Cyprus Rally Final Leg

Cyprus Rally - Leg Three

Sebastien Loeb finished Cyprus Rally with the win, and the reigning World Champion added a 28th FIA World Rally Championship victory to his ever-expanding record. Loeb began the third and final Leg holding a relatively slim lead of BP-Ford's Marcus Gronholm. Loeb was bested on a handful of stages during the third Leg, but at no point was he ever in danger of being overtaken by Gronholm.

Marcus Gronholm finished Cyprus Rally the same as he finished Rally Japan only a few weeks prior, in second overall behind Sebastien Loeb after holding the rally lead after the first Leg. Gronholm drove a competitive day, and in fact, only two errors caused him the rally victory, a spin and tyre choice during the second Leg.

The Cyprus Rally was a very positive event for the BP-Ford team despite their number one driver not coming away with the victory. Thanks to Mikko Hirvonen's solid performance during the entirety of the rally, Ford had two drivers on the podium at the end of a rally for the fourth time in 2006. Hirvonen drove the third Leg with little chance of catching either driver in front of him (barring an accident or mechanical failure) and he himself was in almost no pressure to push with a massive barrier between him and the driver behind him in the overall classification.

Manfred Stohl went unnoticed for much of Cyprus Rally because of the battles around him, but Stohl completed fourth overall. His result in 2006 did not match his second overall in 2005, but Stohl should be pleased with his classification this year. Stohl drove a trouble-free rally, only complaining of over-steer during the opening Leg.

Toni Gardemeister finished Cyprus Rally fifth overall, and after a problematic rally, the Finn should be delighted with his position. Gardemeister's third Leg was mostly problem-free though he was able to afford an eased pace after finding himself in a comfortable position. His result in Cyprus was his fourth point scoring rally of the season, though his best result this season came in Monte Carlo where he scored third.

OMV-Peugeot Norway World Rally Team's Henning Solberg completed the rally seventh overall. After sitting eighth at the beginning of the third Leg, problems for his younger brother and Xavier Pons allowed the elder Solberg climb into sixth overall. Henning did not escape the third Leg without incident however, as the Norwegian's Peugeot 307's co-driver's door opened midstage during the morning's loop of stages. Henning's co-driver, Cato Menkerud, did manage to hold the door closed during the remainder of the stage, but holding the door closed reduced his ability to read his pacenotes. Despite the troubles, Henning completed a rally with drivers' points for the sixth time this season.

Xavier Pons also went largely unnoticed during Cyprus, but the Spaniard finished the event seventh overall. Pons drove a clean rally, and after a disappointing German round earlier in the season, he was looking to regain confidence. Pons had held sixth after the final stage of the rally, but the Spaniard suffered transmission troubles en route to the service park and was given a five-minute penalty as a result. Pons has not been nominated to score points for the Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team since before the midseason break, that honour went to Dani Sordo, but Pons' performance in Cyprus may give Kronos Team Boss Marc Van Dalen something to consider for the remaining rallies of the 2006 season as Kronos has not yet nominated their second points scoring driver for any remaining event.

Subaru World Rally Team's Petter Solberg was the eighth overall finisher after a difficult and dejecting rally for the former world champion. Solberg suffered problems ranging from bent wheels to a collision with a rock on the final stage of the rally. Solberg began the day seventh overall, and the Norwegian drove hard despite the problems he suffered. Solberg did have a top-three stage time, claiming third overall on the rally's 17th stage. Solberg was also third quickest through the Down Town Special stage, though the stage was cancelled by an FIA Safety Delegate when he determined the stage was unsafe for an actual running. Drivers were allowed to drive through the stage to allow fans a close view of the sight and sound of a rally car.

Stobart VK M-Sport driver Juan Pablo Raies withdrew from the rally after stage 17 as his co-driver Jorge Perez Companc was too ill to continue the rally. It was a disappointing moment for the duo who was contesting their first-ever European rally. Raies was 10th overall before withdrawing from competition.

Chris Atkinson held fifth overall during the second Leg, but an engine stall late into the second Leg caused the Australian to go off the stage. With no spectators to help him back onto the stage, Atkinson was forced to restart the third Leg under SupeRally but the Australian was able to completed the Cyprus Rally ninth overall.

Matthew Wilson also held a points position during the second Leg, but problems, including a faulty gearshift saw the young Brit back to service during the second Leg's group of stages. The third Leg almost spelled disaster for Wilson as he and co-driver Michael Orr were forced to use hand signals when their onboard communication system failed during the first Leg of the morning. The pair switched helmets and repaired the problem during the afternoon's service. Wilson finished the rally 10th overall.

During the cancelled Down Town Special stage, Dani Sordo locked his brakes and slid into a concrete barrier surrounding a roundabout. Sordo badly damaged his Citroen Xsara and the young Spaniard was unable to continue the rally. Sordo's misfortune gave the BP-Ford World Rally Team a massive opportunity to edge closer in the manufacturers' standings.

Neither Red Bull Skoda driver contested either the second nor third Leg of the Cyprus Rally after electrical problems before the rally had even begun ended their event after just one competitive stage. Water had damaged electrical components, and the team decided to focus on Red Bull Skoda's next event, Rally Turkey.

-wrc