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Rallye Sanremo
http://www.rally.sanremo.it
Round 12 of the FIA World Rally Championship
20-22nd October 2000

End of Leg 3, Final
Sunday 22nd October
Extract from Official FIA Press Release

With only two stages today there was little chance to build a battle between any of the leading crews although Tommi Makinen had to push hard on the first stage to ensure that Marcus Gronholm stayed behind. At the front, Peugeot was able to record its second successive 1-2 finish and take the lead in the FIA World Championship for Manufacturers. Gronholm's fourth place extends his lead in the drivers' championship while Makinen's third place has brought him back into contention for a fifth consecutive crown. Both of today's stages were cut short. The first had to be stopped when Markko Martin crashed and the second was halted after just five cars when spectator numbers became too dangerous for the event to continue safely. San Remo was the final asphalt event of the season and the title race will be concluded on the demanding, and very different, gravel roads to be found in Western Australia (where it is early summer) and Britain where the onset of winter makes conditions just as tricky.

Peugeot
Marcus Gronholm's hopes of stealing third place from Tommi Makinen were dashed this morning with a rear suspension problem that slowed him on the long opening stage. As a result he had to give best to his fellow Finn, but has still collected enough points to go five clear at the head of the field. He now needs 15 points from the final two events to guarantee his first FIA World Championship. "I tried 100% on the first stage but braked too late and broke the suspension against a wall," he admitted. "I was happy to beat my title rivals here but we'll have to see what happens in Australia. I know I can win the championship there but it will depend on what the others do." Gilles Panizzi's victory over Francois Delecour rounded off a dominant performance from the Peugeot team. Panizzi led the event from SS2 to the finish, repeating the order of the team's 1-2 success in Corsica three weeks ago. "This win was better than Corsica - I enjoyed it a lot more. It wasn't easy and I really had to concentrate. I started well but the difference came when I was quicker where the surface was wet. I can't think about winning the World Championship just yet as I still need to practice more on other surfaces." Peugeot now leads the manufacturers' championship from Ford.

Mitsubishi
Marcus Gronholm's suspension problem on SS16 meant that Tommi Makinen did not have to worry about being overhauled for third place. The Mitsubishi driver therefore scored one of his best results of the year and extended his participation in the race for the FIA World Rally Championship by at least one more event. Makinen is still only mathematically capable of retaining his title into a fifth year and may need to rely on rivals having problems on at least one of the final two events in order to claim a sufficient points differential. This result was fantastic," he said. "I can hardly remember the last time I was on the podium. While there is a chance of the title I'll keep pushing but I know that there is no real possibility to win unless something happens to the others."

Ford
Colin McRae said yesterday that he'd be happy to come away from San Remo with a single point. It was an odd thing for the highly competitive Scot to say but, after his accident in Corsica nearly forced him out of this rally, it was a remarkable performance. McRae was clearly feeling the strain towards the end of each day as his reduced fitness took its toll but he remains very firmly in contention for the FIA title. "That was the hardest point I've ever earned," he admitted. "It was very satisfying and important to get straight back into the car after Corsica. The World Championship positions gave me the motivation to overcome the pain." Team mate Carlos Sainz finished one place higher and the two Martini Ford drivers are now tied

Subaru
A third-fastest time for Petter Solberg on the penultimate stage underlined the young Norwegian's potential and erased the memory of his early departure from Corsica. Seventh place for Simon Jean-Joseph brought a vital manufacturers' series point as Gronholm was not registered, but Subaru was badly hit by the loss of Burns yesterday and will have to work hard to overcome the 20-point deficit to Peugeot over the final two events.

Skoda
Skoda used the first of today's final two stages as a final asphalt test session, reverting to the Catalunya settings to compare the performance of the new car with some older data. Luis Climent explained, In many ways it's been a frustrating rally. The new car is clearly better balanced than the old but we haven't yet managed to get the best from it." It is believed that an announcement about the team's driver line-up for its 12-round 2001 programme can be expected within the next two weeks.

Hyundai
Like Skoda, Hyundai had been planning to use today as a valuable test exercise for the Accent WRC. Testing time has been limited this season and so the problems that dropped Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae (the only driver of the pair to tackle SS16 competitively) down the order could have been a blessing for the Korean marque, had the stages not been stopped ahead of Eriksson on SS16 and both Hyundais on SS17.

SEAT
SEAT's disappointment of not performing better in Italy was balanced last night by news that Matthias Kahle had won the German Championship at the national team's first attempt. SEAT announced earlier this season that it is withdrawing from the FIA World Championship to concentrate on a broader programme of national competitions and has already claimed titles in Spain, Austria and Slovenia.

Other teams
Markko Martin crashed out of the rally on today's first stage Subsequent crews were given a nominated time as the stage was stopped while two spectators were taken to hospital for checks on injuries sustained in the incident. Gianluigi Galli took a third successive Group N win in San Remo over the early pace setter Alex Fiorio. Gustavo Trelles pegged Manfred Stohl's surge towards this year's FIA crown but the Austrian remains seven points clear and could secure the title in Australia. Sercan Yazici (Team Atakan) scored a comfortable win over Abdullah Bakhashab (Toyota Saudi Arabia) in the FIA Teams Cup contest but the Saudi team has nevertheless moved two points clear of the absent Spike Subaru entry.

