After three days, nineteen stages and 352 kilometres of competition on the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the Subaru World Rally Team successfully completed its asphalt debut with the new Impreza WRC2008, both cars finishing firmly within the points.
The leaderboard remained static since the end of yesterday’s stages, meaning Petter Solberg and Phil Mills retained fifth place and team mates Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot claimed sixth, positions they held since the mid-point yesterday.
Crucially, the team were able to learn a great deal about the performance of the new Impreza on tarmac and are now in a much better position ahead of the two remaining tarmac rallies, rounds 12 and 13 in Spain and Corsica.
“We came here with very little experience of the car on tarmac, yet Petter and Chris have scored good points, and we now have a very clear direction for our continued asphalt development” said David Lapworth, Subaru World Rally Team technical director.
Today’s stages saw a return to the type of very narrow vineyard roads first seen on the opening day of the first asphalt rally for the Impreza WRC2008, which has now contested just four events since its launch on the Acropolis Rally at the end of May.
Four of today’s speed tests were characterised by fast roads leading into tight junctions, demanding a staccato dance of heavy braking and hard acceleration. In search of the best racing line, drivers cut corners by placing their cars on the grass on the inside of the slow junctions, bringing gravel and dust onto the racing line making it increasingly slippery.
The final test, bringing a spectacular close to the rally, was a spectator stage run in the centre of Trier. The Circus Maximus Trier test represented a fitting tribute to the popularity of this event by bringing the action of the WRC to the heart of the Germany’s oldest city.
Solberg and Mills had a completely trouble-free run, yesterday working themselves into the comfortable fifth position overall that they maintained to the finish. Feeling increasingly confident aboard their number five Impreza, true to form they kept pushing to the very end of the rally, recording the third fastest stage time on the day’s penultimate test and setting the equal fastest time on the final stage.
“We had no problems at all this weekend which is very good. The very positive thing is that things have improved through the rally, you know” said Petter Solberg. “We started with ok speed, and it got better through the rally. You have to remember we’ve only done two days’ testing with the car, so I’m really very happy with it. I think we’ve found the direction we need to get the maximum from the car, so it’s good.”
Atkinson and Prévot closely shadowed their team mates all weekend, and consolidated their sixth position overall to add more valuable points to their season tally. Despite losing time with a stall at the start line of the day’s opener and suffering damaged rear suspension three kilometres into the test, the duo had earned a sufficiently comfortable gap to stay ahead of the pursuing crews.
“There were large gaps today so we weren’t taking any silly risks” said Chris Atkinson. “Ok it’s not been a bad weekend and there are a lot of things we can take forward from it. This morning was a little frustrating, but we tried to find out some new things today that will help us continue fine-tuning the car and improve our performance which is the main focus.”
Making for an unusually dry Rallye Deutschland, the weather on the final day remained fine throughout. After a cold start, at a mere nine degrees Celsius, the temperature soon picked up to a high of 17 by midday. Amid wildly varying surface conditions, the weather was one element of the mix that remained consistent.
Next event
New Zealand is next up for the WRC on 28-31 August. Based again at Mystery Creek in the North Island, competitors will tackle 16 stages stretching 354.80 kilometres. The stunning gravel roads are like rollercoasters that carve through the lush green countryside that skirts the coast around Raglan. The weather there in the last weeks has been stormy and changes have already been made to some of the stages as a result. The roads flow between off-camber corners, and the trick is to find the right rhythm as soon as possible. Mistakes on the fast corners usually lead to cars travelling a long way off road, and wayward crews will be lucky to escape damage.
Day 2 Rally of Germany
On the second and toughest day of competition on Rallye Deutschland, both Subaru World Rally Team crews improved their stage times considerably between the morning and afternoon loops as their confidence in the car grew, when almost all those ahead went slower second time round.
After a steady start that saw Solberg and Atkinson move to fifth and sixth positions respectively when Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala went off in SS9, both drivers used the extra seat time to good effect in the afternoon. They restarted after the midday service with their confidence in the Impreza WRC2008 bolstered.
“What we have seen today is the effect of testing restrictions” said David Richards, Subaru World Rally Team Principal. “Petter and Chris were obviously cautious in their approach this morning, having completed only two days’ tarmac testing each before this event. However with this morning’s stages and yesterday’s competition under their belts, they both appeared to be much more comfortable with the new car on asphalt and this showed in the times this afternoon. It clearly demonstrates that as a team we are making positive steps in the right direction.”
Throughout the day both Solberg and Atkinson traded stage times on all eight speed tests with a very evenly matched pace. Aboard the number five Impreza, Solberg and Phil Mills became increasingly comfortable with the new car on tarmac. The pair had a solid day and their performance visibly stepped up a gear from morning to afternoon. Opting for Pirelli’s hard compound tyre, they beat their previous times by as much as ten seconds on the repeat pass of the first stage of the afternoon. The pair capped off the day with the third fastest time on the Arena Panzerplatte stage, the most challenging of the rally.
“Today has really not been bad and I felt much more comfortable in the car” said Petter Solberg. “Sure there’s still more to do before we’re right on the pace, but I felt much easier in the car this afternoon. It was actually quite good fun, not bad at all. I think we’re going in the right direction and it’s getting better. Today can have surprises, like with Mikko’s puncture on the last stage, so I’m pleased to have got through with no problems. The gaps are so big now though it’s impossible to close on them unless something happens. So tomorrow we’ll just drive to the speed of the car and no mistakes.”
Similarly, Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot would have been faster on every stage the second time through were it not for a front left puncture six kilometres from the finish of SS11, the first test after the midday service. Both cars adopted the soft compound Pirellis in the morning, replaced by hard compound variants from the first remote service in the town of Birkenfeld until the end of the day.
