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| Championship Standings |
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2003 Championship
After 14 of 14 Rounds |
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| Drivers Points |
| 1 |
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Petter Solberg |
72 |
| 2 |
 |
Sebastian Loeb |
71 |
| 3 |
 |
Carlos Sainz |
63 |
| 4 |
 |
Richard Burns |
58 |
| 5 |
 |
Markko Martin |
49 |
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Full Details... |
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| Manufacturers Points |
| 1 |
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Citroen |
160 |
| 2 |
 |
Peugeot |
145 |
| 3 |
 |
Subaru |
109 |
| 4 |
 |
Ford |
93 |
| 5 |
 |
Hyundai |
12 |
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Full Details... |
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2003|NEWS
71ST RALLYE AUTOMOBILE MONTE-CARLO |
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FORD - NEWS AFTER SS8
Manufacturer: Ford
Press Release Type: Mid Leg TwoForty cars left a bright and sunny Monaco this morning for the second leg of this opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship. After yesterday's monster day high in the Alps close to Gap, the second leg of the most famous rally in the calendar is a much simpler affair. Just two laps of two long speed tests north of Grasse were on the itinerary, drivers facing 114.52km.
With just two stretches of road used throughout the day, crowds were expected to be large and tightly packed and organisers had to cancel the opening 32.11km test from Les 4 Chemins to Sigale, which would have included the famous climb of the Col de Bleine, for safety reasons. So the only action before the cars returned to the service park, alongside the swimming pool complex on Monaco's famous Grand Prix circuit, came on the 25.15km Saint Antonin - Tourette du Chateau.
Conditions were essentially dry, with only a few icy patches, and the roads twisty and it was a good start to the day for the Ford Rallye Sport squad. Markko Märtin and Michael Park, sixth overnight, were fourth fastest in their Focus RS World Rally Car. They closed on fifth placed Richard Burns, who lost his overnight fourth to Spaniard Carlos Sainz, and the gap between the two is 29.4 sec. However, the 27-year-old Estonian is feeling unwell and listless.
"I didn't get much sleep last night, if any," he said. "I have a bad stomach and no energy. I could have pushed harder in the stage but I just didn't have the strength to do so. I did all I could. There was hardly any ice and we had good grip throughout. However, I'm glad the first stage was cancelled because there was a lot of ice on the downhill sections and it wouldn't have been nice. We drove slowly through the test after the cancellation and having seen all the spectators, it was definitely the right decision to cancel it."
François Duval and Jean-Marc Fortin fared just as well. The Belgian duo were eighth quickest to climb from 10th to eighth on the leaderboard. "That was all OK. We had a little understeer for the final five kilometres so I slowed a little but it wasn't a big problem," said Duval.
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, driving a third Focus RS, were ninth fastest and remain 13th overall. "The stage was dry but it wasn't until midway through that I started to trust the car and the tyres. It's just a case of building my confidence and trust. The more driving I do, the better it will become," said the 22-year-old Finnish driver.
Gilles Panizzi (Peugeot) who endured an awful day yesterday, awoke this morning feeling ill and he retired after the stage. He was 14th. Click here for a printable version of this news Item
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