Rally-eMag 044 April 2017

Rally-emag

The digital rally magazine Issue 44, April 2017

W

wrc Argentina Portugal

Ogier Back on top Plus brc: TAC & Wallonie / GRC: Vogelsberg brc: Pirelli rally / DRC: Centraal NL

Erik van ‘t Land/Rallypicture

There is a first time for everything. Despite his many (many) accolades and four previous Rally Portugal wins, Seb Ogier had never won in the north, the piritual home of the rally. It wouldn't take much longer...

e

d/Rallypictur

Erik van ‘t Lan

in with its hairp fe a F is re e Sure th But thical jump. y m d n a o s b com ing the make th e n o is y ll there rea al stand out: Rally Portug The Crowds

Erik van ‘t Land/Rallypicture

After a disappointing Rally Argentina, Dani Sordo was back to usual self Portugal.

Mr. Consistency was rewarded with a podium.

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R e s i s t a n c e Gerben Brouwer and Niels Kroeze are bravely fighting the Evo Army in The Netheralands with their Audi S2.

Editor’s note Almost five for five You have to go back to 1987 to find the last time there were 5 different winners in the first five events of the WRC season. Elfyn Evans came to within 0.3 seconds of repeating that feat. Just let that sink in for a while. It says something about the state the WRC is currently in.

Remember back in the eighties the World Rally championship was a very different kind of animal. Timo Salonen won Rally Sweden in a Mazda 323 that would only see further outings at a handful of events that year, Lancia didn’t attend the Safari Rally and back then Corsica was still very much a French affair won by the powerful BMW M3, with its rear-wheel drive being very suited to tarmac.

Although we had even more different winners back then, the eras can hardly be compared. Teams and drivers were doing part-time programs, competition at events may have been tight, but the championship wasn’t as structure as it is today, with the best teams and drivers going head-to-head every two or three weeks.

What we are witnessing this year is unique. No disrespect to Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier or Volkswagen Motorsport, but their domi-

By Steven van Veenendaal

nance covered the championship in a suffocating layer of predictability.

In sports there are no freebies and if one team or driver is dominating it simply means the others should try harder to beat them. Yet it feels like a relieve that the all-conquering Juggernaut that Volkswagen was left. Not under the circumstances that anyone would have liked, but still.

The buzz around the service park now is completely different than it was in years past. The pre-event talk is about who will win, not about who will be second behind Ogier. And as has been shown so far, every team can win. Evans came tantalizingly close in Argentina, Ott Tanak just needs things to fall his way for once and if Hayden Paddon’s streak of misfortune is broken, we’ll probably see him on the top step sooner than later.

With the new cars it’s even possible for a privateer to pick a win here or there, Evans was close and Mads Ostberg seems rejuvenated and is gunning for gold in Sardinia.

And then there was the news that Citroen signed Andreas Mikkelsen. Incredibly Mikkelsen was the odd one out after Volkswagen’s departure. The Norwegian looked

ready to take the step from occasional winner to full time championship candidate, yet somehow no one picked him up. M-Sport’s choice was understandable. Ogier’s signing probably sucked up a significant amount of their budget and they are unable to run three factory cars. With Tanak showing last year he might the outright fastest, it’s only a matter of time before he finds the consistency to rise to the same level as Mikkelsen. Hyundai has Neuville at a similar level to Mikkelsen but the Norwegian is (slightly) better than Paddon and Sordo. The Toyota story is far more lopsided. Mikkelsen is clearly the faster driver than Hanninen.

Though one might praise Makinen’s loyalty to his test driver, is world level rallying really the place for loyalty? Citroen thought they had sufficient firepower with Meeke and support from Breen and Lefebvre but so far only Breen lived up to the expectations and Matton had seen enough. He made the wise decision to sign Mikkelsen.

For just one event initially, but surely that will be extended. With Mikkelsen having a very favorable starting position in Sardinia, he is immediately jolted into the position outsider (or outright favourite?) for victory.

Rally-eMag is brought to you by:

Rally-emag / April 2017

Words:

Harry van Veenendaal Steven van Veenendaal Tara Hurlin Sven Kollus

Images:

Erik van ‘t Land Tara Hurlin Sven Kollus

Publisher: Issuu.com

Join us via social media!

Facebook: facebook.com/emagrally/ Twitter: @emagrally

This month April 2017 12

Editor’s note

20

Argentina

34

Portugal

44

Belgium

50

Belgium

56

Germany

64

Great Britain

68

The Netherlands

74

The World

all

wrc wrc brc brc

drm brc drc

eee

20

Almost five for five

The closest in years

2017 WRC Showcase

44 34

TAC Rally

Rallye de Wallonie

Rallye Vogelsberg

Pirelli International Rally

Centraal Nederland Rally

Erik’s Epic Encounters in Portugal

Rally-emag / April 2017

50

56

64

68

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC

Rally Argentina Words: Harry van Veenendaal, Images: PR

Rally-emag / April 2017

I

n Argentina it looked like a fifth winner was going to be added to the four different drivers who won the first four events. Elfyn Evans led from the second stage to the penultimate stage. But in order to win a rally you should be leading in the last stage.

Thierry Neuville knew that and grabbed a decisive, though very small, lead in the PowerStage, making him the first driver to win two rallies this year. This in a nutshell is the story of this year’s Rally Argentina. In what follows here, we’ll fill you in with the details.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC

Top: Fresh of his first win of the year in Corsica, Neuville was back for more.

Right: Toyota hoped for better 'American' fortune after a disappointing outing in Mexico.

Bottom: CitroĂŤn's 'Red Army' had its work cut out again in Argentina.

Rally-emag / April 2017

Only 26 Looking at the entry list we only see 26 teams that entered in Argentina. Among them 12 full 2017 spec WRC cars. That is less tan in Mexico where 29 teams had entered. For the second time this year Mads Østberg took to the start in a 2017 Fiësta. Martin Prokop who runs the team together with Østberg was not there yet. It looks like he will be in Portugal but whether that will be in the 2017 spec car is not sure yet. Stéphane Lefebvre is not present for the Citroën team. Former winner (2015) Kris Meeke and Argentina debutant Craig Breen have come to defend the honours of the “Red Army” as the French team call themselves. Lorenzo Bertelli is the last 2017 WRC to enter Argentina this year.

We do find all regular WRC contenders on the list.

One of them is of course championship leader Sebastien Ogier. He never won in Argentina before and obviously is eager to add the South American WRC round to his CV. Especially, as it is the only current WRC rally he never won before. Another driver eager to get started is Mads Østberg. We knew he wouldn’t compete all rounds but he now wants to start his campaign and get used to his new car. Kris Meeke wants to repeat his Mexico result and forget about Corsica where his car abandoned him. Thierry Neuville wants to continue on the flow that brought him victory in Corsica. We could however continue this list, as everyone present in Argentina has his own reason to want to excel here.

The smallest of margins Elfyn Evans lost Rally Argentina by a margin of just 0.7 seconds. A very small gap but not the smallest ever. Fans who have been following the WRC a little bit longer, may remember the epic battle between Marcus Grönholm and Sebastien Loeb in the 2007 edition of Rally New Zealand. The Finn won and the gap was only 0.3 seconds. The Frenchman,

as we now know was the champion that year.

In 2011 Loeb won the Jordan Rally ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala and later that year Loeb was champion again. This victory still tops the list of closest wins, the margin being 0.2 seconds.

