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Ford team boss throws Latvala a lifeline
Mikko Hirvonen wins Rally Poland but Latvala fears for his seat!
Championship Standings after round 8
Videos from Poland WRC Ford team boss throws Latvala a lifeline
Ford's rally team boss Malcolm Wilson has confirmed that Jari-Matti Latvala will drive a BP Ford Abu Dhabi car on the next WRC round in Finland.
Speaking after Latvala crashed out of second place on Rally Poland today, Wilson admitted Latvala's learning process was proving to be 'slightly longer' than he would have liked.
Wilson said: "Every time he makes a mistake it always tends to be a different type of situation, but I'll say this for sure; without any question this the biggest mistake of his career."
"I'm still in a state of shock about what actually happened. It is now many years since I was a spectator at any stages, because every time I went we always seemed to have a problem. Needless to say, I did not expect to see what I did at the Super Special stage right in front of me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
"You can imagine the shock for all of us. The whole team were there; hopefully ready to celebrate a fantastic one-two victory on a new rally. It went there and then. Three days of a great job just evaporated in front of everyone. Just unbelievable..."
In the past Wilson has likened Latvala's high-speed but accident-prone nature to that of a young Ari Vatanen - the man who went on to win the 1981 World Championship. But this evening Wilson said he was 'running out of ideas' about how to get the 24-year-old back on track.
"It is difficult at this moment in time," he said. "We were really in a position to challenge for the Championship. I am not saying that is dead and buried, but we sure have a mountain to climb. We have invested in Jari-Matti for a long time. He made good progress in Sardinia but unfortunately here you can see now we are back to square one again."
Wilson said that although the chance to get just six points away from Citroen in the title race had disappeared, his team wouldn't give up the fight.
"Yes it's made the manufacturers' championship far more difficult, but five weeks ago a lot of people thought we had no chance," he said. "We're back. We're actually leading the drivers' championship. It's made [the manufacturers'] much more difficult but you can never rule anything out. Who would have thought that Sebastien would have crashed on two consecutive rallies?" (www.wrc.com) HIRVONEN’S TRIUMPH!
Mikko Hirvonen claimed his ninth WRC win in the ORLEN Platinum 66th Rally Poland on Sunday.
A second successive WRC triumph also moved the Finnish driver a single point clear of seventh-placed Sébastien Loeb in the FIA Drivers’ Championship. Driving a Ford Focus RS and co-driven by Jarmo Lehtinen, Hirvonen began the day with a 12-second lead and finished 1m 10.3s clear of Dani Sordo
“It is unbelievable to win the event and what a fantastic, exciting rally,” admitted Hirvonen. “I have the lead now in the championship and the next event is at home in Finland.”
But Ford’s triumph was marred by a shock accident on the final super special stage, when Jari-Matti Latvala threw away second position and eight Manufacturers’ Championship points for the Blue Oval. He struck a barrel, collided with the armco and damaged the Ford’s suspension. It was a shocking mistake by Latvala.
The stunned Finn tried to push his Focus to the stage finish, but the incident infuriated his team and handed the advantage back to Citroën in the Manufacturers’ Championship. The French team now heads to Finland with a 17-point lead in the series.
Spaniard Dani Sordo challenged hard for two days, but he lost valuable seconds on the first stage of day three and looked like settling for third position and six crucial championship points for the Citroën team until he was handed second on the super special.
Sébastien Ogier was able to pull away from both Henning and Petter Solberg during the day to consolidate fourth overall, but the promising Frenchman ground to a halt in the 16th stage with engine failure and Henning eventually beat his brother to seal third position when Latvala was sidelined.
Krzysztof Holowczyc and Matthew Wilson became embroiled in a bitter fight for sixth, with the three-time Polish event winner sneaking up on the Briton throughout the morning. But Wilson hit back in SS16 and clung on to the end to ensure the Stobart team claimed their 250th championship point for an eventual fifth position.
Holowczyc duly recorded the first points for a Polish driver in WRC history and beat his former career-best finish of seventh in the Rally of Argentina in 1998.
Former runaway championship leader, Loeb, wrecked his chances of a sixth win of the year on the fourth stage. He struggled through the field from 32nd overall at the end of day one to eventually seal seventh, when predicted team orders dictated that Conrad Rautenbach and Evgeny Novikov became the sacrificial lambs to make way for the World Champion.
Pole Michal Bebenek finished 10th and won Group N in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
Kevin Abbring and Michael Kościuszko entertained the crowds with a stunning display of car control in the JWRC category, but a 16th stage collision with a rock cost the Pole a much-needed finish and ensured the Abbring entered the record books by becoming the youngest winner (20 years, 159 days) of a JWRC round in WRC history.
