WRC 2004 - Cyprus Rally: Pirelli ready for Greece and Turkey

Limassol, May 16: Petter Solberg's Subaru Impreza WRC2004, running on Pirelli tyres, has finished the Cyprus Rally in sixth position after losing several minutes on the first day. The Pirelli driver was leading for the first four stages of the event before some dust in the radiator caused his engine to overheat. The second Subaru Impreza of Mikko Hirvonen has finished only his second Cyprus Rally in a points-scoring seventh place, despite a power steering problem on the final morning. Conditions throughout the event were rough, aggressive and hot which will be the case for the next two rallies in Greece and Turkey as well. Pirelli's tyres have shown themselves to be well-equipped for the challenges of this type of event, with Solberg setting six fastest times during the three days of action. Solberg and Hirvonen both chose Pirelli's XR tyre for the final group of six stages in the hardest compound available: step 3. This has been a highly effective base tyre throughout the event, with hand-cutting available to disperse loose gravel. The performance of the tyres thoughout the rally has proved their effectiveness on aggressive gravel, and the Pirelli drivers feel confident heading into Greece and Turkey. Pirelli's Motorsport Director Paul Hembery commented: "The final result of this rally has been disappointing for us, but we come away from it confident that the overall performance package on this type of rough surface will enable us to fight for victory in Greece and Turkey". RALLY CYPRUS - Final Classification 1 Gronholm-Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC 4h58m44.5s 2 Loeb-Elena Citroen Xsara WRC +54.0 3 Martin-Park Ford Focus WRC +1m09.1 4 Sainz-Marti Citroen Xsara WRC +3m18.0 5 Rovanpera-Pietilainen Peugeot 307 WRC +7m09.0 6 Solberg-Mills Subaru Impreza WRC +10m23.1 7 Hirvonen-Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC +10m34.9 8 Tuohino-Aho Ford Focus WRC +14m10.7 2004 World Rally Championship after 5 rounds: Drivers 1.Gronholm 34; 2.Loeb 33; 3.Martin 32; 4.Solberg 26; 5.Sainz 18; 6.Duval 14; 7.Hirvonen 8 Constructors 1.Ford 53; 2.Citroen 51; 3.Peugeot 47; 4.Subaru 36; 5.Mitsubishi 5 Next round: Acropolis Rally (GR), June 4-6