Rallying

Q&A: Jari-Matti Latvala

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:21

There was a drama on the final afternoon of the rally when you picked up a puncture: how did you cope?

JML: "I think I need to get to hospital to check my heart rate... it's incredible how exciting this sport can get. We had a good lead on Saturday night, but then it changed like a thunderstorm and we only had an eight-second lead at the end. I knew Mikko would push and we really had to go hard, but then we managed to take another four seconds on the penultimate stage, so we could breathe a little bit! To win here for the second time felt very special; the feeling now is just a big relief."

So was it maximum attack through those last two stages?

JML: "Yes. I got zero points in Monte Carlo and I knew Sebastien Loeb was not having a great weekend. Points-wise, this was very important and so there was a lot of pressure. The team has done so much good work and there was no way I was going to disappoint them. I needed to make it work. Somebody mentioned to me yesterday that it was going to be the 50th win for Ford with M-Sport, but I tried just to put that to the back of my head and concentrate on the job I needed to do."

Does this result make up for the disappointment of retiring from Monte Carlo?

JML: "Of course, things would be different if I had taken away points from Monte Carlo but we have to forget it. That's history, and I've already learned from it. This victory takes the pressure away from the disappointment of Monte: it feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders now. I've learned to stay calm when things go wrong and that paid dividends."

What is your aim this season?

JML: "I guess our target is to really challenge Citroen in the manufacturers' and drivers' championships. I will be 27 years old and driving more than 100 rallies now so I need to be in the position to fight for the drivers' title. It's a long year and many things can happen, but if I can beat these guys then it's okay whatever happens!"

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victory for latvala in sweden

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:21

Jari-Matti Latvala wins the Rally of Sweden and hope to win his first major WRC title. He was a leading contender last year but couldn't stop the domination of Sebastian Loeb. His car looked great throughout the rally, he lead most of the stages. He was pushed by Hirvonen in the later stages of the rally but he kept his focuss to win it with a comfortable lead time.

Overall

Pos	No	Driver		Time	Diff Prev	Diff 1st
1.	3	J. LATVALA	M	3:15:23.9	0.0	0.0
2.	2	M. HIRVONEN	M	3:15:36.8	+12.9	+12.9
3.	15	M. ØSTBERG		3:16:01.0	+24.2	+37.1
4.	4	P. SOLBERG	M	3:16:39.0	+38.0	+1:15.1
5.	6	E. NOVIKOV	M	3:18:01.1	+1:22.1	+2:37.2
6.	1	S. LOEB	M	3:18:24.7	+23.6	+3:00.8
7.	10	H. SOLBERG		3:19:10.5	+45.8	+3:46.6
8.	52	P. SANDELL		3:20:27.1	+1:16.6	+5:03.2
9.	21	M. PROKOP		3:20:52.3	+25.2	+5:28.4
10.	64	E. BRYNILDSEN		3:21:41.5	+49.2	+6:17.6
11.	60	S. OGIER		3:22:52.3	+1:10.8	+7:28.4
12.	33	P. ANDERSSON	S	3:25:02.4	+2:10.1	+9:38.5
13.	18	T. NEUVILLE		3:25:19.6	+17.2	+9:55.7
14.	62	A. MIKKELSEN		3:25:30.9	+11.3	+10:07.0
15.	12	A. ARAUJO		3:28:13.5	+2:42.6	+12:49.6
16.	32	C. BREEN	S	3:28:35.0	+21.5	+13:11.1
17.	68	M. PAJUNEN		3:29:37.6	+1:02.6	+14:13.7
18.	49	P. TIDEMAND	S	3:29:54.8	+17.2	+14:30.9
19.	17	P. VAN MERKSTEIJN		3:30:32.6	+37.8	+15:08.7
20.	8	M. SOLOWOW		3:31:49.0	+1:16.4	+16:25.1
21.	7	N. AL ATTIYAH	M	3:32:30.0	+41.0	+17:06.1
22.	65	A. GRØNDAL		3:35:05.3	+2:35.3	+19:41.4
23.	31	H. PADDON	S	3:36:09.9	+1:04.6	+20:46.0
24.	36	Y. AL RAJHI	S	3:41:17.1	+5:07.2	+25:53.2
25.	70	J. HAUGOM		3:42:07.1	+50.0	+26:43.2
26.	67	H. WENG		3:43:48.3	+1:41.2	+28:24.4
27.	71	B. VANAGAS		3:46:25.6	+2:37.3	+31:01.7
28.	77	K. BURGER		3:47:38.3	+1:12.7	+32:14.4
29.	69	M. GUSTAFSSON		3:50:31.2	+2:52.9	+35:07.3
30.	79	F. LARSEN		3:54:52.4	+4:21.2	+39:28.5
31.	76	F. FONT		4:00:45.4	+5:53.0	+45:21.5
32.	72	Z. SZABO		4:06:28.2	+5:42.8	+51:04.3
33.	73	J. ROMAN		4:13:22.1	+6:53.9	+57:58.2
34.	75	E. BOLAND		4:15:10.7	+1:48.6	+59:46.8
35.	35	M. OLEKSOWICZ	S	4:15:21.9	+11.2	+59:58.0
36.	81	R. KVARACIEJUS		4:19:19.5	+3:57.6	+1:03:55.6
37.	34	A. MCRAE	S	4:25:41.8	+6:22.3	+1:10:17.9
38.	19	R. GÖRANSSON		4:31:56.6	+6:14.8	+1:16:32.7
39.	83	J. WALFRIDSON		4:33:24.7	+1:28.1	+1:18:00.8
40.	84	J. PARA		4:35:52.0	+2:27.3	+1:20:28.1
41.	82	D. OLIVEIRA		4:45:09.0	+9:17.0	+1:29:45.1
42.	85	L. STORM		4:53:39.8	+8:30.8	+1:38:15.9

