16th round out of 16 in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, 8th round out of eight in the 2005 FIA Junior World Rally Championship

Other News

- Loeb to drive Kronos Xsara in 2006

In 2006, Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena will drive a private Citroën Xsara WRC entered in the FIA WRC by the Belgian team, Kronos Racing. The Spaniard Xavier Pons will be one of Sébastien's team-mates. 

Rally Preview

After two European events the FIA World Rally Championship makes its way to the other side of the globe for the finale of the 2005 season. Rally Australia concludes the championship with three days of flat-out action on the red earth roads around Perth, the capital of Western Australia, from 10-13 November. With this year's drivers' title already wrapped up, the battle now focuses on second and third positions. Subaru's Petter Solberg will go head-to-head with Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm and with the duo currently level on 71 points after 15 of the 16 events the battle looks set to go right down to the wire.

After two sealed-surface rallies the series returns to gravel with most of the rally taking place on forest roads to the south and east of Perth. The distinctive red roads are a challenge to crews, since the fast and narrow routes are covered by a fine layer of marble-like gravel that makes them extremely slippery. Grip levels as a result can be very low, although crews further down the starting order will find more adhesion as the 'ball-bearing' surface hides a hard-packed base. The first crews on the road will therefore be at a distinct disadvantage as they sweep the road for the following cars.

Rally organisers recently announced that the Australian event will remain in Perth for the 2006 season, a popular decision with teams and spectators who relish the sunshine and stunning scenery that characterise the event. With plumes of dust trailing the cars, and spectacular jumps and watersplashes like those seen in the Sotico stages on the second day, the event is one of the most photogenic of the year.

This year's rally shows several changes from previous editions, while remaining faithful to the traditional speed tests near Perth. It is more compact than in previous years and no longer visits the southerly Stirling tests on the opening day. The service park reverts to the riverside Langley Park, although the Perth super special stages will remain at the Gloucester Park trotting track, where the action begins on Thursday evening. The opening leg continues south of Perth on Friday with stages clustered around the town of Dwellingup. Saturday's route takes competitors south-west to the Bunnings stages, where the famous roller coaster jumps and watersplash provide some of the season's most spectacular action. Both days end with tests east of Perth and a repeat of the city super special stages, which are run six times in all. The Bunnings tests, usually used on the final leg, have swapped places with the Mundaring stages, east of Perth, which now comprise the final day. Competitors face 355.39km of competition in a total route of 1345.41km.

Citroen

Telstra Rally Australia will mark the end of a remarkable season this weekend (10-13 November 2005) for Citroën and its newly crowned World Champion, Sébastien Loeb and, after securing his second title, Citroën's third world title in succession and set new world records for most wins in a season and largest number of consecutive wins, Loeb and Citroën are determined to end on a high note, not least because it is also the last event for the team itself, with Citroën pulling out of the sport. But with all the prizes already in bag, Citroën out of the sport for 2006 before returning in 2007 and its star driver lined up to drive for another team in 2007, albeit still in a Citroën, does this mean that Telstra Rally Australia is little more than an end of season party for the team? Citroën Total has sent two Xsara WRCs to Perth for its usual crews Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and François Duval/Sven Smeets, while Team Kronos Racing - the team Loeb will join in 2006 - will run the privately-entered Xsaras of Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor and Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "These past two years, running first on the road has been less of a handicap because of rain prior to the start which helped limit the damage," explains Loeb. "There are a number of different scenarios which can vary from stage to stage. At times, you have to cut a line through the famous top-coating of marbles, at others you come across clear lines left by the cars during recce. But even then, it is difficult to stick to them when you're pushing hard. To help boost morale, it is often said that the drivers running second and third on the road are more or less in the same boat, but sometimes it only takes the line cleared by one car - namely mine - for them to be able to get down to the road's hard-packed base. The split times show that we take a hiding but there is nothing we can do about it. For sure, it's irritating. But the danger is allowing that irritation to lead you into doing something stupid. The first leg in Australia is therefore an object lesson in patience. You just have to drive as well as you can on the Friday and then take stock at the end of the day to see what sort of result is realistic."

Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "In 2002, I retired after hitting a small tree with my door. In 2003, I was slowed by hydraulic problems I think. Last year, everything went well. In a WRC car, the stages are sometimes very slippery but I have often benefited from a favourable road order. This time, I will be fifth on the road on the Friday I think. It will probably still be a little difficult and very slippery. A good position, in Australia, is at least tenth on the road."

Subaru

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter a two-car team on Rally Australia. The two Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). Stéphane Sarrazin will complete the recce to gain experience of the event. Petter has contested the rally five times before and won it in 2003 on the way to clinching that year's drivers' championship. 2005 will be Chris' second entry in Rally Australia. In a remarkable performance last year, at the wheel of production class Impreza WRX, Chris won the Group N classification and finished in fifth place overall.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "The focus this rally is on securing second position in the drivers' championship. We've shown that we can compete with Marcus on a level playing field and I will be 100% determined to get a good result. Australia is a fantastic event and we've had a win here so I am confident that we can achieve our aim. I enjoy the stages, the weather is good, the people are friendly - it's the perfect place to celebrate!"

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "I'm really looking forward to this event. It will be fantastic to go home and after my first year in the World Rally Championship it will be interesting to see the support that we have. This will only be my second time on the rally in Perth, so I don't have a massive home advantage - my home's four thousand kilometres away on the east coast! We have had some good results this year, though, and the goal will be to achieve a similar result to Japan. We've shown what we can do when we have experience of the event."

Ford

The all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, the Blue Oval's challenger for the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship, will make its first public appearance on next week's Rally Australia (10 - 13 November). Two cars will be crewed by regular BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Tománek. They will tackle the 16th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship as a continuation of the car's test and development programme, in preparation for its first competitive outing on the opening round of next year's series, January's Monte Carlo Rally.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: This will be 30-year-old Gardemeister's sixth Rally Australia start, and he has two sixth-place finishes to his credit. "It's exciting to think about driving the new car for the first time," he said. "It looks fantastic and I'm impressed with it. I've not driven the new Focus RS WRC yet and shakedown will be the first time I get the opportunity to do that. It will be difficult because I don't know how it will behave, but that's the kind of information the team wants to learn. "I like the country and the rally. The roads are fast and similar to my home event in Finland. They are also slippery with trees right by the side of the road so if a driver makes a mistake, it's easy to land in big trouble," added the Finn, who is already assured of fourth place in the final drivers' championship standings.

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Kresta has not started Rally Australia before, but the 29-year-old Czech has some knowledge of the unique stages there. "I was there with a former team in 2002. I didn't do the recce but checked some of the stages to get a feel for the roads. They appear fast and narrow in places, with a lot of trees close to the edge of the road. It will be difficult as a 'first-timer' but I'm used to that this season. My aim is to learn as much about the nature of the roads as possible," he said. "I'm excited about driving the new Focus RS WRC. I went to M-Sport to fix my seat position after the Rally Catalunya and I drove the car slowly around the grounds of Dovenby Hall for about 300 metres. Now I can't wait to drive it at speed on the shakedown. The technology is fantastic but that's what you expect from a new Ford Focus RS WRC," added Kresta, whose entry car is the same vehicle that completed the UK tests.

Peugeot

The French team intends to throw all its strength into this final showdown in a bid to end its WRC adventure as it started it, with a top result. The two 307WRCs will be driven by Marcus Grönholm, three-times winner of the Perth-based event, and by the young Swede Daniel Carlsson. When these two drivers line up for the start of the team's final WRC rally in Australia, it will clearly be a very emotional moment for Peugeot Sport. This fast and highly selective rally is amongst those on which the French squad has enjoyed the most success in recent years, with Marcus Grönholm winning outright three years on the trot in 2000, 2001 and 2002. This time round, the Finn will be looking to take that figure to four wins in order to add a last victory to the team's highly enviable record. Rally Australia has counted towards the World Rally Championship since 1988 and Peugeot has taken part in the last six years with remarkable success. The 206 WRC competed here for the first time in 1999, while the 307WRC's maiden visit was in 2004.

Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: Apologies. Peugeot have not made quotes available.

Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andesson: Apologies. Peugeot have not made quotes available.

Skoda

The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team heads to Australia for the 16th and final round of the 2005 World Rally Championship (November 10-13) where the Fabia WRC 05 will be driven by the regular crew of Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha alongside Britain's Colin McRae/Nicky Grist. World Champion of 1995 Colin McRae readily agreed to drive the Fabia for the second time this season after a successful first time at the wheel on September's Rally GB. The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team for Australia is therefore the most experienced partnership in the entry list with 262 WRC starts and 26 wins between them. Colin won the event twice, in 1994 and 1997, completed the event eighth times and has never finished outside the top six.

Colin McRae/Nicky Grist: "Australia is a very difficult rally. It is high-speed and the trees are very close to the edge of the road. Combine that with the unique road surface and you end up with one of the toughest rallies of the year. It is also one of my favourites because it is well organised, has a great atmosphere and I've had some great results there. My start position should be perfect so I'm looking forward to the event."

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "Australia is a great country to visit. Everyone knows how hard the rally is and that is partly because of the surface but also because there is not the same natural rhythm to the stages that you find anywhere else. But it will definitely be a fun place to end the season."

Mitsubishi:

After two back-to-back European asphalt events, the FIA World Rally Championship contenders head down under for the final round of the 2005 season. Rally Australia (November 10-13) will see Mitsubishi Motorsport field another two-car entry and Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen will once again be joined by "Gigi" Galli/Guido d'Amore for the last gravel challenge of the year. Harri Rovanperä has seven Rally Australia outings under his belt and also some good results. In his first event in 1997 he won the World 2 Liter category and has since had two sixth-placed finishes (1999 and 2001) as well as two second positions (2002 and 2004). Team-mate Gigi Galli has only previously competed in Australia once, in Mitsubishi's Group N machinery.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "It's a rally, country and city I like a lot", said Harri. "It's always very nice to go to Perth and I have a lot of good memories. In previous years each leg's stages have had very different characteristics and each is difficult and challenging. Tires are very important for this rally, like everywhere, but I hope the weather will not be too hot and then we can really fight. Pirelli tires always work well here and I'm confident of a good performance, like in Wales and Japan. If we can have a trouble-free time, we will get a good result, I'm sure".

Gigi Galli/Guido d'Amore: Last year we were leading in Group N, until a big meeting with a tree!" said Gigi. "For me that is the biggest characteristic of the event; the closeness of the trees to very fast and narrow roads and for that I don't really like this rally so much. This is my first year driving the world rally car in Australia and it will not be so easy to make the change I think. But, of course I feel confident after our performance on the last gravel rally in Japan, but once again we stick to our goal of gaining experience and learning the roads for the future. I'm confident in the performance of the Pirelli tires as they are competitive on this event and for this I don't have any worries. I think if we are able to find a good balance between performance and consistency, we can have a good result for the team at the end of the year".

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Telstra Rally Australia
Media FIA Pre-event Press Conference
10.11.2005

Present:
Isao Torii, Mitsubishi
Malcolm Wilson, Ford

Q: Welcome to both of you. Isao, if we start with you first. You’ve come here with Gigi (Galli) and Harri (Rovanpera): is this a rally that you think will suit them and the Mitsubishi Lancer well?
IT: Yeah I think so. This is our expectation and…especially Harri. Last year he did a very good job, he finished second with Peugeot and he know Australia very well, he has experience. In the last two rallies on the tarmac he felt some frustration so now he’s now free and he’s favourite, so he will show his best performance I believe. And Gigi is still on the rally and this time I just say “stay in the race for next year” so he will do, I believe. So I hope Harri will make a good result.

Q: Thank you very much, Isao. Can you tell us now how far advanced you are with plans for next year? Are you in a position to say who will be driving the Lancer in 2006?
IT: Actually, at the moment I’m still working with my colleague and next week after this rally I’ll go to Tokyo headquarters and have a meeting with my executives and ask them to approve next year our activity. Of course our intention is to attend all sixteen rallies and challenge the championship so that is my intention… but so far I cannot say what is the plan but that is my challenge so still I’m working.

Q: So you’d expect an announcement maybe mid-December or before then?
IT: Oh yeah definitely before December 15th I will make some announcement.

Q: Okay. We look forward to hearing it. Malcolm, welcome.
MW: Thank you.

Q: Ford have provided probably the biggest news of this rally – you’ve come here with an all new car. It ran competitively at today’s shakedown, what do you think?
MW: I’m very happy, I have to say. I mean considering what happened back in the UK with the car, I mean okay we did a thousand kilometres – three hundred on asphalt and seven hundred on gravel - but in fairness we didn’t do any development work at all and we’ve come here today and neither of the two drivers had driven the car, which made it even more difficult for them, but in fairness we’ve achieved quite a lot in the shakedown. I have to say, I am very, very pleased and very impressed with the performance of the car. I think even the first time we did on the shakedown was very, very encouraging and I know that there’s a lot more to come from the car and I think there will be more even once the driver starts to understand exactly what it does.

Q: Did you encounter any problems on the shakedown this morning? Any teething troubles?
MW: No, in fairness I can’t believe it but the car’s run absolutely faultlessly. We did start to make – as I said, we didn’t do any changes or spring settings as with the previous testing that we’ve done – so both drivers played around with springs and damper settings but we didn’t even get the chance to even do rolls bars so there’s still a lot to come but as I say, the times were very encouraging and I’m sure that the rest of the event is just going to be about testing and trying to maximise the resources that we’ve got here.

Q: It’s obviously, as you say Malcolm, a big challenge with a brand new car. Do you expect them both to finish here or not?
MW: It’s a good question but I think with Super Rally then for sure we stand a reasonable chance. I think the main objective from our side really is to try and finish the rally, try and get full rally distance on all the major components. Okay, we have achieved it in testing but there’s nothing like the rally conditions and what they can throw at you so the main objective is to try and get full rally distance on both cars.

Q: And finally, Malcolm, is the car we see here the definitive version, or is the car we see in Monte Carlo next year going to be a bit different?
MW: No I think all the major items, well the major regulation items, will certainly be fixed for the next twelve months, some of them obviously now for two years, with the change in regulations, but I think there will be a lot of work then done on the final setting and so I think you will see quite a lot of changes between now and Monte Carlo but as I say, this is classed as an extended test so really we want to see what happens here in case we’ve got any major sort of redevelopment between now and Monte Carlo.

Q: Thanks very much indeed. Are there any questions for Malcolm or Isao?

Q: Malcolm, would you expect it to be closer on gravel or closer on tarmac?
MW: I think it’ll probably be closer on gravel. The bigger gain should come on asphalt.

Q: Malcolm, maybe you can tell us, what were the reasons behind you deciding to do this event? What can you gain from competition that you wouldn’t have been able to do with more testing?
MW: Oh I think we all live in a competitive environment and the main target was to try and get the car ready for this event but I think most importantly for us as a team and with the events being linked together, for example Monte Carlo and Sweden two weeks apart…if we’d let and done all our testing, if we had a hiccup then we wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it in that two week period. As it is now we’ve obviously got probably about eight weeks between now and Monte Carlo so if we do have to do a major redesign then at least we’ve got the time to do that. So that has always been the main target from our point of view.

