FROM GREECE TO ERMELO
author: Leon Botha
Acropolis Rally Greece
Once in a while the law of averages, Murphy’s famous law and a few other niggling superstitions and so on, comes to naught. Parents teach their children, not that it helps but anyway they do their best, based on the wrong teachings of their forefathers who were mostly as experienced as a ten year old kid (sex, drink and drugs included) is today.
You warn them not to do this, that or the other, they go out to test your theories and you foot the bill.
The you get a kid called Jari-Matti Latvala who manages to prove every decent statement wrong. He was also told to take it easy, that cars were dangerous thing, that speed kills, that if you go into a corner too fast you will normally not come out etc. etc.
Just to spite his parents he takes a WRC rally car, puts his foot down and seems to hold it down until the Fat Lady comes out running to sing a short song before diving off the stage.
Not long ago yours truly made the statement that if you lose 10 or 20 seconds in a WRC event, you might as well go home! True even for Sébastien Loeb but not true for Jari-Matti Latvala! He has not heard of the words “give up”, “live to fight another day” or the South African slogan “one farmer no farm” or something to that effect.
So, now I am expected to write something about the Rally Acropolis that makes sense! It was nice to have someone like Sébastien Loeb, even nicer to have old grumpy Marcus Grönholm who could actually hold the pace set by Loeb most of the time. Then our hopes were set on Mikko Hirvonen who carries lots and lots of pace although it did at first not seem if he could keep up.
Predicting the outcome with those normal people in contention was difficult, but not impossible. With Jari-Matti added to the equation things got a bit more complex.
If he has a clean run he will win the rally – is a safe statement because believe me, no one will catch him on equal ground!
Greece however where people still run two speed donkeys and where time in certain areas seem to have stopped offers a bit more than just a rally. It is actually the ultimate WRC season test.
The rally offers the teams a combination of twisty, rock filled roads through twisty mountain passes under blistering heat and dusty conditions. Winning here takes true brains and real brawn – ingredients Latvalla seem to have at the age of 23.
Cars are specially strengthened for this event and the fact that Subaru chose this one to unveil their new car, is a bit of a mystery although Petter Solberg already said that he will do his best – which normally sets the stage for a few more excuses why Chris Atkinson beat him or why something on the car broke after he hit a mountain side.
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The all new Subaru WRC008
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The Subaru team however are convinced that they will do well, so are the Citroen, the Ford, the Suzuki and all the others………
and in Ermelo?
But what about here locally in Ermelo where the teams will tackle each other, under colder but also dusty and here and there muddy conditions?
Hergen Fekken will be leading the pack into the battle field this morning with Jan Habig second on the road and Enzo Kuun third.
Last night Fekken won the Superspecial with a time of 2m58 followed by Kuun two seconds slower.
Mark Cronje and JP Damseaux posted equal third fastest on 3:04. Jan Habig and Gemmel in turn shared was 5th, followed by Gemmel in 6th.
Visser du Plessis led the N4 brigade also sharing the 3m5s time while John Williams was only a second slower. Heinrich Lategan was ninth and Nicolas Ryan 10th.
Heinrich Lategan was ninth and Nicolas Ryan 10th.
This result will however hardly have any effect on the rally that will start with stage 2, Hartebeesfontein at 8h51 this morning.
The stage will serve as an early wake up call and get the nerves to settle in somewhat before the teams will go to the super fast stage 3. Still – the differences between the teams will be very small up to stage four and then the Total will start kicking in with stage 5 and 6 that are the first of the rougher stages.
Stages 7 and 8 are repeats of 2 and 3 and we should plenty of ‘making up’ in progress after the previous two stages.
The most important aspect will however be to stay on the road and get to Stage 9 first on the road as the rest will certainly from the fourth car on the road have serious problems with dust, if the wind does not come up!
The stage is surrounded by low and dense growing trees without the normal “wind frinedly” trim lower down on the tree trunks. If Fekken gets here first he will however have to negotiate the extremely loose surface and if he mkes it trhough the stage without a hitch – he should be leading the rally going to bed tonight.
More later today............
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