irishcar.com

17 June 2002: Ford took 1st and 3rd spots at the weekend Acropolis Rally, and Peugeot took second and fourth places with their 206 WRC cars.

Colin McCrae took the top position in his Focus, Marcus Gronholm followed in his 206, and the runners-in were Carlos Sainz and Harri Rovanpera.

Marcus Grönholm has extended his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship with his strong second overall on the seventh round.

The FIA World Rally Championship isn’t likely to get any smoother for its next round, the Safari Rally on July 12-14. The Kenyan classic is one of the sport’s toughest challenges, as it takes crews over the fast but rough African plains on roads that, in many cases, are still open to local traffic. Burns has two victories there to his name, though, and he and his Peugeot team-mates will travel to Kenya with high hopes of returning the 206 WRC to the top step of the podium.

1. McRAE, Colin Ford Focus WRC 4h27.43.8
2. GRÖNHOLM, Marcus Peugeot 206 WRC 4h28.08.3
3. SAINZ, Carlos Ford Focus WRC 4h29.29.4
4. ROVANPERÄ, Harri Peugeot 206 WRC 4h29.41.4
5. SOLBERG, Petter Subaru Impreza WRC 4h29.42.4
6. MARTIN, Markko Ford Focus WRC 4h30.23.9
7. LOEB, Sebastien Citroën Xsara WRC 4h31.29.6
8. RADSTRÖM, Thomas Citroën Xsara WRC 4h32.52.5
9. SCHWARZ, Armin Hyundai Accent WRC 4h33.24.8
10. GARDEMEISTER, Toni Skoda Octavia WRC 4h35.01.2

MANUFACTURERS : PEUGEOT : 77 - FORD : 55 - SUBARU : 35 - MITSUBISHI : 6 - SKODA : 5 - HYUNDAI : 4

DRIVERS : GRONHOLM : 37 - SAINZ : 23 - PANIZZI : 20 McRAE C.: 20 - BURNS : 19 - SOLBERG: 15 - MAKINEN: 14 - ROVANPERA : 12 - BUGALSKI : 7 - LOEB: 6 - MARTIN :2 - McRAE A.: 2 – GARDEMEISTER : 2 – ERIKSSON : 1