04 February 2004 - 15:11 A first taste of the 2004 season - rally Monte Carlo

Like last year, Sebastien Loeb is leading the Monte Carlo Rally even if the new Peugeot 307 WRC is competitive right from the start and the Ford Focus continue to be as fast as ever.

With nine more stages to go, the battle promises to be exciting in the next two days.

Loeb in the lead
The domination of Citroen at Monte Carlo last year was such that we could think that the Xsara would crush the competition once again... however it is not the case and the overall standings lead us to believe that we should have an exciting season. Of course, with only two drivers per team and five official teams, there are less competitors than ever before but at least the performance level of the cars seems to be relatively close enough to have a good show.

Like last year, Sebastien Loeb was able to perfectly manage his race and came out on top after the end of today's 6 stages. The Frenchman leads by 18 seconds over Markko Martin who is in second place.

Carlos Sainz is still in the running for a podium finish. The Spaniard is fourth, around 40 seconds behind his teammate. Carlos did not always make the best tyre choices but his experience should be helpful in the last two days of the rally.

Martin is aiming for the win
Markko Martin knows that he has what it takes to win. The Estonian is fast and his performance today proves it once again. Markko was the only one to come close to the Citroen's rhythm last year at the Monte Carlo and this time the Ford driver is once again Loeb's main rival. So far Martin was not overly aggressive and is waiting to see how the event will unfold before putting more pressure on Loeb.

Francois Duval was also competitive today. The Belgian achieved excellent stage times despite his lack of Monte Carlo experience. Francois is fifth at the moment but a podium finish is still a strong possibility.

A good start for the new 307 WRC
The 206 WRC is a legend in the rally world, winning three World Championship titles and many races all over the world. The challenge to bring a new car to replace such a stellar performer is not an easy task but Peugeot is off to a good start with their new 307 WRC.

Marcus Gronholm took the fastest stage time in the very first timed event of the day, putting the 307 WRC in the lead on its competition debut. The Finn was the leader for most of the day but lost two positions in the very last stage. Marcus will try to jump back in the lead but his car will need to be reliable, which is not always the case for a new car. The team got a first sign of trouble when Gronholm's 307 had gearbox problems a few kilometres away from the end of stage four. The Peugeot mechanics did an amazing job to change the damaged "box" in only 20 minutes.

It is never easy to arrive in a new team and drive a new car. Freddy Loix knew that an adaptation period would be necessary. Freddy lost some time with some bad tyre choices and inappropriate set-ups on his car. However, a second place finish in the last stage is an encouraging sign that Loix might have found the right adjustments on his 307 WRC.

Solberg struggling in Monte Carlo
Petter Solberg has never been very successful at the Monte Carlo Rally. The World Champion had many misfortunes in this event in the past. Of course there are still two more days of action to go and the Norwegian can climb up in the standings but the Subaru driver already made a mistake by hitting a fence and losing precious time.

Solberg had to open the road and could not feel the surface as easily as the other drivers behind him. Petter mentioned before the start that he did not worry about his position after the first leg. However, being almost two minutes behind the leader is quite an handicap.

As for Mikko Hirvonen, his main objective is to continue his learning process and reach the finish on Sunday.

No major worries at Mitsubishi
The new Lancer WRC is not yet ready to compete for a win. The team is aware of the situation and both drivers understand the limitations of the car.

Gilles Panizzi is doing a good job as a "test driver" and finishes the day in eleventh place, more than five minutes behind the leader.

Gigi Galli had some excellent stage times but his performance was diminished by an accident in stage five. The Italian will have to wait for another opportunity to finish his first rally at the wheel of the Lancer WRC.

Kresta and Vouilloz in the top 10
With only ten works team drivers, there will always be a high probability to find privateers in the top ten this season. Two of them are in the top ten today: Roman Kresta and Nicolas Vouilloz. The two men achieved first rate performances: Kresta at the wheel of a Hyundai Accent and Vouilloz in a Peugeot 206 WRC.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International [23/01/04 - 17:14]

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Three stages and three fastest times for Loeb in Monte Carlo ...

Snow, ice, rain, fog... a cocktail of obstacles that made life difficult for the competitors taking part in the 72nd edition of the Monte Carlo Rally. The essential task today for the drivers was to stay on the road. Many of them got tricked by the race conditions that offered very limited grip. Even some of the most experienced drivers made mistakes but Sebastien Loeb was in control of the situation. Seb remains the leader with a comfortable lead of more than a minute over the Ford drivers.

Sebastien leads, Carlos is out
Five stages were on the program today. The first one was stopped after Nicolas Vouilloz had an accident and his Peugeot 206 stayed in the middle of the road, blocking the following competitors. The crew was unhurt but the stage was stopped and a nominal time was given to nearly all of the drivers.

Stage 10 was cancelled because of an over abundance of spectators. Because of these two incidents, only three stages were left in this leg and Sebastien Loeb took the fastest time in all of them. This performance gave the Citroen driver an even greater lead of around 1'30 over Francois Duval. Even if the race is not over, Loeb has a clear advantage over the his rivals.

Carlos Sainz will not be on the podium this year. The Spaniard finished in the top three in the past three years but this time Carlos made a mistake at the Col de Bleine. He spun, made a contact and retired.

Duval a surprising second
The Ford Focus is quick and can compete against the Citroen Xsara. Ford Rallye Sport's Director Malcolm Wilson was anticipating a good result from Markko Martin and was hoping that Francois Duval could also play a major role in this race. The Belgian driver did even better than expected, finishing the day ahead of his teammate.

Duval managed his race in a calm and consistent manner and followed the excellent information coming from his co-driver, Stephane Prevot. The Ford crew is now in second position, 13 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Markko Martin was in second place for a long time but the Estonian lost more than fifty seconds in Tourette du Chateau after choosing an inappropriate set- up for the Focus and being bothered by the thick fog. Despite that, Ford are in a good position and would lead the Constructors' Championship if the results remain the same tomorrow.

Freddy Loix climbing up the standings
Marcus Gronholm made a mistake at the Col de Bleine, close to where Carlos Sainz lost control of his Xsara. However, Marcus was more lucky than the Citroen driver since he was able to continue his race. The Peugeot driver lost almost a minute and fell from second place to fourth position.

It is still a positive rally for Peugeot since the new 307 WRC seems to be competitive and mostly reliable and Freddy Loix is constantly improving his pace. The Belgian was ninth at the end of the first leg and is now climbing up to sixth place at the end of leg 2.

Solberg is aiming for the podium
Just like in the previous editions of the Monte Carlo Rally, Petter Solberg doesn't seem to be completely at ease. However, the World Champion is not giving up and wants to finish on the podium. Petter is now fifth, around two minutes behind Markko Martin in third place. A very difficult challenge indeed... but who knows what can happen in the last four stages...

Mikko Hirvonen went off the road in the same stage as Marcus Gronholm and Carlos Sainz. The young Finn had to retire following his mistake, just like Sainz.

A lot of work for Panizzi
The most important for Mitsubishi at the moment is to accumulate as many kilometres as possible with the new Lancer WRC. That's exactly what Gilles Panizzi is doing and the Frenchman is busy learning more about the new car's behaviour. With the numerous retirements, Gilles is now in seventh position.

Three privateers in the top 10
There are only 22 crews left in the race. Seven of them are works team drivers, all of them in the top seven positions. The top ten is completed by privateers: Antony Warmbold in eighth place, Olivier Burri in ninth position and Jozef Beres in tenth place.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International [24/01/04 - 20:55]