MOTORSPORT NEWS Rally

Ogier wins in Poland!

So after another gruelling round of the 2015 World Rally Championship, it’s the double World Champion that takes the win here in Rally Poland. It wasn’t always easy – Ogier fought hard to gain first place and then to hold it. His teammate, Andreas Mikkelsen, was breathing down his neck at all times, but in the end Ogier took victory with an 11.9s buffer. Mikkelsen finished in second place, delighted but a little disheartened too, with 11.1s between him and the M-Sport golden boy, Ott Tanak.
Sebastien Ogier
Sebastien Ogier

Tanak is absolutely the tale of this event, and if there was a ‘Man of the Stages’ award, it would certainly go to him. Leading the rally in the beginning before suffering from a few issues, Tanak fought tooth and nail to propel himself into the final spot on that podium.

It was huge disappointment for Jari-Matti Latvala, who narrowly missed out on third place after hitting a tree on the final stage of the event. ‘It happened in the forest. I got too fast in a left-hander and couldn’t get in. Can we complete? I don’t know. We have lost the radiator, but we will try.’ Latvala is currently stopped on the 11km road section, and if he doesn’t make it back to service, he will not finish the rally.

Hyundai Motorsport’s Hayden Paddon finishes in fifth place overall after a solid, consistent weekend. It’s been a successful event for Paddon, despite not finishing in a podium place. Most importantly for him, he’s been faster than both Neuville and Sordo on almost every stage, and has proven his worth to Hyundai ten times over this weekend. ‘It’s not a podium finishes, but it feels as good as with our performance here.’ he said at the stage end.

Thierry Neuville finishes in sixth place, happy to win some manufacturer points for Hyundai after having a nasty roll on SS18. It’s Citroën Racing’s Kris Meeke in seventh overall, with Robert Kubica in eighth. Mads Ostberg completes Rally Poland in ninth place after a tricky weekend, where he found it hard to discover and then maintain a rhythm. Hyundai Motorsport’s Dani Sordo rounds out the top ten.

In WRC2, Skoda’s Esapekka Lappi takes the win here in Poland, followed by teammate Pontus Tidemand in second and Karl Kruuda in third.

Ott Tanak
Ott Tanak
 Story  by: iRallylive.com
Top fifteen overall:
Car Cls Total time
Penalties
Diff. Fast.
Prev.
1 1 FRAS. OGIER
FRAJ. INGRASSIA
VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC RC1 2:26:11.5
**:**.*
**:**.*
2 9 NORA. MIKKELSEN
NORO. FLOENE
VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC RC1 2:26:23.4
00:11.9
00:11.9
3 6 ESTO. TANAK
ESTR. MOLDER
FORD FIESTA RS WRC RC1 2:26:34.5
00:23.0
00:11.1
4 2 FINJ. LATVALA
FINM. ANTTILA
VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC RC1 2:26:56.2
00:44.7
00:21.7
5 20 NZLH. PADDON
NZLJ. KENNARD
HYUNDAI i20 WRC RC1 2:27:26.1
01:14.6
00:29.9
6 7 BELT. NEUVILLE
BELN. GILSOUL
HYUNDAI i20 WRC RC1 2:27:56.0
01:44.5
00:29.9
7 3 GBRK. MEEKE
IRLP. NAGLE
CITROËN DS3 WRC RC1 2:28:09.2
01:57.7
00:13.2
8 14 POLR. KUBICA
POLM. SZCZEPANIAK
FORD FIESTA RS WRC RC1 2:28:19.8
02:08.3
00:10.6
9 4 NORM. OSTBERG
SWEJ. ANDERSSON
CITROËN DS3 WRC RC1 2:28:29.7
[0:10]
02:18.2
00:09.9
10 8 ESPD. SORDO
ESPM. MARTI
HYUNDAI i20 WRC RC1 2:28:59.9
02:48.4
00:30.2
11 21 CZEM. PROKOP
CZEJ. TOMANEK
FORD FIESTA RS WRC RC1 2:30:54.8
04:43.3
01:54.9
12 43 FINE. LAPPI
FINJ. FERM
SKODA FABIA R5 RC2 2:32:02.6
05:51.1
01:07.8
13 40 SWEP. TIDEMAND
SWEE. AXELSSON
SKODA FABIA R5 RC2 2:32:58.7
06:47.2
00:56.1
14 36 ESTK. KRUUDA
ESTM. JARVEOJA
CITROËN DS3 R5 RC2 2:34:07.9
07:56.4
01:09.2
15 10 NLDK. ABBRING
GBRS. MARSHALL
HYUNDAI i20 WRC RC1 2:34:49.2
08:37.7
00:41.3
16 37 ITAL. BERTELLI
ITAL. GRANAI
FORD FIESTA RS WRC RC1 2:34:57.5
08:46.0
00:08.3
17 38 FINJ. KETOMAA
FINK. LINDSTROM
FORD FIESTA R5 RC2 2:36:56.7
10:45.2
01:59.2
18 44 DEUA. KREMER
DEUP. WINKLHOFER
SKODA FABIA R5 RC2 2:37:14.5
11:03.0
00:17.8
19 76 FINT. SUNINEN
FINM. MARKKULA
SKODA FABIA S2000 RC2 2:37:28.2
11:16.7
00:13.7
20 41 PERN. FUCHS
ARGF. MUSSANO
FORD FIESTA R5 RC2 2:38:41.0
12:29.5
01:12.8
21 48 ESTS. PARN
GBRJ. MORGAN
FORD FIESTA R5 RC2 2:39:41.1
[1:00]
13:29.6
01:00.1
22 5 GBRE. EVANS
GBRD. BARRITT
FORD FIESTA RS WRC RC1 3:10:21.0
44:09.5
30:39.9