Swedish Rally Wrapup

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 only two rallies down. Marcus Gronholm tried his hardest, but he couldn’t close the gap on the Frenchman. With only 96 competitive kilometers on the final day, the Finn didn’t have hope. Petter Solberg had a solid rally, finishing on the podium on third. Ford’s snow specialist Janne Tuohino held off a charge by Carlos Sainz for fourth place. There were a few surprises lower in the points — Petter Solberg’s brother, Henning, took sixth in a customer-spec 2002 Ford Focus. Marrko Martin, who lost the rally lead after a meeting with a rock on day two, managed to leave Sweden with two championship points, taking seventh. Daniel Carlsson, also in a customer-spec Ford, rounded out the points positions. Mikko Hirvonen, finishing ninth, brought home a few manufacturer’s points for Subaru, thanks to Carlsson’s and H. Solberg’s non-points cars.

There was some interesting talk floating through the rally news this weekend regarding Peugeot. Corrado Provera, the team’s manager, seems to be unhappy with the signing of Freddy Loix, and Loix’s retirement on day two didn’t help matters. Provera quickly pointed out Loix was to be the team’s third driver when he was signed, and it was only when the new points rules were announced that he was made number two. There’s now talk of letting Loix go, and either bringing Harri Rovanpera back (who, if you remember, fell out of favor with Provera last year), or trying to woo Colin McRae off the desert rally circuit. There are clearly some managemet issues at Peugeot. Recall the team’s handling of the Richard Burns situation last year — Burns was told his contract would not be renewed because they were unhappy with his performance. At the time, Burns had the lead in championship race, and would have had a good shot at winning the title were it not for a brain tumor.

The championship moves to North America next month, with the Rally Mexico. This is the first running of this event as a championship event, though several production drivers have run the rally (it was won last year by Harri Rovanpera). The first gravel event of the year should be a good test for the new Peugeot 307 — it’s obviously quick, but its reliability has yet to be tested. Look for a full preview at the end of the month.