Sat August 7, 2010

 Loix dominates Rali Vinho Madeira Freddy Loix has made it two wins from two starts in this season's Intercontinental Rally Challenge by heading a Skoda one-two-three on Rali Vinho Madeira. Loix's victory was his fifth since the IRC began in 2007 and means he joins Kris Meeke at the top of the list of all-...

 Fast Freddy in charge on Madeira Freddy Loix's bid to make it two Intercontinental Rally Challenge wins from two starts is on track after he and co-driver Frederic Miclotte completed the opening leg of Rali Vinho Madeira with a lead of 21.1s in their factory Skoda Fabia Super 2000 Facelift. Loix had been eng...

NEWS JUST IN

 P/VM end - Loix wins Vinho Madeira @ 04:16 PM - Loix celebrates a deserved win on his 4th attempt in Madeira. Nunes stays 4th, but while we have a Skoda podium lock out, Peugeot honours are held up solely by local Madeiran drivers! End results (after SS21)(subject to last time control and scrutineering):
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 3h08m14s3;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +37s8;
3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +2m25s8;
4th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +2m42s7;
5th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +3m13s7;
6th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +9m03s2;
7th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +9m29s;
8th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +10m39s8;
9th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +11m06s3;
10th= Bruyneel/Vanneste, Peugeot, +12m38s9

 P/VM SS20 - Hänninen overtakes Nunes @ 03:28 PM - Hänninen is now 3rd, but only 2.6s from Nunes and only 1 stage left, which is however 22km. Results after SS20:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h54m25s3;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +35s7;
3rd= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +2m22s6;
4th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +2m25s2;
5th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +3m03s5;
6th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +8m27s9;
7th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +8m48s5;
8th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +9m50s5;
9th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +10m15s7;
10th= Bruyneel/Vanneste, Peugeot, +11m52s2

 P/VM SS19 - Loix looks in control @ 03:24 PM - With unusual many retirements on Madeira this year, everybody seems to settle now 3 stages from finish. There is still a fight for 3rd place, but Nunes also has to consider his max Madeira championship points. Results after SS19:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h47m13s9;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +36s7;
3rd= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +2m21s8;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +2m23s4;
5th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m59s;
6th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +8m13s8;
7th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +8m31s9;
8th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +9m28s;
9th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +9m48s3;
10th= Bruyneel/Vanneste, Peugeot, +11m31s3

 P/VM SS18 - Skoda fighting for orders @ 01:31 PM - Apparently no team orders for Skoda, even though Loix would take points away from their permanent drivers. First order for now is to fight for a podium lock out. Hänninen 4.9s behind Nunes and catching. Results after SS18:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h39m19s8;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +35s4;
3rd= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +2m15s7;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +2m20s6;
5th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m52s7;
6th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +7m53s1;
7th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +8m06s8;
8th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +9m03s4;
9th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +9m13s1;
10th= Bruyneel/Vanneste, Peugeot, +11m00s3

 P/VM SS17 - Meeke blows engine! @ 11:32 AM - Unconfirmed what happened to Meeke's engine, but he is parked and Hänninen lost over a minuted near Meeke's car slipping on lots of engine oil! This moves Nunes from 5th to 3rd. Rui Pinto also out from 7th. Fontana misses jump into top10 with a puncture. Results after SS17:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h32m13s6;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +33s2;
3rd= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +2m11s6;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +2m18s2;
5th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m44s5;
6th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +7m36s8;
7th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +7m48s;
8th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +8m45s4;
9th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +8m53s4;
10th= Bruyneel/Vanneste, Peugeot, +10m39s

 P/VM SS16 - Meeke retakes 2nd @ 10:33 AM - And it is actually Meeke's stage win. This was the cross island stage in reverse. Next stage is a mix in both directions of the starting stage yesterday, Rossetti would have liked that stage. Results after SS16:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h18m30s1;
2nd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +25s8;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +26s8;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m08s6;
5th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m46s9;
6th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m24s8;
7th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +6m41s6;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +6m56s7;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +7m02s6;
10th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +7m59s6

 P/VM SS15 - Kopecky takes Meeke @ 09:57 AM - There is no stopping Loix. The big battle is between Kopecky and Meeke for 2nd. Meeke is not even fastest Peugeot here, beaten by Nunes, overall he drops now 0.3s behind Kopecky. Meeke with alternator problems. 2 more stages. This is coastal stage to the West, furthest away from HQ. Results after SS15:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h11m20s6;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +25s9;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +26s2;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m07s7;
5th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m43s1;
6th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m16s9;
7th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +6m23s4;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +6m36s8;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +6m45s3;
10th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +7m36s8

