GABRIEL POZZO / MARIO STILLO
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SIMONE CAMPEDELLI / DANILO FAPPANI
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FUMIO NUTAHARA / DANIEL BARRITT
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Gabriel Pozzo (Argentina)’s dreams of a first ever World Rally Championship title remain alive after the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution man collected second position in the Production Car standings on last week’s Rally Ireland. Pozzo now has to win the final round of the championship: Wales Rally Great Britain, which starts in Cardiff next Thursday (November 29).
Pozzo had started the day facing an uphill task to make it into that vital runners-up spot, but when Production Car category leader Armindo Araujo (Portugal) crashed off the road on the penultimate test, Pozzo was in.
"It’s been an incredible rally," he said. "You know I just can’t believe the last three days and what we have seen. These roads were amazing. It was an asphalt rally, but you know on the first day, there was so much mud around, we would have been better using a gravel tire. Then on the second day, the rain, wow, the rain was incredible. The way the rain changed the level of grip from corner to corner was hard to understand. Through all of this, though, the car was right, the car was great and we got the result we needed. This was the rally I was worried about. I didn’t drive on asphalt since 2002, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But now we got to Rally GB with a chance of the championship and that’s what matters."
Araujo was devastated at missing out on victory in the Production Car element of the event. After losing his lead on the opening stage of the final leg, he moved back to the front in Fardross (SS18) with a blistering time through the 15km test.
After two days of exceptionally difficult conditions, the drivers were pleased when the overnight rain stopped at daybreak, making the roads slightly less slippery than they had previously been. Despite that, Araujo went off near the end of the penultimate stage, rolling his Lancer Evolution out of the rally.
"It’s very disappointing," he said. "I was caught out going across some water. The car got away from me and that was it. I was off the road and rolling. Terrible. It’s been a very difficult rally, but we were in a big fight and this can happen."
Local driver Niall McShea (Subaru, Great Britain) went on to win the event. Beyond Pozzo’s second spot, there were seven more Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions in the Production Car WRC standings. Simone Capedelli (Italy) was fourth after a trouble-free final leg, with Stepan Vohtech (Czech Republic) and Fumio Nutahara (Japan) fifth and sixth respectively in their Mitsubishis.
Nutahara was particularly pleased to make the top six after a difficult rally. He said: "It has been hard work. Slowly, we have begun to understand these conditions, but there are other drivers with more experience of these roads. But we are here at the end, with the car working perfectly."
Sebastien Loeb (France) won the event outright in his Citroen C4 WRC, with team-mate Dani Sordo (Citroen) in the runners-up spot. Jari-Matti Latvala was third for the Stopbart Ford team.
The final round of the Production Car World Rally Championship is Wales Rally Great Britain (November 29-December 2).
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| 1
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Niall McShea
Marshall Clarke |
GB
GB |
Subaru Impreza |
3:18:11.3 |
**:**.* |
| 2
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Gabriel Pozzo
Daniel Stillo |
RA
RA |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:18:55.4 |
+44.1 |
| 3
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Nasser Al-Attiyah
Chris Patterson |
QAT
GB |
Subaru Impreza |
3:22:42.4 |
+4:31.1 |
| 4
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Simone Campedelli
Danilo Fappani |
I
I |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:24:47.2 |
+6:35.9 |
| 5
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Stepan Vojtech
Michal Ernst |
CZ
CZ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:26:45.4 |
+8:34.1 |
| 6
|
Fumio Nutahara
Daniel Barritt |
J
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:27:32.8 |
+9:21.5 |
| 7
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Colm Murphy
Ger Loughrey |
IRL
IRL |
Subaru Impreza |
3:27:34.6 |
+9:23.3 |
| 8
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Philip Morrow
David Senior |
GB
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:28:46.9 |
+10:35.6 |
| 9
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Jasen Popov
Dilyan Popov |
BUL
BUL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:35:03.7 |
+16:52.4 |
| 10
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Stuart Jones
Andy Bull |
GB
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
3:38:10.7 |
+19:59.4 |
| 11
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Alan Ring
Adrian Deasy |
IRL
IRL |
Subaru Impreza |
3:45:37.1 |
