In our biggest WRC gallery yet—there’s 88 photos in all—here’s your chance to relive Rally Australia. If you’re a Volkswagen fan this might be one to bookmark becuase for the first time in their WRC existence the German juggernaut claimed a clean sweep of all three podium positions.
Also taking a clean sweep were the photographers plying their trade down under. These are some of the best rally pics we’ve seen all year and we’re chuffed to be able to share them with you all.
WRC cars in aggressive tarmac trim, the stunning beauty of the Moselle Valley, as far as world class rallying goes, it doesn’t get much better than this.
So strap yourself in and enjoy reliving Thierry Neuville’s maiden WRC victory. There’s some awesome photos in our latest rally installment; we hope you’ll like them.
It seems to be the year of winning your home event. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg won their home grands prix in Formula 1. Now it’s Jari-Matti Latvala’s turn and he got to spray the champagne first after he won Rally Finland.
Sebastien Ogier will be hoping he can do the same when Rally France rolls around in October. He might just need to as well. Ogier is still very much the man to catch, with a 44 point lead over Latvala, but there’s still five rallies up for grabs.
After the break there’s over 70 images from the Finnish forests and, of course, plenty of spectacular “yumps”!
While it’s true we have missed out on regular WRC updates you haven’t missed out on anything you couldn’t have guessed for yourself. And that’s Sebastien Ogier has won another rally and is well on the way to his second world championship.
Also happy with his time in Poland was junior Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelesen who achieved his best WRC result to date. It was good to see Thierry Nueville at the somewhat pointy end, too. Let’s hope Hyundai can figure more prominently in the second half of the season.
Ogier leads Jari-Matti Latvala by 50 points in the title race. And if you were in any doubt about Volkswagen’s current WRC dominance then consider that Latvala, only in second in the championship, has enough points on his own to lead the manufacturers’ standings.
So now you’re up to speed on where the WRC is at and we promise you won’t have to wait over a month for a Rally Finland update!
You may have noticed our WRC coverage has dropped off the radar for a bit, well in a mad panic before this weekend’s Rally Finland we’re going to bring you back up to speed. First, let’s take a look at Rally Italia, where we have assembled over 75 images from the four major teams for you to enjoy.
Sebastien Ogier won in Italy, extending his championship lead to 33 points over his Volkswagen teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. You may also recall this was the rally where Mikko Hirvonen’s backside got a bit hot.
M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson has revealed the cost of Mikko Hirvonen’s burnt out Fiesta RS WRC is beyond £400,000 (AU$718,000).
“The financial implications to replace it are huge,” Wilson told wrc.com “You’re looking in excess of £400,000 and we don’t insure the rally cars, so that’s a big hit.
“If you have a big crash then nearly all the mechanical components are usually OK. But with what happened here, there is absolutely nothing we can reuse. Everything is destroyed and it’s a big loss.”
M-Sport wants to investigate the cause of the blaze, but due to the severity of the damage the team isn’t sure if the wreckage will hold any answers.
“We’ll take the car back to the UK but it will be difficult to identify anything,” added Wilson. “Unless something like the propshaft has broken and gone through the fuel tank. Then it will be pretty obvious, even though the car is destroyed.”
[Source: WRC]
Mikko Hirvonen’s Rally Italia came to an abrupt and fiery end last night after his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC became engulfed in flames during a liaison stage.
The Finn started the rally well, leading the event after Thursday night’s special stage. He had slipped just out of the top five the following day as the rally began to hit its straps and it was between SS3 and SS4 where things really went south for Hirvonen.
“I have no idea what happened and I don’t think we are ever going to find out,” a bemused Hirvonen explained. “It was really strange. Straight after the stage [SS3] everything was OK and operating as it should. We stopped, took our HANS and helmet off, checked all the tyre pressures, had the usual look around the car and everything was fine.
“After we set off again, the car caught fire. We smelt the smoke and as I looked back the rear-right corner was covered in flames. We stopped straight away but they were already over the roof. I managed to empty three fire extinguishers but it didn’t do anything to calm the blaze. There was nothing we could do to save the car.”
Thankfully, Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen were able to escape without injury. Team boss Malcolm Wilson says he is keen to find the cause of the fire.
“Obviously we’re all relieved that Mikko and Jarmo are both OK after today,” Wilson said. “The car has been completely destroyed and there is nothing to be rescued which is a big blow to the team.
“We’re still waiting to get the car back, but having spoken with Mikko it seems to have started somewhere towards the right-rear wheel which is something we do not really understand.
