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Rally
Catalunya-Costa Brava
Round 13 of 14
October 23 - 26th 2003
The McKlein Rally Calendar 2004
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FIA Press Release - www.fia.com
[WRC] 2003 Catalunya Final
Sunday, 26 October 2003
After two days of sunshine the rain finally arrived for the final leg of this year's Rally Catalunya. Overnight rally leader Sebastien Loeb looked to have everything under control, going into the final stage of the rally with a 31-second advantage over Gilles Panizzi. Peugeot man Panizzi had battled back throughout today, making up the time he dropped to Markko Martin (Ford) towards the end of leg two. With only 10.3 seconds over Martin, Panizzi had to push hard through the last test. He did just that, setting fastest time - which he thought was enough to clinch the runners-up spot. He'd managed that, but there was more to come. Loeb's tyres weren't working through the final test and the Frenchmen swapped places. Panizzi took Peugeot's first win since Rally Argentina. Loeb was second with Martin third.
The chase for this year's FIA World Rally Championship looks just as difficult as ever to call. Loeb leads the standings, although he and Sainz are tied on points, but the Xsara driver gets the nod, having won more rallies than his Spanish rival. Petter Solberg - who recovered from a 50-second penalty on the first day to make fifth place on the Lloret de Mar-based event is third with long-time series leader Richard Burns dropping to fourth, six points off the top, after crashing out of the event this morning.
Marlboro Peugeot Total
Technical: The Peugeot 206 WRCs of
Gilles Panizzi and Marcus Gronholm ran without any reliability issues
on leg three, while Richard Burns put his car off the road terminally
on the final stage of day three's opening loop.
Sporting: Panizzi's decision to run on intermediate tyre with extra cuts worked well on stages 17 and 18, but he was concerned about the long stage and how the tyre would cope. In the end he had no problems, although he was annoyed that he didn't go for a full wet tyre. His choice of an intermediate with cuts for the final loop worked a treat, however. Pushing hard to hold Martin off his second place, Panizzi emerged from the final test as winner after Sebastien Loeb had taken the wrong tyre. Despite taking the wrong tyres this morning, Gronholm was still able to catch and pass McRae on the third stage of the day. The outgoing world champion picked the right rubber for the final loop and elbowed his way up into sixth place at the finish. Burns' rally ended on the third stage this morning, when the Englishman was caught out by the conditions.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: "It was a lot like Marcus in Sanremo. The car went off the road on some mud, hit the wall and broke the steering. I tried to go on, but straight away it was clear that there was nothing I could do about the damage. We don't carry any spares in the car and that was the end of that."
Marcus Gronholm said: "Horrible conditions today, really horrible. We made the finish, but didn't really enjoy it. The second loop was better for us, when we had a better tyre for the stages."
Gilles Panizzi said: "This is amazing. I made the wrong choice of tyre at the start of the rally, but in the end I really made theright one. I came out of the stage and was only looking to see if I had managed to hold off Martin and keep my second place - then I heard about the problem for Loeb. Suddenly we had won; it's magnificent."
Citroen Total
Technical: The three
factory-maintained Citroens ran without fault through the final leg,
but Philippe Bugalski's car suffered a ventilation problem through
the last loop, which caused the windows to mist up.
Sporting: Loeb's wrong choice of tyre cost him dearly in the 22nd and last stage. Having led the event since the second stage on Friday, he looked to have emerged from the morning's deluge in one piece. He'd extended his lead and looked comfortable ahead of the final stage - only for it to all go badly wrong when he took the same tyre as the morning loop. He ended the rally second, but those eight points are enough to push him right back into contention for the drivers' championship. Loeb's team-mate Carlos Sainz is also in the thick of the battle for supremacy in the drivers' title, although the Spaniard slips from the top of the points standings after dropping 40 seconds with an engine fault aboard his Xsara on the final stage of the day. This problem dropped him from fourth to seventh. Colin McRae dropped two places today, unable to resist the challenge of the Pirelli-shod Tommi Makinen and Marcus Gronholm. Philippe Bugalski brought his privately-run Xsara home in tenth position.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: "I preferred to run with the tyre which I knew, which was the tyre I had this morning. That last stage was so difficult, just trying to keep the car on the road was exceptionally difficult. Now the championship goes down to the RAC, we will see what happens there."
Carlos Sainz said: "I am glad to get to the finish, this afternoon has been so tough. I don't know what the engine problem was - but I only just made it to the control at the finish."
Colin McRae said: "Today was a very difficult day. The car didn't work at all through the final loop, when the rain was even harder. The tyres weren't right and the set-up was wrong, it felt terrible."
Philippe Bugalksi said: "We had too much fog inside the car, they were awful stages - it would have been easy to go off the road."
Ford Motor Company
Technical: Markko Martin's car
suffered an electrical problem and hydraulic failure through the last
two stages. The sister car of Francois Duval ran without fault, while
Mikko Hirvonen's 2002 Focus was also mechanically reliable.
Sporting: Martin's hydraulic problem came when he tried to pull the car into gear ahead of the penultimate stage. The Estonian had no option but to switch to the manual change for the last two stages. Despite this problem, Martin ended the event just 13.6 seconds off first place and just six tenths of a second off Loeb's second spot. Francois Duval admitted he was taking his time through the first loop of stages, checking his pace notes and preparing himself for more of an attack on the second loop - where he anticipated a big fight with Carlos Sainz. He was never out of the top four positions on the afternoon stages. Mikko Hirvonen's only drama was meeting an ambulance on one of the morning stages.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: "It's so frustrating to be so close to the asphalt win which I have wanted this year. The time we lost on those last two stages with the hydraulic trouble was more than the gap between us and the win. Okay, that's rallying. The team did an amazing job to change everything for me before the final loop to get the set-up right."
Francois Duval said: "I'm really happy to come out of this fight with fourth place. Today was quite difficult, but through the afternoon - in the worst of the conditions - we came out and set some good times."
Mikko Hirvonen said: "This is another rally which I have finished and gained some good experience of. It's good that we got to drive in the wet and the dry - it's not an easy rally to learn, though."
555 Subaru World Rally Team
Technical: The Subaru Impreza
WRC2003s of Petter Solberg and Tommi Makinen ran without any problems
on the third and final leg of the rally.
