BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished third on Rally New Zealand today as, for the second consecutive season, the event provided a finale that could have come straight from a story book. The Finns drove their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to the Hamilton finish ceremony more in disappointment than celebration after a dramatic ending that also saw team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila retire and the team lose a possible 1-2 finish.

After two days of gripping competition over smooth and flowing gravel roads in the Waikato district of North Island, today’s final leg started with four drivers covered by less than 15sec. The tight leaderboard owed much to tactics as drivers jockeyed for position to obtain the best start position for today. With the roads covered in slippery loose gravel, those at the front were at a disadvantage as they swept away the stones to leave a cleaner, and faster, line for those behind to follow.

Latvala and Hirvonen were first and second overnight and started in that order today. Latvala’s ’sweeping’ role helped Hirvonen enormously and the 28-year-old swapped places on the leaderboard with his colleague after the first loop of two countryside speed tests close to Raglan. With those tests repeated, the now clean roads offered a level playing field for all and Hirvonen extended his lead to 9.8sec over Latvala with just one countryside test and a short spectator-friendly stage remaining.

The 29.72km Whaanga Coast is one of the great challenges in the FIA World Rally Championship, winding through lush, green hills with stunning views of the Tasman Sea. It lived up to its reputation as the rally’s keynote stage as firstly Latvala swiped a bank and retired with a damaged radiator and then Hirvonen punctured a tyre and later spun his Focus RS WRC, losing a minute and sliding to third.

“This is one of the biggest disappointments of my career but that’s the way sport goes,” said Hirvonen. “I was confident I could drive at normal pace through that stage and win but it wasn’t to be because we handed Loeb victory. It’s not looking so good for either championship now but it’s not impossible. An eight-point gap in the drivers’ standings will be difficult to make up and it’s annoying to end like this after a great weekend. But I finished on the podium and what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. The positive from this event is that I know I can win gravel rallies.

“When I saw Jari-Matti stopped in the stage I knew I just had to finish. However about 9km from the end I realised I had a slow puncture on the rear right tyre. I’ve no idea how, or where, it happened. Then a kilometre before the finish I spun and the impact on the bank dragged off the front bumper. It just wasn’t meant to be,” added Hirvonen, after completing the last of the 16 tests covering 353.04km.

Latvala’s accident happened 3.5km after the start. “I approached a long left bend where the later cars in the first pass had created a narrow line. I lost grip at the rear and the car went sideways. I floored the throttle to try to straighten up, but it turned and I went into the inside of the corner. I hit a bank, which had a rock buried in the sand, and the impact broke the radiator and the cooler. I knew straight away that it was over because the oil temperature and water warning lights came on. I’m disappointed because I lost points for myself and the team. I was going so well and was pleased with my driving here so I thought I could finish second. It’s a bad feeling but after my problems in Germany, I’ve learned that I have to pick myself up and carry on,” said 23-year-old Latvala.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson summed up the team’s feelings. “This is one of the most disappointing days that we’ve ever had. After being in commanding first and second places going into the last countryside stage, we certainly didn’t expect to find ourselves with just third. I really feel for Mikko because he drove a faultless rally and showed he can take the fight to Loeb. Both he and Jari-Matti showed tremendous pace this weekend and we’ll come back fighting,” he said.

Ford of Europe motorsport director Mark Deans said: “We’re terribly disappointed with what happened but it’s days like today that make the WRC such a fascinating sport. We were on the receiving end and this result is a blow to our hopes of retaining the manufacturers’ championship, but there are still four rallies remaining so we’ll fight back. We saw today how unpredictable this sport can be so it’s too early to start making predictions of how the year might end.”

News from our Rivals

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) appeared to have lost his victory chance when he spun on the morning’s opening stage, losing 10sec and dropping to fourth. However, he profited from the drama and moved ahead of team-mate Dani Sordo on the penultimate stage to win by 17.5sec. Stobart driver François Duval (Ford) was on course for fourth until he crashed out in the Whaanga Coast test. So Norway’s Petter Solberg (Subaru) took fourth ahead of Urmo Aava (Citroen), despite the Estonian spinning on the opening stage. Munchi’s driver Henning Solberg (Ford) recovered from first day power steering problems to win seven stages and climb to ninth, taking the final manufacturers’ point. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) retired on the second stage after nudging a bank, the impact causing an oil leak in the engine.

Next round

After three rounds in five weekends, the series pauses for breath in September. It returns with Rally de España in Salou on 2 - 5 October, which is the first of two asphalt rounds in successive weekends.

