Rally d'Italia Sardegna Leg 1 Report

Event Bulletin
Rally d'Italia Sardegna - Leg one

19 May 2006


Marcus GRÖNHOLM/Timo RAUTIAINEN/BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM
(Photo by Massimo Bettiol)

SS1: 0846 Terranova 1 (24.10km)

The Subaru World Rally Team had a strong start to the 2006 Rally d’Italia Sardegna as Chris Atkinson stormed through the first stage in the second fastest time. Atkinson’s team-mate Solberg finished fourth despite losing time with a spin. The Norwegian had difficulty turning the car round on the narrow road and lost 18secs to stage winner Marcus Gronholm. Several drivers reported a very loose, slippery surface and had problems, including Gigi Galli and Matthew Wilson. The Italian spun five corners from the start, while the young British driver picked up extensive rear suspension damage when he hit a rock one kilometre into the stage. Wilson had started the event with a one minute penalty after his team changed his Focus’ engine before Thursday’s shakedown.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 17:06.9


Gianluigi GALLI/Giovanni BERNACCHINI/Privateer Pirelli-Peugeot
(Photo by Massimo Bettiol)

SS2: 0958 Onani 1 (18.47km)

The second test of Leg one started with a long, fast downhill section that pushed brakes and tyres to their limits as crews descended via tight bends. Also featuring a 1.1km asphalt section, Onani was one of the fastest stages of the event with crews reaching an average speed of more than 90kph. Gronholm extended his overall lead to 20 seconds with his second consecutive stage victory, while Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen was second quickest. Hirvonen’s time moved him ahead of Chris Atkinson into second overall. After a slow start to the day, Sébastien Loeb recorded the fifth fastest time and moved ahead of Petter into fourth overall, just 0.5secs from Atkinson in third. Kosti Katajamaki fell from 11th to 14th position when his Focus developed throttle and brake problems, while Wilson fell down the order as he lost nearly six minutes to Gronholm as a result of his suspension damage.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 12:46.0


Sébastien LOEB/Daniel ELENA/KRONOS TOTAL CITROEN WRT
(Photo by Massimo Bettiol)

SS3: 1110 Siniscola 1 (22.25km)

Gronholm hit a gate in the early part of the test although still retained the lead of the rally with a third stage win. Henning Solberg was second fastest and moved up two places into fifth, while reigning world champion Loeb was third to vault Atkinson into third overall. The Frenchman finished the morning’s loop of stages just 0.3secs shy of second-placed Hirvonen, who had reported reduced engine power as a result of dust in the air intake. With a road temperature of 34 C, Subaru’s Solberg held onto fourth overall but felt his tyre choice was too soft for the conditions. The Norwegian also collected some minor suspension damage after a collision with a rock on the racing line.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 17:29.3


Chris ATKINSON/Glenn MACNEALL/SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM
(Photo by Massimo Bettiol)

SS4: 1436 Terranova 2 (24.10km)

After a 30 minute service halt in Olbia, crews headed south for a repeat of the three morning stages. Loeb made amends for his slow start with his first win of the day and leapfrogged Hirvonen into second. Gronholm however retained the overall lead by 39secs with the second fastest time. Petter and brother Henning were evenly matched through the sandy 24.2km pass as they finished just 0.4secs apart. Henning edged closer to Petter in fourth, but both drivers had their share of problems. Henning ran off the road on a short stretch of asphalt while Petter picked up two punctures on the rocky surface. Matthew Wilson’s difficult rally continued as he was nearly four minutes slower than Loeb. His team had repaired the Ford’s suspension in service however he suffered a suspected ECU problem through the first speed test of the afternoon.
Fastest Time: Loeb (Citroen) 16:32.4


Daniel SORDO/Marc MARTI/Privateer Citroen
(Photo by Massimo Bettiol)

SS5: 1548 Onani 2 (18.47km)


Loeb carved a further four seconds into Gronholm’s lead as he took his second stage win of the day through the repeat of the Onani speed test. After the end of the previous stage Petter Solberg changed one of his two punctured tyres but picked up another puncture through SS5 and lost 48secs to Loeb. The delay allowed brother Henning into fourth and team-mate Chris Atkinson into fifth overall. After reporting he was not completely satisfied with the handling of his Peugeot in the morning’s loop of stages, Manfred Stohl recorded his best stage finish of the day in fifth.
Fastest Time: Loeb (Citroen) 12:27.4


Jussi VÄLIMÄKI/Jarkko KALLIOLEPO/Privateer Mitsubishi Motors
(Photo by jussivalimaki.com)

SS6: 1715 Siniscola 2 (22.25km)

In a disappointing turn of events for Subaru, Petter Solberg retired on the final stage of the Leg. The Norwegian started the test on two punctured rear tyres but by the 14km point the tyres were so badly damaged he pulled off the road. Petter will restart Leg two with a five minute penalty. Henning Solberg was delayed when he stalled the engine and lost 15secs as he tried to restart. He finished the Leg in fourth with a 20secs advantage over Dani Sordo, who had inherited fifth following Petter’s retirement. Marcus Gronholm won his fourth stage of the day to finish the Leg with a 35secs gap back to second placed Loeb. Chris Atkinson finished the Leg in seventh overall.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 17:12.8

Overall Standings after Leg 1

Pos.	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Diff Ldr	Diff Prev
1	GRÖNHOLM	FORD	01:33:39.9
2	LOEB	CITROEN	01:34:15.3	35.4	35.4
3	HIRVONEN	FORD	01:34:44.1	01:04.2	28.8
4	SOLBERG	PEUGEOT	01:35:24.4	01:44.5	40.3
5	SORDO	CITROEN	01:35:44.2	02:04.3	19.8
6	GALLI	PEUGEOT	01:35:46.7	02:06.8	02.5
7	ATKINSON	SUBARU	01:35:54.0	02:14.1	07.3
8	PONS	CITROEN	01:36:09.5	02:29.6	15.5