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WRC - Every Sunday - Dave TV 6pm |
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Monday, November 15, 2010 |
- | STOBART FINISH WITH A FLOURISH IN FOCUS |
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Saturday, November 13, 2010 |
- | WALES RALLY GB - UPDATE AFTER DAY TWO |
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Friday, November 12, 2010 |
- | WALES RALLY GB - STOBART UPDATE AFTER DAY ONE |
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Friday, November 05, 2010 |
- | STOBART FOCUS ON STRONG FINISH IN WALES |
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Sunday, October 24, 2010 |
- | STOBART’S WILSON SECURES SIXTH ON SPANISH SOIL |
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| Neste Oil Rally Finland - Leg one update |
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British rally driver Matthew Wilson completed the first leg of Neste Oil Rally Finland with a strong placing inside the top fifteen of the highly specialised event after working his way back up the order following a puncture on Fridays first stage.
Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr started the tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship with a spectator-friendly Super Special Stage on Thursday night but it was on Friday when the action was underway in earnest.
The 19 year-old Cumbrian was out of the blocks in fine form but just 10 km into the opening stage a rock cut the side of his front right tyre. The hole in the tyres sidewall was large enough for the mousse, which normally enables WRC-spec tyres to keep running despite punctures, to pour out necessitating a tyre change in the middle of the stage.
After the change Wilson then suffered a further puncture meaning caution was necessary to ensure he completed the first loop of three stages. The afternoon presented a further five stages with the finale of another Super Special Stage to entertain the bumper Finnish crowds. Wilson was able to make strong progress back up the order to end with 15th position, meaning he will start leg two of the event as first car on the road. His first service time to start the day is 06.00 local time.
Driving the second Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC05 Kosti Katajamki and co-driver Timo Alanne were set to end the first leg of their home rally in a strong top ten position. At the end of the sixth stage they were in eighth in the overall standings but the next stage presented a rock larger than a football right in the middle of their trajectory.
There was no option for the Finns other than to go over the rock and it hit their rear suspension at exactly the wrong place, breaking a suspension arm and disconnecting the driveshaft. Without spares on their car and after attempting unsuccessfully to rectify the damage, the home duo had no option but to take SupeRally penalties.
Barry Clark and co-driver Scott Martin put in a superb performance in the Stobart VK Rally Team contesting the Fiesta SportingTrophy International and FIA Junior World Rally Championship. Despite a puncture costing them over 20 seconds on the third stage Clark ended Friday with the lead of the FSTi by over 20 seconds from the current series points leader. He set the fastest Fiesta ST stage time on four occasions and sits in second position of the J-WRC Rookie competitors.
The second leg of Neste Oil Rally Finland takes place on Saturday 19th August with 145 km of competitive distance spread over nine stages including the mammoth 41 km Moski-Leutu stage late in the afternoon.
Stobart VK M-sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson says:
"Its a shame about getting the puncture in the morning as we were just getting into a nice rhythm when 10 km into the rally we had to change the tyre. We came over an absolute right crest and just nibbled a bit of the inside of the corner and the tyre was slashed. There was a hole in it big enough for all the mousse to come out. We then had another puncture so we had to drive cautiously to the service otherwise we could have been out for the day. The last big stage was unbelievable, under braking it was like being on ice. There were massive ruts to tip you on to two wheels, even on the fast sections. Its good to be here at the end of the day without too many mistakes. Our finishing position means we are first on the road for Saturday, it would have been nice to have a couple of cars ahead of us to make a bit of a line, and not have to get up quite so early!"
Stobart VK M-sport Ford Rally Team driver Kosti Katajamki says:
"There was a massive rock right on our line, it was bigger than a football. I looked to avoid it, but that would have been more dangerous so I had to go over it. We heard it underneath the car. It hit the rear wheel, but it was not a big bang. I thought we would get away with it but I soon felt the car going sideways and we had to stop. The suspension arm was broken and the driveshaft had come out. We tried to fix it but we had no spares. It was very frustrating as I was getting more confident with the car and the times were improving. We will change nothing on the car once it is repaired and we should go well on Saturday."
Stobart VK Rally Team driver Barry Clark says:
"We hit a massive rock 4 km before the end of the stage which is frustrating as wed been driving in the middle of the road all the time. Other than that it was going well. The car feels great and they are good stages, but it would be better to be the first car on the road as they are broken up by the time we get to them. Ive been pacing myself, trying to do enough to stay in the lead of the Fiestas but not push too hard and damage the car. The engine mount started to feel loose at the end of the day so we took it easy on the last couple of stages apart from the Super Special. Weve done well today and it will be good to see what tomorrow brings." |
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