PEUGEOT PROVES A POINT!
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Petter brings home the goodies!
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Solberg put up a sterling performance in his Subaru Impreza. All eyes were on the 555 Subaru and Solberg put in a fantastic performance to finish third and claim his first ever WRC asphalt podium position. He was the only other driver in the field to seriously trouble the front running Peugeots and the only non-French team pilot to claim a stage win, three in total.
Gilles Panizzi won the Rally San Remo in convincing style and completed a hat trick. Gilles won 9 out of 18 stages and that despite his recent shoulder injury. It does look like Gilles would still be dominating on tarmac if he drives with only one hand.
Gilles: “I’m delighted, of course. This was a difficult victory because my shoulder injury made me quite tired and it’s always harder to concentrate in that situation. I had a lot of pressure from Philippe Bugalski in the early stage and then Marcus was always there, too. But the car has been perfect for me – everyone in the whole Peugeot team has done a very good job.”
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That explains the win!
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Marcus Grönholm finished 2nd and won 5 of the 18 stages. The Finn, who is still regarded as having limited tarmac experience, consistently keep Gilles Panizzi under pressure. He lost about 15s on the first day for a minor turbo problem and when he stalled the engine. The result could have been even closer.
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The face of a champion - Gronholm
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Richard Burns however failed to complete the Peugeot 1-2-3. A wrong tyre choice by the whole team late in leg2 affected him worst, and he lost 3rd place in the process. Proving his superb sportsmanship Richard said in public at the end of leg2 that, should Petter Solberg manage to stay ahead of him, he deserves it.
Richard’s luck seems to have slightly changed but is still not good in Italy. He lost 40 sec in SS10 when he braked too late and skidded into a wall, and this was only the 2nd time Richard even finished the event.
Meanwhile newcomer Cedric Robert finished 7th overall with an impressive and faultless drive. Harri Rovanperä finished 9th and Bruno Thiry was 13th after some problems in leg2. Renato Travaglia finished 14th overall and won the S1600 category in a 206 Maxi. So half of the top10 cars were Peugeots and all 6 Peugeot 206 WRC to start the event made it to the finish without major drama.
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Happy with a point at least!
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The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup scored a point for Mitsubishi in the 2002 Rallye Sanremo when they brought their Lancer Evolution WRC2 home in 10th position, sixth of the registered crews.
The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup maintained their 10th position throughout the day, the deficit to rivals ahead too great to overcome in just four stages.
The Skoda Motorsport Team finished the 44th Rallye Sanremo in 11th and 12th positions, just outside the manufacturers’ points. The highlight of this event for the Skoda Motorsport Team was the reliability of both Octavia WRC cars, which ran almost faultlessly until the finish.
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Skoda action by Eriksson
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Top finisher for Skoda was Kenneth Eriksson, who finally finished 11th in a rally that saw few of the top runners drop out. The nature of the event and the type of roads in the area near Sanremo places less of a mechanical burden on the rally cars, so few cars retired for technical reasons. The experienced Eriksson, 46 years young, managed to keep his car on the road and had no dramas on his way to 11th place overall.
It was the 6th straight 1-2 victory of the year for Peugeot, one more and Peugeot will equal the record held by Lancia for 1-2 finishes. The record for most points in one season under the current points system is long broken, that record stood at 114points (Subaru in 1997), while Peugeot already has got 131points despite there being 3 events still to come. This yet again proves Peugeot’s dominance and also that Subaru with its current low scoring points are not having a season they will want to remember.
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Gronholm hanging around.
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The 2002 WRC title for Peugeot and also Marcus Gronholm is a fete accompli. Peugeot needs 4 and Marcus 8 points during the last three events to clinch both titles.
The scrappiest performance in my book comes from Colin McRae – watching the TV coverage, which once again was brilliant, he really did not try. He sat there, drove like and old woman and sounded like one every time they interviewed him. Why they interview the McRae brothers, goodness knows because I for one, can never hear or understand what the hell they are saying.
