World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is set to be beamed into millions of American homes following a deal between the WRC's promoter, ISC, and the Discovery channel, according to wrc.com.

The WRC is set to be televised weekly from October on the Discovery Channel's HD Theater network and will include rally roundup shows from each round plus special news and features programmes.

ISC CEO, Simon Long, said:

This is tremendous news for the championship and our fans in the United States. It is a ground breaking deal which means the WRC has a high-profile broadcast presence in the United States via a hugely-respected, quality and innovative partner in Discovery Communication’s HD Theater.

We’re looking forward to the opportunity to take the WRC to an ever wider audience in the significant U.S. market, and working with HD Theater to bring more attention to what we firmly believe is an ‘epic motorsport adventure by the world’s greatest drivers.

President and general manager of HD Theater, Clark Bunting, said:

HD Theater has been a pioneer in high-definition programming and we are excited to introduce the FIA World Rally Championships to our American audience. This year we’ve seen the action go from the snow-covered roads of Norway to the hairpin turns climbing the Cordobese Sierras of Argentina, and the adrenaline-fuelled rally action will shine in high-definition.

Early in this year’s World Rally Championship, people weren’t asking if Sebastien Loeb would win the title again, but if he would win every event. 

With two thirds of the season to run, what was unimaginable earlier has happened.  Loeb has dropped from the points lead.

Sebastien Loeb started the season with five consecutive wins in dominant fashion but has suffered accidents in the last three, and has even failed to reach the podium in the last two.

Mikko Hirvonen has passed Loeb and now has a one-point lead in the World Rally Championship after clinching victory in the Rally Poland.

"This has been the best rally of the season so far," said 28-year-old Hirvonen. "The roads here are fast and narrow and the crowds provided a superb atmosphere.  It's the first time I have won two consecutive rallies and it has put me into the lead of the championship ahead of my home rally in Finland.  The weekend was perfect from start to finish. After Loeb's mistake on Friday, I thought I might have an easy drive but it wasn't to be. I had to drive flat out yesterday to stay ahead and it's a fantastic feeling to win after such a great fight.”

Hirvonen began the final leg 12 seconds up on his BP Ford Abu Dhabi teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala, but finished over a minute ahead, after his compatriot crashed out in the final stage, the short 2.5 kilometer Mikolajki super special.

"It was my mistake," admitted a distraught Latvala. "I wasn't driving too quickly but I turned into the bend too early and clipped an oil barrel which was full of sand. The impact broke the steering and I couldn't turn into the next bend and hit the barrier on the opposite side of the road. I've let down the team and damaged Ford's dream of winning the manufacturers' title this year."

A determined Latvala and co-driver Anttila tried to push the car to the finish of the stage and completed a whole lap before being forced to stop and retire. Latvala's late crash hurt the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team, which had been on course for another 1-2 and a third maximum 18-point haul in succession.

Citroen Total World Rally Team’s Dani Sordo took advantage of Latvala’s mistake and finished second.

The Solberg brothers Henning and Petter ended the Rally Poland third and fourth respectively, both having gained not only from Latvala's exit, but also from the retirement of Sebastien Ogier. Ogier had been in front until he had engine problems in SS16.

Rounding out the top five was Stobart Ford driver Matthew Wilson, followed by local hero and Stobart Ford "guest driver" Krzysztof Holowczyc and then Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb re-started under the SuperRally rules on Saturday after crashing out in SS4. He clawed back with help, up to take two drivers' points and three manufacturers' points for Citroen. Citroen Junior Team men, Conrad Rautenbach and Evgeny Novikov both slowed to allow the Frenchman to pass. Rautenbach and Novikov came in eighth and ninth.

Hirvonen will now go to his home event in Finland at the end of next month, following the summer break, with a one point advantage over Sebastien Loeb in the drivers' standings.

