Pre-event News

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERS FORD & GARDEMEISTER TOP CORONA RALLY MEXICO ENTRY LIST

Corona Rally México, the first full gravel event of the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship season, has attracted an entry of 44 crews representing 17 nations and eight different car manufacturers. Included in the entry are the FIA Junior World Rally Championship competitors, who make the long haul outside Europe for the first time in their series, as well as a host of other notable national and international crews.

After two podium positions in Monte-Carlo and Sweden, Ford's Toni Gardemeister leads the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers for the first time in his career. The Finn will therefore have the honour of leading the crews over the start ramp in Guanajuato on Thursday 10 March. Although Gardemeister has never previously competed in Mexico, co-driver Jakke Honkanen has, and both will undoubtedly be looking for a hat-trick of podium positions. Ford was the team to beat during last year's Corona Rally México. Märtin and Duval, its 2004 drivers, claimed an emphatic one-two finish, Ford's first in nearly four seasons, and the team will be hoping to rack up its 47th consecutive points-scoring finish in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Team Principal Malcolm Wilson also has an astute knack for registering the right driver in the second Focus RS WRC and, in México, former Junior World Rally Champion Dani Solà has been nominated to score championship points. The Spaniard competed in Corona Rally México in 2003 as well as last year, when he claimed an emphatic victory in the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship. Sixth overall in Spain last year is his best result to date and this is his first outing in a Focus.

"There is no question that Toni will be at a disadvantage by running first on the road," said Team Principal Malcolm Wilson. "The roads will clean significantly on the first pass over the stages and that will help those drivers behind him. One aspect that surprised us last year was the effect of the altitude. It is all compensated for in the ECU settings on the cars but I would estimate that our Focus cars were about 30% down on power last year. We must also be careful of the river crossings. Some are quite deep, while there are also many culverts on the stages which are hard on the cars. The two things we have to be most aware of are the high temperatures and the water crossings."

Markko Märtin is another driver to have changed teams this year and, although the Estonian won last year's Corona Rally México, he feels there is more work to be done with the Peugeot 307 WRC before he can challenge for victory. His team-mate Marcus Grönholm finished sixth last year and currently lies seventh in the drivers' championship after going off the road in Sweden.

"Mexico is a very nice rally which I like a lot," said Markko. "In some ways I was quite lucky to win there last year, but in rallying you sometimes have good luck and sometimes bad luck, so it all becomes equal in the end. The stages are quite varied, with slow, fast and medium corners, but there is no one characteristic that makes México different from all the other gravel rallies. I would just describe México as a typical gravel rally which is a good thing, because there is nothing special to catch you out. I would love to win again this year, but it will be very difficult; more difficult than last year. I still have a lot to learn about the car and the tyres, but we are making progress all the time. México is the first 'normal' event of the year, as Monte-Carlo and Sweden are very different to anything else, so I think we have a good chance of doing well."

Reigning World Champion Sébastien Loeb returns to the Mexican stages for the third time. Having completed the recce in 2003 he was then forced onto the sidelines last year when he cracked the Xsara's sump after a heavy landing. The Frenchman is sure to want to add Corona Rally México to his ever-increasing list of victories. Team-mate François Duval claimed second overall in last year's event.

After a crushing victory in Sweden, Petter Solberg holds fourth in the series but will be driving the all-new Subaru Impreza WRC 2005 for the first time in competition. The Norwegian was at the centre of much controversy last year after being pushed through a control, but could well have won the event when the team also debuted its new car in México. His Australian team-mate Chris Atkinson, twice winner of the Asia-Pacific Super 1600 Championship, has very little World Championship experience but acquitted himself well in his first outing with the Subaru World Rally Team in Sweden.

"Although I was a bit unlucky on Rally Mexico last year, it's a great event to take part in and I'm really looking forward to getting back next month," said Solberg. "It's a very well run rally, last year the organisers did a very professional job considering it was their first year in the WRC, and I'd say it's one of the best events of the year. Mexico is an interesting place for us to visit too, and as a destination in the WRC it's somewhere I'd like to spend more time; the people, food, scenery and the whole atmosphere make it unique. The stages seem to suit the Subaru Impreza pretty well. We've got a new evolution of the car to launch this time and hopefully, if we have a clean run with no problems, we've got a good chance of winning. Well, that's the plan anyway. It's all about achieving perfection at every stage in the process, from Phil (Mills) and me, to the guys building the cars and the ones working in service too. It's going to be a tough battle out there I can promise you."

Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports has entered Harri Rovanperä and Gilles Panizzi, while the team's third driver, Gigi Galli, will complete the recce to gain more experience. Rovanperä claimed an overwhelming victory in Corona Rally México in 2002, when Peugeot supported the event's bid for inclusion in the FIA World Rally Championship, but the Finn is all too aware that competition then was on a totally different level. Team-mate Gilles Panizzi last competed in Monte-Carlo, where he claimed Mitsubishi's first podium position since the 2001 Safari Rally. The Frenchman has undertaken much of Mitsubishi's test and development work, which has rewarded the team with points from both its cars in the opening two events this season.

"We have a test this week and hopefully will be able to improve the car again," said Harri. "I like the stages in México, it's a nice country and the rally is very well organised."

Skoda Motorsport is likely to debut its second generation Fabia WRC in México, pending final inspections by the FIA at the end of this month. Lead driver Armin Schwarz is another never to have contested Corona Rally México. He did however complete the recce last year and will be happy to be back in competition after missing Sweden through injury. His team-mate Jani Paasonen competed last year but was forced into retirement when he went off the road.

"I haven't competed here before but I did the recce in 2004," confirmed Schwarz. "The stages remind me a lot of those around Fafe in Portugal, which were some of the most enjoyable in the whole World Rally Championship."

Five FIA Junior World Rally Championship crews will also compete in México for the first time, and a host of other national and international competitors make up the field of entries. Rising Spaniard Xavier Pons, who won two rounds of the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship last year, will be competing in a Bozian Racing Peugeot 206 WRC for the second time in his career, squaring up to fellow countryman Solà for the first time in World Rally Car machinery. Erwin Richter heads the local entrants, with two Mexican Rally Championship titles under his belt (2003 and 2004), and Ricardo Triviño - who competed in the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship last year - will be contesting the event in another Bozian Racing Peugeot 206 WRC, his first event in a World Rally Car. A number of local Peugeot 206 XS crews have also entered; they will run to national Peugeot Cup regulations.

Corona Rally México, round three of the FIA World Rally Championship and the second event in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, is hosted in León, Guanajuato, between 11-13 March.

Innovation, modernism and progression are the name of the game in México and, although we are very proud of our achievements during 2004, we are constantly looking at ground-breaking ideas to further develop the only round of the FIA World Rally Championship hosted in North America.

We learned an enormous amount during our first year in the series but intend to make refinements in a number of areas to ensure we exceed the expectations of teams, drivers, the media and spectators alike.

The route for 2005 has been totally redesigned, primarily to boost the sporting interest and maintain our centralized service park and headquarters at the Poliforum. We also plan to extend and improve the spectator areas, largely due to the anticipated increase in numbers and so we can, for safety reasons, incorporate better independent access. We are also very aware of the importance of European media deadlines and with this in mind our proposed itinerary will see the winners on the podium by 12:30 hrs.

We are in the very privileged position of having tremendous backing from the State Government of Guanajuato, and the success of the 2004 event means it will be providing even greater support next year. Our title sponsor, Corona, will also be with us for the fifth consecutive year and discussions with a number of other leading brands will hopefully put us in a position to offer even greater services and support to all our visitors.

To us, receiving the Inmarsat Star of the Rally Award in 2004 was a great honor, but we have even greater ambitions for Corona Rally México and look forward to welcoming everyone to what we hope will be an inventive and fun round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

MEX SS3 - Loeb in trouble @ 05:54 PM - Action packed 1st loop of stages. New Impreza starts with a stage win and current lead, but stages 2 & 3 go to Peugeots of Grönholm and Märtin. Loeb went off in SS2 and had to complete SS3 with a broken right rear shock absorber as a result. Paasonen also went off and retired. Unofficial results after SS3:

