Peugeot-Pirelli Keep on Leading the Championship

Kemer (TR), 5 June 2005 - The Subaru-Pirelli of Petter Solberg has fought a thrilling duel for second place against the Peugeot-Pirelli of Marcus Gronholm on the final day of the all-gravel Rally of Turkey, round seven of the World Championship. Solberg eventually finished 15 seconds ahead of his Finnish rival, but Gronholm's third place ensured that Peugeot-Pirelli maintain their lead of the manufacturers' championship. The rally was won by a crushingly dominant Sebastien Loeb, claiming his fifth victory in seven rallies. The Mitsubishi-Pirelli of Gigi Galli, which led the event after a stunning performance on the opening day, was unfortunately denied the chance to fight for a podium place by a turbo problem. Conditions on the Rally of Turkey were intermittently damp over the first two days, while the final leg on Sunday was hot and dry. Maximum temperatures throughout the event remained high: in the region of 30 degrees centigrade during all three days. In the muddy conditions, Pirelli's renowned KP tyres enabled drivers to find good grip despite the slippery surface: a key factor in Galli's conquest of the lead on the opening day. When it was hotter, many of the Pirelli drivers used the renowned XR rubber - the toughest and most durable tyre in the P Zero range. Turkey was also an extremely successful rally for Pirelli in the Production Car World Rally Championship, with Pirelli monopolizing the podium. The Group N Subaru-Pirelli of Toshi Arai won the class, ahead of the similar cars of Marcos Ligato and Nasser Al-Attiyah. Fiorenzo Brivio, Pirelli's rally manager, commented: "As we have seen before, Sebastien Loeb was in a class of his own here. Leaving him aside, the Pirelli-equipped crews of Solberg, Gronholm and Galli were the fastest drivers and very closely matched. We are happy with the way the KP and XR tyres performed in the unusually mixed conditions, although some of our crews were slightly handicapped by not having nominated a sufficient quantity of the KP 'mud' tyres. Nonetheless, they all did a fantastic job to perform to the best of their abilities." Rally Turkey (7/16) - Final classification

Drivers Championship: 1 Loeb 55; 2 Solberg 42; 3 Martin 38; 4 Gronholm 32; 5 Gardemeister 31; 6 Rovanpera 13; 7 Stohl 11; 8 Kresta 10; 9 H Solberg 9; 10 Panizzi 7; 11 Duval 5; 12 Galli & Carlsson & Warmbold 4 Manufacturers: 1 Peugeot 72; 2 Citroen 68; 3 Ford 49; 4 Subaru 46; 5 Mitsubishi 30; 6 Skoda 7 Next round: Acropolis Rally, 14-26 June