WRC Update: Ford Sneaks Up For The Win in Rally of Turkey!

This weekend’s WRC Rally Turkey was one of the hottest, driest rallies on record. With temperatures soaring well into the 40 degrees Celsius, cars, crews and drivers were feeling the heat. With 19 stages and 360 Kms of competitive stages, Turkey is one of the longest and most grueling rallies of the season.

The first day saw privateer Urmo Aava take the lead in the morning and show the rest of the "works" teams how it’s done. Works teams are teams that are sponsored by big manufacturers, such as Ford, Citroen, and Subaru. Privateers are drivers and co-drivers that seek out sponsorship and funding on their own to put themselves through the season. However, it was Sebastien Loeb who finished on top at the end of the first day thanks to some tricky tactics by the Ford duo Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala.

The Fords were ahead at the end of the last stage of the day, but held back just before the finish line to put Sebastien first on the road on Day 2—a risky tactic that paid dividends by the rally’s end. Thus forced to play trailblazer on Day 2, Loeb would have his work cut out for him as he battled these thick gravel stages. As the first car out, he was the one clearing the road for the rest of the pursuing pack. More…

At the beginning of the last day it was Mikko 1st, Jari-Matti 2nd, and Sebastien 3rd. Sebastien was down 26 seconds and had to try and make that up in the last three stages to reclaim the lead. By the end of Stage 18, he was only 11 seconds back from 2nd place—however, it was not to be, as a Pirelli Scorpion tire failed him, picking up a puncture costing him valuable time. In the end, only 7 seconds separated the top two finishers, and Sebastien ended up 30 seconds back in 3rd.

Another excellent weekend for Subaru and the new 2008 Impreza. Petter Solberg finished 6th and Chris Atkinson who had suspension and hydraulic problems over the course of the rally ending up 13th.  Not bad for a car that’s only completed two rallies. Expect great things from the new Impreza team.

It was a sad weekend for Suzuki with engine failures on both cars due to overheating and electrical problems. The long summer break will lend them more time to build upon their progress on the WRC SX4. That’s it for the WRC for a little while—tune in at the end of July for the high-speed, high-stakes Rally Finland. Will the flying Finns step away further from Sebastien? Stay tuned….