Rally

The Neste Oil Rally Finland 2013 wrapped up on Saturday, and Day 3 did not have much of an impact on the final standings.

World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Ogier entered the final day with a big lead in the standings, and he didn't lose much ground. He lost only three-tenths of a second to Thierry Neuville.

Ogier won for the fifth time this season and for the second consecutive race. He has finished lower than second only once this season. He is closing in on a championship as he has a 90-point lead with five races remaining. 

After building a good lead yesterday, Ogier just had to keep pace with Neuville. He was able to stay right with Neuville and easily won the race.

With the rest of the pack well behind the leaders, it became a game of avoiding huge mistakes. Neither driver did anything to knock himself out of contention, but Neuville landed hard on Day 2  and suffered a tire puncture.

After that the result was never in doubt after Ogier took the lead on the second day.

Neuville had the lead after one day, but he couldn't stay with Ogier throughout the event. Ogier was good enough to hold on after taking the lead on Day 2.

Ogier has put himself in position to win the championship in the next couple of races. It is very unlikely that he can clinch at the next rally in Germany, but there is a slight possibility. After that rally, he will have a better chance to make it official.

Here are the overall standings for the Neste Oil Rally Finland 2013, and the rest of the results can be found at the WRC's official website:

Position	No.	Driver	Time
1	8	Sebastien Ogier	2:43:10.4
2	11	Thierry Neuville	2:43:47.0
3	4	Mads Ostberg	2:44:08.0
4	2	Mikko Hirvonen	2:44:32.0
5	3	Dani Sordo	2:49:18.9
6	5	Evgeny Novikov	2:51:50.1
7	88	Jari Ketomaa	2:54:29.6
8	23	Per-Gunnar Andersson	2:54:51.9
9	74	Robert Kubica	2:55:58.5
10	9	Andrea Mikkelsen	2:56:52.4
11	84	Hayden Paddon	2:57:23.5
12	35	Yazeed Al Rajhi	3:00:21.0
13	78	Edoardo Bresolin	3:00:21.2
14	85	J. Salo	3:00:55.5
15	96	Yuriy Protasov	3:02:13.2
16	93	Alexey Lukyanuk	3:03:11.1
17	7	Jari-Matti Latvala	3:04:48.1
18	50	Valeriy Gorban	3:05:00.7
19	79	Robert Barrable	3:05:30.4
20	49	Oleksiy Kikireshko	3:06:29.1

The Finnish leg of the World Rally Championship takes place this Saturday as some of the world's best drivers get set for Round 8 of the 2013 competition.

Here's a quick look at Day 3 of the event—when the races reach their climax, the champagne sprays and the winners are crowned.

When: August, 3rd

Where: Jyvaskyla, Finland

Surface: Gravel

Most Recent Winner: Sebastien Loeb (2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKrwibs17Cs

Main Contenders

Sebastien Loeb is the title holder at this venue. But having claimed his ninth successive championship, he retired from full-time racing last year and won't be appearing this time around to defend his crown.

He's claimed two wins and a second-place finish in the three races he's attended this year, showing his undoubted class, but sadly won't be present to display his skills this weekend.

Sebastien Ogier currently leads the way in the championship with 154 points and six rounds left to race. The French driver has won four of the seven rounds so far this season and is currently clear by 64 points.

Behind Ogier in second place is Jari-Matti Latvala, who won this race in 2010. He will no doubt be hoping to capitalise on the fact that few non-Finnish riders have flourished on the tough Jyvaskyla circuit.

Only two drivers from other countries have taken the title over the past 20 years, so Latvala—who won two rounds ago in Greece—will be confident of closing the gap on his rival.

Finally, Mikko Hirvonen should not be discounted.

The Finn is currently back in fifth place in the championship, having struggled for consistency, but will hope to take advantage of his home conditions. He can also look back at his victory secured in 2009 for inspiration. 

Predictions

Despite recurring Finnish success at this venue, Sebastien Loeb's three wins over the past five seasons show that other nationalities can succeed in Finland.

Given Ogier's form this season, Loeb's fellow Frenchman has to start as favourite to extend his lead and take home the spoils.

Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner had surgery on his wrist yesterday to remove some inflammation and everything went well. The Yankees expect that he’ll be ready to go by spring training.

Gardner suffered through wrist tendinitis during the second half of last season. He had a couple of cortisone shots, but when that didn’t help, he decided to have surgery.

