Motorsport - WRC 2009 (schedule & results)

[zuoom]

ha. that's the only way Loeb can lose. Admin error.

takes a bit of credit from Hirvonen though. he has improved n gotten alot more consistent. becoming the iceman of finland. 

[Cobra]

ROUND 11 - SPAIN


Its always more exciting to watch WRC than F1 . As you get mermerized by how these drivers manourver their cars at high speed on gravels, snow, mud , tarnac , etc, as they take those sharp corners with a single handbrake jerk, how they use the side of the road to skate bends at high speed. Amazed how they managed those high jumps and land so gracefully, how they crash their cars , roll down 100m and still walked out unscathed.

Apart from watching S Loeb winning almost every race whicih made the championship boring. You may now noticed that despite having more drivers than in the Formula 1, there is either Citroen or Ford left in the championship. Something needs to be done badly by the FIA.


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Loeb wins Rally de Espana!  - (4/10/09)

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb cruised through the final stage of the Rally de Espana today to take victory in his Citroen C4 WRC and ensure his fight for a sixth World Rally Championship title will go to the final, decisive round in Great Britain later this month.

The result was Loeb's fifth consecutive win on the all-asphalt Spanish round of the series, the 53rd of his remarkable WRC career and his sixth this season.

Loeb's Spanish team-mate Dani Sordo was second, 12.0sec adrift, to complete a perfect one-two finish for the Citroen Total World Rally Team - enough to guarantee the French firm the 2009 FIA WRC title for Manufacturers with one round to go.

As they have for the last three years, Loeb and Sordo controlled the Spanish event from beginning to end. And while an excellent drive from Citroen's number two Sordo made life tough for Loeb on the opening two days, he moved aside before today's contest, giving the defending champion a reasonably straightforward task on the final six stages.

Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena climbed onto the roof of their C4 at the finish of SS17 to celebrate their victory.

"This one was tough," insisted Loeb, "because Dani was pushing very hard at the start, so we tried to fight, but we knew also that we mustn't make any mistakes just fighting together - it was so important for us to finish. But we were really confident. It was really a pleasure to drive again on tarmac - for me it’s been a long time since we did it. And the result now should be perfect, I'm really happy, I enjoyed it a lot."

Sordo and his co-driver Marc Marti jumped out of their car to congratulate their team-mates at the stage end. "It's second but I'm glad to have helped Sebastien with his championship today and also the manufacturers' championship for Citroen. But also for me it’s been a very good weekend!" he said.

Loeb began this rally five points adrift of drivers' championship leader Mikko Hirvonen of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team, who brought his Focus RS WRC home third. Hirvonen still holds the lead of the series, but with only a one point advantage the scene is set for a thrilling winner-takes-all showdown on the final round which gets underway on 23 October.

Hirvonen ended the rally 54.1sec behind the Citroen pair, after a largely frustrating event where he remained stuck fast in third; unable to catch Loeb and Sordo ahead, but never seriously troubled by the Citroen C4 drivers Petter Solberg and Sebastien Ogier behind. "It wasn't the best rally but, you know, it just means it's going to be all to do on GB - and that's going to be some rally," said Hirvonen. "Not a bad weekend, though, now we'll see how it goes on the next one. I'm looking forward to it. I'm waiting for that fight - it's going to be a fantastic weekend. We'll see - it might be a bit exciting!"

Fourth place went to Norwegian Petter Solberg, who sealed his best tarmac result since the 2005 Tour de Corse at the wheel of his new Citroen C4 WRC. The 2003 world champion looked emotionally drained as he arrived at the finish line.

"This is the end of three years of frustration," he said. "I just don't have words for this now. I just keep thinking if... if I have been in a better position earlier, you know? It’s wrong to say it feels easy, but it feels so special. It’s a special moment for me to have this opportunity to drive this car. I thank the team and Citroen for letting me do this. I hope people see that I will be fast, but you need the support of a manufacturer team - it’s impossible to do it alone. In Wales I will be up there fighting."

Fifth went to Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier, who was left ruing a brake problem on Friday morning which dropped him out of podium contention. "The first part of the rally was difficult, but from the second loop of day one it's been a good fight every time with Mikko and Petter so it’s a very good weekend for us," he said. "From Greece my season has been getting better and better, now we want to finish well in Wales to prepare for next season."

