7th round out of 16 in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, 4th round out of eight in the 2005 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rally of Turkey
Media FIA Pre-event Press Conference
02.06.2005

DRIVERS / TEAM MEMBERS:
David Lapworth, Team Principal, Subaru
Malcolm Wilson, Team Director, Ford
Harri Rovanpera, Mitsubishi
Janne Tuohino, Skoda
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot
Carlos Sainz, Citroen

David Lapworth
Malcolm Wilson

Q: Malcolm, Ford recently passed a milestone in Cyprus: 50 consecutive points finishes. What does that say about the team?
MW: I think it says a lot more about the team than it does about me, to be honest. Last night, we had a celebration for those 50 events and it was fantastic for me to get together those drivers who had contributed those points since 2002. There is only one thing there from my point of view that I still class it as unfinished business. I think if I don’t get some titles in the next fifty events then I think I know what my future holds!

Q: You recently overtook Subaru for the third place in the manufacturer’s championship. How big a battle do you think it is going to be?
MW: I would like to think it is going to be a good battle and like you said, we managed to be in front in Cyprus but we come in to this event with Toni (Gardemeister), who didn’t do the rally last year, and Roman (Kresta) hasn’t done it before, so we obviously are at a disadvantage, but I think the really pleasing thing is Toni’s performance in the last two rallies. The results in the book don’t reflect his overall performance. So I think things are going to be difficult here but I think that from Greece onwards, hopefully we can take the challenge to try and get on the podium in the Manufacturers Championship.

Q: David, how though do you think the battle is going to be with Ford going to be over the course this year?
DL: I am sure we are going to have a difficult battle with Ford but in a way it is difficult to explain.
The Manufacturers Championship is not our primary goal. Our goal is Petter (Solberg) and the Drivers Championship and hopefully on the way to achieving that we can concentrate on winning some events. We are very competitive by nature but we cannot be drawn into a bit of a battle and if it’s close with Ford, and I think it will be as we get nearer the end of the season, we might focus a little bit more on trying to get that third place. But for the moment our focus is on Petter and the Drivers Championship.

Q: The Ford Focus has always been very strong on these rough and hot gravel conditions however if we look back to Cyprus, Sebastien and Citroen were in a class of their own. Do you think here you can really take the fight to them?
MW: We have to be realistic. I think Toni is making great progress and obviously this is not going to be as strong an event for us as Greece, but right from the outset we designed a car that would be strong and could cope with these conditions and it has still proved it’s the case in the last two rallies and we are hoping that Roman and Toni, now they are getting more time and experience in the car, they can start to push a bit harder in the second half of the season.

Q: David, your two cars suffered from a few mechanical problems in Cyprus. What steps have you been able to take to make sure that does not happen again in these rough and hot conditions?
DL: In the end it turned out to be fairly straightforward. Petter’s main cause of retirement was a sensor problem and we have taken a couple of minor counter measures to stop that happening again. And it seems from the investigation to be a one off and the other bits and pieces were also very specific to those conditions. We have done a little bit to protect the car from dust and grit and so on and it is not the kind of thing we expect to see just in this rally but in any kind of rally as normal and the cars that have come here are pretty much he same as the ones that went to Cyprus, just set up differently

Q: A recent WRC commission meeting has indicated that a move to pairings of rallies is possible for next year. What overall benefits do you think this will bring?
MW: I don’t think we have enough time to discuss this because we spent ten hours discussing this in the Rallies Commission meeting. It is of obvious benefit to the teams by pairing the events together but it’s not just a case of pairing the events but working in line with a lot of the new technical regulations – such as one engine for two events and things like transmission moving on even further. As an example if you had Norway and Sweden one week apart or if Sweden and Finland were both snow rallies you could use the same car and same engine so you would not have to do a complete rebuild. You don’t get two events for the price of one but it certainly makes a significant impact on the calendar and if we can start to look now at events pairing together in the way that is the most economical for shipping, then we know what sorts of things can have a significant effect on the budget. The calendar is key and I think the more the event organizers can work together I think we will see the benefits.

