:00:43. > :00:48.Hello and welcome to Builth Wells. Normally this show ground would be
:00:48. > :00:55.gearing up for the winter fur. But this time, all eyes are on motor
:00:55. > :01:00.sport, the final round of the World Rally Championship, the Wales Rally
:01:00. > :01:09.GB. Coming up, the head-to-head battle for the world Drivers' Title.
:01:09. > :01:16.We take a look at the newest team in the WRC, Mini. And just what
:01:16. > :01:19.does it take to take part in this event? But first, a look back at
:01:19. > :01:26.the story of this year's championship. The year began with
:01:26. > :01:33.this season's only snow rally, in Sweden. Rule changes meant new,
:01:33. > :01:40.smaller cars. One thing which had did not changed was a disappointing
:01:40. > :01:49.result for Severn world champion Sebastien lobe, who has only won
:01:49. > :01:56.once in Sweden. For Petter Solberg, a temporary driving ban for being
:01:56. > :02:02.caught speeding saw his co-driver in the driver's seat for a change.
:02:02. > :02:12.Ford, using the Fiesta for the first time, took a clean sweep of
:02:12. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:21.the podium places. Finishing third was Jari-Matti Latvala, and second
:02:21. > :02:24.place was taken by Fernando Mussano. But the winner was Mikko Hirvonen,
:02:24. > :02:30.his bid for the world Drivers' Title getting off to the perfect
:02:30. > :02:40.start. The second round was the Rally of Mexico in March, the
:02:40. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:48.year's first event on gravel. This time, it was Sebastien Ogier who
:02:48. > :02:57.was experiencing problems. Suspension damage meant retirement.
:02:57. > :03:05.No such drama for Loeb, who had won in Mexico the previous year, and
:03:05. > :03:09.repeated that victory in 2011. His bid for a eighth successive world
:03:09. > :03:19.title was under way. Ford now had a healthy lead in the Manufacturers'
:03:19. > :03:20.
:03:20. > :03:25.Championship. Round three, in Portugal, and victory last year had
:03:25. > :03:33.gone to Sebastien Ogier, his first ever WRC wind. But had that
:03:33. > :03:39.retirement in Mexico dented his confidence? The story of the 2011
:03:39. > :03:46.rally revolved around punctures. It contributed to Petter Solberg
:03:47. > :03:56.finishing in a lowly sixth place. Mikko Hirvonen also had to stop and
:03:57. > :04:03.
:04:03. > :04:13.change a wheel. Loeb was forced to run in Hirvonen's dust, much to the
:04:13. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:24.disgust of Loeb. Citroen won a one- two, much to the relief of the team.
:04:24. > :04:30.Next, Jordan. A frustrating season for Petter Solberg continued, when
:04:30. > :04:33.he was forced to retire. Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen
:04:34. > :04:41.was slowed by having to sweep the road surface of loose gravel, and
:04:41. > :04:46.he then had a power steering problem. Tactics played a huge part
:04:46. > :04:52.in the resort. Loeb deliberately slowed almost to a stop to drop
:04:52. > :04:59.down the running order and so avoid having to act as road sweeper.
:04:59. > :05:06.There then followed one of the most drilling battles of the entire
:05:06. > :05:16.season, Latvala fighting Loeb all the way to the end. Only two
:05:16. > :05:21.
:05:21. > :05:27.seconds separated the pair at the Italy hosted round five, held on
:05:27. > :05:33.gravel roads on the island of Sardinia. Two new cars were on show,
:05:33. > :05:38.the Volkswagen Polo, and the Mini Countryman. After scoring points on
:05:38. > :05:48.each of the first four rounds, Jari-Matti Latvala rolled into
:05:48. > :05:50.
:05:50. > :06:00.retirement in Italy. Petter Solberg finely finished on the podium, in
:06:00. > :06:03.
:06:03. > :06:09.third place. But it was Loeb who took the win, his third of the year.
:06:09. > :06:18.Across the Atlantic once again for round six, the Rally of Argentina.
:06:18. > :06:24.It was a mixed surface event. Latvala finished in 7th place after
:06:24. > :06:29.hitting a rock. Ogier also fell foul of the Argentinian gravel,
:06:29. > :06:39.although he did go on to finish third. But again, it was Loeb who
:06:39. > :06:40.
:06:41. > :06:48.took the victory, finishing just 2.5 seconds ahead of Hirvonen. Back
:06:48. > :06:53.to Greece for the Acropolis Rally, and this time, it was Ogier's turn
:06:53. > :06:59.to employ tactics, slowing to a crawl to make sure he would not go
:06:59. > :07:03.first on the road. Loeb was unaware of what his teammate had done until
:07:03. > :07:07.after the stage, but the team told the world champion that they would
:07:07. > :07:14.not be imposing any kind of orders, and the two drivers were to fight
:07:14. > :07:19.it out for the win. The slightly better road conditions, or perhaps
:07:19. > :07:27.the psychological upper hand, meant Ogier took the victory by 10.5
:07:27. > :07:31.seconds from an unhappy Loeb. Another of the classic rallies came
:07:31. > :07:37.next, the Rally of Finland, traditionally dominated by local
:07:37. > :07:41.drivers. Mikko Hirvonen house and his home rally in 2009, but hopes
:07:41. > :07:49.of another victory were dashed by a large rock hidden in the
:07:49. > :07:54.undergrowth. The damage was all to clear to see, and Hirvonen would
:07:55. > :08:03.finish fourth. Another Finn, ex Formula 1 star Kimi Raikkonen, also
:08:03. > :08:08.fell foul of the scenery, on his way to 9th place. Finishing third
:08:08. > :08:14.was Sebastien Ogier, but he must have wondered if this puncture had
:08:14. > :08:21.cost him the difference between first and third. Yet again, Jari-
:08:21. > :08:28.Matti Latvala fought it out with Loeb, but yet again, it was the
:08:28. > :08:38.Citroen driver who won that battle. Round 9 was the Wellie of Germany.
