IRC: Rally and Discussions Thread 2010 *SPOILERS*

[Mothers Worry]

Service added to Monte leg one 

From autosport.com:

Service added to Monte leg one 

In association with  Peugeot      

Friday, January 15th 2010, 15:48 GMT

The organisers of the Monte Carlo Rally have instigated a last-minute change to the route to include a service mid-way through the opening leg of next week's Intercontinental Rally Challenge opener.

I suppose having more vehicles is better than more attrition.

[Mothers Worry]

Hirvonen still leads as Ogier flies 

From autosport.com:

Hirvonen still leads as Ogier flies 

Thursday, January 21st 2010, 17:44 GMT

Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the Monte Carlo Rally going into the final day, while Sebastien Ogier's charge has brought him into the fight for second.

Ford driver Hirvonen now holds a 47.7-second advantage over Skoda's Juho Hanninen, who is 23s ahead of Ogier (Peugeot).

Pos  Driver             Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Mikko Hirvonen     Ford     3h12m44.0s
 2.  Juho Hanninen      Skoda       + 47.7s
 3.  Sebastien Ogier    Peugeot   + 1m10.3s
 4.  Nicolas Vouilloz   Skoda     + 1m34.3s
 5.  Stephane Sarrazin  Peugeot   + 6m06.0s
 6.  Franz Wittmann     Peugeot   + 6m53.8s
 7.  Guy Wilks          Skoda     + 7m07.3s
 8.  Bruno Magalhaes    Peugeot   + 7m12.8s
 9.  Jan Kopecky        Skoda     + 7m24.4s
10.  Toni Gardemeister  Abarth    + 9m13.0s

[Mothers Worry]

Hirvonen leads into final two stages 

From autosport.com:

Hirvonen leads into final two stages 

Friday, January 22nd 2010, 19:23 GMT

Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the Monte Carlo Rally with two stages to go, having stabilised the gap back to Sebastien Ogier at 46s.

The charging Ogier won this evening's first stage, taking him past Skoda's Juho Hanninen into second place - although the Frenchman said he was totally focused on chasing Hirvonen's Ford for victory.



Pos  Driver                 Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Mikko Hirvonen         Ford     4h04m12.3s
 2.  Sebastien Ogier        Peugeot     + 46.1s
 3.  Juho Hanninen          Skoda     + 1m25.3s
 4.  Nicolas Vouilloz       Skoda     + 2m47.9s
 5.  Stephane Sarrazin      Peugeot   + 7m32.3s
 6.  Jan Kopecky            Skoda     + 8m33.9s
 7.  Guy Wilks              Skoda     + 8m35.8s
 8.  Bruno Magalhaes        Peugeot   + 8m41.1s
 9.  Jean-Sebastien Vigion  Peugeot  + 12m34.9s
10.  Jaroslav Orsak         Skoda    + 19m06.6s

[Mothers Worry]

Hirvonen clinches Monte Carlo win 

From autosport.com:

Hirvonen clinches Monte Carlo win 

Friday, January 22nd 2010, 23:24 GMT

Mikko Hirvonen has given Ford's new S2000 Fiesta a superb victory on its competition debut in the Monte Carlo Rally.

The World Rally Championship runner-up led the event from the outset, resisting pressure from last year's winner Sebastien Ogier until the Peugeot's late retirement.

Pos  Driver                 Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Mikko Hirvonen         Ford     4h32m58.5s
 2.  Juho Hanninen          Skoda     + 1m51.4s
 3.  Nicolas Vouilloz       Skoda     + 3m19.1s
 4.  Stephane Sarrazin      Peugeot   + 7m25.5s
 5.  Jan Kopecky            Skoda     + 8m48.7s
 6.  Guy Wilks              Skoda     + 9m24.5s
 7.  Bruno Magalhaes        Peugeot   + 9m45.4s
 8.  Jean-Sebastien Vigion  Peugeot  + 13m33.5s
 9.  Jaroslav Orsak         Skoda    + 21m16.6s
10.  Andrej Jereb           Peugeot  + 25m26.1s