This weekend sees the return of the British Touring Car Championship to the Cheshire circuit of Oulton Park.
Map of Oulton Park Circuit.
The 5th event on the calendar this year, Oulton Park marks the midpoint in the hectic season that defines the BTCC and what a season it’s been so far!
With Adam Morgan currently holding a precarious one point lead at the top of the championship, this weekend could be the location for large amounts of reshuffling with the top 5 separated by a mere 18 points! Oulton Park is a circuit renowned for exciting racing with its varying gradients and hills such as Knickerbrook as well as possessing a number of tight corners ideal for overtaking such as Lodge Corner. Be prepared to see big reshuffles of the standings throughout races as there are simply countless areas ideal for overtaking.
With low chances of rain and predicted temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius, the fans will be turning out in droves with an estimation of around 40,000 coming to the circuit over the weekend. It’s sure to be an enjoyable weekend for them if they are lovers of adrenalin fuelled overtaking and gorgeous weather!
The make-up of the grid was confirmed after qualifying today and there was a shock at the top of the grid. Matt Simpson set pole with a lap over two tenths faster than second placed Sam Tordoff. In terms of the title race, it was expected to be a tricky qualifying session for championship leader Adam Morgan with the 75 Kilogram success ballast that accompanies the top spot. He ended up 19th. This leaves considerable work to be done on race day for Morgan but it also presents a glorious opportunity to his championship contenders, especially Matt Neal. After struggling in the early rounds of the Championship Neal has gotten to grips with the new Honda Civic sealing a win at Thruxton, he currently sits 6th in the standings but has qualified 5th at Oulton. If there’s a man to watch this weekend I’d point towards Matt Neal.
It’s sure to be a great day of racing at Oulton Park with many thrills and spills along the way so start your countdown to round 12 of the season, it’s going to be an interesting one.
James Clinton Hunt
Featured image courtesy of BrianDeegan.co.uk under creative commons
The British GT series rolls into Silverstone for the longest race of the season just two weeks after the two sprint races at Snetterton.
Aston Martin dominated in the GT3 class with two victories including the #11 TF Sport crew of Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim in Race One, while Derek Johnston and Marco Sorensen in the #17 Aston held off a late charge from the #99 Beechdean crew of Darren Turner and Andrew Howard in Race Two.
There are fourteen GT3 crews at Silverstone this weekend, with Balfe Motorsport’s McLaren returning this weekend and one-off appearances from Ultimate Speed’s Aston Martin team and another Mercedes in Team ABBA Racing.
Points-and-a-half are on offer in the British GT’s Big One, where five different crews have won five races in 2018, with the #116 Mercedes of Lee Mowle and Yelmer Buurman leading the overall GT3 class by just 4.5 points after a tough weekend in Norfolk.
Like the ERC Sport Mercedes, the second in the championship #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini crew of Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen do not have to serve a success penalty in the first mandatory pitstop.
Such is the closeness of the GT3 category that the top seven crews are separated by less than the 37.5 points available this weekend.
The #99 Beechdean Aston Martin is 12 points behind in third, with the #17 of Johnston and Sorensen and the #11 of Farmer and Thiim following close behind.
The Optimum Aston crew of Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam are still in touch in sixth, while technical issues meant that Iain Loggie and Callum Macleod slipped to seventh in #7 Bentley.
Meanwhile, the GT4 championship race is as closely fought as the GT3 counterparts after Tolman Motorsport’s #56 crew of Joe Osbourne and David Pattison took the spoils in Race One and a dramatic Race Two win for the #42 Century Motorsport BMW of Ben Tuck and Ben Green.
Five different crews have won five races this season, and half a point separates the leading #55 Ginetta crew of Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen leading the #4 McLaren duo of Michael O’Brien and Charlie Fagg.
Academy Motorsport’s Will Moore and Matt Nicoll-Jones are next after three straight podiums and the #42 Century BMW of Tuck and Green.
The Jaguar Invictus’ second batch of wounded, injured and sick armed forces veterans make their British GT debuts this weekend when Basil Rawlinson (2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment) joins Jason Wolfe in the #22 F-TYPE SVR and Paul Vice (42 Commando Royal Marines) teams up with Matthew George aboard #44.
It’ll be a busy weekend for George, who is also registered to race as James Holder’s co-driver in the Generation AMR Super Racing Aston Martin.
George and Holder last contested a full-season British GT programme together in 2016, which ultimately led to David Appleby Engineering – which runs the V8 Vantage – overseeing 2018’s Jaguar project. George will therefore split his weekend between both cars and swap between them during the race, before a lie down after the race.
It was an early start on Sunday the 20th of May, heading up at 6.30am on Sunday for the two-hour trip to the Northampton track. The weather was fantastic, with sunshine and blue skies. Ed Hocknull and I had been invited by Lexus UK to attend the second UK round of this championship that is held in the UK, although this would be the longer endurance three-hour race, rather than the two separate one-hour sprint races held at Brands Hatch.
There were perfect track conditions for the three hour race. – Photo credit, Warren
The team run two Lexus RC-F GT3 cars, numbered 14 and 114. The drivers of car 14 are, Albert Costa, Christian Klein and Marco Seefried, whilst Stephane Ortelli, Norbert Siedler and Marcus Palttala team up in 114. We were given a warm welcome by the team, with VIP passes allowing access to the garage at all times and grid access too.
Emil Frey Racing hospitality – Photo credit, Warren Nel
The first track action of the day was qualifying, which is an hour long. Each driver has to drive the car in qualifying, getting 15 minutes each, with a seven-minute break between each run. This makes for a busy hour when there are 50 cars on track! When all was said and done, the number 14 car was third on the grid, whilst the sister 114 car had qualified seventh. The team were very happy with this result, particularly after topping the timesheets in the second part of the session with car 14, showing that they were starting to find the sweet-spot in the set-up and unlocking the potential pace.
Everyone was watching how qualifying would turn out! Photo credit – Warren Nel
At the start of the afternoon, we were given a garage tour. The BOP or, Balance of Performance was explained. The are so many different cars that run in this championship, that SRO mandate certain things to keep the performance of the cars very close. For example, every team get the same tyres and fuel and then there are also restrictors placed on the inlets for the engines, controlling the power the engine can produce. There are freedoms though and the teams use trick single seater suspension systems.
Garage tour – Photo credit – Warren NelThe poor guy giving us the tour kept getting interrupted by engines revving and wheel gun noise! Photo credit – WarrenThe garage tour continued with a look at the engineers area. – Photo credit, Warren
A pit walk followed the tour, allowing the fans to meet the drivers and teams. The championship definitely welcome fans with open arms, and it’s great to see! After this, we had a delicious lunch at the teams’ hospitality. It was getting close to race time though, and before that was the grid walk. It was super busy on the grid, with the cars coming around from the pitlane, before being pushed to their spots on the grid.
The drivers meet the fans! Photo credit, Warren NelA very fan friendly championship – Photo credit, Warren NelWhat a great looking race car! – Photo credit, Warren NelOn the grid with the team – Photo credit, Warren NelThe number 14 Lexus chases down the 62 Aston Martin. Photo credit, Warren Nel
Race Recap
Christian Klein would be taking the wheel of the number 14 car, whilst Stephane Ortelli would start the 114.
