59th Rally Great Britain: The Deciding Round

So here we are, not even a week till the final round of the 2003 World Rally season, 4 drivers capable of taking home the crown of 2003 WRC Drivers Champion, 2 teams capable of taking home the crown of 2003 Manufacturers Champion.

What a season, Burns lead the most of the season in the drivers points standings and without ever winning a round!
Marcus gave new meaning to the term 'bad luck'
Loeb showed that he has improved and worse yet, is still improving!
Petter is getting stronger and stronger, a thing to look forward to.
Carlos has shown he's not 'past it' as his critics claimed.
McRae has shown he IS past it.
Markko showed true skill and determination and is right in there with Petter and Loeb!

But all things aside, this whole season has come down to one deciding rally, Rally Great Britain, where so much is on the line it's insane!
Mathematically 4 drivers could walk away with the title but only one can.
The folks at Rally-Live.com have all the points scenarios worked out, read them here: http://rally.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/031028221651.shtml

This one should be spectacular!!

Things are changing in the Championship race already, Richard Burns has had to withdraw from Rally GB for medical reasons.
Peugoet have petitioned to have Freddy Loix drive his car.

Article: http://rally.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/031103123524.shtml

I voted for Sainz :biggrin:

This will be the last time that I can cheer for Citroën, since I bought a new car over the weekend... Indeed, a Peugeot! :naughty: So next year, it'll be Marcus and Freddy!!

Hopefully Carlos can take the title and Peugeot the constructors! Would be nice. :evillol:

I think sainz or petter will win it.

Freddy Loix is confirmed to enter Rally GB in the #2 Peugeot 206:

http://rally.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/031104170357.shtml

Freddy Loix is confirmed to enter Rally GB in the #2 Peugeot 206:

http://rally.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/031104170357.shtml

an interesting development :smokin:

After SS3:

Sainz :eek7: and Gronholm out, both after they went off. Gronholm made it to the end of the stage, but the damage was too big to continue. So the title fight is now between Seb and Petter.

Loeb, Solberg and Martin in a class on their own.

1. S LOEB 31:55.0
2. P SOLBERG +3.8
3. M MÄRTIN +12.1
4. T MÄKINEN +44.9
5. C MCRAE +57.9
6. F DUVAL +1:06.8
7. G PANIZZI +1:10.3
8. H ROVANPERÄ +1:10.7
9. R KRESTA +1:39.0
10. F LOIX +1:50.7

Source: WRC.com (http://www.wrc.com)

Martin out too.
Bad rally.....

Rumors that Loeb will go on safe to Citroen win title.

After SS4: Solberg taking the lead and like Hrmodeler said. Martin out with mechanical failure.

1. P SOLBERG 49:57.4
2. S LOEB +4.7
3. T MÄKINEN +58.3
4. C MCRAE +1:15.4
5. G PANIZZI +1:34.5
6. H ROVANPERÄ +1:42.0
7. F DUVAL +1:51.4
8. R KRESTA +2:19.8
9. F LOIX +2:53.4
10. D SOLA +2:55.5

Wow, this is shaping up to be one interesting rally.

Sad to see Sainz out, I am sure he is disappointed to lose out (Same thing happened to McRae in 2001 - an off in Rally GB cost him his chance at the title).

We all know Solberg is quick on the loose surface, the question is can he deal with the pressure and maintain his rally lead?

Reading this, it would seem that the Citroen boss is more interested in getting the manufacturer's title than seeing his driver win the Championship.


Guy Fréquelin about Carlos' problem: "The car's ECU had been damaged when the camera box caught fire. We went there together with the FIA technical manager. It's really unfortunate that a new in-car camera system has been introduced for this rally without having been tested before. It was actually aimed at Sunday's live coverage. As far as Carlos' off is concerned, it's a pity. The car doesn't seem to be seriously damaged, but it went down a bank and Carlos couldn't get back to the road. Anyway, now we have to think of the manufacturers' title and it's vital for our two remaining drivers to reach the finish of the rally. So they should not take too many chances."

I'd like to see Loeb's comments to that.

I think Loeb is the kind of driver that drives to win, not just reach the finish.

Stage 5 and Solberg wins again, Loeb in second again.
This is getting interesting, Solberg leads the rally over Loeb by 7.8 seconds.

Freddy Loix is doing well on his first time out in the Pug, 9th in stage 5 and 10th overall.

