Rapport från Wales Rally GB 13-16/9 2012

Blå rubrik = wrc
Grön rubrik = Super 2000
Svart rubrik = GrN
Orange rubrik = WRC Academy


SWRC VM följer jag på www.pgandersson.se

12-09-16 Latvala claims emphatic victory for Ford at Wales Rally GB
Ford World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila today won Wales Rally GB for the second consecutive season. The Finns won this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 27.8 seconds in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car, securing their seventh world rally victory after three days of competition through slippery Welsh forests.

Team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson provided further celebration for the Ford squad by claiming third in another Fiesta RS WRC after a thrilling final day battle. Solberg swapped places with Sébastien Loeb through virtually every speed test in today’s third leg, eventually missing out on second by just 0.9sec after 19 special stages and 324.92km of action.

Despite moving forward in the calendar from its traditional November date, conditions on the fast and flowing forest roads of central and south Wales were as tricky as ever. Rain made the gravel tracks muddy, but Ford controlled the rally from the start as first Solberg and then Latvala led.

Solberg held the advantage for Friday’s opening two tests in mid-Wales before Latvala moved to the front of the field. The 27-year-old Finn was never again headed, extending his advantage yesterday in the Brecon Beacon mountains and measuring his pace today in the Vale of Neath to secure his second victory of the year.

“This win means a lot to me,” said Latvala. “Rally GB is like a second home event because I started my career here 10 years ago, and I have more experience of this event than my own rally in Finland. It’s one of my favourite rounds and this is the first time in my career that I have won the same rally in consecutive seasons.

“We had some doubts about our speed after the previous gravel rally, but we came back strongly. The team has done so much work since then and it paid off here, so this win is for everyone in the team. The car has been so fast all season but we’ve had too many disappointments and finally we delivered the result we deserved,” he added.

The excitement today came from 37-year-old Solberg’s duel with Loeb. The Norwegian started 6.4sec ahead of his French rival, but Loeb turned his deficit into a 2.9sec lead midway through the leg. Solberg regained second, only for Loeb to reclaim the position in the penultimate stage and the pair began the final 15.33km test divided by 0.1sec. Although Solberg moved in front again in the test, he could not hold on but was still delighted with a podium on a rally he has won four times.

“It was a massive battle!” enthused Solberg. “It rained in the penultimate stage but I managed to keep the fight alive into the final test. I moved in front but made a little mistake when I touched a small bank. I came back again but it wasn’t quite enough.

“I could have pushed harder but I didn’t want to go crazy because a double podium is so crucial to Ford. That was more important than destroying a rally by risking everything to take second. It was so exciting to be involved in such a close battle. It was so tense before the final stage that neither Seb nor I could look at each other!” he added.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson described first and third as ‘a great result’. “To dominate the rally in the way we did will give a great confidence boost for everyone in the team. We’ve had a difficult season and it hasn’t been easy at times, but our team spirit shone through here. This win will give Jari-Matti great encouragement for the rest of the season. Petter had a fantastic battle for second and although he missed out, he can be equally happy with his display,” he said.

Gerard Quinn, senior manager for Ford Racing in Europe, said: “Jari-Matti did an outstanding job here. After a career-best result on asphalt in Germany last month, he had a great test for this rally and came to Wales with real momentum. Petter had a nail-biting finish while fighting for second. It didn’t quite work out but he, too, delivered a stunning performance and this is a great boost for the team.”

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson finished fourth in a Fiesta RS WRC after overcoming an engine misfire this morning. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Evgeny Novikov / Ilka Minor moved up to sixth, despite dropping 30sec when they slid off the road in this morning’s opening stage. They displaced team-mates Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk, who retired after the front right lower suspension arm broke on their car. Matthew Wilson / Scott Martin were ninth and top Britons, while Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza claimed 10th in the Czech Ford National Team car.

Next round
The championship reverts to asphalt next month when Strasbourg hosts Rallye de France on 4 - 7 October, the final pure sealed surface round of the season.

Leaderboard after Day 3
1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 03min 40.3sec
2. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 3hr 04min 08.1sec
3. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 04min 09.0sec
4. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 04min 50.9sec
5. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 3hr 05min 09.8sec
6. E Novikov/I Minor RUS Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 07min 17.3sec
7. T Neuville/N Gilsoul BEL Citroen DS3 3hr 07min 52.2sec
8. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 09min 40.7sec
9. M Prokop/Z Hruza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 10min 39.2sec
10 N Al Attiyah/G Bernacchini QAT Citroen DS3 3hr 13min 12.4sec

Drivers
1. S Loeb 219pts
2. M Hirvonen 158pts
3. P Solberg 119pts
4. M Østberg 114pts
5. J-M Latvala 113pts
6. E Novikov 63pts

Manufacturers
1. Citroen Total WRT 348pts
2. Ford WRT 237pts
3. M-Sport Ford WRT 123pts
4. Qatar WRT 63pts
5. Adapta WRT 61pts
6. Citroen Junior WRT 60pts

Stage Times
Stage 14: 1. Loeb 9min 15.9sec; 2. Latvala + 2.7; 3. Hirvonen + 4.9; 4. P Solberg + 5.0; 5. Østberg + 9.2; 6. Neuville + 15.1.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 27min 23.9sec; 2. P Solberg + 26.8; 3. Loeb + 28.2; 4. Østberg + 56.4; 5. Hirvonen + 1:24.6; 6. Tänak + 2:02.5.

Stage 15: 1. Loeb 4min 42.0sec; 2. Latvala + 0.6; 3. Hirvonen + 0.9; 4. P Solberg + 2.1; 5. Østberg + 4.1; 6. Neuville + 6.4.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 32min 06.5sec; 2. Loeb + 27.6; 3. P Solberg + 28.3; 4. Østberg + 59.9; 5. Hirvonen + 1:24.9; 6. Tänak + 2:10.7.

Stage 16: 1. Latvala 8min 49.3sec; 2. Loeb + 1.7; 3. Hirvonen + 2.4; 4. P Solberg + 3.9; 5. Østberg + 4.4; 6. Neuville + 13.6.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 40min 55.8sec; 2. Loeb + 29.3; 3. P Solberg + 32.2; 4. Østberg + 1:04.3; 5. Hirvonen + 1:27.3; 6. Tänak + 2:24.8.

Stage 17: 1. P Solberg 9min 07.1sec; 2. Loeb + 3.2; 3. Latvala + 4.1; 4. Østberg + 6.2; 5. Hirvonen + 6.4; 6. Neuville + 9.6.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 50min 07.0sec; 2. P Solberg + 28.1; 3. Loeb + 28.4; 4. Østberg + 1:06.4; 5. Hirvonen + 1:29.6; 6. Novikov + 3:22.2.

Stage 18: 1. Loeb 4min 40.1sec; 2. Latvala + 0.3; 3. P Solberg + 0.4; 4. Hirvonen + 1.7; 5. Østberg + 3.3; 6. Neuville + 5.9.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 54min 47.4sec; 2. Loeb + 28.1; 3. P Solberg + 28.2; 4. Østberg + 1:09.4; 5. Hirvonen + 1:31.0; 6. Novikov + 3:29.3.

Stage 19: 1. Hirvonen 8min 51.4sec; 2. Loeb + 1.1; 3. Latvala + 1.4. 4. P Solberg + 1.9; 5. Østberg + 2.7; 6. Neuville + 4.5.
Overall: 1. Latvala 3hr 03min 40.3sec; 2. Loeb + 27.8; 3. P Solberg + 28.7; 4. Østberg + 1:10.6; 5. Hirvonen + 1:29.5; 6. Novikov + 3:37.0.
12-09-16 A Solid Finish
'G'day everyone, 'Atko calling at the end of Wales Rally GB.
'Today's itinerary featured three stages repeated twice totalling 83.10km of stages that I know from the past and I was really hoping to set some good times. We made some set-up changes to the engine map last night, which seemed to be heading in the right direction as this morning we had good grip and the feeling with the MINI was great. Unfortunately a sensor in my MINI's gearbox (which meant that the monitor showed sixth gear whichever gear I was in!) cost us some time on the morning loop.

'The problem was fixed by the mechanics at midday service but of course it made our morning a bit more difficult than we had hoped for. We set off this afternoon ready to clock some good times on the second loop. We were promoted into the Top 10 and the points scoring positions when Ott retired on SS17 – the first stage of the second pass. However, it just wasn't our day!

'Towards the end of the last stage with two splits to go we broke our left-rear toe control link, the function of which on the car is to align the wheel. We held Ogier off, but in one stage we dropped one minute and 30 seconds to Nasser and fell back down to 11th. Fortunately, I was able temporarily to jury rig the spare wheel so that we could get the car back to service.

'Overall I'm happy and positive that we're in a good place for the forthcoming gravel events. I'm satisfied with what Stéphane, myself, the team and our MINI achieved together here in Wales. We finished the rally in 11th overall and our pace was nice and consistent, always close to the targets we set coming into the event. We were hoping to be one kilometre per second off the pace and we've been there or thereabouts most of the time. And we're especially pleased that between here and Germany, we've contested 32 stages and completed all 32 successfully!

'Unfortunately my team mate Paulo was forced to retire after midday service today due to vibration causing an alternator cable to fail. I'm gutted for him, he was doing a good job and having loads of fun – it's incredible how he never gives up and how much he enjoys what he does.

'It was a big weekend for my co-driver Stéphane as well as he was awarded with the Michael Park 'Beef' Trophy to honor his career in the WRC. We started to work together in 2007 and even when we stopped competing in the World Rally Championship we continued to work together in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. He's been doing other things in the meantime as well but we clicked from the start and have always worked really well together. From my side I can say he's an amazing co–driver - he's very professional, focused and the feeling in the car is always great. For me, that's exactly what I need from a co-driver and our relationship both in and out of the car is fantastic.

'I want to add a special thank you to my mechanics. They’ve worked tirelessly all weekend! I'm really happy with their work, they are all very professional and always put their best effort in making sure the MINI is in top form. We have Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian and Irish mechanics in the team but they all work together in a fantastic way!

'I'm now staying in Europe for a while so I don't have to fly back and forward to and from Australia, which means... no jetlag. Bonus! An even bigger bonus is that my family is going to join me and I'll get to spend some time with them before I head to Strasbourg for Rallye de France, which’ll be my third event with WRC Team MINI Portugal and after Germany we’re keen for a good follow up result on Tarmac.

'I've never competed in Rallye de France since it was moved from Corsica to Alsace, but in 2010 I was (half of) Ken Block's gravel crew so I know more or less what to expect from the stages.

'Thanks to everyone for following me and WRC Team MINI Portugal this weekend, it's great to have support from all over the world.