Now after half an hour of racing, the two Lexus were running very well, with Klein in 4th place and Ortelli two places further back in 6th. As the pitstops approached after nearly 50 minutes of racing, the RC-F GT3’s were 6.3 and 9.4 seconds from the leader.
The team had done a very good job indeed. The number 14 Lexus, with Klein behind the wheel pitted, but suffered a slow pitstop. The reason? Well, the team had a failure with a wheel gun slowing down the changing of the tyres.
Ortelli pitted a couple of laps later, and the pitstop was completed without any hitches. All of this meant that the 114, driven by Marcus was now in 5th place, whilst number 14, piloted by Marco was now in 7th.
Lexus 114 approaches the left-right-left before Hangar Straight. Photo credit Warren Nel
Twenty minutes after the pitstops Marcus passed the number 4 Mercedes, and then quickly closed on the number 62 Aston Martin which had Alex Brundle behind the wheel. On lap 51, Alex made a mistake and slid wide in the left-right-left and this allowed Marcus to get alongside the Aston and then make the pass into third place down Hangar straight!
With an hour and five minutes to go, Marcus pitted and handed 114 over to Norbert. It would be down to him to bring the car to the chequered flag. A lap later and Marco pitted and Alberto Costa took the wheel of the number 14 and re-joined in 8th place. He started setting some very fast sector times, looking to move up some places.
Lexus RC-F GT3 – Photo credit, Warren Nel
On lap 69, Albert Costa passed the Strakka Racing number 43 Mercedes for 7th place. He was just two seconds behind the 62 Aston Martin now. Just thirty minutes remained in the race.
With just twenty minutes left, Costa was dropping back a little, with the 43 Mercedes getting closer and behind that, the 72 SNP Ferrari closing on the Merc.
Meantime, the 114 was holding its own, 22 seconds from 1st place, but the number 1 Audi was within 1 second of the Lexus. Drama though for the number 14 car which ran wide at Aintree on lap 75, giving the 72 Ferrari 7th place. Just six minutes remained now, and the battle was on for the final spot on the podium between 114 and 1! With less than 4 minutes remaining the 114 Lexus was still in 3rd place! The team were looking at their first podium finish!
The number 114 Emil Frey Racing Lexus RC-F GT3 chases the number 4 Mercedes – Photo credit, Warren Nel
Coming into the loop near Silverstone six stand, the number 1 Audi got a run and was starting to get alongside the Lexus, but he ran wide, giving Norbert a breather! It was enough! They’d done it! Further back number 14 had lost another place unfortunately, crossing the line in 9th place. The team had definitely done a very good job to improve the car, allowing them to fight at the front.
Nerves were high in the garage as the final minutes of the race counted down. Photo credit, Warren Nel
We all headed down to the end of the pitlane to watch the podium, which was their first ever in the Blancpain championship. The trophies were handed out and then it was the time-honoured tradition to spray the champagne!
The top three celebrate on the podium – Photo credit, Warren NelStéphane Ortelli, Norbert Siedler, Markus Palttala, hold their trophies aloft! Photo credit, Warren Nel
It was now time to go home, but first we visited the team garage and watched as the team all celebrated their great result!
Finally, I’d like to say a big thank you to Matt at Lexus/Toyota and Emil Frey Racing for the invite. Ed and I had a fantastic time, with a really friendly team.
It’s time for the really dusty rally! Last year, M-Sport won the rally, thanks to a superb drive from Ott Tanak. Thierry Neuville is the championship leader, currently 19 points ahead of the reigning champion Seb. Opening the road on Friday will make the event very tricky for him. Last year we saw Seb open the road and he finished in fifth place and kept the lead in the championship.
Rally Italia Sardegna – Photo credit – M-Sport World Rally Team
Here’s last year’s result.
Final Overall Classification -Rally Italia Sardegna
1
O. Tanak
M. Jarveoja
Ford Fiesta WRC
3:25:15.1
2
J.M Latvala
M. Anttila
Toyota Yaris WRC
+12.3
3
T. Neuville
N. Gilsoul
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+1:07.7
4
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Toyota Yaris WRC
+2:12.9
5
S. Ogier
J. Ingrassia
Ford Fiesta WRC
+3:25.3
6
J. Hänninen
K. Lindstrom
Toyota Yaris WRC
+3:38.5
7
M. Østberg
O. Floene
Ford Fiesta WRC
+6:31.8
8
A. Mikkelsen
A. Jaeger
Citroën C3 WRC
+8:07.8
9
E. Camilli
B. Veillas
Ford Fiesta R5
+11:15.8
10
J. Kopecky
P. Dresler
Škoda Fabia R5
+11:21.4
Here’s the full schedule for this tricky event!
RALLY ITALIA SARDINIA SCHEDULE (GMT+2)
THURSDAY 7 JUNE
8.00am: Shakedown Olmedo (3,34 km)
5.00pm: Start (Alghero)
6.00pm: SS 1 – Ittiri Arena Show (2,00 km)
7.00pm: Parc fermé (Alghero)
FRIDAY 8 JUNE
6.30am: Service A (Alghero – 15 min)
8.33am: SS 2 – Tula 1 (21,99 km)
9.48am: SS 3 – Castelsardo 1 (14,52 km)
10.37am: SS 4 – Tergu – Osilo 1 (14,14 km)
11.48am: SS 5 – Monte Baranta 1 (10,78 km)
12.44pm: Service B (Alghero – 30 min)
3.02pm: SS 6 – Tula 2 (21,99 km)
4.17pm: SS 7 – Castelsardo 2 (14,52 km)
5.06pm: SS 8 – Tergu – Osilo 2 (14,14 km)
6.24pm: SS 9 – Monte Baranta 2 (10,78 km)
7.00pm: Flexi service C (Alghero – 45 min)
SATURDAY 9 JUNE
5.55am: Service D (Alghero – 15 min)
8.38am: SS 10 – Coiluna – Loelle 1 (14,95 km)
9.33am: SS 11 – Monti Di Ala’ 1 (28,52 km)
10.11am: SS 12 – Monte Lerno 1 (29,11 km)
1.03pm: Service E (Alghero – 30 min)
2.11pm: SS 13 – Citta’ Di Ittiri – Coros (1,40 km)
4.08pm: SS 14 – Coiluna – Loelle 2 (14,95 km)
5.03pm: SS 15 – Monti Di Ala’ 2 (28,52 km)
5.41pm: SS 16 – Monte Lerno 2 (29,11 km)
8.15pm: Flexi service F (Alghero – 45 min)
SUNDAY 10 JUNE
7.45am: Service G (Alghero – 15 min)
8.45am: SS 17 – Cala Flumini 1 (14,06 km)
9.38am: SS 18 – Sassari – Argentiera 1 (6,96 km)
11.12am: SS 19 – Cala Flumini 2 (14,06 km)
12.18pm: SS 20 – Sassari – Argentiera 2 Power Stage (6,96 km)
1.15pm: Service H (Alghero – 10 min)
2.15pm: Podium (Alghero)
Let’s hear from the driver’s!