+27:25.8 |
1
M |
Sébastien Loeb
Daniel Elena |
F
MC |
Citroen C4 WRC |
A
1 |
3:01:39.2 |
**:**.* |
2
M |
Daniel Sordo
Marc Marti |
E
E |
Citroen C4 WRC |
A
2 |
3:02:32.6 |
+53.4 |
3
MT |
Jari-Matti Latvala
Miikka Anttila |
FIN
FIN |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
3 |
3:03:27.4 |
+1:48.2 |
4
M |
Mikko Hirvonen
Jarmo Lehtinen |
FIN
FIN |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
A
4 |
3:03:56.9 |
+2:17.7 |
5
M |
Petter Solberg
Philip Mills |
N
GB |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
5 |
3:04:35.0 |
+2:55.8 |
| 6
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Guy Wilks
P. Pugh |
GB
GB |
Subaru Impreza |
A
6 |
3:07:37.1 |
+5:57.9 |
| 7
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Matthew Wilson
Michael Orr |
GB
GB |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
7 |
3:11:44.1 |
+10:04.9 |
| 8
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Gareth MacHale
A. Harryman |
IRL
GB |
Ford Focus RS WRC |
A
8 |
3:12:47.5 |
+11:08.3 |
| 9
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Andreas Mikkelsen
Ola Floene |
N
N |
Ford Focus WRC |
A
9 |
3:14:47.4 |
+13:08.2 |
10
P |
Niall McShea
Marshall Clarke |
GB
GB |
Subaru Impreza |
N
1 |
3:18:11.3 |
+16:32.1 |
11
P |
Gabriel Pozzo
Daniel Stillo |
RA
RA |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
2 |
3:18:55.4 |
+17:16.2 |
| 12
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Aaron MacHale
Killian Duffy |
IRL
IRL |
Ford Focus WRC |
A
10 |
3:19:18.1 |
+17:38.9 |
| 13
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Richard Cathcart
Martin Brady |
GB
IRL |
Subaru Impreza |
N
3 |
3:20:37.2 |
+18:58.0 |
| 14
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Jasper Van Den Heuvel
Martine Kilman |
NL
NL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
3:21:27.4 |
+19:48.2 |
| 15
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Khalid Al Qassimi
Nicky Beech |
UAE
GB |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
11 |
3:22:28.4 |
+20:49.2 |
16
MT |
Henning Solberg
Cato Menkerud |
N
N |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
12 |
3:22:38.4 |
+20:59.2 |
17
P |
Nasser Al-Attiyah
Chris Patterson |
QAT
GB |
Subaru Impreza |
N
5 |
3:22:42.4 |
+21:03.2 |
18
P |
Simone Campedelli
Danilo Fappani |
I
I |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
6 |
3:24:47.2 |
+23:08.0 |
| 19
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Garry Jennings
Rory Kennedy |
GB
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
N
7 |
3:25:22.6 |
+23:43.4 |
20
P |
Stepan Vojtech
Michal Ernst |
CZ
CZ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
9 |
3:26:45.4 |
+25:06.2 |
| ../ |
21
P |
Fumio Nutahara
Daniel Barritt |
J
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
10 |
3:27:32.8 |
+25:53.6 |
23
P |
Philip Morrow
David Senior |
GB
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
11 |
3:28:46.9 |
+27:07.7 |
| 24
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Kevin O'Donoghue
Joe O'Leary |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
12 |
3:28:51.3 |
+27:12.1 |
| 26
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Mike Curran
P. Robinson |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV |
N
13 |
3:29:14.2 |
+27:35.0 |
| 27
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James Foley
Andrew Cullen |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
N
14 |
3:32:54.4 |
+31:15.2 |
29
P |
Jasen Popov
Dilyan Popov |
BUL
BUL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
15 |
3:35:03.7 |
+33:24.5 |
| 32
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Hans Weijs
Hans Van Goor |
NL
NL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
17 |
3:37:35.0 |
+35:55.8 |
33
P |
Stuart Jones
Andy Bull |
GB
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
18 |
3:38:10.7 |
+36:31.5 |
| 39
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Brian Green
Fleur Pedersen |
NZ
NZ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
21 |
3:45:16.8 |
+43:37.6 |
| 44
|
Conor Byrne
Niall Bryne |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
24 |
3:51:07.3 |
+49:28.1 |
| 46
|
Paul Elliot
Brian Doherty |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
25 |
3:53:03.6 |
+51:24.4 |
| 47
|
Peter McCullagh
Vincent Fagan |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
N
26 |
3:53:16.0 |
+51:36.8 |
| 49
|
Edward Donaghy
Charles Donaghy |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
27 |
3:55:38.1 |
+53:58.9 |
| 53
|
Riccardo Errani
Stefano Casario |
I
I |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
31 |
3:57:48.6 |
+56:09.4 |
| 54
|
Michael Murray
Ray Fitzpatrick |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
N
32 |
3:58:25.1 |
+56:45.9 |
| 55
|
Thomas Lawless
Brain Sharkey |
USA
IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
33 |
3:59:04.4 |
+57:25.2 |
| 63
|
Michael Cummins
D. Montgomery |
IRL
IRL |
Mitsubishi Evolution VII |
N
39 |
4:30:12.9 |
+1:28:33.7 |
| 64
|
Kevin Shaw
Toni Feaver |
IRL
NZ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
N
40 |
4:31:55.9 |
+1:30:16.7 |