Poland’s first event in the modern-day FIA World Rally Championship and its first entry into the top flight of rallying since 1973 was heralded as a great success. Massive crowds – with an estimated 12,000 at the televised final Mikolajki stage alone - witnessed the action in the Mazurian Lake District of north-east Poland.
Leading drivers likened the fast, flowing gravel stages to Finland and the rally benefited from a compact route and slick organisation, although inclement weather made on-stage conditions challenging from the start. Sunday – SS14/SS18
Ford’s team principal Malcolm Wilson openly admitted that the first run through the Milki and Tros stages would be critical in determining whether Hirvonen could hold on to his 12-second overnight lead.
Sordo had been instructed to continue pushing hard by Citroën management but the Spaniard lost 18 vital seconds in the latter section of the Milki stage, when he misjudged a slow corner, and a flying Latvala reduced Hirvonen’s lead to just 9.5 seconds and likened the stage to the Manx Rally.
An impressive Ogier set the fastest time and beat both the factory Fords. Henning Solberg managed to re-pass his brother and reclaim fifth position, when Petter complained of engine oil smearing his windscreen, caused by a loose dipstick.
Holowczyc closed to within 18 seconds of seventh-placed Wilson, Novikov punctured and Mads Ostberg lost his place in the top 10 after sliding off the road.
With Sordo slipping out of realistic contention for the top two, Hirvonen and Latvala began to manage their stage pace more accurately using split times in Tros.
A fraction of a second separated them in the stage, while Loeb was up to 12th overall and questions were being asked whether Citroën management would instruct Novikov and Rautenbach to ease back for the sake of the French team’s challenge for the FIA Manufacturers’ Championship. Holowczyc maintained his quest for Wilson’s seventh place and the gap closed to just 10 seconds.
The contest was all but settled in Hirvonen’s favour through SS16. Latvala obeyed the Ford instruction to ease his pace and the pair of Ford Focuses headed into the second Tros stage firmly on course for victory. But no-one could have predicted the agonizing drama and the dramatic scenes that unfolded on those final kilometres for Latvala.
Ogier’s dream of fourth position faded in Milki with engine failure, as Henning Solberg remained on course to pip his brother to fourth overall.
Abbring headed Kościuszko by just 0.8 seconds at the start of day three in the JWRC category and the pace was fierce through the Milki stage, with the Pole retaking the lead by just one tenth of a second. The gap rose to 1.8 seconds after Tros to set up a thrilling climax to the JWRC over the final three stages.
But fate dealt Kościuszko a cruel hand in SS16; the Pole left the road after hitting a rock, scraped a tree and damaged the radiator. He managed to get got going again before stopping for a second time with engine problems. Abbring duly inherited the lead with open arms, Martin Prokop saw his championship aspirations rekindled with second place and Frenchman Yoann Bonato overcame an oil leak to take third. ORLEN Platinum 66th Rally Poland – positions after SS18:
1. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN) Ford Focus RS 3h 07m 45.8s
2. Dani Sordo (E)/Marc Marti (E) Citroën C4 3h 08m 37.8 s
3. Henning Solberg (N)/Cato Menkerud (N) Ford Focus RS 3h 09m 33.2s
4. Petter Solberg (N)/Philip Mills (GB) Citroën Xsara 3h 09m 51.8s
5. Matthew Wilson (GB)/Scott Martin (GB) Ford Focus RS 3h 11m 45.0 s
6. Krzysztof Holowczyc (PL)/Lukasz Kurzeja (PL) Ford Focus RS 3h 12m 01.4s
7. Sebastien Loeb (F)?Daniel Elena (F) Citroën C4 3h 26m 42.5s
8. Conrad Rautenbach (ZW)/Dale Moscatt (AUS) Citroën C4 WRC 3h 26m 48.1s
9. Evgeny Novikov (RUS)/Dale Moscatt (AUS) Citroën C4 WRC 3h 26m 53.7s
10. Michal Bebenek (PL)/Grzegorz Bebenek (PL) Mitsubishi 3h 30m 36.2s 2009 Drivers' Championship - positions after round 8 of 12 1. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) 58 pts
2. Sébastien Loeb (F) 57 pts
3. Dani Sordo (E) 39 pts
4. Henning Solberg (N) 27 pts
5. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 25 pts
5. Petter Solberg (N) 25 pts
7. Matthew Wilson (GB) 19 pts 2009 Manufacturers' Championship - positions after round 8 of 12 1. Citroën Total World Rally Team 106 pts
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 89 pts
3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 60 pts
4. Citroën Junior Rally Team 29 pts
5. Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team 18 pts JWRC 1. Martin Prokop 36pts
2. Michal Kosciuszko 36pts
3. Aaron Burkart 30pts
4. Kevin Abbring 22pts Mikko Hirvonen wins Rally Poland!
BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Mikko Hirvonen has won his second consecutive WRC event by claiming victory on the brand new Rally Poland, round eight of the World Rally Championship.
