There’s no doubt about it – Nico Rosberg is on a roll. After taking his ninth win of the season and fourth in five races at the last round in Japan, the championship leader is enjoying his greatest run of form to date as he closes on his maiden F1 World Drivers’ Championship.
With such momentum behind him, Rosberg could easily be considered the favourite for victory in the United States Grand Prix this weekend, with the anxiety of challenging at a Hamilton heartland considerably assuaged by his recent dominant performances in Singapore and Suzuka.
But in reality, Rosberg doesn’t need to win in Austin to win the championship – in fact, he doesn’t need to take a single victory for the rest of the season. With his Japanese Grand Prix win giving him a thirty-three point lead over Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg could finish second to his teammate for each of the remaining four rounds and still claim the title by five points. As much as Rosberg insists he is still looking at each race in isolation, it would be naïve to think that he hasn’t at least passingly considered laying back and letting the inherent pace of his W07 Hybrid carry him this final mile.
But on the other hand, the significance of laying down another emphatic win at one of his teammate’s favoured circuits will surely figure strongly in Rosberg’s mind this weekend – as will, no doubt, the prospect of settling a few scores with Hamilton regarding last year’s controversial first corner contact.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how Hamilton approaches this final leg of the 2016 season. It’s simply not in the defending champion’s mindset to back down and concede this hasn’t been his year – but at the same time, he will be all too aware that doing his best might not be enough to prevail this time.
Hamilton’s best hopes arguably lie with Rosberg suffering a Malaysia-style DNF, or at the least some qualifying trouble to drop him down the order for Sunday. But those odds are far too long to bet a world championship on, and if Hamilton is still aiming to come out the victor in November he will have to race strategically from here on out.
He will know from past experience that he has the edge over Rosberg in wheel-to-wheel combat; and will also know that if he asserts himself from the start – as in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, for example – he has a good chance of seeing the German get swallowed up by the chasing pack.
Such tactics are not without their risk, of course – one overly aggressive defence could easily see the Briton losing out instead, and potentially incurring the ire of both the stewards and the Mercedes team. But at this late stage of the championship and with the odds stacked so resolutely against him, what has Hamilton got to lose?
In the same week where The Smithsonian has launched a campaign on Kickstarter to raise $300,000 USD aimed at preserving the ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the beloved 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”, the Haas F1 team clicked its collective heels together and after 17 races finally gets to come home.
It took nearly eight months but the first F1 team based in the United States in 30 years gets to race on its home soil as the Formula One circus takes over The Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas this weekend.
Weather is not expected to play nearly the role in this year’s race weekend as the forecast calls for only slight chances of scattered showers as opposed to the monsoon-like thunderstorms that washed out one practice session and pushed qualifying to race morning last year.
Haas F1 Team are coming off a tough Asian swing that finished on a bit of a high note as both Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez made into Q3 for the Japanese Grand Prix 2 weeks ago in Suzuka.
Haas F1 Team comes into the fourth to last race of the 2016 season as the most successful new Formula One team in recent memory. The 28 points Haas F1 Team has earned so far this season are the most of any new team in this millennium.
Delivering those points to Haas F1 Team has been Romain Grosjean. The veteran Formula One driver will make his 100th career start in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. In COTA’s second Formula One race in 2013, Grosjean finished a career-best second for Lotus F1 team.
Grosjean’s teammate, Esteban Gutiérrez, has been knocking on the door of a points-paying finish all season long with five 11th-place finishes, each one spot shy of a coveted Formula One point. Gutiérrez looks to break that streak at COTA before heading to his own homecoming a week later – the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
Gene Haas – Team Owner
“As an American team, having an F1 race on American soil is incredibly important,” Haas said. “We come to COTA having scored some points and proving that we can hold our own with the established teams of Formula One. We’re looking forward to our first home race.”
Guenther Steiner – Team Principal
After a run of misfortune in Singapore and Malaysia, Haas F1 Team righted the ship in Japan. You put both cars into the final round of qualifying for the first time in team history. Even though no points were scored in the race, the speed of the cars and their balance was on full display. How much confidence does this give you entering the United States Grand Prix?
“It’s difficult to say, but I think we learned a lot again. We keep on learning. We found a good balance for the car. With our new front wing we figured out how to set that one up. I hope we can do well in Austin like we did in Japan, but nothing is for sure. You know, everybody else will do a good job. So, we will see where we come out. The thing is we know the car can be quick. We just need to get the best out of it.”
How significant is the upgraded front wing to the car’s overall performance?
“I think it was very significant. The delay in getting it to work is like when you are at a grand prix and you have problems in FP1 and FP2 – you focus on trying to find out what the tire is doing and the data on the tire and basic things. You cannot develop a new part on the car. We had problems in FP1 and FP2 in Singapore and Malaysia, so we didn’t do a good job of finding out about the wing. But in Japan, we had good practice sessions and, sure enough, the wing came alive in Japan.”
You’ve had some milestone moments in Haas F1 Team’s inaugural season. How important was it to get both cars into the final round of qualifying in Japan after coming tantalizingly close all season long?
“In F1, getting into Q3 – it’s one of the things you need to do on speed. You don’t get lucky to get in there. In the race there are other circumstances, but on a one-time lap you need to be fast. For me, it means as much as achieving points at the first race in Australia. To get both cars into Q3 is fantastic and I think everyone on the team would agree. I wouldn’t say we were surprised because we felt like we were very good. We got it done. It was a fantastic moment. ”
Romain Grosjean – Driver #8 VF-16
The United States Grand Prix will be your 100th Formula One start. It’s quite a milestone. What are your thoughts on achieving this mark?
“Yes, it’s great. To be fair, when I started in Formula One I thought it’ll just be one race after the other, then here we are at 100 grands prix, 10 podium finishes, a few points and lots of good memories, and some a little more difficult. The good thing is, I don’t know when I’m going to stop, but I think I’ve still got plenty of room in front of me to keep going and to keep trying to win. Definitely 100 grands prix is quite something in my lifetime.”
Driving for an American team, how appropriate is it that your 100th start comes on American soil?
“For us, it couldn’t be better. I’m so proud to be part of this team and so proud to be able to bring the cars into Q3 in qualifying and bring points to the team. We’ve been working very hard and everyone is really giving 100 percent. It probably means more for us than other people.”
When you first began racing, just getting to Formula One was the goal. Now you’re here and you’re established. What do you want to achieve next — for yourself and for Haas F1 Team?
“For myself, I want to be world champion, ideally twice. That’s been my dream since I started. I always wanted to be in Formula One but, on top of that, I want to be world champion. For Haas, the first goal was to score points and the second one was a top-five finish. We’ve done those two. The next goal is to be wearing the team’s colors on the podium. That would be very nice. I’d like to bring the first win to the team, which would be unbelievable. I think the whole idea is wonderful and having the support of Gene (Haas) means a lot to all of us. The way Guenther (Steiner) and all the people involved are running the team is just something very special. I want to be the driver that everyone remembers at Haas.”
In joining Haas F1 Team, you took a leap of faith in the vision Gene Haas had for an American Formula One team. What has it been like to be a part of this endeavor and what makes Haas F1 Team different from other Formula One teams?
“It’s been a great adventure. From day one I liked Gene’s approach to Formula One and to the sport. He knows what he’s talking about, so that made me think it would be a great adventure. We have had ups and downs, as you would expect, but generally it’s been a wonderful first year. I still have a lot of faith in the team and I think the future is going to be bright for us.”
