The Stobart team’s guest driver Francois Duval was in charge of the wrc.com Pirelli driver blog for ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Francois sent this second and final update on Sunday, after a rally which certainly didn’t go to plan.

Blog two: Sunday 22 August, 1200hrs.

“I should have posted three blog updates during Rallye Deutschland. But unfortunately, after a crash on day two, I can sum it up in two...

Obviously it’s very disappointing to have to retire, especially as things had been going pretty well on Saturday and I’d found a good rhythm and set some stage times I was pleased with.

By then we were playing catch-up, having dropped almost two minutes with a broken driveshaft on SS3. But we pushed on, catching up with some of the top five drivers and getting more and more confident as the rally went on. I was pushing hard to try and hold a lead over Petter [Solberg] when we crashed.

I don’t know exactly what happened because up to that point the car had felt easy to drive. But on a right-hand corner, about 7km from the end of Panzerplatte, the car understeered a lot and we went off the road. We touched a huge stone on the exit of the corner and that’s when the car rolled.

So it’s been a difficult weekend, but one with some positives. We’ve had some problems, but also sometimes our stage times were quite good. In the end though I lost too much time on the first day with the driveshaft. After that all I could do was try my best.

Two years away from the WRC is a long time to be off but I feel I still have the speed to compete with the best drivers. When the car was going well my times were good. In fact on the first pass though the Panzerplatte I was the fastest Ford driver. So I’m still going to try and do more rallies this year.

I’m working with my sponsors to try and put together two more Ford drives in France and Spain. So if things go well I hope my next rally will be in about six week’s time. My back feels a bit sore today, and Denis [Giraudet, co-driver] has two broken ribs, but we’ll both be okay for that.

Beyond that I don’t know, but there are many manufacturers interested next year, so there might be some more opportunities to come.”

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit: www.pirellityre.com

The Stobart team’s guest driver Francois Duval is in charge of the wrc.com Pirelli driver blog for Rallye Deutschland.

The 29-year-old Belgian is known for his skill on tarmac and has tackled the German WRC round every year since it joined the WRC in 2002. He finished second to Sebastien Loeb in 2004, 2005 and in 2007; where he finished just 20 seconds behind. His last outing at the Trier-based event was with the Stobart M-Sport Ford team in 2008 when he finished third.

He’s more than capable of worrying the front-runners, and after admitting he’s hoping his Stobart Ford World Rally Team drive could be the start of a full-time return to the sport, he’ll be out to prove it this week.

Francois sent this first blog after Thursday’s Shakedown. He’ll bring us another on Saturday night and a post event review next week.

Blog one: Thursday 19 August, 1800hrs.

“What can I say? I’m extremely happy to be back in the WRC. I’ve been mainly competing in rallycross this year but it feels great to be back behind the wheel of a World Rally Car. I’d forgotten how much fun it is!

Up until last week, I hadn’t been in a rally car since November 2009 and it’s been nearly two years since I’ve actually competed in a WRC round - it felt very strange being back behind the wheel of a [Ford] Focus RS WRC. I was lucky to do over 250km testing before the rally and the recce yesterday went well - on some stages there was a lot of mud on the road but I am used to driving in those conditions so it didn’t cause me problems.

Rallye Deutschland is one of my favourite rallies on the WRC calendar, I couldn’t have wished for a better event to mark my WRC return. It is similar to the roads in my home country of Belgium so I know what to expect.

That doesn’t mean this makes things easy for me. There is a lot more gravel on the stages compared to 2008 and I’m up against some very tough competition. The days are very long and the 48km stage on Saturday will be tough; it was difficult last time but I think it is another 10km longer this year. I would have preferred if that stage could have been on Friday so we could have got it out of the way but everyone is in the same position and nobody will find it an easy stage. There could be a lot of action on that stage, the smallest error could prove decisive so it’s definitely one to look out for.

Shakedown today went well but on the final run I had problems with my steering so took it very slowly - it was not the time to take risks. We got a bit of a surprise when we saw some motorbikes doing stunts on the stage - that was certainly a new experience for me! When I got back into service after shakedown, Denis [Giraudet] and I had a long chat with our engineer and we agreed to change the steering rack and power steering pump tonight which should make a better set-up for the morning. I’m a little disappointed I’m running tenth on the starting order tomorrow - I would have liked to have started closer to the front but I will try not to focus on this too much and make sure that I try to get into a good rhythm as quickly as possible. I think to feel comfortable and to find the right rhythm in the Focus is most important this weekend.

After shakedown, I had a media event in the Ford service area and then was requested to attend the FIA pre event press conference. In the conference, I was asked why I’d returned to the WRC and if I was going to be looking to do more WRC rounds. It’s difficult to say at the moment - I’d like to compete at Spain and France later this year but it’s just going to have to depend on sponsors and also on how I get on over the weekend. Ask me this one on Sunday - I’ll probably have a clearer answer.

