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2007 Rallye Monte Carlo - Round 1 of 16, 18 – 21 January 2007

In this issue:

- Leg 1 Unofficial Results
- Leg 1 Unofficial News
- Leg 1 Team News
- Remaining Event Timetable

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Leg 1 Unofficial Results

1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4 23min 29.9sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4 23min 53.8sec
3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 23min 59.0sec
4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 24min 21.6sec
5. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 24min 27.5sec
6. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 24min 30.0sec
7. M Stohl/I Minor A Citroen Xsara 24min 31.6sec
8. T Gardemeister/J Honkkanen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer 24min 36.0sec
9. J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 24min 43.1sec
10 J-M Cuoq/D Marty F Peugeot 307 24min 59.0sec
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Leg 1 Unofficial News

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the most famous rally in the 16-round
championship, Rallye Monte Carlo moved its base north-west from the
Principality of Monaco to the city of Valence. The region is home to many
famous speed tests on which the rally built its reputation but which have
been unused for 10 years.

The rally, however, got off to a bad start with Shakedown having to be cut
short due to an abundance of spectators. Spectators were then warned to
follow marshals for the remainder of the event in order to keep the event on
track.

Tonight's short, sharp leg took competitors east of Valence into the Vercors
mountains for two asphalt special stages covering 46.40km. The area is
usually blanketed in snow in mid-January but remarkably mild temperatures,
which were up to 6°C tonight in the mountains, mean there is no snow or ice
to be seen. With the forecast for even warmer temperatures over the
weekend, this will be a pure asphalt rally with no call for the studded
tyres that so often play a crucial role.

Both stages were held in darkness, the first time that an entire leg of a
WRC rally has been held at night for more than 10 years and a new experience
for many drivers. They were damp, with standing water in places on the
second test, but the lack of winter weather meant they were lightning fast
with average speeds topping 122kph on the first stage.

World champion Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo (Citroen) provided the perfect
return to the WRC for the French manufacturer by holding the top two places.
Loeb, driving his first rally since breaking his arm in a mountain bike
accident in September, was fastest on both stages on the debut of the new C4
car to lead his colleague by 23.9sec. Behind the BP-Ford duo, Petter
Solberg (Subaru) lies fifth ahead of team-mate Chris Atkinson, although the
Norwegian struggled for traction in the slippery conditions. None of the
top drivers encountered any major problems.

SS1: 1916hrs St Jean En Royans - Col De Lachau (28.5km) : The opening stage
was a real challenge, not least because it took place in the dark. The route
climbed past a ski resort (although there was no snow to report) and
included both wide, smooth roads and narrow, bumpy sections. Petter and Phil
completed the stage in 14m 22.7s, while Chris and Glenn posted a time of 14m
34.8s. That placed them both firmly into the top ten overall. Fastest time:
Seb Loeb (Citroen) 13m 58.7s.

SS2: 2006hrs La Cime Du Mas - Col De Gaudissart (17.88km) : The night’s
second (and final) stage started with two big climbs over the Col de Carri
and Col de l’Echarasson. Although the early kilometres of the test were
based on a wide, flowing road, the route included a section along an old
forest track, which was dirtier and rougher than the first part. Chris
enjoyed this test better and was happy with his time of 9m 55.2s. Meanwhile
Petter came through the stage in 10m 04.8s. Fastest time: Loeb 9m 31.2s.

Leg two of Rallye Monte Carlo is based to the south west of the service area
at Valence. The day begins with a mammoth 46km stage, one of the longest
used in the WRC. There are two identical loops of three stages, with a total
competitive mileage of 150.62km. The leg is notable for the use of Remote
Service Zones, which mean the cars will not have to return to the main
service area as often. Remote Service Zones will be used more frequently on
events during the 2007 season.

