WRC : UN DIMANCHE EN SARDAIGNE : THIERRY NEUVILLE ARRACHE LA VICTOIRE / NEUVILLE SNATCHES A THRILLER

AU TERME D'UNE DERNIÈRE SPÉCIALE DISPUTÉE DANS UNE AMBIANCE ÉLECTRIQUE, THIERRY NEUVILLE A PRIS L'AVANTAGE SUR SON RIVAL SÉBASTIEN OGIER POUR REMPORTER LE RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA.

« J’ai tout donné », lâchait le vainqueur. « C’était une formidable bagarre et la différence est infime à l’arrivée. Nous devions prendre une décision au départ de la Power Stage. Nous avons choisi de jouer la gagne. Nous y avons cru et nous avons attaqué fort. »Au départ de la Power Stage (6,96 km), Sébastien Ogier (Ford Fiesta) comptait 8/10e d'avance sur Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20). Le Belge réalisait alors une prestation incroyable pour renverser la situation et signer sa troisième victoire de la saison pour 7/10e d'avance. Par la même occasion, Thierry Neuville accroît son avance en tête du championnat et compte désormais vingt-sept points d'avance sur le Français.

Cette arrivée est la troisième plus serrée de l'histoire du Championnat du Monde FIA des Rallyes, né en 1973. Thierry Neuville égalait d'ailleurs sa performance en Argentine l'an passé lorsqu'il avait - déjà à l'époque - arraché la victoire des mains d'Elfyn Evans.

En ce dimanche ensoleillé, le Belge avait pris le départ de la dernière étape avec 3''9 de retard sur son concurrent. Il réduisait l'écart en remportant les trois premières spéciales disputées sur la côte nord-ouest de la Sardaigne pour un duel final où les deux hommes donnaient absolument tout. Tous deux commettaient de petites erreurs, mais Thierry Neuville émergeait finalement à la première place.

« Nous avons perdu une bataille, mais pas la guerre », déclarait de son côté Sébastien Ogier, loin d’être démoralisé. « Ce n’est pas le moment de paniquer. J’ai fait tout ce que j’ai pu, mais j’ai perdu des dixièmes ici et là. »

Sébastien Ogier s'est incliné pour 7/10e de seconde après la Power Stage.

Les résultats restaient toutefois provisoires après l'incident étrange à l'arrivée de l'avant-dernière spéciale. Parti à la hâte, Sébastien Ogier oubliait son carnet de pointage, qui lui était ensuite rendu par Ott Tänak (Toyota Yaris). Le Français devrait savoir dans les prochaines heures s'il écope ou non d'une pénalité.  

Isolé au troisième rang, Esapekka Lappi (Toyota Yaris) gérait sur cette courte étape (42,04 km chronométrés) pour compléter le podium, son premier de la saison.

Après son douloureux accident lors du rallye précédent au Portugal, Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20) rebondissait en terminant quatrième. Le Néo-Zélandais ne comptait que 2''1 d'avance sur Mads Østberg (Citroen C3) au petit matin, mais il parvenait à reléguer le Norvégien à 15''7.

Auteur selon lui d'un week-end émaillé de petits problèmes, Craig Breen (Citroën C3) prenait la sixième place devant Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota Yaris), reparti ce matin après son abandon samedi soir. Huitième, son équipier Ott Tänak devançait le vainqueur de la catégorie WRC 2, Jan Kopecký (Skoda Fabia R5), ainsi que Teemu Suninen (Ford Fiesta).

Le Championnat du Monde FIA des Rallyes s'offre désormais une petite pause de quelques semaines avant de retrouver les routes ultra-rapides de Jyväskylä et du Neste Rally Finland (26-29 juillet), huitième rendez-vous de cette saison 2018.  

  

THIERRY NEUVILLE SNATCHED A THRILLING RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA VICTORY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AFTER EDGING WRC TITLE RIVAL SÉBASTIEN OGIER IN AN ELECTRIFYING SHOOTOUT IN THE FINAL SPEED TEST.

He trailed Ogier by 0.8sec ahead of the 6.96km test, but delivered a daredevil drive in his Hyundai i20 to overhaul the Frenchman and claim his third win of the season by 0.7sec. Neuville extended his championship lead over Ogier to 27 points.

It was the third smallest winning margin in the WRC’s 45-year history, matching Neuville’s dramatic success in Argentina last year when he performed a similar snatch and grab on Elfyn Evans.

The Belgian started the sun-kissed short final leg along Sardinia’s north-west coast 3.9sec adrift of Ogier. He won the opening three tests before both drivers threw caution to the wind in the finale.

Both made mistakes on the dusty, rocky tracks but Neuville emerged on top.

“I gave it everything, it was a really great fight and such a small difference at the end,” he said. “We needed to make a decision at the start of the last stage and our decision was to go for the win. We believed strongly and pushed hard.”

Ogier was far from downhearted. “We lost one battle but definitely not the war. It’s not the time to panic. I tried everything I could today but I was always losing a few tenths here and there,” he said.

The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak and news is awaited on whether Ogier will receive a penalty.

Esapekka Lappi eased through the final leg’s 42.04km of action to claim third in a Toyota Yaris. With big time gaps in front and behind, the Finn took no risks to secure his first podium of the season.

Hayden Paddon shrugged off lingering back pain from an accident at the previous round in Portugal to finish fourth in an i20. After restarting with a 2.1sec advantage over Mads Østberg’s Citroen C3, he distanced the Norwegian to finish 15.7sec clear.