Esteban Gutiérrez – Driver #21 VF-16
You’re racing for an American team in the United States Grand Prix. Because of that, does walking into the paddock at COTA and driving out of the garage and onto the track take on greater significance or give you an added sense of pride?
“It’s important to represent America around the world, but now that we get back home and go to Austin for the U.S. Grand Prix, it’s something very special because we are on American soil. That gives a special touch to our weekend. More motivation and great energy from the people to achieve a fantastic result.”
Last year at COTA you were a reserve driver with Scuderia Ferrari and a week away from being named as a driver for Haas F1 Team. As you return to COTA for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, can you reflect on what this season has been like?
“It’s been very challenging, but very positive in many ways. During the first year the team has scored points. We’ve faced a lot of downsides or technical issues that we had to solve together as a team in many races. There have been a lot of challenges, but at the same time, scoring points and making it into the Q3 has been very special as a new team, and I am sure that this success will bring the team forward in the coming years.”
At COTA, you’re representing an American team on American soil. Next week at the Mexican Grand Prix, you’re representing your home country in your home race. How big are these two weeks for you?
“It’s going to be an intensive experience – something that I will enjoy so much because it’s probably the two most special events for me this year. It comes at a great time of the year where we can share all this passion with all the people that have been supporting us from America and from Mexico.”
When you first competed at COTA, what did you think of the venue?
“I thought it was fantastic. It was the United States Grand Prix, but it was also like a Mexican Gran Prix. A lot of Mexicans went there. It’s not far away from my hometown, and that made it a very nice combination because America makes very great events and the atmosphere was very special. I could not have asked for a better experience. Now that we have a full United States Grand Prix and then a full Mexican Grand Prix, the experiences are more intense.”
Did You Know?
The United States Grand Prix dates back to 1950 when the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the world championship. Eleven times from 1950 to 1960, points scored at Indy were added to a Formula One driver’s season tally. And in 1959 America hosted two Formula One races when in addition to Indianapolis, the United States Grand Prix was held at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. It served as the ninth and final round of the 1959 season. In 1960, Formula One moved to Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway before finally settling down for a 20-year tenure at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International from 1961 to 1980. From 1976 to 1980, Watkins Glen was joined by Long Beach, California, on the Formula One schedule, with the United States Grand Prix West taking place until 1983. After Watkins Glen fell of the calendar, Las Vegas took its place for two seasons (1981-1982) with the Caesars Palace Grand Prix being held on its hotel parking lot. In 1982. America hosted three Formula One races when in addition to Long Beach and Las Vegas, Detroit was added to the schedule. Detroit hosted Formula One on a bumpy street circuit for seven years, with its last grand prix coming in 1988. Dallas made a one-race appearance in 1984 when Fair Park was converted to a Formula One circuit for the Dallas Grand Prix. Phoenix was next up for Formula One from 1989 to 1991 before a nine-year absence of the sport from America’s shores. But then Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George built a road course within the confines of the historic 2.5-mile oval and Formula One returned with the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis from 2000 to 2007. Sadly, very sadly for this Indy native, Formula One in America fell of the calendar again. It wasn’t until COTA was constructed in 2011, becoming the first purpose-built Formula One facility in the United States, that Formula One was able to return to America with the 2012 United States Grand Prix. Since then, COTA has been America’s one and only home for Formula One.
Pirelli is bringing three tire compounds to COTA:
P Zero White medium – less grip, less wear (used for long-race stints)
P Zero Yellow soft – more grip, medium wear (used for shorter-race stints and initial portion of qualifying)
P Zero Red supersoft – highest amount of grip, highest amount of wear (used for qualifying and select race situations)
Two of the three available compounds must be used during the race. Teams are able to decide when they want to run which compound, adding an element of strategy to the race. A driver can also use all three sets of Pirelli tires in the race, if they so desire.
Pirelli provides each driver 13 sets of dry tires for the race weekend. Of those 13 sets, drivers and their teams can choose the specifications of 10 of those sets from the three compounds Pirelli selected. The remaining three sets are defined by Pirelli – two mandatory tire specifications for the race (one set of P Zero White mediums and one set of P Zero Yellow softs) and one mandatory specification for Q3 (one set of P Zero Red supersofts).
Haas F1 Team’s drivers have selected the following amounts:
Grosjean: one set of P Zero White mediums, five sets of P Zero Yellow softs and seven sets of P Zero Red supersofts
Gutiérrez: two sets of P Zero White mediums, four sets of P Zero Yellow softs and seven sets of P Zero Red supersofts
The Bennetts Suzuki team and Tommy Bridewell ended the 2016 MCE British Superbike championship season with a top-five finish at the Brands Hatch triple-header following an eventful and unpredictable weekend.
Bridewell qualified on pole position for the first of the weekend’s races, which started in dry conditions but was red-flagged early on with the team battling for the race lead. Restarted twice, eventually in wet conditions, the race ended with Bridewell taking the chequered flag in fifth place.
Sunday’s action got underway in mixed conditions and on a drying track. After a tricky opening half of the race that saw Bridewell drop to the latter point-scoring positions, he recovered as the race went on, coming back through the pack to finish in eighth place.
The final race of the 2016 British Superbike season was again not without drama, as the first attempt to run the season finale was red-flagged. Track contamination at Hawthorn delayed the restart, which eventually got underway as a 10-lap sprint race, but with a ‘no overtaking zone’ at the end of the back straight onto the GP section of the Brands Hatch circuit.
Bridewell made a strong start, but a mistake at Druids saw him run wide, costing him lots of time and also track position. Showing the fighting spirit he’s shown all season, he put his head down, and even with the race running over a shortened distance, he recovered to take another eighth place.
Tommy Bridewell: We’ve had a good year
“That was an okay way to end the year. The weather’s really played havoc with us this weekend because we improved the bike and were fast in the dry and fast in the wet, but I need to improve my performance when it’s the in-between. As I got into it in both of today’s races our lap times were up there with the fastest out there, and we could catch people, pass them, and gap them, but by coming from so far behind there was only so much I could do. The results this weekend haven’t been what we were hoping for, but we’ve had a good year. We’ve had some bad luck, but through the second half of the season especially, we’ve been fast. Our biggest area of weakness this year was the initial punch out of corners. I think I’ve only ever really been passed in a straight line this year, because on the brakes and in the corners we’ve been so strong and the bike’s been brilliant. But I’ve had a great year with the team, I’ve had a lot of fun with everyone and really enjoyed my racing.”
Martin Halsall – Team Owner: Happy to have a solid end to the year
“This weekend’s been a bit up and down, not too unlike our season to be fair. It can sometimes take a bit of time to get going with new riders in a team, but after a little bit of a slow start, we’ve been a consistent runner at the sharp end of races in the second half of the season. Some bad luck has also cost us, and certainly cost us a place in the Showdown this year, but on the whole, if you look at the form guide over the second half of the year, Tommy has been one of the fastest riders out there, all on the outgoing GSX-R1000. We were confident going into this weekend, and it was brilliant to get Pole in qualifying. Come the races, all three took place in some fairly iffy conditions, ranging from treacherous on Saturday to the in between stuff we’ve had today, and we’ve seen what it can do to the field, with lots of regular front-runners struggling at various points, so to get fifth and a pair of eighths isn’t bad. We were hoping for more, but the weather can make it a bit of a lottery, so we’re happy to have a solid end to the year.
“Now I will go away and start preparations for 2017. I have a lot to consider and a lot of work to do to make sure we have a team structure and package in place for next year to make sure we can build on our performances this year and push on to fight for the Showdown and hopefully the championship in the future.”
