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2nd November 2001

Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm has charged into
the lead of the penultimate round of this year's series, the Telstra
Rally Australia, which started this morning. The Peugeot driver
arrived at this evening's Langley Park superspecial with a narrow
lead over Richard Burns, Didier Auriol and Colin McRae after a close
day's competition under baking hot sunshine.

The notoriously slippery forests near the host city of Perth again
penalised the early crews, but since new rules allowed the drivers
to choose their starting position based on the championship standings,
title hopefuls McRae and Burns were able to capitalise on roads swept
clean by others. Joint series leader Tommi Mäkinen wasn't so fortunate
- still suffering back pains after his accident in Corsica last month,
the Finn could only manage sixth overall by the end of the last forest
test.


PEUGEOT

Technical: The four 206 WRCs have hit no major mechanical problems
today, although both Harri Rovanperä and Marcus Grönholm felt that
their gear ratios needed to be shorter to compensate for the deep,
soft gravel. Grönholm was also troubled by front tracking which
seemed to go out of line without him having hit anything.

Sporting: Marcus Grönholm set fastest times on today's first two
stages to move into the lead and the reigning world champion has
swapped seconds with Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Didier Auriol
all day. A late push this afternoon meant that the Finn arrived at
the Langley Park superspecial holding a narrow lead, but he was
unhappy with front tracking that kept going out of line and leaving
his steering feeling vague. Auriol occupied third by the end of the
last forest stage after a troublefree day, meanwhile. Harri Rovanperä
was less than satisfied with his 206's gear ratios but he still held
fifth by Langley Park, while the fourth 206 WRC driver Gilles Panizzi
was pleased to hold a top ten position - eighth - by the end of the
day.

Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: "I'm quite surprised our times are so
good - firstly, because we're running ahead of all of our main rivals
on the road, and secondly, because I'm not too happy with the car.
It's not a serious problem but on virtually every stage today I got
to the end and I knew it wasn't perfect. Something just isn't right
in the steering. But if we can fix it, the situation looks good for us."

Harri Rovanperä said: "Some of the stages today were hard for me
because it was my first time over them. Even though we have good
pacenotes you still have to think twice at some jumps or blind corners.
But we have to say the rally's started well for us."

Didier Auriol said: "We could see a clean line on many of the stages
so we tried to take advantage of that and it worked. It's going well
but there's still a long way to go."


SUBARU

Technical: The Impreza WRC2001s of Richard Burns, Petter Solberg and
Toshihiro Arai have been generally reliable, although Burns was
troubled by the car locking up and stalling momentarily during this
morning's first loop of stages. Both he and Solberg have suffered a
number of break-ups in the mousse anti-puncture inserts in their
tyres, however.

Sporting: Richard Burns charged during today's middle loop of stages
to move into a podium placing, and the Briton arrived at Langley Park
this evening in second overall. Petter Solberg was pleased with how
well he'd coped with running relatively high up the order, and the
young Norwegian - troubled, like Burns, with mousse break-ups in his
tyres - ended the last forest test in seventh. Toshihiro Arai scooped
gravel into his Impreza's radiator this morning but otherwise the
Japanese driver has adopted a cautious approach. He arrived back in
Perth well outside the top ten, however.

Quotes: Richard Burns said: "The very best position on the road would
be as far back as possible, so I'm reasonably optimistic about tomorrow.
We haven't had any really serious problems today and we've made good
use of our road position. The Peugeots look quick but I think it'll
be a good fight."

Petter Solberg said: "I'm quite satisfied really. We knew it would
be hard today with our high starting position but we've tried to
minimise the time loss and we've done pretty well. I'm looking forward
to tomorrow."

Toshihiro Arai said: "The roads have been very slippery for us because
we've been the third car on the stages. After my early accident in
Corsica last month I really want to get to the finish so I've been
very cautious - maybe too cautious - in some places."

Ford
Technical: Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz had no major mechanical
problems today, but the Spaniard badly damaged the right-rear corner
of his Ford Focus in SS6. He received road penalties after he had
to stop and put out a small fire on his way to service. Francois
Delecour complained of a misfire this morning, then also had to
extinguish flames on his Focus after he hit a tree on the same stage
as his team-mate. He suffered a loss of power steering on the day's
last forest stage, too.

