From rallye-info-return-79-skye=f4.ca@rallye-newsletter.com Tue Apr 5 14:48:44 2005 Envelope-to: skye@f4.ca Received: from dpe0303.sxpress.com ([216.128.72.4] helo=rallye-newsletter.com) by seattle.f4.ca with smtp (Exim 4.42) id 1DIvuV-0002w6-TU for skye@f4.ca; Tue, 05 Apr 2005 14:48:44 -0700 Received: (qmail 16067 invoked by uid 510); 5 Apr 2005 17:40:05 -0000 Mailing-List: contact rallye-info-help@rallye-newsletter.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: From: feedback@rallye-newsletter.com List-Help: Delivered-To: mailing list rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Delivered-To: moderator for rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Received: (qmail 16039 invoked from network); 5 Apr 2005 17:38:28 -0000 Message-ID: <003c01c53a11$a0ccd280$01d42950@D5SSNB1J> From: "Ronnie Salter" To: Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005 19:59:43 +0100 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original Subject: [RallyeNewsletter] 2005 Rally New Zealand - Preview X-Antivirus-Scanner: Cleared by Exiscan & ClamAV X-Spam-Score: -- X-UID: 2167 X-Keywords: Status: RO Content-Length: 15776 Lines: 332 RallyeNewsletter - http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ : New Zealand 05 __________________________________________________________________ 2005 Rally New Zealand, Round 4 of 16, April 8th-10th 2005 In this issue: - WRC SMS service - Follow the Rally on your mobile - Rallye Webmail service - Rally Preview - Facts and Figures - Event Timetable - Championship Standings - Subscription Information __________________________________________________________________ **Rallysport.info WRC SMS service** Follow the rally as it happens on your mobile phone wherever you are - at work, home or on the special stages. Stay in touch with your favourite drivers and teams during each round of the 2005 World Rally Championship. From just 8 euros per rally, discounts available for 4 or more rounds. Further information at: http://www.rallysport.info/ __________________________________________________________________ **Rallye-Webmail.com -- in association with Pitstop Bookshop** Rallye-Webmail.com - New for 2005 our RallyeWebmail service provides rally fans with full-featured and free webmail accounts. Visit: http://www.rallye-webmail.com/ __________________________________________________________________ Rally New Zealand Preview The WRC crews head to New Zealand for the 4th round of the 2005 World Rally Championship this weekend for a change of scene after the hot and dusty roads of Mexico. Rally New Zealand is one of the longest serving events in the current WRC calendar and is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. The stages are generally regarded as being among the most enjoyable in the championship thanks to their flowing nature. Severely cambered roads allow drivers to really show their skills at high speed and the spectacular North Island scenery through which the event passes, especially on the final day, provides some of the most stunning visual images of the season. Championship leader Petter Solberg will be gunning for his 3rd win a row whilst Citroen's Sebastien Loeb will be looking for a better result after disappointment on the last 2 events. NZ is Marcus Gronholm's favourite event and he will undoubtedly have the pace to run right at the front whilst Ford's Toni Gardemeister enjoys the fast flowing gravel roads here too. Citroen Team Citroën Total has entered two Xsara WRCs, one for defending champions Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and the other for their team-mate François Duval/Stéphane Prévot. This year's visit is the French squad's third trip to New Zealand following consecutive 4th place finishes with Sébastien Loeb in 2003 and 2004. The team has slowly but surely built up its understanding of this event's specific stages which WRC regulars come across just once a year. Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: "Last year, after serving as 'road sweeper' throughout the first loop of stages and dropping 44 seconds, I knew I wouldn't be able to win. The second loop was identical and I only dropped a further 4 seconds. After Sunday's first group of stages, I was still 47s behind the leader who was battling hard to defend first place. The moral of the story is that practically all that deficit was lost running first on the road on the Friday. That said, the terrain could be different this time round; it could rain, etc. But it will be nice if we are in a position where we are challenging for top spot in New Zealand which is one of the few events that has resisted the team so far." Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: "My prime objective will be to build on my experience which is very important over this event's difficult, technically demanding stages. I will be pleased if I finish in the top-five, and delighted if I make it onto the podium. Honestly though, I don't think it will be possible to win in normal circumstances!" Subaru Three weeks after winning the most recent round of the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship in Mexico, the Subaru World Rally Team are preparing to cross the globe for the fourth event of the 16-round series, Rally New Zealand. The Subaru World Rally Team will be entering two cars in New Zealand, to be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall). Stéphane Sarrazin and co-driver Denis Giraudet will complete the recce to gain experience of the event. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "The new car felt good in Mexico, not perfect, but very good. Throughout the event, the team worked hard to improve the set-up so I could get more feeling and, after the second day, I was much happier. There are still some improvements to be made ahead of New Zealand and we're always making lots of adjustments that can make a difference to the overall experience inside the car, so it's looking good. New Zealand will be a difficult rally for me due to running first on the road. I think I'll lose a bit of time on the first day as I sweep the loose gravel roads clean for those behind, but hopefully I'll be able to get it back on Leg two and three. Everything is possible so we'll just have to wait and see. It's a good rally and one that everyone's looking forward to." Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "I started to understand things a lot more about the car in Mexico and felt as though I was improving. I learned to be more patient and discovered that, it you drop back a little and don't push so hard, it's easier to stay on the clean line. You could see our development in the stage times and hopefully it'll be the same in New Zealand. There were some sections in Mexico that were similar to terrain that I'd contested on before, but many parts felt very new. In terms of the car, everything's feeling better and I'm more comfortable working with the team. All the changes that we made in Mexico seem to have gone in the right direction and the plan is to continue that in New Zealand. Glenn and I have been working pretty closely with Petter. We have quite a similar driving style and want the same things from the car, so it's good. I'm not setting myself any objectives in terms of finishing positions for New Zealand but, similar to the last two events, it's all about getting experience. I'd love to get a good finish and seeing the speed we had in Mexico hopefully that will come soon." Ford Vastly different conditions on the opening three rounds have provided a tough start to the 2005 season. Drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen and team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Mozný have faced asphalt, snow, ice and rock-hard gravel to date. But the all-round versatility of the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car has enabled the BP-Ford squad to claim a strong second in the manufacturers' championship while Gardemeister holds third in the drivers' standings. The journey to New Zealand's North Island is the longest of the season for BP-Ford but the rally more than makes up for the seemingly endless hours spent in the air en route. The roads near the rally base of Auckland are widely regarded as the best in the championship. As smooth as a billiard table and gently winding through the lush, green countryside, they pose fewer mechanical demands than most gravel rallies and invite drivers to attack them. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The last round in Mexico was my first on gravel in the Focus. The result wasn't as strong as I had hoped but the car felt good to drive and I learned a lot. I'm looking forward to driving it in New Zealand, which is a rally I really enjoy. It's quite like my home event in Finland, without the big jumps." Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "Every rally this season has been one of learning for me. But despite this I scored driver points in both Monte Carlo and Sweden and was lying in the points in Mexico before retiring. I'm aiming for another points finish in New Zealand, but the most important aspect for me is to learn as much as I can about the event. Peugeot Thanks to its record since the beginning of the season, including a double podium in Mexico, Peugeot is in a favourable situation as it prepares for Rally New Zealand. The French outfit effectively leads the Manufacturers' championship while its two drivers figure strongly in the Drivers' standings. Marcus Grönholm, three-times winner in Auckland with Peugeot, and Markko Märtin, who finished 3rd last year, both have high hopes for the fourth round of the 2005 championship. Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "It's a rally I like very much. I can't wait to be back in New Zealand and I'm hoping for a good result. As in Mexico, my main objective will be to finish in the points but that doesn't rule out going for a win. In 2004, I finished 2nd when the 307 WRC was still very new. The situation is different this time." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "It's a real driver's rally. The grip is good and you can drive flat. To be competitive, you need good knowledge of the stages, and that is our case. But you also need complete confidence in your car and the result we can aim for will depend essentially on that." Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team heads to the fourth round of the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship in New Zealand third in the series for manufacturers and buoyed by its third consecutive double-points haul in México just weeks ago. Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen once again lead the team's assault, while team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore make the long journey to the other side of the world to pilot the team's second Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietiläinen: "I don't really know why New Zealand has been so good to me, but for sure it's one of my best and certainly a favorite. The roads are very nice, it's a quick event and the gravel is also nice; not bumpy or rough. It is quite a technical rally and not so easy because of the constantly changing camber on the road, but it works well for me. One thing that is very important though is to have a really good car and a lot of confidence in everything; then it all comes together". Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "For us, New Zealand is a very new rally and our experience is very very small. I have already discussed our strategy with the team and everyone agrees that it is important to get to the finish, understand more and have the same philosophy we have had all season. Therefore, our goal will be to finish, look for some points for Mitsubishi, and move further ahead with the development of the dampers and active center diff. That is all, nothing else. I hope to enjoy the rally, but then I enjoy myself every time I sit in the car anyway.!" Skoda Rally New Zealand (April 7-10) is the furthest event from the team's Mladá Boleslav base in heart of Europe and for this second long-haul event of the season the team will be represented by Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha and Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula. The Skoda Fabia WRC 05 has a revised aerodynamic package that should be ideally suited to the nature of the stages in New Zealand. So far this season the Fabia, both in its current specification and the one preceding it for the first two rounds, has shown significant improvements in pace but has so far been denied the overall result that the team is seeking. Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "Although this is my first time competing in New Zealand I made the recce there in 2003. At the time I said that I really wanted to compete on this rally as the roads are really beautiful, very fast and in some places quite like Finland. They can be quite slippery so our starting position on the road will be quite important each day." Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "New Zealand is a real drivers' rally and it should suit our car's handling. It's quite a high-speed event and you need to balance confidence with caution. The quite severe camber of the roads means you can push hard but you mustn't be over-confident, especially if the stages are dry as the loose gravel is very slippery. It is actually better if the surface is a little bit damp which is always possible at this time of year which is autumn in New Zealand as the grip is then much greater." __________________________________________________________________ Facts & Figures Ten time zones are crossed when travelling from Continental Europe (GMT +2) to New Zealand (GMT +12), which means it is necessary to subtract ten hours from the times listed below to obtain Continental European time. Total length of the 35th Rally New Zealand (the 27th as a WRC qualifier) is 1,128.48 km, including 356 km divided into 20 stages (13 different, including two new tests: Millbrook and Waipu Caves). Recce takes place over Tuesday April 5th (08:00 - 18:00) and Wednesday April 6th (08:00 - 16:30). The shakedown test (Thursday April 7th, 08:00 - 11:00) switches from its usual location to a 5.21 km test on Wearmouth Road near the Paparoa service park (150 km north of Auckland). The ceremonial start (Thursday, 19:30) will take place to the backdrop of Waitemata Plaza (Auckland), close to Viaduct Basin, base of the recent America's Cup. The same location will host the finish and prize-giving ceremonies. Tyres: two types of pattern are authorised. On Friday February 15th, the teams communicated the lists of the 60 bar-code references corresponding to their drivers' individual choices. In the course of the rally, drivers may use 35 tyres from their quota. __________________________________________________________________ Event Timetable LEG 1 : Paparoa -Paparoa Friday 8th April 2005 : 09.30 - 19.00 245 km 8 Special Stages (130 km) SS 1 Parahi (25.3 km) : 09.53 SS 2 Batley 1 (19.3 km) : 10.46 SS 3 Waipu Gorge 1 (11.2 km) : 11.14 SS 4 Brooks 1 (16.1 km) : 11.37 SS 5 Batley 