WORLD : Second WRC win for Solberg - 23 June 2003 - 11:51
Rally Cyprus - Summary
The battle between Petter Solberg and Harri Rovanpera never really took place. The Subaru driver was able to get the fastest time in the first three stages of the day and only had to manage his lead after that. Solberg gets his second WRC victory at Cyprus after winning last year in Great Britain. First win for Subaru this year also. Harri Rovanpera had to crawl to the finish because of serious transmission problems, almost losing his second place in the process to Sebastien Loeb.
After Martin, Solberg !
In Greece, Peugeot found a serious rival in Ford, Markko Martin winning a clear victory. The performance of the Estonian gives a new dimension to the championship battle, now that other competitors are able to battle with the French teams.BR> During the Acropolis, Petter Solberg was able to match the 206's pace but unfortunately mechanical problems and bad luck prevented the team to show its full potential. Today is another story : Petter Solberg won in a convincing way. We can say that Peugeot, Citroen, Ford and Subaru are all able to win rallies. The second half of the season should be really exciting.
In the drivers' championship the battle is getting closer. The Citroen and Peugeot drivers are no longer alone at the top. Petter Solberg is now fourth and only eight points behind Richard Burns, who is still leading but only one point in front of Carlos Sainz. Marcus Gronholm is third and only one point ahead of Solberg and seven in front of Martin. Anything can happen !
Peugeot and Ford need to improve reliability
There were so many retirements during the race that it is difficult to blame the teams. Still, we can say that Peugeot had four cars at the start (counting Panizzi's 206) and only one was able to reach the finish. At least Peugeot managed a good result with Rovanpera's second place.
Martin's victory at the Acropolis helped Ford to have a new perspective on the championship. The Focus were expected to repeat the performance achieved in Greece since the two events offer similar conditions. Unfortunately, the air intake system's failure caused the retirement of both Markko Martin and Francois Duval in the first stage of the second leg.
Ford's only hope turned to Mikko Hirvonen, who finished the event in sixth place, scoring his first championship points.
Reliability for Citroen
Not only Citroen was able to bring all of its three cars to the finish - in third, fourth and fifth positions - it was also the team that scored the most points in this rally (11 for Citroen against 10 for Subaru). The Xsara was the most reliable car this weekend.
Carlos Sainz achieves a good deal by closing the gap on Richard Burns in the championship, now only one point separating the two men. Peugeot is still leading the championship but Citroen is now only eight points behind.
Anonymous end for the Octavia
Skoda was hoping for a better end to the Ocatvia's carreer in WRC. At least scoring a few points would have been a positive result for the team but unfortunately the two cars did not reach the finish. For the first time this year, Skoda doesn't score any point in a rally. The new Fabia will replace the Octavia in the next rally in Germany.
Hyundai needs to improve
Like it was sadly the case many times this year, the Accent still suffered from chronic reliability issues. Like Freddy Loix mentioned, the problems are always different, making it even more difficult to find a cause. At least Armin Schwarz was able to finish the event, bringing three points for Hyundai and two for himself.
It is only the second time this year that Hyundai is able to finish a rally with one car. The team needs to find a solution to cure their problems.
One of the most remarkable achievement during this rally was Alister Ginley's performance. The British driver, at the wheel of a private Ford Focus, finishes in eight place and scores one championship point, to the surprise of everyone, including himself ! The top 10 is completed by Toshi Arai in ninth, who is the winner in the Group N category, and Martin Rowe in tenth place.
Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International
Final results
1.SOLBERG-MILLS, SUBARU IMPR, A8, 5h09'12"600 66.2 km/h
2.ROVANPERA-PIETI, PEUGEOT 206, A8, +04'14"00
3.LOEB-ELENA, CITROEN XSA, A8, +04'16"80
4.MCRAE-RINGER, CITROEN XSA, A8, +04'45"30
5.SAINZ-MARTI, CITROEN XSA, A8, +05'42"20
6.HIRVONEN-LEHTIN, FORD FOCUS, A8, +08'58"70
7.SCHWARZ-HIEMER, HYUNDAI ACC, A8, +13'29"00
8.GINLEY-KENNEDY, FORD FOCUS, A8, +23'57"30
9.ARAI-SIRCOMBE, SUBARU IMPR, N4, +30'01"10
10.ROWE-AGNEW, SUBARU IMPR, N4, +33'44"10
