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Ascania Racing â çàñòàâêå îôèöèàëüíîé èãðû FIA WRC . |
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13-11-2011 - Mentos Ascania Racing at Wales Rally GB – it was so difficult!
Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing finally reached the finish in Wales Rally GB. For the first time in this season
the race became so difficult for Ukrainian crews. Several times we had to go off and were back (under SupeRally regulations). But after all problems and mistakes all three crews went to the official finish ceremony of Wales Rally GB. Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens reached the 7th position, Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin were the 9th and Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev finished the day with the 10th result in P-WRC. Aleksandr Saliuk was the most probably pretender for high results today. And he really was very fast on Sunday’s SS’s – he got the 3rd, the 5th and even the 2nd position. But in the middle of the day he met one pity problem. “We had a rear right puncture on SS19, - said Aleksandr Saluik. – We didn’t change it and lost about two minutes by driving on it. Otherwise it was ok”. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev were the 10th in P-WRC ranking today. This wasn’t a quite high result for Valery Gorban – the crew was faster and more stable in previous rallies. And they were good today too. But Saturday’s section of the race brought too much penalty to our crew. So pilots had to be satisfied with this position: «Today the race was OK, - said Valery Gorban. – We enjoyed stages. This rally was very difficult for us so we are happy to reach the finish line today. Unfortunately we had to retire yesterday but that could happen in rally». And Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens were real heroes of Sunday’s section: they become the most stable Ukrainian crew because of careful and concentrated driving: “It was terrible to see my friends, Gorban and Saliuk staying out of the SS, - said Aleksey Kikireshko. – I felt very bad yesterday because of theirs failures. But today the race was ok for all of us and I got a good experience of driving in so tricky conditions”. This season generally and Wales Rally GB particulary became some kind of new experience in P-WRC for Mentos Ascania Racing. We set a goal to reach the finish line of every rally we took place. And now we are happy to manage it. Official web-site SS map Rally Guide Stage results | ||||
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12-11-2011 - Mentos Ascania Racing - it's SupeRally again!
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Saturday section of Wales Rally GB became a tough challenge for Mentos Ascania Racing - two of three crews were out of the competition today again! It was real failure for our crews: Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev left the race because of broken wheel and Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin lost the road because of technical troubles. The real hero of this day was Aleksey Kikireshko - with his co-driver Sergey Larens he could complete this day with the 9th result in P-WRC. Saliuk and Cherepin were fast and stable today - they could keep the pace of other strong P-WRC drivers, but unfortunately they met some problems with the engine of their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. The engine lost a power during the SS and the car was out of the right track in one curve - so the race was over for today. But tomorrow Saliuk is going to continue the rally under SupeRally regulations. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev were unlucky too - they met a big stone in one watersplash. So the wheel was broken and the car couldn't reach the finish today. Aleksey Kikiresko and Sergey Larens were the most stable crew of Ukrainian team. They kept the stable pace and finally got the 9th position today. Tomorrow all Mentos Ascania Racing crews are going to take part in Wales Rally GB - the race is very tough, but we will fight till it's end! Official web-site SS map Rally Guide Stage results | ||||
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11-11-2011 - Mentos Ascania Racing meet troubles at Wales Rally GB
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Mentos Ascania Racing faced hard times during the second day of Wales Rally GB - two of three crews were out of the competition today. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev left the race at SS7 (because of a driver's mistake on slippery road) and Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel met their crush at the last SS of Friday's section. Only Aleksey Kikireshko ans Sergey Larens could complete this day - they were the 11th in P-WRC after Friday. Saliuk and Cherepin made several very good results today but they couldn't escape some technical problems with brace system. And in the end of the day the crew made a pity mistake and lost the control about the car - they went out from the slippery road and crushed the Mitsubishi. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev almost lost their chance to get the place in the top-five of P-WRC ranking. After today's out they got 25 min of penalty and that's mean they couldn't pretend for the top-five ranking in P-WRC this year. Aleksey Kikiresko and Sergey Larens were the most stable crew of Ukrainian team. They kept the stable pace and finally got the 11th position today. Tomorrow all Mentos Ascania Racing crews are going to take part in Wales Rally GB - our race is not over yet! Official web-site SS map Rally Guide Stage results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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10-11-2011 - Mentos Ascania Racing got the first experience in Wales Rally GB
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing met first problems and first success on Thursday’s section of Wales Rally GB. This rally become tough for Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin: the crew was out at SS3 and tomorrow he is going to take part in the race under the SupeRally regulations. But the rest of the team reached the finish line. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev finished the day with the 9th result in P-WRC protocol, and Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens reached the 11th position. Unfortunately Saliuk started the rally with technical problems with the engine of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. It was damaged during shakedown yesterday but Mentos Ascania Racing’s mechanics repaired it in time. Today the problem didn’t appear – Saliuk was out because of his mistake. But the car is ok, the race only began so the crew is going to fight till the end of the last SS. Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev were the best Ukrainian crew on shakedown – they got the 2nd time in P-WRC ranking. But our pilot was quite self-confident and didn’t make any forecasts about future results: «This is very difficult race with unexpected features. The road will be very slippery in case of the rain, - said Valery Gorban. – I’m going to do my best but I can’t say I have to reach some certain position. Just let’s wait and see». Official web-site SS map Rally Guide Stage results | ||||
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07-11-2011 – Wales Rally GB – the final battle for Mentos Ascania Racing
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The final P-WRC event, Wales Rally GB is going to be critical for Ukrainian rally team - Mentos Ascania Racing.
