Sun January 31, 2010

NEWS JUST IN

 MC end – New Fiesta wins! @ 00:43 AM - Last year’s 1-2-3 inishers Peugeot have a nightmare event and don’t have a single car on the podium. It is a Finnish 1-2 instead. Despite narrow gaps further down no more position changes. At least Sarrazin wins the stage. Hirvonen must have found this tougher than the result suggests. There is 3 stage wins for Hirvonen and Ford compared to 7 for Ogier, 9 for Peugeot. Final results after SS15:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 4h32m58s5;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m51s4;
3rd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +3m19s1;
4th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +7m25s5;
5th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +8m48s7;
6th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +9m24s5;
7th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +9m45s4;
8th= Vigion/Prevot, Peugeot, +13m33s5;
9th= Orsak/Vajik, Skoda, +21m16s6;
10th= Jereb/Kacin, Peugeot, +25m26s1

 MC SS14 – Ogier out! @ 00:42 AM - Big news of Night of the Long Knifes then is that Sébastien Ogier is out and such virtually hands victory to Hirvonen in the debuting Ford. Hänninen wins stage as storming Ogier did not even start the stage thanks to a broken alternator. Results after SS14:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 4h18m07s3;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m22s6;
3rd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +2m53s9;
4th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +7m36s5;
5th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +8m54s8;
6th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +9m23s1;
7th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +9m30s5;
8th= Vigion/Prevot, Peugeot, +13m19s1;
9th= Orsak/Vajik, Skoda, +19m41s5;
10th= Jereb/Kacin, Peugeot, +24m02s6

 MC SS13 – Surprise attack by Sarrazin @ 00:41 AM - Now it is Sarrazin with a great stage win, but Hirvonen again 2nd fastest, taking near all he lost on Turini back again from Ogier. No particular mistake by Ogier, it just seemed in some corners he was without rythm and late on accelerator? Stage also seemed ice free but too wet for Ogier’s tyres. Still 3rd fastest. Slow time by Wilks, who drops 2 places and Wittmann, despite declaring to drive careful for finish, slips into wall on wet patch and is out. Results after SS13:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 4h04m12s3;
2nd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +46s1;
3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m25s3;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +2m47s9;
5th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +7m32s3;
6th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +8m33s9;
7th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +8m35s8;
8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +8m41s1;
9th= Vigion/Prevot, Peugeot, +12m34s9;
10th= Orsak/Vajik, Skoda, +19m06s6

 MC SS12 – Ogier great time @ 00:40 AM - Ogier wins stage from Hivonen bei 10s with spirited dry tyre choice. Ogier also clearly moves past Hänninen into 2nd. It is a surprisingly trouble free Turini stage. Despite close battles all the way from 5th to 9th, only only Kopecky and Wittmann swap positions. Results after SS12:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 3h49m57s9;
2nd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +38s3;
3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +52s9;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +2m09s5;
5th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +7m27s1;
6th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +7m33s8;
7th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +7m50s9;
8th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +7m58s1;
9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +8m18s8;
10th= Vigion/Prevot, Peugeot, +11m52s2

 MC SS11 – 3-way battle tonight @ 00:39 AM - This time we did not lose the top2 in this stage, but Ogier had a great time on his home stage, threatening the two leading Finns for tonight. Ogier is only 4s behind Hänninen and took 20s out of Hirvonen too. But behind is lots of action still too. Wilks 2nd fastest has him move from 7th to 5th. Sarrazin disappointing time, found no rythm. Gardemeister retired. Results after SS11:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 3h36m24s8;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +44s1;
3rd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +48s;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m56s5;
5th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +7m03s4;
6th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +7m17s9;
7th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +7m25s;
8th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +7m30s6;
9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +7m53s3;
10th= Vigion/Prevot, Peugeot, +11m02s9

 MC leg2 – Before the huge finale @ 00:38 AM - Hirvonen 4th fastest and keeps lead. Wilks passes Magalhaes. This was a repeat of the completely dry stage early, but now in the dark so every stage different. Tomorrow will be big with the Night of the long knifes and Col de Turini. Only one stage in the morning, but it is that stage in which 1st & 2nd last year both crashed out. Results after leg2 (SS10):
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 3h12m44s;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +47s7;
3rd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m10s3;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m34s3;
5th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +6m06s;
6th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +6m53s8;
7th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +7m07s3;
8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +7m12s8;
9th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +7m24s4;
10th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +9m13s

 MC SS9 – Ogier beats Hirvonen by 30s @ 00:37 AM - Big spin for Gardemeister! And another one! But first spin he could only carry on because he was lucky to find a 2nd road just below the stage track. Strong time by Ogier. Hänninen also takes near 20s out of Hirvonen. Ogier passes Vouilloz, Wittmann passes Magalhaes & Kopecky passes Gardemeister. Results after SS9:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h57m33s5;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +49s1;
3rd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m17s8;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m36s3;
5th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +5m55s8;
6th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +5m56s6;
7th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +6m16s;
8th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +6m35s7;
9th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +6m59s9;
10th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +8m32s4

 MC SS8 – Chasing Hirvonen @ 00:36 AM - Finnish duel. Hänninen beats Hirvonen by 1s. This repeat of SS5 is completely dry now, only leaves the middle stage of this loop with some snow. So relative drama free stage, but next one should be exciting with everyone on wrong tyres. Sarrazin gains 2 places on SS8. Boufier retires his Subaru with technical problems. Results after SS8:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h41m14s7;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m07s6;
3rd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m38s7;
4th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m45s5;
5th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +5m51s1;
6th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +5m55s9;
7th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +5m59s6;
8th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +6m33s1;
9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +7m09s1;
10th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +7m16s5

