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Championship Standings
 
2005 Championship
After 16 of 16 Rounds
 
Drivers Points
1 Sébastien Loeb 127
2 Petter Solberg 71
3 Marcus Gronholm 71
4 Toni Gardemeister 58
5 Markko Martin 53
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Manufacturers Points
1 Citroen Total World Rally Team Citroen 188
2 Marlboro Peugeot Total Peugeot 135
3 BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Ford 104
4 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru 97
5 Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports Mitsubishi 76
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Production Points
1 Toshihiro Arai 50
2 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah 35
3 Marcos Ligato 33
4 Fumio Nutahara 22
5 Xavier Pons 20
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Junior WRC Points
1 Daniel Sordo 53
2 Guy Wilks 35
3 Urmo Aava 32
4 Kris Meeke 32
5 Kosti Katajamaki 31
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2005|NEWS
RALLY JAPAN

ŠKODA MOTORSPORT LOOKS FORWARD TO MAKING ITS DEBUT WITH THE FABIA WRC 05 AT RALLY JAPAN
Manufacturer: Skoda
Press Release Type: Pre-event Release

The Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team heads to Rally Japan (September 30-October 2) Where the Fabia WRC 05 will make its first appearance amid the ancient traditions and cultures of the Far East. Armin Schwarz/ Klaus Wicha lead the team as usual while the second Fabia WRC 05 will be driven by Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen.

Rally Japan is the 13th round of the 2005 World Rally Championship and was a new event in the series last year. The roads are known to be narrow and varied but also quite fast and so there is little margin for error and it is essential to make accurate pace notes.

Mikko said: “I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Fabia WRC 05. It will be interesting to see what we can achieve – Japan is a very tricky rally with stages that are fast and flowing but they also need a very precise driving style which I think should suit me. Some of the stages remind me of Finland. Japan is a very beautiful country.”

Armin said: “I will go to Japan for the first time in 2005 so I haven’t got much idea what to expect. I’m told the roads are very tricky.”

Head of the Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team, Martin Muehlmeier, said: “We don’t really know what to expect in Japan as it is our first visit there. We asked Mikko to drive because he has experience from last year and so we will be relying on him quite a lot.”

Team news:
The Škoda Motorsport World Rally Team will enter a third Fabia WRC 05 on each of the forthcoming asphalt rallies in Corsica and Catalunya (October 21-23 and 28-30 respectively). On each occasion it will be driven by reigning Czech Rally Champions Jan Kopecký/Filip Schovánek who were lying ninth overall at one point on the final day of the recent Rallye Deutschland.

Rally Japan in detail:
Rally Japan entered the WRC last year and proved to be a tricky rally for everyone thanks to the varied nature of the stages that combined high speed with very narrow tracks bordered by deep ditches to trap the unwary. The local fans proved to be enthusiastic but well behaved as they were finally able to see the rally stars that they had supported for many years.

Thursday evening sees a ceremonial start in the centre of Obihiro. Friday features nine stages to the north east of the city, totalling 163.26kms and including two runs over the Kunneywa-Niueo stage. At 50.08kms it is believed to be the longest in the entire World Rally Championship. Saturday’s leg sees a further 12 stages (totalling100.98kms) again to the north east of Obihiro. Sunday’s final leg is to the north west of Obihiro and includes five stages totalling 85.94kms before the finish at 1500 (0800 CET).

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More Rally Japan News:
Features

16.12.2008
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15.12.2008
Suzuki to suspend the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) activities

Calendar 2005

Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloEvent Dates: 21 Jan 2005 - 23 Jan 2005
Uddeholm Swedish RallyEvent Dates: 11 Feb 2005 - 13 Feb 2005
Corona Rally MexicoEvent Dates: 11 Mar 2005 - 13 Mar 2005
Propecia Rally New ZealandEvent Dates: 08 Apr 2005 - 10 Apr 2005
Supermag Rally Italia-SardiniaEvent Dates: 29 Apr 2005 - 01 May 2005
Cyprus RallyEvent Dates: 13 May 2005 - 15 May 2005
Rally of TurkeyEvent Dates: 03 Jun 2005 - 05 Jun 2005
Acropolis Rally of GreeceEvent Dates: 24 Jun 2005 - 26 Jun 2005
CTi Móvil Rally ArgentinaEvent Dates: 15 Jul 2005 - 17 Jul 2005
Neste Rally FinlandEvent Dates: 05 Aug 2005 - 07 Aug 2005
OMV ADAC Rallye DeutschlandEvent Dates: 26 Aug 2005 - 28 Aug 2005
Wales Rally GBEvent Dates: 16 Sep 2005 - 18 Sep 2005
Rally JapanEvent Dates: 30 Sep 2005 - 02 Oct 2005
Rallye de France – Tour de CorseEvent Dates: 21 Oct 2005 - 23 Oct 2005
Rally de Catalunya - Rally de EspanaEvent Dates: 28 Oct 2005 - 30 Oct 2005
Telstra Rally AustraliaEvent Dates: 11 Nov 2005 - 13 Nov 2005

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