Rally America

Today the Dakar Rally went from one extreme to another, following yesterday’s short stage with a 483km long epic, skirting Chile’s Atacama Desert between Copiapo and Antofagasta.

The result was one was of those days the Dakar Rally is famous for, with stage leads shifting and changing like the sands of the desert they’re racing through, and some competitors’ chances of an overall victory seem to have slipping though their fingers.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the bikes. Frenchman Cyril Despres started the day leading from David Casteu by a little under nine minutes, with Spaniard (and reigning champion) Marc Coma trying to stage a comeback after winning yesterday’s stage trying to fight back from several delays.

And early on in the stage it looked like the Coma renaissance would continue, as he took the stage lead from Despres in time for the second checkpoint at 138km. Coma was flying Despres by six minutes at the next checkpoint as he moved into the overall top five and toward a second consecutive stage victory—the first this year for anyone outside of the Truck class.

But it too was short lived as the Spaniard was stopped again by mechanical issues and lost 40 minutes fixing his bike. That, of course, saw Despres back into the stage lead, followed by Chilean Francisco Lopez Contardo and Casteu.

Or at least it should have been Casteu, had the Frenchman and his 450cc Sherco not been the latest victim of what is turning into an unforgiving race. The man who had won the opening stage fell heavily after 395km severely injuring his leg.

Such was the severity of his injury he was unable to set off his emergency beacon with David Fretigne and Paulo Goncalves stopping to help Casteu for the five minutes before a helicopter evacuated him to the bivouac for medical attention.

Casteu’s misfortune left Despres and Lopez Contardo alone at the head of the stage times, Fretigne third fastest, now twelve minutes adrift. In the closing kilometres, the home country hero eclipsed Despres, leading at the fourth and final checkpoint by 1:14, extending his lead by another sixteen seconds to take the stage win in his home country and giving the Italian manufacturer better known for Superbike exploits its first Dakar stage win.

Fretigne finished the stage third ahead of Despres’ teammate Ruben Faria and Norwegian privateer Pal Anders Ullevalseter.

It was a similarly topsy-turvy day in the cars. The VW army were in fine form early on in the stage with the five Race Touareg 2 machines of Mark Miller, Giniel de Villiers, Carlos Sainz, Mauricio Neves, and Nasser Al-Attiyah locking out the top five positions at the first checkpoint.

And then the day got better for VW, as it got worse for Stephane Peterhansel.

The BMW driver, then the only man who stood between VW and domination, stopped apparently with driveshaft problems at 135km. He tried to repair the car and minimize the time lost to the Touareg phalanx, but it was to no avail.

When the X-Raid car finally got going again it had lost over and hour to Miller, the leading VW, and was struggling as the problem had left the normally 4WD BMW languishing with 2WD.

That handed the non-VW stage win challenge duties over to a car that was intended to be 2WD: Robby Gordon’s Hummer Buggy.

Gordon, starting first today after his narrow win yesterday, was fast throughout the day looked like he could spring another surprise as he gained on Miller through the second half of the stage.

He was six minutes behind at 224km, four minutes 100km later, and had pulled in to scarcely two minutes behind before the final, mostly downhill, 27km blast to the stage finish.

And when the results came in it was an American at the top.

But that American was not Robby Gordon, it was Mark Miller (from Phoenix) who won the stage ahead of teammates Sainz (who took the overall lead) and Al-Attiyah, Gordon’s Hummer losing two minutes and slipping to fourth fastest.

Struggles for the pre-stage leaders were again a theme of the quad class, as the curse of the stage win struck again, with Alejandro Patronelli the latest victim as the Yamaha ride lost nearly 90 minutes between 138km and 187km.

With his brother disappearing down the order, Marcos Patronelli had the opportunity to extend his overall lead. Having taken the stage lead after Martin Plechaty had crashed into retirement at 127km, the younger brother exchanged the lead with Uruguayan Luis Henderson before pulling out nearly a 20 minute lead at the third checkpoint at 339km.

Patronelli won the stage in 7h39:49, underlining the huge proportions of the day, beating his countryman Jorge Miguel Santamarina by 29:41.

