Chicherit Wins Desert Challenge
Former JWRC rally driver and professional skier Guerlain Chicherit won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for the second time in a five month space, winning every stage in the car category. This was the opening round of the 2009 FIA World Cup for Cross Country rallies. He was partnered by Swedish codriver Tina Thorner in a BMW X3 CC, finishing over two hours in front of Yayha Al Helai's Nissan Patrol.

Loeb beaten in Belgium!
Sebastien was beaten at a Red Bull promotional event in Belgium on 26th March, held at the 800 metre world famous "Mur de Grammont" hillclimb, a stretch of pave (cobbles) roads famous in international cycle racing. The five times world rally champion's Citroen C4 WRC was beaten by ten times champion world motocross rider Stefan Everts riding his KTM MX machine. The winning margin was 0.1 seconds! The disgraced French rally driver was forced to clean Evert's bike as a penalty for losing. Meanwhile retired four times world rally champion Tommi Makinen personally tried his hand at two wheel competition on the celebrated Lake Paijanne enduro, but his BMW was forced to retire with an electrical problem.

Ford's Uprated Engines
Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala will have uprated engines at the Rally of Portugal. Main improvements are electric water pumps and lighter flywheels. Under FIA rules, once new parts are homologated they must be used. The drivers agreed the changes were valuable and the parts are duly to be homologated on 1st April. The Focuses used by the Stobart and Munchi's teams by regulation must not used these new pieces.

Tragedy at Valasska
The opening round of the Czech rally championship, the Cetelem Valasska Rally, was stopped after a accident in which three spectators died when the Evo IX of the Slovakian brothers Lucas and Julius Lapdavsky is reported tohave left the road. Reigning champion Roman Kresta (Peugeot 207 S2000) was declared the winner, and the two official Skoda entries of Jan Kopecky and Juho Hanninen finished second and fourth after a disastrous tyre choice for the opening stages. 18 year old Russian driver Evgeniy Novikov finished fifth in a rented Mitsubishi on his first ever major asphalt rally despite a fraught pre-event test.

3mmm

photo 1: Chicherit, Al Helai, Thorner
photo 2: Peugeot - Kresta