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Handbrakes
SEBASTIEN OGIER LEAVES HIS RIVALS IN
HIS DUST TRAILS IN WRC RALLY PORTUGAL
inside
this week:
Hairpins
your insight into the world of rallying
Features
P-G Andersson joins
Stobart for Bulgaria
Issue 135 June 2010
Events
Events
Rally of South
Africa action!

Contents / Issue 135
04 News
• Ogier to help Meeke in IRC
• Ford plans test at Serbia Rally
• Hanninen prepares for IRC challenge
08 Features
09 Super Swede + Stobart = Bulgaria
10 Events
11 WRC: Rally Portugal REVIEW
14 BRC: Jim Clark Int’l Rally REVIEW
16 CARS: Rocky Mountain Rally REVIEW
18 SARC: Rally of South Africa REVIEW
22 IRC: Italy-Sardinia Rally PREVIEW
23
RA: STPR Rally PREVIEW
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Editorial Information
Editor Evan Rothman
Photojournalist Eva Kovkova
Contributors Motorpics, WorldRallyPics,
RallyBuzz.
All content copyrighted property of
HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007-
10. This publication is fully protected by
copyright and nothing may be reprinted in
whole or in part without written permission
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damage that may arise therefrom.
Welcome to H&H!
Welcome to issue 135 of HANDBRAKES &
HAIRPINS, your FREE weekly insight into
the world of rallying!
After a whirlwind weekend in Faro,
Portugal, HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS’
gifted photojournalist has returned aweinspiring
photography from the WRC
Vodafone Rallye de Portugal. Our WRC
Media Accreditation pass allowed this
roving reporter to snap these fantastic
photographs not only of the mighty WRC
machines but of the goings-on at a WRC
event. You can read the full WRC Vodafone
Rallye de Portugal report on Pages 11
- 13, as well as drool over the action
photographs.
As editor, I would like to thank Eva
Kovkova for her outstanding work and
many of you will most certainly agree.
The Rally of South Africa,
round four of the South African Rally
Championship, produced many thrills and
spills for the competitors. A high rate of
attrition saw the fi eld whittled down to
only the bravest and strongest, and it
also brought the smallest winning margin
in South African rallying history. More on
Page 18.
As always, I hope you enjoy this
week’s exciting edition!
Yours in Rallying,
Evan Rothman
Cover photograph by our roving
photojournalist Eva Kovkova.

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News
the world’s latest rally news

Ogier heads to IRC to help Meeke
Sebastien Ogier, fresh from his maiden World Rally victory in
Portugal, joins Peugeot UK’s IRC Champions Kris Meeke and
Paul Nagle in Sardinia as Peugeot braces itself for a major
battle on the gravel stages of Sardinia this weekend.
Ogier will swap his Citroen C4 WRC car for a Peugeot
207 S2000, and lines up in Peugeot colours alongside Meeke
and Nagle, Bruno Magalhaes, Franz Wittman, Thierry Neuville,
Paulo Andreucci and the Turkish lady star Burcu Çetinkaya.
It’s the biggest Peugeot line-up this year, and is there
to help Peugeot defend their manufacturers’ title in the teeth
of strong opposition from Skoda’s Juho Hänninen, Jan Kopecky
and Guy Wilks.
And Meeke and Nagle need all the support they can
in a very strong fi eld, especially after the disappointments of
Argentina and Canarias.
Co-driver Paul Nagle comments: “We’ve simply got
to get everything right at Sardinia. It’s the biggest fi eld of
the year so far. Along with the normal suspects we have P-G
Andersson in a Mitsubishi and Andreas Mikkelsen in a Fiesta.
We’re looking for a good result this weekend. It’s vital to our
championship defence.”
Ogier was last seen on an IRC event at Monte Carlo
in January when he came agonizingly close to a back-toback
victory in the event. To have the new superstar of world
rallying alongside him is a huge boost to driver Kris Meeke:
“Sébastien is a huge talent - anyone who can beat Loeb has
got to be. It’s great to have him competing for Peugeot and
sharing our area of the Service Park. With Seb on board we
can pose a genuine challenge to the Skodas. We’ll have to
work very hard indeed to beat them. But try and beat them we
will, because that’s the best way to score points, not just in the
drivers’ title race, but also for Peugeot in the manufacturers.”
- Credit: ircseries.com
Henning Solberg may contest WRC
Rally Bulgari in Fiesta S2000
Stobart driver Henning Solberg has said that he may contest
the Rally Bulgaria in a Ford Fiesta Super 2000, after it was
confi rmed that former Junior World Rally Champion P-G.
Andersson will drive Solberg’s usual Ford Focus WRC on the
event in early July, reported www.wrc.com.
“If I drive in Bulgaria, it will be with the Fiesta,” said
Solberg - who also admitted that his participation in the allasphalt
Bulgarian event still hung in the balance. “We’ll have to
wait and see.”
Bulgaria - along with Rallye Deutschland in August
- never formed part of Solberg’s 2010 programme according
to Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson. Solberg has never
favoured asphalt rallies, with his best result on the surface
being fourth place on the 2009 Rally Ireland.
Wilson also added that Andersson’s drive in Bulgaria
was not part of a commercial deal but was instead fully
funded. While Andersson is by no means an asphalt expert
either, Wilson said that he was keen to take the Swedish
youngster out of his comfort zone and see how he performed
under pressure.
“It’ll be interesting to see what he makes of it,” said
Wilson. “I think a few people have been watching him for a
while. We’ve certainly always been aware of him.”
The Ford boss stressed that Andersson’s deal was
a one-off for the time being, but that the door was open for
further outings if he performed well.
Solberg is expected to return to the Expert-backed
Ford Focus WRC for Rally Finland from July 29-31. Rumours
about Solberg’s future began to surface on the Rally de
Portugal, when he failed to show up for the offi cial 2010
competitors’ photograph - with only his co-driver Ilka Minor
representing the crew.
- Credit: © 2010 NORTH ONE SPORT LIMITED.
NEWS
Rally Show at Chatsworth sees more
big names join the party
With just three day to go, stars past and present are still
adding their names to the very impressive list of attendees at
the 2010 Rally Show at Chatsworth this coming weekend (5 - 6
June).
Henning Solberg:
Brother of 2003 World Rally Champion Petter and a regular on
WRC events himself, will be helping Jari Matti Latvala with the
driving duties over the two days of the Rally Show. They will
be sharing the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Ford Focus WRC 09 which
M-Sport are sending down from their base at Dovenby in
Cumbria.
Simo Lampinen:
The former Saab, Lancia, Fiat and latterly British Leyland
works rally driver will be demonstrating his skills in a variety
of cars. Simo’s career began in the early 60s but winning the
1968 RAC Rally, accompanied by John Davenport in a Saab
96 V4, fi rst brought his name to the attention of the British
motorsport fans. In a professional career that lasted for
more than two decades, Simo also won the 1000 Lakes Rally
in 1963 and 1964 on his way to taking the Finnish National
Championship in both seasons.
Paul Stewart:
Son of Grand Prix Racing legend Sir Jackie, will be driving the
brand new Subaru Impreza STI managed by George Donaldson
and featured in depth in Motorsport News. The Formula One
team that Paul and Jackie set up in 1996 has undergone
various changes in the interim but is currently enjoying its
most successful season to-date under the name of Red Bull!...
For further details of the Rally Show at Chatsworth, visit the
website: www.therallyshow.org.
- Credit: www.rallybuzz.com
Ford plans test session in Serbia
Rally for Mikko Hirvonen
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen
and Jarmo Lehtinen will enter next month’s Serbia Rally (18
- 20 June) in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns will
use the two-day asphalt event, which takes place during the
summer break in the FIA World Rally Championship, as a test
session before the WRC season restarts in Bulgaria in July.
Rally Bulgaria is the fi rst of four sealed-surface rallies
in the fi nal seven rounds of the WRC season. Three more
asphalt events will take place in Germany, France and Spain.
The Serbia Rally is a round of the FIA European Rally
Championship Regional Cup (East), as well as the national
championships in Serbia and Bulgaria. It is based in Belgrade,
which hosts the start ceremony on the evening of Friday 18
June. Two days of competition follow and drivers will tackle 18
speed tests covering 229,14km.
“This will be perfect preparation for the asphalt rallies
during the second half of the WRC year,” said 29-year-old
Hirvonen, who is competing in Rally de Portugal, round six of
the WRC this weekend. “This season has been entirely based
on loose surface roads so far, and the last all-asphalt event in
which I competed was in Spain last October.
“The Serbia Rally will provide the opportunity for me
to shed the rust on this surface in competitive surroundings.

