wrc1202

2002 FIA World Rally Championship

32nd Propecia Rally New Zealand - http://www.rallynz.org.nz
Twelth round out of 14 in the 2002 FIA World Rally Championship

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PROPECIA RALLY NEW ZEALAND
Photos from New Zealand:
http://www.wrc-online.net/default.asp?sid=0&pid=14&galleryid=91

[WRC] Rally New Zealand: Final
Sunday, 06 October 2002
Finnish driver Marcus Grönholm has won the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally New Zealand, which finished on the outskirts of Auckland this afternoon. Grönholm and his navigator Timo Rautiainen cruised through today's eight special stages to secure their fourth win of the season, and put themselves mathematically out of reach of their rivals in the world championship points standings. Their team-mate Harri Rovanperä finished second to secure a one-two for Peugeot. Subject to confirmation from the FIA, the French marque has now won the manufacturers' title for the third year in succession. Despite today's short schedule, there was still scope for drama: Petter Solberg missed out on what seemed a certain podium finish when his Subaru's engine failed with just two stages remaining, while Rovanperä himself had to struggle through the final few tests with hydraulic problems. He still did enough, though, to fend off third-placed Tommi Mäkinen at the finish.

Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Marcus Grönholm Gilles Panizzi have been reliable today, although Grönholm did complain of a softening brake pedal 10km after the start of SS20 this morning. Harri Rovanperä's car, meanwhile, suffered a hydraulic pressure loss with three stages remaining. The Finn had to resort to manual throttle command and regular gearshift, and he also lost the front brakes and the power steering as a result.
Sporting: Marcus Grönholm knew that he only had to make no mistakes today to ensure a fourth victory of the year and put himself mathematically out of the reach in the world championship, and the Finn tied up his second title in some style. His only potential rival, Harri Rovanpera, failed to make any impact this morning and when he hit hydraulic problems this afternoon, Grönholm's winning margin extended to almost four minutes. Peugeot's fourth entry Gilles Panizzi brought his 206 WRC home in seventh after an outing designed to give him experience of the New Zealand roads.
Quotes: Marcus Grönholm said: ãOf course I'm really happy about the rally and the championship. It seems strange to have things tied up so early in the season, but we've had a good finishing record this year. Apart from when I was excluded in Argentina, we've only retired from one rally - the Safari - and we've been able to score points on most events. Today, I spent some time checking my pacenotes today, so that I'm even better prepared if the same stages are used next year!
Harri Rovanpera said: ãI'm pleased to get another podium finish and of course it's good for the team to get another one-two and the championship. It was a difficult end to the rally for me after the hydraulic problems, because I only had rear brakes and the power steering or semi-automatic gearshift weren't working. I thought Tommi or Petter would catch me, but they didn't.
Peugeot Total Team Director Corrado Provera said: ãTo achieve this double success here is extraordinary. It's a fantastic result for a team and a manufacturer who are really committed to rallying and this championship.

Subaru
Technical: Tommi Mäkinen has experimented with some suspension and anti-roll bar settings on his Impreza WRC2002 today, but the car has run reliably. Petter Solberg, however, lost some time this morning when his car lost hydraulic pressure in its centre differential. He was then forced to retire on the penultimate stage when his car's engine failed.
Sporting: Both of Subaru's drivers, Petter Solberg and Tommi Mäkinen, started today's tests in comfortable positions on the leaderboard, so neither was prepared to take risks in the closing stages. Solberg lost some time with a centre differential problem on the opening pair of tests, but the Norwegian recovered this afternoon to consolidate his third place. He looked certain to score his second podium finish in succession, but in the penultimate stage he suffered late heartbreak when his engine failed and he was forced to retire. Mäkinen, meanwhile, played with set-up on his Impreza as he brought his car back to the Manukau finish in third overall after Solberg's retirement.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ãIt's hard to put what Phil [Mills] and I are feeling into words right now. We're so disappointed. The engine just failed, there was absolutely no warning. I just don't know what happened.
Tommi Mäkinen said: ãThere was no point to fight today, so we tried some things to see if we can get a better feeling with the car on stages like these. We have to keep pushing and looking for different settings and ways to find more speed because when you look at how this rally has gone, we have not been able to really compete with the Peugeots. They have a big advantage now, and it's going to be hard to close that. Third is a good result for me, of course, but it's not the way that I wanted it - it would have been better to get two cars to the finish and I feel really sorry for Petter.

Ford
Technical: Carlos Sainz's Focus RS WRC02 ran reliably today.
Sporting: With a 50-second deficit to Tommi Mäkinen overnight and a cushion of more than a minute to Juha Kankkunen, Ford's sole remaining driver Carlos Sainz had no reason to take risks today. The Spaniard experimented with differential settings as he consolidated his overnight fifth place. His only real scare came three stages before the end, when he slid backwards in a braking zone approaching a fast corner and hit a tree. Sainz's car struck a television cameraman in the incident without the double world champion even being aware of any contact. The injured party was taken to hospital suffering a suspected broken leg. The bodywork damage on Sainz's car stopped just shy of the car's rear suspension and he continued, finishing fifth.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: ãI was in a fast braking area and the back of the car slid round. I managed to lose quite a lot of speed but obviously not enough, and we hit a tree quite hard. There was quite a lot of bodywork damage but the steering was nearly straight, so we were able to get to the finish without losing too much more time.

Hyundai
Technical: The three Accent WRC3s of Juha Kankkunen, Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz have run without any major problems today.
Sporting: Hyundai started this morning with all three of its entries still running, and the Korean manufacturer was determined to ensure that it stayed that way. As a result, drivers Juha Kankkunen, Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz were all told to hold station. They did as they were told; Schwarz maintained his overnight 11th place, despite concerns about his differential mapping this morning. He was gifted 10th by Solberg's late retirement. Kankkunen held onto sixth this morning, then moved up to fifth when Solberg retired to secure Hyundai's first drivers points of the season. Loix backed up his team-mate and arrived at the Manukau finish 42.3 seconds behind to score a point for himself and take Hyundai's haul to three points. It was the only manufacturer to get all of its entries to the finish.
Quotes: Juha Kankkunen said: ãIt's very good to get so many points for the team. Scoring anything in the world championship these days is pretty difficult, so three points from such a long trip is good for the whole team. I don't know if we can do the same again in Australia, but the first-day road conditions should suit us again so anything's possible.
Freddy Loix said: ãToday I had been told just to make sure that I finished and it wasn't fun to drive at all. Of course I would have liked to have been able to fight with Juha to be the top Hyundai but the team really wanted all three cars to finish so there wasn't any point in taking risks. I feel a bit sorry for Petter with his late retirement but it means I get my first point of the year, which is encouraging after so much work from everybody

Skoda
Technical: The remaining Octavia WRC of Toni Gardemeister ran reliably today, although the Finn did feel that his car was set up too stiffly for this morning's opening pair of stages.
Sporting: Toni Gardemeister had shouldered Skoda's hopes in New Zealand since the second stage of the rally, when his team-mate Kenneth Eriksson crashed out. The young Finn started today's stages with little to gain, since he was over half a minute behind Gilles Panizzi and well over a minute clear of François Delecour. As a result, Gardemeister concentrated on not making any mistakes and he brought his car to the Manukau finish in eighth overall.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: ãThe roads this morning were so, so slippery. I looked at the timesheets and some of the Group N cars were quicker than us because they didn't have so much gravel on the road. Also I think our car hasn't been quite right as well, because it feels like the suspension was very stiff.

Mitsubishi
Technical: François Delecour's Lancer Evo WRC has been reliable today, although the Frenchman did complain of a lack of feeling in the brakes towards the end of SS20.
Sporting: The remaining Lancer Evo WRC of François Delecour had little to gain from taking risks today, so the Frenchman concentrated on playing with settings and again trying the driving techniques used by Jani Paasonen. He ended the event in ninth overall.
Quotes: François Delecour said: ãIt's been very, very hard for us today because the roads have so much loose gravel on them. This morning I lost a little bit of feeling in the brakes - just the bite - but it wasn't such a big problem. Again today I've tried to drive like Jani did, using the brakes quite heavily to get the car lined up for corners, but there's been so much loose on the road that it's still been very difficult.

Other entries
Finn Kristian Sohlberg started today with high hopes of winning the Group N category for more standard machinery, but his aims were put in jeopardy by rear differential problems. The resulting time loss allowed Kiwi Possum Bourne to move his Subaru ahead of Sohlberg's Impreza, and the local hero held onto the lead to score a popular win on home turf. Sohlberg's disappointment was tempered by the knowledge that Bourne is not registered for the FIA World Production Car Championship. He still took maximum points in that series to move himself into the title reckoning with just one round remaining. Former British champion Martin Rowe took second-placed points while Italian Giovanni Manfrinato claimed third, even though another local non-registered driver, Reece Jones, finished ahead of him in the final results.

06/10/2002 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS:
46 crews (24 Group A and 22 Group N) started this morning.

RETIREMENTS:
Solberg (N) + 2 non-seeded drivers

TODAY Sunday 5 October
Leg 3 started from Auckland at 05h00 and covered 421.02km, including 90.19km on eight special stages.

LEG 3 RESULTS
SS19 OTOROHEA TRIG (4.62km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3m 05.6
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3m 07.7
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3m 08.2
LEADERS AFTER SS19
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 11m 16.7
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 12m 14.1
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 13m 35.3

SS20 TE AKAU SOUTH REVERSE (32.43km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 18m 43.3
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 19m 12.0
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 19m 18.4
LEADERS AFTER SS20
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 30m 00.0
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 31m 26.1
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 32m 53.7

SS21 RIDGE 1 (8.53km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 4m 45.8
2 Mäkinen (FIN) Subaru 4m 51.2
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 4m 52.9
LEADERS AFTER SS21
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 34m 45.8
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 36m 20.9
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 37m 46.6

SS22 CAMPBELL 1 (7.44km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3m 55.8
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 3m 56.2
3 Mäkinen (FIN) Subaru 3m 58.5
LEADERS AFTER SS22
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 38m 41.6
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 40m 20.2
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 41m 42.8

SS23 RIDGE 2 (8.53km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 4m 43.4
2 Mäkinen (FIN) Subaru 4m 47.6
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 4m 47.8
LEADERS AFTER SS23
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 43m 25.0
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 45m 10.4
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 46m 30.8

SS24 CAMPBELL 2 (7.44km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3m 52.9
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 3m 55.9
3 Makinen (FIN) Subaru 3m 56.1

LEADERS AFTER SS24
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 47m 17.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 49m 34.5
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 50m 26.5

SS25 FYFE 1 (10.60km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 5m 47.4
2 Makinen (FIN) Subaru 5m 49.2
3 Sainz (E) Ford 5m 54.3
LEADERS AFTER SS25
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 53m 05.3
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 56m 08.1
3 Makinen (FIN) Subaru 3h 57m 28.3

SS26 FYFE 2 (10.60km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 5m 40.1
2 Makinen (FIN) Subaru 5m 43.4
3 Panizzi (F) Peugeot 5m 46.7

LEADERBOARD IN MANUKAU AFTER SS26
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 58m 45.4
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot +3m 47.6
3 Makinen (FIN) Subaru +4m 26.3
4 Sainz (E) Ford +5m 48.9
5 Kankkunen (FIN) Hyundai +7m 10.2
6 Loix (B) Hyundai +7m 52.5
7 Panizzi (F) Peugeot +8m 24.4
8 Gardemeister (FIN) Skoda +8m 56.1
9 Delecour (F) Mitsubishi +10m 43.6
10 Schwarz (D) Hyundai +11m 34.8

PRODUCTION CAR WRC LEADERS AFTER SS26
1 Sohlberg (FIN) Mitsubishi 4h 18m 20.5
2 Rowe (GB) Mitsubishi +18.3
3 Manfrinato (I) Mitsubishi +2m 57.2
4 Fiorio (I) Mitsubishi +3m 15.7
5 Ligato (RA) Mitsubishi +4m 17.9
6 Kollevold (N) Mitsubishi +33m 47.8

FINAL RALLY STATISTICS
EVENT:
The rally covered 1792.48km, including 411.40km on 26 special stages (including six run twice). All stages were on gravel roads closed to other traffic.

