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Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
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French Revolution
"It is great for me to win here," said Loeb. "Before the event I didn't really think this was possible, but when we came out of the big fight on day two with the lead, then it was good. It's very good for me to win on a surface that's not asphalt and the snow is very much like gravel, so hopefully this looks good for those events later in the season."
There was much speculation prior to the event whether the long standing record would fall, but most of that speculation centred on Ford's Markko Martin. Marcus Gronholm had other ideas however, with the new Peugeot 307 racing away through the snowbanks to win the first stage. After stalling at launch in Stage 2, Martin reasserted himself, and won the two remaining stages of the day, taking the lead from Gronholm after the Finn lost power steering pressure in Stage 3.
Loeb pushed his way forward to be 23 seconds behind in second at the end of Leg 1, just three seconds ahead of Petter Solberg, revelling in his first Scandinavian rally as reigning World Champion, flying down stages lined with Norwegian flags as his countrymen flooded across the border to watch their new national hero. But for a spin on Stage 4, the Subaru would have been second.
Martin had a growing 22 second lead over the consistent Loeb, and 47 seconds to pace threat Gronholm, when the Focus slid wide into a snowbank and struck a large rock hidden in the snow. The impact broke the rear axle, leaving the left rear corner deranged. The Focus lost five minutes limping back to service.
Loeb won that stage and the next to sit over 40 seconds clear of Gronholm. The lead blew out after Gronholm ran wide and ripped the front air dam and headlight structure off the front of the Pug. No-one else was close to taking second fron Gronholm, as Solberg moved past Tuohino into third as the Ford driver stalled twice to end the day dismally at Hagfors.
The final day of the rally was consolidation as Gronholm won three stages during the day, but still lost time against Loeb's consistent run after the Finn spun early in the morning, losing half a minute and any hope, but it is not in the Finn to give up, winning those final three stages of the event.
Solberg too was secure in third, taking his lead out to over twenty seconds over an impressive first works drive by Tuohino, who by his own assessment was too conservative, but otherwise drove a perfect backup role for Ford. And with Francois Duval spending over 45 minutes in a ditch in Stage 9, he fully justified Ford's faith in manufacturer status.
Either side of Martin were the two Bozian Racing entered Peugeot 206s, Petter's brother Henning Solberg superb in his drive into sixth ably backed up by young teammate Daniel Carlsson. Three factory cars were not to be sighted on the leader board. Freddy Loix continues his run of poor luck at Peugeot, suffering a misfiring engine which eventually died out in the forests in Leg Two.
Mitsubishi didn't get that far. Gilles Panizzi gradually lost gears in both his primary and in his spare gearbox after they were changed. Eventually the car would not fire and the French brothers did not progress into Leg Two. The second car started Leg Two, but Kristian Solhberg did not arrive at stage on time and would be thrown out of the event for exceeding late time as the team struggled to repair his Lancer's transmission.
Loeb now holds a seven point lead over Gronholm, and ten over Martin as the field gathers itself for its first trip away from Europe to a new event in Mexico.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 2 of 16, Swedish Rally:
Standings: Sebastien Loeb 20, Marcus Gronholm 13, Markko Martin 10, Petter Solberg 8, Francois Duval 6, Janne Tuohino 5, Freddy Loix and Carlos Sainz 4, Gilles Panizzi and Henning Solberg 3 etc.
Manufacturers: Citroen 24, Ford 22, Peugeot 17, Subaru 10, Mitsubishi 3
Historic Win Makes Loeb Title Favourite, Says Sainz
By Alan Baldwin
Sebastien Loeb's historic achievement in winning the Swedish Rally and ending half a century of Nordic domination was not lost on Citroen teammate Carlos Sainz.
The Spaniard, twice a World Champion and with more rallies under his belt than any other driver, hailed the 29-year-old Frenchman as champion-in-waiting on Sunday after just two of the season's 16 races.
Ever since 1950, a succession of Swedes and Finns have kept out all challengers to establish the sport's most exclusive winners' circle. Finland was cracked 14 years ago, Sainz winning that rally in 1990 as the first non-Nordic driver to do so, but the Swedish stronghold proved far tougher to break into.