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Portugal was the near-perfect weekend for us, as we took 29 out of a maximum 30 points. We now move onto Sardinia, which is one of the most technical events on the calendar, leading the championship. The roads are very narrow and become extremely rough on the second pass. The grip level is quite high on the repeat loop, but we often lack traction on the first run through. They are tricky conditions but the stages tend to suit my driving style and pace notes system. I am able to be very precise and I have been successful there many times in the past.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Rally d’Italia Sardegna 8-11 June 2017 Thierry Neuville – Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: RaceEMotion Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Hayden Paddon
“First of all, I am feeling fighting fit after the incident in Portugal and I’m ready to get back down to business. Up to that point, we were able to show a competitive level of performance, taking a stage win and battling for the lead. Rally Italia Sardegna is certainly one of the highlights of the year, located in the Mediterranean with sunny conditions and hot temperatures. The stages are very twisty and challenging. It is a rally I enjoy, and from where I have good memories. I scored my first WRC podium there in 2015 and led the rally in 2017. I would like to finish off what we started last year.”
Andreas Mikkelsen
“Rally Italia Sardegna is a very warm event and it’s important to have high concentration; there are many rocks sticking out that can cause punctures or damage. You also need a stable car because the stages are quite narrow and rough with a lot of bumps. We have made improvements to the car on gravel, which has given me an improved feeling, and I felt really comfortable during Rally de Portugal. This is a positive sign for Sardinia where our aim is to catch up some points and improve our position in the drivers’ championship, while also helping the team to increase the manufacturers’ lead. It will be tough on mind and body, as well as the car and tyres, but we’re ready for it.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala
“I always enjoy competing in Sardinia. I actually drove there for the first time in 2003 on the Rally Costa Smeralda, the year before the WRC started going there. The roads have a very hard base with a layer of sand on the top which can make it very slippery for the first cars on the road. The roads are narrow but you can go very fast if you can keep to the right line. I feel positive heading to Sardinia. I had two clean days of driving in Portugal without any mistakes and this helped my confidence a lot, and I am really enjoying driving this car.”
Jari-Matti and Miikka scored a podium last year on this event – Photo credit Toyota World Rally Team
Ott Tanak
“Sardinia is a special rally for me as it’s where I got my first win one year ago. Hopefully we can get another top result this time around. I think this will be a key rally for the championship. Portugal obviously didn’t go as well as we planned or hoped, so it will be really important to score some strong points. We are trying to be well prepared as possible, and I know that the team is working really hard. I am really happy with how the car has been performing: In Argentina it was fantastic and it felt good in Portugal as well. Now we just need to translate that speed into a good result before the summer holidays.”
Esapekka Lappi
“I am really looking forward to competing in Sardinia again. We had a pretty good result there already last year and my speed was good, as we won six stages. I think I have learnt a lot since then, and there has also been a lot of progress with the car. I have felt very comfortable over the last couple of rallies and I have had the confidence to push hard. Now that we are fifth in the championship, we will have to run quite early on the road on Friday. The road cleaning effect can be quite big there, but I got some good experience of this on the final two days in Portugal, so I am not worrying about this too much.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“Portugal was a shame as we had the speed to challenge for the win. It was a small mistake with big consequences, but we put it behind us and are now fully focused on giving it everything we’ve got in Sardinia.
“Having competed here many times before, I’ve learned to really enjoy these demanding stages. It’s a beautiful island, but not the easiest of rallies with some very rough and abrasive terrain. You need to keep a margin and stay focused from start to finish – which is exactly what we intend to do next week.
“We won’t be opening the road this year, but we’ll still have something of an uphill battle with many fast drivers benefitting from a cleaner road behind. Even so, I’m confident that we can challenge for a good result. If we can keep the lead in sight on Friday night then we’ll be in with a chance – and will push for the best possible result.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Italy Sardegna (ITA) – WRC 08/06/2017 to 11/06/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Elfyn Evans
“Sardinia will always be a special place for me. It’s where I first got behind the wheel of a world rally car and I’ve come to really enjoy the challenging nature of the stages. It’s not an easy rally by all means, but I think that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy it so much.
“It’s such a demanding event and there are so many things that you need to keep in mind. The stages themselves are very rough and abrasive. You need to keep a margin within your driving otherwise your rally can be over before it’s even begun.
“Then there’s the heat. At this time of year, we can be looking at temperatures as high as 30C. That takes its toll on the cars, and the 50C plus temperatures inside the cockpit take their toll on the crew too!
“After our good result in Portugal we’re keen to keep that momentum going in Sardinia. We’ve completed two days of testing and we’ll have a fairly good road position on Friday that we’ll need to make the most of. If everything goes our way, I see no reason why we can’t be challenging for another strong result.”
Teemu Suninen
“I didn’t compete in Sardinia last year, but I did win the WRC 2 category in 2016 so hopefully that will help us this year. Every rally is difficult at this level and every minor detail has an effect on the end result – I’m sure Sardinia will be no different.
“We completed a one-day test last week which proved really useful. The road was quite slow, but that was good for me as it’s on these slower roads where I need to focus on improvements – where it’s slow and narrow and you need to take an advantage over every inch of the road.
“Even on the test I noticed how hot it will be next week. Normally I drink three litres a day but in Sardinia I expect to be drinking more than five litres a day! The stages are also quite rough and that means that we will have to get every stone marked in our notes.
“By focusing on my rivals my speed won´t improve. I’ll focus purely on my own driving and on improving stage by stage – then we’ll see where we are at the end of the rally.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen
“This is one of the WRC rallies where I have the least experience, but fortunately it hasn’t changed much since last year and so I have most of the pace notes already. It’s not necessarily my favourite event, because it’s never easy to adopt a fluid driving style on these really narrow, technical stages. But I have a good road position in eighth in the running order, because it’s one of the events where cleaning is most significant, so I’m going to try and make the most of it on the opening day.”
Mads Østberg
“It’s one of my favourite rallies. I’ve always been quick here. First of all, you need very good pace notes and then you need to find the right balance between pushing where you can and defending when there is a real risk of smashing the car. I learned a lot about the C3 WRC in Portugal and ended up by showing some pretty decent speed. The two days of pre-event testing held this week will help me to find the right pace, especially as I fully intend to take advantage of my good position in the running order.”
Mads Ostberg – Photo credit, Citroen Racing.
Just one team will be running two cars, with the removal of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle from the Citroen team a few days ago. This will make it hard for them to make some good ground up in the manufacturers championship, but with Mads making his third start this year for this team and Craig in the other car looking to learn more about this tricky event for the future, they’ve got two drivers that can get to the end of the rally in the points.
Now, this is a special event for Miikka Antilla. He is making his 200th WRC start. A very special moment for Jari-Matti’s co-driver. The Toyota crew will want to get a great result, to mark this weekend.
Well, who do I think could win? Hayden Paddon and Seb Marshall will make their third start this year, and with his great road position, I would expect them to be in the mix for the podium at the very least, along with Andreas, Jari-Matti and Esapekka.
Don’t forget, all the action starts on Thursday morning with shakedown at 8am, that’s 6am BST here in the UK. The latest weather reports for the area on Friday are suggesting there will be thunderstorms. If there are stages that have rain, then Thierry will be a happy man.
Joe Osborne took the chequered flag in Race One for the #56 Tolman Motorsport McLaren to take their first win of the season, while in Race Two the #42 BMW Century Motorsport piloted by Ben Tuck and Ben Green rescued a late victory after being spun early in the race.