Sporting: Colin McRae's decision to start at the back of the seeded
crews paid off today. The Scot was slightly alarmed at the pace of
the Peugeots this morning but he fought back this afternoon, using
his better grip to move ahead of Marcus Grönholm and into the lead.
He dropped back again on the last few stages, though, since he
elected to take no chances on the rutted roads that had already
been used once this morning. He ended the forest stages in fourth.
Team-mate Carlos Sainz held a top six placing for much of the day
but in SS6, the Spaniard hit a small post and damaged his right
rear suspension. The right-rear tyre caught fire on the road section
to service, so the double world champion removed the wheel completely
after extinguishing the flames. He picked up road penalties for late
arrival, but continued and arrived back in Perth this evening in
15th place. Francois Delecour was troubled by a misfire this morning,
but he clipped a small tree in the same stage that caught out Sainz
and the resulting damage set fire to some extra oil containers in the
car. The Frenchman was able to continue, however.

Quotes: Colin McRae said: "I think the Peugeots seem to suit the
narrower, more rutted roads because when the stages got a bit more
flowing we've become more competitive. It's obviously going pretty
well at the minute but as we've seen with Carlos, it's easy to get
caught out on these stages."

Carlos Sainz said: "I didn't think the post was too bad but it knocked
the wheel out of line and when it rubbed on the bodywork it went on
fire. I knew I had to take it off the car but it was hard to do that
with the fire."

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MITSUBISHI

Technical: Tommi Mäkinen and Freddy Loix have had no serious mechanical
problems with their Lancer Evolution WRCs on the car's first full
day of gravel world championship competition.

Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen found today's stages painful thanks to a
back injury, a legacy of his big accident in Corsica last month.
The four-times world champion had to back off over several jumps
rather than risk aggravating the problem further, and he was in
discussions with the team doctor at every service halt. His cause
wasn't helped further by replacement co-driver Timo Hantunen having
to adapt quickly to Mäkinen's pacenote system. On more than one
occasion the pair became lost, and Mäkinen had to back off on a couple
of long straights simply because he didn't know what was coming next.
Nevertheless, Mäkinen arrived at the Langley Park stage in Perth
this evening in sixth overall. Team-mate Freddy Loix struggled with
his road position but the Belgian held ninth after the last forest
stage.

Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: "My back is very sore at times but I
still want to carry on and we'll see what happens. The new car feels
quite good on gravel but it's also very big - if we slide into a
corner our wheels go beyond everyone else's tracks and we get into
the deep gravel."

Freddy Loix said: "I have to be quite pleased, because I didn't have
much testing before this event and even though we clearly still have
work to do, the times aren't bad considering how high up the field
I'm running."


HYUNDAI

Technical: The Hyundai's Accent WRC2 of Alister McRae has performed
reliably today, but team-mate Kenneth Eriksson wasn't so fortunate.
The Swede lost time on today's first stage when navigator Staffan
Parmander's side window fell down and allowed dust into the cockpit.

Sporting: Kenneth Eriksson lost time on today's first stage when a
faulty window allowed dust into the cockpit, but the Swede's problems
were more fundamental in any case. Running first on the road, he's
had to sweep loose gravel over the harder surface on all of the day's
eight forest tests and as a result, he was unable to get near the
top ten positions. His team-mate Alister McRae was the very next
car on the stages, so he didn't benefit from greatly improved road
conditions either and the Scot arrived back in Perth this evening
in 11th.

Quotes: Kenneth Eriksson said: "I'm quite happy with my driving
here in general and the tyres we're using are working well for our
road conditions, but there's really nothing we can do about the
situation. With the way nominations work now it means that we'll
probably be high up the order again tomorrow, which just makes
things worse."

Alister McRae said: "It's obviously quite frustrating because even
though you try your best, you know that the guys behind are almost
certainly going to go quicker and they'll be able to choose whether
or not to have the same situation again tomorrow."


OTHER TEAMS

Kiwi driver 'Possum' Bourne had been expected to shine here but he
lost time today's fourth stage when he had to stop and change a wheel.
The top privateer driver is FIA Teams Cup entrant Hamed Al Wahaibi
in 13th, ahead of local Toyota driver Neal Bates.

In the Group N category for more standard machinery, Manfred Stohl
grabbed the initial class lead but then lost it this afternoon when
he broke a driveshaft. Local driver Ed Ordysnki was thus promoted
to the lead although he came under pressure from Cody Crocker until
the Subaru driver hit clutch problems.

