Showing posts with label Thierry Neuville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thierry Neuville. Show all posts

March 16, 2013

2013 WRC Rally México Review

Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia tearing up the hot road at 2013 Rally México March 2013.
Photo © Sophie Graillon via Sebastien-Ogier.com

Rally México was the third stop of the current 2013 World Rally Championship season schedule. The event, which took place from March 7 through March 10, 2013, was based near the industrial city of León, México. This was the first of what will be six straight rallies made-up of mostly gravel driving surfaces.

First up however, was the traditional 1.5-kilometre (almost 1 mile) Street Stage in the city of Guanajuato. Belgian driver Thierry Neuville and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul, of the Qatar World Rally Team, were temporarily the leaders after managing the quickest time on the short Thursday - March 7th evening jaunt.

The Leon Street Stage was included on Friday and Saturday, and there was the Super Special Stage at Leon’s racing course on the itinerary for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Still, gravel spewing action made up most of the 397 kilometre (approximately 246.5 mile) circuit, with a total of 23 stages.

Finishing in the top three spots, were: Sébastien Ogier (France) of team Volkswagen Motorsport won the rally; coming in second, was Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) for Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team; Thierry Neuville (Belgium) from the Qatar World Rally Team took the third spot.

Links to a WRC.com 2013 Rally México recap and post-rally podcast, as well as highlights videos, follow below.


The Big Top 3 Of WRC Mexico! [Podcast]
Posted at WRC.com on March 10, 2013

Check out what Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen and Thierry Neuville had to say at the end of the event.


WRC wrap: Ogier reigns supreme
Posted at WRC.com on March 10, 2013

Sebastien Ogier claimed his second consecutive WRC victory today after dominating Rally Mexico in a Volkswagen Polo R...


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February 19, 2013

2013 WRC Rally Sweden Review

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia drive through forest in 2013 Rally Sweden February 2013.
Photo © DPPI - From Bilsport.se .

The second rally of the 2013 World Rally Championship season was Rally Sweden. Official host city of Karlstad, Sweden served as the start and finish point of the ice and snow covered gravel event, which was done February 7 through February 10. The service park was in Hagfors, and the course ran through that region on Friday. They headed East on Saturday, with much of Sunday spent over the border in Norway.

The weather was perfect for what you would hope for in a Swedish rally. Plenty of fresh snow fell just before the start of the event, leaving everything snow covered and beautiful. Even with studded tires, giving the cars 384 studs per corner, there was a good bit of sliding around. This only seems to encourage the competitors to drive more aggressively, spending a lot of time driving sideways through the winding forest roads.

Quite a few cars ended up sliding, and in a few instances, rolling off the road. When you go off, you hope to land in a soft snow bank, rather than one of the harder ones. If your car is still driveable, any spectators nearby are glad to help get the car turned right-side up.

No matter what the weather, this is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. Lots of fans who make their way to see the Norway stages like to hangout around the house of rally driver Petter Solberg (2003 Champion), as one stage takes the cars on a road right next to it. Many car jump fans also make their way to the area by Colin's Crest (Named in honor of Colin McRae).

The top three drivers to complete the rally were: Winning driver was Sébastien Ogier (France) from Volkswagen Motorsport; Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team came in second place; Finishing with third best time was Mads Østberg (Norway) for Qatar M-Sport WRT.

Links (in chronological order) to WRC.com 2013 Rally Sweden recap posts, as well as highlights videos, are to be found below.


WRC wrap: Ogier triumphs on snow
Posted at WRC.com on February 10, 2013

Sebastien Ogier has claimed the first World Championship rally victory for Volkswagen Motorsport following a faultless performance on Rally Sweden, which ended in Karlstad this afternoon...


Capito: “Ogier in a class of his own”
Posted at WRC.com on February 11, 2013

Volkswagen Motorsport boss Jost Capito has paid tribute to Sebastien Ogier for taking his squad's maiden victory in the World Rally Championship on only its second event...


Neuville the high-flyer at Colin's Crest
Posted at WRC.com on February 12, 2013

Thierry Neuville won this year's Colin's Crest Award for recording the longest jump over the famous blind crest on Rally Sweden...


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January 24, 2013

2013 WRC Rally Monte Carlo Review

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elana in 2013 Rally Monte Carlo January 17, 2013.
Photo © Unknown - From Motorsport.com .

The 2013 World Rally Championship season started with Rally Monte Carlo, for the second straight year. The principality of Monaco was the start and finish ceremonies host, but base camp was located a few hundred miles north, in Valence, France. Sixteen lengthy asphalt stages made up this extra-long rally (originally 465 km / 289 mi over 18 stages), which was run in the eastern border regions of Rhône-Alpes and Alpes-Côte d'Azur from January 15 through January 19, 2013, during increasingly severe winter weather. Stages 17 and 18 were cancelled for safety reasons.