Jari-Matti Latvala brought his Ford Focus RS to the line in sixth place overall, but in the stage winning time - by one-tenth. "It's fantastic, I've never been fastest on a stage in Catalunya before," grinned Latvala. "It feels good - I don't know how it's possible, because we drove carefully through there. Obviously I haven't been on the pace but at least we can be very positive that our driving has been very consistent, we've improved all the time and there are no marks on the car. That's a big relief for when I go and see [team boss] Malcolm Wilson!"

Briton Matthew Wilson was seventh in his Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus RS WRC. Wilson said: "It’s been a difficult weekend - I would say this is probably one of the hardest tarmac rallies there is, so it takes a lot to master. It's been okay, a difficult weekend, with some difficult stages. I'm looking forward to Wales and getting back on gravel."

On his last rally of the season, Argentinean Federico Villagra took the final championship point for finishing eighth in his Munchi's team Ford Focus. "We improved a lot this weekend so I'm happy to finish eighth and take another point. Every stage here it got better and better for us, so I'm very happy," he said.



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Drivers' championship standings (After 11 rounds)
 
POS  DRIVER             PTS
=========================
1.     M. HIRVONEN     84
2.     S. LOEB            83
3.     D. SORDO         58
4.     J-M LATVALA     39
5.     P. SOLBERG       30
6.     H. SOLBERG       29
7.     M. WILSON        25
8.     S. OGIER           24
9.     F. VILLAGRA      16
10.   C. RAUTENBACH    8
11.   M. OSTBERG        7
12.   K. AL-QASSIMI      6
13.   E. NOVIKOV          4
14.   C. ATKINSON        4
15.   M. RANTANEN        4
16.   K. HOLOWCZYC      3
17.   J. KETOMAA           2
18.   U. AAVA                 1
19.   N. AL-ATTIYAH        1
20.   L. ATHANASSOULAS  1


Manufacturers' championship standings (After 11 rounds)

POS  TEAM                                                  PTS
========================================
1.     CITROEN TOTAL WORLD RALLY TEAM       151
2.     BP FORD ABU DHABI WORLD RALLY TEAM  130
3.     STOBART VK M-SPORT FORD RALLY TEAM  73
4.     CITROEN JUNIOR RALLY TEAM                  42
5.     MUNCHI'S FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM         23
 

[zuoom]

ROUND 11 - SPAIN
Its always more exciting to watch WRC than F1 . As you get mermerized by how these drivers manourver their cars at high speed on gravels, snow, mud , tarnac , etc, as they take those sharp corners with a single handbrake jerk, how they use the side of the road to skate bends at high speed. Amazed how they managed those high jumps and land so gracefully, how they crash their cars , roll down 100m and still walked out unscathed.

Apart from watching S Loeb winning almost every race whicih made the championship boring. You may now noticed that despite having more drivers than in the Formula 1, there is either Citroen or Ford left in the championship. Something needs to be done badly by the FIA.

something from 2005...
http://www.scenta.co.uk/sport/news/cit/57244/website-profile-wrccom.htm

Tyres manufacturers have gotten out of WRC due to rules/regulations change - in a bid to reduce cost of competition
there's only the Bridgestone Pirelli tyres.

and car manufacturers only left with Ford n Citroen. Skoda n Subaru are not officially under the list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Rally_Championship

WRC also known as "Who Really Cares". haha.

as a niche event, it would not attract the masses. nor the gals. it's not as glamorous as F1, hence not as many TV audience... which equates to less revenue both side. One on the WRC event budget, the other to those that advertise on it.
key ingredients to make an event successful. money, sex, glamor/fame. in which the WRC pretty much has none.  (it's on a cost cutting measure to make it less expensive for teams to run in it.)

anyway, the current WRC era is coming to an end. this is probably the last of the Class S derived WRC models. next would be the S2000 spec(ed) models. (not ah Bee's S2K)
http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/1623371895__AppJ_Art_254A.pdf

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/13/wrc-switching-to-s2000-spec-car-for-2010-season/


http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=221&featureid=1237&desc=WRC%20rule%20changes%20for%202009

Cars
Clarification: The World Rally Car era is coming to an end. This season will be the last that this type of vehicle will compete alone at the top level of the sport. 2010 will be a transitional season when a new specification of World Rally Car, based on a Super 2000 vehicle, will compete alongside the existing machinery. From 2011, however, the Super 2000 based model will take over completely. More technical details of the Super 2000 conversion will be released by the FIA this year.

