Sun August 31, 2008

 Last stage dramas for Conrad Being the only Priority One or Two driver never to have contested this rally before, Conrad Rautenbach was looking to bag as much New Zealand experience as possible in his PH Sport-run Citroen C4 WRC. The first two days provided mixed fortunes for the reigning FIA African Rall...

 4th a good result for Petter and Subaru Petter Solberg and Phil Mills finished the 38th running of Rally New Zealand in fourth position overall after a dramatic re-shake of the leaderboard on the rally’s penultimate stage. The Whaanga Coast test was the most beautiful of the rally, skirting the Pacific Ocean, but prove...

 Ford snatch defeat from jaws of victory

 Stobart's rally ends in disaster

 A surprise 1-2 for Citroen in NZ

 Both SX4s home in the points

Sat August 30, 2008

 41 Spanish crews compete for BFG 207 No fewer than 41 Spanish crews have entered the race to join the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team on the Principe de Asturias Rally. This joint venture between BFGoodrich and Kronos Racing gives a variety of talented local drivers the chance to drive an official Peugeot Belgium 207 Su...

 Petter finds improved pace Petter Solberg and Phil Mills, today celebrating his birthday, found improved pace on the second day of competition in New Zealand. Restarting after a roll yesterday, Subaru World Rally Team team-mates Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot took the opportunity to cover more testing ...

 Suzuki maintains points places The second day of Rally New Zealand included the three longest stages of the event. Once again, the story was about finding grip through the deep gravel, which coated the fast, but technical North Island roads. Despite those tricky conditions, P-G Andersson drove consistently ...

 Latvala takes lead as NZ turns tactical BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team lies first and second after a gripping second day of Rally New Zealand that ended with four drivers covered by less than 16sec going into tomorrow's final leg. Tactics again played a crucial part right at the close of the day's action, wh...

 Seb sets up a showdown in NZ The second day of the 2008 Rally New Zealand saw everyone at Citroën Total put in a masterful performance that has put the team in a strong position going into Sunday's leg. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are overnight third with their C4 WRC, just 13.3 seconds behind the l...

 Duval poised for 5th after day two The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team look poised for another fine result as François Duval/Patrick Pivato sit comfortably in fifth with one day remaining of Repco Rally New Zealand – round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship....

Fri August 29, 2008

 Solberg 7th but Atko rolls After a tough first day of Repco Rally New Zealand, the Subaru World Rally Team duo of Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot were sidelined after a roll on stage four, whilst team-mates Petter Solberg and Phil Mills finished in seventh position overall....

 Both Suzukis in the top 10 Both Suzuki SX4 WRCs held top-10 positions at the end of an impressive opening day of Rally New Zealand for drivers P-G Andersson and Toni Gardemeister. Swede Andersson was never out of the top-10 fastest times on the long stages out west of the rally's base in Hamilton. In...

 Duval holds 5th after opening day Day 1 of Repco Rally New Zealand – round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship – has seen François Duval/Patrick Pivato close the day in fifth position. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team-mates Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin unfortunately retired from the leg after showing some enc...

 Hirvonen on top after leg one BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team stamped its authority on Rally New Zealand from the beginning of the opening leg this morning to take a lead it was never to lose. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila led initially before team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen moved to ...

 C4s 2nd & 3rd after leg one The opening day of this year's Rally New Zealand ended with Citroën Total's two C4 WRCs in second and third places overall. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena completed Friday's action just 27.8s behind the leader, while Dani Sordo/Marc Martí are 30s back and the event is sha...

 Rally China moves date and location

Thu August 28, 2008

 Conrad Rautenbach in NZ Rally New Zealand is one of the fastest rounds of the World Rally Championship – and an event unanimously loved by the driers. It's not hard to see why; the heavily cambered roads lend themselves to an attacking style, allowing the drivers to carry more speed through the be...

 What next for the Skoda Fabia S2000? Jan Kopecky completed a successful trip to Zlin last weekend when he drove the new Skoda Fabia S2000 as zero car on the all-asphalt event, 6th round of the 2008 IRC. Although no official information has been released, it is understood that the only problems than Jan ecountered we...

Tue August 26, 2008

 Rossetti laments Barum puncture Italian driver Luca Rossetti (pcitured), who won the opening two rounds of the IRC this year, has admitted that his chances of claiming the title have suffered a major setback on the Barum Rally Zlin. Rossetti ran as high as third, but a puncture at the end of the opening day mea...

Mon August 25, 2008

 Suzuki go with the flow in NZ The fast and flowing gravel roads of New Zealand could not provide a greater contrast to the previous round of the World Rally Championship, held on asphalt in Germany. New Zealand is the longest of the long-haul rallies but it is also one of every driver's favourite events...

 Citroen look to continue winning streak The 2008 Rally New Zealand takes place some 19,000km from Citroën Sport's headquarters and the squad travels to the other side of the world on top of the provisional Manufacturers' and Drivers' standings. Two C4 WRCs have been entered for the team's usual crews, Séb...

