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Post by Hurricane on Oct 9, 2008 7:52:19 GMT
And entries have closed. Sarah didn't modify her post, so I can't take her position 7 tip into account.
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sarah
Chief Marshall
Posts: 79
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Post by sarah on Oct 9, 2008 10:22:01 GMT
Rats. Oh well!
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Post by Mixa on Oct 9, 2008 10:42:06 GMT
Yeah I can confirm them are my tips.. I sended a message with my cell phone to SX4 fan as I was working and almost forgot to post them. He then done as I said and posted them to the forums.
(Thanks a lot my friend ;D )
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Post by sx4fan on Oct 9, 2008 17:14:14 GMT
You're always welcome, mate! Was glad to hear from you! Wait for a big letter soon!
Sorry for being absent for such a long time!
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Post by Nick McRae on Oct 9, 2008 21:07:26 GMT
Quite looking forward to this rally. Duval seems up for it and has stated his intentions in shakedown. Question is with only two rounds to go after this event - does Loeb really need to go all out to win this event?
I don't think so, so although common sense has made me tip Loeb to win - I wouldn't be surprised if Loeb came away with 8 points as apposed to 10. Sordo will be right behind him - I don't think Hirvonen will be any higher than fourth.
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Post by Roo on Oct 9, 2008 22:45:42 GMT
Question is with only two rounds to go after this event - does Loeb really need to go all out to win this event? I reckon it wouldn't hurt. Loeb will be able to drive at 9/10ths for the weekend and probably still record a win. Duval will be his biggest threat, so as long as Loeb can stay in front of Duval's times he should be right. Although Loeb could cruise through and just collect points, Japan and Wales are very tricky rallies, so the bigger the points buffer over your rival, the better. We all know what happened in Japan last year, and Wales certainly has a reputation of being a difficult rally as well. I think Loeb would rather go easy over these two rallies than Corsica.
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Post by Roo on Oct 10, 2008 10:28:52 GMT
Loeb leads, no suprise there. But Sordo has stopped 700 metres into Stage 3. Hirvonen is now second, a very important position for him to hold. Urmo Aava suffered suspension damage on Stage 1 and has been losing time throughout the morning. Mikkelson lost over a minute before he had even started the first stage, after booking in late into the stage start. A good start for the Zooks, with both SX4 WRC's in the points, and Brice Tirabassi not too far off the points on his home rally. 1. Sebastien LOEB -0.0 2. Mikko HIRVONEN +14.4 3. François DUVAL +16.6 4. Petter SOLBERG +36.3 5. Jari Matti LATVALA +36.4 6. Chris ATKINSON +38.6 7. Toni GARDEMEISTER +1:40.0 8. Per Gunnar ANDERSSON +1:45.3 9. Brice TIRABASSI +1:47.5 10. Conrad RAUTENBACH +1:49.8 11. Mads OSTBERG +1:57.4 12. Henning SOLBERG +2:01.9 13. Matthew WILSON +2:10.4 14. Andreas MIKKELSEN +2:24.8
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Post by Roo on Oct 10, 2008 11:55:34 GMT
Turns out Sordo went off the road 700 metres in, damaged his suspension. Citroen could have wrapped up the manufacturers title this weekend at their home rally, most probably not going to happen now. Matthew Wilson also had an off, sliding wide on a corner on some loose gravel. Luckily missing a bunch of trees, and some spectators nearby were able to get him back on the road. Many drivers have commented about lots of gravel on the roads, many of these are WRC drivers like Duval. Imagine how bad it would be for drivers running further down the order!
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Post by tfliprex on Oct 10, 2008 19:12:57 GMT
Wow, I can't believe Sordo's bad run. This puts the Subies in a much better spot, hopefully P. Solberg can pass Duval. Chris and Tirabassi seem to be hanging in there pretty solid -position wise. Despite Latvala is right on P. Solberg's rear bumper, 0.1 sec, I hope that Solberg can increase that time-distance. LETS ROCK THIS ONE SUBIES!!! (excited? me? Noooooooooooo!)
Flip
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Post by Roo on Oct 11, 2008 1:19:02 GMT
A good battle for fourth between Petter, Latvala and Atko, only a couple of seconds between them. Subaru will be desperately wanting a good result, as will Latvala, after poor performances. Also a chance of a podium should anything happen to the top three. After Mikkelson's early time penalty, the Norwegian has stormed up into eighth, and looks set to overtake Gardemeister early tomorrow if he continues his pace from today. Gardemeister has been struggling with fever, so is not at 100% health. A very big battle for the last two drivers points, with drivers from seventh to twelth separated by just over 10 seconds. Who will get eight place? One of the Suzuki drivers? One of the up and coming Citroen drivers? Or Subaru's Brice Tirabassi on his home rally? After Day 1 - SS61. Sebastien LOEB -0.0 2. Mikko HIRVONEN +32.3 3. François DUVAL +34.1 4. Petter SOLBERG +1:11.5 5. Jari Matti LATVALA +1:12.7 6. Chris ATKINSON +1:15.4 7. Toni GARDEMEISTER +3:16.1 8. Andreas MIKKELSEN +3:18.5 9. Brice TIRABASSI +3:21.4 10. Urmo AAVA +3:23.1 11. Conrad RAUTENBACH +3:24.5 12. Per Gunnar ANDERSSON +3:26.5 13. Mads OSTBERG +3:43.7 14. Matthew WILSON +3:54.6
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Post by Nick McRae on Oct 11, 2008 12:51:23 GMT
I really need to stop making such precise predictions "Hirvonen won't get any higher than fourth" well that lasted long! And Roo I guess you were right, flat out for the win! Manufacturer's still in Citroen's hands though, will still hold a lead of 21 points if things stay put...
