2002 FIA World Rally Championship
Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava
http://www.rallyecatalunya.com/
Round 4 of the 2002 FIA World Rally Championship
21-24th March 2002
Extract from Official FIA Press Release
http://www.fia.com
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Sunday 24th March
UNOFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS
OUTRIGHT
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 3:34:09,0
2 Burns Peugeot 206 WRC 3:34:46,3
3 Bugalski Citroen Xsara WRC 3:35:22,5
4 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:35:51,7
5 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 3:36:10,6
6 McRae Ford Focus WRC 3:37:36,3
7 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 3:37:49,1
8 Martin Ford Focus WRC 3:37:52,9
9 Delecour Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 3:39:37,6
10 Loix Hyundai Accent WRC 3:39:39,6
SUPER 1600
1 Sola Citroen Saxo 3:52:11,5
2 Dallavilla Citroen Saxo 3:53:01,8
3 Basso Fiat Punto 3:54:25,6
4 Galli Fiat Punto 3:58:46,3
5 Tuohino Citroen Saxo 3:59:31,3
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers:
Grönholm (FIN) 21
Panizzi (F) 20
Burns (GB) 13
Mäkinen (FIN) 10
Sainz (E) 9
Bugalski (F) 7
Loeb (F) 6
Rovanperä (FIN) 6
C.McRae (GB) 5
Solberg (NO) 5
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers:
Peugeot 52
Ford 25
Subaru 20
Mitsubishi 6
Hyundai 1
Skoda 0
FIA Junior World Rally Championship (after 2 of 6 rounds):
Duval (B) 11
Sola (E) 10
Caldani (I) 6
Dallavilla (I) 6
Basso (I) 4
Feghali (RL) 4
FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars (after 2 of 8 rounds):
Sohlberg (FIN) 10
Ferreyros (PE) 10
Arai (J) 6
Iliev (BL) 6
Rowe (GB) 5
STAGE WINNERS
Panizzi 2,3,4,5,6,9,11,12
Solberg 10,18
Burns 13,15
Puras 14
Martin 17
Cancelled 1,7,8
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS18 - Gardemeister Skoda Octavia Mechanical
SS15 - Loeb Citroen Xsara WRC Rolled
SS10 - Sainz Ford Focus WRC Accident
SS7 - Makinen Subaru Impreza WRC Overheating
SS7 - Blomqvist Skoda Octavia WRC Alternator
SS6 - Radstrom Citroen Xsara WRC Mechanical
SS6 - Pozzo Skoda Octavia WRC Mechanical
SS1 - Kuchar Hyundai Accent WRC Did not start
Sunday 24th March
Peugeot driver Gilles Panizzi has scored a dominant victory on the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rallye Catalunya Costa Brava, which finished in Spain today. The Frenchman and his navigator, brother Hervé, eventually finished 37,3 seconds clear of their team-mates Richard Burns/Robert Reid after leading from the first stage on Friday morning. Burns resisted the temptation to try and close on his fellow 206 WRC driver, but the world champion was quick enough to fend off third-placed Philippe Bugalski anyway.
Today's six stages again brought good weather but little drama among the top crews. Sebastien Loeb crashed out on this morning's second stage, gifting fourth place to Marcus Grönholm and handing the injured Colin McRae a hard-earned point for sixth overall.
PEUGEOT
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Gilles Panizzi, Richard Burns and Marcus Grönholm have been reliable today.
Sporting: Gilles Panizzi matched Richard Burns to the tenth of a second on today's opening stage, then controlled his pace thereafter to secure his second WRC win in two events by a comfortable 37-second margin. In a display of unshakable confidence, the Frenchman even had time to turn a half-spin into doughnuts for the huge crowds at the bridge on the Villadrau test this morning. Burns, meanwhile, inched further clear of Philippe Bugalski this morning to make his second position secure and guarantee Peugeot's third maximum score in a row in the manufacturers' championship. The third 206 WRC driver Marcus Grönholm had to fend up Petter Solberg this morning but the 2000 world champion soon halted the Norwegian's charge and consolidated his fifth position. That became fourth when Sebastien Loeb crashed out, so Grönholm now leads the drivers championship by one point from Panizzi. Meanwhile, Peugeot's fourth regular driver Harri Rovanperä secured seventh overall on the final stage, driving a 206 WRC run by private team Bozian.
Quotes: Gilles Panizzi said: "I'm really pleased. It's a great result for me, Hervé and the whole Peugeot team. This was an easier event to drive than Corsica because the conditions were more consistent, but the actual competition was just the same. I had good confidence this morning and we had a good advantage on the stage that had the bridge, so when I went wide I thought I would grab the handbrake and please the crowds. They went crazy! It's good to win on asphalt again but now I want the chance to gain more experience and speed on loose surfaces.
Richard Burns said: "I had no real chance to catch Gilles today, but I'm reasonably happy with second. I'm still getting used to the car - in some ways, it was easier to be on the pace here than it was in Corsica. I'm pleased at how the start of the season's going because we're scoring points, and now we move to gravel. I won't have too much testing time before Cyprus but hopefully the learning curve won't be quite as steep as it was around Monte Carlo time.
Marcus Grönholm said: "I haven't had the same level of confidence here that I had in Corsica. I think the problem has been the corner cutting - there's far more of that on this event but about 60 percent of the cuts in my notes have been wrong. So every time I come to a corner I have to think, or even guess, if the note is actually right or not. But at least we've taken some points.
CITROEN
Technical: The remaining Xsara WRCs of Philippe Bugalski and Sebastien Loeb have been reliable today, but Loeb broke a wishbone when he rolled in SS14 and he had to retire after the stage finish.
Sporting: Philippe Bugalski was unable to make serious inroads into the deficit to second-placed Richard Burns this morning, so the Frenchman elected to settle for third overall. Team-mate Sebastien Loeb didn't fare so well: the reigning French champion came under pressure from Grönholm after today's first stage and on the second, he was caught out in a fast section and rolled his Xsara, breaking a wishbone and retiring.