Tyre facts
Michelin
While it was obviously vital to have a high performance tyre to win here in Italy, tyre were not a decisive factor on this event. The latest evolution of the Michelin N 'FP' was used throughout the event by all of Michelin's partners, either in the 2 compound/construction or more rarely (notably for SS11-12) in the 4 compound, to set fastest times on 14 of the 16 stages.

Pirelli
Pirelli fitted its dry weather RP tyre to the remaining factory entries for today's two stages. Apart from occasional use of the more versatile RS option when the roads were damp under the trees in the mornings, this has been Pirelli's main choice for San Remo. While Richard Burns' retirement was a disappointment, Pirelli dominated the top four Group N places

Unofficial Final Results Outright
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 3:52:07,3
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 3:52:24,1
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 3:53:00,3
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:53:09,6
5 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 3:53:18,6
6 McRae Ford Focus WRC 3:53:47,3
7 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 3:54:04,0
8 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma 3:54:30,3
9 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 3:54:39,0
10 Loeb Toyota Corolla WRC 3:55:41,7

Formula 2
1 Travaglia Peugeot 306 Kit Car 3:56:18,3
2 Pedersoli Fiat Punto 4:14:00,4
3 Taratino Renault Clio Williams 4:16:34,7

Group N
1 Galli Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 4:09:44,6
2 Fiorio Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 4:10:21,8
3 Trelles Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 4:11:27,8

Teams Cup
1 Yazici Toyota Corolla WRC 4:06:43,1 Team Atakan
2 Bakhashab Toyota Corolla WRC 4:31:51,9 Toyota Team Saudi Arabia

Provisional FIA World Championship Standings
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (unofficial positions after 12 of 14 rounds):
Gronholm (FIN) 49
Burns (GB) 44
McRae (GB) 43
Sainz (E) 43
Makinen (FIN) 32
Panizzi (F) 21
Delecour (F) 19
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (unofficial positions after 12 of 14 rounds):
Peugeot 90
Ford 88
Subaru 70
Mitsubishi 39
Skoda 8
SEAT 8
Hyundai 5

FIA World Cup for Drivers of Production Cars (unofficial positions after 12 of 14 rounds):
Stohl (A) 61
Trelles (ROU) 54
Pozzo (RA) 22
Paasonen (FIN) 21
Menzi (RA) 16
Galli (I) 14
Ferreyros (PE) 14

FIA Teams Cup (unofficial positions after 12 of 14 rounds):
Toyota Team Saudi Arabia 38
Spike Subaru Team 36
F.Dor Rally Team 26
Team Atakan 23
Arab World Team 20
Wisja TV Turning Point Rally Team 10

Stage Winners
SS16 - Makinen, SS17 - Delecour

SS 16, Rezzo 25.08km 1st Car: 08:39
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 17:16,0
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 17:19,5
3 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 17:19,8
4 McRae Ford Focus WRC 17:20,1
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma 17:20,6

SS 17, Colle D'Oggia 15.66km 1st Car: 10:34
1 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 10:44,4
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 10:45,8
3 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 10:46,3
4 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 10:46,8
5 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 10:47,0
End of Leg 2
Saturday 23rd October
Extract from Official FIA Press Release

After a relatively benign day yesterday the San Remo Rally bared its teeth today. Several drivers retired, most notably FIA World Championship challenger Richard Burns. While the Peugeots continued to dominate at the head of the field, the battle for third saw several position changes as Tommi Makinen, Carlos Sainz and Marcus Gronholm turned their sights on vital championship points. With the wind getting up speed in the hills and keeping the roads dry, speeds have risen and the stage times have been incredibly close, even on the longest stages of the event. Today's final stage was cancelled as an unrelated motorway accident caused a major delay and there was no option but to cut the action short. Tomorrow's final leg contains just two stages, totalling 41.06km. It may not seem to be much but it could still provide a sting in the tail.

Peugeot
Gilles Panizzi has still had to work quite hard today. "On the descents towards the end of the stages my tyres are going off," he explained. Today's stages are generally longer than yesterday's and so the stresses on cars, drivers and tyres are correspondingly greater. Panizzi feels he is safe from team orders, "Tommi and Carlos are too close to Francois for us to have to back off just yet," he said. Of the way that the times have been so close on today's stages he added, "It's quite windy in the hills and so the roads are now quite dry, even under the trees." Delecour feels he has still to push hard to stay clear of Makinen, at least until tonight. "After that the event is pretty much over," he added. Marcus Gronholm is happy with his performance on an event he doesn't know so well. "I can't do anything more than stay on Carlos' pace. A few points will help to keep us in front but I'm not pushing maximum because I need to finish. There are two much more important events ahead of us."