In this list the battle between Neuville and Evans ranks as third. Argentina has a history of close wins with four events among the first ten.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC Let's get started At shakedown Jari-Matti Latvala felt confident and took a fourth run just to top the charts. He succeeded and was 0.1 second faster than Hayden Paddon. Sordo, Neuville and Ogier were following. At the first test, the Cordoba SuperSpecial, Ogier took an early lead in the rally. Elfyn Evans and Dani Sordo followed him closely at 0.9 seconds. But the real rally as always, does not begin until Friday. And it’s here that Evans first shows his Argentinian form. On the almost 20 kilometres of the San Agustin - Villa General Belgrano test he takes his first stage win of the rally. Behind him is Kris Meeke, taking things easy, as he said. On the next stage from Amboy to Santa Monica a bit longer than the former test, the same situation, Evans wins and Meeke loses another 2 seconds increasing the gap to Evans.

On the next Santa Rosa - San Agustin stage things go wrong for Meeke. He rolls his car and has to abandon for the day.

Jari-Matti Latvala inherits his runner-up position, but the distance between the Toyota driver and rally leader Evans is already more than 20 seconds.

The last stage of the morning loop is the 6 kilometers long Rally-emag / April 2017

Super Especial Parque Tematico. Again it’s Evans who is fastest, but for the first time this rally we see Neuville coming closer. A broken damper that made the car unpredictable has hampered him.

By that time we already lost Craig Breen. The same compression that caused Kris Meeke’s temporary retirement made Breen fly, but he landed on a piece of bedrock that dented the bottom of his car, blocking the gearbox in fifth gear. Also Hayden Paddon was not very lucky, he rolled his car slowly on the first test of today. With the help of some photographers he is back in his wheels again with a relatively small delay. The morning has not been friendly to Citroën, but for Hyundai it has not been easy either. Dani Sordo too has his share of misfortune (or is it simply the Argentinian reality?) He breaks a steering rod and loses 11 minutes while repairing it. Sebastien Ogier is not feeling confident after a spin. “The rear of the car is acting strangely”, he says. The spin doesn’t improve things, as there are one or two things in the aerodynamics that are damaged.

Meeke: It's hard work being part of Meeke Latvala: Solid points and good pace, Toyota

e's service crew. a is on the right track.

Ogier: Even when he feels the car 'isn't working' you can count on Ogier to push.

Breen: It turned out a disastrous event for CitroĂŤn, Craig Breen didn't score either.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC Exciting battle

Still it is a good day for M-Sport. Not only is Evans leading the event, runner up, surprisingly, is Mads Østberg. He had a difficult start of the season mainly because his car was not ready in time. But now he is second, be it at a 55 seconds distance from his Welsh team colleague. Neuville is in third and feeling good after his morning problems. Ogier and Tänak complete the top five, so four out of five cars are powered by M-Sport. Jari Matti Latvala was sixth after having been in second in the morning.

“The stages were very rough he explained. “To be safe we raised the height of the car a bit but I did not feel confident with that and we went wide causing a tyre to go off the rim. So we lost quite some time.”

On Saturday Evans started by posting another scratch but then Meeke comes back for some stages before rolling his car again, this time for the whole rally. Breen couldn’t start this morning due to an oil leak, so another bad day for Citroën. Neuville felt at ease now and started scoring scratches. Østberg lost a diffuser and lost time. Evans punctured and had some other issues so Neuville start-

Rally-emag / April 2017

ed to creep in closer to Evans. At the end of the day the one-minute gap decreased to just 11.5 seconds.

The first Sunday stage Evans was suffering from a strange brake issue that vanished halfway during the stage. Neuville won the stage but Evans ‘just’ lost 2.5 seconds. Then Neuville went into ‘all-or-nothing’ mode winning the next stage with 8,5 seconds from Evans, still leading the rally by 0.6 seconds. ‘All-or-nothing’ mode for both drivers resulted in another fastest time for Neuville. At the first split Evans had been 3.5 seconds faster than Neuville, but a small collision with a bridge threw back Evans to 1.3 seconds behind Neuville’s PowerStage time. Consequently before the eyes of all spectators and many WRC+ viewers he lost the rally by 0.7 seconds. Neuville was overjoyed “I cannot believe it. I have never had such a nerve-wracking final few minutes of a rally in my career.” For the second year in a row this event was decided on the final stage. M-Sport again scored a double podium and four of their five entered cars reached the finish in the top ten.

Rally argentina

Key stats from the steakiest round of the WRC Itinerary

Event data

DAY 1 - 27.04.2017 SS1

Super Especial Cordoba

Shortest stage 1.90

DAY 2 - 28.04.2017 SS2

San Agustin - Villa Gral. Belgrano (1

19.95

SS3

Amboy - Santa Monica 1

20.44

SS4

Santa Rosa - San Agustin 1

23.85

SS5

Super Especial Parque Tematico 1

6.04

SS6

San Agustin - Villa Gral. Belgrano 2

19.95

SS7

Amboy - Santa Monica 2

20.44

SS8

Santa Rosa - San Agustin 2

23.85

SS9

Super Especial Parque Tematico 2

6.04

DAY 3 - 29.04.2017 SS10

Tanti - Villa Bustos 1

20.80

SS11

Los Gigantes - Cantera El Condor 1

38.68

SS12

Boca Del Arroyo - Bajo Del Pungo 1

20.52

SS13

Tanti - Villa Bustos 2

20.80

SS14

Los Gigantes - Cantera El Condor 2

38.68

SS15

Boca Del Arroyo - Bajo Del Pungo 2

20.52

Longest stage

DAY 4 - 30.03.2017 SS16

El Condor – Copina 1

16.32

SS17

Mina Clavero - Giulio Cesare

22.64

SS18

El Condor Copina 2

Powerstage

16.32

MOST STAGE WINS Elfyn evans

7

(39%)

Event leaders: Ogier (SS 1), Evans (SS 2-SS 17). Neuville (SS18) notable retirements

Based in:

Villa Carlos Paz

Surface:

Date:

27/30-04-2017

Stage distance: 357.59 KM

Nr. of stages: 18

Total distance:

1st

neuville

Gravel 1417.98 KM

2nd

3rd

evans

tanak

Final results 1.

Neuville-Gilsoul

Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 3:38:10.6

2.

Evans-Barritt

Ford Fiësta WRC 17

+0.7

3.

Tanak-Jarveoja

Ford Fiësta WRC 17

+29.9

4.

Ogier-Ingrassia

Ford Fiësta WRC 17

+1:24.7

5.

Latvala-Anttila

Toyota Yaris WRC

+1:48.1

6.

Paddon-Kennard

Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC +7:42.7

7.

Hanninen-Lindstrom

Toyota Yaris WRC

8.

Sordo-Marti

Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC +14:44.1

9.

Østberg-Floene

Ford Fiësta WRC 17

+15:11.3

10.

TidemandAndersson

Skoda Fabia R5

+17:32.1

+11:16.9

drivers Standings 1.

Sébastien Ogier

M-Sport World Rally Team

102

2.

Jari-Matti Latvala

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

86

3.

Thierry Neuville

Hyundai Motorsport

84

4.

Ott Tanak

M-Sport World Rally Team

66

5.

Dani Sordo

Hyundai Motorsport

42

6.

Evans

M-Sport World Rally Team

41

7.

Craig Breen

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi

33

=

Hayden Paddon

Hyundai Motorsport

33

9.

Kris Meeke

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi

27

10.

Juho Hänninen

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

15

Manufacturer Standings

Kris Meeke

Citroën C3 WRC

Off road

1.

M-Sport World Rally Team

162

Craig Breen

Citroën C3 WRC

Mechanical

2.

Hyundai Motorsport

140

Lorenzo Bertelli

Ford Fiësta WRC 17

Mechanical

3.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

99

Valery Gorban

BMW-Mini JCW

Mechanical

4.

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT

71

Rally-emag / April 2017

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WRC

M-Sport world rally team Since the beginning of the season M-Sport has been leading all championships and in Argentina they still do.