STARTERS:
81 crews (42 Group A and 39 Group N) started the rally

FINISHERS:
42 crews (21 Group A and 21 Group N) finished the rally

STAGE WINNERS:
Grönholm (SS6-10-12-15 -16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26)
Burns (SS1-2-3-4-9-11-13-14)
Paasonen (SS5)
Solberg (SS7-8)

RALLY LEADERS
SS1-SS14 Burns
SS15-SS26 Grönholm

FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (provisional standings after 12 of 14 rounds):
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers: Grönholm (FIN) 67, Burns (GB) 34, C. McRae (GB) 33, Panizzi (F) 31. Sainz (E) 29, Rovanperä (FIN) 24, Solberg (N) 23, Mäkinen (FIN) 19, Loeb (F) 18, Martin (EE) 12, Bugalski (F) 7, Radstrom (S) 4, A. McRae (GB) 2, Gardemeister (FIN) 2, Thiry (B) 2, Kankkunen (FIN) 2, Eriksson (S) 1, Puras (E) 1, Loix (B) 1.

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers: Peugeot 147, Ford 89, Subaru 50, Mitsubishi 9, Hyundai 9, Skoda 8.

FIA Junior World Rally Championship (after 5 of 6 rounds, this event not counting): Dallavilla (I) 28, Sola (E) 27, Caldani (I) 13, Tuohino (FIN) 12, Duval (B) 12, Basso (I) 10, Galli (I) 5, Schelle (D) 5, Feghali (RL) 4, Rowe (GB) 4, Carlsson (S) 3, Baldacci (I) 3, Doppelreiter (A) 2, Foss (N) 1, Katajamaki (FIN) 1.

FIA Production Car World Championship (after 7 of 8 rounds): Singh (MAL) 28, Sohlberg (FIN) 26, Ferreyros (PE) 20, Fiorio (I) 16, Arai (J) 12, Trelles (ROU) 12, Iliev (BG) 9, Rowe (GB) 11, others.

NEXT EVENT:
October 31-November 3/2002: Telstra Rally Australia, Perth, Australia.

[WRC] Rally New Zealand: Leg 2
Saturday, 05 October 2002
Peugeot driver Marcus Grönholm holds a comfortable lead on the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally New Zealand, which continued north of Auckland today. The Finn and his navigator Timo Rautiainen inched past their Peugeot team-mate Harri Rovanperä this morning, and they then were handed the lead when another 206 WRC driver, Richard Burns, crashed out of the top position in SS15. His retirement means that Grönholm has all-but-guaranteed a second world drivers' title - only his eighth-placed team-mate Gilles Panizzi can still deny him the championship, but he would need to win this event and both of the remaining rounds in Australia and Great Britain to achieve that.
The longest day of the event provided plenty of drama, beyond Burns's retirement. Mitsubishi driver Jani Paasonen crashed out of his strong performance this morning, and Ford's Markko Martin also slid off the road late this afternoon. His retirement means that Peugeot is mathematically assured of a third successive manufacturers' crown.

Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Richard Burns and Marcus Grönholm were reliable today. Harri Rovanperä's car has also run without major problems, although the Finn did feel that he wanted to try different settings on the 206's hydraulic rear anti-roll bar. His is the only 206 fitted with that specification of rear anti-roll bar, but he will switch to a more regular unit tomorrow. The fourth Peugeot of Gilles Panizzi suffered lamp pod failure on this evening's dark stage.
Sporting: For much of today, Richard Burns looked on course to secure his first victory in a Peugeot 206. He looked able to cope with team-mate Marcus Grönholm's charge and he extended his cushion over Harri Rovanperä during this morning's stages. But in SS15, he crashed out of a 45-second lead, handing a decisive advantage to Grönholm and destroying his own chances of denying the Finn the world title. Only Gilles Panizzi can stop the Finn from securing a second crown now, but the Frenchman holds eighth overnight and he would have to win this event and the remaining two rounds to stand any chance of stopping Grönholm. Harri Rovanperä occupies second overnight, nearly a minute behind his team-mate. The Finn was generally slower than Grönholm and Burns during much of today's action.
Quotes: Marcus Grönholm said: ãIt's good news about the championship, of course, but it's a bit sad that it happened because Richard went off. We were having a good fight, though, and I was determined to keep the pressure on because you never know what can happen. Even after we've been in the lead, I've still been pushing quite hard, because I want to keep some concentration and not make any mistakes.
Richard Burns said: ãI'm really disappointed, because I desperately wanted to take my first win for Peugeot. It was a fourth-gear right-hand corner and I slid a little wide. There was a left-hander straight after it and it sent the car into the air. We went over a fence and cartwheeled into the trees.

Subaru
Technical: The Impreza WRC2002s of Petter Solberg and Tommi Mäkinen have been generally reliable today, although both suffered mousse insert break-ups at various stages during the day. Mäkinen was also less than satisfied by his car's lights in this evening's dark stages.
Sporting: Petter Solberg and Tommi Mäkinen started today's tests expecting to fight with the Fords and Jani Paasonen's Mitsubishi for honours behind the Peugeots. That proved the case, although Solberg fared better and he moved clear of his team-mate by the afternoon. He holds third overnight. Mäkinen lost time with a big spin in SS15 and he'll start tomorrow in fourth.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ãI have to say that I'm very happy. We have found a good speed that seems enough to beat the Ford and the Hyundais, and that's really all we can expect when the Peugeots are so strong. Tomorrow the aim is to make sure we end up on the podium, and it's looking good for that. On the same day last year, my son was born so I'm determined to give him a podium finish as a birthday present. I'm not going to let go of this one!
Tommi Mäkinen said: ãThe spin came at virtually the first corner on the stage. We had 300 metres and then a left corner, and the back end just came around. It was quite a big moment and the engine stalled, and we certainly lost some more time while I tried to restart it.

Ford
Technical: The Focus RS WRC02s of Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin have been reliable today.
Sporting: Markko Martin and Carlos Sainz were extremely closely-matched during most of this morning's stages, with the Spaniard regularly quicker but rarely by more than a few tenths of a second. He increased his charge this afternoon, though, moving clear of the Hyundais of Freddy Loix and Juha Kankkunen. The anticipated battle between him and Martin never materialised, though, because Martin slid off in SS14. Like his team-mate Colin McRae yesterday, Martin's car was then hit by another competitor's vehicle. Sainz maintained his pace this evening to hold fifth overnight.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: ãWe're still pushing as hard as well can and we've made up some positions today, but we're still seeing an even bigger gap to the Peugeots because they've had cleaner roads. I'm not so surprised that they've been quick here, though, because we saw in Finland that on smooth gravel roads they have good speed. This evening we were able to try some things on the car but we've still made progress. I think now, though, that it's all we can hope for. If we hadn't had our problems yesterday then we could have been right up with Tommi at least.