Victory in the #56 McLaren also driven by David Pattison exceeded expectations for Osborne.
“I’m absolutely delighted, especially when you don’t expect it at the start of the race. I always have an expectation, position that we’d be happy with and pre-race I’d have been super-happy with a top five.
“With the Safety Car and David’s start, I changed those expectations to third, a podium was on the cards and the pitstop worked out so cleanly for us. I had to bring it home, manage it, do all the boring bits and not mess up.”
After that good fortune from a Safety Car lasting almost eight minutes right up until the opening of the pit window, Osborne is hopeful that the #56’s luck is changing.
“The Safety Car brought us into contention. You get your luck, last year we lost out in the Safety Car with a huge lead, things have maybe righted themselves.
“I’d like it to be sign of things turning, bad luck is pretty boring and tends to follow you for a long time, and good luck comes and seems to disappear earlier. It definitely sets us up for a good second half of the season although it’s only the third weekend.”
After victory at Snetterton, Osborne is now expecting more of a challenge from an entry that has not started with momentum in 2018.
“It’s difficult. Success penalties with a podium stops you getting on a mega-roll for the next race, you’re shot in the kneecaps but I still haven’t changed my expectations from the start of the season to try and win the Pro/Am class and be in the mix for the top three overall. This definitely helps my predictions more than the first two weekends. Hopefully we carry this on.”
In GT4 it was a last-minute move that won the day for Century Motorsport for Ben Tuck, after teammate Green hit strife when tagged into a spin shortly before the pitstops.
“I thought that was it,” he began.
“We had three instances of contact in the first stint, worked hard to get up to the front and I kept pushing even as the car didn’t feel good after the contact, Ben did a great second half of the race.
“I am absolutely delighted, so so happy. You get spun off, in the grass, facing the wrong way and think it’s all over. You just have to keep pushing no matter what happens.”
Both men praised the two-hour sprint format in use for the final time this season in Norfolk.
Green believes that the extra race means more chances for a big result.
“The two-race format means more opportunities to do well, you can have a poor one in the first one but still dominate in the second like we did. But, a two-hour race is much harder because there’s less flexibility.”
Tuck confessed to having more motivation for the shorter races this weekend.
“The shorter races make you want it more because you have less time to get the job done. With the longer races it’s about managing tyres and looking after the car a lot more, it’s a good mix and good to have both in the championship.
BMW’s second driver was delighted with the manner of his late victory, as he took his maiden British GT win.
“The second group out was the Ams so I could pick them off a little easier, and up against the other silver cars the McLaren was struggling on the tyres at the end.
“That is one of my favourite ever moves to be honest, seeing as it got us a win in the British GT for the very first time. It’s definitely one for the memories.”
And Tuck believes there’s more to come, with the BMW outfit having improved as the season has gone on.
“Winning it late is a different buzz, definitely. It’s a great feeling anyway because this season BMW and Century have done a great job, we’ve been learning and developing a lot more and getting better and better. It’s all come out on top here this weekend, doing it right at the end does create a different buzz because you know you have to do it. It’s almost do or die.”
Aston Martin dominated the British GT GT3 class with two victories from Snetterton’s two sprint races on Sunday.
Nikki Thiim and Mark Farmer in the TF Sport #11 Aston Martin eased home after pole position for race one, and Farmer was relieved with his second GT victory after falling back to third.
“I made a bit of a mistake which cost me momentum. Sadly the Aston got me and the Bentley got me because of that, it went from perfection to losing out in the blink of an eye but that is how it is.
“We had a lightning driver change, we’d been practicing all morning, it was really fast and we jumped them in the pits.”
Farmer was quick to point to the guidance given to him by Thiim, a world champion at sportscar level.
“It’s massive to have a Pro driver like Nikki with you, as an Am you’re still finding your way in the sport so to have someone that can guide you an coach you is super important. I had John Barnes for a long time, to have Nikki as well, I’m extremely fortunate.
“They’re both very different, but we get on well and I’m learning a lot from him.”
After finishing well back at Rockingham with technical gremlins affecting his Aston Martin, there’s plenty of motivation for the #11 Am driver, who conceded that the team cannot afford any more mistakes.
“We were really quick in Rockingham but had a technical issue, these things happen and our championship starts now. The competition is really tough, you can’t afford to slip up and we have at Oulton and Rockingham. We need to be flawless from now.”
Later in the afternoon, a stint-long battle between Derek Johnston’s #17 Aston and Andrew Howard in the #99 Beechdean Aston eventually went the way of the former.
Howard had been all over Johnston and despite pushing, Johnston held on for a far from stress-free victory.
I don’t know if it was fun! That’s the hardest I’ve worked in a race I think, Andrew kept me on it and as we’re in identical cars he knows what I can do and vice versa. That is why we go racing. For two old guys like me and him to be out there like that, that was perfect.
“I thought “What have I got to do?” because he just kept on following me through back markers. I was working harder and harder. He just never let me breathe.”
Johnston was well aware of the importance of teammate Marco Sorensen passing the #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Phil Keen at the start of the race, which kept the #17 in touch with the leading #11 of Nikki Thiim.
“To pass Phil at T1 at the start was important for us, we weren’t quite as quick as the sister car early on but all in all that was great. We had a BOP (Balance of Performance) disadvantage and we thought that may affect us, but the Aston is still a good old car at seven years old.”
And the #17 Am driver praised the two-race, sprint format in use this weekend.
“Two races lets you know whether you have made a mistake on setup, you can put it right. For me, I rarely get the opportunity to take the chequered flag with a win so that was phenomenal. The best feeling in the world.”
Ford Fiesta reece car – Photo courtesy of Phil Hall
Recce for Rally Portugal is particularly challenging, the stages are tight and twisty but also rough. Today we did 6 incredible stages, which will form the route for Friday and Sunday. A lot of KM covered and in the hot and dusty conditions you really have to focus.
Rally de Portugal reece day – Photo courtesy of Phil Hall
I get a few funny looks around the world when I turn up to Recce with a pillow ‘borrowed’ from the hotel. But on rough roads it makes all the difference to lean on as a shock absorber. Along with a lot of practice it means I can usually get all my notes down tidily on the first pass, with little touch up work later. It’s actually quite interesting to see which countries make the best Recce pillows. Keep an eye on my Twitter as I usually post the best ones.
Recce day Two (Wednesday 16th of May)
Similar to day 1, another challenging day of recce awaited us. Today we covered the Lousada super special as well as the monster that is Amarante. The surface in Portugal changes a lot so it is important to make sure your pacenotes take this into account.
Calm. Serene. Picturesque. Beautiful scenes during @rallydeportugal recce. But nothing like the dusty, sandy, rocky and rough barrage of stages that lie ahead over the next few days.#ReadyForItpic.twitter.com/7JF18G04Xk
Shakedown is a spectacular, if short, stage finishing in a huge arena full to the brim with fans. We had a good run, getting a good feeling for the car and the surface.
After a long drive to the ceremonial start, a great opportunity to meet the incredibly passionate Portuguese fans, we headed to the Super Special at Lousada. The sheer volume of rally fans crammed into this venue was a sight to behold.
