Sun December 7, 2008

 Rossi charges to the finish The final round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship has come to a close as has another fantastic year for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team at this weekend’s Wales Rally GB....

 Petter happy with 4th in Wales After a long season, a final brace of four stages on the last day of competition in the 2008 World Rally Championship confirmed both fourth position on Wales Rally GB for Petter Solberg and Phil Mills, and third position in the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship for the Subaru World...

 Suzuki finish 2008 on a high

 Citroen take the makes title

 Latvala settles for 2nd in Wales

NEWS JUST IN

 GB end - Loeb wins after all! @ 01:04 PM - Loeb takes win by 2.7s on final stage, never mind the jump start. Citroen are makes champs! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS19 (end): 1st= Loeb/Elena, Ford, 2h43m19s6; 2nd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +2s7; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +1m10s6; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m49s6; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +3m54s1; 6th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +4m57s8; 7th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +5m15s; 8th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +5m28s8; 9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +8m03s9; 10th= Clark/Nagle, Ford, +9m43s1

 GB SS18 - rally result on green table? @ 11:59 AM - Loeb would have taken lead but gets a jump start penalty, w2hich he said he will protest tooth and nail. Henning Solberg retired with broken rear wheel. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS18: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 2h32m05s4; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +2s2; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +58s2; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m35s8; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +3m22s3; 6th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +4m16s; 7th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +4m53s1; 8th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +5m20s7; 9th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +7m26s7; 10th= Clark/Nagle, Ford, +8m45s7

 GB SS17 - Very tight for lead @ 09:56 AM - Unofficial, provisional positions after SS17: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 2h15m31s2; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +1s4; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +42s9; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m29s3; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +2m57s5; 6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +3m08s9; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +3m48s1; 8th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +4m28s3; 9th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +5m21s2; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m26s2

 GB SS16 - Loeb wants the win! @ 09:12 AM - He narrows gap from 7.4s to 2.2s. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS16: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 2h04m12s5; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +2s2; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +33s1; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +1m06s6; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +2m34s1; 6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +2m51s7; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +3m20s6; 8th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +4m03s3; 9th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +5m07s1; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +6m02s7

Sat December 6, 2008

 Rossi rockets up the ranks After two days of Wales Rally GB complete the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team have two crews inside the top-seven as the final round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship comes to a dramatic close....

 Petter up to 4th On the second day of frosty competition in Wales, the sole remaining Subaru World Rally Team entry of Petter Solberg and Phil Mills performed strongly on their way to claiming fourth position overall. ...

 Both Suzukis holding points places With just one day of this year's World Rally Championship remaining, both the factory Suzuki SX4 WRCs are in the points and are set to finish the team's debut season on a high. P-G Andersson is currently fifth while Toni Gardemeister is eighth, with neither car encounter...

 Citroen on course for title The weather promised to stay bright and sunny as crews set out this morning for Leg 2 of the Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena approached the day intent on attacking, while at the same time keeping a close on e...

 Latvala holds on to lead BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila continue to lead Wales Rally GB after a second day of fighting ice-bound forest tracks. The Finns won two speed tests in the slippery forests of south Wales to overnight with a 7.3sec lead in their ...

NEWS JUST IN

 GB leg2 - Ostberg out, Hirvonen in top10 @ 04:04 PM - Not much happening on 1km indoor kindergarden (so not reporting about that). Unofficial, provisional positions after leg2 (SS14): 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h46m52s4; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +10s8; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +30s; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +55s6; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +2m07s3; 6th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +2m10s8; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +2m32s5; 8th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +3m34s5; 9th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +4m46s7; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +4m50s9

 GB SS13 - Loeb closes gap @ 03:45 PM - Unofficial, provisional positions after SS13: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h37m51s8; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +2s4; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +22s6; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +48s9; 5th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +1m43s3; 6th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +1m52s1; 7th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m59s9; 8th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +2m11s3; 9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +3m14s1; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +4m21s4

 GB SS12 - Brilliant time by Hirvonen @ 02:09 PM - As he moves close to top10. Road conditions are a bit more normal now. Henning S. takes Duval. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS12: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h26m33s9; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +8s4; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +21s4; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +46s; 5th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +1m28s9; 6th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +1m41s3; 7th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m52s5; 8th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +1m56s6; 9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +2m54s6; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m56s7

 GB SS11 - mid way point @ 11:18 AM - Unofficial, provisional positions after SS11: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h09m58s; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +8s9; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +17s6; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +46s3; 5th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +1m02s8; 6th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +1m07s; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +1m37s8; 8th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m48s8; 9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +2m28s2; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +3m12s5

 GB SS10 - Latvala rectifies @ 11:13 AM - Latvala wins stage, Loeb takes 2nd back from Sordo. Ostberg did not retire after all. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS10: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 1h00m28s7; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +10s; 3rd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +21s8; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +43s4; 5th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +58s1; 6th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +1m00s5; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +1m26s9; 8th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m49s; 9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +2m19s4; 10th= Clark/Nagle, Ford, +2m50s9

 GB SS9 - All change with new start order @ 09:32 AM - It seems right in the title decider Ford got the starting order gamble wrong. First cars struggle, Latvala more so than Loeb. Stunning time by Sordo not helping Ford. Ostberg (engine) and Ogier (off) both retire. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS9: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 49m04s4; 2nd= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +0s8; 3rd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +5s; 4th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +22s1; 5th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +36s4; 6th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +59s5; 7th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +1m14s9; 8th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +1m44s8; 9th= Clark/Nagle, Ford, +2m04s5; 10th= Wilson/Martin, Ford, +2m18s7

Fri December 5, 2008

 Solid start for Stobart Treacherous weather conditions have seen a manic start to the closing round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship with just 49.7 kilometres of competitive distance covered on day 1 of Wales Rally GB. A day which has thrown numerous challenges at WRC crews sees François Duval/D...

