Loeb makes it six Championships!

Events Features

insidethis week:

CoverFekken takes back-to-back Championship titles!

HandbrakesHairpins

Issue 104 October 2009

your insight into the world of rallying&

Breen wins FSTi in Rally GB

News• Cronin enters Abarth S2000 for IRC• Gronholm in Race of Champions 2009• ERC 2010 calendar updated• 15 WRC events in 2011?• Prokop wins P-WRC Rally GB• Coetzee wins Class in Gauteng

Features• Essentials: Stuff• Four Championships in one season• Williams toughs it in Wales

Event Reports

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Contents / Issue 104Welcome to issue 104 of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, your FREE weekly insight into the world of rallying!

As always, I hope you enjoy this week’s exciting edition!

Yours in Rallying,

Evan Rothman

Welcome to H&H!

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• Toyota Dealer Rally - Gauteng• WRC Rally Great Britain REVIEW

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Newsthe world’s latest rally news

Featuring European rally championships, British rally championships, Rally America events, international rally results and videos, as well as S2000 and WRC news.

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Cronin Motorsport are delighted to announce that the reigning British Rally Champions will be competing on the fi nal Round of the IRC, Rally Scotland, in a hired Abarth Grande Punto S2000. The deal has been on the table with over a week as the fi nal details had to be worked out and is has now been confi rmed that is will go ahead.

Abarth have been competitive this year and it will be exciting to see Keith and Greg out in a competitive IRC car. They will travel to Northern Italy early next week to have a testing session in the car. This is a fantastic opportunity for the lads to move a step up from the BRC and was made possible by support from Cremin Coaches, Cronin Motorsport Supporters Club and Pirelli, who have agreed to supply tyres for the event. Speaking about the development, today, Keith stated that he was very excited about the prospect and that since the deal was fi rst tabled nearly two weeks ago he has been in daily negotiations about the fi ner details and that he now can’t wait to drive the car.

Cronin was involved in testing a Proton Satria S2000 earlier in the year and although he did not get to actually drive that cat he said that the car felt much more balanced and responsive than the Mitsubishi.Credit: Croninmotorsport.com

Keith Cronin to enter Abarth S2000 for upcoming Rally of Scotland

Two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm will return to competition next week when The Race of Champions takes place in the Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing – the fi rst time the event has taken place outside Europe in its 22-year-history.The Finnish star, who won rallying’s premier crown in 2000 and 2002, will compete in The Race of Champions – an event he won in 2002 – on Wednesday 4 November, a day after he and Mikko Hirvonen team up to race for Finland in The ROC Nations Cup. Finland has twice won The ROC Nations Cup, the last time being in 2006, when Gronholm was paired with F1 star Heikki Kovalainen.

“The Race of Champions is great fun, and I missed competing in it last year,” said Gronholm. “Everyone has a laugh, but you always want to win, and because you’re in the same cars you don’t have the excuses if you don’t. It’s exciting, and I think racing in China will be fantastic.”

Gronholm was also full of praise for Hirvonen, who narrowly missed on the World Rally title at the weekend after a dramatic battle with three-time Race of Champions winner Sébastien Loeb.

Marcus Gronholm invited to compete at Race of Champions 2009

“Well done to Mikko for his performance this year. He’s very quick and he doesn’t make many mistakes, which makes him a tough driver to beat. I know he won’t take long to get used to the event format in Beijing and when he does, Finland will have a very strong team.”

The fi nal slot in this year’s line-up has been fi lled by Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit, who won the 2009 FIA Cross Country Cup and will join Yvan Muller in France’s ROC Nations Cup team.

The ROC Nations Cup will feature a group stage this year, with 10 teams battling in three groups to decide who progresses to the semi-fi nals. With the draw having been made by offi cials from the Olympic Stadium, Beijing Sport Bureau and Chinese Auto Federation, Finland will race in Group A, against the German team of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, the Australian team of Mick Doohan and Jamie Whincup, and the Chinese team whose drivers will be decided in ROC China on Monday 2 November.

Group B will feature Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx’s Team Autosport Great Britain, David Coulthard and Giniel de Villiers’ Team All Stars, and the Monagasque team of Emanuele Pirro and Clivio Piccione.

The fi nal group will be made up of Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekstrom for Team Scandinavia, Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust for Team USA, plus Yvan Muller and Guerlain Chicherit for Team France. Each team will race all the others in their group and the two nations with the lowest number of wins will be eliminated, leaving four teams to progress to the semi-fi nals.Fredrik Johnsson, President of Event Organisers IMP, is pleased to have put together one of the most diverse Race of Champions fi elds ever.