NEWS
It’s purely a test session and developing a good feeling again
with the Focus RS WRC on asphalt will be the priority,” he
added.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson
said: “Mikko is working hard in his bid for the drivers’
championship and we wanted to give him the chance to get
used to asphalt driving again. He tested for three days on
the surface in England immediately after Rally New Zealand.
The Serbia Rally will give the team the opportunity to test
some of the things that came out of that session in genuine
rally surroundings. It will help Mikko and the team in our
preparations for the asphalt rallies to come in the WRC.”
- Credit: BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Juho Hanninen is prepared for touch
challenge in Italia-Sardinia
Intercontinental Rally Challenge leader Juho Hanninen believes
he has the pace to win Rally d’Italia-Sardegna this week but
insists he won’t be taking anything for granted, and not just
because of the extra opposition he will face on the islandbased
event.
The factory Skoda Motorsport driver, currently seven
points clear in the title race, says the demanding nature of the
stages, four of which will be shown live on Eurosport, will make
for a very tough rally.
“I don’t know so much about the new stages but
Sardinia is always demanding with hot weather and a lot of
grip changes,” said the Finn. “Sometimes you have a hard
surface then in other places it is very sandy and quite slippery.
It’s also narrow so it’s easy to make a mistake like hitting a
rock by the side of the road.”
Hanninen also pointed to the higher risk of punctures
on the event due to the rough nature of some of the roads.
“It will be a risk but it doesn’t help if you are thinking
about getting a puncture all the time and trying to be more
careful as it is easier to get the puncture at that moment by
being too careful,” he said.
- Credit: www.ircseries.com
No IRC Italia-Sardinia Rally run for
Czech ace Martin Prokop
Martin Prokop won’t be on the starting ramp when Rally
d’Italia-Sardegna gets underway on Friday night, despite
having planned to enter the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
qualifi er in his Ford Fiesta Super 2000.
Prokop’s car required an engine rebuild following its
last rally and the work couldn’t be completed in time to enable
the Czech to start the Olbia-based gravel event.
He said: “It’s bad news because I like this rally having
done it for the last fi ve years and was looking forward to
competing there again. Unfortunately we have a problem with
the engine and there is nothing I can do.”
Prokop could still take part in this year’s IRC when the
championship visits his home county for Barum Czech Rally
Zlin from 27-29 August.
“It is not decided but I want to do more races and it
is obviously a rally I would like to do so I hope to be there,”
added the 27-year-old.
- Credit: www.ircseries.com
Interest builds in IRC’s fi nal round,
the Cyprus Rally later this year
Young Cypriot driver Nicos Thomas wants to drive a Super
2000 car on the fi nal round of this year’s Intercontinental Rally
Challenge, November’s FxPro Cyprus Rally.
The 22-year-old, who became the youngest ever
winner of the gruelling gravel event in 2008, currently leads
the Greek Rally Championship in a Mitsubishi Lancer IX.
He said: “I hope to fi nd the funds to take part on
the Cyprus Rally in either a Super 2000 car or my Mitsubishi.
It would be great if I found sponsorship for two or three IRC
rounds. In the IRC it is possible to fi nish on the podium if you
have a fast car, that’s what the sponsors want.”
The Cyprus Rally runs from 4-6 November. It will
be followed, one day later, by the inaugural Golden Stage
Rally, which will be contested over a single stage and offers a
substantial prize fund to the winning crew.
- Credit: www.ircseries.com
Jari-Matti Latvala fears he’s let Ford
down in Portugal
Jari-Matti Latvala says failing to score points for the factory
Ford team was the most disappointing aspect of his retirement
from Vodafone Rally de Portugal on Day Two, reported
www.wrc.com.
Latvala lost control of his Focus RS WRC barely four
corners into Saturday’s second stage and careered backwards
into a tree some 40 metres from the road. The Finn fears the
damage he infl icted to his car will prevent him from restarting
under SupeRally regulations on Sunday.
Although Latvala’s retirement has yet to be confi rmed,
the likelihood is that only team-mate Mikko Hirvonen is on
course to claim manufacturers’ championship points for the
Blue Oval. In contrast, the rival works Citroen squad remains
in contention for a maximum score with both Sebastien Loeb
and Dani Sordo well placed.
“The worst thing is I lost the manufacturers’ points
[for Ford] because I haven’t been looking so much at the
drivers’ championship this season,” said Latvala. “In the
beginning of the year we agreed we would concentrate for the
manufacturers’ championship as the second driver. It had been
going well but now we’ve made a mistake and we should not
be having these problems any more so we have work to do.”
Latvala’s last visit to Portugal also ended in retirement
when he rolled almost 20 times during a terrifying crash
in 2009. He admitted it hadn’t been a happy return to the
country’s Algarve region.
“It’s been diffi cult,” he said. “Even though we had a
big crash last year the speed was there. Now, the fi rst stage
on this rally, I was not on the pace, I was sleeping. After that
I started to fi nd the rhythm and it was going better. Yesterday
afternoon it was going better again but I was too aggressive
with my tyres and I lost time. This morning when I started
I thought I could be able to climb up in the results. The fi rst
stage went quite well, I was quite happy with that but then it
ended in the second one. I’ve not been really happy with my
driving on this rally because there has been nothing wrong
with the handling of my car.
“We need to learn from this but quite quickly I have
to put this behind me and start to concentrate for the next
rallies.”
- © 2010 NORTH ONE SPORT LIMITED.

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Features
your insight into the world of rallying

Per-Gunnar Andersson Profi le:
Born: 10 March 1980
Lives: Arjang, Sweden
Only driver to date to win the Junior World Rally
Championship title twice: 2004 and 2007 for Suzuki.
Competed one season in WRC with the Suzuki World
Rally Team, but thsi team quit their WRC programme
after only their fi rst WRC season.
The 30-year-old former Junior World
Rally Championship title winner will
compete in a Ford Focus
RS WRC in the famous
Stobart green and
white livery, and will be
nominated for points
in the seventh round
of the FIA World Rally
Championship.
Andersson has valuable
experience in a WRC car having formerly
driven for the Suzuki World Rally Team,
and also has winning credentials having
taken the J-WRC title in both 2004 and
2007.
The fi rst of four asphalt rallies
in 2010, as a newcomer to the WRC
Bulgaria represents a leap into the
unknown for the majority of WRC teams
and drivers. However, the combination
of a challenging, compact route and
stunning mountain scenery will make it
an exciting addition to the championship
calendar.
FEATURES
SUPER SWEDE SET TO JOIN STOBART IN
BULGARIA THIS MONTH FOR WRC
Sweden’s Per-Gunnar Andersson will join the
Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team as a guest driver
in Rally Bulgaria this month, according to
www.m-sport.co.uk.
Story: www.m-sport.co.uk
Pictures: WorldRallyPics
“J-WRC
Champion in
both 2004
and 2007”
Per-Gunnar Andersson said:
“I’m really proud to be joining the
Stobart team in a Ford Focus RS WRC. I
had my fi rst test in the Focus two weeks
ago on a gravel surface and everything
went very smoothly. My
only concern is that the
stages in Bulgaria are
tarmac and these are
not my preference so it
may take a bit of time
to get used to the car on
a new surface. I’m sure
it will all be fi ne though and I am very
excited about joining the team.”
Stobart M-Sport Ford team
principal Malcolm Wilson said: “I am
delighted that PG will be representing
the Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team
in Bulgaria next month. We were really
impressed with the feedback we received
when he competed in a Ford Fiesta R2 in
the Pirelli International Rally last month
and I am sure that he will do just as
well in a WRC round. He also performed
very well in the test a few weeks ago - I
have no doubt that he will be a great
representative for our team.”