Gardner had a hot first half last year hitting .319 with a .836 OPS until July 4. From  July 5 and on, his numbers took a nose dive as he hit .229 with a .679 OPS the rest of the way. Hopefully now that he’s had surgery to repair his wrist he can have a full season in 2011 like his first half last year.

Related Stories

• December 1, 2010 -- Yankees Brett Gardner, Alfredo Aceves Have Surgery
• November 17, 2010 -- Yankees Rumors: All 3 Yanks Outfielders Drawing Interest
• November 2, 2010 -- Gardner Wins Fielding Bible Award for Best Left Fielder
• October 16, 2010 -- Yankees Rally Late, Win Game 1 of ALCS

The Yankees lead the majors in come-from-behind wins this season, so it is natural that they rely on them in the postseason as well. In the ALDS they came from behind twice to beat the Twins, and last night they came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Rangers 6-5 while taking Game 1 of the ALCS.

Here are some highlights:

• Thanks in part to a three-run first-inning homer by Josh Hamilton, the Rangers knocked CC Sabathia out of the game after just four innings.
• With the Yankees down 5-0, Robinson Cano started the comeback in the seventh inning with a solo homer off of C.J. Wilson, the first homer he’s allowed to a lefty since 2008.
• Brett Gardner kick started the eighth inning by beating out an infield single.
• He was the first of seven consecutive batters to reach base off of four pitchers.
• Derek Jeter doubled in one, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira walked, Alex Rodriguez singled in two, Cano singled in one, and Marcus Thames singled in one.
• Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless fifth, but Dustin Moseley is probably the star reliever pitching two perfect innings.
• Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera closed out the game.

That was a huge win. The Yankees needed to take the first game, and they showed a lot by winning despite Sabathia’s poor performance. That’s how you win pennants.

Related Stories

• February 28, 2010 -- 10 Problems the 2010 Yankees Could Face
• October 15, 2010 -- Yankees News: Lineup Notes, Dirty Hats, and Heathcott
• September 13, 2010 -- Yankees Notes: Vazquez, Swisher, Gardner, and Matchups
• September 2, 2010 -- Day Game Dominance

Tonight’s pitching showdown is between two lefties CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson. One is a big hefty ace of the staff and the other is comparably smaller and doesn’t have the resume of Sabathia, but has done a great job in 2010. Sabathia is known for leading the league in wins this season and Wilson for successfully converting from a reliever back to a starter and leading the league in walks. On to the stats.

2010 numbers:

Sabathia: 34 G, 21-7 record, 237.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
Wilson: 33 G, 15-8 record, 204 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

Career numbers vs. respective teams:

Sabathia: 14 G, 8-3 record, 86 IP, 4.29 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
Wilson: 20 G, 3 GS, 0-3 record, 39.1 IP, 4.12 ERA, 1.42 WHIP

Numbers vs. respective teams in 2010:

Sabathia: 1 G, 1-0 record, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.50 WHIP
Wilson: 3 G, 0-1 record, 14.1 IP, 5.65 ERA, 1.88 WHIP

2010 Home/Road splits:

Sabathia on the road: 18 G, 10-5 record, 126.2 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
Wilson at home: 19 G, 11-3 record, 114.1 IP, 3.70 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

Career playoff numbers:

Sabathia: 11 G, 6-4 record, 67.1 IP, 4.41 ERA, 1.49 WHIP
Wilson: 1 G, 1-0 record, 6.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.63 WHIP

Key matchups vs. Sabathia:

Michael Young: 12-for-38 (.316) with 4 2B and a .746 OPS
Josh Hamilton: 1-for-10 (.100) with 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 K and a .508 OPS
Ian Kinsler: 2-for-9 (.222) with 2 HR, 1 BB, 0 K and a 1.189 OPS

Key matchups vs. Wilson:

Nick Swisher: 6-for-20 ( .300) with 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 BB, 6 K and a 1.017 OPS
Derek Jeter: 5-for-14 (.357) with 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 K and a 1.042 OPS
Alex Rodriguez: 1-for-13 (.077) with 1 2B, 4 BB, 3 K and a .522 OPS
Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson are a combined 0-for-11 with 5 K’s
Austin Kearns: 3-for-7 (.429) with 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K and a 1.071 OPS

Related Stories

• October 16, 2010: Yankees Rally Late, Win Game 1 of ALCS
• October 15, 2010: Yankees News: Lineup Notes, Dirty Hats, and Heathcott
• October 14, 2010: Sabathia, Lee, Burnett, Pettitte, Hughes?
• October 11, 2010: They Are Who We Thought They Were: Yankees Looking Sharp Heading Into ALCS

I’m jumping far ahead of things, so you’ll have to forgive the atypical optimism.

