Rally-eMag 025 February 2015

swedish fight Sweden Issue 25, February 2015

Latvia

interview: kevin abbring Plus: Tech Talk, World Rally Museum & ForMyFriends

ott tanak wasn’t as blitzing as la st year, but stil entertained the l crowds at colin’s crest Image: Bas Romeny

new kid on the block, kevin abbring joins hy undai in sweden Image: Bas Romeny

henning solberg Image: Bas Romeny

in his natural ha

bitat

Sweden was utt erly disappointin g for latvala wh not off to a go o’s od start of his 2015 campaign .

Image: Bas Romeny

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Rally-eMag February 2015 / Contents

This month Who made it?

Publisher: Rally-eMag Words: Steven van Veenendaal, Harry van Veenendaal.

Photography: Bas Romeny, Timo Anis, Andy Crayford

Who helped?

Logo design: Minse Blom Backcover artwork: Dam Charles Distribution: Issuu.com

Who we thank!

PR Photography from: Peugeot Sport, Hyundai Motorsport, Citroen Racing, FIA ERC, Volkswagen Motorsport, M-Sport.

How to reach us?

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Email: info@rally-emag.com Web: www.rally-emag.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ emagrally Twitter: @emagrally Issuu: www.issuu.com/rally-emag

WRC Rally Sweden

ERC Liepaja Rally

Interview Kevin abbring

Tech talk Rally engines

Feature World rally museum

Exciting Sweden

Snowdown

Living out of a suit case

Page 31

Page 26

Page 11

Page 36

Page 22

Rally-eMag February 2015 / News

This month’s wrap up Loix wins Spa Rally Rallying finally returned to the home of Belgian motorsport, Spa. The Boucles de Spa has long been an illustrious event due to the tricky stages in the Ardennes and the changeable weather conditions that torment the region on the winter-spring border. The event disappeared from the calendar a few years ago and was only held as a historic rally. Untill this year.

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The Spa Rally is the successor to the ‘Boucles’ and proved every bit as exciting as its name predicted. Dirty tarmac and mixed stages, dry and wet roads, day and night stages, pre-event controversy, mid-rally controversy, the rally really had it all. Former WRC star Freddy Loix was the fastest and most consistent throughout the event as many of his rivals succumbed to the treacherous stages of had to deal technical woes.

The organizers played their part by slapping the likes of Patrick Snijers, Chris van Woensel and others with hefty time penalties for presumed illegal recceing. Later on Vincent Verschueren and Timothy van Parijs were excluded from the event for missing a checkpoint. None of the rally’s challenges seemed to faze Loix too much though as he kept a solid pace on way to victory. Kris Princen finished third after gearbox trouble in his Peugeot and leads the Belgian Championship after two rounds. Loix is down in fourth after failing to score any points in the season-opening Haspengouw Rally.

Image: PR/BRC

Skoda R5 highly anticipated The development of the highly anticipated new Skoda Fabia R5 is in full flight and there are already waiting lines of customers anxious to get their hands on the new machine. Not surprisingly so, its predecessor, the S2000, was the most succesful car of its class.

No less than 60 S2000’s were sold to privateers and the car logged countless rally wins and claimed nearly 50 titles. Although still competitve (see Freddy Loix’ victory in Spa), the car is beginning to show its age and the rally world is ready for the next Fabia to shine.

Test driver Raimund Baumschlager is

very enthusiastic about its potential, “I’ve tested it on snow, tarmac and gravel and it just feels really good everywhere.” It will be difficult to rival its predecessor, but Skoda has shown to be a committed and succesful rally car manufacturer.

Image: Skoda Motorosport

Rally Sweden / Overview 17/46

Rally Sweden

Based in: Hagfors Date: 12-15/02/15 Number of stages: 21 Shortest stage: Hagfors Sprint, 1.87 km Longest stage: Vargasen, 24.63 km Total stage distance: 308 km Surface: Snow/Ice Image: Bas Romeny

Rally Sweden / Revieww

Exciting Sweden The second round of the WRC traditionally is in Sweden. It’s also the only true winter event on the calendar, and this year the weather gods brought quite a bit of snow. The way we like it. So the 2015 edition had everything in it to be a unique event, an event where other people than Ogier also have a chance of winning. So will the Nordic people, who are more used to these conditions, take their chances?

Words: Harry van Veenendaal

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Images: Bas Romeny

Rally Sweden / Revieww

After Monte Carlo every one was looking forward to the next challenge, especially because there was a really wintry weather forecast. Lots of snow was on the menu. So the chances for a real winter event were growing. In Spain however there was no snow, still Dani Sordo unfortunately fell with his mountain bike, while training.

He broke some ribs and was not fit to participate. Bad fortune for Sordo meant good fortune for Kevin Abbring. Having just joined the Hyundai team he was asked to take over Sordo’s duties. “I did not say no,” the young Dutchman confided to us. So both him and co-driver Seb Marshall will make their WRC debut in Sweden

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How the action unfolded The opening stage was the Super Special in Karlstad, a mere two kilometres long but a popular venue for the inhabitants of the official hometown of the event. A win by Swedish hero Pontus Tideman was more than the spectators could have hoped for. So a Swede was leading when the next day the competitors went to Norway for two loops of four prop-

er stages. These stages did not bring much drama. Most drivers got through relatively unscaved. That of course did not mean they escaped the usual hazards of Rally Sweden, like clipping snow banks and spinning on the tricky conditions. Sébastien Ogier still is not happy with the fact he has to run first on the road, as he fears this will slow him down.

However, as many people predicted, he still leads the pack.

