The WRC 2012 Thread
Discussion
Emeye said:
I think Loeb doesn't like endurance events as there is more chance he would crash over the longer evens - Marcus Gronholm once said of Seb's pace that it's not sustainable. I guess it would be harder for Seb to sustain the sort of concentration he must have over an extended period.
True, having finally caught up with the Mexico coverage, if the rallies were longer and given the blistering pace JML displayed to recoup the time lost from his 1st puncture, factor out the crashes which JML admitted fault too for panicking thinking Novikov’s car was on the stage, and he could have given Loeb & Mikko a scare, and by his own admission his concentration and style needs to improve.If the rallies got longer be it 4-5 day rallies or more stages over 30k i think the Citroen boys could be left sweating by the Ford drivers.
moribund said:
Loeb finished 2nd in the 2006 Le Mans, so can certainly do endurance when he wants.
I think theres a big difference between endurance circuit racing than endurance events in the WRC. With the wrc its massive concentration on the road, processing the pace notes, processing the incoming slit times, deciding to push or conserve the tyres, etc.I know the le mans guys share the tyres/push now dilemmas, but if you cook your tyres half way through your stint in LM you just pop in for new ones during a 30sec pit stop. They won’t lose 3-4 mins parked at the side of the road changing one, or have to run another 20k stage or tyres most would consider illegal or not road worthy!
I think part of the problem is Loeb has had it easy calendar wise in his WRC reign. And why bother changing it now in his twilight years. (reminds me of a woman who’s worked here for 15yrs and has had it her way for that amount of time, shifts changed to suit her etc, and is blankly refusing to increase her hours by 30mins a day as she’s ‘in a routine now’)
Taken from WRC.COM
"Jari-Matti Latvala has gone fastest through the Qualifying Stage for Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.
Driving a Ford World Rally Team Fiesta RS WRC, the Finn set a time of 3m01.884s on the 4.96-kilometre Vale do Judeau stage. It means he will now be able to select his starting position for Thursday’s opening runs.
“The car was feeling good but you have to remember we are still very early in the rally,” said Latvala. “For the road position we might start way behind and take the risk for dust at night.”
Petter Solberg will be the second driver to select his starting position after going second fastest on the stage, 1.771s slower than his Ford team-mate Latvala.
Mikko Hirvonen was third fastest for the factory Citroen team, one place ahead of fellow Citroen driver, the eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, who was the first driver to tackle the test.
“For sure you like to set a good time but it can be easy to go off the road on a stage like this,” said Loeb.
Ott Tanak was fifth quickest for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team with team-mate Evgeny Novikov just behind in sixth.
Dani Sordo was the top MINI John Cooper Works WRC driver in seventh position.
Nasser Al-Attiyah endured a troubled run through the stage when he missed a junction in his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen. Paulo Nobre was also out of luck when he rolled his WRC Team MINI Portugal nearing the end of the test.
“It was a small roll but another accident again,” said Nobre, who reached the stage finish on foot.
Drivers will select their starting positions at 13:00hrs local time."
"Jari-Matti Latvala has gone fastest through the Qualifying Stage for Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round four of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.
Driving a Ford World Rally Team Fiesta RS WRC, the Finn set a time of 3m01.884s on the 4.96-kilometre Vale do Judeau stage. It means he will now be able to select his starting position for Thursday’s opening runs.
“The car was feeling good but you have to remember we are still very early in the rally,” said Latvala. “For the road position we might start way behind and take the risk for dust at night.”
Petter Solberg will be the second driver to select his starting position after going second fastest on the stage, 1.771s slower than his Ford team-mate Latvala.
Mikko Hirvonen was third fastest for the factory Citroen team, one place ahead of fellow Citroen driver, the eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, who was the first driver to tackle the test.
“For sure you like to set a good time but it can be easy to go off the road on a stage like this,” said Loeb.
Ott Tanak was fifth quickest for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team with team-mate Evgeny Novikov just behind in sixth.
Dani Sordo was the top MINI John Cooper Works WRC driver in seventh position.
Nasser Al-Attiyah endured a troubled run through the stage when he missed a junction in his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen. Paulo Nobre was also out of luck when he rolled his WRC Team MINI Portugal nearing the end of the test.
“It was a small roll but another accident again,” said Nobre, who reached the stage finish on foot.
Drivers will select their starting positions at 13:00hrs local time."
Big mix of starting positions with Ford and Citreon doing the opposite!
Rally Portugal Running order:
1. Mikko Hirvonen
2. Sebastien Loeb
3. Ott Tanak
4. Dani Sordo
5. Jari Ketomaa
6. Thierry Neuville
7. Armindo Araujo
8. Martin Prokop
9. Nasser Al-Attiyah
10. Daniel Oliveira
11. Peter van Merksteijn
12. Dennis Kuipers
13. Patrik Sandell
14. Mads Ostberg
15. Evgeny Novikov
16. Petter Solberg
17. Jari-Matti Latvala
Im praying the Fords can have a clean run this time. Mexico showed they have the pace where ever they are, they just need the luck!
Rally Portugal Running order:
1. Mikko Hirvonen
2. Sebastien Loeb
3. Ott Tanak
4. Dani Sordo
5. Jari Ketomaa
6. Thierry Neuville
7. Armindo Araujo
8. Martin Prokop
9. Nasser Al-Attiyah
10. Daniel Oliveira
11. Peter van Merksteijn
12. Dennis Kuipers
13. Patrik Sandell
14. Mads Ostberg
15. Evgeny Novikov
16. Petter Solberg
17. Jari-Matti Latvala
Im praying the Fords can have a clean run this time. Mexico showed they have the pace where ever they are, they just need the luck!
