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__________________________________________________________________________71st Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo (23-26 January 2003)
1st round of 14 in the 2003 World Rally Championship
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Photos from Rallye Monte Carlo (continuously added to):
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FIA Rally News - Rallye Monte Carlo 2003
http://www.fia.com
[WRC] Rallye Monte Carlo - Final report
Sunday, 26 January 2003
Sebastien Loeb led a jubilant Citroen team to a dream result on the Monte Carlo Rally. The Frenchman won the opening round of the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship by 38.1 seconds from team-mate Colin McRae. Carlos Sainz brought his Xsara WRC home in third place to ensure a clean sweep of the podium positions for the Versailles-based team.
Loeb and McRae were untroubled throughout the final loop of four stages to the north of the rallyās Monaco base. Sainz, however, was made to fight for third after his car hit brake trouble on the opening stage. Fordās Markko Martin moved ahead of Sainz after SS12 ensuring a nail-biting finish to this classic event. Martin spun his Focus RS WRC02 on the penultimate stage dropping ten seconds. Fastest time for Sainz through the final stage of the rally was enough for the Spaniard to get third place back.
Peugeot 206 WRC driver Richard Burns finished fifth behind Martin with leading privateer Cedric Robert sixth in his Peugeot.
Citroen
Technical: Carlos Sainzās Xsara WRC suffered a broken wheel bearing on the first stage this morning. This knocked off a rear brake pad in the following stage. The other two Xsaras ran well through the day.
Sporting: Sebastien Loeb scored his second win on a round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo. Loeb drove steadily through the day, taking no risks. He and McRae started the day on a stud-less snow tyre, which was felt to be the safest choice for the conditions. In the afternoon both drivers switched to a slick racing tyre and made it to the finish without any problems.
Sainzās brake problem cost him time in SS12 and he slipped back to fourth. The Spaniard set fastest times on the final two stages to pull that time back and deliver the perfect result for Citroen.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: ćTo win an event which is so specialised as Monte Carlo is fantastic. After last year, I think this proves to people that I have the pace to win. Itās perfect for the team.
Colin McRae said: ćWe had a good clean run through the event, the only problem in all three days was when we couldnāt get reverse gear after we spun on the first day. Iāll take second place, Iām happy with that.
Carlos Sainz said: ćI am certainly in the right team for Monte Carlo, this is a great start for everybody at Citroen. We had to work hard this afternoon after our trouble this morning. The problem was that when the pad was knocked off by the wheel bearing, it made my brake pedal go long and made it hard to slow the car down.
Ford
Technical: Markko Martin and Francois Duval ran without trouble through the final leg. Mikko Hirvonen crashed out yesterday.
Sporting: Estonian driver Markko Martin came within an ace of spoiling Citroenās one-two-three, finishing just 3.3 seconds behind Sainz. Martin held third going into the final stage, despite a spin on the way up to the Col de Turini.
Once over the top of the Col, Martin pushed as hard as possible to try to make up some of the time heād lost. His efforts meant heād overheated his tyres, making it difficult to try and match Sainzās time through the final stage.
Francois Duval was trying equally hard through that final stage in an effort to get ahead of sixth-placed Cedric Robert. Duval was third fastest on the second run over the Col de Turini, narrowing the gap to the French privateer to just 7.7s. Despite his best efforts through SS14, he ended the rally 0.4s behind Robert.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: ćObviously itās a little disappointing to miss third, but I am happy with the way things have gone here for us and for the team. This was only my second run at the stages on this event, so this has given me confidence for the future. The spin on SS13 cost me a good ten seconds. I spun, hit the wall and then had to drive back down the stage to handbrake the car back around before I could carry on. We hit the wall hard and knocked the front bumper off, we were pretty lucky that we didnāt damage the intercooler or radiator.
Francois Duval said: ćIt was a shame we didnāt catch Robert, but it would have been silly to have made any mistakes. This is the first time Iāve scored world championship points ö I feel like a proper team driver now.
Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm ran without fault today.
Sporting: Richard Burns admitted there was little for him to fight for in the final leg of the rally. The Briton would be unable to make up the time heād lost with a poor tyre choice on leg two. He ended the event fifth, two minutes behind Markko Martin and two minutes ahead of Cedric Robert.
Marcus Gronholm made up some of the time heād lost when he stopped to change a broken steering link on SS9 yesterday. Gronholm, who led this rally until his accident, finished 13th but scored one point for the Peugeot team.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: ćThis is not my favourite event, but it was better than last year when I was driving the car for the first time. The car ran well throughout the event, but it was the mistake with tyres and suspension that cost us. This equals my best result on the Monte Carlo.
Marcus Gronholm said: ćToday was a difficult day for me, but I am happy to have got a point for Citroen. The tyre choice has been quite difficult today with the conditions quite varied on the stages.
Hyundai
Technical: Armin Schwarzās car ran without any mechanical problems today. Freddy Loix retired yesterday.
Sporting: Armin Schwarz felt todayās stages suited the car better. The team continued to make changes to the set-up and the German admitted this was the best day of the rally for him and Hyundai. Schwarz made up one place to move past Peugeot privateer Roman Kresta and end the rally in eighth place.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ćThings have been better today. What is nice for me is that Iāve finished this event without making any mistakes. Iāve also scored a point for myself and some points for the team, but itās a shame because with some pre-event testing we could have done more. The car has plenty of potential.
Skoda
Technical: Didier Auriolās Ocatvia WRC suffered a repeat of the clutch problem, which slowed him on the second leg. Toni Gardemeister retired on the second stage of the event.
Sporting: Didier Auriol made up one place to end his first rally in the FIA World Rally Championship with the Skoda team in ninth position. Auriol was delighted with the reception he received from the French rally fans out on the stages and admitted it was nice to be back rallying again after his year away from the sport.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: ćI have driven the car at its maximum today, but I think we can get some more performance out of it on the asphalt. The clutch problem was the same as yesterday. I had to drive around every one of the tight hairpins, unable to use the handbrake. This cost me one second each time I wanted to use the handbrake.
Other entries
Reigning French 1600cc champion Bruce Tirabassi, 25, made the perfect start to his FIA Junior World Rally Championship campaign when he won the opening round of the series in Monte Carlo.
Tirabassi moved his Renault Clio into the lead after Suzuki driver Daniel Carlsson retired at the opening leg. Tirabassiās closest rival was Finlandās Kosti Katajamaki, who ended the event in his Volkswagen Polo over three minutes behind the winner. Marcos Ligato took third place in his Fiat Punto.
Given the extent of his lead, Tirabassi elected to take a safe option and fitted studded tyres to his Clio for all four of the final legās four stages.