“This year’s line-up is one of our most varied ever, as we aim to make The Race of Champions a real battle of champions from many different types of competition disciplines. With champions from Formula 1, rallying, touring cars, sports cars, off-road rallying, MotoGP and drifting, plus a new group stage format which means more action than ever before, it will be a great show not only for the fans in China, but also for ROC fans around the world.”- Credit: RallyBuzz.com

Aaron Burkart was entered on the Rally of Great Britain by the Citroën Junior Team through the Citroën Junior Experience programme, as a reward for his second place in the 2008 Junior World Rally Championship.

The German driver managed his fi rst experience of the Citroën

Aaron Burkhart relishes Citroen C4 WRC experience in Rally GB

International Sportsworld Communicators are planning to increase the number of rallies on the WRC calendar from 2011, according to Motorsport Aktuell.

Instead of limiting the number of annual world championship rallies, ISC plans to come back with even more events per season.

“In the coming weeks we will present a calendar proposal to the FIA with 15 rallies for 2011,” said ISC chairman Neil Duncanson.

“From 2012 we plan to have rallies in Africa, the USA, Brazil, Russia and China, and also perhaps in countries like India from 2013,” he added.

To heighten competition between event organisers, ISC wants to retain the controversial rotation system between certain events, but in contrast to the current system, a strong base of traditional events will remain part of the annual world championship calendar. New rallies will take place only once every two years.- Credit: Rallye-magazin.de and RallyBuzz.com

WRC promoters to recommend 15-event calendar for 2011 season

C4 WRC perfectly and was set to fi nish ninth before making a small mistake.

“I lost concentration while I was trying to get past Sébastien Ogier,” Burkart said. “So we got stuck off the road and lost four minutes trying to get the car out of the mud.

“I really enjoyed myself throughout this rally. I’d like to thank Citroën for giving me the chance to drive the C4 WRC alongside the best drivers in the world. I’ve learnt a lot from all of the team during this great experience,” he added.- Credit: RallyBuzz.com

Property developer, Tjaart Coetzee only started his national rally career at the beginning of the 2009 season and would never have dreamt that he would end the season with a Class N4 win on the Toyota Dealer Rally in his Midas supported Subaru STi. His season, until the Toyota Dealer Rally, had been a miserable one as he battled with a gearbox that just would not go the distance.

However, Coetzee whose belief in him is such that he even managed to negotiate a sponsorship from the automotive spares giant, Midas, was determined to end the season on a high. With his experienced co-driver, Etienne Lourens to assist him, they took the lead in Class N4 from the start and in spite of a puncture that cost them fi ve minutes, they took the class win and 7th place overall.

They fi nished right behind Japie van Niekerk in his Class S2000 Toyota RunX and just ahead of a chasing Mohammed Moosa in a Class A6 Toyota Auris.

There was delight all-round in the Coetzee camp as he not only won the class, but also delivered the goodies to his sponsor Midas. It was a maiden win for Coetzee in his maiden season as well as a maiden win for Midas.

Tjaary Coetzee ends debut rally season on a high win Class win

Martin Prokop (CZ, Mitsubishi) was awarded the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship victory on Rally GB, after the unfortunate Eyvind Brynildsen (N, Skoda) was excluded from the fi nal round of the 2009 series, following post event scrutineering.

Brynildsen knew he could challenge for victory in the Welsh forests, having enjoyed a successful test in his René Georges Rally Sport Fabia S2000 the weekend before on the Cambrian Rally (a round of the BTRDA Gold Star series, held in North Wales), and having won Group N in the car on the Rally de España. The car was perfect for his driving style – smooth and precise, with early acceleration and lots of revs – and he exploited this to the full. Co-driven by the vastly experienced Denis Giraudet, Brynildsen set fastest time on the opening stage and led by almost one minute by the end of the fi rst day. When that increased to two minutes by mid-way through Day 2, he eased off and cruised through the second half of

Prokop claims P-WRC win in Rally GB after Brynildsen was excluded

the event – which in heavy rain, fog and mud wasn’t as easy as it sounds. He made no mistakes and had no mechanical problems whatsoever, and celebrated a “perfect” rally with his team on the fi nish podium.

Later at post event scrutineering, the measurements of the car’s rear brake callipers were checked and found not to comply to the homologation papers. The parts were supplied by Skoda and fi tted to the car by the team believing they were correct, but upon inspection even the measurement of a spare calliper given in evidence, with the correct homologation number of the box and on the calliper, was incorrect. As a result, the Stewards of the Meeting excluded carnumber 39.

Prokop had held 2nd position for all but two of the 16 special stage event, and despite not record a fastest stage time and could not close the gap on the leader. After a good fi rst day, Prokop punctured two tyres on SS10 and with only one spare had to drive carefully through SS11 and 12 to make sure the ‘fl at’ he kept on the rear did not defl ate. With a large time gap in front and behind him, Prokop’s aim was to get his Lancer Evo IX to the fi nish ramp in Cardiff Bay without problems, which he did. P-WRC victory in GB (and 10th in the overall classifi cation) was enough for the talented 26-year old to add P-WRC Vice Champion to his J-WRC title, and brought to a close a fantastic season.

