| FIA RALLY NEWS
COMING EVENT - Neste Rally Finland (4-7 August 2005) 10th round out of 16 in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, 5th round out of eight in the 2005 FIA Junior World Rally Championship FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Present: Guy Frequelin – Citroen Q: Welcome to Finland Guy (Frequelin). Sebastien (Loeb) has just finished a remarkable run of six consecutive victories, but he says Finland will be the most difficult rally for him so far. How confident do you feel about the abilities of him and the Xsara to win again in Finland? GF: Sebastien is right. Sure it is very difficult rally. Very specific and I don’t want to push Sebastien to win. It’s very important to score points for the Manufacturers’ Championship and the Drivers’ championship and so it’s very important to finish the rally. Q: If, for example, he is second on the last day would you expect him
to push for victory or think of points and the championship? Q: Torii San, the Lancer has a number of engine improvements to it for
this rally. Can you tell us what they are and what effect they should have
on the performance of the car? Q: Do you think that so far the performance of the team has followed
the targets set since the start of the season? Q: Guy, last time out in Argentina you said you were happy with seventh
place for Francois Duval. What objective do you have fixed for him on this
event? How difficult do you think this will be for him? Q: How has his collaboration with Sven Smeets worked so far? Q: Harri Rovanpera has always been amongst the quickest drivers in
Finland. What do you expect from him here? Can he end up on the podium? Is
it an event that suits the Lancer WRC? Q: How close to his pace do you expect Gigi Galli to be? Q: Is it an event that suits the Lancer WRC? Q: There has been some work done recently on a 2006-specification Xsara,
which will be designed to meet the new regulations for next year. Can you
tell us about this car and your intentions with it? Q: Is there a possibility that Sebastien Loeb will still be driving a
Xsara next year? Q: Torii San, Mitsubishi, along with Skoda, requested and received a
dispensation to miss some rallies next year. Now that the calendar will
almost certainly consist of 16 rallies again next year, is it your
intention to compete on all of them? QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: David Williams / David Williams Agency (GB): Mikko Hirvonen – Ford Q: Janne, welcome. Your first rally Finland with Skoda, are you looking
forward to it? Q: Your team mate Jani Paasonen surprised several people last year by
finishing sixth with the Fabia WRC: do you think you might be able to
match or even improve on that result? Q: What did you discover on test? Q: Hello, Mikko. You get your hands on a factory Ford Focus for this
rally, and Tommi Makinen has tipped you as a big surprise to do well here.
You’ve led a couple of rallies in an older car – what do you think you
can do here with the latest version? Q: Is this a rally you know well? Q: You know this rally quite well – can you tell us how you think it
will compare with previous editions of the rally Finland? Is the weather
likely to play a big part? How much more difficult does this rally become
when it rains? Is it unusually slippery? Q: There are five Finns in the top, is this making it a classic Finnish
rally? Q: Having driven the 2004 Focus, how different is it to the 2003
version you have used in the past? Q: Is it a car that gives you a lot of confidence? Q: It’s been a mixed season for Skoda so far; are there any signs of
improvement? What is the next stage of development for the Fabia WRC? Q: What do you think the team’s prospects are looking like for the
rest of the season? Q: Do you think your performances so far have been enough to put you in
contention for a factory seat next year? So far, what are your plans for
next year? Q: What are your best hopes for 2006: are there any specific drives you
are targeting? Marcus Gronholm – Peugeot Q: Welcome Marcus. Is Finland your best chance of winning a rally this
year? Q: Why do you think this is? Q: Would you say that it is almost a car designed for Rally Finland? Q: Petter, you’ve never won in Finland, but always been quick here.
What are your chances this time? Q: How realistic is that? Q: We’ve been hearing about slightly damp conditions, do you think
that will help you at all? What would be your ideal conditions for this
event to run in? Q: You said in Argentina that the favourite for this rally was
Sebastien Loeb: do you honestly think he will beat you on home territory?
