Salonen leads rally by seconds

Press, 1 July 1985, Page 40

Salonen leads rally by seconds

The world championship leader, Timo Salonen, of Finland, driving a Peugeot 205T16 led the AWA Clarion rally of New Zealand by 23 seconds from the Audi driver, Walter Rohrl, when the second leg finished in a rain soaked Rotorua last evening.

In third place Imin 40sec behind the leader was his team-mate and compatriot, Ari Vatanen, while the second Audi driver, Stig Blomqvist, held fourth position 3min 22s behind the leader.

In the battle to be the first resident New Zealander, Reg Cook, who had overcome a potentially serious accident involving several spectators who were standing in a dangerous position on the first day of the rally held fifth position, 25s behind fellow New Zealand driver, Neil Allport. In the group A class “Possum” Bourne took the lead in his four-wheel drive Subaru after Paul Adams was reported to have struck trouble on the twenty-

second stage — the second to last stage last evening. Of the Canterbury contingent contesting the rally, Grant Coile, of Christchurch, had moved from his seventy-second starting position to be thirty-fifth in his Toyota Starlet, and Brian Stokes, of Waikuku, had overcome numerous difficulties to be forty-second.

Carl Rabbidge, of Timaru with a Christchurch codriver, Mike Fletcher, held twenty-second position.

As expected the rally has developed into a struggle between the French Peugeot and West German Audi factory teams. These fourwheel drive group B supercars quickly made a break on the rest of the field during the first leg of the rally on Saturday, and consolidated their advantage during yesterday’s wet and slippery conditions. Surprisingly, the Audi drivers were able to match the previously dominant Peugeots during the first day’s competition. Team

tactics have played an important part in the battle with the West German, Walter Rohrl, abandoning his usual precise style of driving in favour of a more aggressive attacking technique as he set out in the role of team hare on the second leg, run from Auckland to Rotorua.

Throughout the day Rohrl fought to stave off the Peugeots which were spearheaded by the Finn, Timo Salonen, while his Audi team-mate, Stig Blomqvist settled into a supporting role playing a waiting game in the hope that Rohrl’s pace might cause a chink to appear in the Peugeot team’s mechanical armour.

As the rally moved into darkness, Salonen’s nimble Peugeot gradually overwhelmed Rohrl and moved away leaving him to face an expected challenge from the other Peugeot driver, Ari Vatanen, as the rally moves into its third day this morning. The brutish Audis have proven most popular with the large crowds