H&H-20

Handbrakes & Hairpins Issue 20

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Image: RallyStuff.Net In this week’s Issue:

Issue

20

With Love, From Russia

Featured: Lancia’s 037

Profiled: Gilles Panizzi

2

WRC Rally Sweden Preview 07 - 10 February 2008

Inage: RallyStuff.Net Written by Evan Rothman This weekend plays host the second round of the World Rally Championship in Karlstad for the WRC Rally Sweden. This event is the most specialised on the WRC calendar as it is held in the middle of the Scandinavian winter making for ice- and snow-covered roads. WRC Rally Sweden is also the only all-winter event.

Swedish rally fans and the thousands of enthusiasts who make the trek to Sweden for the event starting on Thursday evening, will hope for ice-bound loose surface tracks, huge snow backs lining the roads and numbing cold weather in excess of -20 degrees Celsius.

Drivers will once again have to drive with the special skinny studded tyres, and wear anti-snow glare glasses and heated driving boots while they snake their way along the barren Varmland countryside roads of central Sweden.

A number of Northern Europeans will be competing in this year’s WRC Rally Sweden, and will be doing their utmost to keep Sebastien Loeb at bay. In the 45-year history of the rally, only once has a non-Nordic driver won this event: it was in 2004 that Sebastien Loeb crossed the finished line first!

WRC Rally Sweden is characterised by cars making use of studded tyres for maximum grip and by the “leaning” driving style to let the cars drift into the snow banks lining the roads so allowing them to slingshot out of the corners at high speeds.

The rally comprises of 20 stages in total, but there are only 10 stages run twice over the course of the weekend’s rallying. A total of 1 440,08 km will be covered with a total of 340,24 km of Special Stages. Cars will need to be nursed through the difficult stages, as this rally is known for its high attrition rate.

It goes without saying that Sebastien Loeb will be on the hunt for his second win this season, but with the Finnish duo of Hirvonen and Latvala in the potent Ford Focus RS rally car, and the likes of a Petter Solberg showing a keen turn of speed, Loeb will have his hands full this weekend.

Missed an issue of Handbrakes and Hairpins? Got an interesting motorsport story to tell, or are entering the challenging world of rallying as a competitor for the first time? Handbrakes and Hairpins would love to hear from you, and publish your story. This is YOUR rallying newsletter, so without your support Handbrakes and Hairpins would not be as entertaining a read as before you.

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Driver Quotes Mikko Hirvonen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team): “Everyone is asking if I feel I’m the favourite,” he said. “There are a few possible winners and I’m one of them, but I don’t regard myself as the favourite. There’s a little pressure, but I felt pressure in Rallye Monte Carlo and had a good result there.

This is the first rally that I’m really thinking I have to win if I want to fight for the drivers’ title. I hope the conditions are full winter. If there’s a lot of snow and ice then Pirelli’s tyres will work well. Reliability will also be important because there is no traditional 30-minute service in the middle of the day, just a 15-minute remote service using only spare parts carried in the car.

I don’t agree with that because if a car has a minor problem early in the morning then a driver can be stuck with it for the rest of the day. But the Focus is a reliable car so I’m not too concerned.”

Jari Matti Latvala (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team): “A proper winter rally is great fun. I’ve driven many snow rallies and the feeling of driving fast in winter is one that I really enjoy. The conditions are more forgiving and the car spends more time sideways than on a gravel rally, because that style helps to get the car to turn into bends. It’s not so easy when the conditions aren’t so good. A lack of snow isn’t too much of a problem but if there is no ice and the gravel comes through the surface, then it can rip out the studs from the tyres and destroy them.

Where the lack of snow becomes a problem is if a driver needs to use the snowbanks. If you carry too much speed into a bend you can lean into the snow banks to guide the car round the corner. But if they are small and soft, when the rear of the car hits the bank it can drag the front in as well. It’s important to keep the front wheels turned away from the bank to avoid that.”