ćWhen you are doing a rally like this, you have to do what you can to protect your lead,ä he said. ćThis is a fantastic start for me.
Katajamakiās efforts to win the category were hit gearbox trouble which struck his Polo yesterday. ćWe were stuck in fifth gear,ä he said. ćAfter losing that time, and on an event like Monte Carlo, it would have been too risky to have pushed too hard today.
Cedric Robert finished top privateer in his Peugeot 206 WRC, just edging out Fordās official driver Francois Duval to claim sixth place. There was a double celebration for the Bozian team as Robertās team-mate Roman Kresta took tenth overall.
26/01/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS:
36 crews (all Group A) started this morning.
RETIREMENTS:
Six other drivers
TODAY:
Sunday 26 January
Leg 3 started from Monaco at 08h00 and covered 269.16km, including 104.20km on four stages.
SS11 Sospel-turini-la bollene (32.11km)
1 McRae (GB) Citroen 25m 30.6
2 Loeb (F) Citroen 25m 33.6
3 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 25m 44.6
LEADERS AFTER SS11
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 3h 34m 27.6
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 3h 35m 32.5
3 Sainz (E) Citroen 3h 36m 39.1
SS12 Lantosque-luceram (19.52km)
1 Martin (EE) Ford 14m 09.4
2 Duval (B) Ford 14m 11.4
3 Burns (GB) Peugeot 14m 15.9
LEADERS AFTER SS12
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 3h 49m 26.8
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 3h 50m 32.0
3 Martin (EE) Ford 3h 51m 17.2
SS13 Sospel-turini-la bollene (32.11km)
1 Sainz (E) Citroen 24m 52.0
2 Martin (EE) Ford 24m 56.9
3 Duval (B) Ford 25m 02.1
LEADERS AFTER SS13
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 4h 15m 00.0
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 4h 15m 46.8
3 Martin (EE) Ford 4h 16m 14.1
SS14 Lantosque-luceram (19.52km)
1 Sainz (E) Citroen 13m 46.1
2 Martin (EE) Ford 13m 52.8
3 Duval (B) Ford 13m 58.5
LEADERS IN MONACO AFTER SS14
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 4h 29m 11.4
2 McRae (GB) Citroen +38.1
3 Sainz (E) Citroen +52.2
4 Martin (EE) Ford +55.5
5 Burns (GB) Peugeot 3m 16.5
6 Robert (F) Peugeot +5m 16.7
7 Duval (B) Ford +5m 17.1
8 Schwarz (D) Hyundai +6m 42.3
9 Auriol (F) Skoda +7m 13.8
10 Kresta (CZ) Peugeot +7m 50.9
JWRC LEADERS IN MONACO AFTER SS14
1 Tirabassi (F) Renault 5h 12m 36.1
2 Katajamaki (FIN) Volkswagen +3m 21.7
3 Ligato (I) Fiat +5m 16.7
4 Broccoli (RSM) Opel +7m 26.8
5 Aava (EE) Suzuki +8m 48.6
6 Ceccato (I) Fiat +9m 20.2
7 Sebalj (HR) Renault +12m 23.9
8 Baldacci (RSM) Fiat +15m 13.8
FINAL STATISTICS
EVENT:
The rally covered 1392.03km, including 415.02km on 14 special stages (including seven run twice ). All stages were on asphalt roads closed to other traffic.
STARTERS:
51 crews (all Group A) started the rally
FINISHERS:
30 crews (all Group A) finished the rally
STAGE WINNERS:
Loeb (SS3-5-6-8-9)
Gronholm (SS1-2-4)
Sainz (SS10-13-14)
McRae (SS6-11)
Martin (SS12)
SS7 was cancelled
RALLY LEADERS:
SS1-8 Grönholm
SS9-SS14 Loeb
FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (provisional standings after 1 of 14 rounds):
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers:
Loeb (F) 10, C. McRae (GB) 8, Sainz (E) 6, Martin (EE) 5, Burns (GB) 4, Robert (F) 3, Duval (B) 2, Schwarz (D) 1.
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers:
Citroen 18, Ford 10, Peugeot 6, Hyundai 3, Skoda 2.
FIA Junior World Rally Championship (after 1 of 7 rounds):
Tirabassi (F) 10, Katajamaki (FIN) 8, Ligato (I) 6, Broccoli (RSM) 5, Aava (EE) 4, Ceccato (I) 3, Sebalj (HR) 2, Baldacci (RSM) 1.
FIA Production Car World Championship
(7 rounds in 2003, to begin in Sweden):
For more extensive results please consult the FIA Internet site at:
www.fia.com
NEXT EVENT:
February 6 - 9: Uddeholm Swedish Rally, Karlstad
[WRC] Monte Carlo Leg Two report
Saturday, 25 January 2003
Sebastien Loeb headed the leaderboard as the cars arrived back in Monaco on this opening round of the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship. The second leg of the rally didnāt get underway until SS8, following the organiserās decision to cancel the seventh stage due to the high number of spectators present.
When the dayās rallying did start, Loeb reduced Marcus Gronholmās lead to 12.8 seconds. Loeb admitted heād taken risks and pushed hard through the 25km Saint Antonin-Tourette du Chateau test. Gronholm had felt ill-at ease running slick racing tyres on the damp and occasionally icy surface.
Gronholm hit a wall six kilometres into the following stage breaking a steering link on his Peugeot. The Finās demise left Loeb to head a Citroen one-two-three back into the principality. Colin McRae holds second place just over one minute behind Loeb, but 37.1 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz. Markko Martin is fourth, despite feeling unwell today.
The rally was disrupted by a road traffic accident on the A8 this afternoon. The road was blocked and 21 crews were re-routed back to Monaco where they were put into parc ferme.
Peugeot
Technical: Gilles Panizzi retired on the second stage this morning, feeling unwell. The two remaining 206 WRCs driven by Marcus Gronholm and Richard Burns ran without problems.
Sporting: Marcus Gronholm started the day at the head of the field, but lost time to Sebastien Loeb on stage eight. The Finn then lost control of his 206 WRC on an icy stretch of the following test and hit a wall with the right-front wheel. He continued to drive for 12km, but was forced to stop. He radioed the team and explained what had happened. Gronholm then fitted a new steering link to the car and was able to carry on. He lost 33 minutes repairing the car, but was able to set a competitive time through the dayās final stage. He has dropped to 15th position.
Richard Burns took a wrong tyre choice for the final two stages of the day, running a compound of Michelin slick tyre that was too hard for the damp roads. Burns dropped almost two minutes through the first stage, but not so much on SS10 which was drier. Burns lies fifth.
Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: ćWhen I stopped after Iād hit the wall, I thought Iād retired, so I was taking my time fixing the car. When it was done Jean-Pierre Nicolas came on the radio and asked if I could carry on. If Iād known I would have changed the part faster. It is very disappointing, I feel the same way as before I started this rally: I donāt like it very much.
Richard Burns said: ćThis was a complete disaster. The tyre choice was totally wrong. I thought I might lose a little time to the others on the icy parts of the road, but I thought it would work much better everywhere else. It didnāt. I couldnāt get any heat into the tyres, even in the dry corners we were almost going off the road.
Citroen
Technical: Colin McRaeās Xsara WRC suffered a minor misfire on SS8, otherwise all of the Citroens ran faultlessly throughout.
Sporting: The day ends with a perfect score for Citroen. Sebastien Loeb made a flying start to the second leg of the Monte Carlo Rally, pushing hard through SS8 he closed in on leader Marcus Gronholm. He moved into the lead when Gronholm crashed into a wall on the very next stage. Loeb admitted heād been driving very hard himself through the ninth stage. When he realised what had happened to Gronholm, he took a more measured approach through the dayās final test.
Colin McRaeās car started to misfire in the second half of SS8, but the Scot said it only cost him about five seconds, and the problem was traced to an electrical misconnection in service which followed back in Monaco. McRae was happy with his run through the final two stages, making the right tyre choice.
Carlos Sainzās enjoyed another trouble-free day in his third-placed Xsara WRC, although he said the cancellation of the first stage of the day had compromised the choice of tyre on the following test.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: ćIt was a nice fight we were having with Marcus, it was pretty open, but then he made a mistake on what was a really difficult stage. Iām in a good position right now, but I have to make sure that I can keep this rhythm up tomorrow. I donāt want to think about the win, the rally is not over yet.
Colin McRae said: ćThings are looking good right now, this has the potential for being a brilliant start for the team, but Iāve been in this position on the Monte too many times before; weāll see how tomorrow goes.
Carlos Sainz said: ćMy tyre was too soft for SS8, it would have been okay for SS7 ö but they cancelled it. Iām going to have to work hard to keep Markko (Martin) behind me tomorrow.
Ford
Technical: Markko Martin and Francois Duvalās cars ran without fault, Mikko Hirvonen crashed on SS9.
Sporting: Markko Martin was ill overnight suffering from a stomach bug. He felt gradually better as the day progressed, but admitted he hadnāt been able to drive as fast as he would have liked. Martin went off the road three times after heād come over the top of the Col and onto the snowy and icy descent on the Les 4 Chemins-Sigale stage. Despite his illness, Martin set consistently quick times to hold fourth overall.
Francois Duval suffered from understeer for the final five kilometres of SS8 and then he struggled on the slippery ninth stage. Duval says his priority for the final day of the event is to gain further experience of the rally and try to get past Peugeot privateer Roman Kresta who is 19.8 seconds ahead. Duval is eighth.
Mikko Hirvonen crashed out of the rally on the ninth stage. He went off the road on ice and rolled his Focus.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: ćMy problems started at three oāclock this morning when I woke up feeling really bad. On the way up to the first stage I thought I was going to be sick, it was pretty lucky for me that they cancelled it. In all of the stages today Iāve felt really weak. At times I didnāt know if I would have enough strength to push the brake pedal. The times are good and the car is perfect, itās just a shame that I was ill.
Mikko Hirvonen said: ćI made one small mistake, but on this rally thatās all you need. We entered a right-hand corner too fast and went off the road, we werenāt even pushing hard.
Hyundai
Technical: Armin Schwarzās Hyundai continued to suffer from the wrong set-up for the drying asphalt stages. Freddy Loix slid off the road and retired on SS9.
Sporting: Armin Schwarz felt the drier roads accentuated the handling difficulties, which plagued the Accent WRC. The German driver reported no new problems on his Accent and said it would be dangerous for him to try and drive the car any faster.
Loix felt changes to the differential settings on his car hadnāt helped with traction in the corners, but it had made the car easier to slow down. Unfortunately for the Belgian he went off and into a ditch on the Chemins-Sigale stage. The car was undamaged but couldnāt be extricated from the ditch.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ćWhen we have no set-up for the car then we are just playing, and on an event like this, you canāt really manage like that. I will continue to push as hard as I can.
Sven Smeets said: ćWe were going down from the Col de Bleine and hit some ice, we went into a ditch. Itās so annoying, the car is unmarked and only just off the road, but itās in the snow and not coming out.
Skoda
Technical: Didier Auriolās Ocatvia WRC suffered a problem with the carās clutch on the eighth stage today, apart from that the car ran well. Toni Gardemeister retired yesterday on SS2 with an engine fault.
Sporting: Didier Auriol has continued to make good progress up the leaderboard, ending the day in tenth position. The Frenchman made slight alterations to his carās set-up at the lunchtime service in Monaco and enjoyed the afternoonās two stages. Auriol said he felt more at home on the dry asphalt, and said the car was as good as he could make it for this event.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: ćThe feeling is coming for me. The problem with the car this morning, is that when you handbrake the car at hairpins you need to put the clutch in, when the clutch problem came the car kept stalling. I stalled three times in stage eight, which was frustrating. The only problem this afternoon was the ice, which was so dangerous. At times we were coming down the hill at 30km and you just donāt dare touch the throttle.
Other entries
Renault driver Bruce Tirabassi holds a comfortable lead in the Junior World Rally Championship category. The Clio was promoted to the front of the field when Daniel Carlsson (Suzuki) was late getting into parc ferme last night and has retired. Kosti Katajamaki is second in his Volkswagen Polo. The 1600cc drivers only completed one stage today, after SS7 was cancelled and a road accident blocked their route to stages nine and ten. Cedric Robert leads the privateer World Rally Cars in sixth place, with Roman Kresta right behind him in a Bozian-run sister 206 WRC.
25/01/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS:
44 crews (all Group A) started this morning.
RETIREMENTS:
Panizzi (F), Loix (B), Hirvonen (FIN) and 2 other drivers
TODAY:
Saturday 25 January
Leg 2 started from Monaco at 06h40 and covered 413.99km, including 114.52km on four stages.
TOMORROW:
Sunday 26 January
Leg 3 starts from Monaco at 08h00 and covers 269.16km, including 104.20km on four stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Monaco at 15h00.
WEATHER FORECAST:
Cold overnight but sunny tomorrow.
