Team Quotes from Rally Japan 08 – Day Two, plus standings, photos and vids

Team Quotes from Rally Japan 08 Day Two, plus standings, photos and vids

Image: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Day two of the Rally of Japan sees Ford's Mikko Hirvonen lead the rally by 15.5 seconds with team mate Latvala in second and Sébastien Loeb of Citroen retaining third, the Frenchman's only problem coming this afternoon when he dropped time on a badly rutted stage.

Petter Solberg (Subaru) climbed to fourth this morning ahead of team-mate Chris Atkinson, but retired with smashed rear suspension after hitting a hole and spinning in the final countryside test. Atkinson survived a 360 degree spin after hitting the same hole.

Solberg's retirement:

Stobart driver Matthew Wilson (Ford) climbed to fifth after a steady day, with Toni Gardemeister (Suzuki) rounding off the top six. Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki) dropped two minutes and two places with a puncture this afternoon. The Swede is now seventh. Munchi's driver Henning Solberg (Ford) retired from sixth after stage 17 with broken suspension.

Day two highlights:

Here's what the drivers and teams thought of today's stages:

Suzuki
Toni Gardemeister:

I'm very proud to have recorded Suzuki's first stage
win! But the day has been tricky for us. In the morning I think we drove
quite well, although the stages were so slippery and difficult that it was hard to analyse exactly what was going on. Then in the afternoon we had a problem with the rear differential. Nonetheless, we've got to the end of the day within the driver points and our aim is to try and build on that tomorrow.

P-G Andersson:

What a day! It was a real shame we had the puncture, but the
roads were so rough that it was inevitable this would happen to somebody. We came into a junction nine kilometres from the start and the soft ground just pulled the tyre off the wheel rim, so I had to stop and change it. That shouldn't take anything away from what has been an extremely positive day for us though. We've been second-fastest on a stage, fifth overall, and the car has been completely reliable: that's a sign of really solid progress.

Team news:
Shusuke Inagaki, Suzuki World Rally Team Director:

Considering that we have not yet even completed one full season of the championship, this event has gone very well for us so far. To be in the top eight is a great achievement, and we are very proud that our car has shown both performance and reliability. Tomorrow is another long day, so we need to stay fully concentrated all the way to the finish.

Ford
Mikko Hirvonen

It was quite a nervewracking day, the roads were much faster and it took a while for me to get used to that after the narrow, twisty stages yesterday. This afternoon there were ruts everywhere but I couldn't afford to ease my pace too much. The conditions were difficult and Jari-Matti drove quickly behind me. The strangest moment came this morning when I lost my rhythm after I had to slow when two deer ran across the road in front of me.

I came to Japan looking for a victory but even if I achieve that tomorrow, it looks like that won't help my championship challenge now. Tomorrow's stages are soft but they shouldn't be as slippery, so I hope we have an easier time.

Latvala

I drove cautiously through the first two stages and then stepped up my pace, I wanted to find the right balance and not risk too much, before increasing my speed when I found my confidence. This afternoon I punctured a tyre on the first stage of the loop so I drove a little more cautiously because I had only one spare in the car and another puncture would have meant the end of my rally. In these conditions the only thing to do was follow the ruts and be brave. The tactic was to keep all four wheels in the ruts, like a train track

BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson reflected on another positive day.

It was a very controlled performance from both drivers, dictating the pace from the front. Both delivered measured drives, especially in such difficult conditions on the stages.

Subaru
Petter Solberg

Of course it is disappointing and I must say sorry to the Subaru fans, but we have had some very good things from today. We came round a left hander on stage 18 and hit a large hole and the car just spun around. I went to start again but the rear geometry was all broken. We were pushing hard and sometimes things like this happen.

It’s disappointing, but honestly it has been a very good day. It was really good fun to drive and I really enjoyed it, and to win a stage is very good. We are definitely going in the right direction. We must look at the positives as there has been a lot good about today.

Onboard Petter Solberg:

Chris Atkinson

Today was ok; we started ahead of Petter but he was a little quicker and got in front. But then he had his accident which is unlucky for the team and the Subaru fans as we were both in good positions and you never know what could happen on this rally. In stage 18, when Petter went off it left a big hole in the ground and we hit it as well and spun round. We damaged our suspension a little bit, but ok we could drive still, but not flat out. I think we are too far behind to push for third tomorrow so the main aim is to keep our position.

Team Principle, David Richards

Again Rally Japan has proved unforgiving, and of course it is disappointing for everyone that Petter has retired, but overall there have been a lot of positives today. Chris and Stéphane are in a solid fourth place, and Petter’s stage win clearly shows the potential of the new Impreza. Our recent testing efforts have focused on our gravel performance, and the benefit of this is beginning to show.