Sainz came close, four times a runner-up on Swedish snow in a career that has brought him a record-equalling 25 wins, but Loeb made the breakthrough. The Frenchman, triumphant in Monte Carlo last month, also became only the third driver to win the opening two rounds of the championship.
Loeb may have been helped by a depleted field, with just five manufacturers competing in the full championship with two cars each and Peugeot being at the start of development of their new 307 car.
Finland's Marcus Gronholm, chasing his fourth win in five years, might have won for Peugeot had he not lost a minute with a power steering problem on the first day and finished second. But Loeb's win served notice that he can no longer be regarded as an asphalt specialist and will be hard to beat on all surfaces.
"Seb's skill as a driver in all conditions, anywhere in the WRC, is now proven," said Britain's former world champion co-driver Nicky Grist. "Are we watching this year's world champion emerge here?"
Last year Loeb lost the title by one point to Subaru's Norwegian Petter Solberg after Citroen ordered him to sacrifice his personal ambitions to clinch the manufacturers' title. This year, the team want to repay his loyalty and help Loeb become only the second French champion after Didier Auriol a decade ago.
"The most important thing for me is not to be the first non-Nordic but that fact that I showed I could win on a surface other than asphalt. I did it," said Loeb. "The championship is long and there are 14 rallies left. It couldn't have started any better but it has to continue."
Peugeot Replace Loix With Rovanpera For Mexico
The team said in a statement on Tuesday that Rovanpera, released by the French carmaker at the end of last year under new rules limiting teams to two cars, would start testing the new 307 car in Sardinia immediately.
The Mexican rally is making its debut from March 11-14 as one of two new rallies in an expanded calendar. Rovanpera, 37, won last year's non-championship event against low-ranking opposition in a Peugeot 206.
Peugeot said they were "taking advantage of being allowed to alternate the team in the second car entered by a manufacturer".
"The Belgian driver Freddy Loix will of course continue working with Peugeot Sport in a programme which will be decided at a later date," the French manufacturer said.
Loix competed in the opening Monte Carlo and Swedish rounds, finishing fifth in the first and retiring from the second with an engine problem.
Loix/Rovanpera and Sainz report provided by Reuters
Nextel's New NASCAR
Just when you thought it was the same old thing year after year, NASCAR throws a curve ball. 2004 sees a new title sponsor, as Nextel replaces Winston after years of service, and also sees the most significant change in how the Championship will be run and won in years, in fact probably in the series history, while the withdrawal of Pontiac has seen some teams forced to switch marques (after some teams already had '04 Pontiacs being built).
Moving on to Ford, Roush's driver line-up remains unchanged, though lack of a main sponsor for Jeff Burton, who finished twelfth in the points last year, means he is likely to run a limited schedule this season. After several engine problems last year Roush has decided to use Robert Yates engines this season. Speaking of Robert Yates, they continue as they were in 2003.
Finally to Dodge where at Evernham there has been change. Despite winning the second last event of 2003 (and coming within a lap of doing the same in the final event) Bill Elliott has decided to run a limited schedule this season, with Busch star Kasey Kahne taking over the #9 car. Penske will be a three car operation as Penske and Jasper combine to run Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan. Ganassi goes into 2004 unchanged.
But the most significant change for 2004 is the changes to the points standings. A winner will now score 180 points, up five points from before, while second through to 43rd remain unchanged.
There will also be two extra qualifying places determined by time, up from 36 to 38. But the biggest change will be how the series champion is determined. Instead of every race counting equally for the title, as in previous years (and most other racing series), NASCAR has decided a "Chase for the Championship" over the last ten races is the way to go.
There have also been a minor adjustment to the aero packages of the cars, with smaller rear spoilers, while Goodyear will be supplying softer tyres, which may mean faster speeds at the start of a run but slower speeds by the end of it.
