Mon January 28, 2008

 Honda on Monte Carlo class podium The JAS Motorsport Honda Civic Type R R3 has finished on the podium in its class at the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship. Luca Betti was the third two-wheel drive car home, ending up in a creditable 19th place overall ahead of many mor...

Sun January 27, 2008

 Fifth Monte win for Sebastien Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena claimed their fifth Monte Carlo win for Citroën in today. Taking their prize at the finish ceremony in front of the Principality’s palace this afternoon, the Citroën pair has carved out an indelible place in the record books of the world longest-st...

 Strong season start for Mikko BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen produced their best performance on the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo to finish second when the tough four-day event ended in Monaco today. The Finns, driving a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, have never cl...

 Chris holds on to Monte podium After four days, 19 stages and 362.39 competitive kilometres, Chris Atkinson triumphed in his momentous battle for third to start the season with a well-deserved podium. Petter Solberg achieved his best result on this event in fifth place overall, earning the Subaru World Rally T...

 PG scores a point on debut Suzuki driver P-G Andersson has finished an excellent eighth on his WRC debut in a World Rally Car, marking the start of the Suzuki World Rally Team's first season in the top category of the sport. Despite some small problems on the opening leg, the young Swede set a fifth-fa...

 Good season start for Stobart On conclusion of the opening round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship, Rallye Monte-Carlo, the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team has all four crews in the top-ten. The superb result also puts the team equal third in the manufacturers’ championship just three points behind ...

NEWS JUST IN

 MC SS18 - Duval vs Atko in SSS! @ 01:14 PM - Duval only 1.1s behind Atkinson now. Confusion in groupN: Burri's new Impreza GE ran without problems for 3 days, now he reports: "Engine down on 40BHP, brakes gone completely, suspension worn too!" Unofficial provisional positions after SS18: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h37m33s7; 2 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m35s4; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3m01s6; 4 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m02s7; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +4m43s3; 6 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +8m46s8; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +10m23s; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +11m15s; 9 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +12m43s7; 10 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +13m58s7

 MC SS16 - Duval 4sec off Atkinson @ 11:18 AM - Duval won SS15, 2nd in SS16 behind Sordo. Battle for 3rd place really hot now. Unofficial provisional positions after SS16: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h17m34s1; 2 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m26s; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3m05s8; 4 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m09s8; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +4m28s; 6 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +8m20s2; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +9m26s9; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +10m09s8; 9 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +12m13s3; 10 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +13m03s7

 MC SS15 - Duval closes in @ 10:18 AM - Duval wins the stage in storming style and reduces gap to Atkinson in 3rd from 20sec to just 8sec! Other than that all as usual.

 MC SS17 - groupN fight decided @ 00:34 AM - The split seconds dingdong battle in groupN is decided in favour of Mitsubishi driver Patrick Artru. Olivier Burri in his brand new Subaru Impreza GE hatchback dropped 2min in SS16 with some mechanical problem. Still in 13th place and such 3min ahead of the leading groupN cars is Alessandro Broccoli in his low budget, FWD Renault Clio R3 - amazing!

 MC SS17 - 2nd Turini run @ 00:06 AM - Atko was already 4.2 ahead of Duval on the uphill mid point, but Duval came back on the downhill and won another 0.5s. Unofficial provisional positions after SS17: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h33m07s7; 2 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m34s9; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3m00s4; 4 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m03s9; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +4m42s2; 6 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +8m40s1; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +10m09s4; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +10m51s6; 9 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +12m39s3; 10 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +13m45s8

Sat January 26, 2008

 Hirvonen profits from Sordo's demise BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen ended the penultimate day of Rallye Monte Carlo in second place following another strong performance in the French mountains. The Finns' consistent pace enabled them to climb from third this morning i...

 A mixed day for Citroen Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena completed the third day of the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally on top of the provisional leaderboard with their Citroën C4 WRC after spending Saturday managing from in front without taking any undue risks. At the wheel of the second Citroën Total car, Dani ...

 All to play for after day three The Subaru Impreza WRC2007 of Chris Atkinson and Stephané Prévot finished today’s stages in third position overall after a day of incredibly challenging and unpredictable conditions. Petter Solberg and Phil Mills also drove a determined day to maintain fifth place overall going i...

 Suzuki step up the pace on Saturday On its very first event, the Suzuki SX4 WRC of P-G Andersson has finished the third day of the Monte Carlo Rally in a provisional points-scoring place. The cars have set quick times in the top eight all day, including a brilliant fifth-fastest time from P-G Andersson on SS9....

 Duval and Galli in the top six Day three of Rallye Monte-Carlo has proved to be another top one for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team with both its nominated point scoring drivers inside the top-six overall....

NEWS JUST IN

 Gardemeister out, Sordo in @ 08:42 PM - Latest news from leg3 is that Toni Gardemeister's Suzuki had too many problems, last clutch and a cooking engine. Gardemeister, listed 10th after SS14, is withdrawn from the rally and will not restart tomorrow. In turn Sordo has indeed been confirmed as a turbo problem, not engine or crash. Sordo will restart tomorrow and minus Gardemeister under souprally he is even in a points position for Citroen.

 MC leg3 - Loeb by 2min @ 03:30 PM - Only 20s between Atkinson & Duval for 3rd, both Suzuki in top10. Tomorrow still good day left with 2 runs over Col de Turini plus 2 runs over 23km La Bollene stage. Unofficial provisional positions after leg3/SS14: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h50m38s8; 2 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +2m10s6; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3m02s6; 4 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m22s7; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +4m11s8; 6 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +7m39s7; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +8m19s7; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +9m31s8; 9 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +11m17s; 10 - Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +11m23s4

 MC SS12 - Latvala out @ 01:10 PM - Jari-Matti Latvala stopped on SS12 with broken suspension. Otherwise positions remained unchanged.

