Rally - Sweden Day 2

Jari-Matti Latvala was the surprise leader on Saturday night after an action-packed day on the snow. Thierry Neuville held a comfortable advantage before ripping the left front wheel from his Hyundai i20 Coupe after going off the road and striking a drainage culvert in the short special stage at Karlstad trotting track.

His demise left the Finn with a slender 3.8sec lead in his Toyota Yaris over the rapidly closing Ott Tänak with just Sunday’s short finale remaining. World champion Sébastien Ogier was only 12.8sec further back in third.

Having pulled clear of Latvala late on Friday, Neuville measured his pace on the snow and ice-covered forest roads and his lead hovered around 30sec. Victory in the penultimate speed test increased his advantage to 43.3sec before his error. Neuville said: “There are really no words that convey how I feel right now. It was a very sudden end to what had been a good rally for us. We had spent all Saturday with a deliberate strategy to take things steady and to stay in control of the rally. We didn’t want a repeat of Monte, but that’s exactly what we got. I am so disappointed for the team, for Nicolas, and myself but we have to put it quickly behind us. Tomorrow, we come back under Rally 2 and we’ll go for Power Stage points. We will then fight back again in Mexico.”

A thin layer of overnight snow ensured drivers struggled for grip and Latvala couldn’t match yesterday’s pace. He regretted his decision to carry two spare wheels this morning as Tänak closed in with an impressive hat-trick of stage wins in his Ford Fiesta. “I carried too much weight at the back and lost time in the long corners,” said Latvala.

Freed from opening the roads in the worst of the conditions, Ogier quickly demoted Kris Meeke from fourth. But the Frenchman admitted he couldn’t find the speed he hoped for.

Meeke was a comfortable fifth in his Citroën C3 before sliding off the road and down a small banking in the penultimate test. Fans lifted his car back onto the track but more than eight minutes were lost. "I got caught out on the second run on Vargåsen," said Kris, "the rear snapped away from me coming into a left-hander and I couldn't turn in. We went off the side of the road and got stuck in the snow. Thanks to the spectators for helping us so we could finish the day!

His mistake promoted Dani Sordo into fourth, the Spaniard 25sec clear of Craig Breen. After an error-strewn day yesterday, Breen was mistake-free as his confidence grew ‘step-by-step’ on his C3 debut.

Elfyn Evans was sixth ahead of Hayden Paddon who drove all morning with no power steering in his i20 Coupe. He lost almost four minutes, comparing driving the car to ‘wrestling a 400lb lion’.

Neuville will restart tomorrow in 13th with a 10-minute penalty.

Overall Classification after Day Two:

1, J. M. Latvala/M. Anttila, Toyota Yaris WRC, 2:04:59.3

2, O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja, Ford Fiesta WRC, +3.8

3, S. Ogier, J. Ingrassia, Ford Fiesta WRC, +16.6

4, D. Sordo/M. Martí, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, 1:39.5

5, C. Breen/P. Nagle, Citroën C3 WRC, +2:04.5

6, E. Evans/D. Barritt, Ford Fiesta WRC, +3:44.7

7, H. Paddon/J. Kennard, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, +5:00.2

8, S. Lefebvre/G. Moreau, Citroën C3 WRC, +5:37.0

9, P. Tidemand/J. Andersson, Škoda Fabia R5, +6:36.7

10, T. Suninen/M. Markkula, Ford Fiesta R5, +7:52.9

11, O.C Veiby/S. Skjaermoen, Škoda Fabia R5, +7:58.2

12, K. Meeke/P. Nagle, Citroën C3 WRC, +9:09.2

13, T. Neuville/N. Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, +9:15.

Rally - Sweden Day 1

Thierry Neuville led Rally Sweden at the overnight halt on Friday after a thrilling duel with Jari-Matti Latvala in which the lead changed hands several times. Just 28.1seconds separated the Hyundai i20 Coupe from the Toyota Yaris with Ott Tänak a further 21.6sec behind in third place in his Fiesta.

Neuville won the opening two tests across the border in Norway before Latvala fought back to lead at the midpoint. Neuville edged ahead again by winning all three repeated stages, taking a full 18 seconds out of Latvala on the day's penultimate test. The Belgian extended his lead in the final stage, despite hanging on to his door which refused to stay closed.

Snow flurries made the roads slippery this afternoon and drivers fought to keep their cars in the ruts where traction was best.

“Jari-Matti had the advantage of the conditions this morning, but this afternoon was better for me as the driving line was cleaner and I tried to take the benefit,” said Neuville. “The last stage was tricky in the dark and my door was opening which disturbed me.”

