Ogier dominance is bad news for rallying

Sebastien Ogier, pictured as a Citroen driver in 2011, appears on the cusp of dominating this year’s World Rally Championship. Photo credits to Wikimedia Commons

Sebastien Ogier’s crushing victory in last weekend’s Rally Mexico could prove to be an ominous sign of things to come for the World Rally Championship. With Sebastien Loeb finally stepping aside to allow someone else a run at the title, it seems as if rallying may already be on the brink of a new era of dominance in light of Ogier’s recent success.

The fact that Loeb, who has won the previous nine WRC titles, announced he would only partake in four of this season’s 13 rallies seemed to promise a new era of close competition in the championship. The drivers on whom Citroen would rely in the absence of Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo, looked to be in contention for the title. So too Jari-Matti Latvala, the man signed to partner Ogier at the all-new Volkswagen team.

However, the prospect of Ogier sweeping all before him in 2013 is looking increasingly likely after two consecutive maximum scores have given the 29-year-old Frenchman a lead of 44 points over Hirvonen, his nearest full-season rival in the championship. Admittedly, it’s been a relatively lacklustre first three events for the Finnish driver, but he surely can’t be feeling too optimistic about his chances of overhauling Ogier after being beaten so comprehensively in Mexico.

So far this year, Hirvonen has a fourth place, a non-score and a second place to his name. The first result came at Monte Carlo, and was excusable enough given that it’s a rally he admits to disliking. Less tolerable however was his failure to score in Sweden, a snow-based event he’s won twice before, which came as a result of him rolling his Citroen DS3 early on whilst Ogier took the new VW Polo to a surprise debut victory by a margin of 40 seconds from Loeb.

Mexico was a rally Hirvonen needed to win after this disaster, but the Citroen driver could only finish second, three-and-a-half minutes down on an unstoppable Ogier. Admittedly, the Finn lost around two minutes to a puncture on the second day, but by then he was already 80 seconds adrift of the rally lead. In addition, his stage win tally of two hardly makes for encouraging reading compared to Ogier’s 15.

Indeed, Hirvonen’s runner-up position wasn’t even assured until the challenge of Ford driver Mads Ostberg was ended by mechanical problems. Sordo meanwhile finished a distant fourth, six minutes down on Ogier, and Latvala’s bid for victory was ended early on with suspension damage caused by an impact with a rock on the first day of the rally.

Ogier says he dislikes the comparisons made between himself and his former Citroen teammate Loeb, but the trouble is that the similarities between the pair are irresistible. Besides the obvious shared first name and French nationality, the way Ogier has imposed himself on the competition so far this year is very much reminiscent of the manner in which Loeb initially stamped his authority on the WRC back in 2004.

The lengthy spell of supremacy that followed for Loeb and Citroen did rallying no favours whatsoever as TV coverage deteriorated and entry numbers suffered. The danger is of course that, if Ogier does indeed go on to dominate this year’s championship in Loeb-esque fashion, any green shoots of recovery for rallying could well be trampled upon.

Ford already threw in the towel at the very end of last year, and Citroen could well follow if things don’t improve. The French manufacturer is known to be working on an entry into touring car racing with Loeb for next year, and if their drivers can’t compete with Ogier and VW, it would surely prove tempting to gracefully bow out of a championship they have become used to dominating.

If Citroen were indeed to withdraw, then VW’s continued participation would also be thrown into doubt. After all, how much marketing value is there in winning a championship against only token opposition? The manufacturers represent the WRC’s primary source of income, without which it would be on very shaky ground indeed considering the recent turmoil of the series.

Volkswagen have done an incredible job to make their car as competitive and reliable as they have done in such a short space of time, whilst Ogier is clearly an outstanding talent who deserves the success he is firmly on course to enjoy. The fact remains however that rallying can ill-afford another era of hegemony by one driver, and it is up to the rest of the chasing pack to swiftly up their game. The future of the WRC could well depend on it.

Highlights of Rally Mexico are being aired today (March 12) at 17:50 on ITV4.

Jamie Klein

Ferrari fastest in first F1 test; Ogier on top in Sweden

Felipe Massa behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2013 contender. Photo credits to Tony Evans

Ferrari draw first blood in Jerez test

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa set the fastest time during the first of three pre-season Formula One tests at the Spanish Jerez circuit.

Massa, who will start his eight consecutive season driving for Ferrari this year, set a fastest time of 1m17.879s on the third day of the four day test, making him the only driver to break the 78-second barrier during the entire test. This marks a significant turnaround for Ferrari, whose struggles in pre-season testing a year ago set the tone for an uncompetitive opening part of the season.