1 Solberg 42m21s2
2 Gronholm +9s3
3 Duval +11s7
4 Märtin +12s9
5 Atkinson +20s8
6 Panizzi +25s5
7 Warmbold +46s4
8 Rovanperä +46s5
9 Gardemeister +48s8
10 Kresta +49s5

16 Loeb +3m53s

Unofficial Positions after Leg One:

1.  P Solberg/P Mills           N    Subaru Impreza  1hr 23min 56.0sec
2.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen     FIN  Peugeot 307     1hr 24min 16.5sec
3.  M Märtin/M Park             EE   Peugeot 307     1hr 24min 26.9sec
4.  F Duval/S Prévot            B    Citroen Xsara   1hr 24min 29.9sec
5.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall       AUS  Subaru Impreza  1hr 24min 46.6sec
6.  R Kresta/J Možný            CZ   Ford Focus RS   1hr 25min 12.8sec
7.  H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen   FIN  Mitsubishi Lancer 1hr 25min 15.6sec
8.  D Sola/X Amigo              E    Ford Focus RS   1hr 25min 25.3sec
9.  A Warmbold/M Orr            D    Ford Focus RS   1hr 25min 32.2sec
10 T Gardemeister/J Honkanen    FIN  Ford Focus RS   1hr 25min 32.9sec

Unofficial Leg One News

Following last night's colourful ceremonial start in the historic town of Guanajuato, 38 competitors started Rally Mexico at 0830hrs this morning from the host town of Leon.

Petter Solberg (Subaru), debuting his team's 2005 car, led from the start.  Fastest on three stages, he ended an untroubled day with a 20.5sec advantage.  Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) was Solberg's closest pursuer throughout, the Finn one of many drivers to suffer from fading brakes during the morning loop.  Team-mate Markko Märtin is third, the Estonian steadily climbing the leaderboard despite also suffering from fading bakes.  Despite a first stage spin and difficulty in leaving the start during the morning stages, François Duval (Citroen) led the French team's challenge in fourth.  Team-mate Sebastien Loeb was second fastest on the opening stage but detected a damaged right rear damper after the test.  He drove the next two stages with the wheel twisted on the axle, dropping almost four minutes.  He lies 14th.  Chris Atkinson (Subaru) is fifth on only his second event in a World Rally Car, despite a half-spin on the first stage.  Jani Paasonen (Skoda) retired after crashing on the second stage. 

The second leg follows a similar format, containing two identical loops of three stages in its 146.48km of competition.  The first 9km of the opening test of each loop, north of León, are based on roads used today but in the opposite direction, with the other two stages located east of the city.  Drivers start at 08.30 and return for the final

Subaru



Marking an impressive debut for the new Subaru Impreza WRC2005, Subaru's Petter Solberg leads the Corona Rally Mexico tonight. Dominating the event from the first stage, the Norwegian clinched three stage wins and ended the day 20.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Petter's team-mate Chris Atkinson demonstrated remarkable pace aboard his Impreza. Making his debut as a points-nominated driver for the Subaru team, the young Australian set a string of impressive stage times, including a career-best third, and ended the day in fifth place overall.

Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: I'm very happy to be leading this event with the new car - it's been good fun out there. To be honest I wasn't feeling too confident with the set-up yesterday, and I thought we might struggle a bit, but we've made a few adjustments during the day and already the car is good enough to put us at the top of the leaderboard. I know the car is capable of a lot more though, and until I've got it set-up correctly, I won't be completely happy. But for sure the new car is very good. We'll change a few things tonight and hopefully we can keep improving on tomorrow's Leg. I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: Yes, not bad. It's been my first day in a WRC car on a gravel rally and to get a top-three stage time felt really good. I've still a lot to learn though and hopefully there'll be some more improvement over the next couple of days. I'm learning more about the set-up of the car all the time, and I think that I can find some more pace, through adjusting the set-up so the car handles more to my liking. At the moment I think the car is spending too much time sideways on the longer corners, so I want to make it a little bit neater. Overall though it's been an encouraging day and I'm hoping to learn more on tomorrow's stages.

Citroen

Since Thursday's shakedown session, the two Xsaras have met with varying fortunes in Mexico. While the pre-start test session went off without a hitch for François Duval, Sébastien Loeb was forced to interrupt his run when the underneath of his car took a hefty knock from a big stone that had been either displaced or dug up by a preceding car.

Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: "I did a half spin just after the start of SS1. The stages were more slippery than I thought. It felt as though my engine was running in safety mode for the first few hundred metres of each stage. Then, in a water splash, water found its way into the cockpit and caused some of the pages of Stéphane's pacenote book to stick together… Nothing serious!"

Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: "My starting problem has now been resolved, although the set-up modification I asked for has not changed much : the roads were still very slippery. But given that this is my first gravel outing with the Xsara, I am quite pleased with my day and I intend to keep to the same pace tomorrow!"

Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Roman Kresta and Jan Možný produced a superb display on today's opening leg of the Corona Rally Mexico to head a four-strong group of Focus RS World Rally Cars on the leaderboard.  The Czechs, competing together and in Mexico for the first time, are sixth, heading many drivers familiar with this third round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The first two stages were very slippery," he said.  "I overshot a junction in the second stage and dropped about 15 seconds.  I came down a long downhill straight into a square left bend.  It was so slippery and I just missed the corner.  I had to drive over some stones to get back on the road.  Like every other driver, I had troubles with my brakes.  About 3km from the end of the second stage the pedal went to the floor and I had to pump it to make it work.  I bled the brakes before the third stage and they were better. "I spun and stalled the engine after a tricky crest midway through stage five so I'm not happy with the day and I hope it will be better tomorrow.  I think I have been pushing too hard and over-driving the car.  My 'flu isn't as bad as yesterday but I have a bad cough and feel very tired," he added.

Roman Kresta/Jan Tomanek: "I hit a bank on the second stage and punctured the right rear tyre and then punctured the left rear on the third stage," said Kresta.  "I lost time with the second puncture.  On right hand corners the car was sliding because the air pressure wasn't correct, so I was careful.  I tried hard this afternoon because I wanted a good road position for tomorrow and I have it.  It was hotter this afternoon so I chose harder compound Michelin tyres and it was a good decision. Conditions were hard.  Once you move off the clean line and onto the gravel, there is no grip and there was much loose gravel."

Daniel Sola/Amigo: "The plan was to learn about the car and then go faster this afternoon," said Solà.  "The feeling was good this morning but the settings were too soft.  We made the car a bit harder at the lunchtime service.  My engineers knew exactly what I wanted and it worked.  I'm not sure of the limits of the car yet.  Sometimes I can drive at 100 per cent but on other occasions I am at only 80 per cent because I'm not sure what I can do with the car.  I need to learn more, but that will happen the more kilometres I drive," added Solà, whose thoughts for much of the leg have been with the victims of the train bombings in Madrid exactly a year ago today.

Peugeot

The first day's route, which got underway on Friday morning, consisted of two repeated loops of three stages, making up a total competitive distance of nearly 150 kilometres. The Peugeot 307 WRC drivers set three fastest stage times out of a possible six, in hot and tough conditions. Marcus Gronholm ended the leg in second place 10.4 seconds ahead of his team mate Markko Martin in third. Like many drivers, Marcus suffered from overheating rear brakes on the demanding stages. The Peugeot Sport team changed the entire brake assembly on both cars, and tried to improve brake cooling by adjusting the air intakes.

Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "I was slowed down by a few brake problems which we did not completely solve after the first service. But I've got every confidence that my team will get on top of the problem by tomorrow. The stages are very slippery and the surface is surprisingly hard – almost like an asphalt rally in some places. But I like the roads a lot and we are still in a good position to challenge for a top result."

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "I started second on the road, so I was probably handicapped by sweeping up loose gravel for everybody behind me on the first two stages. The third stage was astonishingly clean, and I was able to set fastest time. I'm not really able to explain my unsatisfactory times on stages one and four – which is exactly the same problem I had last year!"

Skoda

Armin Schwarz ended the opening day of Rally Mexico – the third round of the 2005 World Rally Championship - in 12th position as the Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team debuted the new Fabia WRC05. Armin has had no technical problems today but, as this is his first time competing in Mexico he has not yet been able to find full speed on stages that are fast and slippery. Jani Paasonen‘s event has proved to be something of a nightmare so far. At yesterday’s shakedown stage, he (along with four other leading drivers) damaged the sump of the Fabia WRC05 when he hit a dip in the road on his final run.

