Steven van Veenendaal, Harry van Veenendaal. Photography: Bas Romeny, Steven van Veenendaal.
Who helped?
Who we thank!
How to reach us?
Logo design: Minse Blom
PR Photography from: Peugeot Sport, Hyundai Motorsport, Citroen Racing, FIA ERC.
Email: info@rally-emag.com Web: www.rally-emag.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ emagrally Twitter: @emagrally Issuu: www.issuu.com/rally-emag
Distribution: Issuu.com
Rally-eMag July 2013 / News
This month’s wrap up It’s getting crowded at Hyundai
Juho Hänninen Images: Hyundai
Poland back in 2014? Rumours about the 2014 WRC calendar are abundend. There definitely will be a shake-up, how it will look exactly remains unclear until the next WMSC meeting in September. China and Brazil are both in contention to host a round but altough the FIA and teams are eager to rally in these huge new markets, the rallies themselves are not yet up to standard. Poland though, is. It was part of the WRC in 1973 and then again in 2009. Though the host city of Mikolajki was a bit crowded, the event was a succes and looks to be the current favorite to rejoin the WRC. Image: Steven van Veenendaal
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Bryan Bouffier
Chris Atkinson
The Korean manufacturer is working steadily towards their future involvement in WRC. As announced they will start their WRC quest in 2014. Obviously testing the i20, the future WRC of Hyundai is being tested right now. Recently the names have been made public. The first name was Juho Hänninen. He has a nice track record with Skoda in the IRC. In the beginning of this year he started in a private programme with Ford and in Finland he was in action in a Fiesta again. But meanwhile he is
testing the i20. Bryan Bouffier was the second driver announced for Hyundai test duties. The Frenchman is strongly connected to the PSA concern where he also got to know Hyundai Sport Chef Michel Nandan. He is a proven asphalt specialist and won the 2011 Rallye Monte Carlo. Third man in the Hyundai test team is Chris “Atko” Atkinson. His experience in a varied number of recent WRC cars (Fiesta, DS3 and Mini) makes him a logical choice to help develop the new car.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
the season so far We can be short about the first half of the 2013 WRC season. Volkswagen is dominating! We’ve been saying it before and we’ll be saying it again because it is a simple fact of live. Still we would like to go through the first half in a little bit more detail. We started the season in anticipation. Where would Volkswagen be in relation to the settled teams? We know that if Volkswagen embarks on an adventure they tackle it thoroughly. And that is exactly what they did. After their official announcement in Sardinia 2011 they took some 18 months to further develop the Polo R. But if the official presentation of the final product was anything to go by, we could have expected this was going to be a success. Just before Christmas they presented the car in Monte Carlo where, less than a month later it would start it’s official competitive career.
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Words: Harry van Veenendaal Images: Bas romeny
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo 15 january - 20 january 1. S. Loeb / D. Elena - Citroën DS3 WRC 2. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 3. d. Sordo / c. del barrio - Citroën ds3 wrc
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The season kicked of in style at the traditional opener in Monte Carlo. And what a start it was. Sebastien Ogier was at the wheel of the Polo R that won the very first competitive stage it tackled. Sebastien Loeb did not like that too much and set things straight again by winning this first rally of the season but Ogier completed the rally in second. Jari Matti Latvala struggled with the car and didn’t make it to the finish. He wasn’t helped
by the atrocious conditions but apart from that he did not feel at ease yet with his new weapon. Ogier was held back a little by his team management and did not attack any further. This proved to be a wise decision as the final day of the rally claimed quite a few victims. The organization even had to cancel the final loop due to traffic problems caused by the bad weather and spectators clogging the roads.
Image: Steven van Veenendaal
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
rally sweden 7 february - 10 february 1. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 2. S. Loeb / D. Elena - Citroën DS3 WRC 3. M. Østberg / j. andersson - ford fiesta wrc
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Wintry conditions were still on the menu when the WRC landed in Sweden. Although the rally is called Rally Sweden, it should perhaps be called Rally Sweden/Norway, as part of the route is situated near the Swedish border in Norway. Again there was a fierce battle between Ogier and Loeb. Already at the qualifying stage things seem to go wrong for the Citroën driver. He only just lands in the top ten, losing a lot of time virtually. This becomes clear in the early stages of the rally. Loeb is slower on almost every stage. Meanwhile
Ogier seems to feel at ease although he is being challenged by Østberg and others. At the end of the first day Ogier seems to half opened an unbridgeable gap of 31 seconds between him and Loeb. Latvala following close behind. Loeb slowly gains back some seconds but when during the last day he ends in a snowbank he stops attacking, handing Ogier and Volkswagen their first Victory in WRC. Østberg and Latvala have a nice battle resulting in a third place for the Norwegian.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Rally Guanajuato México 7 march - 10 march 1. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 2. m. hirvonen / j. lehtinen - Citroën DS3 WRC 3. t. neuville / n. gilsoul - ford fiesta wrc
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The initial battle in Mexico is between Ogier, Østberg, Hirvonen and Neuville. In the beginning Ogier and Østberg are equally fast and swap the lead several times. Eventually however the French driver resolutely takes the lead. When Østberg is set back by several technical glitches the battle is over and Ogier can spray the champagne again. The battle behind is very interesting and seems to be very significant for the rest of the season. It’s the
battle between Hirvonen and Neuville. Experience against youth. Well, experience wins and Hirvonen, though heavily challenged by his young colleague, gets second place. Latvala was stopped earlier in the rally by a large stone that breaks his suspension. “This is typically something that can happen in your first year of competition,” says VW boss Capito. “The part that broke is not strong enough so we have to improve that.”
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Vodafone Rally de Portugal 11 april - 14 april 1. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 2. m. hirvonen / j. lehtinen - CitroĂŤn DS3 WRC 3. jm latvala / m. antilla - VW Polo r wrc
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For the first time this season there is some anxiety at the Volkswagen stand in the service park. First of all this applies to star driver Ogier who barely seems to have recovered from a severe flu. But although he looks very pale he seems to be all right. But more unnerving for the service crew is that on the final day of rallying both Ogier and Latvala meet with technical problems.
