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Rallye Deutschland
Production Car World Rally Championship Rd.5
25 to 27 July 2003 |
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Patrick Debut's New IMPREZA WRX STi
Preview
Event News
25 July 2003 Canadian rally champion and North American Group N champion Patrick Richard will be driving a new SUBARU Production Car in the next round of the World Rally Championship, which gets under way in Germany today. This will be Patrick's first all-asphalt WRC event and will also be his fifth opportunity this season to challenge the other drivers in PCWRC. Patrick, the only North American to be competing in the WRC, will be driving an all-new 2003 model IMPREZA WRX STi, the same model in which he and the Subaru Rally Team Canada won the sixth round of the Canadian Rally Championship on July 5th. The new car has been built specifically for the all-asphalt challenges that he and the team will face at ADAC Rallye Deutschland and Rallye de France later in the year. 
"I think our older 2002 model IMPREZA WRX STi was showing its age and we realized that we were better off running a car that has been specifically built for asphalt" said Patrick. "We want to put our best foot forward to ensure a good result and some points at the end of the event. Hopefully the new car will help us achieve this."The new IMPREZA WRX STi will offer the latest in SUBARU technology and will put Patrick and his team on the same level as other Subaru Production Car competitors, Stig Blomqvist and Martin Rowe who changed to the 2003 model IMPREZA WRX STi at the previous round in Cyprus. The new car will have light-weight under body protection and a centre differential and handbrake setup designed specifically for asphalt. Since the roads will be smoother and the speeds much higher, the car has also been designed to handle the greater G-forces with stiffer suspension and bigger brakes. Patrick's strategy for Germany will be much the same as his earlier WRC events. He plans to drive cautiously and try to make it to the finish line with some points. "I'm not saying I'll be driving slowly" said Patrick "however I've never seen these roads before and it's only my second time in an asphalt rally. I'll go at a stable pace then try to crank it up near the end of the event. Hopefully we will set some respectable times on the later stages." 
Rowe and Blomqvist start Germany with a chance to cement their position at the top of the PCWRC points table behind leader Toshi Arai, who also drives a SUBARU.The Japanese driver has elected to miss the German event, as drivers are only allowed to compete in 6 of the 7 rounds. However his 30 points can not be headed at Germany, as nearest rival Rowe has 19. Blomqvist is third equal in the PCWRC with Karamjit Singh on 17 points. All three Subaru drivers will find a testing event, with different character tarmac stages on each of the three days. Based in Trier, the first leg tackles stages in the Mosel Valley, one of Germany's grape growing regions, where most of the stages are through the vineyards. The roads are narrow with sharp corners and can become very slippery if it rains. On Saturday the rally heads for the Baumholder Military Training Ground, where the roads are bumpier with longer straights and tight junctions. The stages often have a sprinkling of gravel to trap the unwary. Large concrete blocks on the side of the road are an added hazard. Rally cars usually come off second best it they stray from the road and hit the concrete blocks. For the final day the stages are in the Saarland region and offer faster smoother roads. |
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