With all this out the way, the drivers ran qualifying for the Daytona 500 earlier this week, with Greg Biffle clinching pole ahead of Elliott Sadler, a pair of Fords on the front row following on from Dale Jarrett's Bud Shootout victory. Later this week are the twin 125 mile qualifying races, which will set the rest of the field for the Daytona 500.
These two qualifying races are unique to the Daytona 500. The starting order for race one is the odd qualifying times ie. 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th etc., with the even number cars similarly in race two. Then the top 14 finishers in each race (not including either of the two drivers already guaranteed a front row start) fill the grid positions through to 30th, with the top 14 from race one starting on the inside of each row behind pole, with the top 14 from race two on their outside. The next eight places, 31st to 38th, are the eight fastest cars in qualifying who are not already in the field. The final five places are filled through provisionals, the first four based on the team's owner's points in 2003 with the final place taken either by a previous Winston Cup Champion or the next car based on owner's points.
Qualifying results:
Jarrett's Bud Shootout Win Good Omen For 500
By Lewis Franck
Dale Jarrett's bump from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win his third 70-lap Shootout on Saturday could prove an omen for next week's Daytona 500.
Jarrett, driving a Ford, was bumped from behind by Earnhardt Jr. in turn two of the high-banked 2.5 mile (four km) speedway, propelling him into the lead in front of Kevin Harvick's Chevrolet on the final lap to win the non-points race.
Earnhardt Jr., who won the same event last year, finished only 0.157 seconds behind Jarrett with Harvick third.
"Jarrett's been a real good friend to me on and off the track, so I thought I should push him to the front, then it was up to him to keep me behind," said Earnhardt Jr.
The race had to be stopped for almost 14 minutes with 11 laps remaining after leader Jeremy Mayfield crashed his Dodge into a pedestrian crossing gate. He was not injured.
The race restarted on lap 64 with Harvick taking the lead before he was passed by Jarrett, earning the 47-year-old more than $200,000.
Qualifying for next week's Daytona 500 began on Sunday with the top two drivers on qualifying speeds assured of positions on the grid. Two qualifying races will then be run on Thursday to set the 43-car field for the race on February 15th.
Track Worker Killed In Daytona Accident
A track worker was killed after being struck in a compact car racing accident, the Daytona International Speedway director of communications David Talley confirmed on Sunday.
Roy H Weaver III, who had seven years' experience on the circuit's track crew, was hit by paraplegic driver Ray Paprota in an IPOWERacing Dash Series event while he was clearing up debris from an earlier crash involving two other drivers.
Paprota had failed to start the race with the rest of the field and finally pulled onto the track from the garage area 17 laps down. With the race under caution following the original crash, Paprota was trying to catch up with the rest of the field when he hit the 44-year-old track crew supervisor.
The executive vice-president of IPOWER Randy Claypool would not offer any more details of the incident other than to say: "We are waiting for the investigation."
The last fatality at the Speedway was seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, who died on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in February 2001.
Weaver became the 36th person to be killed at Daytona since the track opened in 1959.
Reports apart from season preview provided by Reuters
Rossi's Risk
The FIM have released its entry list this week for the season which begins in South Africa at Welkom on April 18. The major change from last year is Valentino Rossi's defection to Yamaha, while the D'Antin squad has dumped its Yamahas for a pair of Ducatis for the two riders who finished first and second for Ducati in the World Superbike Championship, Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus. Alex Barros has taken Rossi's ride on the Repsol factory Honda while Colin Edwards has found his way onto a Movistar Honda alongside Sete Gibernau. There is no change at Suzuki while its all change at both Aprilia and Kawasaki. Norick Abe takes over Carlos Checas former Fortuna Yamaha, while the Harris WCM squad are yet to be announced.
The entry list is as follows:
Musical Chairs
With the first official Formula 3000 test of the year scheduled for this weekend at Jerez in Spain, seats are rapidly filling. The FIA published its driverless list of nominated teams, which shows seven teams have backed up from 2003 and are led by reigning champions Arden International. European Formula, the rebadged Red Bull Junior team which operates out of Coloni Motorsport, Durango Formula, Coloni Motorsport, Super Nova Racing, Team Astromega and BCN Competition also return with three new teams joining the series with Ma-Con Engineering, Spero I.E. Engineering and Equipe Giovanardi Monaco each commiting to run a pair of Lola B2/50 Zyteks.
