Ford extended its record-breaking points scoring run in the FIA World Rally Championship after claiming a double points haul on the Rally Japan. BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen finished the demanding three-day event in sixth in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car with team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Tománek in seventh in a similar car. A third privately-entered Focus RS of Antony Warmbold and Michael Orr was ninth.
The result was Ford's 57th consecutive points finish in the championship, a record which dates back to the opening round of the 2002 series in Monte Carlo. All 57 scores have come with the Focus RS World Rally Car, blending a mixture of speed and reliability to create a record that no other manufacturer has achieved in the sport's history. BP-Ford remains third in the 2005 manufacturers' standings.
Rally Japan was based in Obihiro on the country's northernmost island of Hokkaido. Drivers faced 26 speed tests on narrow gravel roads covering 350.18km. Torrential rain during the opening day made the tracks extremely slippery and they also became heavily rutted to create an additional challenge for competitors.
Both Gardemeister and Kresta were competing in Japan for the first time and their inexperience of the special stages meant they gave away a considerable advantage to their rivals. Gardemeister took some time to become acclimatised to the Japanese roads but started today's third and final leg north-west of Obihiro in eighth in his Castrol-branded Focus RS. The 30-year-old Finn climbed two places during the five speed tests, covering 85.94km, to record his 11th points finish from 13 rallies this year. He remains fifth in the drivers' championship.
"Today's stages were the best of the rally," said Gardemeister. "They were really tricky and muddy but a lot more flowing and driveable and they were enjoyable to compete on. I didn't push too hard today because I wanted to correct my pace notes for next year. I've made a lot of corrections throughout the rally but that will help when I return next season. It's hard to be competitive when everyone else has driven these stages before. On Friday I didn't trust my notes and had no real confidence in them, but they improved as the weekend went on.
"Before the rally I heard from other drivers that this was a difficult event but it turned out a lot harder than I imagined. The car was good all weekend and I'm pleased with the result," he added.
Kresta, ninth overnight, also moved up two places to finish 59.7sec behind his team-mate and the result lifted him to eighth in the drivers' standings. "I drove carefully this morning," said the 29-year-old Czech. "The team kept me well informed of Daniel Carlsson's split times behind us and I drove at a pace that kept me ahead of him - no more. I didn't want to make any mistakes and concentrated on scoring points for Ford.
"It was a very difficult rally but I've learned a lot and made many changes to my pace notes. It was good to have a battle with Toni yesterday and I'm pleased to have set times that were comparable to his," added Kresta.
Warmbold recovered well after losing time on the opening day. He posted third fastest time on the penultimate stage but admitted to being disappointed with his final result. "I was hoping for a top six finish and if I hadn't lost time on Friday then that might have been possible. But my stage times were good," he said.
Team round Up
Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) clinched his second consecutive world drivers' title (results subject to FIA confirmation) by finishing second after a dramatic final day. The Frenchman, needing just a top three finish to lift the crown, adopted a cautious policy all weekend on the slippery roads. He was set to take third until Petter Solberg (Subaru), who led since early on the opening morning, retired after hitting a rock 1km after the start of the penultimate stage and breaking his car's front right suspension. That allowed Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) to take his second win of the season, the Finn heading Loeb by 1min 22.1sec. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) secured the best result of his career in third. A stunning fastest time on the second stage carried him passed François Duval (Citroen), who had to settle for fourth. Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) dropped a minute after his engine stalled on the opening test and then the Finn hit something buried in the grass on the next stage and damaged his front right suspension. He was fifth. Daniel Carlsson (Peugeot) took the final drivers' and manufacturers' point in eighth. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) retired on the liaison section following the second stage after the Italian broke his car's left rear suspension.
Next round
The championship returns to the Mediterranean later this month for the first of two asphalt rallies on consecutive weekends. The Rallye de France - Tour de Corse is based in Corsica's capital town, Ajaccio, on 20 - 23 October.
