Sun February 1, 2009

 Stobart's points triple in Ireland Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team secured a superb triple points haul at the opening round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Ireland....

 Citroen juniors score points on debut With two cars placed in the top six of the Rally Ireland, the Citroen Junior Team has made a successful debut on the World Rally Championship. On their first rally with a Citroen C4 WRC, Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot have finished fifth. Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrass...

 Citroen kick off 2009 in style

 Hirvonen nets podium for Ford

NEWS JUST IN

 IRL end - definitely no change here @ 01:51 PM - Only 1.5km, but technical city centre stage. Unofficial, provisional end positions (SS19): 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h48m25s7; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m27s9; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m07s8; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m32s4; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +7m51s9; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +10m44s; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +11m23s8; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +14m07s9; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +15m23s4; 10th= Aava/Sikk, Ford, +15m35s4

 IRL SS17 - no change @ 10:25 AM - ...apart from Aava sneaked into top10. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS17: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h38m49s6; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m23s; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m26s1; 4th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m41s5; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m46s4; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +10m27s5; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +10m57s8; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +13m40s1; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +14m39s5; 10th= Aava/Sikk, Ford, +15m17s3

 IRL SS16 - no change in top10 @ 09:28 AM - Shortened Arigna stage. Atko struggles to pull away from Henning. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS16: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h32m18s7; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m17s8; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m30s; 4th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m28s5; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m32s4; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +10m06s4; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +10m33s5; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +12m56s9; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +13m59s; 10th= Aa.McHale/Duffy, Ford, +14m44s7

 IRL SS15 - Atko takes 4th @ 09:09 AM - Atkinson passes Solberg as expected. These are probably the end results now. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS15: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h26m15s1; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m09s5; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m29s9; 4th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m17s8; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m19s3; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +9m46s5; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +10m11s; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +12m27s4; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +13m26s3; 10th= Aa.McHale/Duffy, Ford, +14m17s2

 IRL SS18 - mild off for Atkinson @ 00:40 AM - That's 4th place gone for Atko. Only a 1.5km stage left. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS18: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h47m13s7; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m27s; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m11s7; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m35s5; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +7m51s6; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +10m44s9; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +11m18s1; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +14m05s9; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +15m21s4; 10th= Aava/Sikk, Ford, +15m35s8

Sat January 31, 2009

 Citroen junior team makes its mark Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot spearheaded the attack from the Citroen Junior Team on the second day of the Rally Ireland. Having stepped their pace up a gear, the Citroen C4 WRC crew now ends the second day of the event just a few seconds off fourth place. Sebastien Ogier...

 Citroen C4 WRCs dictate the pace The second leg of the 2009 Rally Ireland has seen the two Citroën Total World Rally Team crews strengthen their domination at the sharp end of the provisional leaderboard. A score of five fastest times from a possible six enabled Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena to keep a firm ...

 Stobart splash through leg two The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team enjoyed a drama-free second day at Rally Ireland and closed in on a strong result in the opening round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship....

 Hirvonen maintains 3rd for Ford BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen maintained their grip on third place during today's second leg of Rally Ireland. After more than 48 hours of continuous rain the asphalt roads of north-west Ireland were soaked. However, the wet wea...

NEWS JUST IN

 IRL leg2 - all sorted for last day @ 04:02 PM - Final results should be forgone conclusion. Atkinson can take 4th, everything else big gaps. Gareth McHale lost turbo. Unofficial, provisional positions after leg2 (SS14): 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h20m02s8; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m09s1; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m30s9; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +5m57s4; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m02s1; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +9m13s4; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +9m51s3; 8th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +11m50s; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +12m40s4; 10th= Aa.McHale/Duffy, Ford, +13m40s4

 IRL SS13 - Citroen jr. on the move @ 03:33 PM - Ogier passed Wilson and Atkinson is threatening Solberg. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS13: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h12m32s7; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m04s9; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m27s5; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +5m47s4; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m00s6; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +8m59s; 7th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +9m27s8; 8th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +11m07s; 9th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +11m24s4; 10th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +11m57s7

 IRL SS12 - minor off for Loeb @ 02:42 PM - Loeb lost some 15sec. Ogier takes chunks of time out of Wilson. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS12: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h59m41s3; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +59s8; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m15s5; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +5m27s2; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +5m55s8; 6th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +8m26s4; 7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +8m27s7; 8th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +9m55s8; 9th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +10m31s4; 10th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +10m43s8

 IRL SS11 - big gaps now @ 10:29 AM - Basically everything sorted. Maybe Ogier can attack Wilson. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS11: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h44m53s7; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m12s2; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m29s2; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +5m15s; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +6m02s; 6th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +7m46s5; 7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +8m13s4; 8th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +9m04s6; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +9m36s5; 10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +9m52s3

 IRL SS10 - power steering for Hirvonen @ 09:56 AM - Is all settled already? Power steering problems cost Hirvonen 20sec in SS10, but will effect him much more on the next one! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS10: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h37m20s6; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m06s8; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m49s6; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +4m56s8; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +5m50s9; 6th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +7m14s4; 7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +7m50s7; 8th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +8m18s3; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +8m54s1; 10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +9m19s8

 IRL SS9 - Ogier, Rautenbach off! @ 08:53 AM - All happening in the Citroen Junior team on the first stage. Rautenbach off for good, Ogier spun after having problems with the door lock! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS9: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h24m18s5; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +57s1; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m18s1; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +4m14s8; 5th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +5m34s2; 6th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m05s3; 7th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +6m47s6; 8th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +7m03s9; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +7m34s3; 10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +8m12s5

Fri January 30, 2009

 Citroen Juniours lie 5th, 6th & 7th On its World Rally Championship debut, the Citroen Junior Team has ended up with fifth, sixth and seventh places at the end of day one on the Rally Ireland. Conrad Rautenbach and Daniel Barritt led the trio through some typically Irish conditions… The first day of the Rally Ir...