Catch you soon,
Atko’

Final Overall Classification – Wales Rally GB
1.J.M Latvala (FIN)/ M. Anttila (FIN) Ford 3:03:40.3
2.S. Loeb (FRA)/ D. Elena (MCO) Citroen +27.8
3.P. Solberg (NOR)/ C. Patterson (GBR) Ford +28.7
4.M. Ostberg (NOR)/ J. Andersson (SWE) Ford +1:10.6
5.M. Hirvonen (FIN)/ J. Lehtinen (FIN) Citroen +1:29.5
6.E. Novikov (RUS)/ I. Minor (AUT) Ford +3:37.0
7.T. Neuville (BEL)/ N. Gilsoul (BEL) Citroen +4:11.9
8.M. Wilson (GBR)/ S. Martin (GBR) Ford +6:00.4
9.M. Prokop (CZE)/ Z. Hruza (CZE) Ford +6:58.9
10.N. Al-Attiyah (QAT)/ G. Bernacchini (ITA) +9:32.1
11.C.Atkinson (AUS)/ S. Prévot (BEL) MINI +9:37.0
...
31.R.Bronkart (BEL)/ A. Fracasso (BEL) Toyota

2012 FIA Drivers' Championship Standings
S. Loeb 219/ M. Hirvonen 158/ P. Solberg 119/ M. Ostberg 114/ J.M. Latvala 113/ E. Novikov 63/ M. Prokop 40/ T.Neuville 38/ D. Sordo 31/ S. Ogier 31/ N. Al-Attyiah 28 O.Tanak 26/ A.Araujo 11/C. Atkinson 10/ F. Delecour 8/ D. Kuipers 8...M. Arzeno 1
12-09-16 P-G och Emil kvar i VM-ledning trots bärarms- och drivaxelbrott i Wales Rally GB
Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson fick långt ifrån den start på VM-rallyt i Wales Rally GB som de önskat sig. De svenska VM-ledarna i SWRC (VM för Super 2000-bilar) tvingades kasta in handduken redan efter två specialsträckor.
- "Bilen understyrde fruktansvärt mycket. När vi sedan kom i en hårnål vänster gick drivaxel och bärarmen sönder, med punktering som följd" berättade P-G efter händelsen i fredags

De forsatte och lyckades ta sig imål där de kunde konstatera förödelsen:
- "Det känns tungt. Speciellt eftersom vi aldrig slog i något" sa P-G

Deras huvudkonkurrent Hayden Paddon fick senare under fredagen problem även han och tvingades även han bryta De båda ekipagen startade sedan om på lördagen P-G och Emil hade ett tidstillägg på närmare 21 minuter, medans Hayden dragit på sig närmare 28 minuter.

Lördagens sträckor flöt på utan några problem för P-G och Emils del:
- "Lördagen var bra och vi passade på att få till riktigt bra inställningar och förbättrade bilen" säger P-G.

Idag söndag avslutades rallyt med sex avgörande sträckor P-G och Emil hade under lördagen tagit in mycket tid på femman Alistair Fisher och målsättningen var att överta hans placering under söndagen. De var riktigt nära att lyckas, men styrservoproblem stoppade den jakten:
- "Det låg en vedkobbe mitt i vägen. Vi hade ingen chans att undvika den, utan körde rätt på den och slog sönder styrservon" berättar P-G.

Därmed fick de nöja sig med sjätteplats i den här VM-deltävlingen.
- "Bortser vi från den tråkigta inledningen har det ändå varit ett bra rally. Vi har kört på i ett högt och stabilt tempo och var nästan uppe på femteplatsen när servon brakade. Vi får trots allt vara nöjda. Och VM är ju fortfarande en öppen historia och det tackar vi för" skrattar P-G.

Vann gjorde Craig Breen, före Tom Cave och Yazeed Al Rajhi blev trea.

P-G och Emil ligger kvar i VM-ledning och leder klassen inför de två avslutande asfaltsrallyna med 76 poäng före Craig Breen och Hayden Paddon som båda har 68 poäng

Nästa VM-rally för Super 2000 körs 4-7 oktober i Frankrike.

SWRC- VM-tabell
1. P-G Andersson 76 poäng
2. Craig Breen (GB) 68 poäng
3. Hayden Paddon (NZ) 68 poäng
4. Majicej Oleksowicz (PL 65 poäng
5. Yazeed Al Rahji (Sau) 55 poäng

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där har vi följt rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Wales Rally GB, SWRC
1. Craig Breen (GB) 3:22:53.7
2. Tom Cave (GB) 3:21:00.7 +2:37.8
3. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SA) 3:22:53.7 +4:30.8
4. Maceij Oleksowicz (PL) 3:26:38.8 +8:15.9
5. Alistair Fisher (GB) 3:37:14.4 +18:51.5
6. P-G Andersson 3:37:51.1 +19:28.2
7. Hayden Paddon (NZ) 3:43:25.8 +25:02.
12-09-16 SS19; Latvala vann - Loeb slutade tvåa i Wales Rally GB
Latvala kammade hem segern i Finland och vann sin första seger sedan Rally Sweden! Inför sista sträckan ledde Loeb med 0,1 sekund före Petter. Den kampen vann Loeb som var 0,7 sekunder före Petter. Hirvonen kammade hem superstagepoängen.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag trodde vi hade en punktering. Jag har verkligen ingen ide vad som hänt (hela hjulet är förstört" Atkinson
- "Jag gillade det verkligen och det var kul att vara tillbaka i bilen igen" Wilson
- "Det är skönt att avsluta rallyt när det går lite bättre. Det var inte det här resultatet vi hoppats på" Hirvonen
- "Jag är nöjd med helgen. Speciellt när bilen inte gått så bra. Jag är mycket nöjd med farten i helgen" Østberg
- "Inte illa. Vi tog i väldigt mycket. Det var mycket halt och tufft. Vi får se. Jag väntar på Petters tid. Otrolig kamp" Loeb
- "Det har varit kul. Det är så det är. Jag är mycket nöjd för Ford. Jag tappade lite för mycket i morse, men jag är nöjd med rallyt" Petter
- "Det är en fantastiskt känsla. Jag gillar det här rallyt och vann i fjol. D är första gången jag vinner en tävling i rad" Latvala

På SS19
1. Hirvonen, 8:51.4
2. Loeb, +1,2
3. Latvala, +1,5
4. Petter, +2,0
5Østberg +2,7
6. Neuville, +4,6
7. Al- Attiyah, +6,1
8. Novikov, +9,2
9. Wilson, +9,5
10. Prokop, +11,7

Efter SS198:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 3:03:40.3
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 3:04:08.1 +27.8
3. Petter Solberg (N), 3:04:09.0 +28,7
4. Mads Østberg (N), 3:04:50.9 +1:10.6
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 3:05:09.8 +1:2 9.5
6. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 3:07:17.3 +3:37.0
7. Thierry Neuville (B), 3:07:52.2 +4:11.9
8. Matthew Wilson (GB, 3:09:40.7 +6:00.4
9. Martin Prokop (PL), 3:10:39.2 +6:58.9
10. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qa), +2:33.2 +9:32.1
12-09-16 SS18: Kamp om andraplatsen - 0,1 sekund mellan Loeb och Petter
Loeb var 0,4 sekund snabbare än Petter och går därmed upp i ledning. Det är verkligen jämnt mellan de båda nu. De skiljer dem nu ynka 0,1 sekunder åt, men till Loebs fördel.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Inga problem alls med bilen. Var bara lite för bred på ett ställe, men inga problem" Wilson
- "Vi gör inget speciellt. Bara kör igenom" Østberg
- "Återigen är det eftermiddagsförhållanden och jag kan inte köra fortare" Loeb
- "Nästa sträcka blir spännande. Det understyrde lite i sista kurvan" Petter
- "Det är okej och jag har en bra känsla" Latvala

På SS18
1. Loeb, 4:40.1
2. Latvala, +0,3
3. Petter, +0,4
4. Hirvonen, +1,7
5. Østberg, +3,3
6. Neuville, +5,9
7. Novikov, +7,4
8. Wilson, +8,7
9. Al-Attiyah, +10,9
10. Atkinson, +11,4

Efter SS18:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:54:47.4
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:55:15.5 +28,1
3. Petter Solberg (N), 2:55:15.6 +28,2
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:55:56.8 +1:09.4
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:56:18.4 +1:31.0
6. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:58:16.7 +4:08.8
7. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:58:56.2 +5:52.4
8. Matthew Wilson (GB, 3:00:39.8 +5:52.4
9. Martin Prokop (PL), 3:01:35.9 +6:48.5
10. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 3:02:49.4 +8:02.0
12-09-16 SS17; Petter upp på andra plats igen!
Petter tog igen sin andra plats och var 3,2 sekunder före Loeb. Det skiljer de båda nu 0,3 sekunder åt.

Tänak står på sträckan och även Novikov har tyvärr brutit.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det har varit okej. Jag kunde varit lite snabbare" Hirvonen
- "Misständningen är fixat. Vi kör lite på spliten för att inte Hirvonen ska komma ifatt. Jag är nöjd nu" Østberg
- "Vi får se vad vi kan göra. Jag försökte verkligen och kan inte göra något mer" Loeb
- "Det var skönt att höra. Vi hade Loeb på alla splitter . Bilen fungerar bra" Petter
- "Vi fick inga splittider. Vi had inga problem" Latvala

På SS17
1. Petter, 9:07.1
2. Loeb, +3,2
3. Latvala, +4,1
4. Østberg, +6,2
5. Hirvonen, +6,4
6. Nevuille, +9,2
7. Wilson, +16,5
8. Novikov, +17,7
9. Prokop, 19,0
10. Atkinson, +22,3

Efter SS16:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:50:07.0
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:50:35.1 +28,1
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:50:35.4 +28,4
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:51:13.4 +1:06.4
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:51:36.6 +1:29.6
6. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:53:29.2 +3:22.2
7. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:54:10.2 +4:03.2
8. Matthew Wilson (GB, 2:54:10.2 +5:44.0
9. Martin Prokop (PL), 2:56:45.1 +6:38.1
10. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 2:57:57.9 +7:50.9
12-09-16 SS16: Latvala vann igen
Loeb utökade sin ledning till Petter med 2,2 sekunder, men det var Latvala som tog hem sträcksegern

Nu är det dags för service. KLockan 13:05 startar det hela och då körs morgonens sträckor om en avslutande gång.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Fantastisk sträcka. Jag hoppas de kan hitta felet på bilen under service" Wilson
- "Jag försöker verkligen, som i går. Men det är lättare nu när det är lite torrare" Hirvonen
- "Vi har fortfarande problem, men vi kör mycket mycket hårt. Vi tar lite risker, men den här sträckan var mycket neröver så det gick ganska bra" Østberg
- "Vi är före Petter, men vi får se hur det går på eftermiddagen" Loeb
- "Vi skadade däcken efter ett hopp. Vi tappade lite på slutet. Även Mikko är snabb. Får se om vi kan göra något under service" Petter
- "Bra känsla och bra inför powerstagen. De två första gick inte så bra, men nu hittade jag känslan" Latvala

På SS16
1. Latvala,
2. Loeb, +1,7
3. Hirvonen, +2,4
4. Petter, +3,9
5. Østberg, +4,4
6. Neuville, +13,6
7. Tänak, +14,1
8. Novikov, +16,8
9. Prokop, +20,0
10. AL Attiyah, +20,5

Efter SS16:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:40:55.8
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:41:25.1 +29.3
3. Petter Solberg (N), 2:41:28.0 +32.2
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:42:00.1 +1:04.3
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:42:23.1 +1:27.3
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:43:20.6 +2:24.8
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:44:04.4 +3:08.6
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:44:53.5 +3:57.7
9. Matthew Wilson (GB, 2:46:27.4 +5:31.6
10. Martin Prokop (PL), 2:47:19.0 +6:23.2
12-09-16 SS15; Loeb klättrar upp till andra plats
Loeb tar in 2,1 sekunder på Petter och går därmed förbi honom i resultatet. Han vann sträckan, 0,6 sekunder före Latvala och 0,9 före Hirvonen

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det är lite bättre, men inte bra" Wilson
- "Det var en bättre sträcka än vi hade igår. Bilen går bra och farten var bra" Neuville
- "Det går bättre" Hirvonen
- "Vi försöker allt vad vi kan. Vi kan inte göra något innan service" Østberg
- "Det ser bättre ut. Igår var vi inte så fort, förhoppningsvis bättre idag" Loeb
- "Jag försöker, men vill inte riskera något" Petter

På SS15
1. Loeb, 04:42.0
2. Latvala, +0,6
3. Hirvonen, +0,9
4. Petter, +2,1
5. Østberg, +4,0
x. Neuville, +6,4
x. Tänak, +8,8
x. Wilson, +10,4
x. Al Attiyah, +12,0
x. Novikov, +12,5

Efter SS15:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:32:06.5
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:32:34.1 +27.6
3. Petter Solberg (N), 2:32:34.8 +28,3
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:33:06.4 +59,9
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:33:31.4 +1:24.9
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:34:17.2 +2:10.7
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:34:58.3 +2:51.8
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:35:50.6 +3:44.1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB, 2:37:17.3 +5:10.8
10. Martin Prokop (PL), 2:38:09.7 +6:03.2
12-09-16 SS14: Loeb snabbast
Loeb vann den inledande sträckan idag, 2,7 sekunder före Latvala och 4,9 före Hirvonen.