Nicky Hayden is set to return to the premier class for the second time this season. However, unlike last time, he will be riding for the Repsol Honda team, replacing the injured Dani Pedrosa. Hayden started his MotoGP career on a Repsol Honda, taking the world championship in 2006 before leaving at the end of the 2008 campaign.
“First of all my best wishes to Dani, I’m sure he will come back stronger than ever like he always does. For me it’s crazy hard work but it’s a chance, ten year after winning my World Title, to get back to my old “dream team”! Doing a week-end in Phillip Island on a factory Honda, it’s pretty emotional for me to even think about it, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity and the trust that Honda gives me. I want also to thank my current team for allowing me to go and do this, and the sponsors. Everybody worked a lot on every detail to make it possible for me so now I’m excited to get on a plane, to get down to Phillip Island and hopefully I can do a good job for the team. Regarding Phillip Island there are two things to always consider, the weather and the tyres but it’s a track I love and I can’t wait to ride the bike there. Let’s get started on Friday morning and go forward”.
Hayden is familiar with the Australian circuit, having raced there in the first part of his MotoGP career and also earlier this year, making his debut in World Superbike Championship for Honda.
The Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team has started to give shape to its 2017 project. The first agreement is with Colombian Yonny Hernández (25/7/1988, Medellín), who is now riding a Ducati in MotoGP. Hernández arrived to the World Championship in Moto 2 and stayed in the class for two seasons, 2010 and 2011, before jumping to the highest class, where he has been for 5 seasons, one of them with Ducati.
The Moto2 class is now very different from how it was when Yonny was here. He will have the most competitive prototype up to now, the Kalex. The 6th place is his first objective, as it was his best result, achieved in 2011 (5th on the grid). Apart from a fastest lap in race.
Yonny Hernández competed in a total of 31 races in Moto2 and up to now he has competed in 84 in MotoGP, with a 5th as a best result on the grid and a 7th place as final race result. His name had already been in the list of possible riders for the team, as he caught the attention of our former Sports Director Ginés Guirado (RIP).
Yonny Hernández: I Hope to Fight at the Top
“I’m very grateful and looking forward to be part of this team and this new project. I hope I will be able to fight to be on top. This is a new challenge for me, I hope things go well and we are able to do a good job together”.
Iker Burutxaga, Team Manager: We will confirm the next steps soon
“We’re very happy with this acquisition for next year. We’re sure that we have chances to be on top with Yonny. We’ll work hard to help him adapt as soon as possible. We are very happy with this first step of the AGR project for 2017, of which we’ll confirm the next steps in the next few weeks”.
Texas 2015 saw Sauber F1 team celebrate their 400th GP with a 9th place points haul for Felipe Nasr. Given that they are the only team yet to score this season, the team would be very happy to have the same result, if not better this year as the paddock heads to the back to back American leg of the F1 calendar.
The track will see the supersofts tyre being introduced for the first time which should throw the proverbial cats among the pigeons on a circuit that is already a difficult one with a tough combination of both fast and slow corners.
MARCUS ERICSSON
Tyre choices: 1 Medium – 5 Soft – 7 Super soft
The Swedish driver has been enjoying the sights and sounds of the Austin playground as seen by his social media posting in recent days. A mechanical issue caused him to retire from the race last year and he is looking forward to redeeming himself this weekend:
“I believe we all remember the rather unusual United States Grand Prix due to the heavy rain in 2015. I am looking forward to going back this year, as I like this track a lot. It is a nice event at the circuit, and, as well as that, Austin is a great place to be”.
FELIPE NASR
Tyre choices: 1 Medium – 5 Soft – 7 Supersoft
Nasr, claimed a memorable 9th place in 2015 and has fond memories of the COTA track.
“Last year’s United States Grand Prix was quite eventful, as the weather conditions led to an exciting race. Finishing in P9 was a nice achievement, bearing in mind that it was the 400th GP for Sauber. Thinking about this year, I am very much looking forward to racing on this great track again. I will do the best I can for us to achieve a similar result to last year, as scoring points is obviously our objective”.
Sauber have just 4 races left in which to score the first points of the season. The COTA track had been kind to them last year, albeit which they did not experience the same setbacks as 2016, and they are hoping that a sneaky point might be on the offer.
Ferrari go in the US Grand Prix in Austin in the last chance saloon as far as their hopes for second place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship are concerned.
Max Verstappen’s second place was a hammer blow for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finishing fourth and fifth respectively – both having qualified faster than the Red Bulls but having to start sixth and eighth respectively due to penalties.
Vettel did manage to set his first fastest lap of 2016 in Japan but his winless run is now at 23 races – the longest of his career including his spell at Toro Rosso from 2007-08.
Raikkonen’s race will be remembered for a three-wide pass on Jolyon Palmer and Sergio Perez, and despite early traffic he was only five seconds behind Vettel at the circuit where he took a memorable win back in 2005.
And so it’s on to a track that Ferrari have never won at, although this is only the fifth time F1 has visited the Circuit of the Americas, although Vettel took victory there during his unbeaten streak at the end of 2013.
Ferrari have at least stood on the podium in Texas, with Fernando Alonso taking third in 2012.
The most famous of the Prancing Horse’s American adventures came back in 2005 in F1’s very own American Horror Story, as only six runners took to the start because of safety concerns about Michelin tyres.
The race, as with most this season, is likely to consist of Mercedes dominance followed by a scrap to be the best of the rest between Red Bull and Ferrari, with Austin likely to favour the Red Bull despite the long straights.
It has been a little frosty in the press in Italy, who have criticised Vettel since his first lap collision in Malaysia, while the Ferrari top brass have said publicly that he needs to “earn” another contract and his current deal runs out 2018 while there is speculation that he may seek pastures new.
For Ferrari, that chat can wait should it happen as they bid to try salvage second place out of a season in which they were meant to offer a challenge to Mercedes for top honours.
They’re 250 points behind with four races left.
(Image Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)
Jack Prentice
At the United States Grand Prix three years ago, the Red Bull Racing pit crew had conceivably its finest hour, completing a pit stop on Mark Webber’s car in a World Record time of 1.923s. It beat their own record of 2.05s, set earlier in the season and was, of course, the first ever pitstop to break the two seconds barrier.
Red Bull have exceeded expectations this year and with Max Verstappen under their wing they have surely have a future Formula One World Champion. Daniel Ricciardo also has shown he has the mettle to compete with Mercedes.
Last year at the American Grand Prix, the ever smiling Australian qualified in third before dropping down to tenth:
“It has a lot of unique features like the wide apex at turn one; you could fit about four cars side by side through there. There are loads of opportunities to overtake and have fun throughout the whole track. It has fast flowing sections and hairpins, pretty much everything I like in a track.”
Ricciardo led last year’s race at the same venue until Rosberg and Hamilton overtook the Red Bull driver due to the greater straight line speed.
Daniil Kyvat who was with Red Bull until he was demoted to Toro Rosso started the race in fourth position.
Max Verstappen should be looking forward to Austin as he produced a brilliant drive to finish fourth in 2015 behind Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso:
“The COTA track is very special, it’s a new track but with a lot of old school corners in it (but with more run off) which makes it really cool to drive.”
The Milton Keynes team should be in for a good weekend and extend their lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.
Formula 1 may have only recently found its spiritual American home in Texas but don’t be fooled into thinking that this is the only time that grand prix racing has taken on the land of the brave and free. Let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from F1’s past in America.