Events
the full event previews and reviews

THIS PAGE: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassi powering
to win the WRC Vodafone Rallye de Portugal.
NEXT PAGE TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: The faces of WRC:
Sebastien Leob, Matthew Wilson, Kimi Raikkonen. Next
row: Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen, Mads Ostberg
and Petter Solberg. Below: Khalid Al Qassimi, Henning
Solberg nd Dani Sordo.
OPPOSITE PAGE TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Jari-Matti
Latvala/Miika Anttila; Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassi;
Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin; Kimi Raikkonen/Kaj
Lindstrom; Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassi; Mikko
Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen; Federico Villagra/Jorge
Perez Companc.
Overall Results:
01) S. Ogier/J. Ingrassi
Citroen C4 WRC - 03h 51m 16,1s
02) S. Loeb/D. Elena
Citroen C4 WRC + 7,9s
03) D. Sordo/M. Marti
Citroen C4 WRC + 01m 17,6s
04) M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen
Ford Focus RS WRC + 01m 32,0s
05) P. Solberg/P. Mills
Citroen C4 WRC + 01m 35,7s
06) M. Wilson/S. Martin
Ford Focus RS WRC + 07m 10,1s
07) M. Ostberg/J. Andersson
Subaru Impreza WRC + 07m 28,3s
08) F. Villagra/J. Perez Companc
Ford Focus RS WRC + 10m 36,1s
09) K. Al Qassimi/M. Orr
Ford Focus RS WRC + 10m 55,8s
10) K. Raikkonen/K. Lindstrom
Citroen C4 WRC + 11m 34,3s
Drivers’ Standings:
01) S. Loeb - 126 pts
02) S. Ogier - 88 pts
03) M. Hirvonen - 74 pts
04) J-M. Latvala - 72 pts
05) P. Solberg - 65 pts
06) D. Sordo - 49 pts
07) M. Wilson - 38 pts
08) F. Villagra - 26 pts
09) H. Solberg - 24 pts
10) K. Raikkonen - 15 pts
Manufacturers’ Standings:
01) Citroen Total WRT - 189 pts
02) BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 163 pts
03) Citroen Junior Team - 106 pts
04) Stobart M-Sport Ford WRT - 84 pts
05) Munchi’s Ford WRT - 40 pts
Taking their fi rst ever World Rally
Championship (WRC) win after only 18
months in this premier international
rally championship, Ogier and Ingrassi
defeated the six-times World Champions
Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in a
head-to-head fi ght reminiscent of a
David-and-Goliath encounter. There is a
new King of Rallying!
The 1995
Rugby World Cup in
South Africa was a
momentous occasion
not only for all
South Africans but
for the sporting world too. With limited
international recognition, the relative
minnows South Africa conquered the
world’s best rugby teams decisively to
eventually defeat rugby’s dominant force
that is New Zealand in the Final to be
crowned Rugby World Champions in their
fi rst ever appearance in the competition.
Londoner David Haye took on
seven-foot giant World Heavyweight
Boxing Champion Nikolay Valuev in
Nuremburg in 2009. The 29-year-old
Briton matched the Russian in each
round, and a surprising left hook in the
fi nal round came close to seeing the
giant fall to the mat. Haye delivered
perfect shots to Valuev’s tough body,
EVENTS
OGIER DRIVES TO A FINE FIRST WIN
WRC: VODAFONE RALLYE DE PORTUGAL
27 - 30 May 2010
Lifting the winners’ trophy proudly at the end of a
thrilling weekend’s rallying in Faro, Portugal this
weekend was Citroen Junior Team’s Sebastien
Ogier and Julien Ingrassi.
Story: Evan Rothman
Pictures: Eva Kovkova
““fi ve fastest
stage times
from seven”
and judges accordingly crowned Haye as
the World Heavyweight Champion in this
real-life David-and-Goliath battle.
Jenson Button and the then
newly-formed Brawn GP team started
the fi rst round of the 2009 F1 World
Championship after only being in
existence a mere weeks. Come the end
of the long season, the Briton trounced
his opponents to become the F1 World
Drivers’ Champion against his establish
rivals.
What
underlies these
stories is the
bravery, dedication
and unwavering
determination to be
the best. Such stories are far and few
between in today’s sporting arenas and
they are seen as halo moments in their
respected disciplines. This weekend the
world’s rally fans rejoiced with the young
Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassi
after they took on the world’s bestever
rally crew in a straight fi ght on the
Portuguese gravel roads.
From outset of the Vodafone
Rallye de Portugal, Sebastien Ogier
signalled his intentions to win here
when he set fi ve fastest times in the
opening day’s seven stages. He used
his road position (sixth at the start)
to good effect, but it was the way in
which he attacked the abrasive gravel

EVENTS
roads to end the day a healthy 26,6sec
clear of his rivals that stands out most.
While nursing his Pirelli Scorpion tyres
through the day’s stages, Ogier seemed
comfortable with his pace.
Leading the drivers on Day
Two, and with Loeb now in a position to
reel in the time he lost while sweeping
the stages on Day One, the young
Frenchman was able to not only maintain
his blistering Day One pace but also
managed to drop only 1,8sec of time to
the now hard-charging Loeb/Elena over
the afternoon loop’s 67,55km of stages.
Once more, his cool head prevailed and
his determination controlled his hands
to steer his Citroen C4 WRC to a nearperfect
display of rally driving skills.
Sebastien Loeb, who was able to eat up
a 45sec-plus defi cit in Rally New Zealand
last month, was unable to penetrate into
Ogier’s Red Bull-clad armour.
The fi nal day’s fi ve stages saw
Loeb close Ogier’s overnight lead of
21,1sec to 7,7sec after the penultimate
stage. With only a 2,03km SuperSpecial
Stage to run, Ogier/Ingrassi were
already unable to contain their
excitement when being interviewed by
World Rally Radio’s Colin Clark and Julian
Porter. However, Ogier was nervous
about his car’s launch control working
at the fi nal stage as it had been suspect
throughout the day. It would take only
a hiccup to see the 7,7sec melt away,
but once Ogier slipped on his balaclava
and helmet turned into the future World
Rally Champion that he promises to be
to not only match Loeb through the fi nal
2,03km but to also stretch his winning
margin to 7,9sec.
“We pushed all the way to the
end, ” said a beaming Ogier. “It’s a huge
satisfaction to win. I have to thank the
entire team; this is a massive moment
for me. We came very close to winning
in New Zealand but now we are on
the top step of the podium, which has
allowed us to move up to second in the
World Rally Championship for drivers.”
Dominating the podium was
Citroen, as Dani Sordo/Marc Marti
rounded off a stirring drive to end
the rally in third place for the Citroen
Total World Rally Team. The loose and
abrasive gravel meant that crews had to
manage their tyres cleverly. Sordo, who
pushed hard throughout the weekend,
gave his tyres such a hammering on Day
Two that he fi nished a stage to fi nd that
his front tyres were worn down to the
canvas! Despite this, Sordo was calm
and comfortable throughout the rally,
and showed his incredible speed to his
critics once more. At the end of Day Two,
Sordo found himself in fourth place, but
embroiled in an exciting three-way battle
for the fi nal podium position meant his
Day Three performance was to be his
best of the weekend to reel in thirdplaced
Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg
World Rally Team) and keep fi fth-placed
Mikko Hirvonen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi
World Rally Team) behind him.
Solberg, electrifying in his
Citroen C4 WRC, inched towards another
podium result with every stage kilometer
on Day Three, but the Spaniard Sordo
was threatening in his rearview mirrors.
Through the fi nal stage, Solberg
made a drivers’ error that saw his C4
climb the barricading, and thus losing
not only his chance to fi nish on the
podium but allowed Hirvonen to slip by
to claim fourth place overall and demote
Solberg to fi fth.
Sordo’s podium has not only
boosted Citroen’s standings at the top
of the Manufacturers’ Championship
standings, but has also re-ignited the
Spanish spark that saw him score a
number of fi ne podium results for the
team in 2009.
This weekend’s podium also
highlighted the strength and importance
of the Junior World Rally Championship:
all three had been crowned J-WRC
winners before their move to the top tier.
Solberg’s weekend started off
on the wrong foot when he hit a concrete
barrier in the opening SuperSpecial
Stage (and this is not the same one he
hit on Day Three, mind you), and also
suffered two punctures on Day One.
Despite this, his blinding pace netted
him fi fth place at the close of the day.
In typical Solberg fashion, he
attacked every corner of every stage

