WRC 2018

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by autohabit, Jan 9, 2018.

  1. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    WRC Italy


    Following his exit into the trees in the previous round, Ogier went into the Italian round with a points deficit to Hyundai rival Thierry Neuville

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    Citroen had taken a different policy after their fastest driver had also ended up in the trees on the previous round, Meeke had been released from his contract, opening the door for Breen to have a seat in every remaining WRC round for 2018. I am personally with Sébastien Loeb's thoughts, I know Citroen want to win the championship, getting rid of Meeke is not going to do that, but I don't run the team.

    Breen

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    Tanak

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    Evans had a disastrous start by breaking a steering arm, his only hope was to continue and try for bonus points on the final stage

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    Neuville

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    Ostberg

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    WRC2 winner Kopecky

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    A solid result for Citroen, but not a championship winning one

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    By the end of the rally, it was turning into a straight fight between the favourites. Neuville vs Ogier

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    It ended with one of the closest finishes in WRC history. The smile on Neuville's face tells a story...

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    Final results:

    1 Thierry Neuville Hyundai 3h29m18.7s
    2 Sebastien Ogier M-Sport Ford 0.7s
    3 Esapekka Lappi Toyota 1m56.3s
    4 Hayden Paddon Hyundai 2m55.2s
    5 Mads Ostberg Citroen 3m10.9s
    6 Craig Breen Citroen 4m31.7s
    7 Jari-Matti Latvala Toyota 11m22.1s
    8 Jan Kopecky Skoda 13m14.6s
    9 Ott Tanak Toyota 13m18.2s
    10 Teemu Suninen M-Sport Ford 15m30.4s


    Driver Championship points:

    1 Thierry Neuville 149
    2 Sebastien Ogier 122
    3 Ott Tanak 79
    4 Esapekka Lappi 70
    5 Dani Sordo 60
    6 Andreas Mikkelsen 56
    7 Elfyn Evans 46
    8 Kris Meeke 43
    9 Jari-Matti Latvala 37
    10 Craig Breen 34
     
  2. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    After a summer break, WRC is back. This weekend sees the fastest round of the WRC, Finland.

    M-Sport have been working on the other side of the pond, with Ford's motorsport division in North Carolina, they have come up with a new aero package, which it is understood only Ogier will have access to in Finland, due to lack of spares, so new is this development.

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  3. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Rally Finland

    Tanak put on a masterly display

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    Ostberg put in one of his best showings in recent times

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    Teenage sensation Roveanpera was dominating WRC2....

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    ….until a component failure

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    Ford's new aero package was given to Ogier, but the car was not competitive, he had to rely on his two team mates to let him through at the end

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    The only thing that really saved the day for Ogier, was his main rival Neuville finished even further behind. This was on top of a fine he received from the FIA, naughty boy

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    The Finnish based Toyota team had a good event

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    Suninen

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    Breen

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    Final positions

    1. Ott Tanak Toyota 2hr 35m 18.1s

    2. Mads Ostberg Citroen +32.7s

    3. Jari-Matti Toyota +35.5s

    4. Hayden Paddon Hyundai +1m 35.6s

    5. Sebastien Ogier Ford +2m 15.0s

    6. Teemu Suninen Ford +2m 29.5s

    7. Elfyn Evans Ford +3m 08.4s

    8. Craig Breen Citroen +3m 51.8s

    9. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +3m 51.8s

    10. Andreas Mikkelsen Hyundai +8m 37.4s
     
  4. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Rally Germany pics:


    Start at Saint Wendel

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    Moselle Valley

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    Pace setter Tanak

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    Sordo at service

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    WRC2 winner Kopecky

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    Sordo out

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    Hyundia i20 WRC & i30N (Apparently EVO Magazine were in town)

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    Can Tanak continue this run to challenge for the title?

