| Final
Rally Notes 16:30
Marcus Gronholm
kept the lead he inherited, on stage 16,
from Colin Mcrae, to win the 30th Cyprus
Rally!
Colin
McRae has rolled his Ford Focus for the
second time in three stages and has
plummeted to seventh on the leaderboard,
as heavy rain returned to the Cyprus
Rally.
Richard
Burns won the last stage to capture the
second position from Tommi Makinen, who
ended the rally in third position.
Harri
Rovanpera finished 4 making a Peugeot
1,2,4 and Peter Solberg ended up in 5th
position after an eventful rally.
Colin
McRae who lost his lead on SS16 when he
rolled the first time, ended up in 6th
position. The accident broke his power
steering, which lost him a lot of time
in SS17. The Scot who lead for the most
part of the event rolled twice in the
last 5 stages.
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Cyprus
Rally 2002, FIA World Rally Championship, round 5
For
immediate release Sunday, April 21st, 2001
GRONHOLM
EXTENDS PEUGEOT'S WRC LEAD WITH WIN IN CYPRUS Accidents ruin McRae/Martin
challenge; Light roll for Solberg LIMASSOL (Cyprus): Former World Champion
Marcus Gronholm won a thrilling Cyprus Rally, the fifth round of the 2002
FIA World Rally Championship, which finished in Limassol on Sunday and
extended his lead in the FIA
World Drivers' Championship to 12 points from Britain's Richard Burns.
Gronholm, driving a Peugeot 206 WRC, strengthened the French
manufacturer's grip on the World Manufacturers' series, once overnight
leader Colin
McRae had slipped down the leaderboard following two separate
time-consuming accidents in his Ford Focus RS WRC 02. The Finn eventually
won by a margin of 56.8 seconds, with team mate Richard Burns taking
advantage of the appalling conditions over the closing stages to join a
gripping battle with Subaru's Tommi Makinen for the runner-up spot. He
eventually beat the Finn by a mere 2.2 seconds to give Peugeot an historic
one-two in Cyprus - the French marque's first ever victory on the holiday
island. "It is a fantastic feeling to win," admitted Gronholm,
the 2000 World Rally Champion. "This was a very tiring and difficult
rally. The weather was terrible at times and some of those stages were the
worst I have ever encountered in rallying. But it was a great result for
my team and puts
us in a strong position in the championship."
A
dejected McRae commented: "We think we went over twice in the
accident. The car landed on its wheels and the power steering failed
immediately.
It just wasn't our day." With no means of changing the power steering
until the next service point, the Scot slipped too far behind to catch his
rival and then inverted the Ford for a second time on the 18th stage and
duly slipped to sixth place. Four-times World Champion Tommi Makinen took
third overall and Finland's Harri Rovanpera emerged unscathed from a light
roll on Saturday to stake a claim on fourth place. Norway's Petter Solberg
rolled gently over the first loop of stages on Sunday, but recovered
strongly to take fifth and the Hyundai team looked set for a solitary
championship point, but Armin Schwarz was overtaken near the end.
Estonian's Markku Martin - the outright leader on Friday - lost a top four
position when he rolled on Saturday morning and his Ford eventually
finished eighth. "It was a first gear corner and we were accelerating
away when something clipped the car and we overturned," said
co-driver Michael Park. Mitsubishi's Jani Parsonen and Finnish co-driver
Arto Kapanen clipped a rock mid-way through the seventh stage and damaged
the Mitsubishi's steering. Ralliart team mate Alister McRae survived an
eighth-stage roll, only to fall foul of transmission problems and Francois
Duval's brave drive came to an end in the ninth stage, when his Ford Focus
was sidelined with engine problems.
