27 October 2003 - 00:44 Panizzi win in Catalunya, Citroen sink

The finish of the Rallye Catalunya was an explosion of unexpected situations. Peugeot take an unforeseen victory and Citroen go through a nightmarish denouement. While the win appeared to be meant for Sebastien Loeb, the Citroen driver loses the battle against Gilles Panizzi, who brings 10 points to Peugeot.

At the same time, Carlos Sainz was unfortunate in the very last stage, having a problem with his car. The Spaniard loses almost a minute and falls from fourth to seventh. With this dramatic setback, Carlos is now caught up by Loeb in the championship battle, the two Citroen drivers now having the same amount of points.

Tyre choice proved to be crucial and the Xsaras were clearly disadvantaged when the rain intensified in the last stage.

Excellent situation for Peugeot
The rally was not going too well for Peugeot after the first two legs. However, the conditions changed dramatically when rain started to fall. Gilles Panizzi, who was doing better and better with the 206 as the rally unfolded, put a fantastic effort in the last stage to beat Loeb at the very last moment.

This is the Frenchman's first win of the season and Marcus Gronholm brings three more points to his team by finishing in sixth place.

Peugeot's result this weekend brings the team closer to Citroen in the Constructors' Championship. Citroen's lead is now only five points over Peugeot.

The only dark cloud (!) in Peugeot's weekend came when Richard Burns went off the road in the first run of the Viladrau stage. Richard had to retire and finds himself in an uncomfortable position in the championship. The Briton can still win a second world championship title this year but for that the Peugeot driver will need to finish on the podium and hope that his three rivals will not finish in the points if he wants to be the winner.
 
Loeb's the championship leader
Sebastien Loeb needed a good result in Spain to take the lead in the championship. The Citroen driver drove a splendid race, leading from the second stage until losing his position in the very last stage.

At least the Frenchman takes the lead in the championship, with the same amount of points as Sainz. But it was close: Loeb benefited from his teammate's fall in the standings during the last stage and finishes second on the podium... only six tenths of a second in front of Markko Martin !

After driving a strong and consistent race all weekend, Carlos Sainz is hit by bad luck in the last stage when his Xsara suffers from electrical problems. The Spaniard loses more than fifty seconds and falls down to seventh place.

Once again, all four Xsaras reach the finish, proving the reliability of the machine and the intelligence of their drivers.

Ford in the middle of the fight
Ford are out of the battle for both championship titles. The team managed by Malcolm Wilson cannot win the Constructors' Championship and their drivers are out of the fight for the Drivers' Championship. However, that doesn't mean that Markko Martin and Francois Duval cannot play a major role in the final decision.

We saw at the Catalunya that the Ford drivers can take part in the battle for the win and get some points away from the championship leaders. It is part of the game and Ford will probably do the same in Great Britain.

We will remember that Martin was very courageous to drive with an injured neck. The Estonian was on the attack and came so close to second position. A good race for Francois Duval as well, who takes a deserved fourth place.

Solberg's amazing charge through the field
Petter Solberg had a good result in the very first stage of the rally but couldn't keep up with the leaders after that, his Impreza being slower on dry tarmac than the other leading cars. The Norwegian never gave up and continued to fight but a 50-second penalty resulted in many lost positions. Petter could only hope for a change in the weather conditions to improve his situation.

This Sunday was his lucky day. Under the rain, the Subarus were very efficient and Petter started moving up through the field. Citroen's bad luck was the final help that the Norwegian needed to move up to fifth place. Solberg is now in a good position for the title, especially that the last event will suit the Impreza much better.

Tommi Makinen was discreet during the first two days of the event but was at his best when the rain started to fall. The Finn took the fastest stage time in the first run of the Viladrau stage by more than 40 seconds over his rivals. Tommi finishes in eighth place.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International, 26.10.2003