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Swedish driver Patrik Flodin and co-driver Göran Bergsten (Subaru) scored the first P-WRC victory of their career on the eighth and final round of the 2008 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB, after a tough battle with fellow Swede Patrik Sandell in his Peugeot 207 S2000. But a twist on the final stage saw Sandell stop with engine woes and second was adopted by a perfectly poised Andreas Aigner (Mitsubishi) whose finish was enough to clinch his debut P-WRC title, the first Austrian to win since Manfred Stohl in 2000. Aigner’s second place saw him eventually finish two points ahead of title rival Juho Hänninen (FIN, Mitsubishi) as the Finn, who retired on day one, was forced to watch from the sidelines.

One of the most dominating things about this rally was the high rate of attrition as a result of the challenging wintery conditions. By the end of day one alone, seven P-WRC crews had retired and by the end of day two, a further seven crews had been sidelined.

Mark Higgins (GB, Subaru) set the pace by winning the first stage of the rally and put himself into the lead ahead of fellow Brit and British Rally Championship (BRC) rival Guy Wilks (Mitsubishi). But Wilks soon stepped up his pace by winning the next four stages, pulling out a lead of 29.4secs ahead of second-placed Flodin. However, a tree branch knocked the master switch of Wilks’ Evo IX on SS9 which cost 40 seconds and the lead, and a broken turbo pipe on the next stage soon pulled him down the order to fifth, allowing Sandell and Aigner into second and third respectively behind Flodin, and a battle ensued.

Flodin’s motivation was wanting a win; Sandell’s motivation was wanting a win while maintaining enough caution to also finish the event to secure third place in the P-WRC and Aigner’s goal was to play safe and defend his third place to score enough points to win the P-WRC title. Flodin had a nervous moment on SS17 when an engine stall and broken differential reduced his lead to just one second ahead of Sandell but the chasing Swede hit bad luck and was forced to park his Peugeot just five kilometres into SS19 after his engine broke. Interestingly, not only did Flodin clock the first P-WRC win this year in the 2008-spec Subaru Impreza, but also the only Subaru win of the P-WRC season.

Wilks settled into fourth despite losing his brakes (SS13) and a broken driveshaft (SS14) in the afternoon on day two, but the Brit focused on simply finishing to secure his BRC win, eventually adopting the final podium spot after Sandell’s demise.

Jari Ketomaa (FIN, Subaru) had a few problems with his pace notes on SS2 then had a small misfire after going through the water splash on SS3, which had substantially deepened since the crews completed the reconnaissance. He restarted but two kilometres later the engine went onto three cylinders and remained down on power through the rest of the day. Things improved early on day two but his lack of power and handling issues remained. He continued to struggle through the final day to finish fourth, scooping enough points to secure third place overall in the season’s standings.

Jaromir Tarabus (CZ, Fiat Abarth) had a great event considering it was his first ever gravel rally and his first WRC event, having only contested the Czech championship before. He made a cautious start and the tricky conditions meant he continued steadily due to his lack of experience, knowing that even the smallest mistake could cost dear. On SS9 he had a scary moment when he hit a gate which luckily only caused cosmetic damage. Damaged steering on SS14 cost the 31 year-old 20 seconds but he continued trouble-free to the finish and score his first four P-WRC points and the best result ever for the Fiat Abarth Punto S2000.

Spyros Pavlides (CY, Subaru) struggled in the conditions on day one, the Cypriot not really happy in the ice and snow, so he drove cautiously. At the end of SS11 on day two he smelt something in car which he realised was a small fire by the end of the stage so he had to stop and extinguish it and he had brakes issues in the afternoon which affected the steering. But he confidently worked his way through the final day to clock his best result of the season for sixth. Armindo Araujo (P, Mitsubishi) stopped in the water splash on SS3 for over four minutes. The Portuguese got going again but went off the road on the road section afterwards which cost him 20 minutes in penalties. He spun on ice in SS11 although escaped much time loss, but on SS14 a damaged spark plug mid-stage forced him to complete the stage with the engine running on three cylinders. By his own admission, he simply survived day three to finish in seventh.

David Higgins (GB, Subaru) had a misfire at the start of SS2 and he then slowed down on SS3 as directed where another competitor had gone off the road. Unfortunately he went off the road and into a ravine on SS10 and while he incurred little damage, he was unable to rejoin the road. Day three was simply an exercise in scoring team points for the BRC but he scooped the final P-WRC point in the process for eighth.

