Day 3 Rally of Turkey

SS18 Deniz 1 – 16,76km
CANCELLED DUE TO BAD ROADCONDITIONS

SS19 Mudarli 1 – 21,32km
CANCELLED DUE TO BAD ROADCONDITIONS

SS20 Ballica 1 – 19,22km
1. Loeb 10.00,5 – 2. Petter +0,3 – 3. Ogier +0,7 – 4. Latvala +5,1 – 5. Sordo +7,9 – 6. Henning +17,8 – 7. Raikkonen +22,5 – 8. Wilson +24,8

Overall classification, 20 of 23 stages;
1. Loeb – 2. Petter +16,5 – 3. Sordo +30,3 – 4. Hirvonen +1.05,6 – 5. Ogier +3.21,7 – 6. Raikkonen +5.00,0 – 7. Villagra +5.39,2 – 8. Wilson +6.41,4

SS21 Deniz 2 – 16,76km
1. Loeb 9.48,0 – 2. Hirvonen +5,0 – 3. Latvala +9,1 – 4. Petter +12,4 – 5. Ogier +17,9 – 6. Henning +31,1 – 7. Block +35,9 – 8. Raikkonen +39,3

SS22 Mudarli 2 – 21,32km
1. Loeb 12.35,0 – 2. Ogier +16,3 – 3. Latvala +17,4 – 4. Petter +22,7 – 5. Hirvonen +25,2 – 6. Block +36,6 – 7. Wilson +44,6 – 8. Raikkonen +51,41. Loeb 12.35,0 – 2. Ogier +16,3 – 3. Latvala +17,4 – 4. Petter +22,7 – 5. Hirvonen +25,2 – 6. Block +36,6 – 7. Wilson +44,6 – 8. Raikkonen +51,4

1438 SS23 Ballica 2 19,22km

Petter Solberg & Phil Mills 2nd overall Rally Turkey!!

Petter is 2nd day 2 in Turkey

- I’m so happy about the day and the rally so far, says Petter Solberg. – I’m not going flat out all the time, these stages are so rough on the car that I need to back off a little. We are a small private team, with limited resources so I need to be careful. Had a puncture 7km before the finish on SS16 today and that probably cost me some time, other than that everything has been perfect. And it is so great to actually be fighting in the lead with the big manufacturer teams.

The second day here in Turkey is completed, with Petter and Phil second. 8 stages have been competed today, and Petter and Phil have been fastest through two of them and second fastest through two other. Sebastien Loeb is leading the rally, while Mikko Hirvonen is third. The overnight leader from Friday, Sebastien Ogier, has really been on the pace today, but a puncture and stop on SS15 dropped him down to fifth. Latvala rolled on the first stage of today, damaged the car, and lost a lot of time on the first loop of stages.

Rally of Turkey continues Sunday with 114km and 6 stages. First car is on the road from 0910 (local time).

Overall classification day 2 Rally of Turkey
1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter, Citroën +16,2
3. Hirvonen, Ford +17,3
4. Sordo, Citroën +22,4
5. Ogier, Citroën +3.21,0
6. Raikkonen, Citroën +4.37,5
7. Villagra, Ford +5.10,1
8. Wilson, Ford +6.16,6

Day 2 Rally of Turkey

Itinerary and classification Saturday 17 April

SS10 Göcbeyli 1 – 18,17km
1. Petter 10.34,4 – 2. Ogier +0,6 – 3. Hirvonen +1,7 – 4. Loeb +2,2 – 5. Sordo +5,1 – 6. Raikkonen +28,2 – 7. Henning +35,3 – 8. Villagra +37,4 – 9. Wilson +38,9 (Latvala rolled, back on stage, loosing time)

SS11 Ulupelit 1 – 12,98km
1. Hirvonen 7.11,1 – 2. Petter +0,6 – 3. Loeb +1,8 – 4. Henning +5,9 – 5. Ogier +7,1 – 6. Sordo +7,2 – 7. Wilson +16,9 – 8. Raikkonen +29,0 – 9 Villagra +33,5. Latvala +2.11,0

SS12 Bozhane 1 – 14,59km
1. Ogier 8.46,7 – 2. Loeb +0,3 – 3. Sordo +6,0 – 4. Hirvonen +6,2 – 5. Petter +7,7 – 6. Raikkonen +21,9 – 7. Villagra +23,4 – 8. Wilson +28,3 – 9. Henning +38,0