Mitsubishi
Despite complaining about some problems with the front end set up of his Mitsubishi, Tommi Makinen posted his first fastest time of the rally on SS10, the first run over the long Monte Ceppo stage. It made up for a slower time on SS9 and promoted Makinen from seventh to a points-scoring fifth. He believed he could have gone even faster had he not hit been suffering with a steering problem. "It was wrong since the last service," he said. "Without it we could have been faster. I started this rally thinking that I still maybe had a chance to get right back into the championship but it doesn't look like that is going to happen." Makinen may be being a little too hard on himself as, if the positions stay as they are, he will still have a chance of the title having looked initially as though he might slip out of contention completely here in Italy. Team mate Freddy Loix was happy enough in the first stage today but, like several other crews, suffered with tyre degradation on the long second.

Ford
Piero Liatti's performance on asphalt has again been impressive but he lost two places over the first two stages today when his Focus began to slide around a lot. He also hit something on the left of the car and this, combined with a flying time from Tommi Makinen on SS10, dropped him from an overnight fifth to seventh after the first pair of stages. Colin McRae awoke refreshed and raring to go again. "It's feeling much better than yesterday," he said. He has been taking every opportunity to sleep in a hypoxic tent that simulates high altitudes by reducing the oxygen level. In turn this raises his heart rate and increases the blood cells in his body. Co-driver Nicky Grist added: " Considering that we are lucky even to be here Colin has driven an excellent rally. Obviously we're not at our best and a point will be a bonus." Carlos Sainz was not feeling so good and reported that he didn't feel he was as competitive as in Corsica. However, with the retirement of Burns the Spaniard moved up to third, only to lose out to a flying Makinen on SS10. "I'm not so surprised," he said. "That's a stage where Tommi always goes well. It's important to push because Marcus isn't so far behind and there are tough stage still to come."

Subaru
Richard Burns looked set to take the battle once more to the Peugeots but smashed his Subaru into what the crew believes was a kilometre stone on SS10 and damaged the front of the car. With falling oil pressure and rising water temperatures there were worried faces in the Subaru service area. The car arrived at the 'in' control and was then towed through the service area to reduce the risk of further damage before the mechanics could set to work. Unfortunately the damage was too severe and Burns joined the retirement list, the first of the title contenders to do so. "I thought that we could get the car back to service but I had to do the last 40kms of the road section with no water and with the temperature close to 160 degrees C. I guess the head gasket has gone," he said. "The best thing now would be if Panizzi and Delecour can stay where they are and my main rivals won't get so many points." Despite the retirement, Burns remains upbeat about his championship chances. "I'm confident about my performance in Australia and Britain," he said. "I've won them both before and I'll win them both this year as well. One good thing about this retirement is that I won't be first on the road in Australia and that could be a big advantage." Simon Jean-Joseph picked up the pace immediately and set fastest time on SS11 and SS12. It made up for hitting something on SS10 and damaging a wheel. "There were terrible vibrations, all up my arms and into my head!" he explained. "After Richard retired I thought I'd better do something to put a smile back on the team's face."

Skoda
Armin Schwarz's day was another that didn't begin as well as he would have hoped. "The centre diff has broken," he said after SS10, during which he had a few scares thanks to the effects the diff problem had on the Octavia's handling. "Coupled with that it has made it difficult to brake." Team mate Luis Climent also damaged the rear of his car during SS10 and has subsequently suffered with a sticking gearshift.

Hyundai
Although Alister McRae's day improved after his Friday dramas, Kenneth Eriksson was stranded 14km from the end of SS12 for almost half an hour with a fuel pressure problem. Eventually the car restarted and was fixed at service but it brought further road penalties. Eriksson is now placed at the bottom of the leaderboard and is continuing solely for test purposes. McRae found the short stage of each of today's pairings much better than the longer ones. The short stages were more twisty and better suited to the Accent's handling compared to the longer stages where the car is still short of power and acceleration.

SEAT
Didier Auriol's day started badly when the SEAT Cordoba E3 lost its power steering on the opening stage. Auriol lost over three minutes on the stage, the shortest of the event, but then had to tackle the longest immediately afterwards. Toni Gardemeister's car started today with an intermittent fault that saw the engine switching from three to four cylinders on the opening stage but the young Finn became the first FIA World Championship registered driver to retire when the car suffered a turbo fault 22kms into SS10. "We had the fault on the first stage and so we were trying to nurse the car to service," he said. " Unfortunately it wasn't possible." Not for the first time this season Auriol found himself wrestling the SEAT through a stage. "I was determined to reach service, even though I knew it was going to hurt!" he said. Overall the Frenchman dropped seven minutes but gained even more respect for his determination. His problems have continued with a loss of hydraulic pressure to the diff and the engine is also blowing out a lot of oil.

