Wrc (11 Viewers)

[Wings]

Alternator problems caused the Mitsubishi's to drop out. After 1 year testing that is a rookie mistake. It's like they never did some road sections as tests!

Day 1 Wrap
1. P SOLBERG 1:25:09.5
2. H ROVANPERÄ +5.0
3. M GRÖNHOLM +31.0
4. M MÄRTIN +31.2
5. S LOEB +48.0
6. F DUVAL +53.5
7. C SAINZ +1:03.1
8. M HIRVONEN +1:24.8
9. D CARLSSON +1:51.3
10. A WARMBOLD +5:10.1

Brilliant day for Solberg although the Peugeots have discovered some speed! Petter feels Day 1 was a warm up so tomorrow will be a day to look forward to.
Bring it on.

 

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[venom]

++ [ originally posted by Ali ] ++
although the Peugeots have discovered some speed!

I hope reliability too

 

[Wings]

I want them to be reliable so that we can have a good competitive rally. It was refreshing to see Gronholm pushing beyond the limit although the price was hefty when he rolled. With all the new cars coming in I want to see some serious competiton.
And am thoroughly pissed off at Mitsubishi :fero:

 

[venom]

When is Skoda supposed to be back in action? Acropolis? Hopefully they don't end up being a Mitsubishi mk2.

 

[Wings]

Initially they were supposed to start in June with the Acropolis but it seems like they will now compete from Finland onwards.
They better not be Mitsubishi MK2's.

 

[Febrina]

God, it's getting tight between Solberg and Rovanpera!

 

[venom]

Wishing it still was, but hydraulic problems this time but it's just 19,5 secs so it's not that bad. Rovanperä on the other hand with wrong tire selection

 

[Wings]

DAY 2 Wrap
1. P SOLBERG 2:42:11.4
2. M GRÖNHOLM +19.5
3. M MÄRTIN +24.2
4. H ROVANPERÄ +45.1
5. S LOEB +1:01.3
6. C SAINZ +2:10.8
7. F DUVAL +2:29.2
8. M HIRVONEN +2:48.3
9. D CARLSSON +4:47.3
10. D SOLA +11:30.4

Nice touch by Solberg at the end of the day to remind Gronholm that he is still the 'boss' by increasing his lead to 19.5 seconds.

 

[Torkel]

Go Petter!

 

[Febrina]

++ [ originally posted by venom ] ++
Rovanperä on the other hand with wrong tire selection

Yep, tyre selection is very decisive on this rally
Markko Martin did well too very stable....

 

[Febrina]

Uh well, it's not our rally.......:down:

 

[venom]

Grönholm's starting to make mistakes more but anyways, finally both Peugeots finish the rally:thumb: Hirvonen 7th with Grönholm-like problems (power-steering), good. Paasonen 6th in group N, not good.

 

[Wings]

Petter did it!!!

 

[Torkel]

Yay! :extatic:

 

[Wings]

OVERVIEW NEW ZEALAND 2004
1. Petter SOLBERG 10 Pts
2. Marcus GRÖNHOLM 8 Pts
3. Markko MÄRTIN 6 Pts
4. Sébastien LOEB 5 Pts
5. Carlos SAINZ 3 Pts
6. Mikko HIRVONEN 2 Pts
7. Daniel CARLSSON 1 Pts

DRIVERS STANDINGS
1. Markko MÄRTIN (EE) 26 Pts
2. Sébastien LOEB (F) 25 Pts
3. Marcus GRÖNHOLM (FIN) 24 Pts
4. Petter SOLBERG (N) 23 Pts
5. Francois DUVAL (B) 14 Pts
6. Carlos SAINZ (E) 13 Pts
7. Mikko HIRVONEN (FIN) 6 Pts
8. Janne TUOHINO (FIN) 5 Pts
9. Freddy LOIX (B) 4 Pts
10. Gilles PANIZZI (F) 4 Pts

MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS
1. Ford 47 Pts
2. Citroën 38 Pts
3. Peugeot 33 Pts
4. Subaru 31 Pts
5. Mitsubishi 5 Pts

Looking good for Petter. Nice finish for Hirvonen at 7th too.

 

[venom]

DRIVERS STANDINGS
1. Markko MÄRTIN (EE) 26 Pts
2. Sébastien LOEB (F) 25 Pts
3. Marcus GRÖNHOLM (FIN) 24 Pts
4. Petter SOLBERG (N) 23 Pts

That's really excellent, top 4 within 4 points:thumb:

And next stop Cyprus, 14. - 16. next month. Stop only for WRC, not for juniors or group N

 

[Febrina]

4th position on NZ rally and 2nd on the drivers standing..hehe not bad
Yep, Cyprus next up!

 

[Wings]

Cyprus is a killer rally. I dread it Loeb is doing very well on gravel which is a major surprise.

 

[venom]

Eurosport.com

Rovanpera will stay on

Finland's Harri Rovanpera, drafted in by the Peugeot world rally team as a replacement for Belgian Freddy Loix, will stay on for the season's eight remaining gravel events. "Harri has done exactly the job that we asked of him," said team boss Corrado Provera after last weekend's New Zealand Rally, the fourth round of the world championship.

"Harri will be staying with us for all the gravel rounds of this year's championship."

Rovanpera led briefly in New Zealand on the opening leg and finished fifth, scoring important points in the constructors' championship.

The Finn, released by Peugeot last year under new rules limiting teams to two cars, was recalled for the previous round in Mexico as a replacement for the under-performing Loix.

Loix's position with the team remained uncertain but he could be recalled for the rallies on asphalt, the next of which is the Rally of Germany in August.

Peugeot said in February that he would continue working with the team in a programme still to be decided.

Excellent. Now I'm getting more comfortable considering Jyväskylä

 

[Febrina]

++ [ originally posted by Ali ] ++
Cyprus is a killer rally. I dread it Loeb is doing very well on gravel which is a major surprise.

You know Seb (Citroen Xsara) is not fav on gravel, but who knows this underdog team will win like AS Monaco did
Yeah, the toughest rally...Is it a slow track? i mean like Anatolian Rally with a narrow and winding road?