Questions from the floor:
Mick Glasson (The Western Australian)
Q: Malcolm, can you quantify what the difference in performance should be between 05 spec and 06 spec?
MW: Well, in theory, it should be slower but I’m certainly hoping that this car, well it’s proved already this morning that it’s certainly not any slower than the current car – and that’s very much in it’s early stages. The difference with this car is it is completely different – there’s no carryover parts whatsoever – so it’s a complete new engine, complete new transmission, obviously roll cage, body shell, everything. So obviously we’re very pleased with the first results that we’ve seen.

Present:
Chris Atkinson – Subaru
Colin McRae – Skoda

Q: Let’s start with you, Colin. Welcome back, I’ve not seen you in a car since Rally GB. Australia is a slightly different scenario. How much do you think your road position can help you on the first day? Is this the big thing that you can play with?
CM: Hopefully a lot. It always has been a major factor in the past here and providing the weather stays dry we’re obviously going to have a slight advantage on the first day and hopefully then carry that forward, but it’s one of the toughest rallies in the championship and when you haven’t had much practice it’s not easy to capitalise on something like that straight out of the box.

Q: Have you done any testing since GB or was this it?
CM: Nope, shakedown was the first time I was back in the car so I was a bit rusty again.

Q: And presumably you were using your GB settings as a base and then just working from there?
CM: Yeah you’ve got to be a bit careful, there’s obviously limited time to play around with the car settings. In GB they were working well and they were consistent. I think that’s the main thing, to concentrate on driving rather than trying to redesign the car during an event.

Q: Thanks very much, Colin, we’ll get back to you a bit later. Chris, congratulations on your podium in Japan: it’s your only podium so far but is this the place where you’re going to capitalise on that?
CA: It’s pretty hard to say. It’s always tough out there and especially the top three guys are very quick and always pushing a hundred percent on every stage so to match those guys is not going to be easy. It’s only our second time at this event and for sure we’ll be trying from the first stage but nothing beats experience and that’s what we’ll still be trying to gain.

Q: You came I think fifth here last year and it was the event that really put you where you are now – in many ways. How different is it when you come back in a factory team, in a factory car, in a realistic position and with the eyes of a whole country upon you?
CA: Yeah that fifth last year was a bit of a surprise but obviously there were a lot of retirements and we gained from that, but in a world rally car it’s a totally different thing and we wrote totally new notes this year as well because the speed is so much faster here, so changing them has made them a lot tidier and a lot nearer and they seemed to work well today on shakedown, so just looking forward to the stages.

Q: Colin, this is an event that you’ve been successful on in the past – what is the key to doing well here?
CM: I think just staying out of trouble - it doesn’t give much this event. If you make a mistake there’s a lot of very nasty trees very close to the road so there’s no room for error. The second part was beginning to get rough so really you’ve got to keep it clean and not make any mistakes - as I said, there’s no room for error.

Q: In GB you finished seventh. The Skoda Fabia’s best result is sixth. Do you think you can give Skoda their best result?
CM: If I can achieve it!

Q: Chris, everybody talks about this being your home rally – but to what extent is that true? You come from the other end of this country: so to what extent is it because the roads you were brought up on are very different to this.
CA: Yeah exactly and to live five thousand kilometres from your home rally is a bit strange. It’s sort of like saying to the English guys that Cyprus is their home event – which is far from the truth. So a lot for me to learn and I think we surprised even ourselves last year because Perth is the only place in Australia with roads like this. At home we have more normal gravel roads and most of the other roads throughout Australia are different to this so it’s as much a foreign event for me as everyone else.

Q: Colin, there’s been a lot of talk recently about the future of Skoda and where you may fit into it. As things stand at the moment, what are your plans looking like for 2006?
CM: Nothing really at the moment. I’m looking at different options and unfortunately at the moment there’s not many out there so it looks like maybe another holiday next year.

Q: But ideally you’d like to be back competing full time in the WRC?
CM: It would be good to be back in the right situation and that with a competitive car and a chance of achieving a result. It’s very difficult too, after you’ve been there, take a step back to something that’s no quite as competitive. If there was an opportunity there with a competitive car then I would definitely consider it.

Q: Chris, there’s been a bit of speculation about your future, where do you see yourself in 2006?
CA: For sure I want to make sure I’m in the championship next year. I think we’ve done enough to deserve to be back here – fastest times, got a podium and shown improvement throughout the year, so I’m quite happy with this season and just looking forward to the future.

Q: And have you done your deal with Subaru yet, is that closed? Or are you looking at all sorts of options?
CA: I can’t say anything right now.

Q: Chris, how difficult are these roads to drive? Colin talks about the trees and about the amount of gravel – how do you see it because you hopefully will also benefit from a fairly good race position tomorrow?
CA: I definitely think it’ll help a bit but even today on shakedown we went out first on the road and maybe lost a second or something and really didn’t go out at it ,so I think we won’t be as advantaged by the position, especially tomorrow morning. I think there’s a little bit of moisture under the trees and the first few stages I don’t think it’ll be as big as possible but tomorrow afternoon I think there could be a bit there.

Q: What is the best weather for you at this rally?
CA: As dry as possible – same as Colin - if it’s dry then helps our road position helps, if its wet then it’s not as good.

Q: Chris, are you off the leash this weekend? Are you allowed to go for a result?
CA: I’m going to do what I want I think.

Q: Colin, are you off the leash this weekend?
CM: I’m definitely off the leash!

Q: Your announcement that you are coming back here seemed to come very soon after it was announced that Rally Australia is staying in Perth for one more year next year. Is the two linked? Why are you here? Are you short of a quid or what?
CM: It was the wrong way around. I thought it was going to be the last one but I could’ve waited till next year. There is no connection as far as that’s concerned.

Q: What do you think, both of you really, about the announcement that the rally will stay here for another year? Is that a positive thing?
CM: I think it’s always been one of my favourite events, partly because of the place and because of the organisation it was always one of the best and leading all the other rallies on the organisation side of it, so it’d be nice to come back here again but I suppose there’s many other reasons for it not being here.

Q: Chris, what’s your take? If the rally was on the east coast you’d have less far to go home.
CA: That would be nice, wouldn’t it? No it’s been a great event here. Although I’ve only done it the one time it’s been a really nice event, I enjoy the roads, there’s lots of good roads everywhere in Australia so it could go anywhere - but that’s not really a decision for me to make.

Q: Colin, we talked briefly earlier about the 2006 regulations with the mechanical diffs and various other things. In your opinion, will these make the cars more tricky to drive or more spectacular to watch or both?
CM: I think really at the end of the day it won’t make a huge difference. I think you’ll find that the cars next year will be quicker than the cars are this year. It would be nice to think they might look slightly better if you’ve got to have a lot more attitude than the car but at the end of the day the quickest way to drive these cars is to keep them as straight as possible and that’s what the engineers are working towards all the time so I think there will be a speed increase next year.

Q: Chris, the only world rally cars you’ve driven are the cars with the active diffs. Is it going to be strange for you next year driving a car that doesn’t have that?
CA: I think it’s probably almost better for me because the other guys have driven these cars for a few years now when a year ago I was in a Group N car with passive diffs so to go back to passive diffs isn’t a big problem for me and because I’ve only done it for a year I should adapt pretty quickly.

Q: Do you think the car will be more spectacular to watch?
CA: I think maybe a little bit but from what I heard today of the Ford it looked pretty neat.

Questions from the floor:
Mick Glasson (The Western Australian)
Q: Colin, this business with road position, is tomorrow very much a risk versus rewards situation for you? Do you take all sorts of risks tomorrow to try and get the right road position from then on?
CM: I mean not quite that, you’ve got to push as hard as you can. Australia’s not the rally to take risks, the penalties are fairly high. The problem is if you get off that clean line it’s like going onto ice, the trees area very close to the edge of the road so it pays to stay on the line and just back off a bit.

