2005
WRC STANDING:
after rally
DRIVERS
1 Loeb 99
2 Solberg 63
3 Gronholm 61
4 Martin 53
5 Gardemeister 47
6 Rovanpera 27
F Duval 24
R Kresta 16
M Stohl 16
C Sainz 11
G Galli 10
H Solberg 9
M Hirvonen 8
G Panizzi 7
D Carlsson 4
A Warmbold 2
C Atkinson 2
C McRae 2
S Sarrazin 1
MANUFACTURERS
Citroën 137
Peugeot 117
Ford 75
Subaru 72
Mitsubishi 52
Skoda 10
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- Colin
McRae will return to world rallying in a one-off drive for Skoda. The
37 year old former world champion will drive in his home rally this
weekend with co-driver Nicky Grist. McRae lost his WRC drive after the
2003 season.
- McRAE: "Rally
GB is obviously very special to me, and I am looking forward to giving
the fans something to cheer ... Although I haven't competed in a world
rally car since 2003, the team have put together an extensive testing
programme which will give me the opportunity to evaluate the Fabia and
have it set up to my liking ... It will also allow myself and Nicky
to get ourselves up to speed before the event itself."
- SKODA (Joan Sureda):
"I'm very happy that we have the chance to bring Colin back to
the WRC on this event because we know he was keen to return to the championship.
He has a lot of experience on this rally which we will find very useful
for our future development. I'm sure the fans will be as excited about
Colin's appearance as we are."
2005
RALLY RESULT
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SEPT
18, 2005: 39 year old Michael Park from Gloucestershire, England
was killed instantly when the Peugeot 306 driven by Markko Martin
slid off the track and hit a tree. He leaves behind his wife Marie
and 2 children (Victoria and William).
- 1987: starts
rallying
- 1994: world
rally debut - co-driver to world champions Richard Burns and Colin
McRae
- 2000: world
rally with Markko Martin
- 2003: first
world rally win with Martin - Rally Finland
COLIN McRAE:
"He was one of the championship's real characters, and a really
genuine person."
FORD (M WILSON):
"During three seasons with Ford, Michael became part of the
family. His ever cheerful and vibrant personality, even in the most
adverse of circumstances, frequently lightened the tense atmosphere
that often surrounds the WRC service park ... He was rarely seen
without a smile on his face and that's the way I will remember him.
He learned his trade as a navigator and co-driver on local rallies
and his path to the top of the sport was the result of nothing less
than hard work."
Personal
Statement From Marie Park and Family:
- "Marie,
Victoria, William and all of Michael's family wish to thank everybody
in the World of Rallying, in Britain, Internationally and in particular
Estonia, for their kind words and messages of love and support.
It is
impossible to respond personally to everybody, but we really appreciate
the genuine kindness at this difficult time."
- Michael Park's
Funeral:
Thursday October 6
12.00 p.m.
Bartholomew's Church
Much Marcle, Ledbury, Herefordshire.
- Messages
of condolence should be sent to:
joanna.tp@turning-point.com.pl
- These will
be collated, bound and presented to the family after the funeral
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PEUGEOT
STATEMENT
- A serious
accident has left the Peugeot Sport team in mourning this Sunday morning
during the last leg of the Wales Rally GB.
- Markko Martin left
the route shortly after the start of the second stage of the day and
hit a tree on the right hand side of the car, mortally wounding his
co-driver Michael Park.
- Peugeot Sport's
Director, Jean-Pierre Nicolas, with the agreement of Mr. Frederic Saint-Geours,
Managing Director of Peugeot, has decided, as a sign of mourning, to
withdraw the car of Marcus Gronholm -- Timo Rautiainen.
- Peugeot Automobiles
and Peugeot Sport would like to express their feeling of extreme sadness
and deep emotion to the family of Michael Park, known affectionately
as Beef.
- Jean-Pierre Nicolas:
"We're still in shock and we still can't get over what happened
... We have to shake ourselves out of it to turn towards the future,
but it's very hard. Markko has been to visit Michael Park's wife with
Paul Turner, his personal manager. He also wanted to see the car and
go back to the scene of the accident to try and understand what happened.
He remembers nothing at all."
- Daniel
Carlsson will replace Markko Martin in the Rally Japan.
MICHELIN STATEMENT
- SOLBERG
TAKES VICTORY ON BLACK DAY FOR RALLYING
- Victory in
the 2005 Wales Rally GB went to Petter Solberg, but in tragic circumstances
following the death of Michael Park, co-driver to Markko Martin (Peugeot
), in an accident on the final day.
- Sebastien
Loeb (3rd, Citroen -Michelin), who was leading at the time of the accident,
later deliberately checked in early at a time control to take a time
penalty so as not to win the event and thereby not secure the 2005 world
title at this sad moment.
- World Championship
rallying is this evening in mourning and everyone at Michelin Competition
would like to offer their sincerest condolences to Michael 'Beef' Park's
family and many friends.