“I’m very happy with our result on Rally GB and to have fi nished runner-up in the Production Car World Rally Championship,” said Prokop. “I lost my motivation a little during after Rally Argentina, but everything has come good at the end of the year. It’s really nice to add vice P-WRC champion to our J-WRC title. It’s been a great season.”- Credit: RallyBuzz.com

The 2009 European Rally Championship season hasn’t fi nished yet, but the preparations for the upcoming year are already very high. For 2010, the FIA Championships rules have been slightly modifi ed in order to interest higher number of participants from many different countries. The international rally scene in Europe has great potential. With eleven rallies in many different European regions the competitors will go through many various sceneries with fast tarmac stages as well as technical gravel sections. Like in 2009, the European Rally Championship will be also in the next season organised with separate classifi cations for drivers and co-drivers, who will be assessed as the European Champion at the end of the year. Each registered driver or co-driver can run the ERC rallies with unregistered crew-member, but despite of this the registered member will be classifi ed. Points from each rally will be counted from the fi nal order of registered drivers and then separately from the order of registered co-drivers. The same system will be applied in the additional European 2WD Cup, which will go in 2010 to its second season. As usual, the eight fastest ERC-registered crews will be given points in compliance with the FIA scheme (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). The number of bonus points given for the single result in separate classifi cation for each Day of the rally will be extended from three to fi ve crews from the fastest as follows: 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5 and 1 point. The number of compulsorily entered rallies to be counted in the fi nal ERC classifi cation has been lowered from six to fi ve events. Then with four European Rally Championship events common with popular IRC serial, the ERC can be more interesting than in the past also for the regular IRC competitors with just one more event ran out of their usual competition ground. The competitors running in 2WD Cup will be also counted in single ERC event results as well as in the general ERC classifi cation. And conversely, when the ERC registered driver or co-driver extraordinarily uses the 2WD machine, he will be automatically counted in 2WD Cup classifi cation. European Rally Championship 2010 Calendar: 01) 22 - 24 April: Rally 1000 Miglia (Italy) 02) 20 - 22 May: Ina Croatia Rally (Croatia) 03) 04 - 06 June: Rally Poland (Poland) 04) 24 - 26 June: Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally (Belgium)05) 23 - 25 July: Istanbul Rally (Turkey) 06) 07 - 08 August: Rally Vinho da Madeira (Portugal)

European Rally Championship releases 2010 event calendar

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge will feature two mixed surface events next season. And Kris Meeke, the IRC drivers’ champion, said he cannot wait to take on the challenge of competing on gravel and asphalt on the same rally.

IRC’s provisional 12-event calendar for 2010 will include mixed surface rounds in Italy (Sanremo) and Cyprus. Drivers will tackle one leg on asphalt before switching to gravel for the other leg, with teams required to make alterations to the set-up of their cars during the overnight halt.

The format will not only test the teams, but will also require the drivers to adapt their driving styles from one day to the next.

“It’s an awesome calendar with some classic events,” said Meeke. “I can’t wait to get started and the mixed surface rallies are going to be something really different and really exciting.”- Credit: IRCseries.com

Meeke looks forward to mixed-surface events in 2010 IRC season

“We had a smooth run in spite of the puncture. We also had our moments especially when we got airborne after a jump. Nevertheless, it was a great thrill to be on the podium in a national rally championship and I can hardly wait for the next season to begin.

“I have learnt much this year, it has been a great experience in one of the most exciting sporting codes in the world”, an ecstatic Coetzee said after the fi nish of the rally near Bapsfontein on Saturday.

07) 27 - 29 August: Barum Czech Rally Zlin (Czech Republic)08) 10 - 11 September: Rally Principe de Asturias (Spain)09) 24 - 26 September: Elpa Rally (Greece) 10) 15 - 17 October: Rallye d’Antibes Côte d’Azur (France) 11) 28 - 30 October: Rallye International du Valais (Swiss)- Credit: ERCRally.com

All but one of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge’s seven manufacturers will represented on RACMSA Rally of Scotland next month, the man in charge of running the event has confi rmed.

Clerk of the course Iain Campbell said he was pleased with the level of interest showed by competitors so far and added that the variety of different cars would guarantee thrilling action on the stages when the event runs from November 19-21.

“Although both the IRC and 2WD Cup titles are wrapped up, almost every manufacturer will be represented and that’s great news,” said Campbell. “It’s fair to say we haven’t got as many entries as we had hoped but the quality is impeccable and it will be good for the British drivers who will get a lot of the attention.”

Great news for the fans who have followed the action in 2009 is that Czech hero Jan Kopecky is one of those set to take part.

Despite surrendering the battle for this year’s IRC crown to Kris Meeke in Sanremo last month, Kopecky will aim to end his season on a high in Scotland.