Arden International were first out of the blocks to settle their driver line-up. The team signing Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi, who finished fourth in last year's series driving for the Red Bull squad, achieving a best finish of second at the Nurburgring. Liuzzi will be joined by Dutch Formula 3 Euroseries graduate Robert Doornbos.
Durango and Astromega also have full squads. Durango have signed Frenchman Yannick Schroeder, twelfth last year with the defunct PSM Racing team, and second generation Brazilian Rodrigo Ribeiro. Astromega recently signed Belgian Formula Renault racer Nico Verdonck to join British Euro F3 graduate Jan Heylen. Another Euro F3 driver, Olivier Pla, will drive for Super Nova, while the only other confirmed pilot is Turkish racer Can Artam at Coloni.
Drivers On The Move
Perkins Engineering is expanding to a four car squad for 2004, with regular drivers Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell to be joined by dual Bathurst winning veteran Tony Longhurst and will run a fourth car under Paul Little Racing franchise. Previously a Ford team, PLR will transfer to the Perkins operation along with long time sponsor Toll Express and driver Anthony Tratt.
Former US Formula Ford 2000 champion David Besnard will front a new team being launched this weekend in Brisbane. Besnard drove for the Prodrive-owned Ford Performance Racing last year but was a victim of cutbacks as the team went from three cars to two for 2004.
Rally
The last bastion of Scandinavian dominance in rallying, the Swedish Rally, has fallen. Last start winner Frenchman Sebastien Loeb took a comfortable victory in WRC's annual tiptoe through the snow, becoming the first non-Scandinavian driver to ever win Sweden's premier motorsport event.
Come Saturday and the Peugeot 307, like the 206 before it, announced there would be no settling in period for the new car with Gronholm winning Stages 6, 7, 8 and 10 in a breathtaking charge through Saturday morning to climb into third place. He did not take the position from Solberg who had several gaffes with the snowbanks, including one first up on Stage 6 which required specatator assistance. It was Janne Tuohino, Ford's snow specialist, and holder of Francois Duval's manufacturer points status for this rally who was now fourth. By Stage 11, he was third, and the leading Ford.
Behind Tuohino was Carlos Sainz. Initially in the battle for the win, on Leg Two the veteran Spaniard dropped down the order in the morning, and lost thirty seconds spinning into a snowbank trying to avoid the stationary Mikko Hirvonen. The other delayed drivers saw Martin charge back into the points and into seventh place, with Hirvonen in ninth in the second Subaru.
Pos Driver/Co-driver Car
1. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroen Xsara WRC
2. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
3. Petter Solberg/Phillip Mills Subaru Impreza WRC2003
4. Janne Tuohino/Jukka Aho Ford Focus RS WRC 03
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti Citroen Xsara WRC
6. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud Peugeot 206 WRC
7. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 03
8. Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson Peugeot 206 WRC
9. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC2003
10. Andreas Eriksson/Per-Ola Svensson Ford Focus WRC
"I can imagine how Sebastien must be feeling," said the 41-year-old. "What he is done is remarkable. Today he has matured and is capable of winning anywhere. For me, there is no doubt that he will be champion this year," Sainz told French newspaper L'Equipe. "He makes me feel seriously old."
Peugeot have dropped Belgian driver Freddy Loix and drafted in Finland's Harri Rovanpera for next month's Mexican rally.
NASCAR
There have been a few changes in the driver line-ups. Starting with Chevrolet and Hendrick, Brian Vickers has taken over as driver of the #25 car, running a few events towards the end of last season while clinching the 2003 Busch series title. DEI will scale back a bit this year, running two cars fulltime for Dale Earnhardt Jr and Michael Waltrip with a third car making occasional appearances. At Childress Johnny Sauter comes in as driver of the #30 car.