__________________________________________________ ________________

UNOFFICIAL LEG 1 RESULTS

OUTRIGHT

1 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 1:25:56,3
2 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 1:25:59,9
3 Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC 1:26:00,1
4 McRae Ford Focus WRC 1:26:01,6
5 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 1:26:12,2
6 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 1:27:14,3
7 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 1:27:20,1
8 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 1:27:27,0
9 Loix Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 1:28:11,6
10 Delecour Ford Focus WRC 1:28:21,5


GROUP N

1 Ordynski Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 1:32:36,9
2 Kangas Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 1:33:18,7
3 Pozzo Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 1:33:29,6


TEAMS CUP

1 Al Wahaibi Subaru Impreza WRC 1:29:30,0
2 Lungaard Toyota Corolla WRC 1:30:03,6
3 Hagstrom Toyota Corolla WRC 1:30:37,1

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aahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahaa

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END OF LEG 2

Extract from Official FIA Press Release
http://www.fia.com

Saturday, 03 November 2001

Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm has strengthened
his lead on the penultimate round of this year's series, the Telstra
Rally Australia, which continued today. The Peugeot driver and
navigator Timo Rautiainen set two fastest times on this morning's
opening pair of tests to more than treble their advantage over
Richard Burns. They then consolidated their position with further
fastest times this afternoon to arrive at this evening's Langley
Park superspecial in the host city, Perth, with a 32.8s cushion.

The organisers' decision last night to not allow Colin McRae to
nominate his start position for today (due to his late arrival at
the selection process) affected the world championship leader badly,
as he dropped nearly a minute to Grönholm and dropped to fifth. His
Ford team moved François Delecour to the front of the field in an
attempt to sweep some of the loose gravel off the road before the
Scot. But the Frenchman crashed heavily in today's third stage,
halting the test and hospitalising his navigator Daniel Grataloup
with a shoulder injury.


PEUGEOT

Technical: Marcus Grönholm has been much happier with his car today,
after Peugeot engineers changed all of the steering rack and power
steering system at yesterday evening's final service. But team-mate
Didier Auriol hit transmission problems on the day's second test,
leaving the handling of his 206 snakelike on the faster sections.
A change of all three differentials at the second service solved
the problem. Harri Rovanperä was troubled by excessive tyre wear on
his 206 on the opening pair of stages but his and Gilles Panizzi's
cars ran without major problems.

Sporting: Marcus Grönholm set fastest times on all of today's stages
to extend his overnight advantage. The Finn has been more satisfied
with his car's handling after a complete change of the steering rack
and power steering system last night. Didier Auriol was slowed
slightly by wayward handling on today's second stage. The problem
was traced to a transmission glitch and solved by changing all three
differentials at second service. Auriol was thus able to hold onto
his third position. Harri Rovanperä lost time on today's second stage
after wearing out his front tyres on the first, longer test but the
Finn remains in a comfortable fourth overall. Gilles Panizzi found
today's tests more difficult than yesterday's but the asphalt expert
still holds eighth.

Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: "It's much better today. Now I have a
car that is just as I want it to be - the steering is more precise
again, like it should be. I've been pushing quite hard today but I'm
still not taking any risks. Tomorrow's a short day but a lot can still
happen. I'm quite confident, though."

Didier Auriol said: "The car was incredibly bad to drive when I had
the transmission problem. It was virtually impossible to keep it in
a straight line - it was snaking everywhere. But the mechanics did
a good job and it's working fine again. I don't know if we can catch
Richard tomorrow but we'll keep pushing at this level."


SUBARU

Technical: The Impreza WRC2001s of Richard Burns and Petter Solberg
have been reliable today. Toshihiro Arai's car had to retire at the
end of the day's first stage, though, after the Japanese driver hit
a tree and his engine overheated.

Sporting: Richard Burns has been able to pull further clear of Didier
Auriol today, but the Briton hasn't managed to match Marcus Grönholm's
pace and as a result, he arrived back in Perth this evening in a
relatively lonely second place. Petter Solberg, meanwhile, needed only
one stage to move clear of Tommi Mäkinen and into sixth overall but
the pair have swapped seconds all day and the young Norwegian
eventually finished the last forest test less than three seconds
behind four-times world champion. Toshihiro Arai slid into a tree on
this morning's first stage and although he and navigator Glenn
Macneall reached the end of the test, their engine was too badly
damaged to continue.