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New classic rally for Africa

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:21

This year between September 15th and 22nd, South Africa will host a new special stage event for older cars under the title of Classic Rally South Africa. The brainchild of Surinder Thatthi (Event Director), Wille du Plessis (Clerk of the Course) and Henriette Jooste (Rally manager) whose collaboration in working together has made the Safari Rally Classic such a memorable feature of the international calendar, this FIA-sanctioned rally will run for a full week, starting in Durban and finishing in Sun City to the north of Johannesburg.

South Africa has long been a focus for major rally activity in southern Africa and the standard of its rally drivers, car preparation and rally organisation is amongst the best in the world. For too long now, it has lacked a big competitive classic rally catering for the cars of thirty years ago and this deficiency is now being addressed in style. It is hoped that many of the top drivers from round the world who take part in this category of rallying will make the journey south in September. There they will be able to sample at first hand some of the excellent special stages that South Africa possesses and which were very popular in the 1970s with the likes of Hannu Mikkola, Roger Clark, Achim Warmbold, Andrew Cowan, Björn Waldegård, Simo Lampinen, Tony Pond, Ove Andersson and Tony Fall to mention just a few of the international stars who competed in South Africa at that time.

Prior to the start in Durban, there will be a day and half of scrutineering and documentation followed by a ceremonial start on the afternoon of Saturday, September 15th. The real rallying starts on Sunday morning with a day of stages up to Richards Bay, the first night halt. Then Monday sees the rally reach Nelspruit and stay there for two nights with a day of rallying out and back on Tuesday. On Wednesday night the rally rests in Badplass while on Thursday night, the halt is in Johannesburg. From there, the rally goes north to Sun City on Friday and the finale is a day’s loop out from Sun City with the rally finishing back there in the early afternoon. That same evening, there is the prize giving and gala dinner.

In all, there will be some 1,400 km (870 miles) of special stages timed to the second in a total route mileage of around 4,000 km (2,500 miles) all to be covered in seven days of driving. The main provinces visited will be KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng.

The vehicles eligible for the Classic Rally South Africa must have been built before the end of 1978 and fit the description of ‘passenger-type’ cars with not more than six seats. Commercial vehicles and SUVs are not admitted while 4WD, turbocharged or supercharged cars are likewise forbidden from entering. All the normal safety equipment such as roll-cages, fire extinguishers, flameproof bulkheads, laminated windscreens and a main circuit breaker have to be fitted. There is a comprehensive list of permitted modifications in an appendix to the event regulations and this includes things like lightweight panels, alternative period induction systems and axle ratios.

