Le Mans 2013

An eventful and traumatic Le Mans 24 hours has drawn to a close and despite numerous safety car periods, ever changing weather conditions and the tragic accident that befell Allan Simonsen both Audi and Porsche are able to look back on a successful race.

Audi Sport Team Joest won the 2013 event outright with their Audi R18 e-tron quattro (car number 2) ably driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loïc Duval. Third overall was Audi number 3 driven by Marc Gené, Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis. Last year's winners (car 1) Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer endured a difficult race finally claiming fifth overall.

Porsche won two classes in this year's race; 
Porsche AG Team Manthey and the number 92 car of Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Richard Leitz won the LM GTE Pro class in their Porsche 911 RSR with the team mates Jorg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard and Patrick Pilet bringing their Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR home in second.

Meanwhile the number 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Christophe Bourret, Raymond Narac and Jean-Karl Vernay took the honours in the LM GTE Am class.

Rally Italia Sardegna

Sébastien Ogier dominated this year’s Rally Italia Sardegna adding yet another victory to his 2013 total in his Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Snatching the lead on the first stage the ever impressive Frenchman extended his margin of victory to over 1 minute 16 seconds by the end of the last stage in Italy.

Jari-Matti Latvala overcame a large loss of time (approx 2 minutes) with a first stage puncture to claim 3^rd overall whilst the third factory Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC of Andreas Mikkelsen retired with broken suspension late on in the last day.

Latvala was buoyed by his performance knowing his early time loss was the only reason he couldn’t challenge for victory, his confidence is high as the WRC now moves to Finland, Jari-Matti’s home event. Sébastien is also extremely confident and hopes to continue his good form through to Finland as he aims to be one of the very few non-Scandinavians drivers to win what is commonly known as the Finnish Grand Prix.

Mikkelsen meanwhile may be lamenting the off which resulted in his suspension breaking although team boss Jost Capito was more than please with his young star’s performance saying “things like that happen when you attack”. Andreas had been pilling the pressure on 4^th placed Sordo having noticeably increased his speed during the event as he gains more experience of both the team and the VW Polo R WRC.

Volkswagen Motorsport must be looking forward to Finland and the challenges the fast, flowing crest filled roads offer.

1	S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA
2	T. Neuville / N. Gilsoul
3	J-M. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA
4	D. Sordo / C. Del Barrio
5	M. Prokop / M. Ernst

Rally Italia Sardegna

Volkswagen Polo driver Sebastien Ogier leads Rally Italia Sardegna at the end of day one by 46.6 seconds.
His Volkswagen team mate Jari-Matti Latvala is fifth overall despite dropping 2 minutes with a first stage puncture (pictured).
The third Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC currently occupies sixth overall, Andreas Mikkelsen having ceded his fifth place to Jari-Matti Latavla on the final night stage of today.

1. S OGIER
2. M Hirvonen
3. T Neuville
4. D Sordo
5. J-M LATVALA
6. A MIKKELSEN
7. M Prokop
8. M Kosciuszko
9. E Evans
10. R Kubica

Volswagen Polo R WRC - Acropolis Rally

Volkswagen Motorsport are hoping to have cured the handbrake issues that have blighted the Polo R WRC so far this season. They have switched to a new hydraulic system for this week’s Acropolis rally.

Rallycross RX 3rd Round, Hungary

Swedish driver Anton Marklund finishes 8th in Nyirad, proving that he’s part of the team of young drivers that will clearly make their mark on rallycross.

This weekend saw thousands of rallycross fans congregate to sunny Nyirad, Hungary, to witness the fuel-filled excitement the third round of the FIA European Championships brought to the track.

Anton, who with 20 years of age is the youngest driver in the Supercar class, impressed with consistent quality driving and speed that meant even long-established competitors were left in the dust. 

Despite some trouble with the steering throughout practice, a tricky start and an involuntary stop due to a spin in front of him during the first two heats, Marklund managed to qualify for the semi-finals in 3rd overall position, having won his third heat and showing great tactical and technical understanding throughout.

A slight hesitation at the start in the semis lead to Marklund being stuck behind Skoda driver Knut Ove Borseth who finished third and grabbed the final place in the finals. Marklund ended the semi-finals in fourth position, finishing this round of the Championships overall in 8th.