Other teams
Several drivers fell by the wayside today, including Franco Cunico (engine), Uwe Nittel (accident) , Patrick Magaud (engine electrics) and Henrik Lundgaard (accident close to where Sainz crashed last year). Late last night Philippe Bugalski retired with a gear linkage failure and his Citroen team mate Jesus Puras found himself stuck in second gear for a while this morning. Sercan Yazici (Team Atakan) leads the remaining two FIA Teams Cup entries and although second placed Abdullah Bakhashab (Toyota Team Saudi Arabia) is almost half an hour adrift after problems yesterday, he is still poised to take the series lead from the absent Spike Subaru team entry. Gianluigi Galli leads Group N from Alex Fiorio who suffered engine problems this morning while Gustavo Trelles went off the road and led Manfred Stohl past him into third.

Tyre facts
Michelin
The combination of today's long groups of stages and warmer ground temperatures (up to 26 degrees C) tempted some Michelin drivers (all but Sainz, Liatti and Makinen) to switch to the '4' compound/construction of the Evolution Michelin N 'FP' for Stages 11 & 12. However, most reverted to the '2' compound/construction for Stages 13 & 14. Michelin drivers collected a further four fastest stage times (including 1 equal fastest) from the five stages covered so far today (up to and including SS13).

Pirelli With the retirement of Richard Burns after SS10 went any realistic hopes of a Pirelli victory on its home event. However Simon Jean-Joseph picked up the challenge for Subaru-Pirelli and recorded fastest times on SS11 and SS12 (equal with Piero Liatti) using the RP7 dry asphalt tyre.

Unofficial Results at the end of Leg 2
Outright
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 3:23:58,8
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 3:24:20,2
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 3:24:57,3
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:24:59,0
5 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 3:25:10,9
6 McRae Ford Focus WRC 3:25:40,2
7 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 3:25:54,7
8 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma 3:26:22,7
9 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 3:26:32,2
10 Loeb Toyota Corolla WRC 3:27:21,8

Formula 2
1 Travaglia Peugeot 306 Kit Car 3:27:53,9
2 Pedersoli Fiat Punto 3:45:19,1
3 Taratino Renault Clio Williams 3:47:53,4

Group N
1 Galli Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 3:41:03,3
2 Fiorio Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 3:41:07,2
3 Trelles Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 3:42:46,5

Teams Cup
1 Yazici Toyota Corolla WRC 3:38:01,8 Team Atakan
2 Bakhashab Toyota Corolla WRC 4:02:12,5 Toyota Team Saudi Arabia

Stage Winners
SS9 - Panizzi, SS10 - Makinen, SS11 - Jean-Joseph, SS12 - Jean-Joseph, SS13 - Makinen, SS14 - Gronholm, SS15 - cancelled

SS 9, Pantasina 1 15.61 km 1st Car: 07:11
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 9:47,2
2 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 9:51,4
3 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 9:52,3
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 9:52,3
5 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 9:52,5

SS 10, Monte-Ceppo 1 37.74 km 1st Car: 07:48
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 26:02,4
2 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 26:04,3
3 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 26:06,5
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 26:12,6
5 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 26:13,2

SS 11, Pantasina 2 15.61 km 1st Car: 10:54
1 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 9:46,0
1 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 9:46,0
3 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 9:46,5
4 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 9:46,8
5 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 9:47,2

SS 12, Monte-Ceppo 2 37.74 km 1st Car: 11:31
1 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 25:59,8
2 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 26:01,8
3 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 26:02,3
4 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 26:02,9
5 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 26:05,2

SS 13, Langan 1 37.81 km 1st Car: 15:20
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 26:14,0
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 26:17,9
3 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 26:20,1
4 Auriol Seat Cordoba WRC 26:20,6
5 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 26:21,2

SS 14, Carpasio 15.61 km 1st Car: 16:23
1 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 9:46,4
2 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 9:49,9
3 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 9:51,6
4 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 9:51,9
5 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 9:54,2

SS 15, Langan 2 37.81 km 1st Car: 19:03
Cancelled due to a road accident blocking rally route
End of Leg 1
Friday 22th October
Extract from Official FIA Press Release

Dry and bright weather greeted the 115 crews who started today's first leg of the San Remo Rally although the stages were still damp in places as expected. The pace was just as hot as expected, however and while the controversial Gilles Panizzi set about establishing a lead, the battle for second between Richard Burns and Francois Delecour was intense. Fears that multiple running of the stages in each direction would see excessive amounts of dirt dragged onto the roads seem to have been unfounded although the conditions remained tricky throughout the day.

Peugeot
Gilles Panizzi and Marcus Gronholm reported the stages to be quite slippery this morning but only François Delecour had any problems. An air valve proved to be leaking from the start of SS1and cost him the use of his turbo anti-lag system which prevented him from attacking hard. Once fixed the Frenchman immediately set the fastest time on SS3. However he made an emotional (and almost physical) outburst in the service area beforehand, accusing his team mate, Panizzi, of recceing the stages outside the official hours. Several people have claimed to have seen Panizzi on the stages when he shouldn't have been but it should be noted that none of the 'witnesses' were event officials. At the pre-event FIA Press Conference, team director Corrado Provera dismissed such speculation as rumour and a private battle of wills between his two drivers. "If any Peugeot driver is found to be cheating then he will be immediately dismissed from the team," he insisted.