“There’ll be a thorough investigation back at Dovenby Hall to work out exactly what happened.”
A short video can be seen after the break.
[Pics: @carlrue & @andrespocoyo]
It’s another belated WRC update, but this time we just wanted to make sure the rest of the field had crossed the line, such was the dominance shown by Jari-Matti Latvala en route to his second win for 2014.
Latvala enjoyed a trouble-free event and finished almost 90 seconds ahead of Sebastien Ogier. But even that doesn’t tell the full story as Ogier had put the cue in the rack around half way through the rally, figuring a secure and safe second place was better than risking a DNF in the chase for victory.
After Mads Ostberg crashed early on Day 1 Citroën’s charge was left to Kris Meeke. This would have given the team cause for concern following Meeke’s big crash in Portugal. However, the Northern Irishman delivered a solid drive and was very relieved to finish on the podium.
Andreas Mikkelsen finished fourth for Volkswagen and but for a slipped alternator belt on the opening day he would have likely given Volkswagen a clean sweep of the podium. In the end he did well to fight back from a five minute time penalty to keep Meeke on his toes.
Hyundai will be pleased with Thierry Neuville’s fifth place, bringing home some valuable points and more experience for his team.
Robert Kubica finished the rally! Even better for the former F1 star, he was the best placed Ford driver and came home in sixth place. The conditions in Argentina were treacherous at times, thanks to heavy rain in the lead up to the event, so it was no mean feat for any of the drivers, let alone the inexperienced Kubica, to get through the rally unscathed.
Ogier maintains a healthy lead in the drivers’ championship, ahead of Latvala. Mikkelsen and Ostberg are currently tied for third place. Similarly, with five wins from five events, Volkswagen has streaked away to a massive lead in the constructors’ race. The team already has more than twice the points of its nearest challenger, Citroën, with M Sport (Ford) further behind.
Latvala’s win and Ogier’s cautious approach breathes new life into the 2014 championship with the first genuine signs that Ogier’s drivers’ title is up for grabs.
Okay, so this update is bringing you news that’s a week old, but you get that from time to time with a blog that’s an unpaid labour of love rather than a full time gig.
You’ve seen already, too, that Sebastien Ogier won Rally Portugal. It’s Volkswagen’s fourth win from four rallies in 2014. Coupled with a string of four victories to close out last season they have equalled the best ever run of eight consecutive WRC victories alongside Citroën. That’s a fair effort for Volkswagen and the Polo R WRC, in just their second year of competition.
Ogier had to fight early in the rally to overcome Dani Sordo and Mikko Hirvonen, both men holding the rally lead before Ogier restored the rightful order. For Sordo he became the first Hyundai driver to lead a WRC event. He was unable to maintain his grip for long but was looking secure for a fourth placed finish until a broken driveshaft ended his event, although he impressed team bosses enough to earn himself an extra drive for the next rally.
Mikko Hirvonen proved there’s still life in him and the Ford Fiesta RS WRC by holding for second, ahead of Mads Ostberg who reminded us that Citroën is still capable of mixing it at the front as well.
Andreas Mikkelsen finished fourth for Volkswagen, managing to get himself ahead of privateer Henning Solberg late in the rally.
For the first time Hyundai ran three cars in a rally and Thierry Neuville and Juho Hanninen came home in seventh and eighth places respectively. They team is showing good pace but is still gaining valuable experience and you sense their challenge will begin in earnest in 2015.
You can’t have a WRC without some spectacular accidents and the honour, or should that be the shame, of the best crash was a fight between young M-Sport driver Elfyn Evans and Volkswagen’s Jarri-Matti Latvala. Both crews were unhurt and Latvala even managed to earn himself a couple of points in the power stage on the final day.
Oh, yes, of course, Robert Kubica crashed out again. In 11 days of racing this year he has crashed out in 10.
Volkswagen and Ogier are again establishing themselves at the top of their respective championship tables and both will be hoping they can set a new mark of nine rally wins on end when they tackle Rally Argentina next month.
Until then check out our 2014 Rally Portugal photo gallery and official team videos after the break.
Jari-Matti Latvala took a peek around the shadow of Sebastien Ogier by winning Rally Sweden on the weekend. It was a dominant result for Volkswagen with rising star Andreas Mikkelsen claiming second and his first WRC podium result.
Defending Rally Sweden winner Ogier gave Volkswagen cause to hope for a clean sweep of the podium when he led the rally in its early stages. An uncharacteristic and simple mistake saw the world champion run wide on a corner into a soft snow bank. No damage was done to him or the car, but his victory chances were shot after taking four and half minutes to get back on course. The best he could manage was a climb back to sixth position.
