3.4.2010 - Tough Jordan Rally proves troublesome for Tuohino
The Jordan Rally, round three of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship, has proved unfortunate for Finland¹s Janne Tuohino after the tough Arabian conditions caused his retirement from the event and slowed down his championship hopes. The rally was the toughest in the championship so far and saw nearly all of the S2000 crews succumb to problems in the
scorching heat and tricky conditions.
The Jordan Rally kicked off with an exciting Ceremonial Start in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Jerash. More used to ancient chariots than state-of-the-art rally machinery, the drivers were flagged off to take on 339km of gravel stages that made up the this tough event. Tuohino was well prepared for the event after taking a convincing second place in the opening round of the new series at Rally Sweden in February and had completed a thorough pre-event test for this, his first gravel rally in the S2000 series.
Right from the start it was clear that this was going to be a hard event on the event recce, drivers were complaining that the lack of trees and bushes at the side of the road made it very difficult for them to make accurate pacenotes. But the biggest problems facing the drivers were the ultra-tough Jordan Rally stages. The hard based roads had a covering of fine gravel which made them very slippery and the stages had mixed fast and slow technical sections which proved difficult for drivers to find a rhythm.
Tuohino started slowly in his Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car - finishing the first test, the 15.34km long Rumman Forest stage, in seventh place. But on stage three Tuohino, with uncle Markku co-driving, moved up two places to
fifth position in the S2000 category - for 2.0 litre normally aspirated 4WD cars.
However 34-year-old Tuohino¹s luck was not to hold out and on the very next stage, SS4 Mount Nebo, the changing grip levels led to him sliding off the road and into retirement for the day. All but two of the S2000 crews had major problems including round one winner, Skoda driver P-G Andersson, who crashed out into retirement.
The JanPro team repaired the small amount of damage overnight and Tuohino was able to re-start again on day 2 under SupeRally regulations. This was this longest and hardest day of the whole rally. With 138 stage kilometres and two runs through the 41.45km Jordan River stage, one of the longest in the World Rally Championship, crews were really tested to the limit.
The first stage on day 2 started on the banks of the Dead Sea and took Tuohino through the lowest land point on earth. He started to reel in the drivers ahead and had moved up to fifth by the day¹s midway point. But Good Friday proved to be not very good as a clutch problem ended his climb back up the leaderboard and caused him to retire the car just before the final stage of the day.
After re-starting again for the rally¹s final day, Tuohino was hoping to cruise home over the remaining 105km of rally action and claim some crucial championship points. With eight stages to run over the last day, competitors took on some of the toughest roads yet with some of the sections rutted after being used on the first day of the event. And the Jordan Rally was to bite back as it caused more retirements amongst the S2000 field.
Polish driver Michael Kosciuszko crashed his Fiesta heavily and Portuguese driver Bernardo Sousa retired with fuel problems. Tuohino also fell foul of the rocky conditions, retiring three times in three days when his car¹s alternator belt failed with just one stage to go. It was a frustrating end to one of the JanPro team¹s toughest events and Tuohino is certainly looking to put this rally behind him and look forward to his next round of the series Rally New Zealand on the 7-9 May.
The S2000 category was won by Spanish driver Xevi Pons in a Fiesta he was the only driver not to have a problem on the whole event and complete all of the 21 stages.
Days 2 and 3 of the Jordan Rally also counted for the Middle East Rally Championship and Tuohino had been lying second overall before his problems on Friday. Despite the problems Tuohino sits in sixth position in the S2000 Drivers Championship while the JanPro team move to fifth in the S2000 Teams Cup.
Janne Tuohino said: ³This was not a good event for us. On the first day we were a few kilometres into the third stage when we went off at corner after I misjudged the slippery conditions and braked too late. We just went straight off and although there was no real damage to the car it was a steep hill and we couldn't get back up again. Then we had the problem with the clutch the next day. By the end we just wanted to drive safely with no problems and forget about this one so we can concentrate on the next event.²
Rally Jordania Super 2000 final Results:
1. X Pons & A Haro, Ford Fiesta S2000, 4h10m09.8s
2. E Brynildsen & C Menkerud, Skoda Fabia S2000, +11m52.0s
3. P-G Andersson & J Andersson, Skoda Fabia S2000, +18m57.4s
4. N Al-Attiyah & G Bernacchini, Skoda Fabia S2000, +21m16.2s
5. P Sandell & E Axelsson, Skoda Fabia S2000, +41m40.2s
6. J Ketomaa & M Stenberg, Ford Fiesta S2000, +54m19.2s
2.4.2010 - Tuohino Doesn¹t Have a Good Friday in Jordan
The tough Jordan Rally roads have again proved troublesome to Janne Tuohino as he was forced to retire from Day 2¹s action on the penultimate stage of the day.