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The best show from Ford!
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TEAM MANAGER COMMENTS: Peugeot’s Corrado Provera: “We are totally happy. What Gilles and Herve have done here has been quite remarkable. Gilles has coped with his shoulder superbly, and Marcus and Richard have both driven very well, too. It’s true that the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships are not decided mathematically but we would be crazy to lose them from this position.”
David Lapworth, 555 Subaru Team Principal: ”I’m really pleased for Petter. He put in a champion- class drive and not only got a podium finish on tarmac but was also faster than anyone else on both wet and dry asphalt surfaces. We are all waiting now for the day when he’ll win his first rally. He’s done an incredible job.”
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What a view!
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Mitsubishi Team principal Pavel Janeba summed up the rally: “We had hoped that Toni would get some points, but that was not to be. We trust that we will score some points in the remaining rallies and that will give us a chance to catch up with Mitsubishi again.” After complimenting Kenneth Eriksson, he also had a special word for Roman Kresta: “I am glad that Roman finished another WRC rally – it is not easy to do two events within two weeks.”
DRIVER COMMENTS : Petter Solberg: “It’s about time! I’m very, very happy with my driving and the car and the tyres felt really good. I suppose choosing the tyres for the last two stages was a bit of a gamble but we got it absolutely right. From now on it’s going to be a tough race. We know the Peugeot’s good and Richard’s always been quick but the whole package seems to have come together here. I’m guess I’m just going to have to put the throttle pedal to the floor.”
Achim Mörtl: “In SS10, after about 35 km, I had a spin. The car slid wide on a corner and the right rear wheel hit something and knocked the track out of alignment. I carried on but, just before the finish on a sixth gear downhill section, I braked for a corner and the rear of the car just overtook me. We went off the road backwards and hit a concrete bridge. I think we were doing about 80kph when we hit. My helmet hit the roll cage very hard and after the accident I had problems seeing.”
Rallye Sanremo - Final Results
1. Gilles Panizzi/Herve Panizzi Peugeot 4hr 10min 15.6sec
2. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 4hr 10min 36.5sec
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills Subaru 4hr 11min 22.0sec
4. Richard Burns/Robert Reid Peugeot 4hr 11min 34.5sec
5. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford 4hr 12min 10.5sec
6. Jesus Puras/Carlos Del Barrio Citroen 4hr 12min 54.9sec
7. Cedric Robert/Gerald Bedon Peugeot 4hr 13min 16.9sec
8. Colin McRae/Nicky Grist Ford 4hr 15min 33.1sec
9. Harri Rovanpera/Voitto Silander Peugeot 4hr 16min 34.5sec
10. François Delecour/Daniel Grataloup Mitsubishi 4hr 17min 40.0sec
Manufacturer's WRC:
Points:
Peugeot - 131
Ford - 86
Subaru - 46
Mitsubishi - 9
Skoda - 8
Hyundai - 6
Driver's WRC:
Points:
Marcus Grönholm - 57
Richard Burns - 34
Colin Mc Rae - 33
Gilles Panizzi - 31
Carlos Sainz - 26
Petter Solberg - 23
Sebastian Loeb - 18
Harri Rovanperä - 18
Tommi Mäkinen - 15
Markko Märtin - 12
Round 12 of the 2002 World Rally Championship, starts in two weeks time when teams travel to the other side of the world for Rally New Zealand. Comprising a total of 414.04 competitive kilometres located around Auckland, the event starts on 3rd October.
Watch highlights of the Sanremo Rally on Supersport at the following times:
Monday 23/09 20h00 SuperSport 2
Tuesday 24/09 00h00 CSN & SuperSport 1
Thursday 26/09 00h00 CSN & SuperSport 1
Saturday 28/09 14h55 SuperSport 2
Saturday 05/10 06h00 CSN/SS1
The Subaru Cape Rally will first be screened on SuperSport 1 at 12h00 on Saturday 29 September 2002.
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