| FIA RALLY NEWS
COMING EVENT - Rally Argentina (14-17 July 2005) 9th round out of 16 in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, 5th round out of eight in the 2005 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS/TEAM MEMBERS: MC: Good morning, even better, good afternoon to everybody. Q: You must be very excited Toni after what happened in Greece, you had
a terrific result there and drove really well for the Ford Team and you
must be very confident heading off into Argentina this weekend. Q: Is your confidence reflected in the Ford Team as well and everybody
around you begins to see things happening now with you being third place
in the Championship, they all want to join in and they all want to do well
now.? Q: With you third in the World Championship at the moment as you say
and that’s fair equal with Markko, has Malcom Wilson, the team boss,
said to you this weekend that he wants you to be in second place ahead of
Peter Solberg when the rally finishes? MC:. OK Toni, for the time being, thank you. Q: Jani ,a good shakedown this morning, did it all went according to
plan? Q: How important is trust in a car for a driver in the World Rally
Championship specially here in Argentina.? Q: And you’re happy? You can trust your car from first stage tonight? Q: There’s a lot of people here in Argentina watching this event, I
believe If I’m right in saying so about a million and a half people to
watch the Rally so I suppose no pressure, kind the place you would like to
do well. Q: Toni just give me your thoughts on the water splashes here, how do
the water splashes look this year? Are they deep, shallow, wide…what are
they like? Q: For those of us who don’t know what’s the technique with water
splashes? What do you have to bear in mind as you come up to? Q: Has Malcom given you any instructions or have you had any special
talk about that particular challenge of this water here and what you need
to do? MC: Gentlemen, anybody with questions to Toni Gardemeister for Ford Team and Jani Paasonen for Skoda?... I think that’s it…Jani and Toni, thank you very much and let’s welcome Chris Atkinson from the Subaru Team and Francois Duval from Citroên. Q: Chris, Argentina a new experience for you. Q: Glenn (his co-driver) has been here before, hasn’t as your
co-driver, has been at this event before, is that a bit of extra help? Q: Was it the way you’d expected it to be? Q: The fast ones are the good ones on television. Q: I understand that Argentina is a little bit like the Rally in
Camberra, in which case what is Camberra like? Q: Your team briefing in the build up to this weekend has the term
water splash come into your advice and if so, what are you doing this year? Q: Is that the ultimate speed to do water run? Q: Is everyone different? Q: Good Chris Thank you. Francois. Good to see you back. Is it good to
be back? Q: It can’t have been very nice having to watch everybody else
compete and you have to be spectator? Has anything changed while you’ve
been away? Q: So what have you decided or what language will you use? Q: Whose idea was it to have Sven as your co-driver? Q: But you had a good time here last year? You must have good memories
of Argentina in 2004, must raise your confidence as you come here this
year. Q: And has the Team Manager of Citroen given you any specific
instructions of what he wants from you this weekend? Q: You have been away for two rallies. Will you be little bit nervous
when you come to the start to the first stage tonight? Q: And as far as you know you are back now for the rest of the season? MC: Francois Duval and Chris Atkinson, thank you very much and now we have Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera Q: You had the best and the worst times in your career in Argentina,
when I think back over recent years. What do you think it’s going to be
this year, best or worst times? Q: I remember chasing you across the football stadium, when you were in
a bad temper when they took the win away from you. Remember that? Q: Is everything ready for you this year? Q: What is it? Is it just luck, just being in the right place at the
right time? What do you think? Q: I asked Sebastian this morning, if he was to catch Sebastian Loeb,
what would he do? And he said, it’s easy. It’s just down to lots of
hard work and testing and having a good team. Fair comment? Q: This is one of your favourite places, isn’t it? I’m right in
thinking that you like rallies at a high speed? Q: Has it changed much from last year? The stages, I mean. Q: What’s Peugeot’s intelligence about the weather? Can you share
that with us? Q: It looks as if its going to be hot an dry. Are you happy or not? Q: Can you believe we are starting this weekend the second half of the
season? Q: OK, if you don’t want to talk about that, did you read the FIA
wants to have 24 rallies… well 12 slots in the calendar for the year
after next? Are you and I going to be around in 2007 at 24 events? Q: I’m trying to work out how it will work. Do you like the idea? Q: Harri, what’s going to happen here this weekend with Mitsubishi? I’m
waiting for those podiums and wins. Someone from the team gets very
excited every rally and tells me great things are going to happen. Are
they going to happen here? Q: Were you testing those parts in shakedown this morning? And if so,
what’s the news? Q: Are you clear in your mind what you’ll choose for the weekend? Q: What kind of car set up will you have for Argentina? Q: When you and Gigi (Galli) come to prepare your cars before each
event are they very different or quite similar? You both end up with the
same sort of setting? Q: I talked before about the number of people who come to watch this
Rally, something like a million or a million and a half. From your point
of view, as a driver, do you get a chance to appreciate all these people
coming to see you drive? Q: Marcus, let me come to you about the enthusiasm that people in
Argentina show for the World Rally Championship. It’s quite moving Q: What about the distraction? Their enthusiasm leads people to gather
in corners to watch you guys go pass, but to you that is a distraction,
isn’t it? QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: Fred Billet (Echappement - F) Q: Marcus, you were excluded here for a problem of weight, then in last
rally somebody else had a weight problem and got away with a fine, are you