Massa’s  teammate Fernando Alonso meanwhile was not present at Jerez, with much speculation surrounding the reason for the two-time champion’s absence. The official reason cited was Alonso’s desire to do more fitness training before getting back behind the wheel of an F1 car.

The second fastest time of the test was set by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, whose time of 1m18.148s made him the quickest driver on the final day of the test, albeit nearly three tenths shy of Massa’s time. Romain Grosjean underlined the new Lotus machine’s potential by topping the timesheets on the second day of the test with a 1m18.218s.

Jenson Button’s time of 1m18.861s was the fastest on the opening day of the test, despite the new McLaren suffering fuel pump failure that morning, with Sergio Perez enjoying a fairly low-key maiden outing for the Woking-based team with a best time of 1m18.944s on the final day.

Lewis Hamilton’s first run with his new employer Mercedes was interrupted by a crash caused by brake failure. Recovering from this setback, the Brit set a best time of 1m18.905s on the final day of the test. Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel’s fastest time, a 1m18.565, also came on the final day behind the wheel of the new-look Red Bull machine.

It’s important to note however that testing times are a fairly blunt instrument when it comes to assessing the relative competitiveness of new cars, as the times are affected significantly by the condition of the track as well as differing fuel loads and other set-up disparities.

The next pre-season F1 test begins on February 19 at Barcelona.

Ogier driving the new VW Polo, pictured at the Monte Carlo Rally. Photo credits to Nico86

Ogier takes Volkswagen’s maiden WRC win

Sebastien Ogier secured the first WRC win for the new Volkswagen team in fine style in the second round of the championship in Sweden.

Ogier, who returned to the championship this year after spending 2012 developing the new Polo-based VW rally car, was in a class of his own on the first day of the event, picking up five of a possible eight stage wins and establishing a healthy cushion of 30 seconds over his nearest rival, Monte Carlo winner Sebastien Loeb (Citroen).

From that point onwards, Ogier was able to control the rally, easing off somewhat during the second day and allowing Loeb to close by around five seconds. The nine-time champion however had already written off his chances of victory and switched his attentions to protecting his second place from Ogier’s teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala.

Despite being just two seconds adrift of Loeb after the first day, Latvala struggled for pace during the second day and lost third position to Mads Ostberg (Ford). Though Ostberg had taken a stage win on the first day, he couldn’t keep pace with Ogier or Loeb during day two and was 30 seconds behind the latter as the final day began.

Ogier turned up the wick once more on the final day, ending the rally with an advantage of 41 seconds over Loeb, who lost time with an error on the second stage of the day. Victory in the points-paying ‘power stage’ gave Ogier a maximum score of 28 points and sees the Frenchman take the lead of the championship.

Behind Loeb, who will only be contesting a further two rounds of the championship and thus is not in contention for this year’s title, Ostberg held onto third position ahead of a rejuvenated Latvala, who missed out on the podium by just six seconds. A late crash by Evgeny Novikov (Ford), who was comfortably running fifth with three stages to go, handed the final top five position to teammate Thierry Neuville.

It was a rally to forget for Citroen’s main title challengers for the season, Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo. Hirvonen’s victory challenge was ended on the second stage of the rally when he rolled his DS3, costing him 25 minutes. Sordo meanwhile lost five minutes on the first day with a crash, and was set to finish eighth before another crash on the final day forced him to retire.

Points Standings after 2 Rounds: Ogier 46, Loeb 43, Ostberg 24, Sordo 15, Latvala 14.

The next round of the WRC is Rally Mexico, which begins on March 8.

Jamie Klein

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Peterhansel and Loeb show their class

Robby Gordon (USA) had a difficult rally in his Hummer, finishing 14th overall. Photo credits to Bruno Amaru

Peterhansel dominates Dakar Rally

The gruelling Dakar Rally has been won for an incredible eleventh time by the veteran French driver Stephane Peterhansel.

The event – which began in Lima, Peru and finished in Santiago, Chile after two exhausting weeks of competition – appeared at first to be a two horse race between X-Raid Mini driver Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was driving an unproven Demon Jefferies-built buggy. However, early mechanical woes for Al-Attiyah’s teammate, two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sainz, did not bode well for the Qatari driver, and Peterhansel was left with a 49 minute lead after Al-Attiyah was forced to withdraw from the rally prior to the ninth stage due to engine problems.

