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Old 10-06-2013, 11:28 AM   #15
Weasel 555
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SS18: Sordo claws back time

Dani Sordo refused to settle for second in Rallye de France - Alsace when he clawed back almost four seconds on leader Sebastien Ogier during the opening stage this afternoon.

The Spaniard won the stage by 0.4sec in his Citroen DS3 from Thierry Neuville's Ford Fiesta RS. But, more importantly, he was 3.7sec quicker than Ogier's Volkswagen Polo R to reduce the deficit between the pair to 10.0sec with two tests remaining.

"I lost time here this morning but the conditions are even more tricky now. It's muddy but it's a good fight with Jari-Matti for second. We'll see about Ogier***8230;." said Sordo, who stretched his advantage over third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala to 13.7sec.

Ogier appeared rattled at the stage finish, although the Frenchman played down any concerns after setting fourth fastest time. "I didn't push. That's my strategy now. It's all OK," he said, before heading off for the penultimate test.

If Sordo thought he was battling Latvala, then the Finn had a different view on the situation. "It's quite bad there and I'm not good in muddy conditions. I don't like it and I'm not confident enough to push in those conditions. It seems quite clear that I will be third on the podium," he said.

Neuville survived a half-spin, the Belgian explaining: "It's like cross-country riding! I went wide at a junction. I turned late with the handbrake and lost one or two seconds."

Mads Ostberg dropped a minute in his Fiesta RS after sliding off the road at a tight left bend.

"We went wide and got stuck and needed help from the spectators," said the Norwegian. "We had problems with the brakes earlier and I only have rear brakes. I worked a lot on the road section. We worked on the car right up to the start and things were stressed."

click: wrc.com/news/ss18



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SS19: Ogier 12sec ahead



Sebastien Ogier will take a 12.2sec lead into the final stage of Rallye de France after a trouble free run through the penultimate test.

The Frenchman drove his Volkswagen Polo R through the repeated section from Bischwiller in the joint second-fastest time, one second adrift of stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala.

"This one was a bit easier than the first pass, so all okay, a good drive," said Ogier, as he left for the rally closing street stage at Haguenau.

Fourth quickest for Dani Sordo was enough to keep the Spaniard relatively comfortable in second, 10.5sec ahead of third placed Latvala.

Sordo said he hadn't given up on catching Ogier, but admitted he wouldn't be able to do it through driving alone.

click: wrc.com/news/ss19



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SS20:



Sebastien Ogier delivered a masterclass display in treacherous conditions today to win Rally de France - Alsace and bookend a perfect weekend after clinching his maiden drivers' world title on Thursday.

After a lacklustre Friday when the euphoria of Thursday night's title win left him jaded and down in fifth, the Frenchman roared back into contention with a string of stage wins yesterday in his Volkswagen Polo R.

Ogier started today's final leg as one of four drivers chasing victory, covered by just five seconds. But he stamped his authority with a dominant win in the rain-soaked opening stage to build an advantage he managed through to the Strasbourg finish.

He won by 12.2sec from Dani Sordo, revitalised in his Citroen DS3 following his win in Germany in August. Jari-Matti Latvala was a further 7.3sec behind in another Polo R, both having led before Ogier took control.

"There has been so much emotion this weekend," said Ogier, for whom this was his seventh win of the season. "After the excitement of winning the title on Thursday, it was difficult to get back into the race. But we couldn't stay like that all weekend and decided to react yesterday.

"We pushed to the maximum then and this morning we soon made a gap at the front. Then we had to bring the car home, which wasn't easy in the rain and mud. We started the story from zero with Volkswagen last year, and now we're close to the manufacturers' title as well," he added.

Sordo led when Thierry Neuville dropped back with a puncture after sliding his Ford Fiesta RS into a kerb yesterday afternoon. Although he could not fend off Ogier, he was happy with second.

"There's always disappointment when you finish second but it's another podium in a rally in which we were fighting all the time for first," he said. "When you're in the car and see how difficult it is to take just one second back, and Ogier is 15sec ahead, you have to be realistic. We pushed, but Ogier is champion for a reason."

Latvala was relieved after a troubled run of rallies. "I didn't make a single mistake here, it was my most consistent rally for a long time. I've had a lot of pressure lately after mistakes in Finland, Germany and Australia and it eats your mind," he admitted.

There was no fairy tale ending to Sebastien Loeb's WRC career. Having led the opening leg, the Frenchman started today 5.0sec from the top and hopeful of celebrating a 79th victory at the final stage in his home town of Haguenau.

However, he rolled his Citroen DS3 into retirement 1km into the opening test.
"I lost the rear in a fast right corner, and then we had a spin and I finished in the ditch. And that was the race over. I would have preferred to have finished my last rally here, but it didn't go according to plan," said Loeb.

Neuville's disappointment at missing a maiden WRC win after leading by more than 16sec was huge. But the Belgian recovered to finish fourth, almost a minute behind Latvala, and he remains second in the drivers' standings.

click: wrc.com/news/19243




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Next: Rnd 12 Rallye de Spain 24-27 Oct 13




The RallyRACC-Rally de Espana has been a unique event in recent seasons of the WRC in that it has been the only true mixed surface round of the season. Nowhere else has three days of rallying been split across gravel and asphalt; in Spain the first day's competition is off-road, with the last two days running on tarmac.

The use of asphalt and gravel stages on the same event not only increases the challenge facing the crews due to the different driving style requirements, it also adds to the workload placed on the mechanics and engineers, who have to convert their cars from gravel to asphalt specification in a restricted timeframe.

Based on Spain's Costa Daurada in the country's Tarragona region, the event is always one of the highlights of the WRC season.

Official Website: rallyracc.com/2013/

Listen Live: wrc.com/fanzone/wrc-live/



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