After sliding off the road yesterday, Tuohino re-joined the other crews in the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and set off this morning to tackle two loops of three stages which made up the longest day of the event. Competitors faced six stages totaling 138.28km and this included two runs over the massive 41.45km Jordan River stage the longest in the rally and one of the longest in the whole FIA World Rally Championship.
Tuohino, co-driven by his uncle Markku, started well on the opening test. It was only 10km long but took crews to the lowest sporting venue on earth as it passed through the world¹s lowest land point at 420m below sea level. But it was SS9 Kafrain where he started to push, setting a faster time than rally leader Bernardo Sousa on this technically challenging stage. Then Tuohino took the demands of the massive Jordan River stage in his stride and had moved up to fifth place in the SWRC by midday service halt.
The JanPro team made some repairs to its Fiesta S2000 in service after the pounding the car had taken through the morning¹s loop of tests and adjusted the suspension, ready for a rough afternoon of action.
Tuohino maintained his pace on SS11, the second pass of Suwayma, but dropped over 80 seconds on SS12 when a noise in the transmission forced him to drive slowly to the end of the stage. The problem was narrowed down to the central prop-shaft and forced the Finnish driver¹s retirement from Day 2.
The JanPro team will assess the damage tonight and, if it can be repaired, then Tuohino will restart the final day of Jordan Rally tomorrow. Day 3¹s action will consist of eight stages, a loop of four repeated, and will total 105km.
Before today¹s retirement, Tuohino had moved up to fifth in the SWRC and was also second overall in the Middle East Rally Championship section of the event.
Janne Tuohino said: ³I started well today and after sliding off yesterday we were maybe just braking a little bit too early in some places. But generally we need to find some more speed, the roads are very difficult and the grip is changing a lot and I think everyone is finding it hard to get a good confidence. Then about six kilometres before the end of SS12 there was a strange noise and the engine sound changed it¹s something to do with the transmission and we will try to fix the problem for tomorrow.²
Day 2 Results
1. X Pons/A Haro, Ford Fiesta S2000, 2h51m24.4s
2. M Kosciuszko/M Szczepaniak, Ford Fiesta S2000, +9m03.7s
3. B Sousa/N Rodrigues, Ford Fiesta S2000, +9m53.3s
4. E Brynildsen/C Menkerud, Skoda Fabia S2000, +11m45.7s
5. P-G Andersson/J Andersson, Skoda Fabia S2000, +22m12.4s
6. N Al-Attiyah/G Bernacchini, Skoda Fabia S2000, +25m12.0s
7. J Tuohino/M Tuohino, Ford Fiesta S2000, +26m11.7s
8. P Sandell/E Axelsson, Skoda Fabia S2000, +42m52.2s
9. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg, Ford Fiesta S2000, +56m59.3s
1.4.2010 - Tuohino slides off on Jordan Rally¹s tough first day
Day 1 of the Jordan Rally, the third round of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally
Championship, has seen the retirement of four of the championship¹s top drivers amongst them Finland¹s Janne Tuohino. Tuohino took a convincing second place in the opening round of the new series at Rally Sweden in February but his first outing on gravel this year has not started off in the same way.
The Jordan rally kicked off this morning with an exciting Ceremonial Start in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Jerash. More used to ancient chariots than state-of-the-art rally machinery, the drivers were flagged off to take on 95.7km of gravel stages that made up the first day of this tough event.
Tuohino started slowly in his Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car - finishing the first test, the 15.34km long Rumman Forest stage, in seventh place. It was his first competitive outing on gravel in the new car and the first two stages were very slippery. The roads in Jordan are very hard with lots of loose gravel on top and large rocks and boulders lining the sides. This makes it difficult for drivers to find a rhythm and a comfortable pace to start on the first day.
But on stage three Tuohino, with uncle Markku co-driving, moved up two places to fifth position in the S2000 category - for 2.0 litre normally aspirated 4WD cars. This stage also saw the retirement of first round winner P-G Andersson and Patrick Sandell; both drivers from Sweden.
