Coming up is the 2007 WRC season finale, the 63rd edition of the Wales Rally Great Britain. Sébastien Loeb is coming off a victory two weeks ago in Ireland that vaulted him to a six point lead over his championship rival, Marcus Grönholm. A fifth place finish or better for the Frenchman will result in his fourth consecutive World Title. In the Production Car WRC, championship leader Toshihiro Arai has not nominated this event for points, so he will be watching the progress of his only title rival, Gabriel Pozzo. The Argentine driver trails by 9 points in the standings, so he can take the crown with a class victory in Wales. For complete 2007 points click here.
Rally Great Britain has been included in the WRC 33 times and part of the Drivers’ Championship 27 times, dating back to 1973. It was rotated to 2-Litre status for 1996. The Rally has been known by 5 different names:
Daily Mirror RAC Rally (1973)
Lombard RAC Rally (1974-1992)
Network Q RAC Rally (1993-1997)
Network Q Rally of Great Britain (1998-2001)
Wales Rally of Great Britain (2002-present)
Debut WRC wins in Great Britain:
Roger Clark (GBR) – 1976 in Ford Escort RS1800
Henri Toivonen (FIN) – 1980 in Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
Pentti Airikkala (FIN) – 1989 in Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Petter Solberg (NOR) – 2002 in Subaru Impreza WRC
Notable WRC debuts in Great Britain:
Louise Aitken-Walker (GBR) – 1979 in Ford Fiesta (retired)
Richard Burns (GBR) – 1990 in Peugeot 309 GTI (finished 28th)
Barry Clark (GBR) – 2003 in Ford Puma Super 1600 (retired)
Justin Dale (GBR) – 2002 in Mitsubishi Lancer WRC (retired)
Gwyndaf Evans (GBR) – 1987 in Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (retired)
David Higgins (GBR) – 1994 in Peugeot 106 Rallye (retired)
Mark Higgins (GBR) – 1990 in Suzuki Swift GTI (retired)
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) – 2002 in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 (finished 17th)
Alister McRae (GBR) – 1991 in Subaru Legacy RS (retired)
Jimmy McRae (GBR) – 1976 in Vauxhall Magnum Coupe (finished 12th)
Niall McShea (GBR) – 1999 in Citroën Saxo VTS (retired)
Kris Meeke (GBR) – 2002 in Ford Puma Super 1600 (retired)
Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) – 2006 in Ford Focus RS WRC (retired)
Armin Schwarz (GER) – 1988 in Audi 200 Quattro (finished 5th)
Malcolm Wilson (GBR) – 1977 in Ford Escort RS2000 (finished 12th)
Matthew Wilson (GBR) – 2004 in Ford Focus RS WRC (finished 13th)
For complete list of Winners and Historical Stats click here.
Did You Know?
With a victory this weekend Sébastien Loeb will knock off one of the three current WRC events that he has yet to attain victory. The other two are Rally Norway (run only once) and the Scandinavian dominated Rally Finland. However, remember Loeb had the 2005 Rally GB in hand before tragedy struck. Following the death of Michael Park in an accident, Loeb took a penalty to avoid a title clinching victory on the somber day. Last season, the Frenchman sat out Rally GB recovering from a broken arm, yet still won the WRC crown.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
WRC Rally Ireland Preview
Coming up is the 15 round of the 2007 WRC - the all new Rally Ireland. The championship chase is heating up for the drivers as Marcus Grönholm clings to a four point advantage over Sébastien Loeb. In the Manufacturer’s championship, Ford can clinch a repeat title if they can muster at least 3 points on this weekend’s event.
Also in the Production car championship, Toshi Arai has not nominated this penultimate round. He has only two championship rivals and will clinch another PWRC crown if he can maintain an 11 point advantage. To keep their respective hopes alive Mark Higgins must win and/or Gabriel Pozzo finish 2nd or better.
Since this is the debut of Rally Ireland there are no stats to post. So I decided to put some interesting tidbits together. Enjoy!
This is the 3rd running of Rally Ireland. The first event was won by Matthew Wilson and Michael Orr in a Ford Focus. Last year Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely won the WRC candidate event in a Toyota Corolla WRC. Both events were based in Sligo, which is also the host of this year’s WRC Rally Ireland.
This rally will feature 20 stages, with 14 different stage locations. 8 of those will be held in the Republic of Ireland and six will be across the border in Northern Ireland. This event joins Monte Carlo and Rallye Sanremo as the only cross border WRC rallies.
Ireland Drivers Statistics
World Champions: none
Rally Victories: none
Podiums: none
Points: 13 – 30th all-time
Billy Coleman (10)
Gareth MacHale (3)
Point Finishes: 2 – tied for 32nd all-time
Billy Coleman (1)
Gareth MacHale (1)
Did You Know? The best finish by an Irishman was Billy Coleman’s 4th place drive on the 1985 Tour de Corse in a Porsche 911 SC RS. His co-driver was Ronan Morgan who is now a promoter for Rally Ireland.
