Germany (J) - 17-19 Aug 07

Posted: August 20, 2007 4:29 PM

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Gallagher on Course for World Title
Shaun Gallagher stretched his lead in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship “Rookie” class to 18 points after this weekend’s Rallye Deutschland, putting him on course to take the World Title in Spain in October.  

The World Rally Team Ireland driver from Letterkenny, partnered by Welshman Clive Jenkins, drove his Skip Brown prepared Citroen C2-R2 through the tricky German tarmac stages to claim second place and more importantly gain eight valuable Driver’s Points toward the Rookie Championship.  

“The stages here required immense concentration to drive safely,” he said.  “We had a great set-up in the car though, with no mechanical issues.  Our focus was to keep our consistency and bring home Driver’s Points and I’m delighted we’ve achieved that this weekend.”  

The Irish team is based in County Sligo and is managed by local businessman Tommy Mullen ‘’ We set out to win a world title for Ireland at the start of this season and we are now very close to achieving that goal ‘’ explained Mullen  

With two rounds to go in the FIA Junior Championship, Gallagher only needs to secure four points to take the title and hopes to do that at Rally Catalunya in Spain from 4th-6th October.  He will also be seeking an entry in Rally Ireland when the WRC makes its debut from 15th – 18th November this year.  

Gallagher is widely regarded as the best of the young generation of Irish rally drivers. He has been presented with the prestigious Billy Coleman award by Motorsport Ireland, has won the UK Peugeot 206 series and been successful in many events in France and Norway.  

Points Standing in the FIA Junior “Rookie” Championship:                   
         1.         Shaun Gallagher         IRL       40
2.         Raphael Aquier           BEL      22
3.         Yoann Bonato              F          20
4.         Gilles Schammel         LUX      16
5.         Stefano Benoni            IT         13
 

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Abu Dhabi-partnered BP-Ford World Rally Team stretches championship lead despite last minute dramas
The BP-Ford World Rally Team, in partnership with the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, today stretched its lead in the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship on the tenth round, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Winner of the previous round in Finland, Marcus Grönholm, ran second to Sebastian Loeb for much of the event, after demonstrating the pace of the new, Abu Dhabi-branded Ford Focus RS WRC07. However, a last-stage drama saw the Finn go off the road while defending second and drop to fourth. Team-mate Mikko Hirvonen finished the event third after a two-day fight with Francois Duval, while Abu Dhabi’s rally ambassador, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi completed the event in 16th place, having retired on the second day with technical problems and returning under SupeRally regulations.

The German event was the first asphalt rally following the announcement of the partnership between Abu Dhabi and the BP-Ford World Rally Team. The programme forms part of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority’s strategy to develop the nation as a world-class destination and as Germany is one of its key targets in Europe, interest was high. Not only was the event keenly watched by senior members of the ADTA, the thousands of fans lining the stages of the event were also delighted to see the Abu-Dhabi branded cars competing on tarmac for the first time.

Director of Product Development, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Ahmed Hussein, said; “Once again the response to the presence of Abu Dhabi in the FIA World Rally Championship has been excellent. The performance of the team this weekend has been fantastic and nothing less than we would have expected following the perfect start to the relationship in Finland two weeks ago.

“The level of competition this weekend has been incredible and the drama and spectacle this created is exactly the reason that the ADTA identified the WRC as a key element of our sporting promotion strategy.”

The weekend saw arguably one of the closest editions of the German event, which has been won by Sebastian Loeb on each of the five occasions it has formed part of the WRC. Considered Loeb’s ‘home’ rally, he has dominated the event in previous years but this time, didn’t have it so easy. Grönholm matched the Frenchman’s pace throughout the event, while resisting a last-minute charge from early event leader Francois Duval. However, a final-stage mistake by the Finn saw him go off the road and damage his rear suspension, losing more than a minute in the process and dropping down to fourth, behind Duval and team-mate Hirvonen.

Hirvonen had enjoyed an excellent battle with Duval over third place, the pair trading times within tenths of a second for most of the event. However, he was promoted to third place overall following Gronholm’s off.

