Rally Preview

The FIA World Rally Championship heads to the Far East for the eleventh of the 16-round series. Rally Japan, the Subaru World Rally Team’s home event, is based in the city of Obihiro on Hokkaido, the most northerly of Japan’s islands, and takes place from 1 to 3 September. As the only round of the WRC to take place in Asia, Rally Japan usually attracts hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the continent. Last year over 200,000 people attended the three days of competition, while the ceremonial start alone drew 52,000 spectators.

Rally Japan is a highly technical event with narrow, loose gravel stages which run through dense woodland on the edge of the vast Tokachi plain that stretches inland from the Pacific Ocean. Each Leg will be a grueling test for crews with up to 10 stages per day, ranging from short, twisty 3km sprints to fast, flowing roads more than 34km long. With stages separated by long liaison sections, drivers can be on the road for over 12 hours a day.

Changeable weather is as much a feature of Rally Japan as the long days. Although Obihiro is protected by two mountain ranges, it lies in the path of Pacific weather systems which bring high winds and torrential rain to the island. This year’s rally takes place in the height of the typhoon season and it’s highly likely that heavy showers will fall each day, leaving the soft ground saturated with water. With some stages used four times, the roads will become heavily rutted as more cars drive through.

This year, the route features 27 stages, one more than in 2005. Changes for this year include a new Superspecial on the edge of the service park that will be used five times during the rally and once as the shakedown stage, while the mammoth 50km Kunneywa-Niueo stage has been broken into three shorter stages. After a ceremonial start in central Obihiro on Thursday night, the first competitive stage of the rally begins at 0803hrs on Friday 1 September. The podium finish is scheduled for 1500hrs at the Kita Aikoku service park six kilometres south of Obihiro.

Team Previews:

1. Kronos Total Citroen
2. OMV-Peugeot Norway
3. BP-Ford
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford
5. 555 Subaru

1. Kronos Total Citroen

To tackle the third edition of the Rally Japan, the Kronos Total Citroën WRT, currently leading the Manufacturers’ championship, enters two 2006 Xsara WRCs. They will be driven by two-times World Champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, clear leaders of the ‘Drivers’ rankings, and by the Junior World rally champion Dani Sordo, as usually co-driven by Marc Marti. As championship’s leaders, Seb and Daniel will start first on the road on day one, facing the road sweeping in the morning. They hope this task won’t turn into ‘heavy road-works’ as it was the case last year in some sections covered in a rocky layer. But they also hope they could still be in position to get in the fight for a win after that. However, their comfortable lead in the championship allows them to choose in between the Bushido – the warrior path – and the Go Game, all about tactics. In the ‘challengers match’, such important for the Manufacturers’ Championship, Dani Sordo discovers the event and has two less participations than Mikko Hirvonen. However, this does not bother the Junior World champion as he is decided to concentrate on learning the terrain and find the right pace to reach the finish with the maximum number of points for the Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team…

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: “It’s not my favourite but there are nice things though. I like feeling ‘disorientated’ and there aren’t places above Japan for that. The enthusiasm of the crowd when they shake little flags is both amusing and nice. Some stages are interesting even if their narrow character stops from choosing a line. Last year, some of speed-tests situated on the long road section in between Obihiro and Rikubetsu, had too soft grounds which became rutted too quickly. All the drivers have talked about it at the finish. I hope this year’s route will be modified in that direction.”

Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: Quote not available.

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team is primed for the next assignment. Following two rallies in Europe the WRC goes overseas once again for the “Rally Japan”. With Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor, the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team will only be represented by one car in the land of the rising sun. Which means that the hunt is only on for driver points at the eleventh run to the FIA World Rally Championship. At the remaining five rallies the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team will once again be competing with two cars. On Tuesday Manfred Stohl will be facing one of his last big adventures in the Rally World Championship. Following 104 starts in the royal class of this sport the 34-year-old OMV driver will compete in an event for the first time – the Rally Japan.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: “I’ve been there several times and especially enjoy the food in Japan but I’ve never competed in a rally. It is bound to be a great experience. I’m sure that we won’t have any problems since I am usually good at adapting to new rallies. And the Rally Japan should also suit the Peugeot 307 WRC. After all, Marcus Grönholm won last year with this car.“