With temperatures just hovering above zero degrees that disadvantage is absent. On the contrary, with the ice slowly melting, being first actually helps a bit. Jari-Matti Latvala is in second but he is not entirely confident and consequently he is somewhat struggling with his driving. Behind the two VW powerhouses, Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Østberg are fighting for Norwegian supremacy, with Mikkelsen on top so far. British drivers Kris Meeke and Elfyn Evans are somewhat off the pace. Meeke had a major spin in SS4 and Evans is having difficulties in finding the proper rhythm and judging the grip levels in the snowy conditions.

Debut Kevin Abbring made his Hyundai debut and for the first time had to drive a fully-fledged World Rally Car in competitive conditions. Making your debut is never easy but the snow and ice of the Scandinavian WRC round is even more difficult as it asks some specialised skills you can only learn from actually competing there. He was introduced to

the Rally Sweden particulars on the very first proper stage. Near the end of stage two he cut a corner a bit too much, not noticing the deceptive snow bank, he then got sucked in. It took him about a minute and a half to get back on the road. It was the main moment of the morning, but despite that, the Dutchman has been all smiles all day on his debut.

Kevin Abbring made his debut for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team in Sweden.

Rally Sweden / Revieww

After a quiet morning in Sweden the crews prepared for the return trip to Hagfors hoping for more of the same in the afternoon. How different it would be. Rally leader Sebastien Ogier was the first to hit trouble as his windscreen wipers failed on SS6. This meant that rain and snow clogged up his vision. After attempting some roadside fixes Ogier failed to properly put the pins back in the front bonnet. Insult was added to injury as the bonnet blew open and smashed his windscreen, making visibility on the following stages even more precarious! For Yuri Protasov things went more smoothly and he claimed his maiden WRC stage win on SS6.

Robert Kubica, struggling through the stages after a diff or propshaft failure meant he had to continue with two-wheel drive only. The next snow victim was Elfyn Evans. When the car wouldn’t turn into a junction enough he tried to flick it against the snow bank using his handbrake. The flick was successful but the snowbank proved to be softer than expected, beaching Evans on top instead of bouncing him. Evans was stuck for about two minutes.

VW in trouble But the real drama was saved for the last proper stage. Ogier completed the stage with steam coming out of the engine bay of his Polo. He too had smashed into a snow bank, getting stuck for about Snow trouble Meanwhile Kris Meeke went off the road and into a minute and blocking the radiator with snow. The a snow bank, losing three minutes in the process. Polo was obviously getting hot with a long road He was not the only one and next up to suffer was section ahead. This incident handed the lead to

Jari Matti Latvala, but the poor Finn never knew.

Under the new rules it is prohibited to share split times with the crews. So Latvala wasn’t aware of Ogier’s demise. He consequently charged on, and charged off. Just 700 meters from the end of the final stage he slid wide in a fast corner and got stuck in a ditch. Despite the help from throbs of spectators it took nearly eight minutes to get back onto road.

Mikkelsen to the rescue Thankfully for Volkswagen, they still have a third car around as Andreas Mikkelsen benefitted from his teammates’ misfortune to take the lead. Mads Østberg had been fighting with Mikkelsen all day long, but he wouldn’t end the day in second as Thierry Neuville blitzed passed on the final stage to overhaul Ostberg and take second. An outcome that is surprising and promising for things to come.

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Ogier suffered various difficulties due to his non-functioning windscreen wipers and ac- Worse was to follow for Latvala, who inherited the lead, but lost it again on the very same tually going off the road quite badly on the day’s final stage. stage when he too went off and remained stranded for eight minutes.

Rally Sweden / Revieww 15/46

The return of Ogier The next day Rally Sweden returned to classic territory with stages like Fredriksberg, Rammen and Vargassen. It was here that Sébastien Ogier started his assault to retake control of the event.

But in this area too the ‘snow casualties’ kept on coming. This time it was Mads Østberg who slid into a snow bank on SS12 and lost nearly a minute, effectively ending his hopes of taking third from Neuville. On the same stage, Andreas Mikkelsen had a ‘moment’ as well. The Norwegian leader slid into a ditch but was lucky to escape with a time loss of just 8 seconds. Stage 14 Vargassen was televised live on WRC+ and provided plenty of drama. The stage is famous for ‘Colin’s Crest’, a spectacular crest sandwiched between fast corners on which the cars tend to fly sideways. While the crest provided a good show, the real fireworks came from other parts of the stage. Lorenzo Bertelli was the first driver in trouble as he parked his car in a ditch right before the end of the stage. Ogier, who had passed him, explained that he would need a lot of spectators to recover from there. It turned he wouldn’t. Being first behind Rally 2 re-starters on the road got Ogier complaining again, but he would set a marker that would be hard to beat.

Latvala was pushing hard in his quest to move back into the point scoring top ten positions, but pushed a bit too hard on this one. He was dragged in by a snowbank, spun and gathered a lot of

snow in his front bumper, blocking the radiator and costing him an additional 40 seconds. Another one to lose time was rally leader Andreas Mikkelsen.

The Norwegian spun in the first section of the stage and as the road was very narrow in that particular section he struggled to get going again. He eventually lost 19 seconds reducing his lead over Ogier to a mere 1,7 seconds. Game on then for this afternoon Road to an exciting finale All eyes were on the Volkswagen boys, but at the end of the day Thierry Neuville emerged as the leader of Rally Sweden. Sébastien Ogier has been struggling all day, cleaning the road for those behind him. Testament to this was the time loss of ten seconds on stage 15. Apart from the regular teams, the cars of the historic rally also made their way through the stages. They created lines and ruts that didn’t match Ogier’s driving. On the very next stage Andreas Mikkelsen was faster than Ogier again, but falters near the end. “I never get this part of the stage right. I had trouble with the junctions.” He loses five seconds as a result.

Top to bottom: Latvala started to fight back, only to lose more time with another off.

Another bad weekend for Citroën with Meeke crashing out early and Ostberg struggling with his gearbox throughout.

