The 2001 World Rally Championship season review (part 2 of 2). Story by Andrew Frampton.
Round 8 - Safari 
As the championship entered its second half, Tommi Makinen got his title bid back on track with a comprehensive victory on the Safari Rally. Makinen's lead at the end of the first leg was over a minute and a half from Carlos Sainz, while Harri Rovanpera was another three minutes back in third. Both Richard Burns and Colin McRae would have hoped to be in that top three, but were out of the event. Burns went out midway through the first stage with broken suspension, while McRae lasted only three stages more before suffering steering and clutch problems that would force him out.
Skoda's Armin Schwarz had led the event early on, but suffered with punctures and the weather, and ended the first leg in sixth position. Francois Delecour performed admirably on the first day of his inaugural Safari Rally, the Frenchman in the third of the Fords in fifth. Petter Solberg was belying his age and experience, holding an impressive fourth position. Early on day 2, Makinen got the break he needed - Sainz retiring from the event with piston failure. The pressure off, Makinen could afford to drive at less than 100%, something that Rovanpera was also doing in second, the Finn focussing on taking the points for second position. The gap between the two at the end of the second day was over six minutes.
Solberg was third overnight, still going despite suffering the damper problem that forced teammates Richard Burns and Toshi Arai out of the event. However, the final day would see Solberg lose a wheel thanks to a wheel-bearing fault, and would end the event on the sidelines. This allowed Schwarz into third, despite pressure from Delecour, for Skoda's first podium finish. Although the Skoda team had run out of shock absorbers, Schwarz managed to crawl to the end of the event ahead of Delecour, who was suffering gearbox problems.
Despite breaking both driveshafts, Rovanpera took an excellent second position, albeit over 12 minutes behind Makinen. An hour and three quarters behind Makinen, and in fifth position was the Finn's team-mate Freddy Loix, who had, amongst other things, suffered from a broken strut, the engine lapsing onto three cylinders, a 37 minute engine change, turbo problems and various punctures. It was a test of character for the Belgian, and two points were just reward. Bruno Thiry was aiming for sixth position in his Skoda, but after collapsing due to dehydration at the final service, he crashed out on the last stage.
1. Makinen 40pts; 2. McRae 30pts; 3. Sainz 26pts; 4. Rovanpera 20pts
Round 9 - Finland 
After what had been a disastrous start to the 2001 campaign, Marcus Gronholm returned to the form that earned him the championship last year, taking victory on his home event - the Rally of Finland. Gronholm was always in charge on an event he favours, having won there last year. It was also his first victory of the season. Also aiming for championship glory was Tommi Makinen, but the Mitsubishi man crashed out on the opening day.
Keen to capitalise were Richard Burns and Colin McRae, the British duo looking to overcome their Safari woes. However, both were behind the second Peugeot of Harri Rovanpera, who held second overnight at the end of the second leg. With neither in a championship challenging position, the Peugeot management told them to hold station and attempt to pick up the 16 manufacturer's points they would claim by taking the top two spots. Gronholm did his bit, cruising to his first victory since the Australian Rally in November 2000. However, Rovanpera suffered a broken tyre valve in the morning and a final leg oil leak, and toppled to fourth.
Benefiting from the Finn's misfortune, Burns moved up into second, just holding off McRae, who took third from Rovanpera on that final stage - less than 40 seconds covered the top four finishers! Markko Martin took an impressive fifth position in his Subaru despite flattening his exhaust, while Carlos Sainz scored a valuable point in sixth position.
1. Makinen 40pts; 2. McRae 36pts; 3. Sainz 27pts; 4. Burns
Round 10 - New Zealand 
The tactics that had dogged the World Rally Championship's previous gravel events returned in New Zealand, as Richard Burns moved himself into title contention with victory in the most bizarre event of the season.
Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg made the early running, and traded fastest times over the opening stages courtesy of their lowly championship positions. The title protagonists, meanwhile, were struggling through the gravel, as the cars ran in championship order. Makinen was well outside the top ten, while Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and Richard Burns were faring only slightly better. As the first day drew to a close, the leading drivers were concerned about the running order for day 2. The dilemma facing those at the head of the leaderboard was whether to press ahead and run first on the road, or to drop time and run in the wheeltracks of others. Burns would slow on the final stage and drop to ninth overall, behind Alister McRae, Francois Delecour and Freddy Loix. Solberg's chance to end the day in first position was ruined by engine management problems, and the Norwegian would drop to fifth. The Fords of Sainz and McRae drove flat out during day one, and would have to do the same on the second leg as they ended the first day in third and fourth respectively.
