WRC Rally Turkey 2008, Hirvonen wins tactical battle for Ford 1-2

WRC logo WRC Rally Turkey 2008, Hirvonen wins tactical battle for Ford 1 2

The 2008 Rally of Turkey will be remembered for the tactical games played by Ford to defeat Citroen. The strategy Ford employed is perfectly legal, but is it sporting? Certainly the FIA think so as they introduced the regulation re: road position, with the intention of adding to the narrative for each event, something to spice up the three day format.

It appears, though, to have backfired with Citroen initially threatening to quit at the end of the year (Quesnel retracted the comments but is still livid) and die hard rally fans voicing anger. How this communicates to the casual fan is anyone's guess but one wonders if there are any left for the FIA to pander to. A WRCC meeting is scheduled for the 24th of June and it will be interesting to see if the road positioning saga is on the agenda. Perhaps not though, as the the new car regulations will top the agenda followed by Chandler's proposed incentives for new teams to join the WRC. Chandler, though, states it is up to the manufacturers as a majority for the WRCC to consider a rule change, which he feels won't happen and thinks the rule is delivering.

Anyway, the fun and games did ensure it was close at the top of the Turkish leaderboard at the end of Day Two but the result seemed inevitable as all the Ford teams had a role in M-Sport's strategy to defeat Loeb. So in the end it was Hirvonen from Latvala then a dejected Loeb who couldn't do anything about the Ford tactics. Finland ought to be interesting as road position won't be as vital and hopefully it will be a straight fight between the three protaganists. Perhaps the term, tactics, will be banished from one round of this year's WRC.

As for the rest on Rally Turkey? Well, Suzuki had another mare with both cars retiring on the second day and didn't return on the third. Finland might be a bridge too far for them as their lack of pace will be highlighted. Subaru had an ok rally with Petter getting round with no problems for the second rally in a row albeit in 6th. Atko retired with broken suspension but no sign of damper woes for Subaru who just need some speed for Finland to prove they are back. Poor Gigi Galli, on the other hand, had to abandon his rally, after a competitive run due to severe dehydration. Henning had a solid rally being instructed ,obviously, to assist the Abu Dahbi Fords and finished 5th. Matty Wilson had a consistent drive to 7th with Rautenbach 8th. In the PWRC Aigner has now won three in a row and must be a safe bet to partner Ogier in the Red Bull Citroen "B" team next year, if there is one of course. Patrick Sandell had another great run in the S2000 207 to claim second in the PWRC.

The joys of winning

Rally of Turkey 2008 Top Ten Results

1. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 07 4hours 42mins 07.1secs M
2. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 07 +00mins 07.9secs M
3. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +00mins 25.7secs M
4. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +02mins 25.6secs M
5. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +02mins 33.7secs MT
6. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008 +02mins 48.2secs M
7. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +04mins 24.2secs A8
8. Conrad Rautenbach PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC +07mins 46.7secs A8
9. Federico Villagra Munchi's Ford Focus WRC 07 +09mins 34.1secs MT
10. Barry Clark Munchi's Ford Focus WRC 07 +14mins 48.8secs MT

Highlights of Rally Turkey 2008

A rally of highs and lows for Aava, fastest SS2 then out SS3

Latvala Onboard

Championship positions after Rally Turkey

1 Mikko HIRVONEN 59
2 Sebastien LOEB 56
3 Jari-Matti LATVALA 34
4 Chris ATKINSON 31
5 Daniel SORDO 30
6 Petter SOLBERG 20
7 Gianluigi GALLI 17
8 Henning SOLBERG 16
9 Matthew WILSON 12
10 Federico VILLAGRA 8
11 Urmo AAVA 6
- Conrad RAUTENBACH 6
13 François DUVAL 5
14 Andreas MIKKELSEN 4
15 Toni GARDEMEISTER 2
- Jean-Marie CUOQ 2
17 Andreas AIGNER 1
- Juho HANNINEN 1
- Sebastien OGIER 1
- Per-Gunnar ANDERSSON 1