Mitsubishi Driver Required To Complete Entry List

Mystery Mitsubishi Driver Required To Complete Entry List

To Sports Editors - 9th March 2005

MYSTERY MITSUBISHI DRIVER REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ENTRY LIST

The entry list for Propecia Rally New Zealand has been released today, albeit with one name yet to be added. Mitsubishi has confirmed Finland’s Harri Rovanperä as their lead driver, as per their season plan to have the Finn contest all 16 rounds of the championship. Rovanperä is lying fifth in the Drivers Championship leading into the Rally of Mexico this weekend.

The second driver with the works team is up in the air however, with Mitsubishi calling in an obscure ruling whereby they do not have to name a second driver if the preceding rally is less than five weeks distant from the event being entered. With the Rally of Mexico being held this weekend, some four weeks prior to New Zealand, Mitsubishi are well within their rights to delay.

The choice will be between Gilles Panizzi, a renowned tarmac specialist and Italian Gigi Galli. There is some speculation that the decision is delayed to allow more funds to be generated before committing to a second car in New Zealand.

Despite a liking for tarmac, Panizzi is favoured to secure the second works drive following his inclusion in Mexico this week. His form in Mexico may well be a direct influence on the decision. Mexico will also see the team running the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05s with its new active center differential for the first time in competition. "We have done a lot of kilometers of gravel testing with the new active differential system in the last few weeks", said Mario Fornaris, the team’s Technical Director. "The specification for México is quite basic, but we feel the car is more balanced and I am happy that in different situations we can optimize its behavior. There is still a lot of work to do because we are at the beginning of this development, but the drivers’ comments were very positive concerning the overall handling, and the reliability of the system has so far been good".

Rally New Zealand General Manager Gary Upson can’t remember a team delaying in such a fashion before. “It is unusual but we have checked and they are well within the laws. It has certainly added to the intrigue as we build to our event. We will keep a close eye on proceedings in Mexico this week.”

As well as full representation from the works teams contesting the Manufacturers championship, there are other notables entered, including current Australian champion Cody Crocker (Subaru), reigning New Zealand National Champion Chris West (Subaru) and a man on the comeback from injury Marty Roestenburg (Mitsubishi). Roestenburg broke his back in the 2003 Far North Rally but has made his way back in steady fashion and will compete with the best in group N.

Also on the start list is top local driver Neil Allport (Mitsubishi) in his Evo 8 and veteran Malcolm Stewart, also driving a Mitsubishi. Stewart is not eligible however for the NZ National Rally Championship points up for grabs in the event, with his car not meeting specifications for that championship.

Propecia Rally New Zealand Hair Raising Statistic #3

A cumulative total of 79,946 km of roads will be traveled by the 71 Rally NZ cars, 25, 134 of which will be in special stages.

PROPECIA RALLY NEW ZEALAND 2005 ENTRY LIST (subject to FIA approval)

