Solberg and Subaru score points in Spain

Petter Solberg's Pirelli-equipped Subaru Impreza WRC2004 has finished the Catalunya Rally (the 15th and penultimate round of the World Championship) in fifth place, after three tricky days on flowing Spanish asphalt. Petter's team mate Mikko Hirvonen, driving on this event for only the second time, has ended the rally in a points-scoring eighth place. Throughout the tricky conditions on all three days of the rally, the Subaru drivers always used Pirellis latest RX tyres. The final leg, split into two loops of three stages, was characterised by overnight rain which made the roads very slippery in the morning. On the second run through the stages conditions were drier, but there was a lot of mud on the road caused by cars cutting corners on the previous loop. Solberg started the rally with a strong rhythm, but during the dry conditions of the second leg he lost time looking for the best combination of set-up and tyres. This was due to the deliberate decision to concentrate resources on gravel testing this year - a surface where Pirelli and Subaru have an excellent winning record. Solberg has won five gravel rallies so far this year, including a consecutive run of the last three held on loose surfaces. Pirelli's rally manager Fiorenzo Brivio explained: "It was a difficult rally because of the extremely variable climatic conditions, and also because of the the problems in finding the right combination of set-up and tyres. Nonetheless Petter has come away with valuableat points which will be important in the run up to our return to gravel for the final rally in Australia, where we will all be doing our best to hold onto second place in the drivers' world championship." Petter Solberg commented: "It's not been an easy weekend, but we have gathered some points and a lot of information that will be useful for the future. Now I can't wait to go to the next gravel rally in Australia: an event I love which I won last year." Suzuki driver Per-Gunnar Andersson won the Junior World Championship in Spain, using Pirelli tyres. The young Swede has won three Junior World Rally Championship events this year, making sure of the title with a second place in Spain. Renault driver Nicolas Bernardi finished first in the JWRC classification. Andersson commented: "I decided to go flat-out from the start, and it was a tactic that paid off. Despite the wildly varying conditions our Pirelli tyres worked well and we managed to steer clear of punctures." CATALUNYA RALLY - Final Classification 1 Martin-Park Ford Focus WRC 3h40m43.8s 2 Gronholm-Rautianen Peugeot 307 WRC +23.2 3 Sainz-Marti Citroen Xsara WRC +37.7 4 Sarrazin-Pivato Subaru Impreza WRC +2m50.4 5 Solberg-Mills Subaru Impreza WRC +3m06.7 6 Sola-Amigo Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +3m55.7 7 Galli-d'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +4m05.9 8 Hirvonen-Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC +4m31.7 9 Gardemeister-Lukander Skoda Fabia WRC +4m37.6 10 Vouilloz-Giraudet Peugeot 206 WRC +4m45.0 Next round: Rally Australia, 12-14 November Drivers Championship: 1 Loeb 108; 2 Solberg 82; 3 Martin 79; 4 Sainz 73; 5 Gronholm 62; 6 Duval 47; 7 Hirvonen 24; 8 Rovanpera 20; 9 Tuohino 16; 10 Loix 9; 11 Sarrazin 8; 12 Carlsson & Panizzi 6 Manufacturers: 1 Citroen 184; 2 Ford 137; 3 Subaru 117; 4 Peugeot 93; 5 Mitsubishi 17