This year the race is held on November 10-13 near Cardiff – the famous center of the Wales Rally GB. Ukrainian crews
Valery Gorban – Andrey Nikolaev, Aleksandr Saliuk – Pavel Cherepin and Aleksey Kikireshko – Sergey Larens have to prove theirs ambitious plans for the P-WRC ranking. This is the last chance for Ukrainian team to win scores and got the place in the top-five of P-WRC. Mentos Ascania Racing has already spend five P-WRC events and there were victories and losses, disappointments and hopes during this season. But now Mentos Ascania Racing has strong position in the P-WRC ranking – for the newcomer team. Valery Gorban lost his “bronze” place after Rally de Espana and moved on the 6th position. Aleksandr Saliuk had very unstable season this year with crashes and technical problems, but he was brilliant in Australia and Spain, so he got the 7th place in P-WRC. Both of them, Gorban and Saliuk are not far from the top-five now. Unfortunately Aleksey Kikireshko was not so successful and got only the 18th place in P-WRC. But all Ukrainian crews have the same goal: they are ready to keep good pace and win maximum scores during Wales Rally GB. Wales Rally GB is going to be one of the most severe rallies of this year. The weather could be wet and quite cold even the snow and the ice are not uncommon. The temperature could be low. «We are ready to meet not only the gravel but the mud also, - says Aleksandr Saliuk. - It’s our first start in Wales Rally GB so I can’t say how we could manage this task for sure. But I hope our cars are good for gravel roads so I’m going to drive as fast as I could and keep good pace till the finish line». Wales Rally GB starts on Thursday 10 November with two runs over the all-asphalt toll road and a single stage in Clocaenog Forest. Friday’s stages are going to be held in the forests, although Saturday’s stages are unchanged from 2010, on Sunday the rally will generally run in a reverse direction, featuring a combination of asphalt and gravel. We wish all the teams and drivers good luck in Wales Rally GB! Official web-site SS maps Details about the rally Stage results |
23-10-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing reached the finish line of Rally de Espana
World Rally Championship in production category is almost over for Mentos Ascania Racing – Ukrainian
rally team spent the làst but one event, Rally de Espana and got good results. Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey
Larens won the 9th place, Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev were the 7th and Aleksandr Saliuk with Pavel Cherepin
got high 5th position in P-WRC this time. Spanish roads were very specific and depended on weather conditions – it was difficult to choose the right type of tires for it. The soft compound wasn’t strong enough to go through all the distance, and hard compound was not good on slippery asphalt during the rain. Alexandr Saliuk became a real hero of Sunday section – he had some problems with the gearbox of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX yesterday and he had some trouble with its engine today too. But soon he manage to fix it and spent the rest of the day with very good pace. «Actually it was my plane – to go through the race without any serious technical problems, - said Alexandr Saliuk . – It was very difficult to keep the car stable during the second section – the road was wet and we have chosen wrong tires. We did not have proper compound but finally we reached the finish. I think we were very lucky!». For Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev Sunday section was very tough – they were under pressure of Alexandr Saliuk ans Nikolas Fusch both. «It was very hard day, - told Valery Gorban. – The road had the mixed surface, we’ve chosen wrong tires compound, I damaged my leg and felt the pain during the day… We could hardly manage this section well! As for me I decided to spend more time on the asphalt rallies and get more skills of this type of roads». Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens struggled with theirs Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX: it had problems with electronic system and thereby the car wasn’t as good as it could be. «The most important goal for our crew was to reach the finish line , - said Sergey Larens . – We had very nervous rally, the car didn’t work well, nevertheless we had fun and more information from this event». The total P-WRC ranking was changed after Rally de Espana – Valery Gorban lost his “bronze” priority and went down at the 6th place. Alexandr Saliuk on the contrary got more scores after Rally de Espana and became the 7th. But the most important rally of the season is going to be held in November, in Great Britain. See Ukrainian rally team there soon! Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary | ||||
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21-10-2011 – Rally de Espana – it’s a finally good day for Mentos Ascania Racing
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The second day of Rally de Espana brought good news for Mentos Ascania Racing team: after unsuccessful Friday
when all three crews went out of the race they finally reached the section’s finish today. Aleksey Kikireshko
and Sergey Larens became the 9th, Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin got the 6th place and Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev won the best Ukrainian result and became the 5th in P-WRC. Saturday’s section had an asphalt surface thereby crews didn’t have typical gravel problems such as stones or dust today. Despite of big Friday’s penalty Aleksandr Saliuk showed very fast race: he was the 4th three times, twice the 5th and only once Saliuk got the 6th result. This time his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX was reliable and Saliuk spent all the day with a good pace. After all Saturday’s SS Saliuk became the 6th in P-WRC, only in 48 sec behind Valery Gorban. «The longest 46 km SS was tough and interesting, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – I didn't feel big problems with it. But unfortunately our gearbox was broken during the second section today. Hope it will bw ok after service for tomorrow». Valery Gorban himself became a team-leader of the Ukrainian team. He was not as fast as his team colleague Saliuk, but very stable. He looked about effective finish and did his task very well. Finally Gorban became the 5th in today’s ranking. Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens were authors of the little sensation – they started this day with the 5th time on SS7. They were in more than a half minute ahead of the Valery Gorban! Unfortunately they couldn’t keep this result through the day: Kikireshko was on the 10th – 11th positions and finished the day with the 9th result. «(I cannot reveal the secret of my fast SS7 for sure, - told Aleksey Kikireshko. - I was trying to do my best but I hadn’t any ambition goal to fight with Gorban or others. I just was driving in comfort style and hoping to see finish line. I liked the road very much – very good asphalt, easy ti drive on it. Hope I will be on finish line tomorrow”. The last day is going to be very important for Mentos Ascania Racing team. Ukrainian crews are going to fight for best positions tomorrow and going to keep them till the end of the rally. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary | ||||
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21-10-2011 – Rally de Espana – Mentos Ascania Racing is facing troubles
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Friday section of Rally de Espana brought very tough day for Mentos Ascania Racing team. No one crew reached the finish without serious technical problems: Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens, Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin and Valery Gorban and Andrey Nikolaev had to leave the race after the problems with steering system and rear suspension. They got penalty minutes and all three Mentos Ascania Racing crews will restart under SupeRally regulations on day two. Friday section consisted of six SS’s with mostly gravel surface. All the troubles were related with specificity of gravel race: rocks, dust and other typical gravel things. Despite of this Aleksandr Saliuk was very fast in the first day: he was the 3rd on SS1, the 4th on SS2… But on SS5 the rally was over for our pilot – he broke a steering system of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. «This problem starts on SS1, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – We hit a big stone and one wheel was damaged. We tried to get to the service park but couldn’t do it. In the first part of the rally it was very pleasant to feel our good results. I didn’t mind to be “as fast as I can” but I think it was all about my previous P-WRC rallies. I became more skilled». Valery Gorban faced the strong character of Rally de Espana. «On SS3 we broke the wheel, rim, and then the tyre broke the bumper and a part of the car body. I drove our car during 12 km with this problems, – said Valery Gorban . – We decided not to stop for the wheel changing and continued the race». During the 1st section of the Friday Valery Gorban hold the 6th place in P-WRC. After the service Ukrainian crew got the same position, but on SS5 our guys met one more stone and it was the last for today. Valery was out and now the team is getting ready for the next day. Besides these repairs mechanics had to change the suspension for asphalt. Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens finished this day with the pity accident. «On SS1 we had problems with the differential in our Mitsubishi and were driving in the dust – it was terrible. But for now I need to feel comfortable after pity Australia accident. I can’t imagine how that stones appeared on the road! It was an asphalt road and it was very strange to hit the stone on it», - told Aleksey Kikireshko. Tomorrow all three Mentos Ascania Racing crews will restart under SupeRally regulations and we wish all the best for them. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary | ||||
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17-10-2011 – Rally de Espana – Ukraine is ready to fight for the P-WRC ranking
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing is facing the next P-WRC event, Rally de Espana which is held on October 20-23 in Spain. This rally’s specificity in that it’s the only true mixed surface round on this year’s World Rally Championship with one day taking place on gravel and two days run on asphalt. Ukrainian crews Valery Gorban – Andrey Nikolaev, Aleksandr Saliuk – Pavel Cherepin and Aleksey Kikireshko – Sergey Larens are ready for the challenge. After Yuri Protasov left the P-WRC in the middle of this season Mentos Ascania Racing is the only team holding the Ukrainian flag in this championship. Valery Gorban is the 3rd in P-WRC before Rally de Espana and he is going to do his best to maintain this position. Aleksandr Saliuk who had bronze podium in Australia is the most expected Ukrainian pretender for high results in Spain. Aleksey Kikireshko has a quite difficult goal – he has to stabilize his position after the pity accident in Australia: «I have to reach the finish line at any cost. It is very important to work on driving skills and to understand the car’s behavior. But the most significant challenge for me is to overcome the circumstances and get good results in this race». Ukrainian drivers are not scared of the changing road surface. «It doesn’t matter what kind of road you have, - says Aleksandr Saliuk. - In rally championship you should be able to manage any type of roads. And besides this we have asphalt rallies in Ukrainian championship so we know a bit more about such roads and are ready». This rally also adds to the workload placed on the mechanics and engineers, who have to convert their cars from gravel to asphalt specification in a restricted timeframe. Mentos Ascania Racing is planning to take part in the official tests – they start on Monday. «Our team have same goals for Rally de Espana as for the rest of the P-WRC season. We need to finish all the rallies we participate in, - tells Valery Gorban. – I have a new co-driver, Andrey Nikolaev, and this rally is going to be only the second event for us. The first was Rally Australia. Thereby we have plenty of work to do in the crew and we need to fight for our position». In fact Rally de Espana’s duration is three days – the ceremonial start is going to be held on Thursday 20 October. And from Friday till Sunday participants are going to spend 406 km on the mixed surface and hold on through 18 superstages. We wish good luck for all the drivers and teams! Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary |
11-09-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing in Top-three in Rally Australia!