Our first trip down memory lane sees us in 1983 at Long Beach. This one is a true underdog story and shows that there is nothing greater than pure grit and determination when it comes to racing. The two McLaren cars of Nikki Lauda and John Watson had a day to forget in the qualifying session. They couldn’t quite get the tyres to work thus lining up at the back of the grid. Patrick Tambay managed to steal pole and looked like a favourite for the race win, considering the difficulty of overtaking on a street circuit. The start however didn’t go to plan with Keke Rosberg from the second row spotting a gap between the two front row starting Ferraris. Contact with Arnoux left the Frenchman spinning across the track. Tambay would lead but a costly mistake on lap 26 would see him running wide. This was Rosberg’s chance. The two cars went side by side with Tambay holding his line, then contact! Tambay up onto two wheels and stalling the car in the middle of the track. Laffite took the lead whilst Rosberg collided with the Ligier of Jean-Pierre Jarrier, taking them both out of the running. After going unwatched for most of the race the McLaren pair found themselves in third and fourth (Watson ahead of Lauda). Patrese ended up down the escape road leaving Watson to chase down Laffite for the lead. Lap 45 Watson would pass Laffite for the lead without even realising he had done so. A short while later and Lauda joined him to take McLaren’s first 1-2 finish in fifteen years. A truly outstanding effort.
Now it’s time to talk about “that grand prix.” Yes you guessed it. Indianapolis 2005. A favourite circuit amongst pretty much every racing driver out there. High speeds, with a challenging infield section. What could possibly go wrong? The weekend is the one for me that ended the tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin. A strange construction problem with the Michelin tyres meant that they would become unstable after about 10 laps as Ralf Schumacher found out during practice, resulting in a terrible accident. This wasn’t helped by the rules at the time which stated cars were only allowed to use one set of tyres during the race. The idea of a chicane before the final banking was thought up to reduce speeds, thus increasing the stability of the tyres. The FIA however believed that this would cause more problems than it would fix. So the track was left unchanged. Jarno Trulli claimed Toyota’s first pole position, but along with the other 13 Michelin shod cars he wouldn’t even take to the start. The Michelin cars all pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap. Effectively retiring from the race rather than pulling out of the event which would lead to penalties and punishment. That left just the six cars of Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi. An easy victory resulted for Michael Schumacher who strengthened his position in the championship due to none of the drivers who were above him before the race, actually taking part. Michelin and the tyre war stayed only for another year before Bridgestone took on a sole supplier role within F1.
As I mentioned earlier Formula 1 has now found its spiritual home in America. Since 2012 COTA (Circuit of the Americas) has played to host to the circus of speed. Its unique blend of long straights, tight technical sections and incredible elevation changes have helped to
create some of the best racing in the modern era. Borrowing ideas and principles from other classic circuits, COTA has found its place in the heart of fans and drivers alike. Moments like Hamilton chasing Vettel most of the way round in the inaugural race or the extremely wet weather of last year, which caused chaos and excitement. It also meant that Lewis Hamilton would claim his third drivers title after passing team mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg in the closing stages. I am certainly looking forward to whatever this weekend’s race has to throw up at us. Expect thrills and spills on the roller-coaster that is COTA.
Coming into this rally, Seb and Julien had a hand on their fourth world title. All they had to do is finish ahead of Andreas. Well, they’ve been doing that all year, so you’d think that wouldn’t be too hard. However, this was the rally that saw Seb crash out in the last stage last year and hand the win to the young Norwegian.
This year, the challenge came from Dani Sordo and the Hyundai team. Here’s the story of how the Spaniard challenged the reigning champs.
The event started on Thursday evening with the short 2.3km blast that is Stage one. It was very wet as it rained very heavily just an hour before the stage start. It started to rain again as the stage started. Also, don’t forget that this stage was fully tarmac, but because all of the Friday stages are gravel, the cars were set up for gravel, making them very interesting to drive on this stage.
The rain continued to fall and the puddles got bigger, so the drivers that came later, were really at a disadvantage. Jari-Matti didn’t go well at all, losing 12 seconds. He was far too aggressive sliding the car around and was very surprised to be so far off.
01 Tänak 3m 47.6s
02 Bertelli +2.7s
03 Ogier (VW) +3.5s
04 Meeke +5.2s
05 Breen +5.2s
06 Neuville +5.7s
07 Mikkelsen (VW) +5.8s
08 Østberg +6.1s
09 Paddon 6.4s
10 Sordo +7.1s
11 Latvala (VW) +12.0s
Ott made a great start on his D-Mack tyred Fiesta to take a lead, the first time he’d lead a rally since he came so close to winning in Poland during the summer.
Seb was right there though in third place. He’d driven really well to be third fastest despite the worse conditions. The rally had started well for the champion-elect.
Friday morning then and it was the 12.5km stage first up. Seb was first into the stage. The rain looked like it followed them, and so the stage was wet. It was a troublesome one for Hayden in here, as he suffered a failure on his anti-lag system, so was down on power. Also with no lunch time service, he was going to have to take a look under the bonnet to try and figure out what it was.
Kris was next up and it was going well, but then he came around a fourth gear left hander and the rear slid round. Next thing he knew, the car was rolling. He had to turn the car around and this lost him over 30 seconds.
01 Neuville 7m 39.9s
02 Paddon +1.6s
03 Ogier (VW) +2.5s
04 Sordo +4.2s
05 Latvala (VW) +4.6s
06 Mikkelsen (VW) +5.6s
07 Østberg +16.2s
08 Breen +30.7s
09 Meeke +40.9s
10 Abbring +41.5s
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), Miikka Anttila (FIN) Volkswagen Polo R WRC (2016) WRC Rally Catalunya 2016 Photo: Daniel Roeseler
Stage 3 then and it was Jari-Matti who won it from Seb who duly moved into top spot. With the weather having turned so bad, instead of it being a disadvantage to be first into the stage, it became an advantage. He took the lead from Thierry.
01 Latvala (VW) 4m 12.0s
02 Ogier (VW) +1.0s
03 Neuville +1.4s
04 Paddon +2.4s
05 Mikkelsen (VW) +2.6s
06 Sordo +3.7s
07 Østberg +6.1s
08 Meeke +6.2s
09 Breen +6.5s
10 Tänak +9.2s
Stage four next, the longest of the entire rally. Terra Alta at 38km and this stage has both tarmac and gravel parts to it. Dani pushed very hard in this one, looking to move up the leaderboard. Jari-Matti was fastest though, thus winning two in a row. Hayden was really suffering with his engine not performing correctly and it must have been so frustrating for him. He would spend the midday break poking around under the bonnet trying to see what was wrong.
01 Latvala (VW) 25m 48.7s
02 Ogier (VW) +3.9s
03 Sordo +6.1s
04 Neuville +8.2s
05 Mikkelsen (VW) +10.4s
06 Paddon +17.6s
07 Østberg +22.9s
08 Breen +25.4s
09 Meeke +29.2s
10 Tänak +52.0s
Stage five was a re-run of number two. It was starting to dry up out there with the rain having stopped and the sun coming out. Thierry managed to remove his bumper and grille from the car as he tapped a couple of small trees and spun. He would lose 18 seconds…. It went even more wrong for Jari-Matti though. Coming through a right hander, which had a section of Armco running alongside and he tapped the end of it with the right front of the Polo. This not only broke his drive shaft but also the steering rack as well. A big shame. He was out for the rest of the day.
It was totally different for Dani through here though! He won the stage and took the lead in one go. A brilliant performance! Fourth into first place in one go. He was overjoyed!
