Citroen piles on the WRC points. Credit Citroen Media.
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Ford Motor Company, Citroen WRC and www.acropolisrally.gr
Former Ferrari F1 World Champion Kimmi Raikonen, after an absence from the WRC due to NASCAR commitments, finished in ninth place at the wheel of the Citroen WRC Ice1 DS3.
After winning the last two events in Argentina and Italy Loeb’s winning streak seems to be over. Nevertheless, in the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Loeb increased his lead in the championship standings, and now has 17 points over second place Hirvonen, while Ogier is only four points from Hirvonen. In the constructors’ championship, the Citroën extends its lead with 55 more points that Ford. Ford has announced that they will stay the season, hoping to catch up in the second half of the year.
The Acropolis Rally, now billed as “The Rally of the Gods”, was a negative experience for the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. The first was prepared by Motorsport team headed by Armindo Araujo. The second, prepared by Brazil WRT,was entrusted to Daniel Oliveira but both cars suffered mechanical problems right from the shakedown.
The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews to compete in the Nordic countries and ther Finnish Rally (28-30 July).
The Monte Carlo Rally will again be part of the World Rally Championship calendar.
The news was announced at the end of the FIA World Council held on 3 June in Barcelona. At the same time it was announced the withdrawal of the Rally of Abu Dhabi, whose debut was delayed by at least a season, and the confirmation of a rally to be held in Italy, with no date confirmed yet.
New rules starting in 2012, provide for a new start order and allowing drivers to choose the starting position for the first day of competition, according to the classification of the shakedown. In successive tests, drivers will begin following the reversal of the first 15 positions of the previous day.
Scroll down for results and Italian text..
Ogier's excellent performance left teammate Loeb frustrated but still leading in points.
Hirvonen managed a third overall but the Ford team is now totally on the defensive.
Petter Solberg soldiers on with the Citroen but the car is not an official Citroen entry.
One of the Ford Fiestas clearing the road of eager spectators.
Skoda of Brynildsen and Menkerud suffered bumper failure. There were four Skodas Fabios in the S2000 class.
Kimi Raikkonen is still on the WRC trail between Nascar events.
Subarus, once WRC winners, are still participating but in the training classes. This is the Impreza of Terrasino and Potouridis
Another star of old is the Mitsibushi Lancer Evo, here piloted by Psillos and Kontos.
Nothing like a bit of water for the hot Ford Fiestas.
ACROPOLIS RALLY:
UN’ALTRA DOPPIETTA PER LA CITROËN DS3 WRC!
by Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Ford Motor Company, Citroen WRC and www.acropolisrally.gr
Sebastien Ogier, alla guida della Citroën DS3 WRC, si è aggiudicato il Rally Acropolis di Grecia, settima prova del campionato Mondiale WRC. Il pilota francese è riuscito a superare il compagno di squadra e leader del mondiale, Sébastien Loeb, precedendolo di soli 10,5”. Al terzo posto, staccato di 13.5”, si è classificato il pilota finlandese Mikko Hirvonen (vincitore dell’edizione 2009) sulla Ford Fiesta RS WRC ufficiale.
L’ex Ferrarista e campione del mondo F1, Kimmi Raikonen, dopo una assenza dal mondo dei rally per impegni nella categoria NASCAR, ha concluso al nono posto alla guida della Citroen DS3 WRC Ice1.
Con la vittoria di Ogier, si interrompe la serie positiva di Loeb, vincitore degli ultimi due appuntamenti in Argentina e Italia.
Nel Campionato del Mondo Rally FIA per Piloti, Loeb incrementa il suo vantaggio nella classifica per il mondiale, e stacca di 17 il fillandese Hirvonen. Mentre Ogier si porta a 4 punti da Hirvonen. Nel campionato costruttori, la Citroën allunga il passo e si porta il suo vantaggio a 55 punti sulla Ford.
