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#1
21-09-2014, 01:56 PM
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World Rallycross Championship R8 – Lohéac
Last years rallycross weekend in Lohéac rated as one of the best motorsport events I’ve ever been to, so when I got offered a ride there again this year I couldn’t say no. I also managed to get Media access again, so many pictures were taken. Here are some of my faves…
   The biggest name on last year’s entry list – especially in the eyes of the local fans – was wildcard driver Sebastien Loeb. Sadly Loeb wasn’t in attendance this year but the driver taking Loeb’s place on the advertising hoardings was arguably just as well known…  …following his World Rallycross debut in Norway, Ken Block was back to sample European rallycross again and attempt to better his third place finish in Hell. (Hell is the name of the rallycross track in Norway in case you were wondering!)  I have heard a lot of people scorn Block, but I think even the harshest critics were silenced by his performance over the weekend. Fastest in timed practise on a track he had never driven before, Block made the Semi Finals despite incurring a time penalty in the first set of heats for missing his “joker” lap.  Even if you don’t like the driver, you have got to like his car. Block’s Fiesta is a serious bit of engineering and with M-Sport involvement in the build is arguably the most developed Supercar on the grid. A lot of the Supercars sound good on the overrun, but Block’s Fiesta sounded utterly savage: I want it! (though I’ll have mine in plain white please)  Hansen Motorsport switched from Citroen to Peugeots at the start of this year. They have had a lot of glitches to iron out, but with the cars sorted they were the team to beat at Lohéac. As an ex-circuit racer this circuit is perfect for Timmy Hansen and he posted fastest times in heats 1, 2 and 3.   Mattias Ekstrom is now running a rallycross team (EKSRX) as well as competing in the DTM. It’s generally expected to take a new team a few races to get to grips with a new car, but the EKS A1’s have been quick straight out of the box. Due to a DTM race running this weekend Ekstrom was unable to drive, so his car was in the hands of Edward Sandstrom instead.   Henning Solberg trying to find a way round his younger brother. Henning was actually bloody quick, but car problems in heat 1 and 4 left him out of the running.   Evan Libner grabbing another gear: not the photo I was trying to get, but quite a good moment (I thought!).    Last year’s French RallycrossRX round had a huge entry and this year the paddock area was again packed with cars. France has a very strong national rallycross Championship (arguably the strongest in Europe) and both the Supercar and Super 1600 classes were bulked out by French entries.  It wasn’t just the natives who had someone to shout for though. There were loads of UK drivers to cheer on, including Kevin Procter, debuting his brand new Ford Fiesta …  … Ollie O’Donovan, fresh from victory at Lydden Hill…  …and David Binks, who was making his return to Supercars after nearly two years absence from the upper tier of rallycross.   Andy Scott ended up the highest placed UK driver, 12th overall, he wasn’t quite quick enough to make it to the Final though.   Lunchtime entertainment was provided by Vaughn Gittin Jnr. and his exceptionally awesome sounding Mustang.
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"If in doubt... flat out!"
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#2
21-09-2014, 01:57 PM
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Too much text for one post: here is another one!
  David Nordgard won the Touring Car Final. He was fastest in all four heats, seemed to struggle a bit in his Semi Final, but won the Final by a clear margin.   Stephen Bossard won the Super 1600’s. He was denied the win here last year, so nice to see him make the top step of the podium.  Pontus Tidemand was bloody rapid in the second EKS Audi A1 and made the front row of the final. He drove a bit too hard though, which resulted in a puncture and 5th place overall.  Bakkerud won at Lohéac last year (in a LD Motorsport DS3), passing Petter Solberg in the final. Bakkerud didn’t have the best start to the weekend, but he did make it to the top 12. He wasn’t fast enough to make the Finals…  …leaving Reinis Nitiss as the OMSE Ford to beat. This is Reinis first year in Supercars, but you wouldn’t know it from his results. He drove to an excellent second place overall, which now gives him second place in the drivers Championship.   Block came third in his Semi to make it to the back row of the Final. I didn’t think he looked as quick at this stage – and I did wonder if his tyres were knackered by this point as he had been seriously sideways on several occasions – but he drove to a clean fourth and was just behind third place Timmy Hansen.   Both the Hansen Motorsport Peugeot 208’s made the final, but contact between team mates Timmy Hansen and Timur Timerzyanov ended Timur’s race. Timmy raced well, but he couldn’t quite match the pace of the leader when it came to the Final.  Petter Solberg was set to maximum attack at Lohéac last year which, although spectacular to watch, had ultimately cost him victory as his tyres were shot for the Final. Although he didn’t top the time sheets in any of this year’s heats, Petter was never outside the top six and his consistent performance placed him second overall in the intermediate classification. Crucially though, his restraint in the heats left his tyres with more life for the all-important Semi Finals and Finals.  Petter beat Nitiss and Block in his Semi Final, which put him on the front row for the Final.  Nailing the start of the Final – and taking a very tight line into turn one – Petter fended off the advances of Pontus Tidemand and Reinis Nitiss to lead from lights to flag. It was perhaps a little unfair that Timmy Hansen, who had dominated the heats, wasn’t the winner, but it was a well devised strategy from Solberg and a reflection of his more measured approach to rallycross in 2014.  Needless to say (and as you may have guessed from how much I’ve babbled on), it was a bloody brilliant weekend of racing! We had planned to wrap things up with a visit to the circuit museum on Monday before coming back but, annoyingly (and despite it being the busiest weekend that the circuit hosts all year) the museum closes on Mondays, so we had to give it a miss. We were about to leave when we heard some noise from the track, which turned out to be Ken Block doing passenger laps for various VIP’s. Watching him burn some rubber was a great way to finish off the trip!
__________________
"If in doubt... flat out!"
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#5
22-09-2014, 09:01 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
__________________
"If in doubt... flat out!"
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#8
22-09-2014, 02:42 PM
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Quote:
I daresay the driving style required to get the best from the latter 2.0L WRCars favoured other drivers better than Solberg. I would be interested to see Solberg back in the WRC (and there are rumours concerning Petter in 2015) as the 1.6L cars seem a bit less planted. On the other hand I think he is one of the best things to happen to rallycross in the last couple of years, so I hope he stays! Quote:
__________________
"If in doubt... flat out!"
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#11
23-09-2014, 10:07 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
__________________
"If in doubt... flat out!"
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#12
29-09-2014, 02:37 PM
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Forgive the double post, but Petter took third in Italy at the weekend, making him the 2014 World Rallycross Champion and the first driver ever to win FiA World Championships in two different disciplines.
Pity he wasn't at the wheel of an Impreza, but still great to see him on top again!
__________________
"If in doubt... flat out!"
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love the picture of the Mustang 
Some great action shots 
