Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 - (Page 69)

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 A MOMENTOUS BATTLE was played out on the opening rally of the 2008 season as a dramatic contest was only resolved on the final stage. No, the drama did not involve Sébastien Loeb, whose cruise to a fifth Monte Carlo win — a record for this event — was embarrassingly easy, but was between Subaru’s Chris Atkinson and François Duval, who was enjoying an outing in a Ford Focus RS WRC07. Although he earned a sixth and a fourth place on previous rallies here, even Atkinson may have thought a podium would be too much to ask for, especially when he was still driving the unloved Impreza WRC 2007. But it was for third place that he and Duval were fighting, and it was a duel that was gripping in its intensity over all four days of the rally. The event was the first on which all WRC teams were using the Pirelli control tires. Although the SWRT have many years of experience with the Italian rubberware, Atkinson and Petter Solberg still had to become accustomed to them, especially as under new rules, the choice of compounds was severely reduced. After the opening two stages, which were held in the dark and in sub-zero temperatures, the field was already spread out as the drivers returned to service. The two Citroëns of Loeb and Dani Sordo were already more than half a minute ahead of Mikko Hirvonen, and the gap would only grow over the coming days. Sordo held second place as Hirvonen failed to make any impression on the leaders, and it was only good fortune that handed the Ford driver second place when Sordo’s turbo failed on the penultimate day. Atkinson and Duval swapped stage times throughout the second day in a thrilling contest on increasingly slippery roads, and it was the Subaru driver who held a 14- second advantage over his rival, having been just 2.6 seconds to the good at the start of the day. Solberg lay just under half a minute behind Duval in sixth, and was well-placed to take a career-best place on an event for which he has little affection. When Sordo’s turbo blew on SS11, Atkinson moved into third place and came under more and more pressure from a determined Duval, who was desperate for the podium slot to boost his chances of more WRC drives in 2008. The commitment of the pair was illustrated by the close split times throughout the day, but Atkinson dug deep on SS13 to win the stage by 7.5 seconds from Duval. He was now 20 seconds ahead with six stages remaining, including two runs over the notoriously challenging Col deTurini. Conditions on the mountain were difficult after patches of black ice had developed overnight on the snow-lined roads; Atkinson may have held the advantage, but it could all change quickly if Lady Luck deserted him. As none of the leading drivers wanted to take any unnecessary risks on the final day, Duval took the initiative and won three of the day’s first four stages to close the gap on Atkinson to just 1.1 seconds going into the final SuperSpecial. But Atkinson held his nerve around Monaco’s Grand Prix circuit and the pair shared the stage win. Atkinson had the second podium finish of his career, while Solberg rounded off a successful weekend for the SWRT with fifth place, his best showing on the event. —David Hobbs SUBIESPORT MAGAZINE 69

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 Contents Travis Geny Letters Readers' Rides Subaru News Wicked in White Pink Rules Harman Motive Nouveau Tuning the 2008 STI 2008 Rally Guide Alcan 5000 Rally Alcan Unleashed WRC Rally Monte Carlo WRC Rally Sweden WRC Rally Mexico 100 Acre Wood Kumakubo! D1 Drifting Where to Buy Subiesport 2008 Impreza WRX 2007 Legacy GT 1993 Impreza Wagon Fueled Up Ad Directory Spotted!

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

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