 P/VM SS14 - New day, same stage winner @ 09:47 AM - Fast Freddy stamps his authority onto this year's Rali Vinho Madeira. No major dramas, but Meeke as sole Peugeot fighter is not enough to stop Skodas. Well, local Miguel Nunes is strong. Results after SS14:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 2h03m25s4;
2nd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +23s3;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +24s2;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m05s3;
5th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m40s5;
6th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +2m08s8;
7th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +6m05s8;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +6m13s7;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +6m22s4;
10th= Peres/Ferreira, Mitsubishi, +7m10s9

Fri August 6, 2010

NEWS JUST IN

 P/VM day1 - Loix leads @ 07:21 PM - Loix has quite a strong lead after Rossetti's off. Well, 21s, which is nearly triple the time last years end of rally top3 were separated by! Another stage win for Loix too. Still, 21s is not that much.... Results after day1 (SS13):
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h56m17s9;
2nd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +21s1;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +22s2;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +59s6;
5th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m35s6;
6th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m59s2;
7th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +5m43s6;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +5m53s5;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +6m05s7;
10th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +6m48s9

 P/VM SS12 - Big crash for Rossetti! @ 06:43 PM - Still early for clear info. Loix (who started after Rossetti) fastest, but the stage has been stopped after Loix, likely as a result of the accident. Either way sad the sole Abarth did so well and now is out. Results after SS12:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h46m13s1;
2nd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +19s6;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +21s5;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +53s;
5th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m28s9;
6th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m49s5;
7th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +5m14s6;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +5m26s4;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +5m32s;
10th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +6m19s6

 P/VM SS11 - Rossetti takes one back @ 06:02 PM - Rossetti and Abarth win this stage, but only by 1s from Loix. Kopecky is closing in on Meeke, only 0.4s between them, and next stage is not liked by Meeke's car. Results after SS11:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h37m45s6;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +7s1;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +18s8;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +19s2;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +44s;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m19s9;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m40s5;
8th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +4m53s1;
9th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +5m04s9;
10th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +5m10s5

 P/VM SS10 - Top4 within 1s... @ 05:49 PM - Top4 within 1s on this stage. No major drama. This loop is a repeat of the last 4 stages, so SS10 again centre island, followed by 2 coastal stages. Results after SS10:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h31m16s2;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +8s1;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +17s;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +18s3;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +41s;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m13s4;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m31s8;
8th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +4m34s1;
9th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +4m45s1;
10th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +4m49s7

 P/VM SS9 - Rossetti wins stage @ 03:59 PM - But only 0.5s from Loix. Meeke complains car is not picking up on acceleration properly. Results after SS9:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h22m50s1;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +7s1;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +16s;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +17s8;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +34s3;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m05s7;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m25s2;
8th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +4m07s5;
9th= Magalhaes/Pereira, Mitsubishi, +4m21s5;
10th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +4m22s1

 P/VM SS8 - Loix extends lead further @ 03:22 PM - Loix wins stage, and it is Kopecky and then the Abarth and even Nunes before Meeke, but all close. Results after SS8:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h12m56s2;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +7s6;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +13s4;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +17s5;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +27s3;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +1m01s4;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m23s3;
8th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +3m47s3;
9th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +3m52s9;
10th= Magalhaes/Perreira, Mitsubishi, +3m45s2

 P/VM SS7 - Loix takes lead again @ 02:43 PM - Loix takes lead again. Next stage will be very similar to this coastal stage, but SS9 (last stage of the loop) is using large parts of the day's 1st stage in both directions. Rossetti's mega strong stage this morning will be last stage of the rally on Saturday. Results after SS7:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 1h04m09s5;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +2s5;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +6s1;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +15s5;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +21s8;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +54s7;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m11s2;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +3m20s9;
9th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +3m23s8;
10th= Magalhaes/Perreira, Mitsubishi, +3m27s3

 P/VM SS6 - Close at the front @ 02:10 PM - Loix and Meeke close on Rossetti. This stage crosses the middle of the island, rest of loop staying East near Funchal. Results after SS6:
1st= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, 57m35s7;
2nd= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, +1s8;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +4s;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +14s8;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +21s5;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +50s9;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m06s1;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +2m57s1;
9th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +3m06s7;
10th= Magalhaes/Perreira, Mitsubishi, +3m09s1