Leading finishers:
Pos  Driver               Car           Time/Gap
 1.  Mikko Hirvonen       Ford        3h07m27.5s
 2.  Dani Sordo           Citroen     +  1m10.3s
 3.  Henning Solberg      Ford        +  2m05.7s
 4.  Petter Solberg       Citroen     +  2m24.3s
 5.  Matthew Wilson       Ford        +  4m17.5s
 6.  Krzysztof Holowczyc  Ford        +  4m33.9s
 7.  Sebastien Loeb       Citroen     + 19m15.1s
 8.  Conrad Rautenbach    Citroen     + 19m20.6s
 9.  Evgeny Novikov       Citroen     + 19m26.2s
10.  Michal Bebenek       Mitsubishi  + 23m08.7s

Quote & Photo: BP Ford Abu Dhabi

Mikko Hirvonen extended his overall lead in the Orlen Platinum 66th Rally Poland to 12 seconds, after the 13 timed special stages at the end of day two on Saturday afternoon.

“It has been fantastic, a proper fight for the lead, and I've enjoyed today so much,” said Hirvonen. “I struggled a little with being first through the stages, which I also didn't expect. The road surface was damp with hard mud on top after the rain and I was breaking up the surface to leave better grip for those behind.”

The BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver remains on course to snatch the FIA Drivers’ Championship advantage from Sébastien Loeb. 

Citroen Total WRT driver Sebastien Loeb crashed out on SS4.  He ripped a wheel off his C4 WRC 1.2km into the stage, after apparently hitting a tree stump. Both Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena were OK according to a Citroen spokesman.  This marks the third straight rally in which Loeb has dropped out early.  This is in marked contrast to earlier in the season where he looked invincible.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala maintained second place and Loeb’s teammate Dani Sordo played the tried to maintain pressure on the leading Fords with third overall.

Sébastien Ogier, Henning and Petter Solberg fought a frenzied battle for fourth, fifth and sixth places. Ogier maintained fourth position, but Petter passed his brother into fifth place on the final few kilometers of the 13th stage. Henning’s teammate, Matthew Wilson was secure in seventh position in his Stobart Ford Focus.

The final five special stages on Sunday promise to be a thrilling prospect, with Latvala needing to fend off Sordo’s challenge to give Ford two crucial extra points towards the FIA Manufacturers’ Championship.

Leaderboard after Day 2
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 21min 45.8sec
2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 21min 57.8sec
3. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 2hr 22min 24.3sec
4. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 2hr 23min 45.1sec
5. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Citroen Xsara 2hr 23min 52.5sec
6. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 2hr 23min 53.8sec
7. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 2hr 25min 33.8sec
8. K Holowczyc/L Kurzeja POL Ford Focus RS 2hr 25min 59.1sec
9. C Rautenbach/D Barritt ZIM Citroen C4 2hr 27min 11.7sec
10 M Østberg/ J Andersson NOR Subaru Impreza 2hr 28min 21.3sec

Day Two of the WRC Acropolis Rally 2009 saw dramatic exits and Mikko Hirvonen putting in a mistake-free performance to take a sizable lead into the final day with teammate Jari-Matti Latvala lying in third place overall.

“It was an incredible, but perfect, day for me," said Hirvonen. "I made no mistakes and drove fast enough to lead and cautiously enough not to damage the car.

"My lead is good, but I must remember that this is Greece, conditions are rough, and to take it steady tomorrow," he continued.

"I looked after my tires and didn't hit any rocks. I'm surprised so many people made mistakes, but it shows things go wrong under pressure, especially on technical stages like these.

"I never drove at maximum speed, it was a controlled drive and that paid off.

"Tomorrow's roads are easier than today but there will still be a lot of rocks to avoid. It's good to have such a strong lead because that gives me the time to drive around the rocks, and if I lose a few seconds here and there it doesn’t matter.”

Citroen suffered their worst day of the year, and the BP Ford Abu Dhabi was quick to take advantage. The seemingly indestructible Sebastien Loeb crashed out on the first stage, and teammate Dani Sordo hit a rock, which ended his day on SS9. 