Subaru
Richard Burns set the fastest time on the opening stage (as he had in Corsica) but was unable to stop the Peugeot of Gilles Panizzi taking the lead on the next. However the Englishman was driving with more confidence than on the last event and was taking the fight to the Peugeots better than anyone else. "When the stages are dry then I've got all the confidence I need," he said. "It's just not so good when it's damp and I can't get the right feeling with the steering and brakes." Team mate Simon Jean-Joseph was also flying in the second Impreza. He thought he'd blown it when he hit a wall on SS3 and damaged a wheel but third fastest on SS4 brought him into the top six. The third Subaru, that of Petter Solberg, was lying tenth at the lunch halt. "It's not too bad for my second WRC event on asphalt," said the Norwegian. "After I changed a few things the car is much better to drive."

Ford
Colin McRae showed little signs that he has spent the past three weeks in an intensive battle to get fit for this event as he set seventh fastest time on SS1. However an attempt to cure understeer between stages saw him stiffen the front end too much and create an even worse handling problem. A brush with a barrier delayed him further and he slipped to 13th by first service. As the day has progressed he has suffered a little discomfort from his injuries, but nothing too serious. Carlos Sainz had similar set-up problems but ended the first pair of stages in seventh. The third Ford Focus of Italian star Piero Liatti was lucky to reach service after it caught fire on SS2. An oil leak in the rear diff was blamed but Liatti was able to put the fire out at the end of the stage and reach service where the diff was replaced.

Mitsubishi
Freddy Loix was understandably cautious over today's opening stages after his early retirement in Corsica but once the Belgian got his car handling as he liked he was finding the pace very hot. "We're having to fight really hard even for a tenth fastest time on the stages," he explained. Tommi Makinen reset his suspension at the first service area and found the Mitsubishi to be much improved as a result. "It's now a lot easier to drive and I think we can push harder and go even faster," he said.

SEAT
In common with most teams, SEAT suffered a few handling problems over the first two stages today. Toni Gardemeister suffered a half spin as a result of the dirty road surface while team leader Didier Auriol damaged a rear tyre which cost him a few seconds. Fourth fastest on SS3 did, however, underline the potential of the Cordoba E3 on asphalt. I played with the differential programmes on the road section to SS3 and found a good balance," he said. "It was maximum attack and I got a good time. Unfortunately I think we broke a spark plug on SS4 and so the engine was running on three cylinders." Gardemeister was happy to find himself running a minute quicker that last year but was not so happy with his overall placing against the local heroes.

Skoda
Armin Schwarz was distracted over the early stages by a mysterious vibration in the Skoda's wheels and admitted that he was unhappy with his overall position this morning. Both Schwarz and team mate Luis Climent declared they were adopting a cautious approach, as they were not too confident in their notes for the new Octavia's asphalt debut after the fog during the recce. Schwarz sped up in the afternoon and started setting times close to the top 10 while Climent was determined to post a rare finish if at all possible. He did, however, suffer intercooler problems on SS5. In general, however, the Skoda camp was encouraged by today's pace and ready to improve tomorrow.

Hyundai
Hyundai's Australian driver, Michael Guest, was the one of the event's first major retirements when he hit a rock on the second stage and retired from his San Remo debut. Kenneth Eriksson's early pace was hampered by a broken centre differential while an oil leak was initially worrying Alister McRae in the second car. McRae lost power steering on SS3 but, since then, the Accents have enjoyed a trouble free run.

Other teams
Andrea Aghini's hopes of playing a leading role in this event seemed to have been dashed by brake problems and a failed intercom on the first stage that put him well down the order. Piero Longhi retired near the end of SS5 after hitting a guard rail and leaving just two wheels on his Toyota. Hamed Al Wahaibi's event was long over by that point, the Omani driver sidelined 4km from the end of the opening stage and therefore destined for a no-score in the FIA Teams Cup for the Arab World team. John Papadimitriou retired close to the end of the same stage. Argentine driver Gabriel Pozzo said he was hit by the Greek's Subaru and forced into retirement with a damaged wheel at the stage finish. Before this event Pozzo was lying third in the FIA Group N Championship. The early Group N pace was being set by Alex Fiorio with Gustavo Trelles chasing hard to try and get back into the title fight.

Tyre facts
Michelin
Cooler temperatures - 12Cº this morning climbing to a high of 19Cº this afternoon - and the less twisty nature of the stages, mean there has been less demand made on tyres today than in Corsica. Conditions through the first group of stages were very difficult with leaves and sand on the road, but the stages tended to clean as the day progressed. The Michelin N evolution "FP" was fastest on 5 of today's first 6 stages. One loop of two stages is still to be run.

Pirelli In a repeat of Corsica, Richard Burns was fastest on the opening stage but then had to give best to the Peugeots. Pirelli's leading driver stayed faithful to the RS tyre on the first six of today's eight stages as it gave better reassurance when the roads were damp. Other Pirelli crews, however, made personal choices of both the RS and RP cover in several different compound options.