Thereon, it was simply a case of avoiding trouble for Peterhansel, and despite the best efforts of 2009 Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers (Toyota), the defending champion completed the rally with 42 minutes in hand over his South African rival. Completing the top five were three other X-Raid drivers in the form of Leonid Novitskiy (Mini), almost an hour and a half down on Peterhansel, Nani Roma (Mini), a further eight minutes down, and Orlando Terranova (BMW) just shy of an hour and 50 minutes of the winning time.

In the bikes category, Cyril Despres captured his fifth Dakar win for KTM – albeit with stiffer opposition than compatriot Peterhansel faced despite the absence of long-time rival Marc Coma due to injury. Problems for Yamaha riders Olivier Pain and David Casteu during the first week allowed Despres to take control of the rally, but during the second week ‘Chaleco’ Lopez (KTM) threatened to take his maiden Dakar victory with some eye-catching pace.

Sadly, a 15 minute engine change penalty for Lopez prior to the final stage blunted his challenge, allowing Despres to cross the finish line with a 10 minute cushion over teammate Ruben Faria. Lopez finished a further five minutes behind in third place.

Sebastien Loeb en route to a comfortable victory in the new-look Citroen DS3. Photo credits to Nico86

Loeb in control in Monaco

Sebastien Loeb’s WRC rivals will be breathing a sigh of relief that he’s only participating in a further three rounds this season as the Frenchman controlled the opening round of the championship throughout.

After Sebastien Ogier got newcomers Volkswagen off to an auspicious start with victory in the first stage, Citroen driver Loeb took the lead of the rally after winning the second stage and had built a healthy advantage of one minute 20 seconds over Ogier having won the remaining two stages of the first day. In the treacherous icy conditions, Loeb simply had more confidence than his rivals, Ogier apparently happy to settle for second in the knowledge his compatriot would not be a factor in this year’s title run-in.

With another pair of stage wins on the second day, Loeb stretched his advantage to one minute 35 seconds, and two more stage wins during the third leg increased his lead by a further 12 seconds with Ogier still in a comfortable second. The final two of the final day’s five stages were cancelled on safety grounds, giving Loeb the 77th win of his long and illustrious career.

Behind Ogier, who finished one minute 40 seconds down on Loeb in the final reckoning with two stage wins to his credit, finished Dani Sordo (Citroen) who had moved into third during the second day before being demoted by Evgeny Novikov (M-Sport Ford). The young Russian driver however crashed out of a potential podium finish on the final day, handing third back to Sordo. Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) had a testing rally, struggling more than most in the conditions, finishing a distant fourth ahead of privateer rookie Bryan Bouffier (Citroen).

The conditions caught out many big names, chief among them Volkswagen driver Jari-Matti Latvala, who lost fifth position by sliding off the road with two stages left. Thierry Neuville (M-Sport Ford) retired early on in an accident, whilst Mads Ostberg (M-Sport Ford) had to settle for sixth after damaging his suspension.

Points Standings after 1 Round: Loeb 25, Hirvonen 18, Sordo 15, Hirvonen 12, Bouffier 10

The next round of the WRC is Rally Sweden, which begins on February 7.

Jamie Klein

2013 World Rally Championship preview

Photo credits to Wikimedia Commons

Without doubt, 2013 marks the beginning of a new era for the beleaguered World Rally Championship (WRC). With nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb not in contention due to participating in just four of this year’s 13 rallies, this year’s title contest promises to be the most open in years.

It came as little shock when, last September, Loeb – by far the most successful driver in the history of rallying – announced that he would be winding down his commitment to the series as he prepares to switch full-time to circuit racing in 2014 . With an incredible nine world titles and 76 rally victories to his name, the 38-year-old has nothing left to prove and is no doubt looking forward to the next phase of his career. While Loeb’s incredible success may have left the sport decidedly lacking in household names, the Frenchman’s departure provides a golden opportunity for another driver to step up to the plate and become the new star of rallying.

Tasked with spearheading Citroen’s assault during the nine events where Loeb will be absent is Mikko Hirvonen, who finished a distant second to his teammate in the standings last year with just a single rally victory to his name. It was the fourth occasion that Hirvonen had secured the championship runner-up spot, meaning the Finnish driver must be considered favourite for this year’s title – particularly given the pace and reliability of the Citroen DS3.

Joining Hirvonen is the experienced Dani Sordo, who returns to the Citroen fold after two seasons spent at the wheel of the Mini. The Spaniard has been unlucky to have not yet won a rally, but there will be no excuses if he fails to do so this year with former teammate Loeb removed from the equation.