So Malcolm Wilson can only be happy. Still his top man Ogier is not entirely happy. The whole rally he has been complaining about ‘some strange feeling’ in the rear of his car. It did not help his confidence. Still he is pretty fast and other drivers proved that at least basically the car is a serious contender. Some extensive testing should bring the set-up to where Ogier wants it. Meanwhile he keeps on scoring good points and he is still leading the driver’s championship. At the same time his drivers keep on performing well. M-Sport cars could be found on the second, third and fourth place for respectively Evans, Tänak and Ogier. That meant good points for the manufacturer’s championship. They are still leading but Hyundai managed to get a little closer. On the other hand it was their third double podium (out of five) and until now there has always been an M-Sport car on the podium this year. Apart from these three successful cars there was also Mads Østberg. He collected his first two points by finishing ninth.

Ever since the arival of Ogier, M-Sport has been leading both championships, and still does.

Hyundai motorsport

Hyundai has got the show on the road.

Rally-emag / April 2017

The car is fast, the team is good but it took a while before this paid out. Well it seems they’ve got their show on the road. Instead of leading an event in the beginning, they now do so at the finish. They have three podium finishes (one double in Corsica) and they are the only team to win two events. The result is a second spot in the manufacturer’s standings and they are slowly approaching M-Sport. The most important factor is the current form of Neuville. He is full of confidence and even if the start, as in Argentina, is a bit difficult he can come back and still finish properly. This is the reason why Hyundai hired the Belgian in the first place. For Dani Sordo things didn't always go his way having had quite a few small issues. But Mr. consistency always ends up in the (usually) good points. Hayden Paddon is going through a difficult season. In Argentina this showed again when he rolled his car early in the rally. He eventually managed to finish and even to score two scratches and some decent points.

But it was totally different from his success here last year.

Citroen total abu dhabi wrt Before going to Argentina Citroën was quite confident. They found the reason why Meeke’s car stopped in clouds of smoke in Corsica. “The cause was a broken lubrication system connector,” explained technical director Laurent Fregosi. So the initial worries that something was basically wrong with the engine evaporated. The work around they conceived was thoroughly tested and the problem did not arise again. However during the rally thins went from bad to worse. Both Craig Breen and Kris Meeke had to retire due to an off, seemingly caused by the same compression in the road. Breen’s gearbox got stuck in fifth and Meeke’s car looked incredibly bent. Then the next morning the mechanics found a previously overlooked oil leak in Breen’s car so he couldn’t run on Saturday. Meeke could run , but rolled his car for the second time. “It was the biggest crash in my life,” he said. Well the car looked like it. Breen did start on the last day and scored a fourth, third and sixth time, indicating what might have been. Citroën has a fast car and a good driver’s line-up. But the results don’t always show it.

"It was the biggest crash of my life" - Kris Meeke after his second smash in Argentina

toyota gazoo racing wrc

“It's incredible, but in all of my carreer I have never been this close to the front after five rallies” - Jari Matti Latvala on his strong start to the season.

Although Toyota is not yet within the big league of the top runners, they still perform more than expected from them before the start of the season. The first two events they were amazingly fast and their results are still good.

In Argentina Latvala even found himself in second spot but some issues dropped him down the leaderboard.

The Finn was philosophically about it. “I tried not to be a superhero and just finish the rally safely”, he said. For him it is also a good sign that he finished all events in the points, with his lowest classification in Mexico (6th) “The championship stays open”, he concludes. “It’s incredible, but in all of my career I have never been this close to the front after just five rallies”. And though Neuville is approaching rapidly, the Finn indeed is still second.

The team’s second driver Juho Hänninen is another story. He is tenth now with only fifteen points to his name.

In the world of WRC there is a lot of criticism around him. Many people thought it was certain Andreas Mikkelsen would take his place. But Mäkinen sticks to his own believe and he keeps supporting his original choice.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC

Rally de Portugal Showcase of the 2017 WRC Words: Harry van Veenendaal, Images: Erik van ‘t Land

Rally-emag / April 2017

M

-Sport and CitroĂŤn brought four cars, Toyota, and Hyundai entered three.

So there were no less than 14 WRC cars from the 2017 evolution in Portugal. It also was the first mandatory event in WRC2 so another 20 R5 cars came to Matosinhos. After the severe battles in the previous events, Portugal was expected to be no exception. And indeed it wasn’t, again there was a battle for the lead involving Thierry Neuville and again the battle was decided during the PowerStage.

But unlike the last two events it was not the Belgian who sprayed the champagne.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC

Rally-emag / April 2017

Drivers At Citroën it was Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi who made his debut in the fourth C3 WRC. The other four-car entry was M-Sport, with Mads Østberg, battling as a privateer on the sides of his ‘official’ colleagues. In his One Bet Jipocar team we also saw Martin Prokop. Initially he was destined to drive another 2017 Fiësta but now his focus has changed to Dakar. He will be preparing for that event, but if time allows he will do some other

WRC events. For now he will drive a 2016 car.

Preparing a 2017 car simply is to time consuming for the small private team. Esapekka Lappi debuts for Toyota in the third Yaris. Hyundai entered their usual three drivers. Andreas Mikkelsen was also present, ‘only’ in a WRC2 Skoda Fabia, not having been able to secure a factory drive in a WRC 17 car.

Celebrating 50 years of Rally de Portugal Rally de Portugal key stats: First event: 1967 Longest event: 1979 (737 km) Most wins: Markku Alen (5) Most podiums: Markku Alen (9) Most starts: Victor Calisto/Manuel Rolo (23) In Portugal 2017 there were a lot of celebrations.

The first year the event took place was 1967, so this year the rally celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. In 1973 it was in the very first World Rally Championship and has been so until 2001. After that Portugal was expelled from the WRC calendar, because of problems with over enthusiastic spectators. In 2007 the rally came back but the venue had changed to the south in the Algarve region. Apart from 2008 when it was not a WRC rally due to the rotation system of the FIA, Rally Portugal ran in this region until 2015. Then the Algarve Tourist Board pulled the plug by taking away the subsidies. Consequently the event went back to its original battle ground in the north of

Portugal in Matosinhos near Porto, the second biggest town in Portugal.

In 2017 Sebastien Ogier celebrated his 40th overall career victory here and it was his fifth overall Portugal victory (though his first in the north).

The last driver to achieve five victories in this country of rally lovers was Markku Alén and that was thirty years ago at the occasion of the event’s 20th anniversary. The fiftieth anniversary also resulted in the publication of a book describing the event’s history. The cherry on the celebration cake was the presence of Carlos Sainz, he and co-driver Luís Moya, who won the event in 1991 and 1995, did a run over the famous Fafe stage in a Peugeot 208 T16 R5.

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC Thursday in WRC A huge crowd lined the roads of the Baltar stage that again hosted the shakedown. The stage provides excellent spectating possibilities, including fast powerslide corners and a decent jump. Everywhere there are banks the spectators can stand on to have a good view of the action. They saw for example Kris Meeke who was gaining confidence by doing five runs. The other top contenders settled for the obligatory three passes or did an extra fourth run.

Dani Sordo was fastest. Ogier Latvala and Meeke followed at very short distances, giving an indication of the differences between the drivers.

who was leading the event. B stage, but Latvala kept a 0.5 vice. Having had a proper C took over the lead from La broken damper that succum him out of contention. Latv de Lima, the last gravel stag like it was skidding.” said L so we hit a bank, then wen After shakedown and the usual PR obligations the drivers went for the first time.” He could continue b stage, the Lousada rallycross circuit. Neuville and Østberg shared fastest not amused by Latvala’s be time and were the first leaders of the rally, before Paddon, Evans, Sordo and couldn’t pass him”. Latvala Ogierx. Many more would follow.

