Issue September 2013

Transcription

1 HANDBRAKES &HAIRPINS The world s FIRST dedicated rally emagazine - every week! Issue September

2 Ford Fiesta R2 for sale Technical Specification Donor vehicle: Ford Fiesta 1.6 Sport, 5 door Engine: 1.6 Zetec 16V 1598cc Ti-VCT; 4 cylinders in line; DOHC; 16 valves; alloy cylinder head and block; variable cam timing. Power: 170 7,500 rpm from 97 octane fuel Torque: 182 5,700 rpm Transmission: Five speed sequential gearbox developed by Sadev with plated limited slip differential and uprated driveshafts. ECU developed by Pi with flat shift feature with full throttle closed loop control shift. Suspension: Reiger adjustable dampers with Eibach springs, spherical jointed top mounts front and rear. Front dampers adjustable for bump and rebound. Standard rear beam with uprated mounts. 2-bolt clamped front upright. Adaptor pin mounted in uprights with spherical bearing connecting the lower arm. Five stud hub. Brakes: Gravel (front): 285 mm AP ventilated discs with four piston competition calipers. Rear: 280 mm AP ventilated discs with single piston calipers, hydraulic handbrake. Steering: Electric power-assisted steering. Wheels: Gravel: OZ 6 x15 Gravel Bodyshell: Welded T45 steel multipoint rollcage. Optimised seat position and integrated dash bar. Jacking points optional and seam welded. Electronics: Bespoke instrument cluster by Visteon in the same style as the standard series cluster. Dimensions: Length: 3953mm. Width: 1722mm. Height: 1481mm. Wheelbase: 2490mm. Weight: 1030kg. Price: R excluding 14% VAT Various optional extras fitted, list available on request. AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS (PTY) LTD 30 Schoongezicht Road Bergbron 1709 Johannesburg South Africa Private Bag X26 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa TEL: +27 (0) FAX: +27 (0) WEBSITE:

3 Your insight into the world of rally! Issue Sept 2013 CONTACT INFORMATION us Call us Surf us To receive your FREE weekly HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS emagazine, or if you d like to share this with a friend please send your address to evan.hhmag@gmail.com. HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS is not a SPAM addresses are added to the mailing list voluntarily. EDITORIAL INFORMATION Editor Evan Rothman INSIDE THIS WEEK 05 Chat with Jan Kopecky 06 ERC LOTOS Rally Poland review 08 WRC Rally Australia review 11 SARC Toyota Cape Dealer Rally review ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom. Favourite rally car? Audi Quattro S2 Current favourite WRC driver? Mads Østberg Favourite WRC rally? WRC Rallye Deutschland Favourite rally? Total Rally, South Africa Tweets too much about rallying, loves nothing more than spectating on a forest rally, and has aspirations of being the world s greatest rally journalist. He s also oftentimes seen with a camera in one hand and his mobile phone in the other. Photojournalist Eva Kovkova Favourite rally car? Citroën C4 WRC Current favourite WRC driver? Mads Østberg Favourite WRC rally? Vodafone Rally de Portugal Favourite rally? White Nights Rally, Lahdenpohja, Russia Likes to walk in the Swedish snow forests or on Portuguese dusty hills, likes to freeze, to get wet in the rain or to melt from the heat during photo hunts for flying cars and smiling faces. Also is known as a press ice bear working for South Africa :) Handbrakes & Hairpins has created this rally-powered wallpaper for the Apple iphone 5. To download, simply save the image to your Camera Roll, or click on this link to download:

4 OPENING SHOT The high-flying Belgian Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul have notched up another fantastic performance in This pairing and their Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team wil make for a formidable combination in Picture: WorldRallyPics