to move from fi fth place overall to third
at the end of the day, and he even
managed to maintain his tyres perfectly
throughout his charge for the podium.
To highlight his determination, one of his
tyres completely delaminated at the end
of a stage.
The loose surface, with rocks
lining the stages and being dragged
onto the racing line, seemed to claim
a number of victims. Solberg damaged
his steering on Day Three and the
young Matthew Wilson (Stobart Ford
World Rally Team) also suffered similar
problems as a result. Ken Block/Alex
Gelsomino (Monster World Rally Team)
exited the rally early on Day One,
crashing out once more. With too much
damage to their Ford Focus RS WRC to
continue under SupeRally regulations,
Block spent the weekend spectating
on the stages and signing autographs
for his many fans. Rally New Zealand
winners Jari-Matti Latvala and Miika
Anttila (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally
Team) too crashed out of the rally on
Day Two. His battle-worn Focus RS
WRC was too damaged to compete on
Day Three under SupeRally regulations,
forcing Latvala to end his Portuguese
weekend.
Fourth-placed Mikko Hirvonen
and Jarmo Lehtinen were once again
unable to fi nd the extra pace required to
fi ght for the win, or a podium placing.
The luck-less crew attacked each stage
with a concerted and measured effort,
but unable to translate their fast driving
into fastest stage times. In fact, out of
the 18 stages only two were won by
Fords: SS1 went to Hirvonen; SS18 to
Federico Villagra (Munchi’s Ford World
Rally Team).
“What an amazing end to the
rally,” said Hirvonen. “After all the drama
on the fi nal stage during the last round
in New Zealand, I can’t believe that it
has happened again here. I couldn’t
have driven any faster this morning. I
gave everything to try to catch the two
guys ahead but my rear tyres lost their
grip and midway through the stage I
called off the attack. I knew I couldn’t
reach them. It was a diffi cult rally. I
didn’t have the pace this weekend to
challenge for the win and the rally was
tough on tyres.
“I tried a different approach this
weekend. I was less aggressive, letting
my driving fl ow rather than pushing too
much. I thought my driving was good
and the car handled well, but the times
weren’t fast enough. The result wasn’t
good from a championship point of view
but we’ve done six rallies and there
are seven more to come so there’s still
everything to fi ght for,” added Hirvonen.
The two Stobart Ford World
Rally Team crews once again provided
thrills behind the factory teams, with
Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor besting
Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin for much
EVENTS
of the event. Despite steering problems
reported from both crews and brake
problems on Day Two for Wilson, the
Stobart performed admirably in the
tough Rally Portugal. However, after
the second stage of Day Three Henning
Solberg parked his orange-liveried Focus
RS WRC with alternator problems to
retire from the event. This left Matthew
Wilson to climb to sixth place overall.
Privateer Mads Ostberg and codriver
Jonas Andersson (Subaru Impreza
WRC) drove to a storming seventh
place overall, impressing all in Portugal
with his pace on the gravel in his new
machine.
Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez
Companc (Munchi’s World Rally Team)
soldiered to eighth place overall, just
ahead of Khaled Al Qassimi/Michael Orr
(BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team),
while the Citroen Junior Team crew of
Kimi Raikkonen/Kaj Lindstrom rounded
out the top ten some 48sec adrift of Al
Qassimi.
After a summer break, the
World Rally Championship restarts with
Rally Bulgaria’s debut appearance in
the WRC. This all-asphalt rally is based
in the ski resort of Borovets on 08 - 11
July.

EVENTS
EVANS DELIGHTS WIN TARMAC WIN
BRC: JIM CLARK INT’L RALLY
28 - 30 May 2010
A delighted Gwyndaf Evans and Chris Patterson
broke their Jim Clark International Rally duck
in style this weekend, taking victory on the allasphalt
third round of the Dulux Trade MSA British
Rally Championship.
Story: www.rallybrc.co.uk
Pictures: Jakob Ebrey Photography
The fi fty-year-old Welshman proved
he still has the hunger for victory by
bouncing back from a double puncture
on Saturday evening, the 1996 British
Rally Champion also
surviving a high speed
moment on Saturday
afternoon. At the fi nish
in Duns, he offered his
thanks to a strategically
placed telegraph pole,
which while damaging
the rear of his JR
Motorsports Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
X, helped keep both car and crew on the
road at around 160km/h...
While Evans was the eventual
victor, four different drivers led the
event throughout its 215km of ultra-fast
asphalt. First blood went to Craig Breen
and Gareth Roberts who had proved
their ability in their Ford Fiesta S2000 on
the previous round in Cumbria, topping
the timesheets in the fantastic Duns
town centre spectator special stage.
Reigning BRC champ Keith
Cronin had other ideas though, and
along with Barry McNulty set about
showing their pace in the Pirelli TEG
Sport Mitsubishi Impreza on the
“a pole kept
the car on
the road at
160km/h”
technical Abbey St Bathans stage. Breen
responded, but Cronin held him off with
a repeat of Abbey, although all his good
work was undone in the darkness of
the fi nal test. Cronin clipped a bank,
losing a spotlamp and puncturing his
left front wheel, leaving Breen to hold
an overnight lead of a
whisker under thirteen
seconds. It was a
lead he would not
relinquish until SS10
when reports came in
from the stages that
he was stopped with a
sick engine. This was
confi rmed as terminal and the youngster
recorded his second non-fi nish of the
season, obviously very disappointed.
Another Irish youngster tipped
for BRC victory inherited the lead from
Breen, Alastair Fisher, ably guided by
double British Rally Champion Rory
Kennedy, was sadly unable to hold of
the advances of a charging Evans. Fisher
managed to keep the eventual winner
within his grasp on SS11, less than half
a second splitting the pair, but a misfi re
put paid to Fishers hopes and although
disappointed, he equalled his best ever
result, taking second from a distant
Cronin in third.
A delighted Jonny Greer/Dai
THIS PAGE: Gwyndaf Evans and Chris Patterson.
OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP: Alaister Fisher; Adam
Gould; Owen Murphy; Craig Breen; Keith Cronin;
Steve Graham.
Overall Results:
01) G. Evans/C. Patterson
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – 01h 54m 33,5s
02) A. Fisher/R. Kennedy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 31,1s
03) K. Cronin/B. McNulty
Subaru Impreza + 01m 46,6s
04) J. Greer/D. Roberts
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 02m 44,2s
05) J. Pritchard/R. Durant
Subaru Impreza + 02m 59,0s
06) A. Gould/D. Robson
Subaru Impreza + 03m 25,9s
07) D. Sigurdoarson/A. Siguroadottir
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X + 06m 23,5s
08) D. Weston Jr/I. Thomas
Subaru Impreza + 07m 03,5s
09) R. Barrable/D. Connolly
Citroen C2R Max + 07m 35,6s
10) A. Cookson/J. Wilkson
Subaru Impreza + 08m 20,5s
Drivers’ Championship Standings:
01) J. Greer - 47 pts
02) G. Evans - 40 pts
03) J. Pritchard - 39 pts
=04) A. Gould - 38 pts
=04) D. Sigurdoarson - 38 pts
06) K. Cronin - 36 pts
07) D. Weston Jr - 29 pts
08) E. Evans - 26 pts
09) J. Nikara - 24 pts
10) R. Barrable - 22 pts
Teams Championship Standings:
JR Motorsport - 88 pts
Pirelli TEG Sport - 70 pts
Ramsport - 48 pts