[Cobra]

Thats why the next FIA President is very important. Good thing is both candidates has WRC background.

Bad thing is you are right. F1 obviously generate more commercial dollars than WRC. The big boys like Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault are huge sponsors to the F1 entertainment business, while the Ford, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki WRC sponsors target more on the middle class consumers.

Jean Todt , started career as a co-driver then team director for Peugeot. He was also founder of Peugeot Talbot Sport. He is more well-known to be the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, the man that made Michael Schumacher famous, and the husband of Michelle Yeoh.

Ari Vatanen , started and spent most of his motorsport career in WRC. He drove for Ford, Opel, Peugeot, Subaru, BMW, and Mitsubushi.  Then he went into politics.

[zuoom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Todt


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Vatanen

========================

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/6236545/Ari-Vatanen-says-F1-will-totally-fear-me.html

Ari Vatanen says 'F1 will totally fear me'
Ari Vatanen has promised to clean up scandal-tainted Formula 1 if he is elected president of the FIA, motor sport's world governing body.
 

By Telegraph staff and agencies
Published: 8:00AM BST 27 Sep 2009

 Eye on the prize: FIA presidential candidate Ari Vatanen has promised to clean up Formula 1  Photo: REUTERS

Vatanen, Finland's former world rally champion, who is a member of the European parliament, is running against former Ferrari boss Jean Todt to replace Max Mosley.

He told Singapore's Straits Times newspaper he planned to shake-up the sport if he gets the top job.
 
"F1 will totally fear me," he said. "They are in disarray. Just a few months ago, there was even talk of a breakaway. I want to put F1 on an equal footing with the rest. The FIA is not just about F1."

Vatanen is confident he has enough support from the FIA's 122 members to win, citing key backing in Asia, Africa and the Gulf.

But Todt has been endorsed by Mosely and F1 powerbroker Bernie Ecclestone.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher also threw his weight behind Todt this week.

"Jean's abilities are beyond question," Schumacher, who was Todt's star driver for many years, told reporters.

"I can think of no one more capable and more committed to improving our sport than Jean Todt."

Todt's detractors claim he represents a continuation of the Mosley era thanks to his close association with the Englishman, who has been in charge for 16 years.

In contrast, Vatanen is seen to offer a more modern approach that will bring changes and a new era of transparency to top-class world motor racing.

Vatanen said he wanted the sport to get a new start.

"I want to propose a new start, to develop F1 in the next five or 10 years," he said. "We must rebuild F1 together with common sense, democracy, honesty and openness."

He added that the FIA needed to give more focus on motor sports other than Formula One.

"F1 is the richest sport in the capital investment world, but not much money is going back to other forms of motor sport," he said. "That's wrong."

==================================

that's if Ari gets the job. otherwise, if Mr. Ferrari gets it.. i'm quite sure it would still be F1 bias.

as for the hot seat, i would bet on Mr. Ferrari. especially after Bernie Ecclestone openly backs this guy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/25/bernie-ecclestone-fia-jean-todt

as with all things, "got come, got go" *think chinese.

it would only be natural for the funding/budget/focus (3Fs) to go into F1.

[Cobra]

ha ha ha ... becos Bernie openly backs Todt, that why quick thinking Vatanen fired back that here is another proof that there's scandal and corruption going on in F1 ... Politics.

.... you are right . Todt has wider network and width of friends and he has also a powerful Asian backing in a form of his wife. 

[zuoom]

The former Ferrari F1 team boss Jean Todt elected as the successor to Max Mosley.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=47262

Todt takes over.

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

many of the business leaders i'm seeing are having non-native wife. esp. angmos like having japanese wives. maybe watch too much japanav?

[Cobra]

ROUND 12 (FINAL) - WALES GB   (23-25/10/2009)


SEBASTIAN LOEB WINS THE 2009 WRC CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST MIKKO HIRVONEN BY 1 POINT ... 
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Sebastien Loeb takes his sixth World Rally Title! (25/10/09)


Frenchman Sebastien Loeb cruised through the final stage of the Rally of Great Britain today to take victory in his Citroen Total team C4 WRC and wrap up a remarkable sixth World Rally Championship title.