Q: …David…
DL: For sure, the studies we have done about how you can pair events both geographically but also technically with common engines and transmissions and body shells and so on there are huge savings. On some events you can imagine pairs where you could do two events for the price of one. Going to New Zealand and Australia as one round trip seems to be an obvious one. But as Malcolm hinted we should look wider. It is not just the pairing of events. The whole layout of the calendar is the key to the cost and the value. A lot of the focus naturally is on how we can reduce costs and pairing is one of the best ideas but we also need to look at the bigger picture of which events are in the calendar and what order are they in the calendar because there is the value side of the equation. We are not just talking about the number of rallies but which rallies and in which countries and where do we get the best value and where are the big car markets and so on and start to look longer term because the calendar is not just about cost - it is about value.

Q: Are there any other measures you would like to see as a result of this meeting?
MW: I think there has been a lot of stuff going on technically which is also contributing to where we are trying to get to with the calendar so that has been going on and a lot of recognition has not been given to that and I think it is also very important. But I think David has touched on this as well. There are a lot of new events which are obviously of interest to the manufacturers and they are obviously very keen to work with some of the organizers so they can link into some of our current events. As a lot of people are probably aware we had a big study to really realize the value the championship brings when we were discussing our future with Ford last year. If you immediately drop to 12 events there is 25% of the value gone so we have to be careful. 16 events is a lot and I know it is difficult for a lot of teams probably but I think at the moment until you sort the calendar it is very difficult to do a definitive budget and I class calendar as key.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:

David Williams (David Williams Agency-GB):
Q: You mentioned new events that could be interesting that are willing to work with new organizers. It is sometimes suggested that USA or China but which of the events that are running now could realistically be useful to you?
DL: The candidates that are on the table now all look interesting because they are tackling both sides of the equation – they are interesting markets but they are looking at what they can do to save costs. The new events on the horizon now are looking at providing us with testing, hotel costs, and help with freight and travel costs and so on and they are desperate to get into the championship and are making some proposals to make it more attractive. And clearly from the manufacturer side, Malcolm talked about value, the cost – we have to look at ways in the future to go to China, USA, Russia and India and so on – the big and developing markets. You put those 2 things together and come back to what Malcolm said and the calendar is everything, it is not just the cost it is value.

MW: You are right David. China and the US are not on the map at the moment but they are obviously are of interest. The ones that are serious contenders, South Africa, Norway, Portugal and Jordan for sure they are of interest to Ford and probably all the other manufacturers as well.

Harri Rovanpera, Mitsubishi
Janne Tuohino, Skoda

Q: Harri if we start off with you: in Cyprus, the last rally, you had a few problems but in Sardinia you drove a fantastic rally. What is the realistic potential for Mitsubishi on this sort of event? I think the 2 cars were fastest on shakedown – does that mean anything?

HR: Yes of course that means something! Okay shakedown is shakedown, but tomorrow starting the rally as we know. But we sort some problems out in the last test and some problems that we had in Cyprus and I am quite confident in this weekend I am really hoping that this car will work like in the last test and today. If that happens we can do a nice result.

Q: Is your objective to be to finish on the podium or is it to finish in the points?
HR: If it is possible, podium of course, I try that and why not? I am quite confident like I say and if the weather stays like this and it is dry then it helps me and our car.

Q: You mentioned recent testing what did you find that you think will help you here?
HR: We tested many things, we worked with dampers and I have built a more stable car for here and that is the main thing. Okay the road is more flat compared to Cyprus and I think it is working even better.

Q: Janne, in Cyprus the rally ended up with Skoda scoring some important points. Do you see an even bigger improvement here in Turkey?
JT: Yes for sure. We did the test after Cyprus and we find some nice things for the car performance and lets see how things will go during the rally and I hope on my side I can do the weekend without mistakes and the car is working on the weekend and we don’t have technical problems. That is the main thing.

Q: Janne, what do you think of the performance of the car in these very rough very hot conditions?
JT: Here the roads are better condition than in Cyprus and Sardinia and our car is working better in the faster conditions when it is a little bit flat and I think so it is better for us.

Q: Do you think the Fabia is quite well suited for the conditions here?
JT: I hope we do our best and let’s see.

Q: Harri over the last few days it has been raining hard and today it is hot. What are the conditions for the stages?
HR: Some stages we have not been able to see anything! It has been foggy in the car. Sure there are some muddy areas and yesterday we didn’t know if it is muddy or not in corners but the road if it is dry is quite nice and is much better than the last two years this means that the rally is faster. I think it is not too hard for tyres and everything looks good at this moment.

