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Results from Portugal 28th - 30th May 2010Ogier takes maiden win
From wrc.com: The Citroen Junior Team driver started the third and final day with a lead of 21.1 seconds and showed a level of maturity that belied his 26 years to hold firm as Loeb tried in vain to get ahead of his countryman. After completing the final sun-baked gravel stage with a lead of 7.7s over Loeb, Ogier knew he would ensure first place by safely negotiating the rally-closing superspecial through the Estadio Algarve near Faro. Roared on by thousands of spectators, Ogier did exactly that and even set a time faster than Loeb, just for good measure, to win by 7.9s. “It’s a fantastic feeling and I am very, very happy,” said Ogier. “It has not been easy with Sebastien behind me, pushing me all the time, but we also pushed hard for all of the rally and made no mistakes.” Ogier’s co-driver, Julien Ingrassia, added: “It’s a special feeling. I have worked so hard preparing to get to this level and to achieve this win is a big moment for me.” Loeb was fastest on all four of Sunday’s gravel stages but ultimately couldn’t deny Ogier his day in the limelight. “I tried all the rally to beat him but he was just too fast,” said Loeb. “On the second pass through the stages he was untouchable. I have a new rival now.” Dani Sordo completed a Citroen podium lockout after profiteering from the steering glitch that slowed Petter Solberg on the final morning and demoted the Norwegian to fourth overall heading into the super special. “I had to push really hard to get in front of him,” said the Spaniard. Solberg looked set to take fourth only to clout a water-filled barrier in the superspecial and tip his privately-run Citroen C4 onto two wheels. The delay allowed Mikko Hirvonen, driving a works Ford Focus, to snatch fourth place by 3.7s. Matthew Wilson, who was up against Solberg in the superspecial, overcame brake and steering woes to complete the top six for the Stobart M-Sport team, which lost team-mate Henning Solberg’s similar Focus to an overheating engine on Sunday’s second stage. Mads Ostberg brought his Subaru Impreza home in seventh overall despite fearing he might not make the finish when a number of engine warning lights flashed up on his car’s dashboard after stage 15. Federico Villagra survived striking a bank on the penultimate gravel stage, which ripped the front bumper from his Munchi’s Ford Focus, to claim eighth spot, 19.7s clear of Abu Dhabi’s Khalid Al Qassimi. The Argentine was fastest through the 2.03-kilometre superspecial. Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen was slowed by a handling imbalance on his Citroen Junior Team-run C4 on the opening loop of stages and then a tyre deflation, caused by striking a rock, on stage 16. He finished 10th to claim the final drivers’ championship point. JWRCIn the JWRC, Kevin Abbring inherited the win after Aaron Burkart went off. From wrc.com: Dutchman Abbring and Belgian co-driver Erwin Mombaerts, started the final day of the event with a lead of almost five minutes, which they inherited from Aaron Burkart when the German went off the road on Saturday. The result means Abbring and Burkart - who won the season opener in Turkey in April and returned under SupeRally regulations on Sunday to clinch third place - are now tied at the top of the J-WRC standings after two events. “It was a good result for us,” said Abbring. “We dropped from the lead to third place in Turkey, so this weekend it was my luck and Burkart had what we had in Turkey: he dropped from the lead to third place. It keeps the championship very exciting. “We came here to fight for the top three and then to fight for the win, but on the third stage we got the puncture and this cost three or four minutes. The hope was not gone, but we thought it could be tough to win because of the weather and the abrasive stages. It was hard to push to the maximum.” Co-driver Mombaerts added: “We have only five results this year so this was very important to win here.” Estonia’s Karl Kruuda was the only other driver to go the distance in his Suzuki Swift as the demanding gravel roads of the Algarve decimated the young driver category. He finished a strong second overall alongside co-driver Martin Jarveoja. Yeray Lemes, who travelled to Portugal from the Canary Islands, was fourth behind Burkart in his Renault Clio S1600. Fellow Spaniard Egoi Valdes Lopez was fifth in a Clio R3, with Briton Harry Hunt recovering to sixth aboard a Ford Fiesta