Event Bulletin
17 Oct. 2003
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 Rallye de France - Tour de Corse
17 to 19 Oct. 2003
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Itinerary | |
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| Entry List | |||
| Course Map | |||
| Results | |||
| Pre Release | |||
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Leg1 Report | ||
| Leg2 Report | |||
| Leg3 Report | |||
| Gallery | |||
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PCWRC |
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Leg1 Report
Event Bulletin 17 Oct. 2003 |
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StartersFollowing last night's ceremonial start, 62 competitors left Ajaccio parc ferme at 0905hrs. Route The shortest of the event, Leg one comprised just 95.30 competitive kilometres and six abrasive, twisty stages (a loop of three repeated), run to the north of Ajaccio. Weather Despite overcast skies, conditions remained dry throughout the day. Temperatures started at 16ºC degrees, rising to 21ºC degrees by the afternoon. Stages were dry with some loose sand and gravel littering the corners. 555 Subaru World Rally Team Summary After a determined effort that saw the team work through the night to repair Petter Solberg's damaged car, both 555 Subaru World Rally Team entries took the start in Ajaccio this morning. Both Solberg and Tommi Mäkinen enjoyed a trouble free day. Solberg put in a strong performance over the Leg's 95km to hold overnight eighth position, less than 45 seconds off the lead, while Mäkinen is twelfth. With unsettled weather and rain showers forecast for Leg two, the character of rally could change dramatically. A wet Leg two would be welcomed by both Tommi and Petter, who have previously demonstrated their confidence in these conditions. Stage Reports SS1 1011hrs Cargese - Paomia (14.64km) With no scheduled service before the day's first test, competitors left parc ferme and headed directly to the start of the short Cargese test, 52km north of Ajaccio. Included in the starters was 555 Subaru driver Petter Solberg. Following his accident during yesterday's shakedown, the Subaru mechanics worked non-stop throughout the night to repair his damaged Impreza, completing the work at 0600hrs this morning. After a cautious start through the first few kilometres, the Norwegian quickly regained his driving rhythm and built up his speed to finish eighth fastest. Carlos Sainz was quickest for the stage win, while was Richard Burns second and Markko Martin third. It wasn't a good start for Skoda. Didier Auriol, a previous six times winner of the event, failed to even begin the stage due to an electrical problem in his Fabia WRC, while Gardemeister was 13th fastest. Despite the threat of rain, the road surface through the abrasive test remained dry, with loose sand lying on many of the corners. After the finish, crews travelled 9.36km to the start of SS2. Fastest Time: Sainz (Citroen) 9:49.6 SS2 1044hrs Vico - Pont Du Liamone (15.49km) 
With Leg one including stages that were new to all the drivers, lesser-experienced competitors such as Citroen's Sebastien Loeb, and Ford's Markko Martin could compete on a far more level playing field. Charging through the narrow and rough Vico test, including the Corsican villages of Appricciani and Coggia, Loeb was fastest for the stage win, while Martin was 0.8 seconds slower for second with Gronholm, third. The test's slippery, sandy corners proved no problem for Subaru's Petter Solberg who was sixth fastest, ahead of Burns and McRae. His team-mate Mäkinen was eleventh. Last year's winner and renowned sealed surface expert Gilles Panizzi was ninth in his Peugeot 206WRC due to a gearbox problem. Crews then moved directly to the start of SS3.Fastest Time: Loeb (Citroen) 10:04.6 SS3 1117hrs Golfe DeLa Liscia- Sarrola Carcopino (17.52km) The longest stage of the day, the fast and technical Golfe de la Liscia test, and a stage win for overall leader Markko Martin. Finishing 3.1 seconds ahead of Loeb, who complained that his tyres were too soft, the Estonian recorded an average speed of 98kph to consolidate his position and end the 47.65km loop with a 3.4 second advantage. No such luck for Frenchman Panizzi. Still hampered by a gearbox problem, which was causing an in-balance between the front and rear of his car, the Peugeot driver dropped a further 17 seconds to the leaders, while McRae lost time due to a transmission problem. With no sign of last year's fog, weather conditions through the stage remained clear and dry, with gravel crews reporting a cleaner road surface than on the proceeding stages. After the finish, crews made the 18.32km journey back to Ajaccio for the first service of the day. Fastest Time: Martin (Ford) 10:43.6 SS4 1423hrs Cargese - Paomia (14.64km) 
