COATES HIRE RALLY AUSTRALIA SPEEDCAFE.COM’S ULTIMATE GUIDE SEPTEMBER 11 - 14, 2014 Coates Hire Rally Australia I Editorial 5 COATES HIRE RALLY AUSTRALIA Contents SEPTEMBER 11 - 14, 2014 IN EVERY ISSUE! EDITOR IN CHIEF: Gordon Lomas 5 EDITORIAL/CONTENTS 7 COVER STORY JOURNALIST: 9 SEASON SO FAR Tom Howard 10 SPECIAL STAGE MAP 16 CAR COMPARISON DESIGN: 18 ENTRY LIST Kirstie Fuentes 20 RALLY TERMINOLOGY 22 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS SALES/MARKETING: 23 PREVIOUS WINNERS 30 MIKKELSEN/KUBICA Leisa Emberson 25 VOLKSWAGEN OGIER/LATVALA 31 PADDON 26 CITROEN MEEKE/OSTBERG 33 WRC CHAMPIONS PARTNERS: 27 M SPORT HIRVONEN/EVANS 35 TV TIMES Armor All 28 HYUNDAI NEUVILLE/ATKINSON 36 SCHEDULE EVENT Castrol Edge Coates Hire Crimsafe Dunlop Porsche Beko Tata Motors Pirtek Honda SEASON SO FAR COVER STORY OGIER LEADS THE WAY TAMING THE WILD AUSSIE BUSH Defending world champion Sebastien Ogier Even in the unpredictable world of rallying, was off to a flying start winning the round as the German round was a rollercoaster ride 9 Volkswagen... 7 of mammoth proportions... Atkinson fired up for Rally Oz return ustralia’s best performed World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson has a point to prove on many fronts at Coffs A Harbour. Our proud platinum partners In and out of drives at the top level since his days as a Subaru factory driver ended after 2008, Atkinson and co-driver Stephane Prevot will crew the ™ #8 Hyundai Shell World Rally Team i20. After hooking up as one of Hyundai’s development All-In-One Security and test drivers last year, the German-based squad announced Atkinson as one of several drivers who will share the rotational seat in the second i20 beside the team’s only full-timer Thierry Neuville. finishes, Atkinson has paid his dues and is armed with Atkinson was given the duties of competing the ability to climb to the top step. at Mexico in March where he managed to battle Whether Volkswagen or Hyundai’s history-making against breakages and finish in the points in seventh Neuville will allow that is another matter. position. However Hyundai has not been forthcoming with any other rallies for Atkinson this season. It means that Rally Australia, aside from the nationalistic viewpoint, remains arguably the most Gordon Lomas important event in his long career. Editor in Chief, A winner of 41 WRC special stages and six podium Speedcafe.com www.speedcafe.com Coates Hire Rally Australia I Cover Story 7 Taming the wild Aussie bush ven in the unpredictable world But Latvala would also crash before KrisOur proudFor only the platinum second time this seasonpartners of rallying, the German round Meeke met the same fate after inheriting Hyundai will draft Australia’s most was a rollercoaster ride of the lead with a pace-note mistake seeing his successful WRC driver, Chris Atkinson, into E ™ mammoth proportions. Citroen DS3 become intimate with a wall. the #8 i20 with Stephane Prevot calling the Before the event had started Hyundai’s It left Hyundai’s Neuville in front with pace notes. All-In-One Security campaign appeared doomed when Thierry team-mate Dani Sordo second with the But based on previous Rally Australia results Neuville crashed during the shakedown, pair completed an historic WRC one-two and outright performance in 2014, Hyundai leaving the squad a tight schedule to fix for the Korean manufacturer. will need more than an ounce of luck. substantial damage. The maiden WRC victory had been While Hyundai were not yet on the A monumental effort saw Neuville make helped in no uncertain terms by the scene, Volkswagen were at a level of the start of the rally which then saw world unusually high amount of retirements domination rarely seen at Rally Australia champion Sebastien Ogier crash not once ahead of Neuville. last year. but twice. It was the first rally of the year where While there have been some tweaks His Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Latvala Volkswagen did not climb the top step of including a new super special stage and was in control at the front and seemingly the podium. service park location the stages out in just had to make the finish to maintain Hyundai will go into Australia with a the forest to the north and south of Coffs Volkswagen’s perfect record in the nine massive amount of confidence headed by Harbour remain relatively the same. rounds in 2014. their full-time lead driver Neuville. Ogier captured 19 of the 22 stages last www.speedcafe.com 8 Coates Hire Rally Australia I Cover Story year with Andreas Mikkelsen winning the the history of the WRC. opening sprint in the satellite factory Polo “We’re proud of this. However, it