***Spoiler*** WRC - Finland

[gti138]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>So, Marcus Gronholm and Peugeot have finally done it. By sealing victory on the fast and loose gravel stages of Neste Rally Finland, they’ve ended a 14-month winless streak and given the new-for-2004 307 its first taste of the victory champagne. It was a well-deserved win for the double world champion, who has been hanging on the coat-tails of success all season, only to lose out due to mechanical problems with the car. - Source WRC Mailing list


Finally a win for the 307 WRC - Well I hope that this one isnt taken away! Good to see Peugeot get up there finally with the new car. Although Peugeot have given away their title hopes for this year - lets hope that they can at least keep the other teams on their toes for the rest of the year!





</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[dogboy]

but who's in the lead?

CITROEN MAINTAINS ITS DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD IN FINLAND
Citroen has maintained its double lead in the world Championship, with
Carlos Sainz' 92nd career podium finish moving him into the top four in the
drivers' championship, while Sébastien Loeb's fourth place places him 22
points ahead of second place rival, Subaru's Petter Solberg who failed to
finish the event.

Sainz' and Loeb's third and fourth place also maintains Citroën's 26 point
lead in the manufacturers title chase.

Competing in Finland for only the third time, Citroen knew from the start
of the event that their relative lack of experience in an event that is
traditionally dominated by home drivers would count against them, even if
Carlos Sainz was the first non-Scandinavian to win the event. At the end of
the first group of special stages on Friday, Carlos and Sébastien were
lying in eighth and twelfth positions. Well served by their excellent
knowledge of the terrain, the group of local specialists were well in the
lead, driven by national pride, while Sébastien, as championship leader and
last event winner, had undertaken his now habitual job of opening the road,
and the initial set-up of the Xsaras still needed to be fine-tuned.

The Citroën team can be brilliant, as it proved in Argentina. But it can
also close ranks and work together when faced with difficult conditions.
After the first skirmishes, the team started a patient and continuous
process of evaluation, minor changes and improvements, while both drivers
showed pugnacity and patience, avoiding mistakes with care.

This dedicated way of working soon began to show benefits. At the same
time, the frantic pace adopted by the local heroes saw some of them drop by
the wayside, with Solberg and Lindholm out of the event for Subaru and
Peugeot respectively. Fifth and seventh on Friday, the Xsaras climbed up to
third and fourth places by Saturday evening. The aim, during the third and
final leg, was to maintain these excellent positions. And this was
achieved, even if Sébastien had to clench his teeth to forget the pains in
his back and neck, consequences of going off the road during testing for
Germany.

"We suffered at the start of this rally," Guy Fréquelin conceded. "Over
this terrain, it appears that you learn more during the race than in
testing. We are conscious of the work that has to be done if we want to win
here, which is something we want to do! I am pleased with the way the team
coped with this difficult event. Our two cars reached the finish line,
proving their reliability and the solidity of our line-ups. And how can you
fail to be satisfied when you look at the classification of the two
Championships?"

"To finish on the podium after such a challenging rally, both physically
and in terms of concentration, is a good result," Carlos Sainz commented.
"Above and beyond the numbers, the thing that gives value to our final
positions is the way the team worked together to find solutions to allow us
to fight."

Tired but happy, Sébastien Loeb was pleased with the way the events turned
out.

"A good result for the team, very good for us. We now have a margin equal
to two victories over Petter Solberg. When you think how close last year's
championship was, you can only be happy. However, we will not relax. The
forthcoming asphalt event was good for us in the last two years. We have
to do everything to make sure it is the same this year too."

Stage wins *
Leg 1. SS1, 2 and 3 : Harri Rovanperä (Peugeot 307) - SS4 : Marcus Grönholm
(Peugeot 307) - SS5 : H. Rovanperä - SS6, 7, 8 and 9 : M. Grönholm - SS10 :
Markko Märtin (Ford Focus).
Leg 2. SS11 and 12 : M. Grönholm - SS13 : M. Märtin - SS14 : Carlos Sainz
(Citroën Xsara) - SS15 : M. Märtin - SS16 and 17 : M. Grönholm - SS18 : M.
Märtin.
Leg 3. SS19 and 20 : M. Grönholm - SS21 : M. Märtin - SS22 : François Duval
(Ford Focus).

Best performers*
M. Grönholm, 11 - M. Märtin, 5 - H. Rovanperä, 4 - C. Sainz, 1 - F. Duval,
1.

Successive leaders
SS1 to 5 : H. Rovanperä - SS6 to 22 : M. Grönholm

Overall classification Rally Finland
1. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Peugeot 307) 3 h 07 min 16,1 s
2. M. Märtin/M. Park (Ford Focus) + 34,7 s
3. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 1 min
44,5 s
4. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) + 2 min
23,3 s
5. J. Tuohino/J. Aho (Ford Focus) + 2 min
36,7 s
6. J. Paasonen/J. Vainikka (Skoda Fabia) + 4 min
36,2 s
7. F. Duval/S.Prevot (Ford Focus) + 5 min 51
s
8. T. Gardemeister/P. Lukander (Skoda Fabia) + 6 min
03,2 s
9. D. Carlsson/M. Andersson (Peugeot 206) + 6 min 41,1 s
10. H. Solberg/C. Menkerud (Peugeot 206) + 7 min
04,6 s …

* Stage times of the competitors who re started after having retired thanks
to the SupeRally regulations try, are not taken into account in these
statistics.

FIA World Manufacturers' Rally Championship **
1. Citroën, 109 points - 2. Ford, 83 pts - 3. Subaru, 64 pts - 4. Peugeot,
61 pts - 5. Mitsubishi, 17 pts.

FIA World Drivers' Rally Championship **
1. S. Loeb, 66 points - 2. P. Solberg, 44 pts - 3. M. Märtin, 42 pts - 4.
M. Grönholm, 42 pts - 5. C. Sainz, 40 pts - 6. F. Duval, 31 pts - 7. M.
Hirvonen, 18 pts - 8. J. Tuohino, 16 pts - 9. H. Rovanperä, 14 pts - 10. D.
Carlsson, 6 pts - 11. G. Panizzi, 6 pts - 12. F. Loix, 4 pts - 13. M.
Stohl, 3 pts - 14. H. Solberg, 3 pts - 15. J. Paasonen, 3 pts - 16. L.
Perez Companc, 3 pts - 17. J. Välimäki, 2 pts - 18. A. Ginley, 2 pts - 19.
A. Warmbold, 1 pt - 20. M. Campos et T. Gardemeister, 1 pt - 22. O. Burri,
A. Vovos et G. Pozzo 1 pt.

** subject to FIA final results publication

 

[XsaraVTS]

Its no wonder that Sebastien Loeb has a sore neck... do this at 180kph