Swedish Rally 6th - 8th February 2004
MÄRTIN'S MISERY AS LOEB ENTERS SWEDISH FOLKLORE
Leg 1 - A late rise in temperature left patches of gravel showing through the ice on the stage surfaces, giving the crews cause for concern about tyre life as they set off into SS1, Lidsbron. Marcus Grönholm set the pace in the opener by 5.0 seconds from Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard's teammate Sébastien Loeb sat another second back in third. The leading pair stayed the same through SS2, Torntorp, with Sainz setting the fastest time, which brought the gap down to 3.3 seconds as the field prepared itself for two attempts at the longest stage of the rally - Granberget, all 32.6 miles of it. Leader Grönholm would lose his place at the top of the pile in SS3 when his power steering gave up 12 miles into the stage, the resultant time loss dropping the Finn to seventh after the stage - 53.8 seconds behind new leader Markko Märtin. The Estonian had moved into third after SS2, having set the second-fastest time despite a startline stall, before winning both passes through Granberget and then going third fastest in the day-closing SS5, Hagfors Sprint 1, which gave the works Ford man a useful 23.3-second margin overnight. Citroën's French star Loeb held second after passing teammate Sainz in SS3. A loss of studs for the Spanish veteran in SS4 allowed the works Subaru of Petter Solberg to sit in third overnight, 3.6 seconds off Loeb. The reigning world champion's rally had got off to an eventful start when he collided with a member of the public's Saab on a road section and then spinning in SS2, second and third fastest times in the long SS3 and SS4 brought the Norwegian back into contention. Early leader Grönholm finished the day in sixth, the Finn's new Peugeot 307 WRC sitting 58.7 seconds off top spot.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Markko Märtin/Michael Park - Ford Focus WRC 1:11:25.9
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC +23.3
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +26.9
4. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC +44.1
5. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC +55.4
6. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC +58.7
Leg 2 - Rally leader Märtin held off the threat from nearest challenger Loeb throughout the morning, the Frenchman only able to gain 0.9 seconds across the first five stages of the day, so headed into SS11, Sundsjön 2, separated by 22.4 seconds. Running ahead of them on the road was the works Subaru of Petter Solberg. The Norwegian's day had got off to a torrid start with anti-lag issues and then an overshoot which contributed to his fall to fifth position, 1 minute 36.7 away from the lead after SS10. In SS11, the number 1 Impreza slid wide and demolished a snowbank on a right-hander and the incident would have a devastating effect on leader Märtin's rally - the Focus slid wide on the same corner and found an exposed rock, badly damaging the left-rear suspension. The Estonian made it to the stage finish, with a loss of five and a half minutes, but the rally win was certainly gone for the gutted Ford driver. That development promoted Loeb into the lead and he would take a 40.6-second lead into Sunday, the Citroën man looking to become the first non-Scandinavian winner of the Swedish Rally. A charging Grönholm worked his way up to second after sitting in sixth on Friday night. The Finn had closed his deficit to the Citroën down to 26.2 seconds before SS12, Vargåsen 2, where a spin early in the stage, which removed his front bumper and lights, left him with a big job on his hands if he was to take the rally win. Petter Solberg recovered from his issues to end the day in third, having got ahead of Janne Tuohino's works Ford by setting a time some 30.2 seconds faster through SS12. Sainz also sailed through SS12 a hefty 28.5 seconds faster than the Focus to sit just 0.8 seconds behind overnight. The Spaniard had a troubled day when, first of all, he had a brush with a snowbank in SS8, Fredriksberg, which required a mid-stage stop to clear snow from the air intakes and then, on the following stage, he encountered the beached Subaru of Mikko Hirvonen. Unfortunately, the young Finn rejoined the stage just as the Citroën was passing and forced Sainz to dive into another snowbank in avoidance!
