Rally of Great Britain : Hirvonen triumphs in Japan

Hirvonen triumphs in Japan

2006 Wales Rally GB

Les Kolczak

22 November 2007, 10:19 am

Rally Japan could well go down in history as the most dramatic and unpredictable of all this seasons WRC rounds. We have been accustomed to tantalisingly close and sustained battles between Finland’s Marcus Grönholm and France’s Sébastien Loeb, but for both these giants of the World’s special stages to retire from the same event is unheard of.

First to go was Ford’s team leader in SS4, the Rikubetsu stage, when his Focus RS left the road and subsequent damage to his cars internal safety cage put him out of the rally, which he lead after SS3.

Leob’s retirement was for a more unusual reason; an incorrect pace note in what turned out for the Citroen driver to be unlucky stage 13.
The Citroen driver confirmed that a pace note error was to blame for his “off” in the first running of the Niueo stage on Saturday after his co-driver, Daniel Elena called out a wrong instruction.

A clearly disappointed Loeb said,” After Marcus's retirement on Friday, even finishing second would have given us enough points to regain the lead in the Drivers' Championship. I felt very confident following the changes we made to the set-up of my Citroen C4 and, although I wasn't taking any undue risks, I hadn't given up the idea of trying to take the lead. Then, approaching a right-hand corner, Daniel got a note wrong and we were too quick into the turn.” He added this was his co-driver's first mistake in 10 years.

An on-form Jari Matti-Latvala, fastest on Stage 1, briefly regained the lead until stage five in his Stobart-backed Focus RS, when fellow Finn Mikko Hirvonen moved ahead to hold and gradually increase his advantage until the final stage today (Sunday).

Although Petter Solberg and his Welsh Co-driver Phil Mills retired on Friday’s opening day with gearbox problems, they were able to continue under SuperRally rules and set four fastest times in their Subaru.

Cumbria’s Matthew Wilson bettered the atrociously wet and slippery conditions to finish a career-best fourth overall in his Stobart Focus RS.

Reigning British Champion Mark Higgins (Mitsubishi) was 20th, despite starting the rally with a broken collar bone.

The final showdown in the World Rally Championship now increasingly looks set to be decided on Wales Rally GB.

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.