Spain Leg One Stage Results

34th Rallye Catalunya (Spain) Official Site: http://www.racc.es/rallye/rallye.htm

End of Leg 1

Contents:

Unofficial top 10 results at the end of Leg 1 Headlines Today's Timetable, Monday 20th April - Leg 1 Stage Winners Stage results - stages 1-7 Tomorrow's Timetable, Tuesday 21st April - Leg 2 Reference Sites and further information

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Unofficial top 10 results at the end of Leg 1

1 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet                  Toyota Corolla WRC        1:19:03,8
2 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        1:19:20,6
3 B.Thiry/S.Prevot                  Ford Escort WRC                1:19:25,1
4 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi                  Peugeot 306 S16         1:19:26,7
5 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        1:19:30,3
6 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit         1:19:34,0
7 F.Loix/S.Smeets                  Toyota Corolla WRC        1:19:40,9
8 C.Sainz/L.Moya                  Toyota Corolla WRC        1:19:48,0
9 T.Makinen/R.Mannisenmaki        Mit Lancer Ev.IV        1:19:51,9
10 C.McRae/N.Grist                Subaru Impreza 555        1:20:04,8

Formula 2

2 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        1:19:20,6
4 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi           Peugeot 306 S16         1:19:26,7
6 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit        1:19:34,0

Group N 28 G.Trelles/M.Christie Mit Lancer Ev.V 1:25:16,9 32 M.Stohl/P.Muller Mit Lancer Ev.III 1:26:33,0 34 R.Sanchez/E.Galindo Subaru Impreza 98 1:28:53,0

Full Results: http://www.racc.es/rallye/online/7.html

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Headlines - Day belonged to Auriol and the amazing Formula 2 Kitcars. The Citroens and Peugots had an excellent day and consistently matched and bettered the WRC car. - Auriol led the rally after stage 2 and ends the day in front. - Sainz had a bad day and was not happy with his performance. He also had several spins. - Rovanpera exist with engine damage - Liatti lost a lot of time with turbo problems. McRae also experienced some engine problems - slippery conditions have led to almost all drivers/teams experiencing problems with suspension settings and tyres - the stages tomorrow are generally longer than todays and the front wheel drive cars are likely to experience greater tyre wear and fall a little behind the WRC cars.

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Monday April 20 - Leg 1

LEG 1 : 09.00 Start from Lloret de Mar

Stage Place Time km

SS 1   La Trona                 10:51   12,86
SS 2   Alpens - Les Llosses     11:20   21,95
SS 3   Coll de Santigosa        12:39   10,62
SS 4   Coll de Bracons          13:27   19,89
SS 5   La Fullaca - St. Hilari  15:08   21,98
SS 6   Cladells                 15:37   15,27
SS 7   St. Feliu - Tossa        17:04   18,96

Total Leg 1 Competitive 121,53km

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Stage Winners

SS1 - Thiry, SS2 - Auriol, SS3 - Auriol, SS4 - Auriol, SS5 - Auriol, SS6 - McRae, SS7 - Puras

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Stage 1 La Trona 12,86km Start Time: 10:51 Notes: - Carlos Sainz (Toyota): "The car’s nose slid a bit. I’ll try to fix it in the first assistance". - Juha Kankkunen (Ford): "I’m not very satisifed. The road is slippery. I’m happy with the engine". - Richard Burns (Mitsubishi): He had a good race and is very happy, although he complains about how slippery the road is. - Colin McRae (Subaru): "The tires don’t stick (grip) to the road and the car loses stability". - Gilles Panizzi (Peugeot): Very upset, he had problems with the tires. - Freddy Loix (Toyota): "I drove well and I’m satisfied". - Piero Liatti (Subaru): Drove without turbo from the beginning of the stage. - Bruno Thiry (Ford): "The road is slippery for everyone. There is a lot of gravel". - Marcus Gronholm (Toyota): Ran for the first time on tarmac. The race started with a very difficult special stage". - Harry Rovanpera (Seat): His car slides at the front due to the gravel. - Jesús Puras (Citroën):Satisfaction within the team. Everything went fine. - François Delecour (Peugeot): Drove without assisted steering from the beginning of the stage.

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 B.Thiry/S.Prevot                  Ford Escort WRC        8:31,9
2 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        8:32,3
3 C.Sainz/L.Moya                  Toyota Corolla WRC        8:34,4
4 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi           Peugeot 306 S16         8:34,6
5 F.Loix/S.Smeets                  Toyota Corolla WRC        8:35,8

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Stage 2 Alpens - Les Llosses 21,95km Start Time: 11:20 Notes: - Sainz (Toyota): Had a blow on the front right rim. He says that there are still several things to be adjusted. - Puras (Citroën): "I’m happy. The car goes fine. We are making very good times." - Kankkunen (Ford): "The car doesn’t run as great as we thought it would, but it can be adjusted". - Colin McRae (Subaru): He considered the stage as terrible and confirms problems with the engine. - Liatti (Subaru): Lost more than 54 seconds in the second stage. Problems with the turbo. - Makinen (Mitsubishi): "Very well, the car is new but I feel it swinging and the suspension will need to be changed". - Thiry (Ford): "I try to give the best of me. I’m happy, but without a good car, it’s impossible to get a good result".

