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TAP Rallye De Portugal
www.tap-rallyedeportugal.pt/
Round 3 of the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship 8 - 11 March 2001
Official FIA Press Release
www.fia.com
Sunday, 10 March 2001
Tommi Mäkinen celebrated his 100th FIA World Championship rally start in style by winning the third round of this year's series, the Rally of Portugal, which finished near Porto this afternoon. The Finn was made to fight hard for his 22nd victory at this level, though: Carlos Sainz snatched the lead on today's penultimate stage and only a supreme effort from Mäkinen denied the Spaniard victory. Reigning FIA World Rally champion Marcus Grönholm, meanwhile, scored his first points of this season in third.
There was less rain today than the previous two legs, but conditions were still extremely difficult for the remaining crews and event organisers scrapped one of the planned three stages because of its treacherous road surface.
Mitsubishi
Technical: Tommi Mäkinen's Lancer encountered no technical problems during today's two stages.
Sporting: Mäkinen opted for a wider cut tyre in the belief that today's stages would be more muddy but when the first test was cancelled because of poor road conditions, his task became harder. Sure enough, he was unable to stop Carlos Sainz moving 0.3 seconds ahead in the penultimate stage, so Mäkinen had to throw caution to the wind in the final test. He admitted taking several risks but his counter attack succeeded: he moved back into the lead by nearly nine seconds, to win on his 100th World Championship start.
Quotes: Tommi Makinen: "This victory is a bit special. I cut so many corners on that last stage, I took every risk to try to get the victory back. Perhaps our tyre cut was a bit too open for the stages, which made it more difficult because Carlos was very close and pushing extremely hard. People are already talking about the championship but we've still got 11 rallies left and today showed that it's a close season. It won't be easy, but I'm glad we've made this sort of start."
Mitsubishi Ralliart Chairman Andrew Cowan: "I almost had to fight back the tears. For Tommi to win on his 100th world championship start is incredible, and to do it in this fashion is even better. When he has to produce the goods, Tommi can do it - he's showed that before and he showed it again today. We were obviously nervous going into the last stage but we knew we'd done all we could and we had faith that Tommi would do a good job. It's been a great advertisement for rallying."
Ford
Technical: Carlos Sainz's Focus WRC01 performed reliably today, but team-mate François Delecour's example suffered from a slipping clutch in the closing stages.
Sporting: A fastest time on the first of today's two stages was enough to catapult Carlos Sainz ahead of Tommi Mäkinen and into the lead - by just 0.3 seconds. But the Spaniard slid wide on a muddy, rutted corner near the start of the last stage and towards its finish, he encountered rocks that had been pulled into the road by the corner-cutting Mäkinen As a result, he dropped 8.9 seconds to the Finn and claimed second - his third podium finish in three events. François Delecour concentrated on finishing, since he was under no real threat from behind and couldn't challenge the crews in front. He overcame slight clutch problems to net fifth.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz: "I took many risks in the first of the two stages and it worked. But in the second, I got a bit wide at one corner near the start and then I had to back off because Tommi was leaving me some presents in the road! I couldn't drive over the rocks, so I lost time. Of course I wanted to win but this has been the hardest rally I've done in my whole career. The combination of mist, fog and the muddy roads has been incredibly difficult for the drivers. I'm glad to take some points from that."
Francois Delecour: "Today was straightforward for us. I'm just happy to finish in the points again.
Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Marcus Grönholm and Didier Auriol performed reliably today.
Sporting: Both Marcus Grönholm and Didier Auriol knew that they stood little chance of improving their overnight positions through pace alone on a short final day, so they settled for third and eighth respectively. Grönholm's podium place gave the reigning World champion and Peugeot their first points of the season but Auriol has still yet to score for either himself or his team.
Quotes: Marcus Gronholm: "There was no point in fighting today, so I took things very gently. It's good to get some points at last - I just wanted to see the finish so badly! After we lost time because of road position on the first day, we really didn't have a chance of catching the guys in front. So I'm happy enough to have started my campaign at last."
Subaru
Technical: The sole remaining Impreza WRC2001 of Richard Burns encountered no mechanical problems today.
Sporting: Richard Burns started today's short leg nearly a minute behind Marcus Grönholm and as such, he knew that he only had a faint chance of making the podium. He closed the gap on the Finn but eventually finished fourth to bag his first points of the season.
Quotes: Richard Burns: "It's disappointing to work so hard just for fourth place, but there wasn't much I could do to stop losing time on the opening day. With regard to the championship, I've been in far worse situations and come out well, so I'm certainly not too concerned."
Hyundai
Technical: Alister McRae's and Kenneth Eriksson's Accent WRC2s both finished on the car's debut. McRae's example needed work in first service this morning after the Scot had to effect fan belt repairs on the road section back to Parc Ferme yesterday evening. He picked up 20 seconds of road penalties as a result but thereafter, the car ran reliably.
Sporting: Neither Alister McRae or Kenneth Eriksson had a chance to improve their position during today's short schedule so they adopted a cautious approach. It paid off: the finished sixth and seventh respectively, earning the Korean marque three manufacturers' points. In addition, Alister McRae scored his first drivers' point for the team (and the first ever with navigator David Senior alongside). Hyundai was also the only works team to get all of its cars to the finish.