“I made a mistake at the start, leaving room on the inside for Borseth to get in front of me – he was driving very safe from then on, leaving me no opportunity to get past him. I’m happy with today’s performance though. This being my first season driving Supercar, I’m taking all this as learning experience. The car is going really well, and I feel we’re improving every time”, comments Anton, “I’m looking forward to showing Finland what we’ve got.”

Marklund and his No. 92 Volkswagen Polo R Supercar are now on 42 points and in 4th position in the Championships, one point ahead of Rallycross legend Petter Solberg. 

{photo QNIGAN.COM}

Porsche Supercup - Monaco

The 2013 Porsche Supercup race around the streets of Monaco certainly wasn’t as exciting as the F1 Grand Prix, Sean Edwards converted his pole position to victory relatively easily – as easily as one can around the tight, twisting Armco lined track.

With very few overtaking opportunities drivers focused on maintaining their positions and avoiding damaging contact with the ever-present barriers.

Even the much hyped battle between Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier never really materialised. Sébastien Ogier managed to gain a place over his qualifying position to reach the flag in 13^th overall whilst Sébastien Loeb circulated in 16^th from start to finish.

The final results look like this:-

1 Sean Edwards

2 Kuba Giermaziak          

3 Michael Ammermüller

4 Christian Engelhart      

5 Jeroen Bleekemolen  

6 Kévin Estre     

7 Richie Stanaway

8 Nicki Thiim      

9 Ben Barker

10 Klaus Bachler

11 Jean-Karl Vernay

12 Clemens Schmid

13 Sébastien Ogier

14 Patryk Szczerbinski

15 Robert Lukas

16 Sébastien Loeb          

17 Markus Pommer       

18 Sebastiaan Bleekemolen       

19  Jeroen Mul 

20 Sean Johnston            

21 Alain Menu  

22 Roar Lindland              

23 Alessandro Zampedri

24 Esteban Gini

25 Michael Christensen

26 Jochen Habets

Porsche Supercup - qualifying

All the interest in Monaco seemingly revolves around the battle between Sébastiens Loeb and Ogier. Thus whilst Sean Edwards was adding another pole position to his Supercup collection attention was focused on which Sébastien would go quickest.
Both encountered plenty of traffic (a hazard of the Monaco street circuit) but Sébastien Ogier coped better and claimed 14th on the grid - approx ¼ second faster than 16th placed Sébastien Loeb.

The full grid looks like this:-
1 Sean Edwards
2 Kuba Giermaziak   
3 Christian Engelhart   
4 Michael Ammermüller   
5 Jeroen Bleekemolen   
6 Richie Stanaway   
7 Kévin Estre
8 Ben Barker   
9 Klaus Bachler
10 Nicki Thiim   
11 Jean-Karl Vernay
12 Patryk Szczerbinski   
13 Clemens Schmid   
14 Sébastien Ogier
15 Robert Lukas
16 Sébastien Loeb   
17 Alessandro Zampedri   
18 Markus Pommer   
19 Sebastiaan Bleekemolen   
20 Michael Christensen   
21 Alain Menu   
22 Sean Johnston   
23 Roar Lindland   
24 Jeroen Mul
25 Jochen Habets
26 Esteban Gini

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Hannu Mikkola. One of rallying's great drivers and forever linked with the dramatic - some might say awesome - Audi Quattro Group B rally cars.

Porsche Supercup - Monaco

Sébastien Ogier and Sébastien Loeb race each other (and 20+ other drivers) in the Porsche Supercup race on 26th May in Monaco. The head-to-head of rally giants will barely register a blip on the F1 teams radar but should prove added publicity (at least) for the Porsche Supercup.

Sébastien Loeb has far more Porsche race experience than Ogier having finished 11th overall in the Barcelona round of this year's Porsche Supercup.

Global Rallycross - Barcelona

There is not much to report unfortunately. No German car win, in fact no win for anyone!
It rained heavily in Barcelona before the rallycross cars tried to compete. The track had no drainage, the clay surface quickly turned into a grip-less rink and the control tyres were totally unsuitable meaning the only safe option was cancellation.
Thus ended the the rallycross debut of Carlos Sainz (VW Polo) as well as the rallycross debuts of two Minis (driven by Liam Doran and 'Nani' Roma) - all before they had really begun.
Lets hope the next round in Munich/München is better suited to a sport that in ERC/RX form is perfectly capable of running in even the wettest weather on the muddiest circuits.....

