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2006 Rally Japan


FieldValue
name2006 Rally Japan
native_name3rd Rally Japan
round11
season_no16
championship2006 World Rally Championship
previous_round2006 Rally Finland
next_round2006 Cyprus Rally
imageFile:Chris Atkinson - 2006 Rally Japan.jpg
captionChris Atkinson
country
rallybaseObihiro
startdate1
enddate3 September 2006
stages27
stagekm345.72
stagekm_note
transportkm1,240.8
overallkm1,586.52
surfaceGravel
driver1FRA Sébastien Loeb
codriver1MON Daniel Elena
team1BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team
time13:22:20.4
crewsreg87
teamsstart87
teamsfinish78

The 2006 Rally Japan was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 1 and 3 September 2006. It marked the 3rd running of the Rally Japan, and was the eleventh round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. The event was also the fifth round of the 2006 Production World Rally Championship. The 2006 event was based in the town of Kita Aikoku near Obihiro in Japan and was contested over twenty seven special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 345.72km (214.82 miles).

Marcus Grönholm, along with BP Ford World Rally Team were the defending rally winners, trailing behind championship rival Sebastien Loeb by 31 points. Red Bull Škoda Team, as well as one of OMV Peugeot Norway's cars would miss the event.

Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena won the rally, their first win since the 2006 Rallye Deutschland and their seventh of the season.

Background

Entry list

The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship and its support category, the Production World Rally Championship, as well as privateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Eleven were entered under World Rally Car regulations, as were eleven in the Production WRC category.

No.DriverCo-DriverEntrantCarTyre
1FRA Sebastien LoebMON Daniel ElenaBEL Kronos Citroën World Rally TeamCitroën Xsara WRC
2SPA Dani SordoSPA Marc MartíBEL Kronos Citroën World Rally TeamCitroën Xsara WRC
3FIN Marcus GronholmFIN Timo RautiainenGBR BP Ford World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 06
4FIN Mikko HirvonenFIN Jarmo LehtinenGBR BP Ford World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 06
5NOR Petter SolbergGBR Phil MillsJPN Subaru World Rally TeamImpreza WRC 2006
6AUS Chris AtkinsonAUS Glenn MacneallJPN Subaru World Rally TeamImpreza WRC 2006
7AUT Manfred StohlAUT Ilka MinorNOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally TeamPeugeot 307 WRC
9GBR Matthew WilsonGBR Michael OrrGBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 06
10ARG Luis Perez CompancARG Jose Maria VoltaGBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 06
No.DriverCo-DriverEntrantCar
32ARG Marcos LigatoARG Rubén GarcíaARG Tango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
33JPN Fumio NutaharaGBR Daniel BarrittJPN Advan-Piaa Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
34ARG Sebastián BeltranCHL Ricardo RojasARG Tango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
35ARG Gabriel PozzoARG Daniel StilloARG Tango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
36SMR Mirco BaldacciITA Giovanni AgneseFRA Mitsubishi Paris West TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
37FIN Jari-Matti LatvalaFIN Miikka AnttilaITA Motoring ClubSubaru Impreza WRX STI
38POL Leszek KuzajPOL Maciej SzczepaniakJPN Syms Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI
40ITA Stefano MarriniITA Sandroni TizianaITA Errani Team GroupMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
41JPN Takuma KamadaFRA Denis GiraudetJPN Subaru Team QuasysSubaru Impreza WRX STI
42SMR Loris BaldacciITA Dario D'EspositoRUS Subaru Rally Team RussiaSubaru Impreza WRX STI
45FIN Aki TeiskonenFIN Miika TeiskonenJPN Syms Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI
No.DriverCo-DriverEntrantCar
12IRE Gareth MacHaleIRE Paul NagleIRE Tom Hogan MotorsFord Focus RS WRC
14JPN Toshihiro AraiNZL Tony SircombeJPN Subaru World Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI

Itinerary

All dates and times are JST (UTC+9).