Kopecky, who cannot be caught for second in the drivers’ standings, is likely to drive a privately-run Skoda Fabia 2000 because the factory team, who whom he has driven all season,

IRC’s Rally of Scotland promises to be nail-bitingly close

Author: Thomas Barker, Chief Publicity Offi cer, International Rally New York

Tom Lawless, the 2005 United States Rally Champion, with the Irish codriver Brian Sharkey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), emerged as the winners of the International Rally New York 2009, a two-day test where the result was in doubt until almost the fi nal mile.

Going into the second day, an accomplished Finnish crew of Jani Paasonen/Mika Rajasalo (Subaru Impreza), had a lead of 43 seconds. With a competitive car and more experience than their rivals, United States Rally Championship (USRC) regulars assumed that the visiting Finnish team would be able tocruise to a victory. At the time, Lawless/Sharkey were second, 43 seconds behind, despite a bit of turbocharger and fuel pump trouble on the fi rst day. Seamus Burke/John Buffum were third, but would soon withdraw from the rally due to a head gasket failure.

And then the momentum of the event went the other way: Paasonen’s car broke an axle during the fi nal morning, which slowed Paasonen enough to allow Lawless a 13-second lead. Paasonen responded by taking back seconds on each special stage – despite heavy rain, mud, and deep puddles which limited his and everyone else’s speed. The margin was down to about three seconds at lunch time. But as Paasonen should have surged ahead on the fi nal two or three stages, the Subaru broke a differential.

Paasonen/Rajasalo decided to pace themselves and fi nish, falling to 1 minute and 17 seconds behind thewinners.- Credit: Thomas Barker/International Rally New York

Lawless and Sharkey win International Rally New York

The Year-End Awards Ceremony of the United States RallyChampionship (USRC) was held at the conclusion of the International Rally New York in Callicoon, New York yesterday. Michael Taylor, President of United States Rally Championship, Inc. announced United States Rally Champions and USRC Production Cup Winners. Mr. Taylor also commented on the 2010 USRC Calendar.

The 2009 United States Rally Champions are Keith Jackson and Mara Estepp in the All- Wheel-Drive (AWD) category and Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann in the Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD)category.

The Winners of the USRC Production Cup are Shawn and Jennifer Hudspeth in AWD and Michael Reilly and Josh Benthien in 2WD.

United States Rally Championship celebrates 2009 Champions

The fi rst three teams in each category are as follows:All-Wheel-Drive Driver: All-Wheel-Drive Co-Driver:1. Keith Jackson 1. Mara Estepp (2009 USRC Driver Champion - 2009 USRC Co-Driver Champion)2. Daniel O’Brien 2. Brendan McCabe3. Tom Lawless 3. Brian Sharkey

Two-Wheel-Drive Driver: Two-Wheel-Drive Co-Driver:1. Dan Brosnan 1. Shane McCann(2009 USRC Driver Champion - 2008 USRC Co-Driver Champion)2. Josh Wimpey 2. Jeremy Wimpey3. Alex Rademacher 3. John Stewart

All-Wheel-Drive Production Cup Driver: All-Wheel-Drive Production Cup Co-Driver:1. Shawn Hudspeth 1. Jennifer Hudspeth(2009 Production Cup Winner - 2009 Production Cup Winner)2. Matt Gottlieb 2. Austin Gager3. William Petrow 3. Jeremy Neyhart

Two-Wheel-Drive Production Cup Driver: Two-Wheel-Drive Production Cup Co-Driver:1. Michael Reilly 1. Josh Benthien(2009 Production Cup Winner – 2009 Production Cup Winner)2. Alex Rademacher 2. John Stewart3. John Black 3. Kacie Webb- Credit: USRC Media

have not included the Scottish round in its original schedule.- Credit: IRCseries.com

Citroen WRC driver Sebastien Ogier wants to defend his Monte Carlo Rally victory by entering the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge next January.

Ogier delivered victory at the wheel of the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team Peugeot 207 S2000 with a mature performance on the world’s most famous rally back in January.

Now he wants to return for the spectacular event when it opens the IRC’s 2010 calendar.

“I would have to drive a Peugeot again because of my relationship with the Peugeot family through the Citroen brand,” said the 25-year-old Frenchman.

“I would also have to make sure that I am in a car that I can fi ght to win. If these two things happen then I would love to do the event because it is very important and a very tough challenge for any driver.”

