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2006 WRC: CATALUNYA RALLY

• World Rally 4 of 16: March 24-26, 2006
• 16 stages

RALLY RESULT

		LEG 3, SUN	MARCH 26, 2006
	POS	DRIVER	CAR	GAP
	1	Sébastien Loeb (FRA)	Citroen Xsara WRC	0
	2	Dani Sordo (SPA)	Citroen Xsara WRC	48.2
	3	Marcus Gronholm (FIN)	Ford Focus RS WRC	01:45
	4	Alexandre Bengue (FRA)	Peugeot 307
	5	Jan Kopecky (CZE)	Skoda Fabia
	6	Francois Duval (BEL)	Skoda Fabia
	7	Petter Solberg (NOR)	Subaru Impreza WRC
	8	Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)	Subaru Impreza WRC
	9	Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)	Ford Focus RS WRC
	10	Gilles Panizzi (FRA)	Skoda Fabia

FINAL RALLY REPORT

CITROEN

• Loeb Sordo : first one-two for Kronos !
• Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí have completed a faultless and trouble-free third day of the Catalunya Rally in order to give the Kronos team its first one-two, following on from the squad's debut victory in Mexico three weeks ago.
• The reigning World Champions' second consecutive win in Spain, and the 22nd of their joint career, came on their 60th rally in the Xsara WRC. This puts Seb just four wins away from Carlos Sainz's legendary record of 26 victories, while Daniel is just two wins away from the co- drivers' record of 24 wins, held by Luis Moya. Loeb and Elena have now extended their 2006 championship lead to nine points, while the Xsara chalks up its 26th triumph.
• "It's been an excellent end to a what's not been an easy weekend, with a win for me, second for Dani and a one-two for Kronos, " concluded a happy Seb at the finish. "The fight with Marcus [Grönholm] at the start of the rally was a close one. After the team solved a few small brake problems and adjusted my set-up, I could see that the Citroen-BFGoodrich package is still at the top on asphalt. I'm very happy to win a rally which I enjoy so much for the second time. I'd like it even more if we could solve the problem of corner- cutting : I feel for my car when I have to throw it into those holes. From a driver's point of view, it's a shame to have to change down to third gear for a corner you could take in fifth if you kept all four wheels on the asphalt... "
• Having won the Junior World Rally Championship event and title at the wheel of a Citroen C2 in Spain last year, Dani Sordo was competing on his fourth rally in a World Rally Car for the first time on asphalt. The young Spaniard passed a difficult exam with flying colours. He set a top-three time on 10 out of 16 stages, and took his first fastest stage time at the wheel of a World Rally Car. Today he protected the advantage he had built up over the preceding two legs, in order to demonstrate the many facets of his prodigious talent.
• "I'm too too happy for words ! " enthused the Spaniard at the finish, with all the exuberance of his 22 years. "It's fantastic to be second behind Seb, at home here in Spain. The car has been fantastic and the team has been faultless. I'd like to thank them, along with all my sponsors and supporters, for giving me this unforgettable moment. "
• "This one-two is another notable chapter in the history of Kronos, " said a delighted team boss Marc Van Dalen. " I'm very grateful to Seb, Daniel, Dani and Marc for helping take us to another level. I'd like to dedicate this result to everybody who got together to create our 2006 project : Citroën Sport, BFGoodrich and naturally all of our partners. The fact that our customer version of the Xsara driven by Dani is on the podium alongside our Manufacturer 1 version driven by Seb gives me a great deal of pleasure for Kronos Racing. Let's not forget the excellent rally from Xevi Pons, who also could have been on the podium had he not fallen victim to an off-road excursion. I know we can count on him for the rallies to come, especially Corsica. It's another rally where once more we will be aiming to fight at the front... "