3. BP-Ford

Victory in Finland earlier this month for Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen's Ford Focus RS World Rally Car was the squad's fourth in 10 rounds.  It also ensured that with six rounds still remaining, Ford is enjoying its most successful championship season since 1993. Both Grönholm and Rautiainen and BP-Ford team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen have competed on both previous Rally Japan WRC events.  Grönholm, who lies second in the drivers' championship, won last year and was fourth in 2004. Japan marks 26-year-old Hirvonen's 50th WRC start.  "If I had to pick any highlights from the first 49 rallies, I would choose two," he said.  "The first would be in Spain last year when I finished third in a Focus as a private entrant.  The second would be Finland last week.  That was also very special.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: I'm excited about all these last six gravel events," said 38-year-old Grönholm.  "I will start each of those believing I can win.  I had absolutely no problems with the car in Finland and that's really encouraging.  If a driver is happy about the reliability of his car it makes a big difference to his confidence and his general approach to an event."The stages in Japan are mostly narrow, but still fast, and there isn't much room to choose your line.  They remind me of the stages in Britain and some are even like Finland, but without the big crests and jumps.  If I can be as fast in Japan as I was in Finland then I will be quite happy!  It's important to take care coming out of the corners.  The ditches are close to the road and there are usually bushes and leaves covering them so you can't really see them properly.  Some are quite deep and it's quite easy to drop the car into one just because you can't see it," he added.

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "I quite enjoy Japan.  In fact Finland was a good shakedown for next weekend because the stages in both countries are fast and I'm already in the right attitude.  We're not allowed to test outside Europe before events but the stages are not so different to Finland so the set-up of the car will be pretty much the same. "The narrow roads are the main feature.  But they are changing.  Even last year, when it was only the rally's second time in the championship, the roads were a little wider. People were braver in cutting corners and when that happens the bends change in character and eventually become more open," added Hirvonen.

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

Rally Japan, the eleventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship, will be a momentous occasion for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally as it debuts its brand-new Ford Focus RS WRC06 cars, driven by Matthew Wilson and Luis Perez Companc. After ten WRC events this year using the familiar older-style Ford Focus RS WRC05, the Stobart team takes its next step forward with the move to the 2006 generation Ford Focus RS WRC06, based on the latest Ford Focus road car and the same car that has been used by the BP Ford World Rally Team since late last season. It is the early debut of the ’06 generation car by the BP Ford World Rally Team, run by the same M-Sport operation which run the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team, which enables the squad to become the first-ever team other than the Manufacturer One operation to use a Focus RS WRC06.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: “It’s not an event I’ve done before and I’ve only driven the new Focus very briefly so it’s going to be interesting. Michael’s done the rally before so I’ll be relying on him a lot. Getting to drive the 2006 Focus is probably something I’ve been looking forward to more than anything else this year so it will be really good to finally be in the car. In Finland it was good to get a top ten result and we’re just going to have the same approach as every rally this year and go out and learn the event.

Luis Perez Companc/José Maria Volta: “I have not done Rally Japan before so it will be very interesting to see the event. It will be my first rally in the new Focus and I am very much looking forward to that. Everyone has told me it is a very narrow rally, very fast, but with not much room for error. This will make it a very difficult rally and I don’t really know what to expect.

5. 555 Subaru

The Subaru World Rally Team will enter one Impreza WRC2006 for Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and one car for Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). Toshi Arai (co-driven by Tony Sircombe) will also drive an Impreza WRC2006. Petter Solberg makes his third Rally Japan appearance this year. Petter won the inaugural WRC event in 2004, however his 2005 rally came to a premature end when, with a 22secs lead, he hit a rock on the penultimate stage of the rally. Chris Atkinson first contested the rally in 2003 when it formed part of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. The Australian has an excellent record in Japan; in 2004 he won the Super 1600 class and in 2005 he achieved his highest-ever WRC finish when he secured third position. The result was the first time an Australian had finished on a WRC podium since 1992. Toshi Arai competes in his home rally for the fourth time this year. Like Chris, the Japanese driver has an excellent record on the rally; at the wheel of a Group N specification Subaru Impreza, he has won his class every year he’s entered.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: “I enjoy Rally Japan a lot, it’s always been a good rally for us, but this year I don’t want to make any predictions. Let’s start, get into a rhythm and go from there – we need a good finish. Ideally it would be on the podium – if we’re lucky and everything on the car works okay, we should be more than capable of doing this. It would be a great result for all of the fans there; it’s definitely a boost for a driver to have that kind of incredible support.”

