Mon October 29, 2007

 Last stage top4 upside down! The Rallye du Valais started and ended with a bang, while in between things seemed a bit calmer. Before the rally Peugeot had a serious chance to put their title beyond doubt, while in the drivers championship we had a 3-way-battle. Both title fighting brands, Peugeot and Fiat-Ab...

Sat October 27, 2007

 Vouilloz wins action packed Valais Peugeot driver Nicolas Vouilloz has taken his third IRC victory of the year on the Rallye du Valais, while Peugeot has sealed the 2007 IRC manufacturers´ title....

NEWS JUST IN

 Valais results and points table... @ 06:02 PM - ...is all entered and ready for you to find in our front page Rallye du Valais control board.

 CH end - Peugeot Champions! @ 03:30 PM - Not all top10 in yet, but what a most dramatic end! Vouilloz re-takes lead on final stage. Scandola wins final stage, such all places in the top4 have changed!!!! Betti and Honda into 9th overall, 4 IRC points! Final Positions (subject to scrutineering): 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h44m28s6; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +6s5; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +18s9; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +19s7; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +3m33s3; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +5m17s6; 7 - Beck/Stierle, Renault, +11m59s2; 8 - Butor/Toth, Suzuki, +12m17s8; 9 - Betti/Bernacchini, Honda, +14m18s6; 10 - Radoux/Gregoire, Mitsubishi, +15m06s6

 CH SS16 - Absolute krimi! @ 03:23 PM - Navarra out with a blown engine! That's all his title hopes gone too! Vouilloz meanwhile experienced fuel pump problems, but his deficit to Ojeda only dropped from 0.4s to 0.6s! Loix to Scandola also just 0.3s! Only 12km left to finish! Positions after SS16: 1 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, 2h36m56s1; 2 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +0s6; 3 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +23s4; 4 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +23s7; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +3m11s3; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +4m35s7; 7 - Beck/Stierle, Renault, +11m30s8; 8 - Butor/Toth, Suzuki, +11m48s3; 9 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +12m18s4; 10 - Radoux/Gregoire, Mitsubishi, +13m35s9

 CH SS15 - All positions change! @ 02:25 PM - Vouilloz keeps struggling and loses his lead to Ojeda by only 0.4s! At the same time Loix wins stage and moves past Scandola by only 3.3s! Positions after SS15: 1 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, 2h30m08s5; 2 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +0s4; 3 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +20s7; 4 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +24s; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +3m01s; 6 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m29s8; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +4m08s9; 8 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +10m40s1; 9 - Beck/Stierle, Renault, +11m03s6; 10 - Butor/Toth, Suzuki, +11m15s7

 CH SS14 - Dramatic development! @ 02:20 PM - SS14 is only a very short 6km stage, won by Navarra for a change. Goon retires from 8th. But the drama is leader Nicolas Vouilloz drops 18s! It is suspected he has a wrong tyre choice or something like that, which means his lead is under serious thread! Positions after SS14: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h13m48s5; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +15s1; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +33s3; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +42s; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +2m48s4; 6 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m14s2; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +3m49s7; 8 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +9m40s1; 9 - Butor/Toth, Suzuki, +10m07s8; 10 - Beck/Stierle, Renault, +10m08s3

 CH SS13 - Honda 8th fastest @ 11:57 AM - Superb stage times for R3 cars, Luca Betti/Honda 8th fastest on stage, Charly Beck/Renault moves into top10. Now last service. Positions after SS13: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h08m04s7; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +28s; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +51s4; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +55s; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +3m02s5; 6 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m32s4; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +3m54s2; 8 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +8m46s5; 9 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +9m45s4; 10 - Beck/Stierle, Renault, +10m06s3

 CH SS12 - really dramatic morning @ 10:42 AM - Also in the first stage Jaquillard was in trouble and losing time. He seems to have retired before SS12. Positions after SS12: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h00m47s4; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +27s8; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +45s5; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +54s1; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +2m56s8; 6 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m28s; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +3m38s8; 8 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +7m53s8; 9 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +9m18s9; 10 - Butor/Toth, Suzuki, +9m33s5

