2008 Rally Catalunya
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Rally Spain, officially 44º Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada, was the 44th Rally Catalunya
and the 12th round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season
. The rally took place during October 2-5 2008 and consisted of 18 special stages
.
The rally was won by Citroën Total World Rally Team
's Sébastien Loeb
ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo
. This was Citroën's third double win in a row, after previous one-two finishes in Germany
and New Zealand
. BP Ford World Rally Team
's Mikko Hirvonen
and François Duval
took comfortable third and fourth positions, although only battled with each other and never managed to challenge the Citroëns. Duval eased off in one stage to let Hirvonen, who continued his fight for the drivers' title with Loeb, to take the third place and one extra point.
Subaru World Rally Team
's Petter Solberg
fought for fifth place with Urmo Aava
until the penultimate stage, when Aava retired after making a mistake and braking his Citroën C4 WRC
's suspension. The battle for sixth place went down to the wire, with Stobart M-Sport Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala
edging out Subaru's Chris Atkinson
by 1.1 seconds. Andreas Mikkelsen
drove his privateer Ford Focus RS WRC 07 to eighth place, taking the second points finish of his career.
Rally Catalunya
The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava...
and the 12th round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season
2008 World Rally Championship season
The 2008 World Rally Championship season was the 36th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 15 rallies and began on January 24, with the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally....
. The rally took place during October 2-5 2008 and consisted of 18 special stages
Special stage (rallying)
Special stages are the competitive sections of a stage rally event where the goal is to cover a stretch of closed road in the shortest time. On a special stage cars are set off individually at set intervals to reduce the chances of being impeded by other competitors. Each special stage is a...
.
The rally was won by Citroën Total World Rally Team
Citroën Total World Rally Team
The Citroën Total World Rally Team is the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship, run by Citroën Racing.-Management:* Olivier Quesnel – team director* Xavier Mestelan-Pinon – technical director-1990-1998 Seasons:...
's Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship...
ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo
Dani Sordo
Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for the Mini WRC Team...
. This was Citroën's third double win in a row, after previous one-two finishes in Germany
2008 Rallye Deutschland
The 2008 Rallye Deutschland was the tenth round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event ran from August 15 to August 17 and was won by Sébastien Loeb for the seventh consecutive year....
and New Zealand
2008 Rally New Zealand
The 2008 Rally New Zealand was the eleventh round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event was based on the northern island of the country near the city of Hamilton. The stages were run on gravel roads characterised by their pronounced camber, which gives them a fast flowing nature....
. BP Ford World Rally Team
BP Ford World Rally Team
The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season, when Ford Motor Company's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson...
's Mikko Hirvonen
Mikko Hirvonen
Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish rally driver currently driving for the Citroën Total World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he finished runner-up to...
and François Duval
François Duval
François Duval is a Belgian rally driver.-1999–2004:With victories in four events Duval won the Belgian Citroën Saxo Challenge title in 1999...
took comfortable third and fourth positions, although only battled with each other and never managed to challenge the Citroëns. Duval eased off in one stage to let Hirvonen, who continued his fight for the drivers' title with Loeb, to take the third place and one extra point.
Subaru World Rally Team
Subaru World Rally Team
The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003...
's Petter Solberg
Petter Solberg
Petter "Hollywood" Solberg , from Spydeberg in Østfold, Norway, is a professional rally driver. He debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999...
fought for fifth place with Urmo Aava
Urmo Aava
Urmo Aava is an Estonian rally driver competing in the World Rally Championship. His regular co-driver was Kuldar Sikk, who is currently Ott Tänak's co-driver.-Career:...
until the penultimate stage, when Aava retired after making a mistake and braking his Citroën C4 WRC
Citroën C4 WRC
The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC...
's suspension. The battle for sixth place went down to the wire, with Stobart M-Sport Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala
Jari-Matti Latvala
Jari-Matti Latvala is a Finnish rally driver competing in the World Rally Championship. His co-driver has been Miikka Anttila since the 2003 Rallye Deutschland...
edging out Subaru's Chris Atkinson
Chris Atkinson
Chris Atkinson in Bega, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional rally driver. In the WRC , he drove for the Subaru World Rally Team from 2004-2008. His best finish on an individual WRC event is second, which he achieved at the 2008 Rally México and Rally Argentina...
by 1.1 seconds. Andreas Mikkelsen
Andreas Mikkelsen
Andreas Mikkelsen is a Norwegian rally driver. His co-driver is Ola Fløene.-Career:Mikkelsen has a broad background in sports. He has competed in slalom and giant slalom, and was a member of the national juniors' alpine skiing team...
drove his privateer Ford Focus RS WRC 07 to eighth place, taking the second points finish of his career.
