WRC 2009.

The world rally championship for 2009.


Dates :

Rally Ireland	30/1 - 1/2/09
Rally Norway	13 - 15/2/09
Cyprus Rally	13 - 15/3/09
Vodafone Rally de Portugal	2 - 5/4/09
Rally Argentina	24 - 26/4/09
Rally d'Italia Sardegna	22 - 24/5/09
Acropolis Rally of Greece	12 - 14/6/09
Rally Poland	26 - 28/6/09
Neste Oil Rally Finland	31/7 - 2/8/09
Repco Rally Australia	4 - 6/9/09
Movistar RACC Rallye de España	2 - 4/10/09
Wales Rally GB	23 - 25/10/09

Latest news .

Loeb wins Rally Ireland!

Sebastien Loeb negotiated the
final 1.5km Donegal Town stage without a hitch to take victory on the
2009 Rally Ireland this afternoon The result was Loeb’s 48th
career win and his second on the Irish round of the World Rally
Championship, which he last won in 2007. His team-mate Dani
Sordo finished second, as he had done in 2007, making it an emphatic
one-two result for the Citroen Total World Rally Team. “It’s
been a really tough rally but I’m very happy to take the 10 points,”
said Loeb. “Tarmac rallies are especially important to me. This one has
been tricky for everyone, but now we’re here at the finish with maximum
points. It’s a good start to the season!” Second place netted
Dani Sordo eight points in the 2009 drivers’ championship. “It’s a
really, really good result for us to start the year with,” said the
Spaniard. “I’m happy for me and for the team. The conditions have been
bad - we’ve had some crazy stages - but it’s been a great result!” Mikko
Hirvonen finished third in his BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team Focus RS WRC,
collecting six championship points and slotting behind Sordo in the
2009 drivers’ standings. “It’s a good start to the season,”
said the Finn. “We had some problems this weekend; I was hoping I could
fight with Sordo but maybe that will come another time. It’s still a
good start to my season. Now I’m looking forward to the next round in
Norway.” Henning Solberg finished fourth in his Stobart VK
M-Sport Ford team Focus. The result was the Norwegians best ever finish
on a WRC asphalt rally. “It’s a big step for me and I am very, very
happy!” said the Norwegian. “I think everybody had problems on this
rally, but we got to the finish and now we’re ready for my home rally.
In Norway I want to change the positions of the Fords and the Citroens
- I’m going for victory there.” After his penultimate stage
mistake Citroen Junior Team driver Chris Atkinson brought his C4 WRC to
the finish in fifth. “I’m still really happy,” said the Australian. “At
the end we made a mistake, but we had a good, solid day yesterday. The
guys at the team did a great job and the car ran perfectly. This is an
amazing car to drive and I want to do some more events in it. Now we
want to get some backers on board to make that happen.” Atkinson’s
team-mate Sebastien Ogier finished sixth - on only his second outing in
a WRC specification car. “Overall it’s been a good experience,” said
Ogier. “We got more experience, we made it to the finish and we got
three points for the championship. It was good I think.” Matthew
Wilson was seventh, taking two points on his 50th World Championship
Rally. “I think it’s the first time I’ve finished round one with some
points,” said the Brit. “I’m a little bit disappointed with the
conditions, as they didn’t allow us to push. But I enjoyed the Super
Special - I think we were the most sideways!”In eighth place,
and collecting his first ever WRC drivers’ point, was Khalid Al Qassimi
of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team. “It’s the first rally of the new season,
and to score a point is a good thing,” said Khalid. “It’s not been an
easy event but I’ve lifted my pace after problems early on. I got back
up and it’s ended up being a good event for me. I hope we’ll get better
and better as the season progresses.”Local hero Eamonn Boland
brought his privately entered Subaru Impreza across the line in ninth.
“It’s great to finish as top Irishman,” said Boland. “Everything went
perfectly this year, and it’s great to be able to do that here in
Ireland!”

Estonian Urmo Aava rounded off the top ten. “I’m
happy that we were able to lead a rally for the first time in our lives
- that is very important to us,” he said. “If you look at the rally
overall it’s been positive. We got lots of experience of the car and
this rally, and that’s going to be good for the next time.”



I saw a little of it last night and i would keep a eye on Sebastien Ogier , he is up and coming imo. Here is looking forward to a good years racing.