P I Staker said:
Allyc85 said:
Loeb out it seems!
Didn't expect to hear that, any more info?Autosport said:
World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Loeb's chances of victory in Portugal are already over after the Citroen driver went off the road on the second full-length stage.
Loeb's car stopped seven kilometres into the Santa Clara test, with following crews reporting that he had gone a long way off but was unhurt.
Ott Tanak said: "He was warning us on the stage, but we didn't see the car."
Jari Ketomaa, who was next on the road added: "The car was a very long way off the road."
Loeb had ended stage two third behind the Fords of Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala, as Citroen's plan of running first on the road appeared to backfire.
Other early incidents included Dani Sordo losing the use of all but one headlight on his Mini on SS2 and then pulling out before SS3, and local hero Armindo Araujo dropping five minutes behind when he went off very early on the evening's first stage.
Loeb's car stopped seven kilometres into the Santa Clara test, with following crews reporting that he had gone a long way off but was unhurt.
Ott Tanak said: "He was warning us on the stage, but we didn't see the car."
Jari Ketomaa, who was next on the road added: "The car was a very long way off the road."
Loeb had ended stage two third behind the Fords of Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala, as Citroen's plan of running first on the road appeared to backfire.
Other early incidents included Dani Sordo losing the use of all but one headlight on his Mini on SS2 and then pulling out before SS3, and local hero Armindo Araujo dropping five minutes behind when he went off very early on the evening's first stage.
Edited by Mini1275 on Thursday 29th March 22:07
to be fair i've seen the pic of the car and it looks pretty messy!
could it be the cars are getting pushed harder and faster now, with them being shorter wheel based. leading to higher speed/heavier impact damage??
i think also the FIA are cracking down onany damage to the cage, Latvalas was a fairly small 'ding' that to most looked nothing, i'm pretty sure theres cars on the club scene with older/dented cages still rolling and rolling, yet still going 
could it be the cars are getting pushed harder and faster now, with them being shorter wheel based. leading to higher speed/heavier impact damage??
i think also the FIA are cracking down on
A general update with standings after the opening evening:
Autosport said:
Jari-Matti Latvala holds a narrow lead at the end of the opening evening of the Rally of Portugal, while Sebastien Loeb is already out of the event.
Championship leader Loeb was third after the first two stages, but crashed heavily on SS3 when he misunderstood a pace note - damaging his Citroen's rollcage and forcing him to retire from the whole event.
Yesterday Ford had elected to choose lowly road positions while the Citroens decided to open the road, as the latter reckoned dust would cause visibility issues on the night stages for those running down the order, whereas Ford thought the surface would have cleaned thoroughly by the time its works cars came through if it went late in the list.
In the event, changing weather meant there was little to choose between the two strategies. Ford had better grip on the first two stages of the night, but struggled in the slippery conditions of SS4 after a heavy rain shower hit.
But ultimately it was Ford that led the event as the day closed, with Latvala 2.6 seconds ahead of team-mate Petter Solberg, and Citroen's remaining contender Mikko Hirvonen just 5s off the top spot in third.
"I think overall it's been a good evening. It's not been an easy evening, but I think our positions have paid off," said Latvala.
M-Sport Ford's Ott Tanak is still within 15s of the lead in fourth, having been quick all night and beaten all the works cars to a stage win on SSS4.
Fellow rising star Thierry Neuville is next up in fifth for Citroen Junior, followed by Mads Ostberg, whose Adapta Ford was delayed by an SS3 puncture.
It has been a bad night for Mini. Prodrive's Dani Sordo stopped with electrical problems before SS3, and local favourite Armindo Araujo spent five minutes off the road in his Motorsport Italia car on SS2, leaving only Sordo's team-mate Patrik Sandell in contention for the marque. Sandell finished the leg in 10th.
Championship leader Loeb was third after the first two stages, but crashed heavily on SS3 when he misunderstood a pace note - damaging his Citroen's rollcage and forcing him to retire from the whole event.
Yesterday Ford had elected to choose lowly road positions while the Citroens decided to open the road, as the latter reckoned dust would cause visibility issues on the night stages for those running down the order, whereas Ford thought the surface would have cleaned thoroughly by the time its works cars came through if it went late in the list.
In the event, changing weather meant there was little to choose between the two strategies. Ford had better grip on the first two stages of the night, but struggled in the slippery conditions of SS4 after a heavy rain shower hit.
But ultimately it was Ford that led the event as the day closed, with Latvala 2.6 seconds ahead of team-mate Petter Solberg, and Citroen's remaining contender Mikko Hirvonen just 5s off the top spot in third.
"I think overall it's been a good evening. It's not been an easy evening, but I think our positions have paid off," said Latvala.
M-Sport Ford's Ott Tanak is still within 15s of the lead in fourth, having been quick all night and beaten all the works cars to a stage win on SSS4.
Fellow rising star Thierry Neuville is next up in fifth for Citroen Junior, followed by Mads Ostberg, whose Adapta Ford was delayed by an SS3 puncture.
It has been a bad night for Mini. Prodrive's Dani Sordo stopped with electrical problems before SS3, and local favourite Armindo Araujo spent five minutes off the road in his Motorsport Italia car on SS2, leaving only Sordo's team-mate Patrik Sandell in contention for the marque. Sandell finished the leg in 10th.
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