 CH SS11 - Stunning time by Ojeda @ 10:34 AM - Enrique Ojeda wins 1st stage of the last day and reduces gap to the leader by 12s! Navaup to 6th, Ballinari retires from 9th. Positions after SS11: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h53m35s7; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +24s4; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +42s1; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +50s2; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +2m41s6; 6 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m18s3; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +3m23s7; 8 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +5m21s9; 9 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +7m08s8; 10 - Cremona/Palotti, Mitsubishi, +8m45s5

Fri October 26, 2007

 Vouilloz holds on to lead After the second leg of the Rallye du Valais – the longest day of the event – Peugeot Spain driver Nicolas Vouilloz (left) holds a lead of just over 30 seconds from his team mate Enrique Garcia Ojeda....

NEWS JUST IN

 CH leg2 - Vouilloz wins SS9 & SS10 @ 06:39 PM - Positions seem settled, but Ojeda under pressure. Positions after leg2: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h37m01s2; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +36s8; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +42s8; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +57s8; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +2m20s3; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +2m56s2; 7 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +3m12s6; 8 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +3m48s7; 9 - Ballinari/Pianca, Renault, +5m02s9; 10 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +6m12s7

 CH SS8 - Navarra from 10th to 7th @ 06:17 PM - Gaps become closer as Ojeda wins this 22km stage followed by Loix, Scandola, Vouilloz "only" 4th. Excitement in that battle for 7th, Navarra moved from 10th to 7th, Jaquillard from 9th to 8th, while Galli & Gillet hit problems! Positions after SS8: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h25m55s8; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +24s8; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +36s5; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +48s9; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +1m47s8; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +2m27s1; 7 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +2m55s9; 8 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +3m11s6; 9 - Ballinari/Pianca, Renault, +3m35s; 10 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +5m12s1

 CH SS7 - hot battle for places 7-10 @ 03:15 PM - Not only another 1-2 in the order Vouilloz-Ojeda, but Ojeda also got a 20s time penalty, which makes the positions look sorted. Galli and Gillet swap places. Between 7th and 10th places the gap is 11.5s! Positions after SS7: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h11m23s1; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +34s; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +37s6; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +51s3; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +1m23s1; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +1m54s2; 7 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +2m26s5; 8 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +2m28s8; 9 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +2m30s2; 10 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +2m35s1

 CH SS6 - update @ 02:46 PM - Again a delay. SS7 is delayed by half an hour for unknown reasons. Scandola's time penalty has been confirmed, 30s for leaving service late. This dropped Umberto Scandola from 3rd to 4th.

 CH SS6 - Positions confirmed @ 01:37 PM - Another stage with Vouilloz-Ojeda 1-2. Positions after SS6: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h05m05s3; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +10s3; 3 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +31s2; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +46s3; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +1m10s8; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +1m43s8; 7 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +2m02s8; 8 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +2m11s1; 9 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +2m19s1; 10 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +2m26s3

 CH SS5 - Navarra into top10... @ 01:24 PM - ...and a 30s time penalty drops Scandola behind Loix (Scandola time penalty later again removed). Positions after SS5: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h00m13s8; 2 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +26s; 3 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +28s1; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +44s; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +1m01s9; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +1m35s2; 7 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +1m47s8; 8 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +2m00s9; 9 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +2m05s9; 10 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +2m14s1

 Photos from Valais @ 10:43 AM - The first photos from Rally du Valais are available by clicking here

 CH SS4 - Longest stage to Peugeot @ - Leg2 kicked off with the longest stage of the rally, icy and hilly "Les Cols". This could have been a decider for the titles. The stage is won by the Peugeot Spain drivers Ojeda ahead of Vouilloz. Over 37km they are seperated by only 0.3s! Positions after SS4: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 45m43s2; 2 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +17s3; 3 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +27s3; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +34s9; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +47s7; 6 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +1m07s8; 7 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +1m19s7; 8 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +1m26s; 9 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +1m27s1; 10 - Ballinari/Pianca, Renault, +1m49s6

Thu October 25, 2007

 Vouilloz leads after leg one At the end of the opening leg of the Rallye du Valais, with three special stages gone, Peugeot Spain driver Nicolas Vouilloz leads the general classification by just seven seconds....

