3ª CARRERA GO-KART-CIRCUITO DE MAGALUF
4.5.2009 von Wolfgang.
CATEGORIA ALEVIN/BENJAMÍN.
Los ocho pilotos de la categoría alevín-benjamin formaron la parrilla más concurrida de la jornada. En la manga pre-final destacó el trío formado por Hugo Viladomiu, Raúl Riveiro y José Mª. Rosselló que marcaron un fuerte ritmo despegándose del pelotón. Las primeras vueltas eran para Viladomiu, sin embargo en la séptima vuelta se producía el cambio cuando éste quedaba fuera de carrera. José Mª. Rosselló heredaba el liderato hasta que en la última vuelta era adelantado por Raúl Riveiro que se anotaba una inesperada victoria. Por detrás Elisabet Verger rodó en una cómoda posición sin que nadie le inquietara, ascendiendo al final hasta el tercer cajón del podium, por delante de Joan Oliver, Xesca Verger, Álvaro García y Bea Viladomiu, que se clasificaban a continuación.
En la manga final Raúl Riveiro no daría opción a sus rivales y tan solo José Mª. Rosselló sería capaz de seguir su ritmo, distanciándose ambos del resto. Elísabet Verger tan solo pudo aguantar la tercera plaza cuatro vueltas puesto que Hugo Viladomiu, que venía muy rápido desde atrás se hacía con la tercera plaza. En la cola del pelotón las posiciones se mantuvieron invariables con Joan Oliver quinto, Xesca Verger sexta, Alvaro García séptimo y Bea Viladomiu octava. De ellos Joan Oliver se anotaba la victoria entre los benjamines.
CATEGORIA CADETES.
Tan solo cuatro pilotos formaron una descafeinada parrilla de cadetes. No obstante asistimos a uno de los duelos más bonitos de la jornada entre Pedro Mulet y Hugo Viladomiu. En ambas mangas las posiciones permanecieron inalterables con Mulet instalado en el liderato, seguido de Hugo que lo intentó en varias ocasiones aunque no pudo adelantar al primero y se tuvo que conformar con la segunda plaza en ambas mangas. A cierta distancia la tercera plaza era para Sergio Reus que rodó sin presión al conseguir distanciarse de Hans Ellamauer en ambas tandas.
CATEGORIA SENIOR.
Entre los Senior tampoco hubo mucha historia con Jordi Fernández y Pere Antoni Beltrán ocupando las dos primeras plazas y poniendo tierra de por medio con un pelotón que se mantuvo estirado y sin cambios en ambas mangas de carrera. En las primeras vueltas de la manga final destacó la lucha entre Luís Mañas, Miguel García y Toni Horrach por el tercer cajón del podium, sin embargo no llegaron a producirse adelantamientos y acabaron en este orden, cerrando el pelotón Philippe Salvá. Jordi Fernández se anotaba las dos victorias mientras que era secundado por Pere Antoni Beltrán en ambas carreras.
CATEGORIA 125CC.
En la categoría de 125 cc. ocurría todo lo contrario que en Senior y las mangas estuvieron marcadas por los continuos cambios de posiciones. Al parecer los nervios estaban a flor de piel y lo pudimos comprobar puesto que se tuvieron que dar hasta cuatro vueltas de calentamiento en la primera manga y tres en la segunda para poder dar la salida lanzada. En la manga pre-final Juan Carlos Rodríguez pasaba a la última posición tras sufrir problemas mecánicos en la primera vuelta. El liderato pasaba a manos de Juan Verger que junto a José Barea se distanciaron del pelotón encabezado por Guillermo Oliver y Ángel Verger. En la séptima vuelta Juan Verger conseguía despegarse de José Barea anotándose una cómoda victoria. En la manga final tan solo saltaban a pista cuatro pilotos quedándose fuera de carrera Guillermo Oliver. La primera vuelta era de nuevo para Juan Verger, sin embargo en la segunda pasaba a la tercera plaza al ser adelantado por Ángel Verger y Juan Carlos Rodríguez, siendo ahora cuarto José Barea. Rodando todos en compacto pelotón en la sexta vuelta Rodríguez daba cuenta de Ángel Verger, situándose como líder hasta ver la bandera a cuadros. José Barea también superaba a Juan Verger y se acercaba a Ángel Verger manteniendo una bonita lucha por la segunda plaza. Sin embargo en la novena vuelta Barea se iba a la hierba dejando la carrera sentenciada con Ángel Verger segundo y Juan Verger tercero.
FERBIS
CLASIFICACIÓN OFICIAL.
CATEGORIA BENJAMIN:
1. Joan Oliver, 60 ptos. 2. Xesca Verger, 52 ptos. 3. Álvaro Garcia, 50 ptos. 4. Bea Viladomiu, 42 ptos.
CATEGORIA ALEVIN:
1. Raúl Riveiro, 56 ptos. 2. José Mª. Rosselló, 54 ptos. 3. Hugo Viladomiu, 50 ptos. 4. Elisabet Verger, 44 ptos.
CATEGORIA CADETES:
1. Pedro Mulet, 58 ptos. 2. Hugo Viladomiu, 56 ptos. 3. Sergio Reus, 48 ptos. 4. Hans Ellmauer, 42 ptos.
CATEGORIA 125 CC.:
1. Joan Verger, 56 ptos. 2. Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 51 ptos. 3. José Barea, 48 ptos. 4. Ángel Verger, 45 ptos. 5. Guillermo Oliver, 30 ptos.