Craig Breen completed the top six after a ‘niggly’ weekend in another C3. Jari-Matti Latvala restarted after last night’s late retirement and came home seventh in a Yaris. Team-mate Ott Tänak was next up, ahead of WRC 2 winner Jan Kopecký and Teemu Suninen.

The championship pauses for a mid-season break before resuming on the blisteringly fast gravel roads of Neste Rally Finland, which is based in Jyväskylä on 26 - 29 July.    

via www.wrc.com

18éme Rencontres Auto Motos les Essarts

WSBK BRNO : Race1: Unstoppable Rea grabs sweet sixtieth win at Brno / Race2: Phenomenal Lowes leads Yamaha one-two at Brno

Reigning champion triumphs in Czech return and opens 81-point gap in title battle

When the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship last graced the flowing hills of the Automotodrom Brno, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was a promising 25-year-old with 10 race wins to his name, no world championships, and still very much a diamond in the rough. The contrast on Saturday was startling, six years later, was startling: the KRT rider led a perfect race to take his sixth race win of the season, making him the most successful WorldSBK rider in history with 60 race wins, above the legendary Carl Fogarty.

At the longest track in the season, it was fitting for the action to be more extended than usual. Rea overtook teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at the start, but crashes by Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) forced a red flag and race restart – twice, due to technical issues on the grid.

At the third time of asking, with the race length now down to 16 laps, Sykes defended his position at turn 1, but Rea was in front a couple of turns later, keeping Sykes behind and jetting off. The Northern Irishman was also helped by the action behind, with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) putting Sykes under pressure. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also joined the fray, swapping positions several times with his teammate in a thrilling battle.

Rea went untroubled from this point forward, leading a composed ride to the finish line. He was the only rider managing laps times under two minutes, keeping a 4-5 second gap from his closest pursuers. The defending champion has now opened an 81-point gap with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who struggled to finish the race eighth and sees his championship pursuit become even tougher.

Behind the leader, Melandri finally got the best of Sykes in lap 4, taking his best result since Round 1 with second. It’s the fifth podium for Melandri at Brno in WorldSBK, and a fantastic comeback after a disastrous Donington weekend. Sykes crossed the line in third, two seconds off the Italian.

The rostrum was finally just not close enough for the Yamaha riders, with van der Mark beating Lowes to fourth place. Both men will lead the line in Race 2, a fantastic opportunity to move their personal tussle to the front tomorrow.

A thrilling battle for sixth midway through the race saw Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) emerge triumphant and back into the top positions. He got the best of teammate Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), who still managed to beat Davies in the final laps for seventh.

Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) netted himself another top-10 finish. Still not 100%, the Brit still managed to come in ninth at the flag, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in tenth, the first independent rider at Brno. Yonny Hernández (Team Pedercini Racing) confirmed his good form at the Czech circuit, returning to the WorldSBK paddock in eleventh after missing the UK Round.

Maiden WorldSBK win for the British rider in crazy Czech Race 2

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) took his first-ever MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race win at the Acerbis Czech Round, in an astonishing Race 2 which saw championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crash out early on. The thousands of Czech fans present at the Automotodrom Brno witnessed a wild, unpredictable affair, ending in a Yamaha one-two and a sixth race winner in 2018.

The front row all kept their positions at the start, with van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) holding off his teammate through the first corners. Lowes’ would make his move into the race lead the following lap however, gaining the inside line at turn 1. Meanwhile, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) climbed all the way from eighth on the grid to third by lap 2, and past van der Mark a few turns later.

The next couple of laps saw three dramatic, almost unbelievable twists. First, championship leader Jonathan Rea went down at turn 12, apparently after coming in contact with teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The Northern Irish rider couldn’t make it back on track, retiring for the first time this season. If yesterday his lead seemed almost unsurmountable, after Sunday there was more than a glimmer of hope.

Next, Marco Melandri, having just passed Lowes for the race lead, couldn’t control his Ducati barely a couple of turns later and rode through the gravel, immediately dropping the Italian to the back of the field and denying Melandri a return to the top of the rostrum when he was the fastest man on track. And then Sykes slipped in lap 6, leaving all of yesterday’s podium off the rostrum in Race 2. In four seasons together, never had both British KRT riders left a race empty-handed. At least Melandri managed to scrape a point in fifteenth.

A dozen laps left, the stage was thus set for a Yamaha battle to the end, as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), in third, was unable to match the pair’s pace. But this time, unlike when he led at Donington, Lowes’ YZF-R1 did not drop off in the final third: a smart, consistent and overall flawless ride by the Brit kept him ahead of his Dutch teammate all the way to the checkered flag with two seconds to spare. The man from Lincolnshire made his debut at Brno in 2011 – seven years on, he can finally call himself a WorldSBK winner.

With van der Mark claiming another podium finish in second, the Dutchman moves into third in the championship standings, above Sykes; while Davies, an excellent third at Brno considering the issues that have plagued his weekend on the Panigale, cut Rea’s lead to 65 points.

Behind them rostrum riders, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) took fourth, his best result of the campaign, with his teammate Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) also a season-best in fifth. More good results for the Italian manufacturer, adding their bikes to the long list of podium contenders this season.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) had a career-best of 6th at Brno, rising from eleventh on the grid in just his tenth WorldSBK race. He finishes above Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), in seventh. Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) returned to the top-ten in eighth, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth, and Román Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) tenth.

WorldSBK is back in two weeks from Laguna Seca, a special circuit with some of the best sections of the championship. Join us there on Saturday 23rd of June, and relive the best moments from the Acerbis Czech Round thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.