Sporting: This was by far the best day for Subaru. Throughout the rally, everybody from the Banbury-based team was agreed that the combination of an Impreza and Pirelli tyres would be hard to beat on the smooth asphalt stages. So it turned out. Solberg and Makinen both set a fastest time through today, revelling in the exceptionally wet conditions. Solberg moved up into fifth position, while Makinen eased his way into eighth. Solberg's efforts have netted him a place in the final-round scrap for this year's FIA World Rally Championship.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "This was more like it today. The car worked very well - we made some very minor adjustmentsto the transmission halfway through today, but everything was good. I don't think I have been lucky that it rained, you could easily say the other drivers were lucky that it stayed dry. As for the championship, well it is looking better than it might have done. I have never been so happy to finish fifth in my life."
Tommi Makinen said: "What a difference! Today I am much happier. For the first two days we have been a little disappointed, you certainly can't say that about these stages. The car and the tyres are very good, it's a shame it didn't rain a little earlier."
Skoda Motorsport
Technical: Toni Gardemeister's Skoda
Fabia WRC ran without any technical issues through the final day.
Didier Auriol retired with clutch problems prior to the first stage
yesterday.
Sporting: The third leg of this event was not a happy affair for Gardemeister. The day started badly when he was forced to change a puncture ahead of the morning's first stage - he then stalled the Fabia on the line. Once he was into the stages, Gardemeister found traction hard to come by aboard the Fabia on the morning's sodden stages. The team made some alterations to the car's set-up for the second run of three stages, but there was little Gardemeister could do to improve his final placing of 12th.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: "There was nothing in those stages, absolutely no grip. Zero. I don't know what the hell was going on. Look at the times for one stage - we were two minutes off the fastest time and one and a half minutes off the fastest Michelin runner. This morning was very difficult, but this afternoon better - we had a softer tyre and took a lot of time off what we had done through the first loop."
Other entries
Frenchman Brice Tirabassi took a
comfortable win in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, steering
a safe course through the final day's stages aboard his Renault Clio.
Kirs Meeke took an equally untroubled second place in his Corsa, the
Ulsterman impressing with his pace through the wet final day.
Salvador Canellas (Suzuki) took the final podium place in the 1600cc
category. Simon Jean-Joseph won the class outright, while Peugeot 206
WRC driver Cedric Robert was top privateer in 11th place.
STARTERS: 39 crews (35 Group A and 4 Group N) started this morning.
TOP RETIREMENTS: Burns (GB), Warmbold (D), Katajamaki (FIN), Svedlund (S)
TODAY:
Sunday 26 October
Leg 3 started from Lloret de Mar at 05h30 and covered 409.76km,
including 103.56km on six stages.
SS17 SANT BARTOMEU DEL GRAU 1 (11.55km)
1 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
6m 27.2
2 Makinen
(FIN)
Subaru
6m 29.4
3
Sainz
(E)
Citroen
6m 43.7
LEADERS AFTER SS17
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 53m 14.5
2
Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 53m 38.5
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 53m 59.4
SS18 LA ROCA 1 (5.05km)
1 Kresta
(CZ)
Peugeot
3m 16.2
2 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
3m 19.4
3 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
3m 19.8
LEADERS AFTER SS18
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 56m 36.5
2
Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 57m 04.0
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 57m 20.7
SS19 VILADRAU 1 (35.18km)
1 Makinen
(FIN)
Subaru
23m 19.8
2 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
23m 26.7
3 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
24m 00.3
LEADERS AFTER SS19
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
3h 20m 42.9
2
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
3h 21m 32.6
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
3h 21m 45.2
SS20 SANT BARTOMEU DEL GRAU (11.55km)
1
Martin
(EE)
Ford
6m 29.4
2 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
6m 32.0
3
Duval
(B)
Ford
6m 33.6
LEADERS AFTER SS20
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
3h 27m 29.5
2
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
3h 28m 08.0
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
3h 28m 14.6
SS21 LA ROCA 2 (5.05km)
1 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
3m 22.2
2
Duval
(B)
Ford
3m 22.4
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
3m 23.0
LEADERS AFTER SS21
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
3h 31m 00.0
2
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
3h 31m 31.0
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
3h 31m 41.3
SS22 VILADRAU 2 (35.18km)
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
23m 38.4
2 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
23m 39.2
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
23m 41.7
LEADERS IN LLORET AFTER SS22
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
3h 55m 09.4
2
Loeb
(F) Citroen
+13.0
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
+13.6
4
Duval
(B) Ford
+55.4
5
Solberg
(N) Subaru
+1m 10.8
6 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
+1m 29.1
7 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
+1m 33.0
8
Makinen
(FIN)
Subaru
+1m 55.1
9
McRae
(GB)
Citroen
+3m 15.2
10
Bugalski
(F)
Citroen
+5m 13.6
FIA JWRC LEADERS AFTER SS22
1
Tirabassi
(F)
Renault
4h 16m 33.7
2 Meeke
(GB)
Opel
+1m 32.5
3 Canellas
(E)
Suzuki
+2m 08.1
4
Carlsson
(S)
Suzuki
+4m 06.5
5 Aava
(EE)
Suzuki
+6m 32.4
6
Teuronen
(FIN)
Suzuki
+6m 40.5
7
Feghali
(RL)
Ford
+10m 47.6
8
Ceccato
(I)
FIAT
+14m 25.0
FINAL RALY STATISTICS
EVENT: The rally covered 971.75km, including 397.40km on 16 special stages (including eight run twice). All stages were on asphalt roads closed to other traffic.
STARTERS: 47 crews (42 Group A and 5 Group N) started the rally
FINISHERS: 33 crews (30 Group A and 3 Group N) finished the rally
STAGE
WINNERS:
Loeb (SS2-3-4-8-16)
Martin (SS5-10-14-15-20)
Panizzi (SS6-7-9-11-22)
Duval (SS12)
Solberg (SS1-17)
Burns (SS13)
Kresta (SS18)
Makinen (SS19)
Gronholm (SS21)
RALLY
LEADERS:
SS1-Solberg
SS2-SS21 Loeb
SS22 Panizzi
FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (provisional
standings after 13 of 14 rounds): FIA World Rally
Championship for Drivers:
Loeb (F) 63, Sainz (E) 63, Solberg (N) 62, Burns (GB) 58, Martin (EE)
49, Gronholm (FIN) 46, C. McRae (GB) 40, Panizzi (F) 27, Duval (B)
26, Makinen (FIN) 24, Rovanpera (FIN) 18, Gardemeister (FIN) 9,
Auriol (F) 4, Robert (F) 3, A.McRae (GB) 3, Hirvonen (FIN) 3, Schwarz
(D) 3, Tuohino (FIN) 2, Loix (B) 1, Ginley (GB) 1, Lindholm (FIN) 1,
Bugalski (F) 1.