Roberts took fourth and with it extended
their lead of the Dulux Trade MSA British
Rally Championship by one point from
Evans/Patterson, who have now had
back-to-back perfect scores.
Teams Rally Championship:
With Evans taking 20 Teams points,
Icelandic brother and sister crew Daniel
Sigurdarson/Asta Sigurdardottir broke
their own tarmac duck with seventh
place behind Jason Pritchard/Robbie
Durant and Adam Gould/Dave Robson. It
netted a healthy haul for JR Motorsports
and has opened a gap of 18 points to
reigning champions Pirelli TEG Sport.
The Lancastrian outfi t had
a diffi cult event since, coupled with
Cronin’s puncture, local talent Euan
Thorburn/Paul Beaton did not even make
it to the start. Their similar Impreza
developed an engine problem on Friday
morning’s shakedown, which whilst
ultimately repaired, it took hours to fully
diagnose, leaving him as a reluctant
spectator.
Ramsport’s single car entry
of Dave Weston Jnr/Ieuan Thomas
promised to be amongst the leading
pack with some excellent stage times.
But a failing gearbox cost them heaps of
time and while the team replaced both
gearbox and rear differential in double
quick time, the crew was left in eight
place and third in the Teams table.
Junior Rally Championship:
Elfyn Evans pulled another point clear of
Jarkko Nikara at the head of the Junior
Championship battle with a sensible third
place in the category. But while Nikara’s
fellow Fin Mikko Pajunen remained on
his own in fi fth, two Irishmen now tie
for third on 50 points apiece. Robert
Barrable had an excellent Jim Clark
Rally, taking top two-wheel driver
honours and maximum Junior points to
lock with his Northern Irish Citroen rival
Mark Donnelly.
Pirelli Star Driver:
While Craig Breen may have taken an
early bath, he was given some good
news as the rally fi nished; although on
his way back to Ireland, he became only
the second driver to receive the Pirelli
Star Driver yellow jersey twice, having
been nominated on the Pirelli Rally in
2009. The nomination adds his name
to those of Pajunen and Evans jr for a
chance to take part in the end of season
shootout.
Classes and Cups:
Alastair Fisher took some consolation
for missing out on overall victory by
EVENTS
taking top spot in the Mitsubishi Ralliart
Evolution Challenge, but it is still Greer
who took second, extending his lead the
series along with the Dulux Trade MSA
British Rally Championship.
Worthy of note in the Rally 4
class are two privateers both driving
Subarus; Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson
survived a monumental thump in their
distinctive cow-liveried car, (nicknamed
Muriel) clouting a bank side-on, but still
made it into the top ten for the second
event in their debut season. Another
2010 BRC debutant Max Utting/Ken
Bowman were inside the top ten in the
Rally 4 class on their fi rst Jim Clark Rally
in their older specifi cation car.
The 2010 Rally 3 class and the
Fiesta SportTrophy must now be within
Welsh crew Evans jr/Andrew Edwards’
grasp as they took maximum points in
both on the Jim Clark Rally. Scots pairing
John Boyd/Craig Wallace are their
nearest rivals in the FST having had a
solid and trouble-free rally, while leading
Diesel Rally Cup brothers Steve and
Tony Graham are second in the R3 class,
relieved to have had upgraded front
brakes for the tarmac.
Heading the Rally 2 class and
Citroen Racing Trophy were Barrable and
co-driver Damien Connolly and Donnelly/
Burns, both crews reporting trouble
free runs in their identical C2R2 Max
Citroens. Positions in the points table
follow places as the crews head across
the water for the next round of the Irish
Citroen series.
The BRC’s Rally 2 class is
dominated by French cars and it is
Finnish newcomer Nikara who leads in a
Renault Twingo with brother and fellow
BRC novice Petri Nikara alongside. They
had an excellent second-ever asphalt
rally, learning stage by stage, but were
beaten to third on the event by fellow
Finns Matti Rantanen/Mikko Lukka in a
similar car.
The Swift Sport Cup has been
dominated by Pirelli Star Driver nominee
Pajunen and despite this being his fi rst
ever asphalt event, he and Janne Perala
took victory in the one-make series,
needing just one more win to secure the
2010 title.
The next event in the Dulux
Trade MSA British Rally Championship
is International Rally Isle of Man which
takes place on Friday 9th and Saturday
10th of July and is based at the island’s
world famous TT grandstand.

EVENTS
L’ESTAGE DOMINATES IN SNOWY
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY
CARS: ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY
28 - 29 May 2010
Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard
kept up their recent form to dominate the Rocky
Mountain Rally, further boosting this talented
pairing’s confi dence for the rest of the season.
Story: Staff Writer / www.carsrally.ca
Pictures: Andrew Harvey Photography
Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie
Richard charged to an early lead at
the 2010 Rocky Mountain Rally, and
continued to build their lead to the fi nish
despite harrowing
conditions that forced
organisers to change
the schedule for
Saturday’s stages.
The Calgary based
Rocky Mountain Rally
is the second round of the Canadian
Rally Championship, presented by
Subaru and supported by Yokohama.
“We had the perfect Yokohama
tires for the event,” said L’Estage, driver
of the Rockstar EVO X. “We took mud
tires for the fi rst stages and built a big
lead that we kept through the rally. It is
our fi rst win since last year, so it feels
fantastic.”
Rival team and defending
Canadian Rally Champions Pat Richard
and Alan Ockwell of Subaru Rally Team
Canada suffered from a poor tyre choice
at the start of the rally and struggled
“Tyre choice
proved vital for
every team”
to fi nd their pace, eventually fi nishing
second, more than two minutes back
from L’Estage.
“The stages were super
haywire,” said a dejected Richard, who
holds four national overall driver titles
and a North American driver’s title.
“It’s been
disappointing, I
don’t know the
last time I came
second.”
Bruno Carré
and Yvan Joyal
benefi ted by using tall and narrow
snow tyres that cut through the sloppy
conditions, driving to a third place fi nish.
Their result was good enough to retain
the top spot in the point standings for
the Canadian Rally Championship.
“We found the secret weapon in
terms of tyres for these conditions,” said
Carré, who worked his way to second
place before dropping behind Richard
and Ockwell on the fi nal stages. “We’re
still leading the Championship, which
is great, especially against guys like
Antoine and Pat.”
Tyre choice proved vital for
THIS PAGE: Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard.
OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Patrick
Richard and Alan Ockwell; Bruno Carre and Yvan
Joyal; Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard; Jan and
Jody Zedril.
Overall Classifi cation:
01) A. L’Estage/N. Richard
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – 01h 11m 48,8s
02) P. Richard/A. Ockwell
Subaru Impreza WRX + 02m 17,7s
03) B. Carré/Y. Joyal
Subaru Impreza WRX + 02m 28,6s
04) L. Urlichich/C. Beavis
Subaru Impreza WRX + 03m 37,3s
05) C. Henderson/L. Murphy
Subaru Impreza WRX + 04m 20,3s
06) H. Schmidtke/A. Vokes
Subaru Impreza WRX + 04m 47,9s
07) S. Losier/P. Poirier
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII + 05m09,0s
08) G. Bruce/L. Junnila
Subaru Impreza WRX + 09m44,2s
09) M. Jennings-Bates/J. Daly
Subaru Impreza WRX + 10m 00,1s
10) I. Crerar/R. Felice
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI + 11m 06,4s

