Abu Dhabi, FIA WRC Round 2 preview, Uddeholm Swedish Rally
The second round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews to Sweden for the only true snow rally of this year’s series. Based in the town of Karlstad, 250Km west of Stockholm, the event runs on gravel roads through the forests of the Varmland region, normally frozen and covered in compacted snow and ice. This year, unseasonably warm weather has caused some concern over the amount of snow but one week before the event, the snow began and the organisers are pledging the event will run to its usual high standard.
Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala are rightly expected to do well on the event. Both grew up on gravel roads in their native Finland and snow and ice are no stranger to either of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT’s nominated drivers. Hirvonen’s best result in Sweden is third in 2007 but then, just a week later, he won the second of two snow rallies that year, in Norway.
In contrast, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi has almost no experience of snow and ice to speak of. Therefore he will have to build his techniques and experience once again as he goes along, adopting his now-trademark approach of beginning slowly and improving his pace steadily as he gets to grips with the conditions.
Key factor:
As snowfall has been lower this year than previous editions, one factor that may prove decisive is the drivers’ reliance on the snowbanks at the side of the road. Traditionally, these could be up to 75cm-100cm deep and would help the keep the car on the road if it slid wide slightly. Therefore, drivers would tend to ‘lean’ on the banks to gain additional speed, knowing that they would help keep the car on the road. However, with the warmer winter and lower snowfall, the banks may well be considerably smaller and softer by the time the drivers arrive, meaning that they will not offer the same degree of protection as they may be used to.
Quotes:
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi:
“It’s actually quite difficult for me to think about Sweden, for several reasons. Firstly, I’ve only just got back to Abu Dhabi from the Monte Carlo rally and am still recovering! With the jet-lag between Europe and Abu Dhabi and the long days and distances of the event, it was incredibly tiring. I also have WRC TV coming over to Abu Dhabi this week to carry out interviews and filming, so there is that to plan for as well.
“Finally, I have almost no experience of driving on snow and ice, so it is very difficult to think about how I will approach the rally itself. I gather that there is snow in the area of the rally and more to come, so that is good.
“I have only driven on snow and ice for one very brief test around one year ago so have very little experience of it. However, what is clear is that it will be completely different to tarmac or gravel. At this stage I will be imagining that the crests and jumps are just like driving over the sand dunes of Abu Dhabi – hopefully the car will behave in a similar way on the surface.
“Once again, the right approach will only come from as much experience and mileage on the rally as possible. We will start with a steady pace to understand the conditions and how the car works in them and then build from there. For example, on tarmac, you lean on the car to get traction whereas on gravel, you tend to slide more to get the car pointing on the right direction before getting maximum traction. I gather that the technique on snow and ice is to keep the wheels spinning so the studs cut into the snow and ice as much as possible but of course, I will not begin to develop that until we arrive for the rally itself.”
Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
“After the excellent result in Monte Carlo, we are looking forward to the Swedish Rally with interest. The conditions should suit Mikko and Jari-Matti well and we are hopeful that they will be able to record an even more impressive result, with the full backing of the Abu Dhabi-partnered BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team and its enormous experience and expertise.
“It will be a trickier event for Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, as he has never competed on snow and ice before and the conditions in Sweden will be as different from those in Abu Dhabi as he will encounter in the entire WRC. However, the diversity of the environments and conditions that the WRC encompasses are what make the sport such an integral part of our programme to develop Abu Dhabi as a world-class destination for leisure, culture and commerce.
“We are confident that although Sheikh Khalid is more used to the superb climate and hours of sunshine in Abu Dhabi, he will approach the rally in Sweden with his trademark professionalism and once again, prove the ideal representative for the emirate of Abu Dhabi in the world’s most dramatic form of motorsport.”
Abu Dhabi Fact of the Day:
Two years ago, the temperature at the Hagfors service park on the second day of the event, Saturday, was recorded at -27°C. In contrast, the lowest temperature recorded at Abu Dhabi International airport in the last 25 years was 5.6°C in 1991. The average temperature in south-west Sweden during February is between -5°C and -1°C while in Abu Dhabi in the same month, it is between 14°C and 25°C.
Entries:
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen
4. Jari-Matti Latvala/Matti Antilla
23. Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr