WRC'15 Rally Mexico Mar5-8 talk/results spoiler **

[Weasel 555]

Rnd 3 Rally Mexico Mar 5-8



History

First held in 1979, the rally moved to Le?n in 1998 and joined WRC in 2004.
The 2007 rally was the shortest in WRC history with a total distance of less than 850km. It still included more than 366km of stages and more than 43 per cent was competitive.
Sebastien Loeb scored six consecutive wins between 2006 and 2012 (the rally was absent in 2009 due to rotation).

What’s new for 2015

Thursday night’s curtain-raiser in Guanajuato is followed by tests at Le?n’s race circuit, a popular viewing spot for fans.
A short street stage close to the service park returns to an early afternoon slot on Friday and Saturday.

Official Site: rallymexico.com

Listen Live: wrc.com/live_popup_radio

WRC+ : Live Stages/Live Maps/Onboard Action/Full Highlights plus.wrc.com/


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[dotdotdotPaul]

Looking forward to actually being able to watch the live stages tonight and this weekend, without having to be up at 3am to do so.

...Paul

[pomspeed]

Me too, but it is awesome that MAVTV and DirectTV have made us suffer, eh?

[Weasel 555]

Thursday-Mexico shakedown

Sebastien Ogier set the pace in shakedown at Rally Guanajuato Mexico on Thursday morning as drivers showed their skills on gravel for the first time for almost four months.

The FIA World Rally Championship leader went fastest on his fourth of five runs through the 5.55km Llano Grande stage in a Volkswagen Polo R.

He was 2.2sec quicker than Thierry Neuville's Hyundai i20, which is using a modified fuel injection system to help counter the effects of power loss caused by the high altitude stages.

"Im happy with the feeling in the car, and everything worked well, but it doesn’t mean that it looks good for the rally,"said Ogier, who will be first through Friday and Saturday's stages.

"We will see what we can do of course. Here we tried to work on some solutions to compensate for the conditions we will face. It’s a simple objective: the grip is lower when you’re the first car, so we tried to find a set-up that generates the most grip!"

Kris Meeke was third, only 0.3sec behind the Belgian driver, in Citroen's DS 3, having topped the times earlier in the session.

Jari-Matti Latvala and Mads Ostberg were tied in fourth a tenth of a second behind the Briton, with Andreas Mikkelsen completing the top six another tenth back.

Dani Sordo, returning to action after missing last months Rally Sweden with broken ribs, didn't help his injury by crashing 3.6km after the start of his fourth run. The car was reported to be undamaged but the Spaniard was unable to regain the road.

Italian Lorenzo Bertelli completed shakedown with no issues, the FWRT team happy after its missing container finally arrived in Leon at 02.00 this morning, allowing the squad to set up in the service park and access tools and spares.

click: wrc.com/mexico-shakedown/



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Thursday evening:
SS1: Neuville grabs early lead in Mexico

Tens of thousands of fans packed the historic streets in the former mining town of Guanajuato to create a crackling atmosphere as Rally Guanajuato Mexico roared into life on Thursday night.

Music and dancing filled the town all evening at the colourful start ceremony, after which competitors immediately tackled the slippery opening special stage.

Thierry Neuville blasted his Hyundai i20 to fastest time, stopping the clocks two-tenths of a second ahead of surprise package Lorenzo Bertelli. But Neuville admitted his run wasn't perfect.

"My pace notes weren't 100 per cent right. I was a bit late on the brakes in the last right-hand bend and we went wide. Not the best start, but we have a good time so I have to be pleased," he said.

Bertelli topped the times for a long while in his Ford Fiesta RS. The Italian was relaxed after his FWRT team’s sea freight container, packed with service park equipment, tools and spares, finally arrived at 02.00 today after a delayed journey from Europe.

Volkswagen team-mates Sebastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen were tied in third in their Polo Rs, with Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg completing the top six. Just eight-tenths of a second covered the leading sextet.

Robert Kubica broke the rear left wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS after hitting a kerb just a few metres after the start, while Dani Sordo felt his Hyundai i20 may have been down on power.

click: wrc.com/mexico-ss1



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SS2: Ogier leads overnight in Mexico

Sebastien Ogier set fastest time in Thursday’s second and final speed test to claim the overnight lead at Rally Guanajuato Mexico.