Despite losing the lead to Neuville, Mikkelsen still has his first WRC win well within reach after day two.

Rally Sweden / Review

Applying the best tyre strategy, coupled with an inspired drive, saw Thierry Neuville move into the lead at the end of day two.

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Meanwhile there is a Belgian dispute going on in the number 7 Hyundai. Co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul is trying to slow down his driver, but there is no stopping Thierry Neuville. The Belgian is literally flying through the stages gaining time on both Volkswagens. More importantly he is using some clever tyre tactics carrying two spares in the back rather than the usual one.

And boy did it pay off. Neuville went conservatively through the short Hagfors sprint stage before absolutely flooring it on the final stage of the day, Vargassen. His immense pace earned him the new record over Colin’s Crest, flying 44 meters before touching down again. More importantly, he smashes the times set by Ogier and

Eventually Elfyn Evans won the ‘Battle of the Britts’ and took sixth just ahead of Meeke in seventh.

of course would be the three-way battle for victory between Thierry Neuville, Andreas Mikkelsen and Sébastien Ogier. But behind them there was also the battle of the Britts as Kris Meeke and Elfyn Evans duked it out for fourth.

Mads Østberg had a moment when he visited another snow bank but that was all of the day’s excitement. In the end it would come down to the PowerStage. Though we had some excitement during Finland’s PowerStage last year, this was really the first time since the introduction of live The main event television coverage of the PowerStage that it acFor most competitors today was about getting to tually was the stage on which victory would be the end of the rally unscaved, but for some there decided and not just between two, but even three was still a tough battle to be had. The main event drivers.

Mikkelsen charging through into the lead!

His lead over Mikkelsen is just 1,5 seconds though with Ogier a further 8,1 seconds behind.

With just under 50 kilometres and three stages to go, it will be a sprint straight to the finish, promising to be one of the most exciting battles for the lead we have seen in quite a while. Ogier will finally be done with his road cleaning duties, but Neuville remained confident when asked if he could take the win: “I think, yes.”

Rally Sweden / Review

Running in reverse standing order, the first battle to be decided was that between Meeke and Evans. This time it went the Welshman’s way as Meeke had a spin midway through the stage and lost about 15 seconds. Of course the big fight for first was what everybody had come to watch. Neuville was first into the stage and shattered the fastest time so far set by Mads Østberg. It would set the marker for Ogier and Mikkelsen to follow. The new rule that forbids the transmission of split times to the cars meant that neither Ogier nor Mikkelsen were aware

of Neuville’s pace. Not that Ogier needed any such information. The world champion showed everyone why he was world champion, powering through the stage in spectacular fashion. “I was on the limit everywhere!” The result was amazing as he took five seconds of Neuville’s time, keeping the Belgian behind him. Right as Ogier had reached the stop finish, news came in that Mikkelsen had gone off. Braking just a little bit too late for a fast left hander caused him to slip wide, and we all know what happens if you slip wide in Sweden. Exactly, the snow banks

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Mikkelsen had the local support as neighbouring Norwegians flooded Sweden, but it wasn’t enough to wether the French storm known as Ogier.

claimed another victim. In the end the time loss would be limited, but far too great to continue battling for the lead.

So in the end, as usual, it was Ogier who came out on top, taking his second win of the season out of two rallies we’ve had so far. Not a bad start for the reigning champ. It was not Volkswagen one- two however as Neuville claimed second ahead of Mikkelsen.

Running first on the road? Suffering from unwilling windscreen wipers in the snow? Being challenged by two of the best young stars in the WRC? No problem for Monsieur Ogier.

Rally Sweden / Round-up 18/46

Round-up Volkswagen World Rallyteam Sweden was very much about getting equal in the VW team. His good result in Monte Carlo gave Jari-Matti Latvala high hopes of being able to fight his teammate. However he was not feeling at ease with his car. In the end he seemed to have found the solution: “We have a completely new car and eventually I haven’t been able to find the right set up.

I tried my set up of last year but that did not work. Now I know what to do.” Finally we saw a smile again on the Finn’s face.

But the damage had already been done so the Finn could not score anymore and remained empty-handed. This was the reason that crew and team decided to bring their rally to a premature end. This was done to give them more freedom in selecting certain components that would otherwise have been restricted due to the fact that according to the regulations Sweden, Mexico and Argentina had been

linked, making it impossible to change certain car components.

It wasn’t an easy rally for Sebastien Ogier. Especially in Sweden starting first could be a disadvantage but due to the circumstances this was not always the case. Apart from that he proved to be just human by making some uncharacteristic mistakes. But in the end it was he who stayed cool and plainly beat his opponents. He was all smiles when he heard of Mikkelsen’s problems and said: “This is one of my best victories!”

Andreas Mikkelsen also had one of his best events ever, but it ended in tears when on the last stage he made a mistake. It threw him out of contention for a win that he worked so hard for. But being so young his time will come.

Hyundai Shell World Rally Team Hayden Paddon, completed the roll For Hyundai Sweden was definitely a success. Neuville was second after out of the Sweden cars. In the meetan excellent drive bringing him secing room he found Paddon who also ond place in the driver’s standings. had been summoned, team principal This result together with Paddon’s Michel Nandan and teammanager career’s best fifth place also brought Alain Penasse. “We have a serious the team a runner up position in the problem,” Nandan started. “Dani constructor’s standings. With a car (Sordo, HVV) was injured in a trainstill fully under development this may ing accident and he can’t compete in be seen as a good result.