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    Fianl positions

    1. Ott Tanak EST Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing 3hr 03m 36.9s

    2. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +39.2s

    3. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 00.9s

    4. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 34.5s

    5. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +2m 02.9s

    6. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2m 13.8s

    7. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +2m 39.1s

    8. Marijan Griebel GER Citroen DS3 WRC +10m 41.2s

    9. Jan Kopecky CZE Skoda Fabia R5 +13m 12.8s

    10. Kalle Rovanpera FIN Skoda Fabia R5 +13m 16.6s


    Championship standings after round 9 of 13

    1 Thierry Neuville 172
    2 Sebastien Ogier 149
    3 Ott Tanak 136
    4 Esapekka Lappi 88
    5 Dani Sordo 60
    6 Andreas Mikkelsen 56
    7 Mads Ostberg 48
    8 Craig Breen 47
    9 Elfyn Evans 46
    10 Kris Meeke 43
     
  5. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Porsche used the recent Rally Germany to try out a new prototype rally car.

    The Cayman GT4 R-GT was driven by Romain Dumas. It remains to be seen if Porsche will continue to develop the car.


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  6. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    The VW Polo R5 is due to make its debut on the Spanish round of the WRC in October. Likely drivers are Pontus Tiedemand and Eric Camilli, who have been developing on the car. This will mark the first since appearance of VW Motorsport at the World Championship stages since 2016.


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  7. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    The return of the Turkish round of the WRC

    Mikkelsen

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    Tanak, a clear illustration of how demanding the stages were

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    Up and coming British driver Chris Ingram, with a familiar sponsor on board

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    He finished and impressive 9th overall

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    3 wins on the bounce - Tanak is now a serious title contender

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    Final results:

    1 Ott Tanak Toyota 3h59m24.5s
    2 Jari-Matti Latvala Toyota 22.3s
    3 Hayden Paddon Hyundai 1m46.3s
    4 Teemu Suninen Ford 4m10.9s
    5 Andreas Mikkelsen Hyundai 7m11.7s
    6 Henning Solberg Skoda 13m40.6s
    7 Jan Kopecky Skoda 18m25.2s
    8 Simone Tempestini Citroen 19m37.1s
    9 Chris Ingram Skoda 20m21.3s
    10 Sebastien Ogier Ford 20m51.2s


    Driver standings after 10 of 13 rounds:

    1 Thierry Neuville 177
    2 Ott Tanak 164
    3 Sebastien Ogier 154
    4 Esapekka Lappi 88
    5 Jari-Matti Latvala 75
    6 Andreas Mikkelsen 75
    7 Dani Sordo 60
    8 Teemu Suninen 54
    9 Elfyn Evans 53
    10 Hayden Paddon 49
     
  8. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

  9. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Rally GB

    Tanak was into the lead again

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    Last year's winner, Evans was hot on Tanak's heels, setting second fastest time on stage 2 & 3

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    Championship leader Neuville

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    Latvala

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    Ogier needed a win, but was off to a bad start

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    To celebrate his 18th birthday, Rovanpera took WRC2 victory

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    Breen

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    Ostberg doing a bit of magic

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    Evans retired with a mechanical issue, and was followed by Tanak


    It went down to a battle between Ogier and Latvala


    Ogier pulled off a brilliant win, could he take another title before he leaves M-Sport?

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    A record fifth victory

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    Top Brit was Greensmith in 11th place

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    The boss was happy!

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    Final results:

    1. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 3hr 06m 12.5s
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +10.6s
    3. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +35.1s
    4. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +1m 10.4s
    5. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1m 14.4s
    6. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1m 15.9s
    7. Hayden Paddon ESP Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1m 18.4s
    8. Mads Ostberg NOR Citroen C3 WRC +1m 21.6s
    9. Kalle Rovanpera FIN Skoda Fabia R5 +9m 14.7s
    10. Pontus Tidemand SWE Skoda Fabia R5 +10m 48.9s
    11. Gus Greensmith GBR Ford Fiesta R5 +11m 28.3s


    2 rounds remaining, it's a 3 way battle for the title:

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  10. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    The 2019 WRC calendar has been revealed, with Chile hosting a round for the first time ever.


    2019 WRC calendar

    Monte Carlo Rally January 24-27
    Sweden February 14-17
    Mexico March 7-10
    Tour de Corse March 28-31
    Argentina April 25-28
    Chile May 9-12
    Portugal May 30-June 2
    Italy June 13-16
    Finland August 1-4
    Germany August 22-25
    Turkey September 12-15
    GB October 3-6
    Spain October 24-27
    Australia November 14-17
     
  11. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Next weekend's Catalunya rally could mark the end of an era, as it may be Sebastien Loeb's final ever WRC start.

    However, this week brought the news that Loeb's current employers (Peugeot), have a announced that they will withdraw from World Rallycross at the end of this year, so Loeb is currently redundant (but still signed to PSA)….


    9 Titles
    78 Wins

    A reminder of what it looks like to win 9 consecutive WRC titles, you meet some quite successful people along the way


    2004 Loeb - Schumacher

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    2005 Loeb - Alonso

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    2006 Loeb - Alonso

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    2007 Loeb - Räikkönen

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    2008 Loeb - Hamilton

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    2009 Loeb - Button

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    2010 Loeb - Vettel

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    2011 Loeb - Vettel

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    2012 Loeb - Vettel

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  12. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Can anybody remember how long ago it was since a non French driver won the WRC title?

    This weekend, the boys are back in town, here we have the title holders for the last 15 years.

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    Petter Solberg (Champion in 2003) is making his first WRC appearance since 2012 on this weekend's Catalunya Rally. He is debuting VW's new R5 Polo, can they win the WRC2 class on their first event?

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  13. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    This is what the interior of a modern rally car looks like, these pics are of of VW's new R5 rally car. Minimalistic springs to mind:


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  14. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Rally RACC Catalunya - Rally de España. The penultimate round of the WRC. Three drivers had their eyes set on the championship trophy.

    Tanak, Ogier & Neuville - Toyota, M-Sport Ford & Hyundai, this was going to be a titanic battle.

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    One more interesting ingredient to the event was the return of Sebastien Loeb, the Frenchman had not started the Catalunya Rally since 2012, but it should be remembered that he won this rally an unprecedented 8 times consecutively between 2005 and 2012.

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    The traditional shakedown stage before the event started did not go well for Neuville, no serious damage, apart from to his confidence perhaps

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    Catalunya is a now rare WRC mix of gravel and tarmac, day 1 would be held entirely on the loose stuff

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    Tanak was yet again the man to beat, building up a healthy lead

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    Loeb was expected to be at an advantage, running at a later starting position than his rivals, but it wasn't showing, he was 30 seconds down on Tanak after the first day in 4th place

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    Crazy rally spectators unfortunately still exist!

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    Rovanpera was leading WRC2 again

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    Title hopeful Neuville was in 9th place after day 1, he was hoping to do better now the event had switched to tarmac

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    Tanak punctured and had to stop in the stage to change a wheel, the lead was then fought out between Loeb, Sordo and Latvala.

    Latvala then also punctured!

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    Evans was finally having a strong run

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    Loeb was now on the attack

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    Just like the old days, it went down to the last stage, Loeb led Ogier by 3.6 seconds

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    It all went down to the final 14km super special stage, both Loeb and Ogier are absolute masters in these circumstances.


    But it was the old master who brought home the fairytale victory, by just 2.9 seconds

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    The old dream team back at the top!

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    Evans played an important part in the championship battle, he was able to run in front of Neuville and drag debris onto the road (Not that I'm saying he did that, but he was able to do so!)

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    Although now age 44, Loeb was able to roll back the years.


    Loeb can still do his celebratory backflip as well!