NEWS JUST IN

 CH SS3 - Vouilloz confirms leg win @ 07:17 PM - Vouilloz wins last stage, in fact SS3 results look very similar to overall positions before stage. Positions after SS3: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 21m30s3; 2 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +7s2; 3 - Garcia/Barrabes, Peugeot, +7s6; 4 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +17s1; 5 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +23s; 6 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +30s9; 7 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +32s5; 8 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +33s7; 9 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +39s2; 10 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +45s5 further: 12 - Navarra, Fiat Abarth 15 - Betti, Honda 18 - Roux, Fiat Abarth

 CH SS2 - Scandola saves Abarth pride @ 05:51 PM - Has the championship already swung Peugeot's way? SS2 went ahead normal now, but Loix was slow-ish and Navarra must have had a spin or puncture to lose a minute. Abarth pride is saved by young Umberto Scandola winning the stage! Positions after SS2: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 15m58s9; 2 - Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +2s6; 3 - Garcia/Barrabes, Peugeot, +2s9; 4 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +13s8; 5 - Burri/Gordon, Subaru, +15s4; 6 - Galli/Brusadelli, Citroen, +19s3; 7 - Hotz/Ravasi, Renault, +24s4; 8 - Jaquillard/Jaquillard, Peugeot, +26s1; 9 - Gillet/Glannaz, Renault, +29s4; 10 - Gonon/Lambiel, Mitsubishi, +39s4 further: 15 - Navarra, Fiat Abarth 16 - Roux, Fiat Abarth

 CH SS1 - update and proceedings @ 05:31 PM - It is confirmed that Bernd Casier had a big crash on the first stage of the event. Both he and navi Frédéric Miclotte are fine, but their 207 minus wheels blocked the stage. Such SS1 is cancelled after 4 cars with notional times given to the remaing crews. From SS2 the rally should carry on, but with heavy delays.

 CH SS1 - stage on hold @ 04:07 PM - It appears Rallye du Valais got off to a bad start. SS1 is on hold and nominated times are given to crews following an incident apparently involving Bernd Casier's Kronos 207 S2000. Positions after SS1: 1 - Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 7m28s3; 2 - Ojeda/Barrabes, Peugeot, +0s7; 3 - Loix/Chevaillier, Fiat Abarth, +1s; 4 - Navarra/d'Esposito, Fiat Abarth, +5s3; =4 - all other crews +5s3;

Wed October 24, 2007

 Tough conditions await drivers on Valais The scenic route for the Rallye du Valais will be a real test for man and machine, according to the IRC’s motorsport development manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas....

Sat October 20, 2007

 Valais entry announced The entry list for the Rallye du Valais – round eight of the IRC – has been revealed. IRC series leader Enrique Ojeda (pictured) will be the first car off the ramp in his Peugeot, and he starts the event with a chance of wrapping up the drivers’ title....

Thu October 18, 2007

 Entries close for Valais Entries for the Rallye du Valais - round eight of the IRC - have now closed, and the full list will be published shortly. As well as the favourites who are battling it out for the title, there will also be a healthy number of local heroes. The weather on this mountain classic is ...

Sat October 6, 2007

 Navarra and Scandola for Valais The Abarth factory team will field Italian drivers Andrea Navarra and Umberto Scandola in the official Grande Puntos for the Rally du Valais, round eight of the IRC from October 25-27....

Wed October 3, 2007

 Rossetti aiming for Valais start Peugeot Italy driver Luca Rossetti, who has won rallies in Ypres and Sanremo this year, is hoping to add the forthcoming Rallye du Valais in Switzerland to his programme. But the Italian driver thinks that the Swiss event will provide a formidable challenge to his 100% success ra...