WRC - Subaru/Solberg win Rally Mexico

The Estonian also took it easy over the closing leg, learning more about the car and tyres all the time. “It was a lot more difficult to come to the rally this year, but at the same time I was quite happy with the way things went,” said the 2004 Corona Rally Mexico winner. “I knew we had made some slight improvements on the set-up from Sweden and it definitely worked, but at shakedown I realised there were changes that had to be made for me.”

Sebastien Loeb finished a surprise fourth, powering up the leaderboard from an overnight sixth, overhauling Harri Rovanpera and Toni Gardemeister in the process. The French Citroen driver won both stages and holds fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.

“I’ve been pushing to the maximum all day,” said Loeb. “Stage 14 I drove perfectly; it was one of my best performances ever.” Harri Rovanpera finished fifth in the lead Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 with Toni Gardemeister – who has been suffering with the flu all weekend - claiming sixth to extend Ford’s points scoring tally to 47 rallies with the Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns maintained their 100 per cent record in this season's FIA World Rally Championship and edged the BP-Ford squad closer to a magical 50 consecutive points finishes, a record dating back to the Monte Carlo Rally in 2002.

Final Classification of the Corona Rally Mexico 2005

1. P. Solberg/Ph. Mills (Subaru Impreza) 2. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Peugeot 307) + 34.5 s 3. M. Märtin/M. Park (Peugeot 307) + 1 m 38.3 s 4. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) + 3 m 51.1 s 5. H. Rovanperä/R. Pietilainen (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 3 m 58.1 s 6. T. Gardemeister/J. Honkanen (Ford Focus) + 4 m 05.6 s 7. A. Warmbold/M. Orr (Ford Focus) + 6 m 01 s 8. G. Panizzi/H. Panizzi (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 6 m 01.7 s 9. A. Schwarz/K. Wicha (Skoda Fabia) + 8 m 05.3 s

FIA World Rally Championship after round 3 - Manufacturers 1. Peugeot 31 points, 2. Ford 23 pts 3. Mitsubishi 23 pts 4. Subaru 20 pts 5. Citroen 16 pts 6. Skoda 4 pts

FIA World Rally Championship after round 3 - Drivers

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