Q: Janne, do you think that the rain will affect the conditions for the stages for this rally?
JT: I hope it is dry but if it is raining it could be a very difficult rally like Harri said. Yesterday it was very slippery and difficult but hopefully it is not raining.

Q: Harri, tyre wear is important on these rallies. Are you happy with the recent developments made by Pirelli?
HR: Yes we have one new tyre with different compounds and that is working quite well and one week ago in the test I was confident with that.

Q: The teams are required to nominate tires in advance. Are you confident that you have the right tyres for this rally?
HR:Yes

Q: Janne, are you happy with the work done by Michelin recently?
JT: Yes for sure. We think it is dry and hot like last year and not funny if it is raining.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:

Martin Holmes (Martin Holmes Rallying-GB):
Q: Harri your team is the only team starting with new engines on this rally; is it going to be an advantage for you? How worried are people on their second rally with the engine if it is still strong?
HR: I am not worried about it at all. I was just asked that after shakedown one hour ago and everything looks good.

Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot
Carlos Sainz, Citroen Total

Q: Carlos, what is the story behind the reason you are sitting here now?
CS: It is very simple. I think everyone knows a little bit about what has happened in the last rally. Only due to those circumstances is the only reason I am here. I have no wish in coming back to compete in the World Rally Championship before, but after saying that it seems to be a small problem and I have a few conversations with Guy (Frequelin) after Saturday and Sunday and finally on Monday. At the end he convinced me to be here and since I took the decision I will try to do the best I can but it is just the only matter to help the team and in these circumstances try to get some points and say hello to a lot of friends I have in this room and try to enjoy the rally and try to do a good job.

Q: Carlos, Guy asked you to do this rally and you agreed. If he asked you to do some more would you?
CS: Actually he asked me to do the whole season but that is impossible! I think everyone knows my aims in terms of sport is to try and find a car the Dakar 2006 and I have still not found one, unfortunately. I can find a car to do World Rally Championship but not Dakar – it seems strange. But in any case, as I said to you, Guy asked me and I said there is no chance to do the whole season. It is just a single situation and we will see how the team will find a solution for the second driver which has to be found as quickly as possible.

Q: Carlos, do you think François Duval deserves another chance?
CS: I always have a lot of faith in François Duval and when I decided to stop last year I spoke with him a lot and I think he is still capable of doing a great job. He is young and he is very talented. He is a good driver and he has a lot of future in front of him. I don’t know exactly because I have not been in rallies and discussing with him or following exactly with him but one thing is sure, the results at the beginning of the year were probably not as good as everyone expected and I expected and I don’t know exactly what was the reason.. Maybe with a little bit of time with re-thinking his own situation but the attitude maybe has to change a little bit and he has to approach differently in a little way some things. You must think that when you are young and you have the chance to drive for one of the best teams like he is driving now, driving for the team which is world champion you have to do maximum - you have to do 100 per cent everything. You are so lucky to do as a profession of what you like; to drive one of the best cars – you need to give 100 percent, you need to enjoy, you need to work very hard. I am not saying that François is not doing that; I am sure that this period of time I think he will think a little bit about what he wants to do. But I say again I am very confident that he can be a very good driver and he will be a very good driver.

Q: Marcus, is it nice to have Carlos back?
MG: It is nice to see him back but I think like Carlos said it is nice he is not back for many rallies! I hope he can enjoy it.

Q: Marcus, in Cyprus you had an engine problem in the first stage. How badly do you think it has affected your championship chances?
MG: I hope it is not the same case like last year. We won in Cyprus and we were leading the championship by one point and then they took off the point from us. After that we could not come back any more and hopefully it is not the same this year. I hope we can fight here for a win and try and change the situation a little bit.

Q: Marcus, are you still confident you can win the drivers championship?
MG: No I am not confident at all! I will try as far as possible and still it is possible, so I will try.

Q: Marcus, you must be pleased with general level of reliability with the Peugeot which overall has been good?
MG: Up till now we have had no big problems, just this one in Cyprus and it is not normal - just a mistake or something; it can happen. So I am quite confident.