The 3rd day of Rally Australia brought the true triumph for Mentos Ascania Racing – two Ukrainian crews finished the rally with perfect results. Aleksandr Saliuk kept his 3rd position and got the P-WRC podium for the first time this year. Valery Gorban took the 5th line on Sunday and thereby got even more – now Gorban is the 3rd in the total P-WRC ranking after Rally Australia. Aleksand Saliuk made a sensation in P-WRC today –Ukrainian driver joined the top-three struggle for the first time. His steady and efficient driving through the day made him good result and more enjoyment from the rally: “I like today’s stages very much, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – Especially the long SS22 was beautiful with the rhythm changing all the time. Unfortunately we have a spin before the and of the stage and lost about 10 sec. The rest was perfect and I’m really happy to finish here”. Valery Gorban and his co-driver Andrey Nikolaev kept their self-controlled tactics today. It made a good effect for the crew – Gorban got the 5th place! Thereby two Ukrainian crews got into Top-five of Rally Australia P-WRC againe. “We started to hear some strange noises coming from our Mitsubishi , - said Valery Gorban . – But now it’s ok. I’m very happy with my performance here, it was our first time in Australia and I think we did the best we could”. Today was the great day for Mentos Ascania Racing: our team not only completed its major task and finished the rally but got the high result in P-WRC also. Our drivers got very significant points and that improved Ukrainian ranking: Aleksandr Saliuk is the 7th in P-WRC now and Valery Gorban is the 3rd. Ukrainian flag is in top-three P-WRC and no other Ukrainian national team did such success before. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary |
10-09-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing – first Australian day without the rain
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Rally Australia became more comfortable for its participants today - the weather changed and
after the rainy Friday the Saturday stayed dry. Mentos Ascania Racing passed the day with one
pity accident – Aleksey Kikireshko crashed on SS12, and with two significant achievements.
Aleksandr Saliuk kept his 3rd position till today and Valery Gorban even improved his yesterday's result -
he finished Sturday on the 5th line of the P-WRC ranking. Aleksey Kikireshko started the Saturday with confidence but unfortunately he stopped the race in the beginning of the day – on the SS12 his car was crashed. "The race was good, - said Sergey Larens, Kikireshko’s co-driver. – We manmaged be fast on SS11 and this was our true pace for this rally. What about that accident… It was very pity. The speed was too fast and the bridge was too narrow. Thereby we couldn’t catch the road correctly and hit the car». Kikireshko can't complete the race tomorrow because of serious damage of the car. Valery Gorban and his co-driver Andrey Nikolaev became very stable today – Gorban got good results during all the day and finally got up to the 5th place! Thereby two Ukrainian crews are in Top-five of Rally Australia P-WRC now. Aleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin spent the Saturday without tough pressure from other competitors. Finally they got the 3rd place but lost about 2:01.0 in the battle with Michal Kosciuszko. "We are going to keep our places tomorrow, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – I don’t want anybody to think I got my position in this table occasionally. So I’m going to be fast and accurate both for the rest ten superstages». Mentos Ascania Racing is going to prove its priority tomorrow. For Aleksandr Saliuk and Valery Gorban it will be quite critical task and we wish all the drivers all the best. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary |
09-09-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing at Rally Australia – very dirty day
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing got very different emotions on Friday – the rain brought a lot of slippery mud to the road, Aleksey Kikireshko left the race after his car was broken in the rifting, Aleksandr Saliuk became the 3rd and Valery Gorban – the 9th in P-WRC. Thereby this day was quite tough for Ukrainian drivers.
The weather was terrible and the road become the same – the rally turned into the mud-racing in certain parts of the distance.
