Roman Kresta, šestý po pátku a nejlepší  z týmu Ford, bohužel v sobotu musel odstoupit pro technickou závadu.

Flu-hit Gardemeister takes fourth as Mexico gets tough

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen ended today's second leg of the Corona Rally Mexico in fourth place after a tough day which sidelined several top drivers.  Despite continuing to suffer from the 'flu, Gardemeister battled through the six gravel speed tests in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to climb from 10th position this morning.

Team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Možný retired their similar Focus RS this morning with broken front suspension while the privately-entered Focus RS of Dani Solà and Xavier Amigo crashed out of fifth place this afternoon.  Antony Warmbold and Michael Orr, driving a second privately-entered Focus RS, lie seventh after another impressive display.

High temperatures again made it hot work for the drivers during two identical loops of three special stages covering 146.48km close to León.  The first and last stages of the loop were fast and flowing, characteristic of this third round of the FIA World Rally Championship, but the middle test was slower and more twisty.     

Twenty-nine-year-old Gardemeister kept clear of the type of trouble that struck his rivals.  He struggled to find a rhythm on the slippery roads but his consistent pace was enough for him to climb the leaderboard throughout the day.  He was one of several drivers to hit a rock on stage eight but the strength of the Castrol-branded Focus RS ensured he escaped relatively unscathed.  The sump guard took the full force of the impact but did its job in protecting the engine sump, while the rock also bent the front cross-member and the gearbox cross-member.

"The roads were slippery this morning because the cars ahead dragged gravel onto the tracks," said Gardemeister.  "It was difficult to set good times because it was so slippery and I couldn't find a good rhythm.  I started the last stage of the group with a puncture on the rear left tyre.  It had punctured on one of the earlier stages but we had to put it back on the car and it took time for the mousse to warm up.  I dropped some time also on the final stage this afternoon.  The rear dampers were not working properly and I had to drive cautiously.

"I feel quite lucky to be in fourth.  I tried to keep the car on the road and out of trouble and it worked.  But although the position is good, I'm not happy with my performance.  Tomorrow I will try hard to keep my position and I expect a battle with Harri Rovanperä and Sebastien Loeb," added Gardemeister.  He will start the final leg 1.4sec ahead of Rovanperä and 36.4sec clear of Loeb.

Kresta and Možný maintained sixth on the opening stage this morning but the Czechs broke the front right suspension on their Focus RS on the following test.  They lost about 40 seconds in the stage and tried to repair the damage after the finish.  They started the liaison section to the next stage but the damage was too great and they had to retire.

"I was on the right line but I braked in the rocks and a bolt broke on the track control arm," said Kresta.  "We fixed it at the end of the stage but the damper had come away from the top mount.  It would have caused a lot more damage if I had continued.  I wasn't pushing that hard because it is so easy to make a mistake on these roads even when you are driving on the right line.  It was a good rally and I was happy with everything until now.  I drove at a constant speed and gained good experience of the car on gravel."

Solà, who was nominated for points by Ford, climbed from eight to fifth, despite four punctures in three stages this morning.  However, his rally ended with a heavy accident 4km after the start of the penultimate stage.  "I approached a right bend in fourth gear and could see that it was cut away on the inside from the first passage this morning," he said.  "The front wheel dropped into the hole on the inside and the back spun round and hit a bank.  It flipped the car over and I rolled about 30 metres down the road and off the stage.  I don't know how many times the car went over but it is badly damaged.  I was in a good position and it was a stupid mistake.  I'm sorry for the team because they have worked so hard for me all rally."

Warmbold climbed from ninth to sixth, before settling for seventh tonight.  The German overshot a junction on stage 10 and hit a small wall on the final bend of the last stage but was happy with the day.  "I was told that I should drive this car as straight as possible.  I did that this morning but lost about 20 seconds in the first stage.  Now I know you must be neat in the slow corners but must attack everywhere else," he said.   

    
News from our Rivals

Petter Solberg (Subaru) controlled his lead over Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot), setting three fastest times to end the day 29.6sec ahead of the Finn.  His only worry came on stage eight when his car's engine temperature climbed to 126°C.  Grönholm again suffered brake problems, and carried new pads in the car which he changed after every stage.  Markko Märtin (Peugeot) and François Duval (Citroen) swapped places twice over the opening two stages in their fight for third.  But when Duval retired on the liaison section to stage 10, the result of damaging his engine when he hit a rock on stage eight, the Estonian was able to ease his pace.  Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) lies fifth, despite incurring a 90 second penalty this morning when the team changed the engine management system after the car fired up on only three cylinders.  Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) was fastest on two stages to climb back to sixth after yesterday's four-minute time loss.  Chris Atkinson (Subaru) held fifth until he hit a rock and damaged the power steering in stage nine.  Just a few kilometres later the right front wheel was ripped from the car after hitting a hole and he retired.    

Tomorrow’s Route

The final day is short but tough.  After leaving León at 08.30, competitors face just two stages before returning to the city for the finish at 12.30.  But the final test is 44.39km long, likely to be the longest of the season.  Drivers face 62.65km of competition in total. 

