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Front Page
Ford Scores Points Double at Rally Australia
Staff, Monday November 4, 2002.
Page 1 of 1
Sainz?s Ford Focus RS World Rally Car finished fourth on the 13th and penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship with Märtin driving a similar car into fifth.
The event was won by 2002 World Champion Marcus Grönholm, with Peugeot teammate and fellow Finn Harri Rovanperä second, with Norway?s Petter Solberg (Subaru) third.
The result ensured the ever-dependable Focus RS has scored points on every round of this year?s championship to date and the team heads to Britain later this month aiming for a clean sweep. No other team in the series can boast such a record.
Huge crowds flocked to the forests outside Perth and at the city?s famous Langley Park Super Stage over three days of competition.
Sainz showed the strength and reliability of the Focus despite rolling on one of the final stages of the rally. The Spaniard ripped off the turbo pipe in the accident, but the Focus completed the stage and event.
The incident cost a minute and demoted Sainz to fifth, but he regained fourth following the post-rally exclusion of Tommi Mäkinen after his Subaru was found to be under weight.
?It was a big shame about the crash but these things happen and I did the maximum I could,? said Sainz.
?When the roads are tight and twisty there are no problems but it?s been on the faster sections where we?ve lost time to Grönholm and Rovanperä.?
Markko Märtin started the final day in seventh but climbed to fifth following the retirement of Ford Rallye Sport teammates Francois Duval and Jean-Marc Fortin on the penultimate stage and Mäkinen?s exclusion.
The 26-year-old Estonian driver, whose previous appearance on this rally lasted only one stage, was delighted to see the finish podium in Perth to record his seventh points finish in the last eight rounds.
?It?s a nice rally but if you can?t find the rhythm and the pace notes aren?t quite right then it?s a difficult event and that?s the problem I?ve had for three days,? he said.
?To score points is a bonus because simply to finish was the target. I?ve struggled a little with the pace but we had no option but to drive safely and pick up experience.?
Duval and Fortin, whose steady and sure display impressed many, were on course for their best world championship finish in sixth when a tightening right bend caught out the Belgian duo four kilometres after the start of the penultimate stage.
Their Focus RS hit a tree and the heavy impact damaged Duval?s leg. He was airlifted out of the stage and medical checks revealed the 21-year-old suffered a badly bruised left thigh.
?The accident happened at a very difficult part of the stage where the trees were very close to the edge of the road,? explained Fortin.
?We slid off the clean part of the road onto the loose gravel and slid into a tree. Francois? door took the full impact. We tried to carry on but after another 1.5km the pain in Francois? leg was too bad and we stopped.?
Ford?s other entry, Colin McRae, retired on the second day after a heavy landing at the Muresk cattle grid jump smashed the car?s radiator. Despite standing the Focus on its nose, McRae completed the stage in the third fastest time, but was unable to continue.
The final round of the championship is the Rally of Great Britain based in Cardiff on 14 - 17 November.
Although both world titles have already been secured, six drivers can still claim second in the drivers? series, including Sainz and Ford Rallye Sport teammate McRae.
Rally Australia Final positions
| 1. Marcus Grönholm (Fin) / Timo Rautiainen (Fin) | Peugeot 206 | 3hr 35min 56.5sec |
| 2. Harri Rovanperä (Fin) / Voito Silander (Fin) | Peugeot 206 | +0:57.3 |
| 3. Petter Solberg (Nor) / Phil Mills (GBR) | Subaru Impreza | +1:28.7 |
| 4. Carlos Sainz (Esp) / Luis Moya (Esp) | Ford Focus RS | +3:09.0 |
| 5. Markko Märtin (Est) / Michael Park (GBR) | Ford Focus RS | +6:21.5 |
FIA World Rally Championship (after round 13 of 14)
Drivers
| 1. Marcus Grönholm (Fin) | Peugeot 206 | 77pts |
| 2. Richard Burns (GBR) | Peugeot 206 | 34pts |
| 3. Colin McRae (GBR) | Ford Focus RS | 33pts |
| 4. Carlos Sainz (Esp) | Ford Focus RS | 32pts |
| 5. Gilles Panizzi (Fra) | Peugeot 206 | 31pts |
| 6. Harri Rovanperä (Fin) | Peugeot 206 | 30pts |
| 10. Markko Märtin (Est) | Ford Focus RS | 14pts |
Manufacturers
| 1. Peugeot | 163pts |
| 2. Ford | 94pts |
| 3. Subaru | 54pts |
| 4= Mitsubishi | 9pts |
| 4= Hyundai | 9pts |
| 4= Skoda | 9pts |
For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing
Phone: (03) 9533 4455
Mobile: 0417-262 753
Email: ben@segalmedia.com.au
Mark Wilford
Media Coordinator
Ford Rallye Sport
Phone: 08-9221 4807 (From Thursday)
Fax: 08-9221 9582 (From Thursday)