Stage Five Results

Bikes :

1. Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) 5h52:40

2. Cyril Despres (KTM) +0h01:30

3. David Fretigne (Yamaha) +0h13:13

4. Ruben Faria (KTM) +0h15:09

5. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) +0h18:24

Cars :

1. Mark Miller (VW) 5h06:15

2. Carlos Sainz (VW) +0h02:10

3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) +0h04:27

4. Robby Gordon (Hummer) +0h04:48

5. Mauricio Neves (VW) +0h09:21

Quads :

1. Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) 7h39:49

2. Jorge Miguel Santamarina (Can-Am) +0h29:41

3. Juan Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha) +0h32:54

4. Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) +0h40:18

5. Bernardo Graue (Can-Am) +1h31:04

Trucks :

1. Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) 5h48:50

2. Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) +0h00:19

3. Joseph Adua (Iveco) +0h37:48

4. Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) +0h42:28

5. Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf) +0h43:12

 

Overall Standings After Stage Five

Bikes :

1. Cyril Despres (KTM) 16h38:26

2. Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) +0h37:37

3. Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) +0h44:01

4. Alain Duclos (KTM) +1h01:34

5. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) +1h08:07   

Cars :

1. Carlos Sainz (VW) 16h10:51

2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) +0h04:37

3. Mark Miller (VW) +0h09:39

4. Robby Gordon (Hummer) +0h59:55

5. Carlos Souza (Mitsubishi) +1h13:22

Quads :

1. Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) 20h48:02

2. Jorge Miguel Santamarina  (Can-Am) +1h00:36

3. Juan Manuel Gonzalez  (Yamaha) +1h07:13

4. Alejandro Patronelli  (Yamaha) +2h07:45

5. Oldrich Brazina  (Polaris) +2h47:23

Trucks :

1. Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) 18h20:32

2. Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) +0h26:08

3. Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf) +3h07:26

4. Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) +3h41:12

5. Johan Elfrink (Mercedes) +4h06:14

Call me crazy or just plain stupid.

But won't it be cool to see a NASCAR Sprint Cup COT car or one of those rough and tough Camping World Trucks pulling a stunt like Travis Pastrana did in a Rally Car.

Pastrana did another stunt jump on New Year's eve, and in typical fashion he made it look easy.

Minutes after the the East Coast rang in 2010. Pastrana strapped himself into his Red Bull Subaru Impreza Rally car and nailed a record setting setting jump of 269 feet.

Pastrana eclipsed his teammates Ken Block's previous record of 171 feet set in 2006.

To add a little ambiance to the jump, he did it in front of a live television audience and under the first blue moon on New Year's in 19 years.

Pastrana took off at an estimated 90 miles per hour, landing on a barge floating 200 feet off of the Long Beach Pier and came to a stop sliding sideways slamming into a tire barrier at the end of the barge.

He jumped out of his wrecked car to celebrate with the estimated crowd of 20,000 fans lining the pier and did a perfect victory backflip off of the landing ramp into the chilly water.

According to Pastrana, he skidded at the end due to dew. Otherwise he would have done some celebrating burnouts for those in attendance on the barge.

"It was a wild ride," said the wild man of action sports.

Pastrana broke the old record by some 98 feet.

"The flight was awesome," the 26-year-old daredevil said. "I couldn't have asked for anything better."

The stunt was just the latest installment in Red Bull's New Year, No Limits series.

Pastrana also is the first to do a double backflip on a motorcycle, and he's won four straight Rally America Championships.

Prior to making his historic jump, Pastrana tried to get another driver in the Red Bull family to ride shotgun with him—NASCAR's Brian Vickers.  

Which Vickers passed on doing, but I'm of the opinion had he ask Scott Speed, Vickers teammate in Cup...Speed would have taken him up on the offer and probably would have inspired him to try the same stunt himself in a stock car. 

Source for quotes: sports.yahoo.com & espn.com

FIAT-Abarth team driver Giandomenico Basso has won his third Rali Vinho Madeira after a gripping battle with local hero Bruno Magalhaes.  Basso took the victory with just 3.5s between them after 21 stages.

Basso joins two other men, Americo da Silva Nunes and Pierro Liatti in the record books of three-time winners, and puts himself into contention for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title and into the lead of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Basso stamped his authority from the start of the first full day, after championship leader Kris Meeke won the opening superspecial on Thursday evening.

It was far from being an easy win. Basso's pace was slowed in the final part of the opening leg, when he lost the reverse gear in his Abarth Grande Punto S2000 and had to drive cautiously to avoid a spin from which he would have difficulty to escape.

Then on the final day with Portuguese star Bruno Magalhaes in his Peugeot 207 S2000 persistent in pursuit, Basso spun just three stages from home. Magalhaes struck back with two straight stage wins to close the gap down to under eight seconds. Yet at the finish the Italian had just enough in reserve to hold on.

"It was fast, nervous and exciting," said an elated Basso. "The team has been working hard and the car was strong. This event is very special to me, and to make my third win here after losing on the last stage last year is fantastic."

