Handbrakes Issue 135 June 2010 Hairpins & your insight into the world of rallying Cover SEBASTIEN OGIER LEAVES HIS RIVALS IN HIS DUST TRAILS IN WRC RALLY PORTUGAL Features Events inside Events P-G Andersson joins Rally of South this week: Stobart for Bulgaria Africa action! Contents / Issue 135 04 News Welcome to H&H! • Ogier to help Meeke in IRC Welcome to issue 135 of HANDBRAKES & • Ford plans test at Serbia Rally HAIRPINS, your FREE weekly insight into • Hanninen prepares for IRC challenge the world of rallying! After a whirlwind weekend in Faro, 08 Features Portugal, HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS’ 09 Super Swede + Stobart = Bulgaria gifted photojournalist has returned awe- inspiring photography from the WRC Vodafone Rallye de Portugal. Our WRC 10 Events Media Accreditation pass allowed this 11 WRC: Rally Portugal REVIEW roving reporter to snap these fantastic 14 BRC: Jim Clark Int’l Rally REVIEW photographs not only of the mighty WRC 16 CARS: Rocky Mountain Rally REVIEW machines but of the goings-on at a WRC 18 SARC: Rally of South Africa REVIEW event. You can read the full WRC Vodafone 22 IRC: Italy-Sardinia Rally PREVIEW Rallye de Portugal report on Pages 11 - 13, as well as drool over the action 23 RA: STPR Rally PREVIEW photographs. As editor, I would like to thank Eva Kovkova for her outstanding work and many of you will most certainly agree. The Rally of South Africa, round four of the South African Rally Championship, produced many thrills and Contact spills for the competitors. A high rate of E-mail us [email protected] attrition saw the fi eld whittled down to Call us +27 83 452 6892 only the bravest and strongest, and it Surf us http://wp.me/pkXc also brought the smallest winning margin in South African rallying history. More on To receive your FREE weekly Page 18. HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS eMagazine, As always, I hope you enjoy this or if you’d like to share this with a friend week’s exciting edition! please send your e-mail address to Yours in Rallying, [email protected]. HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS is not a Evan Rothman SPAM e-mail: email addresses are added to the mailing list voluntarily. Cover photograph by our roving Editorial Information photojournalist Eva Kovkova. Editor Evan Rothman Photojournalist Eva Kovkova Contributors Motorpics, WorldRallyPics, RallyBuzz. All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007- 10. This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom. Have you got your HANS Device? As per MSA regulation SSR 163 (viii) Lightweight Pro version available in 10° & 20º Medium & Large sizes Sport version available in 20º Medium & Large sizes The device can be used with most FIA approved 5 or 6point harnesses or with any HANS specific harnesses. HANS “post anchor” helmet clips are FIA Approved and compatible with all HANS systems. Note that not all helmets are approved for HANS clips. Breakthrough HANS vision advantage Plus tether system allows full side-to-side vision. Can be retrofitted to any HANS device ever made, included as standard on all pro models. Kit contains tether carriers, nutwashers, tether and full instructions. To place your order contact us on the following number- Telephone +27 11 6708400 E-mail – [email protected] Website – ats-motorsport.co.za News the world’s latest rally news NEWS Ogier heads to IRC to help Meeke competitors’ photograph - with only his co-driver Ilka Minor representing the crew. Sebastien Ogier, fresh from his maiden World Rally victory in - Credit: © 2010 NORTH ONE SPORT LIMITED. Portugal, joins Peugeot UK’s IRC Champions Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in Sardinia as Peugeot braces itself for a major battle on the gravel stages of Sardinia this weekend. Rally Show at Chatsworth sees more Ogier will swap his Citroen C4 WRC car for a Peugeot 207 S2000, and lines up in Peugeot colours alongside Meeke big names join the party and Nagle, Bruno Magalhaes, Franz Wittman, Thierry Neuville, With just three day to go, stars past and present are still Paulo Andreucci and the Turkish lady star Burcu Çetinkaya. adding their names to the very impressive list of attendees at It’s the biggest Peugeot line-up this year, and is there the 2010 Rally Show at Chatsworth this coming weekend (5 - 6 to help Peugeot defend their manufacturers’ title in the teeth June). of strong opposition from Skoda’s Juho Hänninen, Jan Kopecky and Guy Wilks. Henning Solberg: And Meeke and Nagle need all the support they