Quotes: Philippe Bugalski said: "I had hoped to maybe put Richard under some pressure but that wasn't possible, because he was basically at the same speed as me. I also lost a little time when Sebastien went off, because I found his car lying in the middle of the road and I had to slow to go around it. So we have third position, which is quite good. We didn't do so well on the first day, though, because I didn't feel confidence in the car.
Sebastien Loeb said: "It was a fast left-hand corner with a cut, the car bounced wide, we touched the front corner and rolled. We ended up back on our wheels, but we had broken a wishbone, so we had to stop.
SUBARU
Technical: Petter Solberg's Impreza WRC2002 has been reliable today, although the Norwegian did suffer an EMI mousse insert break-up seven kilometres into today's third stage. He had to complete the remaining 28km with a vibration.
Sporting: Petter Solberg had hoped that slightly softer tyres this morning would help him to eat into Marcus Grönholm's advantage, but the 2000 world champion was faster than his rival on two of this morning's first three stages. Solberg did benefit from the retirement of Sebastien Loeb, though, so he finished fifth overall, claiming four manufacturers' points for Subaru.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "It would have been nice to have passed Marcus but in the end, it wasn't quite possible. The mousse break-up definitely cost me a bit of time because there was quite a bad vibration, but it was always going to be a difficult challenge anyway. I'm still happy with the result, though - it's good to get more points for me and for Subaru. We've learnt a lot about the car since Corsica and you have to set it up quite differently for the roads here in Spain - you must drive in a very smooth way here.
FORD
Technical: Colin McRae's Focus RS WRC02 has been reliable today. Team mate Markko Martin suffered brake fade in today's first stage but that aside, the Estonian's car has run without major problems.
Sporting: Colin McRae started today's final six stages with little hope of making up positions on pace alone, but Sebastien Loeb's accident promoted the Scot into sixth overall and give him a point - rich reward after his drive with a broken finger in his left hand. Team-mate Markko Martin had been given strict instructions to reach the finish and secure manufacturers' points for Ford and the Estonian did exactly that, even dropping behind the non-registered Harri Rovanperä in the later stages. He eventually finished in eighth overall.
Quotes: Colin McRae said: "One point is almost like a victory. I came here hoping to take something from this rally, but until this morning it looked like we would get something for Ford but not for ourselves. It obviously helps us a little in the championship. We have to work hard in time for Cyprus. At least I will have time to recover slightly before then.
Markko Martin said: "I definitely lost a few seconds this morning because the middle pedal went quite soft. In the end Malcolm told me to concentrate on finishing and score manufacturers points, so Harri was able to pass me this afternoon. I'm still quite happy though because I've been quite close to the pace of Colin and Carlos.
MITSUBISHI
Technical: The Lancer Evo WRCs of François Delecour and Alister McRae have been generally reliable today.
Sporting: François Delecour was involved in one of the few battles in the top 10 today, the Frenchman passed both Freddy Loix and Toni Gardemeister this morning and he then had to fight them off as they retaliated in the closing three stages. He managed that to finish ninth and score a manufacturers point for Mitsubishi. Alister McRae endured another difficult day, spinning down an escape road on today's opening stage. The Scot eventually finished in 13th
Quotes: François Delecour said: "I'm happy to get a point for Mitsubishi, but we know that this has been a very difficult event for us, we've learnt a lot about the Lancer on asphalt, Now we really need to make use of this as we work on the next homologation of the car.
HYUNDAI
Technical: The Accent WRC3s of Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz have been reliable today, although Schwarz continued to complain about his car's shock absorbers softening on bumpier stretches of road.
Sporting: Freddy Loix closed in on and passed Toni Gardemeister this morning, but at the same time he dropped behind François Delecour. The Belgian tried to pass his French rival in the closing three stages, ultimately his Accent finished exactly two seconds behind Delecour's Lancer. Armin Schwarz finished 16th after struggling with his Accent's suspension settings.
Quotes: Freddy Loix said: "It was a good day today but not quite good enough. Unfortunately my neighbour (Delecour lives close to Loix's French home) was a bit too quick for me this morning and even though we could pull back the odd half second here and there, we couldn't get ahead of him. We did learn a lot about the car here, though, and I'm quite optimistic that we can put in a good performance in Cyprus next month.
Armin Schwarz said: "Freddy has shown here what we can do with the car. We didn't get the handling right until the last day and that was quite frustrating for me.
SKODA
Technical: The Octavia WRC of Kenneth Eriksson has been reliable today. Toni Gardemeister's car ran without problems until after the final service, when its oil pressure dropped alarmingly and it stopped just over a kilometre from the final parc ferme. Gardemeister and navigator Paavo Lukander pushed the car over the remaining distance to finish the event.
Sporting: Toni Gardemeister slipped behind both Freddy Loix and François Delecour this morning. The Finn lost confidence in his car's handling. Suspension tweaks improved matters for the final three stages, but Gardemeister was unable to reclaim his position. He finished 11th, despite a late scare when his car's oil pressure dropped and it stopped 1.1km from the final parc ferme. Gardemeister and co-driver Paavo Lukander pushed the car themselves to secure a finish. Kenneth Eriksson started today's stages with little to gain apart from further experience of the Skoda on dry asphalt. The Swede achieved this, reaching the finish in 17th.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: "I'm sorry that I just missed out on a point for Skoda. This morning we tried some new tyres and maybe the car's suspension was too soft. It was sliding everywhere with a lot of understeer and I felt I couldn't trust it.