Sweden. He then addressed Abbring: “so we wanted to enter you in his place. This was the start of a frantic As indicated Hayden Paddon did well in Sweden. In the beginning he week for the Dutchman. He was gowas suffering a bit from the set up of ing to drive in the Hyundai N team in his car, that originally had been set Paddon’s car. Paddon was to start in up to suit Sordo’s driving style he Sordo’s car. But since then he did not decided to change his driving style stop smiling. This was the same durrather than trying to change the set ing the rally and he really made the up during the rally. The result was most of it. He lost some time when a well-deserved 5th place. His best he went into a bank after his glasses result ever in a WRC event. had steamed up but he had a good run resulting in an eleventh position About a week before the rally Kevin and a firm hug of team boss Nandan.

Abbring was called to attend a Also he gained the first point for his meeting after he had, together with team, the Hyundai N team.

Rally Sweden / Round-up

M-Sport World Rallyeam

The private Fords

In the M-Sport team Elfyn Evans did not feel at ease and, like many others lost some time in a snow bank. But during the rally he gained confidence in the conditions that suited him better. He could finally get some satisfaction from beating Kris Meeke in a straight fight for sixth place.

Best man of the team is Ott Tänak he too found out Sweden is treacherous but drove sensibly to a well-deserved fourth place. This together with Evans’ classification positioned the team in third position, before Citroen.

RK World Rally Team Good performance but bad result, is the best way to characterize Kubica’s Rally Sweden. He did ot make many mistakes but was slowed down by a differential problem and had to settle for front wheel drive. On Sunday he was handed a five-minute penalty for a technical issue with his turbo. All in all an event to forget rapidly.

Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT

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At Citroen it was mostly frustration that reined. The best thing you could say is that Meeke had a stage win, but his in inexperience in the event threw him out of contention. His second Swedish rally devaluated again to a training round. The story for Østberg unfortunately is not better. The whole rally he complained about an issue with his gearbox. “It was not solved until the last stage,” he confided. Some visits to snow banks, a puncture and this gearbox thing made this a rally he will not fondly remember. His tenth place will not help that feeling either.

Fuckmatie World Rally Team Lorenzo Bertelli wanted to finish in Sweden but it did not go particularly smoothly. After two Rally2 restarts, caused by a technical issue and later by an off, he eventually reached the finish. It was his first attempt here in a World Rallycar.

Jipocar Czech Rally Team Martin Prokop wanted to repeat a point scoring position in Sweden after his Monte Carlo result. An ‘almost roll’ dropped him behind the battle between Evans and Meeke. But he did achieve another point’s finish making it two times scoring out of two events.

Rally Sweden / Results 20/46

Overall final classification 1. Ogier-Ingrassia 2. Neuville-Gilsoul 3. Mikkelsen-Floene 4. Tanak-Mölder 5. Paddon-Kennard

Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2:55:30.5 Hyundai i20 WRC +6.4 Volkswagen Polo R WRC +39.8 Ford Fiësta RS WRC +2:26.0 Hyundai i20 WRC +3:31.5

6. Evans-Barritt 7. Meeke-Nagle

8. Prokop-Tomanek 9. Protasov-Cherepin 10. Østberg-Andersson

Ford Fiësta RS WRC DS3 WRC Ford Fiësta RS WRC Ford Fiësta RS WRC DS3 WRC

+3:53.0 +4:05.8 +4:26.0 +5:32.2 +6:50.9

Rally Sweden / Standings

2015 FIA World Rally Championship Drivers’ Standings 1. Ogier 53 2. Neuville 30 3. Mikkelsen 30 4. Latvala 19 5. Østberg 14 6. Evans 14 7. Tänak 12 8. Paddon 10 9. Meeke 10 10. Sordo 8 2015 FIA World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ Standings

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1. Volkswagen Motorsport 68 2. Hyundai Motorsport 55 3. M-Sport WRT 32 4. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 20 5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 15 6. Jipocar Czech National Team 6 7. FWRT 1

Rally-eMag / Interview

Living out of a suit case Two weeks after his Sweden success we talked to Kevin Abbring during one of his rare outings in his home country. He was enjoying himself with the pupils he trained in his GP Elite Rally School by Kevin Abbring, his fans and last but not least by driving himself on the stages of the CPZ Short rally.

“It’s good to be in my home country again, if only for a short while. It is a rare opportunity to see my fans, talk to them and to look after my students. Since Sweden we had a busy schedule but we’ve done everything to fit this into the schedule and it worked!” Of course we asked him what he thought of his Swedish adventure. “We learned an awful lot! And we also enjoyed ourselves. It was a very good experience. It started

Kevin Abbring Is: Hyundai (test) driver.

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Words: Harry van Veenendaal Images: Bas Romeny, Steven van Veenendaal

with the test. My first time in a WRC on a real rally stage! We did some good times and it gave us a good feeling of the car under rally conditions. In the rally it was going right. You can’t expect us to drive 7th or 8th times all the time in an event where other people have been driving for years and years. If I think I have to brake and others know they can go flat, you lose a second. And I can tell you there are quite a few bends there!

But it’s good I’ve seen the stages now and that I can now work on my notes. If you are doing the recce at seventy kilometres per hour, every corner is flat. If you’re approaching that bend at 170 k’s it’s a bit different. So all in all it was very good we got the chance to compete here. I now have the feeling what a car can do under these circumstances and that’s a good start for next year. I don’t have to start making my notes from scratch; I already have a base knowledge now. And that is exactly what other drivers also do. They look at this year’s stages and compare them to last years and that saves quite some time in preparing the notes. ” And what about team management, were they happy? “Yeah I think they were even more enthusiastic than I was!”

KA: It was very good that we got the chance to compete here (in Sweden).

Rally-eMag / Interview

Busy times What have you been doing between Sweden and now?

