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FIA RALLY NEWS COMING EVENT - 26th Rally Argentina (27-30 April 2006 6th round of the FIA World Rally Championship 2006, 3rd round of the Pdoduction Car World Championship 2006, 4th round of the Junior World Championship 2006 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Pre-event FIA Press Conference Present: Welcome to the pre-event FIA press conference. Q: ML: Q: TA: Q: GW: Q: PSandell: Q: ML: Q: TA: Q: GW: Q: PSandell: Q: PS: Q: SL: Q: MH: Q: LPC: Q: MS: Q: PS: Q: SL: Q: MH: Q: LPC: Q: SL: Q: PS: Q: MS: Rally Preview Team Previews: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC
Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06
Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006
Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC
Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04
Event Timetable
Leading positions after the first day of the rally: Leaderboard after leg one: Leg 1 News The opening leg of Rally Argentina, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, has thrown up dramas for many of the leading crews. However, reigning World Champion Sébastien Loeb has once again taken the lead after setting four fastest stage times. The Citroën Xsara WRC driver has a 19.8 second advantage after 10 stages and 159 competitive kilometres of the South American event. Second position is held by Petter Solberg, the Subaru driver finally finding some luck after a poor start to the season. He briefly led the event but has suffered some problems that dropped him back down the leaderboard. He hit a gatepost, sustained two punctures and incurred a lateness penalty during the day’s action, but moved back up the leaderboard when Marcus Grönholm hit problems. The Finn, leader of the rally for three stages, lost drive in the eighth stage and Ford’s disappointing day continued when team-mate Mikko Hirvonen was on the sidelines with an engine problem after the same stage. Italian Gigi Galli therefore moves up the leaderboard and on to the provisional podium in third position. The Peugeot 307 WRC driver has driven steadily throughout the leg, avoiding problems, to lead a trio of Peugeots in Argentina. Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) celebrated his 100th WRC start with fastest time on the final stage to hold fourth ahead of team-mate Henning Solberg, who survived tyre troubles, a broken differential and a small off this morning. Another major retirement was Xavi Pons (Citroen) who stopped with an oil leak after hitting a rock early in stage six and his car briefly caught fire. He will restart tomorrow. Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC At the end of a gruelling first leg, which comprised almost half the competitive distance of the rally, Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Kronos-run Citroen Xsara WRC returned to the Feriar Complex in Cordoba leading the event. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were sixth overnight, having predictably climbed a steep learning curve. Xevi Pons and Carlos Del Barrio were forced into retirement halfway through the day following a small 'off'. They will re-start tomorrow under the super rally regulations. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: « On the last stage of the day, I really thought for a moment that I was going to lose my lead. The first few kilometres were really sandy : there was no grip and I made a series of mistakes. I hit the side of the road about three times and I nearly spun twice. I really had to calm things down then. It's on stretches of road like that where you realise how much work the active differentials used to do. Tomorrow is going to be almost as long as today and the stages are going to be just as varied. We're going to have a lot of fun, although our plan is still to attack. Marcus is no longer in the running, but there's always Petter. » Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: 'Cabalango/Carlos Paz' (SS6) was an unlucky one for Xevi Pons and Carlos Del Barrio. The Spaniards slid wide on a corner and damaged the left-rear wheel. They tried to drive slowly to the end of the stage, but the impact had consequences for the transmission and fuel system - causing a small fire that was rapidly extinguished by the crew. Xevi and Carlos will re-start tomorrow with a 25-minute penalty (five per stage missed) under the super rally regulations. Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen led Rally Argentina for much of today's opening leg until problems halted their Focus RS World Rally Car this afternoon. The Finns won two speed tests to build an advantage on this sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship but their hopes of a third win of the season were dashed. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were third in a similar Focus RS when engine troubles brought their day to a premature end. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "About 8km after the start of the stage I came into a corner and the car stalled. I restarted the engine but could not select any gears. I locked the differentials and covered another 300 metres but then we came to another tight corner and that was it. I don't know what the problem was but obviously I'm really disappointed to retire when things were going so well," Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "About 1km after the finish, on the liaison section, the engine dropped onto three cylinders. We stopped to change the spark plugs but that didn't cure the problem. We continued a little further and stopped again to change the electronic control unit. That didn't work either. So with two stages left before service, we decided to stop so that we didn't damage the engine further and the team could examine it to see if we can start tomorrow under SupeRally." Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Petter Solberg holds second place overall at the end of Leg one of Rally Argentina. Solberg was fastest on three of the Leg's nine stages and will start tomorrow's second day of competition less than 20 seconds behind rally leader Sebastien Loeb. On only his second Rally Argentina, Chris Atkinson lies in seventh place. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It's been a very interesting day, a lot has happened to us, but it's good fun fighting at the top and winning stages, that's where we belong. The gap between me and Sebastien is less than 20 seconds now - of course it's hard not to imagine where I could have been without losing time here and there today, but that's the game and we have two days still to come. I'm feeling very good about things and am really looking forward to tomorrow." Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "It's been a tough day. We started out well and set a couple of top three times, but struggled this afternoon. The surface was very rutted and the handling of the car has seemed inconsistent - especially on the last stage - because of this we've had to be quite cautious and have lost time. But we'll keep pushing as hard as we can and hopefully move up some places." Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC It was a day of light and shadows for Manfred Stohl. The OMV driver was in third place at the beginning of leg one. But a tyre damage on special stage six threw him back to seventh place. Following the service the 33-year-old Austrian went into attack mode. The OMV duo Stohl/Minor gained place by place and finished the first leg in fourth place. The highlight was special stage best time on SS 10, the fifth in the OMV driver’s career. OMV Teammate Henning Solberg is completely satisfied with fifth intermediate place. Following a rather cautious beginning the OMV duo gained speed by the kilometre. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: “It is extremely difficult here to judge whether one is fast or slow. On the last special stage, for instance, I had the feeling we had lost a lot of time – and then it turned out to be best time. Everyone is driving at their limit here. It is surely going to be very exciting during the next days. But we still have reserves which we will tap on Saturday.“ Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerus: “It is our first start here. But we gave a good fight already on Friday afternoon. The conditions suit us. Fifth place is great but we will try our all to move up even further. The Peugeot 307 WRC feels very good and is perfectly tuned.“ Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team ended the first leg of Rally Argentina with both cars inside the overall top ten despite the tough and gruelling nature of the dusty rock strewn stages around Cordoba in central Argentina, with 19 year-old British driver Matthew Wilson 37 seconds ahead of team-mate and local favourite, Luis Perez Companc. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "I think we had four punctures this morning. It was the second stage which really hurt us. Near the start there was a rock just over a crest. That gave us the first puncture, but the tyre stayed up. Then, half way through the stage, there was a massive rock in the line and I just hit it. That punctured the front and the rear so we had to swap things around. A tyre then went down on the road section, so we had to put a flat one back on, so on the last stage this morning with four punctures and no spare we were very careful. We were lucky with the jump, jeez it was close. We had 'crest, jump, right' but we took off and landed with half the car off the road and there was a massive rock sticking out of the grass and it hit the sill. We were lucky. The last stage of the day was very difficult, it felt like we had a broken anti roll bar but it just goes to show what you can do if you try and be neat