OTHER ENTRIES
Daniel Sola claimed a thrilling victory in the Junior World Rally Championship category, but the Spaniard's success looked unlikely until the very last stage. Sola, who'd barged past Andrea Dallavilla's similar Citroen Saxo to take the category lead yesterday, suffered a puncture in SS15. That allowed his Italian rival past and it seemed certain that Dallavilla would claim the class win. But in SS18, he suffered a puncture too, allowing Sola to score a popular home victory by more than 50 seconds.
Two more Italians, Giandomenico Basso and Gianluigi Galli, finished third and fourth in their Fiat Puntos. Pre-event favourite François Duval endured another difficult day today, meanwhile - the Belgian suffered two punctures in SS15 and dropped from fourth in the class to sixth. He still leads the championship after two rounds, but his advantage over Sola is now just a single point.
Saturday 23rd March
END OF LEG 2
OUTRIGHT
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 2:28:26,7
2 Burns Peugeot 206 WRC 2:29:11,1
3 Bugalski Citroen Xsara WRC 2:29:28,4
4 Loeb Citroen Xsara WRC 2:29:53,9
5 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 2:30:10,9
6 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 2:30:28,4
7 McRae Ford Focus WRC 2:31:00,7
8 Martin Ford Focus WRC 2:31:32,7
9 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 2:31:45,5
10 Gardemeister Skoda Octavia WRC 2:32:53,7
SUPER 1600
1 Sola Citroen Saxo 2:41:03,1
2 Dallavilla Citroen Saxo 2:41:15,4
3 Basso Fiat Punto 2:42:25,7
4 Duval Ford Puma 2:42:30,3
5 Galli Fiat Punto 2:47:02,3
STAGE WINNERS
SS7 - cancelled, SS8 - cancelled, SS9 - Panizzi, SS10 - Solberg, SS11 - Panizzi, SS12 - Panizzi
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS10 - Sainz Ford Focus WRC Accident
SS7 - Makinen Subaru Impreza WRC Overheating
SS7 - Blomqvist Skoda Octavia WRC Alternator
SS6 - Radstrom Citroen Xsara WRC Mechanical
SS6 - Pozzo Skoda Octavia WRC Mechanical
SS1 - Kuchar Hyundai Accent WRC Did not start
Saturday 23rd March
Peugeot driver Gilles Panizzi has maintained his grip on the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava, which continued in northern Spain today. The Frenchman posted fastest times on all but one of today's stages to build his lead up to more than 40 seconds. His team-mate Richard Burns is still his closest rival - the reigning world champion bolstered his second position today by inching further clear of third-placed Philippe Bugalski.
Fine weekend weather brought huge crowds of spectators to today's stages, causing logistical and safety problems for the organisers. The first and second stages of this morning's schedule had to be cancelled because of fans' cars parked in dangerous places beside the road. Officials managed to run the same tests later this afternoon, although a parked car contributed to a major accident involving Carlos Sainz.
PEUGEOT
Technical: The 206 WRCs of Gilles Panizzi and Richard Burns have been reliable today, but Marcus Grönholm continues to complain of badly fading brakes.
Sporting: Gilles Panizzi consolidated his overnight lead on today's shortened schedule, setting fastest times on all but one of the stages which ran to end the second day over 44 seconds ahead of his team-mate Richard Burns. Burns, in turn, posted third fastest time on the only test that ran this morning, extending his lead over Philippe Bugalski by a couple of seconds. The reigning world champion maintained that form thereafter and despite backing off too much on the gravel-coated final test, he finished the day in a comfortable second overall. Marcus Grönholm started the day in a relatively lonely fifth and the 2000 world champion has kept that position. He remains less than satisfied with his Peugeot's braking.
Quotes: Gilles Panizzi said: "It's looking good now, but we still have to complete tomorrow's stages. I've still been attacking and pushing on a lot of the corners today because that's the best way for me to drive. That way, I have less chance of relaxing too much and making a mistake. I feel sorry for the organisers that they have had too many spectators but they have to keep the safety - if there is a serious accident then it would be very bad for everyone.
Richard Burns said: "Second would be a fantastic result for me. It probably helped us a little when the stages were cancelled but equally, I might be able to take more time out of Philippe and as a driver, I want to be out there on the roads, competing. My time in the last stage was a little slow because there was a lot of gravel and I probably backed off a bit too much.
Marcus Grönholm said: "I don't know why I'm not quite as fast here as I was in Corsica. I don't have such a nice feeling with the car - it's like it keeps moving around a lot and I've lost confidence in the brakes.
CITROEN
Technical: The remaining Xsara WRCs of Philippe Bugalski and Sebastien Loeb have been reliable today.
Sporting: Philippe Bugalski started today's six stages with high hopes of reeling in second-placed Richard Burns but things didn't go to plan for the Frenchman. Firstly, he lost two of the first three stages because of spectator problems and then on the third, Burns fought back to add another two seconds to the gap between the pair.
Citroen's most improved driver today was Sebastien Loeb. The 27-year old was second quickest on the only stage that ran this morning, and he backed that up by matching or surpassing Bugalski's pace this afternoon to end the day still in fourth, but less than half a minute behind his third-placed team-mate. The third Xsara of Thomas Rådström retired last night when he slid off on a gravel-strewn corner in SS6 and broke his car's rear suspension.
Quotes: Philippe Bugalski said: "This morning didn't go quite so well for us, but we're still in touch with Richard. He's been quicker for much of today, though, so we have to find something.
Sebastien Loeb said: "I made some small changes to the car set-up and differentials last night and it has really improved the car. The handling is more how I like it now so I can attack a bit harder and I don't have any more problems with the tyres, like yesterday. It wasn't good for me that the two stages were cancelled this morning but I can't really hope to win this rally any more anyway. I'll just keep trying to set fast times and then we'll see what happens.
SUBARU
Technical: Tommi Mäkinen's Impreza WRC2002 finally succumbed this morning to the accident damage and overheating that it suffered after SS6 yesterday afternoon. The cylinder head gasket failed on the Finn's car on the road section to first service this morning and he failed to reach Manlleu as a result. Team-mate Petter Solberg has continued to complain of brake problems on his Impreza - the team has started to investigate the car's differentials as a possible cause for this persistent glitch.