Q: Carlos, as a former winner of this event what is your objective for this rally? Will you be able to go quickly or have you had to adapt?
CS: The first thing today has been to adjust to the HANS system. It was quite difficult for me. Tomorrow I will try and follow my speed. It has been nearly seven months since I did the last stage and I am very happy again to be here to help the team, to be honoured by Citroen to give me a call to do this. I think everyone knows and I have told already that I will try my best but you should not expect anything special because I will just try and score maximum points for the team and try to get into the rhythm as quickly as possible and drive fast but safe.

Q: Carlos, how much testing have you had here and how much has the Xsara changed since you drove it last?
CS: Basically we did one day in a circuit in France last week just to be back in the car a little bit and get used to HANS and drive a few kilometers before the first shakedown and stage. In January I did one day in the car but I had an injury playing football and I have been a little bit not doing many things for a couple of months and I am okay and have no problems and happy to be here and trying to do a good job.

Q: Is the car very different from last year?
CS: The car is very similar to how we drove in the last rally.

Q: Carlos, do you think after such a long time after you drove the rally car it will take you some time to get back up to speed or do you think you can go fast from the beginning?
CS: I am sure I am a bit rusty. The level in the World Rally Championship is very high and you need to be competing nearly every month to keep the performance the same, it is the same in any sport – in football for example, even if you come back from an injury after a few months away you are still not the same. You cannot just disappear for seven months and come back. I think honestly this is going to be tough but I accept the challenge and I think the team knows as well

Q: Both of you; how are the road conditions in Turkey?
MG: It was raining during recce and it was really muddy and when it is raining here the roads are very slippery and I hope it is drying up for the rally or it is a nightmare.

CS: It was not the best weather yesterday and the day before to come back to rallying! Only in a very few cases have I seen such a bad weather condition in the stages and hopefully we will have better weather and it will be dry.

Q: Marcus what do you think will be key for winning this rally?
MG: Normally the fastest driver gets to win, but this time it is a rally about tyres. Maybe but we don’t know how the weather will be. We know that it was completely muddy yesterday and the day before and we have to guess again.

Q: How strongly do you feel about your own chances of winning this weekend?
MG: - I can’t say. I don’t know. I will try.

Q: Carlos how strong do you think Marcus’s chances are of winning this weekend?
CS: I think Marcus is a favourite in every single rally that he competes in. He can win everywhere and he can be very fast everywhere. I have not seen very carefully this year how it has been, but I hear last rally mid-way through the first stage he was quickest by far so if he can continue the same speed as first stage in Cyprus then he can win. I think we are going to face a very difficult rally especially if this afternoon is still raining – even if it is stopping now then we can find a lot of places with mud and without gravel crew I am sure we will have good moments and a few exciting situations tomorrow.

Event Timetable

Thursday 2 June: Ceremonial Start

Start Cumhuriyet Square, Antalya 19.00

Friday 3 June: Leg 1 Kemer - Kemer

Start Kemer 06.10
SS2 Phaselis 1 28.98km 07.08
SS3 Arykanda 1 11.95km 08.16
Serv B Kemer (30 mins) 09.46
SS4 Perge 1 22.28km 11.14
SS5 Myra 1 24.05km 11.57
SS6 Arykanda 2 11.95km 12.40
Serv C Kemer (30 mins) 14.10
SS7 Perge 2 22.28km 15.38
SS8 Myra 2 24.05km 16.21
SS9 EFES Pilsen SSS2 2.60km 18.04
Serv D Kemer (flexi 45 mins) 19.24
Finish Kemer 20.09

Saturday 4 June: Leg 2 Kemer - Kemer

Serv E Kemer (10 mins) 07.00
SS10 Kemer 1 20.35km 07.33
SS11 Silyon 1 29.58km 08.21
Serv F Kemer (30 mins) 10.11
SS12 Kemer 2 20.35km 11.04
SS13 Silyon 2 29.58km 11.52
Serv G Kemer (30 mins) 13.42
SS14 Chimera 1 16.45km 15.00
SS15 Phaselis 2 28.98km 15.58
SS16 EFES Pilsen SSS3 5.20km 17.41
Serv H Kemer (flexi 45 mins) 19.01
Finish Kemer 19.46

Sunday 5 June: Leg 3 Kemer - Kemer

Serv I Kemer (10 mins) 09.00
SS17 Chimera 2 16.45km 10.03
SS18 Olympos 33.35km 11.01
Serv J Kemer (20 mins) 12.31
Finish Kemer 12.55

Rally Total 348.43km

- The total length of the 2005 event is 1,183.54 km, including 348.43 km divided into 17 stages (9 different).