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC 2:34:22.7
2. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC +40.6
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +1:28.1
4. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC +1:55.7
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC +1:56.5
6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Peugeot 206 WRC +3:26.8
Leg 3 - A fired-up Grönholm set off into SS14, Sågen 1, fully intending to eat into Loeb's lead but those hopes were quickly extinguished with another spin, the gap between the two going out to 1 minute 12.4 seconds and effectively ending the chase, all things being equal. Petter Solberg maintained his podium placing throughout the day to finish third, ahead of a hotly contested scrap for fourth between Tuohino and Sainz. Opting for longer studs, Tuohino lost 1.7 seconds, and fourth place, to Sainz in SS14 but hit back in SS15, Rämmen 1, to regain the spot by 1.6 seconds. The Spaniard then took 1.4 seconds off the Finn in SS16, Hara 1, so sat a paltry 0.2 seconds down at service. In SS17, Sågen 2, the pair couldn't be split so headed into SS18, Rämmen 2, still separated by that narrow 0.2 seconds. There, the battle ended as the fifth-placed Citroën lapsed onto three cylinders, allowing the Ford to pull away to the tune of 44.9 seconds at the finish. Former rally leader Märtin fought back to split the Peugeot 206 WRCs of Henning Solberg and Daniel Carlsson by the finish, chasing down the Swede throughout the morning and duly grabbing seventh in SS16. Ahead of all of this, Loeb confidently reeled off the remaining stages and sealed the first Swedish Rally win for a driver born outside of Scandinavia by 46.4 seconds from Grönholm, with Petter Solberg completing the podium. Future two-time DTM champion and 2016 World Rallycross title winner Mattias Ekström showed his versatility by winning the competitive N4 class by 27.1 seconds from fellow Swede Kenneth Bäcklund, another Swede, Stig-Olov Walfridsson, rounded out the top three - ahead of all the PWRC runners. Per-Gunnar Andersson had been well in touch with Ekström for the first half of the rally, sitting just 10.7 seconds behind after SS11, Sundsjön 2, before fading down the order to an unrepresentative twelfth in class finish - later in the year, however, he would go on to become the 2004 JWRC champion for Suzuki.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:26:17.7
2. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC 3:27:04.1 +46.4
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:27:39.2 +1:21.5 +35.1
4. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC 3:27:59.8 +1:42.1 +20.6
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:28:44.7 +2:27.0 +44.9
6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Peugeot 206 WRC 3:30:35.3 +4:17.6 +1:50.6
7. Markko Märtin/Michael Park - Ford Focus WRC 3:31:56.0 +5:38.3 +1:20.7
8. Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson - Peugeot 206 WRC 3:32:08.1 +5:50.4 +12.1
9. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:35:35.9 +9:18.2 +3:27.8
10. Andreas Eriksson/Pecka Svensson - Ford Focus WRC 3:38:55.1 +12:37.4 +3:19.2
Loeb quote - "To be the first non-Scandinavian to win on the ice is very nice because it proves that it's not only Scandinavians that can go fast on these kind of roads."
PWRC - In the supporting PWRC category, OMV Mitsubishi pilot Jani Paasonen led the entire event to seal a 1 minute 02.8 seconds victory from the RED Subaru of Alister McRae. McRae held the place from SS3 onwards, having leapt up the order from sixth position in one fell swoop. The identity of the third-place finisher was less certain, Toshi Arai and Gigi Galli squabbled over the spot until SS8, Fredriksberg, when both went off - losing more than five minutes and three minutes respectively. Karamjit Singh, the 2002 PWRC champion, took over the spot but had Spaniard Dani Sola in pursuit. The 2002 JWRC champion was fighting back from a one-minute penalty, incurred for an early arrival at the SS1 time control, and reeled in the Malaysian to take third on the final day in SS15, Rämmen 1. Singh then put his Proton Pert, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII in reality, off into a snowbank in the penultimate stage, SS18 Rämmen 2, losing thirteen and a half minutes, promoting Tomasz Kuchar into fourth. Galli and Arai recovered from their day two excursions to come home in fifth and sixth positions.