I vote for Petter... I mean every time I voted for Sébastien he lost, and everytime I voted somebody else he won so... Solberg also seem more at home on gravel.

after SS5:

Loix is actually 9th overall :naughty:

1. P SOLBERG 1:12:38.3
2. S LOEB +7.8
3. T MÄKINEN +1:20.2
4. C MCRAE +1:41.2
5. G PANIZZI +2:18.2
6. H ROVANPERÄ +2:18.4
7. F DUVAL +2:59.2
8. R KRESTA +3:18.0
9. F LOIX +3:53.5
10. M STOHL +4:01.9

Results after SS7 and therefor Day1:

1. P SOLBERG 1:32:37.2
2. S LOEB +8.0
3. T MÄKINEN +1:32.2
4. C MCRAE +1:43.6
5. H ROVANPERÄ +2:41.2
6. G PANIZZI +2:49.3
7. F DUVAL +3:35.2
8. R KRESTA +4:05.2
9. F LOIX +4:20.3
10. M STOHL +4:48.3

All those who were speculating that Citroën and Loeb would back-off to secure the constructors title, have been proven wrong with Loeb's fastest on stage 6.

Exciting stuff! And Sunday, the last stage will be completely covered live on television here, with 49! camera's installed over the stage to cover it all. Yes!

I certainly didn't expect Loeb to back off and from the statement made by Solberg he didn't either.
At the end of the day, Loeb is a competitor and if he can get the win he is obviously going to go for it.

I think we still have the most exciting action to look forward to!

Freddy is doing everything right and I think proving to everyone that in the right car he will be able to prove his critics very wrong!

After SS11, halfway through day 2, these are the top 10 standings

1. P SOLBERG 2:07:22.5
2. S LOEB +24.7
3. T MÄKINEN +1:53.6
4. C MCRAE +2:05.4
5. H ROVANPERÄ +3:30.8
6. F DUVAL +4:30.0
7. F LOIX +5:13.9
8. R KRESTA +5:58.9
9. D SOLA +6:23.7
10. J PYKALISTO +6:23.9

Solberg, slowly but steadily (3 to 5 secs per stage), is increasing his lead by winning every stage so far.

Peugeot has now lost both their N°1 drivers (Gronholm from A-team and Panizzi from B-team if you want) :eek: Freddy Loix is now in the points and is running similar times as Rovanperä and Duval.

Can Petter stay on the road at such a pace or will Seb be capable of pushing him till the end and hoping Petter makes a mistake? In the first half of day2, Petter's the best so far.

Gotta love those "scoobys"

This is so hard for me. I like Carlos, Petter, and Seb equally, and had no idea how to choose who to root for. And I haven't. I'm just too sorry there can only be one winner.

But Petter is stomping his authority big time, isn't he? And I doubt Seb has backed off either, it's just Solberg being so damn fast. Perhaps the Pirellis are better in GB?

The combination Petter Solberg/Subaru/Pirelli seems unbeatable on Day 2. After SS13 and with 2 more stages to go today:

1. P SOLBERG 2:24:29.0
2. S LOEB +31.3
3. T MÄKINEN +2:03.9
4. C MCRAE +2:14.1
5. H ROVANPERÄ +3:59.4
6. F DUVAL +4:57.4
7. F LOIX +5:50.6
8. M STOHL +6:24.4
9. R KRESTA +6:44.0
10. J PYKALISTO +7:03.1

The only other interesting battle is for 3rd, with only 11 secs between McRae and Mäkinen. Seems like Tommi is going to retire on a high! From there on, there's nearly a full minute between the contenders up until the 8th spot.

After SS16, the first leg of Day3, Loeb has taken some of Solbergs lead, but only 5 secs. Now that also Rovanperä is out, Citroën should be sure of the constructors title. A shame, that they didn't gamble a bit more and let Loeb fight for the win... Anyway, 36 secs is still doable, but I guess at the end of this day, Petter will win his first title.

1. P SOLBERG 3:05:26.1
2. S LOEB +36.0
3. T MÄKINEN +2:30.1
4. C MCRAE +2:38.6
5. F DUVAL +6:20.4
6. F LOIX +7:04.3
7. M STOHL +7:54.8
8. R KRESTA +8:02.0
9. J PYKALISTO +8:46.2
10. J LATVALA +10:53.5

McRae still unable to catch Mäkinen. 2 former champions who are not going to be present in 2004 are having fun it seems.

Rally GB 2002 - Petter Solberg wins his first rally
Rally GB 2003 - same guy wins the rally, and wins his first championship.

Congratulations to him!
Also good job to Tommi Makinen - what a way to finish one of the most distinguished careers in the sport - by a podium. I'll miss you, Tommi!

Citroen won the constructors' title, and interestingly, Pug won no title this year. Hope they'll try harder and have more luck next year.

great day for scoob. Congrats to petter, but its a shame carlos dropped out.

With 4 wins this season, Petter surely is a worthy champion! Also Citroën put in a solid display with Seb and Carlos to take the Constructors in their first full WRC season! It has been a very exciting season. Next rendez-vous is on Jan 28 in Monte Carlo