The launch parties had happened. The candidate rallies had come and gone. Documentation was done. It was time. Monday March 8, 2004. It’s the start of a week Patrick Suberville and Gilles Spitalier will never forget. It was the start of a week that would realize their dreams. And change their lives. Rally México was […]

OGIER CLOSES THE GAP ON TÄNAK WITH FIFTH WIN IN RALLY GUANAJUATO MÉXICO   Tänak’s morning attack rewarded with second place; third for M-Sport Ford’s Evans Benito Guerra delights the home crowd with sixth overall and victory in WRC 2   LEÓN (México):  Frenchman Sébastien Ogier held his nerve over the final three gravel stages […]

KRIS MEEKE TOPS SHAKEDOWN TIMES AT RALLY GUANAJUATO MÉXICO Tänak misses out on shakedown opportunity after suffering a sensor issue Citroën Racing suffers logistical issues in build up to start of event in León LEÓN (México):  Kris Meeke and Sebastian Marshall took a major confidence boost into the start of this evening’s 16th Rally Guanajuato México by setting […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 12 Special stage: Otates 1 Distance: 26.37 km Weather: Warm and sunny Road conditions: Dry     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “I tried to push. It is still very slippery. I cannot do more. I am on the limit.”   Car 4.   MIKKELSEN/JAEGER-SYNNEVAAG “That stage was a little […]

Date: Sunday, March 11th Day: 4     Flash N°:     22 Special stage: Las Minas 2 (Power Stage)  Distance:     11.07 km Weather: Warm, slight breeze and sunny            Road conditions: Dry                   Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “Fantastic. It is a special place for me every year, seven podiums and four victories. I knew it would be tough. […]

Date: Sunday, March 11th Day: 4                                                                Flash N°:     21 Special stage: Las Minas 1                                      Distance:     11.07 km Weather: Warm and sunny                                     Road conditions: Dry                                                              Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “The grip is not so good in places. It […]

Date: Sunday, March 11th Day: 4 Flash N°: 20 Special stage: Alfaro Distance: 23.32 km Weather: Warming up and sunny Road conditions: Dry with hanging dust in places   Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “We take the optimum tyre choice for the Power Stage.”   Car 3.   SUNINEN/MARKKULA “I need to keep the car on the road. […]

Date: Sunday, March 11th Day: 4 Flash N°: 7 Service: G (Rally Campus Service Park) Five of the original 29 cars in the various categories have official retired from the event.   Joining Evans (Car 2 – accident) are Granados Cervera (Car 85 – mechanical), Cordero (Car 84) – mechanical, Wallingford (Car 82 – off […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 2 Flash N°: 17/18 Special stage: Autodrómo de León 3/4 Distance: 2.30 km Weather: Warm and sunny Road conditions: Mixed     The first Seb shoot-out ended in a 1-1 draw. Loeb won SS17 with a time of 1min 38.1sec and Ogier equalised in SS18 with a faster time of […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 16 Special stage: El Brinco 2 Distance: 9.98 km Weather: Hot and sunny, 31°C Road conditions: Dry     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “It has been a perfect day to be honest. We can be very happy with that. I push as hard as I could. This one […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 14 Special stage: Guanajuatito 2 Distance: 30.97 km Weather: Warm and sunny (2300 metres at stage finish) Road conditions: Dry and dusty     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA Second successive fastest time and leads for the first time. “Of course pushing hard. Someone hit a dog in front […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 5 Service: E (Rally Campus Service Park)     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “We have still been trying to push. We had a bit more line in front. We managed to catch a couple of seconds. It is hard to catch the time we lost yesterday. The most […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 13 Special stage: El Brinco 1 Distance: 9.98 km Weather: Warm and sunny Road conditions: Dry     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA Starter motor issue confirmed before the stage and he did not want the engine to stall. “We have no starter motor but that is okay. We […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 11 Special stage: Guanajuatito 1 Distance: 30.97 km Weather: Warm and sunny Road conditions: Dry and dusty     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “I try my best. The position is a bit better today and there is more grip. It is going to be hard. It is still […]