“As soon as my team inform on the stewards adjusted N Seven leaders ville, Paddon, Latvala and M This year’s championship is a closely fought battle. The first day of Rally Portugal was a showcase of that. After the shared lead of Neuville and Øst- He kept that place till the en berg, it was Hayden Paddon who was fastest on the first proper stage on Ogier smiled: “I’m happy w Friday. Latvala was following closely and on the next stage it was the Finn many drivers will be in fron

Left: Kris Meeke mounted a ch loop to take the lead. An block resulting in suspen challenge.

Right: Fast again, but rear susp Tanak couldn't fight for th

Top: Ogier made it through th too much time loss. "We after the first day, but in A italize, now we have to!"

Rally-emag / April 2017

But Kris Meeke wasn’t far away and won the next 5 seconds lead. Then everyone went back to serCitroën lunch Meeke continued his charge and atvala. Later on he got himself a puncture and a mbed to an impact against a concrete block threw vala lost some time on the second pass of Ponte ge of the day. “I had a strange feeling with the car Latvala. “I didn't manage to slow it down in time, nt up onto two wheels and rolled, losing a lot of but dropped down the leaderboard. Neuville was ehaviour “He was driving like my granny and I a struggling after his roll hadn’t noticed Neuville. med me I let him pass”, the Fin explained. Later Neuville’s time. Meanwhile after Østberg, NeuMeeke, Ott Tänak was the event’s sixth leader.

nd of the day, leading Sordo, Ogier and Neuville. with the car and my performance, let’s see how nt of me tomorrow!”

harge after the opening n impact with a concrete nsion damage ended his

pension damage meant he win.

he opening day without e are in a good position Argentina we didn't cap"

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC fafe power On Saturday Ogier kept his promise. On Friday there were two people in front of him and on Saturday there were … none. He was where we used to see him in the era before 2017: leading the rally. On the first two Saturday stages Tänak showed his intentions but a small mistake slowed him down a bit. Ogier became the seventh leader in the rally. The 16.8-second margin between him and Neuville was not decisive but difficult for Neuville to overcome, but then again not big enough to be impossible.

Another PowerStage showdown You can’t blame Neuville for not having tried as on the first passage of the (in)famous Fafe stage (won by Paddon) he was faster than his opponent. But the 0.9 seconds weren’t enough to really dent the gap. The next stage Ogier fought back won the stage and increased the gap by another 3.5 seconds. That’s enough, Neuville must have thought and stepped down a bit, and so did Ogier. The 17 seconds were enough.

At the final PowerStage there was a lot of excitement, Quentin Gilbert rolled on the jump, Andreas Mikkelsen, then leading WRC2, went off, Evans and Østberg made frightening jumps but landed safely. In the end however it was Ogier who won the rally. Tänak took maximum PowerStage points followed by Neuville, Evans Lappi and Ogier.

Bringing the action to the people Portugal has its own street stage. This used to be Lisbon, but nowadays that is the historic city of Braga just to the north east of Porto. WRC Promoter’s Oliver Ciesla was quite content with the stage. “Did you see it? Thousands of people were there and that is what the WRC needs. We need to keep the adventure with the epic stages in the dust and on gravel roads that is the sheer

Rally-emag / April 2017

essence of raying. At the same time we have to recognize that not everyone can travel into the mountains. For these people we have to bring the spectacle to their front door and make them part of the WRC family. In his respect Braga is in the same league as Barcelona, Guanajuato and Mexico City”.

Rally mexico

Key stats from the most colourful round of the WRC Itinerary

Event data

DAY 1 - 18.05.2017 SS1

Lousada (SSS)

3.36

DAY 2 - 19.05.2017 SS2

Viana Do Castelo 1

26.70

SS3

Caminha 1

18.10

SS4

Ponte De Lima 1

27.46

SS5

Viana Do Castelo 2

26.70

SS6

Caminha 2

18.10

SS7

Ponte De Lima 2

SS8

Brage Street Stage 1

SS9

Brage Street Stage 2

Shortest stage

1.90

DAY 3 - 20.05.2017 SS10

Vieira Do Minho 1

17.43

SS11

Cabeceiras De Basto 1

SS12

Amarante 1

37.55

SS13

Vieira Do Minho 2

17.43

SS14

Cabeceiras De Basto 2

22.30

SS15

Amarante 2

37.55

22.30

DAY 4 - 21.05.2017 SS16

Fafe 1

11.18

SS17

Luilhas

11.91

SS18

Montim

SS19

Fafe 2

Powerstage

8.66 11.18

MOST STAGE WINS Sebastien Ogier

5

Matosinhos

Surface

Gravel

Date

18/21-6-17

Stage distance

349 km

Number of stages

19

Total distance

1529 km

1st

2nd

3rd

27.46 1.90

Longest stage

Based in

(26%)

Ogier

Neuville

sordo

Final results 1.

Ogier-Ingrassia

Ford Fiesta WRC 17

3:42:55.7

2.

Neuville-Gilsoul

Hyundai i20 WRC

+15.6

3.

Sordo-Marti

Hyundai i20 WRC

+1:01.7

4.

Tanak-Jarveoja

Ford Fiesta WRC 17

+1:30.2

5.

Breen-Martin

Citroën C3 WRC

+1:57.4

6.

Evans-Barritt

Ford Fiesta WRC 17

+3:10.6

7.

Hänninen-Lindstrøm

Toyota Yaris WRC

+3:48.9

8.

Østberg-Floene

Ford Fiesta WRC 17

+5:29.7

9.

Latvala-Anttila

Toyota Yaris WRC

+5:43.6

10.

Lappi-Ferm

Toyota Yaris WRC

+8:13.3

drivers Standings 1.

Sébastien Ogier

M-Sport World Rally Team

128

2.

Thierry Neuville

Hyundai Motorsport

106

3.

Jari-Matti Latvala

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

88

4.

Ott Tanak

M-Sport World Rally Team

83

5.

Dani Sordo

Hyundai Motorsport

66

6.

Elfyn Evans

M-Sport World Rally Team

53

7.

Craig Breen

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi

43

8.

Hayden Paddon

Hyundai Motorsport

33

9.

Kris Meeke

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi

27

Event leaders: Østberg/ Neuville (SS1) Paddon (SS 2), 10. Thierry Neuville Hyundai Motorsport Latvala (SS3; SS4) Meeke (SS5) Tänak (SS6-SS11) Ogier (SS12-SS19) Manufacturer Standings 1.

M-Sport World Rally Team notable retirements

21

199

Hayden Paddon

Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC

Mechanical

2.

Hyundai Motorspor

173

Andreas Mikkelsen

Skoda Fabia R5

Accident

3.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

113

Valery Gorban

BMW-Mini JCW

Mechanical

4.

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT

85

Rally-emag / April 2017

WRC

M-Sport world rally team

Image: Erik van ‘t Land

M-Sport was in full swing with four cars. In the workshop they build a completely new car for Sebastien Ogier. “We did not change anything to the specs,” Malcolm Wilson explained. “We just build a new car with all the settings that Seb required and to show him we really appreciated his efforts.” And it worked. During the whole rally we saw a smile on Seb’s face. Even after the first day of roadcleaning, he was not grumbling. “We knew we would lose some time cleaning the road. But I’m really happy with my performance and the car is perfect.” He was really enjoying the final fight and was genuinely happy to win here. If he can keeps this attitude, he is a very serious candidate for another title.

It is no surprise Malcolm Wilson’s face showed some smiles too and he can be proud as his cars perform very well. Ott Tänak has been leading the rally and would have been contesting for the lead had he not made a small mistake, but he was fourth and won the Power- - Sebastien Ogier, obviously loving the new Fiesta he Stage. Elfyn Evans was sixth and privateer Mads Østwas given for Rally de Portugal berg finished in eighth, so all cars finished in the top ten.

