Brutal Acropolis Rally serves its reputation - Hirvonen scores and Loeb bites the dust

Practically all the drivers had a two word description for the Acropolis Rally 2009 - 'Hot and Rough'... And it proved to be devastating for quite a few top drivers.

I guess this is the first time the defending world champion has made a mistake. His first crash this season definitely sent a shock wave across the Citroen camp. Seconds before the crash he was correcting the peace notes, may be this caused a slight distraction and then rest is history. This has resulted in two consecutive rallies where Loeb has failed to win. I am sure he is gonna fire all cylinders in the next Rally - Rally Poland. This is also thrown up the championship wide open with 5 more rallies to go in '09.

Ford couldn't ask for more with a perfect finish and Hirvonen taking the maximum points. After Latvala went off on stage 6, and the two Citroens breathing on Hirvonen's neck, no one could have predicted Ford's results for that weekend. And to add to that, the team principle says - "stage 6 will be one I will remember for quite a while". But, luck was finally to favour Ford team, with all the front runners pulling out and Latvala covering up his 3 min drop to return with a podium finish.

Overall, Acropolis Rally served its reputation of being the most brutal rally on the calendar with some of the top drivers crashing out with all possible hits and flips.

What happened to Defending Champions???

It is always difficult for an individual or a team to carry the 'Defending Champion(s)' responsibility!

And when it comes to a Cricket-Crazy nation like India, the expectations were sky-high from Dhoni's team. Before the start of the T20 World Cup, the Indian were one of the favourites to retain the title. But somewhere things didn't go quite well for the title contenders. Then comes the damage control mode - the 'blame game'.

A very interesting analysis I came across on one of the sports channels about India's exit from T20 WC.

- 'IPL did not give players enough rest before such an important tournament'

This has turned out to be one of the most common sink to let some frustration. The team coach, the media, ... all could very easily target the IPL. May be IPL was responsible, may be not! But one thing is for sure, IPL did not have similar effect on the foreign players - especially the South African.

- 'IPL showcased Indian players' vulnerability'

Up to some extent, I agree with this justification. Anil Kumble was very bold to say that their team targeted Suresh Raina with short-pitched deliveries during IPL in a post match analysis. I guess every team was trying to nail down the weaknesses exposed during IPL. And finally West Indies and England did succeed. What was interesting is that Indian batsmen did succumb to 'bouncers' in both the games. Or I guess it was expecting too much from the batsmen to adapt themselves to these short pitched deliveries.

At the end of the day, it was not luck/faith but performance that let the team down. And the least we should do is 'blame'.

Latvala ruins Sebastian's dream run

Finally Ford has a reason to smile - a perfect finish in Rally d'Italia Sardegna 09!

What a come back from Latvala. From experiencing the worst accident of his life in Rally Portugal and walking out unhurt to winning Rally Sardegna. Nothing defines a perfect moment. The team management also deserves credit for this. There were all possible talks of him being replaced and questions being raised on his skills, but Malcolm Wilson's trust factor could not be defied. Team orders could have changed the results and favoured Mikko Hirvonen in his pursuit for WRC title, but I guess Latvala deserved this win more than anyone.

Citroen and Ford tried to outperform each other in terms of strategies. Both of their top drivers tried to loose position for the final day, but I guess the only orders that were fruitful were when Latvala was asked to push at the end of day 2. The results were more pleasing, since both the drivers who tired to use tactics to avoid road sweeping on the final day, faced an even more difficult, unforeseen circumstance - hanging dust. All this played in favour of the rally leader.

It all depends on how Latvala takes it from here. Weather he goes back to his 'over-confident' and 'slightly' negligent style or do we see a more mature driver who is going to give Sebastian and Citroen a cut-throat competition for the championship.