Uddeholm Rally Sweden Day 2
The BP Ford Abu Dhabi team maintained its domination of the second round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship, the Uddeholm Swedish Rally today, building on its excellent position from the first day. Jari-Matti Latvala continues to lead the event, from team-mate Mikko Hirvonen in second. Latvala began the day where he left off last night, leading from the front. He set consistently fast times to begin with, despite being in a relatively safe position. A string of top three stage times mean that he ends the second day with a 50 second margin. Hirvonen admitted to starting the day with the intention of catching his younger team-mate but did not feel he was fully on the pace to begin with. Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi had a more eventful day. He slid wide on the first of the day’s stages and into a ditch by the side of the road. The enthusiastic Swedish rally fans helped him get his Ford Focus RS back onto the road but it took ten minutes, sending him tumbling down the overall leaderboard. On the next stage, he clipped a snowbank and filled the Focus’ radiator with snow. He had to stop while co-driver
Michael Orr removed the snow to prevent the engine overheating and he then went off the road again on the day’s penultimate stage, with spectators again helping him back into the action. One consolation for Al Qassimi was that he won the award for the longest jump at Colin’s Crest, set up to honour the former champion Colin McRae, who died last year. Al Qassimi jumped his Focus 36m to the delight of the crowds of fans – a just reward for their efforts in keeping him in the rally.
Quotes
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi: “What a day! I had lifted my pace a little to start with and had cut the deficit to Matthew Wilson, who I was using as a measure, from 1.5 seconds/kilometre yesterday to 0.5sec/Km on the first few splits of the first stage this morning. Then, I tried to brake a little late in one corner which tightened and we slid off the road and down into a ditch. The spectators at that spot did a fantastic job – they literally lifted the car back onto the road but we lost around ten minutes in the process. “On the next stage, we slid wide again and clipped a snow-bank. Because of the damage from the previous stage, the radiator filled with snow and the engine temperature started to go up. Michael told me to stop and he cleared it but we had to look for a junction where we could stop. The team checked the data and the engine was fine, so we carried on. “This afternoon, I was pushing a little bit again to rebuild the confidence and was experimenting with differential settings. However, we slid into a ditch again and with the help of the spectators, regained the road but lost another five minutes or so. So it’s been a bad day for me but I am very glad to be here – it’s all part of the experience. “I am delighted to win the longest jump at Colin’s Crest though. To have my name associated with that of one of the greatest names in motorsport is an honour and I am very proud, both for the team and for Abu Dhabi.”
Tomorrow
The final stage of the day takes the crews back to the area around Hagfors, for six more stages, two loops of three. They then return to Karlstad for the podium ceremony at 15.08hrs.
Abu Dhabi Fact of the Day
The highest point the rally climbs to is approximately 400m above see level. This is only slightly higher than the sand dunes of the Abu Dhabi desert, which can top more than 300m high each, from the base to the tip.