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Corona Rally Mexico |
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Production Car World Rally Championship Rd.2 12 to 14 March 2004 |
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Itinerary | |
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| Entry List | |||
| Course Map | |||
| Results | |||
| Preview | |||
| Leg1 Report | |||
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Leg2 Report | ||
| Leg3 Report | |||
| Gallery | |||
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WRC |
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Production Car World Rally Championship (PCWRC) Rd.2 Infomation
Toshi Maintains Position, Niall Moves Up
SUBARU drivers now running 2nd and 3rd in Group N Leg2
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Event News 13 March 2004 |
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The day's opening stage saw the battle between Toshi and the current group N leader Dani Sola continue in earnest, with only 0.1 seconds separating the pair after charging through the 25 kilometres of the first test. Behind them third placed Finn Jani Paasonen lost 6 seconds on the same stage. However the big news was Alister McRae. While traveling at high speed, he was heavily punished for a small error when he ran a little wide on a fast right hand corner. The car left the road, barrel rolling into retirement. Both McRae and his co-driver were unhurt in the accident, though it is surely a costly dent to their championship title aspirations.Right from the start of today's running, Marcos Ligato experienced overheating which continued throughout the morning's stages causing concern over potential engine damage and resulting in a big loss of power throughout the first three stages. This seems to have been caused by mud accumulating in the radiator. The Italian's woes continued on SS7 when he came upon a tree blocking the stage and had to stop and find a way around the immovable obstacle! Niall McShea has continued to improve throughout the morning's three stages, making small adjustments to his suspension before each stage. All this despite the fact he's been feeling unwell and has been a little sick. He is still exercising a degree of caution but by the final stage of the morning, was closing on the pace of Dani Sola's and achieved a second in group on the stage. 
SS6 saw both Toshi and 3rd placed Jani Paasonen go off the road slightly, costing them both about 30 seconds to leader Sola on the stage. Toshi had sustained some damage to his suspension in the incident and made some adjustments to the car's tracking as best he could on the following road section, with some degree of success. On the morning's final stage, SS7, the Japanese driver sustained a puncture 1.5 kilometres from the stage finish and lost a further 20 seconds. He remained in second place in the PWRC battle but with a serious fight on his hands with Jani Paasonen at this stage.Marcos Ligato retired on SS8 due to engine damage sustained earlier in the day. Toshi Arai has continued to fight to the maximum this afternoon, trading times with Group N leader Dani Sola. However, on SS8 Toshi's sump guard got knocked loose on the car on a rough section though he was able to rig a repair on the following road section and continue a with a little more caution. However very near the start of SS10, he sustained a puncture and had to stop and change it. While he managed to do an incredibly quick tyre change, taking less than two minutes, this has effectively ended his battle for any hopes of making up ground and challenging Dani for the Group N lead. He's still in 2nd place in PWRC and happy as a result of that. Niall McShea has continued to lift his pace throughout the afternoon, encountering no problems in particular. He had some damage to the sump guard on SS9 through one of the big bumps that feature on the event. He has steadily lifted his pace throughout the day, and is now in 3rd position in Group N, only 5 seconds behind Toshi. Joakim Roman has had an eventful day, breaking his suspension twice. The really hairy moment came on SS9, when the Swede very nearly went out altogether after going slightly wide on a very fast, top gear corner. He was incredibly lucky as a number of fence posts stopped the trajectory of the car and nudged him back on the road in what could have been a serious off. Jani Paasonen has retired with a big roll so Toshi's battle with the Finn is now over. Both crew members were unharmed in the shunt, but it was a big off in a fast place. The final day of competition tomorrow sees the crews run over 5 stages, covering a slightly shorter distance than today, but starting with the rally's longest stage, the over 30-kilometre Ibarrilla-Mesa. 
Driver Comments:
Toshi Arai - Car #31"This event, which I think is absolutely superb, feels a bit like a Safari rally, so much is happening! If I were to carry more mechanics' gloves I'd be able to do more repairs!" Niall McShea - Car #34 "I've lifted my pace to a comfortable level but am still well within my limits. I'm keeping to my strategy and now am up to 3rd in Group N. We will see what tomorrow brings" Joakim Roman - Car #37 "I've had more big frights and more 'moments' on this rally than ever before. This is because of the very fast nature of the stages together with the very, very bumpy wash-aways and drifts that characterize the road and are prone to knocking things off the car. I've broken the suspension twice today, and on SS9 I nearly lost it completely going slightly off the road and nearly rolling. I was lucky in that a few fence posts knocked me back in line and back on course! I've had a huge amount of excitement here. I normally like to drive a little more cleanly and tidily. I think this is a great but tough event. It has a unique character, very demanding on both the car and driver" |
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