I’d like to say that I could compete with the front-runners and finish at the podium like I did in 2008, but taking into account the amount of time I’ve had away from the rally car I need to be more realistic. So I guess I don’t really have a strategy for the weekend - I’m just looking to stay on the road and if I finish in the top five, I will be very happy."

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit: www.pirellityre.com

Blog three: Thursday 15 July, 1000hrs.

"Well, I've been home for three days now, but still the good result in Bulgaria still puts a smile on my face. Not only thinking about the podium, but there were a few other aspects that we managed well during the weekend.

First we have the new co-driver. We still need more time to adjust properly to each other in the car, but over the weekend Chris proved to be a really quick learner, and that is promising for the future. Second we learned that we really can be competitive on tarmac, and with more experience and practice, I know we can be even faster. This rally we also made the correct tyre choice, thanks to our brilliant weather crew and safety crew.

I flew home really early Monday morning, so had to leave from hotel at 6am. And to be honest, as we had a really good time Sunday evening celebrating the podium, I found it really hard to get up and into the taxi. The only thing I looked forward to was to get on the plane and get some more sleep. No such luck. I got a seat at the back on the plane, the seat could not be adjusted and there were barely room for my legs. Longest flight ever!

Yesterday, Pernilla [Petter's wife] and I were invited to a reception in Oslo, that the US Ambassador was arranging for the owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. I met a lot of interesting people, and of course it was nice to meet the man himself, John W. Henry, and his wife.

Tomorrow I'm off to a weekend racing cross carts, together with Pernilla and Oliver [Petter's son]. They're a sort of mixture between a kart and a rally car, so they're perfect for learning car control. Oliver will compete, and so will I. This is mainly for Oliver, but cross karting is such good fun, I cannot just watch - I have to try!

Thanks for reading the blogs this weekend and wish us luck in Finland."

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit: www.pirellityre.com

Rally Bulgaria Blog two: Saturday 10 July, 2000hrs.

"Two days of the rally are done, and I must admit that third overall after the second day is a bit better than I expected. It has been good fun so far, and I really enjoy being able to having a proper fight for fastest times. Today didn't start as good as I hoped for, but three stage wins on the second loop made up for that.

This is only our second event in a C4 on tarmac, the first was in Spain in 2009. We did do two days of testing last weekend, but the conditions were dry and hot, so we have actually not been on wet and muddy conditions before. Still, here we are fighting with the leaders. And let me tell you, being a privateer fighting with the might of the big manufacturers feels extremely good.

Both our weather crew and safety crews did a perfect day today. Actually, we couldn't afford a proper weather crew, so the team found some willing locals to camp out all night on the stages and give us the latest news. It was a great strategy that helped us made the correct tyre choice. When you realise the other teams have gone on something different you always think to yourself; do they have information we don't have?! Today they didn't. We chose soft compound for the morning loop and hard for the afternoon, and that proved to be the right choice.

Another issue this weekend is the new voice inside my car. After having Phil in my car for that many years, I thought it would feel very strange having a different person beside you, but actually it doesn't. Chris does have a different voice - and a very different accent - but it is going perfectly well. I would think our stage wins today proves that we are a good match. In fact, the first stage win today is Chris´ first WRC stage win ever. Great news for him, and great for us too - because it means he has to pay for the beer on Sunday evening!

That's all for now. Wish us luck and I'll be back to let you know how we got on."

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit: www.pirellityre.com

Rally Bulgaria blog one: Thursday 8 July, 1600hrs.

"As I'm sure you can imagine, the build up for this rally was quite different from other rallies, but I think it will work quite well with a new co-driver inside the car. I almost could not believe it when Phil told me he wanted to stop, but I fully understand his reasons and now I'm prepared to make the best out of it. To be honest, my new co-driver Chris has some really big shoes to fill. But, from the first moment he sat in my car at the shoot-out, I could just feel his calmness and confidence. I'm sure he will be up to the challenge.

We started the week with a two day test, and on Sunday evening [4 July] we moved up to our hotel in Borovets. When I checked in, I got a key and the girl in reception told me I had to use it in the lift to make it go up to the 4th floor. At first I didn't really understand why, but when the doors in the lift opened up, I did. My hotel-room is a two floor apartment, and the lift opens straight into the living room. It is absolutely unbelievable. I have never had a hotel room as big. I almost get lost trying to find the bedroom...

Tuesday we started with the recce, and since this is the first time here, I was quite excited about seeing the stages. And I can tell you for sure; this will be a thrilling weekend. The stages are tricky and completely different from Spain and Corsica. There are a lot of changes in the surface and long corners, so you have to have the perfect pace notes to avoid getting a closer look at the Bulgarian forests. Timing for delivery of pace notes from co-driver to driver is going to be vital, so Chris is not getting an easy start in his new job!

