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2005 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

SEBASTIEN LOEB WINS 2005 CHAMPIONSHIP & MAKES HISTORY

• First driver in history to win 6 in a row; 10 world rally wins in a season so far
• He successfully defended his title by finishing 2nd at the Rally of Japan (Oct 2, 2005)
• UK: Mark Higgins (Ford) won his 2nd British Rally Championship title
• AUS: Cody Crocker (Subaru) won his 3rd Australian Rally Championship title
• JWRC: Dani Sordo (Citroen C2 Super 1600) won the Junior World Championship title.

CITROEN	FORD	MITSUBISHI	PEUGEOT	SKODA	SUBARU
Michelin	Michelin	Pirelli	Pirelli	Michelin	Pirelli

• SUBARU - Impreza WRC
  Petter Solberg (NOR) / Phil Mills (GB)
  Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN)
  Stephane Sarrazin (FRA) and Chris Atkinson (AUS) will share 1 car in selected rounds
  NEW 2005 SUBARU TO DEBUT IN ROUND 3 - MEXICO
• CITROËN - Xsara WRC
  Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (FRA)
  

  François Duval (BEL) / Stéphane Prevot (BEL)
• PEUGEOT - 307 WRC
  Marcus Gronholm (FIN) / Timo Rautiainen (FIN)
  Markko Märtin (EST) / Michael Park (GB)
• FORD - Focus WRC
  Toni Gardemeister (FIN) / Jakke Honkanen (FIN)
  Roman Kresta (CZE)
• SKODA - Fabia WRC
  Armin Schwarz (GER)
  2nd car will be shared by 3 drivers: Janne Tuohino, Jani Paasonen, Alex Bengue
• MITSUBISHI - Lancer WRC05
  Harri Rovanpera (FIN) - all rounds
  Gilles Panizzi (FRA) - asphalt rounds

SARAZIN JOINS SUBARU
29 year old Stephane Sarrazin will contest selected rounds of 2005 world rally with Subaru. Sarazin is a former Formula 1 test driver (Prost, Toyota)
SARAZIN: ".... It's really a very big chance for me. After one year in rallying it's a great opportunity ... This year I pushed a lot to improve myself and I will push the same as this year to improve"
SUABRU (David Lapworth): "... It's remarkable that someone who has done 11 rallies and only three at world championship level can run at his pace ... We think he's got what it takes to be a future world champion ... We've signed Stephane for one year but the intention of our development programme is to find a future world champion. We've selected him because we think he's got what it take"

ATKINSON JOINS SUBARU
Subaru will have 25 year old Australian Chris Atkinson as its 3rd driver for 2005 season. He joins former world champion Petter Solberg and Stephane Sarrazin.
SUBARU (D Lapworth): "... I'm confident though that both drivers(Atkinson and Sarazin) have what it takes to be competitive across the board ... Of course it's a high-risk strategy, but it's a fundamental part of Subaru's driver development philosophy. Our objective is to find another Subaru world champion and we'll do all we can to help Chris and Stephane reach that goal ... Chris and Stephane make a very balanced pairing. Chris has demonstrated his impressive pace on gravel but hasn't yet had the opportunity to show what he can do on tarmac, while for Stephane the opposite is true."
ATKINSON: "... My aim has always been to reach beyond the national championships and to make it on the world stage ... It's been extremely hard work but now I've got the chance. I guess I'm out to prove that an Australian can be fast in Australia and fast in the rest of the world too."

MITSUBISHI RETURNS WITH ROVANPERA & PANIZZI
Mitsubishi will return to full time world rallying in 2005 with former Peugeot driver Harri Rovanpera. Gilles Panizzi will be retained but will contest only selected rounds (asphalt).
MITSUBISHI (Isao Torii): "... The championship is more and more dominated by gravel rallies and we need a driver who knows all these events very well ... Harri Rovanpera is a good loose surface driver, especially on the high-speed events. We feel fortunate that he is joining the team and expect some good performances. He drives consistently and finishes rallies; we will be very reliant on him .... Gilles has been incredibly supportive of the team and has contributed enormous amounts to our development program ... We did not give him the car to challenge, but next year we have big expectations and see him as a potential winner on Tarmac, especially in the second half of the season."