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: Rally Japan is Subaru’s home event so it’s a big rally for the team. We did well there last year, and I enjoy the narrow, fast, tricky roads, but it could be difficult to get that result again. We’ve made some steps forward with the car, now it’s all about getting to the stage where we’re consistently on the pace. We shouldn’t underestimate the task we’ve got in front of us but, all the same, we’ll be doing our best to get a good result for the Subaru supporters.”

Toshi Arai/Toni Sircombe: “I’m very excited about competing in Rally Japan with the Subaru World Rally Team. I know the team well – there are still the same faces, although some of them have moved up a level since I was last here! There’s quite a lot of pressure as it’s my home rally and my first time in a WRC car since 2001, so the goal for me will be to get a good finish. Realistically we’ll be aiming for a top five position, but if we get there and one of the top three has a problem, you never know, we could be on the podium.”

Event Timetable:

Thursday 31 August: Ceremonial start

Start  Central Obihiro                19.30

Friday 1 September: Leg 1 Kita Aikoku - Kita Aikoku

SS1    Pawse Kamuy 1          9.05km  08.03
SS2    Rikubetsu 1            2.73km  08.51
SS3    Kanna 1          13.86km 09.27
SS4    Puray 1          34.96km 09.50
Serv A  Kita Aikoku (30 mins)          12.20
SS5    Pawse Kamuy 2          9.05km  14.23
SS6    Rikubetsu 2            2.73km  15.11
SS7    Kanna 2          13.86km 15.47
SS8    Puray 2          34.96km 16.10
SS9    Obihiro 1              1.30km  18.45
SS10    Obihiro 2              1.30km  18.55
Serv B  Kita Aikoku (45 mins)          19.08
Finish  Kita Aikoku                    19.53

Saturday 2 September: Leg 2 Kita Aikoku - Kita Aikoku

Serv C  Kita Aikoku (10 mins)          06.00
SS11    Emina            8.18km  07.26
SS12    Rikubetsu 3            2.73km  08.28
SS13    Niueo 1          20.75km 08.53
SS14    Sipirkakim 1            22.43km 09.25
SS15    Menan            16.25km 10.35
Serv D  Kita Aikoku (30 mins)          12.20
SS16    Rikubetsu 4            2.73km  14.48
SS17    Niueo 2          20.75km 15.13
SS18    Sipirkakim 2            22.43km 15.45
SS19    Menan Short            9.17km  16.55
SS20    Obihiro 3              1.30km  18.45
SS21    Obihiro 4              1.30km  18.55
Serv E  Kita Aikoku (45 mins)          19.08
Finish  Kita Aikoku                    19.53

Sunday 3 September: Leg 3 Kita Aikoku - Kita Aikoku

Serv F  Kita Aikoku (10 mins)          06.00
SS22    Rera Kamuy              8.76km  07.19
SS23    Panke Nikorpet 1        17.04km 07.44
SS24    Penke 1          24.88km 08.20
Serv G  Kita Aikoku (30 mins)          10.00
SS25    Panke Nikorpet 2        17.04km 11.43
SS26    Penke 2          24.88km 12.19
SS27    Obihiro 5              1.30km  14.09
Serv H  Kita Aikoku (30 mins)          14.22
Finish  Kita Aikoku                    15.00

Leaderboard after Leg One

1.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen        1hr 11min 01.9sec
2.  S Loeb/D Elena                1hr 11min 12.4sec
3.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen          1hr 12min 04.0sec
4.  M Stohl/I Minor                1hr 13min 22.6sec
5.  D Sordo/M Marti                1hr 13min 56.5sec
6.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall          1hr 13min 58.0sec
7.  T Arai/T Sircombe              1hr 14min 22.4sec
8.  P Solberg/P Mills              1hr 14min 36.9sec
9.  M Wilson/M Orr                1hr 15min 06.7sec
10  L Perez Companc/J-M Volta      1hr 15min 44.2sec

Leg One News

Apart from Grönholm, Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) was the only other driver to claim fastest times.  The Frenchman won four stages.  Behind Hirvonen, Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) holds fourth, the Austrian acclimatising quickly on his first visit to Japan.  Dani Sordo (Citroen) is also making his debut here.  He erred on the side of caution but dropped 20sec after stalling in stage four before edging ahead of Chris Atkinson (Subaru) on the penultimate stage.  Atkinson incurred a 50sec penalty when the team had problems fitting a suspension component in the midday service.  Petter Solberg (Subaru) held an early third but dropped two minutes in stage four due to brake pad problems.  He is eighth. 