 C4 WRCs have a firm grip on the helm Despite torrential rain, the first day of this weekend's Rally Ireland, the opening round of the 2009 World Rally Championship, has seen the two Citroën C4 WRCs emerge in front. After a cautious start, Loeb/Elena and Sordo/Marti gradually upped their pace as the day progres...

 Irish rain dampens Stobart's spirits Early rally leader Urmo Aava saw his bid for victory slip from his grasp on the sixth stage of Rally Ireland. Having dominated the early stages of the event the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver’s Ford Focus RS left the road 6.6km into the 25.19km Aughnasheelan test, and was left st...

 Mikko steers a clean line to third BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen made a strong start to the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship season by splashing their way to third on today's rain-soaked opening leg of Rally Ireland. The Finns overcame treacherous conditions to s...

NEWS JUST IN

 IRL SS6 - Aava and Atko off @ 03:15 PM - Aava stuck in ditch. Atkinson had quite a big impact towards the end of stage and drops a min. Ogier moves up and breathes down the necks of Rautenbach and Solberg. end of day result as SS7 & 8 cancelled for too tricky conditions Unofficial, provisional positions after SS6: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h09m35s2; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +44s4; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m04s8; 4th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +3m09s4; 5th= Rautenbach/Barritt, Citroen, +4m18s3; 6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m23s2; 7th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +4m51s2; 8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +4m56s; 9th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +5m05s1; 10th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +5m54s5

 IRL SS5 - Back to the norm @ 02:39 PM - Aava can't keep ahead of established drivers, back to the norm with 2 Citroens in front. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS5: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 55m50s6; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +40s5; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +45s7; 4th= Sikk/Sikk, Ford, +1m00s2; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +2m16s6; 6th= Rautenbach/Barritt, Citroen, +3m09s2; 7th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +3m22s3; 8th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +3m36s2; 9th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +3m42s2; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m46s9

 IRL SS4 - Loeb takes lead eventually @ 01:59 PM - And straight into a convincing lead for Loeb, despite no problems for Aava. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS4: 1st= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 48m10s1; 2nd= Aava/Sikk, Ford, +31s8; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +32s2; 4th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +34s2; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m30s8; 6th= Rautenbach/Barritt, Citroen, +2m28s3; 7th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +2m50s2; 8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m02s; 9th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +3m02s3; 10th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +3m06s

 IRL SS3 - McShae Proton out from 5th @ 10:57 AM - Latvala (driveshaft from 1st) and McShae (electrics from 5th) join the retirement lists. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS3: 1st= Aava/Sikk, Ford, 36m26s; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +6s7; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +30s9; 4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +36s9; 5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +55s4; 6th= Rautenbach/Barritt, Citroen, +1m26s2; 7th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +1m40s5; 8th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +1m52s7; 9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m05s; 10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +2m10s5

 IRL SS2 - Latvala hits problems @ 10:25 AM - Latvala has driveshaft and suspension problems. Proton S2000 still amazing. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS2: 1st= Aava/Sikk, Ford, 21m35s5; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +22s; 3rd= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +27s6; 4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +30s5; 5th= McShae/Clarke, Proton, +32s8; 6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +37s6; 7th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +51s5; 8th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +59s5; 9th= Rautenbach/Barritt, Citroen, +1m00s5; 10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +1m04s

 IRL SS1 - Weird start to rally @ - Amazing time by McShae in the Proton S2000, maybe helped by starting position. Extremely tricky conditions, Loeb and Ogier gamble on gravel tyres and are completely wrong! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS1: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 12m44s; 2nd= Aava/Sikk, Ford, +17s6; 3rd= McShae/Clarke, Proton, +27s1; 4th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +31s5; 5th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +32s7; 6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +35s9; 7th= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +42s; 8th= G.McHale/Murphy, Ford, +46s; 9th= Boland/Morrissey, Subaru, +51s7; 10th= Atkinson/Prevot, Citroen, +52s5

Wed January 28, 2009

 A new era with the Citroen Junior Team The Citroen Junior Team will make its competition debut on the opening round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally Ireland. Three Citroen C4 WRCs will be entrusted to Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prevot, Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt and Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingr...

 Loeb and Citroen out to defend titles After the short, seven-week winter break, World Rally Championship action resumes in Ireland at the end of January. Following its exceptional 2008 campaign, which harvested 11 wins from 15 rounds, plus both world crowns, Citroën will be back to defend its two titles in 2009. A...

 Ford look to use experience in Ireland BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's young chargers plan to use the lessons learned last season to ignite their challenge in the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship which begins in Ireland next week (29 January - 1 February). Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala raised t...

 Stobart set for Eire raid The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team will look to draw on experience as the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship season gets underway at Rally Ireland next weekend. It will be the first time the championship has started outside of Monaco since 1996, but the Cumbrian team’s previou...

Tue January 6, 2009

 Entry list for Ireland unveiled The entry list for Rally Ireland 2009 has been finalised and a total of 43 crews will battle it out through 350kms and 19 stages of the Northwest from 29th January to the 1st February. In addition a total of 21 World Rally Championship (WRC) cars will compete in the first round o...