Label: wrc

Ostberg regrets the wasted opportunity

Ostberg regrets the wasted opportunity

WRC
  Mads Ostberg is convinced that the rally in Mexico could have ended in second place if his Ford Fiesta had not let him down. The Norwegian had a lot of problems with the M-Sport race car in Mexico, as he was bothered by the clutch at first, and his efforts fell into the water when his alternator failed. “At the start of the first stage, I felt something was wrong with the clutch,” Ostberg said. "I couldn't drive as I should. I drove for a while on the faster part, where it is not necessary to use the clutch, but when we got to the technical part, I needed it at the exit of the hairpins. All of a sudden it completely failed. we stopped and checked to see if we might be able to fix the problem but there was nothing we could do.Fortunately we were able to continue.We drove through the mes
Organizers returned time to the injured Ogier

Organizers returned time to the injured Ogier

WRC
  Sebastien Ogier's lead at the rally in Mexico increased to three and a half minutes before the start of Sunday's event, after the organizers reimbursed the Volkswagen racer for the time he lost on Saturday due to the closed prison. Ogier had to stop on the Oates stage on Saturday as someone closed the roadblock after all the other racers had passed the speed test. Ogier nevertheless finished the stage with a nearly three-minute lead, and the timekeepers, with the help of GPS and intermediate times, found that the Ogier-Ingrassia crew had lost 40 seconds due to an unfortunate event. This time was returned to them by the organizers and so they enjoy a three-minute advantage and 29.7 seconds over the second Mikko Hirvonen before the last three stages. Volkswagen team boss Jost Capito said d
The prisoner frightened Ogier

The prisoner frightened Ogier

WRC
Sebastien Ogier survived a close encounter with a closed lock at the eighteenth speed test, and on the last day, after the resignation of Mads Ostberg, he passes with almost a three-minute advantage. Ogier lost almost half a minute when he and co-driver Julien Ingrassio had to stop and open the lock on the Otates stage, but their advantage was so great before that the lead was never threatened. Second-placed Mikko Hirvonen had a flat tire on the same HP. The Finn thus lost almost two minutes of time, bringing Thierry Neuville closer to him in third place in just 7.5 seconds. Neuville also lost some time after his Ford Fiesta started to overheat and he had to slow down a bit. Dani Sordo and Nasser Al-Attiyah remain in fourth
Ogier on Saturday with a comfortable lead

Ogier on Saturday with a comfortable lead

WRC
  Sebastien Ogier increased his lead to 33 seconds ahead of second-placed Mads Ostberg in a rally in Mexico with victories in two superspecials that ended Friday. The Volkswagen racer thus won eight of the thirteen speed trials and got the competitors completely out of reach. Finnish Mikko Hirvonen is breathing down Ostberg's neck with a Citroen, which is "only" nine seconds behind him. Thierry Neuville can only hope for the problems of the leaders if he wants to take the podium, and Dani Sorda does not threaten him from fifth place. Nasser Al-Attiyah is sixth in M-Sport’s third Ford, ahead of American Ken Block. Chris Atkinson completely lost touch with the best after Friday morning's problems, but by the end of the day he managed to break into tenth place, from where he has a nice pr
Ogier leads in front of Ostberg

Ogier leads in front of Ostberg

WRC
Sebastien Ogier with VW Polo already secured a 0.3 second advantage over Mads Ostberg on Thursday, and he dramatically increased his lead. After the ninth speed test, he led with 18.9 seconds ahead of second-placed Mads Ostberg. Mikko Hirvonen climbed to third place, a good 27 seconds behind the leader. Jari-Matti Latvala finished his performance today after 500 meters of the first test. The Finn ran over a rock and broke the front suspension, but he will still be able to rejoin the rally tomorrow, thanks to WRC2 rules. A similar pitch hit Chris Atkinson, who was able to continue the rally despite the damaged car. Evgeny Novikov lost about seven minutes to the sixth HP due to problems with the car's electronic control unit. Mechanics are faulty nat
Hirvonen is the fastest in Mexico

Hirvonen is the fastest in Mexico

WRC
  Finn Mikko Hirvonen was the fastest in the Mexican rally qualifiers. The Citroen racer was 0.7 seconds faster than second-placed Evgeny Novikov with Ford. Thierry Neuville and Mads Ostberg share third place with 3.2 seconds behind Hirvonen. "So far we are doing well. The start is perfect. Now we have to do the rest of the stages in that style," said Hirvonen after the qualifying round, who will probably decide to drive to the first real stage as the thirteenth, so he will the route has already been cleared. "It's very important here when you go on the track. The ground is hard and the conditions are dry, so it's better to go on stage as late as possible." Factory Citroen racers and M-Sport racers drove with soft tires today, while Volkswagen chose harder, which is
Ogier is not seen in the role of favorite

Ogier is not seen in the role of favorite

WRC
  Despite a dreamy start to this season, Sebastien Ogier does not see himself as the favorite to win the title. Ogier started the season with second place at the Monte Carlo Rally and continued with a dominant win in Sweden. The closest competitor, Sebastien Loeb, will be competing in just four rallies this year, making the Volkswagen racer have a good chance of success from afar. But Ogier warns that the road is still long. "We've only driven two of the thirteen rallies. We still don't really know where we are. We don't know yet how good we are on the macadam road where most of this year's rallies take place," Ogier said ahead of the Mexican rally this weekend. "Of course we are very pleased with how the season started. But Monte Carlo and Sweden are two unique rallies that cannot be