2011 Rally Sørland - 1st overall Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson. Photo: Eva Kovkova

By Tor Andre Børresen

Mads Østberg and co-driver Jonas Andersson collected their second consecutive Norwegian National Rally win of the year when they won Rally Sørland with their Ford Fiesta S2000 and further strengthened Østberg's Championship lead.

Mads Østberg opened the event fastest of all in beautiful weather in southern Norway when he won the first stage on Friday night. But, when Friday's three stages were completed, he was 06.9sec behind Anders Grøndal. On Saturday's first stage, Grøndal increased the lead to 15sec with his Subaru Impreza WRC S10.

However, in SS5 Grøndal and his co-driver Veronica Engan went off the road after having made a wrong note during recce that resulted in them running wide into a rockface this rally is infamous for together with the small lakes lining the roads. From here on, it was an easy win for Østberg. He successfully defended his victory from last year on the rally.

"It has gone smoothly for us. I am very pleased. Our goal today was to push Anders as much as we could, and it worked. Of course, it was a pity that he went off but it can often happen when it's such a hard fight," said Mads Østberg who has his girlfriend Veronica Engan as a co-driver for Grøndal. "It was pretty special to pass them as they had driven off the road. I saw that the car had a lot of damage, and I saw Anders. But when I didn't see Veronica I slowed down to make sure that everything was ok,” says Østberg after the episode that took place on the rally's fifth stage.



2011 Rally Sørland - 2nd overall Sveinung Bieltvedt/Roger Eilertsen. Photo: Eva Kovkova

The person who came closest to Østberg was Sveinung Bieltvedt and co-driver Roger Eilertsen. They took second place in Rally Sørland last year with their Subaru Impreza WRX STi N4. After a difficult winter season, Bieltvedt climbed in the Championship and now lies fifth.

Home favorite Svein Frustøl from the host club Kristiansand Automobile Club finished in third place with his Ford Focus WRC. With co-driver Ragnar Klami, he contested his best race of the season. Club-mate Pål Try, also in an older Ford Focus WRC, took fourth place overall.

Østberg increased his Championship lead significantly with victory at the Rally Sørland. He now stands with 110 points and is 38 points ahead of Thomas Kvam (Ford Focus WRC), who took over second place after this rally. Anders Grøndal remains third overall in the category for the four-wheel-drive cars, despite the fact that he retired this weekend. WRC and N4 cars drive for the same Championship this year and points are awarded according to how many cars run in each class.

In the Championship Class for two-wheel-drive cars up to 2000cc, it was the second win in a row for the young Steve Røkland (18) in his Ford Fiesta ST. It's Røkland's first Championship victory.

“This is amazing. It was unfamiliar with the new co-driver, so we had some trouble yesterday and on the last stage today, but it can't get better than this," said Steve Røkland.?



2011 Rally Sørland - 2nd overall Svein Frustøl/Ragnar Klami. Photo: Eva Kovkova

Closest to them was Marius Dahl in his Fiesta, 24sec behind. Third place in the Championship Class for the two-wheel driven cars went to Frank Tore L****n in his Ford Fiesta R2. He lost the rally win on the final stage when he lost his brakes.

In the Championship fight, it's very close after this weekend's results. Steve Røkland took over the lead with 67 points, Marius Dahl has 66 and Petter Rolfsen, who finished fourth at this rally, has 65 points.

In the National Championship, it is dominated by southern region drivers. Søren Snartemo won with his BMW M3. He was almost a minute ahead of his club-mate Magne Svardal (Opel Kadett). Kenneth Trysnes took third place in his Ford Puma S1600. Championship leader Ole Morten Korsmo ended in fifth place in Rally Sørland, yet still has a comfortable lead with his Volvo 240. Korsmo has 90 points, while Søren Snartemo in second has 53.

Rally Sørland comprised eight stages, three on Friday and five on Saturday,and the rally route started and finished in Mandal.

The next championship round is Aurskog Høland Rally, Saturday 4 June.

Top 10 Rally Sørland ?
1.M. Østberg/J. Andersson
* Ford Fiesta S2000 - 01h 5m 12.9s
2. S. Bieltvedt/R. Eilertsen
*** Subaru Impreza WRX STi + 01m 27.2s
3. S. Frustøl/R. Klami
*** Ford Focus WRC + 01m 44,5s
4. P. Try/L. W. Andersen
*** Ford Focus WRC + 02m 33,3s
5. T. Kvam/S. Johnsen
*** Ford Focus WRC + 03m 42,8s
6. G. Helge Frøslid/D. Sandbekk Bråten
*** Subaru Impreza WRX STi + 05m 55,4s
7. S. Røkland/W. Fønnebø
*** Ford Fiesta ST + 06m 06,4s
8. S. Snartemo/A. Ingar Stulen
*** BMW M3 + 06m 10,4s?
9. M. Dahl/K. Odegaard
*** Ford Fiesta ST + 06m 30,5s
10. F. Tore/L. Torstein Eriksen
***** Ford Fiesta R2 + 06m 47,7s
*
Here is Tor Andre's video:

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Source: HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS -*http://handbrakeshairpins.wordpress.com/








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