and tidy, it certainly worked for us. Today was a real challenge, it's the longest day in rallying I've ever done, it feels like I've driven to the moon and back. It's a real achievement to be here." Luis Perez Companc/ J-M Volta: "The stages are very rough. The third stage was very twisty, with a lot of rocks, but it was no problem we just had to take it slowly and take care. Eight stages today and the car is in one piece, it's as strong as a tank. There's a lot of people cheering me on, and I'm grateful to them because it is good to see them, I'm very happy. The stadium start was incredible, there was a lot of people and it made it nervous for me. We wanted to finish the Leg today and as we've finished the leg we're in a good position. It's incredible, the people are everywhere, I have to give them a spectacle." Leading positions after the second day of the rally: 1 LOEB (Citroen) 03:31:03.6 Driver's comments after Leg 2 Leg 2 News Frenchman Sébastien Loeb looks set to claim his fourth consecutive victory in this year’s FIA World Rally Championship, having extended his lead during the second leg of Rally Argentina. The Citroën Xsara WRC driver only set one fastest time from today’s eight stages but goes into the final day of competition with a 43.1 second advantage. Petter Solberg maintains second overall, however the Subaru Impreza WRC driver lost time this morning when the gear-shift paddle snapped and he was hampered by the wrong tyre choice. Despite slipping further behind Loeb, he nevertheless claimed two fastest stage times and holds on to a comfortable lead over third-placed Italian Gigi Galli, in the Peugeot 307 WRC. Henning Solberg, brother of Petter, has climbed up the leaderboard into fourth position, claiming his first-ever fastest WRC stage time - which was ironically shared with Petter - during the day’s competition. A series of spins this morning sees Austrian Manfred Stohl slip to fifth while Subaru’s Chris Atkinson rounds off the top six. Marcus Grönholm, who was forced out of the action yesterday, returned today under permitted re-start regulations. The Finn set four fastest stage times and climbs from an overnight 18th to 10th. Tomorrow’s final leg covers just four stages and 41.30 competitive kilometres, but it will be no cruise to the finish with the running of two of the most famous and spectacular stages in the 16-round Championship. Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC Kronos Citroen After a controlled and entirely trouble-free day aboard their Kronos-run Citroen Xsara WRC, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena emerged from the final stage of leg two – Santa Rosa de Calamuchita/San Agustin (SS18) – in the lead. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were equally flawless throughout a tricky second leg to maintain sixth. Xevi Pons and Carlos Del Barrio, competing under the super rally regulations, had the satisfaction of winning Ascochinga/La Cumbre (SS13). It was the Spaniard's first ever fastest time on the World Rally Championship. Today's competitive action, comprising 150 kilometres of stages, was almost as long as yesterday's opening leg. The route was a tricky proposition, taking in the well-known stages of the Calamuchita valley that are simultaneously rapid yet bumpy. Road conditions were made even more difficult by the morning's weather. Heavy rain had fallen in the Punilla valley, which contained the first four stages, and two of them even got underway in thick fog. The Kronos team, ably backed up by BFGoodrich's engineers, had fortunately sent out its three Xsaras on soft tyres – which proved to be a judicious choice. Sébastien Loeb started the day with 20 seconds in hand over his nearest rival, Petter Solberg. The reigning World Champion made fast but careful progress through the mud and mist to end up with a lead of nearly a minute after Cabalango/Carlos Paz (SS14), just before midday service. On the rollercoaster ride of the afternoon stages, Seb sensibly maintained his advantage. Sebastien Loeb: The Citroen driver currently leads by 43 seconds heading into tomorrow's 41 competitive kilometres. "It wasn't an easy day, what with all the jumps and high-speed water splashes" he said. "I've managed to build up a bit of lead and my aim is to keep it throughout tomorrow's short leg. There's a sting in the tail of this rally though : two very rough and narrow stages, where above all I've got to steer clear of trouble." Xevi Pons: First on the road today was Xevi Pons, disappointed yesterday after the ‘off' that forced him to retire from the opening leg. He said: "This morning's stages in the damp were not bad at all. I got my confidence back in La Falda (SS11). In La Cumbre – which we didn't get the chance to drive yesterday – I was nonetheless second-fastest. The on the following stage I was quickest. To manage that today was fantastic : nothing could have