Rally New Zealand 2007
Racing data | |
---|---|
11th of 16 races in the 2007 World Rally Championship | |
Surname: | Rally New Zealand |
Date: | August 31 - September 2, 2007 |
Begin: | Hamilton |
Exams: | 18 tests over 353.56 km |
Distance: | 1255.98 km |
Covering: | gravel |
Podium | |
First: |
Marcus Grönholm Ford Abu Dhabi WRT |
Second: |
Sébastien Loeb Citroën Total World Rally Team |
Third: |
Mikko Hirvonen Ford Abu Dhabi WRT |
The 37th Rally New Zealand was the eleventh of 16 FIA World Championship races in 2007. The rally consisted of 18 special stages and was held between August 31 and September 2.
Race report
After three days of rally and 353.56 kilometers of special stages, Marcus Grönholm (Ford) was able to win the New Zealand Rally with a minimal margin of 0.3 seconds .
In the last special stage of Saturday, Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) ousted Grönholm, who had been leading until then, from the front. The two rivals started the last day with a time difference of 1.7 seconds. In the first special stage of Sunday (SS12), Grönholm was able to set the best time and he went all the way up with 0.1 seconds ahead. Loeb did not give up yet and countered. In SS13 he set the fastest time, took the lead again and had a lead of 0.5 seconds. In SS14 Grönholm got shoulder problems, couldn't attack properly and lost 2.9 seconds. Loeb took the lunch break as overall leader. In the afternoon, Grönholm started a race to catch up. He won three special stages in a row and reduced the gap first to 2.3 and then to 0.2 seconds. In the penultimate special stage (SS17), Grönholm took the lead back from Loeb. The decision had to be made in the 3.14 kilometer long final stage "Mystery Creek 2". Grönholm had to go first on the track. At the finish he had the fastest time, then we had to wait and see what Loeb does. In the meantime it looked like he could intercept Grönholm again. The decision had to be made in the last few meters. Loeb crossed the finish line with the best time, but he was only 0.4 seconds faster than Grönholm, so Grönholm still had exactly 0.3 seconds left, which was enough for him to win. In the drivers' world championship, Grönholm was able to easily expand its lead to ten points.
Classifications
Bottom line
Item | driver | Co-driver | automobile | time | Residue | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WRC | ||||||
1 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Ford Focus RS WRC | 3: 52: 53.9 | 10 | |
2 | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC | 3: 52: 54.2 | 00: 00.3 | 8th |
3 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC | 3: 54: 36.7 | 01: 42.8 | 6th |
4th | Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | Subaru Impreza WRC | 3: 55: 26.2 | 02: 32.3 | 5 |
5 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC | 3: 55: 30.8 | 02: 36.9 | 4th |
6th | Daniel Sordo | Marc Marti | Citroën C4 WRC | 3: 56: 35.9 | 03: 42.0 | 3 |
7th | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC | 3: 56: 48.6 | 03: 54.7 | 2 |
8th | Urmo Aava | Kuldar Sikk | Mitsubishi Lancer WRC | 4: 02: 10.2 | 09: 16.3 | 1 |
PCWRC | ||||||
1 (13) | Toshi Arai | Tony Sircombe | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 4: 13: 35.8 | 20: 41.9 | 10 |
2 (14) | Niall McShea | Gordon Noble | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 4: 13: 38.4 | 20: 44.5 | 8th |
3 (15) | Richard Mason | Sara Randall | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 4: 14: 46.0 | 21: 52.1 | 6th |
4 (16) | Gabriel Pozzo | Daniel Stillo | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4: 14: 48.9 | 21: 55.0 | 5 |
5 (17) | Fumio Nutahara | Daniel Barritt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4: 14: 55.7 | 22: 01.8 | 4th |
6 (18) | Armindo Araujo | Migue Ramalhol | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4: 15: 16.0 | 22: 22.1 | 3 |
7 (19) | Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4: 15: 46.9 | 22: 53.0 | 2 |
8 (22) | Martin Rauam | Kristo Kraag | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4: 16: 15.2 | 23: 21.3 | 1 |
Special stages
Day | WP number |
Start NZST | WP name | length | driver | automobile | time | Ø km / h | leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 Aug 31 |
WP1 | 09:18 | Pirongia West 1 | 18.30 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 13: 40.5 | 80.29 km / h | Marcus Grönholm |
WP2 | 10:21 | Waitomo 1 | 43.88 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 28: 47.8 | 91.43 km / h | ||
WP3 | 14:07 | Pirongia West 2 | 18.30 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 13: 32.4 | 81.09 km / h | ||
WP4 | 15:10 | Waitomo 2 | 43.88 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 28: 20.4 | 92.9 km / h | ||
WP5 | 17:03 | Mystery Creek 1 | 3.14 km | Chris Atkinson | Subaru Impreza WRC | 2: 56.2 | 64.15 km / h | ||
Day 2 Sep 1 |
WP6 | 09:03 | Port Waikato | 17.21 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 9: 33.2 | 108.09 km / h | |
WP7 | 09:41 | Possum | 13.88 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 10: 38.2 | 78.3 km / h | ||
WP8 | 10:19 | Franklin | 31.57 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 21: 15.7 | 89.09 km / h | ||
WP9 | 12:32 | Mystery Creek 2 | 3.14 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 2: 54.7 | 64.71 km / h | ||
WP10 | 14:58 | Te Akau South | 31.92 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 18: 25.0 | 103.99 km / h | ||
WP11 | 15:41 | Te Akau North | 32.36 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 16: 59.8 | 114.23 km / h | Sébastien Loeb | |
Day 3 Sep 2 |
WP12 | 09:03 | Maungatawhiri 1 | 5.34 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 2: 41.3 | 119.18 km / h | Marcus Grönholm |
WP13 | 09:31 | Te Hutewai 1 | 11.22 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 7: 54.3 | 85.16 km / h | Sébastien Loeb | |
WP14 | 09:59 | Whaanga Coast 1 | 29.81 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 21: 00.8 | 85.12 km / h | ||
WP15 | 11:38 | Maungatawhiri 2 | 5.34 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 2: 39.7 | 120.38 km / h | ||
WP16 | 12:06 | Te Hutewai 2 | 11.22 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 7: 43.0 | 87.24 km / h | ||
WP17 | 12:34 | Whaanga Coast 2 | 29.81 km | Marcus Grönholm | Ford Focus RS WRC | 20: 32.1 | 87.1 km / h | Marcus Grönholm | |
WP18 | 14:18 | Mystery Creek 3 | 3.14 km | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 2: 52.5 | 65.53 km / h |
Source:
Individual evidence
- ↑ motorsport-total.com: Grönholm wins with a margin of 0.3 seconds! , accessed December 30, 2015
- ↑ ewrc-results.com: 37th Rally New Zealand 2007 , accessed December 30, 2015