Stage Reports
SS21: 0703hrs Atkins 1 (4.42km)
In dry but overcast conditions, Petter Solberg was quickest through the forest sprint at Atkins; one of the shortest stages of the rally. But with the Fords of Gronholm and Hirvonen right behind, Solberg was only able to narrow Hirvonen’s overall lead to 31.1sec. Gronholm was second fastest; doing all he could to keep his championship title hopes alive but needing problems for the front runners to stand a chance. Hirvonen was third and reported that the road was still damp and slippery in places after overnight rain.
Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 3:06.1
SS22: 0733hrs Helena North 1 (29.93km)
Matching each others progress using split-times relayed to their cars, there was little to separate Hirvonen and Solberg through the 29km Helena North section. Hirvonen won the stage, but with Solberg just 0.8sec back, the Finn’s lead remained at around 30sec. The slightly damp and slippery surface caused problems for a few competitors, notably Ford privateer Luis Perez-Companc, who went off the road several times, felling some small trees in the process. Chris Atkinson, following Perez-Companc through the stage, had a shock when he found a tree across the road, straight after a blind crest, 7km from the start. He swerved to miss it, but the rear of his car was damaged as it glanced off another tree by the roadside. As the damage was largely cosmetic, Atkinson pressed on and completed the section in the seventh fastest time.
Fastest Time: Hirvonen (Ford) 17:06.0
SS23: 0814hrs Helena South 1 (17.31km)
On the last stage before the midpoint service, it was Solberg’s time to have a scare, when his car hit a big rock in the middle of the road. His Impreza hit the rock hard enough to bounce it off the road, but the impact caused no mechanical damage. The Norwegian went on to record the third fastest time, five seconds slower than stage winner, Hirvonen.
Fastest Time: Hirvonen (Ford) 8:57.8
Driver Quotes - From service H (after SS23)
- Petter Solberg:
- “We had to think positively going out this morning and believe it was possible to catch Mikko, but we did not take enough time from him on the first stage and after that we could see it was going to be very difficult. There’s no point in pushing too hard now as second is not so bad and he will need to make a big, big mistake for us to win now.”
- Chris Atkinson:
- “We made a few changes last night but I still don’t feel that confident in the car and you need it here. Without confidence it’s hard to push and get the sort of speed we had on the first day. On the second stage today we lost a bit of time and damaged the car when we clipped a tree avoiding another that had fallen in the road. The damage was not too bad though and it hasn’t slowed us too much.”
SS24: 1103hrs Atkins 2 (4.42km)
Solberg kept pushing though the first of the final loop of stages; his winning time was 5sec quicker than the best recorded on Atkins when it was run earlier in the day but, with a 36sec gap to the leader, the Norwegian said at the finish that he would be satisfied to end the rally in second place. Twenty-six year old Hirvonen set the third fastest time and remained on course to achieve his first ever WRC rally win. Gronholm, now up to fifth, set the second fastest time, but had no chance of making up further places without problems for those ahead.
Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 3:01.3
SS25: 1133hrs Helena North 2 (29.93km)
With the end almost in sight, Solberg, Hirvonen and Gronholm were evenly matched through the long, repeated Helena North stage. Solberg took the win, his third of the day, with Hirvonen and Gronholm next fastest, separated by just 0.2sec. Chris Atkinson was fourth fastest with Manfred Stohl rounding off the top five.
Fastest Time: Solberg (Subaru) 16:59.1
SS26: 1214hrs Helena South 2 (17.31km)
No dramas for the top ten as they tackled the last ever Perth-based stage of Rally Australia. Mikko Hirvonen brought his Focus WRC across the line in the fastest time to take his maiden WRC victory. Petter Solberg finished second, his best result since April’s Rally Argentina, while Manfred Stohl took the last podium place. Marcus Gronholm finished fifth, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Sebastien Loeb from securing the 2006 World Championship for drivers, regardless of the results on the two remaining rallies.
Fastest Time: Hirvonen (Ford) 8:55.9
Team Quotes
Richard Taylor, Subaru World Rally Team Managing Director
“It’s been quite some weekend! We’ve had both drivers leading during the rally; we won nine stages and then came home with second overall. This is a big milestone for the Subaru team as there have been a lot of difficult events in the past few months. You cannot turn a car’s performance around overnight and there has been a great deal of hard work to get us this far. We’re not at the top of the podium yet and so we still have much more work to do.”
Petter Solberg
“I am very, very happy to get second place. It’s been a really tough season and the team has been working so hard for this, day and night. We’re still going to keep pushing on the car, as there’s still more to do, but today I am really pleased for all the team and mechanics as it’s a big boost for everyone.”
Chris Atkinson
“It’s not the result we wanted, but we had the pace we wanted and we haven’t had that speed for a long time. To be leading the rally on Friday was good and sure, we made a small mistake, but it’s encouraging to have that speed. I don’t think we would have held onto the lead but we would have been on the podium. So while the result is disappointing, we’re encouraged and keep on learning about the car.”
Starters
