Post by Roo on Dec 13, 2008 12:03:35 GMT
The RAC Rally Great Britain is the eighth and final round of the championship, and it is always considered a difficult and tricky rally. The muddy tracks that wind through the private Welsh forest plantations are almost always wet and slippery and occasionally shrouded in fog. To make things even more challenging, the RAC event is unique in that it is the only event not to allow crews to pace note, with the teams having to rely on the organiser’s road books.
On Stage 1, Roo gave the Vauxhall team an encouraging start by finishing the stage second fastest, a mere one second off Nick’s Ford Escort. Championship contender Len was third fastest in his Datsun, followed by team mate Mitch and Toyota’s Will. Of the other championship contenders, Igor spun on the stage, and Mixa and Bart lost time running first on the road.
Stage 2 saw the Talbot team finally kick into action, with Curt third fastest on stage, and team mate Mary taking the stage win. Nick and Roo were still first and second ahead of the two Talbot drivers, while the Datsun drivers and Will lost a lot of time.
The results from the previous stage were effectively reversed on the final stage of the day. Len and Will recovered from the previous time loss to set respective fastest stage times, while it was the turn of Nick and Roo to have problems. The only driver to have a consistent run over Stages 2 and 3 was Curt, so it was no surprise to see him in the overall lead at the end of the first day. Nick and Roo both dropped a place on the leaderboard, while Vivski had been able to drive his Triumph TR7 up into fourth. Mary had dropped to sixth in between the two Datsun drivers, while championship leader Mixa was struggling down in eleventh, outside the points.
Day 2 began reasonably clear, but fog was forecast for later in the afternoon. Local driver JJ had a rather miserable first day, so a stage win on the opening day was a welcome change. Three drivers tied for equal second fastest just a mere second behind JJ. Curt was one of these drivers, and he was able to extend his lead over Nick to twenty seconds, while championship hopefuls Bart and Igor were beginning to show some pace. Bart was now up to sixth, but Igor was still outside the point scoring positions following his poor run the day before. One second behind the trio on stage was Vivski, who now found himself up into third position, after Roo dropped to fifth.
Although the fog had arrived by Stage 5, it was patchy and not very thick so time loss was minimal. Datsun driver Len pushed hard, knowing that in order to have any chance at winning the title, he would have to win the rally as well as hope for his competitors to falter. Len was over half a minute quicker than anybody else on stage, enabling him to jump up into second and cut the difference to Curt to sixteen seconds. Curt still lead ahead of Nick in third place, while second fastest on stage helped Bart’s Lancia Stratos up into fourth, helping both the championship aspirations of the driver and team.
Stage 6 was run after dark, so spot lights were added to the cars to increase visibility. However, the lights proved to be just about useless as the fog increased making conditions treacherous. The conditions played a part in the demise of two competitors. Datsun driver Mitch and the Talbot Sunbeam of Mary both went off the road in this stage retiring from the rally. Will stormed through the stage in an effort to make up for time lost on the previous stage due to a puncture. Bart’s stay in fourth overall was short lived, after getting stuck in a ditch mid-way through the stage. Luckily for the Belgian, there were plenty of spectators to help him on his way again. Sarah backed up her third fastest stage time on Stage 5 with second fastest on Stage 6 to end the day in fifth place, behind a resurgent Roo who was third quickest.
The first stage of the final day of the RAC Rally saw plenty of resurgent drives and plenty of mistakes. After Bart’s misadventure in a ditch the previous night, the Belgian spun at a junction on the first test of the day, dropping to tenth behind championship rival Mixa. The Fiat Abarth drivers had a great run, with Luigi setting the benchmark time, and Igor’s third quickest time was enough to put him into eighth place. Len was second on stage, and moved ahead of Curt.
On the penultimate stage, Curt was almost a minute slower than Len and with just one stage to go, Len was in a commanding position. Sarah was third quickest on stage behind her team mate Bart, the time netting the Kiwi third place. Igor was on a charge, and the Fiat driver was now up to sixth, just six seconds behind the Ford Escort of Nick. The two Belgians were only one second apart heading into the final stage, while Mixa was in ninth place.
Len headed into the final stage with a lead of over a minute, effectively with one hand on the winner’s trophy. The drivers championship was also a distinct possibility if Mixa ran into problems on the final stage. However, it was not Mixa who would run into dramas. Possibly thinking of the desired result and the finish line, Len ran wide on a 90 degree corner. He continued on, only to find that he had punctured a rear right tyre. On such a short stage, there was no point stopping to change the tyre, especially with only a one minute lead, so the Australian drove on, hoping he had done enough to secure a win. Curt was faster on the stage, and more importantly, had done enough to snatch victory at the last moment to win by eighteen seconds.
It was Curt’s first win for the season, and also the first win for the Talbot team, both on home soil. Sarah finished third overall, her result securing the manufacturers title for a jubilant Lancia team. Nick helped the Escort into fourth place, after Roo suffered gearbox dramas on the last stage. Bart and Igor finished sixth and seventh, while in all the chaos, Mixa’s consistent run helped the Flying Finn into eighth. The two points were more than enough to secure the driver’s title for Mixa, the result proving that consistency is just as important as outright speed in this championship.
