Sun October 31, 2004

 Märtin & BP-Ford claim back-to-back win BP-Ford World Rally Team claimed its second world rally victory in two weeks when Markko Märtin and Michael Park won the Rally Catalunya in Spain today. Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car finished this penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship in the mountains north...

 Carlos Takes 96th Podium

 Petter: 5th Mikko: 8th

 Marcus takes second for Peugeot

 Skoda achieve 2004 objectives

NEWS JUST IN

 Makes title battle @ 07:20 AM - provisional, unofficial standings after E: 1st Citroen 148points // 2nd Ford 137 // 3rd Subaru 117 // 4th Peugeot 93 // 5th Mitsubishi 17 - Citroen can no longer be beaten - and that Subaru gets about the most points for being last only shows how wrong the points system is.

 Drivers title battle @ 07:20 AM - provisional, unofficial standings after E: 1st Loeb 108points // 2nd Solberg 82 // 3rd Märtin 79 // 4th Sainz 73 // 5th Grönholm 62 // 6th Duval 47 // 7th Hirvonen 24 // 8th Rovanperä 20 // 9th Tuohino 16 // 10th Loix 9 - Sébastien Loeb can no longer be beaten - Andersson is JWRChampion

 E end - Märtin the new asphalt king? @ 07:18 AM - Märtin wins second asphalt rally in a row. Unofficial, provisional final positions: 1. Märtin 3:40:43.8 2. Grönholm +23.2 3. Sainz +37.7 4. Sarrazin +2:50.4 5. Solberg +3:06.7 6. Sola +3:55.7 7. Galli +4:05.9 8. Hirvonen +4:31.7 9. Gardemeister +4:37.6 10. Vouilloz +4:45.0

 E SS19 - La Roca Rocks @ 06:31 AM - 2nd edition of this short but tough stage. Gardemeister reduces gap to Hirvonen from 0.7s to 0.6s. Gap Grönholm-Sainz only 12.9s. One stage left, but that is the 35km Viladrau viaduct stage. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS19: 1. Märtin 3:17:59.5 2. Grönholm +36.5 3. Sainz +49.4 4. Sarrazin +2:37.8 5. Solberg +3:17.2 6. Sola +3:41.5 7. Galli +4:06.0 8. Hirvonen +4:31.7 9. Gardemeister +4:32.3 10. Vouilloz +4:49.9

 E SS18 - Grönholm shows intentions @ 05:50 AM - Relatively clear stage win for Grönholm on this short-ish stage, 2.3 quicker than Sainz, 5.7 quicker than Märtin. Watch battle Hirvonen-Gardemeister. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS18: 1. Märtin 3:14:52.4 2. Grönholm +37.4 3. Sainz +48.9 4. Sarrazin +2:37.9 5. Solberg +3:16.0 6. Sola +3:40.9 7. Galli +3:54.9 8. Hirvonen +4:30.6 9. Gardemeister +4:31.3 10. Vouilloz +4:50.3

 E SS17 - Viladrau viaduct @ 03:28 AM - Longest stage of the rally. Gardemeister passes Hirvonen and Vouilloz. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS17: 1. Märtin 3:05:55.1 2. Grönholm +43.1 3. Sainz +52.3 4. Sarrazin +2:35.2 5. Solberg +3:18.5 6. Sola +3:30.9 7. Galli +3:52.5 8. Gardemeister +4:30.7 9. Hirvonen +4:31.5 10. Vouilloz +4:39.9

 E SS16 - short but exciting @ 02:44 AM - This is only a 5km stage. But other than super specials, such short stages often are choosen for an especially tricky section and they can be very exciting. 2 years ago this short stage had Loeb roll out of the rally in style. Watch the gaps Solberg-Sola and Hirvonen-Gardemeister. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS16: 1. Märtin 2:43:31.4 2. Grönholm +40.0 3. Sainz +51.9 4. Sarrazin +2:14.1 5. Solberg +2:51.3 6. Sola +3:02.9 7. Galli +3:40.1 8. Vouilloz +4:07.1 9. Hirvonen +4:18.0 10. Gardemeister +4:19.4

 E SS15 - stage win for Sarrazin! @ 02:13 AM - Surprise, first stage win of the rally for a Subaru goes to the Michelin tyred car of former F1 driver Sarrazin! He beats Grönholm by 0.3s. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS15: 1. Märtin 2:40:22.4 2. Grönholm +38.7 3. Sainz +51.9 4. Sarrazin +2:09.6 5. Solberg +2:46.5 6. Sola +3:02.5 7. Galli +3:36.5 8. Vouilloz +4:02.6 9. Hirvonen +4:15.6 10. Gardemeister +4:18.5

Sat October 30, 2004

 Fabias up the pace on day 2 At the end of today’s five stages on the Catalunya Rally Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team’s Toni Gardemeister is tenth overall with team mate Armin Schwarz 11th. A planned sixth stage was cancelled as the surface was considered unsafe after a farmer spread mud on the road. On t...