2016 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 12 / RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de Espagna 2016 / October 13 – 16, 2016 // Worldwide Copyright: Hyundai Motorsport
01 Sordo 7m 57.3s
02 Abbring +4.1s
03 Østberg +4.5s
04 Bertelli +4.6s
05 Meeke +5.2s
06 Paddon +5.2s
07 Mikkelsen (VW) +8.5s
08 Camilli +9.5s
09 Prokop +12.3s
10 Tänak +13.7s
11 Ogier (VW) +16.3s
He found himself 6.1 seconds ahead of Seb after that one. Hayden had also found some time in there to close the gap to the front.
Stage six then, and rerun of Terra Alta. Dani won this, thus opening up a 11.8 second lead over Seb. Just completely in the groove!
01 Sordo 4m 06.0s
02 Tänak +1.2s
03 Meeke +2.4s
04 Breen +3.5s
05 Ogier (VW) 5.7s
06 Mikkelsen (VW) +5.8s
07 Østberg +6.1s
08 Paddon +6.9s
09 Abrring +7.8s
10 Neuville +7.8s
Last stage of the day and It was a Kris win in here with Dani second and Seb third, but 6.9 seconds slower.
01 Meeke 24:50.1
02 Sordo +1.7
03 Ogier +6.9
04 Ostberg +15.2
05 Mikkelsen +19.2
06 Breen +27.4
07 Neuville +27.9
08 Tanak +29.4
09 Paddon +30.2
10 Camilli + 41.6
Kris really got into the groove through there, but it was Dani who’d really driven brilliantly through the day and taken the lead. What a lead as well.
D. Sordo / M. Martí (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) 1:18:44.4
S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +17.0
A. Mikkelsen / A. Jaeger (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +35.1
T. Neuville / N. Gilsoul (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) +46.3
H. Paddon / J. Kennard (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) +47.5
M. Østberg / O. Floene (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +54.3
K. Meeke / P. Nagle (Citroën DS3 WRC) +1:06.3
C. Breen / S. Martin (Citroën DS3 WRC) +1:44.6
O. Tanak / R. Molder (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2:04.4
E. Camilli / B. Veillas (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3:44.3
K. Abbring / S. Marshall (Hyundai i20 WRC) +4:02.8
The thoughts of the top three then.
Dani Sordo said: “It has been an unbelievable day. I am really pleased to be leading the rally, particularly in front of all these amazing Spanish fans. The New Generation i20 WRC has been fantastic to drive today, and it is thanks to the whole team that we have been able to start the rally in such a positive manner. The wet conditions have made these stages very slippery, so it has been an achievement to make it through without any problems. We haven’t really been taking any risks so far, but as we move onto asphalt for the remaining days, we need to make sure that we keep up the fight.”
Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“The conditions were really extremely difficult for all the drivers today. It was super slippery in places – with a lot of water and mud on the roads. I pushed as hard as I could again on the afternoon’s final stage. At the moment, things are looking very good for Julien and me in the battle for victory in Spain and the world championship. Tomorrow is the start of a completely new rally. I am looking forward to the fast asphalt stages on Saturday and Sunday. It always feels a bit like being on a racetrack here in Catalonia. The asphalt is absolutely perfect the roads are generally very wide.”
Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“Wow, what a tough day. The rain gave us some extremely slippery stages on the gravel today. You can never be quite sure what the conditions were like on the muddy surface. There was plenty of grip one minute, then all of a sudden hardly any at all. We tried to put ourselves in a good position for the next two days on asphalt, whilst taking as few risks as possible. Opening the road was not the ideal starting position today, but I think we made the best of the situation.”
The rest of the drivers
Volkswagen Motorsport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“We found our rhythm very quickly today and underlined this with two wins on stages three and four. Unfortunately, our fightback then came to an abrupt end. We got a bit off the line in a left-right combination and damaged the suspension. We tried to repair it, but it was impossible to continue. That was it for today. It is bitterly disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We will come back tomorrow and try to score as many points as possible towards the Manufacturers’ Championship.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville said: “It’s been a day of two halves. The opening stages this morning went well, despite the conditions, and we were able to take a stage win and briefly lead the rally. We were keeping the pressure on and headed into the afternoon in positive mood. Unfortunately, we got unlucky in the repeat of Caseres as we approached a slow right-hand corner, I got stuck on the inside and the car spun, hitting a tree. The engine stalled and we lost some time restarting. We were able to fix some of the damage and could continue the loop. Thankfully we minimised the time loss and will look to push more tomorrow.”
Hayden Paddon said: “We have been battling a technical issue all day which has prevented us from doing too much more. In fact, I’m surprised we’ve been able to set some of the times we have. This morning already felt like we were missing some power and we had no throttle response. I adapted my driving style, which felt a bit unnatural, but with no lunchtime service there wasn’t much else we could do. I think we could have been quite competitive, so it’s a bit of a missed opportunity. Still, we have made it through and we’re still in the hunt for a good result. Tomorrow’s another day, as they say.”
Kevin Abbring said: “It’s a disappointing end to the day with the problem but all in all it’s been a positive experience out there. The conditions have not been easy, so it’s heightened the challenge for us. We’ve never rallied on stages like these before, and certainly not on wet gravel, so it’s been a learning curve. I felt we were doing ok, particularly in the afternoon loop. Second in SS5 was a real boost to the confidence. But in the final stage we experienced a loss of power, which in turn lost us a lot of time. It’s a shame but we will come back stronger tomorrow – and I hope we will be able to enjoy a drier day.”
M-Sport WRT
Mads Østberg (6th) said:
“The stages here in Spain are fantastic and I have really enjoyed the day. Our driving and our performance have been really strong but, unfortunately, luck hasn’t been on our side.
“In the morning that was largely due to the weather but, if I’m honest, we made that back in the afternoon. We also had a small problem with the differentials – a new one – and we have no idea what it is. I’m trying to explain it to the engineers and they can see it on the data, but at this moment we can’t pin-point exactly what’s causing it. Obviously we had a full day without service so we just had to adapt and try to be faster and faster with every stage – which I think we achieved.
“We also had some really strong splits on the Tarmac section of Terra Alta which was great to see. Of course it’s with completely different tyres and set-up, but it’s still Tarmac and it’s still a section in the stage where I’ve always lost out. In the past I’ve lost more than a second per kilometre in there, but this year we were one of the fastest both times though – that makes me especially happy.”
Éric Camilli (10th) said:
“It was very difficult for us in the morning. We were competitive here last year, but in these conditions it was hard to judge the limits. You never know where you can push, where it will be slippery, where there will be grip, where there will be water… and in this car, which has so much more power, it can be very tricky. But we took the time to learn and we were able to show a big improvement this afternoon.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow, but we’ll keep the same mind-set until the end of the season. Right now, the most important thing for me is to take the experience. We’ve already proved our pace this season, so now it’s time to manage everything else and continue learning so that we can make more progress next year.”
Abu Dhabi Citroen WRT
Kris Meeke: “Obviously, it was a bit of a frustrating start to the day for us. We knew it was going to rain, but it was torrential in the mountains! And when the dust that normally covers these roads gets wet, the surface becomes incredibly slippery… A few kilometres after the start of SS2, I was caught out by some standing water in the ruts. It put the car sideways on the road and we touched the bank and rolled. The damage was superficial and we only lost fifteen or twenty seconds with the roll! But with the conditions, I don’t think I would have been able to fight for the lead in any case. I quickly refocused on my main objective for the weekend: find a good rhythm and feel comfortable on this surface. The results in the afternoon were encouraging, even though my road position helped. Overall, it’s still a disappointing day, but we’re not out of it yet. Let’s see what we can do, maybe we can sneak a podium.”
