V nesre?i umrla legenda relija - Colin McRae

[dvorjan]

Tovarniški ford je absolutni favorit za zmago

Ljubljana - Finski dirkač Mikko Hirvonen bo s fordom na reliju po Norveški branil zmago izpred dveh let, njegov rojak Jari Matti Latvala pa je dirkač, ki je dobil zadnjo snežno dirko, lanski reli po Švedski.

Fanta prihajata na reli tudi s skandinavskim pedigrejem, kar pomeni, da bosta praktično dirkala doma, saj imata kot Finca v primerjavi s Citroënovo francosko – špansko navezo (Loeb – Sordo) več izkušenj na snežni podlagi. Ford dva tedna po dvojni zmagi Citroëna na Irskem načrtuje protiudarec, ki naj bi bil še hujši od francoske prevlade na Otoku. Optimizem mu vliva fantastičen rezultat izpred dveh let na Norveškem, ko je pobral trojno zmago (Hirvonen – Grönholm – Henning Solberg). Grönholma je pri Fordu nasledil Latvala, ki je prejšnjo norveško preizkušnjo končal na petem mestu, a se tolaži z dejstvom, da zna hitro peljati po snegu, kar je dokazal lani na Švedskem, ko je postal najmlajši zmagovalec relija v zgodovini. Jari Matti bo skušal popraviti slab vtis iz Irske, ko je končal na katastrofalnem 14. mestu in ostal brez točk. Štartal bo seveda na zmago. Prav tako Hirvonen, ki je bil na otvoritveni dirki sezone tretji.

V igri za zmago na Norveškem bo tudi Fordov zasebnik Henning Solberg. Norvežan bo dirkal doma in je trenutno v polnem naletu, saj je na Irskem s četrtim mestom dosegel svoj najboljši rezultat na asfaltu. Na drugi dirki sezone cilja na nič manj kot zmago. Pred dvema letoma je bil na Norveškem tretji, leta 2006 pa je na reliju, ki še ni štel za SP, zmagal. V Stobartovi ekipi bosta ob Henningu še Urmo Aava, ki je presenetil na uvodni dirki sezone in Matthew Wilson. Verjetno je edini, ki je sposoben premagati Fordovo falango, svetovni prvak Sebastien Loeb s citroënom. Francoz sicer na Norveško nima lepih spominov, saj je leta 2007 dvakrat zletel s ceste in pristal na 14. mestu. Svoj dirkalnik je zakotalil tudi na lanskem reliju po Švedski. A Loeb upa na ponovitev Švedske 2004, ko je zmagal na snegu. Tokrat je zanj največji izziv to, da ima Ford nesporno prednost. Od drugega Citroënovega dirkača Danija Sorda ni pričakovati stopničk, saj je fant leta 2007 končal na 25. mestu in tudi danes kljub večji izkušenosti sneg ni njegova priljubljena podlaga. Lani je bil sicer na Švedskem soliden šesti, a z zaostankom več kot sedem minut.

Citroën bo na Norveškem tekmoval tudi s svojo mladinsko ekipo. Debitiral bo 18-letni ruski najstnik Jevgenij Novikov, ki bo na drugi dirki sezone začel svojo osem relijev dolgo letošnjo avanturo v svetovnem prvenstvu. Drugi dirkač bo Zimbabvijec Conrad Rautenbach, tretji pa svetovni mladinski prvak Sebastien Ogier. Trojica si bo skušala nabrati čim več izkušenj na snegu, kakšna točka bi bila v hudi konkurenci "mladih skandinavskih pištol", ki jih bo na reliju kar nekaj, velik uspeh. Na Norveškem se tudi veliko govori, da bo prišlo do neposrednega dvoboja med domačinoma in bratoma Henningom in Pettrom Solbergom. A iz tega verjetno ne bo nič, saj bo Petter dirkal s citroënom xsaro, letnik 2006 in se skoraj gotovo s tem dirkalnikom ne bo mogel boriti za stopničke, kaj šele za zmago. Pred dvema letoma je bil na Norveškem četrti, takoj za svojim bratom Henningom. Bo pa prav gotovo svetovni prvak iz leta 2003 prava popestritev snežne klasike. In kot Norvežan v rahli prednosti vsaj pred Neskandinavci.