Unofficial Results at the end of Leg 1
Outright
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 1:35:59,3
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 1:36:14,7
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 1:36:25,8
4 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 1:36:51,6
5 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 1:36:52,1
6 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 1:36:54,7
7 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 1:36:55,1
8 McRae Ford Focus WRC 1:37:08,6
9 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 1:37:18,4
10 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma 1:37:33,4

Formula 2
1 Travaglia Peugeot 306 Kit Car 1:38:18,2
2 Magaud Ford Puma 1:44:26.5

Group N
1 Fiorio Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 1:44:41.4
2 Galli Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 1:44:43.3
3 Trelles Mitsu Lancer Evo VI 1:45:00.1

Teams Cup
1 Yazici Toyota Corolla WRC 1::43:36.6 Team Atakan
2 Bakhashab Toyota Corolla WRC 2:07:58.4

Stage Winners
SS1 - Burns, SS2 - Panizzi, SS3 - Delecour, SS4 - Panizzi, SS5 - Delecour, SS6 - Delecour, SS7 - Panizzi, SS8 - Panizzi

SS 1, Apricale 1 16.73 km 1st Car: 07:50
1 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:45,9
2 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 11:46,9
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 11:51,3
4 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 11:52,3
5 Travaglia Peugeot 306 Kit Car 11:52,7

SS 2, Perinaldo 1 19.30 km 1st Car: 08:19
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 12:29,0
2 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 12:33,7
3 Longhi Toyota Corolla WRC 12:34,1
4 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 12:34,2
5 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 12:35,0
5=Andreucci Subaru Impreza WRC 12:35,0

SS 3, Apricale 2 16.73 km 1st Car: 10:59
1 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 11:36,9
2 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:38,2
3 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 11:39,0
4 Auriol Seat Cordoba WRC 11:40,0
5 Longhi Toyota Corolla WRC 11:41,7

SS 4, Perinaldo 2 19.30 km 1st Car: 11:28
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 12:13,8
2 Longhi Toyota Corolla WRC 12:16,1
3 Jean-Joseph Subaru Impreza WRC 12:16,8
4 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 12:18,0
5 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 12:19,3

SS 5, Ghimbegna 1 19.30 km 1st Car: 14:31
1 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 12:10,0
2 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 12:12,0
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 12:12,9
4 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 12:13,4
5 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 12:14,6

SS 6, Baiardo 1 16.73 km 1st Car: 15:01
1 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 11:38,0
2 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 11:39,2
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:40,7
4 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 11:43,3
5 Liatti Ford Focus WRC 11:44,4

SS 7, Ghimbegna 2 19.30 km 1st Car: 17:21
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 12:14,0
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 12:14,6
3 McRae Ford Focus WRC 12:19,2
4 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 12:20,3
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma 12:21,0

SS 8, Baiardo 2 16.73 km 1st Car: 17:51
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 11:44,0
2 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 11:48,6
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 11:48,6
4 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 11:49,1
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:49,1

Thursday 19th October
Extract from Official FIA Press Release
http://www.fia.com

The San Remo Rally is the second part of the asphalt 'double-header' that began with Corsica last month. It sets up the final push for this year's FIA World Rally Championship and sees the drivers' title chase closer than ever before, with four drivers covered by just five points. A fifth driver, four-time FIA World Champion Tommi Makinen, is also still in the hunt for a fifth successive crown but unless he scores well this weekend he will most likely drop out of contention. Although the days before the event have been warm and sunny, this may mean cold mornings and roads made damp by overnight frost, especially under the trees. Heavy rain before the recce has left many stages coated with sand that was washed onto the surface by the water.

Ford (83 points)
The big news from Ford is that Colin McRae has been passed fit to compete on this event. The Scot was seriously injured in is Corsican accident and required surgery to repair a broken cheekbone. Outwardly, however, there is little sign that McRae was so badly hurt and he has become quite tired answering the constant barrage of questions about his health! To speed his recovery McRae used an oxygen tent at home and has had it transported to his hotel room to maintain the progress. Of his hopes for the year McRae says: "I want to put the accident behind me and concentrate on winning the title. We didn't lose much ground in Corsica and so I'm here just one thing in mind and that's to win the rally." Team mate Carlos Sainz (who has switched to a full-face helmet after McRae's accident) is no great lover of this rally but prefers its wider roads. However, the new 'race track' format with stages being reversed has caused him to sound this warning. "A lot of dirt will be dragged onto the roads from the first run and so, when the stages are reversed, it could make things very tricky." Once again a third Martini Racing Focus has been entered for the unregistered Piero Liatti. As in Corsica the Italian ace will test the semi-automatic gearshift system before it is fitted to the other cars. All three Focuses will use bigger brakes following yesterday's shakedown tests.