Date: Saturday, March 10th Day: 3 Flash N°: 4 Service: D (Rally Campus Service Park)     Of the 29 starters in the various categories, only Evans/Barritt (Car 2) had officially retired from the event at the start of day three.   Suninen (Car 3), Lappi (Car 9) and Latvala (Car 7) all restarted amongst […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 8 Special stage: Ortega 2 Distance: 17.23 km Weather: Cooling, slight breeze and dry Road conditions: Dry     M-Sport Ford Rally Team’s Malcolm Wilson has confirmed that Dan Barritt suffered concussion after Elfyn Evans’s crash this morning.   Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “Our tyres were a bit […]

  LEÓN (México):  Last year’s Rally Guanajuato México winner Kris Meeke gave himself a major confidence boost by topping the times in Thursday morning’s 5.31km Shakedown stage at Llano Grande, near León. Crews were permitted to carry out multiple passes through the test stage and the Ulsterman clocked the fastest time of 3min 41.0sec on […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 7 Special stage: El Chocolate 2 Distance: 31.44 km Weather: Warm and sunny Road conditions: Dry     The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team have confirmed that Evans/Barritt (Car 2) will not be restarting on Saturday.     STAT OF THE DAY – 78 Sébastien Loeb has […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 6 Special stage: Duarte-Derramadero 2 Distance: 26.05 km Weather: Hot, windy and sunny, 29-30°C Road conditions: Dry     26 of the original 29 starters completed the first loop but Evans (Car 2) did not start SS6.   Solans (Car 36), Rovanperä (Car 33) and Hernandez (Car […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 2 Service: B (Rally Campus Service Park)     Car 2.   EVANS/BARRITT The crew retired at the service point because navigator Dan Barritt was slightly injured in the morning’s crash.   “We have taken Dan to hospital because we think he is suffering from concussion,” said team […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 4 Special stage: Ortega 1 Distance: 17.23 km Weather: Warm Road conditions: Dry – stage climbed to over 2,700 metres     Car 2.   EVANS/BARRITT Rolled in the stage and started again with the loss of over two and a half minutes. “Sixth gear, we hit a […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 4 Special stage: Ortega 1 Distance: 17.23 km Weather: Warm Road conditions: Dry – stage climbed to over 2,700 metres     Car 2.   EVANS/BARRITT Rolled in the stage and started again with the loss of over two and a half minutes. “Sixth gear, we hit a […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 3 Special stage: El Chocolate 1 Distance: 31.44 km Weather: Warm and dry at altitude Road conditions: Dry     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “Not the best position obviously. We tried our best.”   Car 2.   EVANS/BARRITT “Tough. It was so slippery and so little grip. We had […]

Date: Friday, March 9th Day: 2 Flash N°: 2 Special stage: Duarte-Derramadero 1 Distance: 26.05 km Weather: Warm, windy and sunny, 21-22°C Road conditions: Dry     Car 1.   OGIER/INGRASSIA “I cannot see a line for him (Neuville) to be honest. It was quite loose to be honest. I could not go much faster. The […]

Date: Thursday, March 8 th Day: 1 Flash N°: 1 Special stage: Monster Street Stage GTO Distance: 2.53 km Weather: Warm and humid Road conditions: Dry with some slippery patches Car 1. OGIER/INGRASSIA “We like to make a show a little bit. It is a special anniversary for me (10th time here).” Car 4. MIKKELSEN/JAEGER-SYNNEVAAG […]

SERVICE FLASH Date:            Friday, March 9th Day:             2                                                                                           Flash N°: 1 Service:       A (Rally Campus Service Park)   All 29 starters had completed the Monster Guanajuato Street Stage on Thursday evening. Jari Huttunen blotted his copybook with a spin and the loss of 15 seconds in WRC2 and México’s Ricardo Cordero dropped 90 seconds to […]