Vir: Engelbert Osojnik (SiOL)

[aygo]

WRC Rally Norway 2009

Leading shakedown times:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 1min 59.3secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 1min 59.7secs M
3. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 1min 59.8secs M
4. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 2mins 00.0secs M
5. Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC 2mins 01.1secs A8
6. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC 2mins 02.1secs MT
7. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC 2mins 02.8secs A8
8. Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC 2mins 03.0secs MT
9. P-G Andersson Skoda Fabia WRC 2mins 03.3secs A8
10. Anders Grøndal Subaru Impreza WRC 2mins 03.7secs A8
11. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC 2mins 03.9secs A8
12. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC 2mins 04.5secs MT
13. Mads Østberg Adapta AS Subaru Impreza WRC 2mins 04.9secs A8
14. Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC 2mins 07.8secs MT

WRC »
   
Rally Norway: SS1

Overall times after SS1:

1. Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC 1mins 32.8secs A8
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 00.6secs M
3. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +00mins 00.7secs M
4. Mads Østberg Adapta AS Subaru Impreza WRC +00mins 01.2secs A8
5. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 02.3secs M
6. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +00mins 03.0secs M
7. Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +00mins 03.4secs MT
8. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +00mins 04.2secs MT
9. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +00mins 04.7secs A8
10. Anders Grøndal Subaru Impreza WRC +00mins 05.3secs A8
11. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +00mins 05.5secs A8
12. Patrik Sandell Skoda Fabia S2000 +00mins 06.2secs P
13. Anders Kjær Subaru Impreza WRX STI +00mins 06.8secs N4
14. Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +00mins 07.1secs MT
15. Andis Neiksans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +00mins 07.1secs P
16. Peter van Merksteijn Jr. Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +00mins 07.3secs A8
17. Ari Laivola Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +00mins 07.7secs N4
18. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +00mins 08.0secs MT
19. Andreas Mikkelsen Subaru Impreza WRX STI +00mins 08.2secs P
20. Jouni Arolainen Ford Focus WRC +00mins 08.3secs A8
vir:crashnet

[dvorjan]

Meni je tale Engelbert sicer eden dalec najpametnejsih spremljevalcev bencinskih sportov, samo s to napovedjo, da P. Solberg nima sans, je pa totalno mimo vsekal. Decko ima v svoji Xsari l.06 se vedno aktivne diferenciale, kar mu bo na snegu seveda pridno pomagalo ...

Jaz bi kar racunal z njim, seveda ce ne bo prevec vesel, pa zletel s ceste ...

[garac]

Vir: žurnal 24
Superspecial Solbergu
Ljubljana | 12. 2. 2009, 21:52
Na Norveškem se je s superspecialom v Oslu začel drugi letošnji reli za svetovno prvenstvo. Uvodno preizkušnjo je dobil Petter Solberg, ki nastopa z zasebnim dirkalnikom Citroen Xsara.

 
Petter Solberg je v uvodni preizkušnji odlično unovčil poznavanje domačega terena. © Reuters
 
Reli po Norveški
 
1. P. Solberg (Citoren) 1;32,8
2. M. Hirvonen (Ford) +0,6
3. S. Loeb (Citroen) +0,7

 
Norvežan Petter Solberg (Citroen), svetovni prvak iz leta 2003, je najhitreje začel domači reli po Norveški, drugo letošnjo dirko svetovnega prvenstva. Uvodni superspecial v Oslu je dobil s šestimi desetinkami naskoka pred Fincem Mikkom Hirvonenom (Ford), tretji pa je bil petkratni svetovni prvak Francoz Sebastien Loeb (Citroen).