Peugeot (74 points)
Peugeot's declared intention of concentrating on the FIA Manufacturers' Championship may not be good news for Marcus Gronholm's hopes of lifting the drivers' title. The Finn currently leads the series by just two points from Subaru's Richard Burns and this, like Australia next month, is not an event where he has a great deal of experience. However, after the performance of the 206WRC in Corsica, Peugeot will be hoping that its registered drivers Gilles Panizzi and Francois Delecour, can pull off another 1-2 result. If that should happen then Peugeot will move ahead in the title race whatever its rivals do this weekend. A brief test near Genoa last week served to settle the set up for the car, but few changes are expected from the successful Corsica specification.

Subaru (69 points)
While Richard Burns' performance in Corsica was solid, if not stunning, Subaru remains confident that it was a useful lesson in preparation for this rally. The team took time to fully understand the new Pirelli tyres for the French event, but expects to be better placed to make full use of them on their 'home' rally. Burns will be looking for another good score here to send him to the final two events of the Championship in good shape to challenge for his first FIA World Rally Championship. Australia and Rally GB are two of his strongest events and he won both last season. As in Corsica, the second official Subaru is to be driven by Martinique's Simon Jean-Joseph while a third, privately entered but Prodrive run, Impreza is on hand for Petter Solberg who aims to get further than the first stage this time outÉ

Mitsubishi (35 points)
Tommi Makinen will be hoping that he can take a hat-trick of San Remo wins and rekindle his championship challenge over the final three events. The four-time champion is 18 points adrift of series leader Marcus Gronholm and if Makinen fails to score here then his fellow Finn needs just two points to end Makinen's reign and leave just four drivers to fight for the 2000 title. The Ralliart team has been working hard to prepare the Finland cars for this event as both its asphalt racers were badly damaged in Corsica. While Makinen's will probably live to fight another day, Freddy Loix's car will not be repaired. Although not registered for the manufacturers' series, Andrea Aghini could affect the drivers' championship placings with his Ralliart Italy Carisma GT. He knows this event well and could be crucial to how the points stack up on Sunday night.

SEAT (8 points)
SEAT tackles its final asphalt event before the factory team withdraws from the Championship with a three-car entry. While Didier Auriol and Toni Gardemeister drive their usual Cordoba E3s, Belgian ace Renaud Verreydt lines up an older version of the car. Auriol believes that SEAT could get a good result here and says, "I especially liked the stages close to San Remo and so I'm quite happy with the new format." Like many of his rivals he is concerned about the effects of gravel being pulled onto the roads on the first runs. "It will make life difficult on the second and will make tyre choice especially important." San Remo is one of the few events that Gardemeister has driven before. "I'm looking forward to it a lot," he said. "If all goes well then I agree with Didier that SEAT could have a good result this weekend."

Skoda (8 points)
Having missed Corsica to test for this event, Skoda returns to the Championship for the asphalt debut of the second generation Octavia WRC. Armin Schwarz recalls setting the team's first fastest time in Spain earlier this year and hopes that the new car is sufficiently more competitive on asphalt to bring even more this weekend. "Given the right conditions we can compete with the best in the World," he said. "The car has lost even more weight and is now very nicely balanced. The engine is also more driveable than in Cyprus and the new tyres from Michelin are very impressive." While Schwarz sets his sights on a fastest stage time, team mate Luis Climent has a more basic target. The Spaniard has not finished a rally since the Safari and aims to put that right this weekend. "This isn't my favourite event," he said. "However, if I get a good finish I might learn to like it!"

Hyundai (5 points)
Alister McRae hopes that the form he showed towards the end of Corsica can be maintained and improved here in Italy. "We're still a bit off the pace," he admitted. "However things are improving and while I don't expect to be up among the front runners I hope to be able to fight harder on a rally I know." Kenneth Eriksson also has more experience of this rally and has much the same targets as McRae. Like many drivers he is well aware of the difficulties the weather can cause on this rally, especially in the mornings. One Hyundai driver with no experience here is Australian ace Michael Guest. This is his San Remo debut, only his second event in the Winfield version of the Accent WRC and his first asphalt event with it.

Other teams
While the overall drivers and manufacturers championships will remain wide open after this event, one FIA World Championship could almost be settled here in San Remo. Given a favourable set of circumstances, Austria's Manfred Stohl could come close to securing the Group N title this weekend. Although a win here will not immediately end Gustavo Trelles' four-year reign as champion it would leave the Austrian with very little to do over the final two events to achieve that target. The battle for the FIA Teams Cup could swing in a fresh direction this weekend. Series leaders Spike Subaru (with Toshihiro Arai) is not taking part and so the way could be clear for Toyota Team Saudi Arabia to move ahead with Abdullah Bakhashab. Hamed Al Wahaibi (Arab World Rally Team) and Serkan Yasici (Team Atakan) are the other two contestants. The biggest technical changes for this event are on the Toyotas of Markko Martin and Piero Longhi. Steering wheel mounted 'paddle' gearshifts have been fitted and both will make use of a new rear subframe design.