“Good question, I have to check my diary. One thing I do know I have not been at home I just live in planes. But after the debrief in Sweden I went to Italy to attend a training that someone offered me. It was a course by Vittorio Caneva who trained the likes of Kris Meeke, Andreas Mikkelsen, Elfyn Evans, Mads Østberg, and Juho Hänninen to mention just a few. This was a once in a lifetime experience and fits very well into my new philosophy. I want to create an environment for myself where I can completely dedicate myself to the sport, also between events. I simply organize fewer trainings and events to have more to develop myself. This training gave me a lot of insight in tackling twisty mountain roads with fast combinations. Now I ‘only’ have to translate this knowledge into my notes and to get familiar with it other wise you simply fall back to your old methods.

If it’s Dani, this must be Spain…

Ok after these two, three days I flew to Spain, no wait, first to Germany to do the shakedown for al the cars going to Mexico.

Then to Spain, we did not know yet if Dani was fit enough to start in Mexico. He himself was quite confident but you have to rely on doctors of course. In Spain I did an afternoon of tests.

Then back to Germany to do some things for the present car.

And now I’m here and tomorrow I fly to Mexico for the recce. I only stay there for three days and then fly back to Germany to continue development of the paddle shift for the present car, to be able to homologate that as soon as possible. And after that? I don’t know really, I have to check my diary…

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From his WRC debut in the Swedish snow (Image: Bas Romeny) to the sand of the Dutch dunes in a Porsche (Image: Steven van Veenendaal).

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Rally-eMag / Feature

world rally museum If you are in The Netherlands and feeling a bit cultural, there is a plethora of internationally acclaimed museums to visit. Check out Van Gogh or Rembrandt’s work in their own museums, or take in the history at Anne Frank’s House. Feel like a giant in the miniature world of Madurodam or get up close and personal with your heroes at Madama Tussauds. Then again, if you’re a rallynut (and aren’t we all?), skip all of those and head straight to the World Rally Museum.

Gérard Wolthaar Is: Owner of the World Rally Museum Words: Steven van Veenendaal Images: Harry and Steven van Veenendaal

Situated in the middle of the country the museum is only accessible by appointment, but when you are expected, Gérard the owner, gives you a warm welcome. The museum resides in an annexe of a residential property and the ‘official’ reception is right in Gérard’s living room where he will enthusiastically tell you all about how he put together a truly unique collection of rally memorabilia, with a focus on the WRC. There are no rally items inside the house itself, the misses strictly forbids it! However when we arrive there is an opened box on the table. Inside we see a couple of postcards, flyers and posters. The sender? Mikko Hirvonen. The now ex-factory driver sent his Christmas wishes to Gérard in a personal handwritten message, and included a bunch of signed promo materi-

al. “We’ve been in touch for quite a while,” Gérard tells us, “he really is a nice guy and is very enthusiastic about the museum I’m running!

He hasn’t visited yet, but through the years he regularly contributed to the museum by sending me items!” It seems amazing that some of the sport’s greats are willing to part with their personal items to help a museum they haven’t visited, but they are usually quite willing to do so. “That’s rallying,” Gérard explains, “all rally drivers, from the clubmen to the superstars, are still huge rally fans deep down inside and when I explain to them what I am building here, they all love it.” As we would later find out, he wasn’t kidding, there are some truly special items in the museum.

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All rally drivers, from the clubmen to the superstars, are still huge fans deep down inside.

Rally-eMag / Feature

Like so many great collections, it all started out as a hobby. Gérard was an avid model car builder some thirty years ago (and still is today) with a knack for detail. “I loved building the rally models, but I noticed that the producers sometimes made mistakes in the details of the decals, car designs or even the figurines inside.

“At some point I noticed that they had put a black overall on the Michelle Mouton figurine instead of her customary white, and I decided to write the company to point to them this error and well, I guess that is where it all started. I got some positive feedback and proceeded to inform more companies of flaws they had in their models. Some of them didn’t really care too much, as long as the product sold, but others were truly interested and committed to make their models as realistic as possible. They embraced my feedback and at a certain point they would even consult me during the development process to make sure they got all the details right.”

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It all started with the cars, then came the books and magazines, and finally all other things, like Rally Mexico cerveza!

Rally-eMag / Feature

“Because I wanted to know how all the cars looked in detail, I started collecting images of the cars in magazines, flyers, you name it, and from then on, well I found out there was a lot of cool rally-related stuff to collect.” The backbone of the museum is formed by a large archive of newspaper articles, magazines and books dating back to the seventies and if you’re a fan of the sport it will keep you browsing through them for hours and hours. Also, if you ever need to know some obscure fact about, say, the 1980 Rally Côte d’Ivoire chances are Gérard will be able to find the answer for you.

It’s not just books and magazines though. We found out that all over the world, stamps, postcards and telephone cards are printed with WRC designs. But that’s just the stuff that is stored in cupboards, the larger items are on display.

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When we enter the museum we walk straight into a front right body panel of the 1992 Delecour/Grataloup Ford Sierra.

Heavily dented and clearly ripped of the car in a crash, it sets the tone for the museum by giving you the ‘wow-feeling’.

One wall is dedicated entirely to the model cars (probably close to about 500 in total) which is getting close to Gérard’s goal “I want to have at least one version of every factory car that ever participated in the WRC.” It really is a history lesson when you walk past the cars and Gérard explains all about the subtle differences between different versions.

Rally-eMag / Feature

Turn around and two other walls are decorated with rally plates from all over the world. “I try to collect all of them. It’s great because it let’s you make friends all over the world. The guys in Australia are particularly nice, they always send me something.” Maybe it’s just us, but in a way it is truly touching to be face to face with a genuine nr. 8 1986 Lombard RAC Rally plate, side by side with some of the more exotic plates like the ’88 Olympus Rally and various Côte d’Ivoire years and… well too much to mention here really. It’s a rallynut’s dream.

