Solid second day for Abu Dhabi-backed Ford team in Ireland
The second leg of this year’s Rally Ireland was a day of consolidation for the BP-Ford World Rally Team, in partnership with Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Following Marcus Grönholm’s retirement from the event yesterday, Mikko Hirvonen rose to the challenge of maximising the team’s points haul as it chases the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ title.
In the team’s third Abu Dhabi-branded Ford Focus RS WRC, the emirate’s rally representative, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi settled into a safe pace as he strove to maximise his experience and mileage on his last outing in the 2007 WRC, climbing from 27th overnight to 19th by the end of the leg.
Rain began to fall as the crews headed for the first of the day’s six stages, meaning that by the time the cars arrived at the start of the first test, the surface was wet. Hirvonen picked up where he left off at the end of the first day, settling into a steady pace in fourth place, behind fellow Finnish Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala and the two leading Citroens.
It was an uneventful day for the cautious Hirvonen and he returned to Sligo and parc ferme maintaining the fourth place he held all day. Hirvonen needs to finish in sixth place or better for Ford to clinch the Manufacturer’s title this weekend, so will be mindful of this as he tackles the event’s final four stages tomorrow.
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi also settled into a safe pace for the day, in conditions that he had not experienced in his career and which even the local drivers were finding extremely tricky. “I have never seen conditions like this before,” said the Emirati driver. “I feel like I’ve had to learn to drive all over again. I was constantly studying the road to try to establish where the grip was and how it changed.
“At times, it felt like the grip was not too bad but at other times, I had to slow down considerably to make sure that we stayed on the road. Once we got to the mid-day service, we heard from the safety crew that the roads were now covered in puddles and standing water, so we knew that the afternoon would be just as tricky.”
Following service, the crews returned to the same three stages for the afternoon’s action. As predicted, there was plenty of standing water on the surface but an early hiccup for Al Qassimi had an unexpected benefit. His Ford Focus RS WC stalled on the startline of the first of the three stages and he lost around 15 seconds getting the engine running again. However, once it was, he upped his pace to make up some of the lost time.
“I was pushing harder for the whole stage and it was the best of the event so far for me,” he explained. “I also pushed harder on the second of the three and this also felt very good. However, the final stage of the day was very wet – water was running across the road so I decided to ease off the pace a little and ensure that I did not make any mistakes.”
Despite this, Al Qassimi still managed to arrive at the final service of the second day with a bent wheel rim, following a collision with a hazard. “I was pushing hard and hit something with the front right wheel. However, we got to the end of the stage and changed it there, so it was not such a big problem.”
His approach to the action on the second day clearly paid off, as the Emirati climbed up the leaderboard, from a starting position of 27th in the morning to 19th by the end of the day.
The third and final leg of the event sees the crews depart the service park in Sligo for four stages before returning to the Clarion Hotel headquarters at 14.40hrs for the finish ceremony. However, Al Qassimi predicts the weather may once again play a part in the outcome. “There are still fur stages to complete tomorrow and how they play out will depend mainly on the weather. If it is wet like today, it will be quite tricky again but if it is drier, it will be more enjoyable and I will be able to push.
“After a weekend of weather like this, I will be glad to get back to the UAE to begin preparations for the final round of the Middle East Rally Championship, in Abu Dhabi’s neighbouring emirate, Dubai. It will be quite strange to be there, fighting for the MERC title while my team-mates are at Wales Rally GB, fighting for the WRC Drivers’ title but of course, I hope very much that we will all be able to celebrate together in two weeks’ time.”
About Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates which form the United Arab Emirates (UAE), forming 80% of the country’s land-mass and is home to the capital, Abu Dhabi City. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has embarked on a dynamic campaign to develop a world-class infrastructure as an up-scale sporting, cultural and leisure destination, aimed at discerning visitors. In rallying, Abu Dhabi has formed a ground-breaking partnership with the BP-Ford World Rally Team in the FIA World Rally Championship, as well as developing a three-car national team competing in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), Team Abu Dhabi. The nation hosts a round of the FIA Historic Rally Championship and the UAE also hosts the final round of the MERC. Abu Dhabi has launched a host of global sporting initiatives, including the European Tour-backed Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and from 2009, it will host a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The nation has recently announced plans to welcome some of the world’s most famous cultural icons, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.