Stage results:
SS7 Chemins-Sigale (32.11km)
Cancelled
LEADERS AFTER SS7
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 07m 24.7
2 Loeb (F) Citroen 2h 07m 45.3
3 McRae (GB) Citroen 2h 08m 41.3
SS8 Saint Antonin-Tourette (25.15km)
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 18m 08.0
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 18m 13.6
3 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 18m 15.8
LEADERS AFTER SS8
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 25m 40.5
2 Loeb (F) Citroen 2h 25m 53.3
3 McRae (GB) Citroen 2h 26m 54.9
SS9 Chemins-Sigale (32.11km)
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 24m 59.3
2 Sainz (E) Citroen 25m 09.0
3 Martin (EE) Ford 25m 12.9
LEADERS AFTER SS9
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 2h 50m 52.6
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 2h 52m 08.5
3 Sainz (E) Citroen 2h 52m 46.7
SS10 Saint Antonin-Tourette (25.15km)
1 Sainz (E) Citroen 17m 52.3
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 17m 53.4
3 Martin (EE) Ford 17m 54.2
LEADERS AFTER SS10
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 3h 08m 54.0
2 McRae (GB) Citroen +1m 07.9
3 Sainz (E) Citroen +1m 45.0
4 Martin (EE) Ford +2m 24.4
5 Burns (GB) Peugeot +3m 38.9
6 Robert (F) Peugeot +5m 11.5
[WRC] Monte Carlo Leg One
Friday, 24 January 2002
Reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm started the defence of his driverās title in fine style on todayās opening leg of Rallye Monte Carlo, round one of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Gronholm and his co-driver Timo Rautiainen were never headed throughout the opening loop of six stages in the mountains around Gap, north of the rallyās Monaco base. Gronholm admitted he felt more at home running studded tyres on the snow and ice, which littered the morningās tests, than using slick tyres in the afternoon.
Citroenās Sebastien Loeb was clearly at home on the drier asphalt, blasting his way up the leaderboard to end the day in second place, 20.6 seconds off the lead. Loeb was fastest on stage five and joint fastest with his team-mate Colin McRae on the sixth.
McRae was third on his debut in the Xsara WRC, having held second earlier in the leg.
The opening day of this yearās Rallye Monte Carlo went badly for the Subaru team, when both cars retired on stage five. Petter Solberg had shown well early on, holding second at lunchtime.
Peugeot
Technical: The three official Peugeot 206 WRCs ran without problems today. Marcus Gronholm had a rear puncture on SS5.
Sporting: Marcus Gronholm put aside his dislike for the stages on Rallye Monte Carlo to lead the rally from the start. Gronholm edged his way clear on the opening test, but then stunned his rivals with an amazing time through the second stage, beating everybody by 29.4 seconds.
Gronholm dropped time to Sebastien Loeb through the afternoon, but continued to lead after the two longest stages of the rally: the 47.27km Plan de Vitrolles-Faye stage, despite hitting a bridge and puncturing a rear wheel on SS5.
Richard Burns was fourth overnight, not having felt entirely at home in the car through the morning loop of stages. He was happier in the long stages, which contained a good deal less snow and ice, than the first four tests.
Gilles Panizzi had received a one-minute penalty before the start of the rally, for failing to have the GPS system working properly on the recce. The Frenchman struggled to get to grips with the slippery conditions. He dropped time throughout the day and felt the car was set-up wrong for the stages. He ended day one in 14th place.
Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: ćI thought the damage on the rear wheel was worse than it was. The car was jumping around quite a lot. I am reasonably happy with the position. Maybe it wonāt be great running 15th on the road tomorrow, but then the guy who is second will be running 14th, so itās not so bad.
Richard Burns said: ćItās really hard to judge the speed on these stages, itās so easy to go too hard and go off the road. My plan was to be in the top six tonight, so Iām happy to be where I am right now.
Gilles Panizzi said: ćI have no feeling with the car, itās not giving me any feedback at all. I am not happy.
Citroen
Technical: All three Citroen Xsara WRCs ran without fault throughout the opening leg of the event.
Sporting: Colin McRae led the initial charge for the French team, but he was passed by team-mate Sebastien Loeb on the fourth stage. Loebās fastest time on the following test cemented his second place behind Gronholm and drew admiration from both McRae and Carlos Sainz. Despite his time in the first run at the Plan de Vitrolles-Faye test, Loeb felt he could have gone even faster. It was the first time heād ever driven the stage. He spun on the second run, dropping ten seconds while he turned the car around. McRae admitted there was little he could have done top defend his place from Loeb. The Scot had dropped time with a half spin on the fourth stage, which he estimated had cost him 20 seconds. Carlos Sainz spun twice in SS3 and then went off the road for ten seconds in the fifth stage. All three Citroens were in the top five, with Loeb second, McRae third and Sainz fifth.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: ćI was surprised at my time in SS5. I hadnāt driven at all well through there, it was so hard with the mud and then ice and then dry asphalt. I got to the end of the stage and didnāt think it was such a good time.
Colin McRae said: ćThe car feels quite nervous over the bumps and these stages are quite bumpy. I lost a lot of time with the spin because I couldnāt get the car into reverse gear. Itās a bit disappointing after things had gone well this morning.
Carlos Sainz said: ćAfter going off the road and onto the grass, I feel like Iāve been doing Paris-Dakar today. My tyre choice was wrong for the final stage, I was on harder tyres than Colin and Sebastien.
Ford
Technical: Markko Martinās Focus RS WRC suffered a minor brake problem on stages four and five today. Francois Duvalās car suffered suspension damage after he hit a tree on SS4. Mikko Hirvonenās car ran without fault.
Sporting: The first day of Rallye Monte Carlo was a learning experience for all of the Ford drivers. Markko Martin was fastest Focus in sixth place, despite spinning on the first and second run at the Selonnet stage. He was running on a half-studded tyre for the first time and wasnāt sure how hard he could push on them. His progress through SS5 was slowed when he caught and passed Panizziās Peugeot. The Estonian felt his Focusās engine was down on power on the final stage of the day.
Duval was caught out by a muddy left-hand corner, four kilometres from the end of SS4. He hit a tree and tore the right-rear wheel off his Focus, but made it to service on time. Despite the best efforts of the Ford mechanics the car was not straight for SS5, but he still made it to the end of the day 10th overall. Mikko Hirvonen preferred the snow and ice of the morning to the drier stages in the afternoon. He was 13th on his Monte debut.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: ćSpinning on this rally is nothing new. Iām just trying to get as much experience as possible. It was quite interesting when we came to try and pass Panizzi, we went off the road in fifth gear to get by. The car has been perfect today.
Francois Duval said: ćHitting the tree in stage four hasnāt done my confidence any good at all. Despite losing the wheel, we didnāt drop too much time though. The geometry wasnāt right for SS5 and we had a few near misses on the icy patches.
