Enjoying the power stage very much! Great coverage. Big dogs getting ready to run last.
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Enjoying the power stage very much! Great coverage. Big dogs getting ready to run last.
i am back 1-2-3 for ford !!! great result !!!!
unfortunatelly it didn't come through driving skills or car superiority....
lets hope for a better rally at mexico.
Are they allowed to do this???
Chris patterson is driving !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF is up with Petter ??
What's going on??????
Has Petter been temporarily blinded or something? This is unbelievable!!!
LOL
Someone post results please!
A protest from Petter?
You are right. What a lousy rally. Some excitement to WRC after, i don't know, maybe 5 years and you say its not a good rally. Time to check your medication maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by N.O.T
Had his license taken away....?????
Probably...Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
Loeb engine problem behind finish...
Amazing to hear Chris Patterson has just driven a special stage for Petter. Is this a first for WRC? haha
Petter marketing promotion?
Petter lost his license on Friday due to speeding, and after 48 hours he is no longer allowed to drive the car so Chris had to step in!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pettersolberg29
Seriously??!
Not bad time for Patterson; maybe Malcolm can spot a new 5 year plan in the making :)
This is crazy stuff.
Aren't roads closed for special stages in Sweden? I can understand Chris having to drive liaisons but on SS?????
So how is the points now with the extra bonus from powerstage?
Mikko wins Rally Sweden ... brilliant start to WRC 2011 :)
I can see it confusing Joe Public that Ogier wins the televised stage and sprays the champagne but doesn't win the rally.
Get in!!!
What were the overall times?
4Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
Yes they had tking his license because he was driving 112 were 80 was aloud.
That's so hypocrit everywhere you see drunken people how so they get home and there you don't see the police .
And close to the service area they stand with they're laserguns.
Smart way to let Ogier past?
That's why there are commentators on telly. They explain the situation to the public.Quote:
Originally Posted by RS
This is :D
Live TV is future of the sport..
With this happened,Ogier gained 4th position.Quesnels finger smells..Quote:
Originally Posted by Rally Hokkaido
Can't you drive a stage without a drivers licence ??? There are lot's of examples for this , eg. Novikov driving when 15/16 years old and the codriver driving the road sections
yeah - but the should be service before TV stage (or at least tyre zone). And split times shown on telly. And it'd better not be the last stage, where rally winner just cools off.
Congrats to Ford for the 1-2-3! Great rally :D
Great win for Mikko and Jarmo! :up:
What odd rules you swedes have over there...
Novikov drove few WRC rally's without driver licence at all. And his didn't bring this cirrus.
It's hidden team order! Citroen and unfortunately Petter Solberg should be excluded.
Hmmm, I still think it would be better to scrap the bonus points and have the actual winner spraying the champagne.Quote:
Originally Posted by jonkka
Nice done Mikko Hirvonen!
Nice to see Mats also in podium!
Congrats to Ford! :)
Martin Semerád becomes youngest ever winner of PWRC event. It was lucky but that's rally. It was also first victory for DMack tyres,
No one can seriously say that this was because of Petter's driving licence. This was Citroen's tactics and that's it. Shame for a good rally to end in such a stupid way. There is too much all this bull..it in world rally cahmpionship nowadays. I have been very keen to watch and follow this sport for over 30 years, but maybe it is now time to say goodbye to this. I will continue to watch IRC though.
Hirvonen resists Ostberg for victory
Sunday, February 13th 2011, 14:48 GMT
http://cdn.images.autosport.com/edit...1297608563.jpg
Mikko Hirvonen held off Mads Ostberg to win the first event of the World Rally Championship's new era by just six seconds after three thrilling days in Sweden, as Fords filled the podium.
The 2011 season-opener will be remembered equally for the spectacularly close competition offered by the latest generation World Rally Cars - with just 15s covering Hirvonen, Ostberg, Petter Solberg, Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier starting the final day - and the emergence of Ostberg as a potential winner.
