Spain's Carlos Sainz wins World Rally C'ship title
By Robert Soelistyo
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Capitalizing on the unfavorable track conditions, slow starter Carlos Sainz and codriver Luis Moya powered their Ford Escort WRC to victory yesterday in the Gudang Garam World Rally Championship.
Sainz, who made his debut last year, retained the title last year when he clocked the fastest time of 4 hours 37 minutes and 30 seconds.
Teammate Juha Kankunnen and codriver Juha Repo claimed second place, making it one-two for the Ford team after finishing the challenging race 16/100th seconds behind champion driver Sainz.
Kenneth Eriksson and navigator Staffan Parmander of Sweden finished third in their Subaru Impreza 555 WRC with a time of 4:38.49.
After failing to win the first 11 Special Stages (SS) -- eight in the first round on Friday and three during the second day on Saturday -- Sainz stepped up the pace in the following seven stages 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 22 to finish ahead of 40-car field.
Yesterday's result pushed Ford to second place in the manufacturer's championship, just one point behind the Sainz with three rounds to go in the 14-event series.
"The first day was not so good for me because my confidence was low and I wasn't able to keep up with the rest of the field," Sainz said. "But we looked at the situation, decided to fit a new suspension to the car and from then on our times improved.
"Sometimes you have to be patient at these rallies and know when to attack. This was one of those events.
"We've had a great deal of bad luck in the last few rallies when we were close to victory and, of course, that was on my mind again (Sunday)," he said. "But there was nothing to stop us this time.
"With Junha finishing second this has been a fantastic rally for the Ford team."
Widely regarded as the toughest race of the 11 world championship rallies this year, the drivers endured exceptionally tough challenges for three consecutive days.
The demanding conditions forced the retirement of both Toyota models and Colin McRae, who crashed his Subaru 555.
Heavy rain
Heavy rain made the early morning stages of the final leg, in the hills around Parapat, treacherously slippery and, while sunshine and sweltering temperatures swiftly dried out the track through cocoa and rubber plantations on the fertile coastal plain, only the last stage of the 22 was entirely free of mud.
There was no room for even a slight lapse in concentration and the drivers appeared weary at the end of the three-day rally.
Cheering crowds lined the route, with ten of thousands converging on the last few kilometers as the drivers sped along the highway toward Merdeka Square and the ceremonial finish line in the center of the North Sumatra provincial capital.
The 1997 event took its toll on many of the top crews but the 555 Subaru World Rally Team pairing of Eriksson and Parmander managed to keep out of trouble and finish in third position.
The Swedes' placing was enough for them to clinch the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship for 555 Subaru with just one round remaining.
In the World Championship stakes, both McRae and Eriksson have retained their positions, with Subaru also holding onto their lead in the all-important Manufacturer's Championship.
Results
1. Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Spa Ford Escort WRC), 4:37:30 2. Juha Kankunnen/Juha Repo (Fin Ford Escort WRC), 4:37:46 3. Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (Swe Subaru 555), 4:38:49 4. Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Gbr Mitsubishi Carisma), 4:39:24 5. Yoshio Fujimoto/Arne Hertz (Jpn/Swe Toyota Celica), 4:58:34 6. Karanjit Singh/Allen Oh (Mal Proton Wira), 5:03:02 7. Harri Rovanpera/Voitto Silander (Fin Seat Ibiza GTI), 5:06:36 8. Shigeyuki Konishi/Tony Sicrombe (Jpn/Nzl Subaru Imprezza), 5:09:21 9. Erwin Weber/Manfred Hiemer (Ger Seat Ibiza GTI), 5:10:07 10. Yoshihiro Kataoka/Satoshi Hayashi(Jpn Mitsubishi Lance Evo III), 5:10:45