Fermanagh honoured to launch World Rally Championship 2009
30/01/2009
For almost 30 years the World Rally Championship has been
launched under the gaze of millionaires lounging on the decks of their yachts
in Monaco harbour. While the start of the 2009 campaign is once again held in a
town renowned for its shoreline, you are unlikely to see many of the rich and
famous sipping champagne on the decks of their boats on Lough Erne when
Sebastien Loeb rolls off the start ramp at Enniskillen Castle.
Rally Ireland, and Enniskillen in particular, has the honour of hosting the
start of this year’s eagerly anticipated World Rally Championship, and the
local roads are set to provide the championship contenders with a tough and
demanding start to the season. In 2007 the event’s debut in the WRC calendar
drew acknowledgement from many of the front runners that Rally Ireland provided
one of the most difficult challenges of the 16 rally season, and with the date
of the event now switched to January, spectators can once again expect to
witness plenty of thrills and spills as the top drivers in the world pit their
skills against the challenging terrain.
This year’s entry list has been hit hard by the current economic climate,
with the emphasis very much on quality rather than quantity. The 90 entries
received for the 2007 event has plummeted this year to only 43, and this has
been further reduced by a handful of late withdrawals. Notable by their absence
are some of the top Irish Tarmac Championship competitors. Regulars such as
Eugene Donnelly and Kevin Lynch have decided to save their rallying budget for
their home championship, although Fermanagh fans will have the chance to watch
both Niall McShea and Garry Jennings contest their local WRC round.
Leading the field away from the Enniskillen ceremonial start will be 2007
Rally Ireland winner and reigning World Champion Sebastien Loeb. The Frenchman
is regarded as a tarmac master, and his dominance on sealed surfaces was
demonstrated in supreme style last time out, emerging with a victory margin of
almost a minute. It is a win that he is heavily fancied to repeat this year.
Second off the start ramp is Loeb’s team mate Dani Sordo. The Spaniard
claimed second place in 2007, and a repeat of that 1-2 finish would give
Citroen the perfect start to the defense of their manufacturer’s title. The
most likely car to break the Citroen dominance is Ford, with both Mikko
Hirvonen and Jari Matti Latvala hoping to start the campaign with a maximum
haul of championship points. Marcus Gronholm was Ford number one driver in 2007
before his Irish adventure ended courtesy of a Sligo stone wall, but with the
Finn retiring from the sport the emphasis has switched to Hirvonen and Latvala.
Hirvonen finished second in the championship last year and is regarded as Loeb
main threat this season, while Latvala has experience of Irish roads and
mounted a WRC podium for the first time ever following his third place in 2007.
A quartet of Fords is completed by Urmo Aava, who is making his debut in the
Stobart backed car, and Henning Solberg who crashed heavily on his last visit.
Outside the top four the main challenge is likely to come from former Subaru
driver Chris Atkinson. Following Subaru’s withdrawal from the championship the
Australian is making his debut in a Citroen, and one of the unknowns of this
rally is how quickly he can adapt to his new mount.
Another Citroen driver keen to make an impression will be reigning Junior
World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier. Fresh from victory on the Monte Carlo
last weekend, the newcomer is expected to take time to acclimatize to the unfamiliar
conditions but could well be setting competitive times by Sunday afternoon.
Just outside the top ten are a batch of competitors likely to be more
familiar with the conditions. Matthew Wilson, Eamon Boland, Gareth MacHale and
Tim McNulty will all be hoping maximize local knowledge and get in amongst the
world stars.
1 Sebastien Loeb F Daniel Elena MC Citroen C4 A8
2 Dani Sordo E Marc Marti E Citroen C4 A8
3 Mikko Hirvonen FIN Jarmo Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus WRC 08 A8
4 Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Miikka Antilla FIN Ford Focus WRC 08 A8
5 Urmo Aava EE Kuldar Sikk EE Ford Focus WRC 08 A8
6 Henning Solberg N Cato Menkerud N Ford Focus WRC 08 A8
7 Chris Atkinson AUS Stephane Prevot F Citroen C4 WRC A8