5 EVENT KOPECKY: I M STILL LEARNING! Words by Liga Stirna Picture by ERC Media Czech driver Jan Kopecky might be 2013 European Rally Champion, but he s still learning and gaining experience from different rallies, surfaces and situations. And he does So with great enthusiasm. Liga Stirna met up with Kopecky at the ERC Rally Poland on the weekend, and had a chat with him for H&H: Q: May I congratulate you as a new European Champion? JK: I don t know; I was not counting. My mathematics always has been quite bad, you know. Q: But you might be the first champion of the newlook ERC? JK: Yes, it s interesting and very good that IRC and ERC are now together in one event and here in Poland we saw that it is good challenge for everyone. And it s nice also that local drivers have a chance to win: they do not need a factory car, and still can win a rally! Q: Rally Poland was very specific. Have you seen and driven in conditions like that? JK: No, no, no! It was quite difficult. Last year it was fully dry and not so many fast drivers at the start. We had to change setup, for the last long stage, and we were quite fast to keep our position. Q: What have you learned from this event? JK: That I still have many things where to improve on gravel as in Czech Republic we don t have a single gravel rally. Last year I did one gravel rally, this year: three. And, I am learning! H&H

6 EVENT POLAND S MUDDY TRECNCHES Words by H&H Picture by ERC Media Kajetan Kajetanowicz has claimed the newgeneration Ford Fiesta R5 s maiden victory in the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) with his third win on LOTOS 70 Rally Poland this past weekend. Kajetanowicz, who wrapped up his fourth Polish title on Saturday s opening leg, had only completed 200km of running in the M-Sport-built car prior to the gravel event. He had little trouble adapting to his new surroundings by going fastest on four stages alongside codriver and fellow Pole Jarosław Baran. It s one of the best days of my life, said the 34- year-old Kajetanowicz. We have the best team, car and co-driver. The Polish title didn t really matter this weekend; it was this rally that I wanted to win. I now have a big smile on my face because I am very happy. I just hope we can do some more rallies in this car. And Kajetanowicz s victory, which made him the fifth different winner in this year s ERC to underline the serious competition ahead in the all-action championship, earned him the prestigious Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy, which was being awarded on the sixth anniversary of the rallying legend s passing. Lithuanian champion Dominykas Butvilas clinched ERC Production Car Cup honours in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX R4 with Radosław Raczkowski (Citroën DS3 R3T) taking the spoils in the ERC 2WD Championship after rising star Stéphane Lefebvre dropped out of the Class lead on the penultimate stage when he broke his Peugeot 208 R2 s suspension striking a rock. Molly Taylor secured the ERC Ladies Trophy laurels for the fourth time this season despite completing the final stage with a cracked suspension beam. Ekaterina Stratieva battled back from the time loss she endured when she got stuck nearing the finish of Saturday s final stage. Simone Tempestini top-scored for Napoca Rally Academy in the ERC Production Car Cup for Teams. However, it might have been a different story for Kajetanowicz had Bryan Bouffier s Peugeot 207 S2000 not suffered a broken right-rear suspension damper on the final day s first stage. With two more stages until service in Mikołajki, Bouffier was unable to prevent Kajetanowicz from powering ahead. He settled for second, 23.3s behind Kajetanowicz, with ERC title leader Jan Kopecký completing the podium in his Skoda Fabia S2000 after overcoming a minor scare on Sunday morning when a propshaft bolt worked loose. I did my best and really tried to push but it was not enough to catch Kajto who really deserved to win this