DateNo.Time spanStage nameDistance31 August1 September2 September3 September
After 8:30Obihiro SSS [Shakedown]1.30 km
SS1After 8:03Pawse Kamuy 19.05 km
SS2After 8:51Rikubetsu 12.73 km
SS3After 9:27Kanna 113.86 km
SS4After 9:50Puray 134.96 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]12:20Service A, Obihiro
SS5After 14:23Pawse Kamuy 29.05 km
SS6After 15:11Rikubetsu 22.73 km
SS7After 15:47Kanna 225.61 km
SS8After 16:10Puray 234.96 km
SS9After 18:45Obihiro 11.30 km
SS10After 18:55Obihiro 21.30 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]19:08Service B, Obihiro
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]6:00Service C, Obihiro
SS11After 7:26Emina8.18 km
SS12After 8:28Rikubetsu 32.73 km
SS13After 8:53Niueo 120.75 km
SS14After 9:25Sipirkakim 122.43 km
SS15After 10:35Menan16.25 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]12:20Service D, Obihiro
SS16After 14:48Rikubetsu 42.73 km
SS17After 15:13Niueo 220.75 km
SS18After 15:45Sipirkakim 222.43 km
SS19After 16:55Menan Short9.17 km
SS20After 18:45Obihiro 31.30 km
SS21After 18:55Obihiro 41.30 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]19:08Service E, Obihiro
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]6:00Service F, Obihiro
SS22After 7:19Rera Kamuy8.76 km
SS23After 7:44Panke Nikorpet 117.04 km
SS24After 8:20Penke 124.88 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]10:00Service G, Obihiro
SS25After 11:43Panke Nikorpet 217.04 km
SS26After 12:19Penke 224.88 km
SS27After 14:09Obihiro 51.30 km
[[File:Icon tools.svg15px]]14:22Service H, Obihiro
Source:

Report

Overall

Summary

Opening the road on Friday, Loeb would begin the rally struggling in comparison to his championship rival Gronholm. Despite being fastest on the end-of-day super special stages, Loeb would trail his rival by just over ten seconds at the end of the day. Mikko Hirvonen would find himself in a comfortable third, as Atkinson struggled with mechanical issues throughout the day, being awarded a fifty second time penalty after leaving the service area later than scheduled.

Saturday morning would be much tighter between the leading pair; Gronholm would begin the morning with two stage wins, extending his lead, only for Loeb to fight back in the next stage, undoing all of his progress. Stage 14 would be where Gronholm lost the lead after a spin cost him nearly twenty seconds. The two would spend the rest of the day trading stage wins, and by the end of the second leg, Loeb would maintain a lead of over twenty seven seconds. Solberg would see various mechanical issues affect his Subaru, but in the afternoon he would close the gap back down to Sordo in front. Arai went off the road in stage 16, striking a photographer who suffered a leg injury from the accident. Arai would continue the rally with the blessing of the photographer, finishing the day in eighth.

On Sunday, Gronholm did all that he could to catch Loeb, winning four of the day's six stages, and closing the gap down to fifteen seconds by the mid day break. In the end, however, he simply would not have enough distance left to catch Loeb, who would cross the line victorious, leading by a much narrower 5.6 second lead. In winning the rally, Loeb beat the record for the most rallies won by a single driver in the World Rally Championship, previously held by Carlos Sainz. Companc would end the rally on the penultimate stage after crashing, while Sordo lost time negotiating the accident site, but was later excluded for not wearing seatbelts. MacHale would also end the rally early after striking a bridge in Stage 25.

Classification

PositionNo.DriverCo-driverEntrantCarTimeDifferencePointsEventClass1122334455667781118409Retired SS27Retired SS27
1FRA Sebastien LoebMON Daniel ElenaKronos RacingCitroën Xsara WRC3:22:20.40.010
3FIN Marcus GrönholmFIN Timo RautiainenBP Ford World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 063:22:26.4+5.68
4FIN Mikko HirvonenFIN Jarmo LehtinenBP Ford World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 063:25:06.9+2:46.56
6AUS Chris AtkinsonAUS Glenn MacNeallSubaru World Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRC3:28:28.2+6:07.85
7AUT Manfred StohlAUT Ilka MinorOMV Peugeot Norway World Rally TeamPeugeot 307 WRC3:29:31.1+7:10.74
14JPN Toshihiro AraiNZL Tony SircombeSubaru World Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:31:25.5+9:05.13
5NOR Petter SolbergGBR Phil MillsSubaru World Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRC3:34:04.1+11:43.72
33JPN Fumio NutaharaGBR Daniel BarrittAdvan-Piaa Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX4:56:11.9+15:21.51
10ARG Luis Perez CompancARG Jose Maria VoltaStobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 064:58:05.4+17:15.00
9GBR Matthew WilsonGBR Michael OrrStobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 065:06:11.4+25:21.00
2ESP Dani SordoESP Marc MartiKronos Citroën World Rally TeamCitroën Xsara WRCExcluded0
12IRE Gareth MacHaleIRE Paul NagleTom Hogan MotorsFord Focus RS WRCMechanical0

Special Stages

All dates and times are JST (UTC+9).

