Mexico 2008

HIGH ALTITUDE, GRAVEL THAT HIDES ROCKS, NARROW AND TWISTY STAGES - THIS IS MEXICO! ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, ALL PLAYED A PART IN THE OUTCOME. SEBASTIEN LOEB EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS EVEN BEFORE THE START - HE COULDN'T DO THE RECCE BECAUSE OF ENGINE PROBLEMS. THE TEAM DECIDED, ON THE VERBAL ADVICE OF AN F.I.A. OFFICIAL, THAT CHANGING THE ENGINE AT THIS POINT WOULD NOT INCUR AN OBLIGATORY 5-MINUTE PENALTY. SO THEY CHANGED THE ENGINE. MEXICAN OFFICIALS THEN SLAPPED ON A 5-MINUTE PENALTY, THE TEAM PROTESTED AND EVENTUALLY A COMPROMISE WAS REACHED - THE TEAM COULD REPLACE THE TROUBLESOME ENGINE AND THE PENALTY WOULD BE WITHDRAWN. SO HE STARTED THE RALLY ON THE BACK FOOT.

JARI-MATTI LATVALA STARTED WHERE HE LEFT OFF IN SWEDEN AND LED AT THE END OF DAY 1 BUT A CRACKED PIPE ON THE TURBO LOST HIM POWER ON DAY 2 AND HE DROPPED TO HIS EVENTUAL 3RD PLACE. LOEB DID NOT SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY THE PRE-RALLY PROBLEMS AND WAS 2ND ON DAY 1 AND LED ON DAY 2 AND WAS NEVER CHALLENGED FURTHER. MIKKO HIRVONEN HAD A NIGHTMARE OF A RALLY - OUTPACED BY HIS TEAM-MATE ON DAY 1 AND THEN SUFFERED 2 PUNCTURES ON DAY 2 CAUSED BY HITTING THE AFORESAID ROCKS WHICH, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE 'MOUSSE' SYSTEM, REQUIRED 2 WHEEL-CHANGES THAT DROPPED HIM DOWN THE ORDER TO 5TH AT THE END OF THAT DAY. CHRIS ATKINSON WAS DRIVING WELL AND MOVED UP THE LEADERBOARD THROUGHOUT THE EVENT AND FINISHED WITH HIS HIGHEST EVER PLACING - 2ND.

SUNDAY SAW LOEB AND ATKINSON DRIVING CAUTIOUSLY TO AVOID A SIMILAR FATE TO THAT OF HIRVONEN WITH THE POTENTIAL OF A FIGHT BETWEEN HENNING SOLBERG AND MIKKO FOR HENNING'S 4TH PLACE. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WERE ONLY 4 STAGES, ONE OF THEM BEING THE FINAL SUPER SPECIAL AND ONE STAGE HAD TO BE CANCELLED DUE TO CROWD PROBLEMS SO MIKKO'S CHANCES LOOKED SLIM BUT HENNING SUFFERED A SLOW PUNCTURE ON THE FIRST STAGE OF THE DAY AND THEN HE DISCOVERED THAT THE ROCK THAT CAUSED THE PUNCTURE HAD ALSO DISLODGED A VITAL NUT ON A FRONT SHOCK ABSORBER. THAT GAVE HIM NO CHANCE OF DEFENDING AGAINST MIKKO ON THE FINAL STAGE AND THAT EXTRA POINT FOR MIKKO'S 4TH PLACE ENABLED HIM TO STILL BE OUTRIGHT LEADER AFTER 3 RALLIES, ALBEIT BY ONLY 1 POINT.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, LOEB'S WIN CREATED ANOTHER NEW RECORD NUMBER OF RALLY WINS - HE NOW HAS 38 AND NONE OF THE PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDERS ARE NOW COMPETING SO EVERY RALLY HE WINS JUST PUSHES THAT RECORD OUT OF SIGHT FOR ANY FUTURE CHALLENGERS. CONSIDERING SUBARU ARE CONCENTRATING ALL THEIR EFFORTS ON THEIR NEW CAR'S DEBUT LATER, THEY WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO BE EQUAL 2ND WITH CITROEN IN THE MANUFACTURERS' STANDINGS BEHIND FORD.

Rally Results posted by
David Little
3rd March 2008

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