Dessvärre har Mads Østberg problem. Bilen låter fruktansvärt illa och motorn går inte som den ska
Novikov åkte av vägen på sträckan och även Tänak stod en stund på sträckan.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Bilen misständer. Jag vet inte vad som är fel" Wilson
- "Det var okej. Bra rytm, halt på en del ställen" Neuville
- "Jag missade en inbromsning" Novikov
- "Vi slog i en vall" Tänak
- "Vi försöker hålla upp tempot och se om vi kan lära oss något av rallyt. Ganska halt på en del ställen" Hirvonen
- "Vi vet inte vad som är fel. Det är något med motorn. Den går inte som den ska, men vi gör vad vi kan" Østberg
- "Vi försöker" Loeb
- "Vi körde för fullt. Några små misstag. Men vet inte om jag förlorade på något speciellt ställe" Petter

På SS14
1. Loeb, 9:15.9
2. Latvala, +2,7
3. Hirvonen, +4,9
4. Petter, +5,0
5. Østberg, +9,2
6. Neuville, +15,1
7. Wilson, +23,9
8. Prokop, 24,5
9. Al-Attiyah, +25,1
10. Atkinson, +31,3

Efter SS14:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:27:23.9
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:27:50.7 +26,8
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:27:52.1 +28,2
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:28:20.3 +56,4
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:28:48.5 +1:24,2
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:29:26.4 +2:02,5
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:30:03.8 +2:02,5
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:30:03.8 +3:38,3
9. Matthew Wilson (GB, 2:31:02.2 +5:01,0
10. Martin Prokop (PL), 2:33:14.9 +5:51,0
12-09-15 A 'Hard' Tyre Choice
'Hi everyone,
'Atko here and once again I'm checking in to tell you about my day at Wales Rally GB. Today was the second day of competition with seven stages totalling 95.36km - a shorter day than yesterday but still a good innings! For me, Stéphane and our MINI it was a positive day overall. We weren't as fast as we wanted to be but we narrowed the gap down to our target of one second a kilometre off the pace on a couple of the morning stages and I feel there's still room for improvement.

'We're one position off getting WRC points, but it's tough to catch the guys in front of us. Anyway, the rally is still plenty long enough for anything to happen! My team mate Paulo finished the day as well without major problems - it's always great to see him reach the end of a day with a big smile on his face.

'I knew today's stages better than yesterday's and we had a pretty good run this morning. The opening stage - Crychan - felt good although on the second (Epynt) and the third (Halfway) we suffered a bit because the gravel was quite loose. I'm still not driving at 100%. In some stages I tried quite hard and we were probably at 98% while on some other bits I lifted my foot off the gas a bit more.

'The problem we experienced with the brake pads was fixed last night at Flexi Service, so today it was all good from that point-of-view. We went back to the original material and we had a good consistent pedal feel today, which was great.

'It was a pretty straight forward day regarding the set-up. We tried a few things regarding the balance of the car trying to get the sensation from the chassis that I'm looking for to try and pick up the pace a bit. We made those changes at midday service and I feel that it helped us a bit in the afternoon stages.

'We chose soft tyres for the morning loop and for learning purposes looking ahead to Rally Italia Sardegna and Rally de España we went with hard tyres in the afternoon loop. It was a close call but together with my engineer Tomo and the team management we decided that it was worth a try. Unfortunately this decision wasn't quite 'spot on' for today, because it was quite cold up in the stages and we struggled a little bit under the trees and anywhere where it was more slippery. On the bright side, it was good practice and we really hope it will help us on the future gravel rallies. I hadn't driven with the hard tyre over any great distance before so that was a good learning curve today.

'We've done some work and we got a new engine map to put in the MINI for tomorrow which should make a couple of improvements to the engine performance and the turbo control. Tomo is already looking forward to getting his hands on the data from that tomorrow and seeing what we can do looking ahead to the next events.

'We're now back from the stages to Cardiff for Flexi Service and after a long day it's good to catch up with the team and discuss a bit about how the day went and what could have been done differently or talk about decisions for the following day of competition. I get along very well with the guys in the team, they work very well and the level of professionalism is high. I've only done two rallies with them but Stéphane and I have felt very welcome from the very first day and we immediately felt at ease with everybody.

'Tomorrow we still have a big day ahead of us - with another early start - so I guess I've better to go and rest a bit (I'll save the cheeky 10km run for tomorrow night... ;-)) Looking forward to tackling the stages again tomorrow.

'Stay tuned for action,
Atko'
12-09-15 Latvala stretches lead as Ford retains first and second in Wales
Ford World Rally Team maintained its grip on first and second places in Wales Rally GB during today’s second leg. Overnight leaders Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila increased their advantage over Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson to 24.5sec, both pairings at the wheel of Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Cars.

After winning all six speed tests yesterday, the Ford duo won five of the seven special stages today. Latvala claimed three wins and Solberg topped the timesheets twice, the Ford duo winning all four stages this afternoon.

Today’s competition was based further south than yesterday. Competitors tackled two identical loops of three gravel speed tests in forests and on military land clustered around Llandovery in the Brecon Beacon mountains. The day ended with a short asphalt test over utility roads at the Celtic Manor resort, host to golf’s Ryder Cup in 2010. The seven stages covered 95.36km.

Fog shrouded parts of the morning stages, with visibility down to 100 metres as the mist hung between the trees. On higher ground glorious sunshine provided a complete contrast.

The tracks were drier than yesterday, but still slippery in many sections, and a combination of mud and cool temperatures encouraged Latvala and Solberg to use Michelin’s soft compound rubber this morning. Solberg retained soft tyres this afternoon, but Latvala fitted harder covers to the front of his car before the final forest stage, as the drying gravel provided more grip and abrasive conditions.

Latvala widened his lead with second fastest time over the opening two stages before winning the final test of the morning loop.

“It was slippery but those conditions have always suited this car,” said 27-year-old Latvala. “The first 1.5km of the opening stage were very wet under the trees. Cars cutting across the grass made the surface muddy and twice I was almost off the road before my co-driver told me to calm down.”

He maintained a strong pace this afternoon, adding another two stage victories to return to the final overnight halt in Cardiff in a confident mood. The Finn is a keen golfer and he was particularly pleased to win the short test at the Celtic Manor golf resort.

“It was the best super special stage that I’ve driven,” he said. “Winning was like getting a hole-in-one! I had another superb day but I can’t afford to relax. If the weather turns bad tomorrow then the roads will be slippery and a 25 second lead can disappear easily in such conditions. I’ve always enjoyed this rally and perhaps it’s the event where the set-up of the car and my driving come together best.”

Solberg was uncomfortable with his car’s set-up this morning, which he felt was too soft for the conditions. His advantage over third-placed Sébastien Loeb was cut to 3.9sec, but the Norwegian stiffened the suspension on his Fiesta RS WRC and raised the ride height at the mid-leg service in Cardiff. Two wins this afternoon justified his decision and he widened his advantage to 6.4sec.

“This morning I had the same set-up on the car as yesterday, but the roads had different characteristics and the settings were too soft and too low,” said 37-year-old Solberg. “On the better surfaces it was fine, but in the softer sections the car bottomed out in the ruts. The final stage of the loop was the worst and that’s where I dropped time.

“The changes made a big difference and I won two stages. I worked hard today to keep my rivals behind and I must do the same tomorrow. First and second would be so important for Ford and both Jari-Matti and I must ensure we maintain these positions to the finish,” said Solberg.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted with his drivers but stressed that they could not afford to ease up. “The pressure will be on tomorrow but Jari-Matti is in a position where he can control his pace, and the target is obviously to bring the cars home in first and second. We carried on where we left off yesterday with the lion’s share of stage wins and fastest sector times. Petter endured a tough morning, but both drivers did exactly what we asked of them,” he said.

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson enjoyed another clean run to hold fourth in a Fiesta RS WRC. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk remain sixth but the Estonians closed on fifth-placed Mikko Hirvonen. Team-mates Evgeny Novikov / Ilka Minor lie seventh, with Matthew Wilson / Scott Martin in ninth and top Britons. Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza are 10th in the Czech Ford National Team car.

Tomorrow’s Route
The final leg is the shortest of the weekend and covers tests close to the rally base in Cardiff. After restarting at 06.00, drivers face two identical loops of three special stages in Margam Park and the Vale of Neath. The loops are split by a return to the Cardiff service park and comprise 83.10km of competition. The final test forms the Power Stage, with bonus points on offer to the fastest three drivers. The finish ceremony takes place in Cardiff at 15.36.

Leaderboard after Day 2
1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 18min 05.3sec
2. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 18min 29.8sec
3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 2hr 18min 36.2sec
4. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 18min 55.2sec
5. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 2hr 19min 27.7sec
6. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 19min 39.7sec
7. E Novikov/I Minor RUS Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 19min 56.2sec
8. T Neuville/N Gilsoul BEL Citroen DS3 2hr 21min 31.2sec
9. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 22min 45.1sec
10 M Prokop/Z Hruza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 23min 34.5sec

Stage Times
Stage 7: 1. Østberg 10min 38.1sec; 2. Latvala + 0.4; 3. Tänak + 0.9; 4. Novikov + 2.4; 5. Loeb + 2.5; 6. P Solberg + 2.8.
Overall: 1. Latvala 1hr 35min 44.2sec; 2. P Solberg + 14.5; 3. Loeb + 23.4; 4. Østberg + 32.2; 5. Hirvonen + 1:00.1; 6. Tänak + 1:19.7.

Stage 8: 1. Loeb 4min 31.3sec; 2. Latvala + 0.3; 3. Novikov + 0.5; 4. Østberg + 0.6; 5. P Solberg + 1.0; 6. Tänak + 1.3.
Overall: 1. Latvala 1hr 40min 15.8sec; 2. P Solberg + 15.2; 3. Loeb + 23.1; 4. Østberg + 32.5; 5. Hirvonen + 1:01.7; 6. Tänak + 1:20.7.