FORD

• Grönholm claims 10 stage wins en route to Spanish podium
• BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen completed a remarkable recovery from an opening day time loss to finish third on the Rally de España today. The Finns were fastest on all four speed tests during the final leg in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, taking their tally to 10 stage victories out of 16, as they powered up from 10th at the end of the opening day.
• Team-mates and fellow countrymen Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished ninth in another Focus RS after similar opening leg troubles. The points haul made Ford the leading scorers on this fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship and they closed to within just two points of the leaders in the manufacturers' standings. Grönholm remains second in the drivers' table.
• Dry, sunny weather graced the three-day, all-asphalt event which was based in the hills behind the Costa Daurada holiday resort of Salou, south-west of Barcelona. Consistent conditions meant tyre selection was straightforward throughout and both BP-Ford drivers used BFGoodrich's medium compound dry weather rubber for all 346.43km of competition.
• Thirty-eight-year-old Grönholm started the final day in fourth. He was fastest on the opening two special stages to move into third and quickest on both again when they were repeated this afternoon to finish 16.1sec ahead of Alex Bengue.
• "I tried really hard this morning but Bengue was pushing us," he said. "It was hard to make an impact on those stages because they were so fast. After Friday's problems, everything has been perfect. When I was in 10th I didn't think a podium was possible. I thought I could achieve fourth but I went one better and in the circumstances that was a good result. I could have won without a small technical problem. I knew before the start I could be close to Loeb and the speed of the Focus RS was there for all to see. It didn't surprise me.
• Hirvonen was 15th after his first leg time loss but recovered well, claiming ninth on the final stage for a solid points haul. "The Focus RS has the speed on asphalt and BFGoodrich's tyres work well so I hope I can fight for the podium in the future. Today I drove to avoid problems and I climbed two places which earned extra points. It was good for the BP-Ford team to close in on the championship lead. I would have been battling for a top three finish without Friday's trouble but since then the car has been fantastic," he said.
• "We see third place as a great result, both as a mental achievement of Marcus and as a performance which outlines the speed of the Focus RS," said Ford TeamRS director Jost Capito.
• BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson said he was hugely encouraged by the performance of the Focus RS on its first pure asphalt rally. "Marcus was fastest on both the second and third legs and apart from the two stages where he was slowed on Friday, he was never outside the top two times. He won 10 stages out of 16 and the performance of the whole package - car, tyres and driver - has been magnificent. Mikko delivered a strong performance with some excellent times their efforts have ensured we are just two points off the lead in the manufacturers' championship," he said.

SUBARU

• SWRT SPORTING DIRECTOR, LUIS MOYA: We can take some consolation that today we saw some improvement over yesterday, and that Chris continues to learn and quicken on tarmac. We still have a lot of hard work to do with Pirelli in order to improve our asphalt performance.
• PETTER SOLBERG: Spain has been a very tough rally for us. We had hoped to get more points, but instead we have had to work hard to get those we did get. We have made some progress, particularly today, and have a new tyre that is more promising. We've used the event to learn from this experience as we want to prepare as best we can for Corsica, where the stages are more abrasive, and where I think we will have a better feeling with the car.
• STEPHANE SARRAZIN: Overall the rally has been a bit frustrating. After our testing, we were expecting a better result, however it has not worked out that way. We'll go away from here and look at the data and do a lot of talking with the engineers to see what more we can learn. Corsica I hope will be much better. We're expecting to be quick, as we were quick there last year, however I'll be pushing at 200%!
• CHRIS ATKINSON: We're fairly happy with how the rally's gone for us. Okay, we're back in eleventh but the speed is a lot faster, and if we hadn't made a couple of mistakes we'd be up in the points, but that's all part of the experience.

		LEG 2, SAT	MARCH 25, 2006	AFTER SS12
	POS	DRIVER	CAR	GAP
	1	Sébastien Loeb (FRA)	Citroen Xsara WRC	0
	2	Dani Sordo (SPA)	Citroen Xsara WRC	34.5
	3	Alexandre Bengue (FRA)	Peugeot 307	02:05.5
	4	Marcus Gronholm (FIN)	Ford Focus RS WRC	02:09.6
	5	Jan Kopecky (CZE)	Skoda Fabia
	6	Francois Duval (BEL)	Skoda Fabia
	7	Petter Solberg (NOR)	Subaru Impreza WRC
	8	Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)	Subaru Impreza WRC
	9	Manfred Stohl (AUT)	Peugeot 307
	10	Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)	Ford Focus RS WRC

		LEG 1, FRI	MARCH 24, 2006	AFTER SS7
	POS	DRIVER	CAR	GAP
	1	Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena	Citroen Xsara WRC	0
	2	Dani Sordo/Marc Marti	Citroen Xsara WRC	27.3
	3	Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio	Citroen Xsara WRC	01:01.5
	4	Petter Solberg (NOR)	Subaru Impreza WRC	01:25.3
	5	A Bengue (FRA)	Peugeot 307
	6	J Kopecky (CZE)	Skoda
	7	S Sarrazin (FRA)	Subaru Impreza WRC
	8	F Duval (BEL)	Skoda
	9	Marcus Gronholm (FIN)	Ford Focus RS WRC
	10	C Atkinson (AUS)	Subaru Impreza WRC

LEG 1 REPORT: Citroen Kronos Racing 2006-03-24 (TOP OF PAGE)

