Mon March 3, 2008

 Kopecky's Mexican trip ended early Jan Kopecký's journey through the Mexican special stages has ended after 8 kilometers of the initial special stage, because the engine of the borrowed car Fiat Grande Punto S2000 has stopped running. The engine breakdown has not only prevented the crew from continuing on the f...

Sun March 2, 2008

 Rautenbach stage times improve Conrad Rautenbach repeated yesterday’s strong performance on the final day of Rally Mexico around Leon today, posting top-10 times on every one of the day’s stages. Unfortunately for the reigning FIA African Rally Champion, his hopes of climbing higher than 16th overall were hit ...

 First points of the year for Wilson Brits Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin have scored their first points for the year this weekend on the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship; Corona Rally Mexico. The pair finished sixth overall capturing three valuable manufacturers’ points for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford r...

 Fantastic podium for Atkinson Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot completed Rally Mexico in spectacular style, recording their highest ever finish together in a World Rally Championship event with a hard-fought second place. Meanwhile Petter Solberg and Phil Mills pushed hard to clinch the final Manufacturers’...

 Mexican hat-trick for Loeb The final day of the 2008 World Rally Championship saw Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and Citroën collect their third consecutive Rally Mexico win. Their hat-trick in the land of sombreros takes them to within a single point of the provisional Drivers' championship leader, wh...

 Ford retain championship leads BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team increased its advantage at the head of the FIA World Rally Championship after a strong double points haul in Mexico today. The team, chasing its third consecutive manufacturers' world title, is 12 points clear with the Focus RS World Rally C...

 Conrad Rautenbach in Mexico leg2 Conrad Rautenbach was never out of the top 10 times on day two of the gruelling Rally Mexico, which was played out under cloudless skies in ever-increasing temperatures on the dirt roads around Leon. Returning to the event after a broken track control arm ruled them out in SS3 ye...

NEWS JUST IN

 MEX SS19 - Last real stage @ 05:44 PM - On the last proper stage Henning Solberg "conveniently" has a puncture, letting Mikko Hirvonen ahead by only 2.5s, which however would be inpotant for makes and drivers points of the works team. Unofficial provisional positions after SS19: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h30m05s5; 2 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +1m09s7; 3 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m37s7; 4 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +3m40s7; 5 - Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +3m43s2; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m27s6; 7 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +19m05s; 8 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +21m07s9; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +25m04s4

 MEX SS17 - In Loeb's hands @ 03:44 PM - Last day started with only 6th quickest time for Loeb. But it appears SS18 is cancelled for too many spectators. And since this is a short day, only 1 proper stage left then. This steals Latvala of the chance to catch Atkinson. Unofficial provisional positions after SS17: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h19m33s6; 2 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +1m04s8; 3 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m55s9; 4 - Solberg/Menerud, Ford, +3m50s7; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +3m59s9; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m23s6; 7 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +18m40s6; 8 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +20m41s1; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +23m51s9

Sat March 1, 2008

 Loeb moves into strong lead Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC completed Day 2 of the 2008 Rally Mexico on top of the provisional leaderboard....

 Chris challenges for the lead in Mexico In a turbulent day of competition on Rally Mexico, Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot grabbed second position overall aboard their Subaru Impreza WRC2007. Petter Solberg and Phil Mills however fell foul of the conditions and were forced to retire mid-way through the morning’s sta...

 Wilson closes in on points finish Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team driver Matthew Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin have advanced a further place from their overnight position on day 2 of Rally Mexico; round three of the FIA World Rally Championship....

 Mexico leg two hits Ford hard Despite setbacks for both cars, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team ended the second day of Rally Mexico in a strong position as the only squad with both pairings in the top five on the leaderboard. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are third in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Ca...

 MEX SS9 - road cleaning dilemma

NEWS JUST IN

 MEX leg2 - Loeb by a minute @ 10:48 PM - Latvala suffers on with overheating and turbo problems. Only stages without sporting value left for the day, so Unofficial provisional positions after leg2: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 3h05m17s1; 2 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +1m00s7; 3 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m52s2; 4 - Solberg/Menerud, Ford, +3m50s7; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +4m06s1; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m01s8; 7 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +18m11s2; 8 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +19m13s9; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +22m04s5

 MEX SS13 - breaking news Latvala delay @ 09:28 PM - Unbelievable a Ford could have a mechanical problem? Latvala is reported to have stopped on SS13 with a suspected engine problem. This would give a clear lead to Loeb, fight over. - UPDATE, engine overheating, nothing too bad but Latvala dropped a minute. Unofficial provisional positions after SS13: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h51m14s; 2 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +58s5; 3 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +1m06s1; 4 - Solberg/Menerud, Ford, +4m00s9; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +4m11s9; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m36s4; 7 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +17m27s8; 8 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +18m01s7; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +20m25s9

 MEX SS12 - Hirvonen with puncture @ 09:11 PM - ... and drops behind Henning Solberg. Loeb extends lead, but is it enough for sweeping road tomorrow? Unofficial provisional positions after SS12: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h33m09s6; 2 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +12s9; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +36s7; 4 - Solberg/Menerud, Ford, +3m54s5; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +4m03s4; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +5m12s9; 7 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +16m12s9 8 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +16m36s3; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +18m29s1 10 - Mölder/Miclotte, Suzuki, +19m49s