FINAL
RESULT - FINAL 2 STAGES CANCELLED, SUN, SEPT 18, 2005
- 1
Petter Solberg , Subaru
2 
François Duval , Citroen +1m 17.4
3
Sebastien Loeb , Citroen + 1m 17.9
(*** deliberately took 2 minute
penalty to avoid winning the rally and the championship on the day of
Michael Park's death ***)
4 
Harri Rovanpera , Mitsubishi + 1m 29.4
5 M. Stohl Citroen + 2:35.0
6 R. Kresta Ford + 3:17.3
7 C. Mcrae Skoda + 3:30.4
8 M. Higgins Ford + 3:40.9
9 K. Meeke Subaru + 3:42.1
10 H. Solberg Ford + 4:20.5
11 Pons 12 Warmbold 13 Bernardi 14 Schwarz 15 Galli
MITSUBISHI
REPORT:
- Wales Rally GB
came to a tragic end this morning following a fatal accident in SS 15.
The stage was immediately stopped and the remaining two scheduled stages
abandoned.
- The entire Mitsubishi
Motors Motor Sports team extends it sincere condolences to the family
of Michael "Beef" Park, a good friend to many members of its
team, and Peugeot Sport.
- Sebastien Loeb,
the leader of the rally before the incident, incurred a two-minute penalty
for arriving at the final 'Out' control early, which dropped him down
the order into third position. Petter Solberg therefore takes maximum
points. The Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crews of Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen
and "Gigi" Galli/Guido d'Amore finished fourth and 13th respectively.
- In Group N, Britain's
Stuart Jones claimed fifth overall in the category in his Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution.
SKODA RALLY
REPORT:
- Colin McRae finishes
seventh and Armin Schwarz 14th in the Škoda Fabia WRC 05. Both
cars finish the rally in Manufacturer Championship points scoring positions.
Team now prepares for its debut at Rally Japan where Mikko Hirvonen
will drive.
- Colin McRae achieved
his stated aim of bringing the best result of the season for the Škoda
Motorsport World Rally Team when he finished seventh on Rally GB. Team
mate Armin Schwarz ended the British event 14th.
- The Fabia WRC 05
proved reliable throughout the three-day event and McRae was able to
show his characteristic speed despite having been out of the sport for
nearly two years.
- Todays final leg
was halted after just two of the planned four stages. An accident involving
the Peugeot of Markko Martin and Michael Park stopped the Margam stage
and it was confirmed that Parks injuries had proved mortal. It was the
WRCs first fatality in 12 years.
- The World Rally
Championship now heads for Rally Japan (September 30-October 2) where
the Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team will be represented by Armin
Schwarz and Finlands Mikko Hirvonen.
- Quotes:
- Colin McRae: Overall
we did what we came to do. It would have been nice to have finished
higher but we also had to be realistic once we saw the conditions on
the opening morning. The car was fine and we have been able to see what
we can do for the future. Ive enjoyed the event and proved to myself
how much I want to come back to the sport.
- Obviously we have
had a sad end to the rally with the death of Michael Park. He was one
of the championships real characters and a really genuine person. Nicky,
my co-driver, has also lost a very close friend.
- Martin Muehlmeier
(Head of Škoda Motorsport): Colin did a very good rally here. We
can also be very happy with the publicity that his entry has created
for the koda brand and we have seen greater interest in our team than
ever before. On behalf of the team I must also send our most sincere
condolences to the family and friends of Michael Park.
AFTER
LEG 2, SAT, SEPT 17, 2005
- 1
Sebastien Loeb , Citroen
"I
admit we pushed very hard all day today, but we didn't have a single
problem and the car was nicely balanced. Switching to slightly harder
compound tyres for the afternoon's loop was a judicious move. The surface
is exceptionally dry for this event but I have to say that the stages
are just as fun to drive in these conditions. Tomorrow it will obviously
be a case of trying not to make any
mistakes."
- 2
Petter Solberg , Subaru +44.7s
"I've
enjoyed the day and overall the feeling in the car is okay but I wish
we were able to get closer to Sebastien. I particularly liked the stage
inside the stadium - it was great fun and I hope the spectators enjoyed
it as much as I did. We're trying as hard as we can out there, going
absolutely flat out, but it doesn't seem to be quite
enough. Sebastien is doing a good job and we have to work to find some
solution to get quicker. I like tomorrow's stages, they're very good
and there's still a long way to go, so I won't give up."
- 3
Marcus
Gronholm , Peugeot +1m 29
"Today
has been good, but it has not quite been the same as fighting for a
victory. It's a pity, as we undoubtedly had a car that was good enough
to win here. This morning's stages were quite difficult, so I was not
taking any risks. I knew that if I kept going at the same pace I could
pass Harri Rovanpera, but I think it will be a different story to catch
Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg. Still, there are four long
stages to go tomorrow so anything can happen."
- 4
François Duval , Citroen +1m 53
"I
am very pleased with my times in the second loop. They are a particularly
positive boost for my confidence and I can't complain about the weather
conditions either: our pre-event testing was done in the dry and the
stages are slippery enough as it is like that!"