Leading positions after the first day of the rally:

1 LOEB/ELENA CITROEN TOTAL 1:54:07.2
2 GALLI/DAMORE MITSUBISHI MOTORS MOTOR SPORTS +01:09.6
3 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL +01:13.2
4 SOLBERG/MILLS SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM +01:30.6
5 SAINZ/MARTI Citroën Total +01:53.1
6 GARDEMEISTER/HONKANEN BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM +03:10.1
7 MARTIN/PARK MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL +03:45.1
8 SOLBERG/MENKERUD BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM +04:13.6
9 KRESTA/MOZNY BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM +04:30.0
10 WARMBOLD/ORR BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM +06:14.5

Driver's comments after Leg 1

As in the last three rallies, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have got off to a flying start in Turkey. The Xsara WRC crew was fastest over seven of today's eight stages and have carved out a healthy lead this evening. Back at the wheel of the second Citroën, Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti are ideally positioned to provide rearguard cover to their team-mates in their bid to secure as many Manufacturers' championship points as possible this weekend.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: It couldn't have gone better. The car was perfectly balanced and I was able to do what I wanted with it. If I wanted to slide, it responded progressively. And when I wanted to keep it smooth, it wasn't a problem. The most difficult thing today has been tyre choice. This was the fruit of real teamwork and I think we can all be pleased tonight with the choices we made!"

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "It wasn't such an easy day for me. My road position meant I came across lots of big stones on the stages. My speed came back bit by bit as I got used to the Michelin tyres which are new this season; the grip they give is excellent. The car's steering precision is also a little different to what I was accustomed to. I have therefore been looking to adjust the set-up differently to Seb with a view to making the car like I want it, which is to say very precise. Concerning tyre choice, because of the 24-minute gap between Seb and me on the road, I thought I would have more rain in the final loop and I possibly re-cut my tyres a little too much. That said, I am very pleased this evening because I think I am well placed to help Citroën."

Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "It's been a very difficult day. I don't think I've had the correct tyre choice at all and it's hard to smile when you're fourth! In the afternoon we tried a new tyre evolution, but it was designed to work at 30°C, and it was just 16°C on the stage, so it didn't work at all and I had to do the best I could. We hoped that the rain would miss the stage, but it didn't! It's been very frustrating, but I'm not going to give up. Tomorrow is a very long day, I'm expecting a good fight with Marcus and there are plenty of opportunities for us to make the right tyre choices this time!"

Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "I'm disappointed for both myself and the team, it was a silly mistake. The conditions were extremely slippery today and, although I started cautiously, I got caught out on a corner on the second stage and that was the rally over. Again, it's disappointing to finish a rally like this, but I have to be grateful for the Superally option and the chance to get more experience tomorrow. Although we didn't drive for very long, I had made a couple of set-up changes, which I felt worked very well. I hope that we'll have more opportunity to put these settings to the test on Legs two and three."

Toni Gardemeister / Jakke Honkanen: "The first 20km of the opening stage were OK but I dropped time towards the end and I don't understand why. The car felt too soft so I made the dampers harder and it handled much better on the next tests. The first stage of that next group was muddy like hell. I think I drove too aggressively and there was a lot of sliding into banks. It wasn't good. But the next two were quite dry. The times were better and I was happier."

Roman Kresta / Jan Mozny: "It wasn't so easy to drive quickly when trying to learn the characteristics of the roads. But they are really nice stages and I made no mistakes. This morning the gravel was quite loose, damp and slippery, but not muddy like it was during the recce. It was tricky when it rained this afternoon. The windscreen wipers were on all the time and the roads were slippery. Tomorrow I will try to keep the same steady pace - fast but not taking any risks."

Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "Today has been OK, but I am a bit disappointed not to be faster. We have tried our best today and had no real mechanical problems, but it does not seem possible for us to fight for the lead here. We are still having a good fight for second place, so now we must just carry on like this and concentrate on getting the maximum points for ourselves and Peugeot. On the last stage before the superspecial I had a small gear selection problem which meant that I had to use the manual shift, and on the superspecial itself I stalled, but apart from that it has not been too bad."