Former
World Champion Juha Kankkunen retired with a cracked sump, while
suspension and transmission problems put paid to Bruno Thiry and Freddy
Loix's challenges. The FIA Production Car Championship category developed
into a Mitsubishi benefit, with Malaysian Karamjit Singh surviving rear
suspension mounting difficulties on Saturday to hold off a challenge from
former Group N World Champion Gustavo Trelles. Early pacesetters Ramon
Ferreyros and Gianni Manfrinato crashed out of the running. The FIA World
Rally Championship resumes in May with the Rally of Argentina, but this
year's Cyprus Rally will be remembered for appalling weather conditions
and the unpredictable nature of the sinuous gravel stages in the Troodos
Mountains. Final Positions (top 6 only): 1. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautianen
(Peugeot 206 WRC) 4h 21m 25.7s 2. Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Peugeot 206
WRC) 4h 22m 22.5s 3. Tommi Makinen/Kaj Lindstrom (Subaru Impreza WRC 2002)
4h 22m 24.7s 4. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen (Peugeot 206 WRC) 4h 22m
44.4s 5. Petter Solberg/Phlip Mills (Subaru Impreza WRC 2002) 4h 23m 43.6s
6. Colin McRae/Nicky Grist (Ford Focus RS WRC 02)
4h 24m 11.2s
Ends
For
further media information: Cyprus Rally 2002 Media Office, Media Centre,
Limassol (Tel: + 357 2576 2067, Fax: + 357 2576 2070).
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| Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 - 14.40 NEWS
AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 20
Weather
conditions: no rain (wet surfaces)
WRC 1 Burns said it was unexpected
to get such a good result.
"Colin was
strong but you also have to be
strong in not making mistakes.
There's still
room for improvement but when I
started this rally I had a lot to
learn and
was driving to learn. It's a
fantastic result for the team and
they didn't necessarily expect
such a good result." He
added, "Contrary to rumour,I
did not collapse or throw up on
Friday - although I was close to
doing so." 3 Rovanpera said
the heavy rain in the first stage
this afternoon made things tricky.
"It's been a very difficult
rally and it's great to
finish." 4 Sainz said the
last three stages were okay apart
from the rain in the first, which
he found was as bad as yesterday
for a while. "It has been a
difficult rally overall but we
treated the last stages more as
testing, trying new things for the
team. 6 Martin. Co-driver Park
said they were both relieved. They
had no problems this afternoon and
cruised to the finish. He said
it's been one of the
most difficult rallies in a long
time. "The three-minute gap
can mean different conditions for
different drivers. 7 Delecour is
not happy with his position. Said
he came here to win. 11 Solberg.
"From 28th to 5th, I can't
complain. We lost four minuteson
the first day. We could have
won...! 14 Eriksson said he had
the wrong tyre choice on the last
stages. "It will be hard in
the future to keep up with
Peugeot, Ford and Subaru 15
Gardemeister said he's glad it's
over. 23 Panizzi said the last day
has been fantastic. "I made
progress on
gravel and am looking forward to
next year." 27 Kuchar.
"Thanks to the whole MSD
Team. They really did a wonderful
job. 28 Pozzo. "I know we had
problems today and through the
whole rally but
the aim was to get a good feeling
with the car. I was good
experience for
me and my aim is accomplished.
Sunday, April 21st, 2002 - 1715
NEWS (52) AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 20 -
Weather conditions: no rain (wet
surfaces) PRODUCTION CARS 51
Trelles said things went okay.
"The road conditions were
very slippery but we had to
problems. I just worked to get to
the end". 55 Girdauskas
grounded on the start of the first
stage this afternoon
and sustained damage to the front
left strut. He repaired it with a
strap.
"It's been a very difficult
rally and it's a relief to
finish." 58 Baldini. "It
has been a very tough rally and I
am happy to finish.
We had too many problems yesterday
but today we only had a puncture.
The four points are very important
and I'm now looking forward to
Argentina." 59 Barratt.
Co-driver Freeman said things went
well on the last three stages.
They had bent a wheel back into
the arch in SS18 so could no
longer push." 65 Harrach said
he overtook another car in SS18
and then put up the best
PC time on SS19. "Our result
is great in view of the problems
we have had." 66 Iliev said
he had a small crash and the
steering wheel spun and hit
him. His wrist was very painful.
