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2006 WRC: RALLY NEW ZEALAND

• LOEB STILL ABSENT DUE TO ARM INJURY

RALLY RESULT

FINAL REPORT - FORD - HIRVONEN 2ND, GRONHOLM 1ST  (TOP OF PAGE)

• BP-Ford claims world rally title with 1-2 finish in New Zealand
• BP-Ford World Rally Team today secured the FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers' title after powering to a 1-2 finish in Rally New Zealand. Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen took their sixth victory of the season in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, finishing 56.0sec ahead of team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in a similar car. The maximum points haul means that with one round still remaining BP-Ford has built an unassailable 25-point lead.
• It is Ford's first manufacturers' title since 1979 and the squad's seventh victory of the season. Gronholm had already secured second in the drivers' series while Hirvonen's result means he is now assured of third. This was also Ford's 75th consecutive points scoring finish in the WRC, a record unrivalled in the sport's history and dating back to the opening round of the 2002 championship.
• Round 15 of the 16-event championship was based in Hamilton, 130km south of Auckland. Drivers tackled three days of smooth, flowing gravel speed tests on North Island's west coast, many hugging the spectacular Tasman Sea shoreline. They covered 17 special stages in all, covering 358.48km, while early spring in New Zealand guaranteed a mix of weather conditions, ranging from sunshine to torrential rain.
• Gronholm and Rautiainen led from Friday's opening kilometre. With no pressure from behind, the 38-year-old Finnish driver eased through today's final leg, comprising six stages and 95.48km near the coastal town of Raglan, to secure victory. He set a clean sweep of fastest times on the opening day by winning all five speed tests and increased his rally total to 13 with five more wins today.
• "It's a great feeling to win the rally and secure the world title for Ford on the same day," said Gronholm. "When I joined the team I expected a high performance level from the Focus RS WRC because it was a new car and to experience the fantastic level of reliability that we have enjoyed during the season was a big bonus. This wasn't such a hard rally as the Focus RS has been absolutely perfect."
• Hirvonen, too, was under no pressure from behind today and took no risks on the slippery stages. He finished 1min 43.3sec ahead of his nearest challenger. "I'm thrilled to be part of a world title-winning team," said the 26-year-old Finn. "The whole season has been fantastic and I have secured third place in the drivers' series. But that stays in the background because to win the manufacturers' title is a huge achievement for me. I started my career in world rallying with Ford. Malcolm Wilson gave me the chance to prove myself at the beginning of my career and again this year, so it is even better to be here helping Ford to the title."
• Ford TeamRS director Jost Capito led the celebrations and said: "It's thrilling and rewarding to see Ford as world champions again, especially in the first year of competition for the new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. This title was only possible due to an outstanding effort from every single member of the team."
• BP-Ford World Rally team director Malcolm Wilson said: "This title brings great personal satisfaction. Ford has been so close to winning the manufacturers' title on many occasions but it is many years since we achieved this honour and I'm proud to be able to deliver it now. It has been a huge effort by everyone, not only all the employees at M-Sport, but also our partners at BFGoodrich and all the other suppliers and partners who have supported the team. It is the culmination of many years of building a world class team, infrastructure and resource capable of beating the best."
• News from our Rivals
• Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) claimed his second consecutive podium in third ahead of a fierce battle between team-mates Dani Sordo and Xevi Pons (both Citroen). Sordo began the day in fourth but a charging Pons, despite a spin on the first pass through the classic Whaanga Coast test, set two fastest times and overhauled Sordo on the penultimate stage. Petter Solberg (Subaru) rounded off the top six, despite incurring a 60sec penalty when his car would not start before the first stage this morning. Luis Perez Companc (Ford) claimed his first drivers' points for his team in seventh.

FINAL REPORT - SUBARU - SOLBERG 6TH  (TOP OF PAGE)

• The Subaru World Rally Team's focus for the final leg of Rally New Zealand was to get Petter Solberg to the end of the rally in a points-scoring position and gather data ahead of the final World Rally Championship round in Wales in two weeks' time. Even though changeable weather made conditions difficult, Petter's car ran reliably throughout the day and he consistently set top-five stage times on his way to a sixth-place finish.
• SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM MANAGING DIRECTOR, RICHARD TAYLOR: "It's been a tough event with only limited success for Petter and Chris. With just two fastest stage times we have struggled to match the performance of the last two events and clearly Petter had hoped to finish better than sixth. We have however identified several areas where we will be able to improve the car and we are looking forward now to Rally GB and a fresh start in the 2007 season."
• PETTER SOLBERG: "I tried as hard as I could but I've simply not been able to challenge the fastest guys this weekend. Of course it's very frustrating; I want to win rallies, and it's not much fun when that isn't possible, but I will keep positive and focus on improving the pace. We made some small improvements this weekend; we learned some more about the car and the tyres, and hopefully that will enable us to get a better result on the last round in Wales."

FINAL REPORT - CITROEN - PONS 4TH, SORDO 5TH  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Two Citroens in the top five
• Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti have finished the final leg of the Rally New Zealand with no problems. The two Spanish Kronos Total Citroen crews end the event in fourth and fifth places respectively.
• The Kiwi round of the World Championship has now moved location to Hamilton, south of Auckland and also date, to the end of the world rally season and springtime in the southern hemisphere. At this time of year, the weather can be inconsistent and unpredictable as proved to be exactly the case on the rally. The crews frequently encountered wet, damp, muddy and therefore tricky conditions on the magnificent gravel roads that characterise New Zealand.
• In the absence of Sebastien Loeb, who went home after completing the recce of the new route, Xevi Pons was once more entrusted with the number one Citroen Xsara. Confirming his current form and impressive turn of speed, Xevi drove one of the best rallies of his career on roads that he loved. Having been slightly delayed by a spin on Friday, the Spaniard set two fastest times on Sunday that allowed him to move past his team mate.
• "For the third time in succession, we've finished just off the podium," said a delighted Xevi, having congratulated the entire team. "I think that we're getting there now. I really like fast roads and we found them here : I had a lot of fun even though the surfaces were very slippery. These conditions prepared us well for the Rally Great Britain, and I hope to have the same success in Cardiff."
• In New Zealand, Dani Sordo had to get to grips with a brand new rally for the fifth consecutive time. The reigning Junior World Rally Champion took particular care to do a good job on the recce. It worked : he had the satisfaction of seeing that his notes were correct during the actual rally. Dani occupied a provisional podium place on Friday night, having been encouragingly quick on stages that were new for everyone. But the Spaniard wisely decided that discretion was the better part of valour, eventually dropping two places en route to a faultless finish on Sunday. "It was a difficult rally for me, and I imagine that is the case for any driver coming here for the first time," he said. "I'm very happy to have got to the end without problems in quite a good position, and I'm very happy with the notes I made with my co-driver Marc Marti. I think we've done an excellent job with an eye to the future..."
• Kronos Total Citroen team principal Marc Van Dalen was delighted with the formation finish from his two young Spanish crews. "Of course, we would have preferred the fight for the constructors' title to go down to the wire on the Wales Rally GB," he said. "But Malcolm Wilson's team has done a brilliant job here and I would like to congratulate them before anything else. It's a great honour for Kronos to have given this team such closely-fought and fair competition, which hung in the balance for so long. Xevi and Dani were free to drive as they wished here. They were both well-placed and close to each other throughout the rally, and both crews reached the finish. This has allowed them to learn as much as possible, which is very encouraging for their future..."

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