Stage 9: 1. Latvala 10min 33.7sec; 2. Loeb + 3.0; 3. Østberg + 5.8; 4. P Solberg + 7.0; 5. Hirvonen + 7.2; 6. Tänak + 8.1.
Overall: 1. Latvala 1hr 55min 49.5sec; 2. P Solberg + 22.2; 3. Loeb + 26.1; 4. Østberg + 38.3; 5. Hirvonen + 1:08.9; 6. Tänak + 1:28.8.

Stage 10: 1. P Solberg 10min 27.9sec; 2. Tänak + 0.5; 3. Novikov + 1.1; 4. Latvala + 1.7; 5. Loeb + 2.6; 6. Østberg + 3.6.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 01min 19.1sec; 2. P Solberg + 20.5; 3. Loeb + 27.0; 4. Østberg + 40.2; 5. Hirvonen + 1:12.9; 6. Tänak + 1:27.6.

Stage 11: 1. Latvala 4min 28.5sec; 2. Novikov + 0.1; 3. Østberg + 0.6; 4. Tänak + 0.7; 5. Hirvonen + 0.9; 6. Neuville + 1.3; 7. P Solberg + 1.6.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 05min 47.6sec; 2. P Solberg + 22.1; 3. Loeb + 28.8; 4. Østberg + 40.8; 5. Hirvonen + 1:13.8; 6. Tänak + 1:28.3.

Stage 12: 1. P Solberg 10min 30.4sec; 2. Latvala + 0.4; 3. Loeb + 0.6; 4. Tänak + 1.4; 5. Novikov + 3.4; 6. Hirvonen + 3.5.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 16min 18.4sec; 2. P Solberg + 21.7; 3. Loeb + 29.0; 4. Østberg + 45.6; 5. Hirvonen + 1:16.9; 6. Tänak + 1:29.3.

Stage 13: 1. Latvala 1min 46.9sec; 2. Loeb + 1.9; 3. Novikov + 2.3; 4. P Solberg + 2.8; 5. Neuville + 3.8; 6. Østberg + 4.3.
Overall: 1. Latvala 2hr 18min 05.3sec; 2. P Solberg + 24.5; 3. Loeb + 30.9; 4. Østberg + 49.9; 5. Hirvonen + 1:22.4; 6. Tänak + 1:34.4.
12-09-15 SS13; Latvala avslutar med ny sträckseger
Latvala kammade hem även den här sträcksegern och leder inför morgondagen med 24,5 sekunder. Han vann sista sträckan, 1,9 sekunder före Loeb och 2,3 före Novikov.

Det var allt för idag. I morgon körs sex avslutande sträckor, med start 08:21 svensk tid.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Den här "Mickey Mouse" sträkcan kanske inte var den bästa. Men vi har haft en bra dag utan draman" Tänak
- "Det gick bättre när det blev lite torrare" Hirvonen
- "Det var halare än jag väntade mig. Ganska trixig, men inte så dålig. Det är ganska kul för publiken. Jag är ganska nöjd, men eftermiddagen har inte varit lika bra. Vi ser fram emot morgondagen" Mads
- "Han var snabb idag och vi kunde inte riktigt nå honom (Latvala). Vi får se vad vi kan göra imorgon" Loeb
- "Jag tappade lite där. Vi var alldeles för mjuka i morse. Jag är ganska nöjd nu" Petter
- "Det är en bra känsla om jag ska vara ärlig. Men vi får se i morgon. Men vi kommer kämpa för segern. Det här är den bästa superspecialen jag någonsin gjort" Latvala

På SS13
1. Latvala, 01:46.9
2. Loeb, +1,9
3. Novikov, +2,3
4. Petter, +2,8
5. Neuville, +3,8
6. Østberg, +4,3
7. Tänak, +5,1
8. Al-Attiyah, +5,3
9. Hirvonen, +5,5
10. Atkinson, +6,2

Efter SS13:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:18:05.3
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:18:29.8 +24.5
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), Østberg +30,9
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:18:55.2 +49,9
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:19:27.7 +1:22,4
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:19:39.7 +1:34,4
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:19:56.2 +1:50,9
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:21:31.2 +3:25,9
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 2:22:45.1 +4:39,8
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 2:23:34.5 +5:29,2
12-09-15 SS12; Petter snabbast
Petter tog hem sista riktiga sträckan för idag, 0,4 sekunder före Latvala och 0,6 före Loeb.

En sträcka återstår och det är en superspecial som startar 19:34.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Höger fram kändes som punktering. Men det gick bättre på eftermiddagen" Prokop
- "Jag har fortfarande bra grepp. Vi gillade det verkligen" Wilson
- "Jag började sladda mycket i slutet av sträckan" Neuville
- "Ganska snabb sträcka. Jag gjorde några små misstag" Novikov
- "Det var mycket halt. Men med tanke på allt gick det bra" Hirvonen
- "Vi hade två reservdäck som vi använde här. Det blir svårt i morgon. Vi får se hur det går för Petter här." Loeb
- "Seb hade två nya däck i jämförelse med oss, men vi tog lite tid" Petter
- "Däckvalet var inte så dåligt. Mycket lera, men det var okej" Latvala
På SS12
1. Petter, 10:30.4
2. Latvala, +0,4
3. Loeb, +0,6
4. Tänak, +0,8
5. Novikov, +2,8
6. Hirvonen, +2,9
7. Østberg, +4,6
8. Neuville, +7,8
9. Wilson, +10,1
10. Prokop, +18,2

Efter SS12:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:16:18.4
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:16:40.1 +21,7
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:16:47.4 +29,0
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:17:04.0 +45,6
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:17:35.3 +1:16,9
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:17:47.7 +1:29,3
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:18:07.0 +1:48,6
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:19:40.5 +3:22,1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 2:20:49.0 +4:30,6
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 2:21:39.8 +5:21,4
12-09-15 SS11; Latvala snabbast igen
Jari Matti Latvala kammade hem en ny sträckseger och utökar därmed åter sin ledning. Han var 0,1 sekunder före Novikov och 0,6 före Østberg

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi överlever" Atkinson
- "Mycket bätte, vi har en hårdare inställning" Al Attiyah
- "Det var bra, men inte tillräckligt" Prokop
- "Fantastisk sträcka. Riktigt riktigt fin" Wilson
- "Det är inga problem när det är torrt. Men bilen var lite mjuk här" Hirvonen
- "Vi kämpar så med det här extradäcket. Hur vi än gör reagerar bilen inte som vi vill. Vi försöker men det känns inte rätt. Det är lite frustrerande" Hirvonen
- "Vi försöker, men vi har förstört däcken helt" Loeb
- "Jag slog av lite på slutet för det var så dåligt för däcken och vi har en sträcka till att tänka på" Petter
- "Det var helt nya däck. Vi får se hur det går på nästa sträcka." Latvala

På SS11
1. Latvala, 4:28,5
2. Novikov, +0,1
3. Østberg, +0,6
4. Tänak, +0,7
5. Hirvonen, +0,9
6. Neuville, +1,3
7. Petter, +1,6
8. Loeb, +1,8
9. Wilson, +5,6
10. Al Attiyah, +8,0

Efter SS11:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:06:09.7
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:06:09.7 +22.1
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:06:16.4 +28.8
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:06:28.4 +40.8
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:07:01.4 +1:13.8
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:07:15.9 +1:28.3
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:07:33.2 +1:45.6
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:09:01.7 +3:14.1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 2:10:07.9 +4:20.3
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 2:10:50.6 +5:03.0
12-09-15 SS10; Petter snabbast ut efter servicen
Petter Solberg var snabbast ut efter serviceuppehållet. Han var 0,5 sekunder före Tänak och 1,1 före Novikov. Mycket handlar nu om däckval för de tre sträckor som körs.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det var riktigt lerigt på vissa ställen. Så mjuka däck fungerade väldigt bra" Al Attiyah
- "Hårda däck var inte perfekt. Det var mycket lerigare än jag förväntat mig" Atkinson
- "Det var halare än vad jag trodde. Det gick lite brett, men jag är glad vi höll oss på vägen" Prokop
- "Att det är lerigt nu är för att det genats och dragits ut lera på vägen" Wilson
- "Jag har vå reservdäck" Tänak
- "Jag försöker. Inte så dåligt" Hirvonen
- "Jag försökte. Men vi har två reservdäck och jag har aldrig hittat rätt inställningar då. Det är något med balansen" Østberg
- "Jag körde hårt, men det var lite mjukta däck. Men inte dåligt" Loeb
- "Jag har bara ett reservdäck, så vi får se" Petter

På SS10
1. Petter, 10:27.9
2. Tänak, +0,5
3. Novikov, +1,1
4. Latvala,
5. Loeb, +2,6
6. Østberg, +3,6
7. Hirvonen, +5,7
8. Neuville, +9,9
9. Wilson, +16,4
10. Al Attiyah, +19,5

Efter SS10:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin) 2:01:19.1
2. Petter Solberg (N), 2:01:39.6 +20,5
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:01:46.1 +27.0
4. Mads Østberg (N), 2:01:59.3 +40.2
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 02:02:32.0 +1:12.9
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:02:46.7+1:27.6
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 2:03:04.6 +1:45.5
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 2:04:31.9 +3:12.8
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 2:05:33.8 +4:14.7
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 2:06:12.4 +4:53.3
12-09-15 SS9: Latvala snabbast igen
Latvala trivs på de hala vägarna i England och tog hem en ny sträckseger, 3,0 sekunder före Loeb och 5,8 före Østberg

Nu är det dags för service. Nästa omgång sträckor startar 16:18 svensk tid.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det var ganska bra. Lite dimma, men ingen fara. Du kan se vägen" Prokop
- "Fantastiskt. Det är abslolut flat out. Verkligen trevlig sträcka" Wilson
- "Sträckan var okej. En hel del lös grus. Jag var nog inte hög nog i inställningarna. Jag sladdade mycket" Neuville
- "Nu hade vi grepp och då går det bättre. Jag måste köra mycket hårdare än i Finland och ligga på gränsen. Vi är här" Hirvonen
- "Vi har betalt för däcken och måste utnyttja dem. Vi bara körde" Østberg
- "Körbart. I eftermiddag blir det svårare (däckmässigt)" Loeb
- "Jag kör hårt. Några små misstag. Bilen är ganske lite för låg" Petter
- "Jag är förvånad över att våra däck är så mycket bättre än Citroens" Latvala

På SS9
1. Latvala, 10:33,7
2. Loeb, +3,0
3. Østberg, +5,8
4. Petter, +7,0
5. Hirvonen, +7,2
6. Tänak, +8,1
7. Novikov, +11,1
8. Neuville, +19,5
9. Wilson, +19,9
10. Prokop, +28,5