"The car is perfect"

Rally-emag / April 2017

Image: Erik van ‘t Land

Image: Erik van ‘t Land

Hyundai motorsport Alain Penasse was quite clear in Portugal: “We are fully capable of competing for the championship.

Our car is fast, our driver line up is perfect and with a little more luck we could have been leading the championship. Thierry won two rallies in a row now and he can win here too. Dani is the absolutely prefect second driver who always delivers. Hayden Paddon had a hard start to the season; perhaps the change of co-driver might be a fresh look at things, so to say.

Paddon before the rally explained he was sorry Jon Kennard couldn’t run here because of the hip injury. “But Seb Marshall is working very hard and there is definitely a click”. After the rally he had to admit things did not go his way but that overall he felt good.

We’re having fun again,” he laughed. The change to a new co driver might be a good one. Paddon owes his ‘old and wise’ master a lot but now it might be better to have someone more his own age next to him. The rally finished in a real fight between Neuville and Ogier.

Though Neuville was fast, Ogier was just a bit faster.

Citroen total abu dhabi wrt

Before the rally we asked Craig Breen what it was like to be the fastest driver in the team. “Oh no, I’m not the fastest driver by far,” the young Irishman hastened to say. “I might have the best points but I still have to learn a lot.” Of course, in raw speed we rate Kris Meeke higher than Breen, but in results Breen is either more lucky or simply more adequate. Unfortunately again Meeke proved to be the faster man but again couldn’t deliver. This time a concrete block slowed his pace and basically ruined a good performance being one of the early leaders in the rally. Stéphane Lefebvre rolled his car in the early stages and in the process lost too much time to finish where he wanted to be.

Image: Erik van ‘t Land

For the first time since the launch of the new generation C3, Citroën had a four-car line-up, the fourth one being for Khalid Al Qassimi. He is not however a hot contender for the team. In Portugal he was mostly getting to grips with the thoroughly different way a driving this new car needs.

Shortly after Portugal, Citroen announced the signing of Andreas Mikkelsen for at least Rally d'Italia-Sardinia, and who knows after that...

Image: Erik van ‘t Land

toyota gazoo racing wrc

Esapekka Lappi (finally?) made his WRC debut with fourth on the Powerstage and tenth overall.

We still think Toyota is one of the most surprising teams of the season though we are now starting to take it for granted that they are really are competing with the big boys. This is partly due tot the fact that Jari-Matti Latvala simply is one of the big boys. Every new rally he proves that he is fast but also that his car is good. In Portugal he showed that again when he was leading the rally. Unfortunately he rolled his car and was thrown back a bit. Then it also became clear he was not feeling well. He was not his usual self and speaking to him we did not see his normal smile.

It proved he had an upset stomach that was really bothering him. On Friday night he was taken to hospital to be rehydrated. Though the doctors advised against competing again, he did restart and secured some points for the team as well as for himself. Hänninen was the best Toyota driver in seventh. For the first time Esapekka Lappi was part if the team and he made an incredible debut. A fourth place in the PowerStage and a tenth place overall looks promising.

Rally-emag / April 2017

BRC

TAC Rally >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Round 3 -BelgianOf The

Rally Championship <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Two rallies into the season Vincent Verschueren is the proud leader of the Belgian Rally Championship. So far the East-Fleming has been the most consistent of the three main contenders (himself, Princen and Abbring).

Despite this solid start, Verschueren is still chasing his elusive first BRC rally victory, would the TAC Rally be his moment to shine?

words: Steven van veenendaal Images: BRC MEDIA

BRC

Dramatic Start Initially Kevin Abbring had not included the TAC Rally in his schedule. On the ultra fast stages his Peugeot would be no match for the more powerful Skoda’s, better to attribute his focus (and funds) to events with a higher win potential. After his exit from the Spa Rally though, the luxury of skipping events is no longer viable, thus Abbring took to the TAC Rally as well, knowing full well he would have his work cut out for him to even match the Skoda’s of Verschueren and Princen.

It never came to that though, as Abbring explains: “On the start ramp the waterpump gave out and we knew it was game over immediately. If you continue with a malfunctioning waterpump you will only damage the engine.”

Rally-emag / April 2017

It was a blow for Abbring but also for the event, which saw its expected three-way fight down to a duel before a single competitive kilometer had been run.

Princen is there Kris Princen also retired from the Spa Rally but his exit had far bigger consequences. Princen was taken to hospital after his crash where several fractures were found. One week before the event the liberating message came from his doctors, Princen was cleared to start the event. He still suffers from a broken rib which is kept in place by body armor while painkillers take care of the rest. He needs a new shot after every loop, but Kevin Abbring after the waterpump is good enough to go.

“If you continue, you will only damage the engine” gave out on the start ramp.

Verschueren takes charge Despite his injury Princen is right up there in the fight for victory. After Abbring’s exit it was already clear that Verschueren and Princen would decide who would bring home the gold. Although Princen is performing admirably considering his circumstances, he just misses that little bit of extra ‘oomph’ to really challenge Verschueren.

Princen holds on The gap between Verschueren en Princen doesn’t grow throughout the afternoon and as the rally nears its climax Princen is slowly but surely nibbling away at Verschueren’s lead. Fortunately his injuries aren’t bothering him too much. “I regularly need painkillers as they only work for four hours, after which I really start to feel it On the morning’s opening loop of stages Verschueren again. But on the stages it doesn’t really bother me.” immediately starts building a lead despite Princen’s resilience. As championship leader Verschueren has to start Princen’s chage comes a it too late though. Verschueren’s first on the road, which is serious disadvantage on the lead is shrinking, but not fast enough. At the finish of the dusty roads around Tielt but it doesn’t seem to hurt him final stage Verschueren still has eight seconds in hand to too much. After the first loop he holds a healthy 15 second claim his first BRC victory. “It’s fantastic to win here!”

He cheers. “This I not really my home event but it is the lead over Princen. rally that is closest to my home so there are a lot of friends Behind the top two Bert Cornelis sparks a surprise by and family here to support me, that makes it extra great claiming third. Cornelis is a local driver who doesn’t run to win my first BRC event here.” Although Verschueren the full championship yet he reveals himself as the ‘best of now holds a very comfortable lead in the championship the rest’. On stage six a faulty servo pump spoils his party. as well, he is not yet ready to talk titles yet. “You know The team isn’t carrying a spare and Cornelis is forced to we only had three out of nine events right? Let’s not get carried away, I’m not thinking about the title yet at all.” retire.

Rally-emag / April 2017

BRC

Behind Verschueren and Princen, Tim van Parijs bags third in his mighty Porsche. Being rear-wheel drive only he can’t really challenge the R5’s, but as far the spectacle is concerned, the cars and their sound are right there in the fight for the fan’s hearts.

Good-old Paul Lietaer rules supremely over the Historics and just misses out on the overall podium in his roaring Subaru Legacy RS; he finishes fourth overall.

Rally-emag / April 2017

TAC rally

Round three of the BRC

Final results

drivers Standings

1.

Verschueren–Hostens

Skoda Fabia R5

1.32.19,7

1.

Vincent Verschueren

Skoda Fabia R5

52

2.

Princen–Kaspers

Skoda Fabia R5

+8,0

2.

Kris Princen

Skoda Fabia R5

36

3.

van Parijs–Heyndrickx

Porsche 997 GT3

+3.41,5

3.

Bastien Rouard

Citroen DS3 R3T

32

4.

Lietaer–Noppe

Subaru Legacy RS

+3.49,3

4.

Benoit Allart

Skoda Fabia R5

26

5.

Geussens–Cuvelier

Ford Fiesta R5

+3.54,1

5.

Franky Boulat

BMW E36 M3

22

6.

Kenis–Vanoverschelde

Mini Cooper 1.6T

+4.24,6

6.