Present:
Chris Atkinson – Subaru
Colin McRae – Skoda

Q: Marcus if we start off with you. It’s your last rally for Peugeot the team that brought you into World Rallying, the team that’s given you two Drivers Championships. What are your feelings, it has been quite an emotional time for you ?
MG: Okay. Maybe not yet but during the Rally it will be for sure, and after Rally on Sunday, I think. The whole team, the last Rally it will be a little bit special.

Q: Does that give you Marcus, give an extra motivation to do something special, for the last Rally ?
MG: Of course, the team wants to win and me too so that would be the best, the best thing to do but its not so easy so lets wait. We will see if we can do it. That would be fantastic.

Q: Looking back Marcus at your time at Peugeot, what will you remember most? What are the memories that you will take away ?

MG: I think the first year 2000, and the first win in Sweden, and then the title in the end of the year. The first for me, and as well for the team so, that’s the best year I guess

Q: Sebastien welcome. Also it’s a special event for you, because it’s the last time you will drive a factory Citroen Xsara, next year it’s a private one. Does it feel like a special occasion, like an historic occasion, or just another Rally.
SL: No, it’s a bit like for Marcus, for me it will be the last Rally with a Xsara, with the Citroen team. I’m very happy because Citroen decided to come back in 2007. So a lot of people will be again with me in the team, but we know that a lot of people will not be there and will leave Citroen. So it is also a special moment, and everybody in the team hopes we can do a best result and we hope that we can do the best also. But like Marcus I think that it will be very special on Saturday.

Q: On these special occasions, again, like Marcus does it give you an extra push on ?
SL: I don’t need that to have an extra push, but sure if we could do a good result for the team it would be really nice. But like Marcus said he wants to do the same, so I am sure that Petter (Solberg) really wants to win also to cut his hair. I think it will be a really interesting Rally.

Q: Seb of course now you know what your future is. You are driving the private Xsara next year and then the factory team in 2007. Looking back at this year, when it was uncertain. How much did that pressure affect you ?
SL: Sure, of course it is better to know what I will do. At the moment in the season I didn’t know what Citroen would do, I was speaking with the other manufacturer. At that moment I decided to wait, and sure it was not easy. I believed that Citroen will come back but nothing was sure at this moment, and I expected them to do it, then, but if they didn’t come back perhaps it would’ve been more difficult for me to find something for next year. I expected because I was World Champion to find something, so I decided to wait.

Q: Marcus if we talk specifically about this Rally. From what you have seen on the recce, which sort of conditions are you expecting? Is it going to be a classic Rally Australia? Because these are conditions that you really seem to like, and you go well in as well.
MG: For me it looks exactly the same as the years before, there is no change. The roads look the same and its dry, so it will be a good Rally.

Q: If we talk Marcus, briefly about tyres and the difference between you and Sebastien, in the rallies, should they help you then ?
MG: Difficult to say. If it’s really dry maybe, maybe not. I think it will be okay yeah. No tyre problem, not like when the tyre wearing is extra hard. So it will be good.

Q: Is this a Rally you like? You’ve done very well in the past. Is it something you consider one of ‘your’ events?
MG: Not one of, yeah, it is a good event for me. The last two years I have made mistakes here and now it is time to do something better, so I hope for no mistakes this year, so that we can fight for the win again.

Q: Thanks We were talking with Colin and Chris who were here earlier about road position. They think that they have no advantage. But you are first on the road tomorrow. How much of a problem do you expect that to be?
SL: The weather seems to be ok, if stays like this. To be first on the road will be sure to have that disadvantage. How much we can lose, I don’t know. But for me, Marcus and Petter are starting just behind, so their position will be a bit better, But should it be for a big difference, so we will see, I will do my best, and try not to lose too much time until them.

Q: in the past Seb, you’ve been very good at running first on the road, but not losing so much time or losing less time then most people expected. How do you manage that, what do you do?
SL: Its rally, a lot of rallies last year were wet on the first day. Yeah I think it would be much more different.

Q: Marcus what do you like to do for the weather?
MG: Okay. It’s good like it is now. It is nicer to drive when it’s with good grip so. I don’t like it when its raining wet and quite slippery.

Q: Do you think running behind Sebastien, will conditions will be a little bit different for you or will it be a significant advantage?
MG: Essentially, we are just behind in a few cars, so it will not make a big difference, maybe just a little bit, so we can gain a few seconds but not much.

FIA PWRC Pre-event Press Conference

Present:
Toshihiro Arai, Subaru
Marcos Ligato, Subaru
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Subaru

Q: All three drivers you see here have a chance of winning the title. Toshi you probably have the best chance, as you are seven points in front. You have missed out on this championship title three times. Do you think this year will be the year for you?
TA: I think it could be.

Q: Marcos, what will you do tactics wise at this rally? Would you drive this rally differently if you were seven points behind?
ML: I don’t know. I will wait for maybe Toshi to have some problems. With his speed he can arrive and get points with no problems but you know, things can happen.

Q: Nasser, welcome, how about you? Do you just have to try and win too?
NA: Actually it will be a little bit difficult for me because it’s the second time for me in Australia and really it’s difficult you know. I feel the road is difficult for me. We drive (in Oman) in this open area you know. Here, there are a lot of trees and it’s a little bit scary you know. I think this year I have improved a lot and it’s the last rally of the year I will try my best for a good result and try to reach podium.
Q: You have already won the Middle East Championship this year. It must be your dream to make it two championships in one year.
NA: Yes it’s my dream and if it doesn’t happen this year I will also try next year because my target for 2006 is PWRC and I hope we win PWRC next year.

Q: Toshi you won Australia last year. Is this a rally you like and does it suit your driving style?
TA: Yeah I like this rally because it has quite difficult roads. Some places are slippery and some stages have good grip. It’s very difficult and good for the Subaru I think.

Q: Why does it suit the Subaru. What characteristics suit the car?
TA: Because the Subaru has good handling and the road is quite narrow, some places are quite twisty and some places are quite fast so it’s good for the Subaru.

Q: Marcos this is a very long way from Argentina. Do you like the stages here? Are they amongst your favourite or not?
ML: Yeah I like it. It’s my fifth time here but I finished the rally for the first time after three times stopping for mechanical problems. I know very well the roads but I don’t have a lot of cases of winning the roads. I like them very much. I think I have very good notes, I know all the stages but this is a difficult race. You are always on the risk because you don’t have a lot of grip on the roads and you have to be in the clean lines to get a good grip. If you are off that line you are in a very dangerous position. We will see what will happen. We will try to go very fast and enjoy the rally. We will try and get good points; I must be in front of Nasser for the points. He is just two points behind me and we are fighting for the second places in the PWRC.

Q: Nasser, did you have a good recce?
NA: Yes actually we had a good recce, we did not have any problems with the notes. I am so happy we just wait for the start.

Q: So from what you can see on the recce what do you think the conditions will be like this year. Will it be more difficult than usual?
NA: For me it will be a little bit easy because it will be my second time here. And you know I feel confident for these stages. I find a good set up for my car. I will try my best.

Q: Toshi, you have had a lot of experience driving a WRCar in the past. How does driving a modern Group N car compare to the experience of driving a WRCar?
TA: Now the Group N car is quite fast so there is not so big a difference compared to the WRCar. A WRCar is a little bit nervous because you can change everything; the stabilizer, the geometry, the suspension, so if you have a spot on setting you can drive with a lot of confidence. But if you have something a little bit wrong you can be very nervous so this is difficult.