CAR

NO

DRIVER NO.1

Nat

DRIVER NO.2

Nat

ENTRANT

VEHICLE

GRP

CLA

PRI

1

M

Sebastien Loeb

F

Daniel Elena

MC

Citroen – Total

Citroen Xsara

A8

1

2

M

Francois Duval

B

Stephane Prevot

B

Citroen – Total

Citroen Xsara

A8

1

3

M

Toni Gardemeister

FIN

Jakke Honkanen

FIN

BP Ford World Rally Team

Ford Focus RS WRC 04

A8

1

4

M

Roman Kresta

CZ

Jan Mozny

CZ

BP Ford World Rally Team

Ford Focus RS WRC 04

A8

1

5

M

Petter Solberg

N

Philip Mills

GB

Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC 2005

A8

1

6

M

Chris Atkinson

AUS

Glenn Macneall

AUS

Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC 2005

A8

1

7

M

Marcus Gronholm

FIN

Timo Rautiainen

FIN

Marlboro Peugeot Total

Peugeot 307 WRC

A8

1

8

M

Markko Martin

EE

Michael Park

GB

Marlboro Peugeot Total

Peugeot 307 WRC

A8

1

9

M

Harri Rovanpera

FIN

Risto Pietilainen

FIN

Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports

Mitsubishi Lancer WR05

A8

1

10

M

NTBA

NTBA

Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports

Mitsubishi Lancer WR05

A8

1

11

M

Armin Schwarz

D

Klaus Wicha

D

Skoda Motorsport

Skoda Fabia WRC

A8

1

12

M

Jani Paasonen

FIN

Jani Vainikka

FIN

Skoda Motorsport

Skoda Fabia WRC

A8

1

14

Manfred Stohl

A

Ilka Minor

A

OMV World Rally Team

Citroen Xsara WRC

a8

2

15

Luis Perez Companc

RA

Jose Maria Volta

RA

BP Ford World Rally Team

Ford Focus RS WRC 04

A8

2

16

Tobias Johansson

S

Ola Floene

N

Rally Team Olspergs

Subaru Impreza WRC

a8

2

17

Antony Warmbold

D

Michael Orr

GB

BP Ford World Rally Team

Ford Focus RS WRC 04

A8

2

31

Toshihiro Arai

J

Tony Sircombe

NZ

Subaru Team Arai

Subaru Impreza WRX

N4

3

32

Xavier Pons

E

Oriol Julia

E

Xavier Pons

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

3

33

Nasser Al-Attiyah

QA

Chris Patterson

GB

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Subaru Impreza

N4

3

34

Fumio Nutahara

J

Satoshi Hayashi

J

ADVAN-PIAA Rally Team

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

3

35

Karamjit Singh

MAL

John Bennie

GB

Team Proton Pert Malaysia

Proton Pert

N4

3

36

Marcos Ligato

RA

Ruben Garcia

RA

Subaru Argentina Rally Team

Subaru Impreza

N4

3

37

Mark Higgins

GB

Trevor Agnew

GB

Mark Higgins

Subaru Impreza STI

N4

3

40

Gabriel Pozzo

RA

Daniel Stillo

RA

Subaru Argentina Rally Team

Subaru Impreza

N4

3

41

Natalie Barratt

GB

Carl Williamson

GB

OMV World Rally Team

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7

N4

3

42

Federico Villagra

RA

Javier Villagra

RA

Federico Villagra

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

3

43

Angelo Medeghini

I

Barbara Capoferri

I

Kome Sport SRL

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

3

44

Sebastian Beltran

RA

Edgardo Galindo

RA

Subaru Argentina Rally Team

Subaru Impreza

N4

3

47

Marcelo Recanate Sbetlier

PY

Nelson Franco

PY

Marcelo Recanate Sbetlier

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

N4

3

48

Luis Rosselot

RCH

Ricardo Rojas

RCH

Gerardo Rosselot Mujica

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

3

49

Hamed Al Wahaibi

OM

David Senior

GB

Oman World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC STI

N4

3

50

Aki Teiskonen

FIN

Miika Teiskonen

FIN

Syms Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC STI

N4

3

51

Brice Tirabassi

F

Jacques Julien Renucci

F

Brice Tirabassi

Subaru Impreza WRX STI

N4

3

61

P-G Andersson

S

Jonas Andersson

S

P-G Andersson

Suzuki Ignis Super 1600

A6

62

Guy Wilks

GB

Phil Pugh

GB

Guy Wilks

Suzuki Ignis Super 1600

A6

63

Dean Herridge

AUS

William Hayes

AUS

Subaru Rally Team Australia

Subaru Impreza

N4

64

Cody Crocker

AUS

Dale Moscatt

AUS

Subaru Rally Team Australia

Subaru Impreza

N4

65

Jari-Matti Latvala

FIN

Miikka Anttila

FIN

Les Walkden Rallying

Subaru Impreza

N4

66

Chris West

NZ

Garry Cowan

NZ

Subaru NZ/ Winger Subaru

Subaru Impreza