2 (19.3 km) : 13.33 SS 6 Waipu Gorge 2 (11.2 km) : 14.01 SS 7 Brooks 2 (16.1 km) : 14.24 SS 8 Millbrook (10.2 km) : 14.54 Service Park (A) - Paparoa : 12.40 (30') Service Park (B) - Paparoa: 15.50 (45') LEG 2 : Paparoa -Western Springs Saturday 9th April 2005 : 09.00 - 20.30 415 km 8 Special Stages (140 km) SS 9 Wairere (18.9 km) : 09.23 SS 10 Cassidy 1 (15,8 km) : 10.01 SS 11 Bull 1 (31.8 km) : 10.24 SS 12 Waipu Caves (21.3 km) : 13.03 SS 13 Cassidy 2 (15.8 km) : 13.39 SS 14 Bull 2 (31.8 km) : 14.02 SS 15 Manukau Super 1 (2.1 km) : 19.30 SS 16 Manukau Super 2 (2.1 km) : 19.51 Service Park (C) - Paparoa : 09.00 (10') Service Park (D) - Paparoa : 11.40 (30') Service Park (E) - Paparoa : 14.50 (45') LEG 3 : Western Springs - Auckland Sunday 10th April 2005 : 06.30 - 15.30 468 km 4 Special Stages (87 km) SS 17 Te Hutewai (11.1 km) : 09.03 SS 18 Whaanga Coast 1 (29.8 km) : 09.26 SS 19 Te Papatapu (16.6 km) : 11.03 SS 20 Whaanga Coast 2 (29.8 km) 11.36 Service Park (F) - Western Springs (10') : 06.35 Service Park (G) - Western Springs (20') : 14.17 Total distance 1128 km - 20 Special Stages (356 km) __________________________________________________________________ Championship Standings: Drivers: 1. P Solberg 20pts 2. M Märtin 19pts 3. T Gardemeister 17pts 4. S Loeb 15pts 5. M Grönholm 12pts 6. H Rovanperä 11pts Manufacturers: Peugeot 31 Ford 23 Mitsubishi 23 Subaru 20 Citroen 16 Skoda 4 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.2 - Release Date: 05/04/2005 __________________________________________________________________ If you enjoy RallyeNewsletter, please forward it to a friend or refer them to http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ __________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a blank email to rallye-info-unsubscribe@rallye-newsletter.com From rallye-info-return-80-skye=f4.ca@rallye-newsletter.com Fri Apr 8 03:42:42 2005 Envelope-to: skye@f4.ca Received: from [216.128.72.4] (helo=rallye-newsletter.com) by seattle.f4.ca with smtp (Exim 4.42) id 1DJqwe-0008p9-Uz for skye@f4.ca; Fri, 08 Apr 2005 03:42:42 -0700 Received: (qmail 22551 invoked by uid 510); 8 Apr 2005 07:44:19 -0000 Mailing-List: contact rallye-info-help@rallye-newsletter.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: From: feedback@rallye-newsletter.com List-Help: Delivered-To: mailing list rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Delivered-To: moderator for rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Received: (qmail 22525 invoked from network); 8 Apr 2005 07:42:52 -0000 Message-ID: <004501c53c19$f2bed9d0$59da2950@D5SSNB1J> From: "Ronnie Salter" To: Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 10:04:19 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Subject: [RallyeNewsletter] 2005 Rally New Zealand - Leg One X-Antivirus-Scanner: Cleared by Exiscan & ClamAV X-Spam-Score: -- Status: RO Content-Length: 13913 Lines: 290 RallyeNewsletter - http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ : New Zealand 05 __________________________________________________________________ 2005 Rally New Zealand, Round 4 of 16, April 8th-10th 2005 In this issue: - Rallye-Info Photo Galleries - Positions after Leg One - Leg One News - Remaining Event Timetable - Subscription Information __________________________________________________________________ ***Rallye-Info.com Photo Galleries*** http://www.rallye-info.com/gallery.asp Check out our photo galleries for all the latest pics from NZ and past events. The gallery is fully searchable by event, driver and car and is ever expanding as we add the pics from the latest event as well as images from an extensive back catalogue. http://www.rallye-info.com/gallery.asp __________________________________________________________________ Rally New Zealand, Positions after Leg One: 1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 1hr 12min 01.1sec 2. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 1hr 12min 24.2sec 3. F Duval/S Prévot B Citroen Xsara 1hr 12min 27.8sec 4. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 1hr 12min 32.8sec 5. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 1hr 12min 55.4sec 6. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 13min 00.8sec 7. M Märtin/M Park EE Peugeot 307 1hr 13min 10.3sec 8. M Stohl/I Minor A Citroen Xsara 1hr 13min 48.3sec 9. H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 1hr 13min 54.2sec 10 G Galli/G D'Amore I Mitsubishi Lancer 1hr 14min 01.7sec Rally New Zealand - News from Leg One Championship leader Petter Solberg (Subaru) took an early lead which he held onto for three stages. But the Norwegian could shake off neither Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) nor Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot). The trio reached service midway through the day with Loeb heading Grönholm and Solberg but they were covered by just 0.8sec. Loeb was sensational through the afternoon tests. He was fastest on three of the four stages to open a 23.1sec advantage over Grönholm. Solberg could not hold off a charging François Duval (Citroen), who opted for the same tyres as Gardemeister (Ford), and ended the leg 5.0sec ahead. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) again impressed and he lies fifth after claiming a first fastest time in the WRC on the final stage. Gig Galli (Mitsubishi) ran as high as sixth before alternator problems this afternoon dropped him to 10th. Janne Tuohino (Skoda) incurred a 50 second penalty after his team had to fit a replacement electronic control unit in the engine moments before the start. The Finn is 12th. Citroen An outstanding first day run has seen Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena emerge as early leaders of Rally New Zealand. Their team-mates François Duval and Stéphane Prévot follow in an excellent 3rd place, less than 4s behind Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen, and there is a palpable feeling of satisfaction in the Citroën camp. Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: Soon after the start of 'Batley 2', I felt my decision to run with a harder compound tyre was the right choice. That feeling was reinforced by my car's handling and I was really able to push through the three repeated stages which had cleaned up since the morning. That said, I didn't think I would be able to pull out such a big gap. There was a lot of surface gravel in the last stage of the day which hadn't yet been covered but the balance of my car enabled me to cope with that. The progress we have made here is due to a number of factors: I have more experience, I am able to adapt my driving to the terrain, to brake late and stay on the clean lines through the corners. And that's also possible because the car allows me to do it. It has improved on all fronts, as have our tyres. Those in the hunt for victory tomorrow will benefit from the same stage conditions. I will try not to make any mistakes and defend the gap I have pulled out." Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: "The final stage of the day was new for everyone, and my 11th position on the road here was an advantage. I am really pleased to be 3rd this evening on a rally that requires so much experience, especially since it is still possible to fine-tune the set- up of my Xsara. I'm not far behind Marcus [Grönholm] but that won't change my approach. I will keep to the same pace tomorrow without worrying about my stage times. As I have already said, I will be delighted if I can score the six points for Citroën and myself that go with 3rd place." Subaru Despite the disadvantage of running first on the road, Petter Solberg made the perfect start to Rally New Zealand today by setting the fastest time on the first stage of the event. An impressive and trouble-free performance from Petter through the rest of the Leg kept him in contention for the lead and he will start tomorrow's second day just 31 seconds off the top-spot, and with the benefit of a far more advantageous road position. Contesting only his third event in a WRC-class car, Petter's team-mate Chris Atkinson delivered another impressive, mature drive aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2005. Clinching two WRC stage wins (the first of his career), the young Australian proved to be a fast learner as he ended the day in fifth place overall. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "I'm very happy with what we've done today, we've made a really good start. In the morning we took a risk with a softer tyre and were very pleased with the performance. I didn't lose nearly as much time as I thought I would. In the afternoon we went for the same plan, with a softer tyre, only this time it was a mistake and, looking back, we should have taken a harder one. But generally, even though we could have done better, I'm still very happy. We've had absolutely no problems, the car is driving very well, giving lots of confidence, and considering we've been first through the stages all day, we're not too far off the lead. There's a long way to go yet and I'm still aiming for a good points finish." Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "We've had a good day today and of course it's encouraging to have collected a couple of stage wins too. The road position worked out well for us and after a cautious start I'm feeling much more confident on the gravel. I think we can continue at this pace, and keep on learning - we are not going after the guys at the front. I think we can make some more adjustments to the car and make it 100 per cent, but at this stage practice is going to make the most difference to my times. For us it is all about getting more experience over the next couple of days and hopefully getting a good result." Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen ended today's opening leg of the Rally New Zealand in sixth. After a difficult morning on slippery roads, the Finns' performance was transformed by a new untried tyre construction and they set consistently fast times to climb the leaderboard in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "I had good grip on the first stage, which was quite humid and damp, but the next three tests were difficult. I couldn't find a good line because the roads were drier and there was a lot of loose gravel. I tried to push and stay on the line that the first two cars had created, but it wasn't easy because after only two cars there wasn't really a clean line to follow. The grip was fantastic this afternoon. We made an excellent tyre choice and pushed hard. Everything felt better and we set some good times. My brake pedal felt a little soft on stage seven but it wasn't a major problem. Tomorrow I will try to stay at the same rhythm and see if I can attack even harder. Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Withdrew after shakedown accident Peugeot Three drivers broke away from the pack at the first opportunity: the same trio that have set the pace all year. Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg traded seconds all day. After the first loop of four stages, totalling 72 competitive kilometres, they were covered by just eight tenths of a second. Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm ended the day 2nd, less than half a minute behind leader Sebastien Loeb. Team mate Markko Martin is lying 7th after chossing too soft a tyre. Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "I was reasonably pleased after the first loop of stages, knowing that I had made a tyre choice that was a bit too hard. Unfortunately, we had the opposite problem in the afternoon, and chose tyres that were too soft. We struggled to find traction, so it was a frustrating afternoon. Generally speaking, it was quite a messy day where we made life difficult for ourselves. However, we end the leg just 20 seconds off the lead and we have had no problems with the car. I've always had a good feeling with the roads here, so we can still challenge for the lead. I'm looking forward to the rest of the event." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "Since the last rally in Mexico and our recent tests I've had a better feeling with the car. This morning started off OK, but like Marcus I chose tyres that were too soft for the afternoon's stages and I struggled a bit. This is the sort of rally where you have to make everything absolutely perfect in order to get a good rhythm and I am not at that point yet. There are a few adjustments I would like to make to the car and hopefully that will help us climb up the order over the remaining two days." Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team suffered a difficult opening leg in Rally New Zealand, uncharacteristic technical problems dropping "Gigi" Galli/Guido D'Amore down the leaderboard from sixth to 10th, while team-mates Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen are just one position ahead in ninth in the second Lancer WRC05. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietiläinen: "Okay, today has gone quite well but our times are not so fantastic. This morning our tires were too hard and this afternoon they were too soft... The car has been way too sideways so we will have to try to find a solution for this. In the fifth stage my drink bottle came out of its holder and I had to drive the whole stage with it rolling around in the foot-well; this wasn't so great either. Hopefully tomorrow we can do something better." Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "Today has been incredible, I feel completely finished! The clutch broke at the end of the first stage and we struggled at the start and finish of each stage, having to push and jump start the car at times. We also had a moment in the third stage when there was a huge stone in the road and I just didn't know where to go or what to do! I knew it would break the wheel so I had to drive completely over it; the car flew in the air and we hit a whole line of posts along the side of the road." Skoda Armin Schwarz and Janne Tuohino hold 11th and 12th places respectively after the opening day of Rally New Zealand, the fourth round of the 2005 World Rally Championship. After a trouble-free shakedown for the Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team, today began with frustration for Janne. As he prepared to leave service there was a problem with the electronic connection to the throttle of the Fabia WRC 05 that forced a change of engine ECU and cost him a 50 seconds penalty for being late out of service. Over today's eight stages the Fabia WRC 05 set top 10 times on every stage; Janne finishing in the top group on six occasions (including sixth on SS4 and fifth on SS8) and Armin on five. Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "I reversed out of the service bay quite normally but as soon as I selected first gear there was no throttle. I had to put it out of my mind quickly and concentrate on driving cleanly. This is my first Rally New Zealand so I've been trying to drive with some safety in mind and just get quicker step by step. I tried wider tyres this afternoon but I preferred the handling of the narrow ones so I will probably use those for the rest of the event." Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "I had a launch control problem on the second stage but otherwise everything is fine. There is a lot of loose gravel outside the clean lines and if you get onto it you lose a lot of grip immediately. The stages are really good here and this afternoon when they were cleaner it was possible to push with a lot more confidence and my times were closer to the leading cars." __________________________________________________________________ Remaining Event Timetable LEG 2 : Paparoa -Western Springs Saturday 9th April 2005 : 09.00 - 20.30 415 km 8 Special Stages (140 km) SS 9 Wairere (18.9 km) : 09.23 SS 10 Cassidy 1 (15,8 km) : 10.01 SS 11 Bull 1 (31.8 km) : 10.24 SS 12 Waipu Caves (21.3 km) : 13.03 SS 13 Cassidy 2 (15.8 km) : 13.39 SS 14 Bull 2 (31.8 km) : 14.02 SS 15 Manukau Super 1 (2.1 km) : 19.30 SS 16 Manukau Super 2 (2.1 km) : 19.51 Service Park (C) - Paparoa : 09.00 (10') Service Park (D) - Paparoa : 11.40 (30') Service Park (E) - Paparoa : 14.50 (45') LEG 3 : Western Springs - Auckland Sunday 10th April 2005 : 06.30 - 15.30 468 km 4 Special Stages (87 km) SS 17 Te Hutewai (11.1 km) : 09.03 SS 18 Whaanga Coast 1 (29.8 km) : 09.26 SS 19 Te Papatapu (16.6 km) : 11.03 SS 20 Whaanga Coast 2 (29.8 km) 11.36 Service Park (F) - Western Springs (10') : 06.35 Service Park (G) - Western Springs (20') : 14.17 Total distance 1128 km - 20 Special Stages (356 km) __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ If you enjoy RallyeNewsletter, please forward it to a friend or refer them to http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ __________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a blank email to rallye-info-unsubscribe@rallye-newsletter.com From rallye-info-return-81-skye=f4.ca@rallye-newsletter.com Sat Apr 9 05:28:37 2005 Envelope-to: skye@f4.ca Received: from dpe0303.sxpress.com ([216.128.72.4] helo=rallye-newsletter.com) by seattle.f4.ca with smtp (Exim 4.42) id 1DKF4i-000Lnd-5v for skye@f4.ca; Sat, 09 Apr 2005 05:28:37 -0700 Received: (qmail 19146 invoked by uid 510); 9 Apr 2005 09:48:20 -0000 Mailing-List: contact rallye-info-help@rallye-newsletter.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: From: feedback@rallye-newsletter.com List-Help: Delivered-To: mailing list rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Delivered-To: moderator for rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Received: (qmail 19101 invoked from network); 9 Apr 2005 09:43:54 -0000 Reply-To: From: "Adrian Kirk-Burnnand" To: Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2005 19:05:21 +0800 Organization: RallyeInfo Ltd Message-ID: <001a01c53cf4$063a54a0$0300a8c0@akirk> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-2" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.2616 Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Subject: [RallyeNewsletter] 2005 Rally New Zealand - Leg Two X-Antivirus-Scanner: Cleared by Exiscan & ClamAV X-Spam-Score: -- X-UID: 2172 X-Keywords: Status: RO Content-Length: 12917 Lines: 262 RallyeNewsletter - http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ : New Zealand 05=20 __________________________________________________________________ 2005 Rally New Zealand, Round 4 of 16, April 8th-10th 2005 In this issue: - Rallye-Info Photo Galleries - Positions after Leg Two - Leg Two News - Remaining Event Timetable - Subscription Information __________________________________________________________________ ***Rallye-Info.com Photo Galleries*** Check out our photo galleries for all the latest pics from NZ and past events. The gallery is fully searchable by event, driver and car and is ever expanding as we add the pics from the latest event as well as images from an extensive back catalogue. http://www.rallye-info.com/gallery.asp __________________________________________________________________ Rally New Zealand, Positions after Leg Two: 1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 2hr 33min 36.4sec=20 2. M Gr=F6nholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 2hr 34min 28.3sec=20 3. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 2hr 34min 35.1sec=20 4. F Duval/S Pr=E9vot B Citroen Xsara 2hr 34min 56.4sec=20 5. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 35min 58.4sec=20 6. M M=E4rtin/M Park EE Peugeot 307 2hr 36min 08.3sec=20 7. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 2hr 36min 35.2sec=20 8. G Galli/G D'Amore I Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 38min 08.8sec=20 9. H Rovanper=E4/R Pietilainen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 38min = 23.0sec=20 10 M Stohl/I Minor A Citroen Xsara 2hr 38min 24.7sec=20 __________________________________________________________________ Rally New Zealand - News from Leg Two Overnight leader Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) extended his advantage with fastest time on the first two stages. The Frenchman then controlled his pace before adding a stunning win in the 31.73km Bull test where he was fastest by almost 17 seconds. He leads by 51.9sec. Marcus Gr=F6nholm (Peugeot) and Petter Solberg (Subaru) enjoyed a thrilling battle for second. The Finn held a narrow advantage initially before Solberg moved ahead, only for Gr=F6nholm to regain second during the afternoon loop. They are split by just 6.8sec tonight. Fran=E7ois Duval (Citroen) could not match their pace and he is fourth. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) was unable to hold onto the Gardemeister / M=E4rtin battle this afternoon = but has a comfortable advantage over Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi). Galli spun on stage 13, and both the Italian and team-mate Harri Rovanper=E4 lost time in the next test when the rubber on their tyres pulled away from the rim. The final day is based around the classic west coast stages near Raglan, 160km south of Auckland. After leaving the city at 06.30, drivers will tackle two loops of two speed tests, covering 87.29km, before returning to Auckland for the finish ceremony at 15.30. Both loops contain the famous Whaanga Coast test, which hugs the Tasman Sea coastline and is rated by many as the best stage in the entire championship.=20 Citroen Take 2.! To the delight of everyone in the Citro=EBn team, the story of Rally New Zealand's second leg was practically identical to that of Day 1, with S=E9bastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Xsara more or less = level pegging with their direct rivals during the morning's loop before pulling clear in the second to extend their lead over their immediate chasers to around the minute mark. S=E9bastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: After posting fastest times through 'Wairere' (SS9) and 'Cassidy 1' (SS10), S=E9bastien was forced to settle for the third best time - 4.5s down - in 'Bull 1'. "I had something of a moment a third of the way into this stage," related the Citro=EBn = driver. "I braked too late for a fourth-gear right-hander and I went wide, with the rear trailing in the ditch. So as not to send the car into a spin, I kept my foot hard to the floor and opposite-locked but the backlash as I pulled clear of the ditch sent me into the opposite side ditch. After another visit to the left-hand ditch, I finally managed to get the car back in line.. Then I slowed it down a little until the end of the stage." By the end of the morning, the French crew had pulled a further 0.5s clear of Petter Solberg and a further 10.8s clear of Marcus Gr=F6nholm.