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers: Citroen 147, Peugeot 142, Subaru 93, Ford 89, Skoda 21.
FIA Junior World Rally Championship
(after 6 of 7 rounds):
Tirabassi (F) 38, Canellas (E) 31, Carlsson (S) 23, Aava (EE) 20,
Wilks (GB) 18, Teuronen (FIN) 13, Baldacci (I) 12, Katajamaki
(FIN) 10, Ligato (RA) 10, Broccoli (RSM) 9, others
FIA Production Car World Championship
(after 7 of 7 rounds/how many rounds entered, this event not
counting):
Rowe (GB) 43/6, Arai (J) 38/6, Blomqvist (S) 30/6, Singh (MAL) 30/6,
Sola (E) 22/6, McShea (GB) 18, Ligato (RA) 13/6, others.
NEXT
EVENT:
November 6-9: Wales Rally GB
Website: www.walesrallygb.com
[WRC] 2003 Catalunya Leg 2
Saturday, 25 October 2003
Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb
remains in control of Rally Catalunya at the end of leg two of the
penultimate round of this year's FIA World Rally Championship. The
Frenchman suffered brake problems aboard his Xsara through the final
loop of three stages, on a day which once again featured bright and
sunny weather on the roads around Vic, north of the rally's base in
Lloret de Mar. Those brake troubles, combined with a big push from
Ford's Markko Martin, meant his advantage at the head of the field
was reduced from a 26.2 seconds at the end of leg one to 20.8 seconds
at the end of today's eight stages. Martin has spent the day in the
thick of an almighty fight with Gilles Panizzi. Last year's winner
made it into second position after the day's fourth test - but
relinquished the runners-up spot on the very next stage. Fastest
times on two of the final three of today's stages was enough for the
Estonian to ease his way clear of the Peugeot, ensuring he starts the
final day with a 15.9-second advantage over Panizzi. Today has been a
difficult one for local hero Carlos Sainz. He altered the suspension
set-up of his Xsara at first service this morning and struggled to
match the times of the leading bunch through the day's first three
stages. He dropped back to fourth position and spent the day trying
to regain the confidence he'd lost in the car.
Frenchman Brice Tirabassi remains out front in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship. His Renault Clio is still ahead of Kris Meeke's Opel Corsa in the 1600cc category.
Citroen Total
Technical: Colin McRae's Xsara WRC
was hit by brake problems this morning, but the remainder of the
Citroen pack ran without technical fault.
Sporting: Sebastien Loeb maintained his status as rally leader throughout the second leg, but the Frenchman admitted he was still pushing as hard as he dared, without taking too many big risks, to keep the gap stable between himself and the Markko Martin/Gilles Panizzi fight for second place. The second leg wasn't quite such a success for Loeb's team-mate and overnight runner up, Carlos Sainz. Sainz had taken different suspension settings for the first loop of three stages this morning, and instantly regretted his decision. The alterations had made the usually rock-solid Xsara nervous and harder to drive. Sainz slipped back to fourth on the first run through Olost - and remained there for the rest of the day. Once the team had fitted new discs and pads to McRae's Citroen following SS11, the Scot was able to push harder and posted fifth quickest through the second run at Sant Julia, cementing his seventh and closing slightly on Burns' sixth position. Philippe Bugalski spent most of the morning chasing McRae, but as Marcus Gronholm finally dialled himself into his Peugeot, the Frenchman's attack turned to defence. He surrendered eighth to the 206 driver on SS12.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: "Markko (Martin) and Gilles Panizzi are pushing really hard - they have the big fight - when they are going so hard they are setting good times. I'm having to work very hard to keep my lead. The stages today have been okay; the first one this morning (Olost) was really fast."
Carlos Sainz said: "Taking the wrong suspension this morning was not good, it cost me a little confidence in the car I had some moments this morning trying to keep the pace in the car, it wasn't so nice. I have spent the rest of the day trying to get the confidence back. Swapping the suspension back to how it was yesterday was better."
Colin McRae said: "The brakes were starting to go after about five kilometres. It was bad, because I was having to touch the brakes before I braked properly, just to make sure they were there and working. That does take some of your confidence in the car. After that it was good, we were able to be back on the pace, which I'm happy with."
Philippe Bugalksi said: "I have a much better feeling with the car today. We've been able to go harder, it's just a shame that Marcus (Gronholm) has come past."
Ford Motor Company
Technical: Markko Martin's Focus ran
reliably today, while Francois Duval's Ford was hit by brake problems
on the middle loop of today's stages. Mikko Hirvonen's 2002 also
suffered brake trouble in the first loop of three stages this
morning.
Sporting: Given the problems he is having with his neck, Martin's pace was once again impressive throughout the second leg of stages. The Estonian was having ice packed around the swollen muscles at each service point to try and ease the discomfort. Despite those problems, he still managed to edge out Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi in a fight for second place. Once again Duval's times improved on the second run at today's stages, the Belgian held fifth place at the end of the second leg - just a handful of seconds behind Carlos Sainz. Following his brake problems earlier in the day, the team decided to change the pedal box at the lunchtime service. Unfortunately this took slightly longer than anticipated and Duval was hit with a ten-second penalty ahead of the final three stages of the day. Mikko Hirvonen's brake trouble came earlier in the day - on the opening loop - after those, however he ran well through the five stages which remained gaining more valuable experience of the Catalan roads.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: "I preferred the shorter stages today - I didn't get so tired in those. The last stage today wasn't so good. When I was pulling my crash helmet on in the car, I must have knocked the roof vent closed, which meant I didn't get any air into the car. I felt really tired after the first two kilometres."
Francois Duval said: "I had a bit of a problem with a front tyre on the first stage this morning. I remember hitting something, but I don't think it was a puncture - maybe the mousse was damaged in the tyre. The vibration was terrible, so bad it damaged the steering."