:08:38. > :08:39.
:08:39. > :08:46.It witnessed the two Minis making their debut on tarmac. There was
:08:46. > :08:52.far better news for the team, with Dani Sordo finishing third, and
:08:52. > :09:02.recording the first podium finish for them away. Punctures were again
:09:02. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:08.an issue, this was Mikko Hirvonen getting one. Another new
:09:08. > :09:12.development for this year was the introduction of the so-called Power
:09:12. > :09:20.Stage, live for television, with bonus points for finishing in the
:09:20. > :09:28.top three. Ogier took the win, but Loeb won the Power Stage, and three
:09:28. > :09:35.extra points. Round 10 saw the longest journey of the season for
:09:35. > :09:45.Australia. American Ken Block discovered just how slippery the
:09:45. > :09:47.
:09:47. > :09:57.Australian gravel could be. BLEEP! Surprisingly, another crew to
:09:57. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:04.suffer a similar fate was Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena.
:10:04. > :10:10.They did restart and finish tenth, but you can clearly see that Loeb
:10:10. > :10:18.was not happy. Australia rewarded England's Matthew Wilson with his
:10:18. > :10:28.best result of the year, fourth. Petter Solberg claimed third,
:10:28. > :10:31.
:10:31. > :10:38.despite this spin. In Australia, it was Ford's turn to call their
:10:38. > :10:48.drivers together for a meeting. The team decided not to risk the one-
:10:48. > :10:57.
:10:57. > :11:02.Round 11 was France, run on the tarmac roads of the Alsace region,
:11:02. > :11:08.around the city of Strasbourg. Unsurprisingly, Loeb started as
:11:08. > :11:18.favourite, but his home event was not to help his hopes for that
:11:18. > :11:20.
:11:20. > :11:30.eighth world title. A rare engine failure for Loeb, and Kris Meeke
:11:30. > :11:31.
:11:31. > :11:35.would also return home empty-handed. Ford ran its two Fiestas in a
:11:35. > :11:44.different colour scheme, but that did not mean that Latvala had any
:11:45. > :11:48.more grip. Jari-Matti Latvala eventually finished fourth, and
:11:48. > :11:58.Hirvonen's consistent season continued, when he came home in
:11:58. > :12:08.
:12:08. > :12:13.third. Dani Sordo recorded Mini's best result to date, second. And so
:12:13. > :12:20.to round 12, Spain, in late October, watched by some of the largest,
:12:21. > :12:27.most enthusiastic crowds of the season. Loeb's engine failure in
:12:27. > :12:37.France had been seen as a one-off by his team, but Ogier discovered
:12:37. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:49.Meeke was fifth and Sordo fourth. Latvala finished on the podium but
:12:50. > :12:55.was two minutes down the man who finished. Who else but Sebastien
:12:56. > :13:02.Loeb. His fifth Vic of the season meant Citroen secured the
:13:02. > :13:05.manufacturers title with one event to go. Confirmation then of that
:13:05. > :13:10.manufacturers title for Citroen. Their fourth r fourth in a row and
:13:10. > :13:16.the seventh from the last nine years. Their 397 points compared
:13:16. > :13:22.toed for's 351 mean the French team cannot now be caught. But the
:13:22. > :13:25.drivers series is still undecided going into the final road. Loeb and
:13:25. > :13:32.Hirvonen travel to Wales separated by eight points with Ogier and the
:13:32. > :13:37.others too far behind to catch up. We have a good chance for sure it
:13:37. > :13:42.would mean we could do it. That is what I tried to do. 15 years since
:13:42. > :13:49.I started. It would mean a lot for many people if it happens now.
:13:49. > :13:52.will see. I think we have to accept that one of us will lose the
:13:52. > :13:59.championship here, so hopefully it is not me, but I know that it is
:13:59. > :14:05.possible. A tree disease in the South Wales forest forced the rally
:14:05. > :14:11.organisers to look to north and mid Wales, some classic names returned.
:14:11. > :14:21.But with a start on the seafront at Llandudno the rally's first stage
:14:21. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:30.also hadn't been used on the World Championship since 1981. First to
:14:30. > :14:34.tackle the stage was Sebastien Loeb. Crews would drive the stage twice
:14:34. > :14:39.before heading for the first forest strange where the real action would
:14:39. > :14:49.begin. That didn't mean they could afford to take it easy,
:14:49. > :14:54.
:14:54. > :15:01.particularly the man next into the Set up for the gravel stages and on
:15:01. > :15:11.gravel tyre, cars weren't in the ideal configuration for the road.
:15:11. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:23.Something Sebastien Ogier had We had a bit too much speed on the
:15:23. > :15:27.corner. We went a bit wide, and it, the mountain and the cliff...
:15:27. > :15:33.was it down to the tyres? It was gravel tyres on Tarmac, it is not
:15:33. > :15:38.easy, we knew it before the start. For sure it is a stupid mistake.
:15:38. > :15:43.But like all the mistakes. With Ogier's rally effectively over it
:15:43. > :15:52.was down to Jari-Matti Latvala to show how a driver supports his
:15:52. > :16:02.team-mate's push for the world title. Solberg came close to
:16:02. > :16:08.
:16:08. > :16:15.After the second run round the the track Latvala led by two seconds
:16:15. > :16:20.from Loeb. But before the stage had begun, at the rally's first forest
:16:20. > :16:28.stage, marshals had been arriving since first thing that morning.
