FIA RALLY: Gronholm wins Rally New Zealand
17 July 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The final day of the New Zealand Rally should have been a fairly
straightforward sprint for the line among the leading crews but
it produced one of the most dramatic days of recent events. Alister
McRae set Hyundai's first ever fastest stage time, only to retire
on the road section afterwards; Tommi Makinen crashed and was
withdrawn at the following service area; both Subarus retired with
similar problems at the end of SS21. Colin McRae had to survive
gear selection problems before he could secure second place and
even rally winner Marcus Gronholm came within a whisker of rolling
on the second stage! The result of all this action is that the FIA
World Rally Championship goes on to Finland (one of the most
technically demanding events in the calendar for visiting crews)
with just 11 points covering the top four places.
Peugeot
Marcus Gronholm said he was taking it easy at first today, as the loose gravel was making life tough at the front of the field. However, spectators reported that the silver Peugeot had tipped up onto two wheels on SS19 and came close to rolling. "It was a big, big moment," he said. "I really thought it was going over." In the end it was not a problem and with Burns out of the event Gronholm's only concern was McRae. With the Scot merely chipping away at Gronholm's lead there was not enough stage distance for Gronholm's second win of the season to be placed in serious jeopardy. Gronholm goes now to his home event and says: "That's the one I want to win most of all. I feel that I've been practising for it for 10 years and now I want to win it!"
Ford
Colin McRae says he, '"Gave it everything I had" about the opening stage to close the gap to overnight leader Marcus Gronholm. He was hoping that is own greater knowledge of the stages in the Maramarua Forest would give him an edge over the Peugeot driver but he lost momentum on the second stage today when he spun. McRae's heart has been in his mouth over the final few stages. He managed to damage the gear selection system which made it hard to select some of the lower gears and so he had to ensure no mistakes in the dash to the finish. "Without that I could have won," he reflected. Carlos Sainz had a trouble free day to finish third while Petter Solberg was fastest over the final stage to confirm fourth place and make Ford the only team to get all of its factory cars to the finish.
Hyundai
The first stage today was a bitter-sweet affair for Alister McRae. Benefiting from his position on the road the young Scot set Hyundai's first ever fastest stage time with the Accent WRC. However, on the road section after the stage the front differentials locked up. After 15kms of the journey to what would have been a celebration in the service area, the engine wilted under the strain of trying to keep the car going and he was left stranded at the roadside. "I was surprised to be fastest on that stage," he said. "However we said after Greece that we felt this would be a good event and I'm delighted to have recorded Hyundai's first fastest time. Obviously I'm also disappointed that I had to stop, but this has generally been a good event." Team mate Kenneth Eriksson scored Hyundai's second points of the season with fifth place (scoring fourth place points as Petter Solberg's Ford was not registered for the FIA Manufacturers' Championship).
Subaru
Richard Burns knew that his best chance of overhauling his rivals today was on the first stage but the Englishman spun his Subaru. " There were two 4th gear left-handers," he explained. "The car went over the camber and came out onto the straight at 90 degrees. I've pulled it back from there before on this event but I couldn't manage it this time." Unfortunately the whole Subaru challenge was wiped out at the end of SS21. Both cars emerged from the stage with smoke from the engine bays. The problem has not yet been fully identified, but it seems that some form of power-steering problem occurred in the stage and when the drivers stopped at the end of the stage neither car would restart and both were OTL.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi's fortunes went from bad to worse on the opening stage of today's final leg. Having had to withdraw Freddy Loix yesterday because of safety concerns over his ill-handling car, Tommi Makinen was also pulled out after SS18. The reigning World Champion lost his brakes in the stage, slammed into a bank, and the car sustained sufficient damage to the front sub-frame that the team decided it could not be safely repaired at service.
Other teams
Manfred Stohl won the Group N contest in New Zealand by 9.2s from Australian driver Cody Crocker. Crocker's Subaru completed SS20 with an oil leak and a smoking engine but survived for a top 10 place. Hamed Al Wahaibi was the only finisher in the FIA Teams Cup contest and scored the first points for Arab World Rally Team. Possum Bourne took an expected 'best Kiwi' result on his home event before he returns to his Australian Rally Championship campaign.
Tyre facts
Michelin: Victory for Michelin drivers on the New Zealand Rally; Marcus Grnholm (Peugeot), Colin McRae (Ford) and Carlos Sainz (Ford). A total of 19 of the rally's 24 stages were won by Michelin drivers (McRae 8, Grnholm 4, Delecour and Solberg 3, Alister McRae 1). On today's last leg, almost all the teams chose the Michelin Z pattern in the hardest compound (9) on a dry and rolling surface.
Pirelli: Richard Burns added another stage win to his tally today but, along with team mate Juha Kankkunen, was forced to retire on the next stage. Despite this disappointment, Burns and Subaru-Pirelli continue to lead the FIA World Rally Championship but obviously with a greatly reduced advantage. Pirelli-equipped cars took all of the podium places in Group N.
Unofficial Final Results
Outright
1 Gronholm Peugeot 206 3:45:13.4
2 McRae Ford Focus 3:45:27.9
3 Sainz Ford Focus 3:46:31.8
4 Solberg Ford Focus 3:48:14.1
5 Eriksson Hyundai Accent 3:48:26.1
6 Bourne Subaru Impreza 3:52:08.0
7 Stohl Mitsu Lancer 3:57:05.4
8 Crocker Subaru Impreza 3:57:14.6
9 Argyle Mitsu Lancer 3:58:00.8
10 Trelles Mitsu Lancer 3:58:51.7
Group N
1 Stohl Mitsu Lancer 3:57:05.4
2 Crocker Subaru Impreza 3:57:14.6
3 Trelles Mitsu Lancer 3:58:51.7
Text provided by FIA
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos
and art, visit
The Racing
Photo Museum and the
Visions
of Speed Art Gallery.