Leaderboard after Leg 2
1.  P Solberg/P Mills                   N               Subaru Impreza  3hr 01min 30.5sec
2.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen             FIN             Peugeot 307             3hr 02min 00.1sec
3.  M Märtin/M Park                     EE              Peugeot 307             3hr 02min 54.4sec
4.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen   FIN             Ford Focus RS   3hr 05min 42.0sec
5.  H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen   FIN             Mitsubishi Lancer       3hr 05min 43.4sec
6.  S Loeb/D Elena                      F               Citroen Xsara           3hr 06min 19.4sec
7.  A Warmbold/M Orr            D               Ford Focus RS   3hr 06min 50.8sec
8.  G Panizzi/H Panizzi         F               Mitsubishi Lancer       3hr 07min 15.4sec
9.  A Schwarz/K Wicha           D               Skoda Fabia             3hr 08min 15.0sec
10 G Wilks/P Pugh                       GB              Suzuki Ignis            3hr 16min 56.4sec

Stage Times

Stage 7: 1. Loeb 16min 43.5sec; 2. Solberg + 2.4; 3. Grönholm + 3.1; 4. Duval + 5.4; 5. Atkinson + 7.4; 6. Märtin + 10.5; 8. Kresta + 17.8; 9. Solà + 19.7; 10. Gardemeister + 20.0.

Overall: 1. Solberg 1hr 40min 41.9sec; 2. Grönholm + 21.2; 3. Duval + 36.9; 4. Märtin + 39.0; 5. Atkinson + 55.6; 6. Kresta + 1:32.2; 7. Solà + 1:46.6; 8. Gardemeister + 1:54.5.

Stage 8: 1. Grönholm 18min 11.5sec; 2. Solberg + 7.1; 3. Märtin + 9.0; 4. Atkinson + 17.5; 5. Rovanperä + 21.1; 6. Duval + 22.7; 9. Gardemeister + 37.2; 11. Solà + 40.3; 16. Kresta + 1:12.4.

Overall: 1. Solberg 1hr 59min 00.5sec; 2. Grönholm + 14.1; 3. Märtin + 40.9; 4. Duval + 52.5; 5. Atkinson + 1:06.0; 6. Solà + 2:19.8; 7. Gardemeister + 2:24.6; 8. Kresta + 2:37.5.

Stage 9: 1. Solberg 14min 03.1sec; 2. Märtin + 1.4; 3. Grönholm + 1.9; 4. Loeb + 7.6; 5. Duval + 14.0; 6. Rovanperä + 22.8; 8. Gardemeister + 20.6; 14. Solà + 55.3.

Overall: 1. Solberg 2hr 13min 03.6sec; 2. Grönholm + 16.0; 3. Märtin + 42.3; 4. Duval + 1:06.5; 5. Gardemeister + 2:51.2; 6. Warmbold + 3:05.8; 7. Solà + 3:15.1.

Stage 10: 1. Solberg 16min 28.5sec; 2. Loeb + 0.5; 3. Grönholm + 7.6; 4. Märtin + 20.5; 5. Solà + 24.7; 6. Rovanperä + 25.1; 7. Gardemeister + 25.9.

Overall: 1. Solberg 2hr 29min 32.1sec; 2. Grönholm + 23.6; 3. Märtin + 1:02.8; 4. Gardemeister + 3:17.1; 5. Solà + 3:39.8; 6. Warmbold + 3:53.9.

Stage 11: 1. Solberg 18min 00.0sec; 2. Grönholm + 2.1; 3. Loeb + 11.6; 4. Rovanperä + 12.7; 5. Märtin + 18.3; 6. Gardemeister + 28.3.

Overall: 1. Solberg 2hr 47min 32.1sec; 2. Grönholm + 25.7; 3. Märtin + 1:21.1; 4. Gardemeister + 3:45.4; 5. Rovanperä + 4:08.1; 6. Warmbold + 4:39.3.

Stage 12: 1. Loeb 13min 49.9sec; 2. Solberg + 8.5; 3. Märtin + 11.3; 4. Grönholm + 12.4; 5. Rovanperä + 13.3; 6. Panizzi + 26.2; 8. Gardemeister + 34.6.

Overall: 1. Solberg 3hr 01min 30.5sec; 2. Grönholm + 29.6; 3. Märtin + 1:23.9; 4. Gardemeister + 4:11.5; 5. Rovanperä + 4:12.9; 6. Loeb + 4:48.9; 7. Warmbold + 5:20.3.

For more information: Contact Mark Wilford or Georgina Baskerville on the BP-Ford World Rally Team media desk in León Tel: + 52 477 711 8789

Vysočina 2005, foto © Pavel Kacerovský	Vysočina 2005, foto © Pavel Kacerovský
Vysočina 2005, foto © Pavel Kacerovský	Vysočina 2005, foto © Pavel Kacerovský
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