The win, the seventh from the 12-round season for Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena, was the 54th of his record-breaking WRC career.

Loeb and Elena climbed onto the roof of their car at the end of the decisive 27km Rheola stage, and punched the air as they celebrated their victory in front of a crowd of fans and journalists.

Loeb clinched his sixth title by the closest of margins; his total of 93 points was just one ahead of his arch rival Mikko Hirvonen of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team.

"It's been an incredible season," said a delighted Loeb. "We made a good start then we lost everything and we came here one point behind Mikko. Finally we've done it and I'm really happy but Mikko has been extremely strong. I know it will be tough next year for sure.

"This has been one of my best title wins; the battle was so intense - going almost until the end of the last rally. It was incredible. We have had some highs and some lows this year but we finished with the victory. It’s an incredible feeling!" he added.

Ford Focus RS WRC driver Hirvonen, and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen, were next to reach the finish control, and were two of the first to congratulate Loeb and Elena. After his bonnet flew up on the penultimate test, Hirvonen did enough over the final 22.51km to secure second place in Wales, and get closer to Loeb in the Drivers' fight than anybody since Marcus Gronholm in 2006.

"Well, the bonnet pin was the last of our problems but I really lost the rally yesterday when I couldn't find the speed on those two stages, [SS8 and SS9]" said Hirvonen. "Now I need to go back to work and find more speed for next year. It was definitely the best year I've ever had, though. We're really close now to his speed and that feels good. It’s been a great year, but of course a big disappointment at the end."

Loeb's Citroen Total team-mate Dani Sordo finished third, just one second behind Hirvonen, to take the final step on the podium and secure third place in this year's Drivers' Championship standings on a total of 64 points. "This has been a great day and a great championship, I'm really happy," said the Spaniard. "I pushed hard on this rally but unfortunately the times of Mikko and Sebastien were too good. I tried hard to catch Mikko at the end, and I've really enjoyed my fight with Petter too, but of course big congratulations must go to Sebastien."

In fourth place, 21 seconds slower than Sordo, was four time Rally GB winner Petter Solberg. The Norwegian, running under the Citroen Junior Team banner this weekend, said he was delighted to round off his first season as an independent driver locked in a battle for the podium. "It’s been a long journey to get here, but I'm very pleased with this result," he said.

"The car was good - but I should have done a little more testing in the mud. But my improvement through the rally has been good and the whole year, actually, has been fantastic. By team has done a brilliant job and thanks again to Citroen for giving me this possibility. It could have been a better weekend, though, yesterday we were so unlucky, and I tried today to beat Sordo but I'm happy, very happy. Next year we want a proper car and full spec attack. I hope to battle for the championship."

After missing the opening round of the season in Ireland, Solberg ended the year ranked fifth in the series on a total of 35 points.

Five minutes behind the leading group, in fifth place, was Petter's elder brother Henning in the first of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team cars. The Norwegian struggled on the opening day with a persistent engine misfire but ended the event with two top-five times. "I'm happy, we are here at the end, and I hope to start another new season next year," he said. Solberg finished sixth in the WRC Drivers' series on a total of 33 points - matching his career best finish in 2007.

Sixth overall was Henning's team-mate Matthew Wilson - the only full-time British driver in the WRC. After losing time on day one with a traction problem, Wilson was disappointed not to have had a fight on his hands on his home round of the series.

"It was a frustrating day on Friday, and very, very difficult to drive when the handling was so tricky," he said. "It's been okay from then on, yesterday especially was okay in the afternoon, but overall it's been a frustrating end to the season; we'd have liked to have been a bit more on the pace. Overall though the year has been quite good. Hopefully we'll get the chance to do this again next year, keep the momentum going and improve some more." Three points in Wales put Wilson seventh in the 2009 Drivers' standings on a total of 28 points - the best ranking of his career to date.

Seventh was Wilson's Ford stable-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn dropped out of winning contention on the opening day because of a driveshaft failure. He had another difficult day today, crashing off the road after the flying finish of SS12, and ended up nursing his battered Ford Focus RS WRC to the end of the event.

"It's been a very character building rally," said Latvala at the stage end. "After the problem on Friday we struggled with the driving a bit and then there was my mistake today. I'll be happy to get to the finish. It’s been a tough season for me. Now I want to forget rally for a while, think about something else and then refocus on 2010." Helped by his win this year in Sardegna, Latvala ended the season fourth in the Drivers' standings on a total of 41 points.