Pierre Vauterin

Peugeot 208 R2

18

7.

van Woensel–Vandeputte

Porsche 997 GT3

+4.27,6

7.

Guino Kenis

Mini Cooper 1.6T

17

8.

Allart–Fernandez

Skoda Fabia R5

+4.28,2

8.

Timothy van Parijs

Porsche 997 GT3

16

9.

Tanghe–Tanghe

Porsche 997 GT3

+4.49,2

9.

Frederic Bouvy

Porsche 997 GT3

16

10.

Parmentier–de Waele

Ford Fiesta R5

+5.56,8

10. Henri Schmelcher

Porsche 997 GT3

14

Rally-emag / April 2017

BRC

y d l l e a R

ie

e Wa llon

After two consecutive retirements in the Spa and TAC rallies respectively, Kevin Abbring was finally able to fulfil his promise and turn the blindingly fast stage times into actual results. The Dutchman took the lead early in the event, and never looked back. words: Steven van veenendaal Images: BRC MEDIA

BRC abbring rules in wallonia The fourth round of the Belgian Rally Championship took place around the historic town of Namen where the 34th edition of the Rally de Wallonie was the stage. Over one hundred competitors took to namen, a record number this season to do battle for three days over 25 special stages.

As is the tradition here the rally commenced with two showstages around the ancient citadel of Namen. The teams entertained the spectators on the loose section on the horse track next to the citadel before starting the hairpin littered descent. Xavier Bouche jumps out the gate to set the pace on that short opening evening and go to the overnight halt with a slender two second lead in hand over Abbring. It would be the last time that Abbring wasn’t in the lead.

attached to the car, it’s clear that the impact has done severe damage to the suspension. Undauntedly Cherain pushes on, but several spins later his rally definitively ends off the road.

Throughout the afternoon Abbring steadily increases his lead to around 15 seconds.

“We’re driving in a good rhythm. I have only been here once before in 2009 in a Renault Clio, so it’s probably not wise to fully commit on every corner. I’d rather drive at 98% which seems to be enough at the moment. It allows me to be slightly less aggressive and avoid punctures when possible.”

“I have only been here once before in 2009 in a Renault Clio, so it’s probably not wise to fully commit on every corner. I’d rather drive at 98% which seems to be enough at the moment. ”

Whatever Verschueren and company try, Abbring maintains his 15 second advantage.

When Verschueren suffers a Saturday morning and Abbring puncture two stages before goes right to work. He blitzes the finish, the battle is truly the opening loop of stages by over. Abbring wins the ralwinning them all and taking a ly ahead of de Mevius and is twelve second lead over his nearhappy for everyone involved. est rival Vincent Verschueren.

“We are super excitied about The Skoda driver went off the this result. For the team, for road on the second stage of the Peugeot and of course for Kevin Abbring, feeling confident halfday which cost him around four ourselves!” Co-driver Pieter way through the rally. seconds, but he was also simply Tsjoen racks up his ninth Ralunable to match Abbring’s pace. ly de Wallonie win, albeit his first as a co-driver. On all previous accounts he was the Behind Abbring the battle intensifies. Although Kris one behind the steering wheel.

Princen opted to skip the Rally de Wallonie, several other drivers, mainly young talents, are starting to showcase After his time loss, Vincent Verschueren charges proper pace and could prove to become true rivals for through the final two stages in a bid to regain a podiVerschueren. Cedric Cherain is in third, with young um position. He manages to do so as he inches ahead of guns Ghislain de Mevius (Skoda Fabia R5) and Guillaum Guillaume Dilley by a mere half a second. It’s enough to Dilley (Hyundai i20 R5) in hot pursuit. Cherain makes land him third, and more importantle, the accompanying a mistake on stage nine when he drifts wide a little too championship points. far and hits a curb. Although the wheel is technically still

Rally-emag / April 2017

Rally-emag / April 2017

BRC

Rally de Wallonie Final results 1.

Abbring-Tsjoen

Peugeot 208 T16

1.57.49,1

2.

de Mevius-Jalet

Skoda Fabia R5

+46,4

3.

Verschueren-Hostens

Skoda Fabia R5

+53,7

4.

Dilley-Leyh

Hyundai i20 R5

+54,2

5.

Demaerschalk-Eelbode

Citroen DS3 R5

+1.35,3

6.

Fernemont-Maillen

Ford Fiesta R5

+1.57,0

7.

Bouche-Royer

Skoda Fabia R5

+2.05,0

8.

Geussens-Cuvelier

Ford Fiesta R5

+2.34,6

9.

de Cecco-Hublet

Peugeot 208 T16

+3.09,3

10.

Albert-Megny

Skoda Fabia WRC

+3.17,0

Round four of the BRC drivers Standings 1.

Vincent Verschueren

Skoda Fabia R5

64

2.

Bastien Rouard

Citroen DS3 R3T

42

3.

Kris Princen

Skoda Fabia R5

36

4.

Kevin Abbring

Peugeot 208 T16

32

5.

Benoit Allart

Skoda Fabia R5

26

6.

Pierre Vauterin

Peugeot 208 R2

26

7.

Franky Boulat

BMW E36 M3

22

8.

Guillaume de Mevius

Peugeot 208 R2

20

9.

Christophe Verstaen

Opel Astra G

19

Mini Cooper 1.6T

17

10. Guino Kenis

Rally-emag / April 2017

Rally-emag / April 2017

GRC

Rallye Vogelsberg Two in a row for Kreim A puncture in the penultimate loop made the Hessen Rallye Vogelsberg really exciting again. Nevertheless, Fabian Kreim and his co-driver Frank Christian did not get affected and won their home rally for the first time ever. words & images: Sven kollus / flat-out media agency

GRC At the midday service it was looking like an easy win for Fabian Kreim, he was leading the rally with around 30 seconds advantage. It was only 53 kilometer of stages to go and he only needed to manage his lead, but a puncture on stage 10 of 12 were making things exciting again.

However, let us start with the beginning.

Day one: four stages, four stage winners. The start of Hessen Rallye Vogelsberg promised to be an exciting rally. Peugeot driver Christian Riedemann was winning the first stage and ended rally day one in the lead too.

“We were going full attack and I am very happy that we are in the lead now”, said the man who hails from Sulingen where the next round of the German Rally Championship will take place.

He was profiting of an error of Dominik Dinkel who went off the road on stage four and collected a puncture, losing 30 seconds and the lead, ending day one in fifth.

Championship leader Fabian Kreim finished the day in second just four tenth of a second in front of Sandro Wallenwein (both Skoda Fabia R5). René Mandel was sitting in fourth place and promised to attack on day two: “I am not willing to stay fourth, we will do a big push tomorrow!”

Philipp Knof / Alexander Rath (Peugeot 207 Super 2000) were sitting in seventh place just over five seconds behind Austrian Chris Brugger and co-driver Katrin Becker (Ford Fiesta R5).

Riedemann’s crash brings the preliminary decision Another eight stages were on the itinerary for day two and Fabian Kreim started the day with a big attack taking over the rally lead after the first loop of two stages.

Stage 7 was canceled after a big accident of Christian Riedemann, who just wanted to fight back. He was entering a fast left-hander at the early part of the stage too fast and crashed into a ditch throwing his Peugeot 208 T16 R5 into a spin in the air before heavily landing on the bottom of the car. Riedemann and his co-driver Michael Wenzel were brought to the hospital where back injuries were diagnosed. They need to recover for some time

now, so Philipp Knof will take over Riedemann’s 208 T16 R5 switching from a 207 Super 2000 at least for the next round of the championship.

After this shock, two more loops were to go. Kreim and co-driver Frank Christian lost around 40 seconds and their lead to Dominik Dinkel / Christina Kohl. Just 9 tenth of a second was the lead of the Skoda privateers, who were so sad after their error on Friday night, to the works driver – and even Sandro Wallenwein / Marcus Poschner were only 4.7 seconds behind Dinkel.