Q: Marcos the cars fighting for the championship are all Subaru. Why do you think that is?
ML: It’s good for Subaru. I think this year all the rallies – New Zealand was for Mitsubishi - the others were Subaru. It was a good year for Subaru. Subaru I think, the championship is for them, we have three with a chance for the Championship.

Q: Nasser in your opinion, can you tell us what sort of part tyres and punctures will play. In this championship you can’t have the anti-deflation device. Could this championship be decided by a puncture?
NA: Yes it could. The punctures, one puncture can keep you far from the top and always we take care about the punctures because really it’s difficult because we are without mousse. If you have one puncture it’s game over.

Event Timetable

Thursday 10 November: Leg 1 Perth - Perth

Start Perth 17.50
SS1 Perth City Super 1 2.35km 18.13
SS2 Perth City Super 2 2.35km 18.22
Finish Perth 18.32

Friday 11 November: Leg 1 Perth - Perth (cont)

Serv A Perth (10 mins) 07.15
SS3 Murray North 1 15.92km 09.23
SS4 Murray South 1 20.12km 09.56
SS5 Turner Hill 5.35km 10.46
SS6 Murray North 2 15.92km 11.57
SS7 Murray South 2 20.12km 12.30
Serv B Perth (30 mins) 14.50
SS8 Beraking 1 23.03km 16.31
SS9 Flynns 1 19.87km 17.17
SS10 Perth City Super 3 2.35km 19.15
SS11 Perth City Super 4 2.35km 19.24
Serv C Perth (45 mins) 19.37
Finish Perth 20.22

Saturday 12 November: Leg 2 Perth - Perth

Serv D Perth (10 mins) 07.35
SS12 Bannister North 1 17.71km 09.25
SS13 Bannister Central 1 17.85km 09.57
SS14 Bannister Loop 3.62km 10.41
SS15 Bannister North 2 17.71km 12.03
SS16 Bannister Central 2 17.85km 12.35
Serv E Perth (30 mins) 14.50
SS17 Beraking 2 23.03km 16.31
SS18 Flynns 2 19.87km 17.17
SS19 Perth City Super 5 2.35km 19.15
SS20 Perth City Super 6 2.35km 19.24
Serv C Perth (45 mins) 19.37
Finish Perth 20.22

Sunday 13 November: Leg 3 Perth - Perth

Serv G Perth (10 mins) 06.30
SS21 Atkins 1 4.42km 07.33
SS22 Helena North 1 29.93km 08.03
SS23 Helena South 1 17.31km 08.44
Serv H Perth (30 mins) 10.10
SS24 Atkins 2 4.42km 11.33
SS25 Helena North 2 29.93km 12.03
SS26 Helena South 2 17.31km 12.44

Leading positions after the first day of the rally:

1. P Solberg/P Mills Subaru Impreza 1hr 14min 58.0sec
2. F Duval/S Smeets Citroen Xsara 1hr 15min 44.6sec
3. C McRae/N Grist Skoda Fabia 1hr 15min 46.0sec
4. H Rovanpera/R Pietilainen Mitsubishi Lancer 1hr 16min 01.5sec
5. M Stohl/I Minor Citroen Xsara 1hr 16min 11.4sec
6. G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer 1hr 16min 18.2sec
7. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen Ford Focus RS 1hr 16min 35.6sec
8. R Kresta/J Toma¡nek Ford Focus RS 1hr 16min 44.8sec
9. D Sola /X Amigo Ford Focus RS 1hr 16min 58.9sec
10 C Atkinson/G MacNeall Subaru Impreza 1hr 17min 07.3sec

News after Leg One

A dramatic day accounted for several top drivers. The biggest was world champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) who had just edged into the lead when he crashed into a tree near the end of stage nine. Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) retired on a liaison section for the third rally in a row when his front suspension collapsed on stage seven and the police stopped him as he attempted to return to the Perth service park. Team-mate Daniel Carlsson crashed on today's opening stage and his car caught fire and burned out. Neither Carlsson nor co-driver Mattias Andersson were injured. Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson (both Subaru) each led early this morning but Atkinson dropped more than 2min 30sec after breaking a steering arm. Solberg moved ahead when Loeb crashed and leads Francois Duval (Citroen) by 46.6sec. Colin McRae (Skoda) drove superbly and made the most of a cleaner road position to hold third, 15.5sec ahead of Harri Rovanpera (Mitsubishi).

Temperatures ranged from 10°C to 22°C. The day was mainly sunny with little cloud, although some early morning stages were damp with dew.

The second leg contains some of the most spectacular tests of the season. Cars head south-east of Perth to Bannister Plantation, where the famous roller-coaster Bunnings jumps and water splash provide superb action for photographers and TV crews. After five stages at Bannister, competitors return for a repeat of today's afternoon tests before two last stages at the Gloucester Park super special. Drivers leave Perth at 07.35 and return at 20.22 after 122.34km of competition.

Citroen

Citroen already have the 2005 Manufacturers and Drivers titles wrapped up. But none the less there was dissapointment when Sebastien Loeb positioned second retired after sliding into a tree on the final country stage of leg 1. Francois Duval was placed third going into the night time super special stage, but was able to overhaul Colin Mcrae and holds overnight second.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Retired

Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: Early during the day Duval although happy with his performance was still coming to grips with the Australian surface: ".. Braking sometimes is bad because of the loose surface.". SS6: "Engine stalled at hairpin [turn], but was ok." SS8: "Really difficult, I have changed settings, but will change it back for tomorrow." Final comments: "Happy with the place today"

Subaru

Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg holds the overnight lead of Rally Australia tonight after a trouble-free run on the first Leg of the competition. He set top five times throughout the day and won three stages. With two days of the rally remaining Solberg lies more than 45secs ahead of second-placed Francois Duval. In front of his home crowd Subaru's young gun Chris Atkinson showed his star potential by taking four stage wins and taking the lead of the event in the morning. Unfortunately Chris's run of success was interrupted by a damaged steering arm on SS6 but with his car back to full strength he mounted a spirited recovery on the latter stages and is looking to make more progress back up the leaderboard over the coming days.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: It's been great fun out there today, better than I expected actually, the car and tyres have been perfect and I'm really enjoying myself. In Japan we saw how much of a step we'd made on gravel and today it's felt good to be fighting for the lead again - that's what we're here for. Running second on the road today there was lots of loose gravel about and it was extremely slippery and easy to make a mistake and spin. We pushed where we could, but the main objective was to get through cleanly and get a better road position for tomorrow's Leg. We've done that now and I think we'll be able to enjoy ourselves over the next couple of days!

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: We've certainly had some highs and some lows today. Things started perfectly, the car felt just right and Glenn and I were feeling pretty happy at the regroup after SS5, but on the next stage all the good work was undone by the damaged steering arm. It was especially disappointing in front of a home crowd, but there wasn't anything Glenn or I could do to fix it before service. Since then we've been right back on the pace and I'm determined to make as much of the next couple of days as I can. We've seen today that a lot can happen on these roads, they're great fun to drive but they always seem to bring a few surprises, so who knows what place we can get back to? We're back up to 100 percent and the car seems to suit the conditions perfectly, we'll do the best we can.