Ogier competes for the Citroen Junior Team on the WRC but has made no secret of his desire to tackle more IRC events. Next year’s Monte Carlo Rally takes place from 19 - 23 January and includes 14 hours of live television coverage.- Credit: IRCseries.com

Sebastien Ogier has entered IRC Monte Carlo Rally for 2010

Featuresyour insight into the world of rallying

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FSTi: CRAIG BREENMOVER AND SHAKER

FOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ONE SEASON!For 19 year old Waterford driver Craig Breen, and his Welsh co-driver Gareth Roberts, last weekend’s WRC Rally GB proved to be a nail biting weekend as they did enough to clinch the prestigious Fiesta Sport Trophy International series, with their 1600cc Ford Fiesta R2. IMAGES: FSTi Media

After clinching the UK and Irish Fiesta series on the Ulster International Rally, and then wrapping up the National Junior Championship on the Birr Forestry Stages, two weekend’s before Rally GB, the FST International was Craig’s fourth major title in 2009.

Added to this a win in class N3 on the Irish Tarmac Championship, fi nishing third two wheel drive in the Irish Forestry series, and it’s been an amazing season for Craig, hard to believe his fi rst full season in rallying.

“Last year we entered the Malton Stages as our fi rst event, and we were 2 seconds a mile off the pace and I thought how are we going to go from this? Then things went up from there, Gareth joined me for the Sunseeker Rally and he really helped lift things. We went to Portugal for the FSTI round just because I wanted to go and drive the same stages as Loeb and Hirvonen, to get experience and we came away with an FSTI result, and then Finland I thought we would get shown up badly by the Finns, but we managed to beat them, and it went on from there.”

Acquiring the new R2 Fiesta, and debuting it with a fabulous fourth overall fi nish on the Clare Stages Rally, Craig headed for Catalunya where an off road excursion failed to halt a good points haul, with points awarded for each fastest FSTI stage time he clocked up. It was to be a system that paid dividends on Rally GB.

Craig and Gareth dominated the early stages of Rally GB, fastest on the fi rst four stages and taking a commanding lead in the FSTI runners, until stage 6 when the R2 Fiesta stopped, co-driver Gareth Roberts eventually fi nding a loose wire on the ECU.

“I thought it was all over to be honest at one point the car just wouldn’t go, and that Patrick Anglade would take the title. We lost eight minutes and dropped from fi rst to last, and we made the decision not to Super-Rally but keep going as the penalties were less.”

It was a wise decision and the crew’s outright speed in the Dairwood Design R2 Fiesta was to prove pivotal, as twelve fastest stage times over the weekend, provided them extra bonus points, and with other crews falling by the wayside on the slippery Welsh stages, Craig moved up into third in the FSTI rankings.

“The fi nal day was agonising, as we knew if we stayed third we would clinch the FSTI crown, and we heard every little rattle. To come back to Cardiff though and have done enough was a superb feeling, and it’s been a year that has been way beyond my expectations.”

A win on the fi nal stage sealed the title, on this diffi cult event, but clinching the National Junior Championship with a fantastic third overall fi nish on the Birr Stages had provided an ideal test for Rally GB.

2009 is not quite fi nished for the Tom Gahan Motorsport team yet, as they will wheel out the R2 Fiesta for the IRC Rally Scotland in a few weeks.

The IRC will provide another valuable experience for the Waterford youngster, who graduated from kart racing, and so far he has put his experiences to superb use, as Craig has proven to be one of Ireland’s most promising rallying talents in quite some years.- Credit: Issued on behalf of Craig Breen by Andrew Bushe Promotions. For more information www.craigbreen.com

There had been concerns from purists that moving this event forward six weeks could water down what is usually a tough and uncompromising end to the season. They needn’t have worried, the last three days have been as challenging as ever in the Welsh forests. Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship draws to a close the fi rst season of the all-new WRC-based young driver development programme. The fi ve drivers involved have all made signifi cant progress through 2009, none more than Martin Semerád, who ends his season on the highest of highs with his best ever result on a round of the World Rally Championship. The Czech Republic driver was 14th overall and fi rst of the Pirelli-backed Mitsubishis home.

This was the strongest showing yet for the fi ve Pirelli Star Drivers, with Jarkko Nikara (Finland) leading Group N and all of the Production Car World Rally Championship runners on the fi rst day, before sliding off the road on the second day. Czech Republic driver Martin Semerád picked up where Nikara left off and completed his best ever result on a round of the FIA World Rally Championship, belying his lack of experience of Wales and its wet conditions to take third in PWRC. Semerád did, however, endure one heart-stopping moment on the fi nal morning, when his Lancer slid off the road on an exceptional muddy surface. He got the car back on the road and continued to 14th overall. Nikara returned on Sunday via SupeRally and registered 35th place overall.

All fi ve Ralliart Italy-tuned Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs made it to the fi nish of this fi nal round of the WRC, with only Jon Williams (South Africa) suffering a signifi cant technical problem when his car broke its gearbox on Saturday afternoon. Williams returned, however, to deliver his British co-

driver George Gwynn a much-appreciated fi nish on his home round of the Championship. The African-English partnership ended the event 15th in Group N.