7 race, said Bouffier, who was fastest on four stages. Apart from a small technical problem it was a very nice race with very strong competition. Kopecký, meanwhile, conceded that running first on the road in the heavy mud and rain on Day One had cost him time although he was more than satisfied with his seventh consecutive podium in this year s ERC. There was definitely more grip with the sand below for the drivers behind, said Kopecky. Finishing third means more points for the championship and that s the most important thing. Michał Kościuszko overcame early mechanical woes to snatch fourth from compatriot Michał Sołowow on the final stage when the latter suffered a puncture. Kościuszko, in another Fiesta R5, had heroically driven the entire rally with a fractured vertebra. With Craig Breen also picking up a puncture on his Peugeot on the last stage, Krzysztof Hołowczyc jumped from seventh to fifth with Sołowow taking sixth and Breen dropping to seventh. It was a frustrating outing for Peugeot Rally Academy driver Breen. The four-time podium finisher in this year s ERC admitted he was at a loss to explain why he wasn t able to run closer to the front of the field alongside new co-driver Lara Vanneste. This definitely was not the result I was looking for but Lara has done a fantastic job so at least we ve got some positives to take away, he said. There was also frustration for Martin Kangur, who dropped out of the top ten on the final stage with broken powersteering and a puncture. The 20-year-old from Estonia had excelled with two fastest times in his Markko Märtin Motorsport-run Fiesta R5 to become one of the youngest stage winners in the European championship. He had to make do with 14th, one place behind Toshi Arai, who scored more ERC Production Car Cup points in his Yokohama-equipped Subaru Impreza R4 STI. Kangur s misfortune handed Zbigniew Staniszewski eighth spot with young Russian Vasily Gryazin taking ninth and Maciej Oleksowicz tenth. After completing Day One s final stage with the front-right wheel missing from his Citroën DS3 RRC following contact with a rock on a high-speed right-hander, Robert Kubica was unable to restart on Day Two after it was discovered that his car s turbocharged engine had ingested mud and had suffered terminal damage. The Formula One race winner was in second overall at the time of his moment. However, he once again underlined his blistering pace by setting two fastest stage times. LOTOS 70 Rally Poland marked the last of Kubica s four planned runs in the ERC this season although a final appearance is still under consideration. H&H Final Overall Classification: 01) K. Kajetanowicz/J. Baran Ford Fiesta R5-01h 58m 40.6s 02) B. Bouffier/X. Panseri Peugeot 207 S s 03) J. Kopecký/P. Dresler Skoda Fabia m 28.4s 04) M. Kościuszko/M. Szczepaniak Ford Fiesta R5 + 02m 14.1s 05) K. Hołowczyc/Ł. Kurzeja Ford Fiesta RRC + 03m 15.5s 06) M. Sołowow/S. Rozwadowski Ford Fiesta RRC + 03m 17.4s 07) C. Breen/L. Vanneste Peugeot 207 S m 33.5s 08) Z. Staniszewski/P. Drahan Ford Fiesta S m 48.2s 09) V. Gryazin/D. Chumak Ford Fiesta S m 08.0s 10) M. Oleksowicz/M. Kuśnierz Ford Fiesta S m 13.5s

8 EVENT OGIER FALLS SHORT OF TITLE IN AUSTRALIA Words by H&H Picture by Volkswagen Motorsport, Citroën Racing, WorldRallyPics After a fairly straightforward run in this year s FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), it seems that Volkswagen Motorsport and Sebastien Ogier are finding it tricky to nail down the Championship early. It is inevitable that the Frenchman and his German team will triumph, but after last month s ADAC Rallye Deutschland in which Ogier and Volkswagen were in a position to claim the title on their home event, they have now been thwarted by a single point in Australia. Frenchman Sebastien Ogier claimed his sixth victory of the 2013 WRC season, but fell short by a single point from clinching the Drivers title after a dramatic final stage of Coates Hire Rally Australia. Ogier was in control from the start on Thursday night last week, winning 19 of the 22 stages in his Volkswagen Polo R WRC to win by 01min 32.1sec when crews returned to the coastal city of Coffs Harbour on Sunday afternoon. The 22nd Rally Australia attracted big crowds who braved plenty of dust to see the world s best rally drivers - however, when it came to Ogier s rally, it was done but not dusted. An ironic twist sank Ogier s anticipated title celebrations. A final-stage puncture for Mikko Hirvonen, who had been running second in his Abu Dhabi Citroën World Rally Team DS3 WRC, allowed Ogier s nearest championship rival Thierry Neuville (Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team) into the runner-up spot. The extra points for Neuville, allied to two bonus

9 points for taking second in the Power Stage, meant Ogier fell just short of the title after four days of gravel competition covering km around the Coffs Coast of New South Wales. The team told me at the finish line that I had missed the title by one point because Mikko had a problem. I tried my best, said 29-year-old Ogier, who was congratulated at the end of the stage by his father, mother and sister. The most important thing is that we did another perfect rally and we thought it was OK for the title, but it can t be written down yet. When you do a perfect job like that, you expect to get it but it s going to happen soon, warned Ogier. Hirvonen enjoyed one of his best performances of the season in his Citroën DS3 WRC until his left rear tyre punctured midway through the 29.44km-long Power Stage. I have absolutely no idea what happened. I drove in the middle of the road all the time and I can t understand how we got a puncture, said the Finn. He lost almost a minute and that was enough to allow the ever-consistent Neuville through to second for a fifth consecutive podium in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. He finished 30.0sec ahead of Hirvonen in third after a troublefree event. Jari-Matti Latvala finished fourth in the second Volkswagen Polo R WRC, the Finn recovering from a