Sporting: Petter Solberg has continued to be the quickest Pirelli runner in his Impreza. The young Norwegian broke Panizzi's clean sweep of fastest times as he inched closer to Marcus Grönholm, but he still ended the day around 18 seconds behind the 2000 world champion in sixth overall. Tommi Mäkinen's hopes of climbing back into the top ten ended with head gasket failure on the way to first service this morning.
Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: "The car started normally in Parc Ferme this morning and it was not smoking. But suddenly something broke and we could go no further. It's definitely something to do with our problems last night. We've gathered some useful information on this rally about our tarmac tyres but now we need to concentrate on the gravel.
Petter Solberg said: "It was great to get the fastest time - we were beginning to wonder if anyone apart from Gilles was going to get a go! The brake problem was finally fixed for the last group of stages we showed what we can do.
FORD
Technical: The Focus RS WRC02 Colin McRae has run without major problems today. Carlos Sainz suffered a repetition of the start line stall that affected him in Corsica in SS9. Markko Martin's car suffered fluctuating hydraulic pressure in the front and centre differentials on the first three stages today but with two of those being cancelled, the Estonian escaped serious time loss.
Sporting: Colin McRae's hopes of reaching the points positions now appear to rest on the crews in front hitting trouble, since the Scot has been unable to close in on any of the top six today. His team mate Carlos Sainz lost any chance of scoring a point when he slid off and crashed out in SS10, though. He and stand-in navigator Marc Marti escaped unhurt from the incident. Markko Martin was glad that this morning's opening two stages were cancelled, since it limited the time loss caused by differential problems. That stage aside, the young Estonian has continued to keep pace with Ford's more experienced drivers.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: "It was a fifth-gear corner with cars on the inside and outside of the bend. I corrected my line but there was a car with two wheels on the tarmac and two on the grass, so I forced a sixth-gear spin. I was very lucky to recover from that but I was going backwards and the car hit a really big stone, so we had to stop. It was stupid to risk running that stage. It would have been better to be safe. I want to thank Marc Marti for all his efforts on this event, though - up to the incident this stage was going 100 percent for us.
Colin McRae said: "My hand was a bit sore this morning but it's okay now. Seventh would get Ford some manufacturers' points but it doesn't look as though we're going to get into the drivers' points unless one of the guys in front falls out. The last three stages weren't great with spectators either, to be honest. Certainly you could have argued that SS10 shouldn't have run.
SKODA
Technical: Toni Gardemeister's Octavia WRC has been reliable today. Kenneth Eriksson's car reported low oil pressure in SS9 this morning, but when the Swede arrived at Manlleu service there was plenty of oil in the engine. Skoda engineers changed the car's oil pump and that solved the problem. Eriksson and Gardemeister are the only remaining works Octavia crews, since Stig Blomqvist's car hit alternator troubles and retired on the road section back to Lloret de Mar yesterday evening.
Sporting: Toni Gardemeister has continued to keep his Octavia on the verge of the top ten today and once Tommi Mäkinen and Carlos Sainz retired, the young Finn moved into that top flight. He's embroiled in a close battle with Freddy Loix and François Delecour, however - the trio are covered by just 18 seconds. Kenneth Eriksson was concerned about his Octavia's engine when the oil pressure light came on in SS9 but the Swedish veteran recovered to end the day in 18th overall.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: "It's been going quite well. I'm pleased to still be ahead of the Hyundais and the Mitsubishis. The car has been working much better here in Spain since we made some changes to the differential settings. I have much better grip and balance now, and it shows.
HYUNDAI
Technical: Freddy Loix's Accent WRC3 has been reliable today, but Armin Schwarz suffered a scare on the road section to service this morning when part of his car's right-front suspension broke, causing a massive vibration. The problem was fixed at first service, though, and didn't cause the German any time in the stages.
Sporting: Freddy Loix has been in improved form today, and the Belgian did enough to move ahead of François Delecour after the day's first stage. He consolidated that position in SS10 and SS11, then lost time to both Delecour and Toni Gardemeister in the last test. Armin Schwarz has struggled to find a suspension set-up he likes and the German holds 17th overnight.
Quotes: Armin Schwarz said: "The organisers were right to cancel the stages this morning. When we drove through SS7, it reminded me of how this rally looked when I first came here in 1991. There were so many people it was impossible to be safe.
Freddy Loix said: "It was a pretty good day for us up until the last stage. It felt pretty good, I made no real mistakes but the time just wasn't there. Tomorrow we have a pretty clear target - Toni in 10th is within our sights.
MITSUBISHI
Technical: The Lancer Evo WRCs of François Delecour and Alister McRae have been generally reliable today.
Sporting: Neither Alister McRae or François Delecour expected night and day improvements to be made today, but the pair have continued to play with the Lancer Evo WRC's transmission and suspension settings as they continue to gain valuable data for the ongoing development of this car and its 'Step 2' successor. McRae was concerned at having to run first on the road through crowds of angry spectators on cancelled stages. He ended the day in 13th, having benefited from Tommi Mäkinen's and Carlos Sainz's retirements. Delecour was another to move up the order as a result of their misfortunes, and the Frenchman returned to Lloret this evening in 12th. Like Freddy Loix in front of him, he has been closing in on 10th-placed Toni Gardemeister.
Quotes: Alister McRae said: "We're still experimenting but we can only make really small changes here and while they make the car's characteristics different, they don't seem to make much difference to the stage times. I'm just giving the engineers as much feedback as possible so when it comes to the more fundamental things they understand what's needed.
