WRC Rallye de France - Alsace 04 - 07 Oct

[WTF]

Round 11
04 - 07 Oct 12
Categories:WRC, SWRC, WRC Academy
Based:Alsace
Surface:Asphalt
Website:www.rallyedefrance.com



France’s round of the World Rally Championship was contained on the stunning island of Corsica from 1973 until 2008. But the event’s return to the WRC schedule in 2010 following a gap year wasn’t to the Mediterranean island and its unrelenting mountain roads but to the Alsace region of France in the east of the country.

Alsace is Sebastien Loeb country and it was highly fitting that the French ace secured his seventh world crown on a special stage run through the streets of his hometown of Haguenau when the region hosted its first WRC qualifier in October 2010.

With a base on the outskirts of Strasbourg, the rally utilised a remote service halt in the town of Mulhouse on day one, which quickly became swamped by enthusiastic spectators who gathered in there thousands. Indeed, the event’s central location - not to mention the Loeb factor - ensured a phenomenal turn out of fans on all three days.

While victory for Loeb was never in doubt, the inconsistent stage surfaces, mixture of narrow and fast sections and cold temperatures made for a challenging spectacle. Stages ranged from vineyard-based tests similar to those found on ADAC Rallye Deutschland, undulating forest roads, plus a 24-kilometre test through the Bitche military training area, before the final stage in Haguenau.

Last year’s route included several tweaks with the first two stages on Friday’s opening day run in an opposite direction. The remote service halt moved to Colmar, while Mulhouse played host to an exciting street stage. Two new stages were added to the itinerary on Sunday with Haguenau the location for the event-closing Power Stage.

Precise details of the 2012 edition of Rallye de France Alsace have still to be finalised although another thrilling battle for victory watched by thousands of fans is virtually guaranteed.



Sebastien Loeb can win the FIA World Rally Championship for a ninth time by beating Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen on Rallye de France Alsace next month.



Loeb is 61 points clear of Hirvonen with three rounds left to run following a dominant season in the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with co-driver Daniel Elena. Providing Loeb finishes ahead of Finn Hirvonen on the Strasbourg-based event from 4-7 October, then Frenchman Loeb will put the title beyond his rival’s reach.

But even if Hirvonen finishes ahead of the eight-time title winner then Loeb can still be champion in France by finishing one place behind him, providing Hirvonen doesn’t win the rally or the event-closing Power Stage.

Another possible outcome is that if Hirvonen fails to finish in the top eight then Loeb will clinch the title regardless of his result.

Whatever the outcome in France, only Loeb or Hirvonen can take the title after Ford driver Petter Solberg was ruled out of contention following Wales Rally GB earlier this month.

Speaking at the finish of Rally GB, Citroen Racing team principal Yves Matton said: “At the start of the season, we stated that our goal was to retain the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles. Thanks to the result we achieved in the UK, only Seb or Mikko can now win the drivers’ world championship. So, we have achieved our first goal, and we have also moved a little bit closer to the second one.”

[Arlow]

From Citroen Racing's Twitter.

Citroën Racing @CitroenRacing
Shakedown after 4 runs : 1 Sordo 2'34.1 - 2 Loeb 35.4 - 3 Neuville 35.7 - 4 Solberg 36.7 - Hirvonen 37.5 - Al-Attiyah 37.5 #WRC

[Arlow]

From Citroen Racing's Twitter.

Citroën Racing @CitroenRacing
SS1: 1 Neuville - 2 Latvala +0.8 - 3 Hirvonen +1.3 - 4 Sordo +1.3 - 5 Solberg +1.3 - 6 Chardonnet +1.4 - 7 Loeb +1.6 - 8 Tanak +2.5 #WRC

[Yellow]

Seb blamed his pace notes but there's no pressure. Hopefully by the time I get to Paris on monday Seb and Citroen will be crowned World Champions!

[mix]

After SS3: 1 Loeb - 2 Latvala +7.6 - 3 Hirvonen +11 - 4 Solberg +22 - 5 Ostberg +23 #WRC #rallyedefrance

Loeb first. Normality has resumed.

[Yellow]

Latvala on first stage saturday says "I will keep the pressure on him and hope he mkes a mistake" second stage Oops Latty in the ditch and Solberg hits a telegraph pole. Loeb now leads Latty by 33 seconds, here come the Champions!!!!!!!

[Arlow]

One step closer to heaven

[mix]

S12S was cancelled due to the number of spectators from what I saw on twitter. That usual?

[Arlow]

S12S was cancelled due to the number of spectators from what I saw on twitter. That usual?

