|
THE START OF RALLY
D’ITALIA SARDEGNA
Tomorrow sees the
start of Rally d’Italia Sardegna
Sardinia, the sixth round of the World
Rally Championship and the third round
of the Junior WRC. The Opening Ceremony
will take place tomorrow evening at
20.00 (8.00pm) in the enchanting port
town, Porto Cervo.
Tomorrow afternoon,
the drivers will be busy completing
Shakedown, tests for their competition
cars, at Mount Pinu. On Friday,
competition will come alive with the as
day one commences. A total of 1.035
kilometres will be covered and a total
344.73 competition kilometre will be
attacked over 17 special stages, on the
forest roads of Sardinia, in three
interesting provinces, namely,
Olbia-Temple, Nuoro and Sassari.
The 2008 Drivers’
Championship seems to be very uncertain.
After the first five rallies already run
(Monte Carlo, Sweden, Mexico, Argentina
and Jordon), Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) leads
the series with 35 points. The 27 year
old Finn finished in second place in
Monte Carlo and in Sweden, fourth in
Mexico and fifth in Argentina. He won in
Jordon two weeks ago, his first win
since Rally GB in Wales four months ago.
Loeb holds second
position in the 2008 Driver’s
Championship with 30 points: he has won
three times already this season, in
Monte Carlo, Mexico and Argentina. The
French driver is set to win in Sardinia
for the third time. Last year, he went
off-road during the third stage in San
Giovanni.
Australian driver
Chris Atkinson (Subaru) surprisingly
holds third place in the Driver’s
Championship on 28 points. He has had an
impressive start to the season finishing
rallies with some good placings. In fact,
he finished third in Monte Carlo and in
Jordon and second in Mexico and in
Argentina.
The second Ford
driver, 23 year old Jani Matti Latvala
is currently in fourth position with 18
points: he is the rising star of the
Finnish rally! He got his first victory
in Sweden in February, finished third in
Argentina and seventh in Jordon.
Daniel Sordo
(Citroen) is in fifth place with 17
points. The Spanish driver finished in
second place in Jordon, third in
Argentina and the sixth in Sweden. He
prefers racing on the asphalt, but he is
improving on the gravel roads and in
Sardinia he has always done very well,
finishing in third position in 2006 and
2007 and winning in 2005 in the Super
1600 classification.
Italian WRC
driver, Gigi Galli (Ford) is sixth in
the world classification with 12 points,
thanks to a third place in Sweden, sixth
in Monte Carlo, seventh in Argentina and
eighth in Jordan. This is a rally that
Gigi Galli knows very well and he always
pushes hard for a good result in his
home country. Gigi Galli could fight for
the podium and also for a world victory
that the Italian rally sport has missed
since 1997, when Peter Liatti and
Fabrizia Pons won in Monte Carlo.
The Solberg
brothers are in seventh place with nine
points each in the world classification.
Petter (Subaru) won here in 2004 and
finished second in 2005 and is very
confident on the Sardinian gravel, like
Henning (Ford) who was an important
protagonist in 2007.
Argentinean
Villagra (Ford) is introduced to
Sardinia and holds ninth position in the
Championship with eight points, in a
competition that saw his WRC debut last
year.
In tenth
classification is the young English
driver Matthew Wilson (Ford) with seven
points.
In the
Manufacturer’s World Championship, the
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team leads
with 57 points, followed by the Citroen
Total Red Bull Team with 50. Subaru
follows with 39 points, Stobart Ford
with 29, Munchi's Ford with 14 and
Suzuki with 6.
Leading in the
Junior World Rally Championship is
Frenchman Sebastien Ogier (Citroen C2)
with 20 points. The young talent has won
the first two J-WRC rounds of the season
in Mexico and Jordan, revealing a big
surprise for the championship.
Second with 11
points is the Irishman Shaun Gallagher
(Citroen C2), who came second in Jordan
and sixth in Mexico. Whilst in third
position is the Estonian Jaan Moelder
(Suzuki Swift) with 8 points, thanks to
his second place finish in Mexico.
Fourth with six points is Pole Michal
Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift) and Gilles
Schammel (Renault Clio R3) from
Luxemberg who finished third in Mexico
and Jordan.
We have to also
make mention of Czech Martin Prokop
(Citroen C2), of Swede Patrik Sandell,
and of the young talented Italian driver
Alexander Bettega (both in a Renault
Clio R3) who after their withdrawal in
Jordan aims to finish on the podium in
Sardinia.
WRC Standings
after Round 5 of 15
Drivers -
1. Hirvonen ( Ford Focus RS Wrc) 35
points; 2. Loeb ( Citroen C4 Wrc) 30; 3.
Atkinson (Subaru Impreza Wrc) 28 ; 4.
Latvala ( Ford Focus Wrc) 18; 5. Sordo (
Citroen C4 Wrc) 17; 6. Galli ( Ford
Focus RS Wrc ) 12; 7 . Solberg P.(
Subaru Impreza Wrc) e H.Solberg (Ford
Focus RS Wrc) 9; 9. Villagra (Ford Focus
RS Wrc) 8; 10. Wilson (Ford Focus RS Wrc)
7
Manufacturers –
1. Bp Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
points 57; 2. Citroen Total WRT 50; 3.
Subaru World Rally Team 39; 4. Stobart
VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 29; 5.
Munichi’s Ford Worl Rally Team 14; 5.
Suzuki World Rally Team 6
Junior World Rally
Championship after Round 2 of 7
1. Oigier 20 points; 2. Gallagher 11; 3.
Molder 8; 4. Kosciuszko 6; 5. Schammel
6.
|