 Martin leads after Loeb's exit

NEWS JUST IN

 E leg2 - Sainz wins classic @ 10:40 AM - Sainz wins the classic viaduct stage. Also a good stage time by Sola, who puts Solberg under pressure. Unofficial, provisional positions after leg2: 1. Märtin 2:31:31.6 2. Grönholm +39.7 3. Sainz +51.1 4. Sarrazin +2:10.9 5. Solberg +2:39.4 6. Sola +2:51.4 7. Galli +3:23.9 8. Vouilloz +3:36.7 9. Hirvonen +3:55.9 10. Gardemeister +4:07.1

 E SS13 - another stage win for Marcus @ 09:59 AM - Unofficial, provisional positions after SS13: 1. Märtin 2:12:05.9 2. Grönholm +36.2 3. Sainz +51.5 4. Sarrazin +2:05.4 5. Solberg +2:13.4 6. Sola +2:38.4 7. Galli +2:59.7 8. Vouilloz +3:12.2 9. Hirvonen +3:18.3 10. Gardemeister +3:39.2

 E SS12 - predicted changes @ 09:56 AM - Sarrazin overtakes Solberg, Vouilloz overtakes Hirvonen. Sensationally Vouilloz mises stage win by 0.3s! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS12: 1. Märtin 2:06:50.4 2. Grönholm +38.9 3. Sainz +50.8 4. Sarrazin +2:05.0 5. Solberg +2:11.9 6. Sola +2:36.0 7. Galli +2:57.5 8. Vouilloz +3:08.1 9. Hirvonen +3:09.0 10. Gardemeister +3:31.9

 E SS11 - Another stage win for Grönholm. @ 08:23 AM - ...but the next stage is one that had him struggle this morning. Otherwise there are many gasp closing, Sarrazin could potentially take Solberg, Galli, who went past hirvonen the previous stage, closes in on Sola, while in turn Hirvonen gets under pressure from Vouilloz. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS11: 1. Märtin 1:57:00.7 2. Grönholm +36.7 3. Sainz +48.3 4. Solberg +1:49.5 5. Sarrazin +1:59.7 6. Sola +2:31.1 7. Galli +2:50.4 8. Hirvonen +2:59.8 9. Vouilloz +3:07.8 10. Gardemeister +3:27.2

 E SS10 - Cancelled @ 05:13 AM - The famous viaduct stage has been cancelled. It appears that a local protester has sabotaged and blocked the stage and it is not clear if the stage can be run as SS14 later today. We are waiting for details, but if this story is true, we can only say: What an ignorant idiot, please let's name and address!

 E SS9 - Peugeot joins the party @ 04:06 AM - Stage win for Grönholm. Galli moves ahead of Hirvonen. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS9: 1. Märtin 1:38:23.4 2. Grönholm +42.3 3. Sainz +48.3 4. Solberg +1:42.1 5. Sarrazin +1:59.5 6. Sola +2:11.3 7. Galli +2:42.4 8. Hirvonen +2:44.6 9. Vouilloz +2:58.6 10. Gardemeister +3:16.1

 E SS8 - Loeb out! @ 03:43 AM - Sensational 3rd fastest stage time for Schwarz and Skoda. Loeb out with a broken oil sump. The damage appears to have been done in the previous stage, which he won. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS8: 1. Märtin 1:38:23.4 2. Grönholm +42.9 3. Sainz +46.4 4. Solberg +1:37.7 5. Sarrazin +1:57.5 6. Sola +2:07.2 7. Hirvonen +2:35.9 8. Galli +2:38.2 9. Vouilloz +2:51.5 10. Gardemeister +3:05.3

 E SS7 - Citroen 1-2 in this stage @ 03:25 AM - Drama free start to leg2, battle still very much between Märtin and 2 Citroens, Sarrazin in Michelin shod Subaru again faster than Solberg. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS7: 1. Loeb 1:28:25.9 2. Märtin +3.4 3. Grönholm +34.4 4. Sainz +47.0 5. Solberg +1:31.6 6. Sarrazin +1:49.3 7. Sola +2:02.6 8. Hirvonen +2:29.2 9. Galli +2:35.3 10. Vouilloz +2:47.4

Fri October 29, 2004

 Weather makes things tricky in Spain At the end of today’s first leg of the Catalunya Rally - the final WRC event of 2004 for the Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team - Toni Gardemeister is 10th overall with team mate Armin Schwarz 12th. Newly crowned Czech Champion Jan Kopecky was 16th after SS5 but on today’s final s...