Jon Williams said: “Never having competed here – or in these kind of conditions before – I was really hoping that I would be able to get a few runs at shakedown to get a good idea of how the car was running and how it would work on the rally. But then the turbo blew on the second run at the stage, which meant our test for the event was over a bit earlier than expected. I think the blown turbo might have caused us some trouble during the event as well; we were down on power through the fi rst day, we just had no power and the anti-lag system wasn’t working. The team thinks that some of the turbo might have gone into the catalytic converter, so that, the ECU and the anti-lag was changed at the end of day one. The fi rst day was tough for me, though. You need to have the confi dence in the car and you need to know you have the power there to keep you on the road if you get into a slide. We had a pretty big moment on the stage before lunch on Saturday: there was a fast right into hairpin left and I got it wrong. Luckily there was a gate and we spun through the gate. We’d been having some noise from the front of the car at that point – and then the gearbox went on the fi rst stage out of service which was so disappointing. I was going from fourth to fi fth gear when it broke. We were back on Sunday and got the chance to drive those stages which was good, but I really wanted a good fi nish on this event for George [Gwynn, co-driver]. I can’t believe the year is over now. I can’t believe the places I’ve been and the events I have done. It’s really given me something to build on for next year.”

STAR DRIVER: JON WILLIAMSStuff you never knew you needed

WILLIAMS TOUGHS IT IN WALESThe sixth and fi nal round of this year’s inaugural Pirelli Star Driver scheme fi nished in Cardiff this past weekend, with all fi ve of the drivers having tasted Rally GB at its best with ever-changing grip levels and weather conditions. TEXT AND IMAGE BY FIA.COM

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Eventsthe full event previews and reviews

SANRC: TOYOTA DEALER RALLY - GAUTENG23 - 24 October 2009

CHAMPS: FEKKEN AND ARRIES WIN AGAIN!Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries ran out highly popular winners of the 2009 Sasol South African Rally Championship on Saturday, October 24. Second place for the BP Ultimate Volkswagen Polo crew on the Toyota Gauteng Dealer Rally was enough to give them their second consecutive SA Drivers and Co-Drivers title.

“This was the one that justifi ed our win last year,” said an elated Arries at the end of the two-day event that ended in the Bapsfontein area. “Last year we had to wait for the result to be ratifi ed in a motorsport appeals court, but this one we can celebrate right away.” Going into the two-day event, the fi nal round on the eight-round 2009 rally calendar, the VW pairing were tied on points with arch rivals Johnny Gemmell and Peter Marsh in the Castrol Toyota Auris. At the start of the second day, the super-smooth-driving Gemmell immediately clawed back fi ve seconds of a 20-second defi cit he had suffered to Fekken on the Friday, the result of a spin in the Middelburg meailie fi elds. It looked like “game on” for Toyota with six of the 12-stages in their “home” event still to be run. But in the very next stage, the Toyota’s engine blew. The way that the championship points are structured, with crews counting their best seven of eight results in the season, meant that Fekken and Arries were then effectively the 2009 champions, even if they failed to fi nish the rally, because they had a one point advantage over the Toyota pair on a count out. The event then turned into a VW benefi t, with Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson winning their fi rst event of the season, followed by Fekken and Arries, who never gave up trying for the win, while former multiple champions Jan Habig and Douglas Judd, made it a VW Polo 1-2-3 for the second time this year, with

this fi rst time been at the end of the Volkswagen Rally in July. “We ticked all the boxes for BP Ultimate Volkswagen in this event,” said a delighted Enzo Kuun. “We wrapped up the title for Hergen and Pierre, Guy and myself scored a much-needed win after a diffi cult season, and VW scored an emphatic team win to end the season on a high, “ said the lanky Kuun. Hergen Fekken said his fi rst reaction to the news that Gemmell and Marsh were out after Stage Six was one of disappointment. “I think that was because Pierre and I had psyched ourselves so hard for what looked like a battle right to the fi nal rally stage of 2009, as we had started the event equal on points. And I felt for Johnny. But then I thought, no that’s part of the game, the same thing had happened to me in 2005. So I allowed myself to enjoy the satisfaction of a second title.” Fekken dedicated his victory to the VW Motorsport team, based in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape.“Halfway through the season we had fallen behind Toyota slightly, and their Auris S2000 cars had the edge on our Polo. What’s more, Johnny especially was enjoying an amazing run of reliability. “But our team members, both at the factory and especially on the events, never panicked. In fact they found just a little