“We were going full attack!”

Christian Riedemann, leader after the opening day.

Rally-emag / April 2017

difficult conditions, chaos ensues Kreim counters on the penultimate stage (which was also the Power Stage) and grabbed back his lead. Even the fastest time by Dominik Dinkel on the last stage did not change anything. He was on an even pace with the reigning German champion the whole weekend long, but just lost out by 5.1 seconds in the end. “We are happy to be at the finish of this hard and challenging rally. Our mistake on Friday night was costly, but that is rallying“, Dinkel said. Sandro Wallenwein had to give up in the final fight for the win, finishing third with 38.2 seconds adrift to the winner completing the Skoda one-two-three podium.

While teammate René Mandel left the road on stage 9, Austrian Chris Brugger secured a good fourth place in his Ford Fiesta R5 together with local heroine Katrin Becker on his co-driver seat. Behind them it was Philipp Knof in the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 who showed a good rally in this older specification car.

Ron Schumann had a good battle with Peter Corazza for sixth place, but the fight of the Mitsubishi drivers ended early Saturday morning when Corazza had to park his car with broken differential again. “Unfortunately the battle was over so early”, Schumann regretted. „Afterwards we tried to keep our pace and finish the rally.“ Mohe wins the 2WD category Georg Berlandy in the second Peugeot 208 T16 R5 ended the rally on seventh place. Fastest 2WD car was Carsten Mohe in his Renault Clio R3T who finishes the rally in eigth overall. Konstantin Keil in a Citroen DS3 R3T Max ended up second in 2WD, just in front of Niklas Stötefalke (Opel Adam R2) in the fastest R2 car.

The first round of the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup was an easy task for Dane Jacob Madsen. He won in front of Tom Kristensson and Calvin Beattie.

“I am not willing to stay fourth” Rene Mandel, showing some fighting spirit.

Rally-emag / April 2017

GRC

Rallye vogelsberg Final results 1.

Kreim-Christian

Skoda Fabia R5

1.20.21,5

2.

Dinkel-Kohl

Skoda Fabia R5

+ 5,1

3.

Wallenwein-Porschner

Skoda Fabia R5

+ 38,2

4.

Brugger-Wicha

Ford Fiesta R5

+ 2.15,1

5.

Knof-Rath

Peugeot 207 S2000

+ 2.22,4

6.

Schumann-Centner

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9

+ 3.59,1

7.

Berlandy-Schaaf

Peugeot 208 T16 R5

+ 4.13,1

8.

Mohe-Hirsch

Renault Clio R3T

+ 5.35,1

9.

Bieg-Moch

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9

+ 6.26,1

10.

SchĂźtte-David

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo79

+6.55,7

Round two of the GRC drivers Standings 1.

Sandro Wallenwein

Skoda Fabia R5

32

2.

Dominik Dinkel

Skoda Fabia R5

32

3.

Fabian Kreim

Skoda Fabia R5

30

4.

Christian Riedemann

Peugeot 208 T16 R5

21

5.

Chris Brugger

Ford Fiesta R5

20

6.

Rene Mandel

Ford Fiesta R5

19

7.

Philip Knoff

Peugeot 207 S2000

13

8.

Albert von Thurn & Taxis

Skoda Fabia R5

9

9.

Georg Berlandy

Peugeot 208 T16 R5

8

Renault Clio R3T

6

10. Carsten Mohe

Rally-emag / April 2017

Kreim penalized post-event After the event Fabian Kreim and Frank Christian's point were retracted. The duo had passed the stricken car of Cristian Riedemann, who at that point in time was not indicating that he and co-driver Michael Wenzel were OK and was not receiving assistance from officials. As stipulated by the regulations the next driver through, in this case Kreim, should always stop to provide assistance to a potentially injured fellow competitor. During the event the decision was not yet taken but officials revieweing the footage afterwards concluded that Kreim should indeed have stopped and subsequently stripped Kreim of the points scored at the Rallye Vogelsberg.

Rally-emag / April 2017

BRC

Pirelli international rally After winning the opening round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship Fredrik Ahlin was among the favourites again at round two, the Pirelli International Rally. The opposition had regrouped though and saw the inclusion of the brand new Hyundia i20 R5 in the capable hands of Tom Cave. Moreover ahead lay a very challenging environment, one of Europe's largest man-made forests loomed: Kielder. words: Steven van veenendaal Images: Andy Crayford / Crayford Media

BRC In and out Eight stages spread over two days lay ahead, making up close to 160 kilometres of competitive action. Tom Cave had switched from his Ford Fiesta R5 to the new Hyundai i20 R5, marking the debut of the car on the British Isles. He adapted quickly to the new machinery and won the opening stage of the event. To broaden the smile on his face even further, Cave also went on to win the second stage and opened up 7.5 seconds lead over his rivals. Just as quickly as he grabbed the lead though, it disappeared again. After the midday service halt Cave damaged the suspension of his new Hyundai on stage three, ending his rally and dreams of a debut victory for the car. Another to suffer early was Eyvind Brynildsen. The Norwegian ace was hampered by transmission and brake problems, forcing him out early.

Steady as she goes Fredrik Ahlin had been staying out of all trouble all day and despite that it took him until the final stage of the day to claim his first win, found himself on top of the leaderboard at the overnight halt. After Cave’s exit, Keith Cronin took the third stage but was already lagging behind after steering issues had slowed him on

Rally-emag / April 2017

stage two. Resetting the cars had resolved the issues, but didn’t do much good for Cronin’s confidence. Undaunted the Irishman pressed on to win stage three, finish second on stage four and end the day on the final podium spot.

Second Pryce Somehow Osian Pryce held second after the opening day. Set-up woes had troubled him all day and he had spent most of his time trying to keep the rear end of the car on the stages, rather than pushing for fastest times. Perhaps Pryce’s tremendous pace had as much to do with the happy rear end as the suspension issues did. On the second day of the event, the rally exploded with excitement. Keith Cronin rolled his Fiesta on the opening stage, ending his hopes of a podium finish.

Meanwhile David Bogie was a charge. The Scot won all of day two’s four stages to prove that he is a force to be reckoned with. Had brake issues not tumbled him down the leaderboard on the opening day, who knows what might have happened? It’s the ever popular ‘What if?’ question, though Bogie wasn’t the only one asking that question after the rally.

What if?

With Cronin out of the event, Ahlin and Pryce found themselves in a two-way fight for the win. Ahlin might have thought his twenty seconds overnight cushion was sufficient to coast to victory, but that was obviously disregarding Pryce’s resilience. Pryce set about on day two with one thing in mind only, the win. With just over twenty seconds separating them and Saturday’s set-up issues resolved, Pryce felt confident he could mount a challenge and opted to capitalize on the opportunity.

He played his ‘Tyre Joker’, which allowed him to use two additional tyres and put them to good use. He challenged Ahlin hard on the first two stages and slashed the lead from well over 20 seconds back down to less than five seconds. Two more stages remained, on which a classic mano-il-mano duel would decide who would take top honours. Despite the tension and excitement

Pirelli International rally Final results

building, Ahlin proved his Scandinavian heritage and showed he has ice water running through his veins. The Swede kept his cool and smashed Pryce’s dreams of victory by reinstating a fifteen seconds lead, never seeming too worried about the situation. “I made a silly mistake this morning at the chicane and had to reverse twice.

That cost us ten seconds, then it goes quickly. But we knew from yesterday that we would be fast on the third stage” he explained calmly. As cool as it may seem, it wasn’t just Ahlin’s driving that had increased his lead again. Pryce suffered a broken handbrake on the final two stages and knew immediately that he wouldn’t be able to truly contend with Ahline anymore. Had he not had those issue, who knows what might have happened.