Negativa l’esperienza della MINI John Cooper Works WRC, presente con due vetture; la prima, preparata dal team Motorsport, è affidata a Armindo Araujo. La seconda, preparata dal Brazil WRT, è affidata a Daniel Oliveira. Le vetture hanno subito problemi meccanici fin dallo shakedown.
Il settimo round del FIA World Rally Championship porterà gli equipaggi nei Paesi Nordici per disputare il Rally di Fillandia (28-30 luglio)
Classifica shakedown Rally Acropolis
1. LOEB. Citroen DS3 WRC. 2:15.5
2. P. SOLBERG. Citroen DS3 WRC. 2:16.2
3. HIRVONEN. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:16.8
4. OGIER. Citroen DS3 WRC. 2:17.8
5. H. SOLBERG. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:18.0
=6. RAIKKONEN. Citroen DS3 WRC. 2:18.6
=6. NOVIKOV. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:18.6
8. LATVALA. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:19.0
9. VILLAGRA. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:19.1
10. OSTBERG. Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 2:19.2
Classifica day 1
1. Petter Solberg Solberg Citroen 1h39m24.2s
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 51.6s
3. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 55.3s
4. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 57.2s
5. Henning Solberg Stobart Ford + 1m43.2s
6. Matthew Wilson Stobart Ford + 2m27.7s
7. Ott Tanak MM Ford + 3m32.4s
8. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 3m55.0s
9. Juho Hanninen Red Bull Skoda + 4m01.6s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Ice 1 Citroen + 4m04.7s
Classifica day 2
01. Sebastien Loeb – Citroen – 3:20:27.6
02. Sebastien Ogier – Citroen – +2.2
03. Petter Solberg – Citroen – +20.9
04. Mikko Hirvonen – Ford – +22.4
05. Henning Solberg – Ford – +3:58.9
06. Matthew Wilson – Ford – +5:30.2
07. Kimi Raikkonen – Citroen – +6:55.4
08. Juho Hanninen – Skoda (S2000) – +8:55.0
09. Dennis Kuipers – Ford – +12:25.7
10. Bernardo Sousa – Ford (S2000) – +12:55.3
Acropolis Rally of Greece – Final Results (subject to final scrutineering)
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Citroën DS3 WRC 4 hr 04 min 44.3sec
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroën DS3 WRC 4 hr 04 min 54.8sec
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4 hr 04 min 57.8sec
4. Petter Solberg/Chris Patterson Citroën DS3 WRC 4 hr 05 min 23.1sec
5. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4 hr 10 min 09.0sec
6. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4 hr 11 min 39.0sec
7. Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström Citroën DS3 WRC 4 hr 13 min 13.7sec
8. Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 4 hr 16 min 19.0sec
9. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4 hr 17 min 53.1sec
10. Dennis Kuipers/Frederic Miclotte Ford Fiesta S2000 4 hr 19 min 54.4sec
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 7 of 13 rounds)
Sébastien Loeb (FRA) 146 points
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) 129 points
Sébastien Ogier (FRA) 124 points
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 76 points
Petter Solberg (NOR) 73 points
Mads Østberg (NOR) 48 points
Matthew Wilson (GBR) 36 points
Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) 24 points
Federico Villagra (ARG) 20 points
Henning Solberg (NOR) 20 points
Juho Hanninen (FIN) 12 points
Dani Sordo (ESP) 8 points
Martin Prokop (CZE) 7 points
Ott Tänak (EST) 7 points
Per-Gunnar Andersson 6 points
Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE) 5 points
Dennis Kuipers (NLD) 4 points
Hayden Paddon (NZL) 2 points
Bernardo Sousa (PRT) 1 point
Patrik Flodin (SWE) 1 point
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 7 of 13 rounds)
Citroën Total World Rally Team 250 points
Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 195 points
M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team 87 points
Petter Solberg World Rally Team 61 points
Ice 1 Racing 34 points
Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team 32 points
Team Abu Dhabi 19 points
Ferm Power Tools World Rally Team 14 points
Monster World Rally Team 8 points
Brazil World Rally Team 1 point