Rally Mexico win sees Solberg top Championship
Subaru driver Petter Solberg went top of the World Rally Championship standings after driving to victory in this weekend’s Rally Mexico.
The Norwegian led the event throughout in the new 2005-spec Subaru, which was making its debut on the North American stages.
He finished with a 34.5-second advantage on Peugeot’s Marcus Gronholm to take his second successive win this season.
Gronholm’s team-mate Markko Martin, who won last year’s inaugural Mexican rally, finished third, with defending world champion Sebastien Loeb mounting an impressive comeback to finish fourth overall.
Final Positions:
1 Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru 3hrs 41mins 06.2secs
2 Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Peugeot at 34.5secs
3 Markko Martin (Est) Peugeot at 1min 38.3secs
4 Sebastian Loeb (Fra) Citroen at 3:51.1
5 Harri Rovanpera (Fin) Mitsubishi at 3:58.1
6 Toni Gardemeister (Fin) Ford at 4:05.6, 7
Antoni Warmbold (Ger) Ford at 6:01.0
8 Gilles Panizzi (Fra) Mitsubishi at 6:01.7
9 Armin Schwarz (Ger) Skoda at 8:05.3
10 Francois Duval (Bel) Citroen at 16:14.2
Driver Championship standings:
1 Petter Solberg (Nor) 20pts
2 Markko Martin (Est) 19
3 Toni Gardemeister (Fin) 17
4 Sebastian Loeb 15
5 Marcus Gronholm (Fin) 12
Manufacturer Championship standings:
1 Peugeot 31pts
2 Ford 25
3 Mitsubishi 22
4 Citroen 16
5 Skoda 13.