every team as massive snow dumped
onto the stage roads leading up to and
during the event. Some roads at altitude
in the Porcupine Hills region of Alberta
had up to 30cm of snow, mixing with
mud and water to create a slippery,
diffi cult and unpredictable surface.
Leo Urlichich/Christine Beavis
drove a disciplined rally to fi nish fourth
overall. Craig Henderson fi nished third at
the season opener, Rallye Perce Neige,
but struggled to fi nd his pace on Friday.
A blown head gasket slowed his progress
on Saturday, but he and co-diver Lyne
Murphy continued to fi nish a hard earned
fi fth.
Jan and Jody Zedril opened a
minute lead on the fi rst day, and drove
conservatively to manage the lead.
The strategy nearly failed when hard
charging Kris and Jaclyn Schofi eld made
up all but 11sec by the end of the fi nal
stage. The Zedrils fi nished 13th overall,
also the top ranked two-wheel drive car.
The Schofi elds came in 14th overall,
second in their class.
“We had a few big moments,
but it was a lot of fun to be back in
the car after a year and a half out of
competition,” said Kris Schofi eld.
Conditions created challenges
for rally organisers. Saturday’s schedule
EVENTS
had to be completely redesigned when
the road surface proved impassible on
the southern stage roads. Organisers
created a new schedule with the
remaining roads, and teams tested
themselves on fi ve stages, fi nishing the
rally late Saturday afternoon.
“It was a collaborative effort,”
said Shabir Haji, organiser of the Rocky
Mountain Rally, of the decision to rewrite
the schedule. “We knew when the
forecast was bad we may have to change
the route. This morning when marshals
were getting stuck, the decision was
quick. We had to develop a format to get
the stage distances for the teams.”
The championship battle
continues at the Rallye Baie Des
Chaleurs in New Richmond, Quebec.
Thrilling roads and huge jumps combine
with some of the biggest spectator
crowds on the calendar, making Rallye
Baie Des Chaleurs an event not to be
missed.
The Canadian Rally
Championship is comprised of six events
held nationwide in a season that extends
from February to November.

EVENTS
GEMMELL AND TOYOTA TAKE RALLY OF
SOUTH AFRICA BY A WHISKER
SARC: RALLY OF SOUTH AFRICA
28 - 29 May 2010
0,7 seconds is all that stood between Johnny
Gemmell and Drew Sturrock (Castrol Team Toyota
Auris S2000) and Jan Habig and Ralph Pitchford
(BP Volkswagen Polo S2000) after 13 stages and
187 km of hard, bruising forest gravel racing that
made up the Rally of South Africa, round four of
the Sasol South African Rally Championship.
Story: Staff Writer / Sasol Oils
Pictures: Motorpics
The casualty list at the end of Day One
read like a “who’s who” of rallying, with
no less than eight cars removed from
proceedings in the killer 56km-long
Jessievale stage (SS3): Hergen Fekken
(BP Volkswgen Polo S2000), Enzo Kuun
(BP Volkswagen Polo S2000), Conrad
Rautenbach (Ford Fiesta S2000), Charl
Wilken (Ford Fiesta S2000), Theuns
Joubert (Salom Volkswagen Polo S2000)
and others all failed to emerge from the
forests, leaving the Castrol Toyota team
in command, Mark Cronje/Robert Paisley
(Castrol Team Toyota Auris S2000) in
a healthy 30sec lead over Gemmell/
Sturrock and Hein Lategan/Johan vd
Merwe (Pirtek Toyota Auris S2000) in
a podium place. Even that didn’t last
long…
Gemmell and Castrol Toyota’s
fi rst win of the season was anything
but straight-forward for he saw a
comfortable lead whittled away by some
bizarre incidents on Day Two. He also
never set the fastest time in a single
stage, while Sturrock, at 21 years and
one week old, became the youngest
winner of a national rally.
When Gemmell took the lead
in SS5, he was stuck in thick dust from
his ailing team-mate, which cost 32sec.
There was a large herd of cattle in the
road in SS7, which cost more time, but
the most bizarre incident happened in
SS8 when a seat anchoring bolt sheared
after hitting a jump very hard. Gemmell
lost consciousness for a brief moment
Overall Classifi cation:
01) J. Gemmell/D. Sturrock
Toyota Auris S2000 - 02h 06m 33s
02) J. Habig/R. Pitchford
Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 0,7s
03) J-P. Damseaux/C. Swan
Toyota RunX S2000 + 03m 17,1s
04) F. Rueda/D. Lewkowicz
Toyota RunX S2000 + 03m 46,8s
05) J. Van Dyk/D. De Fortier
Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 07m 54,1s
06) M. Moosa/G. Martin
Toyota Auris S2000 + 12m 35,7s
07) L. Poulter/H. Dearlove
Toyota RunX A6 + 15m 03,0s
08) T. Conradie/T. Rabe
Toyota Auris A6 + 15m 54,0s
09) N. Ryan/G. Tyrer
Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 15m 59,6s
10) E. Hutchison/E. Coetzee
Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 17m 01,5s

OPPOSITE PAGE: Johnny Gemmell/Drew Sturrock.
THIS PAGE TOP LEFT CLOCKWISE: Evan Hutchison/
Elvene Coetzee; Gavin Cronje/Van Aardt Schoeman;
Fernando Rueda/Dave Lewkowicz; and, Hein Lategan/
Johan van der Merwe.
NEXT PAGE TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Chris de Wit/Dean
Redelinghuys; Ashley Haigh-Smith/Hilton Auffrey;
Conrad Rautenbach/Peter Marsh; Enzo Kuun/Guy
Hodgson; Megan and Oliver Verlaque; Fernando
Rueda/Dave Lewkowicz; Jan Habig/Ralph Pitchford.
NEXT SPREAD, OPPOSITE PAGE CLOCKWISE: Jaco van
Dyk/Des de Fortier; Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich; and,
Gugu Zulu/Cindi Harding.
and has no recollection of how the car
stayed on the road nor cleared the
stage. Sturrock said: “It was so close to
going off into the trees; I didn’t know
what had happened to Johnny – very
scary moment, that”.
Going into the fi rst of the two
super special stages that concluded the
rally, the once comfortable lead was
down to 17-odd seconds. In the fi rst run
Gemmell lost 10sec because of dust and
sun while in the fi nal
stage he lost another
7sec, leaving the
narrowest of victory
margins ever in
South African rallying
history.
Hergen
Fekken and Pierre
Arries (BP Volkswagen
Polo S2000) set the
pace in the opening
stage of the rally,
taking a 01sec
lead over Conrad
Rautenbach/Peter
Marsh’s Ford Fiesta before Mark Cronje/
Robert Paisley took a pair of stage wins
in their Castrol Toyota Auris in SS2 and
SS3.
SS3, the notorious Jessievale
stage that is the longest in SA rallying,
saw Enzo Kuun/Guy Hodgson retire
their BP Volkswagen Polo S2000 with
EVENTS
a dead engine without any warning.
Fekken then entered the stage but
hit a rock 4,5km in which forced their
retirement with a deranged suspension.
Rautenbach, fourth on the road, hit a
rock while the suspension was under
compression and the gearbox casing
cracked. That was three out of four!
Rautenbach ran Saturday’s
stages under the SupeRally rules and set
fi ve fastest stage times from the day’s
nine stages.
“... the most
bizarre incident
happened in
SS8 when a seat
anchoring bolt
sheared after
hitting a jump
very hard”
Habig, fi fth
on the road,
nearly made it
a clean sweep
of retirements
for the BP
Volkswagen
S2000 squad in
the same stage
for he had a
huge moment
that saw his Polo
nearly roll after
hitting a bank,
but he survived
with badly damaged left front and rear
suspension and driveshaft damage.
Luckily, a 45min service in Warburton
saw the hard-working Volkswagen
Motorsport technicians repair the
damage and Habig could continue to his
eventual second place overall.
Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich,