Current Middle East Rally Championship leader Al Qassimi was competing on tarmac for the first time in a World Rally Car, having driven on the surface only three times before, on the Rally of Lebanon. However, he was quick to acknowledge that the tarmac in Germany was nothing like that in Abu Dhabi.

As in Finland, where he debuted in the World Rally Car as the representative of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Al Qassimi’s role was to learn the event and gain experience for the future. One of the key lessons the emirati would learn was to predict the levels of grip within the stage. A characteristic of this event is corner-cutting by the cars and this has the effect of dragging mud and sand onto the road. This can catch out even the most experienced drivers, so it is no surprise that Al Qassimi also suffered several times.

He endured a series of spins and stalls, none of which caused significant damage to his Abu Dhabi-branded Focus RS. However, it was mid-way through the second day that his problems began. His engine cut out in the last of the morning’s stages on the second leg and refused to restart. He and co-driver Nicky Beech got it going again but the same happened as they arrived at remote service. The engine then stalled as they started the penultimate stage of the second leg and despite eventually getting the engine running again, were forced to retire so that they could return on the final day under SupeRally regulations.

SupeRally allows crews who retire to return on the following day once their car has been repaired but with a time penalty of an additional five minutes per stage not contested. Therefore, Al Qassimi received a total penalty of ten minutes for the two stages missed, dropping him from 12th to 20th, from where he climbed back up to 16th by the end of the event.

“This has been a very tricky rally,” said Al Qassimi. “However, I have enjoyed it immensely. It has been so different to the gravel stages of Finland that it’s like starting over again. I have learned a huge amount here this weekend and it’s all the kind of knowledge you simply cannot buy. Therefore, I must once again express my deep gratitude to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority for giving me this chance, to represent the ADTA and the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

“My role is also to inspire the next generation of UAE rally drivers and I hope that I have shown it is possible to come to the WRC after competing in the Middle East and begin to gain the experience which hopefully one day will see a UAE driver standing on the podium.”

The result here this weekend means that Ford stretches its lead over Citroen in the manufacturers championship by one point, while Grönholm still maintains the lead in the drivers’ title race, Loeb closing the gap by five points in Germany, to eight points.

Hussein was quick to praise the team and drivers for their efforts this weekend. “It was clear in Finland that professionalism and dedication are the watchwords of the BP-Ford team. This weekend has added perseverance to that list and these qualities are a powerful combination and the reason why Abu Dhabi is partnered with Ford. I now look forward to the next event, Rally New Zealand, as the team, in partnership with Abu Dhabi, looks for more success.”

The team’s next event will be Rally New Zealand, running from 30 August to 2 September. Grönholm and Hirvonen will fly the Abu Dhabi flag on that event, which features fast and flowing stages very similar to those in Finland, where the team was totally dominant. Al Qassimi will not be competing in NZ, the Abu Dhabi driver’s next event the fast and flowing tarmac stages of Rallye Catalunya in northern Spain.

Full Results
www.wrc.com - World Rally Championship Offical Site

Rally Germany

• 2007 FIA World Rally Championship

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• Abu Dhabi-partnered BP-Ford World Rally Team heads for Germany on a high
• Entry List available
• New Website

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15/08/07
Abu Dhabi-partnered BP-Ford World Rally Team heads for Germany on a high
The Abu Dhabi-backed BP-Ford World Rally Team heads for Germany next week, hot on the heels of a dream start to the ground-breaking partnership between the reigning champion and the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Not only will Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen be looking to capitalise on their one-two result in Finland, Abu Dhabi driver Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, in the third Ford Focus WRC, will be once again representing the UAE as he competes on his second WRC event in as many weeks.

Finland saw a perfect start to the relationship between the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and the current leaders of both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ tables, BP-Ford. Grönholm and Hirvonen, debuting the brand new Ford Focus RS WRC07 with its Abu Dhabi branding, set the pace from the off and Grönholm took a record seventh win on his home event and was followed home by team-mate Hirvonen in second place.

