Gryazin to start first on the road on day two in Latvia
Vasily Gryazin, the promising Russian youngster who competes under a Latvian licence, will start first on the road on day two of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils.
After holding third place overall following the Rallyofchampions.com stage on Friday evening, Gryazin slipped back before stopping to make repairs after an off on stage three of the FIA European Rally Championship round.
Antonín Tlusťák will start in second place for the GPD Mit Metal Racing Team with event leader Craig Breen 12th on the road in a Peugeot Rally Academy-Saintéloc 207 Super 2000 after the 12 priority drivers were reseeded.
Day two consists of six stages, the first of which, LDz Cargo 2, gets underway at 10:20hrs local time following a 15-minute service in Liepāja at 09:05hrs. The first car is due to reach the overnight halt in Ventspils at 17:35hrs.
Top 12 starting positions for leg two:
1 Gryazin/Chumak (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4)
2 Tlusťák/Vyoral (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)
3 Puskádi/Gódor (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)
4 Orsák/Šmeidler (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX)
5 Černy/Kohout (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)
6 Kisiels/Ronis (MINI John Cooper Works RRC)
7 Plangi/Sarapuu (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4)
8 Švedas/Sakalauskas (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X)
9 Lukyanuk/Arnautov (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X)
10 Delecour/Savignoni (Peugeot 207 S2000)
11 Ketomaa/Lindström (Ford Fiesta RRC)
12 Breen/Moynihan (Peugeot 207 S2000)
In total, 36 crews are due to restart on leg two.
Birthday boy Breen not feeling the cold
Leg two of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils is about to get underway with event leader and birthday boy Craig Breen insisting he’s not feeling the cold.
Ambient temperatures plunged overnight and competitors staying in Liepāja awoke to a fresh coating of snow.
“It’s cold but when you are leading you don’t feel it,” said Breen, who turns 23 today.
Breen and co-driver David Moyinhan currently lead the FIA European Rally Championship event by 6.4s from Jari Ketomaa and Kaj Lindström. They are running 12th on the road.
Leg two features six stages over a competitive distance of 92.05 kilometres. There are 36 crews restarting.
Another boost for the ERC as the Peugeot Rally Academy registers
The Peugeot Rally Academy-Saintéloc is the latest organisation to enter the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams, marking another significant boost for the new-look ERC.
Peugeot, which has a long and successful history in rallying, remains at the forefront of the sport with sales of its 208 R2 topping 70 and testing of its all-new 208 Type R5 firmly on track.
On Rally Liepāja-Ventspils, which resumes with stage four shortly, Craig Breen is leading in a 207 Super 2000 having gone fastest on all three stages run so far with François Delecour in third place and closing on second. Meanwhile, in the ERC 2WD Championship, Stéphane Lefebvre is excelling on his ERC debut by leading the two-wheel-drive division on the back of three stage wins.
Explaining the decision to submit a registration for the overall and ERC 2WD teams’ championships, Peugeot Sport Director Bruno Famin said: “Since 2007, Peugeot has been a faithful supporter of Eurosport Events, the new promoter of the ERC and we would like to support the new European Rally Championship.
“Our objective for this season is to prepare for the next one with the R5 regulation and the 208 and of course to promote the Peugeot Rally Academy with our three young drivers Craig Breen, Jérémi Ancian and Stéphane Lefebvre.”
Sirmacis targets strong result on home ERC round
Rising Latvian star Ralfs Sirmacis says a strong result on his home round of the FIA European Rally Championship could help his onward progression in the sport.
Sirmacis, the current Latvian R2 champion, is fifth in the ERC 2WD Championship classification starting stage four, LDz Cargo 2, in his Okartes Autosporta Akadēmija Ford Fiesta R2.
“So far I only have the Latvian championship in mind but it all depends on the finances,” he said. “This rally is very important. I have a good aim to be in a good position for this rally.”
Sirmacis is previous experience of competing outside his homeland: in 2012 he finished third in the annual Fiesta SportTrophy Shootout event in the United Kingdom.
Dislike of the dark slows Plangi
Siim Plangi’s chase of success in the FIA ERC Production Car Cup got off to a hesitant start on Friday due to his dislike of the dark.
The young Estonian is one of the favourites for victory in the showroom category but is currently 26.4s adrift of class-leading Russian Alexey Lukyanuk after he struggled for pace on the Friday evening’s trio of start. “I was too scared, driving in the dark really does not suit me,” he said.
Plangi is competing in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for Latvian ASRT team on Rally Liepāja-Ventspils, which resumes with stage four, LDz Cargo 2, at 10:20hrs local time.