Tänak was the only other driver to win a stage. The Estonian bounced back into the top three after his Ford Fiesta’s gearbox was replaced when it started jumping out of gear.

Kris Meeke was 2.1sec behind in fourth. The Ulsterman yielded the final podium place to the recovering Tänak after a last stage mistake when a bump threw his Citroën C3 off line and into a snowbank. At the overnight halt, Kris commented: "After a good morning, I lost time in the afternoon. On SS5, I dropped about fifteen seconds stuck in a snow bank. The car hit a bump, we ran wide on the next corner and were lucky not to lose more. On the final stage, I had no grip. My tyres were completely shot, they had lost most of their studs. But we're still in contention for a place on the podium, so I still feel positive."

Road opener Sébastien Ogier endured the worst of the conditions but persevered to hold fifth, 3.9sec behind Meeke and almost a minute off the leader's pace. “We really tried everything we could," said Ogier, "but it’s clear that the conditions have not been on our side today. Following the historic cars this afternoon was especially difficult as the first car on the road and there really wasn’t much we could do." He added (perhaps rather ominously?): "Tomorrow we will have better conditions so we’re looking forward to a more enjoyable day. We weren’t able to show our true performance today, and tomorrow I think we’ll have a better indication of where we are.”

Hayden Paddon was sixth, the Kiwi revitalised this afternoon after set-up changes to his i20 Coupe offset a disappointing morning.

Meeke's team mate Craig Breen didn't have such a good day commenting: "It hasn't really been our day today! I made a series of mistakes, I damaged certain parts of the bodywork and I lost some of the aero package. It's incredible what a difference the aerodynamics of the C3 WRC make. Despite all that, we're still in the race, less than a minute off sixth place."

 

Faring slightly worse than the Irishman, Elfyn Evans finished the day in ninth place. He suffered a puncture after running the DMACK Fiesta wide into a snow bank on the first pass of Svullrya (SS4).

The Welshman had been matching his rivals before the incident – costing him almost two minutes to the leading pack and relegated him outside of the top-ten. Fighting back, Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt now hold ninth place overall.

Juho Hänninen retired his Yaris with a damaged radiator after hitting a tree, while Mads Østberg withdrew before the final stage after losing his Fiesta’s aerodynamic rear wing.

STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1:

1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 1:16:24.7
2. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +28.1
3. Tanak / Jarveoja (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +49.7
4. Meeke / Nagle (Citroën C3 WRC) +51.8
5. Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +55.7
6. Paddon / Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:17.8
7. Sordo / Marti (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:40.3
8. Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:54.3
9. Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3:01.6
10. Lefebvre / Moreau (DS 3 WRC) +3:23.6

Rally - 2017 Season underway

The 2017 Scottish rallying season gets underway on Sunday 12th February with the first round of the Scottish Tarmack Championshp at Knockhill commencing 08.30 Hrs. Full entry list here:

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2017/02/08-feb-knockhill-stages-entry-list/

Rally - Getting it wrong

The other day, a certain Mark Grierson (son of Murray 'Mad Murr' Grierson) posted a pic on his Facebook page. The picture showed his Dad competing on the 1985 Galloway Hills Rally in an ex Vatanen Escort. It was further asserted that a certain J. Bunnet Esq was co-driving for Mad Murr!

This is not as far fetched as it sounds. Mr Bunnet was indeed an accomplished navigator and co-driver in those days. He was also qualified to undertake such competitive duties as he had a valid Competition Licence issued by the sport's governing body, the RAC Motor Sports Association.

In those days the Competition Licence was a simple printed card affair to which the licensee had to affix a passport sized photograph of "the licence holder" in the top right hand corner.

Our Mr Bunnet duly complied with this instruction and affixed a photograph of himself, and despite the fact that he is easily identifiable by the bunnet and the pipe, there was some consternation expressed when this licence was presented at pre-rally Signing-On.

Apparently the senior rally organisers were fair flummoxed, so they called over the RAC MSA Steward, one Bill Troughear Esq, who was asked to provide his considered judgement on the legality of this document.

Thankfully, this vastly experienced and fair minded individual, (who just happened to be a pipe smoker himself, although that of course had no bearing on his decision!) recognised the individual from the photograph and in consideration of the governing body's express instructions, professed that this was indeed a legal document and that Jaggy could take his rightful place alongside Murr for the rally.

It has to be said that a few minutes later, Mr Bunnet was observed to have been taken aside by this senior official, who was attempting to explain with some difficulty (he was trying to stifle his laughter) that what the RAC MSA meant by a "photograph of the licence holder" was a facial view of said person, and not a back view.

Naturally our very contrite hero expressed his horror at this quite innocent and understandable error and promised to have it rectified by the time of his next event.

