Event Bulletin
9 February 2003
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 Swedish Rally 7 to 9 February 2003 |
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Itinerary | |
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| Entry List | |||
| Course Map | |||
| Results | |||
| Pre Release | |||
| Leg1 Report | |||
| Leg2 Report | |||
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Leg3 Report | ||
| Gallery | |||
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| PCWRC 2003 | |||
| Production Car World Rally Championship |
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Leg3 Report
Event Bulletin
9 February 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Starters60 of the original 75 starters left Karlstadt parc ferme at 0600hrs this morning Route 120.75 competitive kilometres and five stages based around a single service area in the town of Hagfors, 90 kilometres north of Karlstadt Weather Skies were overcast all day, with temperatures staying around 0 degrees. Stages were mostly ice covered, some rutted, with gravel patches and light snow Stage Reports An excellent day for 555 Subaru World Rally Team. Four-times World Champion, Tommi Mäkinen maintained his overnight second place to collect eight WRC Drivers' points, while team-mate Petter Solberg was sixth, securing three WRC Drivers' points. Between them, the Subaru drivers each claimed a stage win on the rally and collected eleven Manufacturers' points for Subaru. Rounding off a successful event, Tommi Mäkinen was named Inmarsat's Star of the Rally and was presented with a trophy and a cheque for $5,000 for his favourite charity. SS13 0835hrs Sågen 2 (14.17km) Competing in temperatures of around -1 degrees, Subaru driver Tommi Mäkinen found excellent grip on his Pirelli ice tread tyres on the second run through the 14.17km Sagen stage - despite the softer surface on the twisty corners. Running at an average speed of 116kph, the Finn attacked the awesome curves included in the first 3km and finished quickest to set a new stage record, claw back 1.5 seconds from Gronholm's overall lead and creep another 2.3 seconds ahead of Burns. There was no change to the overall top ten, but a charge from Sebastian Loeb in his Citroen Xsara saw the Frenchman slash the difference between him and Loix, lying in overall ninth, down to 1.6 seconds. Thousands of fans turned up to see their favourite drivers charge through the famous downhill hairpins near the finish, including Petter Solberg's army of Norwegian supporters, who were delighted to see their favourite driver come in sixth fastest after reaching a top speed of 212kph. Fastest Time: Mäkinen (Subaru) 7:19.1 
SS14 0927hrs Rämmen 2 (23.16km)No change to the overall top ten at the end of the SS14, but the tricky test comprising narrow bridges and hairpin bends wasn't without drama. Running fifth on the road, Ford privateer Janne Tuohino went too quickly over a crest, momentarily lost control of his Focus WRC and slid into a snow bank just before a bend. With his Ford then stuck, albeit off the road, spectators rushed to warn the approaching cars of Sebastian Loeb, Freddy Loix and Carlos Sainz. All three lost time as they slowed for the incident. Tuohino managed to complete the stage but lost over five minutes. In the Subaru camp, Petter Solberg suffered a small spin near the start, but as the only WRC competitor running on snow tyres, still posted the sixth fastest time. Gronholm was quickest with Mäkinen, second. Fastest Time: Gronholm (Peugeot) 11:41.4 SS15 1114hrs Hara (11.91km) Colin McRae was fastest through the short Hara run to take his third stage win of the season and set a new stage record. Gronholm was second fastest and Mäkinen third. After carefully negotiating the narrow test, which demanded the ultimate in neat driving to avoid skidding into the fresh snow which lay at the sides of the road, Loeb finished seventh fastest to move ahead of Loix and take ninth overall, by a margin of just 0.3 seconds. Hyundai's Freddy Loix claimed to have found more engine power after the snow shield was removed from the front of his Accent's air box in service, but finished only eighth, joint with Toni Gardemeister. Petter Solberg was fifth and remained sixth overall. Fastest Time: McRae (Citroen) 5:55.4 
SS16 1212hrs Brunnberg 2 (31.66km)The second run through the Brunnberg stage presented crews with a surface of rutted ice, 2cm of loose snow, and a section of slippery gravel 27km in, making tyre preservation key. Subaru's Petter Solberg found excellent grip on his Pirelli tyres, and stormed through to finish fourth fastest, reducing the overall gap between himself and fifth-placed Colin McRae to 11 seconds. His team-mate Mäkinen was fifth quickest, despite spinning his Subaru on a tight hairpin. In temperatures of 0 degrees and in bad visibility conditions, Ford's Markko Martin was fastest, to score his first ever Swedish stage win and protect his overall fourth position. Gronholm was second and Loeb third. With just one more stage to run - the long 39.86km Hagfors test - and with a lead of 46.8 seconds, Peugeot driver Marcus was looking good for another potential Swedish victory. Fastest Time: Martin (Ford) 15:08.7 SS17 1435hrs Hagfors (39.85km) Subaru's Petter Solberg was right on the pace through the final test and powered through in his Subaru Impreza WRC2003 to the take the stage win - to the delight of his fans, who had stood for hours in the cold to see their hero. However, despite reaching speeds of over 200kph, the Norwegian's final push was not enough to snatch back fifth from McRae and at the finish, 3.3 seconds remained between the pair. Gronholm finished sixth to take the overall win and claim his third victory at the Swedish event, while fellow Finn Tommi Mäkinen, a previous three-times Swedish Rally winner, finished seventh to secure second. Richard Burns took the final top three overall position, despite claiming not to be 100 per cent happy with the feeling of his Peugeot 206WRC. A great final run by Sebastian Loeb over the saw the Frenchman move up from ninth to seventh overall. Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 19:40.0 Team Quotes David Lapworth, 555 Subaru World Rally Team Principal I'm very pleased with the outcome and for Tommi to come second proves that the new car is living up to its expectations at this point in the season. We leave Sweden with extra confidence ahead of Turkey and New Zealand, which we expect will suit the car and the tyres even better. It was great to see Petter end on a high. He admitted struggling at the start, but by the end he had found a good set up and there are no doubts in his mind about his performance ahead of the next event. It's worth mentioning that neither Tommi or Petter's car have missed a beat all rally - the team have done a terrific job and all the effort over the Winter seems to have paid off. 
Tommi MäkinenThat was very, very good. This result has definitely increased my confidence and determination and I'm feeling very positive for future rallies. The changes that have been made to the car are very good and I'm sure we will be very competitive on the gravel events that are coming up. Petter Solberg I tried to take Colin and got very close, but it just wasn't quite enough. But, overall I'm pleased. This could have been a great event and I did my best, but I struggled for the first two days. It's a shame I didn't try the set up that I have now on Friday. It just didn't feel right earlier on and when something's wrong you don't have the confidence to push. But, looking at the set up and tyre choice I have now, I wish I could start the event again tomorrow! |
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Next Event The next event sees teams move to Turkey for the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship - and a brand new event. Beginning on Thursday 27 February with a ceremonial start, the rally, which replaces the epic Safari event, will be based around a single service point in the holiday resort of Kemer. Crews will contest 380 competitive kilometres, over three Legs and 18 gravel stages, run through stunning mountain scenery and windy roads in the Turkish hillsides. Rally HQ will be based in the Mirage Conference Centre. The first stage starts on Thursday 27 February at 1900hrs. |
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