Armin Schwarz/: “I don’t know today’s stages too well so I started quite conservatively this morning. The roads were quite slippery with a very fine layer of dust and without gravel crews we don’t know exactly where we will find grip. There is nothing wrong with the car – I just have to improve my confidence.”

Jani Paasonen/Janni Vainikka: “I had a really good start to the event with sixth fastest on the opening stage. However the second stage was quite slippery and the car was very nervous. I damaged the left rear corner about 3kms into the stage but the biggest problem came with 8kms to go. There was a fast right into a left hand corner. I took the right too fast and couldn’t make the left-hand corner so we went straight off and couldn’t get back to the road. It was my fault – there was nothing wrong with the car at all.”

Mitsubishi



After the opening leg of the 2005 Corona Rally México, the Finnish Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crews of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen lie in seventh position and team-mates Gilles Panizzi and Hervé Panizzi hold 11th position in the second Lancer WRC05, after a challenging day in the Mexican mountains.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietiläinen: This morning my brake pedal went soft but actually everybody had problems with brakes on the same stages", said Harri. "We hardened the damper settings during the service today and after that the car handled much better and we had less movement but with that, we had a little less grip too. I think for tomorrow we will stay with the same settings as this afternoon and I will push a bit harder".

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "This afternoon was even more difficult than this morning but we had some problems", commented Gilles. "We had two more punctures in stages four and five and then in the last stage the punctures caused us to spin. I think the settings we had this morning were better so maybe we will go back to that for tomorrow".

Unofficial Positions after Leg 2:

1.  P Solberg/P Mills          N  Subaru Impreza  3hr 01min 30.5sec
2.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen    FIN Peugeot 307    3hr 02min 00.1sec
3.  M Märtin/M Park            EE  Peugeot 307    3hr 02min 54.4sec
4.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen  FIN Ford Focus RS  3hr 05min 42.0sec
5.  H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen  FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 05min 43.4sec
6.  S Loeb/D Elena            F  Citroen Xsara  3hr 06min 19.4sec
7.  A Warmbold/M Orr          D  Ford Focus RS  3hr 06min 50.8sec
8.  G Panizzi/H Panizzi        F  Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 07min 15.4sec
9.  A Schwarz/K Wicha          D  Skoda Fabia    3hr 08min 15.0sec
10 G Wilks/P Pugh              GB  Suzuki Ignis    3hr 16min 56.4sec

Unofficial Leg 2 News

Thirty-seven of the original 38 competitors left Leon parc ferme at 0830hrs. Eight of those had restarted after retiring during Leg one. Leg two included six gravel stages, which were run as a group of three repeated. Based to the north and east of Leon, the two groups of stages, which totalled 146.48 competitive kilometres, were separated by a 30-minute service

The air temperature was 20°C in the morning, rising to 31°C by the afternoon. Conditions were sunny all day and the stages were dry gravel.

Petter Solberg (Subaru) controlled his lead over Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot), setting three fastest times to end the day 29.6sec ahead of the Finn.  His only worry came on stage eight when his car's engine temperature climbed to 126°C.  Grönholm again suffered brake problems, and carried new pads in the car which he changed after every stage. Markko Märtin (Peugeot) and François Duval (Citroen) swapped places twice over the opening two stages in their fight for third.  But when Duval retired on the liaison section to stage 10, the result of damaging his engine when he hit a rock on stage eight, the Estonian was able to ease his pace.  Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) lies fifth, despite incurring a 90 second penalty this morning when the team changed the engine management system after the car fired up on only three cylinders. Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) was fastest on two stages to climb back to sixth after yesterday's four-minute time loss.  Chris Atkinson (Subaru) held fifth until he hit a rock and damaged the power steering in stage nine.  Just a few kilometres later the right front wheel was ripped from the car after hitting a hole and he retired.