bit more power out of our engines which put us right back in contention. But I must say, with just seconds separating me and Johnny on stage times all year long, it was great to be part of such an intense title fi ght and end up winning it.” Toyota had some compensation for losing the big prize, as it clinched the overall rally manufacturers’ championship for a 17th time, ahead of Volkswagen, Subaru and Ford. Evan Hutchison and Elvene Coetzee took the Class A7 title in their Motorite Toyota RunX, adding to the Class A6 title already won by Mohammed Moosa in their Team Total Toyota Auris, while Dave Compton and Pierre Jordaan had likewise earlier clinched the Class N3 championship in their Sasol RunX. Hutchison and Coetzee dominated the A7 class on the Toyota-sponsored fi nal round, after being shaded for speed earlier in the season by their championship rivals, Stevan Wilken and Greg Gericke in a VW Polo. The VW pair was unfortunately disqualifi ed after receiving outside assistance, after being stuck in the mud on what turned out to be very muddy conditions in the Bapsfontein area. However, the mud played havoc with transmissions of many of the cars, and Hutchison and Coetzee were lucky to fi nish running with severe clutch problems in the fi nal stages. The fi nal title battle decided at the Toyota Gauteng event was a straight fi ght between BP Ultimate VW team mates Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin and André Cleenwerck/Des de Fortier, running in the 1400 cc Class A5 CitiGolfs. A broken transmission towards the end of the event for Cleenwerck and De Fortier decided the title in favour of Zulu and Peskin, after a thrilling season-long battle. The other major winners in 2009 were Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich in the Sasol Konica/Minolta Subaru STi, who had already won the N4 Class for turbocharged production cars and the overall SA Production Car title after fi ve rounds. Unfortunately this car was destroyed in a tragic road accident en route to the BP Ultimate Rally in Cape Town a month ago and Wilken and Godrich were unwilling spectators at the season fi nale in Gauteng. FINAL Toyota Dealer Rally Gauteng CLASSIFICATION:01) Enzo Kuun/ Guy Hodgson (Volkswagen Polo S2000)02) Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries (Volkswagen Polo S2000)03) Jan Habig/Douglas Judd (Volkswagen Polo S2000)04) Schalk Burger/Armand du Toit (Toyota RunX S2000)05) Fernando Rueda/Dave Lewkowicz (Toyota RunX S2000)06) Japie van Niekerk/Robin Houghton (Toyota RunX S2000)07) Tjaart Coetzee/Etienne Lourens (Subaru impreza STi N4)08) Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin (Toyota Auris A6)09) Evan Hutchison/Elvene Coetzee (Toyota RunX A7)10) Nico Nienaber Jnr/Gert Nienaber (Toyota Corolla) 2009 South African Sasol Rally Championship Winners:• SA Rally Champions: Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries (BP Ultimate Volkswwagen Polo S2000)• SA Production Car Rally Champions: Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich (Sasol Konica Minolta Subaru N4)

Class Champions:• S2000: Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries (BP Ultimate Volkswagen Polo)• N4: Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich (Sasol Konica Minolta Subaru)• N3: Dave Compton/Pierre Jordaan (Sasol Toyota RunX)• Class A7: Evan Hutchison/Elvene Coetzee (MotoriteToyota RunX)• Class A6: Mohammed Moose/Grant Martin (Total Toyota Auris)• Class A5: Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin (BP Ultimate Volkswagen CitiGolf)

WRC: RALLY GREAT BRITAIN21 - 25 October 2009

01 MIN 06 SEC FROM A WRC TITLE!The WRC Rally GB was anti-climatic. Going into the fi nal round of the 2009 World Rally Championship this past weekend, the two protagonists of this year-long drama were separated by a mere single point in the Drivers’ Championship standings. Two manufacturers, the unpredictable Welsh weather and both rivals with the same purpose: Rally GB had the making of an epic battle, WRITES EVAN ROTHMAN.

After 16 slippery yet terrifyingly high-speed stages (watch in-car footage on WRC.com’s YouTube channel), I was left with a few “What Ifs” after reviewing this grueling rally. Only 01min 06sec lay between Mikko Hirvonen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Ream) and Sebastien Loeb (Citroen Total World Rally Team). Expecting a nail-biting, back-and-forth battle between these two rally impresarios, the WRC Rally GB made me grumble “Oh No!” “Pity about that!” “Drive around the problem” and then “Better luck next year, Mikko.”

The two drivers (both fraught with different diffi culties throughout the weekend) never seemed to settle into a rhythm. Although both drivers dominated the fi rst two positions atop the rally leaderboard, the rally action lacked a sparkle. I was hoping for a ping-pong battle, hoping for Loeb and Hirvonen to fi ght for tenths of a second in stages, but alas that duel never materialised.

For Hirvonen to win the Championship he had to fi nish ahead of Loeb. No matter where on the leaderboard they were positioned, Hirvonen had to be one up on the Frenchman. The Rally Gods were not smiling on the Flying Finn this past weekend, I feel, as he stuttered through the fi rst loop of stages on Day One. Loeb, with this cool and collected manner, attacked the tricky and treacherous Welsh gravel roads with style. Positioned at the top of the leaderboard from Day One, Loeb’s hold on the rally looked unshakeable.