He’s never won it, but you have won it many times. Do you think he can
beat you? Q: How important is experience of the event? It’s normally Scandinavian drivers who win here; why? MG: It’s quite important I think. They are difficult roads. They are fast roads and you can’t really enjoy them. I don’t enjoy driving here, but after the stage, yes if it’s going well. It’s a little bit special rally. PS: Looking at stage times from last year the top seven was just Finnish guys. But they drop after first stages! MG: Also a Norwegian driver (Solberg) drop off! Q: You did a lot of testing before this event; what did you find out on
the test and how do you think it will help you? Q: Are you worried about anything? Q: Peugeot run a third car on this event, for your cousin Sebastian
Lindholm. He was able to push you quite hard on pace last year until he
crashed; do you expect him to be challenging you again? Is this an event
where Peugeot could end up with more than one car on the podium? Q: You tested the 2006 car recently, which we hear is scheduled for its
debut in Monte Carlo next year. What did you think of it? Q: Why do you think they are waiting for the new season to bring out
the new car? PS: It’s a few different places and I don’t want to tell you because he (points to Marcus) is sitting here! MG: Don’t worry, I will not have a car next year! Q: Will you go flat out from start? Both: Yes! Q: You’re still Sebastien Loeb’s closest challenger in the
championship, although nearly 30 points behind him. How crucial is it for
you to win here in order to keep your hopes alive? Q: Do you have to hope for some luck? FIA Junior World Rally Championship Pre-event Press Conference Present: Q: PG, let’s start with you. You’re leading the championship and
you come here with a new car: the Swift. Which are the biggest
improvements over the older Ignis? Q: How confident are you feeling: Suzuki has said that the objective is
to win their debut event with the car? Q: How much does having a new car help your motivation? Q: Kris, you’ve probably got a different view about the Swift winning
on this event. Does the C2 have what it takes to beat the new Swift? Q: We saw particularly in Greece that the Citroen C2 has made a big
step forward on gravel: which testing have you done since then and how
does it translate into extra performance? Q: The other element is of course the driver. Speaking as a Finn, do
you think local drivers have an advantage here? KM: 2 times before. Q: How much experience helps you and your co-driver? Q: You’re backed by Marcus Gronholm – how much help can he give you
on an event like this? What advice has he given you? Q: You’ve also got a famous backer; Colin McRae. Colin is coming out
to this event: what sort of help and advice can he give you? Q: You’ve always gone well on these types of road and you’ve won
Finland in the past. What is the key to winning here? Q: Is there a different technique to going quickly here in a Super 1600
car compared to a World Rally Car? Would you say that it is even more
important to be precise in a Super 1600 machine than it is in a World
Rally Car? Q: What sort of support and coverage does the Junior World Championship
receive in Finland? Q: Does it help the profile of young drivers and manufacturers, in your
case Suzuki? Q: Last year, a fantastic battle between yourself and PG for the class
win which went right to the end: do you think it will be that close again? Q: You have to be quite confident of your own chances? Event Timetable
Leading positions after the first day of the rally: 1 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL 1:12:01.8 Driver's comments after Leg 1 Rally Finland - Leg One News Petter Solberg (Subaru) and Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) briefly led before
Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) established himself in top spot. The Finn's
only problem came when a heavy landing over a jump near the start of stage
five injured co-driver Timo Rautiainen's back. The pain was so intense
that Grönholm tackled the rest of the stage and the next driving blind
without pace notes. His lead dropped to just 1.8sec, but Rautiainen
recovered and Grönholm widened his lead again to 5.8sec. Loeb stalled at
the start of stage five and co-driver Daniel Elena also injured his back
at the same point as Rautiainen. Solberg rolled on the penultimate stage
but lost only 20sec, dropping to fourth and allowing Markko Märtin
(Peugeot) into third. Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) struggled all day with
gear ratios that were too long while team-mate Gigi Galli retired on the
opening stage when he went off the road, ripping the front left wheel from
his car. Jani Paasonen (Skoda) lost two minutes in a ditch while trying to
get passed Galli's car and then retired after the car's right rear
suspension broke when landing after a jump. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) went
out after hitting a rock on the inside of a corner and breaking his front
left suspension and steering. After 144 km of competitive action in the Finish forests, Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën WRC have emerged in 2nd position, 5.8 seconds behind Marcus Grönholm. François Duval and Sven Smeets are 8th and in the provisional Drivers' and Manufacturers' points. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It's been a superb day. There's nothing like a good fight. I have an excellent feeling with the car and I'm 100% confident. Marcus pushed very hard, but so did I. I am pleased to have succeeded in taking the fight to the fastest home grown star on this event.and I hope it will continue that way tomorrow!" Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "I used the same set-up as Sébastien
and ran harder tyres for the second loop (SS5/6). I think the set-up was
too soft and the tyres were too hard for a first run at a stage. I kept
the same rubber for the final loop but reverted to my own set-up. I'm in
the points. That's the objective and I'll keep to the same pace tomorrow." After an incident-filled first day of Rally Finland for the Subaru team,
Petter Solberg holds fifth place overall, but remains less than five
seconds behind the top-three with two days of competition still to go.
