Blogs

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Francois Duval

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Francois Duval

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Veronica Engen

Anders Grondal’s co-driver is our guest blogger during Neste Oil Rally Finland. Here’s her final, post event, update:

Blog three: Wednesday 4 August, 1200hrs.

“So Anders and I finished Rally Finland in fourth place. And considering it was our first time doing the rally we are very happy with the result. We learnt a lot and gained fantastic experience for next year.

Our main aim for this season is to try and get as much experience as possible before 2011 when we hope to do the whole P-WRC season. Then we can compete in the Championship standings and will be looking to get as many points as we possibly can.

We do of course also need to get a car, but we're going to work very hard to achieve all this. Since we are not doing the whole season this year, a podium place at the end will be difficult, but we have high hopes for 2011!

All of these plans should help me achieve my personal ambition of becoming a professional co-driver. The road there is hard, but I will not give up my dream. I just need to be patient, learn more and get more experience.

At the moment I have to juggle my co-driving with my day job. When I'm not rallying I work at a transport and logistics company in the invoicing department. I’m very lucky to have some fantastic bosses and it’s never a problem getting time off to take part in rallies. They've always supported me and wish me the best for the future.

That’s all for now. I hope you’ll look out for us in Germany.”

Veronica

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Veronica Engen

Anders Grondal’s co-driver is our guest blogger during Neste Oil Rally Finland. Here’s her second update:

Blog two: Friday 30 July, 2300hrs.

“Day one of Rally Finland started with a tough morning, fast roads, big jumps, wow - all new! But it’s got better and better throughout the day. We’ve changed the set-up of our Subaru and now we are going well, gaining experience as quickly as possible to meet the challenges of this fast course and aim for the best possible times.

We finished day one in fifth and are heading for the podium tomorrow. It’ll take some really quick times and we need to make up nearly a minute, but I think we can do it! We are looking forward to more exciting jumps on Saturday and flying. It’s a really fun rally.

I do feel like I need to be best all the time to prove to the guys that girls are just as good as them. I change the tyres, everything, just the same way a boy does - but it’s easier for them to go to the toilet when we are in the woods!

So for me there isn’t a big difference being a girl in the WRC. I’ve grown up surrounded by motorsports since I was a baby - this is me! It’s what I do. My whole family loves motorsport - my sister is a driver herself.

In Rally Finland I’m competing against my boyfriend Mads. We’re sharing the same team area in the service park, (and I’m writing this on his laptop). In the Norwegian Championship I’m normally cheering him on, but now, guess what, I want to win myself. It’s okay, he’s quite happy with that, it makes for a good competition.”

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Veronica Engen

Anders Grondal’s co-driver is our guest blogger during Neste Oil Rally Finland. Here’s her first update:

Blog one: Thursday 29 July, 1700hrs.

“Hi, it’s Veronica here. I’m Anders Grondal’s co-driver and the only female co-driver in this year’s Production Car Championship. We’re getting ready for Rally Finland at the moment and I’m very excited. Anders and I are Norwegian and came second in the P-WRC in Rally Sweden, which was the first Scandinavian rally of 2010. Now we’re hoping to get on the podium here in Finland too.

We had a good test back in Norway last weekend in our Subaru and everything worked well there. Now I hope we can bring that feeling onto the Finnish gravel roads.

We’ve done two days of the recce and the roads are looking amazing. There’s going to be the chance for high speeds and plenty of adrenalin. The big jumps will be exhilarating - I can’t wait until the rally starts tomorrow. So far this rally has been extremely hot - not quite what we were expecting, and very different from what we normally experience in Norway.

We are excited, but a bit nervous to be doing our first World Rally since Anders broke his back in April. It was on a mini rally in Norway, and it’s left him 1.5cms shorter than he was before! Luckily it doesn’t seem to have affected his driving. In fact, he’s done three hillclimbs and two national rallies since - one of which he won.

Our main goal this weekend will be to gain as much experience as possible and bring the car safely to parc ferme on Saturday evening. If we can find the right rhythm on Finland’s fast gravel roads too, then maybe a win would even be in our sights! I’ll update you again after day one.”

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Petter Solberg

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

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Petter Solberg

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