done more for my confidence. So that was good. The afternoon was more difficult though. The weather stayed dry, which meant that I was sweeping all the loose gravel. This will be the case again tomorrow, but I'm delighted to be driving again in front of such an enthusiastic Argentine public." Dani Sordo: Had already said that Argentina would be a case of back to school again, so the asphalt high-flyer duly became a diligent student of gravel. Dani reported: "Today's conditions were really difficult for somebody like me who is new to gravel, with mud, slippery stages and fog in the morning. But I really liked the fast stages in the afternoon with all those high-speed jumps. I spun on my first run through ‘Santa Rosa', but I felt a bit more comfortable on the second run. I've still got a lot to learn though, especially on Mina Clavero and El Condor tomorrow." Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06
Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Petter Solberg again demonstrated the Impreza WRC2006’s competitive pace on gravel. The Norwegian set two fastest stage times to consolidate his second place overall. With 41km remaining on Sunday’s final day of competition, Petter is 43secs behind event leader Sébastien Loeb. Chris Atkinson drove consistently throughout the Leg and moved up one place to sixth overall. Atkinson later dropped back to seventh position when Stewards’ applied a one minute penalty for speeding in the service area. SWRT sporting director, Luis Moya Of course I’m a little disappointed because we came here for the victory and it now looks like that target will be difficult to achieve. But, on the other hand, we should be pleased with the performance of our cars today. Mechanically, both have been very reliable ever since we started the rally. Petter has set some very good times, as well as the stage wins on SS16 and SS17 and Chris has also improved his pace. Petter Solberg: In fact it’s been quite a good day, even though it didn’t get off to a great start. First we made a bad tyre choice and that cost us a lot of time, and then I reckon we lost another six or seven seconds when the gear lever broke. But this afternoon was actually good and overall I’m pretty happy - we won two stages and our pace is better than the people behind. It was nice to share the stage win with Henning too - I don’t think two brothers have ever done that before - I heard my mother and father were very happy! Tomorrow the stages are difficult, I know there are lot of bad rocks and anything can happen. The rally isn’t over yet – we all have to do those stages first. Chris Atkinson: Driving 100km back to service on three tyres was quite a dramatic way to end the day, but on the whole it’s been okay. We ran at a consistent pace, moved up a place on the leader board and have done the best we can. I haven’t been able to get the car set up exactly as I’d have liked but I’ve adapted my driving to suit and hope to be able to get a points finish tomorrow - that’s the plan. Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC Even though the OMV Team chose the wrong tyres on the recommendation of the tyre manufacturer they still were able to defend their top positions four and five. They only exchanged positions within the OMV Team so that Henning Solberg (Nor) finished leg two in fourth place. But Manfred Stohl (Aut) is only 3,7 seconds behind. Usually a premiere at an event of the FIA World Rally Championship isn't a thing to take lightly. But Henning Solberg didn't show fear prior to his first start in Argentina. He knew that the characteristics of the special stages would suit him. Therefore, after two days and fourth intermediate place, the Norwegian OMV driver isn't really surprised by the intermediate result but rather happy. Saturday morning turned Manfred Stohl into a blade runner. Due to the wrong choice of tyres the Peugeot 307 WRC became nearly unsteerable on the muddy surface. Almost inevitable consequence were two spins which cost Stohl a lot of time, fourth place and the chance for the podium. For after the first SS of the day the 33-year-old OMV driver had been only four seconds behind Gigi Galli (Ita/Peugeot 307 WRC) in third place. In the afternoon things went better and Stohl caught up until he was only 3,7 seconds behind OMV Teammate Henning Solberg. Henning Solberg: "Except for some minor problems everything went great so far. Which is, of course, also due to the background of a perfectly prepared car by Bozian Racing. And the Peugeot 307 WRC has always performed very well here in Argentina. I'll do my all to defend this place." Manfred Stohl: "It's going to be a hot fight on Sunday. I'll definitely do my best to get past Henning. And who can say what will happen at the top? The two special stages, El Condor and Mina Clavero are among the toughest in the rally WRC. My experience should do me some good there." Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 The team provided the dice of the day for the multitudes of fans on the stages around the central Argentinean town of Cordoba as team-mates Matthew Wilson and Luis Perez Companc battled for eighth spot in the overall standings in the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Argentina. 19 year-old Matthew Wilson had the early advantage from the first leg of running on Friday and started the day 37 seconds ahead of Companc, but Saturday morning provided a surprise for the young British rally driver as the first stages of the day were enveloped by a thick fog compounding an already difficult job on the treacherous rock-rich route. Wilson relied on the notes read by co-driver Michael Orr and the duo fought their way to the midday service stop after the morning's 70km of competitive distance. It was not just the fog which presented a challenge either. A corner which had already claimed the tyres of two-time WRC champion and fellow M-Sport run Ford driver Marcos Gronholm also caught out Wilson's Ford Focus RS WRC 05 and the car slid wide and on to the large rocks lining the route. The car sustained panel damage, although not to a serious degree, but the incident, allied the superior experience of Companc, meant the gap between the two was down to 4.9secs as they left the service park for the second loop. The fast and flowing afternoon route, 80km over four stages, saw Companc close in and pass Wilson. Despite Companc's greater experience in his home event, Wilson didn't make life easy for the Argentinean, although the Brit was careful not to become too preoccupied with the position and risk pushing too hard. By the end of SS16 the gap was down to just half a second and on the next stage Companc had passed his younger team-mate for eighth and the championship point it brings with it. Saturday ended with Wilson just 10.9secs behind Companc with none other than Marcus Gronholm 4mins 43secs next down the order, the Finn running with 15 minutes of penalties for not completing Friday's stages. Matthew Wilson: "The stages we did this afternoon were classic stages that have been in the Argentinean championship and the experience of Luis showed there. He didn't take a massive chunk on any one stage, but he did enough to get ahead of us and he picked up his pace to do that. On Sunday if the notes work right and we're driving nice and neat and tidy we should be alright but today was just so fast. You've got to have the commitment over the blind crests and braking into the slow stuff. I'm reasonably happy, we had just a few stupid mistakes in the fog this morning. We had an overshoot which probably cost us the most time then in the last stage today the grip was a lot better but I didn't exploit that enough. We're here, still in the rally, and that's the main thing and we're fit for tomorrow." Luis Perez Companc: "It's been a very good day, a very good leg. I'm very happy that I could finally get to the eighth position and get some points. It was very nice having a good fight with Matthew. I was pushing very hard in the four stages this afternoon, I thought I would make a bigger difference from Matthew but he also was pushing hard so the difference between us was very small, but finally I got past him. Tomorrow we hope to keep the place and keep the car in one piece to the end of the rally." Final positions after the third day of the rally: 1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 4hr 06min 51.3sec Driver's comments after Leg 3 Leg 3 News The Citroën Xsara WRC crew of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena racked up a fourth consecutive victory in this year’s FIA World Rally Championship today when they won Rally Argentina. The Frenchman, who also won the event last year, now takes a commanding 21 point advantage in the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, while his Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team inch further ahead in the Manufacturers’ Championship. Loeb’s overnight lead afforded him some luxury today, but with two of the Championship’s most famous and unforgiving stages run in the final leg, there was no room for error. He then powered through the final two super special stages in Cordoba’s packed stadium to claim maximum points and his second victory in Argentina. Despite concerns about heavy steering this morning, Norway’s Petter Solberg finished second in the Subaru Impreza WRC, equalling his best result of the season. Italy’s Gigi Galli claimed his first-ever podium position, finishing third overall in a Peugeot 307 WRC. Britain’s Matthew Wilson (Ford Focus), the youngest competitor in the series at 19, won his first stage and also took points in the series for the first time in his career by finishing eighth. Marcus Grönholm ultimately finished 10th after problems in the opening leg and, although the Ford driver retains second in the Championship standings, the gap to Loeb has been significantly increased. Team News: Manufacturer 1: Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team / Citroën Xsara