OTHER ENTRIES
Andrea Dallavilla has been under a local onslaught today in the Junior World Rally Championship category. The Italian's Citroen Saxo has been hounded by the similar machine of Spaniard Daniel Sola. Sola, who led the class briefly yesterday morning, finally reclaimed the JWRC lead this afternoon and he'll start tomorrow's closing stages 12.3 seconds clear of his rival. Another Italian, Giandomenico Basso, holds third, ahead of a fast-closing François Duval.
Friday 22nd March
END OF LEG 1
OUTRIGHT
1 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 1:40:31,6
2 Burns Peugeot 206 WRC 1:40:57,7
3 Bugalski Citroen Xsara WRC 1:41:16,3
4 Loeb Citroen Xsara WRC 1:41:42,0
5 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 1:41:52,3
6 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 1:42:11,4
7 McRae Ford Focus WRC 1:42:18,2
8 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 1:42:23,1
9 Martin Ford Focus WRC 1:42:28,1
10 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 1:42:56,4
SUPER 1600
1 Dallavilla Citroen Saxo 1:48:53,9
2 Sola Citroen Saxo 1:49:22,7
3 Basso Fiat Punto 1:50:03,5
4 Duval Ford Puma 1:50:48,2
5 Tuohino Citroen Saxo 1:53:34,8
STAGE WINNERS
SS1 - Cancelled, SS2 - Panizzi, SS3 - Panizzi, SS4 - Panizzi, SS5 - Panizzi, SS6 - Panizzi
LEADING RETIREMENTS
SS6 - Radstrom Citroen Xsara WRC Mechanical
SS6 - Pozzo Skoda Octavia WRC Mechanical
SS1 - Kuchar Hyundai Accent WRC Did not start
Peugeot driver Gilles Panizzi has dominated the opening day of action on the fourth round of this year's FIA World Rally Championship, the Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava. The Frenchman set fastest time on all of today's stages to build up a comfortable advantage over team mate Richard Burns. Behind the two 206 drivers, things are much closer, with a close battle between the Citroens of Sebastien Loeb and Philippe Bugalski, Subaru's Petter Solberg and the remaining Peugeot of Marcus Grönholm.
Clear blue skies and warm sunshine brought huge crowds to the roads in the Tarragona region of Spain, and event officials decided to scrap today's opening stage because of worries over spectator safety.
PEUGEOT
Technical: The 206 WRC of Gilles Panizzi has been reliable today. His team-mate Marcus Grönholm complained of excessive oversteer in SS2, however, and he then suffered a long brake pedal for much of SS3. Richard Burns encountered a milder form of the same problem in the same stage.
Sporting: Gilles Panizzi took the lead on this morning's first stage and the Frenchman set fastest times on all of the following tests to build up a comfortable advantage by the end of today's action. Team-mate Richard Burns looks equally confident in second - despite admitting to settling in slowly on the first stage, the reigning world champion was Panizzi's closest challenger and he repeated that role for much of the day to hold the runners-up spot. The third 206 driver, Marcus Grönholm, lost time when his car's handling became loose in the first stage of the day, and when his brake pedal became long for much of the long (48km) SS3. He still holds a top six position, though.
Quotes: Gilles Panizzi said: "It's been going well, although you do have to think about the tyres in these conditions. The temperatures and the pressures are getting quite high and you have to learn to push the tyre to just beneath its limit. If you go over the limit, then you can never push again on those tyres. That was quite important in the long stage, because I had to think about it the whole time. The car feels fantastic, though - I've got great confidence in how it is handling.
Richard Burns said: "I'm quite pleased to be so close to the pace of Gilles, and challenging again at the right end of the battle. Gilles has a bit more knowledge of our tyres and how they behave, which probably helps him a bit, although he's been giving me some advice about it. The car feels good, but I'm not sure how we're going to catch up with Gilles.
CITROEN
Technical: The Xsara WRCs of Philippe Bugalski, Sebastien Loeb and Thomas Rådström have been generally reliable today. Loeb complained of too soft a tyre choice for the long SS3, however, and Bugalski suffered a vibration from the right-front near the end of the same test. A change of anti-roll bar settings helped Bugalski's feel for the Xsara's handling later in the afternoon.
Sporting: Citroen had been expected to be Peugeot's nearest challenger on the Spanish asphalt, but the Xsaras have ended up fighting with the Subarus and Fords instead of scrapping with the 206s. Both Philippe Bugalski and Sebastien Loeb struggled to find confidence in corners that were often coated with pulled-out gravel, Loeb then picked too soft a tyre compound for the 48km SS3. The two Frenchmen both recovered, though, posting more competitive times as the day progressed. They finished today's leg in third and fourth respectively. Thomas Rådström admitted to being out of practice on the Catalan asphalt (he last tackled the event four years ago) and the Swede held as he built up experience.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: "It's hard to really attack when the level of grip is changing from corner to corner, depending on the gravel. The tyre choice for SS3 was quite bad - by the last 10 kilometres the car was sliding around all over the place.
Philippe Bugalski said: "You really need absolute confidence here to attack and I haven't quite found that yet. That's why there is still a difference between us and Gilles Panizzi - I'm sure we could do those times if we were on full attack. Changing the anti-roll bar helped, though. I have a slightly better feeling for the car.
SUBARU
Technical: Tommi Mäkinen's Impreza WRC2002 hit gearbox problems barely five kilometres into SS3. The Finn's car jumped out of sixth gear and the transmission subsequently went into 'safe mode', hampering the differentials and making gearshifts take longer. Petter Solberg, meanwhile, lost time in the same stage when his car's brakes started to lock and unlock. The same problem recurred in SS4 and SS5, where the Norwegian was also hampered by a sticking throttle.
Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen has been beaten by his young team-mate Petter Solberg in much of today's action. Solberg was third overall after the first test, but brake problems then dropped him further down the points order. He went into today's last stage in sixth. Gearbox glitches cost Mäkinen time in the same stage, as he sat just outside the points positions and on the last stage the Finn left the road and lost nearly two minutes. With an overheating engine he is now trying to reach Lloret de Mar.
Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: "After about five kilometres of SS3 we were on a fast downhill stretch in sixth gear. I lifted off slightly but when I went to accelerate again there was no gear at all. We got sixth gear back but by then, the whole system had gone into 'safe mode' so there was not much hydraulic pressure. The differentials didn't work so well and gear changes took a long time. It's annoying, because it cost me at least about 25 seconds.
Petter Solberg said: "I've had plenty of bad luck today. On SS2 I had a lot of problems with my pacenotes and I had to make a lot of changes, so I know we could have been quicker in there. Then in SS3 the brakes weren't working properly at all and it was impossible to really commit to corners. It's frustrating - our times have been good but we know they could be better!
FORD
Technical: The Focus RS WRC02s of Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae have run without major problems today. Markko Martin's car has suffered from a hydraulic fluid leak, although it did not affect the car's handling.
Sporting: Ford's two injured drivers, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae, have managed to keep their Focuses inside the top ten today. Both have been encouraged by the car's ability to swap times with the Subarus and Citroens, and Sainz's confidence continues to grow as he becomes more accustomed to stand-in navigator Marc Marti. He and McRae held seventh and eighth going into the last stage of the day. Markko Martin has rarely been more than a handful of seconds off the pace of his team-mates, and the Estonian holds 9th. Reverting his Focus back to its Corsica set-up improved Martin's confidence.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: "It's been going okay today. Marc and I have been working quite well together and it's getting better and better. The car has been okay, the tyres have been pretty competitive too. I don't know if we can challenge any higher than this but the time in the first run through the long stage actually surprised me. We'd made some changes to the car - stiffer suspension, for starts - but it was quite encouraging.
Colin McRae said: "I've been trying to drive in a more precise style than normal because I don't want to have to try to catch a slide and possibly end up hurting my left hand even more. Occasionally on some of the corner cuts I'm getting a bit of jarring in my ribs, but the pace has been reasonably encouraging. We'll just have to keep on pushing.
SKODA
Technical: Toni Gardemeister's Octavia WRC has been reliable today although like many, he lost his brakes towards the end of the long 48km stage. Kenneth Eriksson lost his power steering less than half a kilometre into the same test, while Stig Blomqvist suffered an ATS mousse insert break-up. On SS6 Eriksson had to stop and change a puncture.
Sporting: Toni Gardemeister admitted that he was surprised to be sitting on the verge of the top ten in the big Octavia WRC, but the young Finn fought off fading brakes and concerns over body roll to keep his car clear of both Mitsubishis and his team-mates in 12th. His Octavia picked up some body damage when he slid into a ditch in SS5, though. Kenneth Eriksson's cause wasn't helped by power steering failure for all but half a kilometre of the 48km SS3 and he dropped out of the top 20. Former world champion Stig Blomqvist has not matched Gardemeister's pace but the 1984 title-holder occupies 19th.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: "It's been going quite well today. We made some adjustments to the differentials and the suspension and the car feels quite good. It's maybe still slipping a bit exiting corners, but I can cope with that.
Kenneth Eriksson said: "I couldn't believe it when the power steering failed so soon after the start of the long stage, but there was nothing I could do but just concentrate and get through okay.
MITSUBISHI
Technical: The Lancer Evo WRCs of François Delecour and Alister McRae have been generally reliable today, although both drivers have complained of body roll and poor handling.
Sporting: Mitsubishi's two works drivers François Delecour and Alister McRae had expected to find the competition tough in Catalunya after a hard Tour de Corse, and that has proved the case today. Both drivers experimented with differential settings, suspension and ride heights, but they still ended up fighting with the Skodas and outside of the top ten. McRae suffered a left-rear puncture in SS5 and dropped to 17th as a result, while Delecour became happier with his set-up as he moved into 13th.
Quotes: Alister McRae said: "We've made a small improvement for here but it's clear that we still have a lot of work to do. The handling's a little better than it was in Corsica. I'm also finding a bit more confidence in the brakes - they have the same bite as they did in Corsica but the wear rate is better.
HYUNDAI
Technical: Armin Schwarz felt that his Accent WRC3 lacked stability in today's opening stage but things didn't get any better for the German in the following, 48km test. He suffered a right-front puncture after just 15km and had to stop to change the wheel. Team-mate Freddy Loix also punctured in the same test, but his left-front shed its tread with around 15km remaining so the Belgian limped to the finish without stopping. Schwarz also complained of softening shock absorbers in the afternoon.
Sporting: Both of the Hyundai drivers, Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz, lost chunks of time with punctures in SS3, but Loix still managed to hold 14th entering the long, final stage of the leg. Hampered by a lack of confidence in his car's suspension, Schwarz was outside the top 20.
Quotes: Freddy Loix said: "I'm disappointed that we've had bad luck today. I spun and stalled in the first stage and in SS3, we heard a big bang and the left-front tyre was flailing around. For a while we were afraid that it might damage something but then it settled down and we got to the end. I'm getting happier with the car set-up as I've made it slightly softer on suspension.
Armin Schwarz said: "For me there was no warning about the tyre - it was a long left-hand corner, there was a big bang and we had to stop to prevent damage. The problem with the shock absorbers is the heat - in warm conditions, they start to go after about 10 or 15 kilometres and then you lose all the rebound. We have to find something to improve this..
OTHER ENTRIES
In the Junior World Rally Championship category, Spanish driver Daniel Sola led after SS2 but then he eased off too much in SS3 to save his brakes, allowing Andrea Dallavilla to grab the category advantage in his Citroen Saxo. Italian Giandomenico Basso holds third. Pre-event favourite François Duval has endured a difficult day, though - like many of the 1600cc drivers, he has struggled with brake problems, and he also lost time with overheating.
