2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 
BROTHER RALLY NEW ZEALAND
(21-24 JUNE 2012)

22.06.2012

The Citroën Total World Rally Team crews have dominated the opening day of Brother Rally New Zealand, Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen winning all but one of the stages. Loeb snatched the lead from Hirvonen in the final stage, but the battling team-mates are split by just four seconds this evening. Evgeny Novikov is in a surprise third, the Russian moving into the position when Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala went off the road in the penultimate stage.
 
Today’s 209.60 competitive kilometre route took in two identical loops of four stages south-west of Auckland with just one mid-day remote service in Raglan. After yesterday’s qualifying stage, different strategies regarding road positions saw Hirvonen, Petter Solberg and Loeb running at the front of the field and Latvala electing to start last of the leading drivers, hoping to capitalise on better conditions. This, and differing tyre choices this morning, proved key, with Latvala on soft compound tyres claiming the initial advantage. However, damper conditions in the following stages favoured the Citroën drivers running at the front - also with soft tyres - and Hirvonen powered into the lead after stage two. He and Loeb won all the remaining stages, with Loeb claiming the overnight advantage in the final stage. Solberg was also poised to capitalise on his start position, however the choice of hard tyres proved disastrous for the Norwegian who lost nearly 90 seconds in the opening loop. He has however climbed the leaderboard from seventh to fourth overnight.
 
After initially leading, Latvala was running in third position when he went off the road and got stuck in a fence in stage seven. He lost nearly four and a half minutes and overnights in ninth. As a consequence, Evgeny Novikov holds the final provisional podium position, but has a chasing Solberg on his heels just 8.3 seconds behind. Ott Tänak has had a trouble-free run to fifth and Thierry Neuville has recovered from a spin to hold sixth in his first Rally New Zealand outing. Dani Sordo suffered this morning, the Spaniard also on hard tyres and struggling with gear selection problems. Armindo Araújo and Latvala are now close in eighth and ninth respectively, with Ken Block rounding off the top ten.
 
Rally New Zealand – Provisional Results after Day 1

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
ACROPOLIS RALLY
(24 -27 MAY 2012)

27.05.2012

The Citroën Total World Rally Team crew of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena escaped a late scare in the Acropolis Rally of Greece to claim victory in the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished second, 40 seconds behind, with Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila taking the final podium position.
 
In the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Loeb now has a 30 point lead over team-mate Hirvonen, and Mads Østberg moves ahead of both Petter Solberg and Latvala. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, maximum points for Citroën gives it a 73 point advantage over Ford.
 
Today’s route was the shortest and covered two identical loops of two stages, before the closing Power Stage, in which Loeb, Latvala and Hirvonen claimed an additional three, two and one point respectively. The day was set to provide a thrilling showdown between Loeb and Solberg, the rivals just 10.2 seconds adrift at the start of the day. In the opening stage, however, Solberg went off the road and ripped a wheel off, ending all his hopes of challenging for victory. Loeb’s team-mate therefore moved into second, albeit nearly two minutes adrift. In the following stage, Loeb faced his own problems; the Frenchman forced to stop to change a wheel and dropping over 90 seconds in the process. However, his advantage ensured he maintained the lead and the Citroën team-mates were able to ease the pace to the finish in one-two formation. Latvala ran without problem on his come-back rally to take third. Mads Østberg claimed fourth, despite a spin, Martin Prokop fifth and Thierry Neuville had a trouble-free run to sixth. Sébastien Ogier was the lead Volkswagen Motorsport driver in seventh overall, his team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen forced to retire with damaged suspension.
 
The FIA World Rally Championship crews now head to the Southern Hemisphere for Brother Rally New Zealand (21-24 June).

Acropolis Rally – Provisional Final Results (subject to final scrutineering)

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 6 of 13 rounds)

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 6 of 13 rounds)

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
ACROPOLIS RALLY
(24-27 MAY 2012)

26.05.2012

Sébastien Loeb may have maintained his advantage at the head of the Acropolis Rally leaderboard, however the Frenchman is under attack from Petter Solberg and the pair overnight just 10.2 seconds adrift of one another. Mikko Hirvonen is now third, having benefitted when Jari-Matti Latvala sustained a puncture and plummeted from second to fourth, wrecking his hopes of challenging for victory.
 
Today’s leg took in two identical loops of four stages covering 149.56 competitive kilometres and was judged by all to be the toughest day of the event. Rain this afternoon also added to the challenge and most were simply relieved to return to the rally base in Loutraki this evening.
 
Loeb started the day with a 6.5 second advantage over Latvala but immediately came under fire and the Finn managed to close the gap to just one second after three stages. However, two stages later Latvala sustained a puncture and was forced to stop and change the wheel, dropping him more than three minutes. He retains a lonely fourth overnight. Solberg immediately took up the challenge for Ford and the Norwegian set a string of three fastest times to narrow the gap to 10.2 seconds this evening, setting the scene for an epic battle over tomorrow’s closing five stages.
 