Quotes: Richard Burns said: "I thought I might lose time to Marcus
on this morning's opening stage because I didn't think I drove very
well but on the second one, I thought I'd do well and he did an
incredible time. But we're not about to back off and give him an
easier time. We have to keep pushing."

Petter Solberg said: "It's been going quite well. We had one mousse
insert in the tyre break up this morning but it happened on the road
section after the first stage. In some places where there are a few
rocks I've been taking it cautiously because I don't want to risk
getting a puncture, but when I push hard the feeling is very good
indeed. All we can do is keep trying."

Toshihiro Arai said: "The accident was my fault. I made a silly
mistake going into a slow corner. I just got caught out on some
slippery gravel and slid into a small tree. The front of the car was
damaged and it didn't look too bad but some oil pipes behind the
radiator were broken and we had to stop just before the finish of
the stage."


FORD

Technical: Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz had no major mechanical
problems today, although Sainz suffered two mousse insert break-ups
in his tyres this morning. François Delecour's car ran reliably too
until he slid off on the day's third stage and retired.

Sporting: Fourth by yesterday evening, Colin McRae forfeited his
right to choose an advantageous starting position for today when
he was adjudged to have turned up too late for the nomination
ceremony. So instead, the Scot was seeded at the front of the field
and although Ford subsequently moved François Delecour to the front
in an attempt to sweep some gravel clear, the 1995 world champion
knew before he started this morning that he faced an uphill struggle.
It proved as much, although afternoon rain limited the damage on the
final three stages. He still dropped to fifth, however, over a minute
and a half behind leader Marcus Grönholm. Carlos Sainz has spent
today recovering after his problems yesterday - the Spaniard ended
the leg in ninth overall. Delecour - who had to take a 13-minute
penalty to move ahead of McRae on the road this morning - duly swept
the road clear on the first couple of stages but on the third he
clipped a tree on the inside of a corner and then hit a larger tree
on the outside of the bend. Navigator Daniel Grataloup was sufficiently
hurt for the stage to be stopped, although the Frenchman's condition
was described as 'satisfactory' this evening. He has broken ribs, a
broken right collar bone, a small break of the right shoulder blade
and a small collapse of the right lung.

Quotes: Colin McRae said: "I don't understand why the organisers
wouldn't let me choose my position on the road for today. I was
where I was supposed to be when I was called up to make my nomination,
but only then did I realise they wouldn't let me do it. All we can
really hope now is to hang onto fifth because even if we manage that,
we're too far behind the guys in front and they've now got road
position advantage over us anyway. I feel very hard done by."

François Delecour said: "I was pushing hard - maybe too hard because
I was running first on the road - and I clipped a tree on the inside
and it threw me across the road into another tree. It was a fifth
gear place but quite narrow so we broke the tree on the outside of
the corner. I stopped Colin as soon as possible because Daniel
(Grataloup) was hurt and Colin and Nicky tried to help. It's a sad
way to end my time at Ford."

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MITSUBISHI

Technical: Tommi Mäkinen suffered brake problems in this morning's
opening, long stage. Freddy Loix, meanwhile, was 13 minutes late
entering SS14 after a broken connection on the battery meant his
Lancer wouldn't restart at the time control. He was penalised 2m 10s
of road penalties as a result.

Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen lost time with his brake problems this
morning and he also stalled and spun in SS15 but the Finn managed
to reclaim sixth position from Petter Solberg on the last forest
test. The four-times world champion reports far less aggravation
from his back injury than yesterday, and his stand-in navigator Timo
Hantunen has continued to adapt to his new role with increasing
confidence. Freddy Loix kept his Lancer in the top ten until a broken
electrical connection meant he was late into SS14, costing him
2m 10s of road penalties.

Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: "It's been not too bad today - my back
hasn't hurt very much because the stages have been quite smooth
and flowing. The spin really puzzled me - under heavy braking, the
engine just stalled. Sometimes that happens if the wheels lock up
but they didn't, so I can't understand it. As for tomorrow, I really
want to push to get a point from this rally."

Freddy Loix said: "We arrived at SS14 very early so I switched off
the engine. But when I went to turn it back on again it simply
wouldn't start. I could smell something that I knew was the battery
so I prodded the connections with a stick and Sven (Smeets) tried
to start the engine. Suddenly, it worked. I'm disappointed, though,
because we were making progress."


HYUNDAI

Technical: The Hyundai's Accent WRC2s of Alister McRae and Kenneth
Eriksson have both performed reliably today.