Ford

The all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car made an instant impact during its first public appearance on Rally Australia today. The early signs were hugely encouraging with Gardemeister claiming second fastest time at the super special stage at Perth's Gloucester Park trotting track, which began the action yesterday evening. The 30-year-old Finn added a third fastest time on the slippery gravel roads more than 100km south of the Western Australia capital of Perth, where this morning's speed tests were based. Twice Kresta was fourth fastest and both Focus RS drivers were in the top three overall on stage times during the morning loop. However, both Kresta and Gardemeister were last night handed a 30 second time penalty for not starting the event with the same engine with which they finished the Rally Japan in the 2005- specification Focus RS (Japan and Australia are paired for engine purposes). Ironically, had that engine been fitted to the new 2006 Focus RS, the team would also have been liable for a penalty for using an engine which is no longer homologated. With the penalties added, Gardemeister ended the leg in seventh, 9.2sec ahead of Kresta in eighth.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "It feels very good but I need time to get used to it," he said. "It's different to drive compared with the previous Focus and I need to get used to the feeling between the ground and the car. It brakes and handles superbly and there is more grip at the rear of the car. It's really powerful at low revs." Gardemeister lost more than 20 seconds after sliding off the road on the day's final bush test. "Halfway through the stage I started to slide and ended up going over a bank and into some small trees. Perhaps I was going too fast and the surface was loose. I've had a lot of dust coming into the car this afternoon and it was hard to see in places," he added.

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "It's fantastic!" said 30-year-old Kresta, whose performance was remarkable considering he has never competed in Australia before. "It feels like I'm driving slowly, like I've taken the car shopping, but the engine is so good that I'm driving really quickly. I have a good feeling with it, although it feels totally different to the previous Focus RS and I need to forget everything I learned about that car. It hasn't been easy though. The roads are slippery and I'm driving a new car on a new rally for me and trying to perfect my pace notes as well. That's a lot to think about at the same time!" Kresta dropped 25 seconds in a bizarre incident on stage eight. "I landed after a jump and my door came open and the window dropped at the same time. As I tried to close the door, I missed a junction and swiped a bank. I had so much dust come into the car through the window that I could not see for the rest of the stage," he explained.

Peugeot

The first leg of the Rally Australia proved to be the very last for the Peugeot Total team, who lost both cars on the opening morning. Marcus Gronholm broke his front- right suspension on SS7, while Daniel Carlsson went off the road a kilometre and a half after the start of SS3. Marcus was in third place and just eight seconds off the lead despite two punctures, when he felt his front-right suspension collapse. He finished the stage, losing more than a minute, but stopped on the road section back to service in Perth to try to fix the damage. Marcus managed to make running repairs using some nuts taken off the three undamaged shock absorbers, but one wheel was still rubbing against the arch. Unfortunately Australian police are unforgiving when it comes to traffic law enforcement, and with increasingly dense smoke coming from the affected wheel, they forced Marcus to end his rally on the spot. 

Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen: "On the preceding stage, I touched a rock on the apex of a corner. At the end of the stage I checked for damage, but the suspension seemed to be fine : there was just a bit of damage to a wheel. After 12 kilometres of the following stage the front-right suspension suddenly collapsed on a right-hand corner. I really do not understand what could have happened, as I did not feel anything at all. It's a real shame to end what has been a fantastic career at Peugeot like this. I really wanted to win here, in order to finish with a 19th victory !"

Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson: "It was the first time I was competing here and unfortunately the notes that I made during the recce were not correct. I arrived at a corner much too quickly and we started to roll. The car ended up on its wheels, but then it suddenly caught fire. We got out quickly before it went up completely."

Skoda

Colin McRae made maximum use of his start position for the opening day of Rally Australia to complete the first leg in 3rd place. Colin´s Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team partner Armin Schwarz finished 11th as he contests the final rally of his career. The roads of Western Australia offer a unique challenge to drivers. The ball-bearing´s surface gives a huge advantage to drivers running later on the road and Colin`s 14th start slot was ideal to benefit from the cleaning process. After a cautious start to to- day´s first forest stage while he reacquainted him- self with the Fabia WRC 05. Colin was second quickest on the next behind Chris Atkinson (and equal with Sebastien Loeb) to move into sixth place. He continued to set top 10 times and fourth place on SS7 took the Scot into third overall. When Loeb crashed out of the event on SS9, Colin moved up to second ahead of the superspecials that concluded the opening leg but in a close battle with Francois Duval. Armin survived a scare during yesterday´s shakedown when he badly damaged the right rear of the Fabia WRC 05 against a tree stump. The mechanics did a superb job rebuilding the car to make it ready for last night´s opening superspecial in the heart of the city.

Colin McRae/Nicky Grist: Today has gone completely to plan. I drove a bit too slowly on the opening stage but since then I´ve been able to push. The road position has obviously helped but the car has been fine too. If we can do the same tomorrow then who knows what sort of result is possible?

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: This is my final rally but I was so nervous before the start it might have been my first WRC event. The stages here are very tricky and it is so easy to make a mistake that I am not taking any risks and just trying to stay in the middle of the road.

Mitsubishi:

The Mitsubishi Motorsport WRC team enjoyed a positive opening leg of Rally Australia, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Harri Rovanpera¤ and Risto Pietilainen hold a fine fourth overall in the lead Lancer WRC05, while team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido d'Amore are sixth overnight.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "It's been a long day and I've been trying to understand our new damper set-up," said Harri. "When the roads are fast, smooth and flowing, it's very good, but also I feel the grip level is not always so great. I really pushed in the last two forest stages and SS8 felt very good. We've had no technical problems and hopefully we can maintain the pace tomorrow."

Gigi Galli/Guido d'Amore: "It's a good start for us and I'm feeling happy with the set-up of the car," said Gigi. "I have to say we had some problems this morning with the engine misfire and then we hit something and damaged the steering. This afternoon has been fine, although we had a big moment in SS7 with the pace notes. Tires have been good, although we're still learning about Pirelli's evolution tire."

Leading positions after the second day of the rally:

1. F Duval/S Smeets Citroen Xsara 2hr 21min 12.6sec
2. C McRae/N Grist Skoda Fabia 2hr 21min 39.7sec
3. H RovanperaR Pietilainen Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 21min 44.8sec
4. M Stohl/I Minor Citroen Xsara 2hr 22min 23.9sec
5. G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 22min 59.7sec
6. C Atkinson/G MacNeall Subaru Impreza 2hr 23min 06.9sec
7. R Kresta/J Tomanek Ford Focus RS 2hr 23min 11.3sec
8. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen Ford Focus RS 2hr 23min 19.3sec
9. D Sola /X Amigo Ford Focus RS 2hr 25min 18.9sec
10. A Schwarz/K Wicha Skoda Fabia 2hr 26min 06.5se

Driver's comments after Leg 2

News after Leg Two

Another action-packed day ended with Francois Duval (Citroen) on the verge of his maiden world rally win. The Belgian enjoyed a troublefree day to lead Colin McRae (Skoda) by 27.1sec. Duval hit the front when overnight leader Petter Solberg (Subaru) retired after hitting a kangaroo at 190kph midway through the second stage, damaging the car's radiator and oil cooling system. He completed the test but could not continue. McRae lost a few seconds when he switched from the automatic gearchange system to the back-up manual version on the first stage, but was fast all day. Harri Rovanpera (Mitsubishi) is only 5.1sec behind in third. The Finn held second but slipped behind McRae after spinning on the final morning stage. He also survived a bizarre incident when a kangaroo jumped into the side of the car on the opening test. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) and the privately-entered Manfred Stohl fought hard all day for fourth. Stohl led initially but Galli moved in front, only to drop behind again a stage later and then fall back after overshooting a junction. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) recovered well from yesterday's time loss to climb to sixth. 51 of the original 59 starters started Leg two. Temperatures ranged from 11-24°C with bright sunshine and blue skies throughout the day. No rain fell.