OTHER DRIVERS 32 Papadimitrriou.
Co-driver Harriman said was more
slippery than expected but they
had made the right tyre choice.
"It was an adventure,
especially after the rain
started." 116 Levy. "It
has been difficult but we did
it!"
| Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 - 1545 hrs
NEWS AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 19
Weather
conditions: very heavy rain
WRC 1 Burns was happy but
said he wanted different
weather. 2 Gronholm was
happy, relaxed and smiling.
4 Sainz appeared to be
enjoying himself. 5 McRae.
His car looked to be in a
sorry state. 14 Eriksson
said he lost time in the
stage because of a brake
problem. 15 Gardemeister.
"The weather's
appalling. I thought you
came to Cyprus
for a sunny
island."PRODUCTION CAR
51 Trelles. "So this is
summer!" 69 Kollevold
said he thought this was a
hot and dusty rally but all
he's
got is a hot and dusty
finishing position.
| Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 -
14.40 NEWS AFTER
SPECIAL STAGE 18
-
Weather conditions:
increasingly heavy
rain (wet surfaces).
WRC 6. Martin:
"The last stage
was very much a
lottery," said
Martin. "It
depended upon where
you started whether
you ran in the rain or
the dry."
Reported to have water
seeping from a gap at
the top of the damaged
windscreen. 5. McRae:
Rolled twice in the
stage and then had to
stop and clear the
screen because the
wipers were damaged.
Lost around two and a
half minutes and
slipped to seventh. 3.
Rovanpera: "The
rain in that stage was
terrible." 11.
Solberg: Bad screen
misting problems. 1.
Burns: "This will
be a real fight to the
finish." 10.
Makinen: "I lost
a lot of time in that
stage because of the
rain.
It was very
difficult." 2.
Gronholm: "It was
terrible in
there." 23.
Panizzi: There was
rain for at least half
the stage according to
Panizzi. 15.
Gardemeister: No
screen heater working
and has a broken rear
roll
bar. 4. Sainz:
Collision with a rock
was reason for the
power steering problem
this morning. Fitted a
brand new type of
damper for the first
time on
this stage and then
stopped after the
stage to adjust the
settings. They had
been too soft.
"Horrible,"
according to Carlos.
OTHER CARS 27. Kuchar:
Suspension problems
and a broken wiper
blade. 28. Pozzo:
Declared that the last
3 kms of the stage
were wet. Engine
stalled on a left-hand
corner. Sunday, April
21st, 2002 - 15.40
NEWS (48) AFTER
SPECIAL STAGE 18 -
Weather conditions:
easing rain (wet
surfaces) PRODUCTION
CARS 59. Barrett:
"We have been
understeering
everywhere." 66.
Iliev: Late drama for
the Bulgarian. He
sustained a rear left
flat
tyre and then his hand
became caught in the
steering wheel.
Arrived at the
end of the stage with
considerable pain,
holding his wrist,
unable to help his
co-driver change the
wheel. 65. Harrech:
Wheel arch inner
hanging down at end of
stage, but Harrech
not unduly concerned.
"We caught a car
(Kounelis 114) and he
couldn't see
us because of the
rain, so I gave him a
gentle tap-tap on the
rear bumper
and he pulled
over." OTHER CARS
29. Touhino: "I
hit the rock which
Colin knocked into the
road after
he rolled and I broke
the power
steering..But I didn't
roll!" 103.
Tsouloftas: "I'm
driving like a taxi
driver just to reach
the finish." 113.
Errani: Reports vague
steering.
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Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 - 12.00 NEWS AFTER SPECIAL
STAGE 17 - Weather conditions: dry and sunny
in Limassol; dry and sunny in the stage
(surface drying).
News
after stage 17 Colin Mcrae's roll on
SS16 caused a powersteering failure to his
Ford and now he is struggling to make up the
50 seconds that separete him from the new
leader, Marcus Gronholm.