Variable conditions all day. A bright start, overcast later with some light rain showers. Stages remained damp and muddy in places. Temperatures ranged between 16°C and 22°C.

Leg two starts from the Obihiro park ferme at 0600hrs on Friday. Crews will tackle nine stages in the countryside north-east of the host city before returning for two more circuits of the spectator Superspecial stage.

Team News

1. Kronos Total Citroen
2. OMV-Peugeot Norway
3. BP-Ford
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford
5. 555 Subaru

1. Kronos Total Citroen

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena versus Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen : this is undoubtedly the match of the season and once more it is living up to all expectations. At the end of leg one of the Rally Japan – the 11th encounter between the two rivals this year – Loeb is keeping Grönholm in his sights, by holding the runner-up spot 11.5 seconds behind the Finn. After a day of learning the narrow and damp roads of Hokkaido, a concentrated Dani Sordo ends the leg in fifth place.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I swept away the loose gravel in Pawse Kamuy , made a few small mistakes in Rikubetsu, then I had a good feeling in Kanna. But in Puray the feeling was not so good, as the grip level was constantly changing…" The second loop of stages was a carbon copy of the first and Seb limited the time loss to Grönholm to just 2.2 seconds, having once more set fastest time in Kanna. Nonetheless, the reigning World Champion stalled on the slowest hairpin in Puray, and later asked the service crew to check the function of his semi-automatic gearbox command. "I’ve got a problem with Pawse Kamuy," reflected Seb during final service. "For three years now I’ve never quite got to grips with that stage. That’s where Marcus built up the bulk of his advantage. I was quicker in Kanna and he was in Puray : that’s what a fight is all about ! I’m sure it will be very exciting again tomorrow."

Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "In the afternoon the stages were cleaner and less damp. As it was my second run through them at speed, I felt happier and more confident. My times got better and so I made up two places… Tomorrow, I’m going to stick with the same tactics. I will get to know the stages carefully, try to improve during the second run, and above all I want to avoid mistakes. My main aim on this rally is first and foremost to score as many manufacturer points as I can for Kronos."

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team passed the first day of the “Rally Japan” with flying colours. Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor rejoiced over fourth intermediate place at the end of the leg. A top performance that was made possible by faultlessly completing the special stages for there were no retirements at the top so far. Even Petter Solberg (Nor/Subaru), winner in Japan in 2004, or WRC shooting star and Citroen works driver Daniel Sordo (Spa), currently third in the WRC, are no match for the OMV duo.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: : “Maybe we were a little bit too cautious in several passages. But now we know that we can go faster and will be able to attack on the second turn.“ Said, done. The weather didn’t improve – but Stohl did. Thus he was able to break away from Petter Solberg, Daniel Sordo or Subaru-works driver Chris Atkinson (Aus). Stohl: “I am especially happy that we are in front of Atkinson. He is very fast here in Japan and even had the lead last year after three special stages. Now it is important to defend fourth place during the next two days. And I’m sure that we can go even faster in the course of the rally.“

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lead Rally Japan after controling today's opening leg.  The Finns powered their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to the front from the opening kilometre this morning and were never headed as they won six of the gravel speed tests, building a 10.5sec advantage.  Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen hold a comfortable third in a similar Focus RS after setting a consistently quick pace.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "After our win in Finland on the last rally, I felt confident here before the start," said 38-year-old Grönholm. "It has been a good battle with Loeb today but I must admit I was hoping my lead would be bigger tonight.  It's obviously going to be a hard fight and I need to stretch my advantage tomorrow because the gap at the moment isn't big enough.  One small mistake could be costly. "We made a good tyre choice. The roads were extremely muddy and slippery this morning and the conditions became worse with the passage of every car.  I've not tested in that weather but everything was OK and it was drier this afternoon.  Loeb beat me twice on the same stage and I remember losing time there last year.  Maybe I need to have a closer look at my pace notes next year," he added.

