MIKKO & JARMO BREAK THE ICE Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen overcame a variety of extreme conditions – snow, ice and temperatures of around -30°C – combined with the handicap of being first out on the road to win the 2012 Rally Finnskog. The Finnish crew finished 30.5s ahead of their nearest rival. The event proved to be the perfect “warm-up” for the DS3 WRC ahead of the second round of the World Rally Championship this week. Competitors were greeted with arctic conditions for the one-day rally, which featured 117 kilometres of special stages through forests, in the Norwegian region of Svullrya. There were four timed stages in total, each to be completed twice, interspersed with three 30-minute service periods. The Citroën DS3 WRC began the first loop in the best possible fashion, setting the fastest time on all four stages, despite being first out on the road. “Our feeling with the car improved the further we went. Going first meant we had to clear the fine layer of snow covering the frozen ice,” explained Mikko. “We thought that the conditions would be better on the second runs, but they actually turned out to be more difficult due to the other competitors having completed their runs.” The Nordic crew held onto the lead in the second loop to claim top spot on the podium. “We are very happy to have won, and especially to have beaten the other WRCs competing here. This has confirmed that we found the right set-up in testing. The conditions were similar to those we will have at Rally Sweden, so we’re confident. We have a very positive feeling. The DS3 WRC is genuinely quick in the most extreme conditions,” concluded the Finnish driver.
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH TO START HIS FIRST RALLY WITH CITROËN Winner of the 2011 Dakar Rally and P-WRC Champion in 2006, Nasser Al-Attiyah is set to take part in his first rally behind the wheel of a Citroën DS3 WRC in Sweden. Competing as part of the Qatar World Rally Team, his co-driver will be the Italian Giovanni Bernacchini. Meanwhile, in the Citroën Junior World Rally Team, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul will continue to increase their experience of the World Rally Championship as they take part in Rally Sweden for the first time. This season’s only winter event, Rally Sweden is considered by many drivers as one of the most exciting races. The grip offered by the studded tyres enable the WRC cars to drift round corners at high speed, to the delight of the many Scandinavian fans lining the route. This year, the rally is being held across two countries: day one will be mostly run on special stages used in the 2009 Rally Norway. Having taken part in this year’s Dakar Rally, Nasser Al-Attiyah begins his WRC season in conditions that will be extremely different to those he faced in Argentina and Chile! The Qatari is not a beginner when it comes to ice and snow-covered stages, as he has already taken part in Rally Sweden three times (2004, 2007 and 2008). For his first rally with Citroën Racing, he has set himself modest targets. “Joining a team like Citroën is an achievement of sorts for me, but above all it’s the start of a new adventure,” said Nasser. “Being part of the best team in the world, alongside drivers like Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen, is a source of great joy for me and I hope to learn a lot by being around these guys. In Sweden, I am going to approach the rally with caution because my experience of racing on ice is fairly limited. Basically, the feeling is quite similar to what you get on sand. But you hit very high speeds and that’s what I am going to have to learn about.” In addition to the remaining twelve rallies in the World Championship, Nasser Al-Attiyah has a hectic schedule lined up this season. He will be aiming to win the FIA Middle East Rally Championship for the eighth time… and a medal in the London Olympic Games in clay pigeon shooting. “I'm training hard for that,” continued Nasser. “Two weeks ago, I equalled the world record with a perfect score of 150 targets hit. There are only three shooters in the world to have achieved that score, so that bodes well for the Games.” Three weeks after Rallye Monte-Carlo, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul will be taking part in their second rally in the Citroën Junior World Rally Team’s DS3 WRC. This will be a totally new experience for them: “I’ve never raced in conditions like these and so I don’t know quite what to expect,” admitted the Belgian. “I'm going to have to learn about how studded tyres work on ice and snow, so I fully expect it to feel strange. My aim is just to make it to the finish, no more than that. I am just starting to learn about the WRC and I have to rack up the miles on the road. We have been fortunate enough to join a very professional team and we’ll be listening to all the advice we are given to try and do a good job here…” Also having competed at Monte-Carlo, Peter Van Merksteijn and Eddy Chevaillier will line up at Rally Sweden in a Van Merksteijn Motorsport DS3 WRC. The Dutch driver has some experience of Scandinavian stages, having already competed in Sweden twice and in Norway once.