Gronholm was second, but had dropped 40-seconds over the final stage, in an attempt to drop behind the Fords, but had failed to loose a position! The disgruntled Finn only had one car ahead of him on the second day - the Hyundai of Kenneth Eriksson, the first time a Korean car had led a leg of a WRC event. Running first on the road, the Swede had no chance on the second leg, and ended the day outside the top ten. Those running further down the order had an advantage. Richard Burns made it through to the front of the field by the end of the second day, with McRae in second, ahead of Harri Rovanpera, Sainz and the recovering Gronholm.
The final day turned into a classic Burns vs. McRae battle, and although the Englishman had an overnight lead of 42-seconds, after six stages, the gap was just 14 seconds. However, a time-consuming spin opened up Burns' advantage once again, and he cruised to victory. McRae held on to take second, ahead of Rovanpera. Sainz must have thought he was heading for second position before a spin and punctures dropped him to fourth. Gronholm took fifth, only twelve seconds behind McRae, but was left ruing a 10-second jump-start penalty on the last stage.
1. Makinen = McRae 40pts; 3. Burns 31pts; 4. Sainz
Round 11 - San Remo 
The asphalt events of San Remo and Corsica seemed unlikely to yield many points to the title hopefuls, with the French Peugeot and Citroen marques set to steal the limelight.
The Italian event ran to form, the two French teams ideally suited to the tarmac of the San Remo region of Italy, as Mitsubishi suffered teething problems with their new car, and Ford struggled with its Pirelli tyres. Richard Burns, however, was the first casualty on the event, barely had the first stage started, than the Subaru driver had crashed out. This left the road clear for Jesus Puras to burst into a lead that he would hold overnight. At the end of the first day, the leaderboard had a pattern to it, as Gilles Panizzi and Philippe Bugalski completed the podium in a Citroen-Peugeot-Citroen-Peugeot-Citroen-Peugeot top six. Surprise of the first day was Sebastien Loeb who took fifth on his first event for Citroen, sandwiched between the silver Peugeots of Didier Auriol and Marcus Gronholm. McRae ended the day 13th, while Makinen was one place further back.
Day 2 started bright and dry, and Puras continued his day one form - setting the fastest time through the first stage. However, by the end of the next, Citroen's dream of victory was over. Bugalski, having crashed dramatically out of the rally on SS8 joined Puras in retirement. Having hit a wall, he retired with suspension damage on the following stage. Citroen's efforts now focussed on Loeb, the Frenchman competing in his first World Rally event, after a competitive season in the supporting 1600 class. Loeb would end the day second having set two fastest times, 34.4 seconds behind new rally leader Panizzi, and 7.4 seconds ahead of Auriol.
Gronholm held fourth, ahead of the improving Carlos Sainz, and the local privateer Renato Travaglia. McRae's performance improved over the second day and he claimed tenth as night fell - rival Makinen was still struggling outside the top ten.
In his first works event, Loeb would have trouble to overturn Panizzi's lead, but over the first three stages, the gap was down to just over eleven seconds. However, the young Citroen driver was only 0.4 seconds faster through the final stage, and had to settle for what was a superb second position. Panizzi claimed his first victory since the San Remo last season, while Auriol confirmed a maximum manufacturer's point's haul for Peugeot with third position, as Citroen are ineligible to score points. Sainz took fourth ahead of Travaglia and the charging McRae. Gronholm fell to seventh on the final day, while Makinen crashed out.
1. Makinen = McRae 40pts; 3. Sainz 33pts; 4. Burns
Round 12 - Corsica
The first day of Corsican Rally will always be remembered for the shunt that befell Tommi Makinen. Misjudging a bend on the tight tarmac roads of SS5, the Finn's Mitsubishi flipped onto its roof, before sliding along the road - stopping inches from the edge of a 300 foot-deep ravine. Although Makinen scrambled from the wreckage, the emergency crews were called for co-driver Risto Mannisenmäki who was trapped in the car. Air-lifted to hospital, Makinen's long-time partner underwent surgery on his back. Due to the extent of his injuries, Mannisenmäki would miss the remainder of the season, although he is expected to return to the action in 2002.