Behind fourth-placed Latvala, Mads Østberg has moved from eighth to fifth after a trouble-free run today, while Martin Prokop maintains sixth and Thierry Neuville has moved into seventh. Sébastien Ogier lost the power steering this afternoon but holds eighth with team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen 10th.
 
Acropolis Rally – Provisional Results at the end of Saturday

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
ACROPOLIS RALLY
(24 -27 MAY 2012)

25.05.2012

Reigning World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb holds a slim 6.5 second advantage in the Acropolis Rally, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Frenchman overhauled Jari-Matti Latvala earlier in the day and the Finn ends the day second with Ford team-mate Petter Solberg third. All three are split by just 17.7 seconds after the longest day of the event.
 
The Acropolis Rally got underway yesterday afternoon in Athens and the crews then headed immediately to the first 25 kilometre stage, which was won by the recovering Latvala who returns to the wheel of the Fiesta RS after breaking his collarbone. The first full day today was gruelling for the crews with more than 700 kilometres of driving and 169.12 kilometres of competition over eight stages. The route – based around Itea – also only included two 15 minute remote services, during which competitors could only use spare parts carried in the rally car, before returning to Loutraki for the final 45 minute service and overnight halt
 
Loeb started the day in second position, just 2.8 seconds adrift of Latvala and, as both crews made small mistakes over the slippery and tricky gravel roads, the Finn managed to maintain his lead after the opening two stages. However, in SS4 Latvala locked up and stalled the engine in a particularly muddy corner, giving Loeb the advantage. The pair remained evenly matched throughout the rest of the day and this evening are split by just a handful of seconds. Solberg and Mikko Hirvonen have also been trading times in another close battle; Solberg coming out on top despite hitting a rock, damaging the suspension and sustaining a puncture earlier in the day, and benefitting when Hirvonen went off the road in the final stage. As a consequence, Solberg is now 31.9 seconds ahead.
 
Evgeny Novikov holds fifth, despite gear selection and turbo problems, with Martin Prokop sixth, the Czech driver spinning in two stages. Nasser Al-Attiyah has been pushing hard, but the Qatari’s co-driver has struggled with intercom problems, making pace note communication difficult for the duo. Mads Østberg dropped from fifth to eighth in the final stage, stuck off the road, and the two Volkswagen Motorsport drivers – Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen – hold ninth and 10th respectively.
 
Acropolis Rally – Provisional Results at the end of Friday

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY ARGENTINA
(26 - 29 APRIL 2012

29.04.2012

The Citroën Total World Rally Team crew of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena today claimed their 70th world rally victory, winning Rally Argentina for the seventh consecutive year. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished hot on their heels in second, just 15.2 seconds adrift after more than 500 kilometres of competitive driving. In a last minute drama on the final stage, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson clinched third position, following the retirement of Ford’s Dani Sordo.

In the FIA World Rally Championship, Sébastien Loeb extends his advantage but Petter Solberg retains second, despite finishing sixth. Third is held by Hirvonen with Østberg just two points further adrift in fourth. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Citroën’s one-two finish gives it a 45 point advantage over Ford, which has however reached a milestone by finishing 150 consecutive World Championship rallies in the points.

Today’s route was another full day of competition for the crews and covered six stages and 132.19 competitive kilometres. It also included the longest stage of the season to date, the 65.74 kilometre Matadero to Ambul section as the opening test this morning. The event then concluded with a short Power Stage, in which Solberg, Hirvonen and Nasser Al-Attiyah picked up an additional three, two and one point respectively for being fastest through this single stage.

Both Citroëns at the head of the field were in a position to manage the pace, such had been their advantage over Sordo since Saturday lunchtime. Both completed the day without problems. Sordo was on course for a fine third position in his one-off drive for Ford until he was forced on to the side-lines in the final stage with an alternator problem. Mads Østberg had little to gain by pushing to the limit and the Norwegian was elevated to third following Sordo’s retirement. Martin Prokop claimed his best world rally result with fourth and Thierry Neuville finished fifth. Petter Solberg managed to overhaul Sébastien Ogier for sixth position, Ogier in the sole remaining Skoda Fabia S2000 after his team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen was forced into retirement with broken suspension after a massive battle between the two. Evgeny Novikov, Al-Attiyah and Ott Tänak rounded off the top 10.

The FIA World Rally Championship crews now return to Europe for the Acropolis Rally of Greece (24-27 May).