Team Quotes from Rally Japan 08 Day Two, plus standings, photos and vids

Super Special Stage:

Leaderboard after Day 2
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 21min 31.8sec
2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 21min 47.3sec
3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 2hr 22min 25.3sec
4. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 2hr 23min 57.8sec
5. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 2hr 26min 03.4sec
6. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN Suzuki SX4 2hr 26min 10.3sec
7. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Suzuki SX4 2hr 26min 43.6sec
8. F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 2hr 31min 31.4sec
9. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg FIN Subaru Impreza 2hr 33min 18.2sec
10 E Novikov/D Moscatt RUS Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 34min 01.3sec

Highlights Rally Japan:

Stage Times

Stage 11: 1. Sordo 1min 42.5sec; 2. Andersson + 1.5; 3. H Solberg + 1.6; 4= Atkinson, Wilson + 1.9; 6. Loeb + 2.5; 7. Latvala + 2.6; 8. Hirvonen + 3.2.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 44min 26.5sec; 2. Latvala + 25.6; 3. Loeb + 29.9; 4. Atkinson + 59.0; 5. P Solberg + 1:03.0; 6= Wilson, Andersson + 1:09.9.

Stage 12: 1. P Solberg 18min 37.0sec; 2= Hirvonen, Sordo + 1.8; 4. Latvala + 4.4; 5. Loeb + 7.7; 6. H Solberg + 13.1.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 1hr 03min 05.3sec; 2. Latvala + 28.2; 3. Loeb + 35.8; 4. P Solberg + 1:01.2; 5. Atkinson + 1:14.4; 6. Andersson + 1:27.5.

Stage 13: 1. Latvala 21min 58.1sec; 2. Sordo + 4.7; 3. Loeb + 4.5; 4. Hirvonen + 10.9; 5. P Solberg + 16.5; 6. Atkinson + 23.5.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 1hr 25min 14.3sec; 2. Latvala + 17.3; 3. Loeb + 33.4; 4. P Solberg + 1:06.8; 5. Atkinson + 1:27.0; 6. Andersson + 1:46.8.

Stage 14: 1. H Solberg 5min 54.6sec; 2. Sordo + 0.7; 3. Latvala + 1.2; 4. Hirvonen + 1.6; 5. Loeb 1.8; 6. P Solberg + 5.4.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 1hr 31min 10.5sec; 2. Latvala + 16.9; 3. Loeb + 33.6; 4. P Solberg + 1:10.6; 5. Atkinson + 1:31.6; 6. Andersson + 1:45.7.

Stage 15: 1. Loeb 1min 42.5sec; 2= H Solberg, Sordo + 0.3; 4. Hirvonen + 0.7; 5. P Solberg + 0.8; 6. Wilson + 1.0; 8. Latvala + 1.7.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 1hr 32min 53.7sec; 2. Latvala + 17.9; 3. Loeb + 32.9; 4. P Solberg + 1:10.7; 5. Atkinson + 1:32.4; 6. Andersson + 1:47.9.

Stage 16: 1. Latvala 18min 22.8sec; 2. Hirvonen + 1.2; 3. Loeb + 1.3; 4. P Solberg + 2.0; 5. Atkinson + 4.9; 6. Sordo + 18.5.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 1hr 51min 17.7sec; 2. Latvala + 16.7; 3. Loeb + 33.0; 4. P Solberg + 1:11.5; 5. Atkinson + 1:36.1; 6. H Solberg + 2:37.8.

Stage 17: 1. Hirvonen 21min 22.7sec; 2. Latvala + 3.2; 3. P Solberg + 7.0; 4. Sordo + 16.1; 5. Atkinson + 21.1; 6. Loeb + 21.6.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 12min 40.4sec; 2. Latvala + 19.9; 3. Loeb + 54.6; 4. P Solberg + 1:19.0; 5. Atkinson + 1:57.2; 6. H Solberg + 4:07.3.

Stage 18: 1. Hirvonen 5min 54.3sec; 2. Sordo + 0.8; 3. Latvala + 1.1; 4. Loeb + 2.3; 5. Andersson + 7.7; 6. Wilson + 13.3.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 18min 34.7sec; 2. Latvala + 21.0; 3. Loeb + 56.9; 4. Atkinson + 2:29.0; 5. P Solberg + 3:11.2; 6. Wilson + 4:34.8.

Stage 19: 1= Sordo, Gardemeister 1min 25.4sec; 3. Latvala + 2.0; 4. Andersson + 2.4; 5. Villagra + 2.6; 6. Hanninen + 3.2; 16. Hirvonen + 7.0.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 20min 07.1sec; 2. Latvala + 18.0; 3. Loeb + 53.5; 4. Atkinson + 2:25.7; 5. Wilson + 4:31.4; 6. Gardemeister + 4:39.6.

Stage 20: 1. Sordo 1min 23.2sec; 2. Gardemeister + 0.4; 3. Latvala + 1.0; 4= Hirvonen, Loeb + 1.5; 6. Wilson + 1.7.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 21min 31.8sec; 2. Latvala + 15.5; 3. Loeb + 53.5; 4. Atkinson + 2:26.0; 5. Wilson + 4:31.6; 6. Gardemeister + 4:38.5

Team Quotes from Rally Japan 08 Day Two, plus standings, photos and vids