Tuesday 18 November 2014

Rally - Final roundup



The difference between delight and disaster can be measured in BSBs (British Standard Ba'hairs). Just ask Kris Meeke. He was challenging for the runner-up position on Rally Wales GB on the final day when he placed a front wheel just a few millimetres and got dragged into a ditch. No half measures, Kris kept it planted and bounced out and back on to the road, but he had punctured a front tyre and damaged a rear.

Over the final two stages, Kris had to back off to look after his remaining tyres and dropped just over a minute to finish in sixth place. And if you look at his rear o/s tyre (see pic) you'll see he was lucky to complete the final road section too!

“I made a minor mistake when we were fighting for second place in the rally," said Kris, "After that, I sacrificed the result to make sure Citroën finished as runner-up in the Manufacturers’ World Championship. I’m disappointed but it’s an experience I’ll take forward with me into the future. We have got quicker and quicker throughout the season, and that’s very positive.”

Citroen team mate Mads Ostberg ended the season in fifth place in the Drivers’ championship, whilst Kris finished seventh. In the Co-drivers’ standings, Jonas finished fourth and Paul took seventh.

The other top Brit, Elfyn Evans had an excellent run into 5th place: "I think we would have taken fifth place at the start of the event for sure. We knew before the rally started that even bettering our result from last year would have been a good achievement given the depth of the entry. To come away in fifth is strong and I think we've managed to show some good speed along the way. All in all it's been a good weekend and a good way to finish off the year. I can't wait to start next season now. We've got a lot more experience and I'm looking forward to what I hope will be another successful season at this level."
 
"Finally, I want to wish Mikko [Hirvonen] all the best. I really couldn't have wished for a better team mate this year. He and Jarmo [Lehtinen] have been so willing to share their experience over the year and if I can achieve anything like his CV at the end of my career then I would be very proud indeed. It was great to see him end such an influential career with such a positive result and I know that the whole team will really miss him and Jarmo next year."

Top Ten (with all the Brits and Irish):
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 3:03:08.2
2. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +37.6
3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (Citroën DS3 WRC) +1:03.6
4. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:14.9
5. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +1:24.3
6. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroën DS3 WRC) +2:03.0
7. Ott Tanak/Raigo Molder (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2:29.7
8. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +2:47.5
9. Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3:43.3
10. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC) +3:48.5

14. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta RRC) +12:17.1
15. Tom Cave/Craig Parry (Ford Fiesta R5) +12:28.3
18. Osian Pryce/Dale Furniss (Ford Fiesta R5) +13:59.3
22. Phillip Morrow/Jonny Hart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) +22:21.7
25. Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton (Ford Fiesta S2000) +26:54.2
26. Alistair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Citroen DS3 RT) +28:11.9
27.  Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9)  +28:38.2
37.  Brendan Cumiskey/Conor Foley (Subaru Impreza) +34:36.7
38. Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3 RT) +36:20.1
39. Chris Ingram/Gabin Moreau (Peugeot 208 R2) +37:25.3
40. Wug Utting/Max Utting (Subaru Impreza) +37:28.6
41. Dean Raftery/Katl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R2) +39:48.2
42. Gus Greensmith/Carl Williamson (Ford Fiesta R2) +41:51.5
43. Sara Williams/Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza) +43:38.7
44. Spencer Wilkinson/Jamie Edwards (Subaru Impreza) +48:36.8
47. Tony Jardine/Peta Cavendish (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) +58:57.8
48. Tony Simpson/Ian Bevan (Ford Fiesta ST) +1:04:07.4
50. Garry Pearson/Niall Burns (Peugeot 208 R2) +1:08:18.2
51. Benjamyn Mckay/Jason Mackay (Ford Fiesta R1) +1:09:30.4
52. Sacha Kakad/Andrew Price (Ford Fiesta ST) +1:16:08.1
( 53 finishers / 63 starters )

No comments:

Post a Comment