Quotes: Alister McRae: "If you'd told me before the start that we'd score a point I'd hardly have believed you. I know how late the cars were being prepared for this rally and to get both to the finish - in these conditions - is a real achievement. The mechanics deserve the point, not me! We've still got a lot of work to do and we need more speed for sure, but if the car's this strong then it gives us a good base.
Kenneth Eriksson: "I would have expected to have had some problems during this rally, as with any new car, but it is extremely strong. You can't imagine how hard it has been on these stages and the punishment the cars have been through.
Other teams
Former British champion Tapio Laukkanen was the top privateer, finishing ninth in a Toyota Corolla. But the Finn is not registered for the FIA Teams Cup for privateers, so countryman Pasi Hagstrom (10th overall) claimed maximum points in the series. Local driver Rui Madeira finished 11th in a Ford Focus, ahead of Peugeot driver Gilles Panizzi. The Frenchman was troubled by poor handling yesterday afternoon, but he was pleased to gain further experience of the 206 WRC on loose surfaces. Hamed Al-Wahaibi finished 13th and claimed second in the FIA Teams Cup section - rich reward for the Oman driver's efforts to get a replacement car to the start after he'd damaged his original machine during the pre-event shakedown test.
In the Group N section for more standard machinery, reigning category world champion Manfred Stohl moved back ahead of Marcos Ligato this morning but then received a time penalty for early arrival at the final service. Argentina driver Ligato thus claimed the class win, and joined Stohl at the top of the Group N World Championship standings. After scrutineering though, both cars were referred to the stewards, who therefore suspended the classification, subject to further scrutineering of the cars by the FIA.
Tyre facts
Throughout the event, Michelin runner Tommi Mäkinen benefited greatly from a pre-shakedown test decision to hand-cut a circumferential groove in Mitsubishi's tyres. The Finn believed that he might have made too many cuts for this morning's final group of stages, however. Like all Pirelli competitors, second-placed Carlos Sainz used the Italian firm's KM6 tyre/compound, with extra cuts when the conditions were particularly muddy.
FINAL RESULTS
OUTRIGHT
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:46:42,1
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 3:46:50,7
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:49:37,7
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 3:50:06,4
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 3:56:48,9
6 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 3:58:50,5
7 Eriksson Hyundai Accent WRC 4:00:14,6
8 Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC 4:02:50,7
9 Laukkanen Toyota Corolla WRC 4:03:17,6
10 Hagstrom Toyota Corolla WRC 4:06:14,6
GROUP N
1 Stohl Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:25:21,7
2 Ligato Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:25:35,8
3 Dias Da Silva Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:31:14,7
TEAMS CUP
1 Hagstom Toyota Corolla WRC 4:06:14,6
2 Al-Wahaibi Subaru Impreza WRC 4:18:55,2
3 Papadimitriou Peugeot 206 WRC 4:32:57,3
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (provisional standing after 3 of 14 rounds):
Mäkinen (FIN) 20
Sainz (E) 16
Rovanpera 10
Delecour (F) 8
Radstrom (S) 6
Gardemeister (FIN) 5
Schwarz (D) 3
Burns (GB) 3
A.McRae (GB) 1
Loix (B) 1
Solberg (N) 1
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers
Mitsubishi 33
Ford 20
Hyundai 8
Subaru 7
Skoda 6
Peugeot 4
FIA World Cup for Drivers of Production Cars:
Stohl (A) 12
Ligato (RA) 12
Gillet (CH) 10
Walfridsson (S) 10
Backlund (S) 6
Trelles (ROU) 4
Blomqvist (S) 4
Dias da Silva (P) 4
Pozzo (RA) 3
Jonsson (S) 4
Pascoal (P) 3
FIA Teams Cup
Toyota Team Denmark (DK) 10
Team Toyota Castrol Finland (FIN) 10
David Sutton (Cars) (GB) 6
Oman Arab World Rally Team (OM) 6
Yiannis Papadimitriou (GR) 4
Marlboro Ford Mobil 1 Team Poland (PL) 4
World Rally Hire (GB) 4
Toyota Team Saudi Arabia (SA) 3
Frederic Dor Rally Team (F) 2
FIA Super 1600 Championship for Drivers (this event did not count): no results
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS15 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma Mechanical
SS15 Martin Subaru Impreza WRC Stuck in mud
SS13 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC Mechanical
SS13 Lundgaard Toyota Corolla WRC Mechanical
SS9 P.Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC Suspension
SS8 C.McRae Ford Focus WRC Engine
SS7 A.Bakashab Toyota Corolla WRC Mechanical
SS5 G.Trelles Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS5 G.Pozzo Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS4 T.Aria Subaru Impreza WRC Accident
SS4 A.Lopes Peugeot 206 WRC Mechanical
SS2 A.Schwarz Skoda Octavia WRC Clutch
SS1 B.Thiry Skoda Octavia WRC Electrical
STAGE WINNERS
SS20 - cancelled, SS21 - Sainz, SS22 - Makinen
SS 20, Ponte de Lima Este 23.49 km
Cancelled
SS 21, Ponte de Lima Oeste 23.26 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 18:19,2
2 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 18:32,5
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 18:34,1
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 18:34,4
5 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 19:00,2
SS 22, Ponte de Lima Sul 11.15 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8:52,3
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 9:01,2
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 9:08,0
4 Delecour Ford Focus WRC 9:26,3
5 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 9:34,1
Saturday, 10 March 2001
Appalling weather conditions have again played their part on the second day of the TAP Rally of Portugal, third round of the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship. Several leading stars including Harri Rovanperä, Freddy Loix and Markko Martin have been forced to retire through accidents and mechanical problems. However, four-time World Champion Tommi Mäkinen still lead over Carlos Sainz, with reigning title-holder Marcus Grönholm and Subaru driver Richard Burns fighting hard for the final podium position.
