RALLY Germany’s sealed asphalt was always going to favour tarmac
specialists and so it proved, Citroen’s French-Spanish duo of Sebastien Loeb
and Dani Sordo claiming a one-two finish which sees Citroen move ahead of
BP-Ford Abu Dhabi in the manufacturers’ title race by eight points.
And with lead BP-Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen
finishing fourth, Loeb’s victory in round ten of the 15-event FIA World Rally
Championship - his seventh consecutive Rally Germany
triumph – also saw him reclaim pole position in his drivers’ title joust with
the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority-backed Finn.
Loeb is four points ahead of Hirvonen as the series moves on to New
Zealand in a fortnight.
"I was on the limit this morning to try to catch
Duval," admitted Hirvonen. "I had a big escape. I had a
corner marked in my notes with a small cut, but I took a big cut. It was
a high-speed bend and the car was up on two wheels for a long time. It
was close! On the third stage I saw I was three seconds down on Duval at
the third split and decided to ease off and settle for fourth. I didn't
want to make any mistakes chasing third and risk losing what I had.
"I set some great stage times on Friday and with a bit
more consistency I will be able to fight for a top-place on this surface, but I
couldn't match the speed of the top two here. I feel my asphalt driving
has improved and it was unfortunate I lost time with a puncture last night,"
he added.
To compound the team’s miserable Trier
weekend, second driver Jari-Matti Latvala suffered a final day puncture which
ended any hopes he had of mounting a recovery following a leg two roll. Latvala
finished 9th overall, just outside the drivers’ points, although he did
register two vital manufacturers’ points for the UAE capital-supported outfit.
"It’s been frustrating," admitted Latvala.
"I started well on Friday and I had a good position and feeling with the
car but yesterday and today were nightmares. At least I increased my
asphalt experience. It's the most difficult of the asphalt rallies as the
surface changes all the time. I learned that on aggressive asphalt I'm
OK, but on a smoother surface I'm far away in my car set-up and confidence
level.
"This rally also showed me how important mental
preparation is. I need to work on that this week before Rally New Zealand
and start from zero again to move forwards. I also want to complete some
asphalt training before the next rally on that surface in Spain
in October," he added.
Elsewhere, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi – making only his second
ever Rally Germany
start – clocked an impressive 14th place finish. In a thrilling duel, the Emirati held off
Sukuzi’s PJ Andersson by beating him in all three final stages.
Al Qassimi then defeated Conrad Rautenbach, the Citroen driver
just above him in 13th, in the Super Special Circus Maximus stage through the Trier
streets in a demonstration of how he’s rapidly developing his asphalt skills.
“PJ was pushing me very hard and he was only twenty seconds
behind me going into the final three stages,” said Al Qassimi.
“I picked it up though and suddenly found my rhythm. Something switched on and I wanted to hold my
position. I had a moment when I landed
on a kerb in stage 18 and cracked a rim, thankfully the tyre held though, it
didn’t puncture and that gave me a real boost.
“The Super Special was fun, the corners were very wide and
you could really slide the car around.
It was good to beat Conrad, he’s finished above me overall but I was
over two seconds faster than him in the city stage so it’s an added bonus for
me.
“If I hadn’t lost so much time yesterday things could have
been different but today has gone very well.
There are nearly 20 more WRC cars here this year and I’ve beaten my
position last year by two places so I have to be happy – for an asphalt event,
it’s gone better than expected,” he added.