Efter SS9:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:50:49.5
2. Petter Solberg (N), 1:51:11.7 +22.2
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:51:15.6 +26.1
4. Mads Østberg (N), 1:51:27.8 +38.3
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:51:58.4 +1:08.9
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:52:18.3 +1:28.8
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 1:52:35.6 +1:46.1
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 1:53:54.1 +3:04.6
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 1:54:49.5 +4:00.0
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 1:55:24.5 +4:35.0
12-09-15 SS8: Loeb kammade hem sträckseger
Loeb kom i mål med båda framdäcken helt slut, men hade även snabbaste tid. Han var 0,3 sekunder före Latvala och 0,5 före Novikov.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi var lite för vida på den förra, den här gick bättre. Här var det sol, vilket visar på vilken skillnad de tär på sträckorna" Wilson
- "Vi har hittat hålet nu (under bilen som drog in lera på förra sträckan)" Neuville
- "Jag gillade sträckan mycket" Novikov
- "Jag tog det lite för lugnt i början" Tänak
- "Jag har inget att säga. Det går inte bra" Hirvonen
- "Det var lite bättre grepp här. Då är det inte lika lätt att ta tid" Østberg
- "Vi var lite långsammare, men vi fortsätter så här" Loeb
- "Förra sträckan var hal. Här förlorade jag lite tid. Vi får forsätta" Petter
- "Jag förstår inte vad som hände vid starten. Jag fick nästan motorstopp, men tappade några sekunder" Latvala

På SS8
1. Loeb, 1:40:38.9
2. Latvala, +0,3
3. Novikov, +0,5
4. Østberg, +0,6
5. Petter, +1,0
6. Tänak, +1,3
7. Hirvonen, 1,9
8. Neuville, +2,3
9. Wilson, +7,6
10. Prokop, +9,9

Efter SS8:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:40:15.8
2. Petter Solberg (N), 1:40:31.0 +15,2
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:40:38.9 +23,1
4. Mads Østberg (N), 1:40:48.3 +32,5
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:41:17.5 +1:01,7
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1 1:41:36.5 +1:20.7
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 1:41:50.8 +1:35.0
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 1:43:00.9 +2:45.1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 1:43:55.9 +3:40.1
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 1:44:22.3 +4:06.5
12-09-15 SS7; Østberg kammar hem sträcksegern
Mads Östberg kammar hem sträcksegern och var 0,4 sekunder före Latvala och 0,9 före Tänak. Det här var Mads första sträckseger sedan VM i Portugal. Latvala utökar sin ledning till Petter och Loeb.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det är mycket dimma i början av sträckan. Jag gjorde mitt bästa" Nobre
- "Sträckan var bra, bara lite dimma i slutet av sträckan" Al-Attiyah
- "Dimman kostade mig några sekunder" Atkinson
- "Det var mycket dimma i början" Prokop
- "Vi var lite för vilda och ner i diket" Wilson
- "Vi har ett hål nånstans under bilen som vi inte hittade igår, så vi har fullt med lera inne i bilen" Neuville
- "Det är bara så j-kla halt. Jag vet inte var vi kan göra några tider" Hirvonen
- "Vi tog ganska mycket tid på Hirvonen också. Det blir nog mer och mer halt. Jag är glad vi startar där vi gör" Østberg
- "Det var väldigt halt. Väldigt svårt. Jag försökte, men. Absolut inget grepp. Jag gör mitt bästa" Loeb
- "Det är mycket svåra förhållanden. Väldigt tidigt på sträckan stannade jag på sträckan. Det var svårt" Petter
- "Jag hade några moment i början av sträckan. Mycket halt och dimma" Latvala

På SS7
1. Østberg, 10:38.1
2. Latvala, +0,4
3. Tänak, +2,4
4. Novikov, +2,5
5. Loeb, +2,8
6. Petter, +2,8
7. Hirvonen, +6,7
8. Neuville, +15,6
9. Wilson, +16,2
10. Atkinson, +19,8

Efter SS7:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:35:44.2
2. Petter Solberg (N), 1:35:58.7 +14,5
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:36:07.6 +23,4
4. Mads Østberg (N), 1:36:16.4 +32,2
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:36:44.3 +1:00,1
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:37:03.9 +1:19,7
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 1:37:19.0 +1:34,8
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 1:38:27.3 +2:43,1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 1:39:17.0 +3:32,8
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 1:39:41.1 +3:56,9
12-09-14 Team Mates, Friends and Memories
'Hey everyone,
'Chris here again. We're at the end of the first proper day of competition at Wales Rally GB. It was a really long day covering six stages and a total of 146.46km. Overall I can say Stéphane and I had a pretty solid day in our MINI. No major problems and we're happy with how the MINI's working. We finished the day in 11th overall, but we can go quicker and that's the plan for tomorrow. We're taking it step-by-step, but we'll push a bit more.

'Our alarms went off pretty early this morning as we set off from the Llandudno Parc Fermé just after 6am after doing the Ceremonial Start last night. It was a pretty cool start by the sea with loads of people and good atmosphere. We also took part to in an autograph session with all the other WRC drivers - an impressive turnout and nice to meet fans from all over Wales and Great Britain.

'The first stage of the rally Dyfnant was a stage I had never driven before but it was a very nice stage and I found a good rhythm. Our speed this morning was ok - we aimed to be one second off the pace as an average over the weekend, we were one and a half seconds a kilometre on only our first day which was pretty good, especially making sure we didn't take any risks.

'We picked a brake problem at the end of the morning loop. Our MINI's brake pads started to overheat and it meant we had to slow down a little bit in the afternoon to avoid further damage. We'll change the brake pad material this evening at Flexi Service and hopefully we won't have the same problem tomorrow We'll be able to work on the set up and build the speed up. We kind of had to survive through the afternoon stages but overall I'm quite happy with the car. Tomo and I have a couple of good set-up ideas we want to try for tomorrow which we hope will work.


'The rain yesterday and the wet conditions under the shade of the trees made tyre choice for today pretty easy. We went with soft tyres as did all the other WRC drivers. The tyres had to be fitted on the MINI yesterday evening ready for today's stages, which made things a bit trickier as we had to do our weather summary yesterday and make sure the information was good for today, which isn't always very obvious in Wales. Everybody made the same choice for the afternoon loop as well at Remote Service in Newtown as the wear rate was such that nobody was concerned softs again it was and that worked well.

'Tomorrow it will be a bit more difficult to choose tyres as the stages are more abrasive and harder, but I think in all probability we'll stay with soft tyres in the morning and change to hards in the afternoon depending on the wear and how the tyres look at midday service.

'I really enjoy Rally GB. It's one of the WRC's classic events and this year is its 80th anniversary. Some of the stages here are legendary and it brings back many memories of some of the best and the worst times in the WRC - Petter winning the World Title in 2003 and the tragic loss of Beef in 2005 are just a couple of many.

'My team mate Paulo had a good day as well, he says that having competed here four times now he feels a bit at home. He likes Rally GB a lot and he's having a great time. He's an amazing guy, mint personality and his enthusiasm is infectious. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met and he really shows his passion for rallying and for life. It's nice when you travel so much around the world and you meet people like Paulo who really bring something positive to the experience.

'Well that's all for today from my side, tomorrow it's another big day and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we'll be able to do.

'Bye for now.
Atko
12-09-14 Latvala and Solberg deliver six of the best for Ford in Britain
Ford World Rally Team won all six speed tests in today’s opening leg of Wales Rally GB to hold first and second places. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila won four in a row in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car to build a 12.1sec lead over team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson, who were quickest in the opening two.

Seven Fiesta RS WRCs packed the top 10 leaderboard after the longest day’s competition in this 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The gravel roads in the mid-Wales forests were muddy and slippery after overnight rain. It was a surprise to drivers, who had expected drier than normal conditions for a rally that is traditionally held in wintry weather in November. However, Michelin’s soft compound tyres were perfectly matched to the slimy tracks and cool temperatures.

After last night’s start ceremony in the northern coastal resort of Llandudno, the route journeyed the length of Wales to reach Cardiff this evening after almost 14 hours at the wheel. Drivers tackled two identical loops of three long special stages covering 146.46km, split by just a 15-minute service zone in Newtown, before the opportunity of a well-deserved overnight halt.

Solberg grabbed the early initiative and opened a 2.3sec lead after winning the classic Dyfnant and Hafren Sweet Lamb tests. Latvala then powered to fastest time through the Myherin stage to climb from fourth to first as the drivers reached Newtown.

The 27-year-old Finn extended his 3.3sec lead by winning all three afternoon tests. Thirty-seven-year-old Solberg climbed to second in the penultimate stage, eventually ending the leg with a 9.2sec advantage over his closest rival.

“It was a tough day but I couldn’t be happier than I am tonight,” said Latvala. “The roads were wet and muddy but slippery roads suit me. The team has worked hard since the last gravel rally to improve the balance of the suspension at the rear of the car and our efforts paid off today.

“We can’t relax yet because our rivals will attack. Tomorrow’s stages were drier on the recce so unless it rains tonight, conditions should be better, and with a lower start order that will help,” he said.

Latvala had a lucky escape in the second stage when he ran wide and clipped a tree stump. Some wood became lodged between the front left wheel and the tyre, forcing the rubber partly off the rim. However, the tyre’s strength kept it inflated and he lost just a couple of seconds.

“It happened 4km after the start at a medium speed right corner. The air stayed inside the tyre but there was a big, big vibration which caused me to lose concentration for a few kilometres. I’m happy the tyre was so strong otherwise I would have had to stop and change it,” he added.

Solberg, too, highlighted the tricky driving conditions. “It wasn’t that much different from when the rally was in November,” he said. “It was wet and muddy in the morning and in the afternoon the surface was more polished, which made it even more slippery. It wasn’t easy.

“After winning the first two stages I decided to ease the pace a little for the third test, which I didn’t drive last year. I measured my speed on the split times of Sébastien Loeb ahead, but what I didn’t realise was that Jari-Matti was driving much faster behind! It’s a great start but if we want to keep first and second places then we have to keep pushing because we won’t get it for free,” he added.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted with the results tonight. “To win all six stages, with both drivers claiming stage wins, represents a fantastic day. We’ve done some work since the last gravel rally, after which we realised we had lost some speed compared to our rivals.

“We knew conditions would be different this afternoon compared to the morning, so we made some small but important set-up changes to the cars after the first pass through the stages. That raised our pace further, and first and second fastest in the last two stages was our reward,” he added.

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson enjoyed a clean run to hold fourth in a Fiesta RS WRC. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk are sixth, despite power steering issues throughout the day, ahead of team-mates Evgeny Novikov / Ilka Minor in seventh and Matthew Wilson / Scott Martin in ninth. Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza are 10th in the Czech Ford National Team car despite lacking sixth gear for all six stages.

Tomorrow’s Route
The second leg returns to familiar territory in the forests and on military land near Llandovery. After restarting at 06.30, competitors face two identical loops of three stages which are divided by a return to Cardiff for service. The day ends with a short test at Celtic Manor, which hosted golf’s Ryder Cup in 2010. Drivers return to Cardiff for the final overnight halt at 19.58 after seven stages and 95.36km of competition.

Leaderboard after Day 1
1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 25min 05.7sec
2. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 25min 17.8sec
3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 1hr 25min 27.0sec
4. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 25min 38.3sec
5. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 1hr 25min 59.5sec
6. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 26min 24.9sec
7. E Novikov/I Minor RUS Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 26min 38.5sec
8. T Neuville/N Gilsoul BEL Citroen DS3 1hr 27min 33.6sec
9. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 28min 22.7sec
10 M Prokop/Z Hruza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 28min 42.5sec

Stage Times
Stage 1: 1. P Solberg 11min 53.5sec; 2. Østberg + 1.5; 3. Latvala + 1.6; 4. Loeb + 1.9; 5. Hirvonen + 5.9; 6. Tänak + 12.9.

