2007 Rally Ireland Final

[ianwilly]

Leaderboard after Leg 3

1 Loeb / Elena Citroen C4 03:01:39.2 00.0
2 Sordo / Marti Citroen C4 03:02:32.6 +53.4
3 Latvala / Anttila Ford Focus RS WRC 06 03:03:27.4 +01:48.2
4 Hirvonen / Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 07 03:03:56.9 +02:17.7
5 Solberg / Mills Subaru Impreza WRC2007 03:04:35.0 +02:55.8
6 Wilks / Pugh Subaru Impreza WRC 03:07:37.1 +05:57.9
7 Wilson / Orr Ford Focus RS WRC 06 03:11:44.1 +10:04.9
8 Machale / Harryman Ford Focus WRC 03:12:47.5 +11:08.3
9 Mikkelsen / Floene Ford Focus WRC 03:14:47.4 +13:08.2
10 Mcshea / Clarke Subaru Impreza 03:18:11.3 +16:32.1
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Leg 3 News

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) survived a late scare to win his eighth rally of the season and take a six point lead in the

drivers' championship. The Frenchman incurred a 10-second penalty at the final service this morning when an electrical

problem caused him to check out late. Team-mate Dani Sordo finished 53.4sec behind his colleague. Jari-Matti Latvala

(Ford) claimed a career-best third while Petter Solberg (Subaru) and private-entrant Guy Wilks (Subaru) completed the

top six. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) failed to leave service this morning after engine problems.

Ford today won the manufacturers' title in the FIA World Rally Championship for the second straight season with the

Focus RS World Rally Car. Fourth place for BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in Rally

Ireland was sufficient to ensure the crown with one round remaining next month in Great Britain. The team holds a 21-

point lead with a maximum 18 available on the 16th and final event.

Rally Ireland's championship debut proved every bit as challenging as was expected. The narrow, bumpy asphalt lanes

were full of crests and dips and presented the kind of test not found on any other round of the series. Rain during the

opening two legs of the three-day event provided treacherous conditions as cars dragged mud onto the already shiny

asphalt, and drivers likened the special stages to driving on ice.

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1. BP-Ford
2. Citroen Total
3. Subaru
4. OMV Kronos Citroen
5. Stobart M-Sport Ford
6. Munchis Ford
7. CRT Skoda-Kopecky

1. BP-Ford

Hirvonen's target from the outset was to obtain the points necessary to ensure BP-Ford's second consecutive

manufacturers' title. Sixth position or better would provide the three points required to do that and his role became

even more important when team-mates Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen crashed out during Friday's opening leg.

Hirvonen settled into fourth on the first morning and adopted a safety-first policy throughout the rest of the event,

happy to keep an eye on the times of the cars behind rather than chase the drivers in front.

As BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson celebrated a second title, he said:
"It's a fantastic feeling to win again.

Nothing will surpass our 2006 title but back-to-back world championships sends out a message about how strong we are as

a team. To win with one event remaining is amazing. We've had so much support from the drivers and the entire team,

and thanks to Ford for its magnificent backing. Mikko did a perfect job this weekend. After Marcus' retirement, Mikko

fully understood the role he had to play this weekend and he did it to perfection."

Ford TeamRS director Jost Capito said: "After last year's title success we knew we had to raise our game in 2007 if we

wanted to defend it. The reigning champions become the target of all their rivals and it is an old adage in sport that

is harder to defend a title than it is to win it in the first place. It gives me great pride to reflect on this

achievement and see the confidence throughout the team. I would like to thank Marcus, Timo, Mikko and Jarmo for their

leadership. Their passion has inspired everyone in the team to give their very best to help Ford take rallying's crown

again."

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: Grönholm, who is now six points behind Sébastien Loeb in the drivers' series, returned

home yesterday morning to rest after his accident. "While I am naturally still disappointed not to have finished the

rally, I'm so pleased for Mikko and Jarmo who really did a fantastically cool job in securing the vital points," said

the 39-year-old Finn.

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "It was a difficult weekend," he said. "I had to keep reminding myself to drive

cautiously but I did the job that was required and it's fantastic for the team to win the title. I'm so pleased for

everyone, they deserve it. It's hard to drive at less than flat out pace and find a rhythm but I had to do that because

I wanted these points so badly. For some reason it feels better than our first win last year. I expected this to be a

tough rally because the roads here are so narrow and bumpy. The rain made it even harder and this is definitely the

most difficult asphalt round of the season," added Hirvonen, who has assured himself of third in the drivers'

championship.

Khalid Al Qassimi/Nicky Beech: BP-Ford team-mates Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech finished 15th in another BP-Ford

Focus RS on their last outing of the season. "Conditions here were incredible," said 37-year-old Al Qassimi. "The

roads were more slippery than anything I have encountered before."