Mechanics could hardly remove all the mud from the cars during the service time. "It’s ok, - said Aleksey Kikireshko
about road conditions. – I think we have to manage with different roads. But when you should to leave the race for the unexpected
reasons – it’s pity ". Fortunately Kikireshko could continue the rally by the SupeRally scheme. Valery Gorban made the successful day today – he set the 6th line in PWRC. But Aleksand Saliuk played the most important role for his team this time – he was very fast from the beginning of the rally and finished this day with the 3rd result in the P-WRC and took 9-th line in "Òîp 10" Rally Australia. "I don’t feel any pressure at all, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – I just kept my usual style of driving and thereby we got our high result. I hope tomorrow morning we will start the other day wuth the same good speed and finish the rally with the same good place". It’s very important goal for Ukrainian top-driver because of his unlucky accident in Finland last time. So we wish Mentos Ascania Racing and all the participants all the best for tomorrow. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary |
08-09-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing starts Rally Australia
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The first day of Rally Australia is done – all three crews of Mentos Ascania Racing successfully
passed two super-special stages and are ready for Friday section. Thursday’s schedule included the shake-down
and the ceremonial start of the rally also. Pilots and mechanics took all opportunities of shake-down tests to prepare the cars for tomorrow. "We are working without any unexpected situations, and paying respect to all details, - said Valeriy Gorban’ . - I’d like to notice very interesting scheme of the SSS: the cars are going through it three times. It’s good for spectators and not tough for drivers". Valeriy Gorban’ and Andrey Nikolaev set the 9th position in P-WRC ranking today and took part in the press-conference in the beginning of rally with the other P-WRC driver Haiden Paddon. It was a rainy Thursday today and the weather forecast mentioned 50% chance of rain for Friday too. «It might be wet and slippery road tomorrow, - told Aleksandr Saliuk . - The surface is very variable here and on certain parts of the rally it could be different”. Aleksey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens spent this day without big problems – all the race starts tomorrow, so this section could be considered only as additional tests before the real Rally of Australia. Official web-site Stage Times Itinerary |
05-09-2011 – Mentos Ascania Racing is ready for Rally Australia
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing is going to make its 4th start at the P-WRC event – three Ukrainian crews are ready for Rally Australia (September 8-11). They are Valery Gorban – Andrey Nikolaev, Aleksandr Saliuk – Pavel Cherepin and Aleksey Kikireshko – Sergey Larens. This race is one of two events that take place out of Europe. All Ukrainian crews are going to start in Australia for the first time. Thereby Mentos Ascania Racing plans to go through all 26 special stages with carefulness and total self-possession. Rally Australia becomes the most difficult race for Ukrainian team in the terms of logistics: all three cars was sent to Australia by the sea. «Our cars managed their travel very well, - said Pavel Cherepin . Saliuk’s co-driver had an injury in the Finland crash but he is in good health for now and ready for the race. – On Monday official tests start and we are going to dedicate our time for testing and car settings». Rally Australia is going to be the first P-WRC race for Andrey Nikolaev as a Valery Gorban’s co-driver: «This is a challenge for me, - said Andrey Nikolaev . – I should to create a comfortable and professional atmosphere in our crew and then I hope the race will be successful for us». Rally Australia runs from Friday till Sunday over a mixture of all-gravel shire and forestry roads, while the superspecial will use an all-asphalt course. Mentos Ascania Racing going to do it’s best in Australia and thanks all rally fans for their support! |
Neste Oil Rally Finland is over successfully– two Ukrainian crews from Mentos Ascania Racing reached the finish line. Valeriy Gorban and Vadim Chernega rose up to the 7th place, Alexey Kikireshko and Sergey Larens got the 8th line and won theirs first scores in PWRC ranking. This day section included 140 km of SS and it was the longest section of the rally. But for Ukrainian rally team Saturday race was not so dramatic as yesterday one. Two Mentos Ascania Racing crews reached the finish without technical problems. But lot of PWRC drivers left the race during today section: only 9 from 16 crews reached the finish. Mentos Ascania Racing couldn’t make a strong competition to fastest European drivers at Neste Oil Rally Finland. But this rally with its fastest 314 rally kilometers in the world brought the incredible experience for Ukrainian pilots. «The biggest problem for us was the very specific manner of pace notes writing and analyzing, - said Vadim Chernega . – Here you should write down the turns and any meter of the distance very carefully and drive it with high accuracy. When the speed is so high, you should care about all details. And that was difficult for us, so we lost lot of time today». «Unfortunately I left the race because of crush, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – That’s why it is difficult for me to say whether this road too fast for us or not. I can say only one thing: If I just could to start this race one more I did it immediately and got the finish». We are glad to inform that Pavel Cherepin left the hospital and spent this day with the team. Neste Oil Rally Finland Stage results | ||||
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29.07.11 - Friday for Mentos Ascania Racing – lost and found
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Neste Oil Rally Finland showed its harsh nature today – one of the Mentos Ascania Racing drivers,
Aleksandr Saliuk, crashed at the SS4. The pass through the SS was stopped due to this hard accident,
Saliuk’s co-driver Pavel Cherepin was transported to the hospital where he stays till tomorrow for additional
medical tests. Luckily, Saliuk didn’t hurt. All team members and Ukrainian rally fans wish Pavel all the good.
Mentos Ascania Racing is very appreciating to the services and spectators for their help and attention. Despite of the dramatic beginning Friday’s section brought good result for Mentos Ascania Racing in PWRC ranking: Valery Gorban – Vadim Chernega got the 10th place and that was the best result among Ukrainian drivers, Aleksey Kikireshko – Sergey Larens became the 12th. They are going to fight through tomorrow section till the finish line. But today Ukrainian crews faced several difficulties of Neste Oil Rally Finland – adaptation to the tight race schedule without an additional service brake and to the specific configuration of the SS’s . “The road surface is very hard and it hits the wheels sometime, - said Aleksandr Ptashnik, chief mechanic. – But we hadn’t have big problems so we could trust our cars today and hope to do the same tomorrow” The rally road itself became the most serious competitor for our crews: with its high speed and incredible jumps. “I can hardly imagine how fast the car could be here, - said Kikireshko. – But we are a new crew and this is my first PWRC race with Sergey Larens. So we are just longing to reach the finish and to learn more a bout this fantastic road”. On Saturday Mentos Ascania Racing is going to pass the last part of the Neste Oil Rally Finland – 140 km in 11 SS. Neste Oil Rally Finland Stage results | ||||
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28.07.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing finished the 1st day of Neste Oil Rally Finland
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Ukrainian racing team, Mentos Ascania Racing, started the fastest and one of the most difficult rallies of the world. The first day of Neste Oil Rally Finland was
quite successful for Ukrainian drivers: all of them reached the finish line. And even more! Alexandr Saluik set the pole at the sake-down today and got the 9th place in
PWRC ranking after SS3. Valery Gorban became the 13th, Aleksey Kikireshko – the 16th. The Thursday’s distance was short (nearly 40 km) but despite of this Ukrainian team took the place in top-10 of the race. Aleksandr Saluik, the Ukrainian rally champion, was the fastest at sake-down. «Neste Oil Rally Finland is the most classic rally in the world – it is very fast, I’m a big fan of these races, - said Aleksandr Saliuk . – But I should be very lucky to got the place in the top-5 here! All local drivers are unbelievable fast, but I’m going to do my best and keep good and safe pace for all the days». Valery Gorban and Aleksey Kikireshko got their positions thanks to self-possessed and careful tactic. Ukrainian drivers could complete their major challenge – reached the 1st day finish without serious technical problems. Today the Ukrainian team had nothing special to report but the next 275 km of the SS’s could change the situation onto any way. Neste Oil Rally Finland Stage results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it ALM-Rally.ru and Mentos Ascania Racing | ||||
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25.07.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing is ready for Neste Oil Rally Finland
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing is going to take part in famous Neste Oil Rally Finland (28-30.07.2011).
