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- World Rally 3
of 16: March 3-5, 2006
- 17 stages
RALLY
RESULT:
FINAL
RESULT, AFTER LEG 3: MAR 5, 2006 (*LOEB
WINS ALL 3 STAGES*)
- 1
Loeb, Citroen Xsara WRC 3hr 47m 08.8s
- 2
Petter Solberg, Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 +48.9s
- 3
Stohl, Peugeot 307 WRC +4m 39s
- 4
Sordo, Citroen Xsara WRC +5m 27
- 5
H Solberg, Peugeot 307 WRC
- 6
G. Mac , Ford Focus RS WRC 05
- 7
C. Atkinson, Subaru Impreza WRC 2006
- 8
M. Gronholm Ford Focus RS WRC 2006
- 9
T. Arai, Subaru Impreza STI
- 10
R. Trivino Peugeot 206
- LOEB,
WINNER: "This
is a great win because it's the first for the Kronos team
... I'm really happy. For Kronos, it's a big moment. This
is a difficult rally and I lost a lot of time on the first
day. It was also important to put an end to Gronholm's
run of victories."
- P
SOLBERG, 2ND:
"I am very, very happy with the result of this rally.
Of course we set out to win but when that wasn't possible
we kept pushing for second. I went flat out on Leg one
to get a gap and it was unlucky to pick up the problem
on the second day, but I tried hard to keep the time loss
to a minimum. It was always going to be difficult to make
up the time, but the car was very fast with everything
working well. We showed that there is definitely more
to come. It's good to finally get some points and now
I want more. It will be close and I'm going to give it
everything."
- STOHL,
3RD: "All in all I'm obviously satisfied
with the result. Still, the time difference to the top
two does bother me. We'll have a lot of work to do to
find the right gravel set-up. But a place on the podium
is great in any case. This time I had luck on my side,
especially since I didn't expect too much here in Mexico."
AFTER
LEG 2: MAR 4, 2006 (*LOEB
WINS 7 OUT OF 8 STAGES*)
- 1
Loeb, Citroen Xsara WRC
- 2
Petter Solberg, Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 +37s
- 3
Stohl, Peugeot 307 WRC +3m 49s
- 4 Sordo,
Citroen Xsara WRC +4m 21
- 5 H Solberg,
Peugeot 307 WRC
- 6 G. Mac
, Ford Focus RS WRC 05
- 7 T. Arai,
Subaru Impreza STI
- 8 R. Trivino,
Peugeot 206 WRC
- 9 N. Al-attiyah,
Subaru Impreza STI
- 10 C. Atkinson,
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006
- 11 Gronholm
12 Baldacci 13 Perez 14 Ligato 15 Kuzaj
AFTER
LEG 1: MAR 3, 2006
- 1
Petter Solberg, Subaru Impreza WRC 2006
- 2
Hirvonen, Ford Focus RS WRC 06 +4.8s
- 3
Loeb, Citroen Xsara WRC +9.5s
- 4 Stohl, Peugeot
307 WRC +1m 45
- 5 Sordo, Citroen
Xsara WRC
- 6 Wilson, Ford
Focus RS WRC 04
- 7 H Solberg,
Peugeot 307 WRC
- 8 Mac, Ford Focus
RS WRC 05
- 9 Arai, Subaru
Impreza STI
- 10 Trivino, Peugeot
206 WRC
- 11 Ligato 12
Al-attiyah 13 Nutahara 14 Baldacci 15 Vojtech
- Atkinson 19th,
Gronholm 23rd (crashed and received 20 min penalty)
- SOLBERG,
1ST: "I'm
very happy to be leading the rally tonight. The car has run perfectly
and we're on target for the result we came here for. It's been quite
a tough day though. The starting position gave me an advantage on
the morning loop of stages and we were able to make the most of it,
but we struggled to match that pace on the stages in the afternoon.
The ground temperature during the last two was more than 40 degrees
and even with our hardest tyres we had to work very hard to keep the
speed. Tomorrow I think the first loop of stages will be okay, so
I'll do all I can to make up more time, but like today I reckon the
second time through will be hard work. In general though the feeling
is good but after what happened in Australia and Japan I'm not making
any predictions. I'm taking one day at a time. I'll do my best and
we'll have to wait and see what result that gets us."
- LOEB,
3RD: "It
was very much a day of two halves. Halfway through the leg, it was
very difficult for us to quantify how much of the time we lost was
down to sweeping the road clean. Afterwards, we were able to read
the situation much more clearly. I was particularly pleased with our
set-up changes in between the two loops of stages, and the high level
of performance from our BFGoodrich tyres on hot and clean stages.
Tomorrow, our goal is to continue climbing up the order"
- GRONHOLM,
23RD:
"The car felt great but it was a shame that I was first on the
road. It wasn't so bad but there wasn't a clean line and that makes
all the difference. It meant there was more wheelspin and I had to
brake earlier. I couldn't have done any more this morning."
- "I entered
the left corner too fast and then slid into a ditch on the right bend.
The car ended on its side and we pushed it back onto four wheels but
couldn't regain the road. It was my mistake. I was attacking too hard
and tried to brake late ...I think I can still score manufacturer
points here,"
-
LEG
1 REPORT:
The first day's gravel competition of the 2006 season took a heavy
toll on the leading drivers. First to go was Xavi Pons (Citroen) who
retired with engine problems 12km after the start of the second stage.