2. Citroen Total

The end of the third and last day of the inaugural Rally Ireland saw Citroën Sport claim an emphatic one-two, with

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena steering their C4 WRC to victory on the Emerald Isle ahead of the similar car of team-mates

Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. Sitting round a table at breakfast, the Citroën Sport drivers and co-drivers agreed that today's

stages promised to be as tricky as any they had contested since Friday's start and concurred that they called for just

as much caution.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Sébastien and Daniel were equally very pleased to have notched up their eighth success of

the year and their 36th world class win. "We had an early scare with a damper on the run-out to SS2, so the start of the

rally was quite stressful," related Seb. "However, we soon found ourselves in a strong position to win and consequently

boost our chances in the fight for the Drivers' title. It was an opportunity we couldn't afford to let pass by. The

biggest challenge over these very difficult stages was finding a pace that enabled us to stay in control while at the

same time making the most of the speed of our C4 WRC. It wasn't easy and I am so happy to have won here in Sligo today."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were also upbeat at the end of the weekend after finishing in second

place in Ireland: "It was more of a mud rally than an asphalt event,"
quipped the young Spaniard. "There were so many

potential pitfalls and it was by no means simple. Our C4 went extremely well in the conditions, though, and enabled us

to secure our fourth consecutive podium finish."

3. Subaru

After the final day of competition on the inaugural Rally Ireland, the Subaru World Rally Team pairing of Petter Solberg

and Phil Mills continued their solid pace to finish fifth. The morning brought disappointment for the team however with

the retirement of Chris Atkinson at the morning’s service. Petter headed into the final four stages focused on

continuing to drive to a pace with which he was comfortable. Experiencing a punctured right rear tyre, which was totally

flat by the third split of the day’s opener (SS17), Petter otherwise had a trouble-free day. He ended the rally on a

high by winning the final stage while fifth place meant four points in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.
The Impreza WRC2007 of Chris Atkinson was withdrawn at this morning’s ten minute service. During the last service of leg

two the team discovered an internal engine problem, and after analysing the data overnight and inspecting the engine

again today, the decision was made to retire as there was almost no possibility of the car reaching the end of the

rally. According to Superally regulations the Australian still managed to collect two manufacturers’ championship

points.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: “It’s been the most difficult rally I have ever done I think, but it’s been quite enjoyable.

It’s been very special for Phil and me as you have to really work properly together as a team to get through this rally,

and we have finished with no mistakes at all. The car is working better and we have had some good stage times, so it has

been quite a good event for us. The result is not what we hoped, but we will now really, really work hard for Wales

Rally GB.”

Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: Retired.

Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo: Retired.

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

Retired.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: Retired.

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team have moved up to occupy third place in the FIA World Rally Championship for

Manufacturers thanks to Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila’s magnificent third place at this weekend’s penultimate

championship round, Rally Ireland. This result has given Stobart an amazing two podium places in as many events, another

milestone in the team’s short career. Team-mates Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr have shown a consistent pace throughout the

event bringing it home in the points for the second consecutive rally with a well earned seventh place. After retiring

from day 1 Henning Solberg and substitute co-driver for this event, Göran Bergsten, finished up 16th and more

importantly, sixth in the manufacturer standings. With a heavy weight on its shoulders to deliver a world class event,

Rally Ireland has shone and delivered a package that has been more than fit for WRC status. The general consensus among

teams is that the event has been one of the most challenging across the board in recent years.

Henning Solberg/Goran Bergsten: “This has been a difficult weekend for me but to claim some manufacturer points and help

move the team up to third makes it worthwhile. We struggled in the muddy conditions but when the grip was constant I

actually set some pretty good times and this has probably been my best feeling with the car on tarmac. Göran has done a

fantastic job here but after my mistake on Friday we were really just cruising to the finish. This is my third new event

in a row and I have scored manufacturer points on all three so I’m happy with this achievement.”

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: “It’s an amazing feeling to be on the podium especially on a tarmac rally. I have

tried so hard all year and this result has given me a massive boost. I have come very close before, most recently in

Japan, but to get this result here has more than made up for it. The conditions were so difficult here and I knew before

the rally that it was going to be a hard one but I have driven sensibly and it has been a very strong performance from

both myself and Miikka. Now I am looking forward to Rally GB where we will be back on gravel; we had a great result on

this rally last year so hopefully we can repeat this again.”

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: “It is a fantastic feeling to get to the end of this rally which has been a real race of

attrition. Some of my times over the weekend could have been better but when things were working well I posted some good

times. It was such a difficult event and I was always concentrating on getting to the finish and not making any major

mistakes; and its mega to claim more driver points. The last stage of the rally was amazing and the organisers need to

be congratulated for an overall excellent event.”

6. Munchis Ford

The Munchi's team are not competing on this event.

7. CRT Skoda-Kopecky

Jan Kopecky is not competing in Ireland, his final event of the 2007 season will be Rally of Great Britain.
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Championship Points

Drivers

1. S Loeb 110pts
2. M Grönholm 104pts
3. M Hirvonen 89pts
4. D Sordo 61pts
5. P Solberg 42pts
6. H Solberg 34pts

Manufacturers

1. BP-Ford (champion*) 194pts
2. Citroen Total 173pts
3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 80pts
4. Subaru 79pts
5. OMV Kronos Citroen 43pts
6. Munchi's Ford 14pts

* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA __________________________________________________ ________________

Next Event

The WRC will travel to Wales, UK for the final round of the 2007 calendar in two weeks time. Wales Rally GB runs from 30 November to 2 December, and comprises a gruelling series of gravel stages that stretch into the Welsh mountains from the service park in Swansea.