NEWS JUST IN

 E leg1 - end for Duval @ 11:09 AM - Going into the last stage we had an incredibly tight battle between Loeb and the two Fords, the top3 seperated by 3.3s. On the last stage Duval lost a wheel and retired on the last road section. Loeb leads. Unofficial, provisional positions after leg1: 1. Loeb 1:15:22.2 2. Märtin +2.0 3. Grönholm +27.5 4. Sainz +46.4 5. Solberg +1:16.9 6. Sarrazin +1:40.0 7. Sola +1:45.5 8. Hirvonen +2:01.4 9. Galli +2:19.6 10. Gardemeister +2:27.3

 E SS3 - Ford hits back @ 05:10 AM - And interestingly the leading trio of Loeb-Duval-Märtin is now only seperated by 1.1s. Panizzi show takes an early dive. Loix marks the first retirement (electrical) from a low 13th place. Unofficial, provisional positions after SS3: 1. Loeb 37:42.3 2. Duval +1.0 3. Märtin +1.1 4. Grönholm +7.2 5. Sainz +13.8 6. Solberg +32.8 7. Sola +41.4 8. Sarrazin +50.6 9. Hirvonen +56.8 10. Panizzi +1:02.5

 Catalunya After Stage 3 @ 05:01 AM - Unofficial positions after SS3: 1. Loeb 37:42.3 2. Duval +1.0 3. Märtin +1.1 4. Grönholm +7.2 5. Sainz +13.8 6. Solberg +32.8 7. Sarrazin +50.6 8. Hirvonen +56.8

 E SS2 - Loeb shows who is champ @ 04:37 AM - If everybody waited for the Ford vs Citroen battle on asphalt, the true version (without championship considerations), here it goes. On SS1 Duval managed a narrow stage win, but already after SS2 Loeb got a convincing 10s lead. Also interesting in SS2, Sarrazin beats Solberg, both Subaru drivers, Solberg on Pirelli, Sarrazin on Michelin tyres! And note the strong start for Mitsubishi! Unofficial, provisional positions after SS2: 1. Loeb 21:43.4 2. Märtin +11.2 3. Panizzi +14.7 4. Grönholm +15.8 5. Duval +16.7 6. Sainz +18.9 7. Sola +22.4 8. Solberg +26.8 9. Sarrazin +28.2 10. Schwarz +32.4

Thu October 28, 2004

 Sainz tops Catalunya shakedown

Wed October 27, 2004

 Questions to a Champion and a Hero Questions to Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz...

 A challenge of a different kind Since the Tour of Corsica, a red flag emblazoned with Citroën's double chevron logo has been flying at the summit of world class rallying. Yet despite having sewn up both the 200 Manufacturers' and Drivers' title chases in imperious fashion in Ajaccio, the French team ...

Tue October 26, 2004

 Thought the 2004 WRC titles were sorted? And you thought the WRC titles 2004 are long sorted? Well, the main titles are. And although they are sorted very early this year, looking through the history books they are exciting ones: Sébastien Loeb is of French nationality. He is only the 2nd Frenchman to win the WRC title ...

 Subaru Penultimate Round Preview This week the Subaru World Rally Team will travel to Spain for the penultimate round of the 2004 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Catalunya. Beginning on 28 October with a ceremonial start in the coastal resort of Lloret de Mar, the event follows the Tour De Corse as the secon...

Sat October 23, 2004

 3 Fabias ready for final event of 2004 Škoda Motorsport concludes its reduced 2004 World Rally Championship programme for the Fabia WRC at the Catalunya Rally (October 29-31). On this occasion the regular driver line-up of Armin Schwarz and Toni Gardemeister will be joined by Czech Rally Championship leader Jan Kopeck...

Fri October 22, 2004

 Rallye Catalunya starting order