Ogier thought he had lost his clutch.. But the glitch miraculously disappears, Latvala had a serious handling problem but the VW mechanics repaired it in service so for the first time in his VW career the Finn lands on the podium. Ogier is the winner again and Hirvonen is in second. Mikkelsen is the new Volkswagen recruit and bags a sixth place, not bad for his maiden outing.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Philips LED Rally Argentina 1 may - 4 may 1. S. loeb / d. elena - citroĂŤn ds3 wrc 2. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 3. jm latvala / m. antilla - VW Polo r wrc
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For the third time this year Loeb and Ogier meet in a direct battle. What many people predicted actually did happen. Ogier made an uncharacteristic mistake and slid of the road. Was it the pressure form his eternal rival Loeb? Noone can be sure of that. Fact was that this mistake cost him the rally. Loeb stayed cool
and did not give away first place anymore. Sordo rolled his car, Ostberg was stopped by a huge rock breaking his suspension and his hopes of a good result. The fierce battle between Latvala and Novikov was won by the more experienced Finn who ended up on the podium for the second time.
Image: CitroĂŤn Racing Media
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Acropolis Rally Greece 31 may - 2 june 1. j.m. latvala / m. antilla - VW Polo r wrc 2. d. sordo/ c. del barrio - CitroĂŤn DS3 WRC 3. t. neuville /n. gilsoul - ford fiesta wrc
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The Rally of Gods is decided on the first stage. Three main contenders lose their chance of winning here. Ogier stops next to the road, a broken cable feeding the fuel pump depriving his engine of any fuel. In the same stage Ă˜stberg loses a wheel and Hirvonen breaks his steering rack. A nice surprise is the speed of Novikov. After day one he leads the rally and continues to do so the following day, although heavily challenged by Latvala. On the second stage of day two however the Russian hits
trouble and a big rock. He does come back later but his chances for a top result are over. So for the first time time in his career Latvala wins a rally for the German manufacturer, proving his growth in the last few rally’s. Sordo is second and Neuville again, is in third. Behind the top three there is an nice battle between Mikkelsen and Al Attiyah. Mikkelsen proves that Volkswagen made the right decision to hire him, as he beats Al Attiyah and ends up fourth.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Review
Rally Italia Sardegna 20 june - 22 june 1. S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia - VW Polo r wrc 2. t. neuville / n. gilsoul - ford fiesta wrc 3. j.m. latvala / m. antilla - VW Polo r wrc
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After two times not winning a rally it is once again Ogier time in Sardinia. He even wins the Powerstage, proving he is very confident. The scenario for this rally seems familiar. Already in the beginning, Novikov rolls out of contention, Latvala gets a puncture and at the end of day one Ă˜stberg rolls his car.
After a tremendous job of his mechanics he comes back in SupeRally but there is nothing more to win for him. Mikko Hirvonen also makes clear he is not going through a happy phase in his career. He rolls his car and is also out. So Ogier wins and Neuville is in second with Latvala after a good catch up race in third.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Number Crunching 18/49
NUMBER crunching the first half of the season in numbers Words: Steven van Veenendaal Images: Bas Romeny
With 7 out of 13 rounds gone, the 2013 WRC season has passed the halfway mark. We crunch some numbers to give you an idea of what has happened so far.
ratio of .667 as he only participated in 3 events. elusive first win of the season. A .714 win ratio Ogier is in second with a .571 ratio although is definitely not bad for the debuting VW team. he did compete in all seven events, making his ratio very impressive indeed.
Volkswagen’s debut season has been mighty impressive so far. The Germans took the spoils at 5 of the first 7 events. Although Ogier and Latvala enjoy an equal status at the team, the Frenchman was clearly the star of the first half. Ogier racked up 4 victories against Latvala’s 1. The only non-VW driver to take a win was Sebastien Loeb who took the remaining 2 victories. By doing so, Loeb holds the highest win
With the two Sebastiens claiming most of the wins, the French fans have every reason to smile. 6 Out of 7 wins went to France (well over 80%!) while Latvala claimed the sole Finnish victory. Brand-wise though, the French dominance of recent years is nowhere to be found. No surprise as Volkswagen took 5 wins against Citroën’s 2. Meanwhile M-Sport (Ford) is still chasing their
Volkswagen holds
a .714 win ratio after 7 rounds
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Number Crunching
Stage wins per Team
VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT 66 CITROEN TOTAL ABU DHABI WRT 27 QATAR M-SPORT WRT 18 QATAR WORLD RALLY TEAM 4 Volkswagen motorsport 3 Bryan BOUFFIER 1 ABU DHABI CITROEN TOTAL WRT 1
Car
VW POLO R WRC CITROËN DS3 WRC Ford fiesta wrc
Country
FRANCE 66 FINLAND 26 NORWAY 15 RUSSIA 6 SPAIN 4 BELGIUM 3
69 29 22
Consistency seems to be key for Volkswagen as we can see in their driver selection too. The Volkswagen Motorsport team entered the same 2 drivers on each event while the second VW team only fielded Andreas Mikkelsen. The Qatar M-Sport team also sticked with their 2 drivers for all rounds. The only others teams to do so are the two privateer teams Jipocar Czech National Team of Martin Prokop and Lotos Team WRC of Michal Kosciuszko. 3 Drivers took the wheel of a Citroën Abu Dhabi World Rally Team DS3 (Loeb, Hirvonen and Sordo) just like 3 different drivers scored points for the Abu Dhabi Citroën World Rally Team (Sordo, Al-Qassimi and Atkinson). The largest rotation can be found at the Qatar World Rally Team who used no less than 7 drivers (Hänninen, Neuville, Wilson, Al-Attiyah, Kuipers, Pozzo and Evans).