Stage 2: 1. P Solberg 14min 46.2sec; 2. Loeb + 0.4; 3. Østberg + 1.1; 4. Hirvonen + 2.7; 5. Latvala + 2.8; 6. Novikov + 14.6.
Overall: 1. P Solberg 26min 39.7sec; 2. Loeb + 2.3; 3. Østberg + 2.6; 4. Latvala + 4.4; 5. Hirvonen + 8.6; 6. Tänak + 29.9.

Stage 3: 1. Latvala 15min 55.1sec; 2. Loeb + 5.4; 3. P Solberg + 9.7; 4. Hirvonen + 10.9; 5. Østberg + 13.9; 6. Tänak + 19.1.
Overall: 1. Latvala 42min 39.2sec; 2. Loeb + 3.3; 3. P Solberg + 5.3; 4. Østberg + 12.1; 5. Hirvonen + 15.1; 6. Tänak + 44.6.

Stage 4: 1. Latvala 11min 45.9sec; 2. Loeb + 2.0; 3. P Solberg + 4.2; 4. Østberg + 5.0; 5. Hirvonen + 6.3; 6. Novikov + 11.6.
Overall: 1. Latvala 54min 25.1sec; 2. Loeb + 5.3; 3. P Solberg + 9.5; 4. Østberg + 17.1; 5. Hirvonen + 21.4; 6. Tänak + 59.2.

Stage 5: 1. Latvala 14min 44.9sec; 2. P Solberg + 2.3; 3. Østberg + 6.8; 4. Loeb + 10.0; 5. Tänak + 11.0; 6. Novikov + 11.1.
Overall: 1. Latvala 1hr 09min 10.0sec; 2. P Solberg + 11.8; 3. Loeb + 15.3; 4. Østberg + 23.9; 5. Hirvonen + 35.6; 6. Tänak + 1:10.2.

Stage 6: 1. Latvala 15min 55.7sec; 2. P Solberg + 0.3; 3. Loeb + 6.0; 4. Østberg + 8.7; 5. Tänak + 9.0; 6. Hirvonen + 18.2.
Overall: 1. Latvala 1hr 25min 05.7sec; 2. P Solberg + 12.1; 3. Loeb + 21.3; 4. Østberg + 32.6; 5. Hirvonen + 53.8; 6. Tänak + 1:19.2.
12-09-14 Bärarms- och drivaxelbrott stoppade P-G Anderssons VM-jakt under fredagen i Wales Rally GB
Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson är på plats i England där VM-deltävlingen Wales Rally GB körts under dagen. Dessvärre blev det inte något långvarigt rally för svenskarna i VM-ledning i SWRC (VM-klassen för Super 2000-bilar) idag.

Under den inledande sträckan fick de andra snabbaste tid, bara 4,4 sekunder efter huvudkonkurrenten om VM-titeln, Hayden Paddon. Under den andra sträckan fick Hayden problem och tappade närmare tretton mintuter. Efter en bra första sträcka tog det hela dessvärre sedan slut på SS2:
- "Bilen understyrde fruktansvärt mycket. När vi sedan kom i en hårnål vänster gick drivaxel och bärarmen sönder, med punktering som följd.

De forsatte och lyckades ta sig imål där de kunde konstatera förödelsen. Det var bara att kasta in handduken:
- "Det känns tungt. Speciellt eftersom vi aldrig slog i något".

Men det hela är långt i från över och de har har långt ifrån gett upp. På rallyts fjärde sträcka tvingades även Hayden Paddon kasta in handduken, vilket innebär att det hela åter är en öppen historia.

I morgon kommer de att starta om igen med så kallade superrallyregler, vilket innebär fem minuter i tidstillägg för varje missad sträcka.
Det innebär att -G och Emil startar om med drygt 20 minuter i tillägg. Hayden Paddon ligger nästan sju minuter efter svenskarna.

Craig Breen leder rallyt med dryga minuten före Yazeed Al Rahji. Tom Cave som kör den andra Protonbilen ligger trea, nästan två och en halv minut efter ledaren.

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där kommer vi kommer att följa rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Resulat Wales Rally GB efter dag 1
1. Craig Breen (GB) 1:30:36.9
2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SA) 1:31:50.9 +1:14,0
3. Tom Cave (GB) 1:33:03.0 +2:26,1
4. Maceij Oleksowicz (PL) 1:36:22.4 +5:45,5
5. Alistair Fisher (GB)* 1:49:51.8 +20:09,9
6. P-G Andersson * 1:50:34.9 +20:53,0
7. Hayden Paddon (NZ) * 1:57:32.4 +27:50,5
* = Superrallytid
12-09-14 SS6; Latvala utökar
Latvala kammade hem även den här sträcksegern, även om det var med knappa 0,3 sekunder gentemot Latvala och 6,0 före Loeb. Därmed leder han nu rallyt med 12,1 sekunder före Petter och 21,3 före Loeb.

Det var sista sträckan för idag. I morgon körs sju sträckor med start klockan 10:00.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi körde den svåraste sträckan hoppas jag" Neuville
- "Vi tappar tid. Vi hade inget grepp. Så halt och jag har förstört däcken" Hirvonen
- "Vi hade ingen chans. Greppet var för dåligt under andra halvan" Loeb
- "Tror vi hade rätt däckval och bilen går bra. Jag är väldigt nöjd med dagen" Petter
- "Jag har försökt. Jag är verkligen nöjd med min isats. Bilen fungerar bra och det är en suverän känsla" Latvala
- "Vi hade en bra dag utan misstag" Østberg

På SS6
1. Latvala, 15:55,7
2. Petter, +0,3
3. Loeb, +6,0
4. Østberg, +8,7
5. Tänak, +9,0
6. Hirvonen, +18,2
7. Novikov, +19,9
8. Neuville, +24,7
9. Wilson, +36,4
10. Prokop, +38,2

Efter SS6:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:25:05.7
2. Petter Solberg (N), 01:25:17.8 +12,1
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:25:27.0 +21,3
4. Mads Østberg (N), 1:25:38.3 +32,6
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:25:59.5 +53,8
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:26:24.9 +1:19,2
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 1:26:38.5 +2:27,9
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 1:27:33.6 +2:27,9
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 1:28:22.7 +3:17,7
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 1:28:42.5 +3:36,8
12-09-14 SS5; Latvala tog tredje raka - Loeb ner till tredje plats
Latvala var åter snabbast på sträckan. Tvåa blev hans teamkompis Petter som knuffar ner Loeb till tredje plats i resultatet.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det är lite trixigare. Men vi hade inga problem" Loeb
- "Det gick väldigt bra. Inget speciellt. Det är en trixig sträcka, väldigt hal på sina ställen" Petter
- "Jag gillade den verkligen. Det var faktiskt ganska halt, men bilen går bra" Latvala
- "Bra sträcka för oss. Men Jari och Petter kör bra" Østberg

På SS5
1. Latvala, 14:44,9
2. Petter, +2,3
3. Østberg, +6,8
4. Loeb, +10,0
5. Tänak, +11,0
6. Hirvonen, +14,2
7. Neuville, +23,1
8. Wilson, +24,1
9. Prokop, +33,6
10. Al-Attiyah, +43,2

Efter SS5:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:09:10.0
2 Petter Solberg (N), 1:09:21.8 +11,8
3. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:09:25.3 +15,3
4. Mads Østberg (N), 1:09:33.9 +23,8
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:09:45.6 +35,6
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:10:20.2 +1:10,2
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 1:10:22.9 +1:29,9
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 1:11:13.2 +2:03,2
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 1:11:50.6 +2:40,6
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 1:12:08.6 +2:58,6
12-09-14 SS4; Andra raka till Latvala
Latvala kammade hem andra raka sträckseger, 2,0 sekunder före Loeb och 4,2 före Petter.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Mycket bättre än förra gången. Jag hade bättre känsla nu" Neuville
- "Bilen är riktigt riktigt bra. Men jag förstår inte hur de andra kan vara så snabba. En del ställen är riktigt hala" Hirvonen
- "Väldigt halt. Det var en bra sträcka. Inga problem. Jag körde fullt. Vi får se" Loeb
- "Det går verkligen bra och jag har en mycket bra känsla i bilen. Det hör förvånande torrt på vissa ställen. Vi får se, vi har bara ett reservdäck" Latvala
- "Det var inte så dåligt, men jag måste vara lite rädd om däcken. Jag hittar inte rätt balans med två reservdäck och kör hellre på dåliga däck" Østberg

På SS4
1. Latvala, 11:45,9
2. Loeb, +2,0
3. Petter, +4,2
4.. Østberg, +5,0
5. Hirvonen, +6,3
6. Tänak, +17,6
7. Neuville, +20,8
8. Prokop, +1:07,6
9. Wilson, +1:12,6
10. Atkinson, +32,2

Efter SS4:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 54:25.1
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 54:30.4 +5,3
3. Petter Solberg (N), 54:34.6 +9,5
4. Mads Østberg (N), 54:42.2 +17,1
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 54:46.5 +21,4
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 55:27.3 +1:02,2
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 55:26.9 +1:01,8
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 56:41.6 +1:40,1
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 56:41.6 +2:16,5
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 56:50.1 +2:25,0
12-09-14 SS Latvala snabbast och ny ledare!
Latvala vann sträckan och övertog ledningen. Öven Loeb gick förbi Petter som nu ligger trea i rallyt.

vann sträckan och övertog därmed upp i ledningen i rallyt.