This marks consecutive rallies where the five-time World Rally Champion will miss out on the podium after notching five straight wins to start the season.

Loeb was fairly calm after rolling his Citroen over half a dozen times. 

“We were on a very fast part of the stage, on a plateau," Loeb said. "There was a right-hand corner, that I perhaps took a little too quickly. I was off-line for the left-hander that followed and I hit a big rock at the apex.

"The front wheel was ripped off and it sent us into a series of barrel rolls. The car is too badly damaged for the team to repair it in time for the final day. In any case, the C4 WRC showed how tough a car it is because we don’t have a single scratch on us after a pretty dramatic crash.

"Clearly, it’s not a good result in terms of the championships because it will cost us a large portion of our points advantage. But whatever happens, we’ll still be in the lead tomorrow evening, and that’s the main thing.”

With the two senior drivers out of contention the Citroen Junior Team drivers Sebastien Ogier, Evgeny Novikov, and Conrad Rautenbach have defended the French team’s honor in the typically tough conditions of the Acropolis Rally. 

They enter the final day in second, fourth, and fifth place respectively.

Petter Solberg looked set to grab another podium finish, but his Xsara suffered a suspension failure on SS11, which cost him valuable time and dropped him out of the top-10.

"I was attacking. We hit a rock and destroyed the left front top mount," said the privateer owner/driver, Solberg. "The bumper popped out of the bonnet. We tried to fix it before the stage start and it worked for a little bit and then it broke again. Very were very unlucky.

“It’s not giving up—it’s just that there’s too much damage. The sump guard was hitting the ground for a long time and that’s bent a shaft inside the gearbox and damaged a chassis leg.

"We might have been able to repair it, but I have only one car. If we carry on tomorrow we might get seventh or eighth, but we might not be able to start Poland. 

"It has been a good rally, and I must say the car worked very well. On Shakedown I was disappointed—I couldn’t get within two seconds of anybody—but on the rally it was different.

"I was thinking about changing cars later in the year, but I’ve got more faith in this one now.”

Munchi's Ford driver Federico Villagra is sixth in their Focus RS WRC after a trouble-free day.

Stobart Ford’s Henning Solberg had to retire his Focus RS WRC from fifth after hitting a large rock and breaking the car's front right suspension.

Leaderboard, Day Two

1. Hirvonen/Lehtinen Ford Focus 3h07’33’’0
2. Ogier/Ingrassia Citroën C4 +1’40’’1
3. Latvala/Antilla Ford Focus +2’44’’2
4. Novikov/Moscatt Citroën C4 +3’49’’8
5. Rautenbach/Barritt Citroën C4 +4’01’’9
6. Villagra/Diaz Ford Focus + 4’03’’1
7. Al Qassimi/Orr Ford Focus +6’09’’4
8. Solberg/Mills Citroën Xsara +10’12’’1
9. Al Attiyah/Bernacchini Subaru Impreza +11’04’’6
10. Athanassoulas/Zakheos Skoda Fabia +11’13’’4

Photo: worldrallypics.com
Quotes: WRC.com

Sebastien Loeb's unbeaten run in the 2009 World Rally Championship was ended by Jari-Matti Latvala at the World Rally Championship’s Rally Sardinia.

The Finn has turned his troubled season around which was a string of mistakes, including a ferocious accident in Portugal that saw his car roll 17 times down the side of a cliff.

"It is a big relief," said Latvala. "It was a great thing that I was able to win this rally, it really means a lot to me. It's been unbelievable, but I have also been a little bit lucky with things being on my side. This has come at a really important point."

Road order was expected to be a major factor this weekend and Latvala benefited from his seventh place in the starting line up to lead on Friday, while Loeb and Hirvonen both deliberately slowed at the end of the first day to have more favorable conditions for Saturday. Latvala pressed harder and ended the day 40 seconds in front.

While Hirvonen closed the gap to 9 seconds during leg two, Loeb's challenge for victory ended when he was delayed by a puncture which cost the Citroen driver a minute to change.