 MEX SS10 - New leader @ 05:28 PM - As expected Loeb overtakes Latvala, but by a smaller margin than Loeb would need. Will he drop behind Latvala on purpose at end of leg? Solberg/Subaru retired with driveshaft problem. Unofficial provisional positions after SS10: 1 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, 2h00m43s5; 2 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +4s6; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +25s9; 4 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m11s5; 5 - Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +3m25s3; 6 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m53s5; 7 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +11m21s7; 8 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +12m41s8; 9 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +13m41s3

Fri February 29, 2008

 Both Suzuki's suffer in Mexico Both Suzuki SX4 WRCs have been forced to retire from the all-gravel Rally Mexico, after a tough day that took its toll on the engines. P-G Andersson had a promising run through the first three stages of the all-gravel event, setting top-eight times on all of them, but then he not...

 Wilson flies the flag for Stobart The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team have finished day 1 of Rally Mexico – round three of the FIA World Rally Championship – with mixed fortunes as Brits Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin lead the way for the team in seventh position overall....

 Loeb in the hunt after day one At the end of the first day of the 2008 Rally Mexico, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena are currently second overall with their Citroën C4 WRC, 9.6 seconds behind the provisional leader....

 Latvala leads from the start BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila produced a performance as blistering as the Mexican weather to lead throughout the opening day of Rally Mexico today. Twenty-two-year-old Latvala, who became the youngest driver in history to win a ...

 Strong start for Subaru in Mexico The Subaru World Rally Team entries of Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot and Petter Solberg/Phil Mills finished the first day of the season’s first gravel rally in third and fourth positions overall after tackling the harsh and unforgiving routes and oxygen-thin air of the Mexican m...

 MEX SS4 - Just ask the Sébs Loeb & Ogier

NEWS JUST IN

 Mex leg1 - Loeb tactical in small field @ 11:49 PM - Much slimmed field in already weak entry. Loeb managed an under 10sec gap to keep Latvala cleaning road tomorrow. Hirvonen lost over 1min in that position in leg1. Next big Séb superstar from France? Sébastien Ogier in top10 on his WRC debut - in a C2 S1600!!!! Unofficial provisional positions after leg1: 1 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h23m38s6; 2 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +9s6; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +22s4; 4 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m02s9; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +1m10s6; 6 - Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +2m43s6; 7 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m52s9; 8 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +5m30s; 9 - Trivino/Salom, Peugeot, +ms; 10 - Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +9m13s

 MEX SS3 - Only 20 odd cars left @ 06:10 PM - Loeb wins SS2&3. Galli in ditch. Petter's Subaru and the 2nd Suzuki also hit by mechanical problems. Unofficial provisional positions after SS3/mid day: 1 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 40m20s9; 2 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +4s4; 3 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +11s2; 4 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +18s7; 5 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +53s9; 6 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +55s5; 7 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +1m41s1; 8 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +1m48s8; 9 - Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +2m12s8; 10 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +2m43s9

 MEX SS1 - crazy start, Sordo crashed @ 04:15 PM - Crazy start. For Citroen Loeb had choice of starting with questionable engine or a 5min penalty. He choose the ill engine. His team mate Sordo crashed out 1st stage! Gardemeister's Suzuki heavily delayed for being a Suzuki (mechanical problems). Kopecky Abarth S2000 out blown engine. Unofficial provisional positions after SS1: 1 - Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 14m14s6; 2 - Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +3s; 3 - Galli/Bernacchini, Ford, +7s3; 4 - Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +7s4; 5 - Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +9s8; 6 - Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +11s4; 7 - Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +13s1; 8 - Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +18s4; 9 - Wilson/Martin, Ford, +22s5; 10 - Villagra/Perez Companc, Ford, +31s7

Fri February 22, 2008

 Loeb aims to get back on track in Mexico The third round of the 2008 World Rally Championship takes the series to Mexico where the stages twist through the hills near Leon, in the state of Guanajuato, which is situated at an altitude of 1,800 metres. Citroen Total has entered two C4 WRCs for Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena ...

 Galli & Wilson aim to score for Stobart The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team head to Corona Rally Mexico next week, for the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship, second in the Manufacturer standings. This will be the first gravel event in 2008 for the squad and the third consecutive event that a different ...

 Toni set for 100th start in Mexico Rally Mexico, round three of this year’s World Rally Championship, will mark an important milestone for Toni Gardemeister and Suzuki. For Gardemeister, Mexico is his 100th World Rally Championship start, while for Suzuki it is the SX4 WRC’s first competitive appearance outside of...

 Latvala aiming for Mexico top three After establishing a strong early season lead in the FIA World Rally Championship on asphalt and snow, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team journeys to North America next week for the first of seven consecutive gravel events. Loose surface roads are the dominant terrain in the ser...

 Subaru prepared for first gravel of 2008 The Subaru World Rally Team will travel west to the Americas for the third event of the season, the Corona Rally Mexico, after its late inclusion in this year’s WRC calendar. The first traditional gravel rally of the year is also the first long-haul event, and the only time the c...