The racing weekend that was - Wk 4

In WRC at Monaco:

Ogier and Ingrassa's Polo

Volkswagen's Sebastien Ogier started the new season with a loud BANG! The defending WRC Driver's champion won the Rallye Monte Carlo after a close battle with Sebastien Loeb. Unfortunately, the blindingly quick Loeb damaged the left-rear suspension in a test on Friday, leaving the door open for Ogier to sail through Saturday and Sunday, eventually winning the rally by just under a minute.

Ogier in his own words: "Victory in Monte Carlo means a lot - especially for me, so close to my home town, and at the first rally of the season. It is a huge challenge but the satisfaction is even more when you make it. Conditions were so tricky this year, but it has been the best atmosphere I have ever known. The atmosphere has been just magic.!

The top 5:
1. Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC, 3:36:40.2
2. Jari-Matti latvala, Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC, +58.0 s
3. Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Motorsport II Polo R WRC, +2m 12.3 s
4. Mads Ostberg, Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT DS 3 WRC, +2m 43.6 s
5. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport i20 WRC, +3m 12.1 s

Interestingly, Sebastien Ogier's fellow podium finishers Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen also drive for VW, making it a 1-2-3 podium for Volkswagen. The last time a single car manufacturer occupied the podium was in 2003, when Loeb, led the late Colin Mc Rae and Carlos Sainz for Citroen,

The next rally on the calender for WRC: February 12-15 in Sweden.


The Rolex 24 Hrs of Daytona:

Chip Ganassi Racing's Ford Riley in victory lane.

Protoype:
1. Dixon/Kanaan/Larson/McMurray, Ford Ecoboost DP, 740 laps, 1st overall
2. Barbosa/Fittipaldi/Bourdais, Corvette DP, 740 laps, 2nd overall,
3. J.Taylor/ R.Taylor/Angeleli, Corvette DP, 740 laps 3rd overall,

Prototype Challenge (open cockpit):
1. Guasch/Novich/Palmer/Kimber-Smith, Oreca FLM09, 714 laps, 9th overall
2. Mowlem/Papadopoulos/Drissi/Alder/Plowman, Oreca FLM09, 712,10th
3. Bennet/Braun/Wilkins/Gue, Oreca FLM09, 704 laps, 12th overall

GT Le Mans:
1. Magnussen/Garcia/Briscoe, Corvette C7.R, 725 laps, 5th overall
2. Auberlen/Werner/Farfus/Spengler, BMW Z4 GTE, 725 laps, 6th overall
3. Gavin/Milner/Pagenaud, Corvette C7.R, 718 laps, 8th overall

GT Daytona:
1. Keating/D.Farnbacher/Carter/wittmer/Lawrenc, Dodge Viper SRT, 704, 13th
2. MacNeil/L.Keen/A. Davis/van Gisbergen, Porsche 911 GT, 704 laps, 14th
3. Snow/Heylen/Dempsey/Eng, Porsche 911 GT America, 702,15th

For more on race results: IMSA, crash.net


Source; Blackflag, Crash, Autoweek, IMSA
Photo credit: Red Bull, Motorsports.com.