An intense, drama-filled finale to what has been an exciting championship season. No doubt there will be plenty of intense celebration happening at Talbot, Lancia and Toyota following their respective successes at this rally. Do join us for the start of a new championship next season, where it begins again at the traditional start in Monte Carlo!
On Stage 1, Roo gave the Vauxhall team an encouraging start by finishing the stage second fastest, a mere one second off Nick’s Ford Escort. Championship contender Len was third fastest in his Datsun, followed by team mate Mitch and Toyota’s Will. Of the other championship contenders, Igor spun on the stage, and Mixa and Bart lost time running first on the road.
Stage 2 saw the Talbot team finally kick into action, with Curt third fastest on stage, and team mate Mary taking the stage win. Nick and Roo were still first and second ahead of the two Talbot drivers, while the Datsun drivers and Will lost a lot of time.
The results from the previous stage were effectively reversed on the final stage of the day. Len and Will recovered from the previous time loss to set respective fastest stage times, while it was the turn of Nick and Roo to have problems. The only driver to have a consistent run over Stages 2 and 3 was Curt, so it was no surprise to see him in the overall lead at the end of the first day. Nick and Roo both dropped a place on the leaderboard, while Vivski had been able to drive his Triumph TR7 up into fourth. Mary had dropped to sixth in between the two Datsun drivers, while championship leader Mixa was struggling down in eleventh, outside the points.
Day 2 began reasonably clear, but fog was forecast for later in the afternoon. Local driver JJ had a rather miserable first day, so a stage win on the opening day was a welcome change. Three drivers tied for equal second fastest just a mere second behind JJ. Curt was one of these drivers, and he was able to extend his lead over Nick to twenty seconds, while championship hopefuls Bart and Igor were beginning to show some pace. Bart was now up to sixth, but Igor was still outside the point scoring positions following his poor run the day before. One second behind the trio on stage was Vivski, who now found himself up into third position, after Roo dropped to fifth.
Although the fog had arrived by Stage 5, it was patchy and not very thick so time loss was minimal. Datsun driver Len pushed hard, knowing that in order to have any chance at winning the title, he would have to win the rally as well as hope for his competitors to falter. Len was over half a minute quicker than anybody else on stage, enabling him to jump up into second and cut the difference to Curt to sixteen seconds. Curt still lead ahead of Nick in third place, while second fastest on stage helped Bart’s Lancia Stratos up into fourth, helping both the championship aspirations of the driver and team.
Stage 6 was run after dark, so spot lights were added to the cars to increase visibility. However, the lights proved to be just about useless as the fog increased making conditions treacherous. The conditions played a part in the demise of two competitors. Datsun driver Mitch and the Talbot Sunbeam of Mary both went off the road in this stage retiring from the rally. Will stormed through the stage in an effort to make up for time lost on the previous stage due to a puncture. Bart’s stay in fourth overall was short lived, after getting stuck in a ditch mid-way through the stage. Luckily for the Belgian, there were plenty of spectators to help him on his way again. Sarah backed up her third fastest stage time on Stage 5 with second fastest on Stage 6 to end the day in fifth place, behind a resurgent Roo who was third quickest.
The first stage of the final day of the RAC Rally saw plenty of resurgent drives and plenty of mistakes. After Bart’s misadventure in a ditch the previous night, the Belgian spun at a junction on the first test of the day, dropping to tenth behind championship rival Mixa. The Fiat Abarth drivers had a great run, with Luigi setting the benchmark time, and Igor’s third quickest time was enough to put him into eighth place. Len was second on stage, and moved ahead of Curt.
On the penultimate stage, Curt was almost a minute slower than Len and with just one stage to go, Len was in a commanding position. Sarah was third quickest on stage behind her team mate Bart, the time netting the Kiwi third place. Igor was on a charge, and the Fiat driver was now up to sixth, just six seconds behind the Ford Escort of Nick. The two Belgians were only one second apart heading into the final stage, while Mixa was in ninth place.
Len headed into the final stage with a lead of over a minute, effectively with one hand on the winner’s trophy. The drivers championship was also a distinct possibility if Mixa ran into problems on the final stage. However, it was not Mixa who would run into dramas. Possibly thinking of the desired result and the finish line, Len ran wide on a 90 degree corner. He continued on, only to find that he had punctured a rear right tyre. On such a short stage, there was no point stopping to change the tyre, especially with only a one minute lead, so the Australian drove on, hoping he had done enough to secure a win. Curt was faster on the stage, and more importantly, had done enough to snatch victory at the last moment to win by eighteen seconds.
It was Curt’s first win for the season, and also the first win for the Talbot team, both on home soil. Sarah finished third overall, her result securing the manufacturers title for a jubilant Lancia team. Nick helped the Escort into fourth place, after Roo suffered gearbox dramas on the last stage. Bart and Igor finished sixth and seventh, while in all the chaos, Mixa’s consistent run helped the Flying Finn into eighth. The two points were more than enough to secure the driver’s title for Mixa, the result proving that consistency is just as important as outright speed in this championship.
An intense, drama-filled finale to what has been an exciting championship season. No doubt there will be plenty of intense celebration happening at Talbot, Lancia and Toyota following their respective successes at this rally. Do join us for the start of a new championship next season, where it begins again at the traditional start in Monte Carlo!