Three crews are going to start in Finland soon: Valeriy Gorban – Vadim Chernega, Aleksandr Saliuk – Pavel Cherepin and
Aleksey Kikireshko – Sergey Larens. All of them use Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. These cars were built by team’s mechanics and engineers. The tight timing of the PWRC program brought a new challenge for Mentos Ascania Racing. Ukrainian rally team built tree Mitsubishi Lancers Evo IX for Australian PWRC event (and sent them to the destination by the sea transport) and the other three absolutely new cars were prepared for Neste Oil Rally Finland. Neste Oil Rally Finland is going to be the third PWRC rally for Mentos Ascania Racing in this season. Ukrainian crews took part in two rallies, and now the best result belongs to Valeriy Gorban: he takes the 5th place in PWRC total ranking. «I think it is hardly to compare Finland to any Karelian or Baltics races, - said Gorban. – We used to take part in such rallies, they have a bit similar sharp curves with jumps, but Neste Oil Rally Finland is going to be a new challenge and a very important experience for our team». For Aleksandr Saliuk this rally will be the first PWRC race after the health problems: he broken his shoulder soon after Rally Portugal. But now Ukrainian rally Champion is îk: «It took a lot of time for my rehabilitation, - said Saluik. – Unfortunately I could take a part only in one Ukrainian rally before Neste Oil Rally Finland. I wish I could drive the sport car in more rallies or tests. But the most important thing is my good physical condition before this important and very difficult race». Neste Oil Rally Finland is going to be a meeting point for the fastest PWRC drivers. It starts at Thursday and ends at Saturday – the total distance of the rally is 1355, 21 km and 314,39 km are arranged for SS. Mentos Ascania Racing is going to get a place in top-five of Neste Oil Rally Finland. We are very grateful to our fans and hope to bring them good news from Finland. Neste Oil Rally Finland Stage results |
27.03.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing successfully finished Rally de Portugal
The last day of Rally de Portugal has shorter distance than previous days - just four SS and 105 km. But they
did decide the final results of this stage of the P-WRC championship. Mentos Ascania Racing crew, Valeriy Gorban -
Sergey Larens became the best of Ukrainian crews, they got the 5th position. Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin
had technical problems yesterday and despite this fact they could finish the race at the 6th place, even with a penalty.
Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega reached the finish of this incredible difficult race at the 11th position. Oleksandr Saliuk stopped the race on Saturday and on Sunday Valeriy Gorban became "responsible" for the best team result. The 1st Sunday SS was not very successful - Gorban and Larens became only the 12th. It was quite dangerous: the nearest pursuer of Gorban was Nikolas Fuchs - the fast driver from Peru. Trough the battle between Ukraine and Peru didn't take place: Fuchs stopped the race at SS14. So Gorban could enjoy his 5th place! Soon Valeriy Gorban even moved to the 4th position, but he couldn't keep this high result till the finish - at the last SS Valeriy lost four seconds and got the 5th place again. Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin started the day in good pace and won two SS on Sunday! Unfortunately he got the 10 min penalty on Saturday and Oleksandr Saliuk got just the 6th place. Rally de Portugal was quite unstable for the Ukrainian champion, but he demonstrated the good potential and turned Mentos Ascania Racing to the possible competitor for the top-five of the P-WRC. Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega reached the finish at the 11th position. "It was incredible, - says Aleksey . - The race was very interesting and difficult, but I learned much from it". Mentos Ascania Racing had good result in Rally de Portugal and completed the team's program - to get into the top-five. Now Valeriy Gorban takes the 3rd position in the total ranking of the P-WRC 2011 with 22 points Official site Rally de Portugal Stage results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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26.03.11 - Rally de Portugal makes hard time for Mentos Ascania Racing
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Saturday stage of Rally de Portugal seemed to be less hospitable for Mentos Ascania Racing than Friday was.
Valeriy Gorban and Sergey Larens got the best result - they took the 5th line in today's P-WRC report. Aleksey
Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega improved their result and moved to the 13th place. Unfortunately Oleksandr Saliuk and
Pavel Cherepin left the race because of the broken suspension and had to use SupeRally for tomorrow. It's very pity
for the team - they started the day with the high 3rd result! Rainy Saturday made the road very slippery and more dangerous. But the very beginning of the day brought the present for Ukrainian rally fans - Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin took the 3rd position! It was impossible to come close to Hayden Paddon and Anders Grondal - the leaders were very fast. Saliuk managed to be 15,3 sec ahead Richardo Moura. He kept his position till SS10 - unfortunately Saluik had a problem with transmission of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. Thereby the driver lost his priority and moved to the 5th place. It was jus a beginning of real troubles - the crew stopped on SS12 because of the broken suspension and is going to start tomorrow under SupeRally rules. Valetiy Gorban and Sergey Larens seemed to choose the best Portuguese tactics - the crew was quite stable during the first Saturday section and could avoid unpleasant accident. Only one SS was difficult for our crew: Gorban made a mistake at the first Saturday SS, but the crew could manage it and continued the race. Gorban had a competition with the Russian driver Dmitry Tagirov and could improve his yesterday result up to the 8th place (he was the 9th on Friday). At the second section Tagirov was faster than Gorban, but Ukrainian driver had a priority - time which was reserved during Friday's race. So Valeriy got to the finish the 5th. He became the fastest Ukrainian driver at Saturday section. Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega had a very ragged race today - they had some repair during the service and could take only the 13th position. Saturday was very hard day for all P-WRC participants: Anders Grondal had a crash, Richardo Moura has an engine problem. So they stopped the race and the tot-thee positions were taken by Hayden Paddon, Benito Guerra (+6:35,8), Jukka Ketomaki (+9:23,5). Official site Rally de Portugal Shakedown results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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25.03.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing - doing our best
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Mentos Ascania Racing started Friday stage of Rally de Portugal at the optimistic note: Ukrainian drivers got quite
stable results from the beginning and kept good pace till the end of the day. Three Mentos Ascania Racing crews fulfilled
