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2006 WRC: MONTE CARLO

SEASON OPENER - GRONHOLM WINS

• Gronholm wins in his first outing with Ford: "This is the best feeling. I had a good lead and didn't need to get involved in a massive fight. It is my first win on asphalt, although it wasn't pure asphalt because there was so much ice and snow. It is fantastic to score so well on the first rally"
• Loeb crashed in Leg 1 while leading and lost about 9 minutes. He fought back by winning every stage in Leg 2 and finished 2nd overall: "I'm very disappointed to have made the mistake on Friday that dropped us down to eighth overall - especially
  for the team..I can only blame myself. On the other hand, I can honestly say that from the inside of the car this rally turned into a thrilling chase, the sort of battle that I really like. It showed us that our Xsara can more than stand up to the opposition, and that my new team is working really well. It's a very good sign for the future."
• AFTER LEG 3: 1 Grönholm/Ford 2 Loeb/Citroen 3 Gardemeister/Peugeot
• AFTER LEG 2: 1 Grönholm/Ford 2 Gardemeister/Peugeot 3 Stohl/Peugeot
• AFTER LEG 1: 1 Grönholm/Ford 2 Atkinson/Subaru 3 Gardemeister/Peugeot
• RETIREMENT: Solberg (Subaru, engine), Galli (Mitsubishi, gearbox), Duval (Skoda, crash)

• 1. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 11m 43.9s
  2. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 4hr 12m 45.7s
  3. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Peugeot 307 4hr 13m 7s
  4. M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307
  5. S Sarrazin/S Prévot F Subaru Impreza
  6. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza
  7. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS
  8. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara
  9. X Pons/C Del Barrio E Citroen Xsara
  10 G Panizzi/H Panizzi F Skoda Fabia

LEG 2: Loeb won every stage

• 1. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen Ford Focus RS 2hr 36m 10.2s
  2. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen Peugeot 307 2hr 38m 16.1s
  3. M Stohl/I Minor Peugeot 307 2hr 38m 19
  4. S Loeb/D Elena Citroen Xsara 2hr 38m 51.8
  5. S Sarrazin/S Prévot Subaru Impreza
  6. C Atkinson/G MacNeall Subaru Impreza
  7. D Sordo/M Marti Citroen Xsara
  8. G Panizzi/H Panizzi Skoda Fabia
  9. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen Ford Focus RS
  10. X Pons/C Del Barrio Citroen Xsara
• GRONHOLM, 1ST: "The conditions there were terrible, the worst I have ever seen them, and we have to go over there twice more tomorrow so anything can still happen. The Focus has again been really good today but the conditions mean that it's not enjoyable to drive this rally because on every corner I'm waiting for something to happen. It's hard to judge what is a good pace. I'm looking at Loeb's times and calculating the pace at which I need to drive. I'm not trying to beat his times. I hope I don't make any mistakes tomorrow because in these conditions that is so easy to do"
• LOEB, 4TH: "The gap of 161 seconds to Marcus will be impossible to make up under normal circumstances, in the 117 kilometres or so that are left to run tomorrow. But we have come back to within 35 seconds of a possible second place, and we are going to do everything possible to try and take it tomorrow"