That's it for now; I have to rush down to the autograph-session and the ceremonial start this evening. I'll write another update on Saturday to let you know how we're getting on."

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit: www.pirellityre.com

Blog three: Wednesday 3 June, 1400hrs.

"Phew, that was a tough one...

Rally de Portugal is a great event in a superb location, but there was no time for sightseeing for me. It was a tight schedule on this event so we were totally focused on the rally from start to finish and didn’t get to see much apart from dusty rocky roads.

The stages were really tough, a lot rougher than in previous years and certainly some of the hardest in the WRC so far in 2010. It was a hard event on both the cars and the tyres. On every loop we had to be a little bit careful on the tyres and just think about how we managed them to avoid punctures. In some ways that’s difficult as you always want to drive flat out, but I think it brings another element of challenge and strategy to the rally too.

The opening day on Friday was pretty good for Scott and I and we didn’t have any big problems. Saturday was a different story though as we struggled with brake issues and that cost us a lot of time over the course of the day. We were back on it on Sunday though and to round it off with a second-fastest time in the Algarve Stadium in front of all the fans was a great way to finish the event. The atmosphere at the stadium is always brilliant and the crowd really gets behind the drivers, so you always want to put on a show for them. It was a real shame my team-mate Henning Solberg had to retire on the last day though, as we had been having a good battle during the rally and we were on for a good combined points haul for the Stobart M-Sport Ford team.

Now I’m back in Cumbria there’s no time to stop either. Scott and I are about to head off on the Tour de Corse, a 985km charity cycle challenge. We’re doing it in aid of the RPJ Crohn’s Foundation, which was set up earlier this year by our friend Rick Parfitt Jnr to help raise funds to support the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). It’s brilliant cause so we’re aiming to raise at least £5000.

It’s going to be a real slog but we’ve done plenty of training for it and Scott and I are really looking forward to seeing more of the island of Corsica than we do on a rally. You do realise when you’re driving it’s a spectacular place, you just don’t get much time to enjoy it as the scenery whizzes past the window at well over 100kmh! It’s a place steeped in rally history so we’re hoping to get a lot of support from the fans over there whole we are pedalling away.

We’ll also be promoting M-Sport’s home town of Cockermouth as we go with big stickers on our motorhome. The area has had a hard time over the past year or so due to the floods and so on, so we want to raise awareness that it’s open for business and tourism again. We’ll be posting regular pics and updates to our Facebook page along the way so be sure to check out it out: www.facebook.com/pages/Tour-de-Corse/115014471868039.

When we get back it’s straight into preparations for Rally Bulgaria. It’s a tarmac event so I’ll be doing some work with my driver coach just to get into the groove for the change of surface.

Until then I’ll be on my bike!

MW

For more information on the challenge including route and photographs, please visit: www.tourdecorse.co.uk

Anyone who would like to help with Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin’s fundraising can donate online via the Justgiving website: www.justgiving.com/tourdecorse

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
www.pirellityre.com

Blog two: Saturday 29 May, 2000hrs.

"Portugal is definitely one of the hardest rallies in the WRC calendar and today has been a tough day.

I had some problems with my brakes this morning which were similar to the kind of problems I experienced in Jordan earlier this year. I'm needing to brake a lot earlier than I want to and I keep running wide as a result - it's a bit of a vicious circle and quite frustrating. Hopefully this will no longer be an issue tomorrow.

The roads out here in Portugal are very abrasive and hard on the Pirelli Scorpion control tyres so we're carrying two spares for this round. In New Zealand we were only running with one and you tend to notice the difference in the handling of the car as each extra wheel weighs about 25kg.

I especially notice this at the start of the loop when the car is full of fuel - that's when you need to be a bit neater when taking sweeping corners and tight bends. I'd say the biggest issue in this event has been the tyre-wear - apparently there were 18 retirements from the opening day alone. It just shows how tough a rally it is and how hard the tests can be on the car.

It's been really hot the last few days and rising temperatures inside the car help demonstrate how important your fitness is when it comes to rallying. I'd say it's taken the best part of five years to get to the level of fitness that I'm at right now and it's been a combination of working on flexibility, endurance, strength and pace. At the beginning of the week before a rally, we eat a diet which is high in protein and low in fat but by the end of the week we move onto a diet with a quick release of carbohydrates - this helps maintain our concentration during long days out on the stages.

Today also consisted of the longest stage of the day and the stages were a real mixed bag. Some of the stages were sweeping, high speed roads but there were several slower, more technical sections too. I'm pleased to have got to the end of today though and will just be looking to hold my ground tomorrow. There's over a minute difference between Henning and I at the moment so I won't be pushing too hard and will just look to maintain a good position at the finish."

For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
www.pirellityre.com