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "About 3km after the start I hit a concrete post on a bridge on a fifth gear right bend," he explained.  The impact bent a rear wheel and I lost my confidence.  I dropped a few seconds over the remaining kilometres, especially in the slow corners, and if I back off even a tiny bit then Marcus and Seb move ahead. "I had good grip all morning in the mud but sometimes the odd corner was like ice and then the car just slid wide.  It was better this afternoon but the roads cut up badly and it was like driving on a railway track in places because the ruts were so deep.  I can't catch Marcus and Seb and I need to be a bit braver to match their pace.  It is the same situation as it was in Finland a fortnight ago and I'm just going to follow it and drive so as not to make mistakes," he added.

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team has completed its first day of rallying with its new Ford Focus RS WRC06 rally cars with drivers Matthew Wilson and Luis Perez Companc ending the day strongly in the top ten of Rally Japan, the eleventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship. As a change from the previous ten rounds of the championship, the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team used the latest generation Ford Focus RS rally car for this event. Compared to the previous version there were significant differences for the two crews to learn as they tackled the first day and 124 km of competitive distance of the event spread over ten stages based out of the city of Obihiro in Japan. The latest car has a five speed gearbox as opposed to the older car’s six. The front and rear differentials are passive as opposed to active on the earlier version and the car is both wider and longer. A different centre of gravity allied to different suspension means all new set-ups have to be learnt by the team as the event progresses.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It was alright to start the rally like that. There’s not a lot to report except that I’ve got a sore back as we’ve covered over 600 km today. The first stage was very nice but the third and fourth ones were really difficult as they’re so narrow but they’re really fast in places. The biggest challenge is getting used to the car. The engine has different torque characteristics and there are five gears instead of six. It takes time to know which gear you should go through the corner in. You have to drive it differently from the last one but it’s going alright. You really have to concentrate, and the fact the stages are narrow and tricky makes it difficult. Our pacenotes are not where we need them to be but that’s something that everyone says in their first time in Japan. Because you can’t see what’s around the corner the notes have to be exactly right, especially on the long corners, and it takes time to get that. It has been a very good day. We’ve had a clean run with no major problems. I need to get my seating position changed, but that’s the only thing we need to do at the end of the day."

Luis Perez Companc/José Maria Volta: "A new car and a new rally. In the fourth stage I went off two times, just doing a bit of grass cutting, but luckily there was nothing wrong there. I did spin at a hairpin and the engine shut off, but I restarted it without problem. It has been a long day and we had problems with the intercom on the second loop, it’s not easy if you can’t hear the pacenotes. I was more confident when the stages were drier in the afternoon. Other than that it’s been fine, the car is wonderful, I’m very happy as it’s a tough event, it’s an incredible car."

5. 555 Subaru

At the end of a difficult first day of competition in Japan Chris Atkinson holds sixth place overall and leads the three car Subaru World Rally Team entry. The day started well for Subaru, with Petter Solberg jostling for a top-three position, but a brake problem on the fourth stage cost him almost two minutes and dropped him down to tenth overall. It was a similar story for Atkinson; he started well, but dropped down the order – in his case after collecting 50 seconds of penalty time for leaving service late. On his first outing in a WRC car since 2001, much of Toshi Arai’s day was spent familiarising himself with the latest Impreza model. In front of his home crowd he set consistent top-ten times and holds seventh place overnight.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We are trying very hard and everybody is absolutely doing their best, but we still need to do more. We had some more problems this afternoon and we know why, so we’ll look at the problem with the car and see what we can do for tomorrow. It’s certainly tough, but then it’s tough for the entire team and that’s how it is at the moment."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Today’s been a challenging day in some quite difficult conditions. We had a couple of small problems which we’ll fix and then get on with it again. The aim is to keep going, have a trouble-free day tomorrow, and try hard. I’m sure we can make up some positions."

Toshi Arai/Toni Sircombe: "The first bit of today was not so bad but the second half I lost a lot of time and then had to slow right down in the Superspecial with a clutch problem. The first stages were quite good I think, so tomorrow I will try and drive at the same speed as I am still learning the car."

