HHandbrakesandbrakes &HHairpinsairpins LLOEBOEB IINN NNZ:Z: PPOETRYOETRY IINN MMOTIONOTION IIssuessue 238238 • 2277 JJuneune 20122012 • hhttp://wp.me/pkXcttp://wp.me/pkXc TThehe wworld’sorld’s onlyonly ffreeree ddedicatededicated rallyrally eeMagazineMagazine - eeveryvery wweek!eek! 119 Series Seats Hand built & designed for - • Increased driver safety • Enhanced driver feel • Reduced driver fatigue • Six point mounting method • HANS compatible • 6 point harness compatible • Air duct cooling • Fire retardant fabric cover • Composite or kevlar shell construction • FIA approved Used by reining PWRC Champion Hayden Paddon currently competing in SWRC Telephone +27 11 6708400 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ats-motorsport.co.za IIssuessue 223838 • 2277 JJuneune 22012012 EEDITORIALDITORIAL IINFORMATIONNFORMATION Editor Evan Rothman Favourite rally car? Audi Quattro S2 Current favourite WRC driver? Mads Ostberg Favourite WRC rally? WRC Rallye Deutschland Favourite rally? Total Rally, South Africa Tweets too much about rallying, loves nothing more than spectating on a forest rally, and has aspirations of being the world’s greatest rally journalist. He’s also oftentimes seen with a In 2012, we will bring YOU: camera in his one hand and his mobile phone more opinions ringing in his pocket at the most inopportune times. more photographs more competitions more videos as you ASKED for in 2011! Photojournalist Eva Kovkova Favourite rally car? Citroën C4 WRC AADMINISTRATIVEDMINISTRATIVE IINFORMATIONNFORMATION Current favourite WRC driver? Mads Østberg Contributors Liga Stirna, Patrick Vermaak, Motorpics, Favourite WRC rally? Vodafone Rally de Portugal Newspress. Favourite rally? White Nights Rally, Lahdenpohja, Russia All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & Likes to walk in the Swedish snow forests or on HAIRPINS, 2007-12. This publication is fully protected by Portuguese dusty hills, likes to freeze, to get wet copyright and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part in the rain or to melt from the heat during photo without written permission from the editor. While reasonable hunts for fl ying cars and smiling faces. Also is precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of knowing as a press ice bear working for South information from sources and given to readers, the editor Africa :) cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom. FOLLOW US! CCONTACTONTACT E-mail us [email protected] Call us +27 83 452 6892 Surf us http://wp.me/pkXc To receive your FREE weekly HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS eMagazine, or if you’d like to share this with a friend please send your e-mail address to [email protected]. HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS is not a SPAM e-mail: email addresses are added to the mailing list voluntarily. OPPENINENING SHOT RRallyally ccarsars ddominateominate JJuneune iinn BBelgium’selgium’s hhistoricistoric ttownown oonn YYpres.pres. JJournalistsournalists ffromrom tthehe wworldorld ooverver ddescendescend oonn tthehe aasphaltsphalt sstagestages fforor tthishis ffestivalestival ooff sspeed,peed, aandnd sspectatorspectators jjourneyourney ffromrom aallll aacrosscross EEuropeurope ttoo ccelebrateelebrate tthishis uuniquenique eevent.vent. TThehe IIntercontinentalntercontinental RRallyally CChallenge’shallenge’s GGekoeko YYprespres RRallyally wwasas yyetet aanothernother ccloselylosely ffoughtought aaffair.ffair. PPicture:icture: IIRCRC SSerieseries START RAMP 07 Sebastien Loeb takes on the X Games 2012 CONTENTS SERVICE PARK 10 WRC Brother Rally of New Zealand review 14 IRC Geko Ypres Rally review PARC FERME 18 Inside the WRC Team MINI Portugal - SPECIAL ARTICLE START RAMP LOEEBB AANDND X GGAMES:AMES: TTAKINGAKING OONN UU.S.A..S.A. Words: Handbrakes & Hairpins supported by the drink that gives you wings? Citroën and its didn’t need to be asked twice when the opportunity arose Picture: Citroën Racing leading driver were drawn to the idea and the challenge of to race against drivers like Marcus Grönholm in a 545bhp battling it out in the west, and wasted no time in taking up Citroën DS3!” Always excited about tackling new challenges, Citroën the gauntlet. To maximise its chances of winning, Citroën Racing Racing and Sébastien Loeb are preparing to take Eight-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb has developed a very special DS3 called XL, as in X Games part in the X Games Los Angeles 2012 this weekend. has 71 career wins at 23 different rallies, as far apart as and Loeb! Based on a car built by Hansen Motorsport, Driving a Citroën DS3 ‘XL’ sporting Red Bull and Total Sweden and Australia, and including Mexico, Japan and the seven-time World Rally Championship-winning team decals, the eight-time World Rally Champion will Jordan. The prospect of racing in a new setting does not has introduced a healthy dose of Créative Technologie by test himself against the best drivers from