CATEGORIA SENIOR:
1. Jordi Fernández, 60 ptos. 2. Pere Antoni Beltrán, 54 ptos. 3. Luis Mañas, 48 ptos. 4. Miguel García, 41 ptos. 5. Toni Horrach, 40 ptos. 6. Philippe Salvá, 36 ptos.
JOCHEN70 goes Mille Miglia
4.5.2009 von Wolfgang.
Mit großen Schritten gehen wir der Mille Miglia entgegen und langsam lüften wir auch den Vorhang über unsere Kooperation mit der Mille Miglia.
http://www.jochen70.com
HANNINEN HAS HIGH HOPES DESPITE STARTING ORDER
4.5.2009 von Wolfgang.
HANNINEN HAS HIGH HOPES DESPITE STARTING ORDER … AND ALL THE OTHER NEWS FROM THE IRC
Factory Skoda driver Juho Hanninen believes he can fight for a podium finish on Sata Rally Azores next week, even though he is set to run first on the road on the island-based event.
Hanninen, who led the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in Monte Carlo in January before crashing out, is scheduled to be the first of 49 drivers to tackle the 18-stage event in his Skoda Fabia S2000.
Road position, especially on gravel events, can have a huge bearing on the final result of a rally. That’s because it takes approximately two or three cars to clear away the loose surface gravel on a stage, which means the drivers running higher up the starting order are left at a disadvantage because of the reduced levels of grip under braking and traction entering and exiting corners.
"It’s not going to be so easy in my position," said the 27-year-old from Finland. "But I don’t believe it will be such a big problem either. Yes my car will be sideways more but it is a very good car and I am very confident I can get a good result."
Hanninen and team-mate Jan Kopecky, from Czech Republic, are due to test in the Azores on Monday, May 4, when they will fine-tune the set-up of their Fabia S2000s.
Hanninen hopes for another strong performance in the Azores
PODIUM FINISH WILL DO FOR CHAMPION VOUILLOZ
Nicolas Vouilloz is confident he will still be able to successfully defend his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title this year even if he doesn’t win Sata Rally Azores, which runs from May 7-9.
Vouilloz, the IRC champion in 2008, has yet to register a win this season and is currently five points behind championship leader and team-mate Freddy Loix.
After failing to score points on the Monte Carlo Rally in January, Vouilloz is currently a distant sixth in the drivers’ standings. But he insists a podium finish will be a satisfactory result and will be enough to keep his season on track.
"There is still a long way to go in the championship so I do not have to win," said Vouilloz, 33. "Besides it will not be easy because you have to consider the road position might not be good for me and there also some very quick drivers who will be hard to beat."
Vouilloz continued: "If I have the feeling in the car then I will try, of course. We had a good test on gravel and I am confident with the car. But as long as I am the top-three places then I will be happy."
Nicolas Vouilloz is aiming for a strategic approach to the year
IRISH STAR CRONIN TARGETS IRC DEBUT
Keith Cronin, the current leader of the British Rally Championship, has announced plans to contest at least two rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season.
Twenty-two-year-old Cronin has won the opening two rounds of the British series and has already set his sights on making his IRC debut.
Cronin, from Ireland, wants to tackle the season closing Rally of Scotland in November but has also declared his intention to take part on a round of the IRC before then. He could event swap his current Mitsubishi Lancer E9 for a Super 2000 machine when he does so.
"The Super 2000 car is the future of rallying at the moment so the more experience I get in one the better," said Cronin. "I want to do the IRC when it comes to Scotland in November and I’m also planning another IRC round to get an understanding of the format of each event. But if I can’t get to drive a Super 2000 car I will continue in my Mitsubishi Lancer. It will still be very competitive."
WEST CONSIDERS MORE IRC APPERANCES
Volkswagen privateer Nick West is considering a bid for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2WD Cup this season.
The 50-year-old finished third in the category on the Monte Carlo Rally and is currently equal sixth in the 2WD division in a Volkswagen Polo.
Now West is contemplating entering the IRC rounds in Asturias (Spain), Italy (Sanremo) and the inaugural Rally of Scotland in November because he believes he can make a impact on the class leaderboad.
He said: "I’m only four points off the lead of the championship and I keep looking at my position on ircseries.com. It makes you think I can still get something out of this but I would need to do a few more events before I begin thinking like that."
West has chosen the rallies in Italy and Spain for his return to the series because their relative close proximity to each other will restrict his costs.
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR BFGOODRICH DRIVE OPPORTUNITY
Belgian drivers planning to contest the Belgium Ypres Rally from June 18-20 have from now until May 22 to be considered for selection for the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team on the asphalt event.
The tyre firm has teamed-up with leading entrant Kronos Racing to offer a free drive in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000. In partnership with the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, BFGoodrich and Kronos will select five names from a list of applicants. Those names will be presented to a panel of Belgian journalists who will decide the winner through a secret ballot.
The winner will get the opportunity to test a 207 on June 10 when they will receive guidance from Kronos Racing and advice on tyre selection and usage by engineers from BFGoodrich.
Veteran Belgian driver Patrick Snijers was chosen as the winner last season and finished fifth overall. Sebastien Ogier, who drove the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team entry on Rally Monte Carlo.
Meanwhile, Peugeot, which has claimed success on the Belgium Ypres Rally for the last two seasons, will strengthen its association with the famous asphalt event by becoming the competition’s official vehicle supplier.
It will provide approximately 18 cars to rally organisers and sponsors to use during the three-day event through its Belgium-Luxembourg distributor. That will be in addition to the 12 Peugeot 207 Super 2000s likely to enter the rally itself.
Applications are open now for the BFGoodrich prize drive in Belgium
www.rally-irc.com
