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- World Rally 2
of 16: February 2-5, 2006
- 19 stages
RALLY
RESULT:
FINAL
STANDING AFTER LEG 3: FEB 5, 2006 (*factory team)
- 1
 *Marcus
Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus RS WRC 06
2 
Sebastien Loeb (FRA) Citroen Xsara WRC +30.9s
3  Daniel
Carlsson (SWE) Mitsubishi Lancer WR05 +2m 56
4. G Galli, Mitsubishi Lancer WR05+3m 3
5. T Rådström, Subaru S10 WRC
6 K Katajamäki, Ford Focus RS WRC 04
7 X Pons, Citroen Xsara
8 H Solberg, Peugeot 307
9. J Joge, Peugeot 206
10. J Tuohino, Citroen Xsara
11 *Atkinson 12 *Hirvonen 13 Kopecky 14 Wilson 15 Hanninen 16
Sordo
- RETIREMENT:
P Solberg, Ekstrom
- LOEB,
CITROEN, 2ND: "Right
up to the start of the last stage we tried everything: absolutely
everything! Today Marcus was quicker than us. This morning, when
Marcus's car had a problem and we closed to within 15 seconds,
we tried a daring tyre choice. We've got no regrets about the
outcome. Another second place, with eight drivers' and constructors'
points, is a good start to a season which is going to be fascinating.
All
the signs are there for a good fight!"
- P
SOLBERG, SUBARU, DNF:
"I just don't know what to say. I'm trying to remain positive
about things but it's certainly been a weekend to forget. Clearly
we've got a lot of work to do now to get things back to normal.
I want to thank everyone who supported us this weekend, there
were so many Norwegian flags by the side of the road and I'm sorry
we weren't able to get a better result."
AFTER
LEG 2: FEB 4, 2006
- 1 Marcus
Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus WRC
2
Sebastien Loeb (FRA) Citroen Xsara WRC + 28.1s
3 Daniel
Carlsson (SWE) Mitsubishi Lancer WRC + 2m 37s
4. G Galli, Mitsubishi Lancer
5. M Ekström, Skoda Fabia
6. J Tuohino, Citroen Xsara
7. T Rådström, Subaru Impreza
8 H Solberg, Peugeot 307
9 K Katajamäki, Ford Focus RS
10 X Pons, Citroen Xsara
- GRONHOLM,
FORD, 1ST: "I
stalled at the beginning of the penultimate stage and didn't really
have a clean run but only dropped a couple of seconds to Sebastien.
There are many kilometres remaining and you can never have enough
of a lead. But I will continue to drive normally tomorrow and so
long as we do not encounter any problems, then everything
should be OK"
- LOEB,
CITROEN, 2ND:
"We have been pushing hard all day. When he feels at one with
his car Marcus is a formidable adversary, and that seems to be the
case here. On the whole, I reckon he was slightly quicker than us
throughout the day. Furthermore I think I made two mistakes with
tyre choice. I did not have the long studs when I needed them in
the first loop of stages, and then I put them on for the second
loop of stages when just the standard studs would have been better.
Having said that, it is far from all over. I'm going to be pushing
my hardest from the start of tomorrow, in order to pile on the pressure."
AFTER
LEG 1: FEB 3, 2006
- 1 Marcus
Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus WRC
2
Sebastien Loeb (FRA) Citroen Xsara WRC + 10.2s
3 Gigi
Galli (ITA) Mitsubishi Lancer WRC + 57.5s
4 Daniel Carlsson (SWE) Mitsubishi + 1m 3s
5 Mattias Ekstrom (SWE) Skoda Fabia WRC + 1m 22s
6 Manfred Stohl (AUT) Peugeot + 1:28.7
7 Henning Solberg (NOR) Peugeot + 1:40.3
8 Kristian Sohlberg (FIN) Subaru + 1:48.4
9 Janne Tuohino (FIN) Citroen + 1:51.4
10 Thomas Radstrom (SWE) Subaru + 2:11.4
21 P Solberg (broken drive shaft) 26 Atkinson 26 (hit a tree)
- GRONHOLM/FORD,
1ST:
"We've pushed really hard all day. It's motivating to have such
a big fight with Loeb, although I would be happier with a larger gap.