Bernardo Sousa (P, Mitsubishi) had a few scary moments on the road section and nearly went off the road before the first special stage had even started. He avoided problems with the water splash on SS3 but he took on board a lot of water on the second pass through in SS6 which damaged the air filter. On SS10 he stopped 50 metres after the start of the stage with a broken gearbox, stopping him for the day and costing 30 minutes in penalties for not completing the rest of the day’s stages. Drama continued for the young ‘Madeirense’ on the final day when he hit a rock on SS16 and had to drive with a rear left puncture for the last five kilometres. He finished ninth.

Simone Campedelli (I, Mitsubishi) stopped in the water splash on SS3, a damaged engine stopping him for the day. He restarted for day two but he damaged the rear right suspension arm in SS10, stopping his day’s progress once again. But the final day went smoothly and the Italian eventually finished in tenth position.

Mirco Baldacci (RSM, Mitsubishi) lost 20 seconds on SS3 with a misfire after going through the water splash and he was down on power all afternoon with a maximum revs of 4000rpm. He broke the turbo just two kilometres into SS11 which cost two minutes and a disturbing noise from the gearbox on SS13 resulted in the San Marino driver opting to stop for the day, eventually being the reason for his retirement.

Egon Kaur (EE, Subaru) stopped in the water splash on SS3, although he managed to get out and he changed the air filter afterwards in the stage which cost over five minutes. He stopped again in the same place on SS6 although escaped terminal damage. But half way through SS10 the centre differential broke and about 5km before the end he was left with only rear wheel drive, choosing to stop the rally before he caused any more damage.

Evgeny Novikov (RUS, Mitsubishi) had a trouble-free start to the rally but a spin on the ice on SS6 cost him 10 seconds while running in fourth. He had a few engine worries in the afternoon but nothing he that couldn’t be rectified in service. Unfortunately luck was not on the Russian’s side as his engine died 7km before the end of SS9 and he retired with a small engine fire.

Mark Higgins (GB, Subaru) won SS2, immediately putting himself in the lead, but he unfortunately rolled off the road on an icy patch just two kilometres before the end of the next stage, causing too much suspension damage to continue. He restarted for day two but another stretch of ice caught him out on SS9, when he slid wide and broke the steering arm, at which point he opted to retire.

Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT, Subaru) had a difficult rally as he broke the radiator brackets in the water splash on SS3, costing over a minute and a half, and unfortunately he stopped again in the same place on the repeat run in the afternoon (SS6). Sadly his second outing in GB was truncated on SS9 when he slipped on some ice 15km in and rolled five times, causing irreparable damage.

On his third WRC event, and the first outside his homeland, Teemu Arminen (FIN, Subaru) made a cautious start and after a few scary moments in SS3, he had to stop and change the air filter after the water splash which cost over four minutes. The 32 year-old restarted for the second day but engine damage from SS6 finally truncated his rally.

P-WRC Championship contender Juho Hänninen (FIN, Mitsubishi) saw his Championship hopes slip out of his control as a centre differential problem on SS2 only worsened as the day went on. With a car driving as if it had two-wheel drive, he was forced to allow Championship rival Aigner pass on SS3, and the second run through the infamous water splash on SS6 saw him eventually sidelined with engine failure half way through the stage.

Eyvind Brynildsen (N, Mitsubishi) made a confident start, just struggling with some of the icy corners like his fellow competitors but his season came to a disappointing close when a hole in the engine block on SS6 saw him sadly retire. Martin Prokop (CZ, Mitsubishi) spent the early stages simply trying to stay on the road and enjoy it, although he had a few scary moments on the ice. Unfortunately his engine overheated after the water splash on SS6 and, unable to make repairs, was forced to retire.

2006 P-WRC runner-up Fumio Nutahara (J, Mitsubishi) drove cautiously through the opening stages to gain some confidence in conditions that he isn’t fond of, but his engine broke after an accident on SS6.

Driving for Team Sidvin India, Gaurav Gill’s (IND, Subaru) first outing in GB was cut short just 800m before the end of SS3 when, like others, he was caught out by the ice and he hit a bank and rolled three times. With damage to the roll cage, he was forced to retire.

Loris Baldacci (RSM, Mitsubishi) went off the road on SS3 after hitting a patch of ice and sliding down a bank, but damage caused by the water splash meant his engine wouldn’t restart, seeing the San Marino driver retire.

Like his fellow competitors, Giovanni Manfrinato (I, Mitsubishi) stopped in the water splash on SS3, and retired with a damaged engine as a result.

Evgeny Aksakov (RUS, Mitsubishi) also stopped in water splash on SS3 and it was a hole in the engine block caused by the water which caused his retirement.

Darren Gass (GB, Mitsubishi) did not start after breaking his hand the week before the rally.

 

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