can Brother of 2003 World Rally Champion Petter and a regular on in a very strong fi eld, especially after the disappointments of WRC events himself, will be helping Jari Matti Latvala with the Argentina and Canarias. driving duties over the two days of the Rally Show. They will Co-driver Paul Nagle comments: “We’ve simply got be sharing the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Ford Focus WRC 09 which to get everything right at Sardinia. It’s the biggest fi eld of M-Sport are sending down from their base at Dovenby in the year so far. Along with the normal suspects we have P-G Cumbria. Andersson in a Mitsubishi and Andreas Mikkelsen in a Fiesta. We’re looking for a good result this weekend. It’s vital to our Simo Lampinen: championship defence.” The former Saab, Lancia, Fiat and latterly British Leyland Ogier was last seen on an IRC event at Monte Carlo works rally driver will be demonstrating his skills in a variety in January when he came agonizingly close to a back-to- of cars. Simo’s career began in the early 60s but winning the back victory in the event. To have the new superstar of world 1968 RAC Rally, accompanied by John Davenport in a Saab rallying alongside him is a huge boost to driver Kris Meeke: 96 V4, fi rst brought his name to the attention of the British “Sébastien is a huge talent - anyone who can beat Loeb has motorsport fans. In a professional career that lasted for got to be. It’s great to have him competing for Peugeot and more than two decades, Simo also won the 1000 Lakes Rally sharing our area of the Service Park. With Seb on board we in 1963 and 1964 on his way to taking the Finnish National can pose a genuine challenge to the Skodas. We’ll have to Championship in both seasons. work very hard indeed to beat them. But try and beat them we will, because that’s the best way to score points, not just in the Paul Stewart: drivers’ title race, but also for Peugeot in the manufacturers.” Son of Grand Prix Racing legend Sir Jackie, will be driving the - Credit: ircseries.com brand new Subaru Impreza STI managed by George Donaldson and featured in depth in Motorsport News. The Formula One Henning Solberg may contest WRC team that Paul and Jackie set up in 1996 has undergone various changes in the interim but is currently enjoying its Rally Bulgari in Fiesta S2000 most successful season to-date under the name of Red Bull!... Stobart driver Henning Solberg has said that he may contest For further details of the Rally Show at Chatsworth, visit the the Rally Bulgaria in a Ford Fiesta Super 2000, after it was website: www.therallyshow.org. confi rmed that former Junior World Rally Champion P-G. - Credit: www.rallybuzz.com Andersson will drive Solberg’s usual Ford Focus WRC on the event in early July, reported www.wrc.com. Ford plans test session in Serbia “If I drive in Bulgaria, it will be with the Fiesta,” said Solberg - who also admitted that his participation in the all- Rally for Mikko Hirvonen asphalt Bulgarian event still hung in the balance. “We’ll have to BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen wait and see.” and Jarmo Lehtinen will enter next month’s Serbia Rally (18 Bulgaria - along with Rallye Deutschland in August - 20 June) in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns will - never formed part of Solberg’s 2010 programme according use the two-day asphalt event, which takes place during the to Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson. Solberg has never summer break in the FIA World Rally Championship, as a test favoured asphalt rallies, with his best result on the surface session before the WRC season restarts in Bulgaria in July. being fourth place on the 2009 Rally Ireland. Rally Bulgaria is the fi rst of four sealed-surface rallies Wilson also added that Andersson’s drive in Bulgaria in the fi nal seven rounds of the WRC season. Three more was not part of a commercial deal but was instead fully asphalt events will take place in Germany, France and Spain. funded. While Andersson is by no means an asphalt expert The Serbia Rally is a round of the FIA European Rally either, Wilson said that he was keen to take the Swedish Championship Regional Cup (East), as well as the national youngster out of his comfort zone and see how he performed championships in Serbia and Bulgaria. It is based in Belgrade, under pressure. which hosts the start ceremony on the evening of Friday 18 “It’ll be interesting to see what he makes of it,” said June. Two days of competition follow and drivers will tackle 18 Wilson.