:16:28. > :16:33.the marshal team, the time keepers, the radio operators, the medical
:16:33. > :16:37.incident vehicles and so forth will all be arriving, they all sign on
:16:37. > :16:40.to basically, so they, the event knows they are here, they are
:16:40. > :16:43.covered from an insurance perspective and from a staffing
:16:43. > :16:48.perspective we can see where the numbers are of people who are going
:16:48. > :16:51.and so we can make sure we are happy with all the numbers in each
:16:51. > :16:57.location. So how many people are you in charge of on this particular
:16:57. > :17:03.stage for example? We expect in the region of about 330 people covering
:17:03. > :17:07.all those different roles I talked about. So it is quite a logistical
:17:07. > :17:10.exercise. We are signing all the marshals into the stage, up until a
:17:10. > :17:15.couple of years ago everyone was filling out a manual signing on
:17:15. > :17:18.card, now the system is on line, they register from home, they can
:17:18. > :17:24.preprint their own signing on card with all their details already in
:17:24. > :17:28.and all we are doing is scanning the barcodes into the system. So it
:17:28. > :17:31.is like passport control in a way. Pretty much. And at the end of
:17:31. > :17:35.signing on we will do a full report for the stage commander, where
:17:35. > :17:41.everyone is, where they are posted, what their numbers are in case
:17:41. > :17:44.anyone need to be got in an emergency. 330 marshals might sound
:17:45. > :17:49.a lot but spectator safety, specialists to work the timing
:17:49. > :17:57.system and a network of safety rescue and recovery personnel all
:17:57. > :18:02.add up. We are car -- carrying a set of hydraulic cutting saw,
:18:02. > :18:06.stabilisation device, saws to cut crash helmets and on the medical
:18:06. > :18:12.side a lot of spinal support gear, quite a lot of medical
:18:12. > :18:16.stablelyisation gear, in terms of fluids and oxygen and gases and
:18:17. > :18:21.pain-killing equipment, and that sort of thing. We can use under the
:18:21. > :18:26.supervision of the medical staff to get people stab stabilised and away.
:18:26. > :18:30.So there are two doctors on this stage are they? I believe there are
:18:30. > :18:34.three. We have one at the start with a rescue vehicle and an
:18:34. > :18:37.ambulance and a res Kew cue vehicle to help cut people out and do
:18:37. > :18:43.whatever is necessary to retrieve the vehicles, and in this
:18:43. > :18:49.particular stage, be have two, in the stage. Because it is 15 or, 15k
:18:49. > :18:54.I think. So yes, I shall be half way through the stage watching them
:18:54. > :18:59.through and will cover from my post to the end, because you must go
:18:59. > :19:03.stage direction. We have two winchs, at the front and back. The front
:19:03. > :19:08.winch is for basically doing the heavy winching, if there is
:19:08. > :19:12.anything down a bank. We would use the rear winch to stabilise
:19:12. > :19:17.ourselves with against,, a tree, if there was not another vehicle to
:19:17. > :19:21.anchor to, the winch on the back is attached to a crane, which we use
:19:21. > :19:27.for lifting the vehicle, to tow them out of stage if that is what
:19:28. > :19:33.is needed. Our job is the B system radio, which is the back up to the
:19:33. > :19:37.satellite strucking on the rally cars. If that fails, our job is to
:19:37. > :19:42.make sure that the organisers have all the information, of which cars
:19:42. > :19:45.are in stage, so should they not appear at the next checkpoint we
:19:45. > :19:48.know exactly that they are in the five kilometres between the last
:19:48. > :19:52.time they were seen and they disappeared so the marshals know
:19:52. > :19:58.where to go and look for the missing car. As zero hour drew near
:19:58. > :20:03.and with all 330 marshals in place, a succession of organisers vehicles
:20:03. > :20:07.arrived at the stage start for the final approval to run. I am a dual
:20:07. > :20:13.purpose role. I make sure the timing is working correctly. I
:20:13. > :20:16.won't leave until it is. We will go through the stage and make sure no
:20:16. > :20:22.spectators aren't where they are not supposed to be and things like
:20:22. > :20:27.that. We are going to go for the final time and the saefty delegate
:20:27. > :20:30.is with us, as long adds he is happy with the stage it can run.
:20:30. > :20:40.The safety delegate was indeed satisfied with the stage and so to
:20:40. > :20:42.
:20:42. > :20:45.the relief of the stage commander, it could go ahead. We have the
:20:45. > :20:52.final through. The first competitor is on time so we will starting on
:20:52. > :20:59.time. So on time to the second, and at a little before 4.20 up drove
:20:59. > :21:03.Championship leader Sebastien Loeb and blissfully unwear of the work
:21:03. > :21:10.gone into setting up the stage. Lights ablaze the pair charged off,
:21:10. > :21:20.glad to be into the forest and to have escaped the first stage
:21:20. > :21:38.
:21:38. > :21:48.Loeb's stunning pace in the gloom More than matched in fact. Keep an
:21:48. > :21:53.
:21:53. > :22:00.eye on the clock to compare Mikko 2.3 seconds quicker, the Fiesta was
:22:00. > :22:04.seven tenths of a second behind. Are you happy? Yes, it went like, I
:22:04. > :22:11.said I am going to be on course, I said I will catch him here, you
:22:11. > :22:21.know, we are in the game. Behind the championship scrap, the
:22:21. > :22:27.
:22:27. > :22:37.unblinking Latvala was round six A loose lamp pod meant Matthew
:22:37. > :22:40.
:22:40. > :22:48.Wilson was only tenth quickest on So it was Kris Meeke the leading
:22:48. > :22:53.British driver in fifth place in the miniany. -- Mini. From night-
:22:53. > :23:00.time on Thursday, to predawn on Friday. A 5.30 start the crews head
:23:00. > :23:07.for the first of the day's stages. A loop of three and one in another
:23:07. > :23:12.forest would take them to Builth Wells at lunchtime. As Thursday and
:23:12. > :23:20.Friday were classed as one leg, the rung order was still based on
:23:20. > :23:30.Championship positions. -- running order. Loeb took first blood, going
:23:30. > :23:39.