Sporting: Again running near the front of the field, Alister McRae
and Kenneth Eriksson have had to fight to keep their cars near the
top ten. But the Scot benefited from Freddy Loix's problems to
achieve exactly that, holding 10th overall as the crews entered the
Langley Park superspecial. Eriksson has had a troublefree day but
the Swede struggled again with loose gravel on most of the stages
and he arrived back in Perth in 12th.

Quotes: Kenneth Eriksson said: "There has to be a better way of
sorting out the running order. Use a brush on the stage beforehand
or run this rally in winter when it's more damp and the roads don't
have as much loose. We knew yesterday morning when we started the
first stage that unless there were a lot of retirements, we didn't
stand a chance and that's what's happening."

Alister McRae said: "The stages this afternoon were damp but while
it made a difference, it wasn't big enough. If you look at how Colin's
times compare to Marcus when they were so close yesterday, then you
can see what a disadvantage we've had all rally."

Other teams
Oman driver Hamed Al Wahaibi continues to be the top privateer driver.
The FIA Teams Cup entrant holds 13th in his Subaru, ahead of European
champion Henrik Lundgaard.

In the Group N class for more standard cars, local driver Ed Ordynski
continues to hold the lead, ahead of newly-crowned category champion
Gabriel Pozzo.

__________________________________________________ ________________


UNOFFICIAL LEG 2 RESULTS

OUTRIGHT

1 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 2:20:01,8
2 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 2:20:36,1
3 Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC 2:20:56,0
4 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 2:21:18,0
5 McRae Ford Focus WRC 2:21:46,8
6 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 2:22:48,5
7 Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC 2:22:48,9
8 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 2:23:35,5
9 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 2:24:19,9
10 McRae Hyundai Accent WRC 2:25:32,0


GROUP N

1 Ordynski Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 2:31:41,4
3 Pozzo Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 2:32:24,3
2 Kangas Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 2:32:28,2


TEAMS CUP

1 Al Wahaibi Subaru Impreza WRC 2:26:16,2
2 Lungaard Toyota Corolla WRC 2:26:55,7
3 Hagstrom Toyota Corolla WRC 2:28:05,9

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Solberg WOOT!

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end of leg 3 pics

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Peugeot's reigning World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm has taken the French manufacturer to the top of this year's series with a stunning victory on the penultimate round, the Telstra Rally Australia.

The Finn's 206 WRC finished over 40 seconds ahead of Richard Burns and with the similar cars of Didier Auriol and Harri Rovanperä finishing third and fourth respectively, Peugeot has moved into the lead of the world manufacturers championship with just the final round in Britain remaining.

Grönholm and navigator Timo Rautiainen - winners in Australia last year as well - started today's final leg in a relatively comfortable lead (more than half a minute) after setting fastest times on all of yesterday's stages. Marcus had been able to choose a starting position well down the running order, so the front crews swept clear the loose gravel allowing him better grip. He thus concentrated on not making mistakes and consolidating his advantage. He secured the win in a spectacular TV special, played out in front of thousands of enthusiastic spectators at the massive SOTICO forest complex 100km from Perth.

Marcus said: "I'm delighted. We came here with the target of winning and giving Peugeot a good chance in the manufacturers' championship and to come away with 14 points for the team is a fantastic result. As for myself, I've been very pleased with my driving and the car's been very reliable. We only had one small steering problem on the first day but once that was sorted, it was the perfect car for the conditions and I knew I could push hard. Despite this win I can't regain my crown in Britain but I'll be pushing hard to make sure Peugeot wins the title for the second year in succession."

Didier Auriol and Harri Rovanperä made no mistakes during today's four stages to finish third and fourth, but with Didier unregistered for the makes series Harri scored for Peugeot, taking the team's haul from the event to 14 points. Only an alternator problem in the penultimate stage gave the Swedish Rally winner any cause for concern, since it allowed Colin McRae to close to within 12 seconds, but Harri held off the Scot in the short final test.

Didier said: "It's been a tricky rally but I've been quite happy with my performance and the car's been reliable. Australia is always a very close rally so to get three cars in the top six - and four in the top ten - is a good result for the team."

Harri said: "I've been pushing really hard all event but everyone else has been driving really quickly and some of Marcus's times yesterday were just amazing! I'm pleased to get some points for the team, though, because it gives us a good chance of winning the manufacturers' series in Britain."

