WRC: Volkswagen dominates tough Rally Argentina
Fifth rally, fifth win: the Volkswagen Polo R WRC winning streak continues on the other side of the world. During the World Championship round in Argentina, the Volkswagen factory drivers Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala staged a thrilling battle, which was finally won by the latter. The Finn celebrated his second victory of the season in an extremely tough rally characterised by the adverse weather conditions. On the way to victory in his Volkswagen Polo R WRC, which is equipped with a twin plate clutch and dampers from the ZF brand, he set five fastest stage times. World Champion Ogier won four special stages and collected an additional three bonus points by winning the Power Stage. Volkswagen Junior Andreas Mikkelsen produced an impressive performance to take fourth place.
As before, Ogier leads the overall world championship standings. Behind, stablemate Latvala has made up some ground. Starting last season, Volkswagen is now unbeaten in nine consecutive rallies – a new record for a manufacturer in the WRC.
Result Rally Argentina (RA), FIA World Rally Championship WRC, round 5, 08 May – 11 May 2014:
1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen, 4h 41m 24.8s ZF
2. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen, + 1m 26.9s ZF
3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle, Citroën, + 5m 54.7s
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula, Volkswagen, + 6m 18.3s ZF
5. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai, + 8m 25.8s
6. Robert Kubica/Maciej Szczepaniak, Ford, + 10m 08.0s
7. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt, Ford, + 10m 32.2s
8. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek, Ford , + 12m 03.9s
9. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen, Ford, + 19m 54.8s
10. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini, Ford, + 23m 10.2s
Drivers’ World Championship standings:
1. S. Ogier, 112 points; 2. J. Latvala, 88; 3. A. Mikkelsen, 48; 4. M. Østberg, 48; 5. M. Hirvonen, 40; 6. K. Meeke, 32; 7. T. Neuville, 31; 8. E. Evans, 26; 9. M. Prokop, 22; 10. B. Bouffier, 18.
Manufacturers’ World Championship standings:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 187 points; 2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 90; 3. M-Sport 68; 4. Hyundai Motorsport, 55; 5. Volkswagen Motorsport II, 52.
Formula 1: ZF partner teams in ascendency
Ferrari has made up ground in the Formula 1 World Championship manufacturers’ classification. The Scuderia climbs up to third place in the team classification thanks to Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, who finished in sixth and seventh positions. Local matador Alonso, who held a position behind Räikkönen for many laps, was able to overtake his Finnish teammate just before the finish thanks to a different tyre strategy. Alonso remains in third place in the drivers’ standings following fourth points scoring finish in the fourth race of the season. Räikkönen in turn equalled his best result of the season and scored points for the third time in succession. The Ferrari F14 T of the two former F1 World Champions are equipped with dampers ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Romain Grosjean and his Lotus-Renault team celebrated a double points premiere in the 2014 season: the Frenchman, who relies on a clutch from ZF Friedrichshafen AG in his car, produced his best result of the season so far after taking eighth place. As a result, the first points of the season went to himself and his team’s account in the manufacturers’ classification.
Results, GP of Spain (E), round 4, FIA Formula 1 World Championship, 09 May – 11 May 2014:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1h 41m 5.155s
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, + 0.636s
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, + 49.014s
4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault, +76.702s
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, + 79.293s
6. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, + 87.743s ZF
7. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, -1 lap ZF
8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault, -1 lap ZF
9. Sergio Pérez, Force India-Mercedes, -1 lap
10. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, -1 lap
Drivers’ world championship standings:
1. L. Hamilton, 100 points; 2. N. Rosberg, 97; 3. F. Alonso, 49; 4. S. Vettel, 45; 5. D. Ricciardo, 39; 6. N. Hülkenberg, 37; 7. V. Bottas, 34; 8. J. Button, 23; 9. K. Magnussen, 20; 10. S. Pérez, 20.
Constructors’ world championship standings:
1. Mercedes, 197 points; 2. Red Bull-Renault, 84; 3. Ferrari, 66; 4. Force India-Mercedes, 57; 5. Williams-Mercedes, 46; 6. McLaren-Mercedes, 43; 7. STR-Renault, 8; 8. Lotus-Renault, 4.
Other results:
Results Barcelona (E), round 1, Porsche Supercup, 09 May – 11 May 2014:
1. Earl Bamber, Porsche, 24m 40.643s, ZF
2. Philipp Eng, Porsche, + 4.756s, ZF
3. Ben Barker, Porsche, + 5.447s, ZF
4.Christian Engelhart, Porsche, + 5.855s, ZF
5. Alex Riberas, Porsche, + 9.505s, ZF
6. Klaus Bachler, Porsche, + 11.436s, ZF
7. Jeffrey Schmidt, Porsche, + 12.338s, ZF
8. Christopher Zoechling, Porsche, + 14.044s, ZF
9. Kuba Giermaziak, Porsche, + 15.726s, ZF
10. Clemens Schmid, Porsche, + 19.193s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. E. Bamber, 20 points; 2. P. Eng, 18; 3. B. Barker, 16; 4. C. Engelhart, 14; 5. A. Riberas, 12; 6. K. Bachler, 10; 7. J. Schmidt, 9, 8. C. Zoechling, 8; 9. K. Giermaziak, 7; 10. C. Schmid, 6.