* Rovanperä 4th and Galli 7th in tricky Swedish Rally; both crews claim stage victories * Uddeholm Swedish Rally (Round 2/16)
The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team scored points with both its nominated Lancer WRC05s in the Swedish Rally, the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen exceed their result in Monte-Carlo by finishing fourth, rounding the event off with a fastest stage time in only their second event with Mitsubishi. Team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore not only scored points in only their fifth event in a world rally car, but proved to be the revelation of the rally by setting a hot pace and one fastest stage time in one of the series' most specialized events. The finished a fine 7th, equaling their best world rally result (Catalunya 2004).
Mitsubishi's double points haul from both Monte-Carlo and Sweden means it now lays third in the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, on the same points as five-time World Champions Peugeot.
"Overall it was a good weekend for us again," said the President of Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports Isao Torii. "Both cars finished and scored points again and our stage times were always close to the top teams. Gigi's performance was impressive and his consistent stage times proved it. Harri is now more confident with the car, and also had one fastest stage time and a great fight with Henning Solberg for fourth overall; that is a good outlook for México. We have decided to nominate Gilles Panizzi as our second driver in México, but Gigi's spirit this weekend was so excellent that we will take him to the event to do the recce and gain more experience for the future."
The final leg of the Swedish Rally saw the crews leave Karlstad at 05:40 hrs for two loops of three identical stages. Both the first and fourth stages were reduced from 22.33 kilometers to 10.17 kilometers, for safety reasons, and while overnight snow left a light dusting over the stages, strong winds added to the challenge in the closing kilometers.
In the opening stage, Harri Rovanperä showed the same form that saw him win the event in 2001. Third fastest, just 5.4 seconds adrift of stage victor and rally winner Petter Solberg, powered him up the leaderboard from an overnight seventh to sixth. He and Risto Pietiläinen then set fifth fastest time in the following stage, but again moved up the leaderboard when Marcus Grönholm rolled and was forced to retire from second position. Fourth fastest in stage 17 consolidated their position and the Finns went into the final loop of stages just 7.5 seconds adrift of fourth overall. In the penultimate stage of the rally, however, the Finns lost fifth gear but even so, set the fastest time in the final stage to claim fourth after Loeb's retirement.
"In the end it was a good weekend for Risto and I," commented Harri. "During the first day and a half I never thought a result like this was possible, but now the feeling is good and my confidence with the car is much better. Next week we will be gravel testing and I am looking forward to going to México."
Gigi Galli and Guido D'Amore remained focused on finishing the event; however they slid wide at the start of the first stage and dropped a position to Daniel Carlsson. They maintained a steady pace in the closing stages, although posted a second-fastest time in the penultimate stage of the rally.
"This is only my fifth event in a world rally car, so I am very happy to finish in the top ten," said a delighted Gigi. "The small technical problems yesterday took me away from a potential podium position, but I don't feel so bad about that because I think we made a good performance anyway. I always try to do my best and that is what matters at the moment."
Adding to the drivers' comments, Technical Director Mario Fornaris said: "Six different manufacturers in the top 10 and Mitsubishi finished in fourth and seventh positions. This shows that the rally was very tough, but the final result always shows us that we have to improve our reliability and performance to be among the top teams and get onto the podium. Looking ahead to México, we have a test next week and will decide after this whether we use the active center differential. Our development program is in line with our schedule, but we will take the safe option with regard to new components."
The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to North America for the first long-haul event of the season. Corona Rally México (March 10-13), running for the second year in the world series, is the first full gravel event of the year and promises more fast and furious action in the mountains high above the host city of Léon.
Team Round Up
When Marcus Grönholm rolled out of the rally in stage 16, the titanic battle between the Finn and Petter Solberg came to an abrupt end. The Norwegian Subaru driver racked up his first win of the season and claimed victory in his seventh attempt at the Swedish Rally. Sébastien Loeb was close to finishing second, despite having to nurse his Xsara through the closing stages in 'safe mode' to preserve the engine. However, he was then forced into retirement after the end of stage 18 when he couldn't re-start the car. Markko Märtin therefore finished on the podium with Peugeot for the first time, giving some consolation to the French team after the loss of Grönholm. Toni Gardemeister claimed third, his second podium in as many events, scoring more top points for Ford along with its second nominated driver, Henning Solberg. It now leads both the drivers and manufacturers tables.
The final leg turned into a day of attrition and problems for many. Chris Atkinson, driving the third non-nominated Subaru, went off the road in SS18 and lost handfuls of time stuck in a snow bank, while Janne Tuohino, driving the registered Škoda Fabia WRC, was forced into retirement when he took a wheel off.
Swedish Rally - Final positions
1. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2004 3 hr 00 min 52.1sec2. Markko Märtin/Michael Park Peugeot 307 WRC 3 hr 03 min 03.2sec3. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen Ford Focus RS WRC04 3 hr 04 min 06.8sec4. Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 3 hr 04 min 18.5sec5. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 04 min 21.9sec6. Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson Peugeot 307 WRC 3 hr 04 min 34.6sec7. Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 3 hr 04 min 56.1sec8. Roman Kresta/Jan Tománek Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 05 min 31.7sec9. Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka Škoda Fabia WRC 3 hr 06 min 03.2sec10. Mattias Ekström/Stefan Bergman Škoda Fabia WRC 3 hr 07 min 56.3sec
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers
Toni Gardemeister 14Markko Märtin 13Sébastien Loeb 10Petter Solberg 10Harri Rovanperä 7Gilles Panizzi 6Marcus Grönholm 4Henning Solberg 4Manfred Stohl 3Daniel Carlsson 3Gigi Galli 2Roman Kresta 2
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers
Ford 20Peugeot 17Mitsubishi 17Citroën 11Subaru 10Skoda 3