Final positions

1. S Loeb/D Elena Citroen C4
2. D Sordo/M Marti Citroen C4
3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen Ford Focus RS
4. P Solberg/P Mills Subaru Impreza
5. U Aava/K Sikk Citroen C4
6. P-G Andersson/J Andersson Suzuki SX4
7. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen Suzuki SX4
8. F Villagra/J Perez Companc Ford Focus RS
9. H Solberg/C Menkerud Ford Focus RS
10. M Prokop/J Tomanek Mitsubishi Lancer

Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the timesheets on the final day of testing at the Monza circuit in Italy.

The championship leader took over from teammate Heikki Kovalainen to wrap up McLaren’s preparations for the Italian Grand Prix, setting a best time of 1:22.967 after 97 laps.

Hamilton’s time was some three tenths of a second slower than that set by Nick Heidfeld on Thursday, but the Briton was the only driver who managed to complete a lap in 1:22s today.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest for Ferrari, albeit nearly four tenths behind Hamilton.

“It was a good day, during which we looked to fine tune the car for this track as well as trying a few new things,” said Raikkonen, who met with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo during the test. “I would say we have done a good job, even if it is too early to say what the situation will be here during the race weekend.

“It was a pleasure to meet with President Montezemolo, who visited the track today. Now we have to try and do everything as well as possible to get back to winning again, starting with the race in Spa. The world championship? I will give it my best shot and then we can count the points at the end.”

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella completed a positive test for Force India with a surprising third quickest time after a massive 114 laps.

Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams and David Coulthard in the Red Bull completed the top five. The Scot was the busiest man on track today, covering 120 laps.

Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest for Renault, who also focused on race preparation for the Italian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

“Another valuable day in Monza and we have learnt some interesting things that will help us prepare for the race here in a couple of weeks’ time,” said Alonso.

“We tried lots of different things with the set-up and then did some suspension work in the afternoon as using the curbs is important here. I think we have taken the car in the right direction and we have a good basis to build on over the race weekend.”

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, in contrast, only managed 57 laps after going off the track in the morning. Only his BMW Sauber car sustained little damage, repairing was time consuming and he could only return to the track after the lunch break.

By AutoSport

The Formula One round on the streets of Valencia’s harbour could be renamed the Mediterranean Grand Prix from next season.

The change is set to be made because the race at the Nurburgring needs a different name due to the a disagreement over the German Grand Prix title, that the country’s motorsport authority, the ADAC, does not want to pay for.

Last year’s race at the Nurburgring ran as the European Grand Prix, but could not do so again next season because Valencia is pencilled in with that title.

The rights to the Mediterranean Grand Prix title were owned by former F1 driver and current GP2 team owner Adrian Campos. But he confirmed to autosport.com that he gave the title, free of charge, to Bernie Ecclestone last week.

By AutoSport

By Teams

Audi develops race version of the R8

Customer sport programme with the mid-engine sportscar
First races planned for 2009 season
Factory driver Frank Biela completes roll-out

For the first time, Audi Sport will offer a racing sports car specifically developed for customer use in the form of the powerful 500 hp plus GT3 version of the Audi R8 which will be available from autumn 2009. The logistics and factory space required for the AUDI AG customer programme will be created over the next few months in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm and Györ.
 
“The R8 is the first production Audi bearing the name and genes of a successful racing sportscar and is therefore an excellent base from which to build up our first big customer sport programme,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. “Ever since the R8 was unveiled we’ve been inundated with enquiries about a race version. With the Audi R8 we will offer customers a racing sportscar equipped with high-calibre technology and the typical Audi qualities, but which is nevertheless easy to handle.”
 
The Audi R8 conforms to the production-based GT3 regulations allowing the car to be fielded in numerous national and international race series.
 
Because the GT3 regulations prohibit the use of four-wheel drive the Audi R8 comes with the typical GT rear-wheel drive. The power is transmitted via a newly developed six-speed sequential sports gearbox. The suspension uses almost exclusively components from the production line. A comprehensive list of safety equipment guarantees the highest-level of passive safety. A modified front end and a large rear-wing generate the required downforce for the race track.
 
The Audi R8, which bears the project name “R16″ within Audi Sport, was developed under the direction of Audi Sport. Mid August, the first prototype successfully completed a roll-out in the hands of Audi factory driver Frank Biela.
 
The first test races in various European racing series are scheduled for the 2009 season. Delivery to the customers is planned from the autumn of this coming year.
 
The customer cars are manufactured together by Audi Sport and the quattro GmbH, which is also responsible for production of the Audi R8 street version, and Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. (Györ).