RALLY SWEDEN: A RALLY BEST SERVED CHILLED After the 2012 season kicked off in style at Rallye Monte-Carlo, the World Rally Championship moves on to Scandinavia for Rally Sweden, part of which will also be run in Norway. Following their convincing win in the Principality, the eight-time World Champions, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, will take on the Nordic drivers on their home soil. Winners here in 2010 and 2011, Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen will be looking to make it a hat-trick and also clinch their first victory with the Citroën Total World Rally Team. Before embarking on a series of six gravel rallies, the WRC heads north, to the ice and snow-covered terrain of Scandinavia. Based in Karlstad, the format of Rally Sweden (9-12 February) has been altered for the 2012 edition. Thursday will feature the first ever Qualifying Stage in the history of the World Rally Championship. Also to be used in the gravel rallies, this new system will enable the best drivers to choose their starting positions, thus eliminating problems related to clearing the road. Friday will be mostly run on special stages used in the 2009 Rally Norway. Winners of Rallye Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena return to an event where they have only won once (2004). Despite this, the eight-time World Champions will still be aiming to win the rally. “It’s perhaps not a surface on which I excel, but I love competing here. It’s actually one of the season’s most enjoyable rallies,” commented Sébastien Loeb. “If you look at my record here in previous rallies, it has often been the conditions that have made things more difficult for me. When I went off the road in 2008, it wasn’t really a winter rally as the above-zero temperatures had turned the ice into mud. Last year, I finished sixth but lost any hope of winning after clearing the road of freshly-fallen snow on the first day and then picking up a puncture… When the stages have roads covered with a good layer of sheer ice, I think I'm just as fast as my rivals.” Regularly, if not almost always, handicapped by clearing the roads in previous years, Sébastien Loeb is unsurprisingly pleased about the changes made this year to the sporting regulations: “I thought the previous system was unfair, as the Championship leader was penalised at the start of each rally. Now I will only have myself to blame if I end up being poorly placed on the road. It won’t be easy, however, to choose the right position in the start order. In Sweden, the first few cars on the road leave a layer of crushed ice behind them that reduces grip as soon as you stray slightly off the racing line. But going first can be a disadvantage if there has been any snowfall overnight, leaving powdery snow on the roads. We mustn't overlook any of the factors.” As part of its preparations for this event, Citroën Total World Rally Team conducted testing in Norway with Mikko Hirvonen and then Sébastien Loeb. The Finn also took part in Rally Finnskog on Saturday and won! “Mikko has joined the team with his own experience and he has helped improve the set-up of the DS3 WRC on ice,” added Seb. “I tried his set-up and I immediately felt confident. We have made a lot of progress compared with 2011.” “After winning the last two editions of Rally Sweden, obviously my goal is to win again,” confirmed Mikko Hirvonen. “I think that it will be a more closely-fought race than at Monte-Carlo, simply because we will all have the same tyres from start to finish. Personally, it is a new challenge, which is very motivating for me.” Three questions to… Mikko Hirvonen How did it feel to complete your first tests with the Citroën DS3 WRC on ice? “It was very enjoyable to drive in conditions that I really love. Unlike Monte-Carlo, where the grip changes all the time, ice provides a very consistent level of grip. In the first few kilometres, my feeling with the car was mixed. We worked with the engineers and ended up finding the right balance for the extreme conditions that are typical in Sweden and Norway. I was very pleased with the result at the end of the session; I think we’re ready!” Do you think you can clinch a third consecutive win in Sweden? “I think we have a car that can win. But even though we have done well at this rally in the last four years, it is still going to be a difficult challenge. We have worked hard in testing but the Citroën DS3 WRC is still new to me. I can’t predict what my level of confidence will be on the stages but yes, I think I have chance of winning.” You took part in the Rally Finnskog on Saturday in Norway. What was the point of racing there? “Rally Sweden is an important event for Jarmo and me. We wanted to maximise our chances of getting the best possible result on one of our preferred surfaces. We have done a lot of work in testing, but there is always a difference between a test run that you complete ten times or more and then the actual stages, in race conditions. Rally Finnskog gave us the chance to confirm our feeling with the car in conditions similar to those we’ll have at Rally Sweden.”
