Loeb wins San Remo Rally

Sebastien Loeb went into the final two stages with a comfortable 40-second advantage over Ford's Markko Martin with Panizzi over two minutes adrift in fifth, but a forecast of drizzle changed the order considerably.

The gravel crews had warned that the first of the two stages were dry to start before coming damp later in the stage, forcing the majority of the drivers to go for slick tyres with only Gilles Panizzi taking intermediates. The inspired choice almost got him victory.

Panizzi was over twenty seconds quicker than team-mate Marcus Gronholm and almost 30 seconds quicker than rally leader Loeb on the penultimate stage to send him rocketing into third overall, and with drivers unable to change tyres before the final stage, Panizzi was in an ideal position.

The final stage was completely wet and Panizzi simply destoryed his rivals, setting a time over a minute quicker than Richard Burns to move into second overall. All eyes were then on Sebastien Loeb's time.

The Frenchman crossed the line 1min 16.7secs slower than Panizzi but managed to hold on to the victory by a comfortable 28 seconds. "It was a very difficult end of the race," said Loeb. "I tried to stay on the road and do the same times as Martin. Panizzi was coming very, very fast."

Panizzi gave credit to his team for choosing the right tyres for the wet roads. "Luckily when the rain came, we chose the right tyres. Of course, that is an important part of rallying and the team did a fantastic job helping me choose them," he said.

The stage was to cause more drama when Marcus Grohnolm was reported to have crashed off the road, leaving him with almost now hope of retaining his title.

Markko Martin, who had battled bravely after being hit with a 360-second penalty on Saturday morning, wasn't too disappointed at losing second on the final stage. "It's a shame to lose second place on the final stage but we were so lucky not to end the rally off the road so I can't complain too much," he said.

"We were fastest on seven special stages and that kind of performance gives us plenty of confidence for the asphalt rallies in Corsica and Spain later this month," he added.

Loeb's victory leaped him from fourth to second in the championship, just two points behind Richard Burns who had gone from a non-scoring ninth to the safety of two points for seventh on the final stage.

"I'm very glad to get to the end and even happier to score some points," said Burns. "I can't remember an event where I felt so little confidence in myself or the car."

Citroen's Carlos Sainz finished fourth overall to leave him just four points adrift of Burns in the championship, with Ford's young Belgian charger Francois Duval getting a much-needed result following two non-finishes. Colin McRae completed another disappoitning rally for him in sixth, ahead of Burns and Citroens' fourth driver, Philippe Bugalski.

The championship now moves to Corsica, the second of three consecutive asphalt rallies, where Loeb will be favourite to take victory and with it the championship lead.