upset? Event Timetable Thursday 14 July: Leg 1 Villa Carlos Paz - Villa Carlos Paz Start Pro-Racing 18.55 Friday 15 July: Leg 1 (cont) Villa Carlos Paz - Villa Carlos Paz Serv A Pro-Racing (10 mins) 07.55 Saturday 16 July: Leg 2 Villa Carlos Paz - Villa Carlos Paz Serv D Pro-Racing (10 mins) 06.52 Sunday 17 July: Leg 3 Villa Carlos Paz - Villa Carlos Paz Serv G Pro-Racing (10 mins) 07.07 Rally Argentina Preview As the FIA World Rally Championship heads into the second half of its season, the heat of the Mediterranean summer is replaced by cold winter weather in the southern hemisphere. Rally Argentina was first held as recently as 1979 and draws on a rich motorsport tradition, using twisting and challenging roads around Cordoba on which legendary drivers such as Juan Manuel Fangio learned their skills in town-to-town races. It is without doubt one of the most testing rounds of the World Championship, for while many rallies now repeat stages in a compact area, this event roams from the cattle country to the north near Tanti and La Falda to the spectacular 2,000-meter mountain passes of El Condor and Giulio Cesare to the south. Heading across the Atlantic to South America, Rally Argentina is a daunting test with a fanatical following, hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans cramming almost every kilometer of the route. Far in the distance, the lower slopes of the Andes can be seen from the host town and lakeside holiday resort of Villa Carlos Paz, near Cordoba - the country´s second largest city - some 700 kilometers north east of Buenos Aires. The rally shows few changes from the 2004 edition and again visits the three valleys of Cordoba province, each offering stages of differing character and landscape. The rally base has moved to the Pro-Racing motorsport complex, 3km outside Villa Carlos Paz. It hosts the single service park, the start and finish, the opening two super special stages on Thursday evening and the final two tests on Sunday lunchtime. The first full day is almost identical to last year, covering eight stages in the Punilla Valley, north of Villa Carlos Paz. Leg two is a mix of the more flowing sandy stages in the Calamuchita Valley to the south in the morning, followed by afternoon tests back in the Punilla Valley. The final leg heads into the Traslasierra mountains to the south-west for the rocky El Condor and Giulio Cesare stages, two of the most famous and toughest in the championship which peak at 2195 metres. Drivers face 22 stages covering 340.82km in a route of 1216.94km. Citroen The big question for this weekend's () round of the World Rally Championship is will the 1.5 million spectators who turn out for the Argentinean round of the WRC watch Sebastien Loeb take his sixth win in a row and set a new World record for consecutive wins. The omens have to be good. Loeb came second in this event last year, he loves this event and clearly he and the Citroen team are on form. The only question mark over the team is the role Loeb's team mate, Francois Duval, will play in the event. Rested for two events with Carlos Sainz replacing him so that Citroen could get its manufacturers' title defence back on track, he returns for the Argentinean round. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "Running first on the road will probably be a handicap throughout the opening day," says Loeb. "The stages of Leg 1 were the same last year and I was surprised to see that I lost even more time second time through once the sandy surface had been cut up by the first run. That said, my direct rivals in the championship will be running in a similar position and will face more or less the same conditions as me. After that, we will see whether the cooler temperatures in comparison with recent rounds will have any effect on the relative competitiveness of the different teams. In my opinion, our mission promises to be a little more difficult. But whichever way it goes, I intend to give it everything I've got." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "I like the stages and their variety. They are not easy though. Last year they caught out quite a lot of drivers. There are badly placed rocks in the apexes and jumps which launch the car in all directions. I am quite pleased that the route hasn't changed since last year. It means we already have all the notes and that will enable Sven and me to concentrate on fine-tuning the way we work together. This process began during our pre-Argentina testing, continued during the recce for Greece and then during our pre-Finland testing. It's OK¦" Subaru The Subaru World Rally Team will be taking a two-car team to Argentina. The two Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall). Both Petter and Chris are eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' Championship. Petter has competed in Argentina five times before. On his most recent outing in 2004 he made an excellent start and held the lead until a water-splash related engine problem brought his rally to a halt after SS4. Petter will be seeking to secure a good points finish next week. Rally Argentina is a brand new challenge for Subaru's youngest signing, Chris Atkinson. The Australian has never visited South America before and will be concentrating on learning more about his car in the specialist conditions. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: Argentina is a completely different rally compared to the others we've done recently. Our performance there last year was good and we were leading the event for a while so I'm feeling good about the potential. As a rally, I like it a lot and I think maybe it's one of the events where I can fight to the top. Certainly I'm expecting some tough competition, but we won't really know how good the other guys are until the rally begins, but I'm looking forward to getting out there. We are a team that likes a challenge and it's a type of motivation I respond well to." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "I've been doing my research, studying the TV footage from previous events and from what I can see it looks like a good rally. The roads are soft and tend to get fairly rutted, but I think they should suit my driving style. Of course, every rally is unique, but I reckon it looks pretty similar in places to one that I used to drive in Canberra as part of the Asia Pacific Championship. You never know, the experience I got there may help. As far as my objectives go, once again I'm planning to put in a solid performance and get experience of the whole rally. I think I was a little over cautious with my opening pace in Greece, and I'm hoping to attack a bit more next week." Ford After four consecutive hot weather, rough road rallies in Mediterranean Europe, the cooler climate of a south American winter and smoother roads on the Rally Argentina (14 - 17 July) will come as a relief to the BP-Ford World Rally Team. It enters the second half of its FIA World Rally Championship campaign lying third in both the manufacturers' and drivers' points tables, intent on improving the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car's strong record in Argentina which has brought two wins in the last four seasons. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: Gardemeister, who matched his career-best result with second on the last round in Greece, will be starting this ninth round of the championship for the fourth time. Fifth in 2002 is his best result. "It's a changeable rally and there is a bit of everything there for a driver," said the 30-year-old Finn. "Some roads are fast and others are quite slow. Some are soft and some are hard. It's a difficult rally and I find it quite technical. The weather can also change quickly and if conditions aren't good we can expect fog on the higher stages. "The most difficult aspect for me is the watersplashes. If the approach is wide and fast and the water isn't deep, then it's possible to enter them quickly. But the deeper crossings are more tricky because the car tends to dive into the water. The dangers are taking water into the engine or hitting the water so fast that the force damages both the car and the engine. "My performance in Greece was very good. It came close to being the best drive of my career and I felt happy with the Focus all the way through. If I can repeat the same kind of form in Argentina then I'm sure I can take another good result," he added. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Kresta has never competed in Argentina before but completed the recce in 2001. "Starting a new rally for the first time is never easy," said the 29-year-old Czech. "The recce provides some idea of the characteristics of the road, but it's not until I actually drive the stages at competitive speed that I start to gain a proper feel for them. But I'm used to this because I've already competed on several events this year for the first time. "It's important not to set the targets too high. Gaining as much experience as I can of the Argentine stages is the most important aspect for me. That's what will help me in the future. So I will start at a steady pace without taking risks and focus my efforts on reaching the finish. Already this season that tactic has brought points for both myself and Ford, so I hope the same can happen again in Argentina," he added. Peugeot Marcus Gronholm won this event outright in 2003, while Markko Märtin has also produced some top performances in the South American event. Both the Finn and his Estonian team-mate will be out to show off their talent this time round at the wheel of the Peugeot 307 WRC which promises to be extremely competitive over the Argentine stages. Peugeot travels to Round 9 of the championship in 2nd place in the Manufacturers' points table and will be eager to get back to its winning ways following its performance in Greece which confirmed the potential of both the 307 WRC and its driver Marcus Gronholm. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen: "It was disappointing not to be able to fight for victory in Greece all the way to the finish, so I will be flat out in Argentina which is an event I like very much. I hope the different weather and terrain will be favourable to us, notably on the tyre front. In any case, we have no choice. Although my points deficit in the Drivers' standings looks like it could be difficult to make up, we still have every chance in the Manufacturers' championship and that remains our objective. But we will now need to be thinking in terms of outright victory if we are to stay in the title chase." Markko Martin/Michael Park: Markko Martin has competed in Argentina on three previous occasions, finishing 4th overall in 2002 and coming close to spoiling Marcus Gronholm's triumphant run in 2003. "After twenty stages, I was in the lead before being sidelined by a mechanical problem practically at the end of Leg 2," recalls the Estonian. "Last year, I was 2nd when I went off in SS5. That time it was driver failure! I hope I can obtain a better result in Argentina than I did in Greece. The stages should be more favourable to us because the 307 WRC is very competitive over fast stages." Skoda Having missed last year´s Rally Argentina, the 2005 event will be the first visit to the rally for the Skoda Fabia WRC 05. With testing banned on events outside Europe the team has very little data with which to work to find the perfect set-up for what is often a very tricky round of the championship. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: Argentina is a very nice rally with a great atmosphere and a lot of very enthusiastic fans. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes just as rough as Acropolis. The roads are often quite damp and the event is famous for having watersplashes on nearly every stage. Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: Last year was my first visit to Argentina but I won Group N so I hope that I can also get a really good result this year on my first visit with a WRC car. Argentina is a really nice rally for me. I like it very much. Mitsubishi: The event is a firm favorite of many of the crews and the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team will be fielding Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen and "Gigi" Galli/Guido D’Amore in this, the ninth round of the series. Harri Rovanperä has contested Rally Argentina no fewer than seven times, however the Finn has mixed results, having been blighted with technical problems on four occasions. In his first outing on this South American event (1997) he claimed a World 2 Liter victory, but it was then not until 2003 that he saw the finish ramp again. That year he finished a fine fourth overall and last year he and co-driver Risto Pietilainen were again in the points, arriving back in Cordoba fifth. Team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido D´Amore competed in Argentina for the first time last year, and the Italians - driving Mitsubishi´s all-conquering Group N Lancer Evolution - were the revelation of the event. They held second for much of the rally and even briefly led before being sidelined on the final day with a mechanical problem. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "Argentina is a good rally with lots of nice spectators, great food and steaks in particular!" said Harri. "The stages are quite soft, with gravel not stones, and some stages are a little bit rough. In some ways some of the stages - in places - are quite similar to Turkey this year. I think it will be a particularly good event for our tires and hopefully it will stay dry and not too hot. My feeling now is that we can perhaps fight more closely with the leaders; it can be a very interesting rally I think". Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "I like Argentina, absolutely, it’s a good rally with an unbelievable amount of spectators", said Gigi. "There is always a lot of loose but hopefully we have the right Pirelli tires which should work very well in these conditions. If Torii-san says I must make maximum attack, it will be my pleasure! I think we can expect to make a good result and we have proved the reliability of the car is much better. Is it an event I can win? Anyway, as always I try my best to make a good result for Mitsubishi". Leading positions after the first day of the rally: 1 LOEB/ELENA CITROEN TOTAL 1:54:40.6 Driver's comments after Leg 1 Leg One News Petter Solberg (Subaru) led after last night's super special stages and
maintained a narrow advantage over the opening two tests this morning. But
then Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) moved ahead, stretching his lead with
fastest time over the final three stages to end the leg 31.3sec ahead of
the Norwegian. Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) was a lonely third all day, the
Finn frustrated at not being able to match the pace of his rivals ahead.
Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) held fourth early on but a spin and a faulty
handbrake cost two places. However, he moved ahead of Markko Märtin
(Peugeot) this afternoon to consolidate fifth. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) set
a strong pace and held fourth until retiring on the fifth stage. He
initially stopped with broken front right suspension but made repairs and
continued. However, the car then lost drive to one wheel and he retired.
Jani Paasonen (Skoda) also retired after hitting a rock in the same stage
and breaking his car's front left suspension. He will not re-start
tomorrow. Team-mate Armin Schwarz lies 20th after limping through the
afternoon stages with a broken damper mount. It's been full steam ahead for Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and Citroën throughout the long opening leg of the 2005 Rally Argentina which has seen them emerge in front. François Duval and Sven Smeets profited from the day to get progressively back into the groove and an encouraging 2nd fastest time in the final stage enabled them to conclude the leg in 7th position overall. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "Being first on the road wasn't a problem. I think the conditions were pretty much the same for the first three or four cars. The 8-compound Michelin BTO tyre we are using here for the first time was perfect. I was able to push hard and I think Petter was pushing hard too." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: This event, which marks my return and on
which it is so easy to make a mistake, is an important rally for my career.
It isn't exactly a pressure-free outing, but Sven and I did well. We both
know that it won't be any easier tomorrow, but our objective will be the
same: to reach the finish!" Petter Solberg holds second place on Rally Argentina tonight after a furious day of competition on the gravel roads of the Cordobese Sierras. Solberg's Subaru Impreza WRC2005 ran faultlessly all day and enabled the Norwegian to set the fastest time on two of the Leg's special stages, and smash the previous stage record time on the Carlos Paz - Cabalango test. Subaru's new signing for 2005, Chris Atkinson had a successful and trouble-free day on his first-ever attempt at the Rally Argentina. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I'm pleased with our performance on the stages today. The Pirelli tyres and the car have been working well. In the afternoon, when the stages were rougher, we tried a slightly different set-up, which didn't turn out as good as that in the morning. This afternoon we also maybe lost some time with a harder tyre than the morning, but we know where to go, and what to do for tomorrow. We have not been taking any chances and we are not giving up on getting back on top again." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Today was not bad for us and I am happy where we are. The roads were rougher than we hoped, but our pace has still been good. I had a bit of a moment in the last stage today when I took a 200kph jump on slightly the wrong line and landed in the gutter - I was a bit more cautious through the rest of that stage! There's still two long days to go and the stages are faster, and hopefully smoother. I want to stick with Duval and those other drivers who have much more experience." Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Mozný produced strong performances on today's opening leg of Rally Argentina. Gardemeister's consistent pace earned fourth in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car while Kresta's risk-free strategy on his Argentine debut was rewarded with 11th in a similar car. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "It wasn't an easy morning. I pushed hard but the times weren't as good as I hoped. I hit a stone on stage four and bent a steering arm but that wasn't a big problem. However, I was lucky on the next stage when I almost slid off the road on a fifth gear corner. I slid wide several times. It was quite muddy in places after last night's rain but the roads dried in the strong wind as the day went on. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "Our tyre choice this morning was good but this afternoon I made a mistake and chose rubber that was too soft. Because I've not driven here before I didn't know what the best choice would be. I had a good feeling with the Focus all day and it's a shame I couldn't make the most of that this afternoon because of my tyre choice. I've driven carefully because it's a difficult rally for a newcomer. The roads have a hard base beneath the gravel so they were slippery this morning and some parts were rough and rutted on the repeat run this afternoon. Tomorrow morning's stages are much faster so I will try to drive flat out." Peugeot Marcus Gronholm has fought like a lion throughout the opening leg of the Rally Argentina, which made up almost 50% of the total competitive distance. Marcus finishes the leg third in his Peugeot 307 WRC, and has promised to push hard again tomorrow. An improved tyre choice for the second loop of stages today allowed him to set a fastest time, as well as three second-fastest times. His team mate Markko Martin, who climbed up to fifth by midday, dropped a place in the afternoon and ends leg one sixth overnight. Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "I cannot really be happy with today - I hoped to fight for the lead here and although we set some quick times that has not really happened. I can definitely think of some things we can do to improve the car, and I hope that will help our progress tomorrow. There is still a long way to go and this is a rally that I like so let's see what is possible. I've certainly been pushing hard today and I don't intend to give up easily." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "Today has been extremely tough. Our
road position has meant that we've had to deal with some very rough
surface conditions and massive ruts. The afternoon's loop of stages, used
for the second time, was really hard work. On the positive side, we've had
no problems with the car and we've got every chance of improving our
position over the remaining two legs." The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team endured a difficult opening day of Rally Argentina, round nine of the World Rally Championship. After ending last night's superspecial stages in ninth place Jani Paasonen was forced to retire on SS5 and will not continue in the event. Team mate Armin Schwarz broke a damper mount on this afternoon's stages and ended the opening leg in 20th place. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "The overnight rain meant that a watersplash on SS6 was deeper than usual and the water cut the engine. But my biggest problem came just 4kms into SS7 when part of a damper mount broke. We had to limp through all four stages this afternoon. We are lucky to be here at all this evening." Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: "Everything was going fine until
