Sun April 9, 2006

 23rd win for Sebastien Loeb Just two weeks after the RallyRACC Catalunya, it’s a case of deja-vu for the Kronos team. The squad finishes the sequence of asphalt events at the start of the year with two victories in two rallies. Once more there are two Xsara WRCs on the podium. And in Corsica, there are thre...

 Two Points for Manfred Stohl The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team has reached its goal at the “Rallye de France - Tour de Corse”. Seventh overall place and two WRC-points mean that the OMV duo Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor defended fourth place in the FIA World Rally Championship intermediate ranking. Thus the...

 Corsica podium for Gronholm

 Wilson brings it home 16th

 Corsica turns asphalt test for Subaru

 3 Points for Red Bull Skoda

 Kopecky fends of Solberg for 10th

 Loeb wins gripping Tour de Corse

 Loeb wins gripping Tour de Corse

 Kopecky climbs to 10th on day two

NEWS JUST IN

 F SS11 - 1 to go and still fighting @ 11:34 AM - Loeb clearly eased off. But Hirvonen narrows gap to 3rd to only 5.2s! Solberg spins and is again 12.1s away from top10. Provisional unofficial results after SS11: 1 Loeb, Citroen 3h24m04s1; 2 Grönholm, Ford +33s3; 3 Sordo, Citroen +1m42s6; 4 Hirvonen, Ford +1m47s8; 5 Bengué, Peugeot +2m45s1; 6 Pons, Citroen +2m58s9; 7 Stohl, Peugeot +4m31s6; 8 Sarrazin, Subaru +4m58s6; 9 Galli, Peugeot +5m24s6; 10 Kopecky, Skoda +5m50s4;

 F SS10 - half way through leg3 @ 09:13 AM - And the positions seem to be confirmed. In the opening stage Hirvonen came to within 0.4s of Sordo, while Bengué and Pons tied. But both Sordo and Bengué consolidated their places in the next stage. There is a tie for 10th. Provisional unofficial results after SS10: 1 Loeb, Citroen 3h09m12s6; 2 Grönholm, Ford +40s1; 3 Sordo, Citroen +1m46s3; 4 Hirvonen, Ford +1m54s; 5 Bengué, Peugeot +2m42s1; 6 Pons, Citroen +2m58s1; 7 Stohl, Peugeot +4m18s5; 8 Sarrazin, Subaru +4m50s2; 9 Galli, Peugeot +5m15s5; =10 Kopecky, Skoda +5m38s8; =10 Solberg, Subaru +5m38s8;

Sat April 8, 2006

 Wilson and Latvala crash out Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson is taking his rookie season in the FIA World Rally Championship as a learning year, and day two of Rallye de France – Tour de Corse provided a rather short and to the point lesson as the 19 year-old drove off the road early...

 Loeb leads, Sordo in podium place It was an excellent second leg for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who stretched their lead of the rally to nearly 40 seconds. Equally good were Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, who made up two places and stand on the provisional podium heading into the final day. And finally, it w...

 Stohl stays on course for points The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team finished leg two of the “Rallye de France - Tour de Corse” in good seventh intermediate place. Thus the OMV duo Stohl/Minor did reach their professed goal for this day. Together with Bozian Racing they keep doggedly working on the set-up o...

 Stephane and Petter move up Stéphane Sarrazin and Petter Solberg fought hard on the twisty stages today and moved up the leaderboard to eighth and 11th overall respectively. On only his second Tour de Corse, Chris Atkinson demonstrated his increasing confidence on asphalt and moved up 15 places. He will sta...

 Status Quo for Focus drivers BP-Ford World Rally Team continues to hold second and fourth places after today's second leg of the Rallye de France Tour de Corse. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen maintained second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car after a troublefree day in the demanding mountains ...

 Harri and Andreas aim for points Without any problems on the remaining two stages in the afternoon, Harri Rovanpera managed to bring his Fabia WRC home to the day's final service where a lot of people waited to congratulate him on his 40th birthday, but the Finn immediately had to leave for a doping test: "My...

 Duval retires from Tour de Corse Francois Duval and co-driver Patrick Pivato failed to finish the second leg of the Rallye de France – Tour de Corse after an accident on the final stage in the mountains north-east of Ajaccio....

 Classic Corsica Action Sébastien Loeb is so much in control of proceedings, he has exactly doubled his lead over Marcus Grönholm today, from 19.9s to 39.7s. Loeb leading Grönholm leading Sordo sounds familiar at least since Catalunya and seems kind of a forgone conclusion result. But the action has bee...

NEWS JUST IN

 Corsica action packed leg2 @ 04:41 PM - Loeb extends lead further. Galli stage times improve. Hot battle for 3rd, Bengué superb splits spoiled by big spin! Provisional unofficial results after leg2: 1 Loeb, Citroen 2h35m31s4; 2 Grönholm, Ford +39s7; 3 Sordo, Citroen +1m38s4; 4 Hirvonen, Ford +1m44s1; 5 Bengué, Peugeot +2m28s4; 6 Pons, Citroen +2m36s4; 7 Stohl, Peugeot +3m40s4; 8 Sarrazin, Subaru +4m16s2; 9 Galli, Peugeot +4m30s3; 10 Kopecky, Skoda +4m32s9;