Citroen 

Duval, 24 and currently the youngest driver in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), placed third in last year´s Telstra Rally Australia. Prior to Solberg´s retirement, Duval was placed second, only 13.9 seconds adrift of the lead with Colin McRae in third, a further 28.8 seconds behind the rally lead. Duval has had a tumultuous season. The low point came when he was dropped by Citroen for two rounds in favour of retired Spanish driver, Carlos Sainz. Later this season he achieved a career best when he placed second in both Germany and Britain.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Retired

Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "Everything went well in these stages, which are actually the ones I like most," said Duval. "I'm trying to follow the same pace as Harri and Colin thanks to the split times I receive. Now we will drive another time through yesterday's stages. I shouldn't drive too slow as my main rivals are driving flat out. But I should also stay on the road"

Subaru

Both Subaru World Rally Team drivers demonstrated highly competitive pace throughout Leg two with Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson taking a combined total of three stage wins. After losing time in Leg one Chris made good progress back up the leaderboard, taking two wins and moving from tenth to sixth place. Petter started the Leg with a comfortable overall lead, which he extended with a win in the first test of the day. But a shock lay in store on the next stage when a high speed collision with a hapless kangaroo destroyed his car's radiator. The resulting engine damage brought his rally to an end after SS13.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: I feel a bit like I did after our retirement in Japan. Everything was going perfectly, the car was just right, we had the speed and then something just came out of the blue. Obviously I'm terribly disappointed for Subaru and the whole team, they deserved this win. I sincerely hope we've used up all our bad luck now. I suppose I should be glad that the kangaroo was hunched down when we hit, if it had been up in the air then at 190kph I think it would have been through the screen. Up to that point things had been going perfectly. I wasn't pushing hard at all, there was no need for a big attack, but when you're on a long straight you always go flat out and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. It's incredible really, we didn't see a single one on the recce and yet this happens today. Still, it is some consolation that we have the silver medal in the drivers' championship this year and that's still a good result for all of us. We'll be back next year looking to set the record straight.

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: On the whole we've had a good day today. Things didn't get off to the best start with the spin on the first stage but considering the less than perfect road position and the lack of our front spoiler, we did all we could. This afternoon I was far happier with the way we went. We were able to win some stages and I'm pleased with our progress from tenth to sixth. For tomorrow I'll just keep on pushing and try to take more time from the guys in front. There are still another 100kms left to go and I'll do all I can to get the best possible result.

Ford

The all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car continued to impress during today's second leg of Rally Australia, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship. BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Tománek both set top four times on the demanding gravel speed tests in Western Australia, while neither suffered major mechanical problems on the car's debut. Kresta ended the leg in seventh with Gardemeister just 8.0sec behind in eighth. Both are engrossed in a four-car battle for fifth, with the quartet covered by less than 20 seconds. But of more importance for the BP-Ford team has been the excellent performance of the new Focus RS, which the team will use in the 2006 championship.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The plug failed about 4km after the start of the stage and I had to drive with the engine running on only three cylinders," said the 30-year-old Finn. "I changed two plugs before the next stage but that made no difference so I replaced the other two after the test and the car fired up properly on all four cylinders." He dropped about 35 seconds but recovered well to set a string of top five times during the afternoon stages. "The grip was really good this afternoon, and although I ran wide on a few corners, it wasn't a big problem. Once I overcame the spark plug difficulty, the car ran perfectly." Gardemeister and Honkanen encountered a bizarre incident during one of the Bannister stages. "A bee and a spider were fighting on the dashboard of our car," explained Honkanen. "I know it was a dangerous spider because it killed the bee! Then the spider crawled off and I don't know where it is now. It's a worry!"

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "The roads this morning were more loose and slippery than yesterday, maybe because I was running fourth in the start order," he said. "I missed two junctions on the third stage and another on the next test, the last one at high speed. But I tried to drive carefully all day and not push too hard because I didn't want to make a mistake. "Atkinson knows these stages while I have never driven them before. I'm happy because my times here are consistently close to drivers that I've not been this close to all season. I feel really comfortable driving this car and it gives me a nice feeling," added Kresta.

Skoda

Colin McRae made maximum use of his start position for the opening day of Rally Australia to complete the second leg in second place. Colin's Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team partner Armin Schwarz finished 10th as he contests the final rally of his career. With a group of five stages without service this morning it was a frustrating for Colin when he lost the automatic gearshift on the opening stage. It cost a few seconds on each stage and allowed the Scot to be caught and passed by Harri Rovanpera. However on the final stage of the group he regained the place and with overnight leader Petter Solberg retiring with engine damage after hitting a kangaroo, McRae returned to service in second place, 23.8 seconds behind Francois Duval. Armin moved into the top 10 during the morning, helped by second fastest on the third stage of the day but was taking no risks at all on his final appearance in the World Rally Championship.

Colin McRae/Nicky Grist: We lost some time this morning with the gearshift problem but it wasn't so bad. I'm working hard to win the battle with Harri and trying to keep Francois under pressure. Given that I've only driven the car in competition for less than 600kms I'd settle for second right now but I'm still going to try and win if I can. The Fabia is certainly good enough to set the times it needs.

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: It has been quite good fun today. If the roads are on their second use the ruts are very bad and you have to be careful not to get out of them but if the roads are smooth you can really enjoy sliding the car and entertaining the crowds. There are a lot of spectators watching the stages.

Mitsubishi:

The Mitsubishi Motorsport WRC team looks set to round off the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship season on a high note, following fierce battles and a potential podium position at the end of the second leg of Rally Australia. Harri Rovanpera and Risto Pietilainen have been on great form, the Finns claiming three fastest stage times to take an overnight third position. Team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido d'Amore climbed to fourth during the day, but slipped to fifth in the final forestry stage after losing time with an overshoot.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "It was a big kangaroo, like a horse!" said Harri. "A few kilometers into the stage, at top speed, the kangaroo jumped into the side of the car. The lock broke and the door flew open and we had to complete the rest of the stage like this. It's the worst place in the world for this to happen, with the amount of dust coming into the car. I'm feeling very confident and good with the car though, and the set-up of the suspension, so tomorrow we'll continue pushing hard and see what happens."

Gigi Galli/Guido d'Amore: "We're lucky to be here after the overshoot; it must have been the only corner in Australia without a tree, said Gigi. After that I lost my rhythm and we dropped more than 40 seconds, but fortunately not any positions. Overall though, the day has been good, especially as today's stages were all new to me."

Final positions after the third day of the rally:

1. F Duval/S Smeets Citroen Xsara 3hr 19min 55.0sec
2. H Rovanpera/R Pietilainen Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 20min 47.9sec
3. M Stohl/I Minor Citroen Xsara 3hr 21min 28.0sec
4. C Atkinson/G MacNeall Subaru Impreza 3hr 21min 34.0sec
5. G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 22min 59.4sec
6. R Kresta/J Tomanek Ford Focus RS 3hr 23min 04.0sec
7. D Sola /X Amigo Ford Focus RS 3hr 26min 12.4sec
8. A Schwarz/K Wicha Skoda Fabia 3hr 27min 59.3sec
9. T Arai/T Sircombe Subaru Impreza 3hr 35min 38.2sec
10. M Higgins/D Barritt Subaru Impreza 3hr 37min 24.8sec

Driver's comments after Leg 3

News after Final Leg

After one of the most dramatic rallies of the season, Belgium's Francois Duval (Citroen) claimed his first world rally victory. He was untroubled today to beat Harri Rovanpera (Mitsubishi) by 52.9sec. Private entrant Manfred Stohl claimed his second podium of the season in third after Colin McRae (Skoda) retired in the mid-morning service with three stages remaining. A routine clutch change took longer than expected and he exceeded the time limit. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) completed a remarkable fight back from 13th after day one steering problems to claim fourth, failing to overhaul Stohl by just 6.0sec. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) held off Kresta for fifth while Armin Schwarz (Skoda) claimed the final drivers' point on his last rally before retirement. 49 of the original 59 starters started the final Leg. Temperatures ranged from 11-23°C. The day started slightly overcast and hazy, but no rain fell during the day.