Mikko Hirvonen said: "Today has been more good miles for me. I don't think the roads have been so bad, okay in some places there have been rocks and things, but nothing we didn't expect - I'm enjoying the rally."
Marlboro Peugeot Total
Technical: All three Peugeot's have
run without any mechanical problems today.
Sporting: Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi ended leg two in third place, but admitted he'd struggled to get to grips with the conditions through the last loop of three stages. The Frenchman enjoyed a brief stay in second position, holding the place by just one tenth of a second after SS12. Unfortunately for Panizzi, Ford's Markko Martin hit back on the second run at the short Taradell stage to re-take the position by half a second. For the remaining three stages, Martin took more time out of Panizzi to open a 15.9-second gap at the close of play. Richard Burns' Peugeot was suffering excessive oversteer through the third stage of the day, but that was about the Englishman's only trouble on the second leg. He remained in the sixth position which he'd held at the end of last night. Marcus Gronholm finally found a set-up he was happy with ahead of the middle loop of stages today. The team changed the suspension geometry and the differential mapping on his car. He moved up two places through the day to eighth overall and looked set to battle with Colin McRae for a possible seventh on the final leg.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: "Today has been okay. I'm quite happy, although I would be happier if we hadn't lost the time yesterday and we could have been fighting further up the leaderboard. The middle stage in that last loop was a bit messy, though - the cuts had pulled a lot of rocks and dirt out onto the road."
Marcus Gronholm said: "Finally we have the car we wanted. After the first loop this morning we changed the caster and camber on the car. That with some diff map changes made such a difference. Unfortunately it's too late for this all now. I don't know if we can catch Colin, but we'll give it a go."
Gilles Panizzi said: "I've found it quite difficult to keep up with Markko on the faster stages, the Ford's engine seems to be quite strong. I think there's still a little more to come from me, but I wasn't so comfortable through that final loop today. There's always tomorrow and we're in a better position than we were at the start of the event."
555 Subaru World Rally Team
Technical: The Impreza WRC 2003 of
Petter Solberg ran without any mechanical problems, while the sister
car of his team-mate Tommi Makinen suffered throttle problems on the
middle loop of stages and then he thought the transmission might have
been damaged after spending so long on the rev limiter in the
ultra-fast Olost stage.
Sporting: Solberg moved past Makinen to spearhead the Subaru attack through leg two, although both were struggling to match the pace of their rivals - all of whom were running on Michelin, rather than Pirelli tyres. The Tour of Corsica winner remained upbeat about his chances for the final leg, continuing to hope for rain (which suits Pirelli's asphalt tyres more), but accepting that from a position over two-and-a-half minutes down on the leader, there wasn't too much he could do about the situation. Makinen felt the set-up he'd taken through the final three stages of the day had compromised his performance; running at 60 per cent throttle for the most part of stages 12 and 13 also cost him time.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "It was supposed to rain today. That would have been nice, hopefully it will come tonight. In the middle loop of stages we used a new tyre, one which was a compound harder than we'd gone on before - it worked well, our times were competitive."
Tommi Makinen said: "Driving with the throttle problem was not good for us, neither was the suspension settings on the final loop. The car had too much grip at the rear, we overheated the front tyres much too early. Not good. Tomorrow it will be a good idea to go back to the old set-up."
Skoda Motorsport
Technical: Didier Auriol's Skoda
retired with clutch failure three kilometres into the first stage
this morning. Toni Gardemeister's car ran without any major technical
problems.
Sporting: Auriol's troubled rally deteriorated further not far after the start of the Olost test. The clutch on his Fabia had been slipping from the start of the stage, it wasn't long before it stopped the car in its tracks. Following the turbo-related problems he'd suffered on his Fabia through led one, this wasn't the exact result which Auriol had been looking for from his 150th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Reverting his car to an almost Corsican set-up continued to give Gardemeister confidence for the second leg. While the Finn was able to push harder, he still felt the front of the car was too soft.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: "This is a very disappointing end to the event for us. With the problems yesterday and now this morning, we haven't really had the chance to show just what the car could do. Okay, we need more power, we know that - but the car is handling very well."
Toni Gardemeister said: "The times have improved very well with the change of set-up. We had to stiffen the front again this morning, to take out some of the initial body roll on turn-in. Apart from that I'm happier than I was yesterday. On some of the stages we are getting close to Tommi (Makinen) which means things are getting better."
Other entries
Brice Tirabassi continues to head
the FIA Junior World Rally Championship field in his Renault Clio.
The Frenchman's only problem has been deciding whether or not to cut
the corners and risk getting a puncture. Kris Meeke remains second in
the category after a similarly problem-free day in his Opel Corsa.
25/10/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS: 45 crews (41 Group A and 4 Group N) started this morning.
RETIREMENTS: Auriol (F), Iliev (BG), Broccoli (RSM)
TODAY:
Saturday 25 October
Leg 2 started from Lloret de Mar at 07h00 and covered 429.69km,
including 131.26km on eight stages.
TOMORROW:
Sunday 26 October
Leg 3 starts from Lloret de Mar at 05h30 and covers 409.76km,
including 103.56km on six stages. The first car is expected to arrive
at the finish in Lloret de Mar at 15h09.
WEATHER FORECAST: Rain expected overnight, continuing sporadically throughout tomorrow..