Mikko Hirvonen said: ćItās great fun. Obviously coming from Finland I like the snow, itās a shame thereās not more of it.
Hyundai
Technical: Both Hyundais have suffered from a lack of pre-rally testing and both suffered early brake trouble. Armin Schwarz and Freddy Loix said the suspension was wrong on their cars. The team softened the anti-roll bars on both cars at lunchtime.
Sporting: Schwarz was the fastest of the two Accents over the first day, ending leg one in eighth place. The German spun on the second test, but was happier on the second loop of stages, when the road was generally dirtier. He also went off the road on a sixth-gear stretch of stage five.
Loixās feelings on the car and conditions mirrored those of his team-mate. The Belgian was 12th overnight, and said heād been forced to use the handbrake at times to get the car to turn in.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ćComing to this rally with the car set-up for Sanremo Rally is not very good. It is too bumpy for the suspension, the car is being thrown all over the place. The brakes were dragging this morning, but changing the callipers sorted that problem out.
Freddy Loix said: ćIt hasnāt been much fun today. I really couldnāt get the car turned in at all, which doesnāt give you much confidence. The team has fitted new shock absorbers and Iām not sure if theyāre working better or not. All I can do is tell them team what I am feeling, Iāll do that and see what we do tomorrow.
Skoda
Technical: Didier Auriolās Octavia WRC ran without trouble until SS5 when he felt there was a problem with the throttle response. Toni Gardemeister retired on SS2 with an engine problem. The car had lapsed onto three cylinders towards the end of the first stage.
Sporting: Auriolās return to the FIA World Rally Championship was greeted with a largely trouble-free day in his Octavia WRC. The Frenchman struggled running further down on the road through the morning, with crews ahead cutting the corners and dragging mud and stones out in to the road. Auriol ended leg one in 11th overall.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: ćIt would have been very easy to go off the road this morning. On some stages it looked like there was dry asphalt, but then you go for the brake and find ice. Iām not sure what was causing the problem with the throttle later in the day; I looked down at one point and thought that maybe I had the handbrake on.
Pavel Janeba said: ćIt is very disappointing to lose Toni so early. Now we have to have a look at the engine and see what caused the problem.
Subaru
Technical: Both Tommi Makinen and Petter Solberg went off the road on SS5 and retired.
Sporting: Solberg ran as high as second overall this morning, despite coming close to tipping his Impreza WRC off the side of a bridge on the fourth stage. He also collected a front puncture on that test. Solbergās rally ended 22km after the start of SS5. He hit some standing water in the braking area and crashed into a bridge sustaining heavy frontal damage to his car.
Makinen had suffered brake trouble on SS3, after hitting a rock and splitting a brake pipe on the test. He drove out of SS3 using just the handbrake to slow the car, dropping more than a minute to his rivals. He and Kaj Lindstrom crimped the split pipe and topped the brake fluid up for SS4, driving the test with three brakes. The problem was sorted in service following, but the Finn went off the road eight kilometres after the start. The Impreza was undamaged, but beached and unable to continue.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ćItās sad, but sometimes thatās life. We were really happy with the improvements weād made to the car, but for SS5 we took a tyre decision which had some risk attached. I turned right to cross a bridge, but there was no grip. I hit the wall and damaged the radiator which meant we had to stop.
Tommi Makinen said: ćIt would have been nice to have made the fifth win in Monte Carlo, but it wasnāt to be. The new car was perfect, but where I went off there was no chance for me to get back on the road.
Other entries
Daniel Carlsson did a fine job to lead the opening round of this yearās FIA Junior World Rally Championship at the end of day one. The Suzuki driverās day hadnāt been without incident. He suffered a puncture on the third test, hit a telegraph pole on the next stage and then caught and passed a Peugeot 206 WRC on the long stage.
Frenchman Bruce Tirabassi revelled in his switch to a Renault Clio for this year, holding second after SS6. He admitted he was driving carefully through the tricky opening leg, still uncertain of the handling of his new car. Volkswagen Polo driver Kosti Katajamaki was third in the category.
Among the privateer World Rally Car entries, Cedric Robert and Roman Kresta were giving some of the manufacturer drivers a run for their money. Robert was up to seventh overall. The French driver had enjoyed Fridayās action, his only problem coming on the fourth stage, where he felt his tyres were losing some of their studs. Kresta was equally happy two places further back.
24/01/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS:
51 crews (all Group A) started this morning.
RETIREMENTS:
Gardemeister (FIN), Makinen (FIN), Solberg (N) and four other drivers
TODAY:
Friday 24 January
Leg 1 started from Tallard Aerodrome at 07h00 and covered 708.88km, including 196.30km on six stages.
TOMORROW:
Saturday 25 January
Leg 2 starts from Monaco at 06h40 and covers 413.99km, including 114.52km on four stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Monaco at 16h50.
Sunday 26 January
WEATHER FORECAST:
Expected to remain cold and dry.
SS1 PRUNIERES-EMBRUN (28.36km)
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 18m 07.6
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 18m 11.8
3 McRae (GB) Citroen 18m 15.9
SS2 SELONNET-BREZIERS (22.52km)
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 16m 00.3
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 16m 29.7
3 Makinen (FIN) Subaru 16m 31.7
LEADERS AFTER SS2
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 34m 07.9
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 34m 45.6
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 34m 48.8
SS3 PRUNIERES-EMBRUN (28.36km)
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 17m 54.5
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 18m 01.1
3 McRae (GB) Citroen 18m 01.4
LEADERS AFTER SS3
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 52m 16.4
2 McRae (GB) Citroen 52m 47.0
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 52m 49.9
SS4 SELONNET-BREZIERS (22.52km)
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 15m 33.7
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 15m 46.6
3 Burns (GB) Peugeot 15m 47.9
LEADERS AFTER SS4
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 07m 50.1
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 1h 08m 36.5
3 Loeb (F) Citroen 1h 08m 45.7
SS5 PLAN DE VITROLLES-FAYE (47.27km)
1 Loeb (F) Citroen 28m 54.9
2 Sainz (E) Citroen 29m 12.6
3 Gronholm (FIN Peugeot 29m 13.2
LEADERS AFTER SS5
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 37m 03.3
2 Loeb (F) Citroen 1h 37m 40.6
3 McRae (GB) Citroen 1h 38m 36.6
SS6 PLAN DE VITROLLES-FAYE (47.27km)
1 McRae (GB) Citroen 30m 04.7
1=Loeb (F) Citroen 30m 04.7
3 Sainz (E) Citroen 30m 21.1
4 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 30m 21.4
LEADERS AFTER SS6
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 07m 24.7
2 Loeb (F) Citroen +20.6
3 McRae (GB) Citroen +1m16.6
4 Burns (GB) Peugeot +1m53.9
5 Sainz (E) Citroen +1m55.7
6 Martin (EE) Ford +2m30.7
[WRC] Monte Carlo - Post shakedown bulletin
Thursday, 23 January 2002
Rejuvenated by an extended winter break, Marcus Gronholm will begin the defence of his FIA World Rally Championship driverās title on Rallye Monte Carlo tomorrow.