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WORLD RALLY STAR HIGHLIGHTS SAFETY MESSAGE IN AUSTRALIA

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:21

World rally star Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team) showed his support for the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign ahead of the start of Rally Australia, joining 15-17 year old students from the Coffs Harbour High School to talk about the importance of safe driving.

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) ‘Ignition’ programme is part of the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign and is a pre-license road safety initiative aimed at educating youngsters prior to them getting behind the wheel. It directly addresses issues such as driver attitude and vehicle dynamics, helping young people to be better equipped to become road users and more aware of their responsibilities.

“We are very appreciative of Mikko taking the time during a recce day to come and talk to our young prospective drivers,” said Andrew Papadopoulos, President of CAMS. “They should be focused on the right attitude to driving from a young age and then understand there is a place for competition and safe driving on the public roads. Mikko is a role model and for him to talk about safe road practices is great.”

Mikko Hirvonen added: “It is important the drivers of tomorrow are taught the rules of the road and how to drive safely. There is no better time to instil that information than when they are this age. I hope they leave understanding a little more about the need to have an awareness of the importance of driving safely.”

Collectively, the students commented: “We now realise you have to stick to the rules, and in particular have an awareness of distractions around you. We can’t think nothing bad will happen to us; we are the same as everyone else on the road. The talk we had from the CAMS Ignition staff was definitely really useful.”

The Action for Road Safety campaign sees the FIA’s global family working together and drawing on its unique resources and reserves to unleash a wave of support to help reduce traffic related deaths and injuries worldwide. In 2010, road accidents resulted in the deaths of 1.3 million people worldwide and injuries to nearly 50 million more. It is estimated that in 2020 there will be 1.9 million road deaths. CAMS, along with the FIA clubs worldwide, are showing their support for the campaign, addressing potential road safety problems in their country.

The FIA’s Action for Road Safety supports the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, an initiative that aims to stabilise and then reduce the number of deaths on the road. The goal is to save five million lives in 10 years and the FIA’s campaign has already received support from across the motoring and motor sport spectrum.

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Kenyan Airways East African Safari Classic Rally

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:21

A few days ago, the drivers of the four Porsche 911s prepared by Kronos Vintage for the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally 2011 were invited to test them out in a Belgian quarry before they were shipped out from Antwerp on September 9th headed for Mombasa.

The test proved very conclusive and they were all happy with the way the cars performed. Since Kronos Vintage did the last Safari Classic in 2009, there has been improvement in the suspension set-up of the Porsches and the bodywork has been strengthened. A little more performance has been extracted from the engines, though these still retain carburettor induction and a double ignition system.

Among the team is Jean-Pierre Mondron, a past competitor on the Safari Classic and a director of Kronos who finished eighth in one of his own Porsches in 2009. Grégoire de Mévius has quite a history in modern rallying since he was FIA WRC Production Champion in 1991 with a Mazda and again in 1992 with a Nissan. Since taking an interest in classic rallies and driving with Kronos Vintage, he has won the Rally du Maroc Historique in both 2010 and 2011 and he won the International Rallye du Maroc in 2010.

Jean-Pierre Mondron said after the test that ‘The Kronos Vintage Team will be arriving in Kenya this year with more experience than two years ago and with a driver, Grégoire de Mévius, who is quite capable of being on the podium at the finish. But, of course we all know very well that the Safari Rally is vey hard for both drivers and cars and that motor sport is not an exact science, so nothing can be certain. What we do know is that we are looking forward to the rally and our chance to participate in a great human adventure.’

In the photograph with the crews alongside the cars, de Mévius’s co-driver, Alain Guehennec, is absent. The others – reading from left to right – are Grégoire de Mévius, Nicolas Gilsoul and Jean-Pierre Mondron, Frédéric Vivier and Phillipe Vandromme, and Eric Werner and Thierry de Latre. Dan Erculisse who was Mondron’s co-driver in 2009, and is a man with a lot of Safari experience, will this year take on the direction of the service and logistics for the team.

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