REPCO RALLY NEW ZEALAND
(28 – 31 AUGUST 2008)
The leaderboard of Repco Rally New Zealand was turned on its head during the final day of competition, resulting in Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroën Total) taking victory. Team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Marti climbed from fourth to second, giving the team its second one-two finish of the season. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen (BP Ford) dropped from almost certain victory to third overall.
In the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Loeb has extended his advantage over Hirvonen to eight points. Sordo consolidates third position. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Citroën Total’s maximum points give it a 20 point advantage over BP Ford.
Jari-Matti Latvala started the day with the advantage and despite running first on the road managed to maintain his lead through the first stage. However, Hirvonen then overhauled his team-mate in the following stage and gradually extended his lead over the field until the penultimate stage when he picked up a puncture, spun, dropped nearly a minute, lost the lead and fell to third overall. In the same stage Latvala crashed out of contention and François Duval (Stobart Ford) went off the road, losing an almost guaranteed fifth position. As a consequence, the lead was handed to Loeb. The Frenchman spun on the first stage and seemed to struggle to match the pace of Hirvonen, despite a more beneficial road position.
Behind the leading trio, Subaru’s Petter Solberg took fourth, but team-mate Chris Atkinson retired after hitting a bank and damaging the radiator. Behind Urmo Aava, in fifth, the two Suzuki’s of Per-Gunnar Andersson and Toni Gardemeister finished sixth and seventh respectively. Federico Villagra (Munchi’s Ford) claimed eighth.
The FIA World Rally Championship now returns to Europe for the RACC Rally Catalunya Costa Daurada – Rally de España (2-5 October).
Rally New Zealand – Final Results (subject to scrutineering and routine fuel analysis)
| 1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena |
Citroën C4 WRC |
3 hr 59 min 18.9sec |
| 2. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti |
Citroën C4 WRC |
3 hr 59 min 36.4sec |
| 3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen |
Ford Focus RS WRC |
4 hr 00 min 00.4sec |
| 4. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills |
Subaru Impreza WRC |
4 hr 02 min 07.8sec |
| 5. Urmo Aava/ Kuldar Sikk |
Citroën C4 WRC |
4 hr 02 min 49.6sec |
| 6. Per-G Andersson/J Andersson |
Suzuki SX4 |
4 hr 06 min 56.3sec |
| 7. Toni Gardemeister/T Tuominen |
Suzuki SX4 |
4 hr 07 min 13.8sec |
| 8. Federico Villagra/J P-Companc |
Ford Focus RS WRC |
4 hr 07 min 53.9sec |
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 11 of 15 rounds)
| Sébastien Loeb (F) |
86 points |
| Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) |
78 points |
| Dani Sordo (E) |
51 points |
| Chris Atkinson (AUS) |
40 points |
| Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) |
34 points |
| Petter Solberg (N) |
32 points |
| Henning Solberg (N) |
22 points |
| Gigi Galli (I) |
17 points |
| Matthew Wilson (GB) |
12 points |
| François Duval (B) |
11 points |
| Urmo Aava (EE) |
11 points |
| Federico Villagra (RA) |
9 points |
| Conrad Rautenbach (ZW) |
6 points |
| Toni Gardemeister (FIN) |
5 points |
| Andreas Mikkelsen (N) |
4 points |
| Per-Gunnar Andersson (S) |
4 points |
| Matti Rantanen (FIN) |
2 points |
| Jean Marie Cuoq (F) |
2 points |
| Andreas Aigner (A) |
1 point |
| Sébastien Ogier (F) |
1 point |
| Juho Hanninen (FIN) |
1 point |
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 11 of 15 rounds)
| Citroën Total World Rally Team |
141 points |
| BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team |
121 points |
| Subaru World Rally Team |
74 points |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team |
51 points |
| Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team |
22 points |
| Suzuki World Rally Team |
20 points |