:23:39. > :23:47.Hirvonen struck back on the next, reducing the gap again to 1.3
:23:47. > :23:57.seconds. Four time rally GB winner Solberg survived a scare, look at
:23:57. > :24:07.
:24:07. > :24:10.Going into the day's third stage, Loeb's lead was 1.3 seconds.
:24:10. > :24:14.Hirvonen however was on a mission, and even though the stage was only
:24:14. > :24:24.a little over four miles in length, the rally lead was about to change
:24:24. > :24:33.
:24:33. > :24:43.A 1.3 second deficit has switched to a four tenth of a second
:24:43. > :24:47.
:24:47. > :24:49.It is very tricky, it is changing a lot. You get frustrated. Some
:24:49. > :24:54.coners you have a God grip. The next corner you have nothing. So it
:24:54. > :24:59.is very difficult. But that is, we are in Wales, what would you
:24:59. > :25:01.expect? So part one of Hirvonen's plan was copping together. His
:25:01. > :25:11.team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala had to deny Loeb as many points as
:25:11. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:21.Latvala was third fastest on all of the first three stages of the day,
:25:21. > :25:28.but he knew he needed to go quicker still to help his colleague. The
:25:28. > :25:38.next stage would see the end of Sordo's rally when he and his team-
:25:38. > :25:48.Stage seven. Loeb charged into the stage, determined to retake the
:25:48. > :25:55.
:25:55. > :26:05.Two minutes later, Hirvonen started the stage. Equally as focused on
:26:05. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:17.heading to Builth Wells with an But, in the slippery conditions, a
:26:17. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:24.long left hand bend caught out the Hirvonen quickly pun the Fiesta
:26:24. > :26:30.round and headed off again, aware that the spin has handed the rally
:26:30. > :26:39.lead back to Loeb. But despite the incident not looking that serious,
:26:39. > :26:42.a faint cloud of smoke suggested all was not well. Sure enough,
:26:42. > :26:52.before Hirvonen and his co-driver could reach the end of the stage
:26:52. > :26:56.
:26:56. > :26:58.the car's engine cut out and they Three frustrating minutes ticked by,
:26:58. > :27:03.until Hirvonen could restart the car's engine. Wild on by the crowds
:27:03. > :27:12.of spectators who sensed they were witnessing a premature end to the
:27:12. > :27:16.battle for the drivers' title. There were no such dramas running
:27:16. > :27:21.ahead of im. Loeb was made wear of the time loss by the data available
:27:21. > :27:31.inside the car and his team radio, but of course had no idea what had
:27:31. > :27:47.
:27:47. > :27:53.Hirvonen arrived at the finish with a visible damage to the front end.
:27:53. > :27:58.What happened? I think we have broken the radiator. The engine
:27:58. > :28:06.overheated and now it is gone. you going to work on it now? I will
:28:06. > :28:12.see what we can do. Kris Meeke now have the hopes of the Mini team on
:28:12. > :28:20.his shoulders. But a spin caused the alternator belt to come off,
:28:20. > :28:29.and the Northern Ireland driver would be heading for Builth in 11th
:28:29. > :28:37.place. One of the performances of the day came from the Estonian
:28:37. > :28:44.Tanak. After the first group of stages, Loeb knew that he nearly
:28:44. > :28:51.had title number eight in the bag. If I think he can still come in the
:28:52. > :29:00.points, then I have to take it really easy. But if not, then I can
:29:00. > :29:04.drive and try to fight for the victory. What the Citroen did not
:29:04. > :29:08.know was what was happening on the road section. Hirvonen's car had
:29:09. > :29:14.cut out again, and this time was completely refusing to co-operate.
:29:14. > :29:19.It finally stopped completely, and no end of coaxing could get it to
:29:19. > :29:25.restart. No outside assistance is allowed, but they found a
:29:25. > :29:29.convenient stream to fill up their drinks bottles. The two Finns
:29:29. > :29:32.worked desperately to refill the radiator, but the outcome was
:29:33. > :29:36.inevitable, and eventually, Hirvonen had to break the news to
:29:36. > :29:46.his team, that his fight for the world Drivers' Title was finally at
:29:46. > :29:52.an end. You do not get so many of these chances to fight for the
:29:53. > :29:56.title. This year it has been a tough fight, but as a team, we just
:29:56. > :30:01.pulled it all together to be able to fight here at the last rally, so
:30:01. > :30:05.it is a shame to end it this way. As you can imagine, we are
:30:05. > :30:12.devastated, because everybody has put so much effort into it. Two
:30:12. > :30:20.months ago, we had no chance of the championship. We knew exactly what
:30:20. > :30:25.we needed to do, which is what Mikko Hirvonen was doing, he was
:30:25. > :30:29.really taking the fight to Loeb. But driving at that kind of pace,
:30:29. > :30:32.mistakes can happen. Unfortunately, he spun early on, and it must have
:30:33. > :30:40.been some branches or something which have damaged the radiator. It
:30:40. > :30:45.was too much to continue. Another run through those four stages it
:30:45. > :30:50.still lay ahead, but the rally have lost some of its sparkle. Loeb knew
:30:50. > :30:57.that the title was his, no matter what the result, and so eased off
:30:57. > :31:03.slightly. Latvala was now fighting for pride, both for Finland and for
:31:03. > :31:11.Ford. As a result, the Fiesta was quickest on two of the first three
:31:11. > :31:17.stages. Hirvonen's retirement meant Mads Ostberg had climbed into the
:31:17. > :31:27.podium positions. He was now third, but with two days remaining,
:31:27. > :31:27.