10 lacklustre start to fight back up the leader board. He, too, lost a minute with left front tyre issues in the final stage, but it didn t cost any places. Fifth was Mads Ostberg for the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team in his Fiesta RS WRC. The Norwegian was unhappy with his pace notes early in the rally and lost more time on Day Three when he spun into a ditch, but he managed to finish 20.4sec ahead of fellow countryman Andreas Mikkelsen in the final Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC. Mikkelsen led a WRC round for the first time after Thursday night s curtain-raising tests. He fell back during the first full day of competition after an overshoot and refused to become drawn into a battle with Ostberg for fifth on the final day of competition. A subdued Evgeny Novikov took seventh for the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, the Russian settling for a clear run after a series of accidents in Australian Coffs Harbour resident Nathan Quinn delighted home fans with eighth overall in a MINI Countryman John Cooper Works WRC to score his first WRC points. The top ten was completed by Khalid Al Qassimi s Abu Dhabi Citroën DS3 WRC and WRC2 category winner Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari in a Ford Fiesta RRC. There was more disappointment for Kris Meeke in his bid to regain a seat in the WRC for Having rolled out of fourth position on Day Three, Citroën s mechanics worked for 02hr 50min to repair his DS3 WRC to allow him to restart the rally under Rally2 regulations on Day Four. However, he retired again after destroying his car s right rear suspension late in the final test. H&H Final Overall Classification: 01) S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC - 03h 19m 55.0s 02) T. Neuville/N. Gilsoul Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 01m 32.1s 03) M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen Citroën DS3 WRC + 02m 02.1s 04) J-M. Latvala/M. Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 02m 57.4s 05) M. Ostberg/J. Andersson Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 03m 17.2s 06) A. Mikkelsen/P. Nagle Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 03m 37.6s 07) E. Novikov/I. Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 07m 31.2s 08) N. Quinn/G. Macneall MINI Countryman John Cooper Works WRC + 13m 10.2s 09) K. Al Qassimi/S. Martin Citroën DS3 WRC + 15m 17.6s 10) A. Al-Kuwari/K. Duffy Ford Fiesta RRC + 17m 27.7s

11 EVENT CRONJE S DOMINANCE CONTINUES Words by H&H Pictures by Evan Rothman It was five wins from six starts for defending South African Rally Champions Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton (Ford Dealer Team Fiesta S2000) this past weekend, winning the Toyota Cape Dealer Rally by the narrowest of margins possible. Round Six of the 2013 South African National Rally Championship was a hotly contested event, with three four different leaders over the two days and 175km of action in the Malmesbury region of the Western Cape. Adverse weather wreaked havoc on the already muddy and slippery stages in the farmlands outside of Cape Town, but the composed nature of his drive saw him reach the finish with not only an unscathed car but also a stronger lead in the Drivers points standings too. Second overall were Johnny Gemmell and Carolyn Second, just 01.8 sec behind after the ten special stages had been completed. The Castrol Team Toyota Yaris S2000 crew ran a close and intense battle with Cronje, and had this weekend s event played out in the favour of this team, they would have celebrated a one-two result. Team-mates Leeroy Poulter/Elvene Coetzee shadowed Gemmell and Cronje all through the first seven stages of the event, and it was on SS8 that this pairing launched an attack for the lead. They grabbed the front, but it was shortlived as a rare engine problem with the all-new Yaris S2000 saw Poulter not complete the event s penultimate stage, SS9, and thereby retire from the event and the rally battle.