Nu är det remote service och SS4 startar igen klockan 14:13

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi får se tiderna bakom. Men jag hade en bra sträcka. Mycket svårt. Ibland sladdar man mycket, men det gick bra" Loeb
- "Han slog mig lite. De kanske hade två nya däck. Det är allt jag kan säga" säger Petter
- "Det här är min favoritsträcka. Jag var lite av vägen på förra sträckan. Det tog lite tid att få tillbaka sträckan. Vi behöver mer sånt här" Latvala

På SS3
1. Latvala, 15:55,1
2. Loeb, +5,4
3. Petter, +9,7
4. Hirovnen, +5,5
5. Østberg +13,9
6. tänak, +19,1
7. Novikov, +22,9
8. Neuville, +37,4
9. Prokop, +44,5
10. Wilson, +48,1

Efter SS3:
1. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 42:39.2
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 42:42.5 +3,3
3. Petter Solberg (N), 42:44.5 +5,3
4. Mads Østberg (N), 42:51.3 +12,1
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 42:54.3+15,1
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 43:23.8 +44,6
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 43:58.5
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 43:58.5 +1:19,3
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 44:20.2 +1:41,0
10. Martin Prokop (Pl), 44:33.7 +1:54,5
12-09-14 SS2; Petter snabbast igen
Petter var åter snabbast och är kvar i ledning. Loeb fick andra tid och klättrar upp på andra plats, före Mads Østberg.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det är lite torrare än förra, men på några ställen är det fortfarande halt och blött" Neuville
- "Vi slog i en sten på den här sträckan. Jag trodde jag fick en punktering och saktade ner lite. Vi vill ta tid, inte förlora" Østberg

På SS2
1. Petter, 14:46.2
2. Loeb, +0,4
3. Østberg, +1,1
4. Hirvonen, +2,7
5. Latvala, +2,8
6. Novikov, +14,6
7. Neuville, +16,8
8. Tänak, +17,0
9. Wilson, +25,8
10. Prokop, +37,1

Efter SS2:
1. Petter Solberg (N), 14:46.2
2. Sebastien Loeb (F), 26:42.0 +2,3
3. Mads Østberg (N), 26:42.3 +2,6
4. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 26:44.1 +4,4
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 26:48.3 +8,6
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 27:09.6 +29,9
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus), 27:11.4 +46,3
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 27:26.0 +46,3
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 27:37.0 +57,3
10. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 27:50.0 +1:10,3
12-09-14 SS1; Petter öppnar snabbast ut i Wales Rally GB
Loeb var snabbast på kvalificeringen i går och valde att gå ut som tredje bil. Thierry Neuville gick ut först och Hirvonen som andra bil. Petter, som går ut som fjärde bil, var dock den som satte snabbaste tid. Han var 1,5 sekunder före Østberg och 1,6 sekunder före Latvala.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Mycket lerigt och hallt och inga linjer på vägen" Neuville
- "Bilen var kanske lite för hård" Hirvonen
- "Okej. Det är inte lätt. Mycket lerigt och greppet ändras. Jag gjorde ingen bra sträcka, men jag ville inte ta för stora risker på första sträckan" Loeb
- "Jag är mycket nöjd" Petter
- "En bra start. Det här är den svåraste sträckan idag, men den var inte så dålig som jag trodde" Latvala
- "Det var en bra sträcka. Jag tog i hårt" Østberg
- "Väldigt utmaningen. Jag är inte nöjd med bilen. Men vi kanske hittar något på service sen" Tänak
- "Jag gillade det verkligen. En fantastiskt sträcka" Wilson
- "Det var verkligen trixigt så jag tog det ganska lungt" Atkinson

Efter SS1:
1. Petter Solberg (N), 11:53.5
2. Mads Østberg (N), 11:55.0 +1,5
3. Jari Matti Latvala (Fin), 11:55.1 +1,6
4. Sebastien Loeb (F), 11:55.4 +1,9
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 11:59.4 +5,9
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 12:06.4 +12,9
7. Evgeny Novikov (Rus) 12:10.6 +17,1
8. Thierry Neuville (B), 12:23.0 +29,5
9. Matthew Wilson (GB), 12:25.0 +31,5
9. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 12:25.0 +31,5
12-09-14 P-G och Emil med siktet inställt på ny seger för att utöka sin VM-ledning i Wales Rally GB!
Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson gick upp i VM-ledning i SWRC (VM-klassen för Super 2000-bilar) när de för en månad sedan vann VM-deltävlingen i Finland.

I morgon finns de på startlinjen när VM-rallyt drar igång i England. Då är det nämligen dags för Wales Rally GB. Rallyt är ett klassiskt grusrally som består av nitton specialsträckor som tillsammans är 324,46 km. Räknar vi in transportsträckorna är rallyt totalt 1.604,84 km.
- "Det är mycket snabba sträckor av blandad karraktär" berättar P-G efter att ha rekognoserat sträckorna "Det är både torrt och blött underlag, eftersom vädret växlar hela tiden mellan sol och regn".

P-G och Emil leder VM med sex poäng före Nya Zeeländaren Hayden Paddon och målet är självklart att försöka ta hem full pott även den här gången:
- "Fredagsetappen har jag bara kört en gång tidigare, 2008, men annars är det mest gamla klassiska sträckor som jag kört många gånger förut. Vi hade ett mycket bra test inför rallyt för en månad sedan, vilket känns än mer possitivt. Så jag ser verkligen fram emot det här och siktar självklart på seger" lovar P-G med ett skratt.

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där kommer vi kommer att följa rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

VM-tabellen efter Inför Wales Rally GB/SWRC
1. P-G Andersson 68 poäng
2. Hayden Paddon (NZ) 62 poäng
3. Majicej Oleksowicz (PL) 53 poäng
4. Craig Breen (GB) 243 poäng
5. Yazeed Al Rahji (Sau) 40 poäng

Tidsschema Wales Rally GB
(Svensk tid)
Fredag 14 september
09:13 SS1 Dyfnant 1 20,48 km
10:38 SS2 Hafren 1 24,87 km
11:19 SS3 Myherin 1 27,88 km
Service A
14:13 SS4 Dyfant 2 20,48 km
15:38 SS5 Hafren 2 24,87 km
16:19 SS6 Myherin 2 27,88 km
Service B

Lördag 15 september
Service C
10:00 SS7 Crychan 1 19,50 km
10:40 SS8 Epynt 1 8,50 km
11:09 SS9 Halfway 1 18,37 km
Service D
16:18 SS10 Crychan 2 19,50 km
16:56 SS11 Epynt 2 8,50 km
17:25 SS12 Halfway 2 18,37 km
19:34 SS13 Celtic Manor 3,0 km
Service E

Söndag 16 september
Service F
08:21 SS14 Port Talbot 1 17,40 km
09:21 SS15 Rheola 1 8,80 km
09:39 SS16 Walters Arena 1 14,90 km
Service G
13:05 SS17 Port Talbot 2 17,40 km
14:05 SS18 Rheola 2 8,80 km
14:23 SS19 Walters Arena 2 14,90 km
Service H
16:26 Målgång
12-09-12 Friendship, Qualifying and a Well Deserved Award
'Hey everyone, how you going?
'It's Chris here live from Wales Rally GB and ready to tell you all about what's been going on since my last column.

'After a two day test with the MINI on the Welsh gravel at Walter's Arena, the feeling with the car is great. We tried a lot of different things during the test and I think we're starting from a good base for the rally.

'The test was also great fun as my mates Colin Clark and Becs Williams from WRC Live joined the team for the day and we all had a great time together. I also took Col on a passenger ride through the test stage and he said he had 'the thrill of his life'. Well, judging from his screams that's not hard to believe. ;-)

'My team mate Paulo had a good laugh together earlier today when he gave me a Palmeiras jersey as a present with my name on it and the sentence 'How's it going maaaate?' which he thinks pretty much sums me up! :-)

'Back to Wales Rally GB I have to say it already feels like a pretty full on week. Yesterday we had a full day of recce where we drove a killer 700km and today we completed the remaining stages then immediately joined the team at Walter's Arena for Free Practice and the Qualifying Stage but more on that later.

'With the rally being run a couple of months earlier than usual the conditions are obviously a bit different from what we're used to. You can very rarely get dry weather in November, while you expect it more now during summer. There has been some rain over the last couple of days and a few of the stages were wet during recce, but it's different to November when you're close to zero degrees and you can easily find ice. On the other hand if the stages now are not wet it's a bit like Tarmac, the ground is very hard, compact and it can be very hard on tyres.

'I feel quite confident after recce, gravel is for sure a more familiar surface for me and I know most of the stages here at Rally GB. There are only three stages I've never driven but they're run in similar areas to others that I know. The first very stage of the rally - Dynant - is completely new but it feels like a very nice one where you have to be quite committed and even take a few risks to make a good time. Not an easy stage to start with and it was also wet and slippery when we recced it.

'I know the Day Two stages better, but with the good feeling we have with the car I hope we can set some strong times straight away. I won't push 100% from the beginning though, I'll see how the feeling is and work from there.

'As I mentioned today we did the Qualifying Stage which was our first one in the MINI and I feel it was quite ok. The time wasn't too bad and I think the feeling at start of the rally on Friday is quite good.

'I am really looking forward to tackling these stages, but before that we have a long drive tomorrow up north to Llandudno where we'll do the Ceremonial Start and a few other media activities.

'As you know I already knew some of the guys in the team from old times. For instance, my engineer Tomo and I have worked together in the past and clocked up some very good results together. Coming back and having him as my engineer again is really nice. He understands what I want from a car and he's a great guy to work with. The test was actually really good fun. We tried a lot of different things together trying to get the best out of the car and each other.

'Of course Tomo is well-known for loving his food and wine and he introduced me to a lot of new things. We share the same tastes in good food so it's always a pleasure to go for dinner with him. When we go back to the hotel we normally get on the internet and look for nice restaurants to go nearby or new places to try anything new or different. It's always a great way to relax and have a nice conversation with a friend.

'The highlight of the day was a very emotional moment, my co-driver Stéphane was awarded with the Michael Park 'Beef' Trophy for service to the WRC as a co-driver. Finland this year was his 150th WRC start!

'Stéphane has always been very loyal to me and I might be biased but in my opinion he's a truly top class co-driver

'Well, I'm going back to the hotel to relax a bit and maybe hit the gym for some training. I'll get back with a new column on Friday night after the first big day of competition - can't wait! :-)

'See ya
Atko
12-09-12 Michael Park 'Beef' Trophy
The Michael Park 'Beef' Trophy is awarded annually in memory of Michael Park, who died in a tragic accident during Wales Rally GB in 2005 while co-driving for his long-term partner Markko Märtin.

Michael is much missed by the entire World Rally Championship (WRC) community. To perpetuate his memory a group of friends and colleagues - inspired by Vincent Laverne - commissioned the trophy.

The bronze bust was created by French artist François Chevalier and was donated to Michael’s wife, Marie, and children, William and Victoria.

Each season a smaller replica trophy is awarded to a co-driver who has best demonstrated the qualities associated with Michael during his career, taking into account overall performances, attitude, commitment and other actions or achievements.

In 2006 the trophy was presented to Daniel Elena from Monaco. In 2007 it was awarded to Finland’s Timo Rautiainen, in 2008 to Denis Giraudet of France, in 2009 to Jarmo Lehtinen from Finland, in 2010 to Phil Mills from Wales and in 2011 to Ilka Minor from Austria.

The recipient is decided by a jury selected from the WRC community. For 2012 the jury comprised Paul Turner (Michael Park’s manager), Robert Reid, Mark Wilford and Vincent Laverne. They had four nominations from which to choose: Jonas Andersson (Norway), Daniel Elena (Monaco), John Kennard (New Zealand) and Stéphane Prévot (Belgium).

We are pleased to announce that in 2012 Stéphane Prévot has been chosen as the seventh winner of the Michael Park ‘Beef’ Trophy.

He made his FIA World Rally Championship debut in 1989 at Rally GB. He teamed up with Bruno Thiry for Opel in 1991 and has been a regular competitor ever since, first with Thiry, then François Duval and since 2007 with Chris Atkinson. Stéphane has also partnered other drivers including Stephane Sarrazin, Evgeny Novikov and Henning Solberg.

During his long career, he has worked with many top teams, including Opel, Ford, Toyota, Škoda, Peugeot, Citroën, Subaru and, in 2012, MINI.

August’s Rally Finland was Stéphane's 150th WRC start and this week in Britain he faces his 152nd event. He has yet to reach the top of the podium but has secured five second places, including the Ivory Coast Rally in 1992 and Mexico and Argentina with Atkinson in 2008.

The first 10 years of Stéphane's career were spent with fellow Belgian Thiry and they played a vital part in General Motors Europe winning the 1993 2WD World Championship. They joined Ford in 1994 and competed regularly in WRC for the team until switching to Subaru in 1999 and Skoda in 2001.