Hyundai
Technical: The Accent WRC3s of Juha Kankkunen and Freddy Loix have been reliable today. Armin Schwarz, meanwhile, felt that his car's engine improved when the Hyundai mechanics changed its turbo after SS10. Loix also made changes to his Accent, switching from a mechanical to an 'active' hydraulic rear differential this morning.
Sporting: Both Juha Kankkunen and Freddy Loix have been generally satisfied with their Accents today - Loix more so after he switched to an 'active' rear differential at the final service yesterday. Neither driver encountered any major problems or mistakes, and the dramas which turned the head of the leaderboard upside down allowed them to move up the standings as well. As a result, Kankkunen will start tomorrow in sixth, and Loix in seventh. The third Accent driver, Armin Schwarz, has struggled to find a rhythm on the New Zealand roads today, as he continues to reacclimatise himself with conditions and terrain that he last rallied on seven years ago. The German dropped behind François Delecour today, but the retirements of Burns, Paasonen and Martin meant that he moved up to 11th as the leg progressed. He will have to run first on the road tomorrow, however.
Quotes: Juha Kankkunen said: ãI know there have been a few retirements today, but I think we do have to be happy with this. Last year we'd have been fighting to get into the top 10 and here we're fighting for points placings. It has to be encouraging for the whole team. When you're anywhere near the points these days then you've done well.
Freddy Loix said: ãYesterday I really felt towards the end that I just couldn't go any faster, so we had to try to find something else this morning. So we switched from a mechanical rear differential to an active rear differential. In the past, I've never been able to make that work - particularly with the settings of Juha or Armin - but we've taken some elements of my mechanical set-up and used them with the computer-controlled unit and it seems to be working pretty well. The handling is good now. The team has asked me to make sure I get to the finish tomorrow and not take any risks, so that's what I'll be aiming for.

Skoda
Technical: The sole remaining Octavia WRC of Toni Gardemeister has been generally reliable today, and the young Finn has been happier with the car's performance since he changed rear differential settings and lowered its ride height. He did feel that his tyre choice for the day's longest stage, the 59km SS11, was too hard, however. Gardemeister then complained of excessive oversteer this afternoon, but revisions to the Octavia's rear suspension geometry and a different tyre choice improved that for the final loop of stages of the day.
Sporting: Toni Gardemeister knew that he'd face a struggle to overhaul the Hyundais of Juha Kankkunen and Freddy Loix today, but the young Finn has experimented with settings and maintained a steady pace to keep his Octavia in touch with the top 10 positions. The retirements of Paasonen, Martin and Burns helped him into ninth by the end of the day.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: ãI have quite a good feeling with the car on the stages today, but of course the roads have been cleaning for the guys after me so it's been hard to do really quick times. You can just feel yourself going sideways all the time, losing out at every corner. However, the car's certainly felt better since we made the changes to the ride height and the differential settings.

Mitsubishi
Technical: Jani Paasonen had to retire from today's event after he damaged his radiator in an SS11 accident. François Delecour's Lancer also needed attention after he clipped a bridge in SS11, and Ralliart also had to change the windscreen on the car after it cracked in the same stage.
Sporting: Jani Paasonen started this morning's stages in fifth overall, but he was quickly overhauled by Petter Solberg's Subaru. But the Finn reclaimed fifth when he inched past Tommi Mäkinen in SS10. However, in the day's longest stage, Paasonen slid wide at a slow corner eight kilometres after the start and rolled down a bank off the road. The Lancer's radiator was damaged in the incident and Paasonen had to retire. His team-mate François Delecour, meanwhile, has been hampered by his road position today - the Frenchman has been the first car into stages, and he's had to cope with the thickest coating of gravel on the surface as a result. He ended the day in 10th, despite a lucky escape when he clipped a bridge in SS11.
Quotes: Jani Paasonen said: ãI just went too quickly into quite a slow corner. But the braking area had some camber and the car went quite light, so I wasn't able to slow down as much as I wanted to. We went wide, and then the car rolled down about five metres beneath the road. I could see the radiator was damaged and we were losing water, so even though the wheels were all straight, there was no point trying to get back onto the road. I just moved the car to a safe place. I'm disappointed, of course, because I wanted experience of the rally and the car. But I think that we did some good times yesterday and this morning as well. All I can do now is look forward to Australia.
François Delecour said: ãIt's been just as difficult as I expected today. You cannot believe how little grip there is when you're running first on the road. On one of the stages this morning we were spinning the wheels for what seemed like 100 metres off the start line! It's not nice at all. I've looked at how Jani was driving and tried to do that myself - it's basically very similar but he goes very late and hard on the brakes. It certainly seems to work, because I've noticed an improvement.

Other entries
Kristian Sohlberg continues to hold the lead in the Production Car World Championship section of the event. The Finn's Mitsubishi ended today's stages just under a minute and a half clear of the similar car of Martin Rowe.

05/10/2002 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS:
61 crews (31 Group A and 30 Group N) restarted this morning.

RETIREMENTS:
Burns (GB), Paasonen (FIN), Martin (EE) and 12 other drivers

TODAY: Saturday 4 October
Leg 2 started from Auckland at 06h00 and covered 760.46km, including 204.13km on 10 special stages.

TOMORROW: Sunday 5 October
Leg 3 starts from Auckland at 05h00 and covers 421.02km, including 90.19km on eight special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in at the finish control in Manukau at 15h30.

