Event Bulletin
9 Nov. 2003
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Wales Rally Great Britain
7 to 9 Nov. 2003
|
|
|
Itinerary | |
|
| Entry List | |||
| Course Map | |||
| Results | |||
| Pre Release | |||
| Leg1 Report | |||
| Leg2 Report | |||
 |
Leg3 Report | ||
| Gallery |
|
Petter Solberg 2003 FIA Drivers' World Champion!!
Tommi Makinen finished his full time career as a WRC driver with a podium finish!! Leg3 Report
Event Bulletin 9 Nov. 2003 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Starters47 of the original 75 competitors left Cardiff parc ferme at 0520hrs this morning. Route The shortest of the event, the third and final leg comprised 73.86 competitive kilometres and three stages, one of which was repeated. Weather Skies were overcast, with intermittent rain and fog. The temperature started at 4°C this morning, rising to 6°C in the afternoon. The gravel stages were mostly damp with muddy patches. 555 Subaru World Rally Team Summary Solberg wins 2003 FIA WRC Drivers' Championship* Emphatic win in GB is his fifth in the WRC & second consecutive victory in Wales* Subaru claims sixth FIA WRC title* Impreza wins seven out of the last nine WRC Rally GBs* History was made in Wales today when 555 Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg became the first Norwegian to win the FIA World Rally Championship for drivers. In a spectacular finale to the 2003 WRC series, the 28-year-old won the Wales Rally GB by a margin of 43.6 seconds, to collect the fifth WRC win of his career, his second consecutive victory in Wales and secure the 2003 WRC Drivers' title. Having led the event from Leg one, the charismatic star kept his nerve on the final three stages today and delivered a perfect strategic performance - to the delight of the thousands of fans that cheered him all the way. 
The win marks the end to the most successful year of rally driving for Solberg and his Welsh co-driver Phil Mills, 40. Since their first WRC win in Wales last year, the pair have recorded another four outright rally victories, 48 stage wins and seven podium finishes.Contesting his last event as a full-time WRC driver, Tommi Mäkinen fulfilled his plan of retiring from the sport while at the top. After setting a lightening pace throughout the rally, the four-times World Champion finished third, his best result in GB, and earned a place on the podium with Petter. As an added bonus, his emotionally charged performance netted the Finnish legend the award of 'Inmarsat Star of the Rally' Subaru has now been the driving force behind six FIA World Rally Championship titles. The Japanese marque was Manufacturers' champion in 1995, 1996 and 1997, while the Impreza was behind the Drivers' titles of Colin McRae in 1995, Richard Burns in 2001 and now Petter Solberg. *Subject to FIA confirmation Stage Reports SS16 0748hrs Rhondda 1 (30.61km) 
As weather conditions deteriorated, light drizzle caused muddy sections on the stage, while patchy fog limited visibility. Contested in the shadow of the Rhigos Mountain, the first pass through the twisty forest test brought two retirements. The first was Skoda's Toni Gardemeister. Running second on the road, the Finn spun his Fabia into a ditch and out of the rally 4km from the start. Fellow Finn Harri Rovanpera's event also ended when his Peugeot suffered a terminal transmission problem in almost exactly the same spot. Freddy Loix spun and stalled his Peugeot 206 2km in, but he recovered and completed the test, albeit 40 seconds slower than the leaders. Resuming his fight for the 2003 Drivers' crown and adopting a 'no risk' strategy for the final 73.85km, Subaru's Petter Solberg was second fastest, allowing Loeb to take the win. Tommi Mäkinen was third fastest to remain ahead of Colin McRae. After the finish, crews returned to Felindre for the final service.Fastest Time: Loeb (Citroen) 16:25.5 SS17 1102hrs Rhondda 2 (30.61km) As the tension mounted and rain began to fall, Championship chaser Loeb was fastest on the second pass through the repeated Rhondda stage, but it wasn't enough to catch Petter. Despite the Frenchman taking 3.5 seconds out of Solberg's advantage, 32.5 seconds remained between the duo at the finish. With 12.64km left to run, Solberg ended the stage in a very strong title winning position. Meanwhile, Mäkinen continued to head the battle for third and finished 1.7 seconds ahead of McRae to increase his overall advantage to 10.2 seconds. After a re-group near to the end of the stage, crews made their way directly to the start of the final test of the 2003 series at Margam Park. Fastest Time: Loeb (Citroen) 16:21.1 SS18 1304hrs Margam Park 2 (12.64km) The decisive stage of many WRC seasons, the grounds of the picturesque Margam Park House have been the scene of a whole range of emotions over the years and this time was no different. Far from cruising through the last stage, Petter kept his foot down through the 12km section as it was beamed live to a TV audience around the world. Loeb kept his nerve to finish second, but Solberg was a full 11 seconds quicker to clinch victory on the stage, rally and 2003 World Rally Championship. Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 7:07.4 Team Quotes 
David Lapworth, 555 Subaru World Rally Team Principal"What a fantastic result and an excellent, calculated drive from Petter - he kept his cool all the way through. It's incredible when you think that it was only a year ago that he took his first ever WRC win. He's scored five wins in the last fifteen rallies, and four in the last eight. That's pretty impressive. This year has the best ever Championship for the team, a lot of people wrote Petter off in the fight for the Championship in the early part of the season, but I think today answers that. It was fantastic to see Tommi win his long battle with Colin, and finish on the podium, despite having been conducting a tyre test for Petter along the way. The gold boots did the trick, and it's an excellent end to his full-time driving career. Expect to see Petter in them from Monte Carlo next year!" Petter Solberg "What can I say, I'm just about speechless, it's hard to put what I'm feeling into words. It's such a great way to finish the year, it's been hard at times and now it's just the greatest feeling. I have to thank so many people - in the team, at Subaru in Japan, at Pirelli - it's a fantastic effort. This just proves that the more you put in the more you get out and now I'm here as World Rally Champion! I'd like to thank Tommi for his support over the last two years, he's been a great team-mate and friend and I'd like to dedicate this win to him." Tommi Mäkinen 
"I'm very happy to finish like this, it's my best result in GB and not really a bad way to finish my career. It's been quite a strange feeling for me this weekend, knowing that this could be the last time I drive a WRC car, but it's been very good, I've really enjoyed driving and for sure I'll miss it. I'm so happy for Petter though, we've had a lot of fun together over the past two years and he really deserves this result. There are so may people to thank, not just now, but for my whole career and I'm very grateful for everyone's help in making my time in the WRC so special. I suppose it'll seem a bit strange not having to get ready for Monte Carlo next year. I'll be there for sure, but as a spectator instead next time." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