Mitsubishi
Technical: Neither Tommi Mäkinen or Freddy Loix had major mechanical problems this morning, but Loix's Lancer lost drive in the second of the three repeated stages, SS15, and the Belgian was forced to retire from the event. Mäkinen had no such problems, however.
Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen extended his advantage over this morning's first three stages, despite concerns about the amount of marshals and spectators standing on or close to the road. He has built his lead up from 18 seconds to around half a minute today and then back to 13 sec. Team-mate Freddy Loix moved further into the points when Harri Rovanperä retired, but the Belgian's run came to a premature end when his Lancer hit transmission problems in SS15.
Quotes: Tommi Makinen said: "It was really hard to push this morning because in some places, the spectators and marshals were running in front of my car, maybe only 15 metres. But it seems to be going well otherwise - the new rear suspension on the Lancer has worked as well as he expected it to. It's giving us more suspension travel, which allows us to soften the car up for the wet conditions and get better grip.
Ford
Technical: After Colin McRae's retirement yesterday evening with engine failure, the two remaining Ford Focus WRC01s have encountered no major mechanical problems today. The 'joystick' gearbox on Francois Delecour's example failed this morning, forcing the Frenchman to switch to a mechanical instead of an electronic connection. He suffered further problems with the gearbox later in the day. His windscreen also misted up, making visibility in the early-morning mist extremely poor. Carlos Sainz's Focus, though, has enjoyed a troublefree day.
Sporting: Carlos Sainz has worked hard to close the gap to leader Tommi Mäkinen but he lost further time in this morning's loop of stages. He was stunned to find a safety car in the road in SS12, and then slid wide twice in SS16, so the gap between the pair increased to around half a minute by early afternoon. The Spaniard then won SS18 to reduce the gap to 13sec. Francois Delecour holds a lonely fifth place, too far behind Burns to challenge the Briton and easily clear of Alister McRae.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz: "The mist has been so terrible. I met one car in the middle of the road on today's second stage and there was so little visibility that I could have hit it. I didn't know if it was Tommi, if the stage had been blocked, if there'd been an accident or anything."
Francois Delecour: "I don't like the poor visibility and the misting windscreen made it almost impossible."
Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRC of Marcus Grönholm lost front differential pressure for five stages. Peugeot was unable to rectify the problem at the first service because of work on the car's fuel filter. The other leading 206 of Harri Rovanperä was forced to retire after today's first loop of three stages. It had lapsed onto three cylinders in SS12, and the engine expired just as the Swedish Rally winner reached the service park. Peugeot sources believe that the problem - head gasket failure - was probably caused when the radiator was damaged yesterday afternoon.
Sporting: Harri Rovanperä's hopes of a Rally of Portugal win were destroyed this morning when his Peugeot's engine lapsed onto three cylinders in today's second stage. The engine died just before the following service and Rovanperä was forced to retire on the spot. His team-mate, World Champion Marcus Grönholm, has fought hard with Richard Burns today. The Finn still holds the upper hand in third, but the gap between the pair remains close. The third 206 of Didier Auriol struggled to make much of an impression on its rivals for manufacturers' points, but retirements helped move the 1994 world champion into eighth overall.
Quotes: Harri Rovanperä: "I'm disappointed. I know some people think thing were easy for me in Sweden because I'm Scandinavian, so I thought setting fast times here would change their minds. Maybe it has. All I can do now is aim to impress again in Argentina."
Marcus Gronholm: "I can't really push in the misty conditions. I took it too slowly this morning, which allowed Richard to close in. The differential problems were frustrating because the repeat stages had less fog and I was hoping to make some more time on Richard."
Subaru
Technical: Markko Martin's Impreza WRC2001 was reluctant to start in this morning's Parc Ferme, but the Estonian driver was able to make repairs and he reached service with no penalty. Richard Burns's example encountered gearbox glitches in SS15 and SS16, and its power steering began to fluctuate in the same stages. Sporting: Richard Burns pushed hard in this morning's foggy conditions and he closed in on Marcus Grönholm. But the Finn retaliated this afternoon and the pair entered this evening's tests separated by more than 20 seconds. Markko Martin's aim of gaining experience of the Portuguese stages floundered in SS16, meanwhile. The young driver tried to cut a corner, put two wheels over the edge of the road and got stuck. He retired on the spot.
Quotes: Richard Burns: "I'm trying like hell to close the gap to Marcus but it's pretty difficult when we've had the power steering and gearbox problems. At least the fog cleared a bit for this afternoon's tests. I haven't been particularly happy with some of the organisation today - the third stage this morning, in particular, was very bad with spectators."
