Rally New Zealand - after stage 4

 

The 41 starters in this seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship journeyed south-west of Auckland to tackle four speed tests overlooking the stunning Tasman Sea coastline near Raglan. The 104.80km of competition covered some of New Zealand’s finest rallying roads, offering a mix of flowing cambered sections and twisty, technical tracks in the coastal rain forests.

 

Latvala was fastest in qualifying yesterday and the 27-year-old Finn opted to start last of the leading drivers, with the aim of capitalising on roads swept clear of slippery gravel by those ahead. Mid-winter temperatures on New Zealand’s North Island were cool this morning and with rain possible, Latvala opted for Michelin’s soft compound tyres.

 

He won the opening 11.18km Te Hutewai test and was second on the famous picture-postcard 29.67km Whaanga Coast. Latvala ended the morning with second and third in the 31.82km Te Akau South and the 32.13km Te Akau North before heading to a short 15-minute service in Raglan.

 

“My road position wasn’t the best this morning, but so long as it remains dry then I believe our decision could pay off this afternoon,” he said. “The roads were more slippery than we expected and I had a little oversteer at the rear of the car. It was damp everywhere but there was little mud and despite the recent rain, the roads were in good condition. 

 

“I planned to take hard compound tyres but changed my mind at the last minute. I thought back to 2007 when I chose a hard compound in the same conditions and lost a lot of time,” said Latvala.  

 

Team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson are seventh in their Fiesta RS WRC. The 37-year-old Norwegian driver opted for a different strategy, by running second in the start order and fitting hard compound rubber. The tyre choice proved an error and Solberg dropped almost 90sec over the four stages.

 

“It could have been a better morning – but I’m still smiling!” he said. “We made a decision as a team to choose hard tyres. We had to guess how the conditions would be as the morning progressed, and we made a mistake. I’m disappointed, but now I have new tyres so I’ll keep pushing and see what happens this afternoon. It was the longest loop of the rally so it’s a shame it had to happen today.”      

 

1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen                   FIN                  Citroen DS3                 1hr 04min 06.2sec

2. S Loeb/D Elena                              FRA                 Citroen DS3                 1hr 04min 10.1sec

6. T Neuville/N Gilsoul                       BEL                 Citroen DS3                 1hr 05min 32.0sec

8. D Sordo/C Del Barrio                     ESP                 Mini John Cooper       1hr 05min 58.8sec

9. A Araujo/M Ramalho                      PRT                 Mini John Cooper        1hr 06min 35.5sec

10 H Paddon/J Kennard                    NZL                 Skoda Fabia S2000    1hr 07min 34.4sec

 

For more information: Contact Mark Wilford or Russell Atkins at the Ford World Rally Team media desk in Auckland Tel: + 64 9 352 2826. Images available at www.worldrallypics.com/ford