59th Rally Great Britain: The Deciding Round

[Guido]

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!

[freakray]

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!

[Guido]

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) 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.

[911S_TARGA_RSR]

Gotta love those "scoobys"

[ales]

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?

[Guido]

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.

[Guido]

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.

[ales]

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.

[z33guy]

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

[Guido]

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