Solberg recorded a string of top-three times during the Leg, and won two
stages outright, before a dramatic landing after a jump on SS8 cost him 20
seconds and two positions on the leaderboard. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "The car and tyres were improving through the day and we were in a good position near the top of the times. At the end of the day we lost a lot of time when, after clipping the rear wing from the car, we had no downforce over a massive jump in SS8. We landed on the radiator then went off into a ditch and hit a lot of rocks and trees. It is a long time since I had something like that. It was amazing that the car popped back out again and onto the road and we were able to continue. I think almost the whole side was ripped off and we still continued. The guys have done a good job to get everything back together. I'm not giving up and tomorrow we'll be pushing really hard for third." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "It was all going really well and we
were pleased to be running in the top eight when you are up against the
top WRC guys and the locals that know these stages so well. We just
clipped a rock with an open wheel on the inside of a slow corner near the
end of stage four and it damaged the steering. We managed to get another
couple of hundred metres down the road, but it could go no further. I
really didn't expect to go out on a second gear corner in Finland! It's a
frustrating mistake, but we've still got a job to do, and we'll get back
on it over the next couple of days." BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and fellow Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen each hold top six positions after today's pulsating opening leg of the Rally Finland. Gardemeister lies fourth in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, less than five seconds away from a podium place, while Hirvonen is sixth in a similar car after a day of remarkable action in which average speeds exceeded 125kph. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "It was an odd day. My position is good but the gap between myself and the leader is more than I wanted or expected. The tyres were good but the car slid too much this morning and I don't know why. There were a lot of loose stones on the surface and the roads were wet rather than damp. I stopped sliding this afternoon on the drier stages. The car seems better in the dry than in the wet but I don't understand why. I think tomorrow will be a better day because I know the roads well and like them. I will make the ride height lower and see what effect that has." Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "The difference in stage times between the fastest cars and myself isn't large and I feel comfortable at this speed. Some stages were soft and others were slippery, and that's where I dropped time compared with those ahead of me. I drove well in the fast parts but perhaps I wasn't as smooth as I needed to be in the slower sections. We need to find more speed tomorrow to catch the people in front of me and I think I can do that. It has been a good day, tomorrow I need to make it a perfect day." Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "It's unbelievable! I spent so much time
in sixth gear, it's incredible. I overshot a junction this morning and I
was too fast into some corners and as soon as you do that, it's easy to
lose confidence. But I enjoyed the morning stages and learned a lot." Marcus Gronholm - who has won his native Rally Finland in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004 - is determined to remain the master of this particular event. At the end of leg one of round 10 of the World Rally Championship, Marcus leads Finland with a slender but determined advantage from.the Citroen of Sebastien Loeb. Nonetheless, the day has been far from easy. The Peugeot team had a real scare at the end of the 33-kilometre long SS5 when Marcus radioed in to say that his co-driver Timo Rautiainen had severe pain in his back, and that he was not sure if they would be able to continue the rally. At the time he started the stage - the longest of the rally - Marcus was in the lead and attacking hard, as he had been from the start of the day. After 10 kilometres, a big jump taken at around 200kph caused a severe compression as the car landed. Timo Rautiainen felt a sharp pain in his back and was unable to continue reading the notes. One short stage remained before a service halt in Jyvaskyla, where Timo was treated by the team doctor and osteopath for bruising on his back. After the 30 minute service, Timo felt well enough to continue. Proving that the medical team had done a good job, Marcus and Timo carried on where they had left off - setting their fourth fastest time of the day! Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "It's been a very good day for us but the last few stages were difficult because I was thinking about Timo's back all the time, so I was definitely backing off over some of the more violent crests. The car and the tyres have been perfect all day and it's a nice feeling to fight for the lead again. I've always had a very good feeling for these stages and it's fun to drive them. But we are in the middle of a very tight battle and we have to keep pushing, so it's always more fun when you have done the stages and you can look back on them!" Markko Martin/Michael Park: "I think I have felt more comfortable