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Gérard’s true pride are the unique items. A Derek Ringer Subaru overall, gloves of various drivers, an autographed Petter Solberg Subaru rear-bumper and… Jari Matti Latvala’s international rally licenses. Wait what? Yes, he actually has those (and a few others as a matter of fact). “Again, in their hearts all drivers are rally fans! They really like the museum and want to help, so yes, Jari Matti sent me some of his old licenses,” he smiles. Scattered throughout are all sorts of other items, but really, you should just go check it out for yourself, it really is worth the time. If you want to visit you can contact Gérard, don’t hesitate, he is more than happy to share his passion!

E-mail: worldrallymuseum@planet.nl Web: http://www.world-rally-museum.nl Phone: +31(6)50444625 Facebook: search for World Rally Museum

Rally-eMag / Tech Talk

Tech Talk

Rally engines have evolved considerably over the years – In the early days, they were little more than lightly modified production units but, as technology moved on, and rallying became a more professional sport, rally engines became a much more serious proposition. During the 1970s and 80s, they developed rapidly, using different configurations and forced induction to gain maximum performance. After the drama of the Group B era, the format was fixed to 2.0 turbocharged four cylinders and today, even with a further drop in capacity to 1.6 litres and tight technical regulations, they are still hugely advanced, utilising turbochargers and advanced electronics to ensure maximum versatility and efficiency, as well as being durable enough to survive in the toughest conditions.

Tough design brief and even tougher regulations

Jon Scoltock

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Is: A structures engineer in the automotive and motorsport sectors as well as a freelance journalist. Jon will provide you with a monthly update on all things technical in the world of rallying.

Images: Steven van Veenendaal

For the majority of its life, a race engine will be running at high revs, on a relatively consistent surface, meaning that its power band can be narrow and aggressive. For rallying, there is every chance that the car could be in anything but optimum conditions. With unpredictable terrain and weather, it is likely that

the driver may find himself caught out at low revs, or dealing with conditions that could change dramatically with every kilometre. Due to this unpredictability, if the engine does not have a smooth, linear power delivery, it may upset the balance of the car, making it difficult to control.

If it wasn’t tough enough to design an engine that must be able to withstand harsh environments and offer roadcar levels of driveability with race car levels of performance, the FIA regulations strictly limit the team’s ability to tune and refine their engines. Under the S2000 regulations, once an engine has been homologated, much of its specification is then fixed for the life of the car. This includes both inlet and exhaust manifolds, and even the electronic sensors that are fitted. Each team is allowed to use a “joker” to make a major change but only 10 of these are allowed over the entire life of the car, so they must be used carefully. As well as the strict homologation rules, in order to limit output and reduce cost, turbo boost pressure is capped at 2.5 bar, whilst maximum engine speed is limited to 8500rpm.

Rally-eMag / Tech Talk

Turbocharging, then Restricting Audi could be credited with using the turbocharger to help to transform the sport just as they did with their revolutionary four wheel drive system when it first appeared at the beginning of the 1980s. As already mentioned, a rally car does not operate in perfect conditions, and this is where the turbocharger is key, as it provides much higher levels of torque, especially at medium engine speeds, meaning that the car is better able to pull out of corners even at low speeds.

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The turbocharger works on a very simple principle, with the exhaust gases passing through the turbocharger, spinning a turbine. This is connected, via a shaft, to a second turbine that is located in the compressor housing. The compressor housing is plumbed into the inlet of the engine, so that the inlet air is compressed, forcing more air into the cylinders. This means that more fuel can be injected, creating a more violent combustion and, therefore, more power. Whilst this has several advantages, it does create some additional challenges. The compression process causes the inlet air to get hotter, so an air-to-air intercooler is usually incorporated, which cools the charge air before it enters the engine, maximising its density and oxygen content.

The introduction of turbochargers, coupled with the relaxed Group B regulations, led to a rapid increase in power outputs, with some cars reported to produce in excess of 500bhp. The story surrounding this era is well documented and, after several tragic accidents, the performance of rally cars needed to be reined in. This was achieved by restricting the inlet diameter of the turbocharger so, by the mid 1990s, with a 34mm restrictor in place; power was

limited to around 300bhp. With an unrestricted turbo engine, it’s simply a case of forcing as much air and fuel into the cylinders as possible to create the biggest bang. However, when the amount of air that the turbo can draw in was restricted, the focus moved to improving efficiency, with teams working hard to improve lubrication, and to reduce the weight of engine components. Tuning of combustion chamber shape and piston design was also studied closely in order to achieve the most efficient combustion and eek every ounce of performance from the restricted engines.

These principles have remained and are still used in modern WRC engines. Compression ratio – the difference in cylinder volume from when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke, to when it is at the top – is one area where things have developed considerably, as it is a big influencing factor on performance.

Rally-eMag / Tech Talk

In the early 2000s, WRC cars used a compression ratio of around 10-11:1, slightly more than you’d find in a lot of non-turbo production engines. It is now commonplace for WRC cars to be using the maximum allowed compression ratio of 12.5:1, as it means the engine will be as responsive as possible. This puts a lot of strain on engine components, meaning that all rally engines use high grade steel and aluminium for all of their internal components.

Electronics

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Different era WRC cars, the engine changes were perhaps the most significant difference between these cars.

And while many feared going from 2to 1.6 litre engeins would dramatically slow down the sport, it has not diminished the spectacle one bit.

Electronics are now an intrinsic part of engine tuning, with the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) controlling the timing of both the spark and fuel injection.

As computing power has increased, the ECU is able to deal with information much more quickly, meaning that fuel and ignition timing can be much better refined.