Thursday 21st March
[WRC] Rallye Catalunya: Welcome
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After a one-two-three for French manufacturer Peugeot on home turf in Corsica earlier this month, the FIA World Rally Championship stays with asphalt for its fourth round of the season, the Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava in Spain. The roads north and west of host town Lloret de Mar are likely to be packed with huge crowds drawn by one of the best entry lists ever seen on a world championship rally, and the fans' local hero Carlos Sainz.
Sainz has played his part in a dramatic build-up to this event. Just over a week after his team-mate Colin McRae broke a finger in an accident in Corsica, the Spaniard crashed during testing on Monday, injuring both himself and navigator Luis Moya. Moya suffered broken ribs in the accident and he will be replaced by Marc Marti for his home rally. There was even drama during the pre-event reconnaissance - Hyundai's third Accent WRC3 driver Tomasz Kuchar was involved in a road accident and hospitalised. After taking advice from doctors, the Pole will not start the rally.
PEUGEOT (1st - 36 points)
Follow Peugeot: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Peugeot has made no significant changes to the 206 WRCs since Corsica. The three factory cars will run in the same basic specification that took them to a one-two-three finish on the Mediterranean island two weeks ago. All of the team's cars will use three 'active' differentials, but only the 206s of Richard Burns and Gilles Panizzi will use the team's hydraulic anti-roll bars. Marcus Grönholm retains a more conventional specification.
Sporting: Peugeot fields the same three drivers who filled the top three places in Corsica - Gilles Panizzi, Marcus Grönholm and Richard Burns - for this event. The team's fourth regular driver, Harri Rovanperä, will again use a 206 WRC run by private team Bozian as he continues to build experience on asphalt.
Quotes: Richard Burns said: "I've got a very good feeling here. This morning at the shakedown I got into the car, did two runs and could have stopped there and then. It felt great. We carried on to experiment with tyres as the temperatures rose further but I think the basic package is working well and I've got good confidence in the car now.
Gilles Panizzi said: "I know that many people are making me favourite for this rally - especially after Corsica - but you can never believe that the rally is won before it even starts. We've done good testing, I've got the same excellent feeling for the car that I had two weeks ago and I'm going to try my hardest.
FORD (2nd - 20 points)
Follow Ford: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Ford introduces a new design of roll cage to the Focus RS WRC02 for this event, although it had been planned long before Colin McRae's accident in Corsica. McRae's car features a couple of other innovations - navigator Nicky Grist now sits so low for weight distribution reasons that he can barely see over the dashboard. And Ford has also introduced two 'joystick' gear levers - one either side of the steering wheel - to allow McRae to cover all options depending on how his injured left hand feels in action.
Sporting: Ford sends its three regular drivers to this event - Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin. McRae will drive with his left hand heavily strapped and bandaged as he continues to recover from his Corsican accident. Sainz, meanwhile, crashed heavily at a test on Monday and he will be without regular navigator Luis Moya for his home rally. Although the double world champion escaped the heavy impact with whiplash, Moya suffered two broken ribs, a broken tooth and a cut tongue in the incident and he will not take the start. His place will be taken by countryman Marc Marti, a veteran of SEAT's two-litre world championship campaign a few years ago and winner of the Tour de Corse last year with Citroen's Jesus Puras. When he drives over the ramp at this evening's ceremonial start, Sainz will set a new record for world championship rally starts - Catalunya will be the 155th in his career.
Quotes: Carlos Sainz said: "It's not easy to settle into working with a new co-driver but Marc and I have been working hard. This was going to be difficult even before I had the accident - all we can do is try our best and hope that we can get a good result.
Colin McRae said: "I really only started to use my hand again during the recce and although I felt the odd twinge, I think it'll be fine for the rally. The team have got gear joysticks at either side of the dashboard because even though I should be using the left hand to change gear now, there's still a chance that I might grab the right-hand stick in a quick reaction to a situation. The stages look good - even in the long stage in the Tarragona region they've resurfaced and re-aligned a lot of the road. That's a 48-kilometre stage and I had to change about 20 kilometres of pacenotes there.
SUBARU (3rd - 16 points)
Follow Subaru: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Subaru has made only minor changes to its Impreza WRC2002 for this event, concentrating instead on work with tyre partner Pirelli last week. Both drivers report small improvements to the balance and handling as a result. After Mäkinen's accident in Corsica, Subaru has been forced to update his Monte Carlo-winning WRC2001 and bring it to Spain.
Sporting: Subaru enters two Impreza WRC2002s in Corsica, for regular drivers Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg. Mäkinen's regular navigator Risto Mannisenmaki sat in a rally car for the first time since his Corsica 2001 accident at Subaru's pre-event test last week, but the Finn still felt discomfort afterwards and elected not to return in Spain. He is likely to reclaim his place alongside the four-times world champion in either Cyprus or Argentina. Kaj Lindstrom will continue to deputise on this event.
Quotes: Petter Solberg said: "I must say that we had a pretty good test with the tyres last week. The car is better again now than it was in Corsica and we were quite close to the pace there so let's see. I think that judging by Corsica, damp conditions would probably suit us better but even in the dry we should be able to challenge.
MITSUBISHI (4th - 5 points)
Follow Mitsubishi: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Mitsubishi Ralliart believes that it has found improvements to the Lancer Evo WRCs' set-ups in the short time since Corsica. In particular, the team's engineers hope that work on the differentials will make the car more stable under acceleration out of corners. The cars of Alister McRae and François Delecour are otherwise unchanged.
Sporting: Mitsubishi enters its regular two-Lancer line-up for Corsica, with Alister McRae and François Delecour behind the wheel. The team confirmed just before this event that Finn Jani Paasonen - who starred for Mitsubishi in Sweden earlier this season - will get another chance to drive the third Lancer on the Cyprus Rally next month.
Quotes: Alister McRae said: "We've made some improvements but I'm still expecting this to be a tough rally. The best hope is that even though we've got quicker, the other teams haven't made the same sort of gain so we'd be a bit further up the fight.