• Three Xsaras lead the way !
• At the end of the first and longest leg of the Catalunya Rally, the Kronos team has three Citroen Xsaras occupying the top three places, crewed by Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, Dani Sordo/Marc Marti and Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio. Nonetheless, the feelings of the Xsara crews this evening are far from joyful. Every competitor is mindful of the accident that claimed the life of Jorg Bastuck, co-driver to Aaron Burkart who is contesting the Junior World Rally Championship this year. " You can only blame the most terrible bad luck, " commented Daniel Elena. " Who could have said that two cars would go off in quick succession at the same place ? But for everybody, this brings back some horrible memories... "
• Before this drama unfolded, the rally was characterised by a duel between the two men at the top of the World Championship : Sébastien Loeb and Marcus Grönholm. Marcus had the upper hand in the first three stages, pulling out a lead of 11.1 seconds. After setting fastest time on `El Montmell 2' (SS4) to reduce the gap to just 9.3 seconds, Sébastien decided to make a few changes to the set-up of his Xsara during the second service halt.
• After making these changes, I found myself back with a car as I liked it : more precise and with a better turn-in, " said Seb. "This allowed me to brake later, spending less time in each corner and getting on the power earlier. At the same time Marcus hit problems and we were able to take the lead of the rally. That's a pity, as it was a good battle between us. As is always the case with him, it was very exciting and enjoyable for us both. Having said that, I cannot complain now. There is still an extremely long way to go before the finish and I will have to keep up a good pace. I've got two young and hungry drivers breathing down my neck. Dani [Sordo] is not so far behind me and as he does not have to worry about the manufacturers' championship, he can push as hard as he likes..."
• Dani Sordo's first rally with the Xsara WRC on asphalt the surface with which he is most familiar was a true test of his abilities. The reigning Junior World Champion passed leg one of his exam with flying colours, finishing in the top three five times over today's six stages. Some of his split times were faster than those of the two greats at the front - Seb and Marcus. Dani's smooth and flowing driving style delighted his friend and mentor Carlos Sainz, who kept a watchful eye on his protege's progress.
• "It's absolutely fantastic, " grinned the young Spaniard. " I would not have expected something like this in my wildest dreams. The team has given me a perfect car : I only noticed a little bit of understeer on the first loop of stages, which was sorted out by some small set-up changes at service. The stages were not massively more dirty over the second run, and my gravel crew did a very good job. I'm holding all the aces at the moment ; now it's up to me to play them well... "
• Xevi Pons got off to a very good start but hit a couple of problems. "I stalled twice at the start of `El Montmell' [SS2], said the Spaniard. " On the last loop of stages, I couldn't find the excellent feeling with the car that I had enjoyed right up until then. I seemed to have a lot of understeer and oversteer. We're going to look at the problem together, and I feel confident that the team will find a solution. Having said that, it's impossible to get any better than having three Xsaras on the provisional podium. We have to do all we can now to try and maintain a one-two-three... "

• Thursday 23 March: Ceremonial Start
  Start   Salou                                   20.00
  
• Friday 24 March: Leg 1 Salou - Salou
  Start   PortAventura                            06.45
  SS1     Querol 1                        25.43km 08.05
  SS2     El Montmell 1                   24.14km 08.53          
  Serv A  PortAventura (30 mins)                  10.43
  SS3     Querol 2                        25.43km 12.33
  SS4     El Montmell 2                   24.14km 13.21
  Serv B  PortAventura (30 mins)                  15.06
  SS5     Colldejou                       26.51km 16.31          
  SS6     Riudecanyes                     11.60km 17.24
  Serv C  PortAventura (45 mins)                  18.19
  Finish  PortAventura                            19.04
  
• Saturday 25 March: Leg 2 Salou - Salou
  Serv D  PortAventura (10 mins)                  07.00
  SS7     Duesaigües 1                    11.50km 07.50
  SS8     Vilaplana 1                     28.33km 08.36
  SS9     Margalef - la Palma d'Ebre 1    15.85km 09.59  
  Serv E  PortAventura (30 mins)                  11.59
  SS10    Duesaigües 2                    11.50km 13.09
  SS11    Vilaplana 2                     28.33km 13.55
  SS12    Margalef - la Palma d'Ebre 2    15.85km 15.18  
  Serv F  PortAventura (45 mins)                  17.18
  Finish  PortAventura                            18.03
  
• Sunday 26 March: Leg 3 Salou - Salou
  Serv G  PortAventura (10 mins)                  06.40
  SS13    El Lloar - la Figuera 1         22.43km 07.53
  SS14    Pratdip 1                       26.48km 09.05
  Serv H  PortAventura (30 mins)                  10.23
  SS15    El Lloar - la Figuera 2         22.43km 11.56
  SS16    Pratdip 2                       26.48km 13.08  
  Serv I  PortAventura (20 mins)                  14.26
  Finish  PortAventura                            14.56
  