I’ve been thinking through the announcement that DTM is going to try to operate a 12-race series in the U.S. beginning in 2013, basically with NASCAR. (Half the races run at NASCAR events, half at the NASCAR-owner Grand-Am series.)

What might it mean for NASCAR? What could it do for or against the Formula 1 USGP? What does it say that DTM would come to NASCAR and not Indycar? (It reinforces where both series are in term of popularity and influence, sadly to Indycar and its fans.)

And then this idea crossed my mind: With the DTM announcement, plus the USGP (fingers crossed) coming in 2012, is there any possibility we are at the front end of a renaissance for motor racing in the U.S.?

Before you answer, add to the mix Le Mans’ profile rising, and lifting with it ALMS. (ALMS seems the hands-down winner of the F1B staff poll for “best racing in America.”) Rallying has a bit of a boost among x-treme sports. And we’re getting a Top Gear. (Plus amateur weekend racing might be as strong as ever.)

Could the pendulum be swinging back to the days of Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill and racing that actually mattered to many Americans? When Ford’s quest to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans captivated the country? Back to times when Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney and Hill would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated?

And, if so, what would it take to push that pendulum into full motion?

Your View: What would it take for American to experience a motor racing revival?

After scoring just one run in the first two games of their series, the Tampa Bay Rays kept saying all they need is one big hit. One big hit and then the floodgates would open. I guess the Rays know themselves pretty well because they were right on the money with their thinking.

The Rays got the big hit they needed on Saturday when Carlos Pena drove in pinch-runner Desmond Jennings to tie the game at two in the eighth. After that hit, the floodgates opened as John Jaso gave the Rays a lead, and Carl Crawford added on to it. 

The Rays eventually won 6-3, and have stayed off elimination for at least one more day. The Texas Rangers still hold a 2-1 series lead, but I think this series is just getting started.

While Jaso’s single scored Pena in the top of the eighth gave the Rays a 3-2 lead, I thought Pena’s hit was the straw that started to stir the drink for the Rays. They had been terrible in big spots, including with runners on base all series, and Pena’s hit was a major breakthrough.

The hit ignited Pena as well as he followed his big hit in the eighth with a monster two-run HR to right center in the ninth to give the Rays a three-run lead. Pena is such an X-factor in this series. If he can get going, he will give the Rays another threat in their lineup.

Here are some other observations from yesterday’s game…

Colby Lewis was good (two hits, no runs, and five K’s over five innings), but the walks killed him. And it was the two-out walks that did him in. Lewis walked Pena with two outs in the second, then he walked Dan Johnson with two outs in the fourth, and walked Jaso and Ben Zobrist with two outs in the fifth.

Speaking of Johnson, can someone explain this guy to me? He is a nickle and dimer for 98 percent of the season, but when he plays the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, or plays in a big series, he turns into Barry Bonds. He went 2-for-3 with a walk yesterday, and his rocket double off of Darren Oliver in the eighth set the table for Pena.

Watching yesterday’s game, you can see why the Rangers were very good this year and should be good for years to come. They play with a ton of energy and have a tremendous amount of chemistry. You get the feel that they really enjoy playing with each other.

Ian Kinsler was a man possessed in Game 3. He was diving all over the place, and his solo HR in the seventh was a rocket down the left-field line. Because of injuries, he often gets overlooked when talking about the best second basemen in the game, but when he is healthy he can rake with anyone.

I know there is talk of the Rays potentially trading Matt Garza in the offseason to add offense, but that would be a major mistake. The guy once again proved that he is a big-game pitcher in Game 3. Five hits, one earned run, two walks, and four K’s in six innings of work. He should get the nickname “Big game,” not James Shields.

Very underrated spot in the game—bottom of the sixth and Elvis Andrus led off the innings with an infield single. Garza was clearly distracted with Andrus on base and fell behind 2-0 to Michael Young. Garza got himself together, and got Young to chase three sliders outside the zone to strike him out.

Garza then struck out Josh Hamilton and with some help from Jason Bartlett, got Nelson Cruz to end the inning. The inning was shaping up to be a big one for the Rangers, and those three sliders completely changed that inning.