in the car today than I have since the start of the year. To do well in
Finland mostly you need to have confidence, and I have good confidence in
the car now. The new suspension set-up has helped me a lot. Tomorrow we
will face a tight battle with Toni Gardemeister and Petter Solberg, and if
it is as slippery as it was on many of the stages today, it could get very
interesting. But I feel able to attack now, so I'm looking forward to them." The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team completed the opening day of Rally Finland with Janne Tuohino in 10th place and Armin Schwarz in 14th. Jani Paasonen went off the road for two minutes on SS2 trying to avoid the stricken car of Gigi Galli that was blocking the road and then had to withdraw from the leg after a wheel collapsed under the car following a heavy landing on SS5. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "This is an event where local experience is very important. On stages that I know and feel confident on I can set quite good times but there are many that I don't know so well and there I have to be careful. We had a transmission problem on SS5 that caused the engine to stall three times in hairpins but otherwise the car has been fine." Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: "What happened on SS2 was just bad luck. Gigi's car was across the road with spectators trying to get him going again. When I tried to get past I got stuck on the rocks in the ditch. Everyone, including Gigi, tried to help but we lost two minutes and I lost concentration for a few stages. On SS5 we had a hard landing after the big jump that damaged the suspension. A rear wheel folded under the car and although we tried to reach the finish it was impossible for us to go any further." Janne Touhino/Mikko Markkula: "This morning I tried to make a
careful start because the roads were incredibly slippy. Perhaps I was too
careful at times and I must push a bit harder. We were quite lucky on SS5,
which was new for everyone, when we landed slightly off line after a big
jump and drove for 100 metres in the ditch. Fortunately there wasn't a
rock or we might not have come out again." The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen hold seventh position at the end of the opening leg of Rally Finland, the tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido d'Amore - in their debut outing in Finland in a World Rally Car - went off the road in the first stage today and were forced onto the sidelines. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen:"The problem we have is that the gear ratio is too long. It affected us quite badly today as you need more power in these softer conditions. At flat out speed it just doesn't feel like it. Tomorrow's stages are faster and more flowing on a harder surface, so this will help us more than it has today. Tires have been good and I have no problems here at all. The leaderboard seems to have been quite consistent today, but we have to keep pushing to protect our position." Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "It was my fault, a stupid mistake. On a long left corner, which was a bit more slippery than the previous corners, the car went too sideways and I couldn't get it back. A wheel went off the road and that was that. There were about 20 spectators that tried to get us back on the road, but with the front left wheel off it was difficult and we were forced to park up in a safe place. As we were doing this, Jani Paasonen (Skoda) was trying to pass us and he went a little off the road too and for that I am sorry." Leading positions after the second day of the rally: 1 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL 2:22:30.7 Driver's comments after Leg 2 Rally Finland - Leg Two News Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) dominated the day. The Finn was fastest on
six of the eight stages to open a 67.0sec lead over Sebastien Loeb
(Citroen). Grönholm, who admitted to not attacking the jumps to protect
injured co-driver Timo Rautiainen's back, had his hopes of victory boosted
when Loeb lost 35 seconds on the last stage after hitting a rock and
puncturing a front left tyre. Markko Märtin (Peugeot) holds the final
podium place, the Estonian much happier with the revised suspension fitted
to his car for this event. Fourth-placed Petter Solberg (Subaru) lost time
on stage 14 when his car's rear brake line split but he recovered to hold
off the charging Hirvonen. Sebastian Lindholm (Peugeot) failed to start
this morning when co-driver Tomi Tuominen was advised by doctors not to
continue after being one of several co-drivers to suffer a back injury
during a vicious jump on the Vellipohja stage yesterday. Gigi Galli
(Mitsubishi) re-started under the SupeRally rules but went off the road on
the first stage and retired for good while Manfred Stohl went off on the
same stage and broke his car's suspension. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) also
re-started under SupeRally but rolled into retirement at a fourth gear
bend on the penultimate stage. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I gave it everything I could. There was nothing I could do. Marcus was faster. Tomorrow, without taking any risks, I will try to keep Markko Märtin at bay with a view to scoring as many points as possible for myself and Citroën." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "I was a bit quick into a left-hander
