WRC: unlucky Germany for Subaru and Pirelli
Mikko Hirvonen's Pirelli-equipped Subaru Impreza WRC2004 has ended the Rallye Deutschland in eighth place, scoring one world championship point, after an unlucky event for the Subaru-Pirelli team. His team mate, reigning World Champion Petter Solberg, was forced to retire after going off the road on SS12. Both drivers used Pirelli's new P Zero RX7 tyres on the opening day, then the RE7 tyre for heavy rain on leg two. For the final day, Hirvonen once more used the new P Zero RX7 tyres. Conditions throughout the Rallye Deutschland were constantly difficult, with intermittent rain which caused several accidents - including Solberg's. At the end of the first leg the Norwegian was lying fourth, underlining the performance of Pirelli's P Zero tyres in wet conditions, while Mikko concentrated on learning the car on asphalt. Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: "It's been a very disappointing rally for us, particularly as we had the possibilit of scoring a good podium place. Our tyres worked extremely well in the torrentially wet weather conditions, but this result does not reflect our capabilities on this surface." Mikko Hirvonen said: "This has been a very difficult rally for me, but I've learnt a lot about the car and the tyres. I made a few mistakes on the last day, but this is how you learn". RALLY DEUTSCHLAND - Classification after SS24 1 Loeb-Elena Citroen Xsara WRC 4h01m57.4s 2 Duval-Prevot Ford Focus WRC +29.1 3 Sainz-Marti Citroen Xsara WRC +1m09.5 4 Martin-Park Ford Focus WRC +2m40.4 5 Robert-Bedon Peugeot 307 WRC +3m30.1 6 Loix-Smeets Peugeot 307 WRC +4m06.0 7 Gardemeister-Lukander Skoda Fabia WRC +5m44.2 8 Hirvonen-Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC +6m41.1 9 Sarrazin-Pivato Subaru Impreza WRC +6m58.9 10 Bengue-Escudero Peugeot 206 WRC +10m26.7 Next round: Rally Japan, 3-5 September Drivers championship: 1 Loeb 76; 2 Martin 47; 3 Sainz 46; 4 Solberg 44; 5 Gronholm 42; 6 Duval 39; 7 Hirvonen 19; 8 Tuohino 16; 9 Rovanpera 14; 10 Loix 7; 11 Carlsson & Panizzi 6; 13 Robert 4 Manufacturers championship: 1 Citroen 125; 2 Ford 96; 3 Subaru 67; 4 Peugeot 65; 5 Mitsubishi 17