Yunanistan Rallisi

[OmerRS]

Grönholm heads the podium in Greece

The last leg of the Acropolis Rally of Greece would not bring any reversals of fortune within the general standings. Marcus Grönholm, who built his victory on the second leg's stages, continued his marathon man tactics by perfectly managing his lead this Sunday.

The Ford driver, who also won last year's edition, claimed his third win of the season. Grönholm also strengthens his Championship ambitions since he now holds a nine-point lead on rival Sébastien Loeb, who stands on the second step of the Greek podium. The third step was taken by Petter Solberg who definitely seems to be back in the game.

Grönholm builds on his lead before returning to the tarmac
Marcus Grönholm knows full well that the next events on the calendar are not entirely favorable to him. The WRC contenders will be taking a summer pause before resuming the competition again in August, when the second half of the season starts up again on Grönholm's home soil in Finland. The asphalt roads of Deutschland, Corsica and Catalunya await afterwards, where Sébastien Loeb will appear as favourite.

Grönholm is therefore keeping in mind that, if he wishes to win a third World Championship title, he must gather enough lead time now – something the Finn did very well today by reaching his victory objective at the Acropolis Rally.


Fragile leader that he was at the end of the first leg, with six drivers grouped within a ten-second span, Grönholm attacked the second leg with the firm intention of leaving them in the dust.

On both passages of the rally's longest and hardest stage, he would hit on the competiton's morale by largely outdistancing them. All that was left to do was manage the rest of the way home – not an easy thing to do on routes which are so unforgiving on the tyres.

While his adversaries were being slowed down by a succession of tyre punctures, the Ford driver would avoid all the danger zones and emerge victorious from this 54th edition of the Greek classic. He took in Athens his third win of the season following those in Sweden and Sardinia.

Grönholm's victory comes with Mikko Hirvonen's fourth place, thereby allowing the American constructor to further its Championship bid. 28 points now separate Ford from Citroën. The works Ford team members can leave on vacation with their hearts content and minds at ease.

Hirvonen also ran a good rally, but unlike his team-mate he would encounter several problems: punctures on the longest stage and a high-speed off-road excursion which momentarily saw him driving through the bushes 60 metres away.

Counting himself lucky to still be in the race, he would become prudent over the remaining trails. Too far from the podium, Hirvonen would concentrate on bringing precious points home for the team.

Citroën in trouble
The 1-2 finish in Monte Carlo and Sébastien Loeb's three consecutive victories in Mexico, Portugal, and Argentina demonstrated that the C4 was a well-born car. The Citroën's performances are not be questioned this week-end, but the competition is tough and the team encountered a few problems.

Firstly, Loeb's off-road crash into a ditch during the last leg in Sardinia cost the French constructor important points. Then a succession of punctures in Greece would prevent him from fighting it out with Grönholm. During the two passages over the Agii Theodori stage, where everything counted most, Loeb would lose time due to tyre problems. Dani Sordo's retirement from leg 2 would also cut points chances further.




Zoom
Tough one for Loeb

Sébastien Loeb still gave a great performance by taking the rally's second overall position. A performance which is all the more exemplary for he had to overcome the incidents and push the whole way through.

Dani Sordo started out very well, placing himself on equal standing with his team-mate, but a gearbox problem on Saturday would temporarily force him out of the game. Restarting this morning only for the gain in experience, he was too far away to expect a good result.

A strong start with a podium at the finish
The Subaru drivers began the Acropolis Rally very strongly. Taking advantage of his starting position and his good feelings at the wheel of his Impreza, Chris Atkinson would lead the first few stages with Petter Solberg close behind. Grönholm would later take the lead, but both Subarus were only eight seconds away.

On Saturday, Atkinson and Solberg would not be spared with worries... The Australian would lose over two minutes on the first pasage over Agii Theodori. Both Subaru cars would have suspension problems before Atkinson's transmission became damaged, making him lose even more time.

However both men got to show the potential of the Impreza car which has not yet reached its full development. Once reliability sets in, Subaru could have a strong contender.

Petter Solberg confirmed that hypothesis by reaching the third step of the podium. Atkinson finished in sixth place, with both drivers accumulating enough points to squeeze out Stobart from the third spot in the Constructors Championship by two points.

Henning competing with his brother
At the start of the rally, both Solberg brothers had the same amount of championship points. Henning hoped to build an advantage on little brother Petter, but the Stobart team drivers would have a difficult week-end. They would puncture tyre after tyre and modify the set-ups while they tried to adapt their Ford Focus cars to the terrain.

From the start, Henning Solberg hovered around the fifth position and finally ends the rally with that rank, falling behind his brother in the driver's championship by two points.




Zoom
Latvala continues to improve

Jari-Matti Latvala confirmed his ever-increasing skills by recording good times, but there was nothing left to be gained after a heavy puncture in the Agii Theodori stage on Saturday morning forced him to change a tyre, losing four minutes in the process.

The bottom of the top 12 list
Jan Kopecky did not attract much attention but was quite regular over the three legs of the Acropolis Rally, rarely leaving the top ten listings. That allowed him to set his Skoda in seventh place overall, and Kopecky leaves Greece with two points in his pocket.

Manfred Stohl saw some good and lesser good, but the Austrian is used to doing better. He confirms once again that he is finding it difficult to fight against the works teams and ends the rally in eighth place. The OMV Kronos team will continue working on its Citroën Xsara for the second half of the season. If the results are not always there, the motivation remains intact.

Ford drivers complete the top 12. Guy Wilks brought his Ramsport team Focus into ninth place, ahead of Matthew Wilson's Stobart team Focus.

Luis Perez Companc sets his Focus into 11th, a result that grants the Munchi's Ford Rally Team its first point this season. Jari-Mati Latvala comes next with the last Stobart Ford Focus.

[binRR]

Ömer hızını alamamışsın bakıyorum 3 tane var konudan

[OmerRS]

abi sorma ya ne oldugunu bende anlamadım

ama yarışı aldık onun için 4 tane açtım diye kıvırabilirim sanırım