05 t/m 07 oktober 2007 - Rally Spanje.

De eindstand:

07.10.2007 - Hirvonen fourth as Ford nets double points haul in Spain.

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen today claimed their 10th podium finish from 12 rallies this season in Rally de España. The Finns were third at the wheel of a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to remain clear leaders of the FIA World Rally Championship with four rounds remaining. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were fourth in another Focus RS to ensure BP-Ford retains a healthy lead in the manufacturers' standings.

This three-day event in the mountains of the Tarragona region, south of Barcelona, was the first of two asphalt events on consecutive weekends. Characterised by fast, sweeping roads, this 12th round of the campaign is more like circuit racing in its nature than any other sealed surface encounter. Drivers tackled 18 speed tests covering 352.87km.

All the action came on the first day when inconsistent weather provided constantly changing road conditions and major headaches for teams in their tyre choice. After Grönholm led during the morning, both he and Hirvonen were caught out on dry weather tyres when rain fell during the final special stage. Rather than risk everything in the slippery conditions, they adopted a safety-first policy and settled into the third and fourth positions they were to occupy for the rest of the event.

With no real opportunity of closing the gap to Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo ahead, Grönholm settled into a safe, but fast, pace for the remaining two days. He was the quickest driver on both the second day and today's final leg, winning four stages yesterday and three more today. "Second was the result I really wanted here but that wasn't to be and I can't change it," said 39-year-old Grönholm, who leads the drivers' standings by six points. "I still have a good championship lead but when I lost 30sec in the wet on Friday, my hopes of first or second were destroyed. I just wasn't confident driving in those conditions on dry slick tyres and I was too careful.

Hirvonen, who won a stage on the opening leg, finished 46.0sec behind his fellow countryman. With no chance to catch the drivers in front, he concentrated on staying ahead of fifth-placed François Duval to maximise BP-Ford's points in the manufacturers' championship, which it leads by 39 points.

"First and second was what we really wanted here but in Friday's damp conditions I struggled. In the dry, however, I did really well and I enjoyed driving on these roads. I hit a fence on the penultimate stage but it wasn't a big problem. I tried to take the perfect line but the fence was in my way. I'm not sure if it's there any more – although it was quite a strong fence!" said 27-year-old Hirvonen.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson admitted to slight disappointment. "We came here hoping for more than third and fourth but this is still a solid result for our championship challenges. We felt the fast roads here would suit our Finns and once the conditions dried, we showed a good pace and matched Citroen's drivers. We never under-estimated how difficult these asphalt rallies would be and we must keep the pressure on in Corsica next weekend. Hopefully the sun will shine there!" he said.

Ford Team RS director Jost Capito said: "A podium for Marcus and a strong fourth for Mikko keeps us firmly on track for the manufacturers' championship. But we must remain fully concentrated because we have now reached the point in the season where any slip-up could prove costly."

Next round

There is no time to relax during this hectic end-of-season period as BP-Ford journeys directly to Corsica for round 13 on next weekend's Rallye de France, another asphalt encounter which is based in Ajaccio on 11 - 14 October.

Final positions
1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4 3hr 22min 50.5sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4 3hr 23min 04.3sec
3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 23min 30.3sec
4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 24min 16.3sec
5. F Duval/P Pivato B Citroen Xsara 3hr 25min 19.2sec
6. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 3hr 25min 44.6sec
7. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 26min 28.7sec
8. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 27min 12.9sec
9. X Pons/X Amigo E Subaru Impreza 3hr 27min 54.6sec
10 H Solberg/C Menkerud N Ford Focus RS 3hr 33min 22.7sec
 

De stand na dag 2:

Grönholm sets pace for Ford on second leg of Rally de España.

BP-Ford drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen were fastest through today's second leg of Rally de España in a Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns won four of the eight asphalt speed tests in the Catalonian mountains south of Barcelona to consolidate third position on this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen strengthened their grip on fourth in another Focus RS after a day of consistently fast times.

In contrast to the opening leg, today remained dry throughout. While the rally base at Salou was bathed in glorious sunshine, the special stages to the north and west were cloudy but there was never any threat of rain and tyre choice was far more straightforward. Although yesterday evening's rain left more damp patches than expected, dry weather rubber remained the natural choice throughout the day on both Focus RS cars. Drivers tackled two identical anti-clockwise loops of four speed tests covering 119.16km.

Grönholm started the day 50.6sec behind leader Sébastien Loeb and 39.3sec away from second-placed Dani Sordo. The 39-year-old Finn knew he had little chance of closing such a large gap on outright pace but needed to maintain the pressure to be in position to capitalise on any mistakes or problems ahead. He won two tests in the morning loop to narrow the gap to Loeb by 3.0sec and then won the first and last tests this afternoon to cut another 4.0sec from the Frenchman's advantage. They ended the day 43.6sec apart with Grönholm now 30.7sec behind Sordo.

"Today was much better now that the sun was shining and the roads were drier," said Grönholm. "It would have been nicer to have had this yesterday because the rain destroyed my rally then. I've been very evenly matched with the two guys ahead. The goal is to keep the pressure on them and not let them relax or feel comfortable. One spin for them and I am there.

"I'm happy with the car and my driving. I have been pretty much flat out all day. There was a little left in reserve, but not much, and I didn't want to use that and take risks. My tyre choice was good but the asphalt was still quite damp in places this morning. I was expecting it to be totally dry and that wasn't the case," he added.

Hirvonen posted two top three times as he strived to narrow the gap to the two leaders and at the same time extend his advantage over fifth-placed François Duval. Despite stretching his lead over the Belgian by 13.0sec to 45.6sec, he was unable to make up any ground on the leaders and eased his pace over the final two stages to consolidate fourth.

"I was driving to the maximum for most of the day but I couldn't take any time back from Loeb and Sordo so I steadied my pace on the final two stages," he said. "I proved I have the speed to match them in the dry but the gap was just too big after yesterday. I was also trying to do everything I could to increase the gap over Duval to help the team's title challenge. I broke a mousse insert in my front left tyre on the penultimate stage. I should have changed it but didn't and the car was sliding a lot as a result on the final test."

Abu Dhabi driver Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech climbed from 18th to 14th in another BP-Ford World Rally Team Focus RS on their Spanish debut. "Yesterday when I started the stages after the other drivers I was able to see their driving lines and follow them. This morning I was first car to start and I didn't have that advantage so it was difficult. I had a better indication of the right braking points this afternoon but the roads were dirty and it would have been easy to get caught out. The better weather has helped but it was difficult to feel confident on the dirty sections," said Al Qassimi.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted that his drivers were able to keep the pressure on the cars ahead. "Marcus and Mikko both drove well in conditions they like and Marcus was the fastest driver today. The strategy tomorrow is the same, to keep the pressure on and see what happens," he said.

Bron: M-Sport

De stand na dag 1:

Met totaal 12 stuks is de Ford Focus deze Rally in Spanje rijkelijk aanwezig, al volbrachten er maar weinig een spectaculaire overwinning op deze eerste dag. Loeb en Sordo bleken te sterk voor het Ford Team en staan respectievelijk 1 en 2.

Gronholm werd 3e deze geeft de schuld aan een verkeerde banden keuze i.v.m. het weer, niet echt nat maar ook droge stukken en reed vervolgens met droog weer banden, ook waren deze volgens hem iets te zacht.

Hirvonen werd 4e en ook hij had dezelfde banden keuze gemaakt en kreeg te maken met dezelfde problemen. Gronholm ligt 50.6 seconden achter op nummer 1 en Hirvonen maakt het verschil op Loeb nog iets groter namelijk 53.2 seconden.

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