• 1. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen Ford Focus RS 1hr 9m 30.8s
  2. C Atkinson/G MacNeall Subaru Impreza +1m 23.7s
  3. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen Peugeot 307
  4. G Panizzi/H Panizzi Skoda Fabia
  5. M Stohl/I Minor Peugeot 307
  6. F Duval/P Pivato Skoda Fabia
  7. S Sarrazin/S Prévot Subaru Impreza
  8. S Loeb/D Elena Citroen Xsara
  9. D Sordo/M Marti Citroen Xsara
  10. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen Ford Focus RS
• 1 GRONHOLM/FORD: "It's fantastic to be leading and the Focus has been perfect all day ... I drove a little too carefully sometimes but conditions were terrible and it was hard to judge the correct speed. I've not enjoyed the day but I am enjoying leading. The big thing for the rest of the weekend will be tyre choice. There is slush, ice, wet asphalt and dry asphalt and it is so hard to decide what is the right option."
• 2 ATKINSON/SUBARU: "I'm very happy; it's been a good day for Glenn and me. We've stuck exactly to our pre-event plan, haven't taken any risks and have ended up in second place overall. In fact, I think that's the only thing that we weren't really planning for. The stages today have been very interesting and a tough challenge. We haven't been going slowly but we haven't been taking risks either. We've just driven sensibly, on safe tyres and the results have been incidental. We learned a lot on the asphalt rallies last year and we put it to good use. Our plan for tomorrow is to keep it consistent, just carry on doing what we've done today and see where it gets us. I'm looking forward to it."
• LOEB CRASHED OUT: He had a commanding lead of over 1 minute until he crashed on the final stage. If his car can be fixed in time, he'll rejoin the rally with 5 minutes penalty for failing to finish.
  "I just got caught out ... It was even more important to be aware of the amount of grip on each corner during the afternoon than it was in the morning, when the studs gave us a certain amount of safety. On that particular corner, taken in fourth gear, I thought that the black asphalt in the braking area was simply damp. In fact, it was extremely greasy. Having arrived at it too fast, the car started to understeer and so to try and get it back I pulled the handbrake. We went into a spin and the car slid backwards down a steep slope. But we did not hit anything, which makes me hope that there is no real damage to it. We will have to wait to find out if it is possible for us to re-start the rally tomorrow. And if that is the case, we will see what we can hope for over the distance that remains."
• SOLBERG RETIRE WITH OIL LEAK PROBLEM: "I still can't really believe it. We were cruising home after the stage and it just happened. We stopped and tried to fix it but there was nothing we could do. The oil had leaked out and we had no chance. Up to then the rally had been getting better and better for us. We didn't start well - in fact I don't think our tyre choice could have been any worse - but the afternoon was good, and our pace on the final stage was very encouraging. It's incredible really; it seems I have no luck here in Monte Carlo. It must change soon."

• Thursday 19 January: Ceremonial Start
• Start Place du Casino, Monte Carlo 18.30
• Friday 20 January: Leg 1 Monaco - Monaco
• Start Monaco 06.50
  SS1 St Sauveur sur Tinee - Beuil 22.23km 08.33
  SS2 Guillaumes - Valberg 13.60km 09.31
  SS3 Pierlas - Ilonse 23.22km 10.19
  Serv A Monaco (30 mins) 12.12
  SS4 St Sauveur sur Tinee - Beuil 22.23km 14.25
  SS5 Guillaumes - Valberg 13.60km 15.23
  SS6 Pierlas - Ilonse 23.22km 16.11
  Serv B Monaco (45 mins) 18.04
  Finish Monaco 18.57
• Saturday 21 January: Leg 2 Monaco - Monaco
• Serv C Monaco (10 mins) 06.00
  SS7 Sigale - Bif. D10 / D110 22.54km 07.53
  SS8 St Antonin - Toudon 20.22km 09.06
  SS9 La Tour sur Tinee - Utelle 18.73km 10.19
  Serv D Monaco (30 mins) 12.02
  SS10 St Antonin - Toudon 20.22km 14.30
  SS11 La Tour sur Tinee - Utelle 18.73km 15.43
  SS12 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 31.25km 16.38
  Serv E Monaco (45 mins) 18.03
  Finish Monaco 18.56
• Sunday 22 January: Leg 3 Monaco - Monaco
• Serv F Monaco (10 mins) 06.50
  SS13 Col de Braus - La Cabanette 12.60km 07.55
  SS14 Col St Roch - Lantosque 14.45km 08.23
  SS15 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 31.25km 08.56
  Serv G Monaco (30 mins) 10.19
  SS16 Col de Braus - La Cabanette 12.60km 11.44
  SS17 Col St Roch - Lantosque 14.45km 12.12
  SS18 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 31.25km 12.45
  Serv H Monaco (20 mins) 14.05
  Finish Monaco 14.25