In fact the whole of British motor sport owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr J Bunnet for pointing out and highlighting this unfortunate loophole in motor sports competition licence identification and which ultimately led to the introduction of photo-card licences.

Oh, and by the way, more Stewards with the tolerance and good humour of the late Bill Troughear would be such an encouragement and asset to our sport!!

Rally - The appeal

The previous post created quite a stir and going by the page statistics, it has been shared right across the UK by individuals, clubs and associations. It obviously struck a chord. So what's the next step?

I don't like the term 'educate'. That could be regarded as insulting by folk who just want to go out and watch cars speeding through the forests. I prefer 'inform' and  'encourage'. If we can engage with spectators rather than antagonise them, then we might get more support. This might also make the job a wee bit easier for Marshals.

The appeal is about the thrill of the pace and antics of the car and whilst the superstars and top national and club drivers display their technique and control with speed and drama, the idea would be to encourage spectators to stay and watch everyone through, comparing cars and drivers, with the later runners.

Just as spectators enjoy a different kind of satisfaction from watching other amateur sports as opposed to their professional counterparts, so rally spectators can derive similar pleasure and enjoyment from the later runners in the smaller cars. For a start they can use their eyes and ears to compare those who are trying with those who are learning.

Most of us derive just as much enjoyment from watching a trier in a 1400 Nova as an expert in an R5. David Bogie being  a case in point, or Euan Thorbun and Garry Pearson when they first appeared in 205s, or further back, Ken Wood in a Mini, and who can forget Callum Duffy's debut efforts in an Escort that looked like a refugee from a scrapyard, sorry, vehicle recycling centre. If we can inspire that sort of interest then casual watchers might just take more interest.

How do we achieve this? One idea might be to hand out free entry lists to everyone at spectator car parks, which list all driver and co-driver names and their homes towns with their car make and model and engine capacity. They might not understand class structure but they can relate to marques and engines and will identify with local crews. Not everyone will buy a programme but this alternative could be relatively easy to print and handout free of charge - subsidised by MSA and Forestry Commission with a safety message?

An A3 double sided sheet folded to A4 should do the trick. Easy to fold and carry, and easy to look at in the stage. Such a sheet could also carry other details about the sport and the class structure and perhaps highlight who the leading 1400 and 1600cc contenders are likely to be. Give folk the info and they will take an informed and renewed interest. Not everyone will buy a programme even if a club makes them available so some spectators are missing out. This makes them feel wanted as well as better informed.

The provision of commentary has worked in  the past, but it is rather more expensive to arrange outdoors. Also, there is a distinct lack of knowledgeable and entertaining motor rallying commentators about these days too!

Smart phones and social media pages are another good way of pushing information out, but  although networks can reach 90% of the population they can't reach 60% of the countryside! That's down to all those bluidy trees and mountains!

We therefore need more ideas, to help generate more interest and create more memories. Like the first time I saw a skinny, lanky, tousled haired young Finn in a battered Opel Ascona. It was on the 1975 Scottish Rally where the scuffed and scarred flanks of that poor, tortured, wee mechanical beastie marked him out as a trier. His career progressed, the results came, and in 1981 Ari Vatanen duly won his first world title.

A bigger impression was made on me by the antics of a certain 1600cc Talbot Sunbeam on the International Scottish Rally in 1986. I was already aware of the car and its driver so I waited, long after all the superstars had passed through, just to see his progress.

The scene was the wide, open, downhill hairpin near the end of Cardrona. From the outside of the bend (yes, I know!), the cars could be seen approaching from the top of the hill, hurtling down the straight with a 'jump' and slight kink to the right just before the braking area for the hairpin itself.

Anyway, this wee Sunbeam came bursting out of the forest like a firework looking for a hand grenade factory. Over the jump, straightened, dab on the brakes, and turn into the hairpin without the slightest lift on the throttle. The tail swung out, gripped and slid through the bend, teetering on the edge of the road on the exit, inches from the ditch and disaster, careering on down the following straight in a cloud of dust, gravel and chuckies. No panic, no fear and absolutely no hesitancy. Foot to the floor all the way. Magic, pure magic.

That sight has remained with me ever since, so that I can say smugly to anyone who will listen, I was there when a certain youngster was carving notches in his gearstick. That youngster went on to win the world title in 1995.

We may never see the like of Colin McRae again, but that shouldn't stop us, and all spectators, from going to the forests, watching everyone through and making our own informed judgements on what we'd seen and who we thought showed skill, talent and bravery.

Surely that is the best reason to encourage folk to arrive early, and stay in the spectator enclosures till the last car has gone through.