Monte carlo was both the
longest and slowest rally so far
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In total the season comprised 2564,12 km of competitive action. 42,49 km of stage was cancelled, all at the Monte Carlo rally. As crowds flocked to the final Col de Turini stage despite horrific weather conditions, the organizers were
forced to cancel the final 2 stages of the rally to ensure crowd and competitor safety. The Monte Carlo rally was still the longest rally of the season so far,
At 54,29%
just over half of all starters finished in Portugal totaling 425,93 km, despite the cancellation! The Monte was the slowest rally as well with winner Loeb completing it at an average pace of 80,12 kph. This means it takes the honor of being the longest rally time-wise as well. Loeb took a massive 5 hours, 18 minutes and 57,2 seconds to complete. At the other end of the spectrum, Rally Sweden was the fastest rally of them all. Both in absolute time (3 hours, 11 minutes and 41,9 seconds for winner Ogier) and average pace it was the fastest event so far. Over the snow and ice Ogier managed to maintain an average pace of 105,76 kph. No other rally managed to top the 100 kph mark. Sweden wasn’t the shortest rally though. That title goes to Rally d’Italia Sardegna at a mere 304,5 km, only just beating the Acropolis Rally Greece which finished after 306,53 km.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Number Crunching
In total 11 drivers from 6 different countries won a stage in the first half. 66 Of those were claimed by Frenchmen (Ogier (48), Loeb (17) and Bouffier (1)), followed by the flying Finns Latvala (18), Hirvonen (7) and Hänninen (1) who totaled 26. Despite the departure of Petter Solberg from the WRC, Norway still laid claim to the third most wins, courtesy of Ostberg (12) and Mikkelsen (3). Behind the top three, Novikov claimed 6 wins for Russia, Sordo 4 for Spain and finally Neuville 3 for Belgium. Sebastien Ogier won most rallies, and he did so by the largest and smallest of margins. He finished a whopping 3 minutes and 28,9 seconds ahead of Mikko Hirvonen in Mexico but only 41,8 seconds ahead of Loeb in Sweden, though by Swedish standards that is still a very hefty margin. Overall it is Ogier who tops most of the most important lists, be it number of wins, stage wins or consistency. Crucially though, he tops the one list that it is all about, the points list. Ogier has 154 giving him a massive gap to the second placed Latvala. His Finnish teammate is at 90 with the first non-VW being Thierry Neuville. The Belgian Ford youngster is looking to have his breakthrough year, scoring 70 points so far. CitroÍn is having a hard time keeping up. Loeb is their highest placed driver in 4th with 68 points. Loeb is not doing the full season
though so he is out of contention of challenging Ogier. Although Hirvonen is doing all rallies this year, he is stuck at 61 points and needs a miracle just to get anywhere near Ogier. It thus seems the Frenchman can cruise to his first WRC title, but he is not there yet. There are still 6 rounds to go, promising to provide 100% action and drama!
more points than his two nearest Non-vw rivals combined Ogier has
rallies by length
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Monte Carlo ARGentina MEXico PORtugal Sweden GREece SARdinia
425.93 KM 407.64 KM 394.88 KM 386.73 KM 337.91 KM 306.53 KM 304.5 KM
Avg. speed Sweden PORtugal SARdinia ARGentina MEXico GREece Monte Carlo
105.76 kph 93.69 kph 90.01 kph 88.64 kph 87.60 kph 87.15 kph 80.12kph
finish ratio
MEXico 80.00% ARGentina 75.00% Sweden 74.47% GREece 70.00% SARdinia 64.29% Monte carlo 54.88% PORtugal 54.29%
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Overview
Geko Ypres Rally
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Based in: Ypres Date: 27-29/06/2013 Number of stages: 20 Shortest stage: Show Wasquehal – 1.88 km Longest stage: Hollebeke – 28.82 km Total stage distance: 298 km Surface: Asphalt Image: FIA ERC
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Rally review
Fast Freddy Reigns Supreme The Ypres Rally has always been one of the classic rallies of the season. Though it has never been included in the WRC it is deeply rooted in the ERC and always manages to draw an impressive entrylist. This year was no different with ERC regulars like Breen and Bouffier battling it out against the likes of Hayden Paddon and local hero ‘Fast Freddy’ Loix. Words: Steven van Veenendaal
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Images: FIA ERC
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Rally review Fans get up close and personal with the drivers in Ypres’ historic town centre featuring the impressive Cloth Hall in the background.
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The action takes place amidst the backdrop of countless WW1 graves. Heavy fighting took place in the area a century ago putting Ypres on the map of world history. This constant reminder that there is more to life than rallying always makes Rally Ypres a special event to visit. You can enter the city through the Menin Gate which is covered with the names of the myriad of soldiers who gave their lives here in the Great War. After passing the gate you arrive at the Grote Markt, the central square of the town, which boosts the service park located next to the 13th century Cloth Hall. The start/finish ramp is placed right in front of the town hall, surely making it one of the most picturesque rallyscenes in the world.
To go fast in Ypres you have to cut whenever you can. Nobody does it better than eighttime winner Freddy Loix.
The Rally In the old days the rally was held in one go, running for 24 hours straight. Although this war of attrition no longer takes place the event is still very compact. Starting on Friday evening the drivers get a short first taste of the fascinating roads around Ypres before heading into the massive Saturday programme. The second day starts just before ten in the morning and runs all day towards the finish at around eleven thirty at night. The survivors will have completed nearly 300 k’s of competitive action by then. The roads around Ypres might not seem too daunting at first glance with long straight sections and many square corners. However the
strip of asphalt is very narrow meaning that the slightest error will put the car on the grass abolishing all grip in the process. Combine this with the immense speed generated on the fast stages and the everlasting trenches surrounding the roads and you have a recipe for disaster. Perhaps the trickiest part of it all is that to go fast here, you need to get of the asphalt and cut the corners as much as you can. Drivers thus find themselves constantly balancing the tightrope and run the risk of crashing heavily almost constantly. Many consider Rally Finland a rally impossible to win without years of experience. In its own way, Rally Ypres is Finland’s asphalt counterpart, you don’t just beat the Belgians here.