 F SS7 - hot battle for 3rd @ 03:02 PM - At the front business as usual. Again Duval seemed to run into brake trouble towards the end of the long, downhill stage. Positions 3-4-5 change stage by stage. Provisional unofficial results after SS7: 1 Loeb, Citroen 2h18m29s9; 2 Grönholm, Ford +32s7; 3 Hirvonen, Ford +1m40s9; 4 Sordo, Citroen +1m43s1; 5 Bengué, Peugeot +1m58s5; 6 Pons, Citroen +2m22s7; 7 Stohl, Peugeot +3m20s8; 8 Sarrazin, Subaru +3m56s4; 9 Kopecky, Skoda +4m12s8; 10 Galli, Peugeot +4m19s4;

 F SS5 - action packed start to leg2 @ 10:05 AM - SS5 starts on top of a toll road, 34km mainly downhill and drivers have to household with brakes and tyres. Loeb ruined front tyres (1 more stage before service) but extends lead. Aigner and Wilson out, Rovis slow. Duval starts very quick but ruins brakes. Vouilloz crashed but can rejoin tomorrow. Provisional unofficial results after SS5: 1 Loeb, Citroen 1h37m24s5; 2 Grönholm, Ford +27s7; 3 Hirvonen, Ford +1m36s1; 4 Bengué, Peugeot +1m39s6; 5 Sordo, Citroen +1m43s3; 6 Pons, Citroen +1m55s3; 7 Latvala, Ford +2m10s9; 8 Stohl, Peugeot +2m36s6; 9 Sarrazin, Subaru +2m53s5; 10 Kopecky, Skoda +3m10s9;

 F SS6 - top3 slow @ - Latvala, Hirvonen, Sordo clearly faster than Leob, Grönholm, Bengué. But Latvala then crashed. Hirvonen wins stage. Loeb and Bengué tyre wear problems. Grönholm doesn't feel like talking. Provisional unofficial results after SS6: 1 Loeb, Citroen 1h54m26s3; 2 Grönholm, Ford +29s; 3 Hirvonen, Ford +1m31s2; 4 Sordo, Citroen +1m40s; 5 Bengué, Peugeot +1m44s3; 6 Pons, Citroen +2m06s; 7 Stohl, Peugeot +2m51s6; 8 Sarrazin, Subaru +3m32s4; 9 Kopecky, Skoda +3m38s; 10 Galli, Peugeot +3m42s;

Fri April 7, 2006

 Latvala in the points after day one Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson found the going difficult in his first day in Rallye de France – Tour de Corse as the 19 year-old came to terms with the twists and turns of the challenging Corsican tarmac. Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr drove solidly an...

 Tough day for Subaru crews Incident and disappointment marked the first Leg of the Tour de Corse for the Subaru World Rally Team. Petter Solberg had a difficult start to the rally when exhaust damage sustained in a spin on the first stage dropped him more than three minutes behind the leaders. Petter finis...

 Gronholm heads Ford attack Both BP-Ford World Rally Team pairings hold top four places after today's opening leg of the Rallye de France Tour de Corse. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen won one of the four asphalt speed tests on their way to second in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, while team-m...

 Stohl to attack on Saturday All in all, the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team is quite satisfied with day one of the “Rallye de France - Tour de Corse”. Ninth intermediate place makes hope to reach scoring ranks (top 8) already on Saturday despite grip problems for the OMV duo Stohl/Minor. Stohl has great...

 Loeb leads, 3 Xsaras in top 6 The Citroen Xsara WRC of Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena has come out on top after the first round of a high-octane battle with the pairing of Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen. By winning three of the four special stages between Sainte Marie Sicche and Propriano today, the reigning...

 Duval struggles with setup on day one Francois Duval and co-driver Patrick Pivato completed the first four stages of the Rallye de France – Tour de Corse in 11th place having been consistently the highest placed Skoda driver throughout the leg....

 Aigner progresses as Harri learns Fabia The Red Bull Skoda drivers Andreas Aigner and Harri Rovanperä can be satisfied with their start to the Corsica Rally by all means. That’s the opinion of team representatives Armin Schwarz and Raimund Baumschlager as well: “Although the times we posted cannot keep up with the curr...

 Corsica: PSA vs Ford The Tour de Corse 2006 got off to an exciting start today. The event is a welcome exception in modern days for having a huge, exciting entry list. 4 Skoda Fabia, 3 Citroën Xsara, 3 Subaru Impreza, 4 Ford Focus, 4 Peugeot 307, there is something for everyone. Throughout the day it...

 Corsica: PSA vs Ford The Tour de Corse 2006 got off to an exciting start today. The event is a welcome exception in modern days for having a huge, exciting entry list. 4 Skoda Fabia, 3 Citroën Xsara, 3 Subaru Impreza, 4 Ford Focus, 4 Peugeot 307, there is something for everyone. Throughout the day it...

 Kopecky ready for the twists and turns Following their highly successful performance in Spain two weeks ago, where they came fifth overall, the crew of the Czech Rally Team Škoda-Kopecký, Jan Kopecký-Filip Schovánek, are making their return to stages on the asphalt lanes of Corsica in the next event of the World Rally...

NEWS JUST IN

 F leg1 - Loeb leads by 20s @ 03:22 PM - Loeb increased his lead over Grönholm in what is very much a two car rally. Bengué regains 3rd after saving tyres in the previous stage. Provisional unofficial results after SS4: 1 Loeb, Citroen 1h13m18s9; 2 Grönholm, Ford +19s9; 3 Bengué, Peugeot +1m15s6; 4 Hirvonen, Ford +1m23s4; 5 Sordo, Citroen +1m36s6; 6 Pons, Citroen +1m44s6; 7 Latvala, Ford +1m54s4; 8 Vouilloz, Peugeot +2m04s5; 9 Stohl, Peugeot +2m10s4; 10 Sarrazin, Subaru +2m19s6;