16 March 2004 - 12:12 Terrific one-two finish for Ford in Mexico

The Rally Mexico has been an eventful new race on the WRC calendar. Ford won the rally with a terrific one-two result in the end.

Markko Martin won his 3rd WRC victory and is now leading the Drivers' championship with Sebastien Loeb. Francois Duval finishes in second place, his best WRC result ever. Carlos Sainz takes the last spot on the podium, bringing important points for Citroen, even if Ford are now leading the Constructors' championship.

Mexican Showtime ! Emotions ran high this evening

Emotions ran high this evening as the first world status Corona Rally Mexico got underway in spectacular fashion in Guanajuato, possibly the most beautiful colonial city in the Americas.

In true Mexican style, the ceremonial start was a colourful, traditional and passionate affair and more than 13,000 spectators packed the narrow cobblestone streets and rooftops in anticipation of the FIA World Rally Championship crews taking the start.

Mariachi bands and traditional dancers from the host and neighbouring states provided evocative music and vibrant dance spectacles outside the Teatro Juarez, delighting the assembled international media, guests and dignitaries - the most notable being Juan Carlos Romero Hicks, the Governor of the State of Guanajuato and the highest ranking politician.

A total of 54 crews representing 25 countries - from as far afield as Qatar and New Zealand - took the start and judging by the cheers of approval, the Mexicans have already embraced the FIA World Rally Championship and its heroes.

As ever, reigning World Champion, Petter Solberg added his own style of entertainment by driving from the start ramp with one foot on the accelerator and his body hanging out of the car while waving to the crowds from his all-new Subaru Impreza WRC 2004 !

Light rain failed to dampen anyone's enthusiasm but the un-forecasted torrential downpour that followed in both Guanajuato and Leon is sure to add a new dimension to what will already be an immense challenge for the crews. In the stages high in the mountains above the city, the previously dry roads are sure to have changed dramatically for the opening leg tomorrow, making the whole Mexican experience all the more unpredictable.

Friday's opening leg of Corona Rally Mexico, round three of the FIA World Rally Championship, takes the crews over five special stages and 108.03 competitive kilometres in a total distance of 402.25 kilometres.

Press release [12/03/04 - 09:31]

A bad surprise for Solberg (Leg 1 - Summary)

A new rally, some new rules and a new leader at the end of the very last stage of the day. Many changes for the Rally Mexico, which is making its first appearance in the World Rally Championship. After the first day, Sebastien Loeb is in the lead, followed by Marcus Gronholm and Carlos Sainz.

Solberg and the new Impreza shine
It is the first time this season that World Champion Petter Solberg lead a rally. The Norwegian finished on the podium in Sweden but Gronholm, Martin and Loeb are the ones who lead the first two events this year.

Today, Solberg is driving a significantly revised, new Impreza and the result are immediately better. Petter and Sebastien Loeb took two stage wins each and a fight between the two men was on the agenda. Unfortunately, the Norwegian received a heart-breaking, five-minute penalty at the end of the last stage when his Impreza refused to re-start at the check point.

Mikko Hirvonen is driving the other Subaru Impreza. The young Finn is eighth, more than one minute thirty behind the leader.

Another impressive performance by Loeb
Sebastien Loeb won the first two rallies of the season and is in a good position to battle for a third consecutive victory. The Citroen driver achieved quite an impressive performance since he was "handicapped" by having to open the road today. Seb was cautious in the first stage and increased his tempo after that. There is still a long way to go until the finish but Loeb is definitely in a good position at the moment.

Carlos Sainz won in Indonesia, at Cyprus and in Turkey when these events were introduced for the first time in the World Rally Championship. His ability to win "new races" could be a positive factor in Mexico, which is also a new event in the World Rally Championship. As of now, Carlos is in third place, around thirty seconds from the leader.

Strong start for Marcus
As usual, Marcus Gronholm is having a strong start in Mexico. The Finn is second at the moment but the most important will be to reach the finish without making any mistake.

Harri Rovanpera is replacing Freddy Loix at the wheel of the second Peugeot 307 WRC. The Finn won the Mexican event in 2002 but the biggest challenge for him is to drive the 307 WRC in a race for the first time. Harri had a few technical problems at the beginning of the day and was not fully in the rhythm. However, the Finn is confident to be more competitive tomorrow.

