WRC - Subaru/Solberg win Rally Mexico
By Mike Hanlon
22:00 February 12, 2005 PST

Subaru's Petter Solberg parades through town on the night preceding the rally start
Image Gallery (16 images)1. P. Solberg, 20 points 2. M. Martin, 19 pts 3. T. Gardemeister, 17 pts 4. S. Loeb, 15 points 5. M. Gronholm, 12 pts 6. H. Rovanpera, 11 pts - 7. G. Panizzi, 7 pts 8. H. Solberg, 4 pts 9. D. Carlsson, 3 pts 10. M. Stohl, 3 pts 11. G. Galli, 2 pts 12. R. Kresta, 2 pts 13. A. Warmbold, 2 pts
Odds for World Championship following the race: P Solberg 2.10 S Loeb 2.25 M Gronholm 8.00 M Martin 9.00 T Gardemeister 15.00 F Duval 67.00 H Rovanpera 81.00 G Panizzi 101.00
Team Quotes
David Lapworth, Subaru World Rally Team Principal: A fantastic performance from Petter and a great result for the team. Introducing a new car is always a bit of a nervous time, but today's result is a fitting reward for all the hard work that the team has put in. Of course it's difficult to cover everything in testing, but I was pretty confident that the new base car was very good. Now, thanks to the excellent relationship between Petter and Pierre (Genon, chief engineer) we're making some encouraging progress with the set-up and fine-tuning, which looks good ahead of the forthcoming gravel rallies. Chris too did a great job this weekend. He's definitely got the potential to be a future star, but to get there he needs to be given time to learn and develop as a driver. At this stage in his career overall results are of no consequence, we're very pleased with the progress he's made. Like Petter, I know Mr Kuze would have appreciated today's result. He was with the team at its formation back in 1989, for our first WRC win in 1993, all our Championship wins, right through to our 45th victory in Sweden last month. He will be sadly missed.
Petter Solberg, Subaru: It's incredible, I'm just so happy! To get a win with the old car in Sweden and another with the new one here is a great feeling - for sure there's still more to come from this car but I'm very happy with the progress we've made already. It's also very special to be able to win here for Mr Kuze. Without him, none of this would be possible, and I'm pleased to be able to dedicate this win to him. At the end of the day this result is all about teamwork, and I'm lucky to have such a great group of people behind me, from Phil in the car to everyone else at Subaru, I can't thank them enough. The Championship is getting pretty close now, there's some very close competition and I reckon this year will turn out to be one of the greatest battles we've ever seen in the WRC.
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot: I was going very slowly today. I wasn't even trying to catch Petter. Yesterday was tough. In order to solve our recurring brake problems, we had to change brake pads after every stage, so it was quite a busy day. The rally was trickier this year than last year, as the surfaces were so much harder. I think everyone had a few problems, so to still be here is the main thing. For the team, it's good. Everyone knows I can win and now they know I can come second. But this doesn't mean I will stay second all year.
Markko Martin, Peugeot: It has been a good weekend. We didn't have as many brake problems as Marcus. We had to keep an eye on [Citroen's] Francois Duval, but once he retired the pressure was off. The car has been very reliable and we kept out of trouble. It's a very good result for the team. Peugeot is now in the lead of the manufacturers' championship and I am still second in the drivers' standings. That's not a bad position to be in. I definitely feel better about the car than I did before this rally - I have a better feeling for the Pirelli tyres and the car.
Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Peugeot Team Director: I'm very pleased that our drivers have followed our instructions to bring back two cars with the maximum number of manufacturers' championship points perfectly. Their performance clearly shows that they are driving within their potential and that of the 307 WRC.
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Barry J
- November 10, 2009 @ 00:59 UTC