Tyre facts
After competing on Michelin's 'home' event the FIA World Rally Championship now moves to Pirelli's! The battle between the two tyre giants could be fascinating. Of the last 10 San Remo rallies Michelin has won six (including the last two) to Pirelli's four so there is great honour at stake for both manufacturers. Michelin: The five teams contracted to Michelin will have a total of 3800 tyres available for this event in five different design configurations (plus several compound evolutions) ranging from the Michelin N1 for cool and dry surfaces to the Michelin B for full rain.

Pirelli: Subaru, SEAT and the leading Group N Mitsubishi runners will choose from 2500 PZero asphalt tyres in San Remo in five different patterns from the RP 'clean' asphalt tyre to the N that is designed for rain and even snow! Pirelli is also using several compound evolutions within those design parameters.
__________________________________________________________________
Stage Itinerary
Leg 1, Friday 20th October (144.12km)
SS 1 07:50 Apricale 1 16.73 km
SS 2 08:19 Perinaldo 1 19.30 km
SS 3 10:59 Apricale 2 16.73 km
SS 4 11:28 Perinaldo 2 19.30 km
SS 5 14:31 Ghimbegna 1 19.30 km
SS 6 15:01 Baiardo 1 16.73 km
SS 7 17:21 Ghimbegna 2 19.30 km
SS 8 17:51 Baiardo 2 16.73 km

Leg 2, Saturday 21st October (197.93km)
SS 9 07:11 Pantasina 1 15.61 km
SS 10 07:48 Monte-Ceppo 1 37.74 km
SS 11 10:54 Pantasina 2 15.61 km
SS 12 11:31 Monte-Ceppo 2 37.74 km
SS 13 15:20 Langan 1 37.81 km
SS 14 16:23 Carpasio 15.61 km
SS 15 19:03 Langan 2 37.81 km

Leg 3, Sunday 22nd October (40.74km)
SS 16 08:37 Rezzo 25.08 km
SS 17 10:32 Colle d'Oggia 15.66 km
Total Competitive Km 382.79km
__________________________________________________________________
Entry List (top 38 out of 123 cars - 82 Group A + 41 Group N)
1 M.Gronholm/T.Rautiainen (FIN) Peugeot 206 A/8
2 R.Burns/R Reid (GB) Subaru Impreza A/8
3 C.McRae/N.Grist (GB) Ford Focus A/8
4 C.Sainz/L.Moya (E) Ford Focus A/8
5 T.Makinen/R.Mannisenmaki (FIN) Mitsubishi Lancer A/8
6 F.Delecour/D.Grataloup (F) Peugeot 206 A/8
7 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi (F) Peugeot 206 A/8
8 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet (F) Seat Cordoba A/8
9 F.Loix/S.Smeets (B) Mitsubishi Carisma GT A/8
10 T.Gardemeister/P.Lukander (FIN) Seat Cordoba A/8
11 A.Schwarz/M.Hiemer (D) Skoda Octavia A/8
12 K.Eriksson/S.Parmander (S) Hyundai Accent A/8
13 P.Liatti/C.Cassina (I) Ford Focus A/8
14 S.Jean-Joseph/J.Boyere (F) Subaru Impreza A/8
15 A.McRae/D.Senior (GB) Hyundai Accent A/8
16 L.Climent/A.Romani (E) Skoda Octavia A/8
17 P.Solberg/P.Mills (N/GB) Subaru Impreza A/8
18 M.Guest/D.Green (AUS) Hyundai Accent A/8
19 U.Nittel/D.Ruf (D) Toyota Corolla A/8
20 P.Longhi/Baggio (I) Toyota Corolla A/8
21 G.Cunico/L.Pirollo (I) Subaru Impreza A/8
22 H.Lundgaard/J.C.Anker (DK) Toyota Corolla A/8
23 A.Aghini/D'Esposito (I) Mitsubishi Lancer A/8
24 P.Andreucci/Bernacchini (I) Subaru Impreza A/8
25 H.Al-Wahaibi/T.Sircombe (OM/NZ) Subaru Impreza A/8
26 A.Dallavilla/D.Fappani (I) Subaru Impreza A/8
27 S.Yazici/E.Bodur (TR) Toyota Corolla A/8
28 M.Martin/M.Park (EE/GB) Toyota Corolla A/8
29 A.Bakhashab/B.Willis (SA/GB) Toyota Corolla A/8
30 F.Dor/D.Breton (F) Subaru Impreza A/8
31 M.Stohl/P.Muller (A) Mitsubishi Carisma GT N/4
32 J.Papadimitriou/N.Petropoulos (GR) Subaru Impreza A/8
33 J.Kulig/Baran (PL) Ford Focus A/8
34 G.Trelles/J.Del Buono (ROU/RA) Mitsubishi Lancer N/4
35 G.Galli/M.Messina (I) Mitsubishi Carisma GT N/4
36 G.Pozzo/F.Cretu (RA) Mitsubishi Lancer N/4
37 R.Ferreyros/Herrero (PE) Mitsubishi Lancer N/4
38 C.Menzi/E.Galindo (RA) Mitsubishi Lancer N/4

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