Scary moment for Martin
There were four different manufacturers in the first four positions after the first three stages of the day. Subaru with Solberg, Loeb's Citroen, Gronholm's Peugeot and Martin's Ford. The four men were separated by only 20 seconds, confirming that the performance level of these WRC cars is very close.

Unfortunately for Martin, he was not able to keep his fourth place. The Estonian spun in the last stage while he was driving in sixth gear. There was no damage to the car but Markko lost around 30 seconds, enough for Sainz to take away his fourth position. Martin joins the service park in fifth place this evening.

Francois Duval lost a bit of time in the second stage with a damaged rear wheel. The Belgian is seventh, only 16 seconds behind his teammate.

More development work for Mitsubishi
It is unlikely that Mitsubishi will be able to compete head to head with their rivals before mid-season. The new Lancer must go through a long development phase before their drivers can start thinking about winning rallies.

Gilles Panizzi is ninth and more than two minutes behind the leader but the Frenchman collected a lot of data on the car's handling on gravel roads.

His teammate Gigi Galli had major brake problems and lost a substantial amount of time. The Italian is more than five minutes behind Loeb.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International [12/03/04 - 23:54]

Martin leads the race! (Leg 2 - Summary)

Petter Solberg impressed everyone by taking six out of six stage victories today. Despite that, the leader of the race is none other than Markko Martin...

Great day for Ford
Markko Martin and Francois Duval were fourth and sixth respectively on Friday evening. Now the Ford drivers are first (Martin) and third (Duval), which is quite a nice situation for the team.

Martin is leading the rally but the Estonian received a ten-second penalty for a late arrival at the last service park. His lead over Carlos Sainz is now only fifteen seconds.

Francois Duval is third and just like at the Monte Carlo, the young Belgian is involved in a battle with Carlos Sainz. The two men are separated by only three seconds but the Spaniard has the advantage at the end of leg 2, taking away Duval's second position in the very last stage of the day.

Loeb out, Sainz in !
Sebastien Loeb will not win a third consecutive race. The Frenchman won on asphalt at the Monte Carlo and on snow in Sweden but the Citroen driver will not win on gravel in Mexico.

Following Petter Solberg's penalty yesterday, Loeb was leading the event and seemed to be on his way to another victory. However, a contact against a rock in SS 6 damaged his Xsara's oil sump, which created an serious oil leak that damaged the car's engine. There was nothing more to do, Seb is now out of the race.

Carlos Sainz is the only Citroen driver left in the race. The Spaniard is in second place and stays in contact with the leader, who is only 15 seconds ahead of him.

A dominant Solberg
Petter Solberg dominated the second day of the Rally Mexico by winning all the stages. This remarkable performance enables Solberg to move from 13th place (after receiving his five-minute penalty) to 5th position at the end of leg 2.

Solberg was on the attack today

The new Impreza WRC04 is definitely a good car, Subaru seem to have found a way to significantly improve the Impreza. Mikko Hirvonen is fourth, one minute ahead of his teammate. It would be surprising if the young Finn keeps his position against his World Champion teammate, especially that Subaru will want to support Solberg as much as possible.

Trouble for Peugeot
The 307WRC had a good start in Mexico. Marcus Gronholm was in second place, Harri Rovanpera was fifth. Today was not as easy for the two Peugeot drivers.

Gronholm's car suffered from a power steering problem in the first stage of the day. The Finn had to cope with this handicap for the next three stages and lost a lot of time. Marcus ends leg 2 in sixth place, more than four minutes and thirty seconds behind the leader.

Harri Rovanpera had his share of problems as well. The Finn's 307 was damaged in a turn during stage 7. The steering arm broke and Harri lost more than 15 minutes in the process. The Peugeot driver will have to settle for a lowly 16th place this evening.

Panizzi's still in the race
Gianluigi Galli had to retire with a broken suspension at the beginning of the leg, leaving Gilles Panizzi as the sole works team Mitsubishi driver in the race.

It is very important for the team to learn has much as possible about the car's handling on gravel roads so Panizzi had to be careful to increase his chances of finishing the race.

The French driver kept his own rhythm and made sure he could help his team in the development phase of the Lancer. Gilles finished the day in eighth place, behind Jussi Valimaki (Hyundai Accent).