SS13 Riva 1 – 27,17km
1. Petter 15.29,2 – 2. Loeb +1,7 – 3. Sordo +5,6 – 4. Ogier +8,2 – 5. Hirvonen +10,4 – 6. Raikkonen +25,8 – 7. Villagra +31,5 – 8. Wilson +39,8 – 9. Block +47,2

Overall after stage 13;
1. Ogier – 2. Petter +10,9 – 3. Hirvonen +14,6 – 4. Loeb +15,0 – 5. Sordo +15,2 – 6. Raikkonen +3.19,6 – 7. Villagra +3.32,8 – 8. Wilson +3.52,6 – 9. Latvala +18.52,9

SS14 Göcbeyli 2 – 18,17km
1. Loeb 10.24,8 – 2. Petter +5,3 – 3. Ogier +6,9 – 4. Sordo +8,0 – 5. Latvala +9,8 – 6. Hirvonen +10,0 – 7. Raikkonen +32,9 – 8. Villagra +37,4 – 9. Wilson +43,2

SS15 Ulupelit 2 12,98km
1. Hirvonen 6.58,8 – 2. Loeb +0,1 – 3. Petter +4,9 – 4. Latvala +6,6 – 5. Sordo +7,3 – 6. Henning +8,6 – 7. Wilson +13,9 – 8. Raikkonen +22,8 – 9. Villagra +26,4 – Ogier +3.12,1 (stopped on stage, puncture).

SS16 Bozhane 2 – 14,59km
1. Loeb 8.43,4 – 2. Ogier +1,7 – 3. Sordo +2,1 – 4. Latvala +4,6 – 5. Petter +5,7 – 6. Hirvonen +6,1 – 7. Henning +13,7 – 8. Raikkonen +17,6 – 9. Villagra +19,4

SS17 Riva 2 – 27,17km
1. Loeb 15.01,4 – 2. Hirvonen +1,7 – 3. Petter +4,5 – 4. Sordo +4,9 – 5. Latvala +15,4 – 6. Ogier +15,4 – 7. Henning +17,2 – 8. Raikkonen +19,7

Overall classification day 2
1. Loeb – 2. Petter +16,2 – 3. Hirvonen +17,3 – 4. Sordo +22,4 – 5. Ogier +3.21,0 – 6. Raikkonen +4.37,5 – 7. Villagra +5.10,1 – 8. Wilson +6.16,6

Day 1 in Turkey finished – Petter is 4th

First day of the 2010 Rally of Turkey is completed, and Petter/ Phil is 4th in the overall classification. With only 18 seconds behind the leader, they have a perfect position for tomorrow. Sebastien Ogier is the overnight leader, Sordo is second and Mikko Hirvonen third.

Petter and Phil were fastest through three of todays stages and not many seconds behind on the others. Both Henning Solberg and Ken Block had to retire with a broken steering arm on the first stage of the rally.

- I am very happy with the day first day here in Turkey, everything has been as planned it, says Petter Solberg. Did a couple of small mistakes and lost some time, but that really doesn’t matter. I’d rather loose some seconds than risk anything. Tomorrow will be more thrilling, especially on the first stage with both tarmac and gravel.

8 more stages is to be competed tomorrow, and a total of 146km. The first stage is with only 4,7km gravel, the remaining 13,52km is tarmac. All cars are with gravel tires. Ogier will be first car on the road and starts at 0956 (local time). Petter will be running 4th on the road Saturday.

Overall classification day 1 – Rally of Turkey
1. Ogier, Citroën
2. Sordo, Citroën +5,5
3. Hirvonen, Ford +12,2
4. Petter, Citroën +18,5
5. Loeb, Citroën +24,9
6. Latvala, Ford +27,5
7. Villagra, Ford +1.42,9
8. Raikkonen, Citroën +1.50,6
9. Wilson, Ford +2.04,6

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4 of 23 stages – Rally of Turkey

4 of 9 stages done today, and Ogier is in the lead. Petter is 4th so far. Both Henning and Ken Block broke a steeringarm on the rally car on the first stage of the day, and had to retire. – I am quite happy with my two stage wins so far, especially the one on SS4, says Petter Solberg. – You really need to be concentrated and focused on that one, probably the fastest stage in this rally.

