Tue August 11, 2009

 Aava shines in Finland Honda showed tremendous form in the two-wheel-drive category of the World Rally Championship's annual visit to Finland this weekend. On the fast and flowing gravel for which the event is seen as one of the most important and prestigious of the year, Urmo Aava underlined the co...

Mon August 3, 2009

 Anton Alens Finnish compensation Abarth driver Anton Alen has finished 12th overall and second in Group N on his native Rally Finland, at the wheel of a Grande Punto S2000. Of Alen's seven World Rally Championship participations, he has now finished on the class podium in four of them....

Sun August 2, 2009

 Ogier shows his class in Finland On their first participation in the Rally Finland at the wheel of the C4 WRC, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have finished sixth after setting a fastest time on day two. This excellent result underlines the progress made by the Citroën Junior Team since the start of the 2...

 Loeb on the podium in Finland The short third and final leg of the 2009 Rally Finland failed to change anything at the sharp end of the leaderboard. Having figured in second place since Friday morning, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena completed the event in the same position to keep their chances of defendin...

 Double points finish for Stobart Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson earned his best ever result and his first drivers’ point at Neste Oil Rally Finland as he took eighth place at round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship. The young Briton climbed steadily through the field during the rally to bol...

 Hirvonen nets dream home victory BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen fulfilled a childhood dream by winning Rally Finland in front of his home town fans in Jyväskylä today. Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen won the legendary rally by 25.1sec in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to ext...

 Hanninen takes GrpN victory The Red Bull Rally Team unquestionably went for the superlatives at the Neste Oil Rally Finland, the ninth round of the World Rally Championship....

NEWS JUST IN

 FIN end - Hirvonen wins home event @ 11:02 AM - Hirvonen does what every Finnish rally driver has to do. Loeb admits after puncture no chance, Mikko drove well. Rantanen lost 5th place despite Ogier early stage overshot and then Rantanen re-gains it by just 0.3s in massive last split charge! Unofficial, provisional end positions (after SS23):
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h50m40s9;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +25s1;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +49s9;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m06s1;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +4m18s2;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m18s5;
7th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +5m07s5;
8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m33s6;
9th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +12m57s3;
10th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +14m13s7

 FIN SS22 - Rantanen vs Ogier @ 09:35 AM - Ogier is catching Rantanen big. Only 6.5km stage left, but the gap is down to 0.6s! Rautenbach proves he is as good as team mate Novikov and has another embarrassing crash. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS22:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h47m26s8;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +25s8;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +51s6;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m05s5;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +4m19s1;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m19s7;
7th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +5m03s;
8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m31s8;
9th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +12m47s4;
10th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +14m03s4

 FIN SS21 - Ogier closes on Rantanen @ 09:09 AM - Hirvonen backs well off, but new superstar Rantanen could lose his place to another new superstar. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS21:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h40m32s2;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +26s1;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +54s1;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m06s2;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +4m14s3;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m18s9;
7th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m57s2;
8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m13s4;
9th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +9m00s1;
10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +12m14s1

 FIN SS20 - Latvala wins stage @ 09:03 AM - All places are sorted bar 3rd and 5th. Latvala's stage win let's the gap to Sordo for 3rd grow. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS20:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h33m23s7;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +35s5;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m01s5;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m14s3;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +4m11s7;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m26s4;
7th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +5m01s;
8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m01s2;
9th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +8m52s1;
10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +11m50s8

Sat August 1, 2009

 Ogier moves up to 6th Building on the the experience built up since the start of the season and a solid first day, the Citroën Junior Team has made solid progress on the Rally Finland today. Having set a fastest time on their first participation on this mythical round of the WRC, Sébastien Ogier and...

 Hanninen makes it 9 out of 9 The Red Bull Rally Team will head into tomorrow’s final day of the Neste Oil Rally Finland with an enormous Group N lead – because:...

 Loeb changes tactics after puncture After starting the second day of the 2009 Rally Finland with the firm intention of continuing his scrap with Mikko Hirvonen for first place, Sébastien Loeb has been forced to switch his focus to defending second place following a puncture. Dani Sordo is just seconds away from a...

 Wilson on track for points finish Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson is in line for another FIA World Rally Championship points finish after moving up two places to eighth on Day 2 of Rally Finland, the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. But Wilson’s Stobart team mate Henning Solberg had ...

 Hirvonen extends lead on day two BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen strengthened their grip on the lead of Rally Finland during today's second leg. The Finns won six of the nine speed tests in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to stretch their advantage to 32.0sec ...

 Alen looks to make more progress After the opening full day of the Rally Finland, Abarth driver Anton Alen has successfully negotiated the nine stages that made up Friday's action. The 26-year-old returns to parc ferme in the university town of Jyvaskyla in 15th place overall, having had no major problems at ...

NEWS JUST IN

 FIN leg2 - Räikkönen & Ostberg out @ 04:43 PM - Both off, Ostberg continued but retired later anyway, Räikkönen had a big double roll, crew fine, car isn't. At the front no change. Unofficial, provisional positions after leg2 (SS19):
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h27m35s8;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +32s;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m08s3;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m18s8;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +4m10s6;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m28s1;
7th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m59s1;
8th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m01s7;
9th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +8m43s8;
10th= Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +11m29s

 FIN SS18 - Ogier wins stage @ 04:03 PM - Sébastien Ogier is joint stage winner with Latvala and eventually passes Ostberg for 6th. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS18:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h12m36s;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +33s2;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m11s8;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m14s8;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +3m45s9;
6th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m24s5;
7th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +4m27s2;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m41s1;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m32s8;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +8m06s1