Andrus stole second that inning, but should have been called out. His foot was clearly off the bag and Bartlett’s glove was still on his leg when this happened. Oh well, yet another blown call by the umpires.

Ron Washington is going to find out real quickly that if he keeps going to the Darren Oliver well, the bucket is going to come up empty more often than not.

With his two sliding catches and HR, Crawford probably made himself $7-$10 million more this offseason.

Game 4 will be played today at 1:00 PM est, and features an interesting matchup between Wade Davis and Tommy Hunter. I like the Rays to win today, and force a Game 5 back at The Trop.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ thghostofmlg

Renault boss Eric Bouiller still has his eyes on fourth place in the constructors race, meaning he believes the team can leapfrog Mercedes GP during the next four races.

He also wants to look in Kimi Raikkonen’s eyes before any final decision is made about hiring the former world champ.

Those are among the topics of a Q&A up at the official Formula 1 site.

Bouiller on Renault’s prospects for the rest of the season:

Q: Eric, Renault lie fifth the constructors’ championship. Four races into the season – when you were also fifth – you said that fourth was the goal for the end of the season. With four races to go, can you do it?
Eric Boullier: Ah, we are close to it. Our car has improved hugely since the start of the season and with all due respect to our competitors, I am optimistic that we can pull it off.

Q: Your rivals for P4 are Mercedes GP. Is there a bit of extra motivation knowing that seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher is part of the rival team?
EB: No, not at all. We want to be world champion one day and we don’t care against whom we succeed. Mercedes is one of the last manufacturers left in Formula One – that probably spices up the situation. On top of that they are the reigning world champions.

Q: At the start of the season did you really believe that you could be so successful in 2010? The team underwent a dramatic reshuffle over the winter…
EB: Somehow I did. I knew what the technical capacity of the team is and that we have good people that co-operate excellently together.

As a reminder, Renault is 35 points adrift of Mercedes, sitting at 133 to Merc’s 168. And that means if Renault is going to give it a go, Robert Kubica is going to need some help from rookie Vitaly Petrov. Bouiller at the least suggests as much in his comments on the Russian:

Q: What role do your current drivers Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov play in that?
EB: Robert’s role is beyond any doubt. Vitaly has to show us in the four remaining races that he is the man we can hand over our second cockpit to in 2011 to follow our self-defined goal. If he fails to convince us he will not drive our car. If he satisfies us we will keep him. But we don’t put pressure on ourselves when it comes to our full driver line-up for 2011. Only one hint: we definitely will not wait until January.

Q: Is it only a question of performance? It is no secret that having a Russian on the grid is good for Formula One, and the Russian market must also be very interesting for Renault…
EB: I know that a Russian driver would be appreciated and Russia holds a huge potential for all companies present in Formula One. However, for us the performance of a driver is still the first criteria – and then the passport. Performance clearly wins over marketing potential because if a driver doesn’t deliver then the marketing potential is also limited. You must never put the cart before the horse, or at least we don’t. For a French driver the nationality would similarly not smooth his way into the cockpit if he was lacking performance.

Credit to Bouiller. He is keeping to the script when it comes to Petrov’s needing to prove himself, and that that is the first and key part of any decision about next year’s second seat at Renault.

So… if Petrov doesn’t wow the team? Who might it be? Before we get to the big name, here’s two others:

Q: The rumour mill has suggested you could also be considering German drivers Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil as potential Petrov replacements…
EB: Now I have to choose my words very carefully. Let’s put it this way: we don’t have a direct contact right now and the door is not open yet, but we have signalled that it could open under certain circumstances.

Sounds like you can chalk those two up as definite possibilities. I wonder what Kubica would have to say about re-teaming with Nick?

OK, well, I’m about as slow to get to Kimi as Kimi was to get out of the mud during this past weekend’s Rally of France. Here it is:

Q: And there is still former world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the picture…
EB: He contacted us. But once again, our main issue at the moment is whether we should keep Petrov. Only if this question is negated we will look for replacement. Regarding Kimi, I would have to speak personally with him first, look him in the eyes to see if I see enough motivation there for him to return to Formula One. It doesn’t make sense to hire somebody – even a former world champion – if you cannot be sure that his motivation is still one hundred percent. Why should you invest in somebody who leaves you guessing?