Mlajši od bratov Solberg je pred sezono ostal brez sedeža v tovarniških ekipah, saj je njegovSubaru zaradi gospodarske krize svoje moštvo umaknil iz SP. Toda Norvežan je, potem ko je izpustil uvodni reli za SP na Irskem, obljubil, da bo nastopil vsaj na domačem terenu. Petter Solberg na reliju po Norveški nastopa z zasebnim dirkalnikom Citroen Xsara. Na uvodnem, sicer le 1,8 kilometra dolgem superspecialu v Oslu je ugnal vse tekmece; Hirvonen je zaostal šest desetink, Loeb sedem, Solbergov rojak Mads Ostberg (Subaru) 1,2 sekunde, svetovni podprvak Finec Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) pa 2,3 sekunde. Na osmem mestu je njegov starejši brat Henning Solberg (Ford) s 4,2 sekunde zaostanka. Pravi boji za zmago na reliju po Norveški se bodo sicer razplamteli šele v petek, soboto in nedeljo, ko bo na sporedu še preostalih 22 hitrostnih preizkušenj.

Ključne besede v članku:
reli, Norveška, Solberg, Loeb, Hirvonen, Latvala

[dvorjan]

Po SS6 vse v najlepsem redu ...

1.
Mikko HIRVONEN
45:25.9

2.
Sebastien LOEB
+6.4

3.
Jari-Matti LATVALA
+23.4

4.
Dani SORDO
+49.6

5.
Petter SOLBERG
+1:03.0

6.
Henning SOLBERG
+1:21.3

7.
P-G ANDERSSON
+1:29.4

8.
Urmo AAVA
+1:31.8

[dvorjan]

SS9: Sebastien Loeb takes the rally lead on Friday's final stage

Mikko Hirvonen lost the lead of Rally Norway on Friday's final stage, slipping 2.6sec behind Sebastien Loeb into second place.

The move sparked speculation that Hirvonen had surrendered the place deliberately in order to give himself a better road position on Saturday.

As things stand, Hirvonen will be the second driver through Saturday's stages and may benefit from a racing line swept of loose snow by Loeb.

Hirvonen, however, insisted the switch was unintentional. "My rear tyres are completely finished - I tried really hard," he said. "We had a lot more tyre wear than the Citroens. I'm missing lots of studs. This is definitely not what I wanted to do. Now we have a lot to make up. It's going to be a big fight tomorrow."

Loeb was unaware he was the new rally leader when he finished the stage, but thought road cleaning wouldn't be a big factor on Saturday. "Its really good fun to drive like this," said the Citroen Total team leader. "I pushed really hard, took some risks sometimes, but we're here okay and in a good position for tomorrow. If I had a choice I would prefer to be second on the road but I really don't think it will make a big difference."

Jari-Matti Latvala completed the day third in his BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team Focus RS WRC. The Finn will start Saturday's competition 23.6sec adrift of Hirvonen and with a podium finish in his sights. "Of course I want to apply some pressure," he said. "This morning was bad but we've improved a lot this afternoon. Let's see how we go."

Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo holds fourth and is hoping for a better day on Saturday. "I lost lots of time in the slow parts and I need to study the data to understand why," he said. "I don't have a lot of studs left in my tyres - which didn't help on the last stage - but I might need to alter my style of driving. Third place here is going to be difficult to achieve so my priority is to protect fourth - that wouldn't be a bad result."

Petter Solberg finished the day fifth, 22.9sec behind Sordo, and ruing a weight-saving tyre strategy: "We had a good morning and things were fine on the first stage this afternoon but I was the only car to take just one spare and that turned out to be a very stupid decision!" he said. "We lost a lot of studs. It's unfortunate but that's how it is - we will keep pushing."

After taking the first stage win of his career on SS6, and the second on SS7, P-G Andersson ended the day sixth, just one-tenth of a second behind Petter Solberg. "I'm going to take another two stage wins tomorrow!" said the Swede. "The second time through the stages today has been fantastic. We had plenty of grip. I think the position we have now is probably the best we can hope for, but we'll see."

Henning Solberg holds seventh place, 7.8sec behind Andersson, but determined to make rapid progress through the standings on Saturday. "With the gearbox problems we've had today it's been difficult, but it will be okay," he said. "I'll drive on the limit tomorrow. I will be top three!"

Briton Matthew Wilson rounded off the points winning places in his Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus. Wilson said: "It's been okay - we tried to keep it as neat and tidy as we could. This has been a day not to make any mistakes. I think tomorrow might be even better."