WEATHER FORECAST:
Overcast and blustery, with showers

Results from Leg 2:
SS9 MITITAI FINISH (20.15km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 10m 05.2
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 10m 06.9
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 10m 16.6
LEADERS AFTER SS9
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 25m 36.8
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 1h 26m 06.5
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 26m 16.3

SS10 TOKATOKA 1 (10.15km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 5m 09.9
2 Burns (GB) Peugeot 5m 10.4
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 5m 16.6
LEADERS AFTER SS10
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 30m 47.2
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 1h 31m 20.0
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 31m 26.2

SS11 PARAHI/ARARUA (59.00km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 33m 37.7
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 33m 44.6
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 33m 37.7
LEADERS AFTER SS11
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 2h 04m 24.9
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 05m 10.8
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 05m 15.3

SS12 BATLEY (17.46km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 9m 36.4
2 Burns (GB) Peugeot 9m 40.2
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 9m 50.1
LEADERS AFTER SS12
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 2h 14m 05.1
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 14m 47.2
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 15m 05.4

SS13 WAIPU GORGE (11.24km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 6m 25.5
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 6m 26.8
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 6m 28.4
LEADERS AFTER SS13
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 2h 20m 30.6
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 21m 14.0
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 21m 33.8

SS14 BROOKS (16.03km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 9m 37.1
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 9m 38.0
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 9m 43.9
LEADERS AFTER SS14
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 2h 30m 07.7
2 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 30m 52.0
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 31m 17.7

SS15 PAPAROA STATION (11.64km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 6m 11.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 6m 17.5
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 6m 18.0
LEADERS AFTER SS15
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 37m 03.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 37m 35.2
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 2h 38m 55.0

SS16 NEW CASSIDY (21.64km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 12m 16.0
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 12m 26.8
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 12m 28.8
LEADERS AFTER SS16
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 2h 49m 19.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 2h 50m 02.4
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 2h 51m 23.8

SS17 MITITAI (26.67km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 13m 32.8
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 13m 41.7
= Solberg (N) Subaru 13m 41.7
4 Sainz (E) Ford 13m 48.5
LEADERS AFTER SS17
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 02m 52.7
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3h 03m 44.1
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 3h 05m 05.5

SS18 TOKATOKA 2 (10.15km)
1 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 5m 18.4
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 5m 21.6
3 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 5m 22.3
LEADERS AFTER SS18
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 3h 08m 11.1
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot +55.8
3 Solberg (N) Subaru +2m 16.0
4 Makinen (FIN) Subaru +3m 19.8
5 Sainz (E) Ford +4m 07.6
6 Kankkunen (FIN) Hyundai +5m 15.9
7 Loix (B) Hyundai +5m 39.8
8 Panizzi (F) Peugeot +6m 30.7
9 Gardemeister (FIN) Skoda +6m 38.3
10 Delecour (F) Mitsubishi +8m 00.9

[WRC] Rally New Zealand: Leg 1
Friday, 04 October 2002
Peugeot driver Richard Burns has stamped his authority on the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally New Zealand, which began in earnest this morning. After a ceremonial start in Auckland yesterday evening, today's route comprised six stages in the lush New Zealand countryside and Burns was fastest on four of them to arrive at this evening's end of Leg One in Auckland just under 20 seconds clear of his team-mate Harri Rovanperä.
New Zealand's smooth gravel roads had been expected to punish the frontrunners with thick coatings of loose gravel on the surface for them to sweep clear for later crews. But two of the top three contenders after the first six stages were Burns and his title rival Marcus Grönholm, who'd had to run ahead of everybody. One of the fancied runners, Colin McRae, was less fortunate, however. His faint world title hopes finally ended when he slid off the road on today's fourth stage.
Behind Peugeot's three cars, Finn Jani Paasonen scored the first fastest time for Mitsubishi's Lancer World Rally Car since its launch in October last year as he took advantage of cleaned roads to hold fourth overall. He was in close fight (three in a sec!) on the timesheets with Subaru drivers Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg the end of Leg One.

Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Richard Burns, Harri Rovanperä and Gilles Panizzi have been reliable today, but Marcus Grönholm's car has hit a few niggles. It lost hydraulic pressure on the day's second stage, spraying some fluids over the car's windscreen. Grönholm attempted to halt the leak by tying a towel around the main pipe for the two stages before lunchtime service. On the day's fifth stage, his car refused to move off the startline with a slipping clutch, but he managed to ease it into the test and after nearly two kilometres of gentle driving, the problem disappeared.
Sporting: Richard Burns had expected to be well down the top 10 after today's stages but instead, the Englishman set fastest times on all of the opening four stages to arrive at this evening's end of leg with a lead of nearly 20 seconds over his team-mate Harri Rovanperä. Current championship leader Marcus Grönholm struggled the most with loose gravel on the roads today, and he also lost time with hydraulic pressure fluctuations and clutch problems. He dropped out of the top three early this afternoon but responded with a fastest time in SS6 to move back into third. Peugeot's fourth driver, Gilles Panizzi, has concentrated on building his experience of the New Zealand roads and he held 13th after the regular tests today.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: ãI've been really surprised today. Last night, I was thinking that we'd end up somewhere between eighth and 10th at the end of today's stages, but instead I think the roads have been very slippery for everyone, even those who've had the loose gravel swept clean for them. It's good to know we'll be in a good road position tomorrow because even though the top guys will be all together now, we've shown today that we're strong here.
Marcus Grönholm said: ãAlready I think we've give away too much time to Richard. We've shown that when the car is working it's capable of doing good times, and I've been a bit surprised in some places that we've been able to do such competitive times when we're running first on the road. Tomorrow our road position will be much better, but of course Richard's will be even better than ours so it's going to be a tough fight to improve from here.

Mitsubishi
Technical: Jani Paasonen's Lancer Evo WRC2 has been reliable today, but Francois Delecour felt a strong vibration in his car after he hit a rock in the middle loop of stages. The Ralliart mechanics changed the car's propshaft, rear differential and four-wheel drive unit (which contains the front and centre differentials) but the Frenchman still lacked confidence in the last two proper stages of the day.
Sporting: Jani Paasonen was only drafted into Mitsubishi's New Zealand line-up 10 days ago, after Alister McRae was pronounced unfit to drive because of injuries sustained in a mountain bike accident. But the Finn has made the most of his opportunity - and the roads swept clean by the frontrunners - as he set the first fastest time for Mitsubishi's Lancer Evo WRC since its debut in Sanremo last year. Paasonen arrived in Auckland this evening in fifth overall, less than ten seconds behind third-placed Marcus Grönholm. His team-mate Francois Delecour has struggled, however - he was frustrated at his own performance as he dropped outside the top 10 this morning. He ended the sixth stage of the day in 14th overall.
Quotes: Jani Paasonen said: ãI've been really surprised here with the speed. Of course I'm trying hard but we're only taking some small risks, not big ones. I don't know why it's working so well - of course we have roads cleaned of much of the gravel but also I think the car is working very well. I was a bit worried in the middle stages because I hit something at the rear of the car and it didn't have such a good feeling for a while, but I put it out of my head, forgot it and then was able to attack again on the next stage. Hopefully we can keep this sort of performance up for the rest of the event.
Francois Delecour said: ãI don't know what the problem is. I had a vibration earlier in the day but now the car is working okay and the only real thing left is myself. I just have to try to find some more confidence and a better feeling for tomorrow.