12 Two spins in SS8 for Cronje and one for Gemmell, the Toyota driver entered the final stage 8sec ahead of Cronje. At the finish line, Cronje was pipped by 7.2sec. A 10sec jumpstart penalty on SS5, Day One s final stage, was rescinded at the end of the event, thereby handing the rally s win to Cronje. The Toyota Yaris S2000 s first national rally victory was taken away on its sponsored event, but Toyota Motorsport has appealed the results. At the same token, it was not a manner in which the sport s most shining ambassador would have wanted to claim victory of any event. This is not the way a rally should be declared, and I feel for Toyota and Johnny [Gemmell], said Cronje. If the penalty was not legitimate, then it would not have been successfully overturned. It is the timing of the decision that has left an imprint on this rally win, and one that should not have happened after the rally ended. However, we re glad to claim the important points and we head to the next rally with a view on the Championship. Gemmell said: It is the cruel side of the sport to win and then have it taken away because of a technicality that didn t affect us, but that is how it sometimes goes. It was a crazy rally out there, and those roads were very slippery and tricky. We ve got the Yaris going very well now, and we ll keep pushing those Fords. The stages are traditionally fast in this part of the Western Cape, and this year s stages were no exception. Driving on their rev limiters in top gear down kilometreslong straights, over jumps and through sweeping bends into watersplashes, the crews were committed to gaining any advantage over their rivals. The event was staged around Malmesbury, Moorreesburg and Brackenfell, where hundreds of fans braved the cold and rain to cheer on their favourite rally crews. The action kicked off on Friday morning and concluded on Saturday evening, with a number of cars succumbing to the demanding route and adverse weather conditions. A distant third overall behind the winners were former champions Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries (Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000), who recorded their best result of their luckless season to date. Fourth overall and winners of the S2000 Challenge for earlier specification four-wheel drive cars were local favourites Jean-Pierre Damseaux and co-driver Hilton Auffray in their Team TOTAL Toyota Auris S2000. This S2000 Challenge pairing has finished strongly throughout 2013, and despite a DNF on Round Four they are currently third in the points overall and first in the S2000 Challenge. Defending S2000 Challenge title holders Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin were fifth in their Volkswagen Sasolracing

13 Polo Vivo S2000, ahead of the Imperial Toyota Yaris S2000 of Giniel de Villiers/Greg Godrich, Leeroy Poulter/ Elvéne Coetzee (in the second Castrol Toyota Yaris S2000) and Henk Lategan/Barry White (Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000). Making up the rest of the top ten were the first of the S1600 two-wheel drive cars of Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit (Toyota Etios R2) and Clint Weston/ Christoff Snyders (Reef Tankers Citroen C2R2 Max). The S1600 two-wheel drive Class saw a triumphant return to form of early season championship leaders, Namibian Thilo Himmel and codriver Armand du Toit. A gripping battle with chief rivals Weston/Snyders resulted in their winning nine of the ten stages between them, with five going to Himmel and four to Weston. Third in their best result of the season were Lourens van Rensburg/Jason Plumbley (7 Films Ford Fiesta R2) ahead of Chris Coertse/Robbie Coetzee (Electrothread Toyota Etios R2) and defending Two Wheel Drive Champion Craig Trott and co-driver Janine Lourens (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX S1600). Championship leaders Matthew Vacy-Lyle/Schalk van Heerden (Fragram Tools Toyota RunX S1600) were classified eighth inthe S1600 Class after completing the event under Super Rally rules after retiring in SS2 on Day One with mechanical problems. The next round of the championship is the Polokwane Rally in Limpopo Province on October next month. H&H Final Overall Classification: 01) M. Cronje/R. Houghton Ford Fiesta S h 37m 55.6s 02) J. Gemmell/C. Swan Toyota Yaris S s 03) H. Fekken/P. Arries Volkswagen Polo S m 57.7s 04) J-P. Damseaux/H. Auffray Toyota Auris S m 42.2s 05) G. Zulu/C. Peskin Volkswagen Polo Vivo S m 31.0s 06) G. De Villiers/G. Godrich Toyota Yaris S m 42.7s 07) L. Poulter/E. Coetzee Toyota Yaris S m 19.6s 08) H. Lategan/B. White Volkswagen Polo S m 20.6s 09) T. Himmel/A. Du Toit Toyota Etios R2 + 15m 26.2s 10) C. Weston/C. Snyders Citroën C2R2 Max + 17m 09.0s

14 CLOSING SHOT This is Africa. This is South Africa, after all. Picture: Evan Rothman