With Ford no longer present in works capacity, newcomers Volkswagen are likely to provide the biggest threat to Citroen hegemony. The all-new Polo machine is untested in competition, but the team boasts an exceptionally strong driver line-up that should allow the German manufacturer to challenge for the title in year one. After a year spent on the sidelines, Sebastien Ogier, billed as the natural successor of compatriot Loeb, could prove Hirvonen’s biggest title rival if the machinery allows.

Similarly, Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala, who finished third in the championship last year for Ford, will also prove a threat as long as he can avoid making the same errors that plagued his campaign last year. The up-and-coming Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen meanwhile will drive a third car for Volkswagen during selected events.

The British-based M-Sport will continue to field a brace of Ford Fiestas in spite of having lost the financial backing of the US auto giant. Despite Latvala defecting to Volkswagen, the team opted to dispense with the services of 2003 champion Petter Solberg, who is consequently without a drive this year; the gregarious Norwegian has been a mainstay of the WRC paddock since the start of the millennium and will be sorely missed.

Instead, M-Sport have promoted two of the drivers from its junior stable to lead their challenge – Norway’s Mads Ostberg, who won the first rally of his career in 2012, and Russia’s Evgeny Novikov, who also established himself as a regular front-runner last eason. The promising young Belgian Thierry Neuville, who moves across from Citroen’s junior team, and the Finn Juho Hanninen complete a four-strong line-up for the team.

With Loeb stepping aside, the arrival of Volkswagen and Red Bull taking the reigns as the championship’s new promoter, rallying has the chance in 2013 to re-invent its image after years in the doldrums. Despite this, no announcement regarding TV coverage in the UK for next weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally has been forthcoming. It’s up to the sport’s governing body, the FIA, to take control of the situation and ensure that British fans are not neglected during such a critical period for the WRC.

The first round of the season, the Monte Carlo Rally, takes place from January 16 to 19.

Jamie Klein

Massa to stay at Ferrari; Lorenzo seals MotoGP title

Photo thanks to Laurent Cartalade

Massa to stay at Ferrari; Hulkenberg moves to Sauber

Yet more pieces of the 2013 F1 driver market puzzle have fallen into place in the last month. As had been expected, Felipe Massa’s recent upturn in form was sufficient for Ferrari to grant him a one-year extension to his contract. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg had been connected with the second Ferrari seat, but the German will instead now move across to the Sauber team – which utilises Ferrari engines – with the Italian team understood to be monitoring Hulkenberg’s progress closely as a candidate for a possible future drive.

In other driver market news, Kimi Raikkonen confirmed that he would remain at the Lotus team next year, whilst Red Bull announced that both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne would continue to drive for Toro Rosso next season.

Lorenzo crowned MotoGP champion as season concludes

Jorge Lorenzo secured his second MotoGP title at the penultimate round of the season at the Australian Phillip Island circuit, as compatriot and title rival Dani Pedrosa fell from his bike. Pedrosa, who needed to beat Lorenzo after successive victories at Aragon, Japan and Malaysia, lost the front end of his Honda on lap two, effectively ending his title ambitions.

Pedrosa was however able to end the year with most wins as he triumphed at an unpredictable Valencia finale in which Lorenzo fell from his Yamaha whilst trying to lap Britain’s James Ellison. Casey Stoner meanwhile finished in third aboard the sister Honda in his last ever MotoGP race, having taken a dominant victory in front his home fans two weeks earlier at Phillip Island.

Max Biaggi calls time on glittering motorcycling career

Max Biaggi has decided to call time on a long and successful motorcycle racing career after securing his second World Superbike championship title. After coming out on top in an ultra-close battle with Briton Tom Sykes this season, Biaggi, 41, has decided to hang up his leathers rather than seek a third championship.

The Italian rider made his name in MotoGP initially, securing 13 race wins between 1998 and 2005 amid an acrimonious relationship with compatriot Valentino Rossi. Biaggi then made the switch to World Superbikes in 2007, securing his maiden championship in 2010 for Aprilia before adding a second title to his CV last month.

Loeb claims ninth and last WRC crown as Ford heads for the exit

Sebastien Loeb clinched an astonishing ninth consecutive World Rally Championship title in what will be the Frenchman’s final full season in the series. Claiming his 75^th career victory in his home event, Loeb went on to take the final win of the year in Spain for Citroen. Loeb’s closest rival and teammate Mikko Hirvonen could nonetheless take comfort in securing his first win of the season at the penultimate round at Italy.