Subaru

Petter Solberg and the new Subaru Impreza WRC2005 lead Rally Mexico tonight after another dominating performance on the event's treacherous gravel stages. Taking another three stage wins, increasing his event total to six, the Norwegian topped the leaderboard all day to end the Leg with a 29.6 second advantage overall. His team-mate Chris Atkinson delivered another remarkable performance aboard his Impreza WRC2005. Making his debut as a points-nominated driver for the Subaru team and competing for only the second time in a WRC car, Chris set a string of impressive times before an incident on SS9 sidelined him for the rest of the day. Chris will re-start the rally again tomorrow.

Petter Solberg / Phil Mills: It's been very good today; it's fun out there! The new car is getting better and better and the feeling is already starting to get really good. I know there's more to come, but we're getting nearer all the time. Today I've been concentrating on keeping at a safe pace, watching the split times and not taking much risk. I'm happy with the lead I've got, but still so many things can have an influence on the final result that I'm not thinking about that yet. Tomorrow I'll try to control the pace with the split times, not take any risks and try to keep that first place - it's very important for the Championship, me and for Mr Kuze.

Chris Atkinson/Glen Macneall: Obviously it's disappointing not to get a result when things have looked so good, but I'm learning a lot and learning pretty fast. It's all good experience for me - even driving with no power steering will help me in the future. Overall, the car felt much better today and the changes we made last night were a good step forward. Tomorrow, I'm hoping we can fine-tune it even more.

Citroen

The Citroën team could be forgiven for believing that it is written somewhere that its two Xsaras are forbidden from tasting success simultaneously in Mexico. Fate was to deal a cruel blow to the Belgian driver, Duval, today when his run came to an end at the beginning of the afternoon while running in the top-four. Earlier in the day, on SS8 (‘Duarte/Otates 1'), the crew had felt a big knock underneath the car but the incident had no immediate consequences since they were able to complete the following test (SS9, ‘Derramadero/Chichimequillas') at normal speed. Back at the Leon service park, the car's underbody protection effectively showed signs of the impact and was promptly replaced along with the radiator and the front crossmember. However, on the road section out to the first stage of the day's second loop, the engine temperature began to rise and, after consulting the team, François and Stéphane decided not to start SS10. As permitted by the 2005 regulations, the Xsara was penalised five minutes for each missed special stage, but could attend the evening service. Engineers have undergone thorough checks and pulled out all the stops to allow François to restart tomorrow morning.

Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena: "Some of my rivals have fallen by the wayside and that has obviously helped," he recognised this evening. "Even so, I pushed hard and I am pleased with my day. With yesterday's disappointment behind me, I was very motivated this morning. And as we moved back up the order, that motivation got even stronger. We will see tomorrow whether we succeed in climbing a little further up the leaderboard. The big regret today has been poor François. It's a big shame for the team. The stages are very nice; fast and smooth. You can drive quickly and then you come across a concealed stone that suddenly changes the picture… It's the downside of this rally which is magnificent in all other respects."

Francois Duval / Stephane Prevot: Retired

Ford



BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen ended today's second leg of the Corona Rally Mexico in fourth place after a tough day which sidelined several top drivers.  Despite continuing to suffer from the 'flu, Gardemeister battled through the six gravel speed tests in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to climb from 10th position this morning.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "The roads were slippery this morning because the cars ahead dragged gravel onto the tracks," said Gardemeister.  "It was difficult to set good times because it was so slippery and I couldn't find a good rhythm.  I started the last stage of the group with a puncture on the rear left tyre.  It had punctured on one of the earlier stages but we had to put it back on the car and it took time for the mousse to warm up.  I dropped some time also on the final stage this afternoon.  The rear dampers were not working properly and I had to drive cautiously. "I feel quite lucky to be in fourth.  I tried to keep the car on the road and out of trouble and it worked.  But although the position is good, I'm not happy with my performance. Tomorrow I will try hard to keep my position and I expect a battle with Harri Rovanperä and Sebastien Loeb," added Gardemeister.  He will start the final leg 1.4sec ahead of Rovanperä and 36.4sec clear of Loeb.