The momentous win, the ninth of his career, promoted Hirvonen, 28, into the lead of the drivers' championship standings with a one point lead over Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb; the man who has won the title for the last five years.
In blazing sunshine, and in front of thousands of spectators, Hirvonen completed the rally closing Super Special without a hitch and drove his Ford Focus onto the finish podium with a winning margin of 1min 10.3sec.
But just as Hirvonen was sealing victory on the final 2.5km head-to-head stage, his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala - on course to complete a one-two victory for Ford - was throwing it all away.
In an almost unbelievable twist of fate, Latvala clipped a sand barrel on the apex of a corner and broke the right-hand steering arm of his Ford Focus. At the next corner his car speared into a metal barrier - wrecking its suspension and getting stuck fast. After a frenzied effort to get the car free again a distraught Latvala and his co-driver Miikka Anttila eventually resorted to pushing it. Retirement came shortly after.
The drama handed second place to Citroen Total team driver Dani Sordo who, despite a determined attack through Saturday morning's stages, had looked all but certain of third place today. In the event, that place went to Henning Solberg of the Stobart VK M-Sport team.
Hirvonen held the lead of the rally since Friday's second stage when he snatched the position from Loeb. However, any chance of an ongoing battle with his rival evaporated on the very next stage when the Frenchman retired after hitting a tree stump.
Watching from the finish line as Latvala's drama played out in front of him, Hirvonen was totally stunned. "I can't believe what I'm seeing," he said.
Later, Hirvonen gave a fuller account of his feelings. "For me it was a fantastic rally from start to finish," he said. "When Sebastien made his mistake on Friday, I thought it would be a good. Sordo pushed us harder than we expected on Saturday but on these roads I really enjoyed the fight. Okay, despite Jari's mistake we're still in the lead of the drivers' championship by one point, and this is the first time I've ever won two WRC rallies in a row, so that feels good. Now I want to make it three in a row on my home rally in Finland."
"I still don't really know what to say about Jari-Matti," he added. "It's definitely something you wouldn't expect to happen. It came at a really, really bad time. There was no pressure on him but mistakes do happen."
Dani Sordo was happy with his unexpected last minute promotion. "Third place was not bad, now second is better but I'm really disappointed for Jari-Matti," he said. "The rally has been a good for me. Yesterday I tried to pressure the guys ahead but on the second passes my speed wasn't there. I will try and work on the situation before Finland. I have a test planned before the rally and I will try something different in the car to give me more confidence."
Latvala's last stage catastrophe and eight points for Sordo was a huge disappointment for Ford in the manufacturers' contest. A maximum 18 points would have pulled the squad to within six points of Citroen. Instead Citroen head to Finland 17 points ahead.
After finding his best form on the rally's final day, Henning Solberg was delighted to bring his Ford home in a podium place. "Wow, what an end to the rally," he said. "I've been struggling with the feeling but today it came much better. Now I'm really looking forward to Finland; that will be my rally. I will have the right pace on Friday there."
Petter Solberg was fourth in his 2006 specification Xsara and felt his place relative to the other drivers' cars was about right. "I have to be realistic; this is the best result I could get," he said. "Earlier in the event Ogier and Henning should have been beating me, so to keep up with them in this old girl isn't bad. Maybe we would have done better without the oil on the screen today, I don't know."
Briton Matthew Wilson brought his Stobart Team Ford Focus home in fifth. "It's been tough but enjoyable; the stages here are awesome," he said. "Getting consistency in the pace notes is tough, but it’s been really good preparation for Finland and it will be a help to have had three days driving at these speeds. We took it steadier today but this afternoon we had to push because Holowczyc was getting a bit too close."
Sure enough, the Stobart team's Polish guest driver Krzysztof Holowczyc finished sixth to become the first Pole to score points in the World Rally Championship. A three-time winner of Rally Poland, most recently in 2005, Holowczyc said he had enjoyed himself at the wheel of his Ford Focus.
"I was last in a World Rally Car five years ago and it's amazing how they’ve changed!" he said. "It’s been a fantastic rally and this is my best WRC finish ever - which was a big surprise at the end. I have to thank the fans, I have never seen so many people and flags and their energy and the atmosphere has really helped me along."
After his Citroen-assisted salvage job today Sebastien Loeb brought his C4 to the finish in seventh to collect two drivers' points and four for Citroen in the manufacturers' championship. "It's better than nothing," he shrugged. "Even one point could be very important so I'm happy to take them. This has been a rally to forget for me. I hope it will be much better next time."
Citroen Junior Team driver Conrad Rautenbach finished eighth to take the last drivers' championship point. (www.wrc.com) More on www.WRC.com and www.rajdpolski..pl |