Immediately prior to the start of the rally, Ford announced their departure from rallying at the end of the season, although their Fiesta WRC car will continue to be run by the M-Sport team next season; Ford’s decision means their number one driver Latvala will be joining the brand new Volkswagen team alongside Sebastien Ogier next season.

Shedden secures maiden  BTCC triumph

Gordon Shedden was crowned champion in the British Touring Car Championship after a season-long battle reached its climax. Shedden arrived at a sodden Brands Hatch circuit with a moderate points buffer over his chief rival, former champion and Fifth Gear presenter Jason Plato. His MG however was ineffective in the wet conditions, meaning that two podium positions in three races would be enough for Shedden to take honours for the first time. Matt Neal’s win in the opening race of the day allowed him to surpass Plato’s points tally, giving Honda a one-two finish in the final standings.

Jamie Klein

What's wrong with rallying?

The Welsh-based Rally GB took place last weekend, but you’d be forgiven if you failed to notice. The profile of rallying has perhaps never been lower since the formation of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 1979, as the sport has struggled with poor promotion and utter dominance by one driver in the form of Sebastien Loeb.

Just a decade ago, things were very different indeed. At that time, the WRC was awash with star drivers at the wheel of manufacturer-backed entries from the likes of Peugeot, Ford, Subaru and Mitsubishi. Two British champions in the form of Colin McRae and Richard Burns ensured that TV coverage on terrestrial stations in the UK was readily accessible, attracting many motor racing fans who had grown tired of watching Michael Schumacher win nearly every Formula One race.

2003 arguably marked the turning point. McRae and Burns both suffered poor seasons, the latter having to withdraw from the final rally of the season due to what was later diagnosed as an ultimately fatal brain tumour. McRae meanwhile lost his seat at Citroen at the end of the season, and would only participate in sporadic events before his unfortunate death in a helicopter crash in 2007.

Incidentally, 2003 was also the last season that the sport’s current undoubted superstar, Sebastien Loeb, didn’t win the title; since 2004, the Frenchman and his Citroen team have won the drivers’ championship every year. His eight WRC titles (which look likely to become nine by the end of the year) and 75 rally wins make Loeb by far the sport’s greatest ever exponent, but it hasn’t exactly made for exciting viewing.

Combined with a dearth of regular top-level British competitors after McRae and Burns departed the stage, it’s hardly a shock that TV coverage has suffered. After stints on Channel 4 and ITV, the WRC became accessible only to Freeview viewers in 2007 as the series moved to ITV4 and then Dave. Things then took a fresh turn for the worse last year as the subscription-only channel ESPN secured the TV rights, reducing the championship’s potential audience even further.

The hegemony of Loeb and Citroen combined with the global economic crisis has also led to numerous manufacturers pulling out of the championship during this period, leaving only Ford as the French manufacturer’s sole serious rival. That means, unlike the halcyon days of the early 2000s, only a small handful of drivers begin each rally with any realistic shot of winning. And even then, on any given event, barring exceptional circumstances, there’s a good chance that driver will be Loeb.

However, for all of this doom and gloom, there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel for the WRC. First of all, last month, the media arm of Red Bull was announced as the championship’s new promoter. The energy drink giant, which has commercial interests in F1, MotoGP, NASCAR and DTM (German Touring Cars) amongst others, isn’t known for doing things by halves – expect them to pull out all the stops in their attempts to revitalise the WRC brand.

There’s cause for optimism when it comes to next year’s entry list, too. In addition to Citroen and Ford, Volkswagen will be joining the party with their all new Polo-based contender. With the help of rising star Sebastien Ogier, who seriously challenged Loeb as his Citroen teammate a couple of years ago, the German manufacturer could prove to be a major threat to the Loeb-Citroen axis of dominance.

Factor in the return of Hyundai (who last competed in rallying in 2003), interest from Toyota and a renewed assault from the Prodrive-run Minis, and suddenly the championship is looking far more open than it has done for some time. What’s more, Britain’s most promising rally driver of recent years, Kris Meeke, is working hard on a return to the championship for next year having spent this year on the sidelines due to budgetary issues.

You could make a convincing case to say that Loeb, Ogier and the other competitors of the WRC are, all things considered, the most skilful drivers in the world. If Red Bull can draw attention to that fact as well as the prospect of four of the world’s five largest car manufacturers going all out to topple Citroen, then there seems no reason why WRC couldn’t get back to the glory days of yesteryear.

 

Photo thanks to Konstantinos Kazantzoglou