On the final day it looked like Hirvonen could pass Latvala before the finish, but running first on the road became an advantage rather than a disadvantage, as dust hung in the very still morning air and ruined visibility for those chasing Latvala. The young Finn pulled away again.

"The dust was a surprise and I was lucky with that.  This is a very important win for me.  I've had many unhappy moments since my first win, but now I'm back on the top step of the podium.  I was starting to question my role in the team but I've proved the team's confidence in me was right and I thank Malcolm Wilson (team director) for that. You saw a new evolution of Jari-Matti here," he added.

Hirvonen struggled with a fever during the rally and 28-year-old was exhausted at the finish.  "I have no energy and I've never felt so tired after a rally," he said.  "This result, and the timing of it, is perfect for Ford.  I thought I could fight for the win but the dust ended those hopes.  Everyone behind Jari-Matti expected to have an advantage because he was sweeping the road but, ironically, he was the one who benefited because of the dust.  I went off the road on a fifth gear corner in the first stage this morning because I couldn't see so I stopped taking risks.

"Jari-Matti deserves the win after his problems this season and I'm delighted for him.  We had a great pre-rally test and the work we did there paid off on the event itself," he added.

Malcolm Wilson, team director for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, as expected, had nothing but praise for his drivers.  "They coped with whatever was thrown at them.  It's a dream to see Jari-Matti win after a difficult year and I'm delighted to see him full of confidence.  Mikko did an outstanding job and if the conditions were different this morning, there could have been a different winner.  It was a great team effort and my thanks go to everyone involved," he said.

Loeb recovered to third, beating Petter Solberg on the final loop, but the world champion's was later accessed a two minute penalty because his co-driver Daniel Elena unfastened his safety belts while their car was still in motion when they stopped to change a punctured tire on SS11 on Saturday.  The penalty dropped him to fourth on final results.

Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo was never a factor, due to turbo problems of varying severity on all three days and a damaging rock impact on Friday.

Solberg did not give up third without a fight, but had to settle for fourth, 14 seconds behind Loeb later inheriting third, after Loeb’s penalty.

The series moves into its second half at the Acropolis Rally of Greece on 11 - 14 June.


Leading finishers:

Pos  Driver              Car      Time
 1.  Jari-Matti Latvala  Ford     4h00m55.7s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen      Ford     +    29.4s
 3.  Petter Solberg      Citroen  +  1m57.6s
 4.  Sebastien Loeb      Citroen  +  3m43.7s
 5.  Evgeny Novikov      Citroen  +  5m11.8s
 6.  Matthew Wilson      Ford     +  7m29.3s
 7.  Mads Ostberg        Subaru   + 13m20.6s
 8.  Henning Solberg     Ford     + 13m21.2s
 9.  Conrad Rautenbach   Citroen  + 19m31.1s
10.  Nasser Al-Attiyah   Subaru   + 19m43.7s

Quotes and Photo: BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

Saturday morning at the Rally Portugal, there was excitement in the air as the top of the leader board displayed a name that wasn’t Sebastien Loeb.

The Citroen driver had won every World Rally Championship event this year, but that feeling wouldn’t last as Loeb rose from third place to finish the day on top. 

Sunday, Loeb showed why he is the five-time WRC champion as he pulled away from the field and added to his record victory total which now stands at 51. 

Mikko Hirvonen tried his best to challenge his Citroen rival, but conceded defeat early in the morning when the gap between them became insurmountable. The BP Ford team decided to play it safe and settle for second place points.

"It was incredibly dusty this morning," said Hirvonen. "I started the day thinking a win was possible, but the dust hung in the cool air and I realized after the opening stage that in those conditions I had no chance of catching Loeb. 

"I hoped to win here but it wasn't meant to be.  I think second place was the maximum I could achieve.  Eight points is good for me because many drivers scored zero.

"It's frustrating to see Loeb on top again, but I'm not giving up on the championship title just yet—we are only a third of the way through the season. I go to every event hoping to win and without him I would do that! 