Subaru's
Tommi Makinen won his second stage in a row,
just ahead of the Peuegot triumvirate of
Richard Burns, Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera.
McRae's crew should be able to fix the power
steering at service, but if not, then
his second place could well come under threat
from Makinen who is 26.7sec behind the
Focus driver.
Petter
Solberg blotted his stunning comeback drive by
rolling his Subaru. The Norwegian kept going,
but having moved into the top six on SS16, he
is now back to seventh. Armin Schwarz, who was
an impressive fifth over SS17, has benefited
from the error and is now in a points scoring
position.
Along
with McRae, the other Fords of Markko Martin
and Carlos Sainz are also struggling without
powersteering. Martin also rolled on the
previous stage and broke his system. He is
hanging on in eighth, with Sainz dropping a
place to 11th.
WRC
6. Martin: "It was a first gear corner
and we were accelerating away.
There must have been something in the bushes,
which upended the car and we
landed on the wheels. There was a small fire
in the cockpit by my legs, but fortunately it
extinguished itself," said co-driver
Michael Park." The
car sustained a broken steering rack. 5.
McRae: Reported to have lost the tripmeter in
the accident on SS16
and asked the team, via radio, which exit to
take off the motorway. "We think
we went over twice, but we're not sure! It
landed on the wheels and the
power steering failed immediately," said
co-driver Grist. 3. Rovanpera: Started SS17
with no air in any tyres.. 10. Makinen:
Complaining of rocks being thrown in the road
by Richard
Burns' s car. 1. Burns: "It is easy to
see why so many cars are overturning. It's a
combination of high ride heights and good
grip..," said co-driver Reid. 11. Solberg:
Reportedly rolled at the end of the stage, but
there were
many spectators on the corner and the crew
were able to stay in the car throughout the
incident. 15. Gardemeister: Complained that
the suspension is a little too hard. OTHER
CARS 27. Kuchar: "The engine is now
running below 115 degrees C." A flat tyre
in SS16. The jack was not working and he
started SS17 with no air in the
tyre. 28. Pozzo: Completed the stage with a
broken shock absorber. Sunday, April 21st,
2002 - 12.45 NEWS (44) AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 17
- Weather conditions: dry and sunny (surface
drying) PRODUCTION CARS 74. Singh: "I'm
just cruising." 55. Girdauskas: Confirmed
he lost some time with an accident in SS15.
58. Baldini: Yesterday's problems have been
traced to the turbo and this will be changed
at service. WRC UPDATE 14. Eriksson: "A
right rear suspension arm failed and it pulled
the driveshaft out and broke a brake pipe. We
lost two minutes and then incurred a time
penalty at the next control," said
co-driver Thorner. 5. McRae (update): Nicky
Grist admitted receiving a wrong interim
message from the Ford team in SS15 and Colin
eased off unduly as a result. OTHER CARS 32.
Papadimitriou: Completed the stage with a
broken exhaust and sumpguard. 107. Timotheou:
"It only seems to be the big boys who
have problems with Cypriot roads when the
weather is bad!"
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Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 - 1100 NEWS AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 16
Weather conditions: dry and sunny with high cloud to
the west.
Stage
surface slippery WRC 4 Sainz has lost power steering
again but is quite relaxed - had a smile and a joke
with the marshals. 5 McRae rolled in the stage and
lost the rally lead to Gronholm. Has
lost power steering but Ford say the car is running
okay otherwise. 6 Martin rolled on the stage. Has lost
power steering but car otherwise okay, according to
Ford team. OTHER DRIVERS 29 Tuohino says, "I'm
trying but it's really slippy out here today."
Sunday, April 21st, 2002 - 1220 NEWS (42) AFTER
SPECIAL STAGE 16 Weather conditions: dry and sunny
with high cloud to the west. Stage surface slippery.