The opening round of this yearās series starts a week later than usual, allowing the drivers more time to prepare for the year ahead. Gronholm and his Peugeot team will be aiming for a better start than in previous years, as neither the Finn or a 206 WRC has won round one. Subaruās Tommi Makinen poses possibly the biggest threat on this event. The four-times world champion is undefeated on Rallye Monte Carlo since 1999 and he has a new Impreza WRC at his disposal.
Citroen starts its first full season in the championship, having tackled eight rallies last year. Former world champions Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae join the French team and its existing driver Sebastien Loeb.
Another world champion, Didier Auriol, is also on the move, coming out of retirement to join Skoda alongside Toni Gardemeister. Fordās driver line-up is one of the youngest ever. Markko Martin drives the lead Focus RS WRC, while François Duval and Mikko Hirvonen back up the Estonian. This will be Hirvonenās first full year in the championship.
This rally will be the first to use a new points-scoring system introduced by the FIA over the closed season. For both drivers and manufacturers, points will be awarded for the top eight , rather than the top six places. In the manufacturerās race each team can still nominate three drivers with the highest placed two able to score points.
Peugeot
Technical: One of the biggest changes to the Peugeot 206 WRCs is the colour scheme. This year the cars will run in red, reflecting the arrival of title sponsor Marlboro. Beneath the skin the 206 WRCs remain largely unchanged for Rallye Monte Carlo. The cars are all brand new for this event and run in similar specification to that of Sanremo last season.
Sporting: Peugeot has entered three official cars for this event. Reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm drives the number one car with Richard Burns and Gilles Panizzi piloting the remaining 206s. The remaining member of the Peugeot team, Harri Rovanpera will not compete in Rallye Monte Carlo, his first event will be Sweden where he drives an official car. Panizzi received a one-minute penalty from the Stewards before the start, for having his GPS system unplugged on the third day of the recce.
Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: ćFinishing in the top three would be a good result for me in Monte Carlo. This is not one of my favourite rallies because itās so unpredictable. You donāt know if thereās going to be good grip in one corner and ice in the next.
Richard Burns said: ćCompared to when I arrived here in Monte Carlo last year, I feel much more confident. Having had a year in the car, I know what itās going to do. I feel at home in the Peugeot now, which is really going to help on this event.
Gilles Panizzi said: ćWe saw last year that the car was very good on asphalt, but we donāt know what the conditions are going to be here. Weāll have to wait and see.
Ford
Technical: Ford start the season with an improved 2002-specification Focus RS WRC. This will be the teamās first event in two years running on Michelin tyres, following its closed-season switch from Pirelli. The team has been testing right up until the start of the recce earlier this week.
Sporting: Ford will enter three cars for Markko Martin, Francois Duval and Mikko Hirvonen all season. Hirvonen is the newest member of the team and comes in with substantial financial backing from his manager. Hirvonenās car will run in a different colour scheme to those of Martin and Duval.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: ćI donāt have that much experience of this rally. Last year was the first time I actually did the stages (he retired before the SS1 in 2001), and I wasnāt pushing very hard in 2002. This year I want to complete the stages and get more mileage.
François Duval said: ćThis is my first Monte Carlo in a World Rally Car. Itās going to be very different to last year, when I was in the Junior World Rally Championship. My objective is to get some points, but I have a lot to learn.
Mikko Hirvonen said: ćMy first Monte Carlo is not going to be easy at all, but this is a great opportunity for me to get more mileage and more experience of the world championship.
Subaru
Technical: This is the first event for the teamās all-new Impreza WRC2003. The new car features heavily revised aerodynamics. At the front of the car the alterations are also to improve the flow of air into the engine. The carās rear spoiler has an additional lip ö to enhance downforce ö and it has been sectioned with fins to increase downforce when the car is sideways. Under the bonnet the turbo, exhaust manifold and engine mapping, have been worked on to improve performance.
Sporting: Subaru will field two Imprezas all year for Petter Solberg and Tommi Makinen, although there is a chance a third car could appear at some time during the season. Makinenās co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has been confirmed for the whole of this yearās FIA World Rally Championship. Makinen is aiming for his fifth straight win on this rally.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ćI have forgotten about winning Rally Great Britain last year. This is a new season and I feel more focused on winning than ever. I have worked hard on training over the winter and I canāt wait to get started.
Tommi Makinen said: ćI like this rally. I feel comfortable in the conditions. Okay, you have to be very flexible and ready for the road surface to change from snow to ice or dry asphalt, but itās a great event. This is like another home rally for me.
David Lapworth said: ćWe looked at our performance on the faster rallies and felt we could improve, which is why we worked on the engine and aero packages. The top speed we achieved on the stages indicated that we didnāt have a problem with the carās drag, which is why weāve been able to put more aerodynamics on it to create more downforce. From a tyre choice perspective, Rallye Monte Carlo is probably the hardest of the year. If you want to win this event youāve got to make brave tyre choices.
Hyundai
Technical: The team has not done any specialist testing ahead of this event. The only changes to the car are to the differential mapping and suspension settings, which make it easier to drive on snow and ice.
Sporting: Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz are the two full-time drivers for this season, although a third WRC3 will be used on selected rallies by Finlandās Jussi Valimaki.
Quotes: Freddy Loix said: ćIām feeling good for this rally. I had the pins taken out of my leg (put in after he broke his leg on this event last year) after Rally Great Britain, which means that I have been able to get on and do plenty of exercise over the winter.
Armin Schwarz said: ćIām hoping for snow and ice on this rally. It would be nice if the conditions were consistent, this would give us our best chance to keep up with the Peugeots.
Skoda
Technical: The Czech team has worked hard on the distribution of weight between the front and rear axles on the Octavia WRC, which includes moving the position of the fuel cell. The carās centre of gravity has also been lowered. The team has employed three new technical engineers for this seasonās FIA World Rally Championship. Both cars are brand new.