SS9 OLOST 1 (23.08km)
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
11m 39.4
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
11m 39.9
3
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
11m 41.7
LEADERS AFTER SS9
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 43m 19.5
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
1h 43m 48.9
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
1h 43m 50.7
SS10 LLUCA 1 (14.04km)
1 Martin
(EE)
Ford
8m 15.9
2 Duval
(B)
Ford
8m 16.1
3 Burns
(GB)
Peugeot
8m 18.5
LEADERS AFTER SS10
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 51m 38.6
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
1h 52m 04.8
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
1h 52m 09.5
SS11 SAINT BOI DE LLUCANES 1 (12.85km)
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
8m 06.7
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
8m 07.2
3
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
8m 07.2
LEADERS AFTER SS11
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 59m 45.8
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 00m 12.0
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 00m 16.2
SS12 SAINT JULIA 2 (26.27km)
1 Duval
(B)
Ford
15m 30.4
2
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
15m 31.1
3 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
15m 31.4
LEADERS AFTER SS12
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 15m 19.0
2
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 15m 28.3
3 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 15m 28.4
SS13 TARADELL 2 (5.05km)
1 Burns
(GB)
Peugeot
2m 58.3
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2m 58.4
3
Sainz
(E)
Citroen
2m 58.8
LEADERS AFTER SS13
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 18m 18.1
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 18m 45.8
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 18m 46.3
SS14 OLOST 2 (23.08km)
1 Martin
(EE)
Ford
11m 37.0
2
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
11m 40.4
3 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
11m 41.9
LEADERS AFTER SS14
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 29m 58.5
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 30m 22.8
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 30m 29.5
SS15 LLUCA 2 (14.04km)
1
Martin
(EE)
Ford
8m 19.5
2
Duval
(B)
Ford
8m 21.7
3 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
8m 23.4
LEADERS AFTER SS15
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 38m 23.1
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2h 38m 42.3
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2h 38m 57.9
SS16 SAINT BOI DE LLUCANES 2 (12.85km)
1
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
8m 05.5
2
Martin
(EE)
Ford
8m 07.1
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
8m 07.4
LEADERS AFTER SS16
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2h 46m 28.6
2
Martin
(EE) Ford
+20.8
3
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
+36.7
4 Sainz
(E) Citroen
+1m 05.2
5
Duval
(B) Ford
+1m 08.8
6
Burns
(GB)
Peugeot
+1m 40.4
7
McRae
(GB)
Citroen
+2m 12.2
8 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
+2m 16.8
9
Bugalski
(F)
Citroen
+2m 39.1
10
Solberg
(N)
Subaru
+2m 39.8
[WRC] 2003 Catalunya Leg 1
Friday, 24 October 2003
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb set about
making up for the disappointment of not scoring any points in Corsica
last weekend by leading Rally Catalunya at the end of leg one. This
penultimate round of the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship started
from Lloret de Mar early this morning and took crews north of the
coastal resort and into the stages surrounding the town of Vic.
Fastest out of the blocks in SS1 was Subaru's Petter Solberg.
Unfortunately for the Norwegian he dropped to third on the next two
tests and then out of the top ten altogether when the team was forced
to change the alternator on his Impreza at the cost of 50 seconds of
road penalties. Throughout this drama, Loeb was turning in another
accomplished drive. The Citroen Xsara WRC pilot was faultless over
the eight stages and arrived back in Lloret this evening with a
26.2-second lead over his team-mate Carlos Sainz. Sainz's day was
similarly trouble-free in his Citroen. Markko Martin put in a
sterling effort to bring his Ford Focus to an overnight third, given
the problems the Estonian was having with his neck muscles, a legacy
of the heavy crash which ended his run in Corsica just five days ago.
Citroen Total
Technical: All four Citroen Xsara
WRCs ran without technical problems, although Philippe Bugalski did
not like the new shock absorbers which were fitted to his car for the
first three stages of the rally.
Sporting: Loeb moved into the lead on the second stage. The Frenchman's only problem through the opening loop was to find a rock on the line he was taking through the stage. His concern about possible damage to the car was unfounded and he continued to set the pace on the opening leg. Carlos Sainz admitted he was trying all he knew to keep up and try to passhis team-mate, but at the same time Sainz pointed out it was a fine line between pushing to the limit and going over it. The championship leader held second position for the majority of this first day of Rally Catalunya. Colin McRae spun on the fourth stage but, that aside, today was without major problem for the Scotsman. Philippe Bugalski's rally didn't get off to the best of starts. He took a shock absorber that was too hard for the first loop of stages, which knocked his confidence.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: "We have been pushing very hard today. The problem with the rock this morning shows that you do need some luck some times. The rock hit the sump guard and knocked the front of the car into the air, then I heard it hit something on the left-rear - but we got away with it."
Carlos Sainz said: "This morning some of the corners were quite tricky. The stages were dry, but if you were taking the cut into the corner then you went across the grass, which could be quite slippery. Obviously we are trying as hard as we can, but at the same time we have to keep the car on the road."
Colin McRae said: "The spin came because the car stalled when we handbraked it at a left-hand hairpin. The day's been okay for us. This morning was a bit tricky, some parts of the new stage were difficult, narrow, with quite big edges off the sides of the road,."
Philippe Bugalksi said: "The tyres and the suspension were too soft this morning. Okay we have gone to better settings for the rest of today, but I just haven't been able to find the feeling on this event."
Ford Motor Company
Technical: Markko Martin's Focus RS
WRC03s ran without problems, while Francois Duval suffered a small
problem with the launch control system on his '03 car. Mikko
Hirvonen's 2002 specification Focus ran with a long brake pedal on
the middle two of today's stages.
Sporting: Markko Martin's biggest problem throughout the opening leg was a physical one. His accident on the Tour of Corsica last Sunday left him with pulled muscles in his neck. The team put padding on the back of his seat, but the Estonian admitted he was still struggling on the longer stages. Despite these problems, he still managed to hold a podium position during today's eight stages. Francois Duval hit a rock and damaged the steering of his car on the opening stage, then stalled on the start of the next test and finally was concerned by the oil warning light flashing on the third and final test in leg one's first loop. From then on, however, the Belgian's run through Friday was relatively straightforward and trouble-free. Hirvonen admitted to a big moment on the third stage this morning, which resulted in a flattened exhaust and a loss of power. On the next stage, the mousse was damaged in a front puncture which caused a bad vibration for the final five kilometres of SS5.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: "For the first ten kilometres of stages I'm okay, but after that the muscles in my neck are really starting to strain. It's not the pain that's bothering me, it's the fact that I can't really feel what the car's doing through my body. I'm finding it really hard to get the car on the limit like this. I tried a neck brace at shakedown yesterday, but it wasn't good at all. The car has been perfect for me today."
Francois Duval said: "The geometry was wrong after we hit the rock this morning, there was no way we could avoid it. After that, I found the fourth and fifth stages hard to read - it was my first time through them. The second run at this morning's stages were better - we made some places up there."
Mikko Hirvonen said: "Our tyre was quite a safe choice this morning, but I made a mistake on the third stage: we slid towards a ditch, I thought the car was going to roll, but it didn't it jumped over the ditch, but flattened the exhaust. The brake problem didn't really cost me any time - it was just in my head that the pedal was long and whenever you have anything with the brakes, you always think about it a little bit more."