and I preferred to take the safe option by going straight on into a
farmyard where I was able to turn round. Apart from Seb, all the drivers
ahead of me are Nordics and they are never easy to beat here. The positive
thing is that I haven't made any mistakes and I am still on target to
score points which is my objective." After another incident-filled day on the gravel roads of Rally Finland, Petter Solberg moved up the leaderboard to hold fourth place overnight. Solberg's pace increased steadily throughout the Leg, and he set a string of increasingly competitive times before a split brake pipe forced him to ease off on two stages in the afternoon. Petter will start tomorrow's final day of competition 39sec behind Markko Martin's third place. Chris Atkinson impressed many with his pace on today's notoriously tricky stages. On his WRC class debut in Finland, the youngster traded times with far more experienced drivers and, on SS13, he set the third fastest time. Chris's day was cut short when he went off the road on the penultimate test of the day, but he hopes to re-join the event tomorrow as a Superally entrant. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It was good to see the car look like new again after all the work the team did last night. But today was so difficult as we've been looking for the right set up for the conditions. Sometimes that's just how it is. Just before the long stage today we tried some damper changes to get more traction, but I found that it made the car slide so much and we lost a lot of grip. Then, on the last stage, we tried some new changes and that was so much better. I think we'll keep the same setting for tomorrow. We'll keep trying with the four stages left, but it's a short day and the aim is to keep winning the fight for fourth." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Today was one of the best days
rallying I can remember. To come to Finland and consistently match times
with the top drivers was just fantastic. Everything has been working so
well all day, the car, the tyres and overall package. It was a shame such
a small mistake cut short a great day, but we just got caught out when we
got stuck in a rut coming out of a corner and then hit a bump with the car
tipping over into a ditch just off the road on the second last stage. To
be fast in the long term we need to be quick and you have to risk the odd
mistake. The crowd got us back on the road after a few minutes, but we
didn't want to press on in case we damaged the engine. Hopefully we'll be
back out with the car again tomorrow." Both BP-Ford World Rally Team pairings hold points scoring positions after a blistering second leg of the Rally Finland today. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are fifth in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, while Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen lie seventh in a similar car despite losing two minutes and three positions on the longest speed test of the event this evening. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The speeds were higher today than I've ever known. I think I pushed too hard in Ouninpohja this morning, going sideways too much and losing time. My tyre choice was too soft for the repeat stages there this afternoon and they started to move around a bit. The road surface was cleaner and I tried to drive more smoothly than this morning but it didn't make any difference to my times" Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Yesterday was a medium plus day for me, this morning was a medium minus but this afternoon I was back to a medium plus again. I compared my times with Toni and Petter and I won a second here, and lost a second there, so it was up and down all day. Before the rally I thought that if I was going to lose time it would be today, but that wasn't the case. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "I entered a left bend too fast and slid
into a ditch. Jan opened the door to climb out just as I spun the wheels
and he was covered in mud! There were many spectators there who pushed and
lifted the car back on the road. Without their help we would not have
continued so a big thanks to them." Peugeot 307 WRC drivers Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin have consolidated their positions at the sharp end of the leaderboard during the second leg of Rally Finland. Marcus Gronholm keeps his first place, extending his advantage over Sebastien Loeb from 5.8 seconds this morning to more than a minute by the end of the day. Markko Martin maintains his third position, having pulled out a margin of 39.8 seconds over Petter Solberg. Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "It's been a very good day, although I could not have expected to have a lead of a minute by the end of today! Actually that does not change things so much as we have been fast all day and I think we know that the speed is there. Our tyre choice this morning was perfect for Ouninpohja, and we had no problems at all. However there are still four stages run together tomorrow without service so we have to stay concentrated. Anything can still happen." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "It's been another good run through
the stages today: this is definitely the best rally of my year so far.