No less thrilled to be runner-up against the IRC front-runners, Magalhaes was equally demonstrative. "It's a great honor for me to be able to perform so strongly among such great drivers," he said. "It was a long rally, very tense at the finish but second place really feels like a win to me."

It was championship leader Kris Meeke in his Peugeot 207 S2000 who took an early lead in Madeira with an exceptional drive through the streets of Funchal to claim Thursday evening's superspecial by 0.9 seconds.

But when the rally headed out into the green and mountainous roads around the island, Basso's experience came to the fore and he put together a string of eight fastest stage times to go into the lead at the end of Leg 1.

At the start of Day Two,  Basso had a fresh gearbox in his Grande Punto a then set about to trade fastest stage times with Magalia’s. 

Defending IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz won SS18 to close up on Alex Camacho in third-place. Yet the positions were static even though the speed advantage ebbed and flowed from driver to driver.

"We started a little slow, though we were trying to go fast," said Vouilloz. "I'm not really happy about the weekend but the car was good today and we were able to drive to the maximum."

Peugeot filled eight of the top 10 positions. A duel between Meeke and Freddy Loix was proved to be another exciting battle that raged throughout the event for fifth place and may well prove pivotal for the championship.

Meeke held a six point advantage over Loix Going in to the Rally Madeira. Now the Briton has 34 points, Jan Kopecky has 29 and both Loix and Basso have 27.

"This is a very, very special rally," Meeke said. "To come here for the first time and win would be impossible, the top four guys were incredible and to be just over a minute behind after three hours is amazing. The points you win on a bad weekend are the ones that count the most."

Top 10 Finishers

1    Giandomenico Basso (I)    Abarth Grande Punto S2000     3hrs 9m 55.4s
2     Bruno Magalhaes (P)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +3.5s
3     Alex Camacho (P)     Peugeot 207 S2000    +41.7s
4     Nicolas Vouilloz (F)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +49.4s
5     Kris Meeke (GB)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m 21.9s
6     Freddy Loix (B)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m 28.4s
7     Miguel Nunes (P)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +4m 57.9s
8     Corrado Fontana (I)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +5m 50.6s
9    Michal Solowow (PL)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +7m 29.9s
10    Guy Wilks (GB)    Proton Satria Neo S2000    +10m 40.8s

IRC Drivers' positions after 7 of 11 Rounds

1    Kris Meeke (GB)    34 points
2    Jan Kopecky (CZ)    29
3    Giandomenico Basso (I)    27
=    Freddy Loix (B)    27
5    Nicolas Vouilloz (F)    19
6    Juho Hanninen (F)    14
7    Sebastien Ogier (F)    10
=    Carl Tundo (EAK)    10
9    Alistair Cavanagh (GB)    8
=    Bruno Magalhaes (P)    8

Photo & Quotes: IRC

       2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was won for the fourth time in a row by Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, driving his Monster Sport SX4,
The victory was tempered as “Monster” left the Colorado race feeling somewhat frustrated at failing to beat the illusive ten minute barrier again.
      The win was convincing though as he clearly the class of the field in the Unlimited division, beating the second place team by 1:13 with his time of 10 minutes, 15.368 seconds. The Open Wheel class victory went to Paul Dallenbach in a Chevy, finishing with the time of 10:52.097. This year marks the fourth consecutive overall win for Tajima and his team.
       Monster’s Suzuki Hillclimb Special featured a steel space frame, along with carbon and Kevlar composite bodywork based on the Suzuki’s SX4 Crossover.
      The conditions were credited as the cause for the record not being broken this year with Tajima complaining of much loose gravel on the dirt sections. Later in the day the competitors were hit by sudden downpours with the accompanying thunder and lightning. This caused a few delays and left the tarmac sections of the mountain slippery and treacherous.
      Ford had a difficult time in Colorado with numerous problems throughout the week. The two-time World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm had seen just about everything in a rally course . . . until he came to Pikes Peak.  
     Grönholm drove his production based Ford Fiesta rallycross car, to second in the ‘Unlimited Class’ and fifth fastest time overall.  Grönholm also captured “Rookie of the Year” honours as he set a time of 11min 28.963sec up the 12.4-mile, 156-turn course which runs up the famous Pikes Peak Highway.
     Grönholm fought mechanical issues with the turbo charger on his 800-horsepower Fiesta rallycross car which resulted in a loss of power during the crucial final climb to the top.
     "I always wanted to compete at Pikes Peak,” said Grönholm.  "Having been here over the last week I have to admit that it is one of the most challenging events I have ever done in my career.  This is one of those events that you will want to tell people that you came and competed in.
     “I had heard about Pikes Peak and seen the famous film shot on the mountain with Ari Vatanen 20 years ago, but only when you come here do you realise how much of a challenge it is.