The top three drivers to complete the rally were: 2012 WRC champion, Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT was the first winner of this season; in second was Sébastien Ogier (France) from Volkswagen Motorsport, and finishing third, Dani Sordo (Spain). Sordo has returned to Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT for 2013.

Since I didn't do a season preview for 2013, here are a couple links that provide information on most of the very major (and disappointing) changes for this year. With the lack of manufacturer support from Ford and Mini, there has been some serious rearranging, in the form of team changes and driver changes.

Former WRC champion (2003) driver, Petter Solberg (Norway), will not be participating this year. He drove for factory Ford World Rally Team last year, but they decided not to fund anybody in 2013. Solberg (always one of the top drivers) has said he came close to making a deal with Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team in December 2012, but they didn't quite come to terms.

In the end though, we haven't lost any car brands. In fact, there has been expansion. It's a matter of changes in sponsorship, teams taking on third cars and a few sattilite teams, and Volkswagen entering as a manufacturer team.

This 2013 season opening event review includes (in chronological order) links to WRC.com recap posts and highlights videos.




Loeb claims seventh Monte-Carlo victory
Posted at WRC.com on January 19, 2013

A dramatic final evening of Rallye Monte-Carlo ended with the cancellation of the last two stages to enable Sebastien Loeb to claim his seventh victory in the opening round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship...


Citroen boss hails Monte winners
Posted at WRC.com on January 20, 2013

Yves Matton, the boss of Citroen Racing, has paid tribute to his drivers for winning this week's Rallye Monte-Carlo and putting four of the firm's DS3 world rally cars in the top five...



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November 1, 2012

2012 WRC Wales Rally GB Review

Jari-Matti Latvala driving in 2012 Wales Rally GB. Photo via WalesRallyGB.com.

The tenth rally of the 2012 season of WRC was run from September 13 through September 16, 2012. For the most part, it was done on a gravel surface, but some of the sections were also on asphalt. Base camp for Wales Rally GB was Cardiff, Wales.

In the end, these were the drivers finishing in the top three: Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) from factory Ford World Rally Team was the overall victor, Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total World Rally Team ended up second, and Petter Solberg (Norway) from factory Ford World Rally Team took third place points.

WRC.com rally recaps, and four extensive and informative review videos are included below.


Sunday wrap: Latvala returns to winning ways in Wales
Posted at WRC.com on September 16, 2012

Jari-Matti Latvala has done something he hadn't managed for 217 days when he claimed victory on Wales Rally GB this afternoon, his first in the FIA World Rally Championship since Rally Sweden seven months and four days ago...


The wrc.com review: Wales Rally GB
Posted at WRC.com on September 17, 2012

The agonising thing for Ford on Wales Rally GB was not just that it was the first factory win for 217 days, but also that it came frustratingly close to being a perfect one-two: a result that has eluded the works squad since Rally Australia one year ago...


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September 23, 2012

2012 WRC Rally Germany Review

Sébastien Loeb driving in 2012 ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Photo via WRC.com.

From August 24 through August 26, 2012, WRC team competitors participated in the 2012 Rally Germany. It was the ninth rally of the current season. Based in the very ancient and historic city of Trier, Germany, this outing was mostly done on sealed hard-top surfaces that ran through beautiful wine vineyard covered areas near the banks of the Mosel River.

The final results found the following three drivers at the top: Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total World Rally Team won the rally, Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) from factory Ford World Rally Team came in second, and Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) of Citroën Total World Rally Team was third.

WRC.com rally recaps, and four extensive and informative review videos are included below.


Sunday wrap: Loeb strikes back in Germany
Posted at WRC.com on August 26, 2012

Sebastien Loeb marked the 10th anniversary of ADAC Rallye Deutschland's elevation to the FIA World Rally Championship by winning the asphalt event for a ninth time in the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with co-driver Daniel Elena...


The wrc.com review: ADAC Rallye Deutschland
Posted at WRC.com on August 31, 2012

Sebastien Loeb says he has an "emotional" connection with ADAC Rallye Deutschland, as you'd expect from the event where he took his first victory in 2002 and has made his own ever since, apart from last year when a puncture intervened...


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July 29, 2012

2012 WRC Rally New Zealand Review

Sébastien Loeb in 2012 Rally New Zealand on June 24, 2012. Photo via WRC.com.

The 2012 World Rally Championship Season passed the halfway mark during Rally New Zealand, which happened June 22 through June 24, 2012 (Qualifying on June 21st). Based in Auckland, NZ, the mostly gravel (with some asphalt portions) event, was this year's seventh round.