:31:27. > :31:36.anything could happen. 2003 world champion Petter Solberg was only
:31:36. > :31:41.eight seconds behind third place. Meanwhile, his older brother,
:31:41. > :31:47.Henning Solberg, was in a relatively secure fifth place.
:31:47. > :31:55.Jari-Matti Latvala might have won two of the three stages, but a
:31:55. > :32:05.revitalised Kris Meeke was fastest on the other, Dyfi East. Today's
:32:05. > :32:08.
:32:08. > :32:18.final stage was another blast through the forest. Loeb's 90% pace
:32:18. > :32:20.
:32:20. > :32:27.continued, allowing Jari-Matti Latvala to take the victory. There
:32:27. > :32:37.was still one Ford Fiesta aiming to deny Loeb victory in the final
:32:37. > :32:45.
:32:45. > :32:50.It was a good afternoon. The morning was not the best, I had a
:32:50. > :32:58.headache. But we worked well with our team, and I got good feelings.
:32:58. > :33:02.It will be good to get on the podium again. The start of the
:33:02. > :33:09.rally was not so good, we lost a bit of time, and then we had to
:33:09. > :33:13.push on. Just a bit frustrated with the problem we had on the first of
:33:13. > :33:20.loop, but that is the way it is. It is nice to be able to think back,
:33:20. > :33:26.we're only a few seconds behind sixth place. I'm setting a target
:33:26. > :33:31.to try and get fifth place from Henning Solberg, but it is a long
:33:31. > :33:37.way to go. It was a bit frustrating, but there's two massive days to go.
:33:37. > :33:47.Anything can happen. Of the Welsh drivers, Jason Pritchard was
:33:47. > :33:53.competing almost literally in his backyard. Jason was already in 20th
:33:53. > :34:00.place, where he finished last year. Also on familiar territory was
:34:00. > :34:04.Elfyn Evans, the son of the 1996 British champion. But he was
:34:04. > :34:13.founding that local knowledge counted for little on stages like
:34:13. > :34:17.this. I found them pretty difficult, to be honest. The grip level is
:34:17. > :34:24.very low in certain areas, and in so insistent, which makes it even
:34:24. > :34:29.more difficult. -- inconsistent. It is difficult to find the right
:34:29. > :34:33.balance. Finding the right balance is it something the newest team in
:34:33. > :34:38.the competition knows all about. Mini only entered the series in
:34:38. > :34:48.Sardinia, so this was the first time they had encountered the wet
:34:48. > :34:54.
:34:54. > :34:58.Welsh gravel. There is a slight irreverence about the Mini, it is a
:34:58. > :35:03.young, not frivolous, but rather exciting little product, which
:35:03. > :35:06.always turns up the unexpected. I guess that is what the rally car
:35:06. > :35:10.has done. Many people were questioning whether it was the
:35:10. > :35:14.right car, the right sized body, the engine, all the rest of it, but
:35:14. > :35:17.lo and behold, we are on the podium in the first few events. So I think
:35:18. > :35:22.we have put the sceptics back in their box to start with. Now, we
:35:22. > :35:27.have got to start to deliver in the longer term. We always knew we
:35:27. > :35:31.could make a great car from the Mini. We always knew that the Mini
:35:31. > :35:35.was an appealing brand. We have put the two together and created the
:35:35. > :35:41.world's favourite rally car. From that perspective we have got great,
:35:41. > :35:47.great appeal. Technically, we have still got more to learn, but the
:35:47. > :35:51.team are really going to deliver on that, I'm certain. We're really
:35:51. > :35:55.pleased with the way things have gone. We did not want to have too
:35:55. > :35:58.many expectations. We have been trying to tell people that it was a
:35:58. > :36:02.three-year programme, and people did not believe this, but genuinely,
:36:02. > :36:06.this year is a testing year, next year we will do the whole
:36:06. > :36:12.Championship, but still a learning year, still with the relatively
:36:12. > :36:15.small team, focused on developing the team and the car. It is only in
:36:15. > :36:21.2013 When we're meant to be talking about winning rallies and fighting
:36:21. > :36:24.for the Championship. So we are ahead of expectations. But at the
:36:24. > :36:31.back of our minds, we always felt we had done a good job with the car,
:36:31. > :36:36.and why not look towards getting on the podium? The team has opted for
:36:36. > :36:42.a combination of experience and looking to the future. The
:36:42. > :36:49.experience comes courtesy of Spain's Dani Sordo, while the
:36:49. > :36:53.future star category is filled by Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke.
:36:53. > :36:58.have had one accident this year, we took that on the chin, but
:36:58. > :37:03.otherwise it has been very, very good. The times have been there, we
:37:03. > :37:08.have to look to Dani Sordo to be trying to extract the maximum out
:37:08. > :37:13.of the car, with his experience. But I have been very, very close,
:37:13. > :37:17.and at times, I have been able to set better times than him, but
:37:17. > :37:24.rivalry is always good. But we're looking at the overall picture for
:37:24. > :37:28.the team. We're happy, but the engineers might tell you they
:37:28. > :37:36.expected it. To be honest, as regards our targets, we're on
:37:36. > :37:41.schedule. What do you do at a test, what kind of information can you
:37:41. > :37:45.get from running through a couple of miles of a Welsh stage? It is
:37:45. > :37:55.all relative to the event. Obviously you do not experience
:37:55. > :37:56.
:37:56. > :38:00.conditions like this anywhere else in the world, other than Wales.
:38:00. > :38:03.We're looking at specific suspension set-ups for this type of
:38:03. > :38:10.terrain, and trying different things on the car with the balance
:38:10. > :38:16.of the MacCrone, to help filed struggling with the balance of the
:38:16. > :38:22.chassis, to help find a balance on these tricky roads. Today is all
:38:22. > :38:32.about refining the set-up. It is not major, significant changes to
:38:32. > :38:34.