Photo: Suzuki
Quote: Ford

Travis Pastrana was handed his fourth win of the season at the New England Forest Rally Saturday by his teammate, to extend his lead in the Rally America national championship.

Subaru Rally Team USA's Pastrana entered Round 6 with a 21-point lead and said his strategy from the start was to avoid taking unnecessary risks and get his car to the finish in one piece.

The roads on this event are generally wide and fast, but strewn with massive rocks that can do big damage to competition cars.

"It's hard to know you've got that little more speed in reserve and not use it, but it's that little more that can get you," he said. "We weren't the fastest here this weekend, but I'll take the win however I can get it."

Finishing in one piece was essential because they have a short turn-around before heading across the country to compete in the X-Games.

Pastrana’s Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block set a blistering pace at the start, but spun early Saturday afternoon, losing more than 20 seconds.

Then Block had a tire puncture which prevented him from making up for lost time in the final stages of the day. So a frustrated Block had to settle for second-place overall.

"It's extremely frustrating," said Block at the finish. "I put myself in the right position to win, and it didn't work out for us."

Despite the disappointing result, Block moves into second place in the Rally America National Championship, behind teammate Pastrana.

Canadian Antoine L'Estage lost time to a power steering failure in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.  This dropped him from out of the running for a win in the event but he managed to nurse the car to a third place finish.

"It's good to taste champagne again, but I really wanted to win," said L'Estage after the ceremonial champagne spray. "I thought this morning we had a shot at it."

L'Estage is developing a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that was debuted by Tanner Foust earlier this season under a sharing deal.

They haven’t had much luck with the car so far, dealing with the problems that are typical with a new rally car. But he is confident that the car has potential and he's looking forward to the next round.

Bill Bacon finished in fourth place, and Art Gruszka rounded out the top five.

Roman Pakos took the Super Production class win in a Subaru STi, while John Conley and Keith Rudolph took the two-wheel drive win in their 2003 Dodge SRT-4.

Typically, attrition claimed a number of contenders including Subaru Rally Team USA's Dave Mirra, who dropped out with engine trouble on Saturday, while Andi Mancin retired after Day 1, apparently with engine issues as well.

The MaxAttack! two-wheel drive competition was furious this weekend, with more than two dozen drivers running in the class. Chris Duplessis and Catherine Woods set the fastest two-wheel drive times in their 1990 Volkswagen GTi during the weekend.

The most interesting entry was Lucy Block and Chrissie Beavis in a Volkswagen Golf. Block is married to Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block and Chrissie Beavis is a regular championship co-driver for Tanner Foust and competes in California as a driver in the regional series.

The duo swapped driving and co-driving duties over the weekend.  This was Lucy’s first ever event as a competitor.

Two of the bigger names in the Rally America Championship were missing from The New England Forest Rally.  Open class drivers Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard and Tanner Foust have also opted to sit this event out while they prepare for the X-Games.

The X Games contest is the biggest event on the calendar for invited teams and cars are due on the other side of the continent in just over a week.

No Doubt Pastrana, Block and L’Estage didn’t miss them.

All results are considered informational pending official race processes.

O/A Car # Class I/C Driver
1 199 O 1 Travis Pastrana 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2 43 O 2 Ken Block 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 
3 17 O 3 Antoine L'Estage 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 
4 68 O 4 William Bacon 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX
5 198 O 5 Arkadiusz Gruszka 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX 
6 494 SP 1 Roman Pakos 2006 Subaru Impreza STI
7 19 SP 2 Timothy Penasack 2002 Subaru WRX
8 8 155 2WD 1 John Conley 2003 Dodge SRT-4

Quotes and Photo: Rally America

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

Mikko Hirvonen drove an almost flawless rally and cruised to an easy victory by over a minute in the World Rally Championship Acropolis Rally. 

In doing so, he closed the gap on championship leader Sebastien Loeb.

Hirvonen explained his strategy on taking his first victory of the year.

“I drove a clever rally and my plan worked perfectly, with no mistakes and no punctures. I knew that if we finished the rally without problems then we would be high in the order and that was the case. The key to success was to stay on the road and be cautious rather than drive flat out all the way.”

Capping a great event for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team was Jari-Matti Latvala’s third place to put the team firmly back in the running for the manufacturers’ title.

Loeb’s challenge came to a halt on Saturday morning as he crashed out of the rally. The team’s challenge was further damaged as Dani Sordo was also hit by problems on day two.

