for Abu Dhabi in Monte Carlo
The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, is approaching the start of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship season with a mixture of excitement and awe. The all-new BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, unveiled to the world last week at the Autosport International show, heads for southern France this week and the traditional season-opener, Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo.
The first event of the season is sure to be a baptism of fire for the new BP Ford Abu Dhabi team, with a new driver line-up and a new look. Following the retirement of Marcus Grönholm at the end of last season, Mikko Hirvonen has stepped up to assume the mantle of lead driver, partnered by fellow Finn Jari-Matti Latvala. Both will be driving Abu Dhabi-branded cars throughout the 2008 season, featuring the new Abu Dhabi brand mark, as will the overall team identity.
Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, said: “In the 2008 season Abu Dhabi’s involvement in the newly named BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team will come to the fore. Our first full season as partner will see optimum integration of Abu Dhabi’s destination branding in all aspects of the team.“The BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team will communicate the UAE capital’s unique tourism proposition to a worldwide audience of potential visitors.”
Joining Hirvonen and Latvala on ten events this season will be Abu Dhabi’s rally representative, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi. Al Qassimi competed in four WRC events in 2007, alongside his campaign in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, where he was runner-up after a tie-break. However, in 2008, his expanded program will allow him to represent the emirate at the highest level of the sport as Abu Dhabi continues to build its presence in the WRC.
The 2008 season begins with the traditional debut event, Rallye Monte Carlo. Based for the second year in the town of Valence, the majority of the event is run in the mountains of the Ardeche region but this year will again see the crews return to the principality of Monaco fro the final stage of the event, run on the famous Grand Prix circuit.
However, the majority of the stages will be run in what many regard as the most difficult conditions for rallying, on the mountainous tarmac roads of the Ardeche and the Alpes Maritimes. Here, conditions can change drastically, not only over the course of time but within a single stage. It is not uncommon for a single timed test to consist of dry asphalt, damp or wet sections and even snow and sheet ice. Therefore, choosing the right tyres for the conditions is crucial to success, as is understanding how the conditions are changing.
“My biggest concern is how I will adapt my driving style for Monte Carlo,” said Al Qassimi. “I have never been in those conditions before, so I will need to take it very easy. It is an incredibly difficult rally, even for the best drivers who have competed there before.
“In certain places, especially at high altitude where it can be icy, even just cruising can be fast! So I need to adapt to that. I have it in mind but until I experience it, and probably have a few moments, I will not have proper idea of how to approach it and the best pace to adopt.”Having competed on three asphalt events in 2007, Al Qassimi has an understanding of how his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car will behave. However, for 2008 he will be using the latest specification of the Focus, the WRC07 that features improved weight distribution and aerodynamics from the 2006 version he used last season.
He will also benefit from the experience of a new co-driver for 2008, Michael Orr. Al Qassimi and Orr competed together before, when the Emirati won the Middle East Rally Championship in 2004. As he explains, the experience Orr has gained in the WRC in the interim period will prove invaluable on the season-opener, as well as for the rest of the year.
“I won the 2004 MERC with Michael, so we already have a good relationship. That’s the easy part, already knowing each other. Now Michael has been in WRC for three or four years, he has developed his experience more. This means he will be able to help me develop my notes and hence, my pace. We have been talking for the last few weeks on the phone a lot. We already have some ideas of improvements to the pace notes, to get more accuracy in the distances and braking points, so I am sure that we will move forward but it will still be an incredible challenge.”
The changeable conditions on the ‘Monte’ mean that each competing crew will rely heavily on information supplied by their relevant safety crew. This is a car driven through the stage in advance of the competing cars, to check the conditions and relay back information on the stage, for example where there are patches of snow or ice or if parts of the stage are wet or damp.
For 2008 Al Qassimi will retain the services of the highly experienced pairing of Robbie Head and co-driver Steve Turvey. “We will be more reliant on Robbie and Steve than last year for information about the stage conditions,” said Al Qassimi. “Conditions can change so quickly within a single stage and the information from the safety crew, as well as the team weather crew, will be invaluable.
“The weather and safety crews work together and help us to adjust our notes in certain areas. However, conditions can change even more in the time between when they go through the stage and when we do. Therefore, we will undoubtedly need to make some assumptions on what will happen in the interim period and probably, the occasional guess. It will be interesting but also, an excellent learning process.”
The event begins with a pair of night-time stages, run on the evening of Thursday 24 January before three days of competition. The first full day, Friday 25 January, sees the crews tackle six stages, run as two loops of three with a similar format on Saturday 25 January, before the crews and teams move to the principality of Monaco ready for the final day. This sees four stages, run back-to-back before the crews return to Monaco for the final superspecial test around the Grand Prix circuit and the famous finish ceremony in front of the Palace.
France is GMT+1 hour.
