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Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT), the Subaru works team, entered two Impreza WRC 2003 World Rally Cars in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for the 2003 season. Driver Petter Solberg of Norway won four out of 14 races to clinch the 2003 WRC Drivers' World Championship, with teammate and four-time World Champion Tommi Mäkinen finishing the season ninth in the rankings. The Finn now retires after a long career spanning seventeen years on the world rallying stage.
The Subaru Impreza WRC 2003, first introduced by SWRT this year, is a specialized rally car based on the Impreza WRX model changed in October last year and incorporating improvements in accordance with World Rally Car regulations. Body shell modifications and aerodynamic devices such as the new front bumper and rear wing have enhanced the aerodynamics, while the chassis is more rigid and the upgraded engine performance improves medium and low speed torque and pick-up capability. The result was four victories, two second places and three third places this season. Throughout the decade since its WRC debut in 1993, the Impreza has proved itself to be the most competitive machine participating in the championship.
Solberg's victory this year makes him Subaru's third drivers' champion following the successes of Britons Colin McRae in 1995 and Richard Burns in 2001. Subaru also held the Manufacturers' Championship for three years between 1995 and 1997. This year's result instantly elevated Solberg to national hero as the first ever Norwegian to become WRC World Champion.
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2003 World Rally Championship - Summary
Rd.1 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo - 24 to 26 January, Monaco
SWRT launched its new Impreza in this opening round of the WRC, the glamorous and historic Rallye Monte Carlo. The course winds through the Alps, whose notoriously unpredictable weather conditions can change in the blink of an eye. Solberg was second overall after clocking the second fastest times on SS1, 3 and 4, but his tyre selection for SS5 was wrong and he crashed out after skidding on the wet surface. Meanwhile, Mäkinen struggled through SS3 after bumping the front left of his car and damaging the brake pipe. Having carried out repairs he then ran wide on SS5, the same stage where Solberg had come off. Both cars were forced to retire at the same time. This was a terribly disappointing result for the new machine after all the praise it had received beforehand.
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Rd.2 Uddeholm Swedish Rally - 7 to 9 February, Sweden
The Swedish Rally was held in the sub-zero temperatures of the northern European winter on a very fast course with top speeds reaching 200km/h. A feature of the rally is the studded tyres that are needed to gain some grip on the snow-covered road surface. With three previous wins in this event behind him, Mäkinen got off to a fine start and took second position early on. Solberg could not follow suit and finished Leg 1 in eighth place after a poor tyre selection. Mäkinen held firmly onto second place and went on to set the fastest time in Leg 3, and his second place overall clinched him a podium finish. The team s buoyant mood was not reflected in Solberg s times as he continued his stressful run, but he showed his fighting spirit by recording the quickest time on the final stage to finish in sixth place.
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Rd.3 Rally of Turkey - 27 February to 2 March, Turkey
A series of five gravel events got underway with the Rally of Turkey, the first WRC race ever to be held in the country. The narrow, twisting course contained mountainous stages reaching altitudes of up to 1400m. In difficult conditions created by the severe cold, with dry roads but frozen patches in places, the rally saw a succession of retirements and problems from the beginning. Solberg was second in SS1 and set consecutive top times in SS2 and SS3 to take the overall lead, but then he was forced to retire on SS4 with a broken track rod after hitting a stone that had rolled onto a tight corner. Mäkinen cautiously avoided all the turmoil of Leg 1 to finish in fourth position, although he lost a lot of time on SS10 of Leg 2 when he hit a rock on the road. At least he was able to avoid retiring, and even moved up to eighth, a point scoring position, by the end of this survival rally.
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Rd.4 Rally New Zealand - 11 to 13 April, New Zealand
Held in spring in previous years, the New Zealand event was shifted this time to autumn. Conditions were expected to be changeable in this rather unstable season, with winter just ahead. Solberg started SS1 in fourth position and quickly moved up to third before driving at a steady pace to hold this position. Mäkinen, on the other hand, hadn t completed his set-up and struggled all day to finish seventh overall. In Leg 2, one of Solberg s tyres began to vibrate and, worried about a possible puncture, he dropped back to fourth place. Towards the end, however, he launched an all-out attack to clinch third place in his 50th WRC race. Both drivers earned manufacturers points as Mäkinen, who had also been concerned about his tyre selection, moved up two places on the final stage to finish seventh.
