2008 Rally New Zealand

Event

Heavy rain in the buildup before the event forced a change to the itinerary, with the 43 km Waitomo stage having to be split into two due to a landslip. Despite the poor weather before the event Matthew Wilson still believed the first car would be at a disadvantage, thus making team tactics - as seen at Turkey - more likely. After Gigi Galli's accident in Germany, François Duval was called up by Stobart Ford to replace him as an approach to two time world champion Marcus Grönholm failed to lure him out of retirement.

Day one

Despite sweeping the roads for the other competitors, and a big moment when he nearly rolled his car during the very first stage, Loeb was just 0.7 seconds behind Hirvonen going into the penultimate stage of the day. With road positions for day two being decided at the end of this stage, rather than at the short Super special stage at Mystery Creek, Hirvonen was expected to intentionally drop behind Loeb to ensure a better starting position. Loeb then suffered a starter motor problem which meant he couldn't start at his allotted time. With Hirvonen now effectively running first on the road, he was unable to play the tactical game and therefore ended day one in front, and as road sweeper for day two. When questioned after the stage, Loeb denied any suggestion of tactics - citing the thirty-second time penalty he picked up for starting the stage late - "Do you really think I'd give away that much time?" Hirvonen agreed that Loeb seemed to have a genuine problem.

Day two

Loeb used his starting position to close on Hirvonen throughout the day. After taking seven seconds out of his lead on the first stage of the day, Loeb took over the lead on stage twelve. With only one stage left to run on the day Loeb was 4.2 seconds clear - below his target time of a twenty-second lead. With this in mind he slowed down at the end of Te Akau North to let Hirvonen back into the lead. Latvala was able to help Hirvonen by finishing ahead of him on time and to start the final day in front. With Sordo keeping close to the pace of the other leaders, there was only a sixteen-second gap between the first four drivers. Behind the leading pack, the points positions remained the same as on day one. The most noteworthy performance came from Henning Solberg, who used his advantageous road position to claim four stage wins on his climb back up the leaderboard.

Results

Championship standings after the event

Drivers' championship

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Manufacturers' championship

References

References

1. "juwra.com  |  Rallies - New Zealand 2008". juwra.com.
2. (31 August 2008). "World Rally Championship - Rallies - Rally New Zealand". wrc.com.
3. (25 August 2008). "Weather causes route changes". wrc.com.
4. (27 August 2008). "Wilson: Leader faces disadvantage". Autosport.
5. (28 August 2008). "Dry roads in New Zealand make tactical driving likely". wrc.com.
6. (21 August 2008). "Duval replaces Galli for New Zealand". Autosport.
7. (29 August 2008). "SS1 - Early scare for Loeb and others...". wrc.com.
8. (29 August 2008). "SS6 - High drama and tactics on decisive stage". wrc.com.
9. Evans, David. (4 September 2008). "Ford Spins, Citroen Wins". [[Autosport]].
10. (29 August 2008). "SS4 - Atkinson rolls out of fifth place". wrc.com.
11. (30 September 2008). "SS8: Loeb takes a big chunk from Hirvonen’s lead". wrc.com.
12. (30 August 2008). "SS10: Loeb aiming for a 20-second lead". wrc.com.
13. (30 August 2008). "Latvala handed New Zealand lead". Autosport.