Stéphane teamed up with Duval in 2003 and joined Ford as team-mates to Markko and Michael. They achieved success together and in 2005 joined Citroen, but Stéphane later chose to leave the partnership. He co-drove with Sarrazin in 2006 at Subaru and teamed up there with Atkinson in 2007.
He showed great loyalty to Thiry and more recently to Atkinson, staying with him when Subaru departed the WRC and travelling to Asia Pacific regularly for three years to compete alongside the Australian for Proton and Škoda.

They currently lead the 2012 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and although they are missing Rally Japan this weekend to compete for WRC Team MINI Portugal in Rally GB, they plan to start in China in November and try to secure the title.

During the past four years, Stéphane has also competed in a variety of rallies around the world to support his family. He has also provided advice and guidance to many younger co- drivers and when not competing reverts back to his original status of rally fan and can be found on the stages of Belgian rallies with friends, family and supporters.

Paul Turner, Michael and Markko’s manager, has worked closely with Stéphane and described him as a ‘great guy’. “He is a hugely experienced but, at the same time, modest and unassuming co-driver who goes about his business in a low profile but utterly professional way, traits which were, of course, true of Michael as well.

“Michael always had a lot of time for Stéphane and I know he would absolutely approve of the decision to present him with this prestigious award today in Wales,” added Turner.

Stéphane was presented with the trophy by Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson in front of invited media, guests and friends of Ford at its Happy Hour reception in the Wales Rally GB service park in Cardiff on Wednesday 12 September.
12-09-10 Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
G’day everyone…
Yep, that’s right it’s Atko here – and I’ll be WRC Team MINI Portugal’s host for Rally GB. I’ve been round the world back now three times in the last month, but that isn’t the only reason my head’s spinning. It was under a month ago that I found out I was going to be catapulted back into the WRC full time for the remainder of 2012 in a MINI Countryman John Cooper Works WRC.

I’ll do my best in these releases to answer some of questions that have been put to me over the past few weeks and I figure a good place to start is at the beginning. I first met the guys at Motorsport Italia at Rallye Deutschland last year, with one key exception – Richard ‘Tomo’ Thompson, now their Chief Engineer, was my engineer for my WRC works programme in 2006/07. Seemed like a nice team, good people, but I couldn’t ever have predicted what would happen under one year on!

I followed the team growing from the start of this year (including by reading these very press releases – kinda weird now to be writing them!) when they first became work-supported and started working directly with the factory. The changes were huge and came event-on-event, which also meant that along with their technical capabilities, the opportunities that the team could provide a driver ramped up. All that meant that by the time we spoke pre-Germany about my joining the team for the rest of the season, I jumped at the chance.

The MINI’s a great car and I also love the process of feeding back to the team about how I think the MINI could be best improved and taking a longer-term view to progress and development. In such a close team, it’s easy to all become quite tight quite quickly and the enthusiasm for the project and aim always to be the best they can be immediately gave me a feeling that this was somewhere Stéphane and I would fit in.

Now it's time for Wales Rally GB, my second rally with WRC Team MINI Portugal. I've competed here four times before, my best result to date was 6th overall, but I really enjoy these roads when the conditions are good, which means no rain!

We have done the event once before at this earlier time of year - as opposed to November - and the roads are really fast and high grip. It's actually very tough on tyres. Gravel rallies are for sure my background and they have been the source of my best results, so I can't wait to get back in the MINI and tackle my first gravel stages in anger.

I have been training quite hard for Wales Rally GB back home on the Gold Coast for the past two weeks... I've been trying to mix up gym, cycling (road bike) and running! On Thursday before I left Australia I did 60km on the bike, 5km run, 40 minutes gym... then a ducked into the sauna and took a swim for recovery. I know it sounds hard but I feel really good after that. I even sneaked in. 50km bike ride today to try and fight off my jetlag.

I do cycling training with a few of the V8 Supercar drivers (Australia Touring Car Series) and also a couple of professional cyclists. It's a good group of guys and everyone is always pushing each other. I wish I could train more, but its great to spend time with my wife and daughter, especially when I am travelling so much at the moment. I also take my daughter Ayva swimming most days. She loves the water and that is always a bit of a workout chasing her around and throwing her in the pool.

It's amazing to be back in the WRC, especially with such a cool team and such a fantastic brand which makes it even more fun. In Germany - for me - I didn't rush my speed. I knew we could get a good result if we were patient, which is hard for any driver to do! But fortunately the car was really nice to drive, so I could just enjoy and finishing fifth was amazing for us.

Tomorrow and Monday we'll test to prepare for Wales Rally GB and I can't wait to get back in the MINI and try it on gravel.

I'll be back with more updates during the rally week. Stay tuned'
Atko
12-09-09 Ford Fiesta pair primed to continue Rally GB success story
Ford World Rally Team enters next week’s new-look Wales Rally GB (13 - 16 September) bidding to add to its long list of successes in one of the sport’s classic events. The Blue Oval has claimed the top step of the podium on 10 occasions since the launch of the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973, a record unmatched by any other manufacturer.

Current drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg are also no strangers to the winners’ laurels in Britain. Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila will defend their 2011 victory when they won by almost four minutes in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car, and Solberg, co-driven now by Chris Patterson, took four consecutive victories from 2002 to 2005.

Fiesta RS WRCs filled eight of the top nine places in 2011, but the 2012 event will be very different from last year’s encounter. Traditionally the final round of the championship in November, its hallmarks are rain, fog, ice and snow. However, a September date promises more benign conditions and this could be the fastest Rally GB ever.

Cardiff, capital city of Wales and located on the south coast, has been the rally base since 2000. The action takes place over narrow but fast gravel forest speed tests further north, more commonly used by lorries transporting timber.

Tree-lined tracks in the hilly woods contrast with wide-open sections on exposed military land, and log piles frequently line the roads ready to trap the unwary. The roads can become rutted during the second pass with exposed rocks presenting another hazard.

As well as their victories, both Fiesta RS WRC drivers bring a wealth of experience to the rally. Finland’s Latvala began his career in Britain and has more starts in this event than any other WRC round. This will be his 11th appearance. Solberg first competed in Rally GB in 1998 and this will be the 37-year-old Norwegian’s 15th start.

“I enjoy driving on narrow, fast, flowing roads like these and it’s one of my favourite rallies,” said 27-year-old Latvala. “We’re used to winter conditions here so if it stays dry then the characteristics of the event will change considerably. In dry weather the roads will give good grip and speeds will be high.

“One of the big decisions will be tyre selection. In the dry we should use Michelin’s hard compound rubber, especially as the surface in some forests is abrasive. But the allocation we’re allowed means we can’t do that for the entire rally, so it will be tricky to know when to use soft tyres and when to use harder rubber.

“In winter it’s important to identify muddy sections. If it’s drier it’s not necessary to pay so much attention to the surface, but I’ll need to concentrate harder in corners because the car will carry more speed. Logs are another hazard in Britain. They are often piled high on the side of the road and clipping one can break the suspension and end the day immediately,” added Latvala.

Solberg admitted that Rally GB was one of his pre-season targets for a strong result. “I’ve been very successful in Britain during my career and it’s a rally that suits me. I enjoy the forest tracks because they’re fast and a good challenge. You have to use the whole road – and sometimes a bit more – to keep the speed high,” he said.

“Accurate pace notes are important because overhanging branches often prevent a clear view of the road. The earlier date this year will obviously make a difference and I expect the roads will be faster and rougher in places. That could also make it tougher for the tyres.

“The team has worked hard since the last gravel round in Finland to unlock more speed. We were surprised at the pace of that rally and our priority is to ensure we are up there and challenging for a win,” added Solberg.

Team News
* Michelin’s Latitude Cross gravel tyres will be used by the Ford drivers, and will be available in both soft and hard compounds. Drivers have a choice of 30 soft tyres and 22 hard tyres, and a total of 35 can be used during the event. Teams are not allowed to hand-carve additional cuts into the tyres and each car can carry two spare wheels.

* Six crews will compete in privately-run Fiesta RS WRCs. Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk and Evgeny Novikov / Ilka Minor are nominated by M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. The team has also entered Matthew Wilson / Scott Martin and Jan Habig / Robbie Durant. Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson represent Adapta World Rally Team and Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza crew the Czech Ford National Team car.

* The team completes a three-day test in northern England today. Latvala drove on Wednesday and Thursday, with the first day being a development session before moving to specific pre-Rally GB work yesterday. Solberg is at the wheel today (Friday).

* Solberg will display a Fiesta RS WRC at CarFest North at Cholmondeley Castle in north-west England this weekend. The two-day festival on Saturday and Sunday (8 - 9 September) will raise money for the BBC Children In Need charity.

Rally Route
After a year when the route leaned more towards north and mid-Wales, the 80th anniversary rally has an increased emphasis on the south again. The main service park returns to Cardiff and the most northerly stages have been dropped. However, Llandudno, on the northern tip of Wales, continues to host Thursday evening’s start ceremony. Competitors then head south for an opening day in mid-Wales, with a remote service zone in Newtown. The second leg is based near Brecon, before ending with a short speed test at the Celtic Manor resort, host to golf’s Ryder Cup in 2010. The final day brings the return of stages in south Wales which were not used last year, before the finish in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon. Drivers tackle 19 stages covering 324.92km in a route of 1604.05km.

WALES RALLY GB ROUND 10 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
12 - 16 September 2012
Wednesday 12 September: Qualifying
QS Walters Arena 3.91km 14.00
Thursday 13 September: Ceremonial start

Start Llandudno 19.00
Friday 14 September: Day 1: Llandudno - Cardiff
Start Llandudno 06.00
SS1 Dyfnant 1 20.48km 08.13
SS2 Hafren Sweet Lamb 1 24.87km 09.38
SS3 Myherin 1 27.88km 10.19
RSZ A Newtown (15 mins) 11.58
SS4 Dyfnant 2 20.48km 13.13
SS5 Hafren Sweet Lamb 2 24.87km 14.38
SS6 Myherin 2 27.88km 15.19
Serv B Cardiff (flexi 45 mins) 19.12
Finish Cardiff 19.57
Total 146.46km

Saturday 15 September: Day 2: Cardiff - Cardiff
Serv C Cardiff (15 mins) 06.30
SS7 Crychan 1 19.50km 09.02
SS8 Epynt 1 8.31km 09.40
SS9 Halfway 1 18.35km 10.06
Serv D Cardiff (30 mins) 12.30
SS10 Crychan 2 19.50km 15.17
SS11 Epynt 2 8.31km 15.55
SS12 Halfway 2 18.35km 16.21
SS13 Celtic Manor 3.04km 18.30
Serv E Cardiff (flexi 45 mins) 19.13
Finish Cardiff 19.58
Total 95.36km

Sunday 16 September: Day 3: Cardiff – Cardiff
Serv F Cardiff (15 mins) 06.00
SS14 Port Talbot 1 17.35km 07.18
SS15 Rheola 1 8.87km 08.16
SS16 Walters Arena 1 15.33km 08.34
Serv G Cardiff (30 mins) 10.34
SS17 Port Talbot 2 17.35km 12.07
SS18 Rheola 2 8.87km 13.05
SS19 Walters Arena 2 15.33km 13.23
Serv H Cardiff (10 mins) 15.16
Finish Cardiff 15.36

Total 83.10km
Rally total 324.92km
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