The tyres were incredible on the long 40km stage tonight. We lost
no studs and the grip remained perfect all the way. I've made a few
small mistakes in the snowbanks but nothing too serious. It will be
a big battle tomorrow and we will see if I can find any more speed".
- LOEB/CITROEN,
2ND:
received 10 sec penalty for arriving late at checkpoint - his bonnet
flew open so he had to stop the car and close it "We took the
lamp hood off at the end of the first stage and we did not close the
bonnet completely. It came up on the road section, and we had to stop
and close it ... We are all lucky to have experienced perfect conditions,
which are really enjoyable to drive on. I'm pushing at my maximum
and so is Marcus, to judge by the state of the snow banks in front
of me! Being the hunter rather than the hunted is never a bad situation
to be in. And we are looking forward to continuing the fight tomorrow."
- EKSTROM/SKODA,
4TH: "Everything
went almost perfectly for me. Just after the start of the rally I
had some troubles communicating with my co-pilot and then I did not
choose the right tyres for SS4. The Fabia worked flawlessly, I really
enjoyed driving the car as I wanted to without having to take any
risk. I expect a similar performance on Saturday."
- STOHL/PEUGEOT,
6TH: "The rally is as difficult as we expected it to
be but we are doing fine. Our current ranking also means a better
starting position for Saturday. The rally is not over by far."
- P SOLBERG/SUBARU,
21ST: "It's
such a shame that we weren't able to get the result we wanted today.
The new car felt incredible yesterday and I was really excited about
putting it to the test this morning. We've suffered more than our
fair share of problems today and now we're in a position where we
can't do anything other than test for the future. Of course we'll
do what we can to learn and make the most of this opportunity but
overall it's very disappointing."
-
Thursday
2 February: Ceremonial Start
Start
Main Square, Karlstad 19.00
-
Friday
3 February: Leg 1 Hagfors - Hagfors
Start
Hagfors 06.50
SS1 Fredriksberg 1 18.14km 08.01
SS2 Lejen 1 26.47km 09.01
Serv A Hagfors (30 mins) 10.28
SS3 Fredriksberg 2 18.14km 12.09
SS4 Lejen 2 26.47km 13.09
Serv B Hagfors (30 mins) 14.46
SS5 Vargåsen 1 39.95km 15.49
SS6 Hagfors Sprint 1 1.87km 17.07
Serv C Hagfors (45 mins) 17.37
Finish Hagfors 18.48
-
Saturday
4 February: Leg 2 Hagfors - Hagfors
Start
Hagfors 06.50
Serv D Hagfors (10 mins) 07.10
SS7 Hara 1 11.32km 08.00
SS8 Sundsjön 1 20.78km 09.06
Serv E Hagfors (30 mins) 09.43
SS9 Likenäs 21.78km 11.37
SS10 Hara 2 11.32km 12.34
SS11 Sundsjön 2 20.78km 13.49
Serv F Hagfors (30 mins) 14.36
SS12 Vargåsen 2 39.95km 15.39
SS13 Hagfors Sprint 2 1.87km 16.57
Serv G Hagfors (45 mins) 17.27
Finish Hagfors 18.38
-
Sunday
5 February: Leg 3 Hagfors - Karlstad
Start
Hagfors 06.30
Serv H Hagfors (10 mins) 06.50
SS14 Lesjöfors 1 10.49km 07.58
SS15 Rämmen 1 23.35km 08.30
SS16 Malta 1 11.25km 09.21
Serv I Hagfors (30 mins) 10.01
SS17 Lesjöfors 2 10.49km 11.29
SS18 Rämmen 2 23.35km 12.01
SS19 Malta 2 11.25km 12.52
Serv J Hagfors (20 mins) 13.22
Finish Karlstad 15.02
RALLY
PREVIEW:
FORD:
- Marcus Grönholm:
"Sweden is the best rally in the championship when the conditions
are good. To drive flat out on the snow and ice with such good grip
from the studded tyres is really enjoyable. The car seems to float across
the surface. It's not so different driving on snow and ice compared
with gravel. On the longer stages it is important to look after the
tyres because if the studs start to pull out or move around, then you
have to ease the pace. I had a good feeling with the Focus RS in the
test and I hope to regain that during the shakedown ahead of the start
on Thursday morning"
- Mikko Hirvonen:
"I really enjoy this event and I will push hard from the start
... I think it's possible to fight for a podium. If there is fresh snow
overnight on Thursday, then we have an excellent start position for
Friday. It will allow the new snow to be cleared off the road and give