the team's program - they passed the whole distance and reached finish line without crashes and troubles. The stage started with the fair stewards' decision: yesterday Oleksandr Saluik and Pavel Cherepin got wrong result with an "additional" minute. Finally Friday morning rally fans could see the correct score - the "additional" time was cancelled and Saliuk moved to the 9th line in P-WRC. During first Friday section Saliuk improved his position and was the 3rd at the SS4 ( in 0,3 sec ahead Richardo Ìîurà and in 22,5 sec behind Hayden Paddon). Thereby our driver could show his competitiveness, but stayed very concentrated and careful - he became 4th after the first section and kept this position till the finish. It's quite a high result for Ukrainian driver because of the tough competition at Rally de Portugal. Valeriy Gorban and Sergey Larens kept calm and self-restrained tactics: the crew spent first section in the top-ten in P-WRC. Gorban made his driving style progressive and took 9th line before the first service brake. Than he moved forward for several positions till the second section: Gorban was 7th at SS6, and it was his best Friday result. Finally he reached the finish and became 9th. The last Mentos Ascania Racing crew, Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega, overcame this day at 15-17th lines of the table. "The roads have varied configuration, - said Vadim Chernega, - and it is quite difficult to take record during the recce. Thereby we keep not so fast pace as it could be. We have to get to the finish!". Today Hayden Paddon became the fastest driver in the total ranking of P-WRC, Anders Grondal finished the day at the 2nd place, Richardo Ìîurà got to the finish at 3rd line. One of the P-WRC top-drivers, Patrik Flodin, crashed at the beginning of the day, he could continue the race but couldn't take place in the leaders' competition. All Mentos Ascania Racing cars came through Friday challenge without technical problems. Ukrainian crews are ready to face the next task of Rally de Portugal - 148 km of the SS distance. Official site Rally de Portugal Stage results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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24.03.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing - first surprises
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The first official racing day of the 2nd P-WRC stage, Rally de Portugal, ended in favor of spectators: thousands
of rally-fans came to Lisbon to see sport cars racing by the capital streets at the SSS. All three crews of Mentos
Ascania Racing finished today. This season event has quite long distances between SS's - is takes almost 300 km to get from Faro, the place of the shakedown, to Lisbon with SSS. Today Mentos Ascania Racing crews started their journey early morning and had the photo session with all participants of the race before the official start of the rally. Usually the SSS results are not important for the total race ranking - the SS distance of Rally de Portugal is very long and consists of three days, and Lisbon SSS is only about 3 km. Unfortunately Mentos Ascania Racing faced an unpleasant situation: Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin finished this day: on the last position in the P-WRC ranking (4:09.0)! The crew themselves said it was an on-line results mistake. So Ukrainian driver didn't care too much about its Thursday position and completely concentrated at the major part of the rally. Valeriy Gorban and Sergey Larens got the 12th position in P-WRC (3:16,3). Aleksey Kikireshko -Vadim Cehrnega got the 14th line. There were no surprises in the leaders group's results: Anders Grondal became the best (3:02,8), Nikolas Fuchs got the second line (3:03,6), and Patrik Flodin came third with 3:05,7. Rally de Portugal will bring hard time for Ukrainian drivers on Friday! "We are ready to make regular changes of the suspension's and protection's parts, - says the Mentos Ascania Racing chief mechanic Aleksandr Ptashnik . - It's all because of the very abrasive road surface and sharp stones". On Friday Ukrainian crews are going to pass 132 km of SS and 514 km of total distance. Official site Rally de Portugal Stage results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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23.03.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing - shakedown is passed
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Today participants of the 2nd stage of the P-WRC championship, Rally Vodafone de Portugal, tested theirs cars at
the official shakedown. Two Mentos Ascania Racing crews also took part in these tests: Oleksandr Saliuk - Pavel
Cherepin and Valeriy Gorban - Sergey Larens. Top-drivers P-WRC showed very tight shakedown results: Patrik Flodin was the fastest - and had only one lap (3:28,8), Russian pilot Dmitry Tagirov had four laps and the best was wit 3:29,6 time, finally, 3rd position won Hayden Paddon (3:30.0). All of them had Subaru Impreza STi. Ukrainian pilots finished shakedown with good results: Oleksandr Saliuk became the best and reached time 3:39.0, Yuri Protasov become a bit slower (3:44,4), and Valeriy Gorban got next result - 3:46,6. Before first official results brought optimistic feeling for Ukrainian rally-fans, our team passed technical inspection and recce. All three Mentos Ascania Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX passed Official site Rally de Portugal Shakedown results | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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20.03.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing on Rally de Portugal
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24-27 march 2011 Mentos Ascania Racing is starting new experience - three crews are going to take a part in the 2nd stage
of P-WRC 2011, Vodafon Rally de Portugal. For our team Portugal race is the first gravel rally in this year season. Just a week before the rally Mentos Ascania Racing find out bad news. Evgeniy Leonov skips Rally de Portugal because of health reasons - Sergey Larens will be the co-driver of Valeriy Gorban. "We very appreciate Sergey's professional skills, - says Gorban. - And thereby we proposed him to be a co-driver at this race. We wish Evgeniy Leonov all the very best and are waiting for his return". Two other crews - Oleksandr Saliuk-Pavel Cherepin and Aleksey Kikireshko-Vadim Chernega - are looking forward Vodafon Rally de Portugal without any changes. This year's event will include an all-new superspecial stage in the country's capital, Lisbon. Besides pre-event shakedown moving forward to Wednesday - thereby rally's schedule going to be long and eventful. Major battle is planned for three days - from Friday till Sunday. Portugal's stages, which include a mixture of open roads and technical and narrow sections, has abrasive surface. This puts the onus on tyre wear although the earlier March date (Vodafone Rally de Portugal ran in late May in 2010) means this might not be as apparent as in recent years. Mentos Ascania Racing has the same goal for Vodafon Rally de Portugal as for previous Rally Sweden - we are going to do our best, came through all four days without technical problems, reach the finish and gain more experience of world rallying. Official site Rally de Portugal SS timetable Rally Gide | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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13.02.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing finished Rally Sweden
Two crews of the Mentos Ascania Racing finished Rally Sweden - Valeriy Gorban and Evgeniy Leonov had the 4th result,
Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin won four stages on Sunday and showed stable and self-reliant drive, but despite
of this success they could reach only the 7th place in P-WRC ranking. Unfortunately, Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim
Chernega lost their chance to finish the race - snow traps were big problems of the crew. Till Saturday fans of Oleksandr Saliuk had one question: "What's going on with Saliuk?". He was very unstable and not as fast as he used to be. Saliuk even said he could win a special prize in this race - "Golden shovel", because he spent too much time with it till the day releasing his car. And on Sunday he finally became much faster and won four SS. Mentos Ascania Racing crew found attention of the spectators and fans and appreciation of the colleagues. But it could not give them the additional time: Oleksandr Saliuk called Sweden very difficult for his crew - before the start our guys were talking about only one goal: to reach the finish. But as fast driver as Oleksandr Saliuk is was longing to find "middle way" between extremely fast speed and stability. Oleksandr Saliuk and Pavel Cherepin finished on the 7th position of the P-WRC ranking. That was not the dream of the fourfold champion of Ukraine, but Sunday part of the rally confirmed that Saliuk was going to find his "middle way". The crew of Valeriy Gorban and Evgeniy Leonov was the example of stable and self-controlled drive on Saturday. Nicolas Fuchs was his nearest competitor yesterday and Valeriy won only 1,7 sec on the SSS! But today the crew made a mistake which became