=20 Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: Consistently 3rd or 4th in terms of stage times, Fran=E7ois Duval's only problem concerned his brakes in = 'Bull 2'. "I began to lose the brakes 10 km from the finish and I did the last 8 km with the pedal to the floor." This technical problem was the day's only upset for Guy Fr=E9quelin: "Where I was watching, halfway into the day, Fran=E7ois was up on Marcus and Petter and he still bagged the = third best time. We know that Fran=E7ois asks a lot of his brakes. The very = high quality pads used on his car are also the pads that wear out the quickest. We need to solve this problem and go further down the road of adapting the car to his driving style in order to enable him to attack freely." Subaru Petter Solberg scored three stage wins and moved up from fourth to third position on Rally New Zealand today. Despite having to use tyres that weren't ideally suited to the dry and hot conditions, the Norwegian pushed hard to reach the top-three and is on course to achieve his objective of a podium finish tomorrow. Chris Atkinson continued to learn aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2005, setting some impressive split times and experimenting with his car's set-up and tyres. On only his third event in a WRC-class car, Chris holds overnight seventh place. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: It's almost they same as yesterday - the first time through we're fastest, and the second time we're struggling. It seems the other teams have an advantage on the repeated stages, they have a different tyre and it's working well. I tried my best to change my driving style to cut down the wear, but it's very difficult to do anything. Tomorrow will be a very interesting day. Marcus and I will have a good fight in the morning I think, but in the afternoon, unless we get some rain, I think we will struggle. Of course I want to win every rally I start, but I can honestly say that I will be happy to finish third tomorrow! Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: It's been another useful day and we've learned a lot about the new car and this event. Like Petter we had a few problems with tyre wear on the later stages, but overall the set-up changes we've made have taken us in the right direction. In terms of pace, I'm happy with the speed that we had today, we weren't pushing hard or taking risks and were able to experiment with a few different settings. We're not chasing World Championships yet, just the experience. Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen ended today's second leg of the Rally New Zealand in fifth place after a tremendous three-car battle through the lush North Island countryside. The Finns fought for every tenth of a second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, aided by Michelin's newly developed tyres which were again perfectly suited to the conditions in the warm afternoon temperatures. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "We enjoyed a better morning than yesterday," he said. "All the stages were new to me. I've driven the first two in the opposite direction, but none of them this way around. The opening stage was quite damp, in fact there was almost mud in places. The others were quite dry but there was a lot of loose gravel on the road towards the end of stage 11 and it was slippery. We pushed hard on all three tests and I lost a little time when I slid wide at a corner on the opening stage. It was very humid and inside the car it felt like I was sitting in a sauna."=20 Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Withdrew after shakedown accident Peugeot Some overnight rain made tyre choice difficult for the second leg, which consisted of two loops of three stages (two of which were repeated in the afternoon). The first stage was still very damp, but conditions then remained entirely dry throughout the leg. Both drivers made differing tyre choices but they were happy with their selections. After a tough fight, Gronholm lost his second place to Solberg. Marcus Gronh=F6lm / Timo Rautiainen: "It's clear that we are not going = to win this rally, and while I never like finishing second that is the best we can do here now. Today has been OK but the problem is simply that Sebastien is quicker than us and there is nothing more we can do about it. For the last loop of stages I tried some new tyres that were the best choice we have made throughout the whole rally. Now it is a question of just driving to the finish and trying to keep Petter behind. That will not be easy - he has been very quick and I have a big fight on my hands. Still, I like that!" Markko Martin/Michael Park: "Today has not been a perfect day, but we have not had any problems with the car and we have learnt a lot. I'm still not entirely confident with the handling, but it is still very early days for me. I've already thought of a couple of things I would like to change for the future. I've also been getting to grips with the range of Pirelli tyres today - we've tried a lot of different things. Conditions on this rally have been quite difficult; it's certainly not the easiest event to be learning new things on. Tomorrow I will just keep on going at a pace I feel comfortable with: there's no point in taking big risks just for a fifth place." Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team remains on course to score points for the fourth consecutive event in the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship. While the team has suffered some technical set-backs over the last two days, "Gigi" Galli is nevertheless in the provisional points in eighth, with team-mate Harri Rovanper=E4 ninth in the second Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietil=E4inen: "This morning there was a tire vibration; sometimes it was quite strong and other times not", said Harri. "It disturbed my concentration a bit; it was like seeing four roads at the same time! Then this afternoon, about 20 kilometers into SS14, the rear left tire seemed to burst and we had to finish the stage with a completely flat and destroyed tire".=20 Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: I'm not really that happy at the end of the day, but I tried my best", said Gigi. "Our tire problem was disappointing this afternoon and we were not in a position to show any real pace, but tomorrow is another day and we will continue to try our best over the long stages".=20 Skoda Armin Schwarz and Janne Tuohino finished the second day of Rally New Zealand in 11th and 12th places respectively. The two =A9koda Motorsport World Rally Team drivers were seeded at the head of the field for today's leg and suffered dramatically from this poor start position although both drivers still managed top 10 times. Overnight rain did little to help the road conditions as any humidity quickly burned off on a morning of high ambient temperatures, a major disadvantage to cars running at the head of the field on treacherously loose gravel. Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "I couldn't do anything with this road position today - it was so very slippery and every time I accelerated the car would slide everywhere. My only real problem this morning came on SS11 when I got really hot inside the car and discovered that the roof vent had worked shut. Saunas are fine for Finns but not like this! We fitted the hardest compound Michelin tyres for this afternoon's stages and that was the right choice. " Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "This morning's first stage was quite damp but after that the loose gravel was much worse than yesterday and we could only try to keep the car on what little clean road there was. On SS9 I hit three big turkeys that ran across the road while I was flat in sixth gear and I was worried that the impact may have damaged the radiator but we reached service and everything was OK." __________________________________________________________________ Remaining Event Timetable LEG 3 : Western Springs - Auckland Sunday 10th April 2005 : 06.30 - 15.30 468 km 4 Special Stages (87 km) SS 17 Te Hutewai (11.1 km) : 09.03 SS 18 Whaanga Coast 1 (29.8 km) : 09.26 SS 19 Te Papatapu (16.6 km) : 11.03 SS 20 Whaanga Coast 2 (29.8 km) 11.36 Service Park (F) - Western Springs (10') : 06.35 Service Park (G) - Western Springs (20') : 14.17 Total distance 1128 km - 20 Special Stages (356 km) __________________________________________________________________ If you enjoy RallyeNewsletter, please forward it to a friend or refer them to http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ __________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a blank email to rallye-info-unsubscribe@rallye-newsletter.com From rallye-info-return-82-skye=f4.ca@rallye-newsletter.com Sun Apr 10 01:25:44 2005 Envelope-to: skye@f4.ca Received: from dpe0303.sxpress.com ([216.128.72.4] helo=rallye-newsletter.com) by seattle.f4.ca with smtp (Exim 4.42) id 1DKXlC-0004JL-Hu for skye@f4.ca; Sun, 10 Apr 2005 01:25:44 -0700 Received: (qmail 13634 invoked by uid 510); 10 Apr 2005 05:55:08 -0000 Mailing-List: contact rallye-info-help@rallye-newsletter.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: From: feedback@rallye-newsletter.com List-Help: Delivered-To: mailing list rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Delivered-To: moderator for rallye-info@rallye-newsletter.com Received: (qmail 13231 invoked from network); 10 Apr 2005 05:49:14 -0000 Message-ID: <003d01c53d9c$6c269eb0$25d72950@D5SSNB1J> From: "Ronnie Salter" To: Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 08:10:47 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Subject: [RallyeNewsletter] 2005 Rally New Zealand - Final Leg News X-Antivirus-Scanner: Cleared by Exiscan & ClamAV X-Spam-Score: -- X-UID: 2173 X-Keywords: Status: RO Content-Length: 12855 Lines: 259 RallyeNewsletter - http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ : New Zealand 05 __________________________________________________________________ 2005 Rally New Zealand, Round 4 of 16, April 8th-10th 2005 In this issue: - Rallye-Info Photo Galleries - Final Positions - Final Leg News - Championship Standings - Next Event - Subscription Information __________________________________________________________________ ***Rallye-Info.com Photo Galleries*** Check out our photo galleries for all the latest pics from NZ and past events. The gallery is fully searchable by event, driver and car and is ever expanding as we add the pics from the latest event as well as images from an extensive back catalogue. http://www.rallye-info.com/gallery.asp __________________________________________________________________ Final Rally New Zealand Positions: 1 LOEB/ELENA CITROEN TOTAL 3:34:51.6 2 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL +00:49.8 3 SOLBERG/MILLS SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM +01:08.7 4 DUVAL/PREVOT CITROEN TOTAL +02:06.3 5 MARTIN/PARK MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL +03:09.1 6 GARDEMEISTER/HONKANEN BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM +03:16.3 7 ATKINSON/McNEAL SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM +04:37.2 8 GALLI/DAMORE MITSUBISHI MOTORS MOTOR SPORTS +06:50.5 9 STOHL/MINOR Citroën Xsara WRC +08:15.5 10 SCHWARZ/WICHA SKODA MOTORSPORT +10:18.0 __________________________________________________________________ Rally New Zealand - Final News Overnight leader Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) cruised through the final day to claim his second victory of the season and climb to second in the championship. He signed off with fastest time on the final stage and his winning margin was 49.8sec. There was no battle for second as Petter Solberg (Subaru) refused to risk a solid points haul in pursuit of Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot). The Finn ended 18.9sec ahead and Solberg maintained his one point lead at the head of the championship. Fourth earned François Duval (Citroen) his first points of the season while fifth for Markko Märtin (Peugeot) means he joins Gardemeister (6th) as the only drivers to score on every round this season. Eighth for Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) earned his team the final manufacturers' point. Janne Tuohino (Skoda) became the first manufacturer retirement when the Finn stopped after the opening stage with a blown turbo. He was followed by Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) who stopped on the liaison section after the final stage with no tread left on his tyres. Citroen A perfectly paced run during Leg 3 ensured victory for Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and Citroën at the finish ceremony of the 2005 Rally New Zealand in Waitemata Plaza in Auckland's harbour district. The Franco-Monegasque pair's second win of the season takes them to 2nd place in the provisional Drivers' Championship standings. An equally well judged final day performance from François Duval and Stéphane Prévot secured 4th place at the flag for the Belgian pair who secured their first points of the year, while Citroën moves into 2nd place in the Manufacturer's championship to conclude in style a highly successful trip for Guy Fréquelin and his team to the other side of the planet. Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: "It's very nice to win here in New Zealand after our frustrating outings in Sweden and Mexico. It shows that we were simply down on luck on those two rallies. I am particularly pleased with this weekend's result because we won in a straight fight with Marcus [Grönholm] and Petter [Solberg]. Also, winning on this terrain - which tended to be a little difficult for us in previous years - is a positive sign on two accounts. First of all, it proves that the Xsara continues to progress and, secondly, the fact that we are now competitive on fast gravel means we can hope for a top result in Finland." Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: "My target was always to finish inside the top five. I needed to score my first points with the team and I couldn't have taken more risks than I took. It was only my second outing on gravel with the Xsara and I succeeded in being consistent. I am really very happy with this result." Subaru After scoring a third consecutive WRC podium finish today, Petter Solberg maintains his lead of the 2005 FIA Drivers' Championship. Delivering a measured and strategic drive aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2005, the Norwegian kept out of trouble to ensure a solid points finish. His team-mate Chris Atkinson demonstrated strong potential over the weekend. Setting a string of competitive split times on only his third event in a WRC-class car, the 25-year- old more than achieved his development objectives. He finished in seventh place to claim FIA Championship points for both himself and the team. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: "I'm very happy actually. My plan for this rally was third or fourth place and we've come away with some good points and the lead of the championship. We knew it would be difficult right from the start. In fact we did okay but later on, on the hard and dry roads, we were far away. But that's how it is sometimes, I didn't want to lose those six points, so took it steady and went for the best possible finish. I'm feeling very positive about the championship now. For sure we have some work to do, but overall the feeling is good. I'm very happy with the new car and with 12 more rallies to go, things are looking very interesting." Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: "It's good to get to the finish, but it would have been nice to get a better result. It's a bit of a shame that we lost some of the pace we had earlier in the rally. The plan was to build up the speed, but in fact we've ended up doing pretty much the opposite. We've certainly learned a lot about the set-up of the car though. Some things worked well, others not so well. The last two stages actually felt pretty good, I was much more comfortable with the handling, but at that point there was no reason to push too hard. Overall I'm pretty happy. We did some good times this weekend, and that's encouraging, the pace is there, but I need more time in the car to go fast all the time." Ford BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen finished sixth on the Rally New Zealand today to extend the Blue Oval's scoring record in the FIA World Rally Championship to an unprecedented 48 consecutive events. The Finns are one of only two pairings to score points on all four rounds this year in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car and lie fourth in the drivers' standings with the first quarter of the season completed. Gardemeister and Honkanen were edged out of fifth place on the final speed test of the three-day rally when Markko Märtin, with whom they had battled over tenths of a second since Friday's opening kilometres, moved ahead. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The morning started well. I was quicker than Märtin on the first stage. On the next I was nervous about the condition of the tyres so I drove carefully at the beginning. The final 10km were twisty and narrow so I tried to keep the Focus on the clean line in the road which had been created by the cars ahead. It was still pretty slippery so I drove as smoothly as possible. I chose harder compound tyres for the final stages but because there were no new tyres left in our allocation, I had to use ones with an older construction. The grip wasn't quite as good as the new version. I tried my hardest, but I couldn't keep Markko behind me. A points result is always good but I'm disappointed not to finish fifth. I would have been much happier if I could have finished in front of him." Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Withdrew after shakedown accident Peugeot Peugeot has underlined its excellent start to the season in New Zealand by once more bringing two cars home to the finish. Marcus Gronholm takes his second consecutive runner-up position, while Markko Martin finishes fifth after an exciting battle with Ford driver Toni Gardemeister. Peugeot has therefore reinforced its position leading the constructors' championship, 12 points ahead of Citroen and 15 points ahead of Subaru. Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "Before the rally started I thought I could win, but this turned out not to be possible: the combination of Sebastien and Citroen was too fast to catch. In any case, I am reasonably happy to finish second. I had a big fight with Petter, but I was quite confident I could keep him behind me. I am happy with the reliability of the car; we have had two good finishes in a row and that gives me a lot of confidence. I am a little bit disappointed not to take the win, but generally speaking I am satisfied with our performance." Markko Martin/Michael Park: "I have made a big step in understanding how to drive the 307 WRC on this rally, but I think I discovered it a bit late. I tried changing my driving style during the last afternoon of the rally and it seemed to work well: I was able to pass Toni Gardemeister and take fifth. I need to left foot brake a bit more, but this is quite a different driving style to what I am used to. The final result could have been better, but it's more important that I understand the 307 WRC and our new Pirelli tyres as best as I can, so this rally has been an extremely useful experience." Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore finished in the points in their second outing in Rally New Zealand, the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Italian Lancer WRC05 duo finished eighth and claimed a driver and manufacturer points finish for the second time this season - Mitsubishi's fourth consecutive points-scoring finish in 2005. Team-mates Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen completed the final stage but were then withdrawn by the team on the road section back to Auckland with tyre problems. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietiläinen: Retired on final road section (Tyre problems) Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "Our goal was to get to the finish and be in the points, so I think we did our job well. We had some technical problems in the first leg and then today we drove these stages for the first time; they are very twisty and complicated but we didn't have any problems. Personally I have to feel very satisfied with our own performance." Skoda Armin Schwarz ended the Rally of New Zealand in 10th place but team mate Janne Tuohino was denied a finish on his first visit to the event when the Skoda Fabia WRC 05 suffered a damaged turbo on the first stage of the final day. Janne limped through the stage but retired from the event before SS18 to prevent further engine damage. Janne's retirement ended a frustrating rally for the Finn who had begun with a 50 seconds penalty when an ECU failure delayed his departure from first service to the opening stage and denied him the chance of a points finish on his first finish to New Zealand. Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "We lost power on the start line of the first stage and there was smoke in the car so we knew it was a turbo problem. I drove carefully to reach the finish with the windows open so we could breathe. I think that I could have had a good result if it had been trouble-free but losing 50 seconds at the start made it very difficult to challenge yesterday because road position is so important." Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "This morning I deliberately made the wrong choice of softer compound tyres because I wanted to compare their performance with the ones Janne was using. After Janne stopped I decided not to push as there were big time gaps ahead and behind me." __________________________________________________________________ Championship Standings Drivers Solberg 26 Loeb 25 Martin 23 Gronholm 20 Gardemeister 20 Rovanpera 11 Panizzi 7 Duval 5 Manufacturers Peugeot 43 Citroen 31 Subaru 28 Ford 26 Mitsubishi 24 Skoda 4 __________________________________________________________________ Next Event: With the first quarter of the season now complete the WRC returns to Europe for four gravel rounds. They start with the Rally d'Italia-Sardinia on April 28-May 1 (followed by Cyprus, Turkey and Greece) __________________________________________________________________ If you enjoy RallyeNewsletter, please forward it to a friend or refer them to http://www.rallye-newsletter.com/ __________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a blank email to rallye-info-unsubscribe@rallye-newsletter.com