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Rally review
The actiong gets underway As if the roads aren’t treacherous enough as they are, Friday evening brought with it rain. Even worse, as the evening progressed, the rain got worse and worse. No problem though for Freddy Loix. Back in action in a Skoda Fabia S2000 after over a year, the Belgian quickly found his rythm. Though he admitted even he found the conditions difficult to cope with, it did not hold him back: “We could go quickly from the first stage because I had a good feeling with the car and we saw no reason why we should not push.” Push he did! The first five stages all went Freddy’s way giving him a healthy 1 min 36 sec lead after the opening day. The only one able to go faster than Loix on a stage was Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander managed to do so on the final stage of the
day. He was already two minutes behind Loix at that point though. Paddon suffered a fate so common to Ypres debutants. On the very first stage of the rally he misjudged one of the corners, went off the asphalt and immediately found himself in a potato field. Luckily for him there was little damage enabling him to continue his steep learning curve in Ypres. Behind Loix, Bryan Bouffier finished the day in second. Quickly adjusting to his new co-driver Lara Vanneste, Bouffier took it easy on the first day. He was reportedly unhappy with his performance, although staying out of trouble and enjoying a steady run did land him second. He vowed to push harder on the second day though to get closer to Loix. Trouble for Breen The only one seemingly able to stay near Loix
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Despite the difficult conditions, debutant Hayden Paddon was the only one other than Loix to win a stage on the opening day.
on the opening day was Craig Breen. He drove his Peugeot 207 S2000 over the stages in spectacular fashion and although he lost time to Loix on every stage, he was never far away. Trouble loomed on the second loop of stages though. A puncture cost him a few seconds on stage four. Unfortunately for Breen, worse was yet to come. With two stages remaining untill the final service halt of the day, Breen broke his front left driveshaft. This effectively made the Peugeot a rear-wheel drive car, not something you want in the wet conditions. Eventually he lost well over two minutes and after an encouraging start found himself back in fourth. The crowd wasn’t too upset by it all though. After all, their man Loix was in firm command and Craig Breen on full fight-back mode for the next day promised to be a sight to behold.
Craig Breen steered his Peugeot over the stages in spectacular fashion. He stayed close to Loix untill a broken driveshaft dropped him to fourth.
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Rally review
Breen sets the pace At the start of the long second and final leg Freddy Loix found himself in a comfortable lead and knew all he had to do was bring his car home safely to secure victory. Behind him things were a lot closer. After Craig Breen dropped time on the opening leg he started the second leg with a flat out assault, soon passing Hayden Paddon to take third. One place ahead, Bryan Bouffier felt the pressure of the charging Breen who won the first five stages of the day. With Paddon behind him, Breen set his sight on Bouffier who had started the day 46 seconds ahead but now held on to a slender 20 second lead over Breen.
hard on the next stage and overshot a junction. To make matters worse he stalled his engine in the incident losing precious seconds to Bouffier. On the same stage Hayden Paddon hit trouble too, albeit a bit more permanent. The rear end of the car snapped sideways sending him into spin which ended against a tree, ending his rally. Revitalised by his good performance in France, Bouffier went on to win the next four stages and extend his lead over Breen. A display to be rewarded with the Colin McRae flat Out trophy.
It almost ends in tears After an eventful rally Breen suffered an off on the very last stage of the rally and got stuck in a Crossing the border ditch. He was able to continue Two stages of the Ypres Rally but the time lost would drop him take place just over the border in down the leaderboard. Bizarrely France. Bouffier apparently felt though the cars of Davy Vanneste more comfortable in his home and Mikko Pajunen caught fire on country and countered Breen’s the final stage resulting in a cancharge by winning both the Lillecellation of the stage. The result Eurometropole and the short was thus drawn up after the peShow Wasquehalle stages. Back nultimate stage giving Breen third in Belgium Breen pushed a bit too place after all. Top to bottom: After a disappointing first day Craig Breen battled hard on day two to eventually finish in third.
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Bryan Bouffier was flying on day two and closed the gap to Loix by 15 seconds. It was not enough though as he had to settle for second. With two Peugeots behind him running on full steam Loix knew he only had to keep his cool to bring home Ypres win number eight. Though easier said than done, Loix was well up for the challenge and brought his Fabia safely home for the win.
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Final Result 26/49
Final result 1. Loix - Miclotte Skoda Fabia S2000 2. Bouffier - Vanneste Peugeot 207 S2000 3. Breen - Nagle Peugeot 207 S2000 4. Lefevere - Vangheluwe Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 5. Kobus - de Wild Ford Fiesta S2000 6. Solowow-Rozwadowski Ford Fiësta RRC 7. Debackere - Cokeleare Peugeot 207 S2000 8. Hadik - Kertész Subaru Impreza R4 STI 9. Tlusťák - Škaloud Skoda Fabia S2000 10. Croes - Tack Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2:33:19.4 +1:21.0 +1:52.5 +6:36.4 +6:41.2 +7:00.0 +9:38.5 +10:09.3 +10:25.6 +12:07.7
ERC: Geko Ypres Rally / Standings 27/49
Championship standings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Jan Kopecky Criag Breen Bryan Bouffier Francois Delecour Jari Ketomaa Freddy Loix Andreas Aigne Luis Monzon Ricardo Moura Stephane Sarrazin
Skoda Fabia S2000 146 points Peugeot 207 S2000 114 points Peugeot 207 S2000 99 points Peugeot 207 S2000 48 points Ford Fiesta S2000 39 points Skoda Fabia S2000 37 points Subaru Impreza R4 28 points MINI JCW RRC 24 points Skoda Fabia S2000 24 points MINI JCW S2000 24 points
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Feature
Dawn of a new era As the world continues its recovery from the economic crisis, its consequences can still be felt all around us. After decades of cars getting bigger, heavier and more expensive, a new trend is emerging. Nowadays cars have to be smaller, lighter, cleaner and above all, more cost efficient. Because the wrc is and always will be a commercial platform for the world’s mainstream cars we have already seen the arrival of smaller cars. Downgrading from C4 tot DS3 and from Focus to Fiesta the brands are putting forth their popular small hatchbacks. Next up is the further reduction of costs of the rallycars themselves. In come the R5 cars, which many believe are the future of rallying. In ypres we saw the first signs of things to come.