Overall classification 4 of 23 stages
1. Ogier, Citroën
2. Sordo, Citroën +2,1
3. Hirvonen, Ford +3,0
4. Petter, Citroën +7,4
5. Loeb, Citroën +7,8
6. Latvala, Ford +12,6
7. Villagra, Ford +12,6
8. Wilson, Ford +51,7
9. Raikkonen, Citroën +58,6

Shakedown – Rally of Turkey

After 4 runs on todays Shakedown in Turkey, Petter Solberg were happy with the setup for the rally car. He ended with the 5th fastest time. Sebastien Loeb set the fastest time. Shakedown is the final test before the rally starts.

- This is going to be a hard and challenging rally. Stages are fast, but rocks and sand makes them difficult. I guess we will see some punctures here, especially on Saturday’s stages. The car worked perfect at Shakedown today, and I’m looking forward to finally start tomorrow, says Petter Solberg.

The Shakedown test took place at a 4,75km closed road, 28kms from Pendik servicepark.

Shakedown times;
Loeb, Citroën 2.30,8
Sordo, Citroën 2.31,1
Hirvonen, Ford 2.31,7
Henning, Ford 2.32,2
Petter, Citroën 2.32,5
Ogier, Citroën 2.32,5
Räikkönen, Citroën 2.33,1
Latvala, Ford 2.33,1
Villagra, Ford 2.33,7
Wilson, Ford 2.35,2

Next event – Rally of Turkey

It’s rally-week again, and the Petter Solberg World Rally Team is already on sight in Istanbul, for the Rally of Turkey. – We have been here for a few days now for pre event testing, and I am so pleased with my rally car, says Petter Solberg. – It feels so good, and right now I almost can’t wait until the rally starts.

We have an anniversary to celebrate this weekend, also. Rally of Turkey is Petter Solberg and Phil Mills’ 150 WRC event together. – 150 WRC events, that’s a lot! I do hope we have many more to come, says Petter. – To me, Phil is the best codriver, he knows exactly how everything should be, always!

This year the rally is moved up to Istanbul, with the service park based in Pendik. Stages will all be in the Asian part of Turkey, while the official start ceremony on Thursday evening will be in European part, surrounded by the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

23 stages will be contested during the upcoming weekend, and 43 cars are on the entry list.

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Overall – Rally of Turkey 2008

- I am quite happy with the result here in Turkey. With now have two rallies with the new car, and we’ve learned a lot.

Rally Turkey ended with an exciting battle for seconds on the final stage. Mikko Hirvonen managed to stay on top and won the rally. Jari Matti Latvala ended second and Sebastien Loeb third. Hirvonen is now leading the Drivers championship.

Petter kept his sixth position through out the weekend. He has been fastest on several split-times during the rally and says it proves how much potential there are in the new car. Chris Atkinson has been struggling a lot this weekend, and started under SupeRally-regulations both Saturday and Sunday. He ended 13.

Henning Solberg and Dani Sordo were also fighting for seconds on the final day of the rally, but Sordo managed to stay in the 4th position. Henning ended 5th. Gigi Galli withdrew from the final day, due to exhaustion and dehydration.

Next event is Rally Finland, 31. July – 3. August.

Overall classification Rally of Turkey 2008

1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford 4.42.07,1
2. Jari Matti Latvala, Ford +7,9
3. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen +25,7
4. Dani Sordo, Citroen +2.25,6
5. Henning Solberg, Ford +2.33,7
6. Petter Solberg, Subaru +2.48,2
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +4.24,2
8. Conrad Rautenbach, Citroen +7.46,7

Turkish atmosphere

Day 2 Rally of Turkey

- The car is getting better and better, and we are taking things step by step. Everything can happen here, and there are a lot of rocks to avoid. It is still a new car, so I’m quite happy with the result.

Two days of driving and 16 stages are done, and Petter is in 6th position overall. Mikko Hirvonen is leading the rally with his team-colleague Jari Matti Latvala is 2nd. Sebastien Loeb is 3rd and Henning Solberg, who was 2nd after day 1, has dropped down to 4th.

Rally of Turkey is a though rally, and already at the second test of the day, both Suzuki’s retired. PG with electrical problems and Gardemeister with mechanical. Gigi Galli set some fast times this morning, but on SS12 and 13 he started to loose power and he lost more than 4 mintues on SS13.

Rally of Turkey finishes Sunday with only 3 stages, first car are on the road at 0938 (local time).

Overall classification day 2

1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford
2. Jari Matti Latvala, Ford +16,1
3. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen +34,2
4. Henning Solberg, Ford +2.08,4
5. Dani Sordo, Citroen +2.15,0
6. Petter Solberg, Subaru +2.33,6
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +3.41,1
8. Gigi Galli, Ford +5.20,0