Friday: (18th of May)
The rough northern stages bring their own challenges, we tried to keep it clean and were running comfortably inside the top ten despite a puncture. For a co-driver here in the heat and dust it is very important to keep focused. the tight twisty stages require a lot of information to be delivered often whilst the road is very rough.
Tom and Phil press on in their M-Sport built Fiesta R2
Saturday: (19th of May)
A new day and a new surface, and the iconic Amarante test. At 37km this is a big test for crews, and for us unfortunately where it all unravelled. Amarante hasn’t been kind to me, I rolled out of the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy event on this stage in 2016, and again today we had a small roll that put us into Rally 2.
Sunday: (20th of May)
Another tough day, and the attrition rate was high. A few stages were cancelled because of incidents and we focused on just being clean and getting to the finish. despite a couple of near misses, we did just that and got to the end. In fact, we managed to hold on to our top ten position, with 7th overall in the JWRC.
Things to take away about Rally Portugal:
– The Fans are incredible!
– The stages are a true test of physical and mental stamina
– Dust!
-Truly iconic roads
Many thanks again to Phil Hall for this great diary! Why not give him a follow on Twitter? @PhilHallRally
Snetterton in Norfolk plays host to rounds four and five of the 2018 British GT series as its near three-mile “300” layout welcomes over 65 drivers across 33 cars.
Snetterton will be the last of the hour long sprint races split between Pro and Am drivers.
Yelmer Buurman and Lee Mowle surprised everyone when taking their ERC Sport Mercedes to GT3 glory to claim their first British GT win last time out at Rockingham.
Despite starting last after an accident in qualifying, Mowle looked solid during his run in a low-key Am stint while Buurman performed multiple overtakes during the second stint as others fell by the wayside.
History favours the #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, with Lamborghini having won three of the last four races at Snetterton, while Aston Martin have also performed well in Norfolk in recent times with Jonny Adam won there in 2015.
The other Aston Martin squad – TMF – have also shown pace this season despite only one podium apiece for Mark Farmer/Nicki Thiim and Derek Johnstone and Marco Sorenson. TMF finished 1-3 at Snetterton last year.
In GT4, the #55 Ginetta of Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen won easily in the dry race at Rockingham having fell away during wet qualifying. Matthiesen had hounded the #4 Tolman McLaren of Charlie Fagg throughout the first hour of the race.
The McLarens quick fell behind after a strong Saturday but remain second in the standings, and crucially do not have the 10s success penalty that the Ginetta will have as a result of its leading of the GT4 standings.
Another team to watch for are the UltraTek Racing Team RJN Nissans, which took their best ever result with second and fourth for Stephen Johansen and Jesse Anttila, and Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman.
Matt Nicoll-Jones and Will Moore were third last time out at Rockingham in their Academy Motorsport #62 Aston Martin, and the team will be sure to be a threat once again.
We found out this afternoon that Kris and Paul have been dropped by Citroen. In their statement they say;
“Due to an excessively high number of crashes, some of which were particularly heavy and could have had serious consequences with regard to the crew’s safety and given that the risks involved were unjustified by the sporting stakes at play, Citroën Racing WRT has decided to terminate the participation of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in the 2018 WRC.
The decision becomes effective from the 2018 Rally Italia Sardegna and we will shortly be announcing the team’s line-up of crews for the remainder of the 2018 season. The entries of C3 WRCs for Craig Breen / Scott Martin and Mads Ostberg/Torstein Eriksen still stand for Sardinia.
Pierre Budar: “This wasn’t an easy decision to make because it effects a driver and a co-driver, but it is largely founded on safety issues which come under my preoccupations as Team Principal. We have consequently chosen to make this decision as a preventive measure.”
Already there has been a big reaction to this decision online, especially as it seems that Kris and Paul were not aware of it.
It’s certainly true that the C3 has been a tricky car to drive, and the team, including Kris had done a lot of work to make it friendlier to drive. When I spoke to the pairing at the start of the year, they talked about the change to the suspension and the latest change was the new rear axle that was brought to the car for Rally Argentina.
There have been a number of incidents which have led to this situation, but is it the correct decision? Kris took his first victory in Rally Argentina during the 2015 season. He then, during the part season that followed in 2016 won in Portugal and followed that up with an amazing win in Finland, the first ever British driver to do so.
In 2017 with the new C3, he took wins in Mexico and Spain, but missed Poland mid-season after the team rested him for that event, but he did lead in Corsica before the engine cried enough.
He’s definitely a driver that takes the car to the edge, like Colin. The crash that put Kris and Paul out on Saturday came after a puncture on Friday that led to the car running second on the road on the very loose gravel. Yet, earlier on Friday he’d taken some great stage victories and was running near the front.
In my exclusive interview last week, Thierry said that he didn’t think he’d be able to win and was hoping instead for a podium finish. Here the story of an unlikely win on the roads of Portugal, which has lifted him into the championship lead. Elfyn and Teemu also had great events to round off the podium.
Ott Tanak took the early lead in the stage that kicked off this event on Thursday evening. Less than two seconds covered the top ten.
Friday morning dawned a beautiful day and the cars would go into the days eight stages in championship order – Ogier, Neuville, Tänak, Mikkelsen, Sordo, Meeke, Lappi, Latvala, Evans, Breen, Paddon, Ostberg, Suninen.
The first stage of the day – Viana Do Castelo, was won by Hayden, making his first start for Hyundai since February’s Rally Sweden. Evans and Meeke were second and third as well, whilst Seb could only manage eighth, 12 seconds slower. Thierry was ninth at this point. Sadly, for Toyota, Ott stopped in the stage after hitting some rocks. So far, Thierry’s predictions were so far true.
The next stage – Caminha, Kris won and this was enough to move him into the lead with Hayden dropping to second. Seb set a great time considering his road position and with those ahead not so fast jumped to positions into sixth, whilst Thierry also moved up to into eighth. Toyota also saw a second retirement, with Jari-Matti also stopping in the stage! Big drama for Tommi’s team.
The third stage of the day – Ponte De Lima, and the last before midday service saw another change in the lead, with Dani Sordo now winning the stage from his teammate Andreas and moving ahead of Kris by almost 5 seconds. Ogier also showed great pace again, setting the third fastest time and moving up to fourth, but Thierry was keeping close to the French champion in fifth overall.
The midday break was welcome for a few drivers, in particular, Mads Ostberg who was shown a few things by the Citroen team. He put these things to good use in the first afternoon stage.
Stage 5 – Viana Do Castelo 2, was won by Kris with Mads going second fastest, just eight tenths slower. There was drama in the M-Sport camp though with Seb going off and retiring from the rally! A big shock, but he was pushing very hard and when you’re first on the road, things can catch you out. With his stage victory, Kris had moved back into the lead, with Dani slipping back just one place to second. Further back, Elfyn had moved up to seventh. Andreas and Craig were also both on the move, passing Thierry who was now sixth.
Stage 6 – Caminha 2, and Kris got a puncture about 3km into the 18km stage, despite running the hard tyres. He lost 18 seconds and dropped to fifth but was still just 11 seconds from the leader who was once again Hayden. Craig and Thierry were both now ahead of Kris in third and fourth.
There was more drama in stage 7- Ponte De Lima 2, with Craig and Kris both getting punctures, Andreas retiring and Hayden going off and damaging his car too much to complete the stage. Thierry was now in the lead with Elfyn up to second.