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Rd.5 Rally Argentina - 8 to 11 May, Argentina
The WRC circus moved halfway around the world from last month s New Zealand venue to South America. Various changes made to the Impreza WRC 2003 included the addition of new suspension. Both cars got off to a fast start in the first stage, the Super Special, but on SS5 Solberg experienced gear trouble. Unable to control his machine, he rolled it and eventually slipped back to 14th place. Gear trouble struck Mäkinen too, who had been in third place until SS7 but then dropped to 25th. But both drivers were desperate to make up ground, Solberg improving to sixth and Mäkinen recovering as far as 13th. With an injured leg, Mäkinen was retired from the race at this point in preparation for the next race. The entire team s hopes were now pinned on Solberg, who managed to move up one more place to fifth before the finish.
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Rd.6 Acropolis Rally - 6 to 8 June, Greece
One of the oldest rallies in the Championship, this year marked the 50th anniversary of the Greek WRC. Mixing rough and twisty mountain roads, searing temperatures and choking dust, the event presents a series of tough challenges for both car and driver. Sebastien Loeb, Armin Schwarz and Freddy Loix were among the early retirements in Leg 1 as Solberg produced a strategic and measured performance to finish third. Mäkinen also took a long term view of this difficult rally, ending the day in fifth place. Both drivers maintained their positions in Leg 2. In Leg 3, Solberg put his foot down to take four stage wins but had to settle for third place in the end after losing time overtaking a stationary car on the final stage. Mäkinen held firmly onto his fifth place. This result netted Subaru ten more points in the Manufacturers Championship.
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Rd.7 Cyprus Rally - 20 to 22 June, Cyprus
Little more than a week after the Acropolis Rally, the WRC was back on the Mediterranean for the Cyprus Rally. Based in the countryside around the port of Limassol with stages every bit as tough as those seen in Greece, this is the slowest rally of the year. Delivering another measured and calculated performance in Leg 1, Solberg was in third place overnight, just 10.3 seconds behind leader Marcus Gronholm. Having been third early in the leg, Mäkinen developed steering problems after hitting a stone and ended the day in nineteenth position. He recovered in Leg 2 to set four fastest stage times, but had to withdraw after a broken wheel caused him to exceed the time allowed on that road section. Solberg led throughout the day. The Norwegian kept up his form in Leg 3 to claim the second victory of his WRC career, scoring the fastest times on five of the day s six stages and finishing a massive four minutes 14 seconds ahead of the second placed car.
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Rd.8 ADAC Rallye Deutschland - 25 to 27 July, Germany
With the last five WRC rounds having been contested on gravel, the second half of the season now started on asphalt. With its excellent variety of terrain including wine growing regions, military practice ranges and more, this rally offers a superb mixture of tight bends and fast straights to test the split-second judgment of the drivers. The Impreza WRC 2003 had undergone some refinements to the engine and electronics and was using a new suspension. Battling with flu like symptoms, Solberg concentrated on maintaining a steady rhythm and ended the day in ninth position. Teammate Mäkinen retired after SS6 with an alternator related problem. With his health returning to normal, Solberg began to push harder in Leg 2 and then attacked aggressively in Leg 3. He ended the event in eighth place, securing another point in the Drivers' Championship.
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Rd.9 Neste Rally Finland - 7 to 10 August, Finland
This event was held in the country proud to be called the spiritual home of rallying. The ultra fast 200kph course, or 'Finnish Grand Prix' as it is nicknamed, is renowned for its thrilling jumps and blind crests. It was here ten years ago that the Impreza made its rally debut when Ari Vatanen and Markku Alen steered the Impreza to victory. This time, Solberg was locked in an exciting battle for third place with Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae, less than seven seconds separating the three drivers going into Leg 2. A damaged wheel and other problems kept teammate Mäkinen in ninth place, but in Leg 2 he moved up to sixth. Solberg was determined to keep attacking and closed the gap on second place to just 0.5 seconds. With two stage wins in Leg 3, he managed to snatch second place, while Mäkinen overcame some minor problems to hang on to sixth place. Both drivers collected Championship points.