Marlboro Peugeot Total
Technical: None of the Peugeot's
suffered any mechanical problems throughout the opening leg of Rally
Catalunya.
Sporting: A poor tyre choice on the first loop of stages cost Marcus Gronholm and Gilles Panizzi dearly. They ran with a Michelin which was too soft for opening three tests of the rally. Richard Burns admitted his choice of rubber had worked better through the first loop, but still he felt he could have gone for a harder compound. Sixth quickest on the fourth stage moved Burns into the top four and the position of leading 206. That lasted until the seventh stage, when he went off the road near the start of the test and dropped 30 seconds. At that point, Panizzi was into the groove, fastest time on the day's penultimate test nudged him further up the leaderboard and ensured he would take the mantle of top 206 overnight in fourth position. Burns' problems dropped him back to sixth, while Gronholm was tenth.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: "This morning the tyre was moving around a lot, too much - we were on the limit of the grip. The new part of the third stage was really slippery. I was happy with my time on the fourth stage - then we heard Gilles' time, he was exceptional. Going off later in the day did some damage to the rear suspension."
Marcus Gronholm said: "After one kilometre I knew the tyre was wrong this morning. It was bad, the car was all over the place. The car was okay, but after this morning there's not much to say about anything."
Gilles Panizzi said: "Like Marcus, my tyre choice was a disaster this morning, much too soft. After that first loop, things were much better - we were really able to push. The car has been good for all of the first day, now we need to concentrate on getting the time back we dropped this morning."
555 Subaru World Rally Team
Technical: A front bearing on the
alternator collapsed on Petter Solberg's Impreza this morning, which
meant the car couldn't be started at the end of service B. Tommi
Makinen's car ran without technical troubles throughout leg
one.
Sporting: Changing Solberg's alternator took six minutes and cost him 50 seconds in road penalties as the Norwegian booked out of service five minutes late. This problem dropped him out of the top ten from his early third place. The rally had started in the best possible fashion for the winner of the last round, when he set fastest time on the opening stage. Solberg spent the remainder of the day battling his way back up the leaderboard. Makinen's day was without incident, although the four-times world champion admitted he was surprised at how much corner-cutting had gone on early in the day.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "It's a big disappointment that we had that problem with the alternator, particularly as we had made such a strong start with the fastest time in SS1. Having said that it's better to have had that problem in service, if the car had fired up then we might have had the problem in the stage, and that would have been worse."
Tommi Makinen said: "I took it steady through the opening stage this morning, I was playing myself into the event. It was really slippery on the first loop, though. We are running a little bit further back down the order - and there was a lot of dirt on the road. Through the rest of the day, as the temperatures have gone up, we have struggled to find the level of grip which we would have liked."
Skoda Motorsport
Technical: Didier Auriol's Skoda
Fabia WRC was hit by a turbo problem on the second loop of stages
this morning. Toni Gardemeister wasn't happy with the set-up of his
car, but felt better when it was returned to the same specification
as it ran in Corsica.
Sporting: Once again the two Skodas ran close together on the leaderboard, just outside the top ten. Neither driver had any major problems, but both commented on their car's engine, which they feel is down on power compared to their rivals on a rally where power is crucial to keep the speed down the long Catalan straights. Auriol's start to his 150th FIA World Rally Championship event was good, however, as he posted a top ten time.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: "The pipe came off the turbo intercooler for the fourth stage, this cost us time and power. The engine needs more power, but at the same time the handling of the car is very good - the car feels very stable in these corners."
Toni Gardemeister said: "This morning the car was okay, but I just wasn't happy with the handling. We took a tyre which was much too soft for the stages - that was certainly part of the problem - but the rest of it was down to the set-up. Once the team had changed it around, everything felt better."
Other entries
FIA World Junior Rally Championship
leader Brice Tirabassi also heads the charge for ten points on this
rally. The Renault Clio driver has enjoyed a largely trouble-free
event in his FFSA-backed 25-year-old is being chased by Kris Meeke,
who claimed an overnight second spot in his Opel Corsa. The Ulsterman
was slightly surprised at his second place, pointing out that he
wasn't taking risks to put in the times he was. Salvador Canellas -
Tirabassi's biggest title threat - was third, and quickest of the
four Suzukis.
Frenchman Cedric Robert is the best privateer in a 206
Peugeot.
24/10/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
STARTERS: 47 crews (42 Group A and 5 Group N) started this morning.
TOP RETIREMENTS: Baldacci (RSM)
TODAY:
Friday 24 October
Leg 1 started from Lloret de Mar at 06h45 and covered 654.07km,
including 146.36km on eight stages. The first car arrived back in
Lloret de Mar at 21h03.
TOMORROW:
Saturday 25 October
Leg 2 starts from Lloret de Mar at 07h00 and covers 429.69km,
including 131.26km on eight stages. The first car is expected to
arrive back in Lloret de Mar at 18h08.
WEATHER FORECAST: Showers expected overnight, with changeable conditions tomorrow.