FORD TO STAY IN WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Despite pulling out of Formula 1 (Jaguar), Ford will continue its World Rally commitment at least until 2008.
FORD (L BOOTH): "... World Championship Rallying will continue to be our headline activity and Ford's commitment to be present and successful in a number of motorsport categories, from grass roots level upwards continues unabated. Our approach to motorsport displays strength in depth, but it is targeted primarily to show the strengths of our road car products and to reach a wide public in the most competitive environment ... We have signed an agreement with M-Sport's Malcolm Wilson which will ensure Ford remains in the series for the next four seasons ... From 2006 onwards the Company will be represented by an all new Ford Focus RS WRC, which will be developed over the course of the next season by M- Sport."

CARLOS SAINZ RETIRES
42 year old former world rally champion is to retire from rallying. He made his world rally debut in 1987 then won 2 world titles with Toyota in 1990 and 1992. This year he won the Rally of Argentina and set a new world record - 26 world rally wins by any driver.
SAINZ: "... It's something of a special moment. A little difficult. I have thought long and hard about my decision and I have no intention of coming back on it. There are moments when I feel a little sad, when I remember all the joy I have had in rallying and when I think that will soon all be over. At other times, I think of all the things I am now going to be able to do with my family and friends. For the moment, you could say I have mixed feelings..."
LOEB (2004 CHAMPION): "... I feel quite sad. I don't know if it's possible, but it would be nice if he could continue to work with us in some way. I would understand of course if he chose to just stay at home. He has nothing more to prove. He has had the best career anyone could imagine and has decided to stop after contributing to Citroën's second Manufacturers' title. He has played a major role in the fact that we are champions. Working with him has been a true pleasure for me. There were never any secrets or tension between us. He did everything he could to help me, including some very sound advice. He is experienced, intelligent and honest, the ideal team-mate!"
CITROEN (G FREQUELIN); "... I can only thank him for all he has contributed to Citroën Sport. At the delicate time when we were beginning our first full assault on the World Championship, he helped point us in the right direction and came up with some good options. I also owe him a great deal for the invaluable support he has given Sebastien (2004 champion). He helped Seb 'come of age'. Carlos is a great driver, a genuine star and a true gentleman! "

GARDEMEISTER JOINS FORD
29 year old Toni Gardemeister (FIN) will drive for Ford Rally team next season. He will fill the vacancy left by departure of Markko Martin to Peugeot and François Duval.
FORD (M Wilson): "... Toni has earned his reputation as a quick and highly consistent driver ... He served a thorough world championship apprenticeship in the two-wheel drive, two-litre category before moving up to his first full programme in a World Rally Car in 2000. He is now ready to make the step up to a frontline team and I'm confident he will do a superb job for us next season ... Toni has considerable experience of virtually all the WRC events and his ability behind the wheel will make the transition to a Focus RS WRC a smooth one"

DUVAL JOINS CITROEN
24 year old Belgian driver Francois Duval will join Citroen next season to partner the world champion Sebastien Loeb. Duval was released by Ford team when there was uncertainty over Ford's future in world rallying. Since then Ford has decided to continue in WRC. Duval made his world rally debut in 2001 as a wild card (Portugese Rally) and competed in Junior world rally in 2002 with Ford. This year he had 4 podiums and finished 6th overall.

KRESTA JOINS FORD
FORD (M Wilson): "... I feel that he has never had the ultimate world rally car in which to show his true potential ... Roman has set some excellent stage times against tough competition and he's a highly-regarded test driver ... Going forward to next season and the possibility of having only one service during each leg, a driver with good mechanical knowledge is essential to the team."

POINTS SYSTEM:

1st = 10 pts , 2nd = 8 , 3rd = 6 , 4th = 5; 5th = 4; 6th = 3; 7th = 2; 8th = 1

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• 2004 FINAL STANDING:
  1 S Loeb 118
  2 P Solberg 78
  3 M Martin 69
  4 Sainz 65
  5 Gronholm 54
  6 Duval 53
  7 Hirvonen 28
  7 Rovanpera 28
  9 Tuohino 16
  10 Loix 9
  Panizzi 6
  Carlsson 6
  Robert 4

• 2004 Manufacturer
  1. CITROEN 188
  2. FORD 133
  3. SUBARU 113
  4. PEUGEOT 93
  5. MITSUBISHI 17
• 2004 Junior world rally champion:
  P-G Andersson (SWE)

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