"The car was excellent here and I really enjoyed the rally, although it was tough yesterday when I had to clean the road at the front," he added.

Loeb’s teammate, Dani Sordo's super claimed a strong third place, which moved him into fourth in the points standings and added to Citroen’s lead in the all important Manufacturer’s Championship

Privateer Petter Solberg Team again outperformed better funded, factory drivers to finish in fourth. This marks the third time that Solberg has finished in a top six position out of four rallies.

Matthew Wilson looked like he was once again set for a points paying finish, but crashed off course and was forced to retire on the final gravel stage. This opened the door for his Stobart Ford teammate Henning Solberg to claim fifth spot.

One interesting result that came out of the Rally Portugal was that for the first time three Norwegians finished in the top six of the WRC event. 

This was due to Mads Ostberg's fine, sixth-place result in his privateer Subaru. The other two Norwegians in the top six being the Brothers Solberg (Petter and Henning).

The next round of this year's championship will take place in Argentina, starting April 24.

Pos  Driver             Car         Time
 1.  Sebastien Loeb     Citroen     3h53m13.1s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen     Ford        +    24.3s
 3.  Dani Sordo         Citroen     +  1m45.4s
 4.  Petter Solberg     Citroen     +  2m44.6s
 5.  Henning Solberg    Ford        +  5m46.3s
 6.  Mads Ostberg       Subaru      +  6m20.8s
 7.  Federico Villagra  Ford        + 12m59.5s
 8.  Khalid Al Qassimi  Ford        + 18m21.7s

Photo and quotes Courtesy of: WRC, BP Ford Rally Team

Sebastien Loeb must have felt a little out of place over the first day and a half of the WRC Vodafone Rally Portugal.  The five time champion is usually found at the top of the leader board but entered Saturday in third place.  By the end of the day the situation was back to what has become the norm in 2009 as Loeb will be taking a comfortable lead into Sunday, the final day of the Rally of Portugal.

The Citroen driver started the day with a 20-second morning deficit and by the end of Saturday had turned it into almost a 27second lead over Mikko Hirvonen in his Ford Focus.
 
"A very good day for me," said Loeb, "we were pushing hard all day and the feeling with the car is very good. What's important is that we have a good lead for tomorrow. Road position can play a big part tomorrow, but I'm very happy with today - I couldn't have expected better. I've tried to increase my lead as much as possible."

Hirvonen did his utmost to keep in touch with Loeb today. The BP Ford World Rally Team driver hasn’t accepted defeat yet and hopes to close the gap when Loeb starts first on Sunday,

"A gap of nearly 27sec is a lot but I won't settle for second," said Hirvonen.  "I hope Loeb will struggle with the conditions, as I did today, because I'm not counting on him having a problem.  It has been a hard day for the tires.  The roads were warm and abrasive, especially this afternoon, and perhaps I braked too aggressively because my front tires were totally worn at the end of the last stage.

"First on the road wasn't easy.  The surface was very loose this morning.  Even this afternoon when we repeated the special stages I was still sweeping a little because the cars lower down the order take different lines and so the clear path that developed was dirty again.  Tomorrow's stages are technical and hopefully there won't be any dust hanging in the air.  My only option is to attack and drive flat out," he added.

Early rally leader, Dani Sordo is now nearly a minute behind his teammate, Loeb in the second Citroen, but still maintains a comfortable margin in third over fourth-placed Petter Solberg in his privateer Citroen.

Stobart Ford’s Matthew Wilson finished the day in fifth, followed by his team-mate Henning Solberg just a slim 0.9 seconds behind.