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Post by Roo on Oct 12, 2008 8:54:28 GMT
Well that was unexpected. Hirvonen suffered a puncture on Stage 13 (unlucky for some) after hitting a pothole. He was forced to stop and change the wheel. Hirvonen lost about two and a half minutes and had dropped down to fifth place, but has since moved up another position to fourth. This puts him behind fellow Ford drivers Latvala and Duval. Should Hirvonen hold this position, there is a strong possibility for team tactics in order to assist Hirvonen in what would now be an almost impossible quest for the drivers title. Loeb now leads by almost a minute and a half, over Duval and surprisingly Latvala, I'm sure not many people would have thought Latvala would be in the running for a podium position. Hirvonen's move to fourth was due to another driver suffering a puncture. Unfortunately for Subaru, Petter Solberg was the one to find trouble on Stage 14, with his tyre gradualling losing air pressure as the stage went on. But there was worse to come for Subaru. Young gun Brice Tirabssi's quest for a points finish on his home rally was cruelly crushed, when his Impreza ground to a halt 8 kms into the stage. This elevates Matthew Wilson into the final points scoring position, just over 15 secs ahead of Mads Ostberg in what is now a two-way battle for eighth, a far cry from the battles from Day 1. After SS141. Sebastien LOEB -0.0 2. François DUVAL +1:24.0 3. Jari Matti LATVALA +1:58.1 4. Mikko HIRVONEN +3:27.3 5. Petter SOLBERG +3:42.2 6. Chris ATKINSON +5:16.9 7. Urmo AAVA +6:35.7 8. Matthew WILSON +8:10.1 9. Mads OSTBERG +8:25.3 10. Barry CLARK +12:17.7 11. Kalid AL QASSIMI +12:31.4 12. Toni GARDEMEISTER +13:14.9
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Post by Roo on Oct 12, 2008 11:55:47 GMT
Both Duval and Latvala book into the final stage incorrectly earning them penalties (Duval 2 mins early = 2:00 pen., Latvala 9 mins late = 1:30 pen.), allowing Hirvonen to gain 8 championship points instead of 5, and BP Ford Team 14 Manufacturer points instead of 13.
Latvala will probably have a sour taste in his mouth after this event, after relinquishing his spot on the podium to assist the team gain the maximum amount of points on offer. But a much better performance by Latvala, and that should do his confidence a world of good coming into the last two gravel rallies of the season.
Another dominant drive by Loeb, who well and truly now has one hand firmly on the drivers title. It is now looking very likely that Loeb will secure a record fifth consecutive world title. Although Citroen won't wrap up the title this weekend, they are almost certain to do it in Japan.
Another puncture for Petter on the last stage, but he holds on to fifth ahead of Atkinson. Another promising result for Aava in seventh, and Wilson grabs the last drivers point on offer. A notable performance by Mads Ostberg, who with limited tarmac experience has gained ninth overall.
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Post by Hurricane on Oct 12, 2008 13:14:37 GMT
A nice rally, but too bad it had to finish like this. I've got many respect for Duval and Latvala to give up their positions for Hirvonen, even at this late stage, when the drivers championship victory is almost impossible for him. Anyway, I calculated the tipping results: 40 - Sarah 39 - Hurricane 38 - Roo 38 - wheretheendingstarts 37 - mbmz3 37 - Vivski 35 - Luigi 34 - Nick McRae 34 - tfliprex 34 - Will 32 - Mixa I showed my good heart and picked Petter Solberg for Sarah's 7th position . It would be only 1pt difference in her result. However, if anyone objects, speak now. Loeb now leads the championship with 14 points, this means if he finishes higher than 4th once or Hirvonen finishes lower than 6th once, Loeb would definately become the 2008 World Rally Champion.
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Post by Vivski on Oct 12, 2008 14:28:19 GMT
No objection from me. Unless Sarah tells us she picked Henning. Well done to Loeb. Another deserved victory on his "home" rally (although Germany and Monte Carlo are both closer to home for him). Sordo threw it away in another Duval-esque accident. And Ford play with the rules to re-arrange their points... what happens when it's 8 Ford drivers at the top? How will they choose to allocate the positions? I can't believe Ford have trivialised even the tarmac rounds, where we expected to see a break from these games. I suspect we'll see them back in Japan where Loeb will again have to drive every stage as sweeper. How will Mikko feel if he wins the championship, knowing that he's been gifted about 10 points that he didn't deserve over the season? Only one driver deserves to win this championship and despite all the tactics, he has now won 10 rallies off the back of his own driving skill. The Citroen and Ford are a good match, but one driver has emerged above the others. He is no Michael Schumacher. Loeb and Elena have not won through luck or having the best car or team. They deserve this one and I hope they win it.
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