- 5
Harri Rovanpera , Mitsubishi +1m 53s
"it's
been okay and overall we've had two very good days, with this really
being our only problem. Of course we will fight again tomorrow and hopefully
take fourth."
- 6
M. Martin , Ford
- 7
G. Galli , Mitsubishi
- 8
Stohl , Citroen
- 9
Kresta , Ford
- 10
Higgins 11 McRae 12 Meeke 13 Warmbold 14 H Solberg
AFTER
LEG 1 , FRI, SEPT 16, 2005
- 1
Sebastien Loeb , Citroen
"The
first two stages were very slippery, but not everywhere. It wasn't easy
to read the road to spot the places where the grip changed. In SS2,
I spun in a long left-hander which tightened into a 'right' and the
engine stalled. Petter also had a problem and we
ended up with exactly the same time. The conditions began to dry in
SS3 and there was more grip available."
- 2
Petter Solberg , Subaru +9.9s
"Not
too bad at all. Of course, I'd prefer to be leading but the car is going
well, all the set-up changes we've made are taking it in the right direction
and I'd say that we've gone better today than on any of the other gravel
rallies this year. The first three stages went very well except for
a spin on the second and for the repeated loop we took a chance on a
tyre choice that in hindsight was too hard. Although we were able to
take time out of Loeb on the last stage of the day, we gave up too much
on the first two. Phil and I have enjoyed a good fight with Sebastien
today, and Marcus is pushing hard too, so I expect things are going
to be pretty exciting tomorrow. I'm going to have to work very hard
to win this rally, but I'll certainly give it my best shot."
- 3
Harri Rovanpera , Mitsubishi +31.5s
"Today
has been fantastic for me and very good for the team on the mechanics
home event, every stage has been going well. The only problem we have
had is a suspension link failure in SS5 but we were able to fix it for
the final stage. All the stages this afternoon have been very slippy,
especially the last one even though it was completely dry. Everyone
in the team has worked very hard so I am happy to have a good result
at the end of the first day. I need to keep my concentration for the
whole weekend, because I'm sure there will be a big fight ahead."
- 4
Marcus
Gronholm , Peugeot +1m 11
"Today
has been good apart from the brake problem this morning. Without that,
we could certainly have been fighting for the lead of the rally. The
car and the tyres have been extremely good, despite the fact that conditions
have been very difficult and changeable. The roads were slippery in
the morning and then they dried out a bit in the afternoon. I realised
we had a brake problem at the end of the first stage, but I was not
able to try and fix it until after the second stage. The time lost on
stage two was very costly, but let's see what we can do tomorrow."
- 5
François Duval , Citroen +1m 12
- 6 C.
Atkinson , Subaru
- 7
H. Solberg , Ford
- 8 M.
Martin , Ford
- 9
T. Gardemeister , Skoda
- 10 G.
Galli , Mitsubishi
- 11
Stohl 12 Kresta
- 13
McRae "The first
two stages were so slippery that to push hard would have been stupid
because we had no experience of these conditions as the test was dry.
These are the most demanding stages of the rally and it's very easy
to make a mistake. I went for it on the dry third stage and got sixth
place so if it stays like that for the rest of the rally then we can
build on it. This afternoon the car was bouncing about in the ruts so
we will change the set up for tomorrow and I'm confident we can improve
our position as everything is very close. The atmosphere at last night's
start was fantastic and there are thousands of fans in the forests cheering
us on. It's good to be back!"
2005 RALLY
SCHEDULE & STAGE WINNERS:
- Thursday
15 September: Ceremonial start: Cardiff
19.30
- Friday
16 September: Leg 1 Swansea - Swansea
- SS1 Brechfa 1
22.00km 07.58 *won by Gronholm*
SS2 Trawscoed 1 18.56km 08.36 *won by
Rovanpera*
SS3 Rheola 1 27.81km 10.41 *won by Loeb*
Serv A Swansea (30 mins) 12.14 *won by
Loeb*
SS4 Brechfa 2 22.00km 13.42
SS5 Trawscoed 2 18.56km 14.20
SS6 Rheola 2 27.81km 16.25
Serv B Swansea (45 mins) 17.43
Finish Swansea 18.28
- Saturday
17 September: Leg 2 Swansea - Swansea
- SS7 Crychan 1
19.47km 10.28
SS8 Epynt 1 13.33km 11.06
SS9 Halfway 1 18.58km 11.41
Serv D Swansea (30 mins) 13.35
SS10 Crychan 2 19.47km 15.23
SS11 Epynt 2 13.33km 16.01
SS12 Halfway 2 18.58km 16.36
SS13 Cardiff 1.10km 18.59
Serv E Swansea (45 mins) 20.19
Finish Swansea 21.04
- Sunday
18 September: Leg 3 Swansea - Cardiff
- SS14 Resolfen
1 29.39km 07.58
SS15 Margam 1 27.42km 08.59
Serv G Swansea (30 mins) 10.10
SS16 Resolfen 2 29.39km 11.28
SS17 Margam 2 27.42km 12.29
Finish Cardiff 14.00
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1 SOLBERG
2 DUVAL
3 MARTIN