More event information: http://www.rallye-info.com/event.asp?event=432
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Leg 1 Team News

1. BP-Ford
2. Citroen Total
3. Subaru
4. OMV Kronos Citroen
5. Stobart M-Sport Ford
6. Skoda

1. BP-Ford http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2

BP-Ford World Rally Team made a strong start to the Rallye Monte Carlo
tonight as the legendary event signalled the start of the FIA World Rally
Championship season. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lie third in a
Focus RS World Rally Car with team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen
fourth in a similar car after the opening leg held in darkness in central
France. Grönholm was third fastest through the 28.52km test from St Jean en
Royans to Col de Lachau and second in the following 17.88km La Cime du Mas -
Col de Gaudissart stage to hold third, just 5.2sec behind second-placed Dani
Sordo.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "I made a cautious start," said the
38-year-old Finn. "I could have driven faster on the opening stage but I
didn't have a good feeling, I didn't enjoy the dark. I was braking too
early but I think I will feel happier in daylight tomorrow. When the road
was damp, it was also shiny and that was hard. The set-up of the car was
good and I'm not going to change that tonight"

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen was fifth on the opening test and
fourth on the next to lie 22.6sec behind Grönholm. "I didn't enjoy the dark
and I was too cautious," said the 26-year-old Finn. "Some sections of the
road were wide but I turned into the bends too tight and could have gone
wider and used the entire road. I was nervous at the start and I'm pleased
tonight is over, although I'm happy with my position." "I didn't really
trust my pace notes in the dark but actually they were fine. It has been a
long time since I have driven stages that fast. I'm sure it's exciting to
drive in the dark on gravel and snow, but no so much on asphalt," he added

2. Citroen Total http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1

Sebastien Loeb back in action was unstoppable, even after prediticing
possible big moments at night - he won both stages. And the new C4 was
equally as impressive, with Daniel Sordo close behind Loeb. On St Jean en
Royans-Col de Lachau Sordo was 8.5 seconds behind Loeb, while not quite as
close on SS2 but still good enough to hold second behind his team-mate. And
all this, Loeb said he still didn't feel 100%.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: Apologies, quotes not available at time of
publish. Please check our website.

Dani Sordo/Marc: Apologies, quotes not available at time of publish. Please
check our website.

3. Subaru http://subaru.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=5

The Subaru World Rally Team achieved its aim of getting both Impreza WRCs
into the top six at the end of the opening leg of Rallye Monte Carlo and the
first day of the 2007 season. Mindful of the need to start the season with
solid points finishes, both drivers ensured they had error-free runs. Petter
was fourth fastest through stage one, and Chris emulated that feat on stage
two. That meant Petter Solberg held fifth overall, just ahead of Chris, and
neither driver had any problems to report after the two stages.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: “Not a bad start to the rally at all. The first
stage was particularly good for us, but on the second one we struggled a
little in some of the dirtier sections, where it was extremely slippery and
we were a bit down on traction. Overall I’m pretty happy though. We made no
mistakes, the tyres worked well and we are in a good position ahead of the
next three days of competition.”

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: “On the first stage I found it hard to get
into a rhythm. It was the first time I’ve driven the 2006-specification
Impreza WRC on asphalt, because last year I drove the 2005 car on the
hard-surface events. But I really enjoyed the second stage and felt able to
carry more speed into the corners. There’s no problem with driving in the
dark and I’m confident we can keep up the pace we showed on stage two.”

4. OMV Kronos Citroen http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1

The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team is satisfied with the beginning of
the “Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo”. Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor lie in
seventh overall place following the first two special stages that were
completed Thursday night. Taking into consideration that only 100 kilometres
of testing with the new Citroen Xsara WRC could be done prior to the first
run to the FIA World Rally Championship, the OMV driver did an excellent
job.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: Following the first testing last Sunday Manfred
Stohl looked a little bit worried. But already after the shakedown on
Thursday things cleared up for the OMV driver. At this point he would never
have reckoned with fourth-best shakedown time. Stohl: “Getting to know the
car seems to go faster than I expected. But there is still a lot of work
ahead. We have to test the car’s limits, but without getting off the road.“
For the evening the first two night special stages since 1997 had been
scheduled. The OMV duo Stohl/Minor mastered the overall 46,40 special stage
kilometres without any problems and reached the finish in Valence in seventh
place, 1:01,7 minutes behind. Stohl: “It was truly a satisfying beginning.
Taking into account that tarmac is definitely not my favourite surface we
did a very good job. Each kilometre is important to us in order to gain
experience. Thus we will be able to improve constantly. Therefore we won’t
take full risk on Friday even though scoring points remains our objective.”