A bitter-sweet test for the Ford team as Markko Martin lost the overall lead and fell to seventh, but the team's young gun Francois Duval scooped the stage win by a margin of 3.6 seconds. With excess sand and gravel having been pulled onto the road during the first pass through the twisty stage, the Estonian suffered a spin on the slippery surface just before the finish, which cost him valuable seconds and the overall lead. Duval was quickest, with new-overall leader Loeb second and a rejuvenated McRae, third. Last used in the 1990s, the tricky test's tightening narrow route, which runs from the coast to Paomia, brought no leading retirements, and after the finish crews moved through to the start of SS5.Fastest Time: Duval (Ford) 9:45.3 SS5 1456hrs Vico - Pont Du Liamone (15.49km) Despite the conditions being more slippery on the second pass through repeated 47.65km loop, Markko Martin stormed through to shave a second off Loeb's previous Vico win, as he began his bid to snatch back the overall lead. But Loeb maintained the pace. The Frenchman was second fastest to remain at the top, while Duval was third to take the same position overall. Starting with an abrasive first section, the route took crews through the mountain village of Coggia, across a smooth 7km section, before concluding with a final fast hairpin descent to the finish. After completing the stage, crews moved to the start of SS6, the final test of the day. Fastest Time: Martin (Ford) 10:03.6 SS6 1529hrs Golfe DeLa Liscia-Sarrola Carcopino (17.52km) With all the competitors commenting on the slippery nature of the stages, many drove cautiously through the final 17.52km test of the day. Martin notched up another stage win and moved up to fifth on the overall leaderboard, while his team-mate Duval was just half a second slower, enough to snatch overall second from the far more experienced Marcus Gronholm. The Finn ended the day in third. Loeb was third fastest, equal with Carlos Sainz, and ended the day as overnight leader, 3.9 seconds clear of the rest of the field. Gilles Panizzi's miserable day continued with the Frenchman managing to finish only 16th fastest on the final test. He described his car as 'undriveable', due to a set up problem. Fastest Time: Martin (Ford) 10:43.2 Team Quotes David Lapworth, 555 Subaru World Rally Team Principal "Overall, we're happy with today's performance. I think understandably Petter was a little nervous to start with, but he quickly regained his confidence. Our target today was to keep in touch with the leaders and take no risks, especially as there is rain forecast for tomorrow. A few seconds gained or lost today will not seem too important if conditions are wet, as the differences then are much bigger. The team has done a terrific job in the last 24 hours. Things are certainly looking much better now than they did this time yesterday!" Petter Solberg 
"Today was not bad at all, much better than I expected. There were moments yesterday when it looked like we wouldn't be able to start at all, so I'm quite happy to be here! Despite what it's been through, the car feels good, I think we're well placed at this stage in the rally and the weather should make things interesting tomorrow."Tommi Mäkinen "I didn't feel 100 per cent confident this morning, but we changed a setting on the rear suspension and then the car felt much better and was easier to drive. I felt there was something lacking on the final three stages, but they were very sandy and it was difficult. The tyres have performed well. It's a balance, I've been driving to maintain them, but have also pushing as hard as I can. Corsica has always been a funny rally for me. There is nothing wrong with it and I like it a lot, but I always seem to struggle here. Tomorrow, I will take each stage as it comes and push for a good result." |
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Tomorrow's Leg Almost double the distance of Leg one, Leg two includes 190 competitive kilometres and a liaison distance of 257.80km. Taking teams east of Ajaccio, crews will contest a similar loop of three stages, which are then repeated. Competitors will leave Ajaccio parc ferme at 0715hrs, and the first stage (SS7) starts at 0833hrs. |
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