Abu Dhabi, Rallye Monte Carlo, Day 3
Mikko Hirvonen consolidated his excellent performance from the first two days of the event. He set top four stage times on each of today’s six timed tests and with the retirement from the leg of Citroen’s Dani Sordo after going off the road, moved up to second by the end of the day.
Jari-Matti Latvala was hampered by gear-shift problems in the morning, having to resort to changing gear mechanically with the in-car lever. This cost him some time over the three stages and he dropped to tenth place by the mid-day service. However, on the first of the afternoon’s stages, he hit a rock and damaged his suspension too much to continue, retiring from the leg.
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi endured a tricky morning, coping with frosty road conditions and foggy patches. He struggled to find confidence on the stages, compounded by his uncharacteristic accident on the second day. He also suffered a half-spin and stalled the engine several times while turning his car round, losing time. His afternoon was only slightly less eventful, as he adopted a steady pace to end the day in 24th overall, two places higher than his start position despite brake problems.
Quotes
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi:
“This morning was very tricky. I had little confidence in the conditions and was working to build it. The grip levels were constantly changing and that made things difficult. I had a half-spin in the last of the three stages this morning and thought I would be able to just drive over the kerb. However, there were trees next to the road so I had to turn around. As the engine was hot, it stalled several times and we lost around 20-30 seconds.
“We had some brake problems this morning but they returned this afternoon. The brake pedal was pumping up and this again didn’t help with the confidence to push. Michael and I had to bleed the brakes between each of the stages but we made it to the end of the day and I am sure the team will be able to repair the car for tomorrow’s stages.”
Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority:
“Once again, Mikko is demonstrating exactly the approach which led to him becoming the number one driver with the Abu Dhabi-partnered team. Jari-Matti’s problems are unfortunate but as we’ve seen, this kind of thing can happen to any driver. Sheikh Khalid displayed perseverance and determination in the face of difficult conditions and this is nothing less than we would expect from a driver such as him.”
Tomorrow
The final day of the event, day four, takes the crews south, closer to the principality of Monaco. Having left parc ferme in Monte Carlo overnight, the crews tackle two pairs of stages run back-to-back before the final, superspecial stage run on part of the Grand Prix circuit in the centre of the principality. The traditional finish ceremony takes place in front of the Palace to end the event.
Abu Dhabi Fact of the Day
Many of the WRC family were forced to remove frost and ice from their cars this morning, as they prepared to head for the start of the day. In contrast, Abu Dhabi city has never experienced snow or ice since weather records began and this morning, the temperature was 19°C.