In his first event in a competitive car, the former Subaru privateer opened up a half-minute lead on his first day with Stobart Ford, making the most of running 10th on the road.
The lead quintet concertinaed on Saturday as stage conditions slowed those at the head of the running order, but road position was less of a problem this morning, when Hirvonen - who had overhauled Ostberg halfway through leg two - pulled away from his pursuers.
Then on the final loop this afternoon Hirvonen found loose snow more troublesome than before and started losing time to Ostberg, who went into the deciding Gustavsfors stage just 4.9s off the leading factory Ford.
However Hirvonen had enough in hand on the 4.16km course to hold off Ostberg and claim his first win since the same event a year ago, while Ostberg secured his maiden WRC podium.
"I was fairly nervous before the last stage," Hirvonen admitted. "It's been a fantastic start by the team - a new car and victory straightaway."
Ostberg was more than happy with second despite coming so close to victory.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "Today has been difficult. We tried a little bit to catch Mikko but he was quite quick and I didn't dare to push as hard as I could. Second overall in Sweden, I'm absolutely happy with that."
After a disappointing morning today, Latvala (Ford) regained confidence and flew through the final loop, winning two of the three stages to move back into third place ahead of Ogier, who was less happy with his car following service.
Ogier claimed three extra bonus points by winning the first Power Stage - with the final stage of the event shown live on television and extra points awarded to the top three. Loeb and Latvala completed the Power Stage scorers.
In a bizarre finish to the rally, fifth-placed Solberg had to hand his car to co-driver Chris Patterson for the final road section and special stage, the Norwegian having been caught speeding by Swedish police earlier in the event. Patterson brought the car carefully through the stage to finish fifth.
World champion Sebastien Loeb never featured at the front. Running first on the road in the worst of the snow on Friday was a huge handicap, and with two punctures and a loss of power from a snow-blocked intake slowing him further, he had to settle for a lonely sixth for Citroen.
In a one-off Ford appearance paid for by a fundraising drive among fans, P-G Andersson had a weekend of incidents interspersed with stage wins, leaving him a frustrated seventh thanks to all the delays.
Kimi Raikkonen made an encouraging start to 2011 by bringing his Ice 1 Citroen to the finish in eighth. He starred on the second loop of leg two, when he set a string of top-six stage times.
Of the other WRC entries, Matthew Wilson (Stobart Ford) won a late battle with Khalid Al Qassimi (Abu Dhabi Ford) for ninth, with top-class newcomer Dennis Kuipers' FERM Ford 13th and Ken Block (Monster Ford) 14th after a weekend of building snow experience.
Henning Solberg might have been in the podium fight in the other Stobart car, but after charging up the order on Friday afternoon, he crashed out on Saturday's first stage.
Martin Semerad cruised to an easy Production class win once early lead combatants Anders Grondal and Patrik Flodin retired and were excluded respectively.
S2000 drivers Patrik Sandell and Eyvind Brynildsen were sensationally fast in Friday's snowy conditions, setting top-six times overall. While Brynildsen dropped out with an engine failure, Sandell clung on in the points until the final morning, ultimately finishing 11th.
Overall result:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Mikko Hirvonen Ford 3h23m56.6s
2. Mads Ostberg Ford + 6.5s
3. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 34.0s
4. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 47.7s
5. Petter Solberg Citroen + 1m31.2s
6. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 2m30.3s
7. P-G Andersson Ford + 6m22.0s
8. Kimi Raikkonen Citroen + 7m02.3s
9. Matthew Wilson Ford + 10m11.5s
10. Khalid Al Qassimi Ford + 10m31.1s
Power Stage result:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Sebastien Ogier Citroen 2m22.7s
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 0.3s
3. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 0.7s
4. P-G Andersson Ford + 1.3s
5. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 1.4s
Such a strange situation. Can Petter still be awarded the points ?