:38:34. > :38:38.the car, but subtle changes in the suspension and everything. We have
:38:38. > :38:42.had a couple of British world champions, and I enjoy that, for me,
:38:42. > :38:47.it is one of the keys to the business, finding young talent and
:38:47. > :38:54.developing it. I would love to see another British world champion, in
:38:54. > :38:58.a Mini, one day. Back to the rally, and Saturday began with a loop of
:38:58. > :39:03.three stages, totalling 64 kilometres. But the man in fourth
:39:03. > :39:08.place overnight would not even reach the first of those stages,
:39:08. > :39:16.with a fuel leak making his car catch fire. It was a proper fire,
:39:16. > :39:26.it was not a nice situation. But there's nothing we could have done,
:39:26. > :39:27.
:39:27. > :39:37.we did everything we could. day's first stage, Hafren, was
:39:37. > :39:40.
:39:40. > :39:44.always the longest. -- was also the longest. Loeb went early on.
:39:44. > :39:49.Latvala sensed a chance to attack. Sure enough, halfway through the
:39:49. > :39:56.stage, he was four seconds quicker than Loeb, and looked to have
:39:56. > :40:00.snatched the lead. Precious seconds were lost selecting reverse gear
:40:00. > :40:04.and backing out of the ditch. The chance for Latvala to retake the
:40:04. > :40:14.lead he had briefly held at the start of the event slipped away,
:40:14. > :40:18.
:40:18. > :40:27.but just how much time had he not? All in all, around 10 seconds had
:40:27. > :40:33.been dropped. That was a great start, but what happened in the
:40:33. > :40:41.middle? It was really muggy on the breaking, and I panicked a bit, and
:40:41. > :40:45.I went straight into an access road. The engine stopped and I had to
:40:45. > :40:49.reverse. There are rumours Kimi Raikkonen is heading back to
:40:49. > :40:55.Formula 1 next season, but any hopes he had of ending his world
:40:55. > :41:00.wellie career on a high were dashed when he slid off the road in Hafren
:41:00. > :41:09.Forest. Spectators dragged the car back onto the road, but the Finn
:41:09. > :41:17.retired shortly after driving out of the stage. Stage 13, the
:41:17. > :41:27.shortest, at Sweet Lamb, and Loeb was just three tenths of a second
:41:27. > :41:28.
:41:28. > :41:38.slower than Latvala. The situation was reversed on the next stage,
:41:38. > :41:43.
:41:43. > :41:51.Myherin, which included a climb towards the wind turbines. This
:41:51. > :41:56.time, Latvala was seven tenths of a second slower than Loeb. Third
:41:56. > :42:06.place was secure for Mads Ostberg, but pacing himself he found tricky,
:42:06. > :42:09.
:42:09. > :42:19.without anybody to fight. Meanwhile, Henning Solberg was two minutes
:42:19. > :42:26.
:42:26. > :42:30.behind his compatriot. Estonia's Ott Tanak was only 20 seconds
:42:30. > :42:35.behind Henning Solberg going into the stage, but an incident forced
:42:35. > :42:38.him to drop out. Correcting his pace notes caused the smallest of
:42:38. > :42:44.lapses in concentration, and picking up a blockage to the
:42:44. > :42:54.radiator meant a round two minutes would be lost, while the coach
:42:54. > :43:06.
:43:06. > :43:16.Sordo mad reentered under the superrally regulations and was
:43:16. > :43:16.
:43:16. > :43:19.using the event to gather data for the team. Ken block was in tenth
:43:19. > :43:29.place, but the American driver would damage the front of his
:43:29. > :43:31.
:43:31. > :43:35.Fiesta, when he miss judged the break braking point for a gate. The
:43:35. > :43:39.damage looked bad, buzz his mechanics would be more than up to
:43:39. > :43:45.the task as were Kris Meeke, although the nin team had a more
:43:45. > :43:48.challenging it is a bg, sorting out the service mounts in Builth Wells.
:43:49. > :43:53.As soon as I went off the start line in the stage, the engine
:43:53. > :43:57.mounting or the bolt connecting the mounting broke, and the engine
:43:57. > :44:02.started moving. It then pulled the boost pipe off for the turbo and
:44:02. > :44:06.done quite a bit of damage, but luckily it kept going. And
:44:06. > :44:11.obviously we were running well below par. But we tried to minimise
:44:11. > :44:16.the damage. We tried to get the car back so we are grateful to have a
:44:16. > :44:20.strong car. The mechanics did their stuff so Meeke could concentrate on
:44:20. > :44:26.catching Matthew Wilson, five second or so ahead. We had a scare
:44:26. > :44:30.in Sweet Lamb. There was a big rock that got dragged into the line. We
:44:30. > :44:32.were hoping it hadn't done any damage. Thankfully I don't think it
:44:32. > :44:36.has. That was the only thing this morning.
:44:36. > :44:41.The afternoon consisted of that look loop of three stages again,
:44:41. > :44:48.but this time the national event had been through. Loeb set off well
:44:48. > :44:54.aware that conditions had changed. One thing that hadn't altered was
:44:54. > :45:04.Latvala's pace on the stage. Determined not repeat the morner's
:45:04. > :45:18.
:45:19. > :45:23.-- morning's error, this time the Eight 8.6 seconds faster than Loeb
:45:24. > :45:28.laful laugh had finally grabbed the lead. Tanak's superb drive resumed,
:45:28. > :45:34.despite that two minute time loss. Unfaised by his mistake he was five
:45:34. > :45:37.seconds away from taking seventh place. Matthew Wilson on the other
:45:37. > :45:47.hand was dropping down the leaderboard, thanks to a power
:45:47. > :45:47.
:45:47. > :45:57.That meant Kris Meeke would tackle the Spectator pleasing Sweet Lamb
:45:57. > :46:04.