Craig Breen: “This has been one of the most difficult days of my career. We had to deal with the worst conditions, with so much rain and mud. The first stage was particularly tough, the rainfall was at its heaviest just as we set off and there was a lot of standing water on the ground. We did our best, but I still made a minor mistake on SS5 and spun the car. Although we weren’t going very fast, we hit a tree and that damaged the radiator. We were even more cautious after that, so we made it to the end of the day without incident. I’m glad we switch to tarmac and a more traditional rally tomorrow!”
Khalid Al Qassimi: “I’ve never seen conditions like these in Catalonia. It wasn’t enjoyable to drive in such thick mud and I was even more cautious when I saw other cars stopped by the side of the road. I really backed off and didn’t take any risks at all this morning, even if the reduced power meant the car wasn’t really working properly. On the second runs, there was more grip and I was able to push a little bit more. I felt more confident as the afternoon drew on and I quite enjoyed the Terra Alta stage. Tomorrow we reset everything, it’s a completely different rally when we switch to tarmac. I hope that the weather will be kinder, both for us and for the fans!”
Day two then and with a complete switch to tarmac, the teams had made the suspension, brakes and tyre changes necessary at the end of the first day, preparing the cars for the smooth roads.
Eight stages made up Saturday’s line up and the sun was still rising when the first cars fired into Stage eight. Having restarted with a rebuilt car, Jari-Matti powered through to beat Kris in this stage by just two tenths of a second. Dani’s lead was trimmed a little by Seb, but the gap between them was still almost 17 seconds.
01 Latvala (VW) 4m 03.4s
02 Meeke +0.2s
03 Mikkelsen (VW) +0.5s
04 Ogier (VW) +1.7s
05 Sordo +1.8s
06 Neuville +2.6s
07 Paddon +4.3s
08 Tänak +5.1s
09 Østberg +5.2s
10 Abbring 6.3s
Stage nine then and could Seb close the gap some more? Well, actually it widened a little, whilst Jari-Matti took a second stage win. Kris suffered a puncture in the stage, so dropped some time, although still maintaining seventh overall.
01 Latvala (VW) 11m 05.9s
02 Sordo +0.7s
03 Ogier (VW) +1.3s
04 Mikkelsen (VW) +2.2s
05 Neuville +2.6s
06 Paddon +6.4s
07 Camilli +8.7s
08 Østberg +16.3s
09 Tänak +18.1s
10 Abbring +24.2s
Stage ten next and Seb won the stage from Dani to reduce the gap by three seconds to 14.5 with Jari-Matti just three tenths off in third.
01 Ogier (VW) 11m 12.9s
02 Sordo + 3.0s
03 Latvala +3.3s
04 Meeke +3.5s
05 Neuville +5.4s
06 Mikkelsen (VW) +7.4s
07 Paddon +8.6s
08 Camilli +14.7s
09 Tänak +23.2s
10 Østberg +24.3s
One more stage then before midday service, stage eleven and Seb flew through this one at an amazing 116kph average speed, including one section where he topped 191kph! Just incredible and with that closed the gap to Dani to just 7.7 seconds. Lots for Dani to think about.
01 Ogier (VW) 12m 27.3s
02 Sordo +6.8s
03 Latvala (VW) +9.9s
04 Neuville +10.9s
05 Meeke +12.0s
06 Mikkelsen (VW) +12.2s
07 Paddon +13.9s
08 Østberg +23.9s
09 Camilli +26.5s
10 Abbring +30.8s
After service Andreas, with the Hyundai drivers getting closer was pushing hard to keep them behind. It all went wrong in stage 12. Coming round a right hander, his Polo went wide and there was some Armco which was on the outside of the corner. The car slid onto it and it flipped the car over onto its roof and then back over. Andreas and Anders were fine, but the car wasn’t going anywhere after that.
Seb won the stage from Dani again, just 2.5 seconds quicker and reducing the lead to 5.2 seconds. Could Dani stop Seb from passing him?
01 Ogier (VW) 11m 02.0s
02 Sordo +2.5s
03 Paddon +5.9s
04 Neuville +8.4s
05 Breen +10.5s
06 Østberg +12.6s
07 Meeke +19.6s
08 Abbring +19.8s
09 Prokop +21.2s
10 Tänak +24.2s
11 Latvala +40.4s
Stage thirteen then and Seb kept coming with another stage victory over Jari-Matti and Dani third through here. It was looking very likely that Seb would be back in the lead very soon.
01 Ogier (VW) 11m 14.3s
02 Latvala (VW) +2.0s
03 Sordo +2.7s
04 Neuville +3.9s
05 Meeke +4.5s
06 Paddon +8.1s
07 Breen +11.7s
08 Østberg +18.4s
09 Abbring +23.9s
10 Tänak +25.5s
Stage fourteen then and could Dani hold Seb off? Sadly, not I’m afraid. He was 4.2 seconds slower through there and thus came out 1.7 seconds behind Seb.
01 Ogier (VW) 12m 29.3s
02 Latvala (VW) +2.2s
03 Neuville +3.9s
04 Sordo +4.2s
05 Meeke +4.9s
06 Paddon +5.5s
07 Breen +12.4s
08 Østberg +20.1s
09 Abbring +22.8s
10 Tänak +27.8s
Last stage of the day then and it was a win for Kris round the super special. Seb was fourth, but it was a shame to see Dani lose more time, ending the stage four seconds slower than Seb, meaning that he would be 5.8 seconds behind going into the last day.
01 Meeke 2m 33.0s
02 Paddon +0.1s
03 Neuville +0.2s
04 Ogier (VW) +0.3s
05 Latvala (VW) +0.7s
06 Østberg +0.9s
07 Prokop +2.5s
08 Bertelli +3.3s
09 Tänak +3.9s
10 Sordo +4.4s
So, here’s the thoughts of the top three at the end of day two.
Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“A perfect day! I am very happy with our performance. I knew we could only make up the 17-second deficit to Dani Sordo with an absolutely flawless display. He is very quick on asphalt, and this is his home rally. We consciously took a slightly more cautious approach on this morning’s first stage, because it was still damp and slippery in places. From then on, however, Julien and I went on the attack. We obviously now have a huge chance of securing our fourth title here in Spain. That is at the back of our minds, but the points for the team in the Manufacturer’s Championship are also important. No doubt about it, we want to win tomorrow. However, I still remember well the outcome of last year’s Power Stage. We don’t plan to let that happen again this time.”
Dani Sordo said: “I was disappointed to lose the lead of the rally this afternoon, if I am honest. We knew it would be a tough challenge but when you are in the top spot, it’s natural instinct to want to protect it. The morning loop was not too bad, and we defended well but Ogier was pushing hard. We had a bit of understeer but I felt happy with my driving overall. We made a few adjustments at lunchtime service, but there wasn’t any more we could do. It’s very easy to make mistakes when pushing too hard, so we have to find a compromise. We’re not too far off in terms of the overall time, and there are still plenty of opportunities tomorrow. I’m not one to give up so we’ll see what we can do. It’s our home rally, so we want to win for all the Spanish fans.”
Thierry Neuville said: “It’s been a solid day for us and obviously it’s nice to be in the podium positions heading into the final day. The battle with Andreas this morning was poignant, not only because we are friends but also because we are involved in a close fight for second in the drivers’ classification. We were already putting some pressure on before he went off in the afternoon loop. I have been pretty pleased with my driving today. We had a bit understeer and there has been some room for improvement, but all in all we can be happy. As a team, we’re looking strong, so we need a clean Sunday to pick up these important manufacturer points.”
