The weekend in action
5 March 2010
Sebastien Loeb will be a man on a mission as the World Rally Championship resumes with Rally Mexico this weekend.
The Citroen driver, rallying's undoubted top driver of the last decade, was beaten fair and square by Ford's Mikko Hirvonen on the season-opener in Sweden, and he will be in no mood to allow that to continue on the Leon-based event.
The six-time world champion lies third in the Castrol Rankings and will not make up any places this weekend, regardless of what he achieves in Mexico. By adding to his three previous wins on the rally though, the Frenchman can increase the pressure on second-placed Formula 1 star Sebastian Vettel and boost his slim advantage over fourth--placed Rubens Barrichello in the process.
Should Hirvonen inflict another defeat on Loeb though, he may just move into the top three of the Castrol Rankings himself. Should that happen, it would be the most significant move in the top 10 of the year so far.
A thousand miles south, Brazil's Curitiba circuit plays host to the opening round of the World Touring Car Championship. Gabriele Tarquini, 58th in the Castrol Rankings, is back to defend his title, but with SEAT having pulled its works team out of the series, he has an SR-Sport-run Leon TDI to do the work for him.
He will be pushed hard by BMW's slimmed-down line-up of three-time world champion Andy Priaulx (91) and Augusto Farfus (75), but perhaps most intriguing of all is Chevrolet's line-up. With 2008 champion Yvan Muller (81) joining Alain Menu (165) and Rob Huff (104) the trio of Cruzes is potentially the team to beat.
Curitiba, incidentally, is not just home to the WTCC this weekend, but also to the second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Hirvonen leads the championship after an incredible win in Monte Carlo, but is not contesting the full season due to his WRC commitments.
Defending champion Kris Meeke (76), won last year, and will likely drop a few spots unless he can repeat the feat. The Peugeot driver faces strong opposition from Skoda's Juho Hanninen (183), while the Finn's team-mate Jan Kopecky (122) will be looking to transfer some of his asphalt form onto the gravel, or should that be mud, stages.
Of course, there's no let-up for the teams contesting the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson might have won the last two races in a row, but there's no guarantee that this will ensure an improvement from his sixth place in the Castrol Rankings at Atlanta this weekend.
This is because the Hendrick Chevrolet driver's main rival for a top-five spot, Hirvonen, is also in action. Johnson finished ninth at Atlanta last year, meaning that anything better will keep up the pressure on the Finn.
Points leader and February's EDGE Performer of the Month Kevin Harvick (43) will be another one to watch out for in his Richard Childress Chevy, but don't discount last Johnson's team-mate Mark Martin (11) or last year's Atlanta winner Kurt Busch (20) either.
The Castrol Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, click here.