:46:04. > :46:14.stage, having moved back up into Stage 17, the second run through,
:46:14. > :46:17.
:46:17. > :46:21.and Loeb again flew through the This time there was a complimentary
:46:21. > :46:27.assessment of his pone feant from the new World Champion as he
:46:27. > :46:34.reached the top line. -- stop line. Cannot do anything. I don't know.
:46:34. > :46:39.It maybe he is much better than me, or maybe we are cleaning a bit. I
:46:39. > :46:44.have done a perfect stage. You have to watch it on the video. You will
:46:44. > :46:54.find no mistake nowhere. Whatever the reason his perfect stage was
:46:54. > :47:02.
:47:02. > :47:07.By now, Meeke was comfortably the leading British driver in fifth
:47:07. > :47:12.place overall. To the delight of a northern Irish mini driver from a
:47:12. > :47:22.previous era. Paddy hop Kirk. So with 17 of the rally's 2 stages
:47:22. > :47:26.
:47:27. > :47:32.done and dusted this is is how the What do you think is the secret of
:47:32. > :47:37.your success? I managed to keep it clean and tidy. In the morning I
:47:37. > :47:47.was attacking a lot but I did small mistake, I went too much sideways
:47:47. > :47:50.and now I managed to keep it more on the clean. We got the message
:47:50. > :47:56.about Petter, that created some difficulty for me because I tried
:47:56. > :48:01.to play safe. It didn't work at all, so it has been a different day, I
:48:01. > :48:05.have not been pushing, then it is chaotic, it has been tricky.
:48:05. > :48:10.Welsh drivers had a day of two halves. Jason Pritchard worked his
:48:10. > :48:14.way up to 1th overall. This morning it was all right. It was slippy and
:48:14. > :48:19.we were cautious under the braking but Sweet Lamb was a good stage. It
:48:19. > :48:23.is the first time I have enjoyed the other stage. The second time
:48:23. > :48:29.over this jump on the Sweet Lamb stage saw Jason and Elfyn Evans
:48:29. > :48:33.retire, after seriously damaging their cars. Two stages from the end
:48:33. > :48:38.of the academy series, he was a minute-and-a-half in the lead, and
:48:38. > :48:42.it seems like he has had a very heavy landing over a jump on the
:48:42. > :48:47.Sweet Lamb stage, the stage deteriorated away very badly and he
:48:47. > :48:51.landed in a hole and he damaged the front radiator, it sound from the
:48:51. > :48:56.messages we are having, there will be no chance of carrying on in
:48:56. > :49:00.Sweet Lamb. It is not just him, it has happened to a few cars.
:49:00. > :49:03.Apparently six cars done the same thing, so it is a shame. If that is
:49:03. > :49:07.the case, you know, there wasn't a bit of warning like. Bitter
:49:07. > :49:11.disappointment for both Welsh drivers then, but for a Welsh co-
:49:11. > :49:15.driver the rally was anything but disappointing. Gareth Roberts and
:49:15. > :49:23.his driver Craig Breen began the rally with a slim chance of winning
:49:23. > :49:27.the FIA Academy Award and with it a 500,000 euro prize to be spent on
:49:27. > :49:37.next year's programme. It was a tall order, but increedibly, they
:49:37. > :49:45.
:49:45. > :49:52.did it. Securing the academy win on the rally's very last stage. --
:49:52. > :49:56.I can't find words to describe this moment, for sure the most amazing
:49:56. > :50:01.feel, to finally get here, after all the effort we have put in all
:50:01. > :50:04.year, all the ups and downs we have made to it the finish. We finished
:50:04. > :50:10.on level points. I am thrilled. Couldn't be happier. What does this
:50:10. > :50:13.mean do you as a co-driver? It is a fantastic opportunity to put me and
:50:13. > :50:16.Craig somewhere else, it is a brilliant step up to come up
:50:16. > :50:21.through the ranks of the academy, so hopefully we will see you, see
:50:21. > :50:26.what we can do next year. Will you be giving up your day job? Who know,
:50:26. > :50:31.who knows. The rally's final morning consisted of a loop of
:50:31. > :50:35.three stage, to be repeated after a final service halt P Rally leader
:50:35. > :50:40.Jari-Matti Latvala was first into the opening stage, half way. The
:50:40. > :50:50.stage started on Tarmac, before switching to a gravel road,
:50:50. > :50:53.
:50:53. > :50:59.although Latvala's pace on both Loeb went next, but yet again had
:50:59. > :51:02.to play second best to the Finn. Latvala clearly wanted to end the
:51:02. > :51:09.season by scoring his first win of the year, and not even the now
:51:09. > :51:15.eight time World Champion was going to stop him. But there was just as
:51:15. > :51:23.thrilling a battle in store outside the podium places. Solberg and his
:51:23. > :51:26.co-driver were just eight ft quickest through half way. The pair
:51:26. > :51:31.behind them, Kris Meeke and his co- driver had closed to gap to 35 secs
:51:31. > :51:35.with five stages remain, but the rally took a bizarre twist when on
:51:35. > :51:39.the road section to the next stage Loeb was involved in a road
:51:39. > :51:44.accident with a spectator. This is a terrible way to end the rally.
:51:44. > :51:49.What happened. It happened on the road section, I came a car in front,
:51:49. > :51:53.and I went on the side, but we are in England, and he's, he is not
:51:53. > :52:01.English so he went on the wrong side, and we crashed, so it was not
:52:01. > :52:05.a big ill pact, but in the front, it is very open, so now the water
:52:05. > :52:09.is coming out and it is finished. So that is the rally over for you
:52:09. > :52:14.definitely. Yes, we are World Champion. So that was that. Laful
:52:14. > :52:19.was told of Loeb's retirement as he sat on the start line of stage 19.