Philips Rally Argentina – Final Results (subject to final scrutineering)

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 5 of 13 rounds)

 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 5 of 13 rounds)

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY ARGENTINA
(26 - 29 APRIL 2012)

28.04.2012

Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb continues to head the leaderboard of Rally Argentina, the French Citroën driver 7.2 seconds ahead of team-mate Mikko Hirvonen. Dani Sordo, deputising for the injured Jari-Matti Latvala, is flying the flag for Ford and remains third overnight.

Despite today’s route being shorter than yesterday, crews still faced 166.54 kilometres of competition over two identical loops of three stages, before returning to Carlos Paz for a second run around the short super special stage.

Loeb started the day with the narrowest 0.1 second of a lead over Hirvonen and immediately set the fastest time in the opening stage, inching further ahead of his team-mate. However, the Finn fought back in the following stages to claim two fastest times and come within 2.1 seconds of the lead, before Citroën confirmed its two drivers would hold positions to the finish, such was their advantage over Sordo. The Spaniard, in his one-off drive for Ford, continues to impress but was largely on the wrong tyres each stage this morning, resulting in him gradually slipping further adrift of the Citroens.

Mads Østberg is in a lonely fourth position, the Norwegian over a minute adrift of Sordo and with over six minutes in hand to fifth-placed Martin Prokop. Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen continue to run well in the Skoda Fabia S2000 cars run by Volkswagen Motorsport, Ogier now taking the advantage over his team-mate and the pair sixth and seventh respectively. After rolling yesterday, Thierry Neuville re-joined today and holds eighth, with fastest time in the super special stage. Petter Solberg set a string of three fastest stage times this afternoon and has climbed into ninth position ahead of Armindo Araújo. Nasser Al-Attiyah was the only leading casualty of the day, the Qatari retiring after hitting a rock and breaking the suspension.

Philips Rally Argentina – Results after Day 2

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY ARGENTINA
(26 - 29 APRIL 2012)

27.04.2012

At the end of an eventful opening day of competition in Rally Argentina – round five of the FIA World Rally Championship – reigning World Champion Sébastien Loeb heads the leaderboard. Team-mate Mikko Hirvonen is a mere one-tenth of a second adrift with Spaniard Dani Sordo now flying the flag for Ford in third.

This year, Rally Argentina’s route is the longest experienced in the World Rally Championship in nearly 10 years and the combined stage distance from Thursday’s super special stage and today’s first full day totalled 204 kilometres. Today, crews were faced with two loops of two stages of 37.51 and 51.88 kilometres, before rounding the day off with a 19.18 kilometre stage run in darkness.

Following last night’s super special stage in Carlos Paz – won by Petter Solberg – the action kicked off early this morning and provided drama from the outset. Loeb and Hirvonen, who started the day in eighth and 11th positions respectively, have largely escaped problems, although the Frenchman lost time this morning with three uncharacteristic spins. Sordo, replacing the injured Jari-Matti Latvala, has eased into the pace after just one day of testing in the Fiesta. He is third and looks set to be Ford’s highest finisher after Solberg broke the steering arms in the sister car and was forced on to the side-lines while leading the event. While able to return to the competition tomorrow, the Norwegian has an additional 15 minutes’ penalty for missing three stages. Mads Østberg is fourth, but an engine misfire has hampered his charge.

Nasser Al-Attiyah is fifth, but the Qatari has had his fair share of problems; a spin in the first stage and a problem with the front tyres in the second. He has also been suffering with neck pains. He is however closely matched with a handful of chasing drivers, including Martin Prokop, and Andreas Mikkelsen in the Skoda Fabia S2000. His team-mate Sébastien Ogier is just one position behind in eighth, having lost time earlier in the day with a puncture. Armindo Araújo is ninth and Thierry Neuville remains in the top 10, despite rolling earlier in the day. The Frenchman retired from the day, picking up penalties along the way. Other casualties from the day include Evgeny Novikov, who suffered a puncture early this morning and then took a wheel off the car in the next stage, and team-mate Ott Tänak who spun and got stuck off the road.

Philips Rally Argentina – Results after Day 1

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY DE PORTUGAL
(29 MARCH - 01 APRIL 2012

UPDATE

01.04.2012

UPDATE: Following final scrutineering, a report from the FIA Technical Delegate stated that the clutch fitted to Car No. 2 (Hirvonen/Lehtinen) was not in conformity with the Homologation Form A5733. The Stewards therefore excluded Car No. 2 from the event classification.
 
In addition, the turbo (turbine wheel) fitted to Car No. 2 appears not to be in conformity. However, the Stewards suspended a decision on this matter and requested that the FIA Technical Delegate carries out a further examination and reports the outcome to the Stewards for further consideration.
 
The Citroën Total World Rally Team crew of Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen today claimed victory in Rally de Portugal, their first win with the Citroën DS3 WRC. Despite last minute scares both Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson and Evgeny Novikov/Denis Giraudet finished second and third respectively after a dramatic and incident-filled fourth round of the world series.
 
