Japan 2010

THE SEASON IS NOW NEARING ITS CLIMAX AND WITH ONLY FOUR ROUNDS LEFT, INCLUDING THIS ONE, IT WAS NOT SURPRISING THAT SEBASTIEN LOEB WAS NOT HIS USUAL ATTACKING SELF. NO POINT IN TAKING CHANCES, JUST PICK UP ANY VALUABLE POINTS.

THE OTHER DRIVERS HAVE A DIFFERENT IMPERATIVE - THEY NEED AS MANY POINTS AS POSSIBLE TO PREVENT SEBASTIEN CLAIMING HIS 7TH TITLE JUST YET, IN THE CASE OF SEBASTIEN OGIER AND JARI-MATTI LATVALA, OR JUST TO SHOW SOME FORM AND POSSIBLY WIN AN EVENT, PETTER SOLBERG, DANIEL SORDO AND MIKKO HIRVONEN.

MIKKO'S DREADFUL SEASON, MAINLY OF BAD LUCK AND UNRELIABILITY, CONTINUED WITH A FAILED DIFFERENTIAL PUMP THAT AFFECTED BOTH HIS GEAR CHANGES AND THE TRANSMISSION DROPPING HIM TO 6TH AT THE END. HIS TEAM-MATE, JARI-MATTI LATVALA, ALSO SUFFERED TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WHEN A DRIVE-SHAFT BROKE ON DAY 2. NEITHER OF THESE TWO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS HAS EVER AFFECTED THE FOCUS BEFORE AND BOTH PREVENTED THE FORD DRIVERS FROM POSSIBLY WINNING.

THE MAIN INTEREST FOCUSED ON THE BATTLE BETWEEN PETTER SOLBERG AND SEBASTIEN OGIER. PETTER WAS IMPERIOUS ON DAY 1 AND THERE IS NO FINER SIGHT IN RALLYING THAN PETTER IN FULL FLOW. HE SUFFERED 2 SETBACKS THAT PREVENTED HIM WINNING - THE FIRST WAS A 10-SECOND PENALTY FOR A JUMP-START ON SS13 AND THE SECOND WAS A BROKEN DAMPER ON SUNDAY.

OGIER TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE AND AFTER A FINE DRIVE TOOK HIS VICTORY. PETTER WAS STILL UPBEAT BECAUSE HE DROVE WELL ENOUGH THAT, WITHOUT THE PENALTY AND THE BROKEN DAMPER, HE COULD HAVE OVERCOME OGIER'S WINNING MARGIN OF 15.7 SECONDS.

Rally Results posted by
David Little
13th September 2010

  The HTML code for this page has been validated by the World Wide Web Consortium.