Petter Solberg (Subaru World Rally Team): “It’s the first snow rally this year and I’m looking forward to it. We need to drive very differently here, so it’s about who can adapt. There’s always a lot of fans there and it’s great to have their support. We’ve won here before but it’s so so tricky you never know what can happen. We’ll go there and drive our own rally, push as hard as we can, and see what happens. We can’t do any more than that, and I hope we can have another good finish. It’s about being fast but not making any mistakes.”

Chris Atkinson (Subaru World Rally Team): “We’re approaching Sweden much the same way as we did Monte Carlo – we go there aiming for top five, top six results and try to be as consistent as possible. Rally Sweden is a specialist snow event and the driving style you need there is obviously totally different. Coming off tarmac we’ll have to adapt quickly to the snow and get up to speed as quickly as possible. In Monte you had to be neat and smooth, but Sweden is probably one of the most aggressive rallies of the year.”

Sebastien Loeb (Citroen Total World Rally Team) “Controlling long, high-speed power-slides, setting up the car for corners and using the snowbanks to stay on line is a great experience. When the studs give good grip, it really is a fantastic rally.”

Daniel Sordo (Citroen Total World Rally Team) “When the studs bite, you can do what you want with your car and it’s tremendous fun. However, if a coating of snow prevents the studs from digging in, it can be more difficult to be precise in your driving. And when you add the extremely high speeds we reach in Sweden into the equation, then this clearly isn’t an easy event. It calls for significant experience of this sort of terrain and it’s no coincidence that few non-Nordic drivers have won in Karlstad. This will be my third attempt and my objective will be to score points for Citroën.”

Last year’s WRC Rally Sweden was won by Marcus Gronholm in his Ford Focus RS rally car, followed by Loeb in second place overall and Sordo in third. Hirvonen was placed fourth overall. Hirvonen has the backing of a capable team-mate in Latvala, and Hirvonen has stated he is looking to attack Loeb on this event. It will most certainly be another exciting rally!

Drivers’ Points 1) S. Loeb - 10 pts 2) M. Hirvonen - 8 pts 3) C. Atkinson - 6 pts 4) F. Duval - 5 pts 5) P. Solberg - 4 pts 6) G. Galli - 3 pts 7) J. M. Cuoq - 2 pts 8) P.G. Andersson - 1 pt

LEADERBOARD

Manufacturers’ Points 1) Citroen Total WRT - 11 pts 2) Subaru WRT - 10 pts 3) Stobart VK M-Sport WRT - 8 pts 4) BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 8 pts 5) Suzuki Sport WRT - 2 pts

Image: RallyStuff.Net

Image: RallyStuff.Net

GBS/CIDP

Foundation International

Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Serving patients of GBS, CIDP and Variants with support, education and research PLEASE ADVISE PATIENTS AND FAMILIES THAT GBS/CIDP FOUNDATION OFFERS: *EMOTIONAL SUPPORT *INFORMATIONAL BOOKLETS *HOSPITAL/REHAB VISITS TO PATIENTS (when possible)

Your South African GBS/CIDP Foundation International Chapter Is Led By:

Evan Rothman

evanrothman@gmail.com

083 452 6892 GBS/CIDP Foundation International 104 1/2 Forest Avenue The Holly Building Narberth, PA 19072 www.gbsfi.com

5

Fuel Stop: News Briefs Big show for 50th anniversary of BRC

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the MSA British Rally Championship, sponsored by Tesco 99 Octane in its golden jubilee year, the Rally Show at Chatsworth, together with BRC organisers, have arranged for four of the nine stages events that will form part of the Show to qualify for BRC points.

The Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship kicks off in April with the Pirelli International in Cumbria, followed by the Jim Clark International held in May in the Scottish Borders. The BRC will then visit the Rally Show at Chatsworth on 7th to 8th June where all registered BRC contenders who start the event will score five class bonus points towards their end-of-year total. To make this a very special occasion, the Show is contacting all past winners of the BRC to try and get them to Chatsworth for the weekend of June 7th/8th and is organising