1. Jani Paasonen/Sirkka Rautianen - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 3:43:04.0
2. Alister McRae/David Senior - Subaru Impreza STi 3:44:06.8 +1:02.8
3. Dani Sola/Xavier Amigò - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 3:46:28.5 +3:24.5
Leg 1 - A late rise in temperature left patches of gravel showing through the ice on the stage surfaces, giving the crews cause for concern about tyre life as they set off into SS1, Lidsbron. Marcus Grönholm set the pace in the opener by 5.0 seconds from Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard's teammate Sébastien Loeb sat another second back in third. The leading pair stayed the same through SS2, Torntorp, with Sainz setting the fastest time, which brought the gap down to 3.3 seconds as the field prepared itself for two attempts at the longest stage of the rally - Granberget, all 32.6 miles of it. Leader Grönholm would lose his place at the top of the pile in SS3 when his power steering gave up 12 miles into the stage, the resultant time loss dropping the Finn to seventh after the stage - 53.8 seconds behind new leader Markko Märtin. The Estonian had moved into third after SS2, having set the second-fastest time despite a startline stall, before winning both passes through Granberget and then going third fastest in the day-closing SS5, Hagfors Sprint 1, which gave the works Ford man a useful 23.3-second margin overnight. Citroën's French star Loeb held second after passing teammate Sainz in SS3. A loss of studs for the Spanish veteran in SS4 allowed the works Subaru of Petter Solberg to sit in third overnight, 3.6 seconds off Loeb. The reigning world champion's rally had got off to an eventful start when he collided with a member of the public's Saab on a road section and then spinning in SS2, second and third fastest times in the long SS3 and SS4 brought the Norwegian back into contention. Early leader Grönholm finished the day in sixth, the Finn's new Peugeot 307 WRC sitting 58.7 seconds off top spot.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Markko Märtin/Michael Park - Ford Focus WRC 1:11:25.9
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC +23.3
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +26.9
4. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC +44.1
5. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC +55.4
6. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC +58.7
Leg 2 - Rally leader Märtin held off the threat from nearest challenger Loeb throughout the morning, the Frenchman only able to gain 0.9 seconds across the first five stages of the day, so headed into SS11, Sundsjön 2, separated by 22.4 seconds. Running ahead of them on the road was the works Subaru of Petter Solberg. The Norwegian's day had got off to a torrid start with anti-lag issues and then an overshoot which contributed to his fall to fifth position, 1 minute 36.7 away from the lead after SS10. In SS11, the number 1 Impreza slid wide and demolished a snowbank on a right-hander and the incident would have a devastating effect on leader Märtin's rally - the Focus slid wide on the same corner and found an exposed rock, badly damaging the left-rear suspension. The Estonian made it to the stage finish, with a loss of five and a half minutes, but the rally win was certainly gone for the gutted Ford driver. That development promoted Loeb into the lead and he would take a 40.6-second lead into Sunday, the Citroën man looking to become the first non-Scandinavian winner of the Swedish Rally. A charging Grönholm worked his way up to second after sitting in sixth on Friday night. The Finn had closed his deficit to the Citroën down to 26.2 seconds before SS12, Vargåsen 2, where a spin early in the stage, which removed his front bumper and lights, left him with a big job on his hands if he was to take the rally win. Petter Solberg recovered from his issues to end the day in third, having got ahead of Janne Tuohino's works Ford by setting a time some 30.2 seconds faster through SS12. Sainz also sailed through SS12 a hefty 28.5 seconds faster than the Focus to sit just 0.8 seconds behind overnight. The Spaniard had a troubled day when, first of all, he had a brush with a snowbank in SS8, Fredriksberg, which required a mid-stage stop to clear snow from the air intakes and then, on the following stage, he encountered the beached Subaru of Mikko Hirvonen. Unfortunately, the young Finn rejoined the stage just as the Citroën was passing and forced Sainz to dive into another snowbank in avoidance!