ANDREAS WARMS UP IN -30°C ŠKODA RUN ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver Andreas Mikkelsen has successfully completed his second and final pre-season warm-up event by battling through -30°C temperatures and driving with frozen toes to finish 5th on Rally Finnskog. Three weeks after winning the Mountain Rally, Andreas and co-driver Ola Fløene (who celebrated his 43th birthday on 1 February) were back in Norway to compete on another snow rally in their Intercontinental Rally Challenge title-winning ŠKODA Fabia S2000, which is now owned and run by the Evenrally team. The extreme winter conditions were ideal practice for this weekend’s Rally Sweden, with a great deal of snow and ice covering the eight forestry stages near the host village of Svullrya, situated 85 miles (137kms) north-east of Oslo. A spin on SS3 and a puncture on SS7 denied Andreas hopes of S2000 victory, but he was pleased to have achieved what he’d set out to do on Rally Finnskog – find a good rhythm and pace on narrow studded snow tyres. He ended the event in typical style, setting a time on the final stage that was just 6.2 seconds behind rally winner Mikko Hirvonen and 6.5 seconds behind stage winner Mads Østberg, who were both driving more powerful World Rally Cars. Andreas: “Rally Finnskog was a very good test before Rally Sweden. The biggest difference between this rally and what I’m used to in the IRC were the snow tyres, so it was a very good test to get used to the narrower studded ones. I’m satisfied with the pace and overall it has been a great day. On the last stage I was just over six seconds behind Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Østberg who were both running World Rally Cars, so I was really pleased about that. “It has been terribly cold – the temperature dropped to minus thirty degrees and I have frozen toes. The stages were really nice and now I feel that I am where I should be before the WRC round in Sweden.” The ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver will be on loan to Volkswagen Motorsport for the forthcoming Rally Sweden, which starts in Karlstad on Thursday night (9 February). Andreas’ main focus for 2012 is the defense of his IRC Drivers’ title with ŠKODA UK Motorsport, which begins on the Sata Rallye Azores (23-25 February). Rally Finnskog results (top 10) 1. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Citroën DS3 WRC)….1hr 02mins 30.7secs 2. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor (Mitsubishi EVO)….+30.5secs 3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (Ford Fiesta WRC)….+49.8secs 4. P-G Andersson/Emil Axelsson (Proton)….+2mins 56.6secs 5. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)….+3mins 01.7secs 6. Eyvind Brynildsen/Cato Menkerud (Ford Fiesta WRC)….+3mins 02.5secs 7. Anders Waterhouse/Trond Svendsen (Subaru Impreza)….+5mins 08.1secs 8. Marius Aasen/Veronica Engan (Ford Fiesta S2000)….+5mins 13.1secs 9. Anders Kjær/Morten Erik Abrahamsen (Renault Twingo R2)….+10mins 42.6secs 10. Ole Morten Korsmo/Tore Hellerud (Volvo 240)….+11mins 29.4secs
HIRVONEN’S FIRST PODIUM FINISH WITH CITROËN With clear gaps already established between the frontrunners, the third and final day of Rally Sweden saw no changes at the top of the overall standings. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen ended their second rally with the Citroën Total World Rally Team by securing second spot on the podium. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena keep the lead in the Drivers' World Championship with the points awarded for sixth place and the best time in the Power Stage. Citroën also holds onto its first position in the Manufacturers’ World Championship. Much shorter and compact than the first two days, day three of Rally Sweden was run on stages not far from the service park: Lesjöfors, Rämmen and Hagfors, a stage previously used in 2010 and also the venue for the Power Stage at the end of the rally. A fine layer of fresh snow had fallen overnight and covered the roads as the drivers set off through the forests. Lying second, 23s behind Jari-Matti Latvala, Mikko Hirvonen had few illusions early in the morning about his chances of making up the ground under normal rallying conditions. During the first loop of the three stages, he lost about ten seconds to his rival: “I wasn’t comfortable on the first stage, we made some changes to the set-up but I found the car difficult to drive on the narrow sections.” Sébastien Loeb, who wasn’t particularly looking forward to the Power Stage, pursued his somewhat lonely race in sixth: “I have rarely driven on stages as unpleasant as those here. Obviously, it’s very slippery but there are also large rocks everywhere, so it’s difficult to push hard without taking huge risks.” More comfortable on his second runs, Mikko Hirvonen closed the gap to Latvala to 8.4s after his rival picked up a puncture on Lesjöfors 2 (SS22): “It was a very complicated stage, with a lot of gravel. I am pleased that I felt good in the car again. Jari-Matti’s puncture put him under a little bit of pressure, but I’ll keep to my race plan. First and foremost, we have to finish the rally.” After Latvala gave himself some breathing space on the penultimate stage, attention turned towards the Power Stage. Having looked after his Michelin X-Ice North tyres during the two long stages, Sébastien Loeb decided to push to try and get the fastest time and the three bonus points that go with it. He achieved his final goal, covering the stage over a second quicker per kilometre than second-placed Petter Solberg: “I can’t be happy with the result, but we managed to do the main thing, which was to achieve the best possible point scoring in the circumstances,” acknowledged the eight-time World Champion. “We still lead the World Championship going into a long series of gravel rallies. Unlike Sweden, I have always done well in Mexico and I can’t wait to bounce back there.” Runner-up Mikko Hirvonen moves up into second position in the Drivers’ World Championship standings: “I can’t be totally satisfied as I didn’t win but the result is nonetheless a positive one. We worked well with the team and my feeling in the car has improved further. Although we are going to totally change surface for the next few rallies, all of this will be useful to me in the next event.” “Loeb and Hirvonen top the Drivers Championship and Citroën is also top of the Manufacturers’ standings: these are the key points we’ll take away from Rally Sweden,” concluded Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal. “We think the DS3 WRC more than matched its competitors in terms of out-and-out performance, but the rally just didn’t quite go our way! I am also pleased that our five cars made it to the end of the rally without any mechanical problems at all. That’s a great performance, which is down to the work put in by every member of the Citroën Racing team.”
