2007 Rally of Great Britain - Leg Three

[ianwilly]

Final Leaderboard
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr
22min 50.9sec
2. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 23min
06.1sec
3. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4
3hr 24min 23.9sec
4. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 3hr
25min 48.2sec
5. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4
3hr 26min 05.2sec
6. M Wilson/M Orr GB Ford Focus RS 3hr
30min 23.8sec
7. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 31min
20.4sec
8. M Stohl/I Minor A Citroen Xsara
3hr 31min 45.5sec
9. X Pons/X Amigo E Subaru Impreza 3hr
32min 39.7sec
10 J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr
33min 33.3sec


1. BP-Ford
2. Citroen Total
3. Subaru
4. OMV Kronos Citroen
5. Stobart M-Sport Ford
6. Munchis Ford
7. CRT Skoda-Kopecky


1. BP-Ford


FIA World Rally champions* BP-Ford ended the 2007 campaign in perfect style by claiming first and second on Rally GB in Wales today. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen led from start to finish to score their third victory of the season in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Team-mates Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen were second in another Focus RS on their 150th and final WRC start before retirement.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "We were both very emotional at the end of the final stage. To end my career in a team like this is a wonderful feeling. I've enjoyed two years at Ford with almost no problems and had a great car to drive. Although I'm disappointed that I couldn't win the championship, it was clear before I started this rally that it would be difficult. This was an incredibly hard weekend. Driving in fog, rain and darkness at the same time was so difficult and as I'm newly-retired, I'm so happy that I don't have to drive in those conditions any more! I did all I could but it wasn't here that I missed out on the title, it was when I crashed on the previous round in Ireland."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "To finish the season with a victory is the best possible preparation for 2008. For me to stand on the podium with Sébastien Loeb, winner of four world titles, and Marcus Grönholm, one of the sport's greatest-ever drivers, at the end of such a fantastic season is perfect. It was Marcus' final rally but I wasn't tempted to give him the win. I know him well and he would not have wanted it that way. To finish the year with three wins is so much more than I thought at the start of the season.


2. Citroen Total

Finishing the 2007 Wales Rally GB in third place sufficed for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena to secure their fourth straight Drivers' and Co-drivers'
titles in the World Rally Championship today in Cardiff.
At the wheel of Citroën Total's other Citroën C4 WRC, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí completed the final round of the 2007 championship in fifth place.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "Its just fantastic! Finishing third today after such a frustrating rally means we are the World Champions for the third year running. The challenge we faced before the start was not as simple as all that. We have been fighting to make it back to the top of the championship ever since the day we went off in Sardinia but we always believed we would succeed. The combination of the Citroën C4's potential on all the different types of surface that make up the championship and the excellent work put in by everyone at Citroën Sport kept us in the chase and it's really great to have pulled it off today! Of my four titles, this was without doubt the most hotly contested. To have succeeded after such a fierce fight with Marcus Grönholm on stages across the world gives it a very special flavour. I know Marcus would have liked to have ended his retirement year by taking the crown, but I'm only half sorry he didn't! On the other hand, I am glad to have clinched the title on Guy Fréquelin's last rally as the boss of Citroën Sport."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "I am so happy for Seb and Daniel. I am happy and proud to have been shared this season alongside the new World Champions. I couldn't have wished for better teachers or team-mates!"


3. Subaru

The Subaru World Rally Team ended a consistent weekend with the Impreza of
Petter Solberg and Phil Mills finishing in fourth place on the Welsh
co-driver's home event. Team-mates Chris Atkinson / Stephane Prevot and Xevi
Pons / Xavier Amigo both finished inside the top ten.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We came here to do the best we could and the
team have been working so hard to get back on top again. We thought we could
do better here than we have, but we have to push forward for next year now.
We have taken back third overall in the manufacturer championship which is
so important, and I thank the team for all their effort this year. Now we
have a small break before Monte Carlo, but we are doing lots of testing and
I am looking forward to coming back strongly for some better results in the
new season. It's very important for Subaru that we are getting back on
track. I really want to get back on top again too."

Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: "Of the three times I've attempted Rally GB
this has been the most frustrating. As a driver I can honestly say I've
tried my best, but for a number of different reasons that hasn't been enough
to get decent stage times. We have experienced a variety of small issues but
the main hurdle has been the inconsistent handling of the car. This morning
we tried a set-up which worked well on Friday, but for some reason today it
didn't work at all. We have a lot of questions to answer in the off-season
and a lot of testing planned to enable us to turn things around. We want to
be fighting for wins again, for Subaru and the fans as well."

Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo: "It was very muddy and more slippery than
yesterday, and this afternoon was harder as there were more ruts. We had a
small moment when we overshot a tight junction and hit a bank but
fortunately the car wasn't badly damaged and we were able to carry on. It
has been a difficult weekend which is a shame as it is a rally I like and
was hoping to go well on. Yes, we finished in the top ten but I am
disappointed we couldn't be higher."


4. OMV Kronos Citroen


The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team has completed a very changeful FIA
World Rally Championship 2007 with eighth overall place by Manfred Stohl and
Ilka Minor. Thus the OMV pair was able to score points at the British
WRC-rally for the fifth time in a row. Even though the 35-year-old Austrian
had hoped for more in Wales following last year's second place he is still
glad that this season is over. In the WRC final standings he finished in
ninth place with 13 points. The victory in Wales went to Mikko Hirvonen
(Fin/Ford Focus WRC). Finishing in third place, Sebastien Loeb (F/Citroen C4
WRC) took the WRC-crown for the fourth consecutive time.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "Unfortunately nothing went as we had hoped for
right from the beginning. During the second half of the season it was
additionally very hard to motivate oneself. This season cost a lot of
energy. But I still will try my all to be able to pursue my career next
year, as well."


5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr have stepped up a gear on their home event by
finishing sixth overall on this final round of the 2007 FIA World Rally
Championship, Wales Rally GB. Britain's only fulltime WRC driver drove
faultlessly to finish as the top placed Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team
member.

Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "This has been a difficult event for me as we
didn't start off very well. After the problems on leg 1, there wasn't much
we could really do than try and complete all the stages, make some changes
to the car and gather important information for the future. The feeling
today was a good improvement and this is promising as we head into a new
season. I was really just concentrating on making my driving better and it
was working towards the final stages. So, for me, not the best of events but
we did manage to make some good progress from this difficult situation."

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "The conditions on this rally were
extremely difficult but I was concentrating hard and am very pleased to get
so many fastest times. It was very exciting going to the first stage this
morning in darkness and heavy rain, we just didn't know what to expect. I
had a really comfortable pace throughout the whole rally and was pushing
around 95 percent all the way. I found a good rhythm and just kept at it.
Yes it's a shame about our problems on Friday but I have shown a very
consistent performance and that is important for me. I wanted to improve my
driving and I am happy with what I have achieved. It's a shame we couldn't
have topped off a great year by claiming third in the manufacturers'
championship."

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "We had a really great morning and it was
important to get in front of Chris [Atkinson] today. Weather conditions made
things difficult this morning but there was actually quite a lot of grip on
the stages. We found some good rhythm today and good pace on all four
stages. I couldn't have asked for anything more, all three days have been
great and on the last stage today I had the luxury of backing off a bit as
we had a comfortable gap ahead of Chris. For the whole event I tried to keep
it neat and tidy and just drive to my pacenotes. For me it has been a great
personal performance as all the top drivers are still in the event and we
have claimed this result totally on merit."


6. Munchis Ford

No information available at time of going to press.


7. CRT Skoda-Kopecky

The Czech Rally Team Kopecký crew comprised of Jan Kopecký-Filip Schovánek
has given their farewell to this year's world championship by finishing
twelfth in the Wales Rally, which was the final race of the World Rally
Championship in 2007.

Jan Kopecky/Filip Schovanek: "Of course I am happy about the fact that we
were able to finish the British rally in conditions, which were extremely
difficult. This start gave us much experience for the future. This year's
British rally has ended our two year cooperation program with Skoda Auto
a.s., which has regarded the starts with the Skoda Fabia WRC in selected
races on the world championship circuit. I am very grateful not only to the
company in Mladá Boleslav, but also to our other partners, who were helping
us throughout this unbelievably difficult program. Huge thanks, which cannot
even be expressed in words, belongs to my dad. Without him we would never be
able to set off on such a tough journey."