Hirvonen’s team-mates both struggled through Day One of the rally with mechanical woes, and Khalid Al-Qassimi retired his Ford Focus RS WRC. With this in mind, and a mechanical scare heading to Service Park, Hirvonen’s confi dence was

undoubtedly knocked. He admitted to not being able to extract the maximum from his rally machine and not being comfortable in his car to attack the stages with the aggression needed to launch an attack on the rally’s leader.

Loeb’s rally was also not going as smoothly as he had anticipated, but his lead was unchallenged. Stage times from both Hirvonen and Loeb were consistently fast, but Hirvonen was unable to produce the magic that took him to victory in the WRC Rally Greece-Acropolis, WRC Rally Poland, WRC Rally Finland and WRC Rally Australia.

To add to Hirvonen’s challenges this past weekend, was a high-fl ying Spaniard. Dani Sordo (Citroen Total World Rally Team) gained in confi dence and speed throughout the weekend and closed on Hirvonen, with just one second the margin Hirvonen was able to muster ahead of the young charger. With Sordo closing in on Hirvonen on each stage on Day Three, he was forced to drive defensively to maintain second position overall.

Had Hirvonen had the support from his Finnish team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, would he have been able to charge for the lead on Day Two and Day Three? If his Ford Focus RS WRC was not blighted with mechanical troubles on Day Two, would he have been closer to Loeb to launch an attack?

It is these such “What Ifs” that remain in my mind. Had Mikko Hirvonen won the title this weekend, he would have been a very deserving Champion. Let’s not take anything away from the mastery of Sebastien Loeb, for he drove his Citroen C4 WRC to the most victories in 2009 and showed his supreme speed to all nay-sayers this year.

Most impressive drive of the weekend? Petter Solberg stole the limelight form his Citroen Junior Team colleagues when he drove the Citroen C4 WRC to fourth position overall in his fi rst gravel rally outing in his team’s new car. Given an up-to-date specifi cation WRC car, the factory drivers Loeb, Hirvonen and Sordo will need to keep their eyes on their rearview mirrors for this Norwegian. He looked every part the four-times winner of Rally GB this past weekend, and once again highlighted his impressive rally abilities.

Hats off to Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena clinching their sixth fantastic World Rally Championship trophies and to their 54th world class victory. “There was so much pressure right up to the end of the rally,” said Loeb. “We had a good start to the year, but then encountered a few problems. However, we got back on top of things just before this rally. Finally, we’ve managed to win the title again, on the penultimate stage. Mikko didn’t give up and I had to push right to the fi nish. It’s never easy to compare one title with another, but I think this is the best one in terms of the sporting battle we had. When you win a title with three rallies to go, the pressure isn’t the same because you’ve always got another opportunity to do it. This was the fi nal rally and we couldn’t afford to get it wrong. Everybody expected us to win, but I can tell you that nothing was certain until we reached the fi nish. That’s why it means so much to us.”

FINAL WRC Rally GB CLASSIFICATION:01) S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroen C4 WRC) - 03hr 16min 25,4sec02) M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Ford Focus RS WRC) + 01min 06,1s03) D. Sordo/M. Marti (Citroen C4 WRC) + 01min 07,1s04) P. Solberg/P. Mills (Citroen C4 WRC) + 01min 28,1s05) H. Solberg/C. Menkerud (Ford Focus RS WRC) + 06min 28,0s06) M. Wilson/S. Martin (Ford Focus RS WRC) + 07min 46,0s 07) J-M. Latvala/M. Anttila (Ford Focus RS WRC) + 12min 11,9s 08) C. Rautenbach/D. Barritt (Citroen C4 WRC) + 14min 27,8s09) E. Brynildsen/D. Giraudet (Skoda Fabia S2000) + 22min 22,7s10) A. Araujo/M. Ramalho (Mitsubishi Lancer N4) + 24min 18,8s

FINAL WRC Drivers’ Championship STANDINGS:01) S. Loeb - 93 pts02) M. Hirvonen - 92 pts03) D. Sordo - 64 pts04) J-M. Latvala - 41 pts05) P. Solberg - 35 pts06) H. Solberg - 33 pts07) M. Wilson - 28 pts08) S. Ogier - 24 pts09) F. Villagra - 16 pts10) C. Rautenbach - 9 pts

FINAL WRC Manufacturers’ Championship STANDINGS:01) Citroen Total World Rally Team - 167 pts02) BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team - 140 pts03) Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team - 80 pts04) Citroen Junior Rally Team - 47 pts05) Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team - 23 pts

Another thrilling season of World Rallying has come to an end. Already the focus has turned to 2010 for many drivers, and plans are hatching from certain teams to bring in a new World Rally Champion come November in 2010. HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS will be carrying all news, event previews and reviews, as usual. Keep reading your favourite FREE rally eMagazine!