Team Peugeot Total Director Corrado Provera said: "For some time I've had two wishes - that the championships will be decided in Britain, and that Marcus would win here. We've never stopped believing it could happen and now it has. Furthermore, we're going to Britain in the lead of the manufacturers' championship which is just fantastic for the whole team. Didier has done everything we asked of him here and our two Finns, Harri and Marcus, have been exemplary. I'm very proud of everyone."

The world championship now looks set for a thrilling climax in the treacherously muddy, slippery forests of south Wales on November 22.25. Four drivers will start the Rally GB with a chance of winning the world title, while Peugeot still has to fight off two other makes before it can celebrate a second manufacturers' crown in a row.

Latest 15 stories, here...Statistics from the Rally...Landslide Team's Cup win for...McRae opens up championship...Hyundai sweep Australia as...Burns takes second placePeugeot on top after...Makinen's championship fight...Gronholm wins Telstra Rally...Gronholm wins in...McRae chases down...Stage win for McRae leaves...Burns prepared to fight to the...Grataloup doing wellBurns prepared for final day...Gronholm's near-perfect...
Michelle Foster
CAPSIS International

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The statistics from the rally

Rally Australia
From 1st to 4th November 2001
21 Special Stages
396,77 competitive kilometres

STAGE LEADERS


Carlos SAINZ Ford Focus SS 1
Marcus GRONHOLM Peugeot 206 WRC SS 2 to 5
Colin MCRAE Ford Focus ES 6
Marcus GRONHOLM Peugeot 206 WRC SS 7 to 21

STAGE LEADERS GROUP N


Manfred STOHL Mitsubishi Lancer SS 1 to 6
Ed ORDYNSKI Mitsubishi Lancer SS 7 to 21

STAGE LEADERS TEAM'S CUP


Pasi HAGSTROM Toyota Corolla SS 1 to 2
Hamed AL WAHAIBI Subaru Impreza SS 3 to 21

STAGE WINNERS


Marcus GRONHOLM Peugeot 206 7 SS*
Didier AURIOL Peugeot 206 5 SS*
Carlos SAINZ Ford Focus 4 SS*
Colin McRae Ford Focus 3 SS
Richard Burns Subaru Impreza 3 SS*
Harri ROVANPERA Peugeot 206 1 SS*
Petter SOLBERG Subaru Impreza 1 SS*
* tied for victory in a stage

STAGE WINNERS GROUP N


Manfred STOHL Mitsubishi Lancer 11 SS*
Ed ORDYNSKI Mitsubishi Lancer 5 SS*
Fumio NUTAHARA Mitsubishi Lancer 1 SS
Cody CROCKER Subaru Impreza 1 SS
Gabriel POZZO Mitsubishi Lancer 1 SS
Juha KANGAS Mitsubishi Lancer 1 SS
François DUVAL Mitsubishi Lancer 1 SS
* tied for victory in a stage

STAGE WINNERS TEAM'S CUP


Hamed AL WAHAIBI Subaru Impreza 11 SS
Pasi HAGSTROM Toyota Corolla 5 SS
Henrik LUNDGAARD Toyota Corolla 4 SS

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Standings

Colin MCRAE (GB) 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 0 4 6 0 0 2 -- 42
Tommi MAKINEN (FIN) 10 0 10 4 3 0 3 10 0 0 0 0 1 -- 41
Richard BURNS (GB) 0 0 3 0 6 6 0 0 6 10 0 3 6 -- 40
Carlos SAINZ (E) 6 4 6 2 4 4 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 -- 33
Harri ROVANPERA (FIN) -- 10 0 -- 0 0 4 6 3 4 0 0 3 -- 30
Marcus GRONHOLM (FIN) 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 10 2 0 0 10 -- 26
Didier AURIOL (F) 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 4 4 -- 23
Gilles PANIZZI (F) 0 -- 0 6 -- 0 0 -- 0 -- 10 6 0 -- 22
François DELECOUR (F) 4 2 2 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 -- 15
Petter SOLBERG (N) 0 1 0 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 -- 11
Jesus PURAS (E) -- -- -- 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 0 10 -- -- 10
Freddy LOIX (B) 1 0 0 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 -- 9
Armin SCHWARZ (D) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 -- 0 0 -- -- 7
Thomas RADSTROM (S) -- 6 0 -- -- -- 0 -- -- -- 0 -- -- -- 6
Sébastien LOEB (F) 0 0 -- 0 -- -- 0 -- 0 -- 6 0 -- -- 6
Toni GARDEMEISTER (FIN) 2 3 -- -- -- -- -- -- 0 0 -- -- -- -- 5
Toshihiro ARAI (J) -- -- -- -- 0 3 0 0 -- 0 0 0 0 -- 3
Markko MARTIN (EST) 0 0 0 0 -- -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 1 -- -- 3
Renato TRAVAGLIA (I) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2 -- -- -- 2
Alister MCRAE (GB) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 0 0 0 -- 1
Pasi HAGSTROM (FIN) -- 0 0 0 -- 1 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1
Philippe BUGALSKI (F) 0 -- 0 0 -- -- 1 -- -- -- 0 0 -- -- 1
Gabriel POZZO (RA) -- -- 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -- 1