Vir: wrc.com

[aygo]

WRC »
   
Rally Norway - Day 1 standings
Overall times after SS9 / Day 1 - Top 20:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 1hour 13mins 41.7secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 02.6secs M
3. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 26.2secs M
4. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 08.6secs M
5. Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC +01mins 31.5secs A8
6. P-G Andersson Skoda Fabia WRC +01mins 31.6secs A8
7. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +01mins 39.4secs MT
8. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +02mins 03.3secs A8

9. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +02mins 41.2secs A8
10. Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +02mins 41.5secs MT
11. Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +03mins 04.3secs MT
12. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +03mins 31.6secs MT
13. Mads Østberg Adapta AS Subaru Impreza WRC +04mins 23.6secs A8
14. Patrik Sandell Skoda Fabia S2000 +05mins 26.3secs P
15. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +07mins 35.2secs P
16. Peter van Merksteijn Ford Focus RS WRC 07 +07mins 53.7secs A8
17. Martin Prokop Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +08mins 01.5secs P
18. Andis Neiksans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +08mins 27.8secs P
19. Trond Lyseng Subaru Impreza STi +09mins 00.1secs N4
20. Andreas Mikkelsen Subaru Impreza WRX STI +09mins 05.0secs P
vir:crashnet

[dvorjan]

Tudi po drugem dnevu ostaja Loeb v vodstvu. Hirvonen se mu danes ni uspel priblizati, temvec je celo izgubil nekaj casa in sedaj zaostaja 15 sekund. Latvala je izkoristil nekoliko boljse popoldanske pogoje in zmanjsal zaostanek, a je se vedno skoraj minuto za vodilnim.

Da je danes Loeb vozil na noz, je prical tudi njegov dirkalnik, saj je zadnje dele odbijaca pridno puscal v sneznih nasipih. Kot je dogajanje komentiral sef Forda Wilson: "To se ponavadi dogaja nasim avtomobilom. Rad bi sedel danes s Sebastianom v kokpitu. To je morala biti nora voznja."

Vir: dvorjan =)

[aygo]

WRC »
   
Rally Norway - Day 2 standings
Overall times after SS17 / Day 2 - Top 20:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 2hours 22mins 11.1secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 15.0secs M
3. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 43.2secs M
4. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +02mins 41.3secs MT
5. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +02mins 53.3secs M
6. Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC +04mins 50.9secs A8
7. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +04mins 53.2secs A8
8. Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +05mins 18.5secs MT

9. Mads Østberg Adapta AS Subaru Impreza WRC +06mins 57.8secs A8
10. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +08mins 50.2secs A8
11. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +10mins 59.3secs MT
12. Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +12mins 58.8secs MT
13. Patrik Sandell Skoda Fabia S2000 +13mins 12.3secs P
14. Eyvind Brynildsen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +15mins 14.0secs P
15. Martin Prokop Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +16mins 13.2secs P
16. Andreas Mikkelsen Subaru Impreza WRX STI +16mins 33.9secs P
17. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +16mins 47.3secs P
18. Andis Neiksans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +17mins 36.5secs P
19. Anders Grøndal Subaru Impreza WRC +19mins 02.9secs A8
20. Peter van Merksteijn Jr. Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +22mins 36.9secs A8
vir:crashnet

[dvorjan]

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally Norway for Citroen!

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb held his nerve through the final stage this afternoon to take a sensational debut victory for the Citroen Total team on Rally Norway.

Loeb led from the front - as first car on the road on all three days - to finish the rally 9.8sec ahead of the man in second place, Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen.

Loeb's victory was the 49th of his record breaking WRC career and gives him a perfect winning record on the two rallies so far this year. As he fights for an unprecedented sixth consecutive WRC drivers' title, the C4 WRC driver leads the drivers' standings on 20 points, six ahead of Mikko Hirvonen in second.

"It's been a great rally but a very difficult one!" said a jubilant Loeb at the end of the final stage. "I had to push on the limit from the very first stage to the last, and mentally it's been difficult to keep pushing, knowing we could lose everything right up until the last corner. I really wanted to win here on snow and it's a great feeling. It's been a wonderful rally; the stages are incredible and it's so much more exiting when you are in a close fight!"

Mikko Hirvonen, team leader of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team said: "Yes I'm sad we came second but I'm glad it's finished. It was a close fight but it didn't go well for me all the way through.