 FIN SS17 - Loeb backs off @ 02:49 PM - Loeb seems to back off and make sure of 2nd. All other positions stable, Ogier still close to Ostberg. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS17:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h07m25s3;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +32s4;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m12s4;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m13s4;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +3m40s2;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +4m22s8;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m25s1;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m39s1;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m24s1;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +7m54s4

 FIN SS16 - Latvala massive push @ 12:31 AM - Latvala wins his first stage of the event and just edges past Sordo into 3rd in one go! Also good time from Ogier, who bullies Ostberg. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS16:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 2h01m29s8;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +28s;
3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m08s8;
4th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m10s2;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +3m31s4;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +4m13s;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m15s1;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m30s1;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m12s4;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +7m35s9

 FIN SS15 - Fight over for Loeb @ 10:58 AM - Loeb has puncture that drops him 13s and also could have caused suspension damage that then would effect him for one more stage. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS15:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h53m28s8;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +26s;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m03s7;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m10s1;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +3m17s3;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +4m00s5;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +4m08s5;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m20s2;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m00s1;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +7m11s3

 FIN SS14 - dear souprally for Petter @ 10:22 AM - Petter Solberg retired with a blown engine, probably a legacy of his off yesterday. Also Novikov crashed out again. Otherwise all positions stay stable. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS14:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h42m53s4;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +12s5;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +56s5;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m06s9;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +2m53s1;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +3m40s1;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +3m52s6;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +4m04s4;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +4m31s3;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +6m40s2

 FIN SS13 - Loeb no chance on loop @ 08:35 AM - Damp conditions after overnight rain mean 1st on te road is actually an advantage. Road gets worse for every car. Rantanen's problem: He wants to prove what he can do but nobody to fight with. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS13:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h32m50s;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +10s9;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +52s8;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m01s9;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +2m32s9;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +3m21s4;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +3m35s2;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +3m43s5;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m56s9;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +6m06s6

 FIN SS12 - Solberg & Tuohino out @ 08:22 AM - Henning Solberg retired from 5th for unconfirmed reason. Janne Tuohino's Peugeot 207 S2000 broke its clutch when 3rd PWRC ahead of Räikkönen. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS12:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h24m48s8;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +6s9;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +44s9;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +54s6;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +2m11s2;
6th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +3m01s;
7th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +3m19s8;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +3m22s9;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m35s3;
10th= Rautenbach/Barrit, Citroen, +5m27s2

 FIN SS11-Solberg moves up @ 08:14 AM - Hirvonen wins opening stage, H.Solberg passes Rantanen, Ketomaa drops behind Ogier and Wilson. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS11:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h14m17s1;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +5s5;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +33s1;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +43s7;
5th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m39s6;
6th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +1m42s6;
7th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +2m04s5;
8th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +2m45s4;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m53s4;
10th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +2m54s4

Fri July 31, 2009

 Solberg holds 6th after day one Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Henning Solberg is occupying a strong position at the end of Day 1 of Neste Oil Rally Finland, the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, moving up to sixth place after ten stages of fast-paced action around the Finnish lakes and forests. ...

 Mixed day for CJT in Finland On the rapid roads of the first day of the Rally Finland, the Citroën Junior Team has placed two C4 WRCs just outside the points. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are currently ninth. They lie in front of Conrad Rautenbach and Daniel Barritt, who are 11th. Having hit proble...

 Finnish duel lives up to it's promise The anticipated duel between Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Loeb lived up every bit to its promise throughout the opening day of the 2009 Rally Finland. Following today's visit to the Killeri super-special, the Finn leads the five-time World Champion by just 3.3 seconds. The s...

 Hanninen dominates day one Juho Hänninen proves himself with incredible consistency Eight fastest times today and a convincing lead in Group N!...

 Hirvonen controls day one in Finland BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen celebrated his 29th birthday in style today as he and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen led the opening leg of Rally Finland from start to finish. The Finns won four of the eight gravel speed tests in their Ford Focus RS World Rall...

 Abarth and Alen for Finnish history Abarth factory driver Anton Alen - the son of Finnish rally legend Markku Alen - has enjoyed a successful shakedown test prior to the start of Rally Finland, which gets underway this evening....

NEWS JUST IN

 FIN leg1 - Good stage for Citroen @ 02:14 PM - Loeb narrows gap to Hirvonen to 4s. Ogier overtakes Wilson again. Superspecialstage still coming in leg1, but I am not waiting 5 hours for 1 minute of action! IRC Madeira still having 8 proper stages to come today!!!! Unofficial, provisional positions after leg1 (SS9):
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 1h02m51s4;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +4s;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +20s3;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +29s5;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +1m12s7;
6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m15s8;
7th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +1m35s6;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +1m37s;
9th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +2m13s2;
10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m17s1

 FIN SS8 - no change in top10 @ 02:09 PM - Loeb wins stage but top4 seem settled. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS8:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 55m47s3;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +6s5;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +17s8;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +28s;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +1m06s8;
6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m12s2;
7th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +1m24s5;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +1m30s3;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m05s3;
10th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +2m11s6

 FIN SS7 - Citroen Junior Team struggle @ 12:23 AM - Hirvonen wins stage, but next two stages were better for Loeb first time round. After losing Novikov with a crash on SS2, in SS7 both Ogier and Rautenbach spend a few secs in a ditch. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS7:
1st= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, 49m09s2;
2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +7s6;
3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +17s;
4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +22s1;
5th= Rantanen/Lukka, Ford, +59s8;
6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m06s7;
7th= Ostberg/Andersson, Subaru, +1m09s9;
8th= Ketomaa/Stenberg, Subaru, +1m23s9;
9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +1m49s5;
10th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +1m59s7