EVENTS
driving their new Basil Read/Bizhub Ford
Fiesta S2000, hit a rock with 10km to
go. The impact split the rim, so when the
crew stopped to change the tyre, just
the outer half came off, the inner part
of the rim fi rmly wrapped around the
brake caliper, preventing the wheel from
rotating. Four retirements from the fi rst
seven on the road.
Wilken/Godrich also re-entered
the rally, but retired a second time after
clipping a bank that bent the Fiesta’s
suspension in SS8.
Theuns Joubert/Carl Peskin hit
a huge rock in the road around the 36km
mark. Thinking they had a puncture,
they stopped but found nothing to
change for the wheel and the rest of the
suspension was missing, ripped off the
Salom Volkswagen Polo S2000.
Chris de Wit/Dean Redelinghuys
(Automark Toyota RunX A7) also hit a
rock and ripped a wheel off, while their
fellow class rivals, Michael Otto/Tommy
du Toit (Jonnesway Toyota Corolla A7)
stopped with gearbox failure.
With Toyota Aurises fi lling the
top three places on the leaderboard,
it took just 850 metres of Saturday’s
opening stage to change that. Cronje,
running fi rst on the road and with cold
brakes, hit a bank on a “left 6 over
crest.” He and Paisley replaced the tie
rod after completing the stage, but with
no service before the next stage, the
Auris’ castor rod failed and it was game
over, leaving Gemmell in front.
This meant none of the top
four on the Sasol South African Rally
Championship log took any points away
from the weekend, while Gemmell
rocketed to second place, just 4 points
adrift of Kuun, while Habig is now third a
further 10 points back.
Hein Lategan’s Pirtek Toyota
Auris was up into second, his best ever
placing and with a sniff of a possible
win, kept going hard, setting the fastest
times of all in SS4 and SS6. It ended
in tears for the Pretoria engineer, who
rolled end-over-end in SS8, fortunately
without harm to the crew. This left
Habig in second place, with Jean-Pierre
Damseaux/Carolyn Swan up into third,
the Team Total Toyota RunX S2000 pair
enjoying their best outing since this
event last year.
Damseaux had a late scare,
limping through the SuperSpecial stages
with suspected differential problems.
Their result propelled them to the
head of the inaugural Privateer’s Rally
Championship. The second Team Total
Toyota RunX S2000 of Fernando Rueda/
Dave Lewkowicz ended fourth overall,
their best result since the Spaniard
moved into the S2000 class. Rueda
had no clutch for the entire second
day, starting the car at each stage
on the starter motor. The starter was
replaced as a precaution during the day,
but Rueda was aware that any stall or
overshoot would result in him walking
out of the stage.
Namibian Jaco van Dyk/Des de
Fortier (Volkswagen Polo S2000) fi nished
an excellent fi fth overall after strong
showings all year. The pair tackled
Jessievale with no power steering, which
cost them 5min, but thereafter ran a
faultless rally.
Mohammed Moosa and Grant
Martin put their bad start to the year
behind them to take sixth place in their
Team Total Toyota RunX S2000. Their
power steering failed halfway through
SS1 and without service before SS2,
lost more time. The team took 10min
of service lateness and were stuck in
other competitors dust for 40km in SS3,
leaving them 14th overnight.
Leeroy Poulter/Henry Dearlove
once again put in the drive of the rally,
bringing their Class A6 Imperial Toyota
RunX A6 home seventh overall and the
fi rst front-wheel drive car home, as well
as winning the 1600cc championship
category. Their only issue was a fl at tyre
in SS1.
Third time the bridesmaid to
Poulter, Tjaart Conradie/Tiaan Rabe
brought their Silverton Engineering/

Hencom Autobody Toyota Auris A6 home
eighth overall and second in class.
Nicholas Ryan/Geoff Tyrer
(Avis/Gabriel Volkswagen Polo S2000)
overcame two punctures in Jessievale
(SS3), the fi rst around halfway through
the stage; they stopped to change it
but 10km later, the left front tyre let
go, leaving the fl u-ridden Ryan to drive
15km on three wheels. A rock in SS4
left the lower control arm bent so ninth
was a good result for the East Rand
businessman.
Rounding out the top ten, Evan
Hutchison/Elvene Coetzee were lucky
to bring their Motorite Volkswagen Polo
S2000 home for they lost 14min in
SS3 with a broken throttle cable, which
Hutchison managed to repair on the side
of the road, leaving the pair 20th overall
overnight.
Craig Trott and Robbie Coetzee
put in another measured drive in their
Class A6 Team Total Toyota RunX to
retain their second position in the
1600cc championship, beating the
bigger-engined BP Ultimate Volkswagen
Polo of Gugu Zulu and Cindi Harding on
their way to 11th overall and third in
class.
Zulu was well inside the top
ten on Saturday until gearbox problems
intervened, causing 20min of servicing
lateness and leaving the car sounding
very rough as they cruised through the
SuperSpecial stages, dropping even
more time to end 12th overall. Zulu was
slowest of all in the penultimate stage.
Joos and Danie Stassen took
the Class N4 championship lead after
winning the class in their Top Gear
Motors Subaru Impreza STI. The
Nelspruit brothers ran with intermittent
brake problems on Day One. They
fi nished just 03sec behind Zulu and 43
ahead of their only rival Tjaart Coetzee/
Pierre Jordaan (Midas Subaru Impreza
STI N4).
Coetzee had a puncture in SS3
and sat in a rival’s dust for 38km, while
suffering a broken brake pipe for two
stages on Saturday before servicing;
repairs cost 4min of lateness and a
40sec penalty.
Megan and Oliver Verlaque
brought their Toyota RunX N3 home to
a class win ahead of Visser du Plessis/
Gerhard Snyman’s S2000 Pirtek Toyota
RunX S2000, which was stationary in
SS4 for 18min as the pair tried to fi x
a broken gearbox linage. Repairs cost
8min of lateness, but the fi nish was
much needed by Du Plessis, who has
retired twice in four rounds.
Andre Cleenwerck/Kesevan
Naidoo (BP Ultimate Volkswagen CitiGolf
A5) won Class A5 with a rough sounding
car, ending 01m 37sec ahead of the
EVENTS
championship class leaders Ashley Haigh
Smith/Hilton Auffrey (React Toyota Yaris
A5). Haigh Smith stopped for 4min in
SS1 to change a fl at tyre, but the car
fell off the jack twice. A hard run over
Saturday saw the teenager close up but
mileage ran out.
Abduraghman Amlay/Yusuf
Ganief (Toyota RunX N3) ended second
in Class N3 and 19th overall while Morne
Janse Van Rensburg/Derek Jacobs (GC
Diesel Volkswagen CitiGolf A5) came
home third in class after suffering daylong
fuel starvation problems.
Robson Maganezi/Kenny Hill
brought their Class N3 Link Africa Ford
Fiesta ST home as the fi nal runner.
Japie van Niekerk/Robin
Houghton (New Africa Developments
Toyota Auris S2000) didn’t start as the
driver is suffering from a heavy bout
of fl u, while Gavin Cronje/Van Aardt
Schoeman retired their Seasons in Africa
Volkswagen Polo A7 on the way to SS1
with a failed crank sensor. The talented
racer ran Saturday’s stages, but retired
when the right rear wheel sheared off in
SS6.
The Sasol South African Rally
Championship takes a seven week break
over the Football World Cup, resuming
on 23 - 24 July with the Volkswagen
Rally in the Eastern Cape.