WRC Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena leave Cordoba with 10 championship points as reward for their second consecutive victory on the Rally Argentina. This success, their second gravel win of the year after Mexico, is also the fourth of the year for the Franco-Monegasque pairing - who now take their total of career victories up to 24. Sebastien currently has an equal number of wins to Tommi Mäkinen, and is now headed only by Colin McRae (on 25 wins) and Carlos Sainz (on 26). Daniel Elena equals the record number of wins for a co-driver. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "Everything about this rally is breathtaking. The scenery, the high-speed water splashes and above all the fantastic welcome we get from the Argentine fans, who give us the best reception in the world. My Citroen was as reliable, fast and consistent as usual. That was just as well, because this rally was particularly difficult this year - mostly down to the weather. We had a good fight with Marcus [Grönholm] on the first day and that continued with Petter [Solberg] yesterday. For all those reasons, winning here is a special pleasure for me. As well as that, myself and Daniel extend our lead in the drivers championship while Kronos does the same in the constructors standings. As I still think we'll have a tight battle on our hands this year, that's no bad thing." Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "One of my objectives is to gain confidence. There's nothing better than setting fastest times to help that along. Seb has proved that the Xsara has nothing to fear from any of its rivals. With some experience and hard work, I need to make more and more use of the car's potential. My goal is to help Kronos defend its position at the head of the manufacturers' championship. » Manufacturer 1: BP- Ford World Rally Team / Ford Focus RS WRC06 Ford extended its record-breaking run of points finishes in the FIA World Rally Championship to 66 when Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen finished 10th on Rally Argentina today. The Finns recovered from first-day transmission troubles while leading to climb back onto the leaderboard and claim a manufacturer point to extend the longest scoring run in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "The time loss on Friday was a shame and left us struggling for a result. Tenth gave the team a point but it obviously wasn't what I wanted and I'm disappointed. I had hoped for more. At least I was able to come back and set several fastest times over the second and third legs and show again that the car has plenty of pace. The rally wasn't hard on tyres, despite the long sections with no opportunity to fit new rubber, and our engineers and those from BFGoodrich made some good choices. The stage in the soccer stadium was a spectacular show. As a driver, it's great to perform in front of so many people in such a great atmosphere." Manufacturer 1: Subaru World Rally Team / Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Petter Solberg finished Rally Argentina in second place. Solberg set the fastest time through one of the toughest tests in the WRC, the classic El Condor pass, to secure his second podium of the season. The Subaru World Rally Team concluded a successful Rally Argentina with a double-points finish as Chris Atkinson recorded two top five times to finish sixth. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I wanted to win here but I think to finish second is still very good, we can't complain because things went almost according to the plan. I tried everything and we would have had a very good chance of winning this rally if it wasn't for the problems we had, but underneath it all I'm feeling much more positive. The car is getting there now, we're back fighting for the lead and I can go for an attack - it's been a long time since I felt like this. I'm looking forward to the next rally!" Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "It's been a difficult rally for us, it started out quite well, we were running in a high position early on, but then some problems with the car and a mistake from me cost us a lot of time. We struggled back up the order and then got a minute penalty - if it wasn't for that, I think we could have been fighting for a much better result. But that's life, we learned a lot here and we'll see what we can do in Sardinia." Manufacturer 2: OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team / Peugeot 307 WRC The Rally Argentina was further proof that Manfred Stohl belongs among the top performers in rallying. The 33-year-old OMV driver only missed the podium by an inch at his 100th WRC start and finished in excellent fourth place. He currently shares fourth place in the World Championship with Petter Solberg (No/Subaru). Henning Solberg had lots of bad luck. The Norwegian OMV driver fell back from fifth to seventh place on the last super stage since the clutch of the Peugeot WRC 307 stopped working right in the middle of the stadium-stage. The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team and Team Manager Jackie Bozian are nevertheless happy about having scored ten points in the manufacturer WRC. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "It was my present to Ilka, who is celebrating her birthday today. Unfortunately we were not able to quite catch up with Galli. But making good almost 45 seconds on two special stages gives me a lot of self-confidence. We are very satisfied and feel invigorated for the next two gravel-rallies in Sardinia and Greece. I believe that we might be able to reach the podium then." Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "That is part of the game. It can happen anytime. Of course, it is a bitter pill when you're so close to the finish. There is still a positive side to it for now we are seventh and know that we were actually much faster. It would have been much worse had we reached this place because we simply weren't able to attack anymore. Therefore I really mustn't be dissatisfied. Manufacturer 2: Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team / Ford Focus RS
WRC04 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson has scored his first ever FIA World Rally Championship point, taking an eighth place finish in Rally Argentina on the same day as setting his first fastest WRC stage time. Wilson, at 19, is believed to be the youngest driver to take a driver point in the WRC and also to set a fastest stage time. Sunday's final day of the rally saw two classic Argentinean stages tackled, the 20km Mina Clavero and the dramatic 17km El Condor. Wilson took the first stage cautiously then pushed harder in the second to close to three seconds adrift of his team-mate heading to the two Super Specials in the Cordoba football stadium in front of a roaring crowd of over 40,000. Companc was the first Stobart car to tackle the 2.2km stage, going head to head with Subaru ace Chris Atkinson. As the Argentinean crowd cheered Companc's launch control did not work as it should and the Ford Focus WRC 05 stalled at on the line. With the margin so close, and the Super Special so short, Companc would not be able to recover the lost time and it handed the advantage to Wilson for his two short runs. Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It's mega, really, really good. It was a shame for Luis, it's so rare for the launch control to have a problem but the good thing for us was the stage got a lot faster as the more people who had gone over it made the grip better. It was a blooming good way to end the rally that's for sure. The grip was good, we were nice and neat and tidy and I didn't do anything silly as I knew I just had to get to the end. The crowd here is so keen on rallying that they were shouting and screaming, I've never seen anything like it. It felt so good that we'd got the point and then it came over the radio we'd done the fastest time. We're flying home straightaway so I'll be trying for an upgrade and I'll definitely be drinking some champagne." Luis Perez Companc/ J-M Volta: "It was a very bad day! On the second stage today I went off the road and I hit very badly the car but it seemed that everything is okay but I lost a big difference with Matthew so I was only three seconds ahead going to the stadium. I thought I would make a bigger difference from Matthew on Saturday but he also was pushing hard so the difference between us was very small, but finally I got past him. In the podium I had a problem with the launch system, I couldn't get into gear and I lost too many seconds to Matthew. I lost eighth place but I'm very happy for the team, for the rally and for the people here, it's incredible how fanatical the fans are here, they love the rally." FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Present: Q: DE: Q: SL: Q: PS: Q: PM: Q: GG: Q: GB: Q: MVD: It’s a dream come true. We have worked all of the winter to find a sponsor. We never expected to be in this position in the Championship. Those guys are fantastic. For Daniel to win 24 rallies is really fantastic. I’m sure it’s not finished yet… Q: MVD: Q: SL: Q: DE: Q: PS: Q: PM: Q: GG: Q: GB: GG: Q: SL: MVD QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR: Mario–Alberto Bauer (Motorsport Aktuell, Switzerland) Q: GB: Present: Now for the final press conference of the FIA JWRC and PWRC, we have the winning crew of Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh for Juniors and Nasser Al-Attiyah and Chris Patterson from the Production Car World Rally Championship. Q: GW: Q: PP: Q: GW: Q: PP: Q: NA-A: Q: CP: Q: NA-A: Q: CP: |