Roman Kresta/Jan Tomanek: "I was on the right line but I braked in the rocks and a bolt broke on the track control arm," said Kresta.  "We fixed it at the end of the stage but the damper had come away from the top mount.  It would have caused a lot more damage if I had continued. I wasn't pushing that hard because it is so easy to make a mistake on these roads even when you are driving on the right line.  It was a good rally and I was happy with everything until now.  I drove at a constant speed and gained good experience of the car on gravel."

Daniel Sola/Amigo: "I approached a right bend in fourth gear and could see that it was cut away on the inside from the first passage this morning," he said.  "The front wheel dropped into the hole on the inside and the back spun round and hit a bank.  It flipped the car over and I rolled about 30 metres down the road and off the stage.  I don't know how many times the car went over but it is badly damaged.  I was in a good position and it was a stupid mistake.  I'm sorry for the team because they have worked so hard for me all rally."

Peugeot

On the first loop of stages, the Peugeot drivers underlined their strong performance on the opening leg. Marcus Gronholm closed to within 16 seconds of the leader Petter Solberg by setting fastest time on SS8. This stage featured a tough uphill climb, which peaked at a summit of 2500 metres – proving the strength and power of the Peugeot 307 WRC's engine. Markko Martin go the better of his battle with Citroen driver Francois Duval, pulling out an advantage of 24 seconds. On the second loop of stages the Peugeot drivers consolidated their positions, mindful of team orders to get to the finish at all costs.

Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen: "In order to solve our recurring brake problems, the team asked us to change brake pads after every stage – so this has been quite a busy day for me! Nonetheless, this solution worked well, and today I felt a lot more confident than I did on the opening leg. This rally has been a lot trickier than it was last year, as the surfaces are so much harder which puts a bigger demand on the car. I think everybody has had a few problems today, so to still be here is the main thing. Tomorrow my plan is to consolidate my second place and hopefully we can finish with two cars on the podium."

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "We did not have as many brake problems as Marcus, so we were not changing the pads after every stage. We had to keep an eye on Francois Duval, but after he retired the pressure was off us. We will be very happy to finish third tomorrow – there's no way we can challenge Marcus and there is not a big threat from behind. But we still have to keep concentrated – there is a long way to go and the last stage, which is 44 kilometres long, will be very tough."

Skoda



Armin Schwarz lies in 9th after the second leg, however, almost a minute behind 8th will be looking to maintain his position. Jani Paasonen lies in 16th.

Armin Schwarz/: Unfortunately a quote has not been made available, check back on our website.

Jani Paasonen/Janni Vainikka: Unfortunately a quote has not been made available, check back on our website.

Mitsubishi

After an eventful leg two of the 2005 Corona Rally México, the Finnish Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 crews of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen lies in fifth position and team-mates Gilles Panizzi and Hervé Panizzi hold eighth place in the second Lancer WRC05.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietiläinen: "It’s been a really tough day. First we got the penalty, then we damaged the sump after a heavy landing in stage eight this morning, so the mechanics changed it in the lunchtime service. The car was feeling quite OK this afternoon so we won’t be making any big changes, but tire choice will be difficult for the long stage tomorrow".

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "The balance today is similar to yesterday but a bit better", commented Panizzi. "I am still fighting to steer when I brake on the line and I can’t keep the line even when I can see it. Because of this, I have a little less confidence".

Rally of Mexico: final standings
1. Petter Solberg (Norway) Subaru 3:00:41.6
2. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot 34.5 seconds behind
3. Markko Martin (Estonia) Peugeot 1:38.3
4. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 3:51.1
5. Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Mitsubishi 3:58.1
6. Toni Gardemeister (Finland) Ford 4:05.6
7. Antony Warmbold (Germany) Ford 6:01.0
8. Gilles Panizzi (France) Mitsubishi 6:01.7
9. Armin Schwarz (Germany) Skoda 8:05.3
10. Francois Duval (Belgium) Citroen 16:14.2

Overall standings (after three rounds):
1. P. Solberg (Norway) 20pts
2. M. Martin (Estonia) 19
3. T. Gardemeister (Finland) 17
4. S. Loeb (France) 15
5. M. Gronholm (Finland) 12
6. H. Rovanpera (Finland) 11
7. G. Panizzi (France) 7
8. H. Solberg (Norway) 4
9. M. Stohl (Austria); D. Carlsson (Sweden) 3