Markko Martin: "I've learnt an important lesson today - when you can't see, it's hard to drive! I didn't have much experience of foggy conditions before this event, so while I'm disappointed to retire, it's been a worthwhile rally. "
Hyundai
Technical: Kenneth Eriksson has suffered mixed reliability from his Accent WRC2 today. The Swede's wipers failed in SS11 and the Swede had to effect repairs using a branch to restore visibility. In this afternoon's stages, water started to leak into the car's cabin, causing the windscreen to mist up. Alister McRae's example has been more reliable, although the starter motor failed at third service and the Scot had to bump-start the car to get it into the time control.
Sporting: Alister McRae benefited from his team-mate's problems this morning to move ahead, and the dramas which befell Rovanperä, Loix and Martin have promoted the 1995 British champion to a points scoring position. Kenneth Eriksson's technical glitches cost the Swede valuable time but he still holds seventh and is on course to score a manufacturers' point for Hyundai.
Quotes: Alister McRae: "I can tell now that our new suspension is better because if I'd say the old version of the Accent would have struggled on these rough conditions. Apart from that, I have to say that I'm not really enjoying myself - conditions are just too nasty for that.
Other teams
The leading privateer is now former British champion Tapio Laukkanen, who holds ninth in a Toyota Corolla. But the Finn is not registered for the FIA Teams Cup for privateers, so tenth-placed Pasi Hagstrom stands to claim maximum points in that category. Two of his main rivals, Henrik Lundgaard and Janusz Kulig, retired with driveshaft failures. Yesterday's top privateer, Daniel Carlsson, suffered power steering failure and struggled in the misty conditions.
In the Group N class for more standard machinery, Marcos Ligato now holds an advantage of well over a minute over reigning category World Champion Manfred Stohl. Stohl lost the class lead today when a front driveshaft failed this morning, and police prevented local spectators from pushing the Austrian up an incline.
END OF LEG 2 RESULTS
OUTRIGHT
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:19:17,3
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 3:19:30,3
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:21:29,4
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 3:22:24,1
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 3:27:40,2
6 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 3:29:56,2
7 Eriksson Hyundai Accent WRC 3:30:59,1
8 Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC 3:33:58,8
9 Laukkanen Toyota Corolla WRC 3:34:22,0
10 Hagstrom Toyota Corolla WRC 3:36:38,4
GROUP N
1 Ligato Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:54:50,3
2 Stohl Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:55:18,3
3 Dias Da Silva Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:00:03,6
TEAMS CUP
1 Hagstom Toyota Corolla WRC 3:36:38,4
2 Al-Wahaibi Subaru Impreza WRC 3:48:24,5
3 Papadimitriou Peugeot 206 WRC 4:00:38,3
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS15 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma Mechanical
SS15 Martin Subaru Impreza WRC Stuck in mud
SS13 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC Mechanical
SS13 Lundgaard Toyota Corolla WRC Mechanical
SS9 P.Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC Suspension
SS8 C.McRae Ford Focus WRC Engine
SS7 A.Bakashab Toyota Corolla WRC Mechanical
SS5 G.Trelles Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS5 G.Pozzo Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS4 T.Aria Subaru Impreza WRC Accident
SS4 A.Lopes Peugeot 206 WRC Mechanical
SS2 A.Schwarz Skoda Octavia WRC Clutch
SS1 B.Thiry Skoda Octavia WRC Electrical
STAGE WINNERS
SS11 - Makinen , SS12 - Makinen , SS13 - Burns, SS14 - Burns, SS15 - Sainz, SS16 - Makinen, SS17 - Makinen, SS18 - Sainz, SS19 - cancelled
STAGE TIMES
SS 11, Oliveira do Hospital 1 24.78 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 18:14,3
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 18:15,8
3 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 18:24,0
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 18:25,1
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 18:42,9
SS 12, Arganil 1 14.27 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 18:14,3
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 11:21,5
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:21,7
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 11:25,8
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 11:31,0
SS 13, Gois 1 19.62 km
1 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 12:26,1
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 12:32,8
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 12:33,7
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 12:40,5
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 12:45,0
SS 14, Oliveira do Hospital 2 24.78 km
1 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 18:42,0
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 18:43,5
3 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 18:44,1
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 18:44,9
5 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 18:45,9
SS 15, Arganil 2 14.27 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 11:15,0
2 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 11:22,2
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:27,0
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 11:29,5
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 11:40,3
SS 16, Gois 2 19.62 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 12:33,0
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 12:37,3
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 12:39,1
4 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 12:45,0
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 12:52,7
SS 17, Tabua 14.71 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 11:13,3
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 11:14,4
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 11:15,0
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:30,1
5 Carlsson Toyota Corolla WRC 11:30,2
SS 18, Mortagua 21.38 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 15:30,1
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 15:31,6
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 15:46,9
4 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 15:54,7
5 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 16:05,6
SS 19, Aguieira 23.93 km Cancelled
End of Leg 1
Drivers and organisers have had to battle against the weather on today's first full leg of the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the TAP Rally of Portugal. Several weeks of rain had left stages in extremely muddy condition and event chiefs were forced to cancel two repeat runnings of tests in the afternoon. Running order played a crucial part in the performances of the sport's top stars, and the first three cars on the road - Tommi Mäkinen, Harri Rovanperä and Carlos Sainz - held those positions as today's action drew to a close.