Leaderboard after Leg Two

Leaderboard after Leg 2

1.  S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 2hr 27min 45.7sec
2.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 28min 11.3sec
3.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 29min 28.8sec
4.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 2hr 32min 09.8sec
5.  M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 2hr 32min 26.1sec
6.  D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 2hr 33min 11.3sec
7.  P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 2hr 33min 17.4sec
8.  T Arai/T Sircombe J Subaru Impreza 2hr 34min 25.4sec
9.  L Perez Companc/J-M Volta ARG Ford Focus RS 2hr 35min 38.7sec
10 G MacHale/P Nagle IRL Ford Focus RS 2hr 37min 08.8sec

Leg Two News

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) enjoyed a troublefree day and won six stages as he moved to the top of the leaderboard.  Behind Hirvonen, Chris Atkinson (Subaru) shrugged aside yesterday's 50sec penalty to regain fourth, despite swiping a tree on stage 14.  Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) admitted he preferred the dry conditions and he has a comfortable advantage over Dani Sordo (Citroen).  Petter Solberg (Subaru) continued to suffer brake problems but the Norwegian climbed to seventh and is only 6.1sec behind Sordo.  The only major retirement was Matthew Wilson who struggled through the morning with a broken turbocharger.  He pulled over to let Atkinson pass in stage 14 but his car became beached in a ditch and it could not be extricated.  He will restart the final day under SupeRally rules.

Team News

1. Kronos Total Citroen
2. OMV-Peugeot Norway
3. BP-Ford
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford
5. 555 Subaru

1. Kronos Total Citroen

Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Kronos Total Citroën WRT Xsara took the lead of the Rally Japan during the morning. Having ended the day with two runs through the Kita Aikoku spectator superspecial, Seb and Daniel now have a 25.6 second advantage over Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were grateful for the more consistent conditions of leg two, and enjoyed a trouble-free day to end up sixth.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "There are about 100 competitive kilometres left, and having pushed hard from the start I'm going to keep pushing hard to the end. Marcus will probably do the same thing, so the battle continues!"

Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: «For a beginner, it's a lot easier to drive on roads that are more consistent. These stages are tricky enough as it is without the weather making life even more difficult - so I'm pleased. Today was much better. On the first loop of stages, our notes were not so good on the sections where we had done the recce in the heavy rain. I made quite a few corrections for the second loop, and with a slight change to the set-up at midday service, I felt a lot more confident. I think I could have gone quicker, but I prefer to err on the side of caution."

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

After the second day of their Japan premiere the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team is still absolutely satisfied. Despite losing one place, their first performance in the land of the rising sun shows that they can keep up with their works opponents. Only the slippery road conditions trouble the OMV duo Stohl/Minor to some extent. Even Marcus Grönholm, who was part of the Peugeot works team last year and won this rally, confirms that these conditions are not exactly the forte of the Peugeot 307 WRC. But in 2005 there was no rainfall.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "We are very satisfied with fifth place after the second day at our first Rally Japan. It wouldn't make sense to ride a no-holds-barred attack on Atkinson in front of us. The works Subaru is very fast and Atkinson knows the Rally Japan like the back of his hand. But we'll have to watch out for Petter Solberg. He got faster and faster on Saturday afternoon. It is still a long way to fifth place on the finish ramp. We will have to give our best on Sunday."

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team ended today's second leg of Rally Japan on course for a double podium. With one day remaining Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lie second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car after winning five speed tests, while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are third in another Focus RS.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen:  "I'm not sure what I can do tomorrow but I will try hard to catch Seb.  I need to ensure that I am as close as possible to him just in case he makes a mistake, so there's no way I'm giving up on this just yet."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "When the roads were muddy and slippery then I took it easy because I didn't want to go off, but when conditions were drier it felt really good to let the car go and push harder."

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

After a superb debut on Rally Japan, Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson experienced a low at the start of the second day of the eleventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship with turbo failure and his car becoming stranded at the side of the road on the day's fourth stage. Wilson suffered a loss of turbo boost pressure on the road section to Saturday's first stage. Despite Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr trying all they could to diagnose and rectify the problem, they were forced to drive the initial stages of the loop with their car suffering from this ill.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "There was nothing at all wrong with the car yesterday, but on the road section to the first stage we lost boost about 3 km before the stage start. We crawled through the stage then afterwards we tried everything we could to try to fix it. We started the second stage on time but had to drive through it slowly again. After that one we went through everything again and arrived late at the third stage. We'd made the decision that we had to get back to service, but as we were going so slow other cars were catching us. When Chris Atkinson caught us we pulled over into what looked like a nice big grass lay-by. Unfortunately there was a man-made drainage ditch covered by the grass, and it was about two foot deep. We had no power so couldn't drive the car out. There were a couple of photographers about but they weren't enough to help. When you look at the times today and how close it is between Petter and Luis we could have been in the points which is really disappointing."