N4

67

Mark Tapper

NZ

Jeff Judd

NZ

Ralliart NZ

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7

N4

68

Neil Allport

NZ

Robert Ryan

NZ

Neil Allport Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

69

Giovanni Manfrinato

I

Claudia Condotta

I

Giovanni Manfrinato

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7

N4

70

Sam Murray

NZ

Stuart Jenkinson

NZ

Peter Day Motors

Subaru Impreza

N4

71

Tom Pritchard

GB

Paul Fallon

NZ

Ralliart NZ

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

72

Glenn Smith

NZ

Colin Smith

NZ

P.A.S. Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

73

Marty Roestenburg

NZ

Greg Horne

NZ

Reece Jones Rallysport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

74

Dean Sumner

NZ

Jeff Cress

NZ

Sumner Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

75

Hiroshi Yanagisawa

J

Tadashi Misaizu

J

Cusco Racing

Subaru Impreza

N4

76

Brian Stokes

NZ

Shayne O’Hagan

NZ

Brian Stokes

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

77

Lorna Smith

GB

Stewart Merry

GB

Rally Drive NZ

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

N4

78

Emma Gilmour

NZ

Chris Randell

AUS

Emma Gilmour

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

N4

79

Malcolm Stewart

NZ

Mike Fletcher

NZ

M Stewart

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6.5

A8

80

Kevin Shaw

IRL

Brian Price

AUS

Neil Allport Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7

N4

81

Brett Martin

NZ

Raymond Bennett

NZ

Team Total Lubricants

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

82

Dylan Turner

NZ

Sandeep Bansal

NZ

Turner Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

n4

83

Kevin Honiss

NZ

Malcolm Peden

NZ

Rally Drive NZ

Subaru Impreza

A8

84

Nakajima Masahiro

J

Numao Takayuki

J

Nakajima Masahiro

Subaru Impreza

N4

85

Grant Barber

NZ

Bede O’ Connor

NZ

Barber Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

86

Jeremy Cassells

NZ

Mike Catty

NZ

Turner Motorsport

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5

N4

87

Darryl Jones

NZ

Ian MacDougall

NZ

styleweb

Subaru Impreza

N4

88

Brent Taylor

NZ

Chris Ramsay

NZ

Rally Drive NZ

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

N4

89

Lee-Anne Barns

NZ

Erin Kyle

NZ

Priceright Parts

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

90

Tony Burrowes

NZ

Brian Rowe

NZ

Burrst Racing

Subaru Impreza

N4

91

Dave Strong

NZ

Bruce McKenzie

NZ

Dave Strong

Honda Civic Type R

A7

92

Dermott Malley

NZ

Fleur Pedersen

GB

M Rally Team

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

A8

93

Michiaki Horikome

J

Yoko Horikome

J

Fumi Aki Takahashi

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8

N4

94

Hideaki Ito

J

Nobuyosi Hara

J

Team Teraoka Auto Door

Subaru Impreza

N4

95

Junji Shimizu

J

Yoshinori Kuwahara

J

Team Teraoka Auto Door

Subaru Impreza

A8

96

Nick Marshall

NZ

Ray Baker

AUS

Marshall Motorsport

Peugeot 106 VK

A6

97

Julien Lenglet

F

Ross Ishiwata

AUS

Ray Wilson

Honda Integra Type-R

A7

98

Tatsuyuki Kanno

J

Motoharu Kaseya

J

Tatsuyuki Kanno

Toyota Starlet

N1

M - Manufacturer Championship Entry 1 - Driver FIA 1st Priority 2 - Driver FIA 2nd Priority 3 – Driver FIA 3rd Priority

MAKES

COUNTRIES

CLASSES

Citroen

3

Argentina (RA)

5

A8

20

Ford

4

Australia (AUS)

3

A7

2

Honda

2

Austria (A)

1

A6

3

Mitsubishi

29

Belgium (B)

1

N4

45

Peugeot

3

Chile (RCH)

1

N1

1

Proton

1

Czech Republic (CZ)

1

TOTAL

71

Skoda

2

Estonia (EE)

1

Subaru

24

Finland (FIN)

6

Suzuki

2

France (F)

3

GROUPS

Toyota

1

Germany (D)

2

A

25

Great Britain (GB)

5

N

46

TOTAL (10)

71

Italy (I)

2

TOTAL

71

Ireland (IRL)

1

Japan (J)

8

Malaysia (MAL)

1

New Zealand (NZ)

22

Norway (N)

1

Oman (OM)

1

Paraguay (PY)

1

Qatar (QA)

1

Spain (E)

1

Sweden (S)

2

TOTAL (22)

70

(plus Car 10)

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