Antony Warmbold is ninth at the wheel of his Ford Focus. The top 10 is completed by the Group N leader, Dani Sola.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International [13/03/04 - 23:22]

Markko Martin takes the win! (Finish - Summary)

Ford's reliable Focus does the job
Most of the teams admitted that the Rally Mexico's roads were rougher than they appeared. Many cars suffered from mechanical problems and only a minority of teams were able to avoid major mechanical problems.

The Ford Focus' reliability proved to be a major asset, just as Martin and Duval's talent behind the wheel.

Martin was even a bit surprised to be leading the race after stage seven, knowing that he was only fifth at the end of the first leg. The Estonian took advantage of the other drivers' problems to take the lead and was able to control the situation until the end of the rally, notably when Carlos Sainz put some pressure on him in the final leg.

Francois Duval was also able to take advantage of his rivals' troubles. The Belgian drove really well on the rough and tricky Mexican roads, challenging and beating Sainz in a battle for second position. The performance of the two Ford drivers, combined with the reliability of the Focus, has helped Ford reach to the top of the Constructors' championship, 10 points ahead of Citroen.

Sainz unlucky
Loeb's retirement and Martin's 10-second penalty allowed Sainz to position himself in second place, only fifteen seconds from the leader. The Spaniard had an excellent opportunity to win but luck was not on the Citroen driver's side. The Xsara was suffering from brake problems near the end of the race and Carlos rolled his car, losing more than a minute, which was enough to make him fall down to third place.

At least Citroen scored valuable points for the Constructors' championship despite Loeb's retirement.

Subaru can be confident for the rest of the season
The performance of Petter Solberg impressed everyone this weekend. The Norwegian won all the stages in leg 2 and ended the day in the lead. Unfortunately, Petter received a drastic five-minute penalty at the end of the day when his car refused to re-start and unauthorised people helped him to push the Impreza.

Despite that, the performance of the new car is remarkable. Solberg was able to climb from 13th place (right after the penalty) to fourth position at the end of the rally. The new Impreza will definitively be a major asset for Subaru.

Mikko Hirvonen drove a good race to take fifth place behind his teammate. The young Finn was even fourth before he slowed down to let Solberg through.

Difficult race for Peugeot
The two 307 WRC's finished the race but both Peugeot drivers encountered a lot of problems along the way. Marcus Gronholm had some trouble with his power steering and lost a tremendous amount of time.

Harri Rovanpera's 307 suffered from a broken steering rod and lost more than fifteen minutes with that problem.

The two men reached the finish line and Gronholm managed to score three points in the championship. In total, Peugeot bring only four points from this event and lag behind Ford by 19 points.

Mitsubishi will have a lot of work to do
Mitsubishi will have a lot of work to do if they want to improve the Lancer's performance up to the level of the other WRC cars. The team's priority in Mexico was to reach the finish and learn as much as possible about the behaviour of the car on gravel roads.

Gigi Galli was out of the race with a broken suspension but Gilles Panizzi able to reach the finish. The Frenchman faced numerous problems along the way and Mitsubishi will have to work hard to improve the situation.

Panizzi crossed the line in eighth place, right behind Jussi Valimaki's Hyundai Accent WRC. Behind Panizzi is Antony Warmbold in ninth and Harri Rovanpera in tenth. Dani Sola finished in eleventh place overall and took the Group N victory at the wheel of his Mitsubishi.

Hugo GIGUERE
CAPSIS International [14/03/04 - 22:22]

Rally Mexico - Final General Ranking:

1 Martin-Park, Ford Focus WRC 4h06'46"2 95.9 km/h A8
2 Duval-Prevot, Ford Focus WRC 4h07'28"7 +00'42"5 A8
3 Sainz-Marti, Citroen Xsara 4h08'07"1 +01'20"9 A8
4 Solberg-Mills, Subaru Impresa 4h10'00"9 +03'14"7 A8
5 2 Hirvonen-Lehtinen, Subaru Impreza 4h10'22"4 +03'36"2 A8
6 5 Gronholm-Rautiainen, Peugeot 307 4h10'44"6 +03'58"4 A8
7 12 Valimaki-Honkanen, Hyundai Accent 4h18'03"1 +11'16"9 A8
8 9 Panizzi-Panizzi, Mitsubishi Lancer 4h18'16"8 +11'30"6 A8
9 11 Warmbold-Price, Ford Focus WRC 4h20'46"6 +14'00"4 A8
10 6 Rovanpera-Pietilainen, Peugeot 307 WRC 4h26'06"5 +19'20"3 A8