"I don't have any regrets about deliberately dropping time on Friday, it was only one or two seconds and that wouldn't be enough to make a difference. He was quicker yesterday and that was that. Now we have to go to the next rally and go flat-out. Hopefully we can do better there," added the Finn.

Despite a last stage scare, Mikko's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala finished third, ensuring both Ford's works-team entries made the podium. "After a long straight I overshot a junction," explained the Finn. "It's been a frustrating weekend - not what I was hoping for - but third place is very important. I hope to be in the lead fight again on the next round in Cyprus."

Henning Solberg was the best placed Norwegian driver, bringing his VK M-Sport Ford Focus home in fourth. "This rally has been absolutely perfect - the only thing missing is a Norwegian on the podium," he said. But that's how it is. I have to say I'm quite happy. Next we move to Cyprus. I love it there and want to go well."

Loeb's Citroen Total team-mate Dani Sordo rounded off the top five places in his C4 WRC. "It's been a difficult surface for me and I'm happy to get to the end," said the
Spaniard. "I think I did quite well, even though I had problems with my pace notes, and I'm happy with the feeling I had at the end of the rally. I'll try and learn more before the next time we're on snow."

Petter Solberg was sixth on his first event with his own rally team and was delighted to finish in the points on his home rally. "It's a dream to just be here - we didn't even have a team three weeks ago!" said Petter. "I was so worried about the clutch on the last few stages I used the normal gearshift system and lost four or five seconds on every start - so it was close! I want to say thank you to everybody who has helped up get here. Now we have to analyse the event and see what we can do. We want to get faster. There will be no more Mr Nice Guy in Cyprus."

Seventh placed Matthew Wilson said he was encouraged by his rally in the second of the Stobart VK M-Sport Fords. "It's been a hell of a fight today but I'm cursing myself for not pushing harder this morning. Still, to only lose 8sec to Petter over the whole day is not a bad effort," he said.

Eighth place, and the final drivers' championship point, went to Estonian Urmo Aava in the third Stobart VK M-Sport car. It took me a lot of time to find the right rhythm here," he said. "We lost time and struggled on Friday and Saturday mornings, but from then on it started to be better and today it's been quite enjoyable."

Mads Ostberg was ninth in the first of the Adapta Subaru Imprezas. "It's been a very frustrating time," he said. "We continued to have problems right through to the last stage - in the end my co-driver and I were just last laughing about it. I didn't event bother getting angry. Now I'm glad we can sit down with a sheet of A3 paper and start to write down all our problems."

[garac]

Dobro, da se je Fordovcem načrt napada iz ozadja izjalovil

[aygo]

WRC »
   
Rally Norway: Result
Overall times after SS23 / Day 3 - Top 20:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 3hours 28mins 15.9secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 09.8secs M
3. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +01mins 21.8secs M
4. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +03mins 33.5secs MT
5. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +03mins 52.0secs M
6. Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC +06mins 25.4secs A8
7. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +06mins 35.6secs A8
8. Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC +06mins 49.1secs MT

9. Mads Østberg Adapta AS Subaru Impreza WRC +10mins 00.5secs A8
10. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +12mins 49.8secs A8
11. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +14mins 29.0secs MT
12. Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +15mins 21.0secs MT
13. Patrik Sandell Skoda Fabia S2000 +21mins 27.7secs P
14. Eyvind Brynildsen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +22mins 11.8secs P
15. Anders Grøndal Subaru Impreza WRC +23mins 22.1secs A8
16. Martin Prokop Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +24mins 24.4secs P
17. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +25mins 24.7secs P
18. Andis Neiksans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +32mins 07.6secs P
19. Peter van Merksteijn Jr. Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +32mins 53.8secs A8
20. Jaromir Tarabus Fiat Grande Punto S2000 +34mins 17.2secs P
vir:crashnet

[aygo]

World Rally Drivers' Championship (after 2 of 12 rounds):

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 20 points
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 14 points
3. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 12 points
4. Henning Solberg Stobart Ford Focus RS WRC 08 10 points
5. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 6 points
6. Chris Atkinson Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC 4 points
= Matthew Wilson Stobart Ford Focus RS WRC 08 4 points
8. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC 3 points
= Petter Solberg PS WRT Citroen Xsara WRC 3 points
10. Khalid Al Qassimi BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 1 point
= Urmo Aava Stobart VK Ford Focus RS WRC 1 point


