Subaru beaten in Turkey

As in the opening round of the season in Monte Carlo, the Subaru team walked away from Turkey with bitter disappointment. Petter Solberg retired from the lead of the rally on day 1, while the Subaru mechanics kept Tommi Makinen in the rally, finishing a lowly ninth.

Subaru came to Turkey full of confidence that the new Impreza WRC2003 was capable of winning straight out of the box, but the rough terrain of the Turkish Rally destroyed all hopes. Petter Solberg roared into the early rally lead but front suspension damage on only the third stage brought his charge to an immediate halt.

The onus was then on Tommi Makinen, and after riding as high as third, was in a good position to push for victory. That was until another of those dreaded rocks destroyed the rear suspsion of the Finns Impreza, limping his way back to service where the mechanics got to work. Makinen suffered a repeat performance later in the rally to finish ninth.

"It's good to finish!" Makinen said. "The event was much tougher than we expected. During the recce we found that the stages were difficult, but when so many cars go through them they become very, very rough. It's a disappointing result for me, but before our problems we were making some good times. The car feels very good and I'm sure that in New Zealand, we will really see how the new car can perform."

Team boss David Lapworth was equally disappointed. "Obviously we're disappointed with the result, but we're pleased with many aspects of our performance and we go away from here full of confidence ahead of New Zealand," he said. "It's been a well run event, which showed that it deserved a place in the FIA World Rally Championship."