Swedish Rally 8th - 11th February 2007
FIVE-STAR MARCUS MAKES IT TWO WITH FORD
Leg 1 - The rally began on Thursday evening with a new superspecial stage in the host city Karlstad. The event didn't get off to a great start for Sébastien Loeb, who was using the new Citroën C4 WRC for the first time on snow, when a stall on the SS1 start line saw him head into the forests in 21st overall but was still in contention, sitting 8.1 seconds down on the rally leader. Finn Toni Gardemeister, in a private Mitsubishi, headed the field by 0.5 seconds after the opening test from his Finnish counterpart Marcus Grönholm, a further tenth of a second back came Petter Solberg in third. SS2, Likenäs 1, started proceedings on Friday under a layer of freshly fallen snow, which would favour the crews lower down the start order. The Subaru of Petter Solberg set the fastest time to move into a 5.6-second lead from Gardemeister, who had a half-spin early in the stage. A man on a mission in the opening stages was Italian Gigi Galli, the privately entered Citroën driver posted the second-fastest time in SS2 and then the fastest of all in SS3, Hara 1, to move up to second overall. His tenure of second place would be brief, however, when he was only eighth fastest through SS4, Torntorp 1, so slipped to fifth on the tightly packed leaderboard. The works Ford of Grönholm now sat 4.0 seconds down from the leading Subaru in second, bemoaning his choice of ice tyres in the loose snow, ahead of Gardemeister, a charging Loeb and Galli, with 7.1 seconds covering all five after SS4. With the correct tyres fitted in service, Grönholm set a mighty time through SS5, Likenäs 2, to best morning leader Petter Solberg by 5.6 seconds and replaced the Norwegian at the head of the field by 1.2 seconds. The Ford man was fastest on three of the four stages in the afternoon loop, earning the Finn an overnight lead of 11.1 seconds from Loeb. The Frenchman was some 12.1 seconds slower than Grönholm through SS5, dropping to fifth behind Henning Solberg as a result, before fighting back in SS6, Hara 2, to jump both Henning Solberg and Gardemeister. A huge effort in SS7, Vargåsen 1, saw him go fastest by 5.6 seconds from Grönholm. The time was also a hefty 18.6 seconds quicker than Petter Solberg, which vaults the Frenchman up to second place. After a fine morning, Galli's event turned to misery during the afternoon when a trip into a snowbank in SS5 costs him four minutes before the Italian went off again in SS7, the Citroën plummeted down the order to sit 24th overnight.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 1:05:21.3
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC +11.1
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +22.6
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC +27.9
5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC +31.0
6. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +34.9
Leg 2 - Loeb started the day brightly to eat 1.2 seconds out of his deficit to Grönholm in the first stage of the day, SS9 Lesjöfors 1, before the leading Ford took 0.6 seconds back in SS10, Liljendal. SS10 would spell the end of Petter Solberg's chances when, having lost further ground to the leading pair in the day's opener, he slid off into a snowbank whilst pushing to make up time. The fourteen minutes lost getting the car back onto the road prompted his Subaru team to withdraw the Impreza at first service in order to save its engine for the following weekend's Rally Norway. The next mini loop of two stages saw Loeb give away 17.6 seconds to Grönholm after choosing the wrong tyres for the pair, the snow tyre's studs proving too long for the conditions. The margin between them went up to 27.6 seconds after SS12, Vargåsen 2. The loop of three stages that completed the day failed to yield any more gains for Loeb either, losing another 10.8 seconds across the three stages, so trailed by 38.4 seconds going into the final day. Henning Solberg had been promoted to third, after younger brother Petter's off in SS10, but a slow time in SS11, Torntorp 2, saw him fall behind both Mikko Hirvonen and Gardemeister into fifth - the Norwegian would grab fourth place back from Gardemeister in the following stage, however. Buoyed by taking 0.5 seconds from Hirvonen in SS13, Fredriksberg, Henning charged into SS14, Lejen, but spins in the stage with a loss of 16.1 seconds to the works Ford. The spin wouldn't cost the orange Focus a place, however, as Gardemeister copped a fifty-second road penalty for a late arrival at SS14. The Fords were split by 27.7 seconds overnight with the Mitsubishi dropping to eighth.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 2:22:29.6
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC +38.4
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC +1:13.4
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC +1:40.7
5. Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet - Citroën Xsara WRC +2:46.5
6. Chris Atkinson/Glenn MacNeall - Subaru Impreza WRC +2:55.2
Leg 3 - A frigid start to the day, -23 degrees celsius being recorded in the service park, spelt trouble for the early Ford runners - in SS16, Backa 1, Stobart-VK Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala retired from ninth as a frozen oil cooler pipe caused the engine to overheat, which raised the oil pressure and forced the lubricant out of the unit. Matthew Wilson's Focus, the sister car to Latvala, would succumb to the same fate. Chris Atkinson started the day in determined fashion, relieving Daniel Carlsson of fifth in SS16 and stretching the gap to 2.9 seconds after SS17, Malta 1, but in SS18, Backa 2, a brush with the scenery rearranged the rear suspension of the Australian's works Impreza WRC, gifting the Swede fifth place and dropping the Subaru back to eighth at the finish. Back at the front, Grönholm added 3.6 seconds to his cushion during the morning loop before bagging another 11.8 seconds during the afternoon to seal a comfortable victory by 53.8 seconds, the result marked Grönholm's fifth overall Swedish win and his second with Ford. Loeb finished runner-up by 47.7 seconds from the second works Focus of Hirvonen, the factory Fords seemingly unaffected by the frozen oil coolers that afflicted the sister Stobart cars.