LanEvo

dude, is okay

we know how to type in "www.rally-live.com"

b_tapper

hey lanevo
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FOCK YOU!

Only the pics and standings were taken from rally-live

beoch

b_tapper

bc you love it so much...more leg 3 results =P

Peugeot driver Marcus Grönholm has won the 13th round of the FIA
World Rally Championship, the Telstra Rally Australia. The reigning
world champion and navigator Timo Rautiainen controlled their pace
through today's final four stages to claim victory on the Perth-based
event for the second year in succession.

But the results further down the points order have set up a thrilling
climax to the 2001 series. Richard Burns finished second and with title
rivals Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen only finishing fifth and sixth
respectively, the three will go into the Rally GB later this month
covered by just two points. Grönholm's win also lifted Peugeot to
the top of the manufacturer's championship but Ford and Mitsubishi
will both travel to Cardiff with chances of preventing the French
team from winning the title two years in a row.


PEUGEOT

Technical: The 206 WRCs of Marcus Grönholm and Didier Auriol have
both run without trouble today. Harri Rovanperä's car suffered a
broken alternator belt 10km from the end of the penultimate stage,
though, and the Finn reckoned he lost as much as 10 seconds in the
closing kilometres as the engine kept cutting out. Gilles Panizzi's
only scare was a spluttering engine as he tried to exit the watersplash
on the closing televised stage.

Sporting: Marcus Grönholm concentrated on not making a mistake during
today's four stages in the SOTICO forest complex and the reigning
world champion duly notched up his second Rally Australia win in
succession. Didier Auriol lost time on the day's first stage when
he hit a rock and knocked a rear wheel out of line but the Frenchman
was comfortable in third place and he claimed the final podium position.
Harri Rovanperä came under pressure from Colin McRae in the later
stages and a broken alternator belt in the penultimate stage didn't
help. But the Swedish Rally winner held his ground to finish fourth
and score three manufacturers' points for Peugeot. Gilles Panizzi,
meanwhile, tried to gain more experience of left-foot braking on
gravel. He dropped behind Carlos Sainz into ninth by the finish.

Quotes: Marcus Gronholm said: "I'm delighted! From yesterday
morning I really knew we could win because after the team changed
the steering the car felt so, so good and I knew I could push. We
really won the rally yesterday because today's been about watching
Richard's speed and making sure he doesn't get too close. It's
obviously a good result for the team because it means we go to Britain
at the top of the manufacturers series. I'll still be pushing hard
there to make sure we win it again, so it'll be interesting to
compare my speed to Colin, Tommi and Richard as they fight for
the drivers' title."

Harri Rovanperä said: "I've been satisfied with my driving here,
mainly because I thought the stages would be easy to remember on this
rally and that hasn't been the case. Even the slightest lift of the
throttle at a crest makes a difference when everyone's on such an
attack. But we still scored good points for Peugeot, which was the
important thing for us here."

Gilles Panizzi said: "I'm quite happy. I lost the good feeling
yesterday but today I've been trying to do more left-foot braking
and the confidence has come back. Some of my times have been quite
good so while I know I need more experience and knowledge of the
stages here, I'm quite satisfied."

Peugeot Sport Team Director Corrado Provera said: "All of our drivers
have performed superbly. Didier has done everything we could have
asked of him, Gilles has learnt a lot and our two Finnish stars Marcus
and Harri have been exemplary. I'm very proud of what we've achieved
and I'm looking forward to Britain."


SUBARU

Technical: The Impreza WRC2001s of Richard Burns and Petter Solberg
have been reliable today. Solberg's only slight problem was a puncture
five kilometres before the end of the day's first stage.