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC 2:34:22.7
2. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC +40.6
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +1:28.1
4. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC +1:55.7
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC +1:56.5
6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Peugeot 206 WRC +3:26.8
Leg 3 - A fired-up Grönholm set off into SS14, Sågen 1, fully intending to eat into Loeb's lead but those hopes were quickly extinguished with another spin, the gap between the two going out to 1 minute 12.4 seconds and effectively ending the chase, all things being equal. Petter Solberg maintained his podium placing throughout the day to finish third, ahead of a hotly contested scrap for fourth between Tuohino and Sainz. Opting for longer studs, Tuohino lost 1.7 seconds, and fourth place, to Sainz in SS14 but hit back in SS15, Rämmen 1, to regain the spot by 1.6 seconds. The Spaniard then took 1.4 seconds off the Finn in SS16, Hara 1, so sat a paltry 0.2 seconds down at service. In SS17, Sågen 2, the pair couldn't be split so headed into SS18, Rämmen 2, still separated by that narrow 0.2 seconds. There, the battle ended as the fifth-placed Citroën lapsed onto three cylinders, allowing the Ford to pull away to the tune of 44.9 seconds at the finish. Former rally leader Märtin fought back to split the Peugeot 206 WRCs of Henning Solberg and Daniel Carlsson by the finish, chasing down the Swede throughout the morning and duly grabbing seventh in SS16. Ahead of all of this, Loeb confidently reeled off the remaining stages and sealed the first Swedish Rally win for a driver born outside of Scandinavia by 46.4 seconds from Grönholm, with Petter Solberg completing the podium. Future two-time DTM champion and 2016 World Rallycross title winner Mattias Ekström showed his versatility by winning the competitive N4 class by 27.1 seconds from fellow Swede Kenneth Bäcklund, another Swede, Stig-Olov Walfridsson, rounded out the top three - ahead of all the PWRC runners. Per-Gunnar Andersson had been well in touch with Ekström for the first half of the rally, sitting just 10.7 seconds behind after SS11, Sundsjön 2, before fading down the order to an unrepresentative twelfth in class finish - later in the year, however, he would go on to become the 2004 JWRC champion for Suzuki.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:26:17.7
2. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautianen - Peugeot 307 WRC 3:27:04.1 +46.4
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:27:39.2 +1:21.5 +35.1
4. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho - Ford Focus WRC 3:27:59.8 +1:42.1 +20.6
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Martí - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:28:44.7 +2:27.0 +44.9
6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Peugeot 206 WRC 3:30:35.3 +4:17.6 +1:50.6
7. Markko Märtin/Michael Park - Ford Focus WRC 3:31:56.0 +5:38.3 +1:20.7
8. Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson - Peugeot 206 WRC 3:32:08.1 +5:50.4 +12.1
9. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:35:35.9 +9:18.2 +3:27.8
10. Andreas Eriksson/Pecka Svensson - Ford Focus WRC 3:38:55.1 +12:37.4 +3:19.2
Loeb quote - "To be the first non-Scandinavian to win on the ice is very nice because it proves that it's not only Scandinavians that can go fast on these kind of roads."
PWRC - In the supporting PWRC category, OMV Mitsubishi pilot Jani Paasonen led the entire event to seal a 1 minute 02.8 seconds victory from the RED Subaru of Alister McRae. McRae held the place from SS3 onwards, having leapt up the order from sixth position in one fell swoop. The identity of the third-place finisher was less certain, Toshi Arai and Gigi Galli squabbled over the spot until SS8, Fredriksberg, when both went off - losing more than five minutes and three minutes respectively. Karamjit Singh, the 2002 PWRC champion, took over the spot but had Spaniard Dani Sola in pursuit. The 2002 JWRC champion was fighting back from a one-minute penalty, incurred for an early arrival at the SS1 time control, and reeled in the Malaysian to take third on the final day in SS15, Rämmen 1. Singh then put his Proton Pert, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII in reality, off into a snowbank in the penultimate stage, SS18 Rämmen 2, losing thirteen and a half minutes, promoting Tomasz Kuchar into fourth. Galli and Arai recovered from their day two excursions to come home in fifth and sixth positions.
1. Jani Paasonen/Sirkka Rautianen - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 3:43:04.0
2. Alister McRae/David Senior - Subaru Impreza STi 3:44:06.8 +1:02.8
3. Dani Sola/Xavier Amigò - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 3:46:28.5 +3:24.5
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