 MC SS7 – Monte roulette DRY @ 00:35 AM - In complete contrast to the previous stage this one is dry. Not even wet, it’s dry asphalt from start to finish, so who has the wrong tyres now? It’s like a return from the previous stage. This time Hirvonen is the one with the stunning time, while Kopecky punctures and drops from 7th back to 10th. Also Vouilloz & Ogier swap their positions back to what it was before SS6. Results after SS7:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h24m37s;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m08s5;
3rd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m37s6;
4th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m41s1;
5th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +5m03s2;
6th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +5m23s7;
7th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +5m37s2;
8th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +6m00s7;
9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +6m41s4;
10th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +6m47s2

 MC SS6 – Monte roulette SNOW @ 00:32 AM - This is Monte lottery in a nice way (not like unseen zero grip black ice that is beyond skills). This stage is on complete deep snow, and Peugeot gambles on snow tyres, though we lost Meeke. But this is not Peugeot’s Monte it seems. This time Sarrazin goes off again for over 2 minutes in the very last corner after stunning splits! Ogier however gets through and beats everybody by over half a min and moves up a place. But next stage dry Hirvonen and co would hit back? Results after SS6:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h09m54s;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +44s2;
3rd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m07s7;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m14s4;
5th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m58s1;
6th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +4m32s2;
7th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +4m59s2;
8th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +5m08s7;
9th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +5m20s2;
10th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +6m02s4

 MC SS5 – Peugeot’s déjà vu déjà vu @ 00:25 AM - Déjà vu for Peugeot yet again! IRC must look so uncompetitive to WRC fans! Hirvonen 13sec off the pace, but for the 3rd stage in a row his closest challenger, always a Peugeot, goes off. This time Meeke, gambling on tyres and goes down slow motion into a ravine before Vouilloz's 2009 bridge 1km into the stage. His gamble could have been interesting with most of this and all of the next stage being snow. Results after SS5:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h51m53s2;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +53s7;
3rd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m07s4;
4th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m48s8;
5th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m15s8;
6th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +3m29s3;
7th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +4m21s6;
8th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +4m57s2;
9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +5m18s2;
10th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +5m30s7

 MC leg1 – Peugeot deja vu @ 00:16 AM - Multiple deja vu for Peugeot even. This is Ogier’s stage, he even takes 20s out of Hirvonen this time. But for the 2nd time in a row a Peugeot driver lost several minutes and drops from 2nd to 8th, this time Sarrazin, puncture, increasing Hirvonen’s lead despite his slow time. And strange, on all for stages today Vouilloz started extremely strong and then lost many seconds towards the end – concentration? Overdriving tyres and brakes? Kopecky moving from 20th to 12th on this long stage. Results after leg1 (SS4):
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h34m01s8;
2nd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +41s9;
3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m04s4;
4th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m20s3;
5th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +1m51s1;
6th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +2m28s1;
7th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +2m43s2;
8th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +3m15s8;

 MC SS3 – Ogier punctures @ 00:15 AM - Another stage win for new Ford, but again only by 2s. His big lead only comes after both French works Peugeots have tyre problems, Ogier even going off for 2min and losing 2nd place. Results after SS3:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h02m55s2;
2nd= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +35s4;
=3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +45s2;
=3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +45s2;
5th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1m09s3;
6th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +1m37s5;
7th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +1m55s5;
8th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +2m11s8;
9th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +2m27s2;
10th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +3m17s4

 MC SS2 – 45km no snow @ 00:14 AM - What weather, after weeks of snow, 2 days ago here was still 80cm! Gardemeister in the Abarth ights a misted windscreen and was off briefly, he still is 7th fastest, but 45s down. Meeke unlucky finding the thickest of the patchy and moving fog. Maurin retires the 2nd new Ford with a blown engine. Ogier wins stage 10s from Hirvonen. Results after SS2:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 47m05s5;
2nd= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +4s9;
3rd= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +18s8;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +32s5;
5th= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +43s2;
6th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +54s;
7th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +1m05s7;
8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +1m14s1;
9th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +1m57s6;
10th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +2m49s5

 MC SS1 – Good start or new Ford @ 00:12 AM - Hirvonen wins first proper stage with the new Fiesta S2000, but only by 0.4s! Vouilloz and Gardemeister both lose time towards the end with slick tyres on ice, but with the next 45km stage being snow free, this should shuffle back! Kopecky had to change puncture (over 3min), Wilks struggles (over 1min). Results after SS1:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 16m01s4;
2nd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +0s4;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +9s7;
4th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +14s1;
5th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +14s6;
6th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, +30s8;
7th= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +32s;
8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +35s8;
9th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +50s6;
10th= Maurin/Thimonier, Ford, +1m04s8

 MC SS0 – New Prologue idea @ 00:10 AM - A prologue to identify the starting order for the 1st leg proper. Gardemeister’s clear win in the Abarth is a surprise, with top10 reverse (actually top12 reverse minus Bouffier & Wittmann, don’t know why) there was no snow ploughing reason holding back for anyone. F1 driver Kubica first retirement already here with blown engine. Results after SS0:
1st= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Fiat Abarth, 6m54s2;
2nd= Vouilloz/Veillas, Skoda, +1s2;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +3s3;
4th= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +7s5;
5th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +12s6;
6th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +14s8;
7th= Wittmann/Wicha, Peugeot, +15s1;
=8th= Wilks/Pugh, Skoda, +18s9;
=8th= Bouffier/Panseri, Subaru, +18s9;
10th= Sarrazin/Renucci, Peugeot, +20s7;
11th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Peugeot, +22s;
12th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +24s8