DTM - Brands Hatch

Mike Rockenfeller used his inherited pole position to take a dominant win in the DTM race at Brands Hatch, leading from the outset Rockenfeller led all bar a few laps benefiting from perfect strategy for this the British round of the DTM. Bruno Spengler took an inherited second place once Augusto Farfus's BMW coasted into retirement.
Superior tyre strategy and a yellow flag penalty for Gary Paffet allowed  Robert Wickens to claim the final podium position, finishing highest placed Mercedes driver as well. The penalised Paffet dropped behind BMW drivers Marco Wittmann and Joey Hand to sixth overall, just in front of former champion Mattias Ekstrom in his Audi.
Rockenfeller now leads the championship but the close nature of the racing, enhanced by the Hankook tyres means any of 10 drivers could be crowned DTM champion at the end of the season.

Top 10 results:-

1. Mike Rockenfeller - Audi

2. Bruno Spengler - BMW

3. Robert Wickens - Mercedes

4. Marco Wittmann - BMW

5. Joey Hand - BMW

6. Gary Paffett - Mercedes

7. Mattias Ekstrom - Audi

8. Christian Vietoris - Mercedes

9. Timo Scheider - Audi

10. Pascal Wehrlein - Mercedes

Mini at Global Rallycross in Barcelona

Liam Doran debuts his new, Prodrive built, Monster Energy Mini John Cooper Works RX at today's GRC round in Barcelona.
Doran's Mini is a converted WRC car and still runs the 1600ccm engine (smaller in capacity and lower in power than all the other GRC cars) but the track layout at Barcelona is expected to compensate for the lower power. Prodrive have had an intensive build programme just to get the Mini ready in time for Barcelona (the second round of the GRC) and acknowledge that there are still parts in development that will make the Mini a truly competitive package.
Liam will continue to use and develop (in conjunction with Prodrive) the Monster Energy Mini John Cooper Works RX throughout the remainder of this year's GRC season with the intention of being truly competitive and potential champions in 2014.
Naturally Prodrive are also hoping to sell a few customer cars into the ever expanding world of rallycross.

'Nani' Roma will also be competing in a Mini at the GRC in Barcelona, the Spanish Dakar legend using a Mini Cooper Countryman prepared by Spanish team PCS Sport. 
As with the Monster Energy Prodrive car the PCS Mini will be down on power compared to its competitors but the team hope the agile handling of the car will negate much of the power deficit. Whilst not as developed as the Prodrive Mini the PCS Countryman could still spring a few surprises, especially with 'Nani' behind the wheel!

Volkswagen at the Global Rallycross in Barcelona

 

Can Carlos Sainz crown a great May for Spanish motorsport fans by winning the Global Rallycross round in Barcelona?
The combination of 'King' Carlos and a 600 PS Red Bull sponsored Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo should prove competitive, especially as Carlos has set the car up differently to traditional rallycross thinking - opting for softer suspension for more traction on the gravel/dirt sections.
Anton Marklund  had an excellent first round performance in his VW Polo despite a puncture ultimately ruining the end result. With the Marklund Motorsport team benefiting from Sainz's input and experience there is a hope that this new car and team combination can also battle for an outright victory.

DTM - Brands hatch

After Martin Tomczyk's BMW M3 was found to be under-weight the starting grid for the Brands Hatch DTM race looks like this:-

1  M. Rockenfeller - Audi

2  A. Farfus - BMW

3  J.Hand - BMW

4  B. Spengler - BMW 

5  T. Scheider - Audi

6  M. Wittmann - BMW

7  A.Priaulx - BMW

8  E. Mortara - Audi

9  M. Molina - Audi

10  T. Glock - BMW

11  G. Paffett - Mercedes

12  M. Ekström - Audi

13  R. Wickens - Mercedes

14  D. Werner - BMW

15  A. Tambay - Audi

16  C. Vietoris - Mercedes

17  J. Green - Audi

18  F. Albuquerque - Audi

19  R. Merhi - Mercedes

20  P. Wehrlein - Mercedes

21  D. Juncadella - Mercedes

22  M. Tomczyk - BMW

 Live coverage of the Nürburgring 24 hours:-

http://www.24h-rennen.de/live/