Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 - (Page 71)

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 IS THIS CHRIS ATKINSON’S year? Has the Impreza WRC2007 come good? Will we finally see the first SWRT victory on the WRC since 2005? These are questions that can be asked quite seriously after the Australian took a personal best second place in Mexico to add to the third spot he achieved on the season opener in Monte Carlo. Atkinson’s, and teammate Petter Solberg’s, efforts in the first three rallies of 2008 have given the Subaru team its best points score (25) since the new scoring system was introduced in 2003 – and we all know who won the title that year. Ok, so a World Championship for either driver or manufacturer may be a little too much to ask but there’s no doubt that the SWRT is a team with renewed vigor and focus and even the outgoing WRC2007 has been miraculously transformed into a competitive machine. There was controversy in Mexico before the rally had really begun when Citröen changed Sebastien Loeb’s broken engine during shakedown. Stewards imposed a five-minute penalty because the change infringed the FIA ‘link’ rules which state that an engine must be used for three events. Citröen bosses approached the stewards and after some discussion the penalty was withdrawn when the team refitted the original ailing – but now fixed – engine. Much relief all round within the French team and particularly for Loeb who went on to win his third consecutive Mexico Rally. Other team bosses, including Dave Richards, sought clarification from the stewards but decided not to appeal the decision. Instead they demanded clearer rules. But you can’t help wondering what might have been if the stewards had rejected Citröen’s approach – Atkinson could have been a step higher on the podium. The Australian and Solberg both enjoyed solid starts to finish the day in third and fourth respectively in spite of problems. Solberg suffered front end damage and brake failure on the opening stage but recovered to close Leg One with two stage wins while Atkinson showed consistency throughout with top four times in all but one of the day’s eight stages. Jari-Matti Latvala’s lead after day one came to a halt on Saturday afternoon when the pipe linking his Ford Focus’ turbo and intercooler broke, cost- ing him power and time; he dropped to third. So, at evening service Loeb held a one minute advantage over Atkinson with the unfortunate Latvala a further minute behind with just four stages remaining. Leg Two had begun brightly for Solberg with an interesting tussle for fourth place developing with Mikko Hirvonen. However, the Norwegian’s luck ran out on SS11 when he lost drive to the front left wheel. Attempts to fix the problem failed and Solberg was forced to retire. With the longest stage on Leg Three cancelled because of spectator problems there were only three tests to tackle, so Atkinson held position to claim his first second place; he finished with a flourish by beating Loeb in the Superspecial. Whilst the leaders backed off, Solberg, having rejoined under SupeRally rules, took advantage of the situation and fought back to 12th place to score a single manufacturers point. How important could that point be come November? —David Hobbs SUBIESPORT MAGAZINE 71

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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