 P/VM SS5 - Abarth top, Ford flop @ 01:32 PM - This downhill brakes heavy stage seems to suit Rossetti & Abarth, as he has a stunning time and retakes the lead. It is where Magalhaes crashed before, this time Kopecky had a huge moment and both Fords of Sousa & Campos retired probably with technical problems. Results after SS5:
1st= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, 49m01s6;
2nd= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, +4s3;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +5s6;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +15s7;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +21s5;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +46s3;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +1m05s3;
8th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +2m40s5;
9th= Pinto/Faria, Mitsubishi, +2m43s8;
10th= Magalhaes/Perreira, Mitsubishi, +2m47s6

 P/VM SS4 - Loix retakes lead @ 11:59 AM - Loix beats team mate Kopecky by 0.1s on the stage and leads rally now by 1.8s from Rossetti. Next again the fast downhill stage that is so hard on the brakes. Results after SS4:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 35m27s2;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +1s8;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +5s2;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +11s;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +22s2;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +34s7;
7th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +40s5;
8th= Campos/Monteiro, Ford, +42s2;
9th= Sousa/da Silva, Ford, +42s6;
10th= Freitas/Figueiroa, Mitsubishi, +1m46s5

 P/VM SS3 - Abarth top, Bruno flop @ 10:10 AM - Wow, what headline to chose? Many drivers overcooked their brakes on this 22km Terreiros stage. Abarth can still do it, are they pissed off not having done an IRC campaign? As Rossetti leads the rally! Pissed off after his SS2 puncture was pre-event favourite Bruno Magalhaes, who now had a big crash and is on his way home! Results after SS3:
1st= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, 25m30s7;
2nd= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, +1s8;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +4s9;
4th= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +12s7;
5th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +16s1;
6th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +25s9;
7th= Campos/Monteiro, Ford, +31s1;
8th= Sousa/da Silva, Ford, +32s3;
9th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +32s6;
10th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +1m25s1

 P/VM SS2 - Magalhaes rally ruined! @ 09:31 AM - Definite pre-event favourite Bruno Magalhaes loses well over 2min with a puncture on the first morning stage! Loix fastest and takes lead, Meeke down to 3rd but believes he has the better tyres for the next stage. Results after SS2:
1st= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, 11m44s5;
2nd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +0s7;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +2s2;
4th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +4s7;
5th= Sousa/da Silva, Ford, +7s9;
6th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +9s3;
7th= Campos/Monteiro, Ford, +17s3;
8th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +17s6;
9th= Sa/Rodriguez, Peugeot, +18s9;
10th= Moura/Costa, Mitsubishi, +38s3

Thu August 5, 2010

 Kris Meeke on the Sunshine Island Peugeot UK's Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle will start today creating their pace notes for the fast and twisty tarmac stages of this year's Vinho Rally of Madeira....

 Rali Vinho Madeira - Preview With six winners from the opening seven rounds, the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season is already proving to be an epic. Less than a month after a thrilling climax to Sata Rallye Acores, when the lead changed hands three times on the final two stages, the IRC continues ...

NEWS JUST IN

 P/VM SS1 - Super Funchal city stage @ 10:55 PM - Peugeot 1-2 with Meeke just ahead of Magalhaes. Drama free stage, but even the superspecials in IRC are better than WRC ones. Nothing stadion side by side but proper picturesque and technical Funchal sea front stage. Results after SS1:
1st= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, 1m37s2;
2nd= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +0s3;
3rd= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, +0s7;
4th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1s1;
5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +2s3;
6th= Loix/Miclotte, Skoda, +2s5;
7th= Sousa/da Silva, Ford, +3s1;
8th= Fontana/Arena, Peugeot, +3s7;
9th= Campos/Monteiro, Ford, +5s;
10th= Nunes/Calado, Peugeot, +5s2

Sun August 1, 2010

 Magalhaes hopes to win Madeira too Following their exciting result a fortnight ago in the Azores, Bruno Magalhaès and Kris Meeke move on to another Portuguese Atlantic island – Madeira – determined to repeat their one-two success. Set-up work on the 207 S2000 has made the car more competitive than ever and Peugeot...

Mon July 26, 2010

 Basso's Madeira hopes not over Giandomenico Basso's hopes of starting Rally Vinho Madiera, 8th round of the 2010 IRC, are not yet over despite a budget shortfall of around 15,000 Euros. According to Portuguese sources, the organisers are trying to persuade the local Fiat importer to make up for the budget ...