Subaru
Technical: Both Impreza WRC2002s have struggled with brake problems today. Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg each complained of fade on the fourth stage, and the latter driver's glitches continued in the sixth test as well. Mäkinen suffered water injection failure in SS5 and SS6.
Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg spent much of this morning trying to fine-tune their Imprezas' handling, while also attempting to cure brake glitches. Once the problems had been conquered, the pairing moved back up the top 10 and each posted top-six times during the afternoon. Mäkinen ran as high as third overall at one point before dropping back in the last proper test of the day because of water injection problems. He holds fourth. After winning both Superspecials which ended the leg, Solberg arrived in Auckland in sixth, despite a major scare when he suffered brake failure approaching a tight hairpin.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ãIt was pretty scary in the fourth stage today, when we had brake problems. I was coming into a hairpin right and suddenly the pedal went right to the floor. There was nothing to stop the car, and I ended up stalling the engine a couple of times as well. There was a hell of a big drop on the outside of the corner that worried me as well!

Ford
Technical: The Focus RS WRC02s of Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin have been reliable today, although the Spaniard did feel that new-specification launch control was to blame when he stalled on the start line of the opening stage. Martin was happier with his Focus, meanwhile, after he changed the differential mapping and anti-roll bars.
Sporting: Colin McRae's hopes of winning a second world championship were finally extinguished this morning, when the Scot slid off near the finish of the fourth stage. His Focus ended up with its nose pointing down a bank and he was unable to reverse it back onto the road. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, stalled his car on the start line of today's first stage and spun in SS4, but subsequently recovered to inch his Focus back towards the top 10. Markko Martin has been the quickest Focus on today's stages, making full use of swept-clean roads and fine-tuning his car's set-up to feel more comfortable with the New Zealand terrain on his first attempt at this event. He arrived at Auckland in seventh.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: ãI don't have so much confidence in the car at the moment. It seems a little soft, a little lazy in the handling. I can't be precise and on these roads, that makes it very difficult.
Colin McRae said: ãI misheard a pacenote coming into a second-gear corner and tried to take it in third. By the time Nicky (Grist) had a chance to repeat it, it was too late for me to make the corner. If we'd tried to go sideways we'd have slid down a bank and probably rolled, so we went straight off and the car nose down a bank. It was still visible from the road but a fence post had punctured the radiator and as we tried to get back onto the road, it started to overheat. That meant the engine went into a safe mapping mode so we lost the power we needed to even try regaining the road.

Hyundai
Technical: The Accent WRC3s of Juha Kankkunen, Armin Schwarz and Freddy Loix have been reliable today, although the latter driver chose too soft a tyre for the loop of SS2 to SS4.
Sporting: All three Accent WRC3 drivers had hoped to benefit from swept-clean roads today, but none has been able to capitalise fully. Juha Kankkunen was unable to explain his lack of pace, given that his feeling with the Accent in the stages themselves has been generally positive. He holds ninth. Armin Schwarz admitted to being too cautious this morning and over braking with his left foot, resulting in a soft middle pedal by the end of longer stages. He arrived in Auckland in 12th. Freddy Loix, meanwhile, chose too soft a tyre for today's opening stage and he then lost time with a spin in SS4, but the Belgian recovered to hold eighth at the end of first leg.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ãI've been a bit harder on the brakes than my team-mates because this is my first time here for several years. I don't want the speed to be jumping up and down, I want it to increase gradually and gain more confidence.

Skoda
Technical: The Octavia WRCs of Toni Gardemeister has been reliable today, but the car of Kenneth Eriksson suffered brake problems on today's opening stage.
Sporting: Skoda had not tested in New Zealand prior to this event, and both Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson were pleasantly surprised by their Octavias' pace during this morning's opening stage. But the veteran Swede was unhappy with his brakes on the opening stage and as he tried to bed in new pads at the start of the next test, he slid off and nosed his Octavia down a bank. The angle was so steep that the car couldn't be returned to the stage and Eriksson retired on the spot. Gardemeister kept his car on the fringes of the top 10, though, and he ended the day in 11th overall.
Quotes: Kenneth Eriksson said: ãI didn't have such a good feeling with the brakes in the first stage this morning so we changed the pads and I'd tried to bed them in as much as I could on the way to the stage. At the start time control I tried them and they felt not too bad, so I thought I could push pretty hard. But when I got to the first corner and tried to brake, the middle pedal was like hitting a plank of wood - there was nothing. I think they must have still been too cold.

Other entries
Finnish driver Kristian Sohlberg topped the Production Car World Championship leaderboard heading to Manukau. Before the 2 Superspecials his Mitsubishi was 40 seconds clear of Marcos Ligato's similar car. But series leader Karamjit Singh was an early retirement this morning with gearbox problems.

04/10/2002 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS: 81 crews (42 Group A and 39 Group N) started this morning.

RETIREMENTS: Eriksson (S), C. McRae (GB), and 13 other drivers

TODAY:
Friday 3 October
The second part of Leg 1 started from Auckland at 05h30 and covered 611.00km, including 117.08km on eight special stages.

TOMORROW:
Saturday 4 October
Leg 2 starts from Auckland at 06h00 and covers 760.46km, including 204.13km on 10 special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Auckland at 23h00.

WEATHER FORECAST: Fine but cloudy, with showers possible.