RALLY PREVIEW: (TOP OF PAGE)

CITROEN:

• Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "We completed one test session around Vic, in the area where the rally took place until 2004. The stages of the Southern version of the rally compares really well with those from the North: beautiful, fast, often very soft on the surface and with the only problem of deep corners cuttings. Of course we have worked on the mechanical differentials and we now have to finetune the settings. We also worked on different small things and repeated our work on the tyres trying to take the best advantage of the BFGoodrich range. I was already satisfied with the car's balance in Monte Carlo and after this test my feeling is excellent. I am extremely happy with the work the development team of Citroën Sport has done. I hope the times will match my current satisfaction."
• Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "As I always say, first of all I want to have fun. Enjoy the rally of my region with my friends, my fans, my family. I will give everything to make a good race and not to deceive the Catalans and Spanish supporters. When I see their flags on the sides of the roads, my motivation increases even more. After last year's
  result, the logical target is to do better and so we'll try to finish on the podium. Without any doubts it will be difficult, there are many fast drivers on tarmac. But with a performing Xsara, the team's work and our motivation. why not? In any case I will respect Marc Van Dalen's advice. He is the boss and he will decide if I should push hard or preserve a position for the 'Manufacturers' championship. But I really hope he will
  tell me to attack!"

FORD:

• Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "If you look back at 2004 the Focus RS showed what a good car it was on asphalt. This is a new car but I've driven it enough already to know that it is competitive on that surface.  We will have tough competition in Spain but anything is possible.  The next two rallies are very important.  Because I made a mistake in Mexico and scored only on point, I really need to win one of the next two rallies to maintain a strong championship position. It isn't an easy event.  You need to think like a racing driver on those roads.  But that doesn't come naturally to me.  The asphalt is quite abrasive which means we have to think about tyre selection carefully.  I also remember last year when conditions were sunny and dry in the service park but raining heavily in
  the special stages.  So accurate weather information from our personnel in the stages will be essential,"
• Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "That result was a big boost to my confidence," he admitted. I've proved that I have the speed on loose surfaces but to score a podium here made me realise that I could reproduce the same level of speed on asphalt.  I've tested the Focus RS on this surface and it's good. This is the easiest asphalt event in the championship. It's the fastest and the roads are flowing, although they are narrower here than the roads on which we used to compete near Lloret de Mar. The stages are surprisingly bumpy in places and it's crucial to be precise with driving lines.  Some sections are smooth, new asphalt and then you turn onto a really rough part which is quite abrasive. As with any asphalt event, there will be a lot of gravel dragged onto the road and it's vital to have that information in my pace notes.  I will rely on accurate information from our safety crew who drive the stages before us to check the latest conditions.  Just one mistake can be costly because it's harder to regain control on asphalt than on gravel if you make an error,"

SUBARU: (TOP OF PAGE)

• Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I'm very much looking forward to this rally. I'll be looking for a podium first of all - ideally with Marcus and Sébastien behind me - that would be perfect! It will be difficult though as these two will be the main guys. Our result was very good in Mexico and we had a positive test in Italy last week. I had a good feeling with the car and we made some improvements - how much we will see in Spain. I'm feeling pretty confident about it, we've had a big step forward in the car since Monte Carlo, I'm looking forward to getting back out there and scoring some more points."
• Stéphane Sarrazin/Stéphane Prévot: "I'm excited to be back in a rally again and feel very good in the car. We had one day testing last week and we worked through some set-ups and got some promising results that we can apply in Spain. I'll be doing my best job for the team. Last year wasn't such a great result but I think we can get in the top five this time and could even fight with the top three. I hope to improve on our
  performance in Monte Carlo and help Subaru in the manufacturers' championship."
  
  
• Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Last year we had a solid event in Spain and we showed a fast pace considering our level of asphalt experience at the time. Competing in Rally Ireland last weekend has massively increased our understanding of driving on an asphalt surface, especially of driving in the wet. This will help our performance particularly if we
  encounter similar weather in Spain. I hope to continue to improve in this rally."
  

SKODA: (TOP OF PAGE)

• Gilles Panizzi/Hervé Panizzi: "I am 100 percent motivated, and I will give it my all, just like earlier this year during the first leg of the Monte Carlo Rally. Of course Sebastian
  Loeb is the measure of all things in Spain. I will try nonetheless to set fast times with a good setup and achieve for Skoda the best result possible with the help of the engineers and the entire team."
  

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