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Wales Rally of Great Britain :
Rovanpera scores points for Peugeot
Once again gearbox problems
Harri Rovanpera had some trouble to find a good rhythm at the beginning
of the rally: "I'm a bit disappointed with our times this morning. The
stages have been incredibly slippery and I've been driving quite
carefully. The feeling with the car is not totally perfect."
At the end of the first leg mechanical problems ruined his race. Once
again it was a gearbox problem for Rovanpera, who had to finish the
last stage with only the use of his third gear.
Fighting drive in difficult conditions
Harri was held back by problems on the opening day but fought back to
a points-scoring place, despite being disadvantaged by his road position
in constantly changing conditions.
Harri started the second leg in eighth place after suffering some
problems during the first leg. He fought back with a rapid and reliable run
on Saturday. His car was trouble- free and he coped well with the
difficult conditions. His tactic was to steer clear of problems and ensure
the maximum points haul for Peugeot.
Harri said: “Everything was fine, although conditions were very difficult
as we had full wet weather on the morning's stages and the surfaces
were extremely slippery. Luckily we made a very good tyre choice with
a soft compound, which gave us quite good grip throughout the stages.
The feeling with the car is nice now, so we plan to keep attacking. But
there is no point in taking unnecessary risks either, so our main priority
is to get to the finish.”
Valuable points for Rovanperä and Peugeot
Britain's round of the World Championship has moved to September this
year but intermittent rain was still a constant feature of the event, making
tyre choice extremely difficult. Harri was locked in a fierce battle for
sixth over the last day of the event, and showed his determination by
sealing the position with some quick times on the final leg.
Harri said: "This has not been an easy event for me: it was difficult to
find a good pace on the opening day, and on the second day we were
affected quite badly by the weather. But as the event went on I became
more comfortable with the car and we were able to set some quite
encouraging times, thanks also to some good tyre choices. My priority
on this rally was to finish and score some points for Peugeot, and I am
pleased that we achieved that."
The World Rally Championship resumes in two weeks time, with the
Rally d'Italia- Sardinia. The all-new gravel event, from October 1-3, is
round 13 of the series. Harri Rovanpera has previously won in Sardinia,
and will be looking to repeat his achievement when the World
Championship moves to Italy.
Wales Rally of Great Britain (WRC 12/16),
September 16 - 19 2004
(total of the rally 19 SS / 394 km)
Final results
1. Petter Solberg, Subaru, 3 h 42´39,5” (106,9 km/h)
2. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen, + 00´06,3”
3. Markko Märtin, Ford, + 02´53,7"
4. Carlos Sainz, Citroen, + 03´42,1"
5. Francois Duval, Ford, + 04´51,3”
6. Harri Rovanperä, Peugeot, + 06´ 44,1"
7. Mikko Hirvonen, Subaru, + 07´08,3"
8. Manfred Stohl, Peugeot 206, + 10´20,1”
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