Sporting: 1994 world champion Didier Auriol joins the team and is re-united with his former co-driver Denis Giraudet. Auriol only tackled one round of the FIA World Rally Championship last season (Rallye Monte Carlo in a private Toyota Corolla WRC). Toni Gardemeister remains in the squad for 2003.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: ćI have been very pleased with the way testing has gone for this rally. When I first drove the car we were using the tyres very quickly, but after weād made some changes they are lasting longer. That is important for this rally. Iām very happy to be back in the championship and thereās no question that I still have the passion for the race.
Toni Gardemeister said: ćThe car feels very good after our winter testing. Itās a big improvement over last year, now we are closer to the cars in front of us.
Pavel Janeba said: ćHaving Didier in the team gives me great confidence for the future. Didier has his own style, heās a perfectionist. He is very good for the team, now you can see the motivation going right through everybody in Skoda.
Citroen
Technical: The new Xsara WRC is expected in April, so the team starts 2003 with an improved 2002 car. The biggest change is the inclusion of hydraulic anti-roll bars. Colin McRae has the only brand new one. Sebastien Loeb drives the same car he used in Monte Carlo last season.
Sporting: Ex-Ford drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz joined the team. Sainzās deal came late in the year after Citroenās Spanish importer and Telefonica put budget into the programme. Both drivers start the year with a different co-driver to that used on Rallye Monte Carlo 2002. Derek Ringer, who won the 1995 world championship alongside Colin McRae, returns to sit with the Scot, while Marc Marti co-drives for Sainz. Last yearās Rally Deutschland winner Sebastien Loeb stays with the team.
Quotes: Colin McRae said: ćThis is a rally we could win. It would be easier for us if the conditions were dry as weāve done most of our testing the dry. I have done quite a lot of testing in the car, but itās not the same as a rally. Iāve still got to learn about the car and doing that in the snow and ice is not ideal.
Carlos Sainz said: ćThe car feels very well balanced and although I havenāt done all that much testing I feel confident about the season ahead. I feel especially confident about the second half of the year.
Sebastien Loeb said: ćColin and Carlos coming to the team is very good for Citroen and for me. I can learn a lot from them, especially on this rally. Last year I went well, I think this was because the conditions were so dry ö and that suited the car. It looks like it will be different this week, so Iām hoping my team-mates will be able to help me with my tyre choice.
Other entries
The private competitors on this event are headed by Cedric Robert, whose Peugeot 206 WRC is funded by the FFSA, the French governing body of motorsport. Robertās car is run by the Bozian team which is also responsible for Roman Krestaās 206 WRC. This will be Krestaās first FIA World Rally Championship outing in a Peugeot, having driven on selected rounds of the 2002 series for the official Skoda team.
Antony Warmbold, the son of former Mazda Rally Team Europe boss Achim, drives a Focus RS WRC for the first time in Monte Carlo. He will tackle a selection of rounds in 2003.
Irish driver Eamonn Boland is a Monte Carlo debutant in his Subaru Impreza WRC.
Behind the top privateers is the Junior World Rally Championship field, which is led away by Mirco Baldacciās Fiat Punto. Some of the leading drivers in last yearās JWRC competition have moved on, which means there will be some new faces on the podium this season.
Swedenās Daniel Carlsson is driving a Suzuki for the first time, while Kosti Katajamaki will give the new Volkswagen Polo its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship. The new Polo was first seen in the hands of former Dakar winner Jutta Kleinschmidt, when she drove it as a course car on last yearās Rally Deutschland.
23/01/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
EVENT:
The 71st Rallye Monte Carlo is the 1st of 14 events in the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship.
ENTRIES:
51 (all Group A)
DRIVERS:
Austria 1, Belgium 2, Bulgaria 2, Czech Republic 3, Estonia 1, Finland 6, France 9, Germany 3, Great Britain 4, Hungary 2, Ireland 1, Italy 4, Lebanon 1, Norway 2, San Marino 3, Spain 3, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2.
MANUFACTURER TEAMS:
Citroen, Ford, Hyundai, Peugeot, Skoda, Subaru
CARS (including the manufacturer cars):
Citroen 5, Fiat 4, Ford 9, Hyundai 2, Opel 2, Peugeot 8, Renault 5, Skoda 3, Suzuki 4, Toyota 2, Volkswagen 2
TIMETABLE
Thursday 23 January
Ceremonial start at 18h30, Monaco, Place du Casino
Friday 24 January
Leg 1 starts from Tallard Aerodrome at 07h00 and covers 708.88km, including 196.30km on six stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Monaco at 22h44.
Saturday 25 January
Leg 2 starts from Monaco at 06h40 and covers 413.99km, including 114.52km on four stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Monaco at 16h50.
Sunday 26 January
Leg 3 starts from Monaco at 08h00 and covers 269.16km, including 104.20km on four stages. The first car is expected to arrive at the finish control in Monaco at 15h00.
Total
The rally covers 1392.03km, including 415.02km on 14 special stages (including seven run twice). All stages are on asphalt roads closed to other traffic.
TOMORROW: Friday 24 January
Leg 1 starts from Tallard Aerodrome at 07h00 and covers 708.88km, including 196.30km on six stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Monaco at 22h44.
WEATHER FORECAST:
Cold and dry
[WRC] Rallye Monte Carlo - Preview
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FIA press release: http://www.fia.com
71st Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo (23-26 January 2003) http://www.acm.mc
First round out of 14 in the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship
First round out of seven in the 2003 FIA Junior World Rally Championship
CHARACTER OF EVENT:
The traditional winter time asphalt event based in the Alpes Maritimes, the longest running event in the FIA World Rally Championship. The weather continues to be the most determining factor about the Monte Carlo Rally, not only the variety of conditions which might be faced, but also the uncertainty of predicting the conditions. Because of the wide range of possible conditions, the FIA allows teams to nominate four instead of two alternative tyre patterns for use on the event. Thirty years ago it all started: the 1973 Rallye Monte Carlo was the first ever FIA World Rally Championship event. An omen?: French cars took the first three places on that occasion! This is the first of seven world rallies in 2003 to be held in Mediterranean countries.
NEW THIS YEAR:
None of the stages are exactly the same as 2002, though stages 11/13 use the same road and only differ in exact length. The rally returns to stages in the region of Gap. Tallard (the airfield south of Gap) will be used as the Service Park on the Friday. On Saturday and Sunday the Service Parks will be at Monte Carlo. There will be the usual ceremonial start on Thursday evening in Monte Carlo, but this year the cars can be transported to Tallard ready for the restart on Friday morning. There will therefore be no Service Park before the first stage on Friday morning. Once again, entries are limited to 60 cars and Group N cars have not been accepted. The famous Sisteron stage is missing this year.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS:
Main novelty for the 2003 season: points will be scored down to the eighth, not sixth, eligible finisher. The now traditional photo shoot of the championship drivers and co-drivers is to take place outside the rally Headquarters (Sporting dāHiver) after the FIA press conference on Thursday at 15h45.
