New Zealand 2010

NEW ZEALAND ALWAYS PRODUCES AN EXCITING RALLY AND 2010 WAS NO EXCEPTION. THE FAST, SWEEPING CURVES ON THE GRAVEL TRACKS GIVE THE DRIVERS CONFIDENCE, SOMETIMES TOO MUCH, AND AS A RESULT THEY ALL ENJOY THE CHALLENGE.

IN A WAY, 2010 WAS ALL ABOUT THE TWO SEBASTIENS, LOEB AND OGIER, BOTH OF WHOM LOOKED AS IF THEY WOULD WIN BUT NEITHER DID! LOEB ADOPTED HIS FAMILIAR ROLE OF ROAD-SWEEPER, BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER, AND AS THIS ALWAYS PLACES HIM AT A HUGE DISADVANTAGE FOR THE WHOLE OF DAY 1, HE CLEARLY FELT THE NEED TO TAKE SOME RISKS TO LIMIT HIS DISADVANTAGE.

UNFORTUNATELY, HE DAMAGED HIS CAR DOOR AFTER SLAMMING SIDEWAYS INTO A BRIDGE POST. THE DOOR WOULD NOT SHUT AND COULD NOT BE FIXED UNTIL THE EVENING SERVICE. THE DELAY MEANT HE WAS 7TH AT THE END OF THE DAY, SOME 1 MINUTE 20 SECONDS OFF THE LEAD.

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT HE ENJOYS A CHALLENGE BUT THIS SEEMED TOO BIG A MARGIN TO OVERCOME BY THE END OF DAY 2. HIS MORE FAVOURABLE ROAD POSITION DID ENABLE HIM TO ATTACK AND HE TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE IN A STUNNING DAY'S DRIVING THAT SAW HIM IN 2ND PLACE AT THE DAY'S END, ONLY 5.3 SECONDS BEHIND THE LEADER - THE OTHER SEBASTIEN!

OGIER WAS THUS THEORETICALLY IN PRIME POSITION TO WIN HIS FIRST W.R.C. VICTORY AFTER THE 4 STAGES OF DAY 3 BUT WITH LOEB THAT CLOSE AND IN THAT MOOD YOU WOULDN'T THINK IT VERY LIKELY. OGIER SPUN ON DAY 3, ALLOWING LOEB TO GET AHEAD BUT THEN LOEB HIMSELF MADE HIS SECOND BIG MISTAKE AND WENT OFF THE ROAD INTO SCRUB AND TOOK A WHILE TO EXTRICATE HIMSELF. OGIER RECOVERED THE LEAD BUT, AFTER YET ANOTHER LOEB MISTAKE, HE WAS BEING CHALLENGED BY JARI-MATTI LATVALA.

PETTER SOLBERG HAD ALSO BEEN IN THE MIX AFTER A FINE DAY 1 DRIVE, WHEN HE TOOK THE OVERNIGHT LEAD, BUT HE SUFFERED ON DAY 2 AS ROAD-SWEEPER. TRYING TO OVERCOME THIS ON DAY 3, HE TRIED A LITTLE TOO HARD AND HIT A TELEGRAPH POLE AND RETIRED. HIS FINE RUN OF PODIUMS THUS CAME TO AN ABRUPT END. MIKKO HIRVONEN NEVER SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO CHALLENGE ALTHOUGH HIS 4TH PLACE KEPT HIM IN 3RD IN THE STANDINGS.

TO WIN HIS FIRST RALLY, ALL OGIER HAD TO DO ON THE FINAL STAGE WAS TO KEEP ON THE ROAD AND KEEP JARI-MATTI BEHIND HIM. CRUELLY, HE DIDN'T ACHIEVE EITHER OBJECTIVE WHEN HE DEMOLISHED THE FRONT END OF THE CAR THREE CORNERS FROM THE FINISH!

SO JARI-MATTI, WHO DID NOT WIN ANY OF THE STAGES BUT DROVE CONSISTENTLY WELL AND WITHOUT INCIDENT, WON HIS THIRD RALLY WITH SEBASTIEN OGIER HANGING ON TO 2ND PLACE AND SEBASTIEN LOEB 3RD. AFTER HIS REMARKABLE DRIVE THE PREVIOUS DAY, PERHAPS LOEB CAME TO BELIEVE THAT HE COULD WALK ON WATER AND WOULD BE UNTOUCHABLE ON DAY 3 BUT, AS HE KNOWS ONLY TOO WELL, RALLYING IS FAMOUS FOR GETTING ITS OWN BACK!

FORD WERE CLEARLY ECSTATIC AT THE DRAMATIC CHANGE OF FORTUNE AT THE END OF THE RALLY AND SO THEY SHOULD BE. THEY FINALLY SURPASSED LANCIA AS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MANUFACTURER IN W.R.C. HISTORY WITH THIS UNEXPECTED 75TH VICTORY.

Rally Results posted by
David Little
10th May 2010

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