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Words: Steven van Veenendaal Images: FIA ERC
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Feature
Ford Fiesta R5
After the RS WRC, RRC, S2000 and R2 another new Fiesta rally car is being produced by M-Sport. The fifth version is the R5 and it is the first of a number of cars to be build for the new class.
rent generation WRC cars to the new generation R5 cars. We say new generation because it might very well be that these cars will replace the current WRC’s as the top cars in rallying.
The Future? M-Sport director Malcolm Wilson is a firm believer in the new class. “These cars will be available for max €180.000 (ed. the price cap imposed by the FIA for the R5 class) which is less than half of a current WRC.” This staggeringly drop in prices, compared to the relatively small drop in performance seems to be the perfect reason to lure customers away from the cur-
Sales Considering these economic tough times, interest in the car is booming. M-Sport claims to have received no less than 18 deposits, before the car had ever driven a competitive stage. Of course this is partly due to M-Sport’s pedigree as an excellent supplier for privateer rally drivers, the clientele surely must also have a lot of faith in the new car.
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The new Belgian star Neuville got a warm welcome from his home fans fresh of his second place finish in Sardinia.
Performance If we may believe thierry Neuville, they are right to have that faith. The Belgian was very excited about the car after giving it its asphalt debut during the Geko Ypres Rally. The rally started a day early for the car to be homologated to run in the actual rally. Neuville was forced to run as a course opener but proved the car’s pace. If he had been running in competition, he would have won the rally by almost a minute. Not bad given the strong line up at Ypres. Elfyn Evans will give the car its WRC debut at Neste Rally Finland in August which will give an indication of the car’s performance at the top evel.
He showed the Fiesta’s potential. Had he run in competion he would have won by about a minute.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Feature The 208 T16 is not nearly as far in development as the Fiesta. Meeke managed to entertain the crowds with his driving style nonetheless.
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peugeot 208 t16
On the opening day he went a bit too sideways, damaging the rear of the Peugeot. He was back out on the second day to gain valuable mileage for the team.
Peugeot is currently on a trip down memory lane. First they are trying to revive the times of the 205 by restoring the GTi badge back to its former glory. Second they entered (and won) the Pikes Peak Hill Climb with a car somewhat based on a 208. Finally though, and for rallying purists probably the most thought provoking, they recently debuted their new rally car sporting the T16 badge. Oh yes. Flashbacks Instantly images flash in front of
our eyes of the great 205 T16 (and E2). Kankkunen, Salonen, Vatanen and Saby piloted these rockets to victory in the haydays of Group B rallying. When the Group B class was abolished after the ‘86 season Peugeot immediately withdrew from the WRC. As a result the 205 only ran competitively for 2,5 years. In the late nineties and early zeroes the French were back with their 206 WRC which proved equally succesful in the hands of Marcus Grönholm and Gilles Panizzi. Though not as brutal
as its predecessor the car was again ahead of its competition. Reputation Peugeot obviously has a reputation to maintain when it comes to rallying. The 207 couldn’t really live up to the brand’s reputation so the 208 has some making up to do. It will not be easy as the sport is much more regulated than it was in the ‘80s But given the inclusion of the infamous T16 tag one thing is for sure, Peugeot means business!
Rally-eMag June 2013 / The Inside View
The Inside VieW By: Anna Louise Rudd
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Even the hard working lot of the WRC have to take a break every now and then. Anna is on holiday but will be back next month
Special / The Road to Wales Rally GB
The Road to Wales Rally GB Dreams of being a rally driver, at some point in our lives, haven’t we all had them? The harsh reality though is that rally driving isn’t as a easy sport to start with as say, football. The required inflated piece of leather costs a lot less than a full blown rally car. Once you do start, Every young boy dreams of being a cowboy or an astronaut or a fireman. I wanted to be rally driver. When I was about 10 years old I was given a remote control car, it was a Subaru and it had the name ‘Richard Burns’ on the side. The name on that car shaped who I have become, the dreams I have and life I lead. In 2001 I watched Richard Burns win the world title on T.V. and from that moment on became a rallying super fan. I spent hours researching rallying on the internet and following every post and site I could, including the 2002 WRC season.
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I begged my parent for months to take me to Wales Rally GB to see the season finale. I was desperate to see the see my idols in reality. They did take me, and for this I will forever thank them as it was there that I got to see my hero in action. Richard drove in the ‘Sliver Bullet’, Peugeot 206, and watching him race along those gravel stages is a sight I will never forget. What happened next however I could only dream of as I actually got to meet the man I so admired, I got to shake my hero’s hand and he signed my St. Georges Flag that I had crudely inked with his name, to wave as he speeded past. This was the first and last time I saw Richard in action. Michael in action in his first rally car, the Peugeot 205.