By the time Makinen was out on stage 5, two other contenders were also eliminated; Philippe Bugalski clipping a rock just 500 metres into the first stage, and Carlos Sainz, with a holed sump. Consequently, at the end of the first day, Jesus Puras had a 10.5-second advantage at the head of the leaderboard. Gilles Panizzi was in second, ahead of team-mates Didier Auriol and Marcus Gronholm. Petter Solberg was fifth, while teammate Burns could only manage an unimpressive thirteenth - three places behind championship rival Colin McRae. Puras consolidated his lead on the second day, increasing the margin to Panizzi to 23.5 seconds.
Auriol dropped back in third, after suffering in the wet conditions that swept across the day's later stages. However, he no longer had to worry about Gronholm, who was out having clouted a rock. The final day turned into a damp squib of a finale - the weather denying Panizzi any chance to make a move on Puras. Puras claimed Citroen's first WRC win, while Panizzi held off Auriol and Petter Solberg to take second. Richard Burns had moved up to fifth, before fourth placed Solberg took a time-penalty to give his team-mate the extra championship point. Markko Martin made it three Subarus in the top six, while Colin McRae could only take tenth.
1. Makinen = McRae 40pts; 3. Burns 34pts; 4. Sainz
Round 13 - Australia 
Marcus Gronholm's topsy-turvy season took another turn in Australia, taking victory in an event he also won last season. Now out of the title race, the Finn would end the season ruing his poor form in the first half of the campaign. Over the first day, Didier Auriol and Richard Burns kept pace with the 2000 champion. Burns ended the day in second position and Auriol third, just 3.8 seconds off the lead.
Happy to be back on gravel, Colin McRae was fourth, while Harri Rovanpera in the third Peugeot had run in the top three early on, before dropping to fifth position. Despite his huge accident in Corsica, Tommi Makinen overcame back pains to claim sixth overnight. He was more successful than fellow title challenger Carlos Sainz, who hit a post and lost three minutes.
To combat the tactical games that had blighted the previous gravel events, the drivers would pick their positions for the final day, meaning that the slowest of the works cars on the first day, would run first on the second day. Gronholm would run 14th, Burns 13th and Auriol 12th. Colin McRae would have chosen to run 11th, but by turning up late to the meeting, was not allowed to pick a position. So instead of Toshi Arai (14th overnight), running first on the road, this honour would fall to McRae. The Scot's title challenge was now under real pressure, but in an attempt to give him the best possible chance, the Ford team management sent team-mate Francois Delecour to the first stage thirteen minutes early, picking up enough penalties to mean the Frenchman had to run first on the road.
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However, McRae's slight advantage didn't last long, having lost over 50 seconds on the opening two stages, his roadsweeper Delecour crashed out of the rally on the next stage. The stage was cancelled as co-driver Daniel Grataloup received treatment for his injuries. Gronholm, meanwhile, set five fastest times on the six second-leg stages to move him into a commanding position atop the leaderboard. Burns had moved clear of Auriol in second, while McRae had dropped to fifth behind Rovanpera. Although Burns was faster through the opening stages of day three, nothing was going to deny Gronholm another gravel victory, with Burns cruising to second and Auriol third. McRae closed on Rovanpera, and was less than ten seconds adrift at the end, while Tommi Makinen took sixth, in the new Mitsubishi.
The Rally of Great Britain would host the final round of the championship, with four drivers still in with a shout of title glory with McRae holding the advantage. The Scot had 42pts, Makinen was in second position with 41pts, and Burns was another point back in third. Carlos Sainz also had an outside shot at the title, with 33pts.
1. McRae 42pts; 2. Makinen 41pts; 3. Burns 40pts; 4. Sainz 33pts
Round 14 - Great Britain 
Richard Burns had looked out of the running for the title at the mid-way point in the season. 25 points behind Makinen after the Safari Rally, the Englishman's form, and the lack of results from his competitors, had given him a chance to challenge for the title in Wales. This position was further strengthened at the end of the first leg; two of his rivals had crashed out of the rally and the other delayed. Burns took things easy through the opening stage, taking tenth position, while rival Tommi Makinen struggled to 18th.