R2. SWRCIn the SWRC, Jari Ketomaa dominated for the second race in a row. From wrc.com: Ketomaa finished 3m32.2s in front of his Spanish rival after a near-faultless drive on the demanding gravel stages. Apart from a few minor mechanical niggles, little troubled the Finn and co-driver Mika Stenberg, especially when several of the expected S-WRC frontrunners hit trouble. “We had a big lead today so it was important not to take any risks,” said Ketomaa. “We had a small leak with the exhaust [on Sunday morning] but fortunately I did not need to attack so it was not really a problem. This result is really good for the championship.” Michal Kosciuszko completed the podium finishers in a Skoda Fabia, which he was using in place of the Ford Fiesta he destroyed on the Jordan Rally in April. The Pole, who said he had struggled to find a good set-up for much of the rally, reported a scare on stage 15 when a puncture caused him to drop into a ditch on a right-hand bend. Ford Fiesta driver Bernardo Sousa took fourth although his main focus throughout the rally was securing maximum points in the Portuguese championship, which ran alongside the main event. P-G Andersson needed SupeRally to go the distance following a crash on Saturday in his Fabia. He took fifth ahead of Portugal’s wildcard entrant Vitor Pascoal after winning the rally-closing superspecial stage. Although the Swede should have finished higher up the order, he could console himself by learning he had secured a drive in a Stobart M-Sport Ford Focus on Rally Bulgaria in July. After retiring on Saturday with an electrical fault, Nasser Al-Attiyah restarted on Sunday seventh overall in his Fiesta. The Qatari, who had led for much of Friday before a powersteering problem took hold, underlined his pace by going fastest on all four of Sunday’s gravel stages. “I was a bit disappointed from yesterday but it was a good morning for us and I really enjoyed it,” said Al-Attiyah. “I got the performance and the feeling back again and the support from the team has been good.” Janne Tuohino lost time on Sunday’s first stage when he spun his Fiesta and had to reverse to regain the road. He clinched eighth overall. Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen, who had high hopes of a strong finish in Portugal, was the last of nine finishers in his Fabia, which had been saddled for much of the event by an engine problem and prevented him from finishing Friday’s first day. “The engine is damaged from Friday - there is no compression in the cylinders,” said Brynildsen on Sunday morning. “When it is slower and twisty it is okay but uphill or on a straight there’s no pull from the engine so I have no chance. It is very frustrating but what can I do.” We now go into the summer break, with six weeks until Rally Bulgaria, which starts on 9th July.
WRC final standings
Other WRC finishers (2 points each)
Number of stage wins (10 points for the first, 1 point for all others)
Points contributions by WRC driversWRC drivers contribute double championship points, plus 1 point for each stage win (10 for the first), plus 2 points for a finish, all multiplied by their weighting at the start of the rally.
WRC team pointsWRC teams score the average of the nominated drivers' unweighted points (which is the same as adding them up and halving the result), multiplied by the team's weighting. BP Ford's nominated drivers were Hirvonen/Latvala, Stobart's were H Solberg/Wilson. (Citroën Total's are always Loeb/Sordo). Citroën Juniors were Ogier/Räikkönen.
JWRC final standings
Other JWRC finishers (2 points each)
JWRC stage wins (10 points for the first, 1 point for all others)
Points contributions for each JWRC driverDriver's contribution = double championship points, plus one point for each stage win (10 for the first), plus 2 points for a finish, all multiplied by the weighting at the start of the rally.
SWRC final standings
Other SWRC finishers (2 points each)
SWRC stage wins (10 points for the first, 1 point for all others)
Points contributions for each SWRC driverDriver's contribution = double championship points, plus one point for each stage win (10 for the first), plus 2 points for a finish, all multiplied by the weighting at the start of the rally.
Next race - Bulgaria - 9th JulyInto the summer break now, with a full six weeks until round six in Bulgaria, which hosts round 3 of the JWRC. Teams will be frozen from midnight GMT on the night of Thursday 8th July. |
It had to happen sooner or later - Sébastien Ogier has taken his first win!