Top 10 Results
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 3:08:40.7
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC 3:09:34.5 +53.8
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC 3:10:22.2 +1:41.5 +47.7
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC 3:10:50.5 +2:09.8 +28.3
5. Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:12:18.5 +3:37.8 +1:28.0
6. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 3:12:34.9 +3:54.2 +16.4
7. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:13:53.3 +5:12.5 +1:18.3
8. Chris Atkinson/Glenn MacNeall - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:14:55.4 +6:14.7 +1:02.2
9. Mads Østberg/Ole Kristian Onnerud - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:16:27.7 +7:47.0 +1:32.3
10. Jan Kopecký/Filip Schovánek - Škoda Fabia WRC 3:16:33.2 +7:52.5 +5.5
Grönholm quote - "Yeah, it's good, it's good. He (Loeb) was putting pressure on, yes, the first day and half of the second day but then we could make a small gap and it was ok in the end."
Leg 1 - The rally began on Thursday evening with a new superspecial stage in the host city Karlstad. The event didn't get off to a great start for Sébastien Loeb, who was using the new Citroën C4 WRC for the first time on snow, when a stall on the SS1 start line saw him head into the forests in 21st overall but was still in contention, sitting 8.1 seconds down on the rally leader. Finn Toni Gardemeister, in a private Mitsubishi, headed the field by 0.5 seconds after the opening test from his Finnish counterpart Marcus Grönholm, a further tenth of a second back came Petter Solberg in third. SS2, Likenäs 1, started proceedings on Friday under a layer of freshly fallen snow, which would favour the crews lower down the start order. The Subaru of Petter Solberg set the fastest time to move into a 5.6-second lead from Gardemeister, who had a half-spin early in the stage. A man on a mission in the opening stages was Italian Gigi Galli, the privately entered Citroën driver posted the second-fastest time in SS2 and then the fastest of all in SS3, Hara 1, to move up to second overall. His tenure of second place would be brief, however, when he was only eighth fastest through SS4, Torntorp 1, so slipped to fifth on the tightly packed leaderboard. The works Ford of Grönholm now sat 4.0 seconds down from the leading Subaru in second, bemoaning his choice of ice tyres in the loose snow, ahead of Gardemeister, a charging Loeb and Galli, with 7.1 seconds covering all five after SS4. With the correct tyres fitted in service, Grönholm set a mighty time through SS5, Likenäs 2, to best morning leader Petter Solberg by 5.6 seconds and replaced the Norwegian at the head of the field by 1.2 seconds. The Ford man was fastest on three of the four stages in the afternoon loop, earning the Finn an overnight lead of 11.1 seconds from Loeb. The Frenchman was some 12.1 seconds slower than Grönholm through SS5, dropping to fifth behind Henning Solberg as a result, before fighting back in SS6, Hara 2, to jump both Henning Solberg and Gardemeister. A huge effort in SS7, Vargåsen 1, saw him go fastest by 5.6 seconds from Grönholm. The time was also a hefty 18.6 seconds quicker than Petter Solberg, which vaults the Frenchman up to second place. After a fine morning, Galli's event turned to misery during the afternoon when a trip into a snowbank in SS5 costs him four minutes before the Italian went off again in SS7, the Citroën plummeted down the order to sit 24th overnight.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 1:05:21.3
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC +11.1
3. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills - Subaru Impreza WRC +22.6
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC +27.9
5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC +31.0
6. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +34.9
Leg 2 - Loeb started the day brightly to eat 1.2 seconds out of his deficit to Grönholm in the first stage of the day, SS9 Lesjöfors 1, before the leading Ford took 0.6 seconds back in SS10, Liljendal. SS10 would spell the end of Petter Solberg's chances when, having lost further ground to the leading pair in the day's opener, he slid off into a snowbank whilst pushing to make up time. The fourteen minutes lost getting the car back onto the road prompted his Subaru team to withdraw the Impreza at first service in order to save its engine for the following weekend's Rally Norway. The next mini loop of two stages saw Loeb give away 17.6 seconds to Grönholm after choosing the wrong tyres for the pair, the snow tyre's studs proving too long for the conditions. The margin between them went up to 27.6 seconds after SS12, Vargåsen 2. The loop of three stages that completed the day failed to yield any more gains for Loeb either, losing another 10.8 seconds across the three stages, so trailed by 38.4 seconds going into the final day. Henning Solberg had been promoted to third, after younger brother Petter's off in SS10, but a slow time in SS11, Torntorp 2, saw him fall behind both Mikko Hirvonen and Gardemeister into fifth - the Norwegian would grab fourth place back from Gardemeister in the following stage, however. Buoyed by taking 0.5 seconds from Hirvonen in SS13, Fredriksberg, Henning charged into SS14, Lejen, but spins in the stage with a loss of 16.1 seconds to the works Ford. The spin wouldn't cost the orange Focus a place, however, as Gardemeister copped a fifty-second road penalty for a late arrival at SS14. The Fords were split by 27.7 seconds overnight with the Mitsubishi dropping to eighth.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 2:22:29.6