Markko Martin / Michael Park: "Today has not really been fun but we have still come out of it with a car that is intact and no serious mechanical problems. On the last loop of stages this afternoon we had some rain, which made the roads very slippery. Unfortunately the windscreen misted up, but when I tried to put on the demister I accidentally knocked an electrical switch and lost some time. Overall, I've been happy with my tyre choices, so let's wait and see what happens tomorrow."

At the end of the opening leg of the Rally of Turkey, round seven of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore hold second overall ahead of a host of former World Rally Champions. The Italian Lancer WRC05 crew also not only led an FIA World Rally Championship event for the first time in their careers (after SS4) but brought further encouragement to Mitsubishi, heading the field for the Japanese manufacturer for the first time since the legendary Safari Rally in 2001. 

Harri Rovanpera / Risto Pietiläinen: "We have to wait and see exactly what the damage is, but it seems that the suspension has bent, leaving the tire rubbing on the inside of the wheel arch. The wheel wouldn't turn and we had to stop in the stage."

Gigi Galli / Guido D'Amore: "It has been a fantastic day and we have all done a good job. For me it is not so much the work we have done here, but what we achieved on the test last week. The tires have also worked well and we have made a good choice everywhere, so my thanks go to Pirelli. Tomorrow, we have some really hard-charging drivers behind and it will be a big fight. But we have to be clever; I will stick to my own rhythm because I know they are much more experienced and I am not perhaps ready to fight with someone like Marcus Gronholm. If it's dry, it will certainly be harder to keep him behind."

Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula: "I was feeling quite ill all day and couldn't push too hard. The conditions were more humid than we expected after the hot sunshine and there wasn't much grip at times. It was unbelievable that we suffered the same problem as Armin in the same spot."

Armin Schwarz / Klaus Wicha: "The conditions this morning were very tricky, especially on SS2 and SS4 which had thick fog during the recce. The notes were very tricky to follow in today's different conditions. The car was working very well after we adjusted the suspension after SS3 but on SS5 I ran over some rocks and broke a wishbone which meant we could not continue."

Leading positions after the second day of the rally:

1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 3hr 44min 33.2sec
2. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 3hr 45min 49.8sec
3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 3hr 45min 57.6sec
4. C Sainz/M Marti B Citroen Xsara 3hr 48min 10.0sec
5. M Märtin/M Park EE Peugeot 307 3hr 49min 44.5sec
6. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 52min 06.5sec
7. R Kresta/J Mo¾ný CZ Ford Focus RS 3hr 52min 26.7sec
8. G Galli/G D'Amore I Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 53min 43.6sec
9. A Warmbold/M Orr D Ford Focus RS 3hr 55min 13.9sec
10 H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 57min 20.0sec

Driver's comments after Leg 2

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "There was a chance it might rain, so we opted for a 'safe' tyre choice. As it turned out, we only came across rain on the road section between the two stages. As a result, we had re-cut our tyres too much for the conditions but that didn't have that much of an influence on our times."

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "Given the gaps, we decided to change the set-up a little bit without losing sight of our objective which is to reach the finish and score Manufacturers' points."

Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "After all that's happened so far in this rally, I'm extremely pleased to be in second place tonight. Things are going the right way now and today has been completely different to yesterday when we were a long way off the pace. We were the fastest overall on today's stages and I think that's down to the tyres and the weather. Leg one was difficult, but today it's been warmer and, even with the same tyre compound, the package has worked much, much better. It'll definitely be an interesting fight with Marcus tomorrow, but my focus is on second place only now. All that matters is that Sebastien doesn't get too much of a lead in the Championship so I'm going to do all I can to prevent that."

Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "It hasn't been an ideal day being first on the road, as we seem to have suffered with the worst of the wet weather. It was difficult to find the level of grip, so we lost quite a lot of time with spins and stalls. But, losing time isn't so much of a problem for us yet as our priority is still experience. If you take away the time we've lost through little mistakes, then the underlying pace is improving and that's encouraging. For tomorrow, we'll continue to work on the current set-up, we've got limited tyre options, but we'll have to see what the weather looks like and hopefully we can set some good times."