Leading positions after day two:

Pos Driver                    Car       Time
 1.  Sebastien Loeb       Citroen  2h56m15.6s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen        Ford      +   26.8s
 3.  Dani Sordo             Citroen   +   56.4s
 4.  Petter Solberg         Citroen   + 1m59.6s
 5.  Matthew Wilson        Ford      + 3m22.9s
 6.  Henning Solberg       Ford      + 3m23.8s
 7.  Even Novice             Citroen   + 4m59.4s
 8.  Meds Oostburg        Subaru   + 5m00.2s
 9.  Conrad Rautenbach  Citroen   + 6m50.6s
10.  Federico Villager       Ford      + 9m35.1s

Photo and Quotes Courtesy of WRC and BP Ford Rally Team

Mikko Hirvonen currently leads the pack after day one of the Rally of Portugal.

Dani Sordo in his Citroen had been in the lead at the mid-day service, but amazingly he committed the same blunder his teammate Sebastien Loeb had made in the morning and went off on the first corner of the Ourique stage when it was re-run at the start of the loop.

Hirvonen made a move to the front of the field as Sordo’s off cost the Citroen driver 20 seconds. The Ford driver will be first on the road tomorrow as he has established a 15s lead over the recovering Sordo.

"It's great to be leading and I will give everything tomorrow to try to retain that," Hirvonen said. "I don't know if my lead is big enough to offset that disadvantage, and I think start order will play a big part over the next two days, but I have defended my lead from the front before so it can be done," he continued on.

"This morning my pace notes were a little slow for these roads," Hirvonen also said. "I think that was a carryover from the previous round in Cyprus where the stages were much slower."

It wasn't a happy birthday for Latvala. The Finn, who is 24 today, took full advantage of his lower start position to set the fastest time through the morning's opening two tests to build a 10.6s lead.

However, Latvala crashed heavily in the following stage, his Focus RS plunging over a roadside barrier and rolling down a hillside, eventually coming to rest 150 meters from the track.

Video footage showed the car rolled almost 20 times. Incredibly both Latvala and Anttila escaped without serious injury thanks to the strength of the car.

Loeb made progress after his error this morning while running first on the dusty surface. He improved his position on the leaderboard from seventh to third, but is 18s behind leader Hirvonen.

After over a year away, Marcus Gronholm ran second on his return to the World Rally Championship, until losing 20s on the final stage of the day. That dropped Gronholm in his Prodrive Subaru to fourth, only 8s behind Loeb, and should benefit from a better starting position tomorrow.

Petter Solberg completes the top five in his privately run Citroen Xsara, maintaining a 42-second deficit, while pulling clear of the skirmish for sixth.

Improving his pace, as the leg progressed, Sebastien Ogier has now moved past his Citroen Junior's teammate, Evgeny Novikov and Stobart Ford's Matthew Wilson to break into the top six.

Stobart Ford's Henning Solberg was hampered by brake problems this morning, but was on pace for the repeat loop and caught Novikov, and is just 0.1s behind.

Leading Positions After Day One

Pos  Driver                Car             Time
 1.  Mikko Hirvonen    Ford            1h24m12.6
 2.  Dani Sordo          Citroen        +15.0s
 3.  Sebastien Loeb    Citroen        +18.0s
 4.  Marcus Gronholm Subaru        +25.9s
 5.  Petter Solberg      Citroen        +42.2s
 6.  Sebastien Ogier    Citroen        +1m04.0s
 7.  Matthew Wilson    Ford            +1m14.6s
 8.  Evgeny Novikov    Citroen        +1m33.7s
 9.  Henning Solberg   Ford            +1m33.8s
10.  Mads Ostberg      Subaru         +2m42.1s

Photo and Quotes Courtesy of BP Ford World Rally Team

After visiting Cyprus during its previous round, the World Rally Championship heads to Portugal for the fourth event of the season. The first pure gravel rally of the 2009 season, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal was an IRC event last year, but has returned to the WRC calendar in 2009.

One of the world of rallying's classic fixtures, the Rally Portugal has been the scene of some of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport.

The Vodafone Rally de Portugal returned to the WRC in 2007 in the Algarve region in the south. The event takes place in the hills above the town blending fast, open roads with more technical sections on hard, abrasive gravel roads.