Mitsubishi
Technical: The Lancer Evolutions of Tommi Mäkinen and Freddy Loix have enjoyed a troublefree day, with neither driver reporting any significant mechanical problem.
Sporting: Four-times world champion Tommi Mäkinen grabbed the lead of the event in today's third stage, even though he'd knocked his car's steering slightly out of line on a rock. The Finn admits that he's benefiting from his position of first car on the road. Team-mate Freddy Loix has run strongly and the Belgian spent much of the day in points-scoring positions.
Quotes: Tommi Makinen said: "We hit the right-front corner off a rock in SS4, got a puncture and bent the steering. Because it was so cold, the mousse system didn't work as well as it usually does so we had quite bad understeer. I was very surprised to be so far ahead of Harri (Rovanperä) and Carlos (Sainz) in that stage, although I can see that being first on the road has given me an advantage.
Freddy Loix: "It's been a difficult day. I've been trying to follow the first few guys' wheeltracks, but if you do that, you end up sliding very wide at the exit of the corners.
Peugeot
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Marcus Grönholm and Harri Rovanperä have proven reliable today, although Rovanperä experimented with ride height in an attempt to master the rough conditions. Team-mate Didier Auriol, however, lost time when he damaged a toe link in a pothole. The resulting suspension damage severed a water pipe, and Auriol and navigator Denis Giraudet lost 2m 10s of road penalties as they fixed the problem on a road section.
Sporting: Harri Rovanperä's Swedish Rally win has helped the Finn today, because it guaranteed him a position near the front of the running order. He led briefly this morning before a cautious approach to the day's longest stage, SS4, dropped him behind Tommi Mäkinen. He still held a comfortable second place as crews went to this evening's Lousada superspecial. Marcus Grönholm has suffered from a lower starting position, but the World champion should benefit from a better slot tomorrow after he pinned down a top-four placing early in the day. Didier Auriol lost time with suspension and water pipe damage and faces an uphill battle to regain positions tomorrow.
Quotes: Marcus Gronholm: "I can't go any quicker than this. It's certainly a big advantage to be running nearer the front of the field. If you look at the times I'm setting, plus Colin (McRae) and Richard (Burns), then that proves it. At least it looks like I'll be further up the starting order tomorrow but by then, Tommi's going to be too far ahead."
Harri Rovanpera: "Our mud tyres work about 50 percent of the time but when they don't, the car is nervous. In the slow corners it's not too bad but once I get into third or fourth gear then it's difficult to push hard. Of course I'm happy to be involved in another fight for the lead but the conditions are so bad that I'm not even thinking about a victory.
Ford
Technical: The three works Focus WRC01s of Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Francois Delecour have performed without major problems today, although the latter driver did complain of harsh brakes during the morning's stages.
Sporting: Carlos Sainz has made good use of running third on the road to stay in touch with the leaders today, but Colin McRae has been hampered by a lower starting position and the Scot has had to dig deep to keep even a points placing in sight. He finally retired in SS8 for engine problems. François Delecour struggled to find a good feeling in his Focus's brakes this morning but he recovered to hold a top-ten placing.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz: "These are easily the most difficult conditions I've ever seen in Portugal, in fact they're among the hardest I've ever seen. It's been a battle just to keep the car on the road, without even thinking of pushing for a time. Organisers were right to cancel the stages, because there's a safety issue. If you work out that the ambulance cannot get through the stage then it's not safe to run at all.
Colin McRae: "It's not really been a competition because of the difference between the first few crews and those running further back. The car's like a sledge when it hits the muck - I'd say you're only 80 percent in control of it half the time."
Subaru
Technical: The Subaru Impreza WRC2001s of Richard Burns and Markko Martin have been well-behaved mechanically. But the team's fourth car, driven by Japanese star Toshihiro Arai, was forced into retirement when an alternator belt failed and the battery went flat whilst Petter Solberg retired after the finish of SS8 with a broken suspension. Sporting: Richard Burns has fought hard to improve his position, in the hope of securing a better road order placing for tomorrow's stages. The Englishman had hauled himself into a points position by early afternoon. The team's two young stars, Petter Solberg and Markko Martin, have found the conditions particularly difficult. Solberg spun, stalled and broke a wheel rim in SS4 and finally retired after SS8. The fourth works car of Toshihiro Arai retired with a flat battery this morning.
Quotes: Richard Burns: "When we get a level playing field - like we did in the second run over SS2 - then we can match Tommi's pace. But otherwise, we're just fighting to keep the deficit to a respectable level. In some places the ruts are so deep that we're worried about the amount of gravel being poured into the front of the engine bay."
Petter Solberg said: "It's hard to learn much in conditions like these but I guess it's down to experience. I've been trying to stay in the ruts of the guys in front but looking at the times, it doesn't seem to be working."
Hyundai
Technical: Kenneth Eriksson was relieved to see SS6 and SS7 cancelled after he noticed a noise coming from his Accent WRC's propshaft after SS5. The Swede had lost no time in that stage and he was able to coast through the longer-than-planned road sections. The team effected repairs at the next service. Alister McRae felt his suspension was too hard for today's opening three tests, and the Scot was unable to detect much improvement in a softer set-up because he punctured his right-front tyre in SS5. He'd also suffered poor visibility in SS4 when a branch lodged itself under one of the Accent's windscreen wipers.
