WRC Rally of Turkey Results
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WRC Rally of Turkey Results
WRC Rally of Turkey Results
A bit of controversy erupted in the Rally of Turkey this weekend. After holding the top two positions at the end of the opening day, BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala purposely slowed to drop down the leaderboard in order to gain better starting positions on day 2 of the rally. This caused other drivers including Sébastien Loeb to have to start ahead on the stages essentially clearing the road of loose gravel and debris. Even though Hirvonen and Latvala had to run in the sweeper position on the final day, the advantage from day 2 was enough to hold off Sebastien Loeb. The win by Hirvonen also helped him recapture the points lead in the Driver’s Championship with a three point lead over Sébastien Loeb.
A delighted Hirvonen described the weekend as 'amazing'. "I promised Malcolm Wilson I would lead the championship going into my home rally in Finland next month and I am. It was an incredibly hard weekend for drivers, cars and tyres and a great battle with Jari-Matti, which I'm so happy to win. It was the right moment for a win because we struggled on the last round in Greece and this is perfect timing. It feels very special to beat a four-time world champion in a straight fight," he said. "Our tactics worked so well and I didn't panic this morning when I was first on the road and had to sweep the stages. This is my best result because it was such a big team effort. I was so nervous and drove so carefully in the final stage to preserve my tyres. It looks like it will be an exciting championship battle in the second half of the season. Now I just want to go home and see my sons," said 27-year-old Hirvonen, who felt ill throughout the rally and has been unable to eat.
Read Full Article Here!
A bit of controversy erupted in the Rally of Turkey this weekend. After holding the top two positions at the end of the opening day, BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala purposely slowed to drop down the leaderboard in order to gain better starting positions on day 2 of the rally. This caused other drivers including Sébastien Loeb to have to start ahead on the stages essentially clearing the road of loose gravel and debris. Even though Hirvonen and Latvala had to run in the sweeper position on the final day, the advantage from day 2 was enough to hold off Sebastien Loeb. The win by Hirvonen also helped him recapture the points lead in the Driver’s Championship with a three point lead over Sébastien Loeb.
A delighted Hirvonen described the weekend as 'amazing'. "I promised Malcolm Wilson I would lead the championship going into my home rally in Finland next month and I am. It was an incredibly hard weekend for drivers, cars and tyres and a great battle with Jari-Matti, which I'm so happy to win. It was the right moment for a win because we struggled on the last round in Greece and this is perfect timing. It feels very special to beat a four-time world champion in a straight fight," he said. "Our tactics worked so well and I didn't panic this morning when I was first on the road and had to sweep the stages. This is my best result because it was such a big team effort. I was so nervous and drove so carefully in the final stage to preserve my tyres. It looks like it will be an exciting championship battle in the second half of the season. Now I just want to go home and see my sons," said 27-year-old Hirvonen, who felt ill throughout the rally and has been unable to eat. Read Full Article Here!
And on the PWRC front:
Aigner takes P-WRC victory in Turkey
By winning the Production Car World Rally Championship category of Rally Turkey today, Andreas Aigner collected his third consecutive victory of the year, equalling Toshi Arai’s record for a hat-trick of P-WRC wins set in 2003.
The Mitsubishi driver began the final day with a minute lead in the P-WRC category and kept well ahead of second placed Patrik Sandell to cross the finish ramp in Kemer with a lead of 48.7 seconds.
Another maximum 10 points moves the Austrian into a dominant position at the head of the P-WRC series, 16 points clear of his nearest rivals Jari Ketomaa and Patrik Sandell who have 14 points each.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend but a very difficult one,” said Aigner. “And three wins in a row is great! We’re leading the Championship quite nicely now but Juho [Hanninen] has done two rallies less than me so I need as big a lead as possible. We’ll see what happens in Finland when I’m not there.”
After transmission problems on Saturday robbed him of the chance to challenge Aigner for the win, Sandell said he was glad to bring his Peugeot 207 S2000 home in second. “This is a really good result,” he said. “We’ve had lots of trouble in the Production and Juniors this year so far and here we’ve just had small problems. We’re developing the car all the time and I think it can go really fast now. Of course I really wanted victory here but after our problems I’m happy to be second.”
Mirco Baldacci took the final podium place in his Mitsubishi. But the San Marino driver was left wondering where he might have finished had he not suffered mechanical issues on the second day. “I’m happy, but sorry for yesterday as we had lots of problems with the suspension,” he said. “But it was good that we were still fast enough to win some stages, and a podium finish is good. And we still have three rallies left this year, so we’ll see.”
On his first attempt at Rally Turkey, Estonian Martin Rauam finished fourth in his Mitsubishi while Portuguese driver Armindo Araujo was fifth, also in a Lancer.
But the biggest drama in Sunday’s P-WRC contest came on the very last corner of the last stage, when Evgeniy Vertunov rolled his Subaru. The Russian had been metres away from a fourth place finish, but in the end had to settle for sixth.
Aigner takes P-WRC victory in Turkey
By winning the Production Car World Rally Championship category of Rally Turkey today, Andreas Aigner collected his third consecutive victory of the year, equalling Toshi Arai’s record for a hat-trick of P-WRC wins set in 2003.
The Mitsubishi driver began the final day with a minute lead in the P-WRC category and kept well ahead of second placed Patrik Sandell to cross the finish ramp in Kemer with a lead of 48.7 seconds.
Another maximum 10 points moves the Austrian into a dominant position at the head of the P-WRC series, 16 points clear of his nearest rivals Jari Ketomaa and Patrik Sandell who have 14 points each.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend but a very difficult one,” said Aigner. “And three wins in a row is great! We’re leading the Championship quite nicely now but Juho [Hanninen] has done two rallies less than me so I need as big a lead as possible. We’ll see what happens in Finland when I’m not there.”
After transmission problems on Saturday robbed him of the chance to challenge Aigner for the win, Sandell said he was glad to bring his Peugeot 207 S2000 home in second. “This is a really good result,” he said. “We’ve had lots of trouble in the Production and Juniors this year so far and here we’ve just had small problems. We’re developing the car all the time and I think it can go really fast now. Of course I really wanted victory here but after our problems I’m happy to be second.”
Mirco Baldacci took the final podium place in his Mitsubishi. But the San Marino driver was left wondering where he might have finished had he not suffered mechanical issues on the second day. “I’m happy, but sorry for yesterday as we had lots of problems with the suspension,” he said. “But it was good that we were still fast enough to win some stages, and a podium finish is good. And we still have three rallies left this year, so we’ll see.”
On his first attempt at Rally Turkey, Estonian Martin Rauam finished fourth in his Mitsubishi while Portuguese driver Armindo Araujo was fifth, also in a Lancer.
But the biggest drama in Sunday’s P-WRC contest came on the very last corner of the last stage, when Evgeniy Vertunov rolled his Subaru. The Russian had been metres away from a fourth place finish, but in the end had to settle for sixth.