Sporting: Richard Burns pushed hard on today's first stage but he
failed to make an impression on Marcus Grönholm and thereafter, the
Briton settled for a second overall that means victory on the Rally GB
will guarantee him the world title. Petter Solberg, meanwhile, started
the day less than half a second behind Tommi Mäkinen. But the four
times world champion pulled out nearly half a minute over the first
couple of stages (Solberg suffered a puncture on the first) and
thereafter,
the young Norwegian settled for seventh and a manufacturers point for
Subaru.

Quotes: Richard Burns said: "We really couldn't have done much more
here - Marcus was very rapid yesterday - but six points is good. I
think the world title will probably be between Colin and myself on
the Rally GB because I think Tommi will probably struggle to keep up
with us. It's going to be a good fight and I'm confident."
Petter Solberg said: "This has been a really good event for me. I've
been very happy with my driving considering I still don't have that
much experience here and we had to start quite high up the field on
Friday. The stages today were really slippery but some of them were
excellent fun. I knew that Tommi goes well in Bunnings so once he
took some time off me in the first stage I realised it would be
to catch him."


FORD

Technical: Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz had no major mechanical
problems today, although Sainz nudged a bank on the second stage and
bent his rear bumper so close to the exhaust that it started to burn.
Sporting: Colin McRae tried hard this morning to close the gap on
Harri Rovanperä but while he was able to reduce the deficit
(built up yesterday when the Scot had to run first on the road)
he couldn't catch the Finn. The Scot had to settle for fifth and two
potentially crucial world championship points. His only real problem
today was one scare over a jump in the second stage. Carlos Sainz felt
his tyre choice on today's opening stage was too soft and he nudged
a bank on the second stage but the Spaniard still eased past Gilles
Panizzi's Peugeot to finish eighth. He only has an outside chance of
lifting the drivers' title in Rally GB, however - he must win, with
the front three in the series either failing to score or scoring badly.

Quotes: Colin McRae said: "It hasn't been a particularly good event.
I still don't really understand why the organisers did what they did
on Friday evening with the starting nomination. It ruined my event,
basically. We've pushed as hard as possible but in the end, fifth was
all we could hope for. The Rally GB should be good and I'm confident.
It'll probably be between Richard and myself but we can't rule out
Tommi. He hasn't been that fast in Britain before but then, he hasn't
needed to be."

Carlos Sainz said: "We came here knowing that only a victory would
give us any realistic chance of the drivers' title and after the first
day accident, we really knew it was game over. We've tried to fight
back but we always knew that others had to hit problems for us to
have any chance. It's a shame that we made our only big mistake of
the year on this event, but we will still go to Britain and push
hard for the manufacturers points."


MITSUBISHI

Technical: Both Lancer Evolution WRCs have been generally reliable
today, although Tommi Mäkinen did suffer from intercooler water
spray coming onto his windscreen in the second stage. The Finn was
much happier with his car''s handling, though, after softening the
set-up at the front.

Sporting: Tommi Mäkinen has always gone well at the SOTICO (formerly
Bunnings) forest complex that hosted today's stages, and the Finn
wasted no time in putting a cushion between himself in sixth and
Petter Solberg's Subaru. Revised suspension and anti-roll bar settings
gave the four-times world champion increased confidence in his Lancer,
and he pulled out more than 25 seconds over the young Norwegian, on
the day's first two stages alone. He eventually finished sixth, scoring
a valuable world championship point. Freddy Loix struggled with his
road position today (caused by the road penalties he incurred fixing
an electrical fault yesterday) and the Belgian couldn't make up enough
time on Alister McRae to get his Lancer into the top ten.

Quotes: Tommi Mäkinen said: "Today has been quite positive. For starters,
our car seems closer to the others on gravel than it was on asphalt.
Then we changed the balance a bit and the rear-end grip is much more
progressive now. I think we got it a bit wrong in the test because we
stiffened the front to get good handling there but the rear end wasn't
right. Now we can make new parts for Rally GB and because there's a
bigger gap between this rally and Britain we have a chance to test.
Can we improve enough to give me a chance of winning the title? That's
the question!"

Freddy Loix said: "It's been a new experience for me, running this
high up the road in Australia, and I have to say it's not that nice
because although I have a good feeling with the car, you also know
that you're losing time at virtually every corner."