WRC star Ostberg cheers on Latvian ace Kisiels
Raimonds Kisiels’ performance on Rally Ventspils is being followed closely by none other than World Rally Championship star Mads Østberg.
Kisiels is the top local driver on the Latvian event in a MINI John Cooper Works WRC, which is being run by Østberg’s family outfit, Adapta Motorsport from Norway.
After three stages Kisiels is seventh overall and on course for FIA European Rally Championship points.
Yesterday, Østberg (pictured) posted on Facebook: “My team-mate for the weekend is doing well in Rally Liepāja-Ventspils. Way to go, Raimonds!”
In sickness and in (good) health
While Vojtěch Štajf struggled with sickness on the opening leg of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils, Frigyes Turán’s challenge on the FIA European Rally Championship counter is in good health.
The Hungarian is currently the leading Subaru Impreza driver in 14th overall and ninth in the ERC Production Car Cup starting leg two of the winter event.
But while Turán, who began his season-long FIA European Rally Championship campaign on the International Jännerrallye last month, could reflect on a trouble-free start to his bid for ERC success in Latvia, fellow Subaru driver Štajf has been struck down by a fever.
“I am finding it difficult to concentrate on the pacenotes, I do not feel well,” said the Czech.
Of the other leading Subaru Impreza drivers in action, Marco Tempestini is 24th for the Napoca Rally Academy operation with son and team-mate Simone Tempestini in 33rd position following the onset of technical issues.
Švedas: Rally Liepāja-Ventspils a big boost for the Baltics
Vytatutas Švedas has praised organisers of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils for their efforts in attracting a round of the FIA European Rally Championship to Latvia.
Švedas, fifth overall and second in the ERC Production Car Cup heading into Saturday’s first stage, is a multiple champion in his native Lithuania and has also claimed various regional titles.
“Of course it’s a big event for all the Baltics and maybe northern Europe,” said the Mitsubishi Lancer driver. “I have to say congratulations and big thank you to Raimonds [Strokšs] and the team for beginning such a big event in this country. We have great drivers in the Baltics but we’ve never had such an event. It’s a great opportunity for local drivers to show themselves and compete against the top European guys.”
Švedas said before the start in Liepāja on Friday afternoon that he would be taking it steady over and ice and snow-coated roads.
“It was quite a while when I was driving that big an event,” he said. “Normally I am doing 100-150 kilometres in a rally and now it’s 250 kilometres so it’s another level. Of course it’s very difficult to drive every kilometre and every corner flat out so the strategy for the event will be to keep quite calm like it was in the Qualifying Stage with no risks.”
Švedas will start day two with a replacement damper fitted to his Mitsubishi Lancer after a leak was discovered.
Eight different nationalities occupy top eight places in ERC
The widespread appeal of the FIA European Rally Championship has once again been demonstrated today with eight different nationalities occupying the top eight places on Rally Liepāja-Ventspils.
Revamped for 2013 by new promoter Eurosport Events, the new-look ERC’s first visit to Latvia is proving a major success, which has been underlined by the spread of countries represented at the top of the preliminary classification.
Craig Breen, from Ireland, leads with Finland’s Jari Ketomaa second, Frenchman François Delecour is third with Alexey Lukyanuk occupying fourth spot for Russia. Lithuania’s Vytatutas Švedas is fifth with Estonian Siim Plangi sixth, Latvian Raimonds Kisiels holds seventh spot, while Vitaliy Pushkar, from Ukraine, completes the multi-national top eight.
And there’s a wide spread of manufacturers in action too with five different car makes in the top 10 heading to Saturday’s stages.
Top five Ketomaa facts
Jari Ketomaa is currently second overall on Rally Liepāja-Ventspils, round two of the FIA European Rally Championship, in his Ford Fiesta RRC. But here are five facts you might not know about the flying Finn.
1: When Jari married his long-time girlfriend, Elisa, he insisted on driving them back from the church after the service. The fact the car they were using was a four-wheel-drive Porsche on a narrow road in might have had something to do with Jari’s decision to do the driving himself.
2: Jari has a formidable reputation for setting up rally cars for optimal handling precision, getting behind the wheel of cars belonging to his customers to do just that. One of his most famous customers was WRC sensation Evgeny Novikov who recruited Ketomaa for advice even before he was old enough to hold a driving licence.
3: When Jari isn’t competing his hobbies include jogging, cycling and snowmobiling.
4: During his successful stint in the Finnish Rally Championship, Jari won more rallies than any other driver and took the title in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He only missed out on the 2008 crown because a clashing event in New Zealand meant he had to miss a Finnish championship round.
5: Jari’s brave driving style earned him a legion of fans in his homeland but he’s also popular in the Baltic countries following his performances on visits to Estonia and Latvia in the past.