Toni Gardemeister / Jakke Honkanen: "Everything felt better and I drove absolutely flat out in both stages, I couldn't have gone any faster. The car felt fantastic, especially on the twisty sections. I chose quite hard tyres but they were OK on the first stage, which was damp and muddy. The second test was drier and the rubber was perfect. As the day continued he became embroiled in a huge battle for fifth with Markko Märtin. The Estonian edged ahead by a handful of seconds until a front left puncture midway through the penultimate stage cost Gardemeister dearly. He dropped 2min 20sec, but did not lose any places. "About 9km before the end, I took a fast left bend into a downhill section and hit some stones. Immediately I saw rubber flying off the tyre. I continued to the end, by which time the flailing rubber had damaged the bodywork around the wheel arch and bumper," he explained.

Roman Kresta / Jan Mozny: "This morning was really good. The car felt nice to drive, everything went well and my times were strong. This afternoon wasn't so bad, but I made a few mistakes on the last couple of stages before the super special. I don't know why but I didn't have a good rhythm and I made several mistakes in the muddy sections where I slid into banks."

Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: It's good to be fighting for second place but of course I would rather be fighting for victory. But OK - Sebastien has been in a class of his own here, and we can only do our best and hope that he has a problem! Nothing has really gone wrong for us today but I am not quite sure if some of our tyre choices were correct for the conditions: sometimes the tyres seemed to be too hard. The car has again been very reliable, and we've got a good battle with Petter on the final day to look forward to. I'm going to be pushing hard but I don't want to do anything that risks our chance of scoring points for Peugeot.

Markko Martin / Michael Park: It's been an interesting fight with Toni Gardemeister, but he had a problem on the last loop of stages which takes the pressure off us. We've been quite lucky with the rain on the middle loop of stages today; it rained a lot on the road sections but seemed to stay dry on the competitive sections. We've also made some adjustments to the brakes today, which worked well. It's clear now that there is not so much we can do to make up another place so it is a question of keeping concentrated and trying to maintain our position to the end. The conditions are tricky, but the car has given us no problems.

After their stunning performance in the opening leg of the Rally of Turkey, in which "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore held second overnight, the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crew suffered huge disappointment this morning. The Italian duo plummeted to tenth position after the first two stages when a turbo pipe disconnected. After repairs in service, the crew were back on the pace and set their second fastest stage time of the event (SS14) and were consistently within the top five throughout the day. 

Harri Rovanpera / Risto Pietiläinen: "We swapped to Gigi's set-up for the last three stages and for me there was no great difference", said Harri. "There was some better traction, but when it was bumpy the car was grounding more, so some things were good and others not so good. Overall everything's been okay, but it's been a long and hot day".

Gigi Galli / Guido D'Amore: "All the good sensation and satisfaction from yesterday is still there; none of us forget this", said a disappointed but philosophical Gigi. "We had one small problem and the one thing that changed is our position. Sure, that is disappointing for everyone, but our objective remains the same; to show speed, the car's potential, to learn the roads and understand more and more about the set-up. You learn something from every rally and I just have to think that this is just not our time yet. I knew this morning it would be hard to stay ahead of Marcus and Petter, but we did a good job during the day and did some top stage times; that is what matters".

Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula: This morning's stages were drier than yesterday and very nice to drive. We had some hydraulic problems that slowed us on the longest stage of the day and it was quite tough when it rained in the afternoon. Tomorrow will be a difficult last day but we are not so far from a top 10 result.

Final positions after the third day of the rally:

Final Positions:

1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 4hr 21min 48.0sec
2. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 4hr 22min 47.6sec
3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 4hr 23min 03.3sec
4. C Sainz/M Marti B Citroen Xsara 4hr 26min 05.9sec
5. M Märtin/M Park EE Peugeot 307 4hr 27min 45.2sec
6. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 29min 55.3sec
7. R Kresta/J Mozný CZ Ford Focus RS 4hr 30min 36.3sec
8. G Galli/G D'Amore I Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 31min 26.9sec
9. A Warmbold/M Orr D Ford Focus RS 4hr 33min 14.7sec
10 H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 35min 39.4sec