The final two stages of the day were won by Thierry, with Dani and Craig also second and third in both.
Thierry had driven brilliantly and very consistently throughout the day letting the others make mistakes. Citroen had reasons to smile, but fortune was not smiling on them with punctures spoiling their efforts. Hayden also was showing pace and had led, only to suffer misfortune. Things were definitely looking better for Elfyn though! The welsh wizard had driven very well!
Classification after Day One
1
T. Neuville
N. Gilsoul
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
1:37:30.7
2
E. Evans
D. Barritt
Ford Fiesta WRC
+17.7
3
D. Sordo
C. del Barrio
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+24.3
4
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+34.4
5
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Toyota Yaris WRC
+45.8
6
M. Østberg
T. Eriksen
Citroën C3 WRC
+48.3
7
K. Meeke
P. Nagle
Citroën C3 WRC
+1:18.7
8
C. Breen
S. Martin
Citroën C3 WRC
+2:27.3
Anyway, lets here from all the drivers after Friday’s stages.
Thierry Neuville
“All in all, I am pretty happy with my day. We have made improvements to the car from one stage to the next, and we have been able to stay out of trouble. The afternoon loop proved decisive with a complicated tyre selection. We opted for six soft tyres, which – in hindsight – was perhaps not the best choice, but we were clever and made it work quite well in the end. Despite incredibly rough conditions, we felt comfortable and pushed as hard as possible. We took four stage wins in a row, and the performances in the Street Stage allowed us to build a decent lead. However, it’s still very early days in this rally, and we’ve seen today that we absolutely cannot be complacent.”
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 06, Rally de Portugal 17-20 May 2018 Action Photographer: Helena El Mokni Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Elfyn Evans
“It’s good to be in this position at the end of the day. I felt that our driving was pretty good on the whole, but there are still some things we can improve and we’ll be working on that tomorrow. We’ve just got to keep going and fight for the best result possible.”
Dani Sordo
“It has been a very tough day, so I am pleased to be inside the top-three overall and still in the close podium hunt. There is still a long way to go, but it has already been a rally with many incidents. We started the morning loop carefully but built up confidence in the first run through Ponte de Lima to win the stage. For the afternoon, we opted to run soft tyres, which in the end was not the ideal choice. The stages were rougher than expected and we had high wear which prevented us from pushing. We managed the situation reasonably well and had two good runs during the Porto Street Stage to end the day positively. I hope for a smoother Saturday!”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Teemu Suninen (4th)
“I was happy with my pace – especially on the second loop when I did some really good stage times. I was just a bit disappointed with SS4 where I was a bit too careful and lost a lot of time. That tells me that I need to go flat-out all the time, and that’s what we plan to do tomorrow.”
Sébastien Ogier (Rally 2)
“I went just a couple of centimetres too deep into a right-hand corner. There was a bank and I thought it would be okay to touch it a little, but unfortunately there was something there – a small root [or tree stump].
“It was a small, short impact on the suspension, but it was enough to break it. In the next corner nothing happened when I braked – I couldn’t turn and went straight into the trees. It was my mistake and I shouldn’t have touched the bank – those two or three centimetres have cost us a lot this weekend.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Kris Meeke (6th)
“It was a difficult day for us. It had all started so well, I felt so good in the car and we were leading the rally. But in the afternoon, I picked up two separate punctures – I’ve no idea where – and suddenly things were a lot more complicated. In order not to break the rules, which say that you can’t drive on the wheel rims during the road sections, we had to manage the two flat tyres as best we could. In running second on the road tomorrow on the stages that will clean the most this weekend, I’m going to suffer for sure, but you can count on me to fight all the way and give it everything.”
Craig Breen (7th)
“Obviously, it’s been a frustrating day for us. We had really got back into our stride again this afternoon. Without the puncture, we could potentially have been leading the rally tonight. I’ll be first on the road tomorrow, but I’ll be doing my utmost to limit the damage.”
Mads Østberg (8th)
“After an up and down morning where I made a few set-up mistakes, I really enjoyed it this afternoon. The car was really perfect to drive, after the team made changes in service. We stopped on the road where Paddon had his accident to see if we could help, so we didn’t contest the longest stage of the day, but that wasn’t the most important thing at the time. The conditions remind me of the Acropolis Rally, in Greece. It was so rough out there today, but we made it to the end of the leg and we’re going to try and do even better in the rest of the rally.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Esapekka Lappi (5th)
“The morning wasn’t the best for me as I struggled a bit with the confidence. The car itself was fine but I didn’t feel like we had much lateral grip, so I just couldn’t push as much as I wanted to. This afternoon the conditions were some of the roughest I have seen in my career, with so many rocks on the road. We changed a lot of things on the car during the mid-day service and that helped. The first stage this afternoon was immediately better. Then we had a small issue with the damper and we had to manage that until the end of the day, but the times were still not too bad. I think we are in a fighting position for tomorrow.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Rally 2)
“On the first stage I was a bit too cautious, but on the second stage I started to push more. Then about five kilometres into the stage, in a left-right corner combination, there was a rock in the line, which was in my pace-notes. I went over the rock as intended but immediately the front-right suspension was damaged, and I had to stop. The team has worked hard to fix the car and we will be able to carry on tomorrow. I’m very motivated to continue. I really want to drive now, because I have a very good feeling with the car and I am enjoying driving it.”
Ott Tänak (DNF)
“It was very, very unfortunate what happened to us this morning. Quite early in the first stage we came across a place where the road was full of rocks: there were not just one or two rocks but four or five. We could not avoid them and they caused damage to our radiator. We had to stop soon afterwards with an engine issue, which it was not possible to repair here. We were in a strong position coming into this rally, and like the previous rally I had a really good feeling in the car. It’s a hit for our championship bid but it’s never over before it’s over, so I will still keep fighting. We will aim for a big fight-back in Sardinia: we know we have the performance.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Andreas Mikkelsen (Rally2)
“A day of two halves for us, unfortunately. The morning went reasonably and I felt like we were getting more comfortable with each stage. The car felt good and I was encouraged for the afternoon loop. In SS6, the second run through Caminha, we lost the power steering midway through and had to battle hard to make it to the end of the stage. We tried to fix the problem with the remote support of the team. Although we couldn’t manage to find a solution, we were still able to start SS7. Towards the end of the stage, the engine started to feel strange and I noticed oil on the windscreen, so we had no choice but to stop the car. The team will now assess the car to see if we are able to rejoin under Rally 2 on Saturday. I am very disappointed as we were going well and the car was perfect.”
Hayden Paddon (DNF)
“The day was going well, we were driving within ourselves and to our plan. It was a difficult day for everyone and hard to get the tyre choice right but it was, of course, good to be back on the pace right away. Near the start of SS7 there was a big rock on the inside of the corner, which was concealed. I had to steer out a little for the corner to avoid it, but then the speed was too great and the car ran wide. The problem then was a big culvert on the exit of the corner, which stopped the car instantly. I’m gutted for the team as a good result was possible but for a third year in a row, this stage bites us.”
Day two, Saturday would see the crews tackle six stages. Hayden and Seb wouldn’t restart the rally after the Kiwi was kept in hospital overnight. Seb and Jari-Matti would however be back out, looking to get some points come the end of Sunday’s stages. Kris Meeke’s car was also rebuilt on one side by the amazing Citroen team.