The Citroen Junior team’s young drivers salvaged the French manufacturer’s honor by posting some excellent times over the weekend.  Sebastien Ogier took his first ever WRC podium as he placed second with teammate Conrad Rautenbach a little farther back in fifth.

Benoit Nogier, Manager of the Citroën Junior Team, was obviously pleased with his driver’s results.

“This made result of the good to all the team. We have come through a difficult start to the season, but the team progressed and the success is perhaps from now on our side. It is the first time that a non-works C4 WRC has finished on the podium in a WRC event. Seeing all three cars safely home is also very satisfying.”

Munchi’s Ford driver Federico Villagra equaled his best ever WRC result with fourth place.

Final Leaderboard

1. Hirvonen/Lehtinen Ford Focus 4h09’42’’5
2. Ogier/Ingrassia Citroën C4 +1’12’’9
3. Latvala/Antilla Ford Focus +1’45’’0
4. Villagra/Diaz Ford Focus + 3’48’’3
5. Rautenbach/Barritt Citroën C4 +3’59’’8
6. Al Qassimi/Orr Ford Focus +7’04’’3
7. Ostberg/Andersson Subaru Impreza +12’24’’9
8. Athanassoulas/Zakheos Skoda Fabia +12’47’’6
9. Al Attiyah/Bernacchini Subaru Impreza +13’09’’9
10. Araujo/Ramalho Mitsubishi Lancer +15’04’’5
11. Arai/Mac Neall Subaru Impreza +16’02’’5
12. Sordo / Marti Citroën C4 +18’41’’0

FIA WRC Manufacturer Standings

1. Citroen Total WRT - 94
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 79
3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford - 49
4. Citroen Junior Rally Team - 24
5. Munchi’s Ford WRT – 18

FIA WRC Driver Standings

1. S Loeb - 55
2. M Hirvonen - 48
3. D Sordo - 31
4. J-M Latvala - 25
5. H Solberg - 21
6. P Solberg - 20
7. M Wilson - 15
8. Federico Villagra – 14

Photo: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

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

Travis Pastrana took the win this weekend at the Oregon Trail Rally, and moved into the championship lead.  

The Subaru Rally Team USA driver set a blistering tempo to pull into the lead over the hard-packed forest roads early on Day 2, and held it there to the finish. It’s the third win in four starts for the duo in their Subaru WRX STi.

“It was an amazing rally,” said Pastrana. “That’s three wins and a tree this season – not so bad.”

Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust put in a steady drive all through the many elevation changes of the Mount Hood area’s hilly terrain and looked for a sure second-place finish when he spun out on the closing stage and hit a rock with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. They managed to hold on, finishing just 3.6 seconds ahead of Andi Mancin.

“It was a pretty clean rally the whole way,” said Foust. “Subarus are known for being really tough and I think our Evo X has proven tough this weekend, too. She brought us all the way home after we hit the rock and we’re pretty pleased to get second.”

Mancin has proven at this event that they can match the pace of Rally America’s top drivers with his first U.S. podium.

“I’m very happy, it’s a very significant result for our team,” said Mancin, who pilots a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. “These were very difficult stages – but they were beautiful.”

NOS Energy crew of Andrew Comrie-Picard finished in fourth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, just 2.8 seconds behind Mancin after flat tire on Day Two cost him a minute to the leaders. It was a disappointment for “ACP”, who had battled hard to regain the podium.

To add insult to injury the finish drops him from first to third in the championship standings, behind Pastrana and second-place Foust.

“That flat tire yesterday was really tough to overcome and the times were incredibly close the end,” said Comrie-Picard. “We had been clawing back time since yesterday but I have to hand it to Andi.  He drove a great race.”

Ken Block’s run of bad luck continued. A flat tire and damage to a control arm meant their rally ended early on Day Two. This makes three DNFs in four starts for Block who returned to the action Sunday for a fun run at the regional contest and even though they didn’t score points, they set some of the fastest times of the day.

“It’s getting a little frustrating,” said Block. “I have the speed, I feel, to win every single one of these…I thought I had some bad luck last year and it’s getting worse this year.”

The new competitive Super Production class was won Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra, finishing sixth overall. Heavy attrition in the Super Production class this weekend saw Matt Johnson and Piotr Wiktorcszyk retire early and Mirra said all he had to do was hang on and keep it clean.

“A lot of it is just trying to find a pace,” said Mirra. “It’s great to be in this class with so many competitive drivers.”

Dillon Van Way notched another win in the two-wheel drive class Ford Focus. This is the young Van Way’s first season of competition.

Photo and Quotes: Rally America

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