DayStageTimeNameLength (km)WinnerTimeRally leader1
(1 Sep)SS108:03SS208:51SS309:27SS409:50SS514:23SS615:11SS715:47SS816:10SS918:45SS1018:552
(2 Sep)SS1107:26SS1208:28SS1308:53SS1409:25SS1510:35SS1614:48SS1715:13SS1815:45SS1916:55SS2018:45SS2118:553
(3 Sep)SS2207:19SS2307:44SS2408:20SS2511:43SS2612:19SS2714:09
Pawse Kamuy 19.50FIN Marcus Grönholm4:38.2FIN Marcus Grönholm
Rikubetsu 12.73FIN Marcus Grönholm2:12.1
Kanna 113.85FRA Sébastien Loeb8:06.3
Puray 134.95FIN Marcus Grönholm19:45.3
Pawse Kamuy 236.38FIN Marcus Grönholm4:32.9
Rikubetsu 22.73FIN Marcus Grönholm2:07.9
Kanna 213.85FRA Sébastien Loeb7:52.2
Puray 234.95FIN Marcus Grönholm19:06.7
Obihiro 11.29FRA Sébastien Loeb1:14.2
Obihiro 21.29FRA Sébastien Loeb1:15.0
Emina8.18FIN Marcus Grönholm5:42.1
Rikubetsu 32.73FIN Marcus Grönholm2:07.4
Niueo 120.75FRA Sébastien Loeb12:10.6
Sipirkakim 122.43FRA Sébastien Loeb12:17.0FRA Sébastien Loeb
Menan16.25FRA Sébastien Loeb10:17.3
Rikubetsu 42.73FIN Marcus Grönholm2:04.2
Niueo 220.75FRA Sébastien Loeb11:35.9
Sipirkakim 222.43FIN Marcus Grönholm12:09.0
Menan Short9.17FIN Marcus Grönholm5:33.5
Obihiro 31.29FRA Sébastien Loeb1:13.1
Obihiro 41.29FRA Sébastien Loeb1:12.6
Rera Kamuy8.76FIN Marcus Grönholm5:07.2
Panke Nikorpet 117.40FRA Sébastien Loeb9:36.8
Penke 124.87FIN Marcus Grönholm14:44.3
Panke Nikorpet 217.40FIN Marcus Grönholm9:13.4
Penke 224.87FIN Marcus Grönholm14:21.5
Obihiro 51.29FIN Mikko Hirvonen1:11.0

Championship Standings

Pos.Drivers' ChampionshipManufacturers' ChampionshipMoveDriverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints
1[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]FRA Sébastien Loeb102[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team132
2[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]FIN Marcus Gronholm69[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]GBR BP Ford World Rally Team121
3[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]ESP Dani Sordo41[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]JPN Subaru World Rally Team74
4[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]FIN Mikko Hirvonen33[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team50
5[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]AUT Manfred Stohl28[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team29

Production WRC

Classification

PositionNo.DriverCo-driverEntrantCarTimeDifferencePointsEventClass81921031341754264675486997510Retired SS11
33JPN Fumio NutaharaGBR Daniel BarrittAdvan-Piaa Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX3:45:17.80.010
35ARG Gabriel PozzoARG Daniel StilloTango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX3:45:45.2+27.48
32ARG Marcos LigatoARG Rubén GarcíaTango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX3:46:19.0+1:01.26
45FIN Aki TeiskonenFIN Miika TeiskonenSyms Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:49:20.4+4:02.65
38POL Leszek KuzajPOL Maciej SzczepaniakSyms Rally TeamSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:56:37.7+11:19.94
40ITA Stefano MarriniITA Sandroni TizianaErrani Team GroupMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX4:19:56.1+34:38.33
36SMR Mirco BaldacciITA Giovanni AgneseMitsubishi Paris West TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX4:24:14.7+38:56.92
41JPN Takuma KamadaFRA Denis GiraudetSubaru Team QuasysSubaru Impreza WRX STI4:31:12.6+45:54.81
37FIN Jari-Matti LatvalaFIN Miikka AnttilaMotoring ClubSubaru Impreza WRX STI5:04:49.4+1:19:31.60
34ARG Sebastián BeltranCHL Ricardo RojasTango Rally TeamMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX5:30:01.7+1:44:43.90
42SMR Loris BaldacciITA Dario D'EspositoSubaru Rally Team RussiaSubaru Impreza WRX STIAccident0

Championship Standings

Pos.Drivers' ChampionshipMoveDriverPoints
1[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah34
2[[File:1uparrow green.svg10px]] 3JPN Fumio Nutahara20
3[[File:1downarrow red.svg10px]] 1SMR Mirco Baldacci19
4[[File:1rightarrow blue.svg10px]]POL Leszek Kuzaj17
5[[File:1downarrow red.svg10px]] 2JPN Toshihiro Arai15

References

References

  1. "Itinerary Rally Japan 2006".
  2. Shacki. "Season 2006 rally - eWRC-results".
  3. Shacki. "Final results Rally Japan 2006".
  4. Shacki. "Entry list Cyprus Rally 2006".
  5. Shacki. "Itinerary Rally Japan 2006".
  6. "Gronholm holds narrow lead".
  7. "Gronholm spin hands lead to Loeb".
  8. "Loeb in charge after leg two".
  9. "Gronholm sets up final showdown".
  10. "Loeb breaks record with narrow win".
  11. "Loeb hanging on to tiny lead".
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