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From wrc.com
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, driving a Citroen DS3 WRC leads his teammate Mikko Hirvonen by 4 seconds after the first full day of action at Rally New Zealand, round seven of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship.
Ford World Rally Team's Jari-Matti Latvala was lying third until the Finnish driver collided with a fence on stage 7 and lost over four minutes trying to get his Ford Fiesta RS WRC back on the road. The incident saw Latvala drop back to ninth.
“I'm really, really disappointed. I can't remember being this disappointed for a long time,” explained a disheartened Latvala.
"It was a combination left-right corner, but everyone had been cutting there so I went for the cut as well and the cars in front must have made a hole on the inside and the front-right wheel touched the hole and spun the car into a wire fence. The wire went into the front wheel and we couldn't move anywhere. We had to wait until the farmer came with some side cutters but by that time I had lost four minutes," added the 27-year-old.
Teammate Petter Solberg had an equally troubled day after the Norwegian lost over a minute this morning after opting for hard compound Michelin tires. He finishes the day fourth overall.
After a trouble-free day in an M-Sport run Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Russia's Evgeny Novikov is third. Teammate Ott Tanak is fifth in a similar car, 7.7s adrift of Solberg in fourth.
Competing in New Zealand for the first time, Thierry Neuville is sixth for the Citroen Junior World Rally Team. The Belgian driver reported problems with his pacenotes led to a spin during stage 3 but a drama-free afternoon saw Neuville finish the day 31s behind Estonia's Tanak.
Rally New Zealand - Classification after day 1:
1. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) in 2.07'35”0
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 4”0
3. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'31”0
4. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'39”3
5. Tanak-Sikk (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'47”0
6. Neuville-Gilsoul (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 2'18”0
7. Sordo-Del Barrio (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 2'34”3
8. Araujo-Ramalho (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 4'36”9
9. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 4'56”1
10. Stohl-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6'55"5
etc.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, driving a Citroen DS3 WRC leads his teammate Mikko Hirvonen by 4 seconds after the first full day of action at Rally New Zealand, round seven of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship.
Ford World Rally Team's Jari-Matti Latvala was lying third until the Finnish driver collided with a fence on stage 7 and lost over four minutes trying to get his Ford Fiesta RS WRC back on the road. The incident saw Latvala drop back to ninth.
“I'm really, really disappointed. I can't remember being this disappointed for a long time,” explained a disheartened Latvala.
"It was a combination left-right corner, but everyone had been cutting there so I went for the cut as well and the cars in front must have made a hole on the inside and the front-right wheel touched the hole and spun the car into a wire fence. The wire went into the front wheel and we couldn't move anywhere. We had to wait until the farmer came with some side cutters but by that time I had lost four minutes," added the 27-year-old.
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| Sebastien Loeb, Citroen DS3. (Photo: WRC) |
Teammate Petter Solberg had an equally troubled day after the Norwegian lost over a minute this morning after opting for hard compound Michelin tires. He finishes the day fourth overall.
After a trouble-free day in an M-Sport run Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Russia's Evgeny Novikov is third. Teammate Ott Tanak is fifth in a similar car, 7.7s adrift of Solberg in fourth.
Competing in New Zealand for the first time, Thierry Neuville is sixth for the Citroen Junior World Rally Team. The Belgian driver reported problems with his pacenotes led to a spin during stage 3 but a drama-free afternoon saw Neuville finish the day 31s behind Estonia's Tanak.
Rally New Zealand - Classification after day 1:
1. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) in 2.07'35”0
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 4”0
3. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'31”0
4. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'39”3
5. Tanak-Sikk (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'47”0
6. Neuville-Gilsoul (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 2'18”0
7. Sordo-Del Barrio (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 2'34”3
8. Araujo-Ramalho (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 4'36”9
9. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 4'56”1
10. Stohl-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 6'55"5
etc.