World Rally Manufacturers' Championship (after 2 of 12 rounds):

1. Citroen Total WRT 32 points
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT 22 points
= Stobart VK M-Sport Ford RT 16 points
4. Citroen Junior Team 8 points

vir:crashnet

[garac]

Petrič trikrat v SlovenijiUroš Petrič letos načrtuje udeležbo na treh rallyjih slovenskega državnega prvenstva.
Besedilo: Gregor Pavšič
Kot smo že pisali, se bo Uroš Petrič letos resneje posvetil nastopu v italijanskem pokalu Citroen C2-R2. Ajdovec bo zato izpustil uvodni rally slovenskega državnega prvenstva v Avstriji, saj se bo isti vikend v Italiji (Rally Alba) odvijalo prvo dejanje omenjenega pokala. "V Sloveniji nameravam nastopiti trikrat. Na rallyjih Saturnus, Ajdovščina in Logatec, če bodo vsi trije seveda izpeljani," je povedal Petrič.

[aygo]

Bo Solberg pristal v Citroënovi tovarniški ekipi?

Petter Solberg, ki je z osem let staro Citroën Xsaro WRC prijetno presenečenje začetka sezone v reliju za svetovno prvenstvo, bi znal dobiti povabilo Citroënove tovarniške ekipe.
Po tem, ko je Solberg na Norveškem osvojil šesto mesto, na Cipru pa s tretjim mestom že stopil na stopničke, so se pojavile govorice, da naj bi svetovni prvak iz leta 2003 že začel lov za Citroënom C4WRC, kakršnega vozi Loeb. Petter odgovarja: ''V letošnji sezoni ne nameravam voziti novega dirkalnika. Edina pot, da bi prišel do C4, je ta, da me povabijo v tovarniško ekipo. A ne verjamem, da se bo to zgodilo. Sicer nimam denarja, da bi si kupil enega, zato to sploh ni pomembno. Nočem si pokvariti zabave. Hočem le tekmovati in se boriti. Upam, da bom dobil priložnost, ko se bo v SP pojavil kakšen nov konstruktor''.
Ne gre prezreti dejstva, da je Pettru Solbergu po ciprskem fantastičnem rezultatu osebno čestital športni šef Citroëna Olivier Quesnel. Norvežan je za nameček v neposrednem dvoboju premagal drugega tovarniškega dirkača Danija Sorda. Jasno je, da francoski proizvajalec ni pretirano zadovoljen s Špancem, ki je kot svetovni mladinski prvak iz leta 2005 veliko obetal, a kmalu padel v povprečje. V treh letih mu še ni uspelo zmagati in nič ne kaže, da mu bo letos. Zato ne bi bilo nič čudnega, če bi ga tovarniški Citroën po koncu letošnje sezone ali morda še prej, zamenjal s Pettrom Solbergom. Loeb namreč počasi že izgublja motivacijo, saj nima prave konkurence. Morebiti bi bil prav Norvežan lahko tisti dirkač, ki bi Francozu v istem dirkalniku dal nov pospešek. Sicer bo Sebastien skoraj gotovo zbežal v formulo 1 ali kam drugam.
Solberg je nabrušen kot že dolgo ne in že kuje načrte za portugalski reli (2.-5. april): ''Za zdaj moram dirkati z aktivnimi diferenciali. Sebastien Loeb mi je povedal, da je bil hitrejši, ko je imel mehanične diferenciale. Prav zaradi tega se od januarja, ko sem dobil Xsaro, borim, da bi jih dobil od Citroëna. Upam, da bom z njimi dirkal že na Portugalskem. Za četrto dirko sezone načrtujem še nekatere spremembe na področju blažilcev. Ne vem, kaj lahko pričakujem od Portugalske. Èe jo primerjam s Ciprom, je veliko hitrejši reli, zato mislim, da bi znal biti s starejšim dirkalnikom z manj moči rahlo hendikepiran. Na Cipru je bilo vse počasneje, kar je bilo dobro zame. Kljub temu se bom maksimalno potrudil.''
vir:siol