I've got confidence in the handling of the car now and of course the
engine is very good, which has allowed us to set some fast times. We've
moved ahead of the battle we were in with Toni Gardemeister and Petter
Solberg so tomorrow our plan is to drive for a podium finish." The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team completed the second leg of Rally Finland with Janne Tuohino in 10th place and Armin Schwarz in 11th. Jani Paasonen did not restart this morning as the penalties he collected under the SupeRally system would have been impossible to overcome. On today's stages Janne increased his pace and again set several top 10 stage times. He moved into ninth place by SS15 but on SS16, the longest stage of the event, the large amount of loose rocks and gravel slowed him sufficiently to cost him a place. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "The car has been fine again for most of the day but I had too soft tyres for the first runs over Ouninpohja and by the end of the first group of stages there was very little grip left. We lost the auto gearshift on SS16 but we survived and can still get a good result." Janne Touhino/Mikko Markkula: "This morning I tried to push a bit
harder and I closed the gap to the people ahead of me. This afternoon's
stages had a lot of loose gravel that didn't suit our set-up and I was
disappointed to lose a place on SS16 which was especially rough. We will
keep pushing tomorrow and see if we can recover the position." At the end of the second leg of Rally Finland, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship, Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen have moved into sixth position in the Lancer WRC05. However, team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido d'Amore were once again on the sidelines having gone off the road in SS12. The pair will not start the final leg in view of the damage caused to the chassis and suspension components. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "Today has not been so bad and we have tried to push as hard as possible all day. We had a lot of moments though, with the car too sideways, but for sure it was better than yesterday. Since changing the damper set-up earlier in the afternoon the car has been a lot more precise, but maybe we lose some grip. Tomorrow the first stage is not so bad, but the second I have only driven once before and it's quite soft, very fast and one where you need a lot of power. As for keeping ahead of Toni (Gardemeister), we just have to see." Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "We made one mistake over a jump and lost control; I couldn't do a thing. Lining the car up for the next right-hand corner I turned too much and when we landed the car snatched away from me. We hit a tree and damaged the front corner. I have never hit anything in that way before; it was big scare for Guido and me." Final positions after the third day of the rally: 1 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL 2:54:11.0 Driver's comments after Leg 3 Rally Finland - Final News Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) ended Sebastien Loeb's (Citroen) six-rally
winning run by beating the Frenchman by 66.7sec. It was Grönholm's first
victory since winning here 12 months ago and his fifth Rally Finland
success. He survived an early morning scare when his team found an oil
leak in a new power steering system and had to replace the old unit.