Jari-Matti made a great start to day two winning Vieira Do Minho from Neuville and Lappi who was holding fourth overall. Elfyn and Dan lost a little ground to Thierry but were holding their own near the top of the leaderboard.
Into stage 11 – Cabeceiras De Basto, and it was Elfyn’s turn to win a stage and with that he closed on Thierry by a few seconds. Dani and Jari-Matti were second and third fastest, and this showed just how competitive the WRC is at the moment with three different cars setting times that are very evenly matched.
The first run through the longest stage of the day, stage 12 -Amarante sadly saw Kris and Paul crash out. The car was wrecked and there would be no return sadly. At the front, Thierry took another stage win and with Elfyn 17.2 seconds slower the Belgian now had a lead of almost 30 seconds! Just behind him the remaining Toyota duo were showing the great pace of the Yaris with Lappi closing on Suninen for fourth place.
After the midday service break stage 13 – Vieira Do Minho 2 was won by Elfyn, with Seb second fastest and Teemu with the third fastest time – a M-Sport triple, and with Thierry only fifth fastest, the gap had reduced to a little over 23 seconds. Also, Teemu had now opened up the gap to Lappi. He was being allowed to push as he wanted, and that pace really showed.
The second run of Cabeceiras De Basto 2, stage 14 saw some surprising rain! Latvala, Thierry and Ogier were the top three, whilst further back Mads went off the road after sliding off in the rain! He still held onto sixth place though, as Craig was two minutes behind the Norwegian.
The final stage of the day -Amarante 2, and it was won by Seb with Thierry and Jari-Matti second and third. The lead that Thierry held now was almost 40 seconds over Elfyn with Dani in third. However, the battle for the final podium position was not over with just four seconds between Dani and Teemu.
Classification after Day Two
1
T. Neuville
N. Gilsoul
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
3:16:30.0
2
E. Evans
D. Barritt
Ford Fiesta WRC
+39.8
3
D. Sordo
C. del Barrio
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+57.2
4
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+1:01.9
5
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Toyota Yaris WRC
+1:13.0
6
M. Østberg
T. Eriksen
Citroën C3 WRC
+3:14.1
7
C. Breen
S. Martin
Citroën C3 WRC
+4:53.1
Let’s hear then from the crews!
Thierry Neuville
“We have had a very positive day and can be extremely satisfied with our position. That’s not to say we can relax because we have some tricky stages on Sunday, including the two runs through Fafe. Our focus today was to extend our lead overall but we knew we had to be clever with our strategy on both loops. We had to save the tyres in some places to maximise the performance on the longer Amarante stages. We knew we could make the difference here; it’s a stage I really enjoy and we could give it a really big push. There were a few wet patches at the end of the afternoon, but we made it through and could increase our margin. We will need to remain concentrated because there are still five stages to go – and we’ve seen just what can happen here.”
Elfyn Evans
“On the whole I think we can be pretty happy with our day. It’s not been perfect by all means and I was a bit disappointed with both runs through the Amarante stage (SS12 and SS15). But overall we can be pretty satisfied and we’re in a good position going into tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans, Rally de Portugal 2018, Photo credit, M-Sport.
Dani Sordo
“In general, I am pleased with our day and to be in the battle for the podium. The gap to the guys behind is close so we need to keep pushing. The only downside to today’s running was the final stage, the repeat of Amarante, which started with a half-spin. I don’t know what happened; something felt a bit strange and I lost the rear, but we kept our focus. We quickly built up our confidence again and worked on reducing the time loss. The crowds at this rally have been incredible and it really gives us the motivation to fight for the podium on Sunday morning. That’s our target!”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Teemu Suninen (4th)
“It’s been a good day for us and I was really pleased to see that we were able to improve through the slower sections which is what we wanted to work on today. Now there are just five stages left and it looks like we have a chance of challenging for the podium too. I’m really happy to be in this battle, and tomorrow I want to continue like this – to show what I can do.”
Sébastien Ogier (Rally 2) said:
“It wasn’t a very exciting day for us, but I wanted to make use of it – doing some work on the car and trying to find some little things to improve the set-up. I’m pleased with that and we were quickest over the second loop – closing the day with a fastest time. Power Stage points is the only thing we can try to push for tomorrow. We’ll be running pretty early on the road so it won’t be easy, but at least we have nothing to lose.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Esapekka Lappi (5th)
“It has been a pretty good day. The feeling has been nice with the car and I have been pushing really hard. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed as hard for a whole day, especially this afternoon. I gave it everything, and it was really enjoyable. The guys in front of me have been doing a really good job and it has been hard to take any time out of them, but I’m really happy with my driving and that I could stay on the limit for so long. It was a risky tyre choice this afternoon to go with the hard tyres and it didn’t pay off, but we didn’t lose anything to our rivals either. The gap is quite big going into the final day but I want to keep the pressure on.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Rally 2)
“I’m really, really happy about today. We had two stage wins, so we know the speed is there. I still have a little bit of margin: particularly this afternoon when it was quite rough in places I was a bit more careful not to break the car, as it has been important for me to have a clean day. The car is fast and I have started to find in myself the speed and confidence. All the elements are now there so we just need to bring it to the end. Tomorrow my approach will be to try and carry on in the same way. I want to be competitive and to do another clean day, and then of course in the Power Stage, I will try to attack and try to get some points. The idea is try to and keep building the confidence ready for Sardinia.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Mads Østberg (6th)
“The morning went well for us. I felt full of confidence in my C3 WRC and the times were pretty decent given our position in the running order. Since we weren’t in a close fight for position with anyone, we decided to do some set-up tests this afternoon to try and keep improving with the car. We probably pushed things a bit too far, but that’s part and parcel of the learning process.”
Craig Breen (7th)
“It was a difficult day for us, with a huge amount of cleaning with the dry and sandy ground. It hasn’t rained properly here for a while! But it’s the kind of experience that you have to get in order to fight with the very best one day and I prefer to focus on the very good feeling that I had driving my C3 WRC.”
Kris Meeke (DNF)
“I turned into a fast-left-hand corner a little bit late, missed my line and got onto the loose gravel on the outside of the corner and lost control of the car. Obviously, I’m sorry for the whole team, who clearly deserved better. I’m really very grateful that they built such a strong car. It was my mistake, of course, so I’ll take it on the chin. But the feeling in my C3 WRC was so good here in Portugal that I can’t help but take the positives away from this weekend.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Andreas Mikkelsen (Rally 2)
“First of all, I am very grateful to the team for their efforts in getting us back into the rally after the problems we experienced on Friday. We had to make some adjustments to the engine settings for today to help us make it through. As a result, we didn’t have access to full power, which limited what we could do. We simply had to do our best with what we had at our disposal and I think in that regard it has been a pretty good day. It is important for us to finish the rally cleanly in order to secure manufacturer points for the team, even if we are not at the level we know we could be. We always want to compete at the front and I hope we can fight for some Power Stage points tomorrow.”
The final day then and with five stages to go, it wouldn’t be easy.
The first stage then saw Dani lose third overall with Teemu and Esapekka moving ahead of the Spaniard. Thierry’s lead was really strong, whilst Elfyn was looking good for his best result of the year.