Words and images By: Michael Jenkins
the road to the top is even more expensive and thus difficult. In this monthly column we follow the adventures of Michael Jenkins, an amateur rally driver who set himself the goal of competing in this year’s Wales Rally GB. “The final round of the 2003 season was again the Wales Rally GB (the new name for the RAC Rally), but as Burns drove down to Wales before the event he collapsed at the wheel of his road car. By a miracle he had a passenger, his fellow rally driver Markko Martin, and Martin steered
the car safely to the side of the road. Burns was rushed to hospital, where he was eventually diagnosed as suffering an astrocytoma, a form of brain tumor. He never rallied, or even drove a car, again.” (The Independent, 2005)
Special / The Road to Wales Rally GB
I bought my first Rally car in 2009, a Peugeot 205. I started to prep and work on the car intending to rally it later that year. As ever real life got in the way, time and money, a common problem with amateur rally enthusiasts. So I had to postpone my rallying ambitions. Instead I focused my time on work and volunteering for The Richard Burns Foundation; a charity set up in Richards’s memory to raise money for the Brain and Spine Foundation. It was here I became close to Richard Burns’ father Alex Burns. Working for the charity and being around so many people who loved Richard, just as I did, made me even more determined that I would drive in a rally. In 2012 I could stand waiting no longer, it was time to make it happen. I obtained my National B Rally Licence at Silverstone Rally School and started to prepare my car for racing with help from my friend and amazing mechanic, Colin. It was now in September of 2012 I gave myself quite a tight deadline of the Tempest Rally in early November. Along with Colin who owns Ignition Motorsport, I worked all hours of day and night, as well as working full time my full time job. I would come home from work and prepare the car till dawn, shower and go straight back to work, still with traces of oil on my hands. I had to borrow money from my family to pay for the work on the car; I had already put all my savings of over £5000 into it. This just added to the pressure, I had to get this done. I was pushing myself to the limit. I was exhausted. I had lived on junk food for over a month but had still lost over a stone in weight from all the manual work and rushing around. In the end it was worth it. We had the car ready. All I needed now was a co-driver.
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Michael making his rallying debut at the Tempest Rally.
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So I went online co-driver dating. I went onto ‘Rally Matcher’ an online matching service for drivers and co-drivers. It was there I found Scott Dance. With over 18 years’ experience he was just what I needed. So I had the car, the co-driver and a service crew. Now to enter the Rally! I can’t describe how amazing it was lining up on the start line, being counted down by Scott. I felt on top of the world. The excitement was short lived though as I broke my engine mount on the second stage. I thought that was it, I wouldn’t get to finish my first rally, but after some quick thinking and improvisation with a big block of wood and a ratchet strap from the service crew I was able to finish. I was a rally driver. My boyhood dreams had come true and I’d made to the end in my own car. I was so proud.
But what do you do when you get to realise your dreams? Well you find bigger dreams to chase. That is exactly what I am doing with my quest to race in WRGB this November. I am hoping to pay tribute to Richard Burns by entering Wales Rally GB in our Subaru Impreza rally car carrying the same iconic colour scheme that took Richard to victory on home soil in 1999 and 2000. To do this I need to raise a considerable amount of money through sponsorship. Through hours and hours of letter and email writing, tweets and networking I have managed to obtain signed merchandise to auction from WRC teams and drivers such as Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. I am running competitions on my Facebook page to create hype in exchange for T-shirts signed by WRC drivers and a tour of the Prodive Factory. I am seeking sponsorship with a view to provide
media coverage and on-car branding from corporate business and rally enthusiasts. Raising money is never easy; at the moment we have no sponsorship but have generated lots of interest in the “revival of a rallying icon” and are hopeful that the target will be reached. All our profits will go to the Richard Burns Foundation and we hope to raise a huge amount of awareness for the charity. Anyone can make their dreams come true with hard work and self-belief. I have experienced my boyhood dream of being a Rally driver, now as a man I hope to make my dream of following the tyre tracks of my hero Richard Burns a reality too. The Subaru Michael hopes to use for this years Wales Rally GB.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview
The Holidays are over! After a short midseason break the WRC world awakens again for the second half of the season. And a rude awakening it will be! Six events are on the menu taking the competitors from northern to central Europe, then they fly to the other side of the globe to Australia, to come back to Europe for the season’s finale on the tarmac roads of France and Spain and the Welsh forest roads.
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Words: Harry van Veenendaal Images: Bas romeny
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview
Neste Oil Rally Finland 31 July - 3 August Clerk of the Course Kai Tarkiainen and his experienced crew found a way to excite both competitors and spectators alike during Neste Oil Rally Finland. Being one of the highlights of the season, nothing less could be expected.
Format The format of the rally is somewhat different form other rally’s in the championship. After the FIA dropped the rule that a rally should include three competitive days and that it should always end on a Sunday. Finland was the first one to grab the opportunity. A long cherished wish came true. They could end the rally on Saturday, giving the partygoers the chance to sleep into the day after and still go to work on Mondays ‘all fresh and fruity’ again. Originally they introduced a twoday format but in 2013 organizers will present a full three-day rally again. The competitive action starts on Thursday and will
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After a disappointing start to the 2013 season Mikko Hirvonen is desperate for a win on his home event. We know he has the speed here but he keep it together?
finish on Saturday. Shakedown and qualifying both take place on Wednesday. In Jyvaskyla the locals always organize ‘Ralli Vikko’ or Rally week in English. With recce on Monday and Tuesday, qualifying on Wednesday and proper rallying from Thursday to Saturday Neste Rally Finland exactly fits into this week. Shakedown and qualifying Ruuhimaki is not a very long stage but its character is typically Finland, a fairly wide road with a smooth and therefore extremely fast surface. The bends are wide and cambered in the right direction but the famous assets of Ruuhimaki are the jumps. After
the start in a small country road, the competitors take a long right bend and then the fun starts. Ahead they find a fairly straight road. But there is hardly a meter that is completely level. Jumps end up in crests into new jumps. If ever the word roller coaster was fitting, it was to this stretch of road. Here you can see the cars fly with their front wheels in line with the next bend and taking part of this bend in mid air. You should see it to believe it. It’s only 4,6 kilometres long but is an excellent venue for shakedown and qualifying on Wednesday. At the end of the day the fastest drivers can pick their favourite starting positions for the next few days.
Meanwhile former-Citroën colleague Thierry Neuville is having his best season ever and is looking to continue his good form on the Finnish roads. (Image: Steven van Veenendaal)
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview
Rally HQ Rally HQ is situated at the Jyväskylä Paviljonki. At Rally-eMag we think this is the best Rally HQ in the whole WRC. It looks like it is purpose built for this special function. Apart from the administrative offices of the rally it has enough space for the service area, a partially indoor rally village, enough parking space and hotels. And all that is within a five minutes walk from downtown Jyvaskyla with an abundance of café’s, restaurants and other things you need while visiting a rally.