Markko Märtin (Peugeot) completed the podium places while Petter Solberg
(Subaru) held off Hirvonen in their fight for fourth. Behind Gardemeister,
Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) and François Duval (Citroen) completed the
points scorers in both championships. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) completed
three retirements in three days when he stopped after the opening two
stages with an engine problem. Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën Xsara completed Round 10 of the 2005 World Championship as superb runners-up to Marcus Grönholm who secured the fifth win of his career on his home event. The Citroën crew's seventh consecutive podium finish, which equals the existing record established by Carlos Sainz, sees the pair extend its cushion over its closest rival in the Drivers' championship by one point. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "We gave him (Gronholm) a very close run and we come away with eight valuable points. In championship terms, this is an excellent result. but it's not a victory. Whenever a winning run like this comes to an end - even if you know it will stop one day - is bound to be a little bit sad. That said, I am very happy and proud to have been able to take the fight to Marcus over stages he has competed on every year since 1989. You have to know when to accept being beaten by an opponent of his calibre on his home ground. We put in a very good run. and he put in a flawless performance." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "We didn't put a foot wrong on an
event where it is so easy to make a mistake. We also achieved the
objective we were set and we are looking forward to doing better still in
Germany which stands out as a more straightforward rally for us." After a difficult event for the Subaru team, Petter Solberg crossed the finish ramp of Rally Finland in fourth place today to collect five World Championship points. Locked in a close battle over the final four stages, Solberg carefully controlled his pace to remain ahead of local star Mikko Hirvonen, who was at maximum attack on his home rally. Chris Atkinson continued to gain experience of his car in the specialist conditions, although his day was cut short by engine damage sustained in an accident on Leg two. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It's a disappointing result, but after the bad landing on Friday and the split brake pipe yesterday I have to be happy with fourth. I tried to push so hard and we made a number of changes to improve the set-up yesterday and today. I was happier with how we finished today and after a quick break I'm going to be working hard, as I want so much to be back on top again, it's been too long now. We're going to do some very intensive testing before Germany and I know the car will have lots of new parts for the rally. You can be sure I'm not giving up and so I'm looking forward to getting out there again." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "I can take a lot of positives from
this weekend. It's my first time in a World Rally Car in Finland and I
managed to set times that were quicker than some of the Championship
contenders and the experienced locals. This shows we have a good pace, but
we now need to keep building our experience. The car and tyres were good
all weekend, and we didn't change the set-up at all. We're learning all
the time and we want to come back next year and be quicker and more
consistent to get a good finish." BP-Ford World Rally Team won two of the four speed tests on today's final leg of the Rally Finland as both drivers claimed points finishes in the FIA World Rally Championship. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished fifth on the fastest rally of the season in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car with team-mates Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen one place behind in sixth in a similar car. Each claimed a special stage victory this morning. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "I attacked hard on the first two stages and that was enough to get by Rovanperä. After that I was able to cruise because he was too far back to worry me. The roads were quite wet today and I had a tyre vibration on the second stage so I drove carefully to avoid any problems - fast but safe. I'm pleased to score points for Ford but disappointed from a personal view. Until yesterday evening, I was comfortable in fourth." Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "It's a great result both for me and the team. The fight today with Petter was one of the best battles of my career. The team sent us Petter's split times during the stages so I knew exactly what I had to do, but unfortunately I couldn't quite manage it. It has been a fantastic opportunity to drive for the Ford team and the pace has been high all weekend. Before the rally started my target was to set times that were close to Marcus Grönholm and Sebastien Loeb and I achieved that." Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "I just drove to finish this morning. It
has been a hard weekend and I hope the next round in Germany will be
easier than this. This was my first time in Finland and the pace of the
event was just incredible. It is like Formula 1 in the forests and it
really does take some getting used to. The amount of time in sixth gear is
amazing." Marcus Gronholm has taken a magnificent fifth victory on his native Rally Finland, which has boosted him to second in the drivers' championship. Markko Martin completes a great team result to end the rally in third place. Peugeot therefore retake the lead of the Manufacturers Championship, one point ahead of Citroen. Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "It's been the perfect rally for us. We knew from the start that we could fight to win, but it was only last night, when we got a one-minute lead that we knew for sure that we were going to do it. It's not been an easy rally - we were always pushing hard and I was very worried about Timo. To avoid injuring his back any more I was definitely backing off over some of the bigger bumps, which cost us time. Although it's fantastic to win here, we still have to keep working hard to improve the car because Finland is not really typical of most events!" Markko Martin/Michael Park: "I'm very pleased - not so much with