Undefeated so far in 2009 Sebastien Loeb will be looking to build on his streak. For teammate Dani Sordo, the proximity of Spain will be an additional source of motivation.

As the current WRC points leader Sebastien Loeb will be starting first on day one, he is ideally positioned to comment on the road conditions.

"The stages this year are very good," he said. "They are wider than two years ago and a little harder so hopefully, they will not be so rough. They are also quite difficult, with lots of blind crests and corners, which make it very challenging and good fun to drive," he continued. "I hope for a good fight here this weekend and that I am not at too great a disadvantage running first on the road."

The Ford team enters the Vodafone Rally de Portugal with a revised engine for their Ford Focus.

The newly-homologated power plant available to drivers Mikko Hirvonen and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala includes an electric water pump and a lightweight flywheel. The drivers have reported an improvement in engine performance from the upgrades during a comprehensive testing program

"The engine upgrades are another step forward," said Hirvonen. "Although the nature of the regulations means huge steps forward are impossible to achieve, there is more power and a bit more response and that will all help."

This event also hosts the return of former Champion, Marcus Gronholm, to WRC competition driving a Prodrive Subaru Impreza WRC2008.  This will mark 25 years of WRC competition for Prodrive.

More than 52 percent of this year’s stags are new, including two all-new stage venues. The drivers will tackle 18 stages in total with a competitive distance of 361.36 km. The rally will be based at Estadio Algarve which will host the service park.  The stadium complex is also the site of a Super Special Stage that will be run at the start of the event on Thursday and closes the rally on Sunday afternoon.

Photo and Quotes Courtesy of: WRC, Citroen Sport, Ford World Rally Team

The best rally teams in North America will be faced with a new challenge as they arrive at the 2009 Olympus Rally in Aberdeen, Washington for Round Three of the Rally America championship April 18-19.

Last year, the Olympus Rally was temporarily held in the dry eastern part of Washington State, which made for a very fast Rally.

The Rally returns to its roots in coastal Washington’s tree-lined roads around the ocean-side community of Aberdeen.  America’s finest rally drivers will take to the tight, tree-lined course mountain roads with intimidating drop-offs for round three of the Rally America Championship on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

"Pomeroy was a great location for the Olympus Rally in 2008, but we're glad to be back near the Olympic and Capital forests," stated Olympus Rally chairman Steve McQuaid recently.

“The springtime weather in Washington is extremely unpredictable at this time of year and everything from warm sunshine to blinding snow is certainly a possibility.”

The legendary Olympus Rally has a very rich history but is a relatively new event in the Rally America calendar, being added to the series calendar in 2007.  The Olympus Rally started in 1973 and was a stop on the World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988.

Rally racing legends including Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen, and the American rally legend John Buffum are just some of the famous names that have taken the win at this event.

There is a tie for the lead in the Rally America point standings entering the Olympus Rally.  Surprisingly, neither is competing in the all-conquering Subarus, but in two different versions of the Mitsubishis EVO. 

NOS Energy’s Andrew Comrie-Picard in his Mitsubishi Evolution IX and Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust, driving a Libra Racing-built 2009 Mitsubishi Evolution X, are tied at 31 points each.

The two Subaru Rally Team USA drivers, Red Bull’s Travis Pastrana, and Monster Energy’s Ken Block have each emerged victorious in the first two races in the Rally America Championship, but find themselves tied for second place in the standings with 23 points. 

Third place in the championship is another tie, just one point back, between Andi Mancin and Bill Bacon, both behind the wheel of Mitsubishi Evos.

Matt Johnson and Dave Mirra, both driving Subaru WRX STIs will be challenged by Piotr Wiktorczyk with his Mitsubishi Evolution. They will battle it out for the win in the new Super Production class.  

As is the case with most Rally America events, expect representatives of various car manufacturers such as Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford, Mazda, and Volkswagen at the Rally Olympus, especially with local teams providing a strong turnout in the two-wheel drive class.

Photos and Quotes courtesy of Rally America.