SS1 La Trona 1 (13.17km)
1 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
8m 23.6
2 Duval
(B)
Ford
8m 23.7
3 Martin
(EE) Ford
8m 23.9
SS2 ALPENS-Les LLOSSES 1 (21.80km)
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
13m 07.3
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
13m 11.8
3 Martin
(EE)
Ford
13m 14.2
LEADERS AFTER SS2
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
21m 32.7
2 Martin
(EE)
Ford
21m 38.1
3 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
21m 38.8
SS3 LA POBLA DE LILLET 1 (22.55km)
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
15m 03.5
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
15m 06.9
3 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
15m 11.1
LEADERS AFTER SS3
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
36m 36.2
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
36m 45.7
3 Solberg
(N)
Subaru
36m 56.3
SS4 SAINT JULIA 1 (26.27km)
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
15m 35.3
2 Panizzi
(FIN)
Peugeot
15m 35.8
3 Duval
(B)
Ford
15m 37.1
LEADERS AFTER SS4
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
52m 11.5
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
52m 23.5
3 Martin
(EE)
Ford
52m 35.4
SS5 TARADELL 1 (5.05km)
1 Martin
(EE)
Ford
2m 56.2
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
2m 57.4
=
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
2m 57.4
4
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
2m 58.4
LEADERS AFTER SS5
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
55m 09.9
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
55m 20.9
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
55m 31.6
SS6 LA TRONA 2 (13.17km)
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
8m 15.7
2
Martin
(EE)
Ford
8m 18.6
3
Duval
(B)
Ford
8m 18.8
LEADERS AFTER SS6
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 03m 30.6
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
1h 03m 43.7
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
1h 03m 50.2
SS7 ALPENS-LES LLOSSES 2 (21.80km)
1
Panizzi
(F)
Peugeot
13m 10.6
2
Duval
(B) Ford
13m 11.6
3
Loeb
(F)
Citroen
13m 11.9
LEADERS AFTER SS7
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 16m 42.5
2 Sainz
(E)
Citroen
1h 17m 00.2
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
1h 17m 04.2
SS8 LA POBLA DE LILLET (22.55km)
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
14m 55.3
2
Panizzi
(F) Peugeot
14m 57.5
3
Burns
(GB)
Peugeot
15m 00.9
LEADERS AFTER SS8
1 Loeb
(F)
Citroen
1h 31m 37.8
2 Sainz
(E) Citroen
+26.2
3
Martin
(EE)
Ford
+31.2
4
Panizzi
(F) Peugeot
+33.5
5
Duval
(B) Ford
+55.0
6
Burns
(GB)
Peugeot
+1m 14.0
7
McRae
(GB)
Citroen
+1m 22.9
8
Bugalski
(F)
Citroen
+1m 39.3
9
Makinen
(FIN)
Subaru
+1m 42.0
10 Gronholm
(FIN)
Peugeot
+1m 56.2
[WRC] 2003 Catalunya Preview
Thursday, 23 October 2003
After leading the FIA World Rally
Championship for drivers since the Rally of Turkey in March, Richard
Burns finally relinquished that honour in Corsica last week. The
Peugeot 206 WRC driver was passed by both Carlos Sainz (Citroen) and
Petter Solberg (Subaru), although he remains on the same points as
Solberg - but the Norwegian is ahead having won more rallies than the
Englishman. Solberg was the master of the Corsican roads last week,
making one of the most amazing comeback drives in the history of the
championship, after he crashed his Impreza WRC2003 heavily on the
pre-rally shakedown stage. The Tour of Corsica was a good indicator
of what we could be in for if things turn wet in Catalunya this
weekend. Weather-wise, the run-up to the rally has been wet and
long-range forecasts have promised rain at some point during the next
three days. Solberg, Subaru and the Pirelli tyres looked were the
most competitive package, although initial pace-setters on the French
island Sebastien Loeb and Markko Martin were out front until they
both dropped time going off the road on the second leg of the rally.
Rally Catalunya has switched its date for this season, moving from the spring in to the autumn - and for the 2003 running of the event, there's a raft of new stages for the teams to deal with.
Aside from the main interest of the drivers and manufacturers' championship - with Citroen opening up an eight-point lead over Peugeot in the latter - this event is also the penultimate round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, where Brice Tirabassi leads Salvador Canellas by three points ahead of Rally Catalunya.
Citroen Total (1st - 137 points)
Technical: As on the last round in
Corsica, Citroen will have four factory-specification Xsara WRCs in
Catalunya, with Philippe Bugalski's car being run by Piedrafita
Sport.
Sporting: Carlos Sainz arrives at his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the top of the standings in the drivers' championship following his second place in Catalunya. The double world champion will have the benefit of a highly partisan Spanish crowd as he attempts to retain the advantage he gained on round 12. Sainz has won this event before - in 1995 - but was out of luck last season when he collided with a spectator's car. Sebastien Loeb led the Tour of Corsica at the end of leg one, but a mistake early last Saturday morning put him out of the reckoning for points. The Frenchman will also be hoping to erase the memory of Catalunya 2002, when he rolled his Xsara WRC out of the event. This rally is one of Colin McRae's favourite asphalt rallies. The Scot will be looking to make a mark on what could be one of his final rallies in the championship following Citroen's decision not to retain him next season.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: "Coming to my home rally is always a special feeling, but this year is especially nice being the leader of the championship. As for my chances of the title, I want to stay quiet - but we will certainly know more in a few days time."
Sebastien Loeb said: "We were able to make some good times on this rally last season, and we know the car has come on since then, so it should be okay. The result in Corsica didn't help my championship chances much, but there's still a long way to go - we need a good score here."
Colin McRae said: "This is a good rally. The roads are nice and wide, you've got room to move the car. The second run at stages are always a big challenge with all the mud and dirt on the road. It's a nice place and the rally fans are always enthusiastic."
Marlboro Peugeot Total (2nd - 129
points)
Technical: The three official 206
WRCs will start Catalunya in the same specification in which they
finished Corsica.
Sporting: Richard Burns arrives at a rally without the championship leader tag for the first time since March. Burns showed well here last season, finishing second in his 206 WRC. Burns also likes this event, despite the fact that he hasn't won it before. Marcus Gronholm has been Peugeot's asphalt pace-setter on the last two rallies, a situation which the Finn will be keen to continue in Catalunya. Gilles Panizzi struggled to find the right set-up in Sanremo and Corsica. He won here last season, and was even comfortable enough to spin his 206 for the benefit of the fans at the famous hairpin beneath the C25 road bridge. The Frenchman knows, however, he's in for a tough fight to get his Peugeot on the pace of the Citroen and Ford - which have been the cars to beat on the sealed-surface stages
Quotes: Richard Burns said: "The car felt good after shakedown. The downhill stretch of the stage was really greasy and slippery, but we found a tyre which worked well there. This is encouraging, given that we struggled quite a lot in the changeable conditions in Corsica last week."
Marcus Gronholm said: "This morning's shakedown stage was really slippery, very difficult - I don't like these type of conditions at all. For me it's best when the weather is fully wet or fully dry."
Gilles Panizzi said: "I hope I can find the feeling, have to do better than we did in Corsica - but really this rally comes down to the weather and making the right tyre choices."
555 Subaru World Rally Team (3rd - 88
points)
Technical: Both Subaru Impreza
WRC2003's run in the same specification as on the last round in
Corsica..