This works in the following way: after the first 26 races of the season, the top ten drivers in the points standings plus any other driver with 400 points of the leader will be eligible to become series champion. These drivers will then have their points score reset, with the points leader begin the 10 race chase with 5,050 points, second place 5,045 points, third 5,040 etc. five point gaps separating each of the drivers at the beginning of the chase. Then these ten (or more) drivers fight it out to become series champion.
Pos Driver Car
1. Greg Biffle Ford Taurus
2. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Ricky Rudd Ford Taurus
5. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
6. Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Kasey Kahne Dodge Intrepid
8. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Monte Carlo
9. Casey Mears Dodge Intrepid
10. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
11. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
12. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
13. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo
14. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
15. Ward Burton Chevrolet Monte Carlo
16. Rusty Wallace Dodge Intrepid
17. Jeff Burton Ford Taurus
18. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Intrepid
19. Brendan Gaughan Dodge Intrepid
20. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
21. John Andretti Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22. Robby Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
23. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
24. Kyle Petty Dodge Intrepid
25. Jeff Green Dodge Intrepid
26. Brian Vickers Chevrolet Monte Carlo
27. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Monte Carlo
28. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
29. Scott Riggs Chevrolet Monte Carlo
30. Ken Schrader Dodge Intrepid
31. Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
32. Ricky Craven Chevrolet Monte Carlo
33. Dave Blaney Dodge Intrepid
34. Scott Wimmer Dodge Intrepid
35. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
36. Mike Skinner Chevrolet Monte Carlo
37. Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo
38. Jimmy Spencer Dodge Intrepid
39. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
40. Johnny Benson Dodge Intrepid
41. Derrike Cope Dodge Intrepid
42. Ryan Newman Dodge Intrepid
43. Larry Foyt Dodge Intrepid
44. Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Taurus
45. Andy Hillenburg Ford Taurus
"The last times (1996 & 2000) we won this thing (the 70-lap made for television race), we won the Daytona 500," said Jarrett. "I've got to thank Dale Jr. He bumped me from behind."
MotoGP
No Rider Motorcycle
3. Max Biaggi Camel Honda Team Honda RC211V
4. Alexandre Barros Repsol Honda RC211V
6. Makoto Tamada Camel Honda Team
7. Carlos Checa Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha YZR M1
9. Nobuatsu Aoki Proton Team KR Proton KR3
10. Kenny Roberts Jr Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R
11. Ruben Xaus D'Antin MotoGP Ducati Desmocedici
12. Troy Bayliss Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmocedici
15. Sete Gibernau Telefonica Movistar Honda MotoGP Honda RC211V
17. Norifumi Abe Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Yamaha YZR M1
21. John Hopkins Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R
33. Marco Melandri Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Yamaha YZR M1
45. Colin Edwards Telefonica Movistar Honda MotoGP Honda RC211V
46. Valentino Rossi Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha YZR M1
50. Neil Hodgson DiAntin MotoGP Ducati Desmocedici
56. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX7-RR
65. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmocedici
66. Alex Hofmann Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX7-RR
67. Shane Byrne Aprilia Racing Aprilia Cube
69. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda RC211V
80. Kurtis Roberts Proton Team KR Proton KR3
99. Jeremy McWilliams Aprilia Racing Aprilia Cube
Formula 3000
V8 Supercar
With only four weeks to the beginning of the V8 Supercar season alongside Formula One at Albert Park, the Australian silly season is rapidly winding up. Kevin Murphy, who runs a three car Carrera Cup squad in his son's name as Greg Murphy Racing, has invested in Sydney-based Lansvale Racing Team, the team now known as Tasman Motorsport. The team will run a single Commodore for New Zealand driver Jason Richards. Team Dynamik are yet to announce a replacement driver to join Simon Wills, but it will almost certainly not be Konica series driver Neil McFadyen.
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Volume 10, Issue 6
Articles
Trial in Absentia
Promise and Deliver?
Technical Analysis: EJ14
2004 Countdown Facts & Stats
Columns
Rear View Mirror
Bookworm Critique
On the Road
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