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC +38.4
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC +1:13.4
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC +1:40.7
5. Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet - Citroën Xsara WRC +2:46.5
6. Chris Atkinson/Glenn MacNeall - Subaru Impreza WRC +2:55.2
Leg 3 - A frigid start to the day, -23 degrees celsius being recorded in the service park, spelt trouble for the early Ford runners - in SS16, Backa 1, Stobart-VK Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala retired from ninth as a frozen oil cooler pipe caused the engine to overheat, which raised the oil pressure and forced the lubricant out of the unit. Matthew Wilson's Focus, the sister car to Latvala, would succumb to the same fate. Chris Atkinson started the day in determined fashion, relieving Daniel Carlsson of fifth in SS16 and stretching the gap to 2.9 seconds after SS17, Malta 1, but in SS18, Backa 2, a brush with the scenery rearranged the rear suspension of the Australian's works Impreza WRC, gifting the Swede fifth place and dropping the Subaru back to eighth at the finish. Back at the front, Grönholm added 3.6 seconds to his cushion during the morning loop before bagging another 11.8 seconds during the afternoon to seal a comfortable victory by 53.8 seconds, the result marked Grönholm's fifth overall Swedish win and his second with Ford. Loeb finished runner-up by 47.7 seconds from the second works Focus of Hirvonen, the factory Fords seemingly unaffected by the frozen oil coolers that afflicted the sister Stobart cars.
Top 10 Results
1. Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen - Ford Focus WRC 3:08:40.7
2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena - Citroën C4 WRC 3:09:34.5 +53.8
3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC 3:10:22.2 +1:41.5 +47.7
4. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud - Ford Focus WRC 3:10:50.5 +2:09.8 +28.3
5. Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:12:18.5 +3:37.8 +1:28.0
6. Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 3:12:34.9 +3:54.2 +16.4
7. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor - Citroën Xsara WRC 3:13:53.3 +5:12.5 +1:18.3
8. Chris Atkinson/Glenn MacNeall - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:14:55.4 +6:14.7 +1:02.2
9. Mads Østberg/Ole Kristian Onnerud - Subaru Impreza WRC 3:16:27.7 +7:47.0 +1:32.3
10. Jan Kopecký/Filip Schovánek - Škoda Fabia WRC 3:16:33.2 +7:52.5 +5.5
Grönholm quote - "Yeah, it's good, it's good. He (Loeb) was putting pressure on, yes, the first day and half of the second day but then we could make a small gap and it was ok in the end."
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PWRC - Finn Kristian Sohlberg took the high ground on day one in the supporting PWRC category, holding a 5.1-second lead over fellow Finn Juho Hänninen into the second day. The second-placed Mitsubishi applied more pressure throughout Saturday morning to trail the leading Subaru by just 1.7 seconds at service. In SS14, Lejen, Hänninen's pressure told when Sohlberg slid briefly into a snowbank, the 8.7-second time loss in stage converting into a 2.1-second deficit overall. The Mitsubishi's lead was stretched to 6.9 seconds overnight to leave all to play for on Sunday. Frustratingly for Sohlberg, that fight wasn't to last long - a broken driveshaft in SS16, Backa 1, left him with rear-wheel drive only and a time loss of over three and a half minutes by mid-day service. Hänninen completed the event untroubled to seal victory but in post-event scrutineering, non-homologated fuel pumps were discovered on his Evo IX so he was stripped of his win. The Finn's exclusion elevated local hero Oscar Svedlund to the top spot from Anton Alén, son of the charismatic Markku. The pair had been in a close tussle for the first half of the event until Alén suffered a puncture in SS11, Torntorp 2, which broke up the fight - Alén fell to fifth as a result before fighting back past Mirco Baldacci in SS13, Fredriksberg. The hobbled Sohlberg was able to salvage a spot on the podium after Hänninen's exclusion.
1. Oscar Svedlund/Björn Nilsson - Subaru Impreza STi 3:25:29.2
2. Anton Alén/Timo Alanne - Subaru Impreza STi 3:26:07.8 +38.6
3. Kristian Sohlberg/Risto Pietiläinen - Subaru Impreza STi 3:27:11.9 +1:42.7
1. Oscar Svedlund/Björn Nilsson - Subaru Impreza STi 3:25:29.2
2. Anton Alén/Timo Alanne - Subaru Impreza STi 3:26:07.8 +38.6
3. Kristian Sohlberg/Risto Pietiläinen - Subaru Impreza STi 3:27:11.9 +1:42.7
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