However 34-year-old Tuohino¹s luck was not to hold out and on the very next stage, SS4 Mount Nebo, the changing grip levels led to him sliding off the road and into retirement for the day. The car was only slightly damaged and the JanPro team plan to re-start tomorrow under SupeRally regulations. Tuohino still maintains sixth position in the leaderboard and with only the two top drivers not having retired today, it¹s still possible for the team to gain a strong finish and a high points haul.
Day two is the longest of the rally with crews taking on 138km of action including two runs over the longest stage of the event, the 41.45km long Jordan River test. With two long days still ahead, it¹s still all to play for.
Janne Tuohino said: ³This is a very difficult rally and unfortunately we haven¹t started off well. But we are lucky in that a lot of other drivers have had problems as well so there¹s still a chance for a good result for the championship. This is our first gravel event in the Fiesta and it really is a tough rally to try and learn the car. Grip is changing a lot and the stages are very difficult to read and get into a flow.²
Day 1 Results
1. B Sousa/N Rodrigues P Ford Fiesta S2000 1h15m54.2s
2. X Pons/A Haro ESP Ford Fiesta S2000 +12.1s
3. M Kosciuszko/M Szczepaniak POL Ford Fiesta S2000 +9m38.7s
4. E Brynildsen/C Menkerud NOR Skoda Fabia S2000 +11m20.0s
5. N Al-Attiyah/G Bernacchini QAT Skoda Fabia S2000 +13m58.9s
6. J Tuohino/M Tuohino FIN Ford Fiesta S2000 +20m08.3s
7. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000 +23m51.6s
8. P Sandell/E Axelsson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000 +24m18.2s
9. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg FIN Ford Fiesta S2000 +33m51.6s
29.3.2010 - Tuohino’s S2000 Challenge Continues in Jordan
Janne Tuohino and the JanPro Rally Team will travel to the lowest point on earth as they contest the Jordan Rally in the Middle East; the latest round of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship.
After a strong second place on the opening round of the new series in Sweden, Tuohino will be looking for continued success as he tackles his first gravel rally in the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car.
This is the third round of the new rally series but Tuohino, and his co-driver Uncle Markku, elected not to nominate round two in Mexico as one of their point scoring events. Instead, they undertook an important test on tough rally conditions in Greece to prepare for the event in Jordan.
With ten S2000 rally crews entering this event, the battle will be as hot as the Jordanian sun and the Tuohinos will be one of six teams using the acclaimed Fiesta S2000 rally car.
The Jordan Rally has been a round of the Middle East Rally Championship for over 20 years, but it made its debut in the World Rally Championship in 2008 – when Jordan became the first Arab country to host a round of the WRC. The rally is based on the shores of the Dead Sea, which are 420 metres below sea level, and 50km from Jordan’s capital city Amman.
After a break last year, the event returns in 2010 with a few changes to the route and itinerary. This year the timetable of the rally follows the Islamic weekend with the event finishing on the Saturday. There will be a ceremonial start at the City of Jerash – one of the largest and best preserved examples of Roman architecture in the world.
Jordan is a rally of extremes and Tuohino will face scorching temperatures and hard-surfaced special stages. The roads are difficult for drivers with little landmarks and trees to help make their pacenotes and the JanPro team will benefit from their recent test to help secure a competitive set-up for the Fiesta.
The JanPro team still remains second in the FIA WRC Cup for Teams and Tuohino is in high spirits after getting more kilometres of experience during the test.
Competitors will face a total of 339km of action over the three days, with day two the longest and toughest. It contains the longest stage of the rally, the 41km Jordan River test, a twisty stretch of road which runs north to south through 'no man's land' alongside the Jordan - Palestine border.
JanPro driver Janne Tuohino said:
The test in Greece was really good and we improved the setup of our Fiesta S2000. The conditions during the test were ideal with hard roads so hopefully we will be able to start the rally with a good speed from the start. We learnt a lot about the car and I’m very happy with it now, it feels perfect. I will start Rally Jordan aiming to win but there are five or six drivers who will be very strong. The stages are very tricky too. Bends are unpredictable as they often turn just after a crest, and there are no woods or bushes to tell you when the corner turns and how much.
Event Information
- Date: April 1-3, 2010
- Round: 3 of 13 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship
- Based: Dead Sea, Jordan
- Stage surface: Gravel
- Total stage distance: 339.48kms
- Number of stages: 21
- Longest stage: 41.45km Jordan River (SS10/SS13)
- Service Park: Dead Sea Centre, Jordan
