WRC '14 - Wales notes

The lead-up to Rally Wales hinted at the conditions to come and overnight rain Thursday guaranteed slippery stages. Not that it would come as surprise to anyone familiar with the event, given its history. And the mud and slime certainly played its part in the results. The rain eventually stopped but by then the stages were soaked and ice-slick in parts. And as is the norm, the road surface deteriorated more with each car through - for the bulk of the event, there was a pronounced start-order advantage to those at the front of the queue.

The final results were not unexpected but Mikko's hard-won second overall was certainly one that was universally popular, even among his competitors. A good way for the Finnish legend to cap off his carreer and begin his retirement from the WRC.

Andreas Mikkelsen made a play for his first WRC win in Wales and his stream of fastest times over the weekend showed the Norwegian is up to it. The 'off' on SS3 where he broke the Polo's front right suspension put paid to any realistic claim to the top podium step very early on in the event, but Mikkelsen's awesome speed on his return under Rally2 showed his potential. Four fastest stage times and six second fastest out of twenty three was a compelling testament to his talent. And maybe a bit to his road position.

Another to crash out early in the proceedings was Hyundai's Juho Hanninen, who stuffed his i20 over a bank and was unable to recover it. So he retired for the day and restarted under Rally2.

Hyundai's Hanninen crashes out and retires for the day

Citroen's Kris Meeke got into the groove, improving his pace over the day's morning stages - 6th, 5th, 4th then 3rd fastest on the four morning loop tests. Hirvonen kept in touch with 4th overall at end of the morning.

Beginning with the second loop, Jari-Matti Latvala attacked, taking time out of by then leader Sebastien Ogier, reducing the gap to the Frenchman to 3.8" by the end of SS5 - Polos at first and second overall again.

Halfway through SS5, the i20 of Hyundai's Haydon Paddon suffered broken power steering which was not fixable until service, so the Kiwi dropped more than two minutes over the rest of the day's stages. His woes were compounded by front differential problems as well, effectively ending his chances of a good finish and points.

Paddon experiences power steer and diff issues, slowing him appreciably

At the end of day one, Mikko held third over Meeke by 7.7 seconds, while SebO led teammate Latvala by 6.6 seconds. Ostberg had been in third overall for most of the day but by day's end had dropped to fifth.

Day 2 began inauspiciously for Latvala with a spin which ended with the Finn's Polo off the road and unable to return without spectator grunt, and three minutes lost. Also lost was the Polo's rear spoiler, the lack of its downforce negatively impacting the car's grip and handling, so Latvala continued to bleed time until service. As if that wasn't enough of a handicap, the Polo also broke a damper to seal Jari-Matti's fate for the day.

As soon as he heard the news, Ogier dropped his pace and settled for cruise mode for the remainder of the rally, the gap back to his nearest competitor being greater than a minute and unassailable given the number of stage kilometres left. Ostberg, on the other hand, found a higher gear and his pace lifted noticeably, the Norwegian scoring two second-fastest times to prove it and overtaking Hirvonen in the process.

But it wasn't to last - a jumped start after service earned him a 10 second penalty which allowed Mikko to regain second spot, but the Fiesta driver was coming under pressure from a flying Kris Meeke and he slipped to third again. But on the following stage, Hirvonen put in a blinder that gave him a lead over the Brit and which he kept more or less intact until the end following a lead-swapping contest with Meeke.

Despite having no working intercom, Mikkelsen was giving it a decent nudge anyway, scoring two second-fastest, and a fastest time in the process. Makes you wonder why he bothers with a co-driver... And in a demonstration of his increasing skills at this level, rookie Hayden Paddon took second fastest on SS12.

Day 3, a much reduced mileage leg, had few additional surprises to throw up before the rally was done. Mikkelsen, who had impressed with his times on the previous day, undid all the good work by engaging in a lurid off-road excursion from which it was impossible to return, so the Norwegian speedster has a DNF after his name for WRGB. An ignominious end, but his sheer pace over the weekend was undeniably impressive. His top podium step cannot be far away.

As the kilometres ran out, the competitive fervour also seemed to dwindle, protecting whatever advantages one held seeming to be the better part of valour to the top performers. And so it was down to the power stage for last minute thrills and spills. Jari-Matti took first and earned himself three points into the bargain while Thierry Neuville took out two points for his silver medal spot. Mads Ostberg capped off his well-deserved third place overall with the bronze medal spot and his one bonus point.

So SebO won Wales Rally Great Britain handily over the now-retired Mikko Hirvonen and the plucky Mads Ostberg. They all deserved to be there, despite the acknowledged pace of rivals Mikkelsen, Meeke and especially Latvala, all of whom in their own way contributed to their own downfall on this, the final WRC event for 2014.

In the mix for next season, we'll again see the likes of Tanak, Paddon and Evans, young guns all who have much to offer and much yet to prove. We can but wish them the good fortune that was afforded to the current crop of works drivers. Those are huge boots that they presume to fill.

To Mikko, I can only say that it has been a pleasure and an honour to have seen you in action and you are truly one of the legends of our sport. Your place in the collective memory is assured.

Final WRC podium visit for M-Sport's Mikko Hirvonen. The legend retires.

WAIT... WHAT ABOUT KUBICA?
Oh, right - almost forgot. Robert did it. He finished 11th overall without crashing despite the odd error, and the rally world en masse, especially his loyal fanbase, can stop holding its collective breath. If the rumours of Bobby K returning to WRC top level in a DS3 WRC in 2015 are true, then we can all hope that's a sign of better days to come. Best wishes to the rapid Pole for WRC '15.