about 8kms from the end of SS5. On a long fifth gear left hand bend there
were some rocks inside and when I hit them the wheel broke sideways. We
stopped straight away as it was obvious we couldn't continue." The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of Harri Rovanpera and Risto Pietilainen finished the opening leg of Rally Argentina, the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, in a fighting fifth position. Team-mates Gigi Galli and Guido D'Amore were running well until their challenge was blighted with broken suspension and then a transmission problem early this morning. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "I'm quite okay with the way things have been today. This morning's spin was maybe my first in about five years; I couldn't believe it! This afternoon I've not been so happy with the damper settings, especially in the bumpy sections where we keep ending up off line. Otherwise, everything has been good and the tire choices were quite right for the conditions. It's good to be fighting and hopefully we can carry on like this tomorrow." Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "About 12 kilometers into stage five the front right suspension broke. We managed to make repairs and get going again, but then after about one kilometer the front drive- shaft broke and the team decided it was better for us to stop rather than cause more damage. Before that everything had been going well and we were setting some good stage times so I'm confident we can continue like this." Leading positions after the second day of the rally: Unofficial Leaderboard after Leg Two: 1 LOEB / ELENA Citroen Xsara 3:03:45.9 Driver's comments after Leg 2 Unofficial Leg Two News Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) continues to lead but Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) put up a strong fight against the Frenchman. Trailing Loeb by 44.6sec last night, the Finn was fastest on three of the opening four stages to reduce the deficit to 25.2sec. Loeb lost time with a spin on one of those tests but increased his pace this afternoon to score two fastest times and end with a 26.6sec lead. Petter Solberg (Subaru) could not hold off Gronholm. He was passed on stage 14 and on the following test he damaged a rear brake calliper. To stop the brake fluid leaking away, he sealed the brake pipe and completed the last two stages with brakes at the front only. Behind Gardemeister, Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) felt uncomfortable with his car during the morning tests but recovered well in the afternoon while Markko Märtin (Peugeot) slipped behind the battling duo on the afternoon's rougher stages. There were no major retirements. Sixty-eight of the original 72 starters began Leg two of Rally Argentina this morning. Leg two included 114 competitive kilometres, run as seven timed special stages. The route took crews into the countryside to the south and north of the host town, Carlos Paz. Grey skies and damp roads after overnight rain. Morning stages dried out quickly, those in the afternoon were damper and muddier. On the stages, temperatures ranged between 3ºC in the morning and 10ºC in the afternoon. Citroen Sebastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroen Xsara WRC have successfully maintained their lead at around the half-minute mark at the end of a day marked by heavy rain. Their closest rival is no longer Petter Solberg, however, since Marcus Gronholm took over second spot at the end of SS14. Francois Duval and Sven Smeets are as concentrated as ever and continue to figure in 7th place, just ahead of Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor in the first of the two privately-entered, Kronos Racing-run Xsaras. A small off on SS12 saw Xavi Pons and Carlos del Barrio drop outside of the top-ten. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It's been a tough leg, and it's not over yet. We will have to carry on pushing hard tomorrow when the conditions will be much rockier. We will also be competing at altitude. It promises to be an interesting day." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "In the last stage," says Francois Duval, "it was like driving on ice, but we came through it without a scratch. It's been a good day. I took it easy in the narrow, rough portions. Despite the pressure, my confidence is coming back bit by bit. And I'll need plenty of confidence for tomorrow's leg which is likely to be very delicate indeed." Subaru At the end of today's second Leg of competition on Rally Argentina, Petter Solberg holds third place overall. For much of the day Solberg was part of a breakaway group of three drivers involved in a thrilling scrap for the lead, but his ability to fight was affected by a brake problem in the afternoon, and he was forced to drive more defensively on the last few stages. Making his Rally Argentina debut, Chris Atkinson racked up another trouble-free day in his Subaru, meeting all of his development objectives and trading times with far more experienced drivers. Chris finished the day with a flourish by setting the third-fastest time on the last stage. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: This just wasn't my afternoon. On the first stage a rear caliper started to leak the brake fluid, probably when a big rock punctured it, and I had absolutely zero brakes for six kilometres. I managed to make some fixes after the stage, but I only had two or three brakes for the next stages. It was a big bit of bad luck. The stage conditions were very tricky, being so muddy, and I was off the road a couple of times. I think Sebastien may be too far away to catch tomorrow, however I'm definitely not happy with third and up at El Condor anything could happen as those stages are very difficult. Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: On the whole today was pretty good. I made a few small set-up changes after the midday break and they were going in the right direction. There was so much water and mud on the road - I think everyone was off the road at various times as it was so slippery. I remember we were going backwards while flat out in first gear at one point! I'm pleased that we were able to set good times and get so close to the top of the timesheets, especially against some of the big names. Tomorrow, I'll keep doing what I'm doing and hope that it is enough to make up a place and get in the points. Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Mozny both held top 10 places after today's second leg of the Rally Argentina. Gardemeister consolidated fourth in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car after another highly consistent performance, while Kresta climbed onto the leaderboard in 10th in a similar car on his first appearance on this rally. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The morning stages were so sandy it was like driving on the beach," said Gardemeister. "The second pass through the first stage was better for me because I had the experience of the previous run to draw from, but there were some big ruts. It was quite muddy all day but the final stage was incredible. I slid off the road three times at hairpin bends. I tried to control the car with the handbrake but it was just so slippery that the car slid off. "I've done too much sliding this afternoon and lost too much time. The sun has come out this evening and I hope it stays that way tomorrow. I've enjoyed the fight with Harri and tomorrow I must maintain the same kind of pace to keep ahead of him," added Gardemeister. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "In the twisty sections in the mud there were many rocks," he said. "The roads were hard with water on the surface and it wasn't easy to follow other drivers' lines. I overshot one junction and stopped in two corners. I drove slowly - but it was still too fast! Generally, I had a good day and everything was much better than yesterday. The morning stages were great to drive and I cannot believe how many spectators were out there. Tomorrow's stages are difficult and I think it will be hard for me. I've heard that there could be snow in the mountains in the morning and that would not be nice." Peugeot Marcus Gronholm had promised last night not to give up on his quest to win Rally Argentina, despite a handicap of 45 seconds at the end of leg one. With four fastest stage times out of seven, Marcus was by far the quickest driver of leg two delivering on his promise. Not only did he pass the Subaru in front of him, but he also took 19 seconds from a supposedly 'untouchable' leader: Sebastien Loeb! Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen: "Today was much better than yesterday, mostly because the roads were much better suited to me and the 307 WRC. The stages in the morning were wider, faster, and less bumpy, and these are the conditions in which our car works best. I enjoyed this leg and we didn't have a single problem. I think it will be impossible for us to win the rally just by normal driving, but we have to stay as close as possible and keep the pressure on. Tomorrow's stages are sure to be very tricky for everybody." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "Today has been fine, with no real problems. We've made a good tyre choice throughout the day although we slid off a couple of times this morning, which cost us a bit of time. I'm still not totally confident when driving the car on the limit, but we've managed to find a pace that means we can get to the end without taking risks. My plan is to keep going like this: maybe there is a chance of making up another place tomorrow." Skoda After the second day of Rally Argentina Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team driver Armin Schwarz is holding 16th place in the Fabia WRC 05, his position largely determined by the 11 minutes he lost yesterday afternoon while having to drive four stages with a broken strut mounting. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: We had a good clean run today without any problems. Although the day started wet the sandy surface of the southernmost stages meant that the roads dried quite quickly and at times they were like those in Finland. We gained four places today but the time gaps are quite big now and so this is the best we can achieve unless others have problems. Nevertheless I felt much more confident with the car and I could push harder although this afternoon’s stages were extremely muddy. The second last stage was good for us and we saw a bit more of the performance that the Fabia is capable of. Mitsubishi: At the end of the second leg of Rally Argentina, the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports crew of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen have consolidated their fifth position and are fighting hard for fourth after a string of top times this afternoon. Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D’Amore have also been on the pace but, following yesterday’s problems, hold 21st position. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "We had a disappointing morning; I drove hard and the times were just not there, but at least I now understand what was wrong", said Harri. "After changing the set-up everything came right and we set some good times. All round the car is better and we had a very good afternoon. Anything is possible tomorrow; we’ll continue to push and see what we can do". Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "The whole day has not been bad, other than the small problems with the stalling and spins", said Gigi this evening. "I had a feeling at shakedown there was something strange with the launch system so the team will obviously check this out, as it was not something we had a problem with yesterday after so few stages. The new rear suspension geometry has given better balance and I think really we have had one good leg. Because of our position, we also use the time to do some small tests and always we learn more about the stages, tires and set-up". Final positions after the third day of the rally: 1. S Loeb/D Elena Citroen Xsara 3hr 55min 36.4sec Driver's comments after Leg 3 Unofficial Leg Three News Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) claimed his sixth successive victory to equal the record for the most wins in a season set by fellow countryman Didier Auriol in 1992. However, Auriol's victories were not consecutive. Loeb eased through the final day to win by 26.1sec from Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) with Petter Solberg (Subaru) completing the podium. Behind Gardemeister and Rovanperä (Mitsubishi), Markko Märtin (Peugeot) completed the top six while François Duval (Citroen) marked his return to the series with seventh. Ninth for Chris Atkinson (Subaru) was enough to earn his team the final manufacturers' point. Sixty-one of the original 72 starters began the final Leg of Rally Argentina this morning. Leg three included 64 competitive kilometres, run as five timed special stages. The route took crews into the mountains to the west of the host town, Carlos Paz. Clear blue skies and slightly damp stages after rain on the previous two days. On the stages, temperatures ranged between -2ºC in the morning and 11ºC in the afternoon. Citroen Sébastien Loeb and Citroën have smashed rallying's top world records with their dominant performance in the Argentinean round of the World Rally Championship at the weekend (15-17 July 2005) giving them the record for the most consecutive wins in a season - six - and, adding their win in the Monte Carlo season-opener, the most wins in one season. Loeb's team mate, François Duval finished 7th overall to earn two valuable, extra Manufacturers' points for the team. The performances of Manfred Stohl and Xavi Pons - who finished as the best placed privateers with their Team Kronos Racing Xsaras, both inside the top-ten in 8th and 10th places - were further reasons for a big fiesta in the Citroën camp tonight, even if Duval had hoped to be closer to Loeb. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It wasn't easy. You only have to look at the gaps to see that. I can tell you, I pushed very hard right up to two stages from home. That forced me into a couple of mistakes, notably my spin in yesterday's loop to the south. Once again though, I was able to count on the Xsara's impeccable reliability and the team didn't put a foot wrong - again. Also, the 'eight' compound Michelin BTO tyre lived every bit up to our expectations. This may be our seventh win of the year, but it only strengthens our resolve to win more. We want to do even better." Francois Duval/Sven Smeets: "I reached the finish of this difficult rally in a position which I can't say fully satisfies me," commented François Duval. "But I finished and that's the most important thing. It was a phase I had to go through in order to build up my confidence again. That's done now and I'm pleased to see that Sven and I worked well together." Subaru Petter Solberg achieved a podium result on today's final Leg of Rally Argentina. The Norwegian was fastest on two of the day's five stages, and brought his Subaru Impreza WRC2005 over the finish ramp in third place to collect six Championship points and maintain his second place in the 2005 WRC series. On his Rally Argentina debut, Chris Atkinson enjoyed another trouble-free run in his Impreza and finished ninth overall, to earn a Championship point in the Manufacturers' contest. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: Today we made a couple of changes and they seemed to work well. While it's a good result, it was the couple of problems we had that made the difference. Overall I'm happy, it's been a hard weekend and the team did a very good job. I'll be fighting for the win in Finland and, as since it is so close to Norway, a lot of fans will be watching. It will be a tough fight, but I'm looking forward to it and I've every confidence that we'll come back again - no problem! Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: The pace all weekend has been good and I'm pleased that, since there have been so few retirements, I can set good times against the top guys while still driving comfortably. You need experience in Argentina to go fast, so the weekend has been all about getting confidence. I've had no problems with the car all weekend and the tyre choices have been pretty good. I'm now going to Finland understanding the car a lot more and, since I've done that event before, I'm hopeful of building upon what we learnt here. Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen finished fourth on the Rally Argentina today after winning a tremendous final day duel with Harri Rovanperä. The Finns' Ford Focus RS World Rally Car edged out their fellow countryman by 5.6 seconds after their battle, which raged from the very first kilometre of this ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, climaxed on the icy mountain tracks of central Argentina this morning. Gardemeister extended his consistent run which has seen his Castrol-branded Focus RS finish in the points on all nine rounds this season. He is one of only two drivers to achieve this feat and now lies fourth in the points standings. Ford remains third in the manufacturers' series. BP-Ford team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Možný finished 11th in their similar Focus RS on their Argentine debut. Privately-entered drivers Antony Warmbold and Michael Orr and Luis Perez Companc and Jose Maria Volta finished 12th and 14th respectively, ensuring that all four Focus RS cars completed the tough four-day event, which comprised 340.82km of competition. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "It was a difficult day, in fact it was a very difficult rally," said Gardemeister. "The roads this morning were icy but I had no choice other than to drive flat out to try to keep Harri behind me. The road surface changed from dry to wet to icy and it's hard to drive in constantly changing conditions. I set fastest time in the longest stage but we had a few lucky escapes in there. "The weekend has been good, although I would have liked to be on the podium. If conditions had remained as dry as they were during the recce period then I think that would have been possible. But fourth is a good, solid result and that's my ninth consecutive points finish with the Focus RS this season which is good, reliable form," he added. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Kresta started the final day in 10th in his Focus RS but the icy conditions caught out the 29-year-old Czech. "I went off the road once and slid wide twice in the Giulio Cèsare stage and lost more than 20 seconds," he said. "The stage was very difficult and as slippery as hell." With no opportunity to regain the lost time, Kresta took no risks through the final stages to finish 11th. "My feeling with the car wasn't perfect today. Some of my stages times this weekend were good and others weren't. The car has performed well but I'm not happy with my result, although maybe for my first time here it's not so bad," added Kresta. Peugeot After a brilliant second leg of the Rally Argentina, where Marcus Gronholm seized the runner-up spot after a brave fight, he decided not to attempt mission impossible by winning the event. Instead he finished an excellent second, with his team mate Markko Martin sixth. The 11 constructors points they have earned means that Peugeot is still well within reach of Citroen at the head of the manufacturers championship. Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: This has been a good rally for us and second place is always a satisfactory result, but I think that I should have been closer to Sebastien Loeb. The car was very good over the fast and wide stages, but not so good over the slow and bumpy sections, where we still have a lot of work to do. Our tyre choice was exactly right for most of the time, and I think we did the best job that we could under the circumstances." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "We still struggled to find confidence over the whole three days of this rally, and eventually decided that it was better to not take any risks and try for a solid points finish, rather than pushing too hard and going off. The conditions were sometimes extremely rough, but I felt happy with my tyre choices and I learnt a lot about the set-up in slippery conditions." Skoda Armin Schwarz brought the Škoda Fabia WRC 05 home in 16th place to record his first ever finish on the Rally of Argentina. His overall result was affected when he lost more than 10 minutes with a broken strut mount on the opening day but on today’s classic stages of El Condor and Giulio Cesare he recorded top 10 times before securing his place on two final superspecials at the Complejo Pro Racing centre in front of thousands of enthusiastic Argentine fans. Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: The first stage today was very difficult because it was quite icy. You couldn’t see the ice because the spectators walking into the stage had covered it with sand and so you never knew when the grip was going to suddenly disappear. The second two stages were really good and I had a lot of confidence in the car. Without our problems on the first day I’m sure we could have got a decent result and some points here but I am happy to finally have finished a rally that has never been kind to me. Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports claimed more points on the Rally of Argentina, the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen battled to the end and finished in a fighting fifth position in the Lancer WRC05, claiming points for themselves and the team. "Gigi" Galli and Guido D’Amore set a blistering pace early this morning but were forced into retirement with gearbox problems after stage 19. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: It’s been good to be fighting with top teams and the car has been so good all weekend", said Rovanperä. "Friday was good for us but we lost too much time on Saturday morning when the set-up wasn’t right for the conditions. Yesterday afternoon it all came together very well though and the feeling returned and today has obviously been good too, fighting with Toni all the way to the finish. I think we probably lost the fight in the second stage, where there was ice and mud and we had very little grip. If the conditions had been drier throughout, it could have been a different story". Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "It’s obviously a shame not to reach the finish, but the important thing is that we drove each of the different stages", said Galli. "Generally I have to be very happy because the stages we drove without problems we set good times, especially for only our second time here. The car is very much improved but the next step will come in Finland; then there will be more performance". FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Sebastien Leob – Daniel Elena – Citroen Q: Seb, you continue to break records. How much of a surprise is your
performance to you this year? You also broke another record, seven rallies in
one season – how much does that mean to you? Q: But you had a big scare on the first leg when you hit a bull. How close
did that come to causing an accident? Q: Daniel, what was the first that you knew about the bull? Q: Bull or not, Sebastien keeps on getting the results. How good did you
think his chances of winning here were before the event? Does anything surprise
you about him any more? Q: Marcus, you struggled a bit on the first day, but then on the second day
you had fantastic pace. What changed? How much did you have to fight with the
car? Q: Timo, what were the particular problems that prevented you from
challenging Sebastien on the opening day? Do you think this is the most
competitive the car has been all year? Q: Petter, a tight battle with Marcus: why did he win it? Without your brake
problems on the second day, could you have challenged for victory? Q: The in-car footage showed yourself and Petter slowing down notably for
the watersplashes which characterise this event. How much of an issue was it
for you? Q: How difficult was this victory to achieve, compared to all your other
wins this year? It certainly seemed that you had to work hard for it. Was it
the most difficult one? Q: You were able to win most of the stages on the first day, but it was more
difficult on day two. Why was this? MG: We have no car for next year. It’s open. Q: Did you think you had a chance of victory here, or did you think your
best chance was to finish second? Q: In the past you’ve struggled to adapt the car to the tyres; were these
cooler and damper conditions more favourable? This is one of four events where
the teams have to pick just one tyre pattern – what is your opinion about
that rule. Does it make life more difficult? Q: The next rally is Finland, which was the scene of your first and so far
only victory with the 307WRC. How good do you think will be your chances of
repeating it? Do you think that your main rivals will be any stronger than they
were last year? TR: Seven in a row. Q: Everybody seemed closer to Sebastien here than they have been on many
events in the past. Is this a sign of a distinct change in the balance of power
this season, or is it just because of the unusual and different conditions of
this rally? Q: There was a possibility of snow today – would that have helped you over
the course of the last day, with El Condor and Giulio Cesare? How about the new
service park? Q: Mr Frequelin, a word please about Francois Duval, who returned to Citroen
here after a break of two rallies. Did he perform as you expected him to? Last
year he was third, on the podium, but this time he was seventh. Were you hoping
to see more speed from him or not? 2005 FIA PRODUCTION CARS or JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Nasser Al-Attiyah – Chris Patterson – Subaru Q: You took the lead at the end of the first day after Mark Higgins hit
problems: did it come as much as a surprise to you? The cold and wet conditions
here are very different from the Middle East, where you come from? How do you
think you’ve developed as a driver over the last year? Q: Chris, did you have any particular problems on this event? Q: A comparatively close fight between Subaru and Mitsubishi here: do you
think the Impreza had an advantage? Why (not)? Can you win it this year? Q: Very varied weather conditions here, how difficult did you find this to
cope with? Q: What are your impressions of this event generally? Is there anything you
would like to see done differently? |