Sporting: Hyundai's two drivers have found it difficult to acclimatise to the new-specification Accent in the treacherously slippery conditions. However, they both held positions on the fringes of the top ten for most of the day.
Quotes: Kenneth Eriksson: "I had three punctures this morning but the ATS system cut in and worked well. I had to back off just a little. The roads are getting slower after every car so there's not much that we can do. It's bad enough for us - I don't want to think what it's like for guys in two-wheel drive cars!"
Alister McRae: "The problem is that the stages from now on favour the people running first on the road again, so we never get a chance to narrow the gap. It's just going to get bigger and bigger. The car's definitely better than before but it's hard to accurately gauge how big a step forward we've made."
Skoda
Technical: Both Octavia WRCs retired with technical problems before completing a proper stage. Bruno Thiry's example was forced out by electrical failure on the fuel pump on the road section from Baltar superspecial to parc ferme last night. Armin Schwarz's Octavia retired with clutch failure on the way to this morning's first stage.
Sporting: Neither Octavia completed a full stage, although both drivers believed that the treacherously slippery conditions could have suited the car.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz: "It's bitterly disappointing. At the superspecial last night I thought I had a lot of wheelspin but it was actually the clutch slipping a bit. The team changed the clutch cylinder last night but as we've discovered this morning, that didn't cure the problem."
Bruno Thiry: "The car started to misfire a bit on the way back to parc ferme and then it just stopped. I'm gutted, because we set a top ten time at the superspecial and I thought the muddy conditions would have given us a chance of a good result. We just have to recover and regroup in time for Catalunya later this month."
Other teams
In the FIA Teams Cup section for privateers, Finn Pasi Hagstrom built up a comfortable advantage over Pole Janusz Kulig's Ford Focus. But the top privateer overall is young Swede Daniel Carlsson, who held 14th overall for much of the day. Suspension damage forced out Group N leader Gabriel Pozzo and multiple category champion Gustavo Trelles, allowing reigning title-holder Manfred Stohl to lead the class.
END OF LEG 1 RESULTS
OUTRIGHT
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:27:34,8
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 1:27:52,2
3 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 1:28:01,1
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 1:28:53,6
5 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 1:29:47,3
6 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 1:30:41,2
7 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 1:31:04,7
8 Martin Subaru Impreza WRC 1:32:15,7
9 Eriksson Hyundai Accent WRC 1:32:48,9
10 A.McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 1:33:27,8
TEAMS CUP
1 Hagstom Toyota Corolla WRC 1:35:32,6
2 Lungaard Toyota Corolla WRC 1:37:41,6
3 Kulig Ford Focus WRC 1:38:10,6
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS9 P.Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC Suspension
SS8 C.McRae Ford Focus WRC Engine
SS7 A.Bakashab Toyota Corolla WRC Mechanical
SS5 G.Trelles Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS5 G.Pozzo Mitsubishi Lancer Stuck in mud
SS4 T.Aria Subaru Impreza WRC Flat Battery
SS4 A.Lopes Peugeot 206 WRC Mechanical
SS2 A.Schwarz Skoda Octavia WRC Clutch
SS1 B.Thiry Skoda Octavia WRC Electrical
STAGE WINNERS
SS2 - Rovanpera, SS3 - Makinen, SS4 - Makinen, SS5 - Sainz, SS6 - cancelled, SS7 - cancelled, SS8 - Rovanpera, SS9 - Sainz, SS10 - Sainz
STAGE TIMES
SS 2: Vizo 1 11.84 km
1 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 7:57,6
2 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 7:58,1
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8:05,5
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 8:07,4
5 McRae Ford Focus WRC 8:13,3
SS 3: Fafe / Lameirinha 1 15.16 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10:51,8
2 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 10:53,7
3 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 10:59,2
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 11:01,5
5 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 11:12,4
SS 4: Vieira / Cabeceiras 1 26.68 km
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 20:36,2
2 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 21:01,7
3 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 21:15,2
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 21:31,9
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 21:46,1
SS 5: Vizo 2 11.84 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 8:17,0
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 8:21,2
3 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 8:21,7
4 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 8:22,4
5 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8:23,7
SS 6: Fafe / Lameirinha 2 15.16 km
CANCELLED
SS 7: Vieira / Cabeceiras 1 26.68 km
CANCELLED
SS 8: Amarante 18.44 km
1 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 14:19,9
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 14:26,6
3 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 14:28,4
4 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 14:37,1
5 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 14:40,2
SS 9: Mondim de Basto 22.08 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 17:41,9
2 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 17:48,3
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 17:56,2
4 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 18:01,1
5 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 18:04,0
SS 10: Lousada 3.80 km
1 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 3:19,5
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:20,8
3 Martin Subaru Impreza WRC 3:21,1
4 Delecour Ford Focus RS WRC 3:21,3
5 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 3:23,1
Thursday, 08 March 2001
The world's top rally drivers face a stern test on the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the TAP Rally of Portugal, which starts near Porto this evening. The event is traditionally the first 'normal' gravel rally of the season but heavy rain has left many of the stages coated in thick mud, making conditions treacherously slippery. The high water levels are so serious that the rally organisers have been forced to make alterations to some of the service areas. Three drivers - Tommi Mäkinen, Carlos Sainz and Harri Rovanperä - start the event tying for the lead of the World Rally Championship, but some of pre-season favourites, like reigning champion Marcus Grönholm, Colin McRae and Richard Burns have yet to score. With 16 official manufacturer entries and one of the most demanding Rally of Portugal routes in recent years, even scoring a point could prove difficult.