After Gronholm's accident, Chris Atkinson (Subaru) rolled out of fourth
place after hitting a rock in stage five. Petter Solberg (Subaru)
was fastest on the opening four stages to build a 11.5sec lead before
tyre troubles late this afternoon reduced his advantage. Sebastien
Loeb (Citroen) ended the morning in fourth but two fastest stage times
this afternoon promoted the Frenchman to third, just 9.5sec behind
Solberg. Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) lies fourth despite struggling for
grip this morning, ahead of Dani Sordo (Citroen). Morning brake problems
cost Henning Solberg (Peugeot) a minute and he dropped over three
minutes on stage five when he stopped to change a puncture.
-
The
second leg follows a similar format with two identical loops of three
stages north and east of Leon, followed by a second run over the superspecial
stage. The opening section of the first test on each loop covers roads
used in the opposite direction today. After leaving Leon at 09.00,
drivers tackle 148.92km, before returning for the final overnight
halt at 21.04.
-
Thursday
2 March: Ceremonial Start
-
Friday
3 March: Leg 1 León - León
Start
León 09.00
SS1 Ibarrilla 1 22.41km 09.37
SS2 Guanajuato 1 28.87km 11.00
SS3 El Cubilete 1 21.61km 11.51
Serv A León (30 mins) 13.21
SS4 Ibarrilla 2 22.41km 14.28
SS5 Guanajuato 2 28.87km 15.51
SS6 El Cubilete 2 21.61km 16.42
Serv B León (30 mins) 17.57
SS7 Nextel Superspecial 1 4.42km 19.17
Serv C León (45 mins) 19.47
Finish León 20.32
-
Saturday
4 March: Leg 2 León - León
Serv
D León (10 mins) 09.00
SS8 El Zauco 1 25.23km 10.08
SS9 Duarte 1 23.75km 11.26
SS10 Derramadero 1 23.27km 12.17
Serv E León (30 mins) 13.42
SS11 El Zauco 2 25.23km 15.10
SS12 Duarte 2 23.75km 16.28
SS13 Derramadero 2 23.27km 17.19
Serv F León (30 mins) 18.29
SS14 Nextel Superspecial 2 4.42km 19.49
Serv G León (45 mins) 20.19
Finish León 21.04
-
Sunday
5 March: Leg 3 León - León
Serv
H León (10 mins) 07.45
SS15 Leon 37.99km 08.28
SS16 Silao 18.01km 10.11
SS17 Nextel Superspecial 3 4.42km 11.26
Serv I León (20 mins) 11.56
Finish León 12.30
RALLY
PREVIEW:
FORD:
- Marcus Grönholm:
"I don't remember how much of a difficulty it has been in previous
years, but Sebastien Loeb, who is our closest rival in the championship,
starts only one car behind us so he won't have much of an advantage
if there is loose gravel. But Petter Solberg could benefit a lot because
he will start well down the order. It will only affect us for three
stages on Friday morning because the afternoon stages are repeats.
- Mexico is quite
a normal gravel rally. It's not particularly technical but has a good
combination of fast and slower sections. The stages are held on a good
surface, which is quite smooth, but cars tend to pick up quite a bit
of damage and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's a combination of high speeds
and stones coming through the surface during the second run over roads.
- "Testing has
gone well and I'm confident the car will be as competitive on gravel
as it has been on asphalt and snow. I have a few small things to sort
out with the brakes, but that's because I left-foot brake a lot"
SUBARU:
- Petter Solberg:
" Well, we'll try again in Mexico! We'll try very hard to get some
points by finishing on the podium, but winning is the goal. I hope everything
will be in good shape - the car, the tyres and me. We've got a good
starting position and I hope we can go well on all three days. The team
is very confident and we had a good test in Sardinia. There's so much
more to come from us."
- Chris Atkinson:
"It's exciting to get back to Mexico where we made our World Rally
Championship gravel debut. We had a good run last year where we set
some encouraging split times and matched the pace of other more experienced
drivers. Based on this performance and the fact we know the event now
we're looking for a good result, hopefully top five. After Sweden I
did some testing with the new car. We're still learning about the Impreza
WRC2006, but things are definitely going in the right direction."
CITROEN:
- Sébastien
Loeb: "It's true that we haven't been really
lucky here so far! However it is quite high in my personal rankings.
The stages are not narrow and I like this as it gives you the choice
of driving line. The stages are all different, sometimes very fast and
sometimes very technical. The weather is usually very nice, the landscape
beautiful and people are warm and friendly. The main concern remains
with the stones which have caused some much damage in the last two editions.
Since two years, we experienced such problems already at the shakedown
and we took part in the ceremonial start in Guanajuato by foot two years
in a row. I also retired in 2004 after the sump broke on an impact on
one of those stones. The solution? You need to remain extremely focused
during the recce to locate a maximum of them."
SKODA:
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2006
SEASON
2006
STANDING
DRIVERS
1 Loeb Citroen 26
2 Gronholm Ford 21
3 Stohl Peugeot 11
4 P Solberg Subaru 8
=5 Gardemeister 6
=5 Sordo 6
=5 Carlsson 6
CONSTRUCTORS:
1 Ford 39pts
2 Citroen 34
3 Peugeot 21
4 Subaru 20
5 Skoda 3
WRC
Manufacturer Champions:
2005: Citroen
2004: Citroen
2003: Citroen
2002: Peugeot
2001: Peugeot
2000: Peugeot
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