Final positions 1. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 3hr 25min 32.0sec 2. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 3hr 26min 54.1sec 3. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 28min 12.0sec 4. F Duval/S Smeets B Citroen Xsara 3hr 28min 31.4sec 5. H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 29min 31.8sec 6. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 30min 04.3sec 7. R Kresta/J Tománek CZ Ford Focus RS 3hr 31min 04.0sec 8. D Carlsson/M Andersson S Peugeot 307 3hr 32min 11.1sec 9. A Warmbold/M Orr D Ford Focus RS 3hr 33min 11.3sec 10 A Schwarz/K Wicha D Skoda Fabia 3hr 37min 39.4sec
FIA World Rally Championship (after round 13 of 16)Drivers 1. S Loeb 107pts 2. M Grönholm 71pts 3. P Solberg 65pts 4. M Märtin 53pts 5. T Gardemeister 50pts 6. H Rovanperä 31pts 8. R Kresta 18pts
Manufacturers 1. Citroen 150pts 2. Peugeot 128pts 3. Ford 81pts 4. Subaru 78pts 5. Mitsubishi 58pts 6. Skoda 12pts
Stage Times
Stage 22: 1. Grönholm 9min 39.7sec; 2. Solberg + 0.9; 3. Duval + 3.7; 4. Atkinson + 8.3; 5. Galli + 10.9; 6. Loeb + 12.0; 7. Gardemeister + 13.2; 9. Kresta + 18.9.
Overall: 1. Solberg 2hr 44min 04.2sec; 2. Grönholm + 31.4; 3. Loeb + 1:22.2; 4. Galli + 2:52.7; 5. Duval + 2:58.4; 6. Atkinson + 3:01.1; 8. Gardemeister + 4:17.5; 9. Kresta + 4:39.9.
Stage 23: 1. Atkinson 14min 58.8sec; 2. Grönholm + 1.6; 3. Solberg + 10.5; 4. Loeb + 12.0; 5. Duval + 21.3; 6. Gardemeister + 25.3; 10. Kresta + 40.4.
Overall: 1. Solberg 2hr 59min 13.5sec; 2. Grönholm + 22.5; 3. Loeb + 1:23.7; 4. Atkinson + 2:50.6; 5. Duval + 3:09.2; 6. Rovanperä + 3:59.7; 7. Gardemeister + 4:32.3; 8. Kresta + 5:09.8.
Stage 24: 1= Rovanperä, Loeb 1min 36.8sec; 3. Grönholm + 0.3; 4. Solberg + 0.5; 5= Carlsson, Duval + 0.6; 9. Gardemeister + 1.5; 10. Kresta + 2.1.
Overall: 1. Solberg 3hr 00min 50.8sec; 2. Grönholm + 22.3; 3. Loeb + 1:23.2; 4. Atkinson + 2:51.5; 5. Duval + 3:09.3; 6. Rovanperä + 3:59.2; 7. Gardemeister + 4:33.3; 8. Kresta + 5:11.4.
Stage 25: 1. Grönholm 9min 36.4sec; 2. Duval + 0.4; 3= Warmbold, Atkinson + 2.8; 5. Rovanperä + 4.6; 6. Gardemeister + 5.3; 9. Kresta ი.1.
Overall: 1. Grönholm 3hr 10min 49.5sec; 2. Loeb + 1:10.6; 3. Atkinson + 2:32.0; 4. Duval + 2:47.4; 5. Rovanperä + 3:41.5; 6. Gardemeister + 4:16.3; 7. Kresta + 5:01.2.
Stage 26: 1. Grönholm 14min 42.5sec; 2. Atkinson + 8.0; 3. Loeb + 11.5; 4. Duval + 12.0; 5. Gardemeister + 16.0; 6. Rovanperä + 18.3; 9. Kresta + 30.8.
Overall: 1. Grönholm 3hr 25min 32.0sec; 2. Loeb + 1:22.1; 3. Atkinson + 2:40.0; 4. Duval + 2:59.4; 5. Rovanperä + 3:59.8; 6. Gardemeister + 4:32.3; 7. Kresta + 5:32.0.