So, whilst the mechanical components of the engine are limited, the mapping of the ECU can continually be tuned based on data from dyno testing, as well previous events. All WRC engines use direct injection, where the fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, rather than into the inlet manifold as on older engines. This is a relatively recent development for production cars as well as in

motorsport and introduces its own challenges. The injection pressure must be much higher to cope with the high pressures of the combustion chamber, and teams are working hard to better understand this technology. ECU mapping must be considered in conjunction with the other engine parameters, such as turbo boost and ambient temperatures, as well as driver inputs, which can vary considerably. Many Scandinavian drivers use a very digital approach, switching between full and no throttle, whilst others use a much smoother style. An engine must be setup to suit the requirements of a driver as well as the conditions.

Engine set-up can also vary considerably between different events. In Sweden, where the temperatures are low, the intake air is colder and denser, so fuel levels can be increased, giving more power.

Conversely, in Mexico, where the cars run at high altitude and the air is thinner, the amount of fuel injected would have to be reduced, meaning power output would be lower. It is now common for a WRC ECU to have multiple engine maps that can be selected by the driver. These can be loaded into the ECU before the car leaves service, giving the driver the opportunity to alter the way the engine performs as he or she sees fit. Where conditions are slippery, a more progressive power delivery could be chosen. If conditions are dry and the roads smooth and flowing, a more aggressive option could be selected. A further benefit to this is that an additional map can be incorporated, specifically for use on the road sections between stages. This could be used to limit boost pressure and reduce fuel injection pressure to preserve the engine and save fuel, meaning that the car needs to carry less fuel, saving weight and improving performance when the car is running in stage mode.

Rally-eMag / Tech Talk 34/46

It’s Not All About Turbochargers

Conclusion

Of course, despite the success of turbocharged engines in rallying, they are not the only option. The current World Rally Car format was spawned from Super 2000, which used 2.0, normally aspirated four cylinder engines, producing around 260bhp, whilst the R2 category also features 1.6 litre engines producing around 200bhp. The compression ratio limit of 12:5.1 has made it difficult to get the most from a non-turbo engine, making valve timing and ECU tuning even more critical. Despite this, Toyota have managed to develop an R3 GT86 that produces 250bhp from its 2.0 flat four engine. One of the most exciting formats for normally aspirated engines is Rally-GT, which will run on selected round of the 2015 WRC. A great example of this is the Porsche 911, which is currently the most popular R-GT car. The category has much more flexible regulations, allowing teams to homologate their own cars with an individual passport. However, like their turbocharged counterparts, R-GT cars must use a restrictor, this time of 39mm. The Porsche uses a 3.8 litre flat six engine and, despite the restrictor, still produces in excess of 350bhp.

Whilst it lacks the torque of a turbocharged engine, its high revving characteristics, coupled with a rear wheel drive layout, means that these cars are hugely popular amongst spectators.

A rally car’s engine is probably one of the toughest compromises of any motorsport engine. It must be able to withstand environments tougher than any race engine, whilst giving versatile, useable performance so that it can accelerate quickly even from low revs. It must also be fuel efficient, compact and easy to work on. With all these challenges, plus the increasing pressure on all forms of motorsport to maximise efficiency and utilise new technologies, the development challenges for rally engineers show no sign of letting up.

The new R-GT cars are quickly becoming fan-favourites. Kevin Abbring sampled the Porsche at the Circuit Short Rally in Zandvoort.

ERC: Rally Liepaja / Overview 36/46

Rally Liepaja

Based in: Liepaja Date: 06-08/01/2015 Number of stages: 11 Shortest stage: Ecorent.lv 7.91 km Longest stage: Kuldiga – 36.91 km Total stage distance: 237.80 km Surface: Gravel/Snow/Ice

ERC: Rally Liepja / Review

Snowdown Round two of the ERC brought the crews to Latvia for the Liepaja Rally. Fast forest tracks covered in snow make up the event and provide a unique challenge to all competitors.

Words: Steven van Veenendaal

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Images FIA ERC

ERC: Rally Liepja / Review 38/46

Alexey Lukyanuk had the best start as he won the qualifying stage and the first stage of the rally.

Shakedown At shakedown Alexey Lukyanuk immediately made his intentions clear and showed that the two top favourites for the ERC crown, Breen and Kajetanowicz have a very serious new challenger to contend with. The Russian blasted through the qualifying stage to take the fastest time, enabling him to select his start position for the opening day first. Breen followed suit just half a second behind Lukyanuk while Kajetanowicz was a further second behind. Lukyanuk was happy enough to be the first to chose, and opted to start last (of the qualifying drivers) “It is possible that being 15th on the road will be an advantage in terms of better grip, but this will also mean that the tires will wear faster, making us slower at the later stag-

As the snow and ice started to melt, Jonathan Hirschi was the first to hit trouble when he crashed out of the even on the first special stage.

es.” He was careful to play down his chances too though: “This is just the second rally for me and my co-driver, the car is also completely new to us, so there is still a lot to learn. Nevertheless, I feel very good on these roads and hope to be very fast.”

Changing conditions Between the recce and the actual start of the event the weather conditions changed drastically. During the recce temperatures had been well below zero and with plenty of snow and ice to cover them, the roads were in excellent condition to tackle with spiked tyres. However once the rally got underway, temperatures rose to around 4 degrees. As a result both the snow and ice start-

ed to melt. The lack of snow was not a very big problem, but the lack of ice meant that the spikes could not grip into it any more, making for very slippery conditions.

The action gets underway The first to suffer the consequences was Jonathan Hirschi who parked his car in a ditch fromwhich he could not emerge anymore on the very first stage. Lukyanuk meanwhile continued his impressive performance by winning the opening stage with Breen in close pursuit (0.7 seconds) and Kajetanowicz already dropping ten seconds in third.

ERC: Rally Liepja / Review

One by one...