VALUABLE LESSONS FOR NEUVILLE AND AL-ATTIYAH Rally Sweden, with its very specific road conditions, was the venue for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giovanni Bernacchini’s first competitive outing in the Citroën DS3 WRC. The Qatar World Rally Team crew achieved their goal by reaching the finish without making any mistakes. It was very much the same story for Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul (Citroën Junior World Rally Team), who learned a lot throughout the three-day event. After he missed Rallye Monte-Carlo to take part in the Dakar Rally, Nasser Al-Attiyah began his WRC programme with Citroën Racing at this season’s only winter rally. On a surface with which he is certainly not familiar, the Qatari knew he would have to show restraint and focus on accumulating experience. “My aim is not to set fast times, it is just to get to know the car, the team and their working methods better so we can prepare for the gravel rallies. I'll therefore be going at a sensible pace,” confirmed Nasser. Throughout the three days of the rally, the Qatar World Rally Team driver stuck very precisely to his plan. Making changes to the set-up of his DS3 WRC from the half-way stage of the rally onwards, he felt that the confidence acquired here would be extremely useful to him for the rest of the season: “I came into this rally having done very little testing. I am pleased to have completed all the stages and I enjoyed driving here. By trying different set-ups, I was able to assess the way that the car responded on the road. Although the next rally is on gravel, the experience acquired here on ice will be very useful. I am also very happy to have scored the Qatar World Rally Team’s first points in the Manufacturers’ World Championship.” Also still learning about WRC, Thierry Neuville had started with a similar mindset to Nasser. Growing in confidence as he negotiated more stages, the Belgian produced some good performances, finishing in the top 10 on seven of the 24 stages. “This was the first time I have driven in conditions like these, so it was all new to me. Sometimes, I had to make a lot of corrections to my pace notes, which were a little bit optimistic,” specified the Citroën Junior World Rally Team driver. “When I felt good in the car and the road conditions were less tricky, I pushed more and my times were better. I think this experience also means that I will go into the next few rallies with a little more confidence.” Peter Van Merksteijn Jr. and Eddy Chevaillier also made it to the finish without making any mistakes. “This is an achievement for me,” said the Dutch driver. “I was worried about being caught out by the many pitfalls at this rally, but I managed to find the right pace to enjoy myself in the car. Driving on ice is great fun!”