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        13:44,4
2 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        13:47,9
3 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi           Peugeot 306 S16         13:48,9
4 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit        13:49,7
5 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        13:48,8

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Stage 3 Coll de Santigosa 10,62km Start Time: 12:39 Notes: - Sainz (Toyota): He broke the windshield. - Burns (Mitsubishi): He’s very satisfied of his performance. - Thiry (Ford): Had some physical problems, but in the Service Park they placed his corset properly and now he feels better. - Auriol (Toyota): "The car works well and I’m going at a good pace." - Panizzi (Peugeot): The road is too dirty; we have to obtain a good time to try to start early tomorrow.

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        6:49,1
2 B.Thiry/S.Prevot                  Ford Escort WRC         6:51,0
3 P.Liatti/F.Pons                Subaru Impreza 555        6:51,5
4 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        6:52,3
5 C.Sainz/L.Moya                  Toyota Corolla WRC        6:52,5
5= T.Makinen/R.Mannisenmaki        Mit Lancer Ev.IV        6:52,5

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Stage 4 Coll de Bracons 19,89 Start Time: 13:27 Notes: - Rovanpera (Seat) retires after the third stage because the engine broke down. - Auriol (Toyota): "Much better than I had expected" - Puras (Citroën): "I’m very happy. I’m adapting myself to the car, we are still looking over the setups, but we are third after all." - Kankkunen (Ford): Not very satisfied with the results. - Burns (Mitsubishi): Finds the tires too soft. - McRae (Subaru): "We have problems with the tires". - Liatti (Subaru): Had problems with the front part of his car. - Delecour (Peugeot): The car went very well and this is the first special in which he has no problems. - Makinen (Mitsubishi): Solved the suspension problems and feels better each time with his car. - Gómez (Seat): "It is not worth the effort to risk ourselves over the Peugeots who are more powerful and they are 14cm wider. It’s about scoring at the end of the championship."

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        13:02,0
2 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit        13:04,8
3 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        13:04,9
4 F.Delecour/D.Grataloup        Peugeot 306 S16 Kit        13:06,0
4= G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi          Peugeot 306 S16 Kit        13:06,0

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Stage 5 La Fullaca - St. Hilari 21,98km Start Time: 15:08 Notes: - Auriol (Toyota):"This is a very good rally so far. The uphill part of the first stage was very slippery". - Puras (Citroën): "The car runs perfectly. No worries at all". - Bugalski (Citroën): "When I come out I want to win. The car runs perfectly". - Sainz (Toyota): "The differences are not that big. We go at our own pace". - Madeira (Toyota): "The 2-Liter cars are going to surprise us in this rally". - Liatti (Subaru): "My day is getting complicated. I hear sounds and vibrations and I don’t know where they come from". - Thiry (Ford): Had many problems with the brakes. - Climent (Renault): Worried about a blow in the front left side. He thought it was a puncture.

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        14:11,0
2 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit        14:11,9
3 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        14:12,1
4 C.Sainz/L.Moya                  Toyota Corolla WRC        14:14,4
5 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        14:15,5

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Stage 6 Cladells 15,27km Start Time: 15:37 Notes: - Sainz (Toyota) spins twice, the first time at the beginning of the stage. He seems very worried because he doesn’t know the cause of the incident and because they lost a very valuable time which will be very hard to recover. - Auriol (Toyota): "It went fine, although the tarmac was very slippery, and some parts were completely covered with dirt". - Burns (Mitsubishi): spun in the new part of the stage because it was very slippery". - Gómez (Seat): Had a suspension that was too stiff for this stage.

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 C.McRae/N.Grist                Subaru Impreza 555        10:13,0
2 P.Liatti/F.Pons                Subaru Impreza 555        10:14,2
3 R.Burns/R.Reid                  Mit Lancer Ev.IV        10:16,9
4 T.Makinen/R.Mannisenmaki        Mit Lancer Ev.IV        10:17,7
5 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        10:18,5

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Stage 7 St. Feliu - Tossa 18,96km Start Time: 17:04 Notes: - Puras (Citroën): Acclaimed by the crowds. "It is a very good result for us, although it is only the first day. I am growing more confident with the car and that’s what is important". - Bugalski (Citroën): "Very happy with the day’s results. It’s a shame about the spin in the sixth stage that made me lose 15 seconds". - Auriol (Toyota): "Tomorrow it will be tougher because there are special stages that I don’t know so well". - Thiry (Ford): "Everything is going fine and I made it through physically". - Sainz (Toyota): "I’m not doing well. I finished this stage however I could. We’ll see what happens". - Kankkunen (Ford): "¿Could it be that I’m not going too fast?" - Climent (Renault): "I really enjoy being in the rally with the Megane".

Stage Pos | Driver | Car | Stage Time

1 J.Puras/C.Barrio                  Citroen Xsara Kit        12:16,5
2 P.Bugalski/J.Chiaroni         Citroen Xsara Kit        12:17,6
3 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet           Toyota Corolla WRC        12:21,3
4 B.Thiry/S.Prevot                  Ford Escort WRC         12:22,0
5 F.Delecour/D.Grataloup        Peugeot 306 S16 Kit        12:23,1

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Tuesday April 21

LEG 2 : 07.15 Start from Lloret de Mar

Stage Place Time km

SS 8   La Riba                  10:09   32,72
SS 9   Prades                   11:13   13,77
SS 10  El Priorat               12:18   20,67
SS 11  Sta. Marina              13:09   27,47
SS 12  La Figuera - Escaladei   15:04   45,57
SS 13  La Riba                  16:52   32,72

Total Leg 2 Competitive 172,92km

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