third place but more with the fact that we have been in a genuinely
competitive situation here in Finland. This is down to many things, but
above all the adjustments to the suspension have helped me a lot. For the
first time I felt really confident with the car, and if we keep working
hard and going down the correct route I am sure that there will be more
good results to follow this." Janne Tuohino and Armin Schwarz brought the Skoda Fabia WRC 05 home in 10th and 11th places respectively on Rally Finland. Jani Paasonen's rally ended on SS5 when a rear wheel collapsed under the car following a heavy landing after a jump that caused problems for several crews. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "Today was not the time to push too hard and spoil a decent result. I knew that I couldn't improve my position so I decided to drive carefully and hope for a trouble-free day." Janne Touhino/Mikko Markkula: "There was a lot of water on the
stages this morning and so there was no point in taking stupid risks to
try and catch Henning. I was quite surprised at the conditions. The car
has been good all weekend and it seems we have found better reliability
after our recent tests." The Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crew of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen finished Rally Finland, the tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, in seventh position, claiming points for themselves and the team in their home event. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen:"The car has been very reliable all weekend, working well and for this I am very happy. The tires have been good and our only problem today was a puncture in the final stage. Seventh position is right for the conditions and car we had on this event; it was not possible to do more. But, I know that when everything is working perfectly, we can fight hard for the top position." FIA RALLY NEWS Media Press Conference FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Present: Q: Marcus, congratulations on a fantastic win. How confident were you once
things got going that this was going to be your rally? Q: How feel to be winning again. Q: Was it the same confidence that you always used to have in the past? Q: Timo, one of the most memorable moments for you will have been SS5. Tell
us what happened? Q: Did you think you might have to retire? Q: Congratulations Seb – does it feel unusual to finish second? Q: Was the turning point for you the puncture on yesterday’s last stage? Q: Daniel, Timo has already talked about the jump on SS5 – how badly did
that affect you? Q: Why the co drivers and never the driver? Q: Markko, you seemed very happy throughout the rally. Do you think that this was your most competitive outing since you joined Peugeot? What made the difference for you? MM: Definitely yes, there is no question. I think to finish third here is a miracle after the last couple of ralies. Even though I have fnished on every step of the podium in the last three years now doesn’t feel as good as winning. But at the same time it feels like we have made a fantastic rally and thanks to the team who let me use different dampers and that really made me drive like the way I normally want to be driving. That really helped me achieve third place and we are really working to go in the same direction and even better in the future. So far our progress has been steady pace so it will be nice to keep doing what we have done this weekend. Q:Michael, you’ve been a winner in Finland and finished second before.
Third this time: was your experience of the event in any way different? Q: Did you had any hopes of catching Sebastien? Q: Jean Pierre, you must be very pleased at the best performance of the 307
this year. Why do you think it has been more competitive here than anywhere
else? Q: What is your comment about the performances of the cars and tyres? Q: Marcus, now that you have this win behind you, does it give you more
confidence for the remaining events? Is it a sign of a new start? Q: Timo, do you think this result will motivate him? Q: Seb are you going to push in Germany or think to conserve an advantage in
the Champioship? Q: Daniel, what do you think about Germany. Q: Markko, this new confidenece in car do you think it could result in a win
for you this season? Q: Which of the events do you think you will be strongest with the car? Q: ”Beef” Rally Finland has won countless awards and accolades, is it
one of your personal favourites? If so, why? Q: Are there any comments you would make about this year’s event?
Obviously the jump on SS5 came in for a bit of criticism: were you OK? Q: Jean Pierre, Peugeot is back in the lead now. What are your plans to keep
it? QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: Junior World Rally Championship Post-event Press Conference Present: Q: Congratulations on your second JWRC win of the year – why do you think
that Finland is the rally that every driver wants to win? Q: Congratulations Marc – do you think that Finland is the most difficult
rally of the year for co-drivers too because of the speeds? Q: What does this result do for your JWRC championship situation? Are you
feeling confident about it? Q: The big battle was always going to be between the new Suzuki Swift and
the Citroen C2. From what you can see, what do you think about the relative
performance of the two cars? Q: Do you think if will be a battle between Citroen and Suzuki for the rest
of the year? Q: Your team mate Kris Meeke was in the lead to start – did you have a
strategy to pass him? Were you impressed by Dani’s performance. Q: How difficult is it for a new driver to come to Finland and win here? Q: The JWRC moves on to asphalt next and Germany it is not new to you. How
strong do you think you and the Citroen C2 can be there? Q: Will this experience help you? |