The rest of the drivers
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon said: “Consistency has been the word of the day for us. The team did a great job in service last night to get all the cars switched for today’s asphalt tests. We have been in or around the top-six in most stages today and we’ve been able to move up to fourth place, following Andreas’s retirement. Things feel better than they were in Corsica, although we’ve still had to work hard to adapt to the conditions and to the car. We’ve been digging deep and trying to move forward – and we’ll continue to do that through Sunday’s four stages.”
Kevin Abbring said: “It’s been a really enjoyable day. I have felt my confidence grow inside the car with each stage. The rhythm has been getting better and better. We had a good morning loop, improving the car bit by bit. It’s been a year since we were on tarmac in Corsica in a WRC car so we’ve had to reacclimatise. We wanted to gain some positions today – and circumstances have allowed us to do that. We made some good progress this afternoon, and have a few ideas for tomorrow. To be inside the top-eight is great and something we want to defend in the final stages on Sunday.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Kris Meeke: “This morning, I had a good rhythm but I picked up a puncture after cutting a corner. After that, I had to deal with an uneven tyre set-up. Some portions were also very dirty. This afternoon, I had a bit of a moment with a sixth-gear spin. I haven’t really managed many of the stages without any issues, but it’s up to me to eliminate these silly mistakes. Overall, it’s been a frustrating leg, but the positive is knowing that I can challenge with the best when everything is going well! That wasn’t the case a year ago, so we’ll have to take that into 2017.”
Craig Breen: “The day couldn’t have got off to a worse start, because we broke a driveshaft after two or three kilometres. After the stage, we removed both of the front driveshafts. It was a long and difficult job, so we picked up a penalty for arriving late at the time control for the next stage. After the mid-leg service, we just tried to learn the stages. It was difficult for us to commit as we were on our first high-speed pass when everyone else was on their second. It wasn’t a good day, but sometimes you need this kind of experience to appreciate the good times! On tomorrow’s final leg, we’ll be just trying to finish the rally well.”
Khalid Al Qassimi: “It’s been a pretty good day for me. I didn’t feel especially confident on the first loop, my pace notes weren’t perfect and there was a lot of dirt and stones on the road. I nonetheless managed to up the pace on the second pass, altering my driving style to use the car’s torque more rather than shifting through the gears. I’m pleased to have improved my times quite significantly. It’s not easy to come back to tarmac after a year away. The other WRC drivers compete at a very high level and they do a lot more kilometres than me on this surface. But I still love this rally!”
2016 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 12 / RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de Espagna 2016 / October 13 – 16, 2016 // Worldwide Copyright: M-Sport/McKlein
M-Sport WRT
Mads Østberg (6th) said:
“I’m quite happy to see that our new driving style is starting to pay off. We’ve seen an increase in speed and set some decent stage times too. Of course you always try to improve in the same direction and sometimes it kicks back which makes it quite difficult to tune in, but we are trying and I think we are getting there.
“Sometimes you need to learn something new to move forward, and that is what we’re doing on Tarmac. You need to allow some time to see the results, but you also need to see the gains and I’m quite happy to see that we are moving in the right direction and that we are getting faster.”
2016 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 12 / RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de Espagna 2016 / October 13 – 16, 2016 // Worldwide Copyright: M-Sport/McKlein
Éric Camilli (21st) said:
“Of course it’s disappointing to finish the day like this, but it hasn’t been a bad day by all means. We’ve shown better speed but more importantly we’ve also proved our adaptability. One of the stages was completely new to me this morning and normally I would lose some time there, but this time we were actually quite close to the fastest which was really good.
“Having checked the pacenotes over the first pass, we wanted to improve further on the second and close the gap even more. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible as we had an issue with the gearbox. These things happen and I think every driver has to accept that sometimes.
“We’ll have to use the gravel gearbox tomorrow but that is just the way it is and we’ll focus on checking the notes and making sure that we’re as prepared as we possibly can be for next year.”
Top ten at the end of day two
01 Ogier (VW) 2h 35m 12.8s
02 Sordo +5.8s
03 Neuville +1m 03.9s
04 Paddon +1m 20.0s
05 Meeke +1m 57.9s
06 Østberg +2m 35.7s
07 Tänak 4m 24.7s
08 Abrring 6m 22.7s
09 Prokop 7m 13.3s
10 Bertelli 9m 17.1s
Four stages then and could Dani overhaul Seb to score a first victory for a Spaniard at home since El Matador, Carlos Saniz in 1995?
The first cars headed into the stage, number 16 and the sun had not yet come up. Lights ablaze, they turned and twisted their way through.
01 Ogier (VW) 10m 58.3s
02 Paddon +2.0s
03 Sordo +2.6s
04 Neuville +4.7s
05 Latvala (VW) +6.3s
06 Breen +8.5s
07 Tänak +18.9s
08 Østberg +22.7s
09 Camilli +23.6s
10 Abbring +24.6s
Seb had a bit more light in the stage and therefore increased his lead from 5.8 seconds to 8.4 seconds.
Sadly, Kris would retire from the event at the end of the stage, having suffered from an engine failure. A big shame after a rally that promised so much.
Stage seventeen next and it was a Jari-Matti stage win again! Just showing that if he can get just some consistency, he can definitely challenge for victories.
01 Latvala (VW) 10m 53.1s
02 Ogier (VW) +1.2s
03 Paddon +1.5s
04 Neuville +2.1s
05 Sordo +2.7s
06 Breen +3.6s
07 Camilli +9.0s
08 Østberg +9.8s
09 Tänak +16.1s
10 Abbring +16.8s
It looked like it was all over for Dani though, losing more time and with the gap to Seb increasing all the time. He’d have to find some amazing pace to move back ahead of Seb, the gap now 14.2 seconds.
Just the power stage now…. Last year Seb crashed on this, handing victory to Andreas. Would he make the same mistake?
Not a chance…. He finished the stage second fastest and won the rally from Dani.
Stage 19
01 Latvala (VW) 7m 55.8s
02 Ogier (VW) +1.6s
03 Sordo +3.2s
04 Neuville +3.6s
05 Paddon +3.6s
06 Breen +5.2s
07 Østberg +6.4s
08 Camilli +10.3s
09 Abbring +15.3s
10 Bertelli +15.4s
Overall result
01 Ogier (VW) 2h 46m 11.1s
02 Sordo +8.4s
03 Neuville +1m 08.6s
04 Paddon +1m 22.0s
05 Østberg +2m 58.4s
06 Tänak +4m 43.6s
07 Abbring +6m 47.3s
08 Prokop 7m 56.8s
09 Kopecky +8m 13.6s
10 Tidemand +8m 24.5s
He’d joined the great’s, Juha Kankunnen and Tommi Mäkinen as a four times World Rally Champion.
Julien Ingrassia (F), Sébastien Ogier (F) Volkswagen Polo R WRC (2016) WRC Rally Catalunya 2016 Photo: Helena El Mokni
His thoughts then at the end of the event.
Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“I feel fantastic! The fourth world championship title for Julien and me, it is impossible to describe how this feels. It is an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as such big names as Kankkunen and Mäkinen. I would like to say a huge thank you to our team at Volkswagen. Without them, Julien and I would not be here today. They do a fantastic job all year and we have had a perfect car all season. I had great fun at the wheel of the Polo R WRC once again this weekend. The tension ahead of the closing Power Stage was obviously greater than usual, given the fact that we were within touching distance of the title, and bearing in mind the mistake we made last year. But we’ve done it. Despite the more difficult regulations, and despite the strong opposition. I am extremely proud of this title. It is now time to celebrate in style with a team and my wife – and when I get home I can show my young son Tim the trophy that daddy won. I dedicate this world championship title to him.”