EVENTS
SEBASTIEN OGIER MAKES RETURN TO
IRC COMPETITION IN SARDINIA
IRC: ITALIA-SARDEGNA RALLY
04 - 06 June 2010
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) makes
its fi rst visit to Sardinia this week for Round Five
of the 12-event series.
Story: www.ircseries.com
After switching to asphalt for Rally Islas
Canarias in late April, crews return to
gravel for the island-based contest,
which previously ran as part of the World
Rally Championship before joining the
IRC for 2010.
While part of the route used for
the WRC qualifi er remains, organisers
have made several changes to the
itinerary, including a ceremonial start in
the capital Cagliari, in the south of the
island, and new stages based around the
town of Oristano to the west.
Leg One consists of six special
stages. There will be two runs through
the Monte Grighine stage, located to
the east of Oristano and televised live
on Eurosport, and two passes of the
Gonnosno test to the south-east of
the town, split by a remote service in
Simaxis. Crews then head north to the
classic Monte Lerno stage between the
towns of Ozieri and Pattada, eventually
reaching Olbia in the island’s north-east
for end of day service and overnight parc
ferme.
Sunday morning’s action takes
competitors south of Olbia for two runs
of the Coiluna stage split by the fi rst
of pass of the Terranova stage and a
regroup in Ala dei Sardi. Both Coiluna
stages will be shown live on Eurosport.
The second is followed by a service halt
in Olbia before two Monte Olia tests and
a return to the Terranova stage. After
a fi nal service in Olbia, crews cross the
fi nishing ramp in the exclusive Porto
Cervo resort on Sunday evening.
The stages in Sardinia are
characterised by their challenging
and varied nature. Although they are
predominantly fast and narrow, the
terrain is a mixture of fl at open areas
and undulating tracks through woodland
with water splashes and spectacular
jumps thrown in for good measure.
Ordinarily the surface is hard with rockstrewn
sections commonplace, while ruts
will often form after the fi rst pass. Some
parts of the route are on softer ground,
which has been damaged by recent
heavy rainfall and has required the
organisers to carry out essential repair
work.
As with most gravel rallies, road
position can have a major bearing on
the result due to the effect of cleaning
the course of loose-surface gravel. In
a change to the format used on other
rounds of the IRC, organisers in Sardinia
will run the top ten crews in reverse
order of their competition numbers for
Saturday’s opening leg in two-minute
intervals. The remainder of the fi eld
will start in number order, albeit with a
one-minute gap. On Sunday, the leading
ten runners will start in reverse order in
two-minute intervals, with the remaining
competitors running in rally order
separated by one-minute gaps.
Juho Hanninen has opened up
a seven-point lead in the drivers’ table
following his run to second place on Rally
Islas Canarias last month. The Finn won
the IRC’s last gravel round, taking his
Skoda Fabia S2000 to victory on Rally
Argentina in March and has established a
reputation as a loose-surface specialist.
Jan Kopecky’s fi rst place last
time out in Gran Canaria promoted the
Czech to joint second with Guy Wilks in
the championship standings. Like teammate
Hanninen, Kopecky has rallied
in Sardinia before but admitted after
Round Two of the IRC in Brazil, where
he fi nished a distant fourth, that he still
needs to improve his form on gravel.
Guy Wilks is due to start the
rally on the back of a test on the island.
The Skoda UK Motorsport pilot has yet to
take a win this season but has the pace
to mount the top step of the podium in
his Fabia S2000.
Kris Meeke, the defending IRC
champion, prepared for Rally d’Italia-
Sardegna with a test in southern France
recently. Although he reported having
improved the set-up of his Peugeot
UK-backed 207, the Northern Irishman
insists he won’t go all out for victory,
despite needing to narrow the gap to
title leader Hanninen, preferring instead
to secure a podium place.
Peugeot Sport Portugal’s Bruno
Magalhaes is a three-time Portuguese
champion, who has scored on every
round of the year so far, is unlikely
to enter the next rally of the series in
Belgium so will be determined to put on
a strong showing on his fi rst visit to the
island this weekend.
Sebastien Ogier’s last
appearance in the IRC was on Rallye
Automobile Monte-Carlo in January
where he was challenging for victory
only for alternator failure to force
him out on the fi nal night. Since then
he has focussed on his World Rally
Championship campaign with the Citroen
Junior Team. Ogier has been called to
help reignite Peugeot’s bid for a fourth
manufacturers’ crown and assist Meeke’s
efforts to get his drivers’ title defence
back on track.
Leading the Peugeot Sport Italia
challenge is four-time national champion
Paolo Andreucci. At 45, the Italian is
one of the oldest drivers in the fi eld but
is still more than capable of running
at the front in his 207 S2000, despite
conceding that it will be a tall order to
beat the IRC regulars.
Andreas Mikkelsen begins his
seven-event IRC campaign in Sardinia at
the wheel of an M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta
S2000. The 20-year-old Norwegian is
highly regarded while the Fiesta has
already proven to be a winner in the
IRC, thanks to Mikko Hirvonen’s efforts
on the Monte Carlo Rally.
P-G Andersson’s conventional
Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
X might not have the beating of the
Super 2000 machines but the Swede,
who is armed with previous Sardinia
knowledge, is a huge talent and has the
ability to fi ght for a top six fi nish.
Thierry Neuville began his
IRC bid in Gran Canaria last month
and showed plenty of promise before
he crashed out on the penultimate
stage. Fellow Peugeot 207 driver Franz
Wittmann also failed to go the distance
on the island rally when he too crashed.
The Austrian has been plotting his
revenge in his Interwetten Racing-run
machine ever since.
Sardinia marks the return of
former champion Marco Cavigioli to the
IRC 2WD Cup ranks, although the Italian
has yet to fi rm up his choice of car.
Britons Harry Hunt and Colin R. Smith
will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 and Honda
Civic Type R respectively and will be
looking to build up their experience of
IRC competition.

Driver Standings:
01) A. L’Estage - 51 pts
02) T. Pastrana - 45 pts
03) W. Bacon - 40 pts
04) D. Mirra - 34 pts
05) K. Block - 24 pts
06) T. Hanson - 21 pts
07) T. Rooney - 14 pts
=08) A. Comrie-Picard - 13 pts
=08) C. Decker - 13 pts
10) J. Burker - 12 pts
Story: Evan Rothman
Picture: Tim Williams / Rally America
With Tim Williams’ photographic skills,
HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS will be in
attendance at this weekend’s rally in
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania to bring you the
latest and most entertaining rally news
and action photography from this event
in next week’s issue.
The STPR, as it is commonly
referred to, brings a rally route that
features some of the most fearsome
roads in world rallying.
With top rally teams preparing
their rally machines for this weekend’s
event, the teams from as far as Canada
have signed on to do battle against
USA’s best crews.
The STPR website,
www.stpr.org, has a number of
interesting features one of which
explains the rally classes beautifully:
“Rally America has grouped Performance
Rally vehicles into three groups with two
of the groups further broken down into
classes. The groups are:
• Open category – Classes are: Open,
Open Light, Group 5 and Group 2.
• Production category – Classes are:
Super Production. Production GT,
Production and Rally Truck.
• Historic category – Groups all cars into
the Historic class.”
This year’s route is once
again provided by the Pennsylvania
EVENTS
KEN BLOCK TO SHINE IN
PENNSYLVANIA’S FORESTS FOR STPR?
RA: STPR RALLY
04 - 06 June 2010
This weekend’s Susquehannock Performance
Trail Rally (STPR) plays host to the fourth round
of the Rally America series, regarded as the most
competitive rallying series in the United States of
America.
Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, Bureua of Foresty. A route
of 100,8km in the Susquehannock,
Tioga and Tiadaghton State Forests will
be used for the special stages, being
repeated three times over the course
of the weekend. Added to this will be
14,4km of private roads. The Subaru
SuperSpecial Stage at the Tioga Country
Fairgrounds is just under a 1,6km-long,
and will be a feature not to be missed
this weekend.
This the 34th running of this
much-anticipated rally, is not only the
oldest inthe Rally America series, but the
fastest too!
Subaru Rally Team USA driver
Ken Block (now driving for the Monster
World Rally Team powered by the 2010
Ford Fiesta), set the fastest times
on the opening stages of the Waste
Management Susquehannock Trail
Performance Rally (STPR) presented
by Citizens & Northern Bank and never
looked back, taking his second win of
the 2009 season at this notoriously
tough event. For this year, however,
he will pushed hard through all the
stages by Antoine L’Estage/Nathalie
Richard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
X), Bill Bacon/Peter Watt (Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution IX), Dave Mirra/Martin
Headland (Subaru Impreza) and Travis
and Terry Hanson (Subaru Impreza).