 Solberg 5th but Atkinson crashes out The opening day of Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2008 WRC season, saw some of the most treacherous conditions of the season with ice lining the stages and near-freezing temperatures. On safety grounds, two tests were cancelled and the total competitive distance was slash...

 Suzuki hold a podium spot after day 1 On the final event of this year's World Rally Championship, both the Suzuki SX4 WRC entries are in the points, confirming the solid progress made throughout the season. P-G Andersson finished the day in third - Suzuki's best-ever result - while his team mate Toni Gardeme...

 Strong start for on form Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila overcame savage weather conditions to lead Wales Rally GB following today's opening leg. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team pair leads this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 12.9sec in their Focus RS World Ra...

 Ogier stars on day 1 for Citroen The first day of the Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship, has put Citroën Sport in a favourable position in its bid to clinch a fourth Manufacturers' world title on Sunday afternoon. The five-time World Champions* Sébastien Loeb and Daniel El...

NEWS JUST IN

 GB SS6 - gearbox drama for Ogier @ 03:29 PM - He loses lead for that. Latvala with stunning time. That's basically it for day1, two 2km stages left. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS6: 1st= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, 27m53s3; 2nd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +8s2; 3rd= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +15s5; 4th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +15s9; 5th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +21s7; 6th= Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +22s6; 7th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +29s5; 8th= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, +37s3; =9th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +42s6; =9th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +42s6

 GB SS5 - Hirvonen rolls @ 03:01 PM - SS4 cancelled, SS5 Hirvonen rolls, which is no good for Ford's title hopes. Ogier still leads. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS5: 1st= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, 16m49s4; 2nd= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +0s3; 3rd= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +4s1; 4th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +7s4; 5th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +9s; 6th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +10s1; 7th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +12s8; 8th= Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +13s1; 9th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +13s6; 10th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +23s6

 GB SS2 - Ogier wins Sweet Lamb! @ 11:55 AM - SS1 cancelled, SS2 very short, such 5s ahead is a sensational time for Ogier. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS2: 1st= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, 2m48s6; 2nd= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +5s1; 3rd= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +5s4; 4th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +5s9; 5th= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +7s5; 6th= Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +8s3; 7th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +9s3; 8th= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +10s5; 9th= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +11s1; 10th= Solberg/Menkerud, Ford, +11s9; 11th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +12s1

 GB SS3 - Hirvonen too cautious @ 00:03 AM - Clearly the pilots further down the starting order have a big advantage, but Hirvonen loses 23sec to Loeb for just driving cautious! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS3: 1st= Ogier/Ingrassia, Citroen, 13m55s; 2nd= Ostberg/Unnerud, Subaru, +2s3; 3rd= Latvala/Anttila, Ford, +3s9; 4th= Andersson/Andersson, Suzuki, +6s7; 5th= Loeb/Elena, Citroen, +8s9; 6th= Atkinson/Prevot, Subaru, +10s5; 7th= Solberg/Mills, Subaru, +11s; 8th= Gardemeister/Tuominen, Suzuki, +12s8; 9th= Sordo/Marti, Citroen, +13s6; 10th= Duval/Giraudet, Ford, +15s; 11th= Hirvonen/Lehtinen, Ford, +32s7

Wed December 3, 2008

 Wales marks Stobart's 50th start After 14 rounds, the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship season comes to a close next week as crews head to the UK for round 15 of 15; Wales Rally GB. This marks a golden milestone for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team who enter their 50th WRC event after four years involvemen...

 Suzuki hope to finish season in style This year's World Rally Championship draws to a close with the Wales Rally GB, held in the Welsh forests. Britain in early December always presents a spectacular challenge, particularly as the route of the all-gravel event has been significantly modified for this year. For ...

 Ford aim for 1-2 in Wales BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team takes its challenge for a third consecutive manufacturers' world title to the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Wales next week. The squad must overturn an 11-point deficit on Wales Rally GB (4 - 7 December) with the record-...

 Citroen target makes title in Wales True to tradition, the grand finale of this year's World Rally Championship will take crews to Great Britain for the Wales Rally GB, the 15th and ultimate encounter of the season which will settle the outcome of the 2008 Manufacturers' title chase. Having made sure of the...

 SWRT ready for tricky home event Just a few hours south of the Subaru World Rally Team’s headquarters, the gravel roads of Wales Rally GB will be the scene of the finale of the 2008 World Rally Championship season on 4 – 7 December. Run on Wales’ notoriously tricky forest tracks, mud, rain and fog are sure to fe...

Tue October 21, 2008

 Ogier at Wales Rally GB Following Sebasiten Ogier's excellent season which saw the young Citroen C2 S1600 driver clinch the 2008 Junior World Rally Championship title on the recent Rallye de France-Tour de Corse, Citroen Sport and France's motor sport governing body FFSA have decided to enter a Ci...