NEWS FROM MANUFACTURERSā TEAMS:
MARLBORO PEUGEOT SPORT (2002 FIA World Rally Champions)
2003 regular drivers Marcus Gronholm, car no. 1 and Richard Burns, car no. 2. Also nominated Gilles Panizzi, car no. 3
First rally for the FIA World Champion cars with red colour scheme. FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm lost a day of testing in France because of an enflamed arm tendon, an old injury aggravated by winter time snowmobile driving. It is reported that Robert Reid is fully recovered from his injury in testing before Australia. Three new cars for this event.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY (2nd team in 2002)
2003 regular drivers Markko Martin, car no. 4 and Francois Duval, car no. 5. Also nominated Mikko Hirvonen, car no. 6)
First rally for Markko Martin as team number one, first works drive for 22 year old Hirvonen, who has only entered three FIA World Rallies to date. Extended last minute testing necessary because of late switch from Pirelli to Michelin tyre supply. Duval won the JWRC category at Monte Carlo last year. New colours scheme, essentially white with blue RS motifs, as used on Delecourās car in 2001.
555 SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM (3rd team in 2002)
2003 regular drivers Petter Solberg, car no. 7 and Tommi Makinen, car no. 8)
First sight of the still-secret 2003 version Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, the first marque to run their 2003 version WRCar, will be at 1900 on Wednesday in Monte Carlo. The cars will then be seen in action at Shakedown the next morning.
HYUNDAI WORLD RALLY TEAM (4th team in 2002)
2003 regular drivers Armin Schwarz, car no. 10 and Freddy Loix, car no. 11)
New sponsors will be announced at the rally. No dedicated testing has been made for this event: drivers will be carrying out pre-event confirmation test in Britain and accumulated benefit of asphalt testing in 2002. Redesign work has been carried out on the exhaust after Schwarzās fire on Network Q Rally of Great Britain.
SKODA MOTORSPORT (5th team in 2002)
2003 regular drivers Didier Auriol, car no. 14 and Toni Gardemeister, car no. 15)
Didier Auriol has been very busy testing since he joined the team! Team director Pavel Janeba: ćWe have been reducing the weight of the cars and improving the weight distribution, working on the suspension to improve the adjustability of the settings and on the engine to improve its power curve. Our policy for 2003 is to develop the companyās reliability image through world championship motorsport, and in turn hope this will bring us points on a regular basis.ä Colour scheme unchanged from last year.
CITROEN TOTAL (not eligible for points in 2002)
2003 regular drivers Colin McRae, car no. 17 and Sebastien Loeb, car no. 18. Also nominated Carlos Sainz, car no. 19)
New colours and two new drivers! Citroen cars will carry blue, white and red colours following a recent commercial agreement with Telefonica. The team will announce this at a press conference on Wednesday at Cap dāAil.
PRIORITY 2 ENTRIES:
Four in all, two Peugeots from Bozian (Cedric Robert and Roman Kresta), a Focus for Antony Warmbold (son of Achim, who won two world rallies in 1973) and a Subaru for Eamonn Boland, his first major event outside Ireland. This will be the first rally in a Peugeot for former Skoda works driver Roman Kresta.
NEWS FROM JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS:
The JWRC will have seven, not six qualifying rounds and has a maximum age limit for the first time. New drivers to the series include Salvador Canellas, son of the works SEAT driver who finished fourth on the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally with a Suzuki. The cars for the Suzuki drivers will be new for this event with the benefit of some engine development. The Lebanese driver Abdo Feghali is the younger brother of Roger who finished third Super 1600 driver in last yearās Monte Carlo, and is one of four Ford Puma drivers. Four drivers have moved from the Production Car world series to the JWRC: Marcos Ligato from Argentina, Beppo Harrach from Austria, Pavel Valousek from Czech Republic and Dimitar Iliev from Bulgaria. Two entries have already withdrawn from the series: Kristian Sohlberg (who has a programme of WRC rallies in a Mitsubishi World Rally Car) and Dariusz Chudobinski from Poland (a skiing injury). A total of 26 JWRC cars are expected to start the event from 17 different countries and run by 17 different Rally teams. There will be a photo shoot with all the cars and crews present on Wednesday at 15h30 followed by a presentation at Stars ĪNā Bars, next to their dedicated service area.
OTHER TOP RUNNERS:
Ten non-championship entries have been received: pay attention to the works Renault of Simon Jean-Joseph who beat all the JWRC cars on the Network Q Rally and was easily the fastest S1600 in Acropolis last year.
SPECIAL FACTS:
The running order for Friday is to be decided on the championship Classification Order from the 2002 FIA World Drivers Rally Championship. At the same time as the Monte Carlo Rally will be run the Arctic Rally, the second round of the FIA European Rally Championship. Star guest driver will be former Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen. He will be driving one of two Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRCars run by the official Ralliart team personnel, the other car is driven by Kristian Sohlberg. Neste Rally Finland has been proclaimed as the Rally of the Year for 2002, following a vote from the world championship teams and based on widely differing criteria of organisation. Finland had also previously won the award in 1998. The week after the Rallye Monte Carlo itself will be run the Historic Monte Carlo (1-5 February with over 300 entries. Star entry is Jean-Claude Andruet with his lady co-driver ĪBicheā in a Renault Alpine A110 of the type in which they won the 1973 Rallye Monte Carlo - and carrying again the competition 18 which brought them success 30 years ago.
CHALLENGE OF THE EVENT:
Traditionally the uncertain weather conditions are the most daunting circumstances of the event, and this affects the tyre companies more than ever! Aime Chatard, Rally Manager at Michelin, explains: ćThere are various aspects to this problem. Firstly we need good advanced data about how effective will be the tyres, not only in the conditions for which they are intended but also the other extreme - how good they are in completely unsuitable conditions, because we will always have to face a wide variety of conditions with the same set of tyres. Secondly you need to make good predictions about the weather conditions. Most of the rally is grouped into two stages between service. This means that the work of predicting conditions on the second of two stages (which will usually be run over two hours after leaving service) is very complicated. This year has not been good for gaining information about our tyres and many of our tyres will have to be those we developed last year. We suspect much of this winterās testing work will not be helpful until we come back to Monte Carlo in 2004!ä Paul Hembrey, rally tyre chief at Pirelli, added: ćMonte Carlo is unique in having a variety of surfaces on the same stage. It is in fact a mixed surfaced rally. It is a rally where you must always make compromises with your choices of tyre.
(RALLY LOCAL TIME: GMT + 1 hours)
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