Results
| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRC | ||||||
| 1. |  Sébastien LoebSébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship... |
 Daniel ElenaDaniel Elena Daniel Elena is a Monegasque rally co-driver, currently working with Sébastien Loeb. Between them, the pair have won the World Rally Championship eight times, and currently compete with the Citroën DS3 WRC... |
Citroën C4 WRC Citroën C4 The Citroën C4 is a small family car produced by French automaker Citroën since autumn 2004. The C4 was designed to be the successor to the Citroën Xsara. It is mechanically similar to the Peugeot 308, which was launched in 2007. A revised version with new front end, reverse light and dashboard... |
3:21:17.4 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. |  Dani SordoDani Sordo Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for the Mini WRC Team... |
Marc Marti Marc Martí Marc Martí Moreno is a Spanish rally co-driver. He debuted in the World Rally Championship as a co-driver to Oriol Gómez in 1992. In the 1999 season, he began his partnership with Jesús Puras and the Citroën factory team. The pair took a surprise second place at the 1999 Tour de Corse, behind... |
Citroën C4 WRC Citroën C4 The Citroën C4 is a small family car produced by French automaker Citroën since autumn 2004. The C4 was designed to be the successor to the Citroën Xsara. It is mechanically similar to the Peugeot 308, which was launched in 2007. A revised version with new front end, reverse light and dashboard... |
3:21:42.3 | 24.9 | 8 |
| 3. |  Mikko HirvonenMikko Hirvonen Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish rally driver currently driving for the Citroën Total World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he finished runner-up to... |
Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen is a Finnish sports commentator and journalist who works who works for Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE. He commentates sports events, mainly football matches, for both radio and television. He regularly commentatos football for the Jalkapallokierros program in Radio Suomi... |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
3:22:19.9 | 1:02.5 | 6 |
| 4. |  François DuvalFrançois Duval François Duval is a Belgian rally driver.-1999–2004:With victories in four events Duval won the Belgian Citroën Saxo Challenge title in 1999... |
Patrick Pivato |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
3:22:28.2 | 1:10.8 | 5 |
| 5. |  Petter SolbergPetter Solberg Petter "Hollywood" Solberg , from Spydeberg in Østfold, Norway, is a professional rally driver. He debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999... |
 Phil MillsPhil Mills Phil Mills is a Welsh rally racing co-driver. He was winner of the 2003 World Rally Championship , as co-driver to Petter Solberg.... |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 | 3:24:44.8 | 3:27.4 | 4 |
| 6. | Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala is a Finnish rally driver competing in the World Rally Championship. His co-driver has been Miikka Anttila since the 2003 Rallye Deutschland... |
Miikka Antilla |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
3:25:21.2 | 4:03.8 | 3 |
| 7. |  Chris AtkinsonChris Atkinson Chris Atkinson in Bega, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional rally driver. In the WRC , he drove for the Subaru World Rally Team from 2004-2008. His best finish on an individual WRC event is second, which he achieved at the 2008 Rally México and Rally Argentina... |
Stéphane Prévot |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 | 3:25:22.3 | 4:04.9 | 2 |
| 8. | Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen is a Norwegian rally driver. His co-driver is Ola Fløene.-Career:Mikkelsen has a broad background in sports. He has competed in slalom and giant slalom, and was a member of the national juniors' alpine skiing team... |
Ola Floene |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
3:26:37.0 | 5:19.6 | 1 |
Drivers' championship
EWLINE
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Manufacturers' championship
| Rank | Team | Event | Total points |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MON |
SWE Swedish Rally The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...  |
MEX Rally Mexico The Corona Rally Mexico, formerly known as Rally America is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The rally entered the championship schedule in the 2004 season. The event's itinerary is based in the state of Guanajuato...  |
ARG Rally Argentina The Rally Argentina is an Argentine rally competition that has been both a round of the World Rally Championship and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The rally is also a round of the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship...  |
JOR Jordan Rally The Jordan Rally is a rallying competition held in Jordan. It was a new addition to the FIA World Rally Championship calendar for the 2008 season, and the first occurrence of a WRC event in the Middle East. The rally was previously part of the Middle East Rally Championship...  |
ITA Rally d'Italia Sardegna The Rally d'Italia Sardegna is a rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship schedule and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge . The rally is held on narrow, twisty, sandy and bumpy mountain roads around the town of Porto Cervo...  |
GRC Acropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing...  |
TUR Rally of Turkey The Rally of Turkey is a rally competition on the FIA World Rally Championship schedule.-History:First international rally in Turkey was held in 1972, starting and finishing in İstanbul. In 1999, the idea of creating an all-new event as a WRC candidate was conceived. The next year in 2000, the...  |
FIN Rally Finland The Neste Oil Rally Finland is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year.... |
GER Rallye Deutschland The ADAC Rallye Deutschland is a rally event held in Germany. The event was first held in 1982 and originally hosted by e.g. Frankfurt, Mainz and Koblenz. In 2000, the rally was relocated to the region around Trier...  |
NZL Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...  |
ESP Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava... |
FRA |
JPN Rally Japan Rally Japan is a rally competition held in Hokkaidō, Japan. The event has been part of the FIA World Rally Championship since its introduction during the 2004 season. From 2004 to 2007, the event was held on the twisty and narrow gravel roads of the Tokachi region near Obihiro. For the 2008 season,...  |
GBR Rally GB Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales... |
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| 1 | Citroën Total World Rally Team Citroën Total World Rally Team The Citroën Total World Rally Team is the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship, run by Citroën Racing.-Management:* Olivier Quesnel – team director* Xavier Mestelan-Pinon – technical director-1990-1998 Seasons:... |
11 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | - | - | - | 159 |
| 2 | BP Ford World Rally Team BP Ford World Rally Team The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season, when Ford Motor Company's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson... |
8 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 11 | - | - | - | 132 |
| 3 | Subaru World Rally Team Subaru World Rally Team The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003... |
10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 80 |
| 4 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team |
8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | - | - | - | 55 |
| 5 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Munchi's Ford World Rally Team The Munchi's Ford World Rally Team is a private team currently competing in the World Rally Championship. The team made its debut in the 2007 Swedish Rally... |
0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 22 |
| 6 | Suzuki World Rally Team Suzuki World Rally Team The Suzuki World Rally Team, also known as the Suzuki WRC Challenge was Suzuki's factory backed World Rally Championship team, as part of the Suzuki Sport organization. The team debuted for the first time at the 2007 Tour de Corse in France... |
2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | - | - | - | 20 |