HYUNDAI (5th - 1 point)
Follow Hyundai: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Hyundai has introduced no major changes to the Accent WRC3s since their debut in Corsica two weeks ago. The team has concentrated instead on fine-tuning the car's set-up for the Spanish roads, although pre-event tests found only small improvements.
Sporting: Hyundai had entered three Accent WRC3s for Catalunya, but only two will take the start. Armin Schwarz and Freddy Loix will drive as usual but the team's third entry Tomasz Kuchar (a first-stage retirement in Corsica) suffered further bad luck with a road accident during the recce. A truck rolled onto his recce car on Wednesday morning and the Polish driver was taken to hospital as a result. He and navigator Maciej Szczepaniak suffered severe bruising and after consultations with team doctors they will not start the event.
Quotes: Freddy Loix said: "I didn't have such a good test for this event because we had a few small problems and it was hard to get serious miles in such a short space of time. This morning at shakedown I tried some of the things that Armin had found during his test, but I didn't think it was such a big difference. If we can be on the same pace as we were on the last day in Corsica and then build on that, then it'll be encouraging for us.
SKODA (6th - 0 points)
Follow Skoda: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Skoda has made small changes to the Octavia WRC for Catalunya. The Czech team has switched to a new spring manufacturer, H+R, and the cars will also feature lighter safety harnesses. All three of the Octavias have seen previous action, with Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson each using their Corsican cars.
Sporting: Skoda brings back the 1984 world champion Stig Blomqvist for this event. The Swede will join regular drivers Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson in a three-car line-up. The reigning Group N world champion Gabriel Pozzo will also use an Octavia WRC run by private British team David Sutton Motorsport.
Quotes: Toni Gardemeister said: "We found a few small things in the test. In Corsica we had quite good turn-in in corners but then the differentials felt like they were slipping when we got back on the power. We've played around with the differential mapping and I think we've found a solution to that. It makes the car a bit more sideways but in the test it was definitely quicker. It'll be hard to get into the points here, especially with such a strong manufacturer entry and a lot of good privateer World Rally Cars, but I'm going to concentrate on not making any mistakes or taking silly risks and see what happens.
CITROEN (not scoring championship points)
Follow Citroen: http://www.worldrallychampionship.com/wrvs/
Technical: Citroen introduces the 2002-specification Xsara WRC as a works entry for the first time in Catalunya, although the car effectively made its debut as a 'privateer' entry with Philippe Bugalski in Corsica two weeks ago. Ironically, all three of the factory cars - driven by Bugalski, Sebastien Loeb and Thomas Rådström - are old Xsaras fitted with the new parts, while Jesus Puras's privately entered car is brand new but in 2001 specification. The new homologation concentrates on the engine, featuring revised inlet manifold, turbo and flywheel.
Sporting: Citroen enters its three regular works drivers for Catalunya - Sebastien Loeb, Philippe Bugalski and Thomas Radstrom. The team is already looking ahead to forthcoming gravel outings - it recently tested in Kenya in preparation for the Safari, and a Xsara test car is likely to be sent to Argentina to rack up miles just before the world championship event there in May, even though Citroen isn't tackling the rally until 2003.
Quotes: Sebastien Loeb said: "I think this rally could be quite difficult for me, because I don't have so much experience of the roads in Spain. Of course I know I can be quick on that surface and the Xsara works well on asphalt, but the other guys might have a little more confidence at the start and that could make the difference. I'm looking forward to it, though.
OTHER ENTRIES
Catalunya is the second round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, and series leader François Duval will have a new specification of Ford Puma for the event. The latest homologation of the 1600cc car features a heavily-revised engine that boasts a better spread of torque, plus closer gear ratios and greater suspension travel. The young Belgian will start as favourite, but rivals like Andrea Dallavilla (Citroen), Nicola Caldani (Peugeot), Daniel Carlsson (Ford) and Gianluigi Galli (Fiat) will be aiming to stop him from emulating Sebastien Loeb's domination of the category last season.
There are plenty of privateer World Rally Car drivers hoping to break into the points. Multiple Spanish champion Jesus Puras brings a 2001 specification Xsara WRC, while Bruno Thiry, Achim Mörtl and Miguel Campos all use Peugeot 206 WRCs. Germany's Armin Kremer will use a Ford Focus RS WRC01, meanwhile.
STAGE ITINERARY GMT +1
Leg 1 - Friday 22nd March (936.21km)
05:30 Start from Lloret de Mar
08:25 SS 1 Riudecanyes 1 12.66km
09:05 SS 2 Pratdip 1 27.65km
11:33 SS 3 Escaladei 1 48.05km
14:18 SS 4 Riudecanyes 2 12.66km
14:58 SS 5 Pratdip 2 27.65km
17:26 SS 6 Escaladei 2 48.05km
21:51 End of leg 1 in Lloret de Mar
Leg 2 - Saturday 23rd March (513.12km)
08:00 Start from Lloret de Mar
10:08 SS 7 Coll de Bracons 1 19.66km
11:21 SS 8 Vallfogona 1 14.54km
12:14 SS 9 Les Llosses - Alpens 1 21.80km
14:32 SS 10 Coll de Bracons 2 19.66km
15:45 SS 11 Vallfogona 2 14.54km
16:38 SS 12 Les Llosses - Alpens 2 21.80km
20:00 End of leg 2 in Lloret de Mar
Leg 3 - Sunday 24th March (499.62km)
06:15 Start from Lloret de Mar
08:23 SS 13 La Trona 1 12.90km
09:33 SS 14 La Roca 1 5.05km
10:01 SS 15 Viladrau 1 35.18km
11:59 SS 16 La Trona 2 12.90km
13:09 SS 17 La Roca 2 5.05km
13:37 SS 18 Viladrau 2 35.18km
17:15 Finish of the rally in Lloret de Mar
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