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The stages The stages follow a wellknown direction. It includes (in-)famous names like Mökkiperä, Lankamaa and the most famous of them all Ouninpohja. Generally the route will be similar to previous editions. But some stages will be run in reverse order. On Thursday we have the first day of full rallying. The competitors will have to travel to the south. On the way there they will first have to cope with a newly layed out stage in Himos (near Jämsä) followed by an old classic stage called Torittu.
In 1985 Timo Salonen in a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 was the last winner. His co driver way back then was Seppo Harjanne. Who is now assistant Clerk of the Course. On the Friday we move to the west and north of Jyvaskyla for the longest day where amongst other things we pass Kankussentie, the road leading to the farm of Juha Kankkunen. There will not be many other rally drivers who have there own road! But hey this is Finland! And the man himself can tell you how tricky the roads in this area are. The first time we saw him drive here in 1994 he went off Kankusentie in a big way, crippling his Toyota Celica. The final day On Saturday the drivers have to drive two loops of four stages. Including the gruelling Ouninpohja stage. This year the Powerstage is not in this 35 kilometre killer stage but on the new Painnaa stage. After 23 special stages over a grand total of almost 328 kilometres the competitors will reach the finish in Jyvaskyla again. It will be very interesting to see if Ogier can beat the Finns here!
Finland is about flying cars and being on the limit all the time. Something Evgeny Noviko is a keen fan of, testimony of his many spectacular outings here. (bottom image: Steven van Veenendaal)
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview Petter Solberg is all too familiar with one of the main threats of the event, the ‘Hinkelsteinen’ which have shredded many of his cars.
ADAC Rallye Deutschland
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23 August - 25 August Changes For quite a few years now the Rallye Deutschland Powerstage nicknamed Circus Maximus, because of the Roman background of Trier, was the highlight of the German WRC round. Trier being the most northern big city in the Roman Empire happily hosted the Powerstage and did not mind closing the whole inner-city town accommodate the modern day chariots.
Start The start will not be in the inner city of Trier either. The competitors will travel to Cologne for the ceremonial start. As any kind of competitive action in motorsports is a nono in the inner city, the official start will be outside the town. Still the fans can admire the drivers in their powerful machines. They will probably gather by the thousands on the square around the famous Cologne Dom, a definitely scenic view! This will all take place in the second half of Thursday afternoon. From there the cars will travel south in the direction of Trier. On the way there the
‘The Deutschland’ is one of Dani Sordo’s favourite rallies. Last year his Mini couldn’t keep up anymore, this year the Spaniard is in the Citroën that won here 11 years straight.
organizers found two new venues for real special stages. The stages will be called Blankenheim and Sauertal. The Sauertal stage will start around 8:00 pm so in the late summer this will probably mean darkness will be setting in. This will be a new aspect of WRC events in Germany. After these two stages the cars go back to Trier for an overnight stop Never change a wining team But of course lots of good things will not change. So the service park will still be located in the Messepark in Trier. And for the rest of the rally there will not have be surprises.
On Friday the cars set out for their usual loop of stages on the infinitely winding roads of Mosel vineyards. On Saturday the whole WRC community meets at the Panzerplatte, (a part the military grounds formerly known as Trupenübungsplatz Baumholder). On the roads where American tanks and later all kinds of military UN missions did their training, now the rally cars will run. The tanks needed the large concrete boulders to keep them on the road. For the rally cars these “hinkelsteine” form a permanent threat.
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Many a driver experienced them and most of the time this cost them dearly. (Peter Solberg knows everything about it!). The survivors of the Panzerplatte- and surrounding stages will meet again on Sunday for the well-known Drohntal stage. Here the spectators have a very good few of the cars climbing from the level of the Mosel river into the higher vineyards. They can see their heroes for a long time, battling in the abundance of hairpins that bring the cars to the top. The second passing will be the Powerstage as the Trier Powerstage will not be run this year. The total length will be some 372 kilometres over 16 special stages. Needless to say they all run over hardened roads varying from cobblestones via rough and smooth asphalt stages culminating in the gruelling concrete roads of the Panzerplatte. Finish At the end of the rally the competitors will be back in the inner city of Trier again. The city may have lost the Powerstage and the start procedure, the local fans still have the chance to cheer their favourites as they will return to the historic settings of the Porta Nigra for the official finish of the event on Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock.
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Coates Hire Rally Australia 13 september - 15 september It’s almost certain that very good rally conditions await visitors and competitors alike during WRC event number 10 that will be held in Australia, host to WRC rounds since 1989. Since a few years now the rally has been alternating with New Zealand. But both rally’s are working very hard to get a fixed slot on the WRC calendar. And, according to our view they both deserve this spot. It’s the second time Coffs Harbour (some 540 kilometres north of Sydney) is host to the rally. The area however has a longer history in rallying. Originally Coffs Harbour was host to the famous Southern Cross Rally, but that was way back in the 60’s. The area itself is almost perfect for a rally. It’s a not to
densely populated area with an abundance of very scenic roads, sometimes treacherous roads and the town itself is very ‘ rally friendly’. In 2011 for instance they put a rally car next to the runway of the local airport to greet the visitors from abroad and for the local people a sand castle was erected on the town square. This is exactly what FIA wants. They want to bring rallying tot the ‘normal’ people. Not just the die-hard fans but the people who have a general interest in cars and sports. Well both these things apply to nearly all Australians, so it’s good to bring rallying, especially on world class level to them and to get them acquainted with the
sport. And it’s actually working as in 2011 some 90.000 people actually attended the ceremonial start and the autograph sessions in their town. But also from the driver’s point of view Australia is a welcome addition to the calendar. 2011 winner Mikko Hirvonen is clear about it: “I’m really looking forward to coming back. Not only because I won here but also because the stages are very good here, exactly as I like them.” So will this rally bring the change we need this year, will Mikko rise again and actually challenge Seb and Jari Matti? We’re looking forward to the battle.
