Rally - Tänak Takes two

You have to wonder if Kris Meeke's Citroen anorak is hanging on a shaky nail these days. His speed is not in doubt, but his confidence must have taken a knock with all the comings and goings in the team over recent weeks. Crashing on the first stage of ADAC Rallye Deutschland wouldn't have helped either, nor the success of drafted in team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen.

And yet he remains upbeat. You can take the boy out of Northern Ireland, but you can't take Northern Ireland out of the boy. On Saturday night, he Tweeted: "Started to get back my rhythm today. Unfortunately a mechanical issue forced us to retire after Stage 14." Gaun yersel Kris.

As for Ott Tänak, he scored his second WRC victory in Germany with his Ford Fiesta finishing 16.4 secs clear of Andreas Mikkelsen and 14 secs clear of Sebastien Ogier.

Ogier's third place has pushed him 17 points clear in the WRC standings after Thierry Neuville failed to score. The Belgian finished 44th after breaking his Hyundai i20’s suspension on Saturday morning.

Juho Hänninen followed up his first WRC podium at the previous round in Finland with fourth in a Toyota Yaris. He was behind Elfyn Evans at close of play on Saturday night after breaking a damper, but regained 4th on Sunday morning.

Evans opted for soft compound tyres for Sunday’s final four speed tests and it cost him dear. He was also overhauled by Ireland’s Craig Breen, who snatched fifth in the final stage despite landing from a jump with such force that it cracked his C3’s windscreen. The gap was 1.9sec.

At the rally finish Elfyn said: “It’s not been the best of weekends for us, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. At times the pace was pretty good and we pushed as hard as we could through every stage. But there were so many surface changes and it’s probably fair to say that we struggled on some of them. We’ve made some good progress since Corsica which is a big positive, and the team as a whole have secured a really strong result so we’re looking forward to the next one.”

Craig Breen added: "It's almost unbelievable to be fifth again, but it shows our consistency. I pushed from start to finish. I couldn't have gone any quicker over the final jump on the Power Stage. In fact, the landing was so heavy that we cracked the windscreen! But we managed to sneak into the top five so overall, it's been a pretty positive weekend. We learned a lot at an event that I didn't know very well, so that'll be useful for me in the future."

Final Provisional Standings:
1. Tänak / Jarveoja (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:57:31.7
2. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Citroën C3 WRC) +16.4
3. Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +30.4
4. Hänninen / Lindstrom (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:49.2
5. Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +2:01.5
6. Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2:03.4
7. Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +3:58.2
8. Paddon / Marshall (Hyundai i20 WRC) +4:32.4
9. Kremer / Winklhofer (Ford Fiesta WRC) +10:19.4
10. Camilli / Veillas (Ford Fiesta R5) +10:44.3

DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Sébastien Ogier - 177 pts
2. Thierry Neuville - 160
3. Ott Tänak - 144
4. Jari-Matti Latvala - 123
5. Dani Sordo - 89
6. Elfyn Evans - 87
7. Craig Breen - 64
8. Juho Hänninen - 58
9. Hayden Paddon - 55
10. Esapekka Lappi - 49
11. Andreas Mikkelsen - 39
12. Kris Meeke - 31

MANUFACTURERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. M-Sport WRT - 325 pts
2. Hyundai Motorsport - 261
3. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT - 216
4. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT - 167

 

Rally - Women in sport

I'm not in the huff any more. 'Motorsport News' printed my letter (see post 11th August) in this week's 72 page special celebrating all that is great in British motorsport - a coincidence surely!

Anyway, I had a good read of the contents and thoroughly enjoyed it, so if you can find a copy of Wednesday's 16th August issue, it's well worth a read. It will give you a sharp poke in the memory box. However, one thing became glaringly obvious. In 31 pages of print and pics there were no female drivers, co-drivers or engineers listed.

Of the 29 drivers and 23 motor sports companies highlighted, there were only two ladies mentioned, Liz Patterson and Claire Williams. Of the greatest 20 motor sporting 'duels', only one lady's name made it, Michelle Mouton.

Motor sport needs to do better, eh?