I've not heard of it before, but you just have to watch footage of rallies in other countries to see that spectators tend to get a lot closer than they do in the UK, and often stand in places where a car would go if it's going to crash. Rallies here are probably better marshaled as witnessed at Likes Land Rover stage this year

[Arlow]

[Arlow]

Petter Solberg's exit during stage 9.

[mix]

That telegraph pole was very close to taking people out. Very lucky not to be more serious.

[Yellow]

Seb, Dani and Citroen DS3 CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!

[WTF]

After four dramatic days in the Alsace, here's what WRC.com learned about the man who turned eight into nine: Sebastien Loeb.

1: There was no chance of Sebastien Loeb speeding on the liaison sections during last week’s Rallye de France - his Citroen DS3 WRC was constantly surrounded by police outriders, there to try and allow the Frenchman a safe passage through the thousands of cars who’d come to town to see him.

2: He won more stages on last week’s Alsace-based Rallye de France than ever before. He managed eight this time, one more than 2010 and a lot more than 2011, when his engine went bang on stage three.

3: He almost made himself late leaving service on the final morning of Rallye de France last week, because he was trying to watch the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.

4: Loeb Events, the company run by Sebastien’s wife Severine, put on eight buses and six helicopters to cope with demand from fans of the nine-time world champion watching in Alsace last week.

5: Despite having family living close to Rallye de France last week, the Loebs stayed in the team hotel in Strasbourg and treated the event the same as any one of the other WRC rounds he competes on.

6: Sebastien Loeb is too popular for his own town. The French superstar’s hopes of going out to eat with his friends and family were dashed by the fact that he would have been signing an autograph between every mouthful.

7: Loeb’s Rallye de France result was his 125th point-scoring finish in the FIA World Rally Championship...

8: ... and an event where he secured his 874th World Rally Championship career stage win.

9: And finally... after celebrating title number nine, Loeb announced in Alsace that he’d be back in town next year - not chasing title number 10, but certainly in pursuit of a third champagne moment in Strasbourg.




In addition to the Drivers’ title for Sébastien Loeb and the Manufacturers’ title, Citroën can also be very pleased with the performance of its junior crews. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul (Citroën Junior WRT) finished fourth overall, their best ever result in the WRC, notching up six stage wins in the process.

For the Rallye de France, three Citroën DS3 WRCs were entered for Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Citroën Junior World Rally Team), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini (Qatar World Rally Team) and Sébastien Chardonnet/Thibault de la Haye (Collectif Equipe de France FFSA).

Thierry Neuville made the perfect start to this tarmac rally by winning the Strasbourg super special stage, thus becoming the event’s first leader. The Belgian produced a solid performance on Friday and looked like he was in contention for fourth place. Thierry ended the day in sixth, a few seconds behind his rivals.

After upping his pace on Saturday morning, the Citroën Junior WRT moved back up into fourth position, but late arrival at a time control cost him a 20-second penalty. “We managed to be on the pace when we needed to be,” he emphasized. “In hindsight, I think that the mishap only made me try even harder. I had to push to make up the lost time and that helped me to feel more confident about my driving.”

On Sunday, Thierry Neuville proved to be a class apart on roads that were perfectly suited to him. Winning five stages out of six, he moved back into fourth place, and also took two bonus points on the Power Stage. “This is my best result in the WRC. I could have been battling for a place on the podium. Above all, I’m pleased with the consistency we managed to achieve throughout the rally. We took another big step forward here, although I still feel like I’m learning about the car on tarmac. Overall, I’m more confident and things are going in the right direction. Our goal now is to finish a rally on the podium before the end of the season.”

For Nasser Al-Attiyah, this rally gave him an opportunity to add to his experience on a surface on which he had driven very little up to now. Thirteenth overall on Friday evening, he was caught out on Saturday morning on SS10 when braking in the wet. “It’s a shame, I was having my best race on tarmac,” admitted the Qatar World Rally Team driver. “We hit two spectators in the incident; fortunately, their injuries aren’t too serious. I feel really sorry for them. I won’t be competing in Sardinia, because I’ll starting preparations for the Dakar Rally. Thierry Neuville will be driving my Citroën DS3 WRC.”

Sébastien Chardonnet was driving a four-wheel drive car in the World Rally Championship for the first time. The Collectif Equipe de France FFSA (FFSA French Team group) member’s rally went according to the team’s plan, without making any significant mistakes, only making a very minor spin on Saturday. He finished the rally in 10th position and therefore saw his name added to the WRC overall standings. “Every mile covered in this car is beneficial to me. We made it to the finish; the point for tenth place is a bonus. I now know which areas in which I need to make progress, both in terms of driving and race management. It has been a very rewarding experience. My only wish now is to compete in a rally in the Citroën DS3 WRC as soon as possible.”