WRC RALLYES Rallye de France- Corsica: New part caused Gronholm exit
22.10.2005:
WRC RALLYES Rallye de France- Corsica: New part caused Gronholm exit
Jean-Pierre Nicolas - Peugeot motorsport boss Jean-Pierre Nicolas has blamed a new gearbox for the problem that forced double champion Marcus Gronholm to retire from Friday's opening leg of the Rallye de France. The Finn will not rejoin today's second leg, however, despite accumulating a five minute penalty for missing the final road section.
Gronholm ground to a halt at the end of Friday's final stage after becoming stuck in third gear. He was unable to restart the car and therefore had to receive assistance to get back to service. "The two Peugeot 307 WRCs in Corsica were equipped for the first time this year with our double-clutch gearbox," Nicolas explained. "This system would have gained us about 15 to 20 seconds over the course of the entire rally. Despite a long period of making this unit reliable, Marcus' gearbox became blocked on the fourth and final stage of the day and he was forced to retire. It was a bitter blow."
Keeping Gronholm in the rally was Peugeot's only real chance of denying sister firm Citroen the chance to seal this year's manufacturers' title on home soil. Newly-crowned double champion Sebastien Loeb is leading the event from team-mate Francois Duval, which should give the team the points it needs to clinch the makes' crown with just two rallies to go. Both Peugeot and Citroen now look set to leave the sport at the end of the year with three manufacturers' titles apiece in the modern era, although Peugeot can add its 1985 and 1986 titles to its tally.
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"We were expecting weiter >>
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Citroen's Sebastien Loeb kept up the pressure on this weekend's Rallye de France, with his third win of the day. It was an excellent stage for the Citroen team, as number two Francois Duval was second quickest and leapt up from fourth overall to second, passing both Ford's Toni Gard weiter >>
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Asp weiter >>
1. S. LOEB (F)D. ELENA (MC)Citroën Total Citroën XSARA A8 1
2. F. DUVAL (B)S. SMEETS (B)Citroën Total Citroën XSARA A8 1
3. T. GARDEMEISTER (FIN)J. HONKANEN (FIN)BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM Ford FOCUS RS WRC A8 1
4. R. KRESTA (CZ)J. TOMANEK (CZ)BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM Ford FOCUS RS WRC A8 1
5. P. SOLBERG (N)P. MILLS (GB)SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM Subaru weiter >>
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Newly-crowned double champion Sebastien Loeb began his bid to win his home round of the World Rally Championship for the first time in fine style with a comprehensive victory on the opening stage of the Rallye de France in Corsica. Marcus Gronholm and Toni Gardemeister were second and third best through the 32.89-kilometre stage.
In dry, warm conditions on the Mediterrane weiter >>
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After its highly-competitive outing on Japanese soil two weeks ago, the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team returns to Europe for the first of two Mediterranean-based back-to-back asphalt events. The Rallye de France - Tour de Corse (October 20-23) is one of the most fearsome rounds o weiter >>
Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm has said that his chances of victory on next weekend's Rallye de France in Corsica rest almost entirely on the event being affected by rain. The Finn, who announced that he will be moving to Ford next year, is eager to score his first asphalt win as he nears the end weiter >>
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Newly-crowned double champion Sebastien Loeb has admitted that the upcoming Rallye de France is likely to be one of the toughest tests of the season so far. The asphalt event, held on the island of Corsica, is traditionally blighted by inclement weather which poses a dilemma for teams and drivers on ty weiter >>
The official entry list for next month's Rallye de France in Corsica has been released, with a number of surprises among the 65 cars for the asphalt event. Mitsubishi will have a three-car entry for the island rally, while French privateer outfit Bozian Racing will be running a Peugeot 307 WRC for 1994 champion Didier Auriol.
The French ace is the first driver to take the weiter >>
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Jean-Pierre Nicolas - Peugeot motorsport boss Jean-Pierre Nicolas has blamed a new gearbox for the problem that forced double champion Marcus Gronholm to retire from Friday's opening leg of the Rallye de France. The Finn will not rejoin today's second leg, however, despite accumulating a five minute penalty for missing the final road section.