In the FIA World Rally Championship, Hirvonen’s maximum points for victory see the Finn take the lead in the Championship, nine points ahead of team-mate Sébastien Loeb who retired from Rally de Portugal on Thursday. Petter Solberg eventually managed to climb into fourth in the overall classification and holds third in the Drivers’ Championship. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Citroën continues to lead Ford.
 
Today’s route took in another two loops of three stages and it was a dramatic day for a number of the crews. Behind Hirvonen, who cruised to the finish with a one minute 51.8 second advantage, Mads Østberg continued to experience engine problems, but it was Novikov who suffered worse with a throttle problem. The Russian nevertheless made it to the finish and the 21-year-old claimed his first-ever WRC podium placing.
 
Solberg’s fourth position came after a troubled event for the Ford team and Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed a last-minute fifth despite dropping time with a puncture. Martin Prokop lost time on the wrong tyres this morning but finished a fine sixth. Behind Dennis Kuipers in seventh, Sébastien Ogier finished eighth and Belgium’s Thierry Neuville claimed ninth after suffering two punctures in one stage. Spaniard Dani Sordo – who finished 12th overall – picked up points for victory in the Power Stage, and Jari-Matti Latvala salvaged two points in the same stage after another disappointing event that saw him finish 14th. Ott Tänak, 15th overall, claimed the final Power Stage point.
 
The fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews to South America for Rally Argentina (26-29 April).
 
Amended Rally de Portugal – Final Results
(Subject to the result of the appeal lodged by Competitor No.2 against Stewards Decision No. 8)

Amended FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 4 of 13 rounds)

Amended FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 4 of 13 rounds)

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY DE PORTUGAL
(29 MARCH - 01 APRIL 2012)

31.03.2012

Citroën Total World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen has extended his advantage at the head of the Rally de Portugal leaderboard and the Finn has his first victory since Rally Australia last year within his sights. Mads Østberg has climbed into second position today and has a comfortable cushion over third-placed Evgeny Novikov, the Russian on track for his first WRC podium finish.
 
Today’s route took in two loops of three stages totalling 148.16 competitive kilometres and provided much less tricky conditions after the atrocious weather yesterday which resulted in the cancellation of three stages.
 
While Hirvonen has not won any of the day’s stages, the Finn has driven steadily, avoiding problems and benefitting while others around him have suffered some problems. An engine misfire has slowed Østberg but the Norwegian has nevertheless climbed into second ahead of Novikov. Behind the leading trio, Nasser Al-Attiyah has moved from sixth last night to fourth, but has been battling with a charging Petter Solberg. After retiring yesterday, Solberg has fought hard to climb back up the leaderboard from 13th and ran as high as fourth until power steering problems dropped him back to fifth this afternoon. He has won four of the day’s six stages. Behind him, Martin Prokop lost time with an electrical problem and Jari Ketomaa – now 10th – suffered with no rear brakes. Sébastien Ogier has climbed into eighth and Dani Sordo has moved from 15th to 12th, having set two fastest stage times today. Jari-Matti Latvala’s run of bad luck continued again today, the Finn losing yet more time with a fuel pressure problem.
 
Sunday’s final day of competition takes in another two loops of three stages covering 115.08 competitive kilometres.
 
Rally de Portugal – Results after Day 3

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY DE PORTUGAL
(29 MARCH - 01 APRIL 2012)

30.03.2012

The second day of Rally de Portugal has been dramatic and treacherous, resulting in half of the day’s stages being cancelled for safety reasons due to extreme wet weather. So, at the end of seven stages, Citroën driver Mikko Hirvonen heads the leaderboard with Evgeny Novikov and Mads Østberg holding second and third respectively.
 
Today’s leg was scheduled to take in two loops of three stages totalling 132.68 competitive kilometres. However, storms overnight made conditions treacherous this morning and a number of leading crews ended up off the road and in retirement. Overnight leader Jari-Matti Latvala slid off the road; the Finn hit a rock, broke part of the suspension and the resultant damage put the car into a spin and down a bank. Ott Tänak, fourth last night, similarly went off, as did fifth-placed Thierry Neuville.
 
In the following stage, Petter Solberg – who inherited the lead from Latvala – retired stuck in a ditch, both drivers throwing away Ford’s hopes of a maximum points haul following Sébastien Loeb’s retirement yesterday.
 
Hirvonen therefore inherited the lead and has a 36.3 second advantage over Novikov, a fine overnight result for the Russian. Østberg has suffered his own problems, but the Norwegian is just 5.5 seconds further adrift in third. With the tricky conditions experienced this morning, the organisers of the event elected to cancel the repeat running of the stages this afternoon, such were the continuing adverse weather conditions.
 
Rally de Portugal – Results after Day 2