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FIA RALLY NEWS COMING EVENT - 50th Rallye de France - Tour de Corse (7-9 April 2006 5th round out of 16 in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship, 3rd round out of ninth in the 2006 FIA Junior World Rally Championship FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Pre-event FIA Press Conference Present: Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference. Q: YB: Q: JP: Q: YB: Q: JP: Q: YB: The French can make two persons, it’s Nicolas Vouilloz and us here. In the WRC, it’s very good. JP: All the spectators are French. In Catalunya we got a lot of flags from the spectators and it was wonderful, there will be even more here. Rally de France is another rally I have to learn, I have to learn the stages. Q: MG: Q: HR: Q: MG: Q: HR: Q: SL: Q: PS: Q: SL: Q: PS: Q: SL: Q: PS: Q: Matthew W: Q: MW: Q: Matthew W: Q: MW: Q: Matthew W: Q: MW: Rally Preview Two weeks after Rally Catalunya, the FIA World Rally Championship makes a short hop east across the Mediterranean from Spain to the French island of Corsica. The legendary Tour de Corse, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2006, takes place from 7-9 April on the roads around the island’s capital Ajaccio. Just like Rally Catalunya, the Tour de Corse is an asphalt event, although the characters of both differ hugely. The Spanish asphalt is relatively smooth and new, whereas the Corsican Tarmac can be coarse and abrasive. Drivers go deep into the corners in Spain, however cutting corners in Corsica is rare as the narrow roads hug the sides of the mountains. With sheer rock face on one side and steep drops on the other, getting exactly the right line in Corsica is crucial. Dubbed the ‘rally of ten thousand corners,’ the event is characterised by hard acceleration away from one corner before braking heavily for the next within a few hundred metres. The g-forces generated in the corners are the highest in the championship – at times in excess of 1.5g laterally, more than double the amount generated by the standard road-going Impreza. The Corsican weather can be as dramatic as the landscape. Within an hour bright sunshine can give way to heavy rain as warm sea air meets the cool mountain breeze. This year the rally takes place in early Spring with the mountains still snow-capped. Should temperatures rise just a few degrees, the snow will melt and saturate the roads with water. The itinerary is virtually identical to 2005, with each leg comprising a morning loop of two stages which is repeated in the afternoon following service in the port area of Ajaccio. After a ceremonial start in the centre of Ajaccio on Thursday evening, Friday's opening leg is identical to last year on roads south-east of the town and is the longest of the event. Saturday's action takes competitors north of Ajaccio and includes a revised route for the opening stage of each loop. The last day is based south of the town and includes a stage last used in 2004. Drivers face 12 stages covering 355.16km in a route of 1044.24km. The event remains one of the most compact of the season with more than 34 per cent of the route being competitive. Team Previews: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC In Catalunya two weeks ago, Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Xsara WRC have claimed for their second win this season, equalling Marcus Grönholm’s score. Between the reigning World champions and their challenger in the current championship’s standings, it is time for another duel on the ‘Island of beauty’ as the French call Corsica. The Kronos Total Citroën WRT enter in the 50th edition of the Tour de Corse, two 2006 Xsara WRCs for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, the 2005 winners, and for Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio. As for the four previous rounds, Dani Sordo/Marc Marti – who claimed for second position in Catalunya and currently lie in third position in the Drivers rankings - participate in the French round behind the wheel of the Kronos Racing 2005 Xsara. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Sébastien Loeb perfectly knows that as he will take the start of the rally for the seventh time. In 2003, he could have won the event as he drove with dry road tyres in wet conditions and landed on the side of the road without being able to restart for around ten minutes. “We try to anticipate at the maximum but you also need a bit of luck. Actually the weather changes so quickly that it can change a logical and wise choice into a mistake…” Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: “In Corsica, the weather conditions play an important role. In these long stages, there are some sections with rain, then some others with fog, and some more with sun and dry roads. The tyre choice is extremely tricky. I like the rally route because you find slow and fast places but also because the asphalt offers a good grip. As a consequence, you must start in the right pace straight away or you loose a lot of time quickly. I hope to drive at good speed and give back to the team the trust they’ve placed in me.” Questions to Marc Van Dalen, Kronos Total Citroën WRT team principal The first quarter of the championship ended in Catalunya. What do you
think? Xevi Pons was the least successful… Are you surprised by Dani Sordo’s performance? Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 Just 11 days after closing in on the lead of the FIA World Rally Championship in Spain, the BP-Ford World Rally Team will face up to another asphalt showdown on the opposite side of the Mediterranean. The Rallye de France (6 - 9 April), based on the craggy island of Corsica, is regarded as the classic sealed surface event in the 16-round series and will provide another opportunity for the Focus RS World Rally Car to display its blistering asphalt pace. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen won 10 of the 16 speed tests on round four in Spain. The Corsican roads are very different in their characteristics but having excelled on both asphalt outings this season, BP-Ford feels confident going into this 50th anniversary event of improving on second in the manufacturers' standings. Thirty-eight-year-old Grönholm, who lies second in the drivers' championship, will start Corsica for the seventh time. Second in 2002 is his best result and his desire to improve on that in what could turn out to be a head-to-head battle with 2005 winner and French hero Sébastien Loeb is clear. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: We proved in Spain that we have the right package to match Loeb on asphalt," he said. "I'm really excited about being able to fight with him in Corsica, even though it is his home event and he knows the roads well. I feel happier on the Corsican stages than on the roads in Spain. They are more like rally stages than a race circuit. "As ever in Corsica we must keep a careful eye on the weather. It is an island so things can change quickly and it is easy to be caught out on the wrong tyres because the weather in the mountains is different to that in the service park. One mistake in tyre selection can ruin an otherwise excellent rally. But we have experienced people in the team whose job it is too monitor the weather and help with tyre choice so we have the best advice," added Grönholm. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen has a 100 percent finishing record from two starts in Corsica and believes he can fight for a podium in the Focus RS. "I expect to be as fast as we were in Spain and fight for a top three. But I also expect those drivers who were fast in Spain will be fast here. Corsica's stages are twisty all the time. I will need to find a different rhythm, one that is precise and tidy. It's not usually possible to cut corners because there are often brick walls and stones on the edge of the road," he said. "The roads can be abrasive but if the weather conditions are consistent, I'm sure the BFGoodrich tyres will be perfect. Sometimes a driver has to look after his tyres to ensure they don't 'go off' but with the new Focus I've never had to do this. It's a combination of the car and the tyres. They both complement each other and I know I will be able to drive flat out without having to protect them," he added. Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Subaru Impreza WRC2006 cars in the Tour de Corse. Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Stéphane Sarrazin (co-driven by Stéphane Prévot) will drive both drive 2006 cars and will be eligible to score points towards the manufacturers’ championship. Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall) will drive a Subaru Impreza WRC2005 entered by Subaru Australia. Corsica is historically a good event for the Subaru World Rally Team and they go to the island optimistic of a good result. The team has won three times in the past 10 years, including 2003 when Petter Solberg scored a famous victory after crashing heavily on shakedown. Stéphane Sarrazin also has a strong record in the event finishing sixth on his Corsican debut in 2004 in a privately-entered Subaru Impreza before equalling his best-ever WRC finish when he finished fourth overall with the Subaru World Rally Team in 2005. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: The Tour de Corse is a very good event. I think compared to Rally Spain the stages and the asphalt will suit us better. In the past the Corsican roads were more abrasive as the surface was much older, however nowadays there’s not so much of the old Tarmac left. On the whole our car and tyres match the event very well. My objective is to try for a podium again. That’s my aim, we’ll just have to see how we get on.” Stéphane Sarrazin/Stéphane Prévot: “I feel very positive about this rally. We’ve done Corsica twice before and both times we’ve had a good result and fought with the quickest cars. In 2004 we came sixth and last year fourth, which was a great result in front of my home crowd. For sure Spain was a difficult rally for us but we’ll try and improve for Corsica and fight for positions. I want to finish in the top five.” Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: “The team has always had better results in Corsica than in Spain so we’re optimistic of a good overall result. With the improvements we found in Spain we’ll also have a chance of finishing higher up the order. My speed on asphalt is increasing all the time and we’re looking to be consistent. Our goal, as always, is to get some points and to be competitive with the rest of the field.” Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC Just like in Spain the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team will enter the “Rallye de France – Tour de Corse” with only one car. Thus Manfred Stohl is able to score in the driver ranking – the quest for points in the manufacturer ranking will only again begin in Argentina. The 33-year-old Austrian’s professed goal for the coming weekend is a place among the top eight. Even though the special stages resemble those in Spain, the OMV duo sees better chances on the Mediterranean island. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: Manfred Stohl has very fond memories of the Corsica rally. The OMV driver won twice in the series class (1998 and 2000). But the course has changed since then. Stohl: “There are still a lot of turns but the roads have gotten broader and the rally faster. But it still won’t be a walk in the park for there will be constant steering wheel action each and every second. The wheel won’t stand still from first to last kilometre.“ This won’t pose a problem for the OMV duo, especially since the pain from the testing accident in Spain is subsiding. Stohl: “I still feel every single rib, of course, but it’s getting better each day and also you don’t cut so much in Corsica. This means that there will be less vibrations in the car.“ In Corsica the recce is of paramount importance for there one decides where to attack and where to take it easier. Even more so since the OMV duo Stohl/Minor has last competed in Corsica in 2003. Stohl: “It is just like music. With all these turns one must find the right rhythm. I’m sure that this rally will be a true Rock ‘n’ Roll on tarmac.“ Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 The Mediterranean island of Corsica provides the venue for the latest lesson for Britain's only full-time FIA World Rally Championship driver, Matthew Wilson and his Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team. The squad near a third of the way through the WRC season with their young British star eager to maintain momentum in his championship-learning rookie year. Whilst most students would encounter Corsica in a history course concerning former French ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte, it's something different altogether different that Wilson has to learn; corners, and lots of them. It's not for nothing that the rally has been christened the 'rally of ten thousand corners'. Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr will not only have to catalogue each and every turn in their pace notes, but have formed an opinion on just how fast they think they should be taken, despite only being able to drive the route at vastly reduced speeds from their stage pace. Joining Wilson for the second event in a row is the Finnish pairing of driver Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila. Whilst Wilson left Catalunya for training and preparation for the forthcoming event, Latvala was straight back into his national service. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: The rallies are coming thick and fast at the moment and Corsica will present another challenge. We've been working on our pace notes and it will be my second tarmac rally in a row with the Focus in full tarmac spec. We're still learning so much with every day of every rally. It's good having Jari-Matti as part of the team as he's only a couple of years older than me and he started the same way I did with the British Rally Championship. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "I should have had a good result in Spain if I hadn't hit the bridge on Friday so hopefully France should be better. The experience means I feel more confident in the car, and Corsica should be easier as I have done it two times before. I can't guarantee super fast but I hope we can be just a little bit faster than Spain." Manufacturer 2: Red Bull Skoda Team / Skoda Fabia WRC05 The Red Bull Skoda Team is delighted to announce the signing of Finland's Harri Rovanpera for the remaining seven WRC events. He will take over from Gilles Panizzi with immediate effect, already going into action in Corsica, where he will be celebrating his 40th birthday in style on Saturday, the second leg of the rally. In his last rally the previous year, Rovanpera finished second in Australia, the Finn's greatest success came with a win in Sweden 2001. The early departure of Gilles and Herve Panizzi is down to private family matters. Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen: "This surely has to be my best birthday present ever. I hope I will be fast not only on the gravel rallies, but also perform well for my new team on tarmac," an always cheerful "Dirty Harri", as he is affectionately known by his fans, explains. Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: Andreas Aigner, who has driven his first truly flawless rally in Spain, will arrive in Corsica well-prepared on that score: "I've gained a lot of tarmac experience in Spain, now I have to try and continue to put this knowledge into practice in Corsica. I'm already looking forward to working together with my new teammate, I hope we'll cooperate well." Event Timetable Thursday 6 April: Ceremonial Start Start Ajaccio 18.20 Friday 7 April: Leg 1 Ajaccio - Ajaccio Start Ajaccio 08.45 Serv A Ajaccio (30 mins) 13.11 Saturday 8 April: Leg 2 Ajaccio - Ajaccio Serv C Ajaccio (10 mins) 08.25 Sunday 9 April: Leg 3 Ajaccio - Ajaccio Serv F Ajaccio (10 mins) 07.10 Leading positions after the first day of the rally: 1.Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) 1:13:18.9 h. Leg 1 News Championship leader Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) was fastest on three of the four stages, the Frenchman admitting that he was pushing hard to keep Grönholm at bay. Alex Bengue (Peugeot) was unhappy with his car's suspension this morning but set-up changes in service improved the handling this afternoon. Dani Sordo (Citroen) lost about 40 seconds on the opening stage with electrical problems. He stopped to try and reset the systems but was unable to solve the problems until service. He then climbed from 13th to end the day in fifth. Petter Solberg (Subaru) spun on the opening stage and dropped 45 seconds after flattening his car's exhaust. He then had gear selection problems on the next test and is 14th. Loeb appears to have the advantage, with three stage wins out of four giving him nearly a 20-second overnight lead at the end of leg one. However, the bare results do not tell the full story. Gronholm beat Loeb on one stage (SS2) and showed the pace to match him on the remaining three. What let the Finn down was his inability to stay on terms with Loeb over the final sections of the stages. It was a problem that baffled him as much as his engineers. In the afternoon, Gronholm opted for the same hard tyre that Loeb had used so effectively in the morning. But it didn’t work, and the Finn reported a loss of confidence caused by the car moving about too much. Nonetheless, Gronholm still has every possibility to win – as Loeb acknowledged. The pair have nearly a minute’s advantage over up-and-coming Frenchman Alexandre Bengue, in third. The former Skoda factory driver refined the settings of his car throughout the day, but he still believes that the Peugeot 307 is not entirely at home over the twisty roads of Corsica. He was engaged in a tight battle with Ford works driver Mikko Hirvonen throughout the day, depriving the young Finn of a place on the provisional podium after the final stage. Hirvonen said that his driving needed some improvement, but he still managed to fend off rising Spanish star Daniel Sordo, who finished fifth at the end of leg one. Carlos Sainz’s protégé suffered differential problems and a lack of power over the opening loop of stages. When these problems were fixed, he showed what he was genuinely capable of with a third-fastest time. Other drivers though were not so happy. Subaru men Stephane Sarrazin and Petter Solberg ended up a disappointed 10th and 14th at the end of the leg. Solberg made a mistake on the opening stage, flattening his car’s exhaust pipe, but apart from that the Imprezas were trouble free. The problem was that they could not generate enough speed and grip. Their team mate Chris Atkinson lost a lot of time on the third stage when he flattened his exhaust pipe in a similar incident to Solberg’s. This caused some overheating that led to a transmission problem and demotion to 29th place overnight. Skoda driver Francois Duval also had problems, chiefly with brakes and set-up. The Belgian dropped out of the top 10 on the final stage of the day. Set-up problems also plagued Manfred Stohl, who wondered what more he had to do to make his car go faster after a difficult day. New to a Peugeot was Gigi Galli, who had a cautious run to 13th overall as he learnt all about his Pirelli-backed car. In the Junior World Rally Championship, the former protégé of Colin McRae – Kris Meeke – won three out of four stages. He lost the first one by only a tenth of a second to Frenchman Brice Tirabassi, who is runner-up in the category at the end of the opening leg, half a minute behind Meeke. Sebastien Loeb: “Everything went well for me today, but Marcus is rapidly becoming an asphalt expert so I have to be careful. Certainly my lead is nowhere near big enough to relax…I have to push again tomorrow.” Marcus Gronholm: “I don’t know why but I had the same problem on stages one and three: I was slower over the last bit of the stage. It’s a mystery to me as I did nothing different, but you cannot afford to give time away to somebody like Sebastien.” Alex Bengue: “Today got gradually better for us so I am happy. Our biggest problem today was understeer, and I think we will have to try and continue to fight that tomorrow.” Kris Meeke: “As we only have a two-wheel drive car, we suffer a lot from a lack of traction on the corners where the four-wheel drive cars have been cutting the corners and pulling earth and loose gravel onto the road. It’s very easy to make a mistake or pick up a puncture, so you have to stay concentrated all the time.” Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC The Citroen Xsara WRC of Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena has come out on top after the first round of a high-octane battle with the pairing of Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen. By winning three of the four special stages between Sainte Marie Sicche and Propriano today, the reigning World Champions have built up a small but valuable lead of 19.9 precious seconds. Following the example of their team leader, Kronos Racing's young Spaniards finish the day in fifth and sixth places, with Dani Sordo/Marc Marti just ahead of Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio. This makes it three Xsaras in the top six. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: « I was slowed down by a big vibration from the front-right tyre in the second stage. During the afternoon's loop of stages, I thought I had found a good rhythm. I was forced to slow it down a bit towards the end, as I noticed that my brakes were going off. The pedal was getting lower and lower. We'll get all this fixed now for tomorrow. » Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 Both BP-Ford World Rally Team pairings hold top four places after today's opening leg of the Rallye de France Tour de Corse. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen won one of the four asphalt speed tests on their way to second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are fourth in a similar car. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "I dropped time to Loeb at the end of the first stage again this afternoon and I just don't know why. Maybe it's the driver because I don't think there's anything wrong with the car. This afternoon was the first time I have used the hard compound tyres in competition and I didn't really get used to them. I wasn't happy with my driving today and now I have a difficult job tomorrow in trying to take back time." Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Fourth is OK but I'm disappointed my times are not as close to Marcus and Seb as they were on the last rally in Spain," he said. "My pace notes are precise but I have no confidence in them and I don't know why. I wasn't happy with my driving. I made a few small changes to the differentials in service and the feeling was better this afternoon but I also stalled again at the start of the last stage. If I can sort myself out then I know I can fight for a podium." Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Incident and disappointment marked the first Leg of the Tour de Corse for the Subaru World Rally Team. Petter Solberg had a difficult start to the rally when exhaust damage sustained in a spin on the first stage dropped him more than three minutes behind the leaders. Petter finished the day 14th overall. Chris Atkinson continued to gain more valuable asphalt experience but suffered a set-back on the penultimate stage when the exhaust system on his car was damaged in almost identical circumstances to Solberg's. Stéphane Sarrazin ran reliably and showed improvement throughout the Leg. He ended the day in tenth place. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "Well, not the best. We've had better days of course, and with all the problems we've had it's been very difficult. We changed the gearbox earlier and the replacement is a slightly different specification. The car wasn't as easy to drive in the afternoon and we had to try some different settings to compensate, but that's how it is. Tomorrow's another day and we'll do all we can to improve on our position." Stéphane Sarrazin/Stéphane Prévot: "It was a bit difficult; we are not where we were expecting to be. I'm doing all I can but we're not getting the results we want. In terms of what's possible for this rally, well, I hope to get into the top six; we'll just have to see. You can guarantee that I'll be pushing as hard as possible tomorrow." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "We had a good start to the day but a small mistake at a hairpin corner on SS3 just crimped the exhaust pipe and we had some gearbox problems after that. So not really the best day, it's disappointing but not the end of the world. Tomorrow we'll go out there and learn as much as we can in these conditions and hopefully keep improving." Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC All in all, the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team is quite satisfied with day one of the "Rallye de France - Tour de Corse". Ninth intermediate place makes hope to reach scoring ranks (top 8) already on Saturday despite grip problems for the OMV duo Stohl/Minor. Stohl has great plans for Saturday in any case. He wants to prove that he also is among the best rally drivers on tarmac. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "I'm already feeling at home and I'm sure that we will pick up even more speed during the remainder of the rally. The Peugeot runs faultlessly. All that's missing is the final polish to tap the full potential." Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson found the going difficult in his first day in Rallye de France - Tour de Corse as the 19 year-old came to terms with the twists and turns of the challenging Corsican tarmac. Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr drove solidly and without major incident through the day, played out under glorious sunshine in the mountains stretching up from the seaside capital of Corsica, Ajaccio. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It's definitely one of the hardest rallies I've done. You're constantly working and trying to push yourself, really quite hard. We lost about 15 seconds when we spun on a really narrow section near the end of stage three. There was a lot of gravel and we came out of a left-hander and got on the power just a little too early which spun the back end round. It clouted the rear on the bank and as we reversed back on to the stage we hit the rear again. The stages are so long here, if you're just a second a kilometre slower than the fastest driver that's 30 seconds. It's easy to get disheartened with that. Hopefully we can just learn from it, we've changed a couple of things on the pace notes and things like that, just making improvements for next year which is the main thing." Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "In the first stage I wasn't so confident, I wasn't driving well enough and I was braking too early but in the second stage I found the confidence and it started to go better. The day has been very good, no problems. My driving has been quite good, I had a safe margin as I haven't been pushing 100% so I'm happy to see the results. There were no big moments on the stages, just a few times when we went a bit wide on the gravel. Tomorrow we will go at the same speed but maybe we will go a little bit faster." Manufacturer 2: Red Bull Skoda Team / Skoda Fabia WRC05 The Red Bull Skoda drivers Andreas Aigner and Harri Rovanperä can be satisfied with their start to the Corsica Rally by all means. That's the opinion of team representatives Armin Schwarz and Raimund Baumschlager as well: "Although the times we posted cannot keep up with the current positions we are seeing the team's clear improvements to the previous tarmac rally in Spain. The time gaps are not that huge anymore, especially for Aigner; the young man from Styria is ahead of his teammate Rovanpera" Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietelainen: "Of course I need to acclimate myself properly again. The Skoda Fabia is a good car, we had no troubles at all. If we continue like that we'll make up some positions for sure." Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: "First off, I'd like to say that I'm quite happy with my day's work. With the exception of a small gaffe on SS1 I have driven flawlessly and was also able to improve on my times from Spain. I think it comes down to teething problems that I'm ahead of Harri. I'm really happy that I was able to beat Wilson on each and every stage and that I'm now already 44 seconds ahead of the Englishman." Leading positions after the second day of the rally: 1.Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) 2:35:31.4 h, Driver's comments after Leg 2 Leg 2 News After a fairly evenly-matched day yesterday, Sebastien Loeb stretched out his advantage at the head of the Tour de Corse to carry almost a 40-second lead over Marcus Gronholm heading into the final leg. Loeb won two of the day’s four stages, with Mikko Hirvonen and Daniel Sordo also taking a stage win each as they squabbled for the final podium position. With 112 competitive kilometres left to run on the closing day tomorrow, the pair are separated by just over five seconds. A promising battle is in store. Gronholm however was generally unhappy with his performance, although he struggled to find a reason why Loeb was consistently beating him. The Finn said that the feeling with his Focus WRC was not so good on the twisty and narrow stages that characterised today’s action. Gronholm admitted that there is no chance of beating Loeb under normal circumstances tomorrow, but the Frenchman warned that the battle would not be over until the final stage. Just a small spin could make the difference between winning and losing. Alexandre Bengue knows this only too well, after losing time with a spin on the final stage. It was a bad day for the young Frenchman, who had started leg two in third overall. But the spin and some set-up problems meant that he was unable to maintain the prodigious pace he had displayed yesterday, and he ended the leg in fifth, behind Sordo and Hirvonen. While the top runners steered clear of trouble in the hot and tricky conditions, there were problems further down the field. Francois Duval will no longer have to contend with the brake problems that have haunted him since the start of the rally, as he went off the road and retired on a downhill hairpin bend during the final stage of the day. It was a disastrous day for the Ford Stobart team too. Matthew Wilson, the 19 year-old son of Ford boss Malcolm Wilson, went off the road on the first stage of the day. On the following stage, his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala crashed as well – causing enough damage to make his continued participation under the Super Rally rules extremely doubtful. Other casualties included Skoda Red Bull’s Andreas Aigner, a victim of SS5. The young Austrian broke a wheel, but will be back for the final day. Meanwhile, his team mate Harri Rovanpera continued to learn the Fabia WRC on the occasion of his 40th birthday and is now 12th. Nicolas Vouilloz (Peugeot) crashed off the leaderboard on the opening stage. François Duval (Skoda) had to tackle most of the morning loop with no brakes after a calliper broke and the Belgian retired on the final test when he crashed. Xavier Pons started and ended the day in sixth place after an uneventful run in the sister car to Sebastien Loeb’s dominant Xsara. Behind him, Manfred Stohl grew steadily in confidence after altering the settings on his Peugeot. But for the Subaru pairing of Stephane Sarrazin and Petter Solberg, the bad news continued. Both drivers were fault-free, but they struggled for speed and grip throughout the day. Sarrazin had the consolation of breaking into the points positions with eighth overnight, while Solberg languished in 11th. Their team mate Chris Atkinson was 14th in a 2005-specification Impreza, having made no mistakes throughout the leg. The day ended on a positive note for Pirelli-backed Peugeot driver Gigi Galli. Having spent the day getting to grips with his new car, the Italian set fifth-quickest time on SS8 – his best performance of the rally so far – to take ninth place overnight. The Junior World Rally Championship classification was rocked today when Kris Meeke retired his Citroen from the lead with mechanical problems on the penultimate stage. Suzuki driver Urmo Aava, from Estonia, inherited a healthy lead. Sebastien Loeb: “It was a good day today. We made the right tyre choices, and I think that the roads today – which were narrower and more twisty – suited me better than they did Marcus. I have a good lead now but it’s important not to relax. I can control my pace a little bit now, but not too much.” Marcus Gronholm: “It’s not been a good day for me. The speed is not there to catch Loeb, but I do not know why. The only thing I did on the car that was different to yesterday was some different damper settings, but then I changed them back to how they were before. Unless Sebastien has a problem, we don’t have a chance to win now.” Daniel Sordo: “It’s been a very exciting battle with Mikko Hirvonen – and I am sure it will be the same again tomorrow! I’m looking forward to it…” Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC It was an excellent second leg for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who stretched their lead of the rally to nearly 40 seconds. Equally good were Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, who made up two places and stand on the provisional podium heading into the final day. And finally, it was a particularly good day for the Citroen Xsara WRC, which was first and second on three out of four special stages. Thanks also to Xevi Pons/Carlos del Barrio, there are still three Xsaras in the top six places. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: «I went quickly on the first stage of the day, and then I adapted my rhythm to match that of Marcus. I think he has calmed things down a bit. I was a bit more comfortable too, as is always the case when you have a bit of a lead. And the Xsara is truly a fantastic car when the going is really narrow and twisty. » Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: «Alex Bengué is only eight seconds in front so it may be possible to make up another place. In the meantime I'm not going to tempt fate. After my mishap in Spain, I'm determined to be at the finish tomorrow in order to collect the maximum number of manufacturer points possible for the team.» Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 BP-Ford World Rally Team continues to hold second and fourth places after today's second leg of the Rallye de France Tour de Corse. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen maintained second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car after a troublefree day in the demanding mountains on the sun-kissed Mediterranean island. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen climbed to third this morning but were edged out of a podium place on the final stage after a thrilling battle. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "Loeb has been exceptionally quick and I've not been happy with my pace. My feeling with the car wasn't 100 per cent this morning. I didn't push hard enough but the stages were quite difficult. They were covered in gravel and were slippery and twisty. The handling on the first stage didn't feel as sharp. As the damper settings were the only thing that was different to yesterday, I changed them back again. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Everything felt better today and I made no mistakes but Dani was just that little bit faster than me. I enjoy a good battle, that's how rallying should be, and that's exactly what Dani and I have had. I couldn't go any faster but I will try to catch him tomorrow - it's not over yet. There was nothing I could do against him on the narrower sections but on the wider roads I was able to take time back. Asphalt isn't my best surface and I think I still need to improve my driving on it." Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Stéphane Sarrazin and Petter Solberg fought hard on the twisty stages today and moved up the leaderboard to eighth and 11th overall respectively. On only his second Tour de Corse, Chris Atkinson demonstrated his increasing confidence on asphalt and moved up 15 places. He will start tomorrow's final Leg in 14th place. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It's been another difficult day for me. I'm doing my best and testing a lot of things, but that's pretty much all I can do." Stéphane Sarrazin/Stéphane Prévot: "It's okay. We improved the car a bit, I'm more confident with it and can push a bit more but it's still difficult. We are fighting for seventh position and I will try to catch Stohl, he's only 30 seconds in front and everything is possible tomorrow. It will be a long day though, there are still four stages to go and they are quite tricky, so we will see." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "In general I'm pretty happy with how we were going today. Our performance has been good this afternoon, we just keep learning, keep chipping away and that's the plan for tomorrow too." Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team finished leg two of the "Rallye de France - Tour de Corse" in good seventh intermediate place. Thus the OMV duo Stohl/Minor did reach their professed goal for this day. Together with Bozian Racing they keep doggedly working on the set-up of the Peugeot 307 WRC which is mirrored by improving special stage times. OMV driver Manfred Stohl wants to keep his position right up to the finish, which would win him WRC-points. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: : "It was really great fun today. During the last two days we managed to improve from being behind 1,2 seconds per kilometre to only 0,8 seconds - which proves that we are going in the right direction and encourages us to keep on working hard." Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson is taking his rookie season in the FIA World Rally Championship as a learning year, and day two of Rallye de France - Tour de Corse provided a rather short and to the point lesson as the 19 year-old drove off the road early in the day's first stage, lodging his Ford Focus RS WRC 05 on its side. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "The first recovery truck got us on to our wheels, but we needed a crane to get us back up to the road. There's not too much damage to the car, it's just cosmetic really. It was a wrong pace note basically. We got caught out when a corner was longer than we thought it would be. It kept on going and we got out on the gravel and then we went sideways off the road and on to our side. It was just low speed, but we couldn't get back on the stage. Fortunately for Michael the sun wasn't red hot so he didn't get sunburnt like in Mexico." Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "It was a very tricky downhill section, fast with lots of corners. We had lots of notes and maybe I was a little confused. I braked too late and ended up on loose gravel. I tried to get some grip from the inside of the corner but there were rocks and this put me on two wheels. We then went straight on at the next corner and hit a tree ending up two or three metres down from the road. There were no injuries except my thumb is now twice its normal size. I cried for an hour after the accident, but then I spoke to my father and I was okay. I don't want to go off the road any more." Manufacturer 2: Red Bull Skoda Team / Skoda Fabia WRC05 Without any problems on the remaining two stages in the afternoon, Harri Rovanpera managed to bring his Fabia WRC home to the day's final service where a lot of people waited to congratulate him on his 40th birthday, but the Finn immediately had to leave for a doping test. Andreas Aigner had to wait a very long time before his car, which was damaged when it hit a parapet on SS6, had been brought back to Ajaccio. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietelainen: "My birthday was a very strenuous one for me. I never had to work that hard before. Still I will for sure drink to it once more with the team after the doping test. I hope that I can finish the rally tomorrow with a good performance and then I will look forward to the gravel stages of Sardinia". Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: "Of course I'm disgruntled about my mistake, but I'll try to learn from it. I just hope that our crew will be able to repair the car in time because every kilometre I can drive tomorrow will help me next year." Final positions after the third day of the rally: 1.Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) 3:43:05.4 hours, Driver's comments after Leg 3 1. LOEB / ELENA 3. GRONHOLM / RAUTIAINEN 15. SORDO / MARTI 4. HIRVONEN / LEHTINEN 19. BENGUE / ESCUDERO 2. PONS / DEL BARRIO 7. STOHL / MINOR 6. SARRAZIN / PREVOT 25. GALLI / BERNACCHINI 17. KOPECKY / SCHOVANEK 5. SOLBERG / MILLS 11. ROVANPERA / PIETILAINEN 16. ATKINSON / MACNEALL 12. AIGNER / GOTTSCHALK 9. WILSON / ORR 33. AAVA / SIKK 55. TIRABASSI / RENUCCI 39. RAUTENBACH / SENIOR 42. PRESSAC / DE TURCKHEIM 54. BURKART / GEILHAUSEN 53. CLARK / MARTIN 59. BONATO / BOULLOUD 52. CASIER / MICLOTTE 50. PINOMAKI / SALLINEN Leg 3 News Sebastien Loeb’s 23rd career victory has taken him even closer to Carlos Sainz’s all-time record of 26 wins and allowed him to pull out a healthy lead in the World Rally Championship for drivers. He now has an 11-point margin over Ford driver Marcus Gronholm, which means that he can afford to retire from the next rally and still maintain the lead of the championship. While Loeb did not quite repeat his dominance of last year in Corsica, where he won every stage, he still stamped his authority over the rally from the very start, leading from beginning to end. As is usually the case he had no mechanical problems aboard his Citroen Xsara WRC, which this year is run by the privateer Belgian Kronos team. On the first day, it appeared to be an open fight. Gronholm won one of the stages, and seemed to have the pace to match Loeb. But throughout the course of the second day the Finn gradually fell back – and he was at a loss to figure out why. He chose slightly harder tyres to Loeb and thought that might be one reason, but Ford’s engineers were equally baffled as to where their man was losing out. Over the course of the last day, Gronholm admitted that there was little he could do about Loeb. After matching the Frenchman for pace over the entirety of the all-asphalt Catalunya Rally two weeks ago, Ford and Gronholm were understandably disappointed. While the first two places were reasonably clear-cut, the same could not be said about the fight for the final podium position. At the end of the first day Frenchman Alexandre Bengue held the place after a fine effort with his BSA-run Peugeot 307 WRC. But Bengue admitted that the car was struggling in Corsica, and he battled to find the correct set-up over the course of the second day. A spin at the end of leg two meant that he would start the final day in fifth place, which he maintained to the finish. Instead, third was fought out by two young talents who are destined for great things in the future: Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen and Citroen driver Daniel Sordo. The two were closely-matched as they fought for the podium over the course of the second day: they each set a fastest time and at one point they were separated by only 2.2 seconds in the overall classification. Hirvonen held the position for most of the day, but Sordo moved ahead on the final stage, to enter day three with a five-second advantage. As the rally drew to a close the battle became even closer: after SS9 Sordo’s advantage was reduced to 0.4seconds! But Sordo was finally able to exploit the Xsara’s precise handling over the twisty roads, enabling the young Spaniard to claim his second podium finish in as many rallies. Hirvonen – who had a big scare on the final stage – was happy enough with fourth and five points, having only scored two points in what had been an unlucky season for him so far. Fifth was also the best that Bengue could hope for, after finishing fourth on the wider and faster asphalt roads in Catalunya. A largely trouble-free rally for Xavier Pons, team mate to Sebastien Loeb, resulted in fifth place and scored valuable manufacturer points for Kronos. Behind Pons was Manfred Stohl, who struggled with set-up problems on his Peugeot throughout the event. One of the teams with even bigger problems was Subaru, which struggled for grip and speed throughout the event. Stephane Sarrazin had the consolation of a solitary drivers’ point for eighth place, while Petter Solberg lost his place in the top 10 to Jan Kopecky with a spin on the penultimate stage. The Norwegian’s rally was compromised from the opening stage, when a big spin flattened his exhaust pipe and caused a loss of power. In ninth place was Pirelli-backed driver Gigi Galli, on his first event in a Peugeot 307 WRC. The Italian was learning his new car for much of the event, but he kept out of trouble and said that it had fantastic potential and a very powerful engine. Those who did not see the finish included Skoda driver Francois Duval, who slid off the road on a downhill hairpin during the afternoon of leg two after suffering brake problems for most of the event. Ford Stobart driver Jari-Matti Latvala went off the road on the morning of leg two, as did his team mate Matthew Wilson. The Englishman re-joined under the Super Rally rules but Latvala had to sit out the final day after damaging his car too badly to continue. In the Junior World Championship classification, Kris Meeke led until an engine problem stopped his Citroen C2 in its tracks on day two. But there was an even more dramatic end to the rally. Suzuki driver Urmo Aava inherited a lead of more than two and a half minutes – only to lose it when he too suffered an apparent engine problem on the very last stage. Brice Tirabassi was the stunned winner, ahead of the unfortunate Aava. Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC Just two weeks after the RallyRACC Catalunya, it's a case of deja-vu for the Kronos team. The squad finishes the sequence of asphalt events at the start of the year with two victories in two rallies. Once more there are two Xsara WRCs on the podium. And in Corsica, there are three Xsaras in the top six. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: «In Catalunya, my choice of set-up at the start of the rally was hardly ideal and then Marcus hit problems. This time we both had a clean run. The Xsara and its BFGoodrich tyres were extremely competitive, the team was faultless and we were able to bring home a victory that was extremely important to us. In Corsica, in front of all our fans, on an event I love, which is the Rally de France ! In the short term, this is a valuable win as it gives me a lead of more than 10 points in the driver's championship. This means I have some breathing space, which is useful as the gravel rallies coming up will be extremely tough. Looking further ahead, this 23rd win takes me close to Carlos Sainz's record - which is obviously a big thing for me. » Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: « After two retirements, it was vital for me to finish the rally. Notwithstanding the fact that the potential of the Xsara on asphalt is capable of targeting some big points in the manufacturers' championship. When I realised that I would not be able to catch Alex [Bengué], I concentrated on the five points that I would definitely be able to score for the team. » Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: « Losing some time at the start of the rally gave us a certain advantage, as it meant that we needed to push hard from the beginning, » said Dani. « We enjoyed ourselves from start to finish, in a fantastic fight with Alex [Bengué] and then Mikko [Hirvonen]. Now it's back to school again on gravel. In Argentina, our goal will be to learn. » Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen claimed their fourth podium finish in five rallies by finishing second on the Rallye de France Tour de Corse today. The Finns won two speed tests and were fastest in the third and final leg over the twisty and challenging mountain roads in Corsica in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished fourth in a similar BP Ultimate and Castrol-branded Focus RS to secure their best result of the season on this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "Second place is a good, solid result and while a driver is never totally happy with second, I am pleased with the eight points it brings. I didn't have the chance to win here against Loeb. I think I can beat him on asphalt but I just don't know where or when. I didn't have enough experience of the new Focus in competition on asphalt to match him. It's the first time in Corsica with the car and we haven't tested on roads like this so we're still learning. I felt something was missing but I don't know what that was. But the team is only three points from the championship lead and that puts us in a strong position going back to three gravel events." Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Third would have been great but I'm lucky not to be halfway down a mountain. About 8.5km after the start of the last stage I slide wide in a corner onto some gravel. The car was totally off the road and I thought we would tumble over the edge. Thankfully we didn't and I eased off after that. I drove to the maximum until then and it was fantastic, but I had to think about the manufacturer points as well. It was like driving on a knife but I had a great rhythm and feeling with the car." Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Petter Solberg and Stéphane Sarrazin continued to test set-ups and gather more development data in the final Leg of the 2006 Tour de Corse. Both drivers had trouble-free runs in their Subaru Impreza WRC2006s and finished the rally eighth and 11th respectively to collect seven manufacturers' points. Chris Atkinson improvement on asphalt continued and he bettered each of his times in the repeat of the stages to conclude the event in 13th overall. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I'm actually glad it's over. I tried everything I could but we have a lot of work to do before we are fast enough on this surface. The focus now is the next rally. The result here has made me more determined to get a good finish in Argentina; I'm hungrier that ever to go for a win. I will not be playing at all in Argentina, I promise you." Stéphane Sarrazin/Stéphane Prévot: "This weekend was a bit difficult. We finished eighth only when the target was to be on the top. Last year we were fighting for the podium so we are a bit disappointed but if you want to be positive we didn't make any mistakes and we did some good times. I pushed all the weekend and we know what we need to do now, so we are focussed on the next rally already." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "We're pleased with what we've done, but obviously a bit disappointed not to be in the points, that's what we are after and we'll have to keep pushing. Come Argentina, the next rally, I'm sure we'll be there fighting and we'll definitely be going flat out from the start." Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team has reached its goal at the "Rallye de France - Tour de Corse". Seventh overall place and two WRC-points mean that the OMV duo Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor defended fourth place in the FIA World Rally Championship intermediate ranking. Thus the Austrians have ridden out the tarmac interlude. Now it's back onto gravel where Manfred Stohl feels more than just at home. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "I think for now we have reached the zenith on tarmac. The time missing on the top could only be made up by extensive testing. I'm very happy about the two WRC-points and glad that we'll be back on gravel for the next three rallies." Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson fought back in the final day of Rallye de France - Tour de Corse to move up the standings after crashing out of the running early on Saturday. The 19-year old from Cumbria is the youngest and only British full-time driver in the FIA World Rally Championship, and endured an early off in the first stage of the rally's second day when he had been in 17th place overall. Sunday was far better and worked to Wilson's plan in his rookie season of accumulating knowledge for his future career in the most dynamic of motorsport disciplines. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "After completing the stages on Sunday it's been a really good experience. I'm annoyed with myself for what happened on Saturday. This is certainly the most difficult rally I've ever contested and it's frustrating to have missed running on a third of it, especially as it's going to be a year before we come here again. It was difficult in the morning today, I was nervous as hell for the first stage, just trying to find the pace that wasn't stupid but not so slow you were annihilated by everybody. We just settled in and after the first few kilometres we got a nice flow going and it seemed to work." Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: Retired (Accident) Manufacturer 2: Red Bull Skoda Team / Skoda Fabia WRC05 Raimund Baumschlager and Armin Schwarz gave a very univocal summary of the events: "We expected a slightly better result from our drivers. But an accident like Andreas' can always happen, and Harri first had to familiarize himself with the car and the team. We are happy that we gained three points in the manufacturers' championship and were thus able to improve our position. Now we will prepare for the WRC event in Sardinia where Red Bull Skoda will compete next." Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietelainen: "The rally was very tough for me from the beginning. To drive a completely new car for a new team on asphalt after an elongated break isn't easy. Additionally I was rather hampered by the flu. Now I'm looking forward to the gravel stages of Sardinia, we will do better there for sure." Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: "After my mistake yesterday I just tried to secure a point for Red Bull Skoda in the manufacturers' championship. Apart from that I already felt quite comfortable on tarmac and was able to notice a clear improvement compared to Spain." FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Present: Welcome to the final FIA Press Conference. Joining us are winners Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, second-placed men Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and Dani Sordo and Marc Marti who finished third. Marc van Dalen joins us as a representative of the winning team. Q: SL: Q: DE: Q: MG: Q: TR: Q: DS: Q: MM: Q: MvD: Q: SL: Q: DE: Q: MG: Q: TR: Q: DS: Q: MM: Q: MvD: QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: Fred Billet (Echappement, France) DE: Jean-Paul Renvoize (L’Equipe, France) Alain Pernot (L’Auto Journal, France) Present: Now for the final press conference of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, we have the winning crew of Brice Tirabassi and Jacques Julien Renucci. Q: BT: Q: JJR: Q: BT: Q: JJR: |