2 NOVEMBER 9 2011 motorsport-news.co.uk

IN THIS ISSUE

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THE VOICE OF BRITISH MOTORSPORT ISSUE JA2795

MOTORSPORT BRITISH OF VOICE THE

ISSUE

“Having Kimi would would Kimi would Kimi energise the team”

P4 Williams on verge of announcing Räikkönen deal

P9

MORE CLUB RACING FOR DONINGTON PARK

Famous track reaches noise agreement for 2012

FORGOTTEN STAR CAMPFIELD TAKES SHOCK WALTER HAYES VICTORY

P16

Spectrum ace outclasses regulars to take glor y

P21

YOUR COMPLETE PREVIEW TO THE

RALLY GB SHOWDOWN

Know your way around the stages with our guide

P19

Historic race and rally news

11

Walter Hayes Trophy report

16

IRC Cyprus Rally report

19

Rally GB Preview:The title chase 22 Rally GB Preview:NorthWelsh tests 25 Rally GB Preview:National/Academy 27 Rally GB Preview:Burns remembered 28 Rally GB Preview:Crew guide 32 Racing reports 37 SUBSCRIBETOMOTORSPORTNEWS 38 Rally reports 39 Sporting Scene round-up 40 Karting round-up 43 Letters/Comment/What’s On 44 Classified 46 Wanted:An epic Rally GB showdown

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Ford boss says team-mate is crucial

WILSON: RALLY GB

HEADTO HEAD IN 2011

POINTS

FIAWorld Rally Championship After 12/13 rounds LOEB VS HIRVONEN 5 Wins 2 9 Podiums 8 222 Points 214 58 Stage wins (total) 35 45 Stage wins (gravel) 33 13 Stage wins (asphalt) 2 2 Leg retirements 0

FIAWorld Rally Championship After 12/13 rounds POS DRIVER PTS

1 Sébastien Loeb 222pts 2 Mikko Hirvonen 214 3 Sébastien Ogier 193 4 Jari-Matti Latvala 146 5 Petter Solberg 110 6 Mads Østberg 70

ByDanMcCalla Ford boss Malcolm Wilson says getting Jari-Matti Latvala to put pressure on Sébastien Loeb on Wales Rally GBwill play a big part in helping Mikko Hirvonen win the WRC title.

Finnish star Hirvonen goes into the final round of the 2011 season just eight points behind Loeb with amaximumof 28 up for grabs through rally victories and Sunday’s bonus-points Power Stage. If Hirvonen does claim the rally victory this weekend, he’s not guaranteed the title if Loeb finishes second, meaning the pace of Latvala could be critical to his Finnish rival’s title hopes. Wilson doesn’t believe that the four-day rally, which begins in Llandudno tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon, will turn into the straight fight for victory between Loeb and Hirvonen that was seen in the 2009 title decider. With Sébastien Ogier, Latvala and Petter Solberg all potential winners too, Wilson says team tactics will be amajor element of the weekend. “I’m sure there’s going to be other people in the mix,” he told Motorsport News. “You just have to look at how quick Ogier was onGB last year, how quick Jari was as well, and you can see throughout the season there are events where they’ve all led or all won. Petter [Solberg] always goes well onGBaswell so you’re going to have those five drivers battling it out. Wewant Jari to go and push and keep the pressure on Sébastien. Wehave to find away to get him between Mikko and

Sébastien. I think without question Jari can push to do that early on.”

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for Mikko Hirvonen’s world title aspirations

Photos: mcklien-imagedatabase.com

LATVALA’S PACE IS KEY

Hir vo nen is ex pected to shine on the We lsh stag es

THE SEASON SO FAR

This graph of Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen’s WRC results this year show just how effective Hirvonen’s consistent finishing has been. While Loeb has been faster at most rallies, his crash in Australia and engine failure in France have pegged him back

KEY

Sébastien Loeb Mikko Hirvonen Crashed Mechanical

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DNF

IS HI NG P OS IT IO N

F IN

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

Ford trump Citroën on snow-covered season opener

Loeb crashed out in Australia

Loeb wins despite sweeping the road for all three days Ogier road-position shenanigans cost angry Loeb victory