“Ok, we moved into sixth which is a good points-scoring position” said Chris Atkinson. “We haven’t got on top of the tarmac setup yet though so we can’t push as hard as we were able last year. We’ve sort of dropped to the middle of nowhere today as the gaps in front and behind are so big, so we’re now trying to fine-tune and do some work on areas of the car to try and speed up development.”
Today’s stages were a mix of narrow, singletrack country roads that twisted and turned through Germany’s Saarland region, and the notorious military roads of the Baumholder military base. There the Arena Panzerplatte stage was the longest of the rally at 30km and unbelievably twisty, the cracked and abrasive tracks doubling back on themselves countless times to pose a challenge for brakes, clutches and tyres.
Contrary to the early forecasts, the predicted chance of rain at the day’s start was a mere ten per cent. Continuing yesterday’s fortunes, the weather indeed remained dry and fine throughout with a high of 26 degrees Celsius. Much of the same is predicted for tomorrow, potentially setting up an all-dry Rallye Deutschland.
Tomorrow’s route
The final day in Germany is very nearly as long as the first day at 85 competitive kilometres over a further five stages. The stages are largely the same as last year, apart from a five kilometre addition to the opening Dhrontal test to the north east of the Trier service park. The event is brought to a conclusion with a four kilometre spectator stage which always draws thousands of avid fans. A series of laps around the narrow town centre streets creates an electric atmosphere that sees onlookers jostle for the best vantage point, be it hanging from a first storey window or half way up the region’s famous Porta Nigra arch.
As the Impreza WRC2008 took to asphalt competitively for the first time, the opening day of the wildly popular Rallye Deutschland was characterised by an overwhelming number of spectators and a surprising lack of rain, given the tendency for sporadic showers in the region.
Both cars successfully completed their first day of sealed surface rallying at the hands of Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson, who experienced no major problems despite the significantly different challenge posed by tarmac as opposed the gravel roads that dominated the past three events. Under skies that clouded as the day progressed, the fact that the precipitation stayed at bay didn’t stop the dirty tarmac roads from being perilously slippery.
Tyre decisions were less predominant than in previous years with the introduction of the championship’s Pirelli control tyre, but on the very first day of competition with their new PZero asphalt offering, teams still had to make the crucial call between hard and soft compounds as the ambient temperature fluctuated.
Before the Impreza WRC2008’s asphalt outing this weekend, Solberg and Atkinson had two days’ testing on sealed surface using the PZeros, and the car itself has only a further five days’ tarmac testing at the hands of official test driver Markko Märtin. Therefore much of what was experienced today formed a steep learning curve for the team. It was a case of a new car on new tyres and on a new surface.
“Today was an encouraging start to our asphalt debut considering we haven’t done much testing on this surface with the new car” said David Richards, Subaru World Rally Team Principal. “The drivers are getting used to the car in these conditions and both reported a good balance although we can already identify where there is more speed to come. We had hard tyres in the morning and soft in the afternoon, which was perhaps a mistake, but otherwise it’s been a successful first day for the car on asphalt.”
The morning ran smoothly and the SWRT crews completed the initial loop of three stages with Atkinson in fifth position and Solberg sixth overalll. The afternoon however was a less predictable affair. Stage five was cancelled after the top seven crews had reached the finish when Ford’s Gigi Galli crashed heavily in a narrow wooded section, although both drivers are ok.
No sooner had Atkinson and Prévot completed the day’s final and shortest stage and it too was cancelled. This time it was on safety grounds due to the sheer number of spectators who ventured just too close to the action on the narrow and winding routes. Despite the slick organisation, it was deemed the only feasible option was for the remaining cars, including Solberg and Mills, to drive through the stage non-competitively and be given an arbitrary time equal to that of the second fastest stage time.
“It’s not been bad today, you know. The car’s been consistent, and although we’re sixth, it’s been feeling pretty good” said Petter Solberg. “There are a few areas we’re lacking in, but we haven’t run much on tarmac so it’s sort of expected at this point. We’re trying very hard and we’re learning and have some ideas for tomorrow, but we had no problems today. It’s a shame about the final stage, but you have to respect the decision of the organisers and accept that it was the right thing to do. It’s too bad for the people who are actually coming to watch the stages, but that’s a part of the game. It’s unbelievable the number of people here, like Finland, and it’s great for the sport anyway.”
“OK, today has not been perfect, we’re not as quick as we wanted to be and seventh isn’t what we were aiming for, but it’s not been so bad” said Chris Atkinson. “The car is getting better on tarmac. There are still a few things to fine-tune to get the speed we’re missing, but we keep working on it this weekend and I think if we can get there we’ll be ok. We’re still lacking a little confidence in these conditions, but then we haven’t done much testing. People were changing tyre compounds from the morning to the afternoon, from hard to soft, so for me I don’t think our tyre choice made so much difference. Some areas we lost a bit, but some weren’t so bad so it pretty much worked out. Tomorrow will be difficult and we’re a little way down the order, but we’ll keep working hard and improving as much as we can.”
Tomorrow’s route
The second day of Rallye Deutschland is what many believe will decide the outcome of this event. Eight stages and a shade fewer than 160 competitive kilometres, it includes the longest and most gruelling of the rally. The Arena Panzerplatte stage runs for 30 kilometres along the cracked, dirty and abrasive concrete of the Baumholder military range and packs a real sting for wayward cars. Weather is always a lottery here, but rain tomorrow would make the shiny tarmac even more slippery and treacherous.
