Torrential rain wreaks havoc in Turkey

67 starters left Kemer on Friday morning for the first day of Rally Turkey. Leg one took crews west of the service park at Kemer to five gravel stages in the Toros mountain range. Three of the mountain stages were repeated in the afternoon before crews tackled the 5.2km spectator Superspecial in the city of Antalya.

SS1: 0758hrs Perge 1 (22.43km)
Since the pre-event recce, heavy rain and storms had wreaked havoc along the south coast of Turkey and the host town of Kemer, and at the start of Leg one the persistent torrential rain caused more problems. The wind, rain and fog grounded the rally’s emergency helicopter so organisers were forced to cancel the first and second stages. Instead, crews drove the waterlogged SS1 and SS2 as road sections and went directly to SS3.
Fastest time: Stage cancelled

SS2: 0841hrs Myra 1 (24.15km)
Fastest Time: Stage cancelled

SS3: 0924hrs Kumluca 1 (9.90km)
Even though it was still raining heavily, organisers decided that SS3 was safe to run, and the 9km section at Kumluca became the first competitive test of the rally. Crews reported atrocious driving conditions, with deep puddles and an extremely slippery muddy surface. Compared to the dry gravel route on which the drivers had prepared their pace notes, Friday’s SS3 was almost unrecognisable. Ford’s Marcus Gronholm set the quickest time, with Subaru’s Petter Solberg second and Ford privateer Kosti Katajamaki third. Harri Rovanpera was the first WRC driver to hit problems �" his Skoda Fabia emerged from the stage with heavy suspension damage to its right-hand rear corner.   
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 7:42.7

SS4: 1222hrs Perge 2 (22.43km)
After a 30-minute service halt in Kemer, crews drove back into the mountains for a repeat of the earlier three stages. But once again the bad weather interrupted the event’s timetable. After the earlier passage of 67 cars, the repeat run of the 22km Perge section was cancelled by the Clerk of the Course because the amount of mud made it almost impassable.
Fastest time: Stage cancelled   

SS5: 1305hrs Myra 2 (24.15km)
Organisers abandoned the first half of SS5 because the road surface was so bad. Instead, crews made their way to a new start line, close to the original midpoint. By this time, the rain had stopped and the stage surface quickly started to dry out. Running as first car on the road, Gronholm set the fastest time with his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen second and Citroen privateer Xavier Pons third. Petter Solberg’s car scooped up a radiator-full of mud in a particularly rutted section and the Norwegian reported an overheating engine when he crossed the line. Despite this, Solberg tied the fourth fastest time to hold second place overall.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 8:54.0

SS6: 1305hrs Kumluca 2 (9.90km)
As the rain stopped and the gloom lifted, stage conditions improved dramatically for the repeat of the Kumluca stage. The Ford pair of Gronholm and Hirvonen were first and second fastest with Colin McRae, standing in for the injured Sebastien Loeb, third. Chris Atkinson was fourth fastest in his Subaru Impreza WRC2006 and said he was happier with its handling after making set-up changes in the service before SS5. Petter Solberg and his older brother Henning set exactly the same time and shared the fifth-fastest spot. After the finish control, crews made their way back to Kemer for the second 30-minute service of the day.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 7:21.3

More at: http://www.swrt.com

Add to: del.icio.us | Digg