One to Watch: Eugene Donnelly (IRL) – Although it will be his WRC debut, this Irishman is the defending race winner. He also won the 2006 Irish Tarmac Championship and will be in a Skoda Fabia WRC run by Reid Motorsport. With so few tarmac specialists, a solid run by Donnelly could see him score on native soil.
Also in the Production car championship, Toshi Arai has not nominated this penultimate round. He has only two championship rivals and will clinch another PWRC crown if he can maintain an 11 point advantage. To keep their respective hopes alive Mark Higgins must win and/or Gabriel Pozzo finish 2nd or better.
Since this is the debut of Rally Ireland there are no stats to post. So I decided to put some interesting tidbits together. Enjoy!
This is the 3rd running of Rally Ireland. The first event was won by Matthew Wilson and Michael Orr in a Ford Focus. Last year Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely won the WRC candidate event in a Toyota Corolla WRC. Both events were based in Sligo, which is also the host of this year’s WRC Rally Ireland.
This rally will feature 20 stages, with 14 different stage locations. 8 of those will be held in the Republic of Ireland and six will be across the border in Northern Ireland. This event joins Monte Carlo and Rallye Sanremo as the only cross border WRC rallies.
Ireland Drivers Statistics
World Champions: none
Rally Victories: none
Podiums: none
Points: 13 – 30th all-time
Billy Coleman (10)
Gareth MacHale (3)
Point Finishes: 2 – tied for 32nd all-time
Billy Coleman (1)
Gareth MacHale (1)
Did You Know? The best finish by an Irishman was Billy Coleman’s 4th place drive on the 1985 Tour de Corse in a Porsche 911 SC RS. His co-driver was Ronan Morgan who is now a promoter for Rally Ireland.
One to Watch: Eugene Donnelly (IRL) – Although it will be his WRC debut, this Irishman is the defending race winner. He also won the 2006 Irish Tarmac Championship and will be in a Skoda Fabia WRC run by Reid Motorsport. With so few tarmac specialists, a solid run by Donnelly could see him score on native soil.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
IRC China Rally Preview
The season finale for the 2007 Intercontinental Rally Challenge is upon us. The China Rally, originally scheduled for the last weekend of the month, was just recently confirmed and moved up three weeks. Couple that with the distance for most IRC regulars and Peugeot already clinching the Manufacturer's Championship and you have a very scant IRC crowd. None of the championship contenders or familar faces will be in China. Hideaki Miyoshi, finished third on the Safari rally, is the only participant to make a previous IRC start this season.
Personally, I think the IRC got it all wrong putting the China Rally as the series finale. Due to lack of participation, there will be no dramatic title fight between Enrique García-Ojeda and Nicolas Vouilloz. The Peugeot team mates performed well this season to help their marque to the makes title, and were just five points apart heading to the final round. Honorable mention goes to the lead Abarth driver, Andrea Navarra who notched a victory in the opening round and lead the championship for a good portion of the season until a string of 4 starts were he scored a total of only 3 points. For the complete 2007 IRC point standings through 8 events, click here.
Still there are many interesting stories on the China Rally. It is also the 7th and final round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. There will be a big fight in the APRC for the Manufacturer's title (Subaru leads 74-72). Jussi Välimäki and Kastuhiko Taguchi will lead the way for Mitsubishi while battling for second in the championship. Meanwhile Cody Crocker, who can win his second title just by starting the race, will head the Subaru attack. For the complete 2007 APRC point standings through 6 events, click here.
Add in the Chinese Rally Championship fights where David Higgins and Martin Rowe (former BRC champs) are looking to aid their respective team's push for a title. There is also all the locals as they fight for the Chinese drivers championship.
This rally will deterimine a number of titles in multiple rally series, so stay tuned to the Official IRC website for all the results this weekend.
Personally, I think the IRC got it all wrong putting the China Rally as the series finale. Due to lack of participation, there will be no dramatic title fight between Enrique García-Ojeda and Nicolas Vouilloz. The Peugeot team mates performed well this season to help their marque to the makes title, and were just five points apart heading to the final round. Honorable mention goes to the lead Abarth driver, Andrea Navarra who notched a victory in the opening round and lead the championship for a good portion of the season until a string of 4 starts were he scored a total of only 3 points. For the complete 2007 IRC point standings through 8 events, click here.
Still there are many interesting stories on the China Rally. It is also the 7th and final round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. There will be a big fight in the APRC for the Manufacturer's title (Subaru leads 74-72). Jussi Välimäki and Kastuhiko Taguchi will lead the way for Mitsubishi while battling for second in the championship. Meanwhile Cody Crocker, who can win his second title just by starting the race, will head the Subaru attack. For the complete 2007 APRC point standings through 6 events, click here.
Add in the Chinese Rally Championship fights where David Higgins and Martin Rowe (former BRC champs) are looking to aid their respective team's push for a title. There is also all the locals as they fight for the Chinese drivers championship.
This rally will deterimine a number of titles in multiple rally series, so stay tuned to the Official IRC website for all the results this weekend.
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