Eighth, and collecting the final Drivers' Championship point this weekend, was Conrad Rautenbach - the Zimbabwean wrapping up his second season with the Citroen Junior Team placed tenth in the series on a total of 10 points. "It’s been a really difficult rally, but we always knew it would be," he said. "We had a few problems, but I managed to get through without making any silly mistakes. It's good to end our year in the points like this."

--------------------------------------------------

25/10/09

SS15: Disaster for Hirvonen puts Loeb in the clear

Mikko Hirvonen's chances of catching rally leader Sebastien Loeb were dealt a devastating blow on the penultimate stage of the season.

After setting off a blinding pace, and being 1.1sec up on Loeb at the 1.1km split, the Finn was forced to stop mid-stage to rip off his car's bonnet after it flipped up.

The incident cost the Finn more than a minute, handing Loeb a comfortable 1min 25sec lead with just one more stage of the rally to go.

"Now I need a miracle," said a dejected Hirvonen as he reached the finish control. "Just after a jump the pin came loose and the bonnet began to get lots of air underneath. Then on a straight section it flew up and blocked the windscreen - I had to stop, I couldn't see anything. I've tried everything; gone as hard as I can - now we have to wait and see what happens on the last stage."

Loeb was surprised, and relieved, to hear the news of Hirvonen's problems, and revealed that his morning hadn't been quite as trouble-free as he had let on. "It’s great news because I had to go flat-out again in there and now I can take it much easier in the next one. Hopefully we don't have to push too hard. It’s great also because we have a little problem with the turbo and I don't have the full amount of response from the engine."

Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo set the third fastest time, pulling three seconds ahead of the chasing Solberg, and ending up 0.9sec behind Hirvonen's second place. "After a difficult morning, the Spaniard was far happier with his performance on the first repeated stage. "My split time to Petter was good," he said. "I'm pushing really hard but there was a lot of rain in there - especially in the first few kilometres. It was very difficult to drive, but okay, I'm happy."

Solberg too was troubled by a torrential downpour. "There was so much rain at the start it was almost unbelievable," said the Norwegian, who has 17.9seconds to find on the final stage if he is to beat Sordo. "That’s how it is, I suppose. I tried all I could. I will push on the last stage now, but I've given everything."

The penultimate stage also proved disastrous for Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier, who crashed out of fifth place, badly damaging the front end of his C4 WRC. The Frenchman eventually got his car to the finish line, with the loss of more than 11 minutes, but the 2008 Junior Rally Champion admitted his rally was over. "The cars in front had kicked out some big rocks in the road near the start and it was impossible to miss them," he said. "I went off because of that. I think that's it. We're finished now."

Ogier's exit promoted Stobart Ford driver Henning Solberg into fifth, with his British team-mate Matthew Wilson sixth. Jari-Matti Latvala nursed his damaged car through to hold seventh overall, while Citroen Junior team driver Conrad Rautenbach is eighth in the final points winning position.

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Drivers' championship standings  (After 12 rounds)

POS   DRIVER                    PTS
===========================
1.      S. LOEB                   93
2.      M. HIRVONEN            92
3.      D. SORDO                 64
4.      J-M LATVALA             41
5.      P. SOLBERG               35
6.      H. SOLBERG               33
7.      M. WILSON                28
8.      S. OGIER                   24
9.      F. VILLAGRA               16
10.    C. RAUTENBACH            9
11.    M. OSTBERG                 7
12.    K. AL-QASSIMI              6
13.    E. NOVIKOV                  4
14.    C. ATKINSON                4
15.    M. RANTANEN                4
16.    K. HOLOWCZYC              3
17.    J. KETOMAA                   2
18.    U. AAVA                        1
19.    N. AL-ATTIYAH               1
20.    L. ATHANASSOULAS         1
 

Manufacturers' championship standings  (After 12 rounds)
 
POS   MANUFACTURER                                     PTS
========================================
1.      CITROEN TOTAL WORLD RALLY TEAM         167
2.      BP FORD ABU DHABI WORLD RALLY TEAM    140
3.      STOBART VK M-SPORT FORD RALLY TEAM     80
4.      CITROEN JUNIOR RALLY TEAM                     47
5.      MUNCHI'S FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM            23
 

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