If you’re a sports fan, this time of year really sorta stinks. The NHL and NBA playoffs are finished, leaving us with just Major League Baseball. Sure, if you live in NYC or Boston, it might be an exciting thing to look forward to, but here in Pittsburgh it means having only depressing news about the Pirates on a regular basis. Blech. Fortunately, the WRC calendar is quite full at this time of year (rallies only a few weeks apart), and it’s only a few more weeks til the Tour de France, so that will fill the sports pages (at least on obscure websites) for a month or so.
So, with that in mind, here’s my expert (*cough cough*) analysis for this weekend’s Cyprus Rally….
This will be Markko Martin’s rally to win. Despite what the Ford team is saying (that they don’t expect a good result), don’t believe the hype. Martin may not like the Cyprus rally (it is terribly slow and technical — on most of the stages the cars won’t even see 5th gear), but he can become a contender in the driver’s championship with a good result here. Francois Duval has got be pretty desperate for a good result — heck, he’d be happy to actually drive on Sunday — but his problems have been an issue of car reliability more than driving ability.
Citroen is expecting a good result this weekend. Carlos Sainz should climb further into the thick of the driver’s championship, as he excels in Cyprus. Coln McRae should also be gunning for a good result, especially after watching his chances in Greece all but disappear with a 50 second service penalty. Seb Loeb has dropped off the radar with a string of retirements, but you can’t discount the Frenchman’s ability. The Xsara has proven itself to be a reliable car so far this year, so expect to see at least on the boys on the podium come Sunday.
Petter Solberg will also be gunning for his second WRC win. Expect Petter to follow the recipe he used in Greece — get through the first day, then put the hammer down. He should have given Martin a run for his money in Greece, but driveshaft issues and a run-in with Colin McRae kept him in third place. Tommi Makinen hasn’t really found his form as of late, and he said he wasn’t happy with his setup in Greece. Despite his problems, he still finished in the top ten, so if Tommi can get the kinks worked out, he should do well, and score some points for Subaru.
Ahh…Peugeot. After looking unbeatable earlier in the season, suddenly Marcus Gronholm looks human again. Marcus needs to score this weekend, though he’s not a big fan of this rally. If the team engineers haven’t worked out the little problems with the 206, it could be another early exit. Richard Burns is looking to extend his championship lead with a good result here, though he’s got to keep his eyes on Carlos Sainz. Burns’ 206 has been reliable, though he had gearbox problems throughout Greece, so he should at least see the finish line on Sunday. Harri Rovanpera also needs a good result this weekend. He’s had a horrible run of luck this season, and with the potential new drivers’ rules for next season, he could be out at Peugeot. Though Gilles Panizzi won’t be in a factory car this weekend, he made news this week by saying he will contest every rally next season in a full factory car — whether it’s a 206 or something else. Panizzi has proven he can run on the loose surfaces, so Peugeot will be forced to make a hard decision over the winter about whether or not keep the tarmac ace.
Skoda has scored on every rally this year — again a testament to Didier Auriol’s contributions to the team. This will be last event for the oafish Octavia, as the new Fabia will debut next month in Germany. Will the Octavia’s extreme reliability is an asset in Cyprus, it’s lack of dexterity is a detriment. Even so, expect Auriol and Gardimeister to score points again this weekend.
Poor poor Hyundai. Running on the cheap this year, no time or money to test, and only 3 points in the manufacturer’s race. These guys need to score some points, soon. Both Freddy Loix and Armin Scharwz have the ability to do well, it’s just a matter of the WRC Accent actually finishing the event.
My choices:
1. Petter Solberg
2. Carlos Sainz
3. Markko Martin
4. Richard Burns
5. Colin McRae
Posted on 18 June 2003