21 Октомври 2003 - 13:14 Solberg wins against all odds in Tour de Corse Sainz is the new championship leader

Petter Solberg's win will be remembered in the annals of the Tour de Corse and in the history books of rallying. Everything seemed to be working against the team before the start. The Impreza was not competitive on asphalt at the Sanremo, Solberg had an accident during the shakedown... nothing seemed to go well for the Subaru drivers.

But the Corsican event is well-known for its unexpected incidents. There were a lot this year during the three days of the race. Probably not too many people predicted a podium made up of Solberg, Sainz and Duval.

The final results of the day will lead to an exciting championship finale. Six drivers still have a mathematical chance of winning the title. Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin have very slim chances of winning while Carlos Sainz is the new championship leader with 61 points. The Spaniard will have to battle against Richard Burns and Petter Solberg (58 points each) and Sebastien Loeb (55 points).

First win on asphalt for Solberg
Petter Solberg won his fourth world rally victory, his third this season. This victory is probably his greatest so far. Solberg needed to have a very solid mindset to stay focused after all the negative events before the start of the rally. The Norwegian knew that his car was not very competitive compared with the Fords and Citroлns after the Sanremo, which is also an asphalt rally. The accident at the shakedown increased Petter's doubts; the Norwegian wasn't even sure to start the event only a few hours before the first stage.

Fortunately, rain was part of the rally most of the time, making the conditions more favourable for the Impreza.

A major win for the Norwegian, who is back in the battle for the championship title but also for his team, who needed to succeed on asphalt. A great day for Subaru, which is completed by Makinen's points-scoring finish.

Sainz takes over the lead in the championship
Carlos Sainz used his experience and consistency as a driver to finish in second position. Initially behind Sebastien Loeb, the Spaniard took over as Citroлn's leading driver once his teammate made a mistake. Managing his position well, notably by attacking at the right moment in the last stage of the rally, Sainz was able to pass Duval to finish in second place, once again confirming that consistency is a key element to do well in the championship. Carlos is now first in the world championship.

Citroлn get four additional points with Colin McRae, who finishes in fifth position. The French team scores as many points in this rally as Subaru and increases its lead over Peugeot.

Sebastien Loeb made a mistake that could be very costly for his championship title hopes. The French driver showed once again that he is the fastest driver on asphalt and the Catalunya might help him to erase the disappointing result in Corsica. Loeb finishes in 13th place while Philippe Bugalski is ninth. The reliability of the Citroлn Xsara is proven once again.

Podium finish for Duval
Francois Duval was third in Turkey and achieves the same result once again in Corsica. Even if Markko Martin was Ford's leading driver at the start of the event, the Estonian made a mistake in SS 8 and was too far behind to hope for a win after that.

Duval was left as the sole Ford driver to battle for the win. The Belgian was a potential winner for most part of the rally but the last day looked more difficult for him. Unlike during the first two days, the stages on Sunday were known by the veteran drivers while Duval didn't have any experience in these rounds. In such conditions, it was very difficult for him to stay ahead of Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg.

Nonetheless, Francois Duval drove a very competent race and brings six points for his team. Tenth overall, Mikko Hirvonen achieved his goal of finishing the rally and brings one point to Ford.

Gronholm makes it to the finish
A string of retirements and the last few rallies ruined Marcus Gronholm's chances of defending his title. These retirements were even more frustrating knowing how well the Peugeot driver was doing before making mistakes towards the end. Today Marcus reaches the finish line in fourth place and helps Peugeot to stay near Citroлn in the Constructors' championship.

Gilles Panizzi had a difficult rally. The Frenchman described his 206 as 'undrivable' in the first leg. His car improved towards the end of the event and Gilles was able to get one fastest stage time but it was too little, too late.

Richard Burns was not as quick as his teammates this weekend. The Briton was at least able to score one point in Corsica but it is not enough for him to keep the championship lead.

Gardemeister reaches his goal
Toni Gardemeister reached the finish line and helped his team work on the development of the Fabia. That was the Finn's main goal at the start. Skoda were satisfied with the data gathered throughout the event, knowing that it will be useful for the Catalunya.

A new PCWRC champion
Mark Higgins finished in first place in the Production Car category, ahead of Niall McShea and Toshi Arai. Higgins is not allowed to score championship points so McShea gets the points for the victory. However, it is Martin Rowe who wins the championship by finishing in fourth position today.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International