Luis Perez Companc/José Maria Volta: "It was a very good day, I am very happy. Being second out on the stages is not so good as the track has not been cleaned by cars ahead, but I am learning the car more and more with every stage. I went off at one corner with some mud on it, it was a close call but I could get back on to the stage without a problem. We are correcting our notes a lot when we go through. I am getting more confident with the car and it's getting much better with every run through. It's good to be here with the car in one piece. The problem will be Cyprus when I have to go back to the old car."

5. 555 Subaru

Chris Atkinson continues to lead the Subaru World Rally Team's challenge after today's second Leg of competition on Rally Japan. The 26-year-old Queenslander put in a strong performance on each of the day's eleven stages and moved up the leaderboard from sixth to fourth place. After frustrations on Leg one, Petter Solberg's car's performance improved considerably and the Norwegian ended the day strongly by setting the second quickest time on the last two proper stages. Solberg holds seventh place overnight, ahead of the team's third driver, Toshihiro Arai, who lies eighth.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We've been able to split Marcus and Sebastien which is very pleasing, but on the other hand it's been quite tough as we lost so much time previously. We've made quite a few changes to the car and it has improved a lot and we have been able to be competitive. Tomorrow I hope to catch Sordo, but I'm not thinking too much about that as I am driving for all the fans."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "It's been a good day. We made up a couple of spots and now we've got a bit of a gap over Stohl, which is exactly what we wanted to do. We had a few scratches this morning when we took a few chances, but this afternoon I took it pretty easy. We took a good choice of tyres that was a pretty safe option and tomorrow we'll judge the pace and drive accordingly."

Toshi Arai/Toni Sircombe: "I had a big moment today when I hit a very, very big rock and went off the road on SS16. We got back on the road and continued but after I found out that I hit a photographer, a friend of mine, Naoki Kobayashi. He was okay and even sent me a message to say good luck and continue! I hope to see him out on the stages again very soon!"

Final Results

1.  S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 3hr 22min 20.4sec
2.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 22min 26.0sec
3.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 06.9sec
4.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 28min 28.2sec
5.  M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 3hr 29min 31.1sec
6.  T Arai/T Sircombe J Subaru Impreza 3hr 31min 25.5sec
7.  P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 3hr 34min 04.1sec
8.  F Nutahara/D Barritt J Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 45min 17.8sec
9.  G Pozzo/D Stillo ARG Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 45min 45.2sec
10 M Ligato/R Garcia ARG Mitsubishi Lancer 3hr 46min 19.0sec

Final Leg News

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) became the most successful driver in the sport's history by claiming his 27th WRC victory, moving ahead of Carlos Sainz in the all-time standings.  Behind the Ford duo of Gronholm and Hirvonen, Chris Atkinson (Subaru) cruised through the final day to take fourth ahead of Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) who overcame gearbox problems.  Dani Sordo (Citroen) was a comfortable sixth until he was held up by the stranded car of Luis Perez Companc (Ford) on the penultimate stage, losing more than a minute. That dropped him 1.2sec behind Toshi Arai (Subaru) in the final positions. Sordo was later excluded for not fastening his seat belts after leaving his car during the incident.  Petter Solberg (Subaru) had continued brake problems this morning and dropped 3min 30sec, sliding from sixth to seventh. Gareth MacHale (Ford) retired three stages from the finish after hitting a bridge while Companc crashed out on the penultimate stage.