Mitsubishi (1st - 23 points)
Technical: The Lancer Evolution remains largely unchanged, as Mitsubishi works behind the scenes on its forthcoming World Rally Car. However, the Ralliart team expects the heavily-revised rear suspension, first used in Monte Carlo, to be even more beneficial to the car's performance on the rougher Portuguese gravel. Ralliart recently signed Ferrari Formula One engineer Ed Wood to assist Chief Engineer Bernard Lindauer in the preparation of the Lancer World Rally Car.
Sporting: Mitsubishi reverts back to its two-car line-up after running three Lancers in Sweden. Accordingly, Freddy Loix is nominated for manufacturers' points alongside Tommi Mäkinen. Four-time world champion Mäkinen is celebrating his 100th appearance at World Championship level.
Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: ăTime seems to be running very fast - it's difficult to imagine that this is my 100th world championship event. It'll be a hard one, too - ideally we'd have opted for a mud tyre but conditions weren't as bad as this when we had to make the decision. All we can try to do is make more cuts in the tyres we've got and try to open them up and find some grip. I've certainly never seen conditions as tricky as this in Portugal before.
Ford (2nd - 14 points)
Technical: The Focus is largely unchanged in specification, although Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae will use brand new cars, the lightest gravel specification examples yet. This will be the first time that lightweight, titanium uprights have been used by Ford on gravel roads.
Sporting: Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae are nominated for manufacturers' points, with Francois Delecour fighting for drivers' points only.
Quotes: Colin McRae said: ăIt's going to be a really difficult event. The conditions are the worst I've ever seen here. It's so slippery it's a bit like Indonesia.
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson said: ăI think we're going to have a split of conditions - 50 percent will be mud and 50 percent will be hard rocks. It can be really easy to take a wheel off in those situations. But all three of our drivers have won this event before - it's going to be a lottery, but we're optimistic.
Skoda (3rd - 6 points)
Technical: Both Armin Schwarz and Bruno Thiry have new Octavia WRCs at their disposal, although the technical specification of the cars remains largely unchanged.
Sporting: Armin Schwarz and Bruno Thiry will drive the team's two Octavia WRCs as usual. Schwarz's example suffered a fire during yesterday's shakedown test, when its hot exhaust burnt through oil pipes to the differential. Francois Delecour, the next driver on the stage, stopped to offer assistance and Schwarz was able to extinguish the flames. Skoda mechanics repaired the car yesterday afternoon.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: ăIt's going to be a hard event. We had some problems during our test for this rally so I haven't quite found the set-up I want from the car yet. But conditions are unbelievable - everything from deep mud to hard rocks. Hopefully the strength of our car will give us an advantage.
Bruno Thiry said: ăWe worked hard on the Octavia's set-up during the shakedown, changing roll bars, springs and differential settings to get a good balance. We've got a strong car but we're still going to need luck to stay out of trouble in these conditions.
Hyundai (4th - 5 points)
Technical: Portugal marks the debut of Hyundai's Accent WRC2, a heavily revised evolution of the car which first appeared last year. The team's engineers have changed around 85 percent of the car, concentrating on suspension travel, engine response and aerodynamic tweaks. The cars will use an electronically-controlled front differential on gravel for the first time.
Sporting: Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae will drive the two Accents as usual.
Quotes: Kenneth Eriksson said: ăHopefully this new car will close the gap to the top crews. I've got big expectations of what it can achieve but this will be a hard rally to start its career. I first came to Portugal in 1985 and I've never seen the conditions so difficult. It'll be an extremely difficult event.
Alister McRae said: ăThe new car's a definite improvement but it'll take us a few events to learn how to get the best out of it. It won't happen overnight but I think we should be able to fight for more points positions now.
Subaru (5th 4 points)
Technical: Richard Burns and Petter Solberg will use brand new Impreza WRC2001s in Portugal. The technical specification of the car is largely unchanged.
Sporting: Subaru enters four cars in Portugal. Richard Burns and Petter Solberg will be nominated for manufacturers' points, leaving Markko Martin and Toshihiro Arai to fight for drivers' points only. The event is Arai's first as an officially-entered Subaru works driver.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: ăThe stages are extremely slippery and you can't predict where the grip actually is. With that in mind, we're going to be relying a lot on our gravel crews to give us the right information.
Markko Martin said: ăI've only driven for about three hours on gravel this year so I'm learning the whole process again. The conditions don't really help that, but my target is a finish and experience so I guess I'll just have to be patient.
Peugeot (0 points)
Technical: Chief engineer Michel Nandan reports that the three works Peugeot 206 WRCs will start in basically the same technical specification that they used in Sweden last month. However, Peugeot has modified the cylinder head bolts that caused Marcus Grönholm's engine failure in Sweden, and introduced different transmission bearings after that part failed on Didier Auriol's car on the same event. Peugeot is also the only factory team to have nominated a mud tyre in its selection.