The first run of the famous Fafe stage, with its jump just before the finish line saw Ogier set the best time – a sign of things to come, whilst the battle between Dani and Esapekka continued over fourth, this time the Spaniard getting back ahead!
Stage 18 – Luilhas, saw them swap again and Esapekka was back into fourth! Meantime, Teemu was looking really good in third and likely to score his first WRC podium. Thierry and Elfyn were just stroking their cars to the finish, ticking off the km’s.
Teemu won stage 19 – Montim 2, beating Lappi by 1.7 seconds whilst Dani was third. The overall positions were really set now, with Thierry looking likely to win his second rally of the year, but in the M-Sport camp all eyes were on their young drivers. Elfyn was set for his best result since last October’s Wales Rally GB and Teemu was set for his first ever podium finish!
Time then for the final stage, the re-run of Fafe, with its famous jump. Of course, there were as usual points up for grabs for the quickest five drivers! The winner of the stage was Lappi, and Thierry was second. Dani, Teemu and Elfyn rounded out the top five. Seb had rejoined under rally 2 regs, and had come very close to scoring some points, ending up just 8 tenths away from fifth place.
Thierry had taken a unexpected but very welcome victory, and we also had Elfyn in second place, with teammate, Teemu Suninen taking his first ever podium. Thierry had also taken the lead of the world championship after Seb’s mistake took him out of the points. He’ll want to bounce back at the next round- no doubt!
Final Overall Classification – Rally de Portugal
1
T. Neuville
N. Gilsoul
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
3:49:46.6
2
E. Evans
D. Barritt
Ford Fiesta WRC
+40.0
3
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+47.3
4
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Toyota Yaris WRC
+54.7
5
D. Sordo
C. del Barrio
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+1:00.9
6
M. Østberg
T. Eriksen
Citroën C3 WRC
+3:33.5
7
C. Breen
S. Martin
Citroën C3 WRC
+5:23.0
8
P. Tidemand
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia R5
+14:10.8
9
L. Pieniazek
P. Mazur
Škoda Fabia R5
+16:17.3
10
S. Lefebvre
G. Moreau
Citroën C3 R5
+16:34.3
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 06, Rally de Portugal 17-20 May 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Let’s hear from the drivers!
Thierry Neuville
“What a weekend and what a result! We have taken a clever approach to this event, pushing when we could and controlling the pace when we needed. The car has been fabulous all weekend long, and the team has been behind us every stage of the way. I have felt completely comfortable and at ease despite some challenging conditions. My teammates have also been on the pace but were unlucky not to be on the podium. We tried to give it a bit of a push in the Power Stage, to take as many points as we could, but also taking care not to make any mistakes. We have a lot of Portuguese people in the team, so it’s going to be a nice celebration. A fantastic weekend for our team.”
Elfyn Evans
“I’m happy with this result, and a bit relieved too if I’m honest! Everyone knows that our season didn’t get off to the best of starts. Monte started well with the exception of the puncture, but one thing led to another and it quickly snowballed into what was becoming a pretty dismal season.
“We knew coming here that we needed to get some strong points on the board – for the team and for us as well. So, to come away with second place was good. It wasn’t perfect, and there are some areas where we can still improve. I wasn’t entirely happy with my driving through all of the stages, but it’s certainly alleviated the pressure and we can go to Sardinia in a positive frame of mind.”
Teemu Suninen
“It’s really great to get my first podium here in Portugal – the first one is always special and I think it will be a big step for my career. I was really happy with my driving all weekend. We struggled a bit to find the limit on Friday morning as I had to get used to driving this car on these stages, but after that I was able to push and set some really good times.
“I want to thank the team for their trust in me and for the good support that they gave me all weekend. I’m really happy that I could pay them back with these good points for the championship.”
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 06, Rally de Portugal 17-20 May 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo (4th)
“I am disappointed not to finish on the podium after what had been a very promising and competitive weekend for us. We showed our pace in many stages and were definitely in the fight. The time penalty was frustrating but we put that out of our mind and concentrated on doing the best job we could on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we had an issue during the penultimate stage when a stone went through our front splitter and smashed the windscreen. This made some corners difficult to see in the Power Stage but we gave it absolutely everything. There are so many fans here and lots of people supporting me, so I was happy to put on a good performance through Fafe. Congratulations to Thierry and Nicolas on a great win, and thanks to the team.”
Andreas Mikkelsen (16th)
“That was not the weekend we had hoped to have but it’s been a positive final morning. The car was working much better in the Power Stage, which allowed us to really give it a push. I’d like to send big thanks to the team who put in a huge effort to adapt the car to get it better suited to my style. I have enjoyed driving this weekend and without our issues on Friday, and the knock-on effects of that, I am sure we could have had a much more representative result. Congratulations to Thierry and Nicolas on their victory, which is thoroughly deserved for them and the entire team. I am looking forward to Sardinia.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Esapekka Lappi (5th)
“Today we just continued like we ended yesterday: flat out all the time. In the end, we just couldn’t catch Suninen. It was a tough, tough fight. He did a good job and deserved the podium. However, I have to be pleased to take five points from the Power Stage as well. I have now won half of the Power Stages this year, and this is important, because I now have 15 points just from these three stages alone. I’m pretty satisfied with the weekend: we didn’t make any mistakes, and that is what we were looking for.”
2018 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 06, Rally Portugal / May 17-20, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Jari-Matti Latvala (24th)
“Today was another good day, with another stage win. Of course, I tried to go for points on the Power Stage and give everything I could. It was a very good run; I don’t think I could have driven much better, but there was a very big cleaning effect on the Fafe stage today and I was the first World Rally Car on the road. I am happy though because the confidence is improving a lot. We had the problem on Friday but at least I could then drive two clean days without any mistakes. We could also learn something on today’s stages, which were more technical than before, about the setup that we need for Sardinia. I feel very positive going there.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Mads Østberg (6th)
“This first rally on gravel was informative for us because we learned a lot about the C3 WRC. Although we struggled a bit to find the right set-up on Friday morning, the team quickly worked it out and the car worked very well in the afternoon for the second loop. It’s just that we then had a tough time of it due to our road position. If you don’t have as good a first day as you were hoping for, then your whole rally ends up being affected, but I’m pleased to see that the speed was there whenever we pushed and we had the right conditions.”
Craig Breen (7th)
“Our puncture on Friday afternoon, when we were running third, meant we had to open the road on the next two days and from that point on, it was difficult to hope for a better outcome. But I’m now looking forward to Sardinia to turn the good feeling we had this weekend into a significantly better result.”
Well, after yet another twist in this year’s championship we head to Rally Italia Sardegna held from the 7th to the 10th of June!
Craig Breen, Scott Martin, Rally Portugal 2018, Photo credit, Citroen Racing.
2018 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6
1
T. Neuville
119
2
S. Ogier
100
3
O. Tanak
72
4
D. Sordo
58
5
E. Lappi
57
6
A. Mikkelsen
54
7
E. Evans
45
8
K. Meeke
43
9
J.M Latvala
31
10
C. Breen
26
11
T. Suninen
23
12
M. Østberg
16
13
S. Loeb
15
14
P. Tidemand
11
15
H. Paddon
10
2018 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6