a critical for the race result. Thereby Gorban lost the chance to change the balance of the duel on his behalf. Gorban and Leonov were faster than Protasov at the SS19, they were 3rd at the SS21, and even 2nd at the final stage... But this time he couldn't reach the podium. Despite of this Valery Gorban and Evgeniy Leonov was the luckiest crew of the Mentos Ascania Racing team - they were the most stable from the beginning till the end of Rally Sweden. Unfortunately Aleksey Kikireshko and Vadim Chernega had one more retirement on Sunday - they crashed the car in a snowdrift. The final podium of Rally Sweden became glorious for Ukraine: Martin Semerad from Czech Republic became the winner, Ukrainian driver Yuriy Protasov took the 2nd place, and the 3rd winner was Nicolas Fuchs from Peru. It's a pity, but Russian driver Dmirtiy Tagirov couldn't get higher than 6th place - he lost too much yesterday. Of course this year Rally Sweden lost two fast P-WRC driver and the battle for the podium couldn't be really tight. But Mentos Ascania Racing did very important investment to the international image of the Ukrainian rally drivers. We built three sport cars by our own mechanics' team, passed the technical control and spent three days in competition with the best drivers in the world. We are going to take the Swedish experience with us to the rest of the P-WRC championship - it's just a start, see you in Portugal! | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it Photos by Anton Borisenko | ||||
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12.02.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing Mentos Ascania Racing - exciting Saturday
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On Saturday Rally Sweden turned in lottery named "snowdrift"- a lot of crews reached the finish with mistakes
and time wasting. Mentos Ascania Racing drivers had exiting day: Valeriy Gorban started the race on the 3rd place
in P-WRC and kept it till the end of the day, Oleksandr Saliuk became a strong competitor, and Aleksey Kikireshko
reached finish successfully without pit-stops on the roadside of the race. From the beginning Patrik Flodin made a loud sensation - he was retired because of breaking technical rules: wheels of his Subaru were not in accordance with this year FIA regulations. Flodin was 3rd yesterday, thereby Saturday's intrigue of the race concentrated at other drivers. Ukrainian Mentos Ascania Racing became an important participant of the Swedish battle: at SS8 there was only 2 sec between Saliuk and Protasov. Yesterday Saliuk complained about slippery road - there is no winter rally in Ukraine, so he did not have enough snow-driving skills. Russian driver Dmitriy Tagirov made the battle tough - he made a mistake at SS8 and lost the time in a snowdrift. Snow became a real evil for Russian crew: on the road section after SS12 Tagirov had an accident with a local private car. The spectator was not careful and didn't give an attention to the road situation - thereby Tagirov had to avoid the crush and direct his car out of the road. He couldn't release the car from the snow in time and was late at time control. Thereby Dmitry will start tomorrow - by the SupeRally system. The battle at the first section of Rally Sweden was similar to the one at the last year Rally Yalta: Valeriy Gorban drove before Yuri Protasov, who was faster at the stages but Gorban kept his position in total ranking. From the beginning the distance between them was 55 sec, than it reduced till half of the minute: That was the distance of the one mistake and the delicate balance could be broken anytime. And the Rally Sweden situation changed for Gorban exactly unluckily as Yalta Rally did: just before the 1st section's finish Valeriy made a visit to a snowdrift and Protasov came forward. Spectators could see remarkable battle between Ukrainian drivers - it continued after the service brake. On SS12 Valery Gorban was faster than Protasov for about 4 sec but Protasov took his priority back - win SS13. This "unlucky" stage become quite lucky for Saliuk - he was third there. But the total results after fourteen stages were the same: Valery Gorban became third, Protasov - second, and Saliuk could take only the eighth position. The last part of the race made certain changes in the results: Valery Gorban lost his third position in the duel with Nicolas Fusch. After the service brake Fusch got faster and faster and after SS15 Nikolas became 3rd. But at the last SSS of this day Gorban finally took his priority back. So Saturday's part of Rally Sweden finished - only 8 cars reached finish, and Martin Semerad became the leader of the PWRC ranking. All three cars of the Mentos Ascania Racing team came to the end of the day - Gorban was third, Saliuk become 8th and Kikireshko took the 9th place. Valery Gorban: "Now Martin Semerad is the leader of our production category. Today it was a very difficult and interesting race in which we were doing our best. But tomorrow it will be a crucial day for all the participants in general and for our team in particular. We need all the encouragement of our fans to finish the last kilometers of the rally tomorrow. As to me - I drove with great pleasure today. I used to like wide roads but here in Sweden I like narrow ones. It's a surprise for myself!" Oleksandr Saliuk: "I can say only one thing - the winter race is not habitual for me! So today's race was quite difficult for me, I'm always driving as fast as I can, but here, I think, I can't understand the local road yet" | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it Photos by Andriy Roshenko, Vasiliy Tishkevich | ||||
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11.02.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing comes through the 2nd day of the Rally Sweden
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Snowy Sweden brought a lot of surprises for Ukrainian drivers - only two of three cars of the Mentos Ascania
Racing broke the tape today. Valeriy Gorban demonstrated stable and fast day and became the best of the all
Ukrainian participants. He took the 5th place in the P-WRC results. For Alexey Kikireshko the day begun dramatically: on the SS2 he lost control at his car and got off the track. The car so deeply stuck in the snow that the crew couldn't release it by themselves. But now the mechanics repaired the car and Kikireshko is ready to continue the race tomorrow morning. Of course he can do it only in the SupeRally System. But Aleksey is not discouraged - his goal for Sweden is to finish all three days. But the difficult snowy road was hard even for experienced and well-qualified Oleksandr Saliuk. His times on the SS were fast when he was stable and didn't make mistakes, but otherwise he loose his advantage on other stages. Twice he was a prisoner of the snow and wasted the time thereby his total result for today was only 8th place in P-WRC. A bit higher position got Yuriy Protasov - 6th result, but Dmitry Tagirov was the best Slavic driver and took the third place! Valery Gorban the owner of Mentos Ascania Racing team brought the best result to the team's moneybox - he showed very stable day and was pleased with a road condition. Valery Gorban: "Yesterday was hard day for our team - we replaced the engine in the Saliuk's car, and hardly managed to do it right in time. But as for me the race is wonderful! All SS are interesting, but I wish the surface was a bit hard. Soft snow is not situable for wide wheels". Oleksandr Saliuk: "Today I made some off-road race - I can hardly belive, but sometimes I couldn't understand this ice and snow surface at all. I used to drive on the gravel roads and now can't change my practice quikly enought" Vadim Chernega: "Our mistake was made at the very high speed, but the car was not broken too much - I'd like to thank the snow! We slowed down and stopped in the deep snow. When I looked at the car, I thought we need the tank to move it out. But all the spectators came to help us, we digged the snow out and came back to the service park". | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it Photos by Andriy Roshenko, Anton Borisenko | ||||
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10.02.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing - Rally Sweden started!