Sporting: Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm is nominated for manufacturers' points, along with 1994 title-holder Didier Auriol. Grönholm gave the team a scare by damaging his car's steering on a tree stump at yesterday's pre-event shakedown. Swedish Rally winner Harri Rovanperä gets his second chance in a 206, and Peugeot is hoping that he will deny Grönholm's and Auriol's rivals points by posting another strong finish. Peugeot's fourth driver, Gilles Panizzi, will tackle this event in a 206 run by private Italian team Grifone.
Quotes: Marcus Grönholm said: ăThis is going to be a really hard event. The stages are in very bad condition, with deep mud and bad ruts everywhere. It's hard to judge how much grip you've got and I think a lot of people will be caught out.
Harri Rovanpera said: ăIf I have a good feeling with the car, then I don't see any reason why I can't fight for victory here. But I'm really not thinking about victory - I just want to take this event stage by stage.
Citroen (0 points)
Technical: With the World Rally Championship debut of its Xsara T4 only weeks away (it happens on the next round, Rallye de Catalunya), Citroen sends two 1600cc, front-wheel drive Saxo kit cars to Portugal The French manufacturer is aiming to give its drivers as much experience of the series' events before it expands its campaign in 2002 and beyond. Sporting: Citroen has drafted in its Swedish driver, Thomas Rådström, as a last-minute team-mate to Philippe Bugalski. Spanish champion Jesus Puras had been scheduled to partner Bugalski but discomfort after two recce accidents forced him to withdraw. Rådström had completed the reconnaissance anyway, but he wasn't confirmed in the second Saxo until lunchtime yesterday.
Quotes: Thomas Rådström said: ăIt's strange. On the last rally I was in one of the biggest cars (he finished second in Sweden in a guest appearance for Mitsubishi), and here I'm in one of the smallest! T hey're both red but I think that's about all they have in common! It's a pity that Jesus can't take part here but it's a good opportunity for me to get a look at the stages in these conditions.
Other teams
The Rally of Portugal is the second round of the FIA Teams Cup for privateer crews. Reigning European champion Henrik Lundgaard and Finn Pasi Hagstrom are both likely challengers for the category spoils along Janusz Kulig. Hamed Al Wahaibi's participation was in doubt after he damaged his Subaru at yesterday's shakedown. But Prodrive readied another Impreza at its Banbury headquarters and it was air freighted to Portugal. It reached pre-event scrutineering with only minutes to spare, but the Oman driver will start as planned.
Other private entries likely to feature strongly include local drivers Pedro Chaves, Rui Madeira and Adruzilo Lopes in a Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus and Peugeot 206 respectively. Former British champion Tapio Laukkanen uses a Toyota Corolla again, and young Swede Daniel Carlsson will aim to broaden his experience in a similar machine. In the Group N class for more standard machinery, reigning category World Champion Manfred Stohl faces up to old rival Gustavo Trelles.
Tyre facts
Many teams are expected to have to make extra cuts in their tyres to cope with the unforeseen muddy conditions. Although Pirelli and Michelin have options for all surfaces, teams have to nominate two patterns in advance and only Peugeot (Michelin) included a mud tyre in its final list.
SUPERSPECIAL RESULTS
OUTRIGHT
1 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:46.9
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:47.9
3 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 3:51.0
4 Sainz Ford Focus RS WRC 3:52.9
5 Loix Mitsubishi Carisma GT 3:54.7
6 Martin Subaru Impreza WRC 3:54.7
7 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 3:56.5
8 Thiry Skoda Octavia WRC 3:56.9
9 Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC 3:57.5
10 Laukkanen Toyota Corolla WRC 3:58.5
STAGE ITINERARY
Leg 1, Super Special, Thursday 8th March (3.20 km)
SS 1 18:30 Baltar 3.20 km
Leg 1, Friday 9th March (141.68 km)
SS 2 08:36 Vizo 1 11.84 km
SS 3 08:57 Fafe / Lameirinha 1 15.16 km
SS 4 09:54 Vieira / Cabeceiras 1 26.68 km
SS 5 11:51 Vizo 2 11.84 km
SS 6 12:12 Fafe / Lameirinha 2 15.16 km
SS 7 13:09 Vieira / Cabeceiras 1 26.68 km
SS 8 15:25 Amarante 18.44 km
SS 9 15:55 Mondim de Basto 22.08 km
SS 10 18:30 Lousada 3.80 km
Leg 2, Saturday 10th March (177.36 km)
SS 11 08:55 Oliveira do Hospital 1 24.78 km
SS 12 09:58 Arganil 1 14.27 km
SS 13 10:26 Gois 1 19.62 km
SS 14 12:55 Oliveira do Hospital 2 24.78 km
SS 15 13:58 Arganil 2 14.27 km
SS 16 14:26 Gois 2 19.62 km
SS 17 16:10 Tabua 14.71 km
SS 18 17:05 Mortagua 21.38 km
SS 19 17:40 Aguieira 23.93 km
Leg 3, Sunday 11th March (57.90 km)
SS 20 08:30 Ponte de Lima Este 23.49 km
SS 21 09:06 Ponte de Lima Oeste 23.26 km
SS 22 10:10 Ponte de Lima Sul 11.15 km
wrc
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