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Sunday, March 25
Auriol ends 18-month drought with win
Reuters
LLORET DE MAR, Spain -- Frenchman Didier
Auriol ended a spell of 18 months without a win by taking a
23.2-second victory over Peugeot teammate Gilles Panizzi in the
Catalunya Rally on Sunday.
Auriol, whose last WRC success came in the 1999 China Rally,
coasted home after overnight leader Philippe Bugalski was given
penalties totaling more than four minutes after a false start,
leaving service late and clutch problems with his Citroen.
|  | | Auriol edged teammate Gilles Panizzi by 23.2 seconds |
The victory earned asphalt-specialist Auriol his 20th career
win in the series and his 14th on his favorite surface while
overnight leader Bugalski was forced to settle for eighth.
"I'm so happy to have won again after so long," Auriol said.
"It is a fabulous result for me and the team but I couldn't see
it happening the way the Citroens were going.
"The performance of the car has been superb throughout the
rally and it's a great feeling to be back on the winners'
podium."
Bugalski accumulated a mass of penalties following hydraulic
clutch problems on the 14th 'Osor' stage that forced him to
start behind Auriol on the next run.
The rules state that a driver is penalized a minute for
every minute he is late at the start of a stage, so the
resulting two minute penalty put Bugalski down the field.
He then received an additional 130 seconds of penalties for
a false start and leaving service late.
Bugalski became the second driver to forfeit the lead in as
many days after teammate Jesus Puras, under investigation for
alleged illegal pre-event practice, was forced out with fuel
pressure problems on the second leg.
Bugalski said: "The penalties are something that happens in
racing. It was only a small problem but it came at the wrong
moment and in the wrong place. It is very disappointing for us,
especially as Jesus had to retire yesterday."
The penalties allowed Frenchman Panizzi to claim runners-up
spot on a final day marred by an accident when a spectator
suffered a fractured skull after falling from a bank.
The penultimate 17th stage was interrupted to allow an
ambulance to get through.
Panizzi said: "For me it's been very difficult to drive but
I'm glad to have come out on the podium.
"We had some problems which were fixed and the car is now
reliable, which is good for the future."
Championship leader Tommi Makinen extended his advantage in
the series to six points by claiming a podium finish in third
position in his Mitsubishi, 61.4 seconds adrift of Auriol.
Belgian Freddy Loix won a titanic four-way battle for fourth
place when he posted consistent times to move ahead of Ford pair
Carlos Sainz and Francois Delecour, who finished fifth and sixth
respectively.
Briton Richard Burns, who dropped to 15th on the first day
due to gearbox and wheel rim problems, had to settle for seventh
place as he missed out on his pursuit of a point.
Hyundai driver Piero Liatti, in 11th position overnight, was
forced to retire on the opening stage of the day with brake
problems.
Estonian Markko Martin never left the service park after
completing the 15th stage following gearbox trouble throughout
the event.
Title hopefuls Marcus Gronholm and Colin McRae again went
home empty-handed when they were forced to retire on the opening
day.
The drivers now face a five-week break before the series
moves to Argentina for the only round in the Americas. The
Cordoba-based event takes place between May 3-6.
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