VOLKSWAGEN DRIVER OGIER TAKES CLASS VICTORY IN RALLY SWEDEN The Volkswagen factory team successfully concluded its test outing in the Rally Sweden, round two of the FIA World Rally Championship 2012, and gained valuable experience for future rallies with the Polo R WRC. Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia (F/F) took class victory with their Škoda Fabia; their team mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene (N/N) clinched third place. With more than 200,000 spectators looking on, the teams regularly left more powerful WRC cars trailing in their wake on the way to 11th and 14th in the overall standings. ‘The Rally Sweden is one of the real highlights of the World Championship season since it is only here that spiked tyres are used on snow and ice throughout the entire event. The character is unique and it was equally important for our team to collect experience in order to be as well prepared as possible next year with the Polo R WRC,’ explained Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. ‘Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen effectively controlled the Super 2000 class and were not only fast in the process, but also drove very reliably and within their limits – our two Fabias ran without problems, so many thanks to our team also for the excellent work.’ The Rally Sweden, which consisted of over 350 kilometres run against the clock on 24 special stages in the Swedish province Värmlands Län and in neighbouring Norway, provided spectators with rallying in its most spectacular form. The high speeds, long drifts and big jumps on icy tracks set the hearts of the many rally fans who lined the stages racing. Compact special stages close to the service park in Hagfors and head-to-head duels around the floodlit horse racing course in the start and finish area in Karlstad also inspired the spectators. The two Škoda Fabias fielded by Volkswagen Motorsport numbered among the crowd’s favourites from the very beginning. Sébastien Ogier took the S2000 class lead on the opening stage. With eight top-ten results and much to the enjoyment of the many fans he repeatedly moved into the leading group of the more powerful WRC. He said: ‘That was a very good rally for us. I’m very happy with our class win. The conditions on the stages were better than expected and it was great fun to drive here. Our pace was very good and because our team mates were also very fast the rally was interesting and informative for the entire team. After all is said and done and it was also the first rally on snow and ice with spiked tyres for our team.’ Not even a puncture on the 12th stage or changing the fuel filter after the 18th stage could slow Ogier/Ingrassia. The 22-year old current Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) Champion Andreas Mikkelsen enjoyed the stages through his Norwegian homeland on Friday and was able to match his team mate’s pace throughout, before losing valuable time and a near certain second position in the class after suffering a puncture on the 22nd special stage. ‘My second rally with Volkswagen was a very, very good experience – it was obviously a great shame to lose second place within sight of the finish. Our first event together last year was the first WRC rally for the team. It was great to see just how much the team has developed since then. The teamwork is fabulous,’ said the Škoda UK driver who, together with co-driver Ola Fløene, contests selected rounds of the WRC for Volkswagen this year and otherwise aims to defend his IRC title. ‘When compared with the IRC events you must change your approach a little in the WRC. The rallies are longer, but at the same time you have fewer opportunities during the service breaks. You can’t drive so uncompromisingly, but want to be just as fast.’
PROTON WINS 2012 FIA SUPER WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP IN SWEDEN 16 February 2012: PROTON, which has a franchise portfolio of 75 dealerships throughout the UK, has enjoyed its first ever victory in the 2012 FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC). With Per Gunnar Andersson claiming a dominant drive in the Satria Neo S2000, he finished more than three minutes clear of his nearest rival in Rally Sweden. Andersson finished the 24 special stages three minutes 35 seconds ahead of Ford’s Craig Breen and 4 minutes 49 seconds in front of Skoda’s Pontus Tideman. He was also placed 12th overall ahead of some of the main World Rally Championship (WRC) competitors en route to clinching his third successive win at his Swedish home event. Andersson and co-driver Emil Axelsson led the S-WRC class from start to finish, making the most of local knowledge, experience and a competitive package to steer the Satria Neo S2000 to victory in the snowy, icy and cold conditions of the Swedish countryside. “What a phenomenal weekend it has been and a well deserved victory for PROTON after only two rounds of the S-WRC. We knew that we had a very competitive car at the very start of the season in Monte Carlo and we have proven just that in Sweden. The Satria Neo S2000 was dominant throughout the weekend,” said Andersson, who looks back on what could have possibly been two victories in two rounds (of the Championship) for PROTON had it not been for an engine fire three stages to the finish at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally. Rally Sweden attracted the participation of 85 entries and covered a competitive distance of 360km over four days. “Andersson drove a dominant rally to make an impactful introduction for PROTON in Sweden and the World Rally Championship circuit, underlining both the team and brand’s commitment to excel,” said John D. Chacko, PROTON’s Director of Group Marketing, Branding and Motorsports. Victory in Sweden promotes PROTON to officially joining not only the ranks of rally’s elite, but is its first in the European hemisphere since the Satria Neo S2000 made its competition debut in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2009. PROTON’s best finish up until now had been second place at the 2009 IRC Rally of Scotland, although the Satria Neo S2000 did go on to dominate and win the 2011 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) driver’s and manufacturer’s titles. “It has been an incredible journey to get here (victory for PROTON). As we celebrate this moment, I assure you that development work continues to ensure that the Satria Neo S2000 enhances its competitiveness throughout the season. It is still too early in the season and there is still plenty to be done to if Andersson is to make a strong bid for this year’s S-WRC title,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, the Head of PROTON Motorsports. With Monte Carlo and Sweden now over, PROTON is due to compete in another three of the seven S-WRC rounds in 2012.
PG is a very good driver, really deserving of a proper drive. Sadly no chance to match the cash of the pay-to-drive people.