Hirvonen won the last three Rally Oz’s, can he do it again? Image: Ford Motorsport Last time out, Ogier was in a different car. Doesn’t matter, he’s still the favorite. Image: Citroen Racing Media
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Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview 45/59
This year’s edition might very well be a historic one. The first reason is Sebastien Loeb. For all we know now, this will be the last WRC event he will compete in. And after nine titles this at least is a remarkable thing. The absolute ruler in the WRC competition will seek other challenges and will leave the country roads for the circuits of the world and his DS3 WRC for a C-Élysée WTCC. In the World Touring Car Championship he will make life difficult for other drivers than Ogier, Latvala, Hirvonen and Østberg, to mention just a few. It’s only appropriate he ends his career in his home territory with the final stage in his hometown Haguenau. No doubt some tears will be shed and not only by his fans but probably the ice cool man himself will have some difficult moments at the end of this rally. It would be no surprise if he wins this one. He still is one of the very best in the field especially on tarmac, and he showed that he still could win. So why not in his hometown at his last rally. Well probably there is another Seb who wants to win here. We’re talking about Ogier of course. Especially if his first championship is at stake he will not, for sentimental reasons, hand victory to his biggest rival. So this might also be a historic rally for another reason: at this rally Ogier could secure his first championship and consequently VW could do that too. We’re not yet predicting this but it is a definite possibility. As far as the route is concerned only mild changes occur. Legs two and three have been switched but the stages stay roughly the same and as we said earlier the Haguenaus street stage will be the final stage again.
Rallye de France-Alsace
4 October - 6 october
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Powerstage A big change however is the Powerstage. It is a street stage in Strassbourg, the home of the rally. The stage will run near the buildings of the European Parliament, so nothing wrong yet but it will be the first stage of the rally. For some peculiar reason the French think this will attract more attention from the spectators and media. We are always in favour of new things and therefore experiments should always be done, but we at Rally-eMag fail to see what extra it can bring to start with the Powerstage. The Powerstage was conceived to stir up some extra challenges at
the end of the rally. Quite often at the end of the rally all drivers have found their position and want to keep it that way. With the Powerstage a lot of drivers want to do just a little bit extra. So for the spectators in the field (and on television in some cases) it is a bit interesting if the cars go just that little bit faster. In our view therefore the Powerstage should be a proper rally stage, so not some SuperSpecial in a town but a real stage in the country and it should be at the end of the rally. We can understand that in this case the last stage will get a lot of attention because of the historic nature of this stage in this case. But another stage
at the end of the last leg would have been a better choice. Germany showed the way in this case. They abandoned Circus Maximus as their Powerstage and made a proper Germany stage into the Powerstage. For Rally de France the Powerstage in the beginning may be not such a good decision as in the not to distant future some European events will fall of the calendar and with Germany and France so close together and so similar in character the FIA and its promoter might perhaps decide for Germany to stay in the championship, rather than France.
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview
Rally RACC Catalunya COSTA DAURADA Rally de Espaùa 13 september - 15 september Spain has a unique rally, as it is the only rally with mixed surface. Some years ago they introduced a format in which both tarmac and gravel roads found a place. This year it is the same only the itinerary has changed quite a bit. The start just like last year is in Barcelona in front of the famous cathedral. The start of the rally is now on Friday evening around six o’clock. The competitors will then proceed to the rally centre in Salou again, but on their way there they will have to tackle three stages and, because of the time of year and the starting time, these stages will be competed in the dark. Just like the Saturday stages these three night stages will be tarmac roads. These roads still are characteristic for Spain. Wide smooth asphalt stages that according to some drivers feel like be-
ing on a purpose built circuit. The last day is reserved for six gravel stages. All in all an attractive package that will lure many a fan to the Spanish coast where they can probably enjoy apart from nice rally action, a bit of late summer temperatures and atmosphere. It is nice to see that rally’s are looking at each other. Germany adopted the idea of a central city start in front of a famous landmark from Spain and both organisations introduced some night stages on the road back to the rally centre. Night stages have been banned till a few years ago but can definitely bring back something of the old-fashioned rally feeling. The total distance over the 15 special stages is still more than 355 kilometres, so he Friday evening start did not affect the competiveness of the event
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Road surfaces change dramatically in Spain, but one thing always remains constant, the huge crowds!
Rally-eMag July 2013 / Preview 48/49
Wales Rally GB 15 november - 17 november The season’s finale will be back in Britain again. We don’t think that the championship will be decided there this year. But at least we are back again in Wales, a rally that notoriously has some bad weather with lots of rain (or snow) and around zero temperatures. For spectators these are not the most favourable conditions but this belongs to the end of the season. And unlike Jost Capito we think Wales Rally GB should always be part of the championship and preferably at the end of it. Just like Monte Carlo should be in the beginning. Capito disagreed and told us “Wales is a nice event, but who wants to be in in the cold and rain when we can go to nice venues in the sun near a beach?”
and beverages to comfort us again. Added to that is the fact that the organizers completely changed the format of the rally. No more hours of driving from the stages to Cardiff and back as rally HQ was moved to Deeside in the north of Wales. There at the engine plant of Toyota they found a perfect spot for a new rally centre. Especially it’s location near the densely populated English cities of Manchester and Liverpool and consequently the enormous amount of visitors this could attract helped in making this switch. On the competitive field this also mad it possible to go back to some famous old stages in the north of Wales like Gwydyr, Penmachno, Penllyn, Dyfi and Clocaenog. Of course the usual stages like Myherin, Sweet Perhaps we agree with him Lamb and Hafren will not be when we are in Wales at the forgotten, they will be visited end of this year feeling miseron the second day of rallying able from the cold and rain. But with a remote service at Newusually there is a pub nearby town. Another happy return is where they have a nice warm the Great Orme that will be the log fire and some local food last stage of the rally.
Next issue, August, with Sibiu raly romania and rally finland. See you there!