The difficult conditions on the opening day led to a staggering rate of attrition at the top of the field. After setting the fastest time on the opening stage of the event, Lukyanuk found his Waterloo on the very next one. As he later explained, his lack of knowledge of the R5 car caused him to misjudge a corner. It was a rather severe misjudgment as it propelled his car into a barrel roll that ended down in a ditch. Just like Hirschi he was unable to escape from the slippery ditch, effectively ending his rally.

He was far from the only on in trouble on the opening day though. Robert Consani suffered from a bad starting position and what he himself described as a “very bad day” to end it in eleventh. But at least he made it to the end.

That could not be said of Jaroslav Orsak and Giacomo Costearo as both S2000 drivers failed to reach the end of the fifth stage with broken wheels. Stage five would prove to be a true killer as it also claimed Kajentanowicz. The pole had been running in a solid second place, but remarkably he too broke a wheel on the stage and failed to complete the day.

Breen on top Despite all the mishaps occurring during the opening day, one man managed to emerge unscaved. For once Craig Breen had a trouble-free run and he immediately found himself atop the field with a massive lead in hand. It had mostly been a matter of keeping cool and staying out of trouble, but the others showed just how difficult Ice Master Despite his early exit Kajetanowicz did claim the that actually was in these conditions. “I’m not ERC Ice Master trophy. Points are awarded on a doing anything stupid or taking any risks,” said Breen. “On the first stage we had a bit of a push stage by stage basis and after taking a healthy and I was quite pleased with the time. When we lead in that series from the Jännerrallye, he did got the news about Alexey on the second stage enough on the opening stages of the Liepaja rally to lay claims to the price. It was a mere on the last one about Kajto I just wanted to get through it without taking any stupid risks.” consolation prize though, as the Pole has his eyes on a bigger prize, the overall ERC title and

There can be only one..... Ice Master! After winning the Jännerrallye Kajetanowicz did enough on the opening day in Liepaja to win the trophy.

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saw a solid points finish fall from his grasp.

Finally no problems, no troubles and no worries. Craig Breen had a solid run through the first day and was rewarded with the lead.

ERC: Rally Liepja / Review

Get through he did and with nearly all his rivals in comparable cars retiring from the rally or dropping down the leaderboard, the road to victory was straight ahead. His closest competitor at the end of the day was Simon Plangi in a group N Mitsubishi.

Go a bit slower Little surprise then that the rest of the way was basically a walk in the park for Breen. The Irishman managed to stay out of trouble and easily consolidated his lead over Plangi.

“Since the lead was so large on day two, it was possible to go a bit slower and not take any unnecessary risks. In these conditions, however, it was possible to make mistakes even when not driving at full speed, but everything turned out great and we reached the finish without any

issues.” Said the delighted Breen after finally claiming the top spot of the podium again, nearly a year after his last win in Greece.

Rally 2 Let’s be honest, no matter how unfair it may seem that retired crews can restart on the next day with a time penalty, for the fans it’s a great rule. The showpieces of the second day of action were the two Fords of Lukyanuk and Kajetanowicz who had both retired on the opening day.

They were able to re-enter the fray and did so in style. Kajetanowicz won the opening stage of the day and Lukyanuk all others from then on. It did not result in any points for them, but it did indicate that we are up for a fine season in the ERC with three top drivers with very little between them.

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A stellar performance by Simon Plangi, who finished 2nd in his production Mitsubishi

On the second day the fireworks were delivered by Kajetanowicz (top) and Lukyanuk (bottom). Having retired on day one, both had nothing to lose on day two and put on quite a show, winning all stages between them.

ERC: Rally Liepaja / Results

Final results

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1. Kajetanowicz-Baran 2. Consani-Vilmot 3. Lukyanuk-Chervanenko 4. Tarabus-Trunkat 5. Fischerlehner-Unterweger

Ford Fiesta R5 Peugeot 207 S2000 Ford Fiesta R5 Skoda Fabia S2000 Mitsubishi Lancer

2:50:52.6 +7.07,4 +8.28,1 +8.46,8 +22.38,6

6. Hirschi-Landais 7. Tlustak-Kocera 8. Stajf-Rajnoha 9. Botka-Mihalik 10. Raoux-Escartefigue

Peugeot 208 T16 Skoda Fabia S2000 Subaru Imprexa WRX Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Ford Fiesta R5

+27.26,9 +27.29,6 +28.18,6 +30.38,5 +35,00,5

ERC: Rally Liepaja / Standings

Championship standings

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1. Kajetanowicz 2. Consani 3. Lukyanuk 4. Tarabus 5. Fischerlehner

Ford Fiesta R5 39 pts Peugeot 207 S2000 28 pts Ford Fiesta R5 25 pts Skoda Fabia S2000 22 pts Mitsubishi Lancer E. IX 14 pts

6. Hirschi 7. Tlustak 8. Stajf 9. Breen 10. Botka

Peugeot 208 T16 8 pts Skoda Fabia S2000 8 pts Subaru Impreza WRX 4 pts Peugeot 208 T16 3 pts Mitsubishi Lancer E. IX 2 pts

Rally-eMag / ForMyFriends

Formyfriends The WRC is all action, but there is so much more to see around the rallies.

Our photographer Bas Romeny shares his ‘other shots’ with his friends.

The rally always starts with an ‘air raid’ like fireworks at the super special, and looks scary.

Yes! And why not bring some relics!

So does the show of flying machines..As we say: we would have lost it..

Love bite with pommes frites, how romantic the Swedish are :P

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Atmosphere at Colin’s Crest, the place to be..

Uuh?

In 195 km, bare right..

Not existing in Holland.

Have to be careful downhill with this ‘snow mobile’..Does not exist in Holland

Somehow the Norwegian fans always make sure the will not be seen as Swedish. To show they are friendly minded, they have a little Swedish flag in top..

An emotional Mikkelsen, everybody felt with him..

Perhaps this is a solution then..Not likely for the guy in the previous picture, he had no feet..

see you next time...