But it remains motorsport where these things happen, making it just another case of ‘what if?’

Round two of the BRC drivers Standings

1.

Ahlin–Torstein

Skoda Fabia R5

1.29.28,0

1.

Fredik Ahlin

Skoda Fabia R5

55

2.

Pryce–Furniss

Ford Fiesta R5

+39,4

2.

Osian Pryce

Ford Fiesta R5

33

Tom Cave

Hyundai i20 R5

22

3.

McCormack–Moynihan

Skoda Fabia R5

+49,5

3.

4.

Bogie–Rae

Skoda Fabia R5

+1.06,8

4.

Rhys Yates

Ford Fiesta R5

18

5.

Edwards–Garrod

Ford Fiesta R5

+1.50,6

5.

Matt Edwards

Ford Fiesta R5

18

6.

Yates–Williamson

Ford Fiesta R5

+2.19,8

6.

Martin McCormack

Skoda Fabia R5

15

7.

Stephenson-Windress

Ford Focus WRC '06

+6.15,8

7.

Keith Cronin

Ford Fiesta R5

12

8.

Preston–Roughead

Skoda Fabia R5

+7.35,4

8.

David Bogie

Skoda Fabia R5

12

9.

Anderson–Whittock

Skoda Fabia R5

+8.42,3

9.

James Anderson

Skoda Fabia R5

10

10.

Laffey–Loudon

Ford Fiesta R5

+10.38,6

10. Tom Preston

Skoda Fabia R5

7

Rally-emag / April 2017

DRC

Centraal NederLand rally words & Images: Steven van veenendaal

After being robbed of victory at the Zuiderzeerally earlier this year, when a check-in mistake at one of the final time zones dropped him down to second, Jasper van den Heuvel was looking for revenge. What better place to go hunting than his home event?

DRC

Home event 2.0 Home events are a well-known thing in the world of rallying. On a global scale a home event is often defined as the rally in one’s home country. Nationally you have to come from the region but at the Centraal Nederland Rally van den Heuvel redefined the concept. The technical scrutineering actually took place in the Heuvel-Motorsport workshop where Jasper and the family prepare their Lancers. All stages were run within a twenty-kilometre range of their hometown of Barneveld. If anything, van den Heuvel would know the stages like the back of his hand.

first loop. On the third stage he narrows to gap to van den Heuvel to 7 seconds and on the long 22–kilometre fourth stages brings it down to under two seconds. At this rate van Loon is the sure fire winner of the event.

Van den Heuvel concludes the same, but is not yet ready to give up “It’s going to be difficult…” The two front-runners are going a blistering pace, evidenced by the thirty-second hole that Bob de Jong already finds himself in. Jasper’s younger brother Jim is in fourth, in turn some thirty seconds behind de Jong.

On stage five van Loon goes for it in an attempt to snatch the lead. But that’s where it all goes wrong.

Co-driver Scholtalbers explains “About halfway through the stage Erik suddenly yelled ‘The powersteering is not working!’ We continued through the stage as best we could, but especially in the slower corners it seemed to get worse. Between stages five and six we contacted the team to see what could be done about it, but all the parameters on the systems showed that the powersteering should be working.”

Van Loon gets going From a safety perspective the teams decides retire At the first service break van Loon draws up a sim- from the event. Although the time loss was limited to ple plan: attack. With his rhythm clearly improving under a second, they deemed the unpredictable too he improves dramatically on the times he set on the dangerous on the high- speed event.

As expected, van den Heuvel was strong in his home event, but it would be far from a walk-over. Erik van Loon made his first appearance of the season in his mighty Subaru Impreza S14 WRC but had to shake of some rust to get into the rhythm. He dropped 10 seconds in the first two stage to van den Heuvel, who’s driving an R4 spec Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Bob de Jong is following closely behind in third.

Rally-emag / April 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It's going to be difficult...â&#x20AC;?

Jasper van den Heuvel after Erik van Loon had found his groove again in the mighty Subaru Impreza WRC -

Top: After a couple of stages Erik van Loon found the pace in his Subaru.

Bottom: Bob de Jong couldn't keep up with van Heuvel and van Loon, but his consistency paid off with second.

Rally-emag / April 2017

DRC Heuvel proves supremacy For a short while the tension rises again. Due to license issues stages seven and eight are cancelled and with the zero-car already on the starting line there is some fear that stage six would also have to be cancelled. Fortunately it’s not the case and van den Heuvel can go out again to prove his competence. He wins the stage and due the cancellation of the remaining stages, the rally as well. De Jong comes in second ahead of the second van den Heuvel, Jim, who makes it a two-third ‘Heuvel’ podium. “Of course it’s great to win at home” van den Heuvel celebrates at the finish. “Jim in third is also great! But maybe the best is that al our cars reached the finish without any technical woes. That’s pretty good considering the number of cars we had running here.

We can look back to a good event.”

Filling out the top ten Despite the pre-event withdrawal of Vierimaa’s WRC, there were still plenty of solid foreign drivers gunning for top ten results. Steen Andersen didn’t make it to the finish, but Britt Robert Woodside, who drove in The Netherlands before in 2015 at the Circuit Zandvoort Short Rally, had a good run. “I’ve really enjoyed myself, it was a good rally. We used the event as a shakedown for the car, which was good because compared to the Fiesta R5 we used in the BRC, there are quite some differences, especially with the handling of the car. We are doing the TER series so we’ll be taking the car to

Rally-emag / April 2017

Romania and Ypres.”

Another TER driver, Henk Bakkenes, came home in sixth ahead of Gerbren Brouwer who once again placed his Audi S2 Coupe smack in the middle between the powerful Lancers. “These are good championship points for us. Nice weather, good stages and a good finish, what more could we ask for?” Concluded a hppy Brouwer. Ger Haverkate slotted his spectacular BMW E30 M3 in eighth, ahead of talented youngster Roald Leemans in a Citroen DS3 R3T Homework In the lead-up to the event it already became apparent that the organizers had endured a turbulent preparation. A stage for which the license wasn’t granted, an alternative that was rejected and time pressure that already forced another stage as well. It wasn’t smooth to say the least. The event itself wasn’t much different.

A late start and heavy crash of one of the competitors resulted in another stage cancellation. All in all it was an event full of valuable lessons for the organizers. It’s clear that they’ll be taking home plenty of homework to study for a next edition but their perseverance must also be praised. Hosting an event is a responsible affair and credit is due for the commitment of the organizers, after all, there aren’t too many around in The Netherlands anymore who are willing to pick up the challenge.

Centraal Nederland Rally

Results of the NRK opener drivers Standings

Final results

1

Jasper vd Heuvel

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

48

2

Jim vd Heuvel

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

36

+1.23,5

3

G. Brouwer

Audi S2 Coupe

21

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

+3.04,6

4

B. de Jong

Citroen DS3 R5

20

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

+3.48,5

5

R. Leemans

Citroen DS3 R3T

18

Brouwer-Kroeze

Audi Coupe S2

+4.06,3

6

S. Andersen

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

15

7

vd Parren-Coumans

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

+4.58,7

7

M. van Iersel

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

14

8

Haverkate-Aaltink

BMW M3

+5.29,7

=

L. v.d. Parren

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

14

9

Leemans-v Waardenburg

Citroen DS3 R3T

+6.19,4

9

R. Woodside

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

13

10

Eckhaus-Aaltink

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

+6.37,2

10

H. Bakkenes

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

11

1

vd Heuvel-Bakker

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

52.12,1

2

de Jong-Degandt

Citroen DS3 R5

+ 36,7

3

vd Heuvel-Docx

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

4

Woodside-Harryman

5

Bakkenes-Kvick

6

Rally-emag / April 2017

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