He defeated Thierry Neuville in the headline heat at Leon motor racing circuit to relegate the Belgian, winner of the opening special stage in Guanajuato, to second. The gap between the two is 1.2sec.

"It's a good start to the rally. Tomorrow all I can do is go flat out," said the Volkswagen Polo R pilot, who faces a tough job to hold onto his advantage from first in the start order over mountain roads covered in a thick layer of loose gravel.

Hyundai’s Neuville was tied in second with Andreas Mikkelsen's Polo R. The Norwegian edged out team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala in the penultimate heat, crossing the finish just a tenth of a second ahead, and the two were split by 0.6sec overall.

Mads Ostberg defeated Elfyn Evans to hold fifth in Citroen's DS 3, Evans losing confidence after a lurid slide under braking at a wet part of the circuit. Just behind Ostberg in sixth was team-mate Kris Meeke, who outpaced Dani Sordo.

Ott Tanak, Robert Kubica, Sordo and Lorenzo Bertelli completed the top 10, while Hayden Paddon was 16th after spinning his Hyundai i20.

click: wrc.com/mexico-ss2




...

[Lawrence Partington]

I tried to watch SS1 live on WRC+ last night but was getting an "oops that shouldn't have happened" error message. Today I was able to watch the Re-live version. Anybody else have trouble on Thursday night? Hopefully it's just an indicator of how incredibly popular these live stages have become and they're breaking the internet.

[Weasel 555]

Friday

SS3:


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SS4:

Sebastien Ogier overcame the handicap of opening the roads to lead Rally Guanajuato Mexico after a remarkably dramatic morning.



He was third in the opening Los Mexicanos stage as Thierry Neuville reduced Ogier’s overnight lead to two-tenths of a second. But the Frenchman was quickest through the following El Chocolate to head the Belgian by 13.3sec.

With the roads expected to become faster as the early starters swept the surface clean of slippery loose gravel, the Volkswagen Polo R pilot’s lead was a surprise.

Drivers struggled to get heat into their tyres as air temperatures struggled to climb above an unusually chilly 7C, and Neuville clipped a bank after sliding wide in SS3. He also reported his Hyundai i20 was leaking dust into the cockpit.

Fifth and fourth in the two stages was enough for Jari-Matti Latvala to hold third, 0.8sec behind Neuville. "Very bad driving from me," admitted the Finn. "It's incredible how slippery it is. The sun isn’t shining and it’s very cold. I’ve never known it this cold in Mexico."

Second in El Chocolate promoted Mads Ostberg from ninth to fourth after the Norwegian spun in the previous test. "It was the same problem as Sweden with the gearbox. I changed gear, it went into neutral and I went off the road," said the DS 3 driver.

Ott Tanak retired early in Los Mexicanos when his Ford Fiesta RS plunged off the road and into a lake. Exact details have still to be confirmed but the Estonian and co-driver Raigo Molder are uninjured.

Hayden Paddon stopped 3.1km into El Chocolate after damaging the rear right suspension of his Hyundai i20 while Kris Meeke crashed his DS 3 just 1.5km after the start.

Also out is Robert Kubica. The Pole was fastest at the second split but came to a halt after about 15km. He tried to continue on several occasions but eventually stopped after about 20km, although it is not yet known what his problems were.

Dani Sordo dropped 40sec with gear selection issues at the start of SS4, and his woes increased when his i20’s windscreen fogged up after a watersplash.

click: wrc.com//mexico-ss4



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Ott Tanak/ Raigo Molder....more on the Lake crash !


Watch Ott Tanak and co-driver Raigo Molder escape from their terrifying accident at Rally Guanajuato Mexico with these amazing images - exclusive to wrc.com.

click: wrc.com/Ott & Raigo

...

[Weasel 555]

SS5:


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SS6:


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SS7:


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SS8:


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SS9:


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SS10:

[321Go]

Wow, on those Tanak photos. That was a costly off.

[Weasel 555]

Friday-Round Up:

Surprised Ogier tops Mexico standings

Sebastien Ogier was the shock leader of Rally Guanajuato Mexico on Friday evening after an action-packed day sidelined half the drivers from the headline World Rally Car category.