 Ford aim to put title bid back on track BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team journeys to New Zealand for the third rally in just five weekends intent on putting its world title challenge back on track. The world champion dropped to second in both the manufacturers' and drivers' standings in the FIA World Rally Cha...

 Duval and Wilson ready for NZ Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin and François Duval/Patrick Pivato will head to the southern hemisphere for round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship next week; Repco Rally New Zealand. With regular Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team member Gigi Galli sidelined after last week’s ac...

 Impreza ready for 200th start Just one week after competition in Germany, the Subaru World Rally Team heads for the gravel roads of Repco Rally New Zealand, the eleventh round of the World Rally Championship, for an event marked by milestones both past and present....

Sun August 24, 2008

 Loix takes Barum win Peugeot Belgium driver Freddy Loix has claimed his second IRC win of the season on the Barum Rally Zlin, round six of this year’s series. The result has boosted him up to third overall in the standings, and also increased Peugeot’s lead of the manufacturers championship....

 Barum: Peugeot 9 out of 10 Renato Travaglia spoiled Peugeot’s party. Had it not been for Renato Travaglia finishing 5th in his Abarth Grande Punto, the top10 would have been exclusive to Peugeot! This doesn’t change the championship situation being about to be closed. On the next event Peugeot only needs t...

NEWS JUST IN

 CZ end - Top3 unchanged after all @ 01:31 PM - Loix wins, Vouilloz recovers and keeps 2nd, Odlozilik takes top10 on last stage. Final positions (subject to last road section and scrutineering): 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 2h24m24s3; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +59s9; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m09s6; 4th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m23s4; 5th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m26s2; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +3m13s9; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +4m09s1; 8th= Petak/Benesova, Peugeot, +6m08s3; 9th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +6m22s5; 10th= Odlozilik/Odlozilik, Peugeot, +6m45s7 More results and championship tables in the according web site event/points sections soon!

 CZ SS12 - Vouilloz & Ojeda in the wars @ 10:34 AM - The mechanical problems for Vouilloz (driveshaft, 30sec) and Ojeda (unknown, another 4min) carry on. Alen retires again. Odlozilik drops outside top10. Positions after SS12: 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 1h54m51s7; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +55s6; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m34s8; 4th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m19s; 5th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m38s2; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +2m54s3; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +3m45s3; 8th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +4m17s; 9th= Petak/Benesova, Peugeot, +5m23s2; 10th= Kostka/Krecman, Fiat Abarth, +5m56s8

 CZ SS11 - Deciding stage for Loix! @ 10:24 AM - Not only for Loix, but Vouilloz dropped 20s. Travaglia makes up 2 places for Abarth, as he overtakes Toth on driving, plus Ojeda dropped 5min to 15th place for an unidentified problem. Casier crashed the Volkswagen. Positions after SS11: 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 1h42m13s9; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +24s9; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m40s4; 4th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m14s; 5th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m39s2; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +2m44s7; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +3m43s8; 8th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +3m58s6; 9th= Odlozilik/Odlozilik, Peugeot, +4m18s9; 10th= Petak/Benesova, Peugeot, +5m02s1

 CZ SS10 - Volkswagen drops down @ 10:19 AM - Leg2 starts with Casier in the Polo dropping outside the top10. Grzyb in the Abarth did not re-start. Vouilloz closes gap Positions after SS10: 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 1h30m03s; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +2s7; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m41s8; 4th= Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +1m49s8; 5th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m09s9; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +2m27s9; 7th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m34s3; 8th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +3m37s8; 9th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +3m42s7; 10th= Odlozilik/Odlozilik, Peugeot, +4m01s2

 CZ SS14 - Vouilloz v Bouffier showdown @ 00:43 AM - Vouilloz seems to have more problems, while Bouffier posted an absolute stunner of a stage time. This means for the last stage we have excitement, as Bouffier is now only 6sec behind Vouilloz. However 2 years ago Bouffier had an embarrassing crash on this long stage. Also Kostka's top01 place under threat. Positions after SS14: 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 2h11m47s9; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +1m16s6; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m23s1; 4th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m17s2; 5th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m32s4; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +3m08s4; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +3m53s5; 8th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +4m47s8; 9th= Petak/Benesova, Peugeot, +5m52s2; 10th= Kostka/Krecman, Fiat Abarth, +6m29s5

 CZ SS13 - Short stage, settled situation @ 00:13 AM - Positions after SS13: 1st= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, 1h59m36s2; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +57s6; 3rd= Bouffier/Panseri, Peugeot, +1m36s4; 4th= Valousek/Hruza, Peugeot, +2m20s9; 5th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2m41s8; 6th= Toth/Tagai, Peugeot, +3m01s5; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +3m49s2; 8th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +4m24s3; 9th= Petak/Benesova, Peugeot, +5m31s3; 10th= Kostka/Krecman, Fiat Abarth, +6m06s7

Sat August 23, 2008

 Not Abarths rally-but Peugeots title? This really doesn’t look like Abarth’s season. So far Peugeot has won every IRC event this year. Peugeot may have a very good car, but so does Abarth. On most rounds so far at least Giandomenico Basso has proven that he can go the speed of the Peugeots in his Abarth Grande Punto ...