Team News

1. Kronos Total Citroen
2. OMV-Peugeot Norway
3. BP-Ford
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford
5. 555 Subaru

1. Kronos Total Citroen

Last year, the Franco-Monegasque pairing clinched a second consecutive world title in Japan. This year, after 27 stages, Seb and Daniel took their 27th career victory and claimed one of the few remaining records that had not yet been in their possession : the record for the total number of career wins, which they had held jointly with Spanish legend Carlos Sainz since the Rallye Deutschland. Now, this historic landmark is theirs alone. On the penultimate stage of the rally, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were stopped by the car of Luis Perez Companc blocking the road after he went off. They lost their sixth position overall in the incident. The Kronos team asked the Race Control that their case should be studied and a notional time be given. This request was rejected. Furthermore, the Stewards watched the on-board cameras on that stage and noticed the Spanish crew did not correctly refasten their seat belts after returning to their car. In consequence, the Stewards have decided to exclude Dani Sordo and Marc Marti from the final classification of the Rally Japan 2006.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:  "How was that for close ? At the start of the final leg, I thought that the eight points for second place would have been a good result for the championship. Then we took the decision just to go for it, to try everything. The fight was too good just to walk away and settle for second. Mentally, that was an important turning point. But once we had decided on that course of action, Daniel and I were only thinking about one thing. We had no split times so it was just a question of going flat-out and driving as quickly as possible on order to try and win. On the last stage, we took a few risks. The smell of victory, and the potential joy of a team that once again performed faultlessly, made it all worth it."

Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: Excluded

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team has reason to celebrate their Japan premiere. The reward for 345,72 special stage kilometres of hard work: fifth place and four points for the driver ranking of the FIA World Rally Championship. Thus Manfred Stohl consolidated fifth intermediate place. During the last three days the OMV driver relied on the experience of 104 WRC-runs and was nevertheless surprised by more than the kindness of the Japanese people.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor:  "I am really very satisfied with this result even though I would have loved to be on the podium. But you can't count on even scoring points prior to such a tough rally. At today's rallies experience only goes so far. It is much more important to compete in one and the same run as often as possible. These four points are obviously also important for the driver World Championship. Prior to this season my goal was to be among the top five. I was able to consolidate this place and even break away from Solberg as far as points are concerned."

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team claimed a double podium on Rally Japan today after Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen almost secured their third win in four events during a breathtaking final day's action. The Finns came within just 5.6sec of victory after their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car outgunned Sébastien Loeb in a thrilling final day shootout in the remote hills of Hokkaido island. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished third in another Focus RS.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "That was a really great fight with Seb, I was on the limit all day today. A win was possible but it just wasn't to be. I tried so hard to catch him and I just needed one more stage and a few extra kilometres and I would have done.  I think Seb was worried but it's difficult to consistently beat him by eight or nine seconds on every stage which is what I had to do today.  My mistakes yesterday cost me the win."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "It was quite an easy weekend for me in one way because I settled into third and wasn't challenged. I've learned how to drive at a consistently fast pace and that's important.  It's good to be fighting with Dani Sordo for championship position and I want to make sure I'm battling for a podium on every rally.  It's a good feeling to step onto the podium after a difficult rally like this and it's important for Ford that we keep picking up good points finishes.  My consistency has improved and now I need to get closer to Seb and Marcus."

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

No information available at time of going to press.

5. 555 Subaru

Subaru's Chris Atkinson finished Rally Japan in fourth place today after an excellent performance on the final Leg of the competition. Atkinson, who was third on the rally in 2005, set a string of top-five times on the day's six stages and was the Subaru World Rally Team's highest-placed finisher. Bringing his Subaru Impreza WRC2006 home in sixth place, Toshi Arai was the best-placed Japanese driver, while a frustrated Petter Solberg finished eighth.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We watched the battle at the top of the rally and I wish I was involved. I can't wait to get back into those fights again, but for now we have some problems and we need to work together as a team to find the solutions. It's difficult not just for me, but everyone. There's a lot of hard work from all of us to be done and I hope that at the next event we can be getting a bit closer."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "It's been a tough weekend for everyone, to get to the finish and give the fans something. Today we had a clean run with no major problems as all I had to do was cruise through the day and take a bit more time off Manfred. The result is the best we could have hoped for coming into the rally. For sure we are driving better than ever and certainly more consistently, getting mostly top five stage times."

Toshi Arai/Toni Sircombe: "Generally not so bad throughout the rally. Yes, we had a few problems but I am pleased to get as good a finish as this as I had to learn the World Rally Car and now feel that I know it quite well. I also got used to the car speed and it felt quite comfortable. I wanted to thank Subaru for this opportunity and hope maybe that we can do it again."