PRODUCTION CAR 55 Girdauskas damaged a front wheel in
the stage. 74 Singh says he is taking today steadily.
OTHER DRIVERS 103 Tsouloftas is very happy and
determined to maintain his position of leading Cypriot
driver. 108 Georgallis. "Slowly, slowly catchee
monkey." 115 Hartopoulas says he's going well and
has no problems. 116 Levy. "I've used the wrong
tyres."
Marcus Gronholm has sensationally jumped into the lead
of the Cyrpus Rally on the second stage of the final
day after Colin McRae rolled his Ford Focus.
Gronholm
started the Agioi Vavatsinias run over 13sec down on
McRae, but the Scot's error has now left him 5.5sec in
arrears. Despite rolling, McRae kept going and was
still eighth fastest over the 12.8kms. But his
powersteering has failed - either the cause of the
accident or the result. With four stages left to run,
an exciting battle to the finish looks set to be
fought out between the Peugeot and Ford aces.
Tommi
Makinen's Subaru won the stage, but it was the
Peugeots that again looked the strongest. Harri
Rovanpera, Richard Burns, Gronholm and Gilles Panizzi
covered positions two to five. Rovanpera managed his
time despite two punctures.
Petter
Solberg has moved into the points on what has been a
disasterous stage for Ford. Not only did McRae roll,
but so did his team-mate Markko Martin 2kms from the
end. That has pushed him down to eighth, behind
Solberg and Armin Schwarz.
To add to
Ford's woes, Carlos Sainz lost time with powersteering
failure. The Spaniard remains 10th behind Kenneth
Eriksson, whose Skoda lost its rear brakes.
| Sunday,
April 21st, 2002 - 10.00 NEWS AFTER SPECIAL
STAGE 15 - Weather conditions: dry and sunny in
Limassol; dry and sunny in the stage (surface
drying).
WRC
6. Martin: Front-left puncture near the end of
the stage. 3. Rovanpera: Damaged rear valance
dragging on the road at the end of
the stage. 10. Makinen: Complained that the cars
in front had been corner-cutting
and dragging some large stones into the track.
"I had to drive around some
of the stones." 4. Sainz: "We are
using the day as an opportunity to test some new
settings. It is not very often you get a chance
to do this. Luis is okay, but is
on painkillers this morning." 2. Gronholm:
Bulging tyre and slight damage at the end of the
stage.
Tyre changed as a precaution. 7. Delecour:
Damage to a rear suspension stoneguard, repaired
by his co-driver after the stage. 23. Panizzi:
"I am learning all the time. The car is
perfect today." 11. Solberg: "It is
going to be tough, but I am going to attack. I
have
to try." 15. Gardemeister: "After the
problems yesterday, there is nothing we
can do to catch up." 17. Schwarz:
Front-left puncture 5 kms before the end of the
stage. OTHER CARS 27. Kuchar: Reports slight
overheating problems and a handling problem.
"I cannot wait for this rally to
finish!" 28. Pozzo: 3 kms from the end of
the stage he broke a right-hand shock absorber
and admits that he will take it steadily on the
next two stages
to conserve the car. Sunday, April 21st, 2002 -
11.15 NEWS (40) AFTER SPECIAL STAGE 15 - Weather
conditions: dry and sunny (surface drying)
PRODUCTION CARS 74. Singh: "I drove
carefully through that stage. Nothing to be
gained
by pushing." 51: Trelles: No problems
through the stage. 65. Harrach: Reported to have
rolled on a hairpin left and managed to complete
the stage with some bodywork damage. OTHER CARS
106. Shohatovich: Excluded from the rally prior
to this morning's start
for illegal servicing. FIA Article 12.2.2. 30.
Stohl: Reported to be off the road. 29.
Papadimitriou: Two 3rd gear spins in the stage.
103. Tsouloftas: To cool the suspension was
reverting to spraying the
units with an aerosol of coolant spray.
"This was a trick I picked up from
the Lancia team on the Acropolis Rally!" |
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