Dani Sordo said: “It’s been an incredible weekend and I cannot thank the fans enough for all the support. I can honestly say we did our best today but we just couldn’t do anything to stop Sébastien. I have to extend my congratulations to him. We wanted so much to take the win for the team and the fans but he was too strong. Still, to finish in second place after such a competitive event is something to be proud of. It’s our second podium of the season and we worked really hard for it. I have been generally very happy with the feeling we’ve had in the car, both on gravel and asphalt. The team has done a fantastic job to prepare a competitive car, and it’s very encouraging that the overall result has been so positive for everyone at Hyundai Motorsport.”
Neuville said: “It’s been a good weekend. I don’t think we could have got anything more out of the car in this rally. I took things carefully this morning. We did a good job to get into the podium positions so we didn’t want to waste that effort. We were focused on the 15 championship points, so accepted that we’d have to compromise our stage times to do that. We had to take it cautiously in some sections, but I was mostly able to drive my usual rhythm. As a team, we’ve had a competitive weekend with three cars in the top-four, so we can use this momentum for the final events of the season in GB and Australia. There are a few more competitive performances to come from us this year, I’m sure!”
The rest of the drivers
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon said: “It’s been a good final day for us and a positive event for the entire team. We have continued with our learning curve and kept the pressure on. Even if we weren’t able to finish on the podium, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved over the three days. Ever since we changed some things on the car yesterday lunchtime, it’s been an improvement. I’ve enjoyed the stages today. I liked the first stage (Pratdip) but I was surprised by our pace in the second one (Duesaigües) because I’ve always struggled on that one. There’s nothing more frustrating for me than standing still so I’m pleased we’ve started to move in the right direction. Now let’s bring on the gravel!”
2016 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 12 / RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de Espagna 2016 / October 13 – 16, 2016 // Worldwide Copyright: Hyundai Motorsport
Kevin Abbring said: “It’s brilliant to register our best ever WRC result here in Spain. It’s been a very valuable learning weekend for us, and I’d say it is “mission accomplished” as far as the result is concerned. We probably hoped to benefit more from our road position on Friday, but with the wet conditions it didn’t play into our hands. We didn’t expect to be winning stages but we’ve made important steps on this mixed surface rally, and I’m delighted with seventh place. I’d like to say thanks to the team for the opportunity and for their support to us in this event.”
Volkswagen Motorsport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“Congratulations to my team-mate Sébastien Ogier on his fourth Drivers’ title. That puts him in the same league as my Finnish compatriots Tommi Mäkinen and Juha Kankkunen. That is a fantastic effort, not only from him, but from the entire Volkswagen Motorsport team. For me, the Rally Spain, as has so often been the case this year, was over far too soon. After the suspension damage on Friday, we had no chance of getting ourselves back in contention. Despite this, we did manage to win some special stages and eventually managed to contribute four points towards the Manufacturers’ Championship. Perhaps we will be able to wrap up this title at the next rally in Great Britain. That will definitely be the goal.”
Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“Congratulations on the title and respect for this victory to our team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. Anders and I are pleased for them. They set the benchmark again in 2016. For us personally, the Rally Spain obviously did not end as we would have hoped. After victory last year, we wanted to do well again here and certainly to extend our lead over third place in the world championship. However, that was not to be. We came into a right-hander too quickly on Saturday, drifted wide, hit the barriers and rolled. That was 100 per cent my mistake. The battle for second place in the world championship is now wide open again, and we will have to be at our very best in the remaining rallies to achieve the goal we have been aiming for since the start of the season. We will work hard to make that possible.”
M-Sport WRT
Mads Østberg (5th) said:
“It’s really satisfying to see that this new strategy is starting to pay off. There has been a lot of work over the last two rallies – and that will continue – but it’s always nice to see everything come together in a single stage.
“We experienced that on the last stage today [SS19] and I was quite happy that we managed to do it. It still wasn’t a 100 percent perfect stage, but it’s certainly getting there. I’ll have to see the report from my coach before I can say that it was very good, but it felt good and it’s almost a shame that we’re heading back to gravel now!
“But, Wales Rally GB is an event that I am definitely looking forward to. It’s a little bit earlier this year and we might see a dry event which would be fantastic! I’ve done it in the dry once before and that was really amazing. I hope it will be dry, but if it’s wet I don’t mind either! I’m looking forward to it a lot.”
Éric Camilli (19th) said:
“It was a shame about the technical issues we had but these things happen and it wasn’t a bad weekend by all means. We’ve been able to gain a lot of new experiences and really improve our driving on Tarmac.
“We took a lot of pleasure from these stages – the most that we have taken on Tarmac all year – and we will remember it with smiles on our faces. It’s so important to have this feeling ahead of next year. Of course the cars will be different, and maybe the pacenotes too, but we have the experience and we can build on that.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen: “It has been a positive final day. This morning, it was still pitch black when we set off on SS16. But we set a good time compared with the guys who had the same visibility conditions as we did. We kept up the good form on the next few stages and we learned a lot, especially by trying out a few different set-ups. I’m really pleased to finish in the top 10 and score one point. I’m now really looking forward to competing at Wales Rally GB!”
Khalid Al Qassimi: “I’m happy to have made it to the end of this rally without having any problems. The conditions on the first day didn’t help me but we managed to keep out of trouble. Overall, the team result is a bit disappointing, but everything that happened to Kris and Craig will help us to learn and be better in the future. My WRC season is over now and I’m proud of what we have accomplished with Abu Dhabi Total WRT.”
Kris Meeke: “There’s not much to say about today, really. It just rounds off a frustrating weekend. It’s very rare for us to have to retire with an electrical issue but that’s just part and parcel of racing. But we have look at the positives and move forward. A little bit like in Corsica, I have finished this rally feeling better than I did at the end of 2015. And that’s the most important thing, because we’re already focused on 2017!”
D-Mack WRT
Ott Tänak said: “It was a very tricky event, especially with the rain on Friday, and it was good to lead it briefly at the start. I enjoyed the Tarmac roads, the stages are really nice and flowing here and it’s a good feeling when things are going well. Sixth place means solid points again and we’ve picked up more important experience for next season.”
Drivers’ standings
1. Sébastien Ogier, 222 points
2. Andreas Mikkelsen, 127
3. Thierry Neuville, 127
4. Hayden Paddon, 114
5. Dani Sordo, 111
6. Jari-Matti Latvala, 104
7. Mads Østberg, 90
8. Ott Tänak, 60
9. Kris Meeke, 54
10. Craig Breen, 36
Manufacturers’ Championship
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 322 points
2. Hyundai Motorsport, 260
3. M-Sport, 144
4. Volkswagen Motorsport II, 136
5. Hyundai Motorsport N, 124
6. DMACK, 74
7. Jipocar Czech National Team, 18
8. Yazeed Racing, 4
Just two rounds to go then and who will win the remaining rallies? With Wales Rally GB and Rally Australia left this year. Kris would love to win at home and I’m thinking Hayden will be treating Australia as almost a home event.
Pop back, and checkout my Previews and Reviews later this month.
At the United States Grand Prix three years ago, the Red Bull Racing pit crew had conceivably its finest hour, completing a pit stop on Mark Webber’s car in a World Record time of 1.923s. It beat their own record of 2.05s, set earlier in the season and was, of course, the first ever pitstop to break the two seconds barrier.