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing keeps it's winter experience on Rally Sweden. On Wednesday our drivers
finished the second part of the recce, and on Thursday the rally program included the shakedown and the Super Special
Stage (SSS). Wednesday, 9.02, was quite taugh for Ukrainian team. The crews were concentrated at the recce and completed theirs stenogramms. This year Super Stages are not very long in general, but the total distance of the day looks like a big marathon. At this time the technical team has presented the cars for the technical inspection. This part of the official rally procedure was very important experience for Mentos Ascania Racing team. Ukrainian engineers prepared two total new-build sports cars made by own hands of Ukrainian specialists. One car was completely rebuilt before the race. This time high professional level of the team had successful result - after the FIA inspection all three cars were entered the P-WRC list on the Rally Sweden. On Thursday the weather was snowy and it was a perfect condition for shakedown tests. Unfortunately,Mentos Ascania Racing had to return two cars in the service park - Saliuk had some problems with the engine, Gorban - with transmission (differential). But thanks to the team's mechanics the cars were repaired and returned on the track for SSS in Karlstad. This part of the race consists of the unique competition - all the cars are coming to the short track (only 1900 m) by pairs. In the pair Saliuk-Kikireshko Kikireshko was faster for 0,4 sec, and in the pair Tagirov-Gorban Valery Gorban was slower for the same 0,4 sec! Now the team is keeping comfortable pace and preparing for tomorrow. Friday is going to be very important day for Mentos Ascania Racing - we wish all the best for our drivers. Pavel Cherepin: "The road is very difficult. We assumed Rally Sweden will be hard, and we really can see it - Sweden is a true stage of WRC! All of SS here are different and unpredictable". Evgeniy Leonov: "The shakedown was incredible! The road was perfect, my pilot was fast and self- confident. Only one thing made us sad - the differential broke too quickly and it was very pity to finish shakedown after just one lap. New wide tyres are a bit unfamiliar for us - they could keep the car well steered on the tight surface, but on the loose snow the tyres make driving very unstable". | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it Photos by Andriy Roshenko, Anton Borisenko | ||||
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08.0.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing in Sweden - the first part of the recce
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Mentos Ascania Racing arrived to Sweden where our team is preparing to the start of the 1st stage of P-WRC championship,
Rally Sweden. Valery Gorban, Oleksandr Saliuk and Aleksey Kikireshko finalized all the necessary documental procedures
of the Administrative control on Monday. And three of our crews were on recce all the Tuesday. Despite of the weather forecast this racing week-end is going to be snowy and cold: the temperature reached minus 5 C point and the big snowfall was falling till the day. Thereby Rally Sweden is going to be true winter experience for Ukrainian drivers. Mentos Ascania Racing is waiting for the very important part of the rally - technical control and the rest part of the recce. We wish good luck to all the participants of the Rally Sweden and especially Ukrainian Mentos Ascania Racing team. Valery Gorban: After the first part of the recce I could say this road is very different: in some places it looks similar to Karelia, in others - to Vyuborg. The road is mostly located in forests, but today's SS are very fast. We can see more features of the SS's during the race itself, just wait and see. Evgeniy Leonov: Winter road is perfect! It's covered with snow and ice, there are lots of jumps, hard narrow turns. It's quite difficult and interesting for the crew - that's our first impression. Pavel Cherepin: Oleksandr Saliuk and I are very exited with today's SS - from the beginning to the end of the today's recce it was very interesting. We finalized 90 km of SS today and 600 km in total, and feel tired now. But the road is wonderful and it's really hard to leave this rally. Vadim Chernega: It's a comfortable classic winter here: the temperature is not very cold, and the snow covered the road for 40 sm. This rally has perfect and unique road - I can't compare it with Ukrainian rallies at all. I think here, in Northern Europe, the roads are the best rally roads in the world. |
31.01.11 - Mentos Ascania Racing going to Rally Sweden P-WRC 2011
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Ukrainian rally team Mentos Ascania Racing is going to participate in Rally Sweden, which will be held till 10-13
February 2011 near Karlstad. The team enters championship with three cars - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driven by Valery
Gorban, Oleksandr Saliuk and Alexey Kikireshko. Rally Sweden will be the first race in team's P-WRC program. Last year
Oleksandr Saliuk and Valery Gorban took part in three races of NEZ series and Rally of Turkey - that were first steps for
completed world championship of 2011. P-WRC is limited to production-based cars homologated under the Group N. It became popular in all around the world and now involves 7 races and teams from 14 countries. For the first time in the world rallying history P-WRC championship includes so many participants from the former Soviet Union: Yuriy Protasov and three Mentos Ascania Racing cars and one Russian crew of Dmitry Tagirov. Thereby 2011 P-WRC championship was even called "USSR Rally Cup" in fan audience. Oleksandr Saliuk and Yuriy Protasov were warring competitors for absolute title in Ukrainian native championship during several years so their meeting on P-WRC rallies could be one of the most exciting battle of Rally Sweden. The history of Rally Sweden started in 1950 and the rally kept on as a summer rally until 1965. It became one of the most popular race in all WRC championship since that. Rally Sweden is the only true winter rally of the year with snow and ice covered gravel and low temperature as low as -25 Ñ. It has a unique cross-border stage which runs in Norway and Sweden both. Total distance of SS of the rally is 348 km for 2011, the longest one is 24,63 km and the shortest - 1,9 km (Karlstad SSS). The rally is going to be the hard test for Mentos Ascania Racing. All team's cars were built by own hands of Ukrainian specialists and Mentos Ascania Racing is native manufacturer of rally cars. Two of three cars are absolutely new and now the team is preparing to the most important procedure of Rally Sweden - technical inspection. Mentos Ascania Racing is going to take its own place in the common list of such sport cars manufacturers as Top Run Racing, Ralli Art, Prodrive, URT and so on. They all have strong reputation and clients: P-WRC championship itself is unofficial " competition" among sport cars manufacturers. Ukrainian cars have to be as fast, reliable and strong as possible to make trustworthy image for their builders. So Mentos Ascania Racing makes its own manufacturer's debut on Rally Sweden. Oleksandr Saliuk: "I have no idea about my plans and goals for this rally, the main purpose for me is just to finish the rally. We didn't have enough time to prepare for WRC so I planned to take maximum from official tests on February 7th. I'm not going to concentrate on Yuriy Protasov - my native competitor from Ukraine. I'm going to do my best." Evgeniy Leonov: "There is no surprise in snow-covered road for our crew - we have an experience of that kind of rallies and tests. According to the meteorological forecast it's going to be warm weather - temperatures can reach above 0 degrees and it may be raining. It's not winter weather at all! As for three days racing program I think it would be quite comfortable for us". Vadim Chernega: "During my career I already had long races .The most hardest thing in long races is the ability to keep yourself concentrated for a long time. During the official test program we are going to understand more about new type of studded tires with wide wheels and driving conditions". Officiall WRC web-site Official Rally Sweden web-site | ||||
| You can download hi-rez photos by clicking it | ||||
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20.01.11 - Web-conference with Oleksandr Saliuk
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One of Ukrainian automotive weekly has invited Oleksandr Saliuk to the web press-conference.
Olexandr answered lot of question from his fans about future P-WRC program.
Our pilot was asced about his preferences in car brands, about competition with Yuriy Protasov, plans and goals and some
personal questions.
Web-conference Page in Russian |
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+38-067-509-46-46 +38-067-219-40-60 |
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