the Global therefore bother him in the slightest: “I love racing and I’m making a series of modifi cations. “It’s always exciting to try Rallycross Championship. always interested in trying out new categories. A week after out a new category and attempt to get the most out of the It all started when Red Bull, a Citroën Total World the New Zealand Rally has fi nished, I’ll be in Los Angeles to regulations,” confi rmed Cyrille Jourdan, lead engineer for the Rally Team partner since 2008, came up with an idea: what if take up the challenge set for me by Travis! Rallycross here project at Citroën Racing. “From a distance, the Rallycross Citroën Racing and Sébastien Loeb took part in the X Games in Europe provides some very spectacular racing, but the DS3 looks quite similar to the WRC. Although the design of Los Angeles 2012 and took on Travis Pastrana, another icon American version seems to be even more extreme. So, I the chassis and suspension systems are fairly similar, the powertrain is fundamentally different. The DS3 XL’s two- through its paces by Sébastien Loeb at the Dreux racetrack: X Games Los Angeles when we agreed to take part. Once litre turbo engine develops 545bhp and 800Nm of torque. “With four-wheel drive and the extra power, this DS3 really we had actually committed to the project, we prepared for Its acceleration isn’t far off that of an F1 car, covering 0 to does go at some speed! We used these test sessions to try the event with the utmost seriousness,” confi rmed Yves 100kph in 02.4 seconds!” out a few different set-up options. However, we know that Matton, Citroën Racing Director. “As it’s a one-off event for Compared with a rally car, the lack of co-driver and the American racetracks are very different and we’ll therefore us, we don’t have to worry about managing our position in spare wheels means the engineers are required to rework have to adapt the car to the conditions there very quickly.” the championship. There’s only one race and we are really the weight distribution. “That’s why the water radiator has Set up on the Gilbert Lindsay Plaza, right next to the Staple determined to try and win it. It won’t be easy because it will been moved into the boot,” continued Cyrille Jourdan. “The Center which hosts the other X Games events, the temporary all be new to us, compared with our rivals who are used to main visual difference between the WRC and the XL is the circuit features loose dirt portions and a jump of over 20 this type of racing, but we’ll be fi ghting every inch of the addition of cooling vents in the rear wings. This alteration metres! way!” H&H is designed to achieve improved performance at the start, Aside from the prospect of taking part in what is which is the most crucial phase in rallycross.” undoubtedly a fun, spectator-oriented event, Citroën Racing After completing fi nal preparations in Citroën and Loeb are determined to fi ght to win the race. “We were Racing’s Versailles workshops, Citroën DS3 XL was put fully aware of the importance that Red Bull attaches to the SERVICE PARK WWRRC BBRROTTHERHER RRALLYALLY NNEWEW ZZEALAND:EALAND: BBESTEST RROADS,OADS, PPREDICTABLEREDICTABLE AACTION?CTION? Words: Handbrakes & Hairpins Eight-time World Rally Champions Sebastien Loeb charged as the Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen Pictures: Citroën Racing, WorldRallyPics, Prodrive and Daniel Elena (Citroën Total World Rally Team) scored yet fi nished in second place, just 29.6 seconds behind Loeb/ another win this season after leading from the end of the fi rst Elena despite a late charge from Ford World Rally Team’s The Brother Rally New Zealand’s winners were day. The victory marks only the third time that the Citroën Petter Solbeg/Chris Patterson to hand the French squad its wrapped up at the end of Day One. Wet, muddy, loose Total World Rally Team stars have secured top honours in fourth one-two lockout in the 2012 season thus far. The and slippery surface conditions with dry and hard-pack a New Zealand round of the FIA World Rally Championship. two Citroën crews enjoyed an intense battle throughout the cambered tracks thrown into the mix, tyre choice on As the seventh WRC event of 2012 – signifi cantly, also the three-day event that took competitors from Raglan, west of Day One decided this rally’s outcome more than any 500th WRC event of all time – wrapped up in downtown Hamilton, to the northern city of Whangarei and back to the other factor. Auckland on Sunday afternoon, the champagne glasses were rally’s base in Auckland. Loeb said: “It’s a great victory! It was a long weekend with still a good result. The key today was to stay calm to secure stages, Solberg lost over a minute to the leaders... It was some very diffi cult conditions. The big, big fi ght with Mikko third, and taking bonus points in the Power Stage was a catch-up duty for the Norwegian ace who, along with team- for the weekend was not easy, but we are here now at the good ending.