us a cleaner drive. In winter conditions a driver can afford to let
the tyres do more of the work than on gravel. You can slide the car
more than and the studs are so good that in some places the grip is
just as good as on a loose gravel surface,"
- Matthew Wilson:
"Unlike the last round in Monte Carlo, I have got a vague idea
of what to expect from this rally. I did three snow rallies in Finland
a little over a year ago, so I have driven on the stuff before. Again,
it's going to be an amazing experience to arrive at the second WRC round
knowing that I'm part of it all. One of the differences to Monte will
be the speed, it's so quick in Sweden - nothing like some of the slower
hairpins on round one. This will be flat-out motoring. When I drove
on snow in Finland the thing which amazed me most was the grip. Everybody
tells you it's the same as gravel, but until you're in there and drifting
the car at some incredible speeds, you can't believe it. It's probably
the braking that really gets me, though. Because the snow builds up
in front of the wheel to slow you down even more, you can brake harder
and later than you would ever have thought possible. It's going to be
another
fantastic experience!"
SUBARU:
- Petter Solberg:
" it's very exciting to see how the car and set-up perform in competitive
conditions. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to show how good the
car was in Monte Carlo, but the feeling is good. I hope we have a good
chance to get the same result as last year in Sweden. This would just
be brilliant as there will be a lot of people I know and a lot of support
from Norway. I view this rally just like Rally Japan - as my home event."
- Chris Atkinson:
"We're obviously looking forward to the Swedish Rally, as it's
one of the most enjoyable rallies of the year for a driver. However
it's still a specialist event and although we'll be aiming for a good
result, we'll still have to tread carefully. This will be my first rally
with the new car, although I got a good feel for it when we tested in
Sweden earlier this year. I'm quite happy with the performance but we've
got a lot more learning to do. For this rally, a realistic goal is to
get in the top six. There will be a lot of local drivers who know the
conditions and roads well, however we'll aim to be towards the front."
CITROEN:
- Xavier Pons:
"I like this rally which I know quite well now. Of course for a
Latin driver, the conditions aren't the best to perform. But I really
enjoy driving on these very fast roads. It will be the championship's
second round and I hope to score valuable points in spite of the fact
I've never driven a WRC in such conditions and that I have everything
to learn of the Xsara on snow. hope to progress throughout the rally.
I feel really well in the team where everybody is
very welcoming. The advice of Seb' and the trust that Marc van Dalen
has given me make me want to do the best I can. I've understood what
this extraordinary team is expecting and I will try not to deceive anyone."
SKODA:
- Mattias Ekstrom:
"I am very motivated for this year's event, I know the car and
the stages as well. Consequently it should be possible to improve last
year's result and finish in the points."
- Andreas Aigner:
"This means starting all over, I am an absolute beginner in Sweden,
and I will have to try an approach similar to Monte Carlo. It is most
important not to make any serious mistake and stay in the rally. I am
particularly happy that Timo Gottschalk will be back after his ailment.
I would like to take the opportunity and thank Klaus Wicha for filling
in for Timo in Monte Carlo."
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2006
SEASON
2006
STANDING
DRIVERS
1.
M Grönholm 20
2. S Loeb 16
3 T Gardemeister 6
3 D Carlsson 6
5 M Stohl 5
5 G Galli 5
CONSTRUCTORS:
1. Ford 26
2. Citroen 24
3. Peugeot 10
4. Subaru 8
5. M-Sport Ford 7
6. Skoda 3
WRC
Manufacturer Champions:
2005: Citroen
2004: Citroen
2003: Citroen
2002: Peugeot
2001: Peugeot
2000: Peugeot
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