He overcame the handicap of opening the roads with an inspired tyre choice for his Volkswagen Polo R this morning to claim the advantage. He protected his lead this afternoon to end 13.5sec ahead of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.

Ogier expected to lose time this morning as he swept the gravel roads of slippery stones. But in unusually low temperatures of 7C in the mountains near Guanajuato, his decision to fit two soft compound tyres paid dividends.

He smashed his rivals in the 44km El Chocolate stage and held off Thierry Neuville until the salvation of more equal conditions during the afternoons repeated tests.

"It was a really great day. I made a clever tyre choice, one of the best we’ve done. It was hard and I had to push from the first metre to the end. That’s always my target but I’m very pleased with this one," he said.

A further boost came with the high number of retirements. With most likely to return tomorrow under Rally 2 rules at the head of the start order, he will not have to sweep the roads.

Read more: wrc.com/Friday-round-up

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Protasov heads WRC 2 champ in Mexico

Yurii Protasov held off reigning WRC 2 champion Nasser Al-Attiyah to lead the support category after Friday's second day of action at Rally Guanajuato Mexico.



The Ukraine driver, who tussled with Al-Attiyah last year, returned to WRC 2 after tackling the opening two rounds of the season in World Rally Cars to head the Qatari by 14.5sec. Both are driving Ford Fiesta Regional Rally Cars.

The two frontrunners dominated the fastest times, with Protasov taking six stage wins and Al-Attiyah two. Notional times were awarded for two stages which were not completed following delays caused by Ott Tanak's accident.

"It was a very strong day. We had a good battle with Nasser and have pushed hard all day," said Protasov.

Both Nicolas Fuchs and Jari Ketomaa were in contact with the leading pair during the truncated morning but slipped back this afternoon. Fuchs ended 2min 43.5sec behind Al-Attiyah, with Ketomaa a further 52.7sec adrift.

Ketomaa, who won the previous round in Sweden, suffered from daylong brake problems in his Fiesta R5.

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari was fifth, almost a minute down on Ketomaa, with Simone Tempestini completing the top six and heading the Production Cup within WRC 2 despite driveshaft problems in his Subaru Impreza.

Stephane Lefebvre was inside the top six until a rear wheel parted company with his DS 3 R5. It took 11 minutes to fit the spare and continue and the Frenchman, winner of the opening round in Monte-Carlo, was ninth.

click: wrc.com/en/wrc-2/Friday-round-up/

...

[Weasel 555]

M-Sport World Rally Team's Elfyn Evans is holding a strong fifth place after the most dramatic opening day the FIA World Rally Championship has seen for a number of years. Unfortunately, Ott Tanak became one of Rally Mexico's numerous victims, but the M-Sport team achieved the impossible – repairing a seemingly unsalvageable rally car to get it ready for tomorrow's stages.



In the day's most terrifying off, the Estonian's Ford Fiesta RS WRC became submerged in a reservoir. Caught out under braking over a compression in the road, Tanak damaged the front-right suspension of his Ecoboost-powered Fiesta, 2.6 kilometres into the first stage of the morning (SS3, Los Mexicanos 1, 9.91 km). Unable to make the following left-hand corner, he and co-driver Raigo Molder were forced into a roll down the steep embankment – coming to a stop in the deep water.

Thankfully both driver and co-driver were unhurt in the incident, and were determined to continue the event. Showing true professionalism and determination, Molder even rescued his pacenotes from the watery depths – heading straight back to the hotel to dry what are one of a rally driver and co-driver's most precious pieces of equipment.

The team were determined to see the crew back on the stages. Despite the car being completely submerged for almost 10 hours, M-Sport's technicians were prepared to work throughout the night in an effort to repair the Fiesta, and repair it they did – with the help of both Tanak and Molder who stayed by their team's side until the work was complete.

Changing the gearbox, fuel tank, turbo, cooling package, boost control valves, electronic components, brake components, front and rear suspension components as well as a number of cosmetic components, the team also repaired the engine block and drained the engine of excess water.

Completing the work in just three hours, it was an outstanding job by the technicians who have once again proven themselves to be in a true class of their own. To complete this epic story, the number six Fiesta RS WRC was driven into parc ferme by Tanak and Molder.

click: m-sport.co.uk/m-sport-achieve-the-impossible-and-raise-the-titaenak

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just Awesome !