It came down to the last stage on the last day, but Petter Solberg got his championship defence back on track with a win in New Zealand. The Norwegian looked unstopable on the first two days, and he entered the final day with a 20+ second cushion over Marcus Gronholm. Gronholm, however, wasn’t ready to […]
Posted on April 18th, 2004 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally New Zealand Wrapup
You’ve got love rallies on the other side of the world. Here it is, 7:00am on Friday morning, and we have Friday’s results already…. Petter Solberg currently holds first place after a steady day behind the wheel of the Impreza. Solberg has held the lead for all but one stage, and he has a slim […]
Posted on April 16th, 2004 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally New Zealand — Day One
After another long break, the WRC begins again on the other side of the world with the Rally New Zealand. This rally begins a more hectic schedule for the teams, with less time between events to regroup. There are quite a few storylines that have developed since the Rally Mexico, and this rally should set […]
Posted on April 14th, 2004 by admin
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As promised, here it is — all the news and notes from Rally Mexico. First, a quick look at the podium: 1. Markko Martin 2. Francois Duval 3. Carlos Sainz An impressive sweep for Ford, but it didn’t happen without quite a bit of luck. Petter Solberg started the rally quite fast, and he and […]
Posted on March 14th, 2004 by admin
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After a long six week vacation, the World Rally Championship visits North America for the first time for the Rally Mexico. The drivers completed the initial recce yesterday, and the word from the top teams is that this will be a fast, technical rally, mixing the best of Finland and Cyprus. The rally will be […]
Posted on March 11th, 2004 by admin
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Sebastien Loeb has made history by winning the 2004 Swedish Rally — he is the first non-Scandinavian to win the event. In addition, Loeb is the first driver to win the Rallye Monte Carlo and Sweden back-to-back. Thanks to the consecutive wins, Loeb has staked himself a seven point lead in the championship race with […]
Posted on February 8th, 2004 by admin
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It was quite a day in Sweden, as there were several shakeups in the top 8. Let’s start at the top. Rally leader Markko Martin smashed the rear suspension on his Ford Focus during SS11. Martin was able to coax the Focus back to service, but he lost over five minutes to the leaders, and […]
Posted on February 7th, 2004 by admin
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It’s been a generally quiet day in Sweden, with all of the top works cars still in the rally. The conditions have been variable, with lots of patches of bare gravel to test the drivers. Sebastien Loeb, who was worried that heavy snow could hamper his chances since he was running first as current championship […]
Posted on February 6th, 2004 by admin
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After only ten days break, the factory teams will be at again in Sweden this week. The rally has been moved further north in hopes of having consistent snowpack on the roads — conditions have been variable over the past few years, with loads of ice and frozen gravel instead of the usual snowy bobsled […]
Posted on February 3rd, 2004 by admin
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As expected, Sebastien Loeb won his second consecutive Monte with a commanding win over Ford’s Markko Martin and Francois Duval. Marcus Gronholm held fourth place, one his best finishes in the rally. Two big surprises: Freddy Loix took fifth, and Gilles Panizzi, in the new Mitsubishi Lancer took sixth. Perhaps Peugeot’s signing of Loix wasn’t […]
Posted on January 25th, 2004 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rallye Monte Carlo Wrapup