SS1 TE AKAU NORTH (32.37km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 17m 50.4
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 17m 56.9
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 17m 59.8

SS2 MAUNGATAWHIRI (6.52km)
1= Burns (GB) Peugeot 3m 41.3
1= Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 3m 41.3
3 Sainz (E) Ford 3m 41.5
LEADERS AFTER SS2
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 21m 31.7
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 21m 38.2
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 21m 44.9

SS3 TE PAPATAPU 1 (16.62km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 11m 05.2
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 11m 05.5
3 Solberg (N) Subaru 11m 09.9
LEADERS AFTER SS3
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 32m 36.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 32m 43.7
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 32m 57.1

SS4 WHAANGA COAST REV.(29.60km)
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 21m 27.0
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 21m 34.4
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 21m 36.8
LEADERS AFTER SS4
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 54m 03.9
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 54m 18.1
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 54m 33.9

SS5 TE HUTEWAI REVERSE (11.15km)
1 Paasonen (FIN) Mitsubishi 7m 59.8
2 Solberg (N) Subaru 8m 01.0
3 Martin (EE) Ford 8m 03.3
LEADERS AFTER SS5
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 02m 08.2
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 1h 02m 24.3
3 Paasonen (FIN) Mitsubishi 1h 02m 40.4

SS6 TE PAPATAPU 2 (16.62km)
1 Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 10m 37.7
2 Burns (GB) Peugeot 10m 40.1
3 Rovanpera (FIN) Peugeot 10m 41.7
LEADERS AFTER SS6
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 12m 48.3
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 1h 13m 06.0
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 13m 26.2

SS7 MANUKAU SUPER 1 (2.10km)
1 Solberg (N) Subaru 1m 21.3
2 Sainz (E) Ford 1m 21.6
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 1m 21.8
LEADERS AFTER SS7
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 14m 10.2
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 1h 14m 28.0
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 1h 13m 48.0

SS8 MANUKAU SUPER 2 (2.10km)
1 Solberg (N) Subaru 1m 20.8
2 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1m 21.4
= Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 1m 21.4

LEADERS AFTER SS8
1 Burns (GB) Peugeot 1h 15m 31.6
2 Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot +18.3
3 Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot +37.8
4 Makinen (FIN) Subaru +46.7
5 Paasonen (FIN) Mitsubishi +47.6
6 Solberg (N) Subaru +47.7

7 Martin (EE) Ford +56.9
8 Loix (B) Hyundai +1m 19.0
9 Kankkunen (FIN) Hyundai +1m 22.1
10 Sainz (E) Ford +1m 22.2
[WRC] Rally New Zealand: Preview
Thursday, 03 October 2002
The world's top rally stars move to some of their favourite roads of the season for this weekend's Rally New Zealand, the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Auckland-based event is the first of two Antipodean outings for the series but Marcus Grönholm and Peugeot will both be hoping that the respective battles for drivers' and manufacturers' crowns don't make it to Rally Australia at the end of this month. Grönholm can secure his second drivers' title by finishing ahead of both reigning champion Richard Burns and Ford's Colin McRae, while Peugeot requires just three points to guarantee a third successive victory in the makes series.
The championship leaders could suffer on the opening stages tomorrow morning, however. If conditions are dry, then the smooth New Zealand roads will be coated by loose gravel and the first few cars on the road could pay a heavy penalty for sweeping the stones clear for their rivals. The eventual victor on Sunday afternoon could be the frontrunner who limits the time loss most effectively.

Peugeot (1st - 131 points)
Technical: Peugeot has made no major technical changes to the 206 WRCs for this event, although the team was debating this morning at shakedown on whether it will use the hydraulically-controlled rear anti-roll bars on the car. A decision was not expected to be made until this afternoon.
Sporting: Peugeot has entered four 206 WRCs on this event. Marcus Grönholm, Richard Burns and Harri Rovanperä will each be registered for manufacturers' points, while the fourth car - driven by Rallye Sanremo winner Gilles Panizzi - will be eligible for drivers' points only.
Quotes: Marcus Grönholm said: ãThe road position on the first day will be bad for me, but maybe if it rains then the later guys won't have such a big advantage. All we can do is try to stay smooth, not have so much wheelspin and get as high a position as possible at the end of the first day. Then if we're somewhere in touch with the leaders, we can still fight. Of course I'm thinking about the championship but with the situation on the first day, it means that I can't take things easy and aim for points. I'll have to push quite hard.
Richard Burns said: ãI think the first day is going to be tough, of course. If we all get clean runs then I think we'll do well to be any higher than the bottom quarter of the top 10 - eighth or ninth, perhaps. That'll make things difficult for the second and third days. But I'm still quite optimistic, purely because of how the car feels on the roads here. If you try to drive in a really aggressive manner then the times aren't there but if you brake even five metres earlier and power through the corner, it feels fantastic.

Ford (2nd - 86 points)
Technical: Ford's Focus RS WRC02s will run in essentially the same specification here as they did in Finland, although all three cars will use the slightly revised engine specification that featured on Markko Martin's car in Sanremo last month.
Sporting: Ford sends its three usual drivers - Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin - to New Zealand, and all three will be registered for manufacturers' points. The team recently announced that it will not be renewing McRae's contract for 2003, and the Scot has been confirmed as a Citroen driver for next season. Martin is contesting Rally New Zealand for the first time, although he has completed the pre-rally reconnaissance before. He should be able to draw on the experience of team-mate Sainz, who is the most successful driver in the event's history with four wins.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: ãThe roads here are the best drivers' stages in the world. They're smooth and there aren't any rocks by the side of the road, so we don't have to worry about punctures so much. The only real difficulty could occur if it stays dry, because the loose gravel on the road will give the first few crews a definite disadvantage.
Colin McRae said: ãI'm glad to be moving back onto gravel after a couple of rounds on asphalt, but I'm sure this is going to be a tricky one again anyway. For sure the Peugeots looked strong in Finland - the last gravel round - and if they can continue that pace then it'll be a tough battle. We'll be third on the road tomorrow morning which could put us at a disadvantage if it's dry, but we'll just have to try to cope as best as possible if that happens.

Subaru (3rd - 46 points)
Technical: Subaru has made a few changes to the gravel specification of the Impreza WRC2002 since Rally Finland. The team discovered tweaks to dampers, shock absorbers and differential settings during a pre-event development test, and it has adopted several of these modifications for New Zealand.
Sporting: Subaru has entered two Impreza WRC2002s for this event, to be driven by four-times world champion Tommi Mäkinen and young Norwegian Petter Solberg. Last week, the team unveiled a concept of its 2003 challenger at the Paris Motor Show. It is expecting the car to make its debut at the start of next season in Monte Carlo.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: ãI've got a pretty good feeling after the test here. I think the important day will be tomorrow, even though the roads for the first day haven't got quite so much loose gravel than the second day. Getting a good road position for Saturday is going to be the real key here, so everyone will have to be pushing at the maximum from the first corner. That's if it stays dry, of course - if it rains, then road position won't be such a big issue. It's going to be quite an open rally, I think.
Tommi Mäkinen said: ãI'm really looking forward to this event. We did a really good pre-event test and we've found some more improvements in the car. We showed in Sanremo that we've found a good direction with the Impreza development and we're pushing that forward again, so I'm confident that we can be competitive here.

