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[SPOILER] 2008 WRC Championship

2008 FIA World Rally Championship Calendar:
Dates | Location
24-27 January | Monte Carlo Rally
08-10 February | Swedish Rally
28 February-2 March | Rally Mexico
27-30 March | Rally Argentina
24-27 April | Jordan Rally
16-18 May | Rally d'Italia Sardegna
29 May-01 June | Acropolis Rally
13-15 June | Rally of Turkey
31 July-03 August | Rally Finland
15-17 August | Rallye Deutschland
28-31 August | Rally New Zealand
02-05 October | Rally Catalunya
10-12 October | Tour de Corse
24-26 October | Rally Japan
28-30 November | Wales Rally GB

Teams and Drivers:
Citroën Total World Rally Team
Sébastien Loeb, Dani SordoBP

Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Mikko Hirvonen, Jari-Matti Latvala

Subaru World Rally Team
Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
Gigi Galli, François Duval, Henning Solberg, Matthew Wilson

Munchi's Ford World Rally Team
Luís Pérez Companc, Federico Villagra

Suzuki World Rally Team
Toni Gardemeister , Per-Gunnar Andersson

Loeb crashes out of Swedish Rally:

Quote:

Sebastien Loeb retired from the Swedish Rally at Saturday’s remote service Zone after SS11. During the 15-minute service, Citroen team engineers decided his car’s engine - which was damaged in a crash on Friday - would not last the rest of the event. “We looked at the data and it was clear that the engine was not going to last much longer,” said a team spokeswoman. “In the circumstances we felt it was best to retire the car at this point.”

Latvala extends rally lead:

Quote:

Jari-Matti Latvala started Saturday’s competition with a 48.2sec lead over his Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen. Fourth through the first test - Horssjön - allowed Latvala to extend his lead by almost five seconds and the 22-year-old Finn pulled out another nine seconds in the following 20.92km Hagfors test.

Hirvonen, fifth and seventh on the opening two special stages, claimed back 8.2sec through the 24.63km Vargåsen and the pair arrived at the remote service zone in Hagfors separated by 53.9sec.
"It was difficult being first on the road through the opening stage because there was a lot of slush for the first 3km and we did a lot of moving from snowbank to snowbank," said Latvala. "Then it changed to gravel and while the grip was great, the gravel wasn't good for the tyre studs. On the last stage I hit a stone with the front right wheel about 1.5km from the start and was lucky not to puncture. Malcolm Wilson (team director) told me this morning to be sensible. My heart was beating hard on the way to the first stage but I feel relaxed now. I just need some food and some coffee and then on we go!"
Hirvonen said: "My plan was to try to catch Jari-Matti but I didn't have a good feeling on the first two stages. I found a better rhythm on the final test and the drivers behind me were closing, so I had to push hard to take some time back. My position feels safe and I'm thinking about those eight points for finishing second, so I don't want to take risks. We changed the programme in the car's centre differential to last year's Swedish Rally settings and I feel more confident that it won't be as sideways."

I bet that this was the 2008 WRC Championship which has an extra 10 minute service prior to the finish podium has been added, intended to allow the service park to remain an attraction until the end of the event.
___________________
My New Installs: Nissan car parts.

2008 Championship Standings:
Driver's Standings:
1 Sébastien Loeb 86 (8 wins)
2 Mikko Hirvonen 78 (2 wins)
3 Daniel Sordo 51
4 Chris Atkinson 40
5 Jari-Matti Latvala 34 (1 win)
6 Petter Solberg 32
7 Henning Solberg 22
8 Gigi Galli 17
9 Matthew Wilson 12
10 François Duval 11
11 Urmo Aava 11
12 Federico Villagra 9
13 Conrad Rautenbach 6
14 Toni Gardemeister 5
15 Andreas Mikkelsen 4
16 Per-Gunnar Andersson 4
17 Matti Rantanen 2
18 Jean-Marie Cuoq 2
19 Andreas Aigner 1
20 Sebastien Ogier 1
21 Juho Hänninen 1

Constructor's Standings:
1 Citroën Total WRT 141
2 BP-Ford Abu Dhabi WRT 121
3 Subaru World Rally Team 74
3 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 51
5 Munchi's Ford WRT 22
6 Suzuki World Rally Team 20

Four rounds remain. The next rally will be at Catalunya on October 2-5.

rough deal for ford in nz, i think that was the nail in the coffin for them with 3 tarmac rallys left soeb and sordo will pounce on them

Pretty much, yes. As much as a dislike Citroen, I really love the way Loeb drives, and he certainly has deserved being in front. The drivers championship standings and future events are narrowing down the probabilities for Hirvonen to take the lead, although he showed in Germany, he has improved a lot in asphalt events... but... let's be honest, chances are slim against this awesome driver Loeb.

A bit sad for the stupid rule of being first on the whole day, although I have to admit it has put an element of gamble into the equation. It just does not feel appropiate.

yeah how did they use to do it reverse the top 8 or something i cant remember in my old age haha. hirvonen did show some pace in germany and the years to come should be good for him, but i have really liked latvala i think he will be very good hes 21 or 22 getting coached by gronholm in the offseason hes had some bad luck the last few races but i just love his driving style who doesent

Yes!! Latavala looks incredibly promising! a lot of attention he has deserved, but also has been quite a bit reckless, sometimes... on the eurosports broadcast has been commented (not remember when) that he tends to overuse the front tires (I think it was in Greece or Cyprus)

After the Rally Catalunya:
Drivers' standings:
1. Sebastian Loeb - 96pts (9th win in 12 races!)
2. Mikko Hirvonen - 84pts

Constructors' standings:
1. Citroen - 159 pts
2. BP Ford - 132 pts

This weekend at Corsica: Loeb dominates day 1 winning all 6 stages
Positions after day 1:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 1h09:24.3
2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 32.3
3. Francois Duval Ford + 34.1
4. Petter Solberg Subaru + 1:11.5
5. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 1:12.7
6. Chris Atkinson Subaru + 1:15.4
7. Toni Gardemeister Suzuki + 3:16.1
8. Andreas Mikkelsen Ford + 3:18.5
9. Brice Tirabassi Subaru + 3:21.4
10. Urmo Aava Citroen + 3:23.1

Loeb is just way too good...

when he was giving that interview on the first day he sounded really bored of saying the same things over and over again. seemed like he knew that no one was going to be a threat to him, but he just said that mikko will be pushing just to make it artificially sound exciting... he needs a challenger that can take the fight to him.

i mean it's great that there are still some fights going on lower down the field, but in the end we all want to see a fight for first

Loeb is a great driver. Citroen I do not like too much, but, that's the way it is. The asphalt races have almost become a shumacher-like era. I hope Ford or Subaru or anyone can raise the level a bit more so Loeb can be really challenged.

2008 WRC Champion: Sebastien Loeb
His fifth WRC title
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71928