Driver's comments after Leg 3

Overnight leader Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) cruised to his fourth consecutive victory and his fifth of the season. The Frenchman won by 59.6sec and leads the championship by 13 points. Having overhauled Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) yesterday, Petter Solberg (Subaru) pulled further ahead today and took second, 15.7sec ahead of the Finn. Carlos Sainz (Citroen) claimed fourth on his return to the sport ahead of Markko Märtin (Peugeot). Ford drivers Toni Gardemeister came in 6th and 7th respectively whilst eighth place was sufficient for Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) to take the final points position in both the drivers' and manufacturers' series.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Four wins in a row. I'm clearly on a positive run at the moment, but I want to stress the importance of the team's contribution to this series of wins. They are more motivated than ever and continue not to make any mistakes. It was also a big pleasure to join forces with Carlos again. We picked up our association as though we had parted company the previous day. The silver fern the Maoris gave me in New Zealand? It's still in the car. A bit faded, but it's still there and it will stay there for the next rounds,"

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "I'm obviously delighted to be at the finish. It wasn't as straightforward as that to pull off my mission. I had to find the right pace to finish high up and score as many points as possible, while at the same time not making any mistakes despite the awful weather conditions. But we've done it! I am very happy for Seb after his impressive win. It's been a superb weekend for the whole team. Working with everyone again has been a big occasion and lived up every bit to my experience with Citroën as a whole."

Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "The rally has actually worked very well for me and we've had a good two days. I took quite a lot of time out of Marcus yesterday and had a good feeling that I could do something similar today. We attacked quite hard on the first stage today, but on the second we just drove according to the splits. We managed to secure second place and I'm very pleased for Subaru and the team. Our pace was encouraging, but we still have to find a solution to challenge Sebastien all the time. It would have been good to have fought more closely with him, but that's how it is and we've done the best we can."

Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "I think we could have run at a good pace all weekend, but instead I've had to treat this rally as a test after a silly mistake. But, on the positive side, it's good to get more experience of the car on the stages. I'm always finding more things and now have a comfortable set up for these conditions. It's a bit frustrating, but I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible. I think we've got a good base set up for Greece, it's another new event for me, but I'm looking forward to it."

Toni Gardemeister / Jakke Honkanen: "I was happier with the set-up of the car today. I made the suspension stiffer and that felt good but then the grip wasn't as strong, so maybe if we change the set-up we need to look at different tyre options as well. The surface is different on the next round in Greece and I'm aiming for a good result there."

Roman Kresta / Jan Mozny: "I pushed hard on the opening stage, which had good grip. The last stage had a lot of loose gravel on the surface so I made sure I was careful. It's been a good weekend and I've now scored points on each of the last three rallies which shows good consistency. It has been hard to choose the right tyres with the constant weather changes, and it's especially difficult when the weather is so different on the recce than it is on the rally.

Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "I did my best to pass Petter today - I even removed the air conditioning unit from my car at service in order to save a bit of weight, but there was nothing more I could do. We were very close until the last 7 kilometres of SS17, then Petter did a very good time. Of course I was pushing, but my instructions were to get to the finish and make sure of scoring some points for Peugeot in the manufacturers championship. Luckily we were able to do that and Peugeot remains in the lead."

Markko Martin / Michael Park: "This has been a tough rally for us and we have struggled to find complete confidence in the car. It was also difficult to judge the tyre choices, but for the most part I think we got it right. We still have a lot of work to do, but at least we have come away with some points which are vital for both championships. Today we did not take any risks and just made sure we got to the finish with no problems. There was not much to get excited about!"

The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore once again scored points for the team in the Rally of Turkey, the Lancer WRC05 crew finishing eighth overall in only their second outing in the event. The Italians were robbed of a potential podium position during the start of the second leg, but nevertheless set two fastest stage times, led the rally for one stage and displayed stunning form on another of the toughest rounds of the series.

Harri Rovanpera / Risto Pietiläinen: "It's been a difficult rally which really ended for us on Friday. Since then we have been testing various things to see if we can find solutions for different situations. We have learned some stuff, but overall the rally has not been fantastic for us. Overall the tires have been working very well, the wear was good and we can look forward to Greece with some optimism."

Gigi Galli / Guido D'Amore: "We took a steady pace today as there was no point to risk anything. Despite the disappointment yesterday, I have to say I am very happy with this rally. We made some good times and we are very close to having a great result. For me, that's in two rallies time, then it's my turn! We have some new solutions coming up, things we have already tested that I think will mean we can challenge and make the podium."

Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula: "We lost the front brakes on the long second stage today so I had to drive using the handbrake only. It didn't change our overall position but it meant we couldn't challenge to move up one place at the finish. I'm looking forward now to Greece as that's one of my favourite events and I hope that I can get a good result there."