The partnership with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which forms part of its far-reaching objective to establish the emirate as a premier destination for leisure, commerce and business, was very well received in Finland by the WRC family and fans. It was deemed a huge success by members of the ADTA’s senior personnel, including Ahmed Hussein, Director, Product Planning, who was present to witness the Abu Dhabi-branded cars competing for the first time.

“The result in Finland was the perfect start to our relationship with the BP-Ford World Rally Team,” said Hussein, who accepted the winning manufacturer trophy on the Finnish podium. “We are now looking forward to the team maintaining the momentum of that success as it travels to Germany for the second event where it will again fly the Abu Dhabi flag.”

ADAC Rallye Deutschaland is the first of four remaining asphalt rounds in the second half of the season. Based in Trier near the Luxembourg border, the event was introduced to the WRC in 2002 and traditionally has comprised three very different sections. Typically, the first day featured tight and twisty stages among the vineyards flanking the Mosel river, while day two was run in the Baumholder military ranges. Using roads within the tank-testing area, the stages are lined with ‘Hinklesteins’, huge concrete blocks designed to stop tanks leaving the road and causing rally-ending damage to cars if they are unlucky enough to hit one.

The third day was traditionally run on wider and faster roads, more akin to the stages in Rallye Catalunya. However, some of these roads will be used on this year’s second leg, so the crews will have to contend with the triple nature of the stages. The event also has a reputation for changeable weather, thanks to the mountains surrounding the town of Trier, which means that accurate weather data and tyre selection will play a vital role in the competition.

Running on asphalt requires a completely different car set-up and driving style to last weekend’s rally in Finland. Where the cars typically spend the majority of their time sideways on the loose surfaces, on tarmac, it’s a neat and tidy approach that rewards the driver. A style more like circuit racing tends to win through, as drivers attempt to keep the car in a straight line as much as possible and drive through the numerous bends, rather than allowing the car to slide.

The World Rally Car set-up is something which UAE driver Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi will have to learn as he takes the start of only his second event in a WRCar. The grip generated by the BFGoodrich tyres is enormous and the car’s setting are developed around that. It sits low to the ground on stiffer suspension than gravel to minimise bodyroll and weight transfer. The cornering speeds are also higher than on the loose and this will have an impact on not only the driving style but also the pace notes.

“I think the scale of what we achieved in Finland has now finally sunk in. The success for the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority-backed program with the BP-Ford World Rally Team and me personally has shown that Abu Dhabi is serious about motorsport and I feel that we have established our presence in the WRC. Germany will be another big challenge but one I am relishing and like in Finland, one that has been made possible by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

“Obviously it will be completely different from Finland; the surface is asphalt as opposed to gravel and the car set-up will be specific to that surface. I’ve competed on tarmac before, as there is an asphalt round of the Middle East Championship, the Lebanon Rally. However, it is nothing like European tarmac and the settings for the World Rally Car will be completely different to the Group N car I have been used to.

“I also gather that Germany is a very difficult rally. I’ve been told the stages in the military area are quite rough and loose while those in the vineyards are narrower and tighter. Of course, the recce will be the first time I see the stages themselves and I’ll have a much better idea of the challenges on Wednesday evening.

“As in Finland, my role will be two-fold; represent the UAE and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority as its rally ambassador and gain as much experience as possible. In Finland, I got a good basic understanding of how the car works, where my braking points were and how much speed I could carry in the corners. However, in Germany, many of those things will be different again. So I need to understand this surface and how to adapt my pace notes for the event to ensure I reach the finish.”

Based in Trier, one of the oldest cities in Germany, the event begins with a ceremonial start at the Porta Nigra – the Black Gate – in the centre of the town on the evening of Thursday 16 August. The first leg comprises two runs over a loop of three stages in the Mosel vineyards, totalling 128 stage kilometres. Day two sees the crews head to the Baumholder military area and Saarland for eight stages and 165Km while the third lag, Sunday 19 August is the shortest, with five stages, including a superspecial in Trier. The winning crew will mount the top step of the podium at 15.00hrs on Sunday.

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Entry list available on the new event website:

www.rallye-deutschland.de (Link Below)

Rally Germany

• 2007 FIA World Rally Championship