Rally
Review: FIA ERC Jänner rally
New
year, new championship, more action
by Martijn Kösters
by Martijn Kösters
The
good thing about rallying is that it always starts early in the year
compared to other forms of motorsport which hibernate till around
March. We were used to the Rally Monte Carlo blasting into our living
rooms in the third weekend of January. But the new-style European
Rally Championship takes rallying to just after dessert of your
Christmas dinner. Not that anyone has a problem with that.
The
Jänner Rally delivered what it had promised, tricky, slippery
conditions which constantly changed and made the right tyre choice
absolutely vital. Rain, snow, ice, mud, gravel and dry stages, it was
all thrown at the drivers.
The first loop immediately provided interesting conditions, stage 1 was run in wet conditions, suitable for wider rain tyres. But the weather changed quickly, with stage two partly icy and three full on ice, which would have required narrow or even studded tyres. Jan Kopecký suffered from a wrong tyre choice. On the wider rain tyre he was fastest on SS1, 15th on SS2 and 14th on SS3, but still lead somehow, as drivers on studded tyres were very slow on the opening stage. Raimund Baumschlager of Austria proved to be a tough competitor for Kopecký, as he excelled on snow and ice. Yet his excellence on the slippy stuff could not make up the time he lost on the rainy first stage.
The re-run of the morning loop later on Saturday took place in different conditions again. The cold and wet conditions of the morning stages gave way to what was described by Kopecký as a gravel rally. No ice or snow meant that drivers were free to cut corners, throwing mud and gravel on the narrow tarmac roads.
The first loop immediately provided interesting conditions, stage 1 was run in wet conditions, suitable for wider rain tyres. But the weather changed quickly, with stage two partly icy and three full on ice, which would have required narrow or even studded tyres. Jan Kopecký suffered from a wrong tyre choice. On the wider rain tyre he was fastest on SS1, 15th on SS2 and 14th on SS3, but still lead somehow, as drivers on studded tyres were very slow on the opening stage. Raimund Baumschlager of Austria proved to be a tough competitor for Kopecký, as he excelled on snow and ice. Yet his excellence on the slippy stuff could not make up the time he lost on the rainy first stage.
The re-run of the morning loop later on Saturday took place in different conditions again. The cold and wet conditions of the morning stages gave way to what was described by Kopecký as a gravel rally. No ice or snow meant that drivers were free to cut corners, throwing mud and gravel on the narrow tarmac roads.
Bryan
Bouffier obviously had some time to make up, starting the second set
of stages in 6th he went on for two fastest times and one
second place, cutting his 40 seconds gap to the leader in half. At
the top of the table Jan Kopecký battled for the lead with
Baumschlager and countryman Vaclav Pech. Despite the top-5 only
covered by 22 seconds after six stages, little changes were made at
the top.
And just as everyone got used to “gravel” conditions, the heavens opened and the rally was run under full wet conditions, asking for another major setup change. Bouffier and Kopecký were both well set up for the conditions, sharing fastest times between them. Baumschlager made a short gamble for studs but that did not pay out. At the end of day one Kopecký and Bouffier built out some sort of a lead over the rest. The Frenchman trailed Kopecký by 20 seconds, with Baumschlager a further 18 down the road. Vaclav Pech was in fourth but well down after going off the road. Francois Delecour was also behind the leading trio after suffering a 1 minute penalty for being early in time control at stage 6.
And just as everyone got used to “gravel” conditions, the heavens opened and the rally was run under full wet conditions, asking for another major setup change. Bouffier and Kopecký were both well set up for the conditions, sharing fastest times between them. Baumschlager made a short gamble for studs but that did not pay out. At the end of day one Kopecký and Bouffier built out some sort of a lead over the rest. The Frenchman trailed Kopecký by 20 seconds, with Baumschlager a further 18 down the road. Vaclav Pech was in fourth but well down after going off the road. Francois Delecour was also behind the leading trio after suffering a 1 minute penalty for being early in time control at stage 6.
The
first leg of day two was by far not as interesting as the day before,
despite Bouffier eating away Kopecký's lead not much happened as
differences on the stages were small but differences in the standings
were big. On top of that most drivers were well used to the wet
roads, providing little surprises in stage times. Kopecký put
Bouffier back to were he was by a fast SS14, restoring the 20 second
lead he had prior to day two. But just as you thought everything
settled down and the rally was in Kopecký's hands there is a
puncture. For Kopecký, who dropped down to third, 30 seconds behind
Bouffier with just three stages and in total 58 kilometers to go.
What
followed was a very exciting finale, as if out of a movie. On Stage
16 out of 18 Kopecký gains just 4.7 seconds, not bad considering the
stage was only 8km long. Kopecký claimed everything was possible,
and he would give it all despite having no spare wheel left. The
rally ended spectacularly with the 25km Bad Zell stage run twice,
with service in between. On the first run Kopecký gave it his best
in the pouring rain, gaining 14.4s cutting the gap to 10.6 seconds.
Bouffier after the stage: 'Jan
knows how to disconnect and go crazy. He was so quick, too quick.'
One stage remained, the gap a good 10 seconds, the distance 25 kilometers. Could he? Yes. Would he? Well.
Conditions
were worse on the final stage, as seen in stage times which were a
good 10 to 15 seconds slower. Bouffier was first to cross the line,
with a 13:53.1 he was a good 11 seconds slower. Kopecký now had a
time to beat: 13:42.4, 15 seconds slower than his first blast on this
stage. No reason for Kopecký to hold back, he crossed the line
in...13....42.......0, winning the inaugural rally of 2013 by just
half a second.
What a way to start the year.
What a way to start the year.
FIA ERC Jänner Rally:
1 Jan Kopecký
2 Bryan Bouffier
3 Raimund Baumschlager
4 Václav Pech
5 Beppo Harrach (Prod. Cup winner)
6 Kajetan Kajetanowicz (PC)
7 Francois Delecour
8 Jaroslav Orsak (PC)