Things went from bad to worse for the Finn, clipping a rock on SS2, damaging the wishbone, and putting him out of the event - the four-times World Champion's seven years at Mitsubishi coming to an unhappy end. Carlos Sainz, the championship outsider, who needed victory on the event to have any chance of the title, suffered brake failure early on, and dropped down the field. Team-mate Colin McRae was leading the rally thanks to the fastest stage time through SS3. However, on the next stage, the Scot misinterpreted a pace note and cutting a corner, a hole in the road launched his car into a series of four end-over-end barrel rolls. McRae and Grist climbed from the wreckage of their Focus, knowing that all Burns had to do was to claim a top four position to take the title. By the end of the first day, Burns was in a comfortable second position, behind the Australian Rally winner, Marcus Gronholm. His Peugeot teammates Harri Rovanpera and Didier Auriol held third and fourth, while Sainz had clawed his way back up into fifth position.
At this stage we were almost certain of a British Champion. Sainz would need to take the rally win in order to take the overall laurels, and although he started the second day with the bit between his teeth, the Spaniard spun into a spectator area on the eleventh stage. Thirteen spectators were injured in the accident, although none of them seriously. Sainz drove his Focus out of the stage, but both he and one-off team-mate Mark Higgins were withdrawn from the event by the Ford team. This handed the manufacturer's championship to Peugeot, whose drivers were still at the head of the field, Gronholm holding the lead overnight.
Burns was still second, ahead of Rovanpera and Alister McRae. Burns now only had four stages between him and the championship. However, one false move would hand it on a plate to McRae. Although Burns lost his second position to Rovanpera on the opening stage, he clung on to take third, and the overall championship title. Gronholm made it two wins in a row, while Rovanpera eased off to score a Peugeot 1-2. Alister McRae took fourth position after fending off Armin Schwarz, while Kenneth Eriksson made it two Hyundais in the top six.
In 2001 Richard Burns was the first Englishman to take the World Rally Championship crown, but he had to rely on his consistency in the second half of the season to earn the title. After the Safari rally, Burns was 25 points behind Tommi Makinen in the championship standings, and even by his own reckoning, was out of the running. However, despite the minor glitch of crashing out of the San Remo Rally on the first stage, he scored 29 of his 44 points in the last six events. Colin McRae was left ruing yet another year of inconsistency.
Three back-to-back wins in Argentina, Cyprus and Acropolis showed he still had the speed, but he only claimed three more points finishes. If Tommi Makinen had performed as well in the second half of the season as he had in the first, he would have taken his fifth World Rally Championship. Just one point in the last six events was all the Finn could claim, as a spate of accidents, and problems with his new car cost him dearly. Marcus Gronholm was almost as inconsistent as Makinen; the most successful driver in the second half of the season, he claimed 32 points after the Safari Rally, but having scored only four points prior to that, the chance to hold onto his title had gone.
Harri Rovanpera did well for Peugeot in his limited campaign and claimed fifth position, while Carlos Sainz fell to sixth after his Rally GB retirement. The Spaniard proved his pace with nine points finishes, but a lack of wins cost him dear.
FINAL DRIVERS' STANDINGS:
1. Richard Burns (Subaru) 44pts
2. Colin McRae (Ford) 42pts
3. Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi) 41pts
4. Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) 36pts
5. Harri Rovanpera (Peugeot) 36pts
6. Carlos Sainz (Ford) 33pts
7. Didier Auriol (Peugeot) 23pts
8. Gilles Panizzi (Peugeot) 22pts
9. Francois Delecour (Ford) 15pts
10. Petter Solberg (Subaru) 11pts
FINAL MANUFACTURER'S STANDINGS:
1. Peugeot 106pts
2. Ford 86pts
3. Mitsubishi 69pts
4. Subaru 66pts
5. Skoda 17pts
6. Hyundai 17pts
7. Citroen 0pts
(Citroen were ineligible to score points as they did not contest more than half of the events)
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