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2

All three Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team drivers completed leg one safely
after battling the testing two night stages. It was a solid effort for all
three Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team drivers; Matthew Wilson, Jari-Matti
Latvala and Henning Solberg, as they completed both the night stages with no
problems. With their first drive on tarmac in a Ford Focus RS WRC 06 at
shakedown this morning, all three drivers set out to tame the precarious
opening two stages. Solberg was first of the Stobart VK M-Sport cars to take
to leg 1 as he took things at pace in his first proper tarmac rally stage.
At times he struggled to hear co-driver Cato Menkerud causing him to take
extra caution in places of the pace-note important night stages. Rallye
Monte-Carlo was contested by Solberg last year, but with snow and ice, it
was a different style of rally altogether. Latvala was quickest of the three
cars but explained that he could not find his confidence on the twisty and
slippy roads. The young Finn finished 12th at the end of the day having
showed improved speed on stage 2 en route to leg 2, which consists of one of
the longest stages of the year, St Pierreville, at 46.02km. 19-year-old
Briton, Wilson, had a steady opening leg in only his second ever drive on a
competitive night stage. Wilson took a cautious approach on stage 1,
choosing to preserve his tyres and he continued that approach still
adjusting to unfamiliar night-time stages.

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: “The car is really great. I feel very
confident with the car but can’t get confident enough to drive fast. It was
hard to feel at-home on the slippery roads tonight and find the rhythm I
need to drive competitively. We have two days left and the whole year ahead
of us so we will see how it goes!”

Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: I was taking it slowly tonight, it is very
difficult in the dark but it is ok. I had a small problem hearing Cato
sometimes but this is my first tarmac rally with no snow or ice so we just
take it slowly and see how the times are tomorrow.”

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: “I drove a bit too cautiously on the stages and
the tyres tonight, but this is my second time ever racing at night so it was
difficult, but good fun. I had a bit of trouble with my notes too, I was
lifting off slightly where I probably shouldn’t have but I think it comes
down to lack of experience and confidence driving at night. We’ll see how
things go tomorrow but I really want to get experience of this rally and
these stages so it’s important for me to finish.”

6. Skoda http://skoda.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=6

Please check our website for news on Jan Kopecky.
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Remaining Event Timetable

Friday 19 January: Leg 2 Valence - Valence

Serv B Valence (10 mins) 06.50
SS3 St Pierreville - Antraigues 46.02km 08.19
RSZ Vals Les Bains (15 mins) 09.25
SS4 Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 16.48km 10.13
SS5 St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 12.81km 10.59
Serv C Valence (30 mins) 13.28
SS6 St Pierreville - Antraigues 46.02km 15.17
RSZ Vals Les Bains (15 mins) 16.23
SS7 Burzet - Lachamp Raphael 16.48km 17.11
SS8 St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac 12.81km 17.57
Serv D Valence (45 mins) 19.56
Finish Valence 20.41

Saturday 20 January: Leg 3 Valence - Monaco

Serv E Valence (10 mins) 06.00
SS9 Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 19.67km 07.31
SS10 St Bonnet - St Bonnet 25.93km 08.13
SS11 Lamastre - St Barthelemy Grozon 18.76km 09.38
Serv F Valence (30 mins) 11.12
SS12 Labatie d'Andaure - Lalouvesc 19.67km 13.03
SS13 St Bonnet - St Bonnet 25.93km 13.45
SS14 Lamastre - St Barthelemy Grozon 18.76km 15.10
Serv G Valence (45 mins) 16.29
Finish Monaco

Sunday 21 January: Leg 3 (continued) Monaco - Monaco
Start Monaco 08.57
SSS Monaco circuit 2.80km 09.00
Finish Monaco 09.10