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Rd.10 Telstra Rally Australia - 5 to 7 September, Australia
This year saw a move for the rally from November to the wetter conditions of September. The stages are very fast, although much of the hard-packed road surface is covered in small, marble-like stones. Solberg dominated the Super Special Stage just like last year, which seemed to be a good omen for the Norwegian. He held second place at the end of Leg 1, just four seconds adrift of Loeb after a thrilling battle for the lead. Mäkinen also had to be on form to grab overnight fourth in a close fight with only 12 seconds separating the top five machines. The first two were inseparable even after the 124 km second leg, sometimes only 1.1 seconds apart. At the same time, Mäkinen was making ground on the third-place driver. Then came Leg 3, and two fastest times in the final four stages handed Solberg victory over Loeb, his second rally win of the season. This result lifted Solberg to joint second in the Drivers' title race, while Mäkinen finished sixth to net more points for Subaru.
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Rd.11 Rallye di San Remo - 3 to 5 October, Italy
This rally is contested on a mix of twisty, narrow mountain roads amid the towering Southern Alps, high above the Italian coastal town of Sanremo. Before the race, the Impreza WRC 2003 was fitted with a new electronic control system able to process more information at a higher speed. Pirelli also provided improved tyres for this first in a series of asphalt events. After the final stage on the first day, however, Solberg had to retire when his car ran out of fuel 2km short of the service area. Meanwhile, Mäkinen held overnight eighth place after struggling with his tyre selection. Despite a consistent and reliable performance in Leg 2, he was unable to challenge the pace of the leaders and finished the day in 11th. An all-out effort in Leg 3, however, saw him finish in the top 10 and collect Manufacturers' Championship points for Subaru.
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Rd.12 Tour de Corse - 17 to 19 October, France
This was the middle of three successive asphalt events, less than two weeks after Sanremo and a week ahead of Catalunya. With its abrasive road surface, the event is so twisty that it's referred to as the 'Rally of the 10,000 corners'. There was drama before the start when Solberg s car was badly damaged in a crash during the shakedown. But the Subaru team put in a superb effort, working through the night and completing the repairs four hours ahead the start. Solberg responded to this dramatic team effort with a trouble-free first leg performance to hold overnight eighth, less than 45 seconds off the lead. In Leg 2, the Norwegian set three consecutive stage wins to leap seven places in the overall standings and grab the lead. Solberg pulled further ahead in Leg 3, securing his third season win by the substantial margin of 36.6 seconds. This victory placed him in sole possession of second place in the Drivers Championship and just three points off leader Richard Burns. Mäkinen also put in a fine performance throughout the rally to clinch seventh.
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Rd.13 Rallye Catalunya - 24 to 26 October, Spain
With no time to dwell on their thrilling win at Tour de Corse, SWRT moved straight on to the next race in Spain. Six drivers were still in fierce contention for the title ahead of this last asphalt rally of the season. With only two events left, Catalunya was set to be one of the most important rallies of the year. Solberg clinched an early stage win in fine style, but then as he was about to leave service ahead of a long stage, mechanics discovered a damaged alternator. The team were forced to use an extra five minutes to replace the component, incurring a 50-second time penalty and dropping Solberg back to eleventh place. Unable to get as much grip as expected, Mäkinen held overnight ninth. Seeking to make up lost ground, Solberg set a string of top ten times in Leg 2, before Leg 3 saw him shoot up five places overall to finish the event in fifth, earning four Drivers' Championships points and boosting his title hopes. Teammate Mäkinen had a good day too, finishing in the points in eighth place.
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Rd.14 Wales Rally GB - 7 to 9 November, Britain
Going into the final round of the 2003 WRC, the drivers still in contention for the 2003 crown were Loeb and Sainz level on 63pts, Solberg on 62 and Burns on 58. The battle was reduced to three drivers, however, when Burns pulled out after going into hospital before the rally. After the ceremonial start came the Super Special stage, which Solberg won to take the overall lead. Then when Sainz slid off the road and retired on the second stage of Leg 1, the title race became a head-to-head between Solberg and Loeb. In tough, unforgiving conditions in Leg 2, Solberg set the fastest times in every stage. At the same time, Mäkinen held onto his third position under a fierce challenge from McRae. Then came the final leg. With the coveted Drivers title in his sights, Solberg refused to ease up and kept his foot down until the very end to clinch the win. At last the WRC crown was his. He received terrific support from teammate Mäkinen, who also defended his third place from start to finish to earn a memorable podium finish in his final race before retiring from the sport. This was a wonderful result for SWRT in so many ways, marking the end of a fantastic WRC season.
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