SOLBERG AND PIRELLI WIN IN NEW ZEALAND!

Petter Solberg's Subaru Impreza WRC2004 running on Pirelli tyres has won the Rally New Zealand after 395 kilometres and three nail-biting days of competition. Solberg took the lead on the first day and he ends the rally with a winning margin of six seconds, despite a spin during SS20 on the final day. In total, Petter won six stages out of 23. His young team mate Mikko Hirvonen has finished the event in a solid seventh place, having learnt a lot more about the Rally New Zealand and Pirelli's new tyres. Both drivers once more used the new KP tyre from the PZero range, designed for mainly dry conditions with wet and slippery patches. The drivers contested six stages south of Auckland today, split into two groups of three. Conditions remained dry, with some traces of damp during the first loop of three stages. Temperatures were much lower than yesterday throughout the leg. The Subaru team started the leg with a choice between the new KP tyres and the tried and trusted KM covers, which are generally more suited to wetter conditions. Both drivers used KP step 4 tyres in the morning - which were perfectly suited to the variable conditions - before moving onto a harder KP step 2 tyre in the afternoon, when the road was cleaner. Petter, who was locked into a fierce battle for the lead, used a hand-cut KP2 in order to get heat into the tyres more quickly. The Norwegian, celebrating Pirelli's 131st world rally win, commented: I'm very happy. The tyres performed well even throughout the difficult conditions of the second leg. This victory confirms all the positive results we have seen in testing of the new KP tyre, said Fiorenzo Brivio, Pirelli's rally manager. It showed admirable performance and consistency throughout all three days of the rally. Sunday 18 April RALLY NEW ZEALAND - Final Classification 1 Solberg-Mills, Subaru Impreza WRC, 4h02m29.5s 2 Gronholm-Rautiainen, Peugeot 307 WRC, +5.9 3 Martin-Park, Ford Focus WRC, +25.6 4 Loeb-Elena, Citroen Xsara WRC, +1m05.2 5 Rovanpera-Pietilainen, Peugeot 307 WRC, +2m23.7 6 Sainz-Marti, Citroen Xsara WRC, +3m08.9 7 Hirvonen-Lehtinen, Subaru Impreza WRC, +5m42.5 8 Carlsson-Andersson, Peugeot 206 WRC, +13m23.8 9 Herridge-Macneall, Subaru Impreza, (GpN) +15m42.9 10 Stohl-Minor, Mitsubishi Lancer, (GpN) +16m23.8 2004 World Rally Championship after 4 rounds Drivers 1.Martin 26; 2.Loeb 25; 3.Gronholm 24; 4.Solberg 23; 5.Duval 14; 6. Sainz 13; 7.Hirvonen 6 Constructors 1.Ford 47; 2.Citroen 38; 3.Peugeot 33; 4.Subaru 31; 5. Mitsubishi 5 Next round: Cyprus Rally (CY), May 14-16