 MC SS11 - Sordo out @ 10:16 AM - Following Sordo's problems everybody moves up. Duval a strong 2nd fastest on SS11 is closing on a podium place. Unofficial provisional positions after SS11: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h13m43s8; 2 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m53s5; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3m05s3; 4 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m15s4; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +3m53s9; 6 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +6m53s5; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +6m56s1; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +8m26s3; 9 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +9m15s9; 10 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +9m37s3

 Sordo in trouble @ 09:22 AM - Daniel Sordo is driving very slowly through SS11, last stage before service. There is lots of smoke, looking like a blown turbo.

 MC SS10 - Morning of day3 @ 08:57 AM - Latvala with hydraulic problems and Duval and Galli also had a slow start into the day. Suzukis doing surprisingly well for a change. As a result Andersson breaks into top10, Peugeot privateer Cuoq gains a place too. Unofficial provisional positions after SS10: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h00m44s; 2 - Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +55s8; 3 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m35s4; 4 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +2m43s6; 5 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +3m06s5; 6 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +3m32s7; 7 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +6m14s9; 8 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +6m29s4; 9 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +7m52s2; 10 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +8m23s

Fri January 25, 2008

 Strong day for Atkinson The Subaru Impreza WRC2007s of Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot and Petter Solberg/Phil Mills have again showed strong pace to consolidate yesterday’s positions of fourth and sixth at the end of the second day of Rallye Monte Carlo....

 SX4 sets top ten times on Friday At the end of Suzuki’s first full day of World Championship rallying, both cars are safely at the finish with some valuable lessons learned for the future. The SX4 WRC has again set top 10 times today, with P-G Andersson finishing 11th overall and Toni Gardemeister 14th....

 Both nominated Stobarts in the points Both nominated point scoring drivers have continued day 2 of Rallye Monte-Carlo in a positive manor by retaining their overnight positions to give the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team a strong overall place in this opening round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship....

NEWS JUST IN

 MC leg2 - Loeb further ahead @ 05:28 PM - As Sordo breaks a differential, but in FWD he is still competitive with the Fords. Al Qassimi crashed out of SS6. Galli power steering went in SS8. On the Suzukis the news is that the glove box lock hasn't broken yet, everything else has fallen off... Unofficial provisional positions after leg2/SS8: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h36m44s9; 2 - Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +56s6; 3 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m22s8; 4 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +2m28s6; 5 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +2m42s6; 6 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +3m09s6; 7 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +5m21s1; 8 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +5m27s9; 9 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +6m55s8; 10 - H.Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +6m58s7

 MC SS5 - Mid day Friday @ 11:17 AM - Calm morning in which performances of day1 were confirmed. Gardemeister had technical problems all morning. Unofficial provisional positions after SS5: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 1h00m18s8; 2 - Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +23s5; 3 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m04s7; 4 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +2m02s2; 5 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +2m08s7; 6 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +2m18s9; 7 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +2m50s7; 8 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +3m42s9; 9 - Romeyer/Fournel, Peugeot, +5m36s8; 10 - Al Qassimi/Orr, Ford, +5m39s5

Thu January 24, 2008

 Citroen dominate opening leg The opening day of the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally saw Citroën Sport dominate the sharp end of the leaderboard with the C4 WRCs of overnight leaders Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena who completed the first two stages ahead of their Spanish team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Martí....

 Rallye Monte Carlo to switch to IRC Michel Boeri, the President of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), and Jacques Behar – the President of Intercontinental Rally Challenge promoter Eurosport Events – announced today at the ACM headquarters in Monaco that the Monte Carlo Rally will form part of the IRC in 2009....

NEWS JUST IN

 MC leg1 - Loeb in front @ 10:53 PM - A bit like worst fears in terms of an exciting season, after only 2 stages the Citroens are 44s ahead of everyone else. Latvala dropped to 18th with a puncture, both Suzuki had technical problems. Unofficial provisional positions after leg1: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 23m38s4; 2 - Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +12s7; 3 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +44s; 4 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +58s6; 5 - Duval/Chevaillier, Ford, +1m13s5; 6 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m14s5; 7 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +1m26s1; 8 - Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +1m53s1; 9 - Cuoq/Janvier, Peugeot, +2m09s3; 10 - Romeyer/Fournel, Peugeot, +2m50s7

Tue January 22, 2008

 New Impreza debuts in Monte Carlo! All Subaru fans awake now? No, the works drivers still have to wait for their new WRCar. But it is true. Swiss privateer Olivier Burri makes the surprise perfect turning up at Rallye Monte Carlo 2008 tests with a new "GE" generation Subaru Impreza WRX!...

 Honda starts 2008 in style The all-new Honda Civic Type R R3 will get its 2008 season underway next weekend with the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of this year's FIA World Rally Championship from January 24-27....

Mon January 21, 2008

 Seb dreaming of a white Monte A year after making its competition debut with a resounding one-two finish on the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally, the Citroën C4 WRC is poised to tackle the World Rally Championship's longest-standing event for the second time. For the first round of the 2008 season, Citroën Sport h...

 Suzuki ready for first full season Following two test events in Corsica and Great Britain last year, the Suzuki World Rally Team now embarks on its first full season of world rallying with two new drivers: Toni Gardemeister from Finland and Per-Gunnar Andersson from Sweden, the reigning Junior Rally Champion wit...

Sun January 20, 2008

 Four Stobarts ready for Monte start New crews, new colours and a new challenge for the Stobart M-Sport Ford rally team as they head to Rally Monte Carlo for the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship's season opener. This will be the third season in which the Stobart outfit will contest the WRC as a privately-backed ...