won’t be with Latvala winning SS10 while Mikko easy to be successful once again.” Hirvonen was the only non VW driver to Latvala was stung by letting a certain 25 win a stage. points slip through his fingers after Ogier Volkswagen team boss Jost Capito said had crashed for a second time with his rally it will be more challenging to repeat the over. domination this year but says Ogier and With the difference remaining 44 points Latvala can maintain maximum attack in favour of Ogier, Latvala remains positive against each other in the race for the title. about his chances against his world Ogier currently holds a 44-point margin champion team-mate. at the top of the standings over Latvala. “In Germany it was all those points “With the current situation in the world (gone), given the position I was in, we championship it has the potential to be would be in a good position fighting now particularly exciting in 2014,” Capito said. for the title.,” Latvala said. “In the Ogier versus Latvala duel, both “But okay the mistake did happen and I drivers have been given the go-ahead to have to learn from it but I have not given fight for victory. up for the fight yet. “We also have a good chance of “It will be more difficult for sure but being able to celebrate winning the anything is still possible. manufacturers’ title early. “I need to be clever and I need the points “Last year we won 21 of 22 special stages and need to finish now. and started the longest winning streak in “But I’m still going to go for it and fight.” Our proud platinum partners platinum proud Our ™ y t Securi ne O n- I All- www.speedcafe.com Coates Hire Rally Australia I Season So Far 9 SEASON SO FAR: OGIER LEADS THE WAY Round 1 - Monte Carlo (Jan 14-19): Round 4 Portugal (April 3-6): commanding the event with Latvala turning Defending world champion Sebastien Ogier and Ingrassia surged to a fourth win the tables on Ogier in a continuation of their Ogier was off to a flying start winning the in Portugal to be one short of the king of intense inter-team dual. round as Volkswagen started in ominous the country’s rally, Markku Alen with five. Kris Meeke picked up more valuable form with a blindingly quick car. Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo points for Citroen to claim the final podium The surprise of the event was Bryan Letinen earned a much needed second position. Bouffier, the Hyundai test driver, who place with Mads Ostberg and Jonas was campaigning in a one-off M-Sport Andersson claiming third. Round 9 Germany (August 21-24): prepared Ford Fiesta who finished second The win kept VW’s factory effort With the score sheet 5-3 in favour of Ogier ahead of Citroen’s Kris Meeke. unbeaten. over Latvala, VW’s invincibility showed no Hyundai’s re-entry as an official factory- signs of weakening. backed effort got off to shaky start with its Round 5 Argentina (May 8-11): However in one of the most tumultuous lead driver Thierry Neuville crashing heavily The Volkswagen juggernaut kept rolling results seen in the WRC, the German in the opening stage. with Latvala/Anttila scoring their second manufacturer would see its colours Team-mate Dani Sordo would last until win of the year with just over 1:25s to spare lowered. SS5 before being being forced out with over Ogier/Ingrassia. Hyundai went into the final day with an electrical problems. Citroen’s Kris Meeke finished third ahead historic victory within its grasp. of Mikkelsen with Neuville claiming fifth for After seeing Ogier and later Latvala both Round 2 - Sweden (February 5-8): Hyundai. crashing off the road, Hyundai pair Neuville Volkswagen maintained its seemingly and Sordo found themselves first and considerable edge on the first snow rally Round 6 Sardinia (June 5-8): second and duly finished with a Korean but not through Ogier. Running to form, Volkswagen maintained quinella, the first WRC success in two Jari-Matti Latvala took the honours to its domination over the field with Ogier different eras for the marque. lead home team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen and Ingrassia claiming their fourth win. Andreas Mikkelsen guided his Polo R and the Citroen of Mads Ostberg. Ostberg/Andersson claimed second for to the final podium spot after his more Ogier was mired down in sixth place Citroen with Latvala/Anttila filling the fancied team-mates had been upstaged. while Hyundai’s attack again showed no joy podium. After 9 of 13 rounds Ogier leads the points with Neuville in 28th and Juho Hanninen, Our onproud 187 over Latvala platinum (143) with Mikkelsen partners handling the #8 i20, in 19th. Round 7 Poland (June 26-29): third on 110 in an all VW top three.