Sporting: Petter Solberg's win in Corsica last week was his third of the season, and his first ever on asphalt. The Norwegian now lies second in the drivers' championship, three points off leader Carlos Sainz with two rounds of the championship left. Solberg's confidence is sky high, given that he bounced back from a serious shakedown accident to win in France last week. Tommi Makinen found the early part of Corsica hard work, the four-times world champion unable to find a set-up which worked on his Impreza through the first leg. Once he'd experimented with the various transmission and suspension settings, he was happy. Following those changeable conditions, the Finn admits he is looking forward to Catalunya.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "I'm still feeling so good after the win in Corsica. We've made some good steps with the car and the tyres and I'm feeling comfortable with my driving style in wet and mixed conditions. If we could have more of the wet weather we had in Corsica last week, that would be just perfect."
Tommi Makinen said: "A good performance in Spain depends a little bit on the weather. Rally Catalunya has always been a favourite event for me, but this year will be slightly different as some of the roads are new. We found a set-up which worked well on the last event, so I've got some good confidence for this week."
David Lapworth said: "Last week's win has given the whole team a real confidence boost ahead of Catalunya. The car, tyres and drivers work perfectly in tough conditions, but we're confident that we will be competitive in Spain whatever the conditions."
Ford Motor Company (4th - 78 points)
Technical: As usual Ford is fielding
a Focus RS WRC03 apiece for Markko Martin and Francois Duval, while
Mikko Hirvonen will use a 2002 specification Focus for the
event.
Sporting: Ford arrives in Catalunya safe in the knowledge that its Focus RR WRC03 works well on asphalt, whatever the conditions. Martin posted fastest times in Corsica last week, and both the Estonian and his Belgian team-mate Duval took turns in the lead of the event. Martin's rally turned sour on the second day when he slid off the road and out of contention. A heavier accident on the final day compounded a bad weekend for the Rally Finland winner. Duval's run to third place has given him more confidence for this weekend. Number three driver Mikko Hirvonen makes his debut in Catalunya this weekend, as he did in Corsica last time out.
Quotes: Markko Martin said: "Earlier in the year I said I wanted to win an asphalt round, and this is the last one of the season, so hopefully we can manage it this weekend. We've shown that the Focus is the most complete car for all surfaces, it was very strong in the wet and dry in Corsica last week."
Francois Duval said: "I am happy after the way our last rally went. The work which Stephane (Duval's co-driver) and I did with pace notes worked really well, so it would be good to build on that this weekend. It was nice to lead a rally, it would be nice to spend longer there this time - but as with Corsica, I don't have very much experience of this rally."
Mikko Hirvonen said: "I've never done this event before, so I don't really know what to expect. For me the plan is quite simple: to get through the rally and get some kilometres in Spain."
Skoda Motorsport (5th - 21 points)
Technical: The Skoda Fabias of
Didier Auriol and Toni Gardemeister are the same cars which were used
in Corsica. The electrical fault which halted Auriol's car prior to
the first stage on the last rally was caused by water leaking into
the system.
Sporting: Gardemeister's last outing was plagued by problems with the Skoda's rear anti-roll bars - which also broke at shakedown this morning - and a steering sensor fault, which affected the performance of the transmission. Despite this, the Finn brought the car to the finish of the event and bagged more valuable data on how the car works on pure asphalt rallies. His French team-mate was unable to do that, given that his only mileage in the car was from the service park to the first stage - which was double disappointing for Auriol on an event he had won six times previously. Catalunya has also been a happy hunting ground for the 1994 world champion. He took his last WRC win on the Lloret de Mar-based event in 2001, when he was driving for Peugeot.
Quotes: Didier Auriol said: "I like Catalunya, it's an interesting event. The second run through stages is always interesting on this rally; with the amount of cuts that have been taken, it's sometimes more like a gravel rally."
Toni Gardemeister said: "Corsica was a tough event for us. When we had a clean stage, the car ran very well. Hopefully we can manage that this weekend and we can improve on the place that we finished in Corsica, but the anti-roll bar problems we had this morning we not a good start."
Other entries
Frenchman Brice Tirabassi leads the
FIA Junior World Rally Championship ahead of this week's penultimate
round in Catalunya. The Renault driver's early retirement from the
last qualifying event in Sanremo has allowed the chasing pack - led
by Salvador Canellas - to close within three points of him. Among the
leading non-official drivers are Peugeot privateers Cedric Robert and
Roman Kresta.
23/10/2003 RALLY STATISTICS
EVENT: Rally Catalunya-Costa Brava is the 13th of 14 events in the FIA World Rally Championship.
ENTRIES: 51 (44 Group A, 7 Group N)
DRIVERS: Argentina 1, Belgium 2, Bulgaria 2, Czech Republic 1, Estonia 2, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 2, Great Britain 5, Italy 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Norway 1, Portugal 1, Republic San Marino 2, Spain 6, Sweden 4.
MANUFACTURER TEAMS: Citroen, Ford, Peugeot, Skoda, Subaru
CARS: (including the manufacturer cars): Citroen 4, Fiat 4, Ford 7, Hyundai 2, Mitsubishi 7, Opel 2, Peugeot 9, Renault 6, Skoda 2, Subaru 2, Suzuki 4, Volkswagen 2.
TIMETABLE:
Thursday 23 October
Ceremonial start at 19h30, Lloret de Mar.
Friday 24 October
Leg 1 re-starts from Lloret de Mar at 06h45 and covers 654.07km,
including 146.36km on eight stages. The first car is due to arrive
back in Lloret de Mar at 21h03.
Saturday 25 October
Leg 2 starts from Lloret de Mar at 07h00 and covers 429.69km,
including 131.26km on eight stages. The first car is expected to
arrive back in Lloret de Mar at 18h08.
Sunday 26 October
Leg 3 starts from Lloret de Mar at 05h30 and covers 409.76km,
including 103.56km on six stages. The first car is expected to arrive
at the finish in Lloret de Mar at 15h09.
Total
The rally covers 1493.52km, including 381.18km on 22 special stages
(including 11 run twice). All stages are on asphalt roads closed to
other traffic.
TOMORROW: Friday 24 October
Leg 1 re-starts from Lloret de Mar at 06h45 and covers 654.07km,
including 146.36km on eight stages. The first car is due to arrive
back in Lloret de Mar at 21h03.
WEATHER FORECAST: Overnight rain, damp but
dry through leg one.
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