Hirvonen claims second win after Latvala pulls aside

Roll on first day dents Loeb’s points lead

Another team-order gift from Latvala keeps Hirvonen in title fight

Loeb engine failure allows Hirvonen to draw level in points

SWEDEN MEXICO PORTUGAL JORDAN ITALY ARGENTINA GREECE FINLAND GERMANY AUSTRALIA FRANCE SPAIN

2011WRC ROUNDS

2011WRC ROUNDS

Power Mikko’s

Mikko’s Power Stage fear With the points standings so close between the top two, it is entirely possible that the championship battle could come down to the Power Stage, the Monument test on Sunday lunchtime. The stage runs for 2.6 miles of asphalt on the Epynt ranges, which crews will tackle with the normal gravel set-up on their cars. While Hirvonen is prepared for such a situation, he is hoping that a title fight that has ebbed and flowed for the last nine months doesn’t come down to a short stage in compromised cars: “If it looks like I could really win the rally and the title, and it’s all about that one stage and Sébastien takes it all back, just because of one thing on that stage – then sure it would piss meoff even more than normal. But it just means so much for the team. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first rally or the last rally, winning a title just means so much to everybody down there. That title makes everybody just work so muchharder at the factory, and they’ve been working hard all season.”

Even if a last stage decider does arise, Wilson says he and his M-Sport team are doing everything in their power to relieve Hirvonen of pressure ahead of what he believes is the biggest rally of his career. “It has to be the most important one because he didn’t win the championship in 2009 when it was the same situation, so in that sense it is the next available time he’s had to go for the championship,” said Wilson. “It’s not just saying things to him, it’s what we’ve been doing as a team to help him achieve that goal, not just me. The whole team has been putting in the effort behind the scenes to give

Loe b has a str ong histor y on Rall y GB

him every possible opportunity to win the championship and make sure that we’ve got everything covered. He knows what it’s all about and he knows what he’s got to do, but we’ve got to try and take the pressure off him so he can drive at his best.”

Loeb respects foe Despite the fact that he’s won Rally GB three years running and hasn’t been beaten by Hirvonen on pace since Rally Sweden in February, Loeb says that his bid for an eighth consecutive world crown is far from a foregone conclusion.

The Citroën driver has recognised Hirvonen’s mental tenacity, and isn’t ruling out another testing rally after his crash in Australia and engine failure in France allowed Hirvonen back into the title race.

“Mikko’s very strong mentally of kinds these in speaking

37-year-old the said situations,”

don’t all, “Above Frenchman.

underestimate mid- the At him.

didn’t he said he mark season of chances his in believe

But title. the winning recent the way the have rallies have out panned back him put the in

In running.

he ways, some hasn’t really speaking in these kinds of situations,” said the 37-year-old Frenchman. “Above all, don’t underestimate him. At the midseason mark he said he didn’t believe in his chances of winning the title. But the way the recent rallies have panned out have put him back in the running. In some ways, he really hasn’t got anything to lose and he’s going to seize his chances. Being second holds no interest for him. He’s going to push right from the start to go for victory. He’s certainly going to set the pace in the race.”

to anything got he’s and lose chances. his seize to going interest no holds second Being push to going He’s him. for for go to start the from right to going certainly He’s victory.

race.” the in pace the set in crews other most joins Loeb little having in WRC the

Welsh North the of knowledge

Loeb joins most other crews in the WRCinhaving little knowledge of the North Welsh stages that form Thursday and Friday’s running. That, allied to the Welsh weather, means Loeb is wary of amistake ending his tenure as champion.

and Thursday form that stages to allied That, running. Friday’s

Loeb means weather, Welsh the his ending mistake a of wary is champion. as tenure more require stages new “The concentration recce the during on-board the on work more and

“We’re Loeb. said videos,” camera in than trap a of mercy the at more

“The new stages require more concentration during the recce andmore work on the on-board camera videos,” said Loeb. “We’re more at the mercy of a trap than in a stage we’ve known for ten years. That’s really the ever-present threat we have to cope with in this rally: Imay have won it three times but it was always hanging by a thread at one moment or another.”

years. ten for known we’ve stage a ever-present the really That’s this in with cope to have we threat times three it won have may I rally:

a by hanging always was it but another.” or moment one at thread

IN OUR 16-P AG E

RALL Y GBSPECIAL

RALL Y GBSPECIAL MÄKINEN ON SHOWDOWN PSYCHOLOGY P22 BU RNS’S TITLE WIN , TEN YEARS ONP28

Hirvonen will

Hirvonen will gun for first WRC title gun for first WRC title

EVERY RALLY

GB CREW RATED

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