Miniatures of Juan Manuel Fangio and a flying Tommi Makinen

Italy 2008


AFTER THE FREAK ACCIDENT THAT PUT SEBASTIEN LOEB OUT OF THE LAST ROUND IN JORDAN, YOU COULD SENSE THAT HE DEFINITELY WANTED TO WIN THIS ONE. EQUALLY, THE TWO FLYING FINNS IN THE FORD TEAM WERE DETERMINED TO UPSET HIS PLANS. MIKKO HIRVONEN WAS EFFECTIVELY THE 'ROAD-SWEEPER' FOR THE REST OF THE FIELD ON DAY 1 IN VIEW OF HIS POSITION AS CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER. EVEN ALLOWING FOR THIS, HE WAS OFF THE PACE FROM THE WORD GO AND ENDED THE DAY IN 4TH OVERALL BUT THIS WAS BETTER THAN HIS TEAM-MATE, JARI-MATTI LATVALA, WHO LOST APPRECIABLE TIME WITH A PUNCTURE AND WAS OFF THE LEADER-BOARD. SEBASTIEN WAS A RELATIVELY COMFORTABLE LEADER WITH DANIEL SORDO IN 2ND SO CITROEN 'WON' DAY 1.

DAY 2 WAS ANOTHER STORY ALTOGETHER! MIKKO WAS BACK ON THE PACE AND JARI-MATTI WAS ABSOLUTELY FLYING. HE WON EVERY STAGE ON DAY 2 AND ENDED THE DAY IN 2ND PLACE, ALBEIT ON A TECHNICALITY. BOTH HE AND MIKKO HAD IDENTICAL CUMULATIVE TIMES FOR THE RALLY UP TO THAT POINT AND WERE THUS JOINT 2ND ON TIME BUT BECAUSE JARI-MATTI WON THE DAY'S FIRST STAGE HE WAS ADJUDGED TO HOLD 2ND POSITION AHEAD OF MIKKO. THIS HAD IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE RUNNING ORDER ON DAY 3 - SEBASTIEN WOULD STILL BE FIRST ON THE ROAD, AS RALLY LEADER AT THE END OF DAY 2, AND THUS 'SWEEPING' THE ROAD FOR THE REST OF THE FIELD AND JARI-MATTI WOULD BE NEXT ALONG, STILL DOING SOME SWEEPING. MIKKO, IN 3RD, HAD THE BEST POSITION OF THE THREE OF THEM AS THERE WOULD BE FAIRLY CLEAR LINES LAID DOWN BY THE TWO LEADERS.

THE TWO FORD DRIVERS HAD CUT LOEB'S LEAD TO 30 SECONDS AT THE END OF DAY 2 AND THE PRESSURE WAS ON HIM ON DAY 3 BUT IN A CONTROLLED DRIVE FROM THE FRONT HE JUST DID ENOUGH TO GAIN HIS 40TH WRC WIN BY 10 SECONDS FROM MIKKO WITH JARI-MATTI 3RD. HE HAD REDUCED HIRVONEN'S LEAD BY TWO POINTS - NOT A BIG CONSOLATION FOR THE 10 POINT GAIN MIKKO MADE AS A RESULT OF SEBASTIEN'S DNF IN JORDAN. BUT POINTS ARE POINTS AND THESE TWO MAY BE CRUCIAL BY THE END OF THE SEASON!




RESULT
1. Sebastien Loeb / Citroen Total
2. Mikko Hirvonen / BP-Ford
3. Jari-Matti Latvala / BP-Ford
4. Gigi Galli / Stobart VK Ford
5. Daniel Sordo / Citroen Total
6. Chris Atkinson / Subaru
7. Henning Solberg / Munchi's Ford
8. Urmo Aava / Citroën

 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers :
Mikko Hirvonen 43
Sebastien Loeb 40
Chris Atkinson 31
Jari-Matti Latvala 24
Daniel Sordo 21
Gigi Galli 17
Henning Solberg 11
Petter Solberg 9

Constructors :
BP-Ford 71
Citroën Total 64
Subaru 42
Stobart VK Ford 34
Munchi's Ford 16
Suzuki 7

Rally Results posted by
David Little
19th May 2008

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