Mads Ostberg was happy to pick up Ogier’s slack and did so by coming home in third, his first podium result for Citroën. The Norwegian stepped up to take maximum points in the power stage as well.
In fourth place was Mikko Hirvonen who was almost on the pace but not quite in the Fiesta RS WRC. He’ll be happy to lock away some good championship points. Something his teammate Elfyn Evans wasn’t able to do. The Welshman’s inexperience showed in Sweden, although he was heading for a top 10 finish until a late off pushed him out of points contention.
Kris Meeke, who did so well in the very difficult conditions in Monte Carlo, was one of many drivers to succumb to Sweden’s snow banks and he finished in P10, more than 11 minutes behind Latvala.
The raw pace of Robert Kubica can’t be denied, but his propensity to find trouble where others don’t must be starting to become a concern. It’s true that conditions found in Sweden are never likely to be his favourite, but he had a tough time all the same and finished a lowly 24th more than 36 minutes off the pace.
And then we get to Hyundai who endured another trying weekend. Thierry Neuville was joined by Juho Hanninen for driving duties at this event and both were putting in respectable performances running comfortably in the top 10. On Day 2 both drivers clipped rocks on the apex of a corner which put them out of contention for the day. Neither driver was out of shape prior to their respective incidents, it was just bad luck for both.
The Hyundais resumed under Rally 2 conditions on the final day and were able to chalk up some good experience. Hanninen’s 36m leap was enough to win the prize for the Colin’s Crest longest jump. Ogier managed a record 41m jump later in the day, but it wasn’t eligible for the prize as it wasn’t on his first run.
Latvala now leads the championship from Ogier and Ostberg. It was at this event in 2013 that Ogier took the lead in the world championship and he hadn’t relinquished the top position until now.
Rally Mexico is the next rally on the calendar, taking place in early March. Chris Atkinson will get his turn in the Hyundai i20 WRC and will be hoping he has more luck than his teammates have experienced so far in 2014.
More after the break.
Sebastien Ogier overcame a poor tyre choice on Day 1 to fight back and win the Rallye Monte Carlo in style, getting his world championship defence off to a near perfect start.
To rack up his first Monte win Ogier had to reel in an impressive Bryan Bouffier in his first outing at the wheel of a privately entered Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Bouffier’s name may be familiar to you, he was one of the test drivers who helped develop the Hyundai i20 WRC, so his second place result will be extra sweet after missing out on official driving duties with the Korean team this year.
Conditions during the rally were extreme and presented the drivers with all kinds of hazards, from ice, “shiny” wet patches on slippery tarmac, heavy rain and a snow storm just to top things off.
Kris Meeke took a big step in repaying Citroën’s faith and was delighted to overcome those difficulties unscathed on his way to satisfying third place. He leaves Monte Carlo with increased confidence, acknowledging he has no issue with raw pace, but has in the past made too many silly errors.
Robert Kubica may need to take a few notes from Meeke. The former F1 star was sure fast enough during the rally and was easily mixing it with the established WRC front runners. Yet, he still found his way off course and crashed into a bridge in a manner perhaps only Robert could. Thankfully the impact was at relatively low speed and he was in no real danger of any injury.
Jari-Matti Latvala finds himself in Ogier’s shadow once again, although he lost a bit of time on Day 2 with an annoying puncture. Latvala did register a small win over his teammate when he beat him to first place in the Power Stage by 0.2 seconds. Judging by the look on Ogier’s face immediately afterwards the world of motorsport has another Seb who doesn’t like losing one little bit!
Of course, Hyundai’s return to the WRC spotlight didn’t quite go to plan and they’ll be hoping for more in Sweden next month.
After the break there’s Volkswagen’s official word along with pictures and videos from the leading WRC teams.
M-Sport has revealed its new livery for the 2014 WRC season and while we do think the Fiesta RS WRC looks great in this predominantly dark blue colour scheme we’re pretty sure M-Sport would like a fair dinkum major sponsor.
In the end we’re being told what a great job Castrol and Michelin do while M-Sport grits its teeth and thanks Ford for the EcoBoost branding. Any chance of proper factory support?
Of course, M-Sport drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Elfyn Evans reckon everything’s hunky dory and can’t wait to get out on the icy tarmac of Rallye Monte Carlo.
We wish these guys well, they’ll be the underdogs all year.