:52:19. > :52:29.Suddenly, his lead had grown to over three minutes from the man who
:52:29. > :52:37.
:52:37. > :52:41.inherited second place, Mads Like Latvala Ostberg was keen to
:52:42. > :52:48.end the year of on a high. His second place in Sweden looked like
:52:48. > :52:51.being repeated in Wales. Kris Meeke was again faster than Solberg,
:52:51. > :53:01.another mixed surface stage and once again, the clock in the right
:53:01. > :53:11.
:53:11. > :53:17.hand corner of your screen will 12 point 5 seconds quirk meant the
:53:17. > :53:22.gap was now down to 22.6. The final stage in batch of three was the
:53:22. > :53:27.short blast round Monument. The same test as the power stage later
:53:27. > :53:32.in the day. Despite having no real threat, Latvala stormed through
:53:32. > :53:36.Monument to extend his lead still further. Henning Solberg must have
:53:36. > :53:40.been thankful that the stage was only just over four kilometres long.
:53:40. > :53:50.He was slower than Meeke yet again, although the difference this time
:53:50. > :53:53.
:53:53. > :53:59.was just 1.3 seconds. Meeke's mini would head for service just over 21
:53:59. > :54:02.seconds behind the Fiesta, with Matthew Wilson helpless to do
:54:02. > :54:06.anything but watch on as they scrapped for the final podium place.
:54:06. > :54:10.We are fifth at the minute, and obviously we can't really catch
:54:10. > :54:14.anyone in front, and there is quite a gap behind, but obviously there
:54:14. > :54:18.is a big battle going on for that third and fourth place, you never
:54:18. > :54:24.know what can happen. If we can just try and keep our nose clean,
:54:24. > :54:28.and you never know. What would it mean to you to get a podium?
:54:28. > :54:32.means a lot for me. So we will see. I concentrate now and try to be
:54:32. > :54:37.calm, because there is a long time to go. At this stage of the game it
:54:37. > :54:41.is all about getting to the finish, and for sure if we get a podium it
:54:41. > :54:44.will be very special for the team. And obviously myself. On to the
:54:44. > :54:48.rally's final stage, the power stage with bonus points. Two
:54:48. > :54:53.drivers who had already retired from the rally and restarted using
:54:53. > :55:03.the superrally rules benefited the most. Danni Sordo delighted the
:55:03. > :55:03.
:55:03. > :55:10.mini team by picking up two.s for setting the second fastest time. --
:55:10. > :55:14.two points. Quickest through the power stage was the man who b the
:55:14. > :55:18.rally's first retirement. Sebastien Ogier and his co-driver once again
:55:18. > :55:23.picked up three points by winning the power stage but was it also
:55:23. > :55:29.their final stage in a Citroen DS3 as rumours were doing the round
:55:29. > :55:34.about a possible move to Ford over the winter. Kris Meeke closed the
:55:34. > :55:42.gap to Henning Solberg to 1.seconds. Scoring a podium finish would be
:55:42. > :55:45.the perfect end to the year, but it wasn't to. -- to be. That half spin
:55:45. > :55:52.put paid to the dreams of third place and Chris clearly knew what
:55:52. > :56:01.he had done. Solberg made no such errors and so the final step on the
:56:01. > :56:05.podium went to the Fiesta driver. Making it two Norwegians in the top
:56:05. > :56:13.three, Moss was also delighted with his result. His two second places
:56:13. > :56:17.had come at opposite ends of the season, but he didn't care. Just as
:56:17. > :56:22.on the opening round the podium was an all Ford affair, giving some
:56:22. > :56:25.comfort the team after the disappointment of losing the
:56:25. > :56:31.driver's title. Latvala was only third on the power stage but it was
:56:31. > :56:36.his first win in over an year and on an event he regards as one of
:56:36. > :56:40.his favourites. He could hardly wait to begin celebrating. The
:56:40. > :56:44.final leaderboard looked like this. Meeke missed out on third place by
:56:44. > :56:49.over 7 seconds and Matthew Wilson making it two British drivers in
:56:50. > :56:56.the top five. Strangely enough the top five contained just one Finn
:56:56. > :57:01.but he seemed happy enough. I think after we heard the accident of Loeb,
:57:01. > :57:05.that was the most difficult one. The last three were not too bad,
:57:06. > :57:12.because I managed to find to drive more calm way, so it went all right.
:57:12. > :57:16.Is this a spring board for better things for Ford and you? I hope so.
:57:16. > :57:20.They have been so long in the Championship, and long time since
:57:20. > :57:25.last time won the Championship, so I really would like to see Ford
:57:25. > :57:30.being number one next year. have totally committed to Ford?
:57:30. > :57:34.for next year. Jari-Matti Latvala's win means he's finished fourth in
:57:34. > :57:41.the driver's Championship, 24 points behind Sebastien Ogier. With
:57:41. > :57:47.Mikko Hervonen and Sebastien Loeb failing to finish Loeb takes his
:57:47. > :57:54.eighth successive title by the same margin he came to Wales: It feels
:57:54. > :58:03.great. It is an incredible moment for us, for me and Daniel. We were
:58:03. > :58:07.seven time World Champion. Equal with another. It is an incredible
:58:07. > :58:15.feeling. It was also an incredible feeling because this title was not
:58:15. > :58:18.easy to take, it was a big battle during all the season. With Ogier,,
:58:18. > :58:22.Latvala. With everybody we had a big rival. It was a big fight. We
:58:22. > :58:25.had tho give everything all the time, so finally to have this title,
:58:25. > :58:29.at the end of the season, is a great moment. We didn't get the
:58:29. > :58:32.sting in the tail we expected but the Welsh weather still played a
:58:32. > :58:36.part in the rally. Next year the event moves from its slot at the