Citroen

A first for Francois Duval! Impeccably partnered by his co-driver Sven Smeets, and five days before his 25th birthday, the Citroen driver coolly picked up the first world class win of his career today, a feat which only Henri Toivonen and Markku Alen achieved at a younger age. Francois and Sven also go down in history as the first Belgians to ever win a round of the World Rally Championship. Meanwhile, with a total of eleven wins to its name in 2005, the Versailles-Satory-based team has beaten the record for the highest number of wins in a single season, a record that has held since 1988. The result also enables the Xsara WRC, which will be run on a private basis from now on, to end its works career on a high note. From 58 starts since its debut in Catalonia in 2001, the car has won 24 times.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Retired

Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "I've been waiting and hoping for this victory for so long," beamed Francois. "I would like to say a big thank you to Citroen, to my parents, to Guy Frequelin who has given me so much help, and to Sven who has done a tremendous job, I naturally found the final stages very long. But everything went OK. It's a great way to end what has at times been a difficult season for me..."

Subaru

Subaru World Rally Team's Chris Atkinson finished his debut year in the World Rally Championship in style with a fourth place on today's final Leg of Rally Australia, only six seconds away from a podium finish. The result is the 25-year-old's second top four finish since joining the team at the start of the year and also equalled Ross Dunkerton's 1993 effort as the highest placed local driver in the Australian round of the World Championship. Atkinson was the dominant driver throughout the weekend, recording the fastest time on nine of the 26 stages, four more than any other driver, taking his number of stage wins for the year to 15. The only drivers to win more stages throughout the year are world champions Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg. Despite retiring on yesterday's second Leg, Petter finished the 2005 season in second position in the drivers' championship, continuing the record of Subaru World Rally Team drivers finishing in the top two since 1999.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: Retired

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: It's been an interesting rally, one with some highs and lows, but considering how much time we lost on Friday, to finish fourth today feels incredible! I pushed as hard as I could today and we so nearly caught Stohl, but to close the gap from almost 50 seconds to five shows we did a good job and I'm extremely happy. I want to say thanks to all the guys in the team for their hard work, they did a fantastic job and thanks too to all the supporters on the stages, it was great to see you all rooting for us! Of course it's satisfying to finish our first WRC season on a high, but in fact I think we've been able to take something positive from all of the rallies this year. Together Glenn and I have learned so much and I can't wait to get back out on the stages again next season.

Ford

The all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car claimed two special stage victories on today's final leg of Rally Australia to end a hugely impressive debut for Ford's 2006 FIA World Rally Championship challenger. BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Roman Kresta and Jan Tománek and team-mates Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen each set a fastest time as Ford secured third in the final championship standings with a record-breaking 60th consecutive points finish. Kresta finished sixth on the four-day rally based on demanding gravel tracks in Western Australia. Gardemeister retired on the penultimate speed test with a broken water pump drive belt but the performance of the new Focus RS delighted BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: Gardemeister started in eighth and was delighted with the pace of the Focus RS after the team discovered a leak in the turbo pipe which was replaced this morning. "The car had much more pace today than yesterday and I'm 100 per cent sure that if the car had been working like this yesterday, I would have set a fastest time because it felt totally different today," said the 30-year-old Finn, who finished fourth in the drivers' standings. However, he did not have long to wait as he powered to fastest time through the opening stage of the second loop. "The car felt superb, there was just so much power there," he added. "It was a shame to retire so close to the finish but the main aim of the weekend was to test the car and everyone has learned a huge amount. It's a great car to drive and I'm delighted it has proved so competitive so soon. Next year's rules mean the cars must use less technology so it's really encouraging for the team for the Focus RS to be a match for the current cars."

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Kresta, starting in seventh, dropped 30 seconds on the short opening stage after spinning. "The road was extremely narrow and the car became wedged between two trees," said the 29-year-old Czech. However, he recovered well and set fastest time on the final stage as he just failed to overhaul fifth placed Gigi Galli, pulling back more than 30 seconds during the last three stages. It was Kresta's first stage win on gravel and sealed an excellent performance on a rally in which he was competing for the first time against rivals with far more experience. The result ensured he finished eighth in the drivers' championship. "I made a few small mistakes over the weekend but the performance of the car has been fantastic," he said. "I've never had the opportunity to drive a car like this before, I've never driven anything as good as this Focus RS. I can't believe what I have achieved because it was my first time on these roads and I hadn't even driven the car until the shakedown on the morning of the start."

Skoda

Colin McRae's dream of getting the Skoda Fabia WRC 05 onto the podium of Rally Australia was shattered when a normally routine clutch change took longer than expected just three stages from the finish. At the time the Scot was lying third and ready to push hard to try and take second place from Harri Rovanpera who had been dueling for the position with McRae for most of the rally. Fears that the clutch might not survive the final three stages forced the team to replace it in service this morning. Unfortunately the change did not go to plan and the clock ticked away past McRae's permitted service time. Earlier in the event a similar change on Armin's car took just 22 minutes, well within the time allowed. Members of every rival team gathered to watch the drama unfold and when it was realised that the rally was over they burst into spontaneous applause in acknowledgement of McRae's drive to what might easily have been Skoda Motorsport's best ever finish in the World Rally Championship. The dramatic final morning allowed Armin Schwarz to finish eighth on his final appearance as a WRC driver, the best result of the season for the veteran German driver.

Colin McRae/Nicky Grist: This was a huge disappointment retiring so close to the end. We were confident of passing Harri for second place but it all came to nothing when what should have been a routine clutch change went wrong. These things can happen at any time and with any team but it was especially frustrating for it to happen just now. It was a good dream while it lasted. I've proved a lot to myself and also a lot about the Fabia WRC 05 and I hope it will have a positive effect on the future of the team.

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: Yesterday was fun but today's stages weren't the best to end my career as a driver. It has been a tough year and I have to admit that my motivation hasn't been as high as it should.

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Motorsport crew of Harri Rovanpera and Risto Pietilainen claimed the team's best result of the season today when they finished on the podium in second position. The Finns claimed five fastest stage times during the three-day event, demonstrating the increased performance of the Lancer WRC05. Team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido d'Amore finished a fine fifth in only their second outing in Rally Australia. Harri Rovanpera started the day in third but in the first stage he reduced the gap to Colin McRae to just 3.5 seconds. Then, in the longest stage of the event (Helena North), the Finn powered ahead of his rival to claim a 4.7 second advantage in the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05. Consolidating the position in the last of these three stages, Harri beat rally leader, Citroen's Francois Duval, and a charging Chris Atkinson in the Subaru Impreza, to claim another fastest stage time. Harri and Risto returned to the mid-leg service with a 6.9 second advantage going into the final three stages. However, the task ahead was made much easier when what should have been a routine clutch change on McRae's Å koda saw the crew go over the time permitted. So, even though the pressure was off the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crew, they still had three stages to complete without mistakes before returning to Perth in a fantastic second position. Gigi Galli, who had climbed as high as fourth yesterday, slipped from fifth to seventh this morning. The Italian had no problems, but was once again tackling stages for the first time and intent on finishing the rally without incident. This afternoon however he still had to continue defending his position from a charging Roman Kresta and, following the retirements of McRae and Toni Gardemeister, the crew claimed fifth overall.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "I am very, very happy for the whole team," said a delighted Harri, "and especially for all the mechanics who have worked so hard since the beginning of the season. It's been a great rally for us; the car has worked well, the performance and speed has been good and the feeling has been right all weekend. It's a great way to round off the year."

Gigi Galli/Guido d'Amore: "It's been a really, really tough rally," said Gigi. "Now I can see and believe why it's so important to have experience of this event with the surface, pace notes, speed; everything that makes a difference to your performance. I have to keep in mind our goal was to finish, but fifth is a good position for us."