FIA RALLY: 2000 Neste Rally Finland Preview
18 August 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
2000 Neste Rally FinlandRound 9 of the FIA World Rally Championship
17-20 August
With just eight points covering the top three drivers in the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship, Neste Rally Finland will be a crucial moment in the title chase for series leader Richard Burns and his closest rivals Marcus Gronholm and Colin McRae. Equally the quest for the Manufacturers' Championship is just as finely balanced with Subaru leading Ford by one point and Peugeot closing fast after Gronholm's win in New Zealand last month. Of these three drivers, Gronholm starts this event as the bigger favourite as only Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol have broken the Scandinavian domination of this rally in its 50 year history
Subaru (58 points)
Having seen its early championship lead cut to just a single point over the past couple of rallies, Subaru will be hoping to repeat its 1-2 victory here last year when Juha Kankkunen confirmed his position as the most successful driver in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship. The team has identified the failures that forced both cars out of New Zealand as a small machining fault on the engine flywheel and insists that there should be no repeat this time. Richard Burns has led the FIA drivers' championship since Portugal but is clearly feeling the pressure and refused all media interviews during yesterday's shakedown test.
Ford (57 points)
Having seemingly found the reliability that it lacked earlier in the season, Ford has emerged as a very strong contender for at least one of this year's FIA World Rally Championship titles. Thanks to wins in Spain and Greece, Colin McRae has moved closer to the series leaders and his morale has been boosted by signing a new two-year contract with the team. Carlos Sainz, as the first of only two non- Scandinavian drivers ever to win this event must be considered a ' dark horse' for victory. McRae and Sainz will have three active differentials on their cars. Ford's line-up includes rapid Norwegian Petter Solberg and, in a 1999-spec Focus WRC, reigning British Rally Champion Tapio Laukkanen who gets his first big break in a World Rally Car.
Peugeot (41 points)
Peugeot has entered three cars for this rally but the registered scoring pair will be Marcus Gronholm and his cousin Sebastian Lindholm. Lindholm joins the team for the first time to add extra local experience while Gronholm is, of course, the revelation of this season's championship. Wins in Sweden and New Zealand have ensured a permanent place in the team for the Finn as he is chasing hard for the FIA drivers' title. Francois Delecour gets the third car this time and his is the only one fitted with the new steering wheel 'ring' remote control gearshift.
Mitsubishi (29 points)
After a nightmare event in New Zealand, Mitsubishi arrives in Finland in buoyant mood as the team has the latest version of the Lancer for the first time. A tubular subframe is just one of several innovations aimed at reducing the car's weight, most notably at the front, and the car is also fitted with a super-lightweight composite sump guard. The problems of handling in New Zealand were put down to a minute but critical error in differential tolerances. Mitsubishi is the team most heavily represented here in Finland with 50 of the 130 entries thanks to an enthusiastic motorsport programme led by the local importer.
SEAT (7 points)
SEAT debuted its first World Rally Car on this event two years ago and now unveils the Evolution 3 version of the Cordoba WRC for the first time, driven by team regulars Didier Auriol and Toni Gardemeister. With the exception of a new front air dam the car shows no visible signs of change. However, under the skin, the car features revised engine torque characteristics and lower weight that is better distributed. Speaking before the start Auriol explained: This is an important step for us. The engine now helps the car to respond better and the improvements in weight speak for themselves as they give us more usable power. Auriol is the second of two non-Scandinavian drivers to win here and, as the other (Sainz) is Spanish, the combination of the Frenchman in a Spanish team must be considered a good omen. Auriol celebrates his 43rd birthday tomorrow.
Hyundai (4 points)
The ever-improving Hyundai team is entering three Accent WRC cars for the first time on this event although it is the regular pairing of Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae who are nominated for manufacturers championship points. The third car is entered for Australian driver Michael Guest as part of a driver development programme and is his first appearance in the new for 2000 Accent WRC. Eriksson was among many who were impressed by the car's performance in New Zealand but warned against expecting too much this time. Our problem is the lack of testing time, he said. We need to do more between events so that we aren't carrying out our testing in public when the event starts.
Other teams
The leading FIA Teams Cup entrant, Spike Subaru Team (driven by Toshihiro Arai), is absent from this event. It is therefore a great opportunity for Toyota Team Saudi Arabia (Abdullah Bakhashab), F.Dor Rally Team (Frederic Dor) and Arab World Rally Team (Hamed Al Wahaibi) to close the gap or overtake the Japanese entry. There are many private or semi-private entries here, led by Harri Rovanpera who again drives a Grifone Toyota after winning the recent Mantta Rally. Markko Martin, Pasi Hagstrom and Janne Touhino also have top quality Toyotas. Joukko Puhakka tops a typically strong Group N entry ahead of FIA Production Cup leaders Manfred Stohl and Gustavo Trelles. The Skoda team is again absent from this event but will return to FIA World Championship action in Cyprus next month.
Text provided by FIA
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