This article is from page 48 of the 2008-05-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 48 JPG
THE finish ceremony of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna the sixth round of the World Rally Championship which took place alongside Porto Cervo’s Marina in Sardinia on May Reidee
Saw world rally champions Se- bastien Loeb/Daniel Elena claim the top prize in their Citroen C4. This result takes the reigning champion’s total to a record 40 world rally wins and sees them move to within three points behind of 2008 championship leader Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen.
This sixth round of the 15 rally series was the first European gravel fixture of the season. Based in the north east of Sardinia, the three day event was characterised by tough narrow tracks south of Olbia. Com- petitors tackled 17 speed tests cov- ering 344.73km. Despite heavy rain before the start, the rally itself was dry, although cloudy skies ensured temperatures were cooler than ex- pected.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team finished second and third in the rally and they retain the lead in both the manufacturer’s and driver’s standings in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtin- en claimed second in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, with Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikka Anttila third in a similar car. Ford preserves its seven point advantage in the manufacturers series while Hirvonen is three points ahead in the drivers title.
Donegal driver Shaun Gallagher maintains his second place in the Junior World Rally Championship after finishing fourth in Sardinia driving his Motorsport Ireland spon- sored Citroen C2.
The Irishman shares second place with 16 championship, alongside Po- land’s Michal Kosciuszko. Many of the car’s suffered mechanical diffi- culties brought on by the conditions including World Rally Team Ire- land’s car which suffered a break in the rear anti-roll bar and a flat tyre.
The next round takes place in Greece next weekend May 30th.