RALLY PREVIEW:

FORD:

• Marcus Grönholm: "Testing has gone well and I already have a good feeling with the car. I feel excited about this season and I have been counting down the days to the start since the end of last season. It's best not to try too hard on Rallye Monte Carlo though. It's a tough rally and my aim is to score a good result and avoid making any silly mistakes in the unpredictable conditions. The rally is historic and it has to be in the championship, but it's far from being my favourite event. It's scary to start a stage when you don't know what the road conditions are going to be like. You can encounter asphalt, ice and snow and when you know you don't have the perfect tyres for one of those, you can't drive flat out. Some years I have driven in first gear on snow and ice for 3-4km because I have asphalt tyres on the car and I don't like that. You really don't know what to expect round the next corner"
• Mikko Hirvonen: "This is a great opportunity for me at Ford and I want to make the most of it. Testing has gone well for me so far. Asphalt isn't my favourite surface but I scored my best result on an asphalt rally in Spain last year so I know can drive well enough on it. I've had no problems settling into the team. Many of the faces are the same as when I drove for Ford in 2003 and that has made it easier. I know testing is different to the heat of competition, but I'm confident I can start the season well and open the year with a good, solid result"
• Matthew Wilson: "This is an amazing opportunity that people like the Stobarts and Steve Perez, from VK, have provided me with. I certainly intend to make the most of it. Monte Carlo is a really tricky rally to start the programme. Unfortunately, I was too young to do the recce last year, you have to be 18 to drive on the roads in France - I was only 17. I've heard all the stories about Monte, about the changing road conditions and things like that. I think one of the hardest things will be the first time I come across a patch of ice when we're on slick racing tyres. I will have to slow to virtually walking pace, there'll be no grip at all. Pyschologically, that's quite tough - you have to keep telling yourself that everybody else is doing the same thing. The minute you try to push a bit harder on the ice, you're likely to go off the road. It's going to be very different to the events I've done before, but right now I just can't wait to get started."
• Pieter Tsjoen: "Since I started rallying in 1998, I've been aiming for a drive like this. To be part of the Stobart VK M-sport Ford Rally Team on what is probably the most famous rally in the world is fantastic for me. Having driven in the Belgian Championship for so long, I have a lot of experience of asphalt rallies. Some of those events, such as Condroz, are run in wintry conditions similar to Monte Carlo, but it's still going to be a very big challenge for me to take on the best rally drivers around on round one."

SUBARU:

• Petter Solberg: "I hope a podium will be possible in Monte Carlo, but it will be a very tough rally with lots of good cars and drivers. Marcus and Sébastien will be our main rivals but we are well prepared and I hope we'll be able to fight with them. The team has worked hard to be ready and has planned everything very well. A lot will depend on the weather as always in Monte Carlo. Cold, wet and snow would be the best conditions for us."
• Stéphane Sarrazin: "This is my second Monte Carlo Rally with the team and I'm more relaxed than last year as I have more experience now. I know the team, I know the car so it is automatically better. We did well on tarmac last year and I have a very good car so I think we can have a very good event and get a good result. This is a very exciting rally as you never know if you will have snow or patches of ice or just the tarmac, making it very difficult for tyre choice. I hope all the same to get some solid points. We could get in the top four."
• Chris Atkinson: "This will be my first Monte Carlo Rally and I'm really looking forward to the challenges of the roads. To get ready for the event I've been watching through videos of the stages to get a feel for them. We're running last year's car, which will make it easier for preparation as we won't have to get used to a new car and a new rally. Of course Petter and Stéphane are nominated to score points for the manufacturers' championship, but it would be nice for us to get some points too. Overall though the goal is to get miles and experience
  of this specialist rally."

PEUGEOT:

• Henning Solberg: "I'm very confident for my first start in Monte Carlo. The team has prepared the car perfectly."
• Manfred Stohl: "The initial impressions of the Peugeot 307 WRC were fine but I've learned not to rely on feelings too much. The first rallies will show how we really will be getting along"

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