Mitsubishi (4th - 9 points)
Technical: Mitsubishi has made no major changes to the Lancer for this event, although the car will use some of the revisions in transmission and engine settings that featured on the recent asphalt events.
Sporting: Mitsubishi Ralliart was forced to change its driver line-up for this rally, after Alister McRae was ruled out because of the same mountain bike accident injuries that caused him to withdraw from the Rallye Sanremo last month. The Scot has been replaced by occasional Mitsubishi driver Jani Paasonen, meaning that the Finn will now contest all of the last three rounds of this year's world championship. McRae is expected to return for Rally Australia, depending on the speed of his recovery from a bruised liver. Paasonen will team up with Mitsubishi's other regular driver, François Delecour, for this event.
Quotes: François Delecour said: ãThe stages here are some of the best in the world - very nice, flowing roads. I don't know what we can achieve here, though - if it rains, then there's not such a big disadvantage being first on the road and it'll be harder to gain time on Friday. And even if it's dry that won't be easy - we've found this year that our car seems to use different lines than the others, so we won't get such a big advantage from the front cars cleaning the roads anyway.
Jani Paasonen said: ãI got a phone call about 10 days ago from the team saying that Alister was injured and asking me if I could drive in New Zealand. Of course I said yes! For me, every kilometre in the car is good news because it allows me to get more experience. I don't know what result will be possible - we'll have to see what conditions are like and how that's affecting the early crews with loose gravel on the road.

Skoda (5th - 8 points)
Technical: Skoda has made no major technical changes to the Octavia WRC for this event, and the Czech team's two cars will both run in essentially the same trim as Rally Finland. Toni Gardemeister's car is a rebuild of the Octavia that he crashed in Germany, while Kenneth Eriksson gets the only brand new car amongst all of the works entries.
Sporting: Skoda has entered two Octavia WRCs for this event, for regular drivers Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: ãI think this could be a difficult event for us. The car feels basically fine but it still seems to be going too sideways. We've been looking at fine-tuning the differentials this morning but I also think it's a bit of suspension and weight distribution as well, so we'll just have to cope with it. Of course there's always the chance of a clean run and others hitting some problems, so we'll certainly be trying. But I think that the smooth roads here will mean there won't be many retirements, so it's going to be tough to get near the points,

Hyundai (6th - 6 points)
Technical: Hyundai is running a number of features for the first time on gravel in New Zealand. The Accent WRC3s will use computer-controlled 'active' differentials for the first time on loose surfaces, and they will also feature the revised engine that first appeared in Sanremo last month.
Sporting: Hyundai sends three Accent WRC3s to New Zealand - for regular drivers Armin Schwarz and Freddy Loix, and four-times world champion Juha Kankkunen. The team conducted a four-day test prior to this event, with one entire day devoted to fine-tuning the Accent's computer-controlled 'active' rear differential on loose surfaces. Schwarz, meanwhile, says that he has fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in his Rallye Deutschland accident.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ãI'm feeling much, much better than I was in Sanremo. I've been working with my physiotherapist and he's done some fabulous work - without him, I'm sure I wouldn't even have been fit for this event. Obviously we had a poor event in Sanremo, especially after all of the efforts we'd made, but I'm quite hopeful for here. I had to make new pacenotes because the last time I did this rally was in 1995, but it's a good event and the stages are excellent.
Juha Kankkunen said: ãI think I've done this rally about 12 times now. It's got really good roads, real drivers' stages that are fast and flowing, and easy on the car as well. It's difficult to say what we can achieve here - if the car is reliable then we have a chance of fighting to be in the middle of the top 10, and then there's a chance of points.

Other entries
Rally New Zealand is the seventh round of the FIA World Production Car Championship, and all of the leading protagonists are present. Karamjit Singh and Ramon Ferreyros top the standings at present and they are both likely to be among the frontrunners on the smooth gravel stages. They could face an increased challenge, however, from Finn Kristian Sohlberg, Italian Alex Fiorio and Japanese driver Toshihiro Arai. Outside of the Group N ranks, local hopes in the overall standings are likely to be shouldered by Subaru driver Bruce Herbert and Mitsubishi pilot Geof Argyle.

03/10/2002 RALLY STATISTICS
EVENT: The 32nd Rally New Zealand is the 12th of 14 events in the 2002 FIA World Rally Championship.

ENTRIES: 81 (42 Group A and 39 Group N)

DRIVERS: Argentina 1, Australia 5, Austria 2, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 1, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 2, Germany 1, Great Britain 6, Italy 7, Japan 8, Malaysia 1, New Zealand 29, Norway 2, Peru 1, Poland 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2.

MANUFACTURERS TEAMS: Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Skoda, Subaru.

CARS (including the manufacturers cars): Daihatsu 1, Ford 3, Honda 1, Hyundai 4, Mitsubishi 41, Peugeot 4, Proton 1, Skoda 2, Subaru 23, Toyota 1.

TIMETABLE:
Thursday 3 October
The first part of Leg 1 starts in Auckland at 19h15 with a ceremonial start only.

Friday 3 October
The second part of Leg 1 starts from Auckland at 05h30 and covers 611.00km, including 117.08km on eight special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Auckland at 20h30.

Saturday 4 October
Leg 2 starts from Auckland at 06h00 and covers 760.46km, including 204.13km on 10 special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Auckland at 23h00.

Sunday 5 October
Leg 3 starts from Auckland at 05h00 and covers 421.02km, including 90.19km on eight special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in at the finish control in Auckland at 15h30.

Total
The rally covers 1792.48km, including 411.40km on 26 special stages (including six run twice). All stages are on gravel roads closed to other traffic.

TOMORROW:
Friday 3 October
The second part of Leg 1 starts from Auckland at 05h30 and covers 611.00km, including 117.08km on eight special stages. The first car is expected to arrive in Auckland at 20h30.

WEATHER FORECAST: Cloudy and blustery, with a good chance of heavy showers

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