I’m a bit worried Bouiller is setting himself up here. He’s pulled some form of the “looking Kimi in the eye” line a few times now. If the team were to hire Kimi, and Kimi goes all “this is boring” on them, it could be a big problem for the team boss. (As could skipping over Kimi, having Kimi end up at some other team — which does seem unlikely given the Finn’s desire for a top car — and exceeding expectations. The Kimi game, while good press right now, isn’t one without any danger.)

Bouiller has a few other interesting points:

Q: Does Robert Kubica have any influence on who will be his future team mate?
EB: It is important that there is good vibe in the team, because that is part of a successful package. I will ask Robert his opinion, but we will decide. We will choose a driver that the team needs and not Robert Kubica.

Q: Have you already considered the new tyre supplier Pirelli in the development of your 2011 car…
EB: …and that Nick Heidfeld who has done the initial tests for Pirelli should be first choice? Because he sits on important information and would without doubt give them to his new team? I think that Pirelli will inform all the teams in due course.

Q: What about the rumour that Renault is thinking of buying back a majority stake in the team?
EB: There is nothing to it.

You catch the meaning of the ellipses in that second answer, right? That he finishes up the thought, one that I know Todd and the F1B gang have touched on during podcasts. What extra knowledge might Nick bring with him? Even if Pirelli does “inform all the teams” that still is missing the feedback and understanding that Nick, as the driver, has.

You got to figure Nick will get a seat somewhere in 2011. Turns out that decision to go test for Pirelli might be the one that sees his career last a few extra seasons.

Remember how Kimi Raikkonen was doing OK during the first day of the Rally of France?

Well, hang on — and if you haven’t checked in yet and don’t want to know about Day 2, well stop reading — because it went from “typical” to … “more typical.”

Kimi, at almost no speed, drove off the road and was stuck in the mud for 37 minutes. He went from his solid, if unspectacular seventh spot all the way down to 50th.

And he isn’t happy:

“We went off the road at basically zero speed,” said the Finn. “It was so stupid. We got stuck on a mud bank with the car half on the road and half off the road. Eventually we had to get a rope to get the car back on the road.”

As I wrote yesterday, it seems to me that Kimi’s choices for next year come down to being seventh to 10th in WRC or somewhere in the same neighborhood in Formula 1, given the car he would get at Renault.

But at least when you drive off the track in F1, you’re done — you don’t have to keep going. No ice cream time for Kimi this weekend.

In a word: Typical.

At the end of the first day of the WRC’s Rally of France, Kimi Raikkonen is sitting in seventh place, pretty typical of his performance this season. He’s well back of the leaders, as well:

1. 1 S. LOEB M 1:18:27.8 0.0 0.0
2. 2 D. SORDO M 1:18:50.5 +22.7 +22.7
3. 7 S. OGIER M 1:18:53.4 +2.9 +25.6
4. 4 J. LATVALA M 1:19:09.6 +16.2 +41.8
5. 11 P. SOLBERG 1:19:13.6 +4.0 +45.8
6. 3 M. HIRVONEN M 1:20:18.6 +1:05.0 +1:50.8
7. 8 K. RÄIKKÖNEN M 1:21:55.2 +1:36.6 +3:27.4
8. 9 F. VILLAGRA M 1:24:02.4 +2:07.2 +5:34.6
9. 5 M. WILSON M 1:24:25.9 +23.5 +5:58.1
10. 43 K. BLOCK 1:25:29.2 +1:03.3 +7:01.4

He finished all the first day stages in that same seventh position, as well, so it isn’t like he’s had a particularly brilliant stage yet, either. That doesn’t strike me as boding well for his suddenly shooting up the leader board.

All the times are coming from the official WRC site.

I know it’s too early to make broad predictions, but it’s clear that Kimi’s WRC foray at this point has been fairly “meh.” Sure, he’s new to most of the circuits and the whole WRC experience. And sure next year might offer a more equal field with the changes to the cars… but has he shown you anything that really cries out for him to stay in WRC instead of returning to F1? (Setting aside, for a minute, the issue of where he might be having more “fun” etc.)

My counter to that is whether in a Renault he honestly could expect to be finishing much higher than seventh next year in F1. You have to figure the three top teams this year will be back at the front, which already claims six spots.

Maybe for Kimi, realistically, it is a matter of which series he’d rather run mid-pack in, and thus the whole issue does come down to: What’s more fun?

I still hope Kimi’s playing hardball as he waits for MINI to make him an offer he can’t refuse.