The three top finishers were: Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total World Rally Team - first, Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) of Citroën Total World Rally Team in second, and Petter Solberg (Norway) with factory Ford World Rally Team - third.

I've posted a link to the official WRC.com total rally review post here, and highlights videos.


The wrc.com review: Brother Rally New Zealand
Posted at WRC.com on June 25, 2012

...So it wasn’t so much that Loeb was untouchably quick in New Zealand: far from it as Hirvonen was able to keep pace with him and had Petter Solberg not been on hard tyres for Friday’s soft stages, dropping a minute a half, he would have been right with Loeb at the finish too. Not to mention an on-form Latvala, who is probably faster than all three of them in terms of raw speed...


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July 1, 2012

2012 WRC Rally Greece Review

Sébastien Loeb in 2012 Rally Greece. Photo © BestOfRallyLive.

The Loutraki area of Corinthia, Greece was home base for 2012 WRC Rally Greece, round six of the 2012 World Rally Championship. The gravel surfaced event was held (Qualifying and Rally) from May 24 through May 27, 2012.

French Citroën Total World Rally Team driver Sébastien Loeb claimed his fourth win of the season at this rally. Finnish teammate Mikko Hirvonen was second quickest, while his countryman Ford World Rally Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala was third.

Here's a link to a WRC.com rally review post, and highlights videos.


Sunday wrap: Victory for God-like Loeb
Posted at WRC.com on May 27, 2012

...Piloting a Citroen DS3 WRC alongside co-driver Daniel Elena, Loeb performed faultlessly to secure his 71st career victory after fending off a host of rivals. And by claiming three bonus points for winning the event-closing Power Stage, Loeb’s lead of the WRC drivers’ standings increases to 30 points with seven rounds remaining...


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June 1, 2012

2012 WRC Rally Argentina Review

Sébastien Loeb in 2012 Philips Rally Argentina.
Photo © GEPA Pictures / Citroen via RedBull.com.

Based in Villa Carlos Paz (near Córdoba, Argentina), the fifth rally of the current World Rally Championship season, 2012 Rally Argentina was held the weekend of April 26 through April 29, 2012. The 312.38 mile gravel run makes this the longest rally of the year.

Overall, the Citroën Total World Rally Team had a great rally, as they took the top two spots. French driver Sébastien Loeb won, and Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) ended up second. Mads Østberg (Norway) came in third for the Adapta World Rally Team.

This is Loeb's 70th WRC career rally win. He held first place in the overall standings, with an 18 point lead over Petter Solberg (Norway) of Ford World Rally Team, after this rally.

I've posted a list (in chronological order) of links to daily review posts from WRC.com, highlights videos and a total event review video.



Loeb tops Qualifying Stage
Posted at WRC.com on April 26, 2012

...Loeb, the winner in Argentina on the last six occasions, completed the 4.59-kilometre test from Villa Garcia to Cabalango in a time of 2m36.9s to earn the right to select his road position for day one’s stages first...


Friday wrap: Loeb completes remarkable turnaround
Posted at WRC.com on April 27, 2012

Sebastien Loeb has reversed a deficit of more than half a minute to lead ... Rally Argentina at the completion of day one as Petter Solberg's bid for victory faltered when the Ford driver suffered a broken steering arm on stage four...




Saturday wrap: Loeb on course
Posted at WRC.com on April 29, 2012

Sebastien Loeb will start the final day of ... Rally Argentina firmly on course for his seventh victory on the event and his 70th in the FIA World Rally Championship ... after Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen was told to hold position...




SS14: Solberg wins the WRC's longest stage
Posted at WRC.com on April 29, 2012

Petter Solberg’s bid to score as many points as possible on ... Rally Argentina remains on course after he cut the gap to Thierry Neuville to less than two minutes by winning the monster 65.74-kilometre Matadero/Ambul run, the longest in the FIA World Rally Championship...


BREAKING NEWS: Loeb wins in Argentina
Posted at WRC.com on April 29, 2012

Sebastien Loeb has made it seven wins in succession on ... Rally Argentina to extend his lead at the top of the FIA World Rally Championship...




SS19: Solberg takes Power Stage win as Sordo hits trouble
Posted at WRC.com on April 29, 2012

Petter Solberg has won the Power Stage on ... Rally Argentina to secure three world championship bonus points...


Sunday wrap: Loeb in seventh heaven
Posted at WRC.com on April 29, 2012

Sebastien Loeb has made it seven wins in succession on ... Rally Argentina to extend his lead at the top of the FIA World Rally Championship...




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