Rally - Tyneside extra

There is one major fault with the two-day Solway Coast Rally. It clashes with the Tyneside Stages at Otterburn. This year was no exception. Instead of enjoying the convivial company and extremely reasonably priced bevvy in the Officer's Mess on the Saturday evening, it was off to the rainy and windswept Otterburn moors for the second event of the weekend's Scottish Tarmack series double header.

A great pity, because this year's Solway Sunday event attracted Junior 1000 rallyists from Englandshire, Welshland and Northern Ireland as well as our lot, plus a whole gaggle of Minis and a couple of other Historics to add to the jamboree. On the other hand, there was no sair heid on Sunday morning.

Anyway, a report on the Scots abroad at Tyneside is now in the on-line mag:

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2017/08/19-aug-tyneside-stages-rally-extra/

And another thing. The latest issue of Scotland's 'other' rally magazine, is now on sale, the indefatigable Bob Irvine has just produced Issue number 8 and deserves to be supported. It's available on Ebay, just type in 'Scottish Rally Scene' and you can buy the new copy (and past issues) on  line, or look out for Bob at the Crail Stages and Galloway Hills.

As usual, the 48 page magazine is printed on good quality paper and is packed full of photos plus rally reports and chats with Kevin Gray, Ian Forgan and the Peacock family, while the club in the spotlight is Skye & Lochalsh Rally Club.

Rally - 2018 BRC dates

Following on from yesterday's Royal Scottish Automobile Club revelation, the British Rally Championship has announced its calendar for next year, and there's news of a 'replacement' event which has been added to the series in October!

Click the link below for the full text of their announcement.
http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2017/08/17-aug-2018-brc-dates-announced/
  
There's also news from the Isle of Man who are seeking Marshals for their event next month. It would appear that there are deals to be had for anyone heading over to officiate from £35 a head. I don't know the full details but it must be worth a look if you have your MSA Marshals Accred. More info here:
https://www.rally.im/article/rally-isle-of-man-pre-registration/
 

Rally - Scottish out of BRC

The Royal Scottish Automobile Club issued a rather brief Press Release this morning. Methinks they are none too chuffed.

Is this a kick in the teeth for Scottish rally fans who want to see the stars of the future, or a blessing to those who think the various 'national' championship competitors get a raw deal when combined with BRC?

Full text of PR follows:

--- RSAC Scottish Rally will not be a round of the 2018 British Rally Championship

The Board of RSAC Motorsport Ltd were very disappointed to be informed by the organisers of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) that the RSAC Scottish Rally would not be a round of the championship in 2018.

The rally has been supportive of the BRC over many years, through thick and thin, and sometimes to its financial detriment.

In 2017, the rally moved from its usual June date specifically to accommodate the desire of the championship to introduce a foreign event to its calendar, and additionally changed many other aspects of the event including the route, service area and finish venue to suit BRC requirements, notwithstanding the challenges these created for the organising team and the adverse impact on the event’s financial budget.

Despite this news, planning for next year’s event is already well underway, with a focus on providing a great event and experience for both competitors and spectators.

With the ongoing valued support and engagement of Dumfries & Galloway Council and the organisers of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship, the organising team look forward to welcoming everyone to the region for the 2018 Scottish Rally.

- ENDS

Rally - Solway blethers

The garage with three bosses, and bare bum cheeks in the summer sunshine - Scottish rallying at its finest, eh? It's all in Scotland's on-line rally mag.

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2017/08/15-aug-solway-news-blethers/

Rally - Solway Coast report

Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry won the usecarparts.co.uk Solway Coast Rally on the glorious Costa del Solway by just 4 seconds from Stephen Thompson and Larry Higton with Shaun Sinclair and Jamie Edwards filling out the podium places. It was Mark's fifth successive win on this event beating Ian Paterson 's previous best of 4 Solway victories. Greg McKnight was in the hunt too - until the final stage ...

There's a full report here in Scotland's on-line rally mag:

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2017/08/14-aug-mcculloch-wins-solway-2/

News and Gossip to follow - including the story about the bare-faced 'cheeks' of a Marshal. It could only happen here!