Rally of Great Britain : BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team - News after stage 3

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

5 December 2008, 1:42 pm

Rally GB - after stage 3, Myherin 1 Treacherous road conditions greeted drivers in mid-Wales as this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship began this morning. Following last night's start ceremony next to Cardiff's festive winter wonderland show, competitors discovered winter wasn't quite so wonderful when they entered the remote forests more than 150km north. Snow and ice covered the gravel tracks in many places and organisers last night cancelled more than half today's scheduled 123.68km of competition on safety grounds. More freezing temperatures overnight brought the cancellation of the already shortened 3.67km Hafren speed test, due to open the action this morning, because of ice.

The action finally began with the shortened 4.28km Sweet Lamb special stage and the early starters found conditions hazardous. BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila were ninth in their Focus RS World Rally Car, with team-mates and 2007 winners Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen 11th in a similar car.

Latvala was then fastest through the reduced 18.28km Myherin to reach the service area in Builth Wells in third, just 3.9sec from the lead. "I couldn't see where the slippery parts were in Sweet Lamb but started to gain confidence in Myherin, although I had two close escapes on ice near the finish. The tyres are working well on the gravel, which they are designed for, but it's hard to stop the car in the ice and snow. It's a shame the stages have been shortened because they are great roads but it's the right decision. I would be happy on these roads with winter tyres, but not with this rubber," said Latvala.

Hirvonen was 11th in Myherin to hold 11th overall, the 28-year-old Finn admitting he was too cautious. "Conditions were difficult but maybe I was too steady. I need to step up my pace now and while I need to be cautious, I don't need to be this cautious. I can see the lines on the road from Sébastien Loeb ahead of me so I can follow those and get more grip, but it's hard to stop on the ice with gravel tyres. It would have been too dangerous to run the first stage because the grip was changing all the time – from gravel to ice to snow. Conditions are improving with every car so those further down the start order have had the better of the morning," said Hirvonen.

Khalid Al Qassimi, on his debut here, and Michael Orr lie 27th in a third Focus RS WRC, the Abu Dhabi driver admitting: "I don't have confidence in these conditions and I have to learn what to do."

Leaderboard after stage 3 of 19
1. S Ogier/J Ingrassia  FRA  Citroen C4 13min 55.0sec
2. M Østberg/O Unnerud  NOR  Subaru Impreza 13min 57.3sec
3. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN  Ford Focus RS 13min 58.9sec
4. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE  Suzuki SX4 14min 01.7sec
5. S Loeb/D Elena  FRA  Citroen C4 14min 03.1sec
6. C Atkinson/S Prévot  AUS  Subaru Impreza 14min 05.5sec
7. P Solberg/P Mills  NOR  Subaru Impreza 14min 06.0sec
8. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN  Suzuki SX4 14min 07.8sec
9. D Sordo/M Marti  ESP  Citroen C4 14min 08.6sec
10 F Duval/D Giraudet  BEL  Ford Focus RS 14min 10.0sec

For more information: Contact Mark Wilford or Georgina Baskerville on the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team media desk in Cardiff Tel: + 44 2920 668408. Images available on www.worldrallypics.com/ford

Sebastien Loeb has won Rallye Monte-Carlo for a sixth time following a dominant performance behind the wheel of the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with Monegasque co-driver Daniel Elena.

Of the 74 starters who began Wales Rally GB in Llandudno on Thursday 10th November, 40 were classified at the end of the four-day,1860 kms rally which featured 23 timed special stages as it wound its way from the North coast to the ceremonial finish in Cardiff.

As this year's Wales Rally GB - the final and deciding round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship - draws to a close, Business Minister, Edwina Hart has announced a funding package of £1.4 million for the 2012 event.