Stage Reports
SS17: 0833hrs Tekirova 2 (5.50km)
Crews left the Parc Ferme under a cloudless sky for the final loop of three stages. With just 50 competitive kilometres remaining and an overall lead of more than two minutes, Marcus Gronholm took things steady over the short, repeated Tekirova test and set the fourth fastest time. But with less than a minute separating third to seventh places, competition further down the order raged on. Stage winner was Francois Duval, closely followed by Xavier Pons and then Manfred Stohl. Chris Atkinson in the leading Subaru had his sights set on Henning Solberg’s third place - he took a couple of seconds from the Norwegian’s advantage and reduced it to 15.9sec.
Fastest Time: Duval (Skoda) 4:11.5
SS18: 1031hrs Chimera 2 (16.91km)
After retiring on Saturday afternoon, Petter Solberg re-started on Leg three and set the fastest time, his sixth of the rally, on SS11. Marcus Gronholm was second fastest with Dani Sordo third. The time moved Sordo up a place to eighth, ahead of Duval who struggled with a puncture and two stalls. Problems too for Chris Atkinson who spun and took a while to get going again – Katajamaki moved ahead of him into fourth as a result. On course for the first WRC podium or his career, Henning Solberg was fourth fastest despite reporting a front brake problem. Colin McRae also complained of technical difficulties - his Xsara had a high water temperature and was down on power.
Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 12:06.0
SS19: 1234hrs Olympos (28.55km)
The rally ended with one of its longest stages, but far from being a procession to the line, for most drivers there was still plenty to play for. Fastest over the 28km section was Petter Solberg, who was using Leg three as an opportunity to test the increasingly competitive Impreza WRC2006. Although the time made no difference to his overall placing, he remained positive about his improving pace throughout the event. The first change to the top-ten came when Citroen’s Colin McRae retired mid-stage with an electrical problem. This bunched things up further and a second fastest time for Sordo moved him up from ninth to seventh, while an excellent finish from Pons moved him from sixth to fourth. Chris Atkinson had a trouble free run but lost out in the nip and tuck battle and dropped to sixth. After making repairs to a broken brake pipe before the start, Henning Solberg finished third - his highest finish in a WRC event. There were no dramas for the lead Fords; Gronholm took the rally win, the 23rd of his career, while Mikko Hirvonen equalled his best ever WRC result by finishing second.
Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 21:47.3
Team Quotes
Richard Taylor, Subaru World Rally Team Managing Director
“We leave Turkey in better shape than we have the past few events. Petter collected seven fastest stage times, more than any other event this year. We were unfortunate not to get at least one car on the podium after determined drives in difficult conditions from both crews. We know that the development direction we are taking is correct and we are continuing to improve the car’s performance. There is still much more to do, however we are now looking forward to Rally Australia where we hope to be challenging the top of the leaderboard again.”
Petter Solberg
"Apart from hitting the rock yesterday, the rally was actually quite good for us. The car has improved and we enjoyed being back again where we should be. Of course we are not happy with the overall result, but we’re happy with the performance. We’ll keep pushing harder as we know there is still much more to come.”
Chris Atkinson
"It’s been a tricky weekend as the speed is encouraging but still we want better results. We struggled with the set-up all weekend and trying to find the right balance, so it’s good to get to the finish. We’re sure to be trying in Australia as it’s my home rally and we led there last year and want to get a strong result.”
Starters