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    The only thing I can match Seb on is crap selfies [​IMG]

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    Final result:

    1. Sebastien Loeb FRA Citroen C3 WRC 3hr 12m 08.0s
    2. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +2.9s
    3. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +16.5s
    4. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +17.0s
    5. Dani Sordo ESP Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +18.6s
    6. Ott Tanak EST Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 03.9s
    7. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 16.6s
    8. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 26.4s
    9. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +2m 07.0s
    10. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2m 48.2s
    11. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +3m 52.0s
    12. Kalle Rovanpera FIN Skoda Fabia R5 +8m 39.6s
    13. Jan Kopecky CZE Skoda Fabia R5 +8m 48.1s
    14. Petter Solberg NOR Volkswagen Motorsport Polo GTI R5 +10m 16.2s


    Thanks to Evans keeping Neuville off the podium, Ogier now has a small points lead going into the final round in Australia. Even Tanak has a chance of the title if the other two hit trouble...

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  15. WonderBoy

    WonderBoy Member Forum Supporter

    This is more pure gold. Thanks for giving us super quality photography of our favorite subjects. I look forward to your posts with great pleasure.
     
  16. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Rally Australia - Championship showdown.

    With Ogier leading Neuville by just 3 points, this was going to be a tense rally. Should both of them hit trouble, then Tanak could steal the title.


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    Neuvile giving his rivals some good news! He was on the back foot from here on in.

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    Breen down at the beach

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    Evans was acting as support to Ogier

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    Tanak was flying, but would hit problems

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    Prize for the dumbest spectators goes to.....

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    Heading into the final stages, the tension was running high at M-Sport, all they needed to do was finish ahead of Neuville, and Ogier would take the drivers title

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    Latvavla was heading for his first win of 2018, he has now won a WRC round every year since 2008. He also has the most wins without winning a WRC title

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    Meanwhile, Ogier was in control

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    Lappi on his final rally for Toyota

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    Title hopes were all over for Neuville

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    A 6th consecuitive title for Ogier, and won the hard way, coming back from a big points defecit, in what was not the fastest car. A deserved champion.

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    A proud moment for Malcolm Wilson, it may be a long time before M-Sport take another title

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    Rally Australia - Final positions

    1. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing 2hr 59m 52.0s
    2. Hayden Paddon NZL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +32.5s
    3. Mads Ostberg NOR Citroen C3 WRC +52.2s
    4. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 02.3s
    5. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +2m 30.8s
    6. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +3m 05.1s
    7. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +8m 59.0s
    8. Alberto Heller CHI Ford Fiesta R5 +22m 28.5s
    9. Steve Glenney AUS Skoda Fabia R5 +27m 01.8s
    10. Jourdan Serderidis GRE M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC +35m 14.1s



    The final driver standing will go into the record books looking like Ogier had a comfortable title win, but it wasn't quite like that.

    1️. Ogier - 219
    2️. Neuville - 201
    3️. Tänak - 181
    4️. Latvala - 128
    5️. Lappi - 126
    6️. Mikkelsen - 84
    7️. Evans - 80
    8️. Paddon - 73
    9️. Sordo - 71
    10. Ostberg - 70


    Toyota took the manufacturers title

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  17. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Craig Breen is taking time off from WRC duties this weekend, driving this 6R4 on the Killarney Historic Stages Rally. Paul Nagle on the notes.

    Turn your speakers up and listen to this. Straight cut box, clunk, engage 1st and go! Sounds just like a rally car should.


    https://twitter.com/chrismouth/status/1068798971022376960


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  18. 89pgy

    89pgy Member

    Molls gap in car from above
     
  19. autohabit

    autohabit Moderator Staff Member Forum Supporter

    Last weekend it was WRC driver Teemu Suninen vs MOTO GP's Valentino Rossi at the Monza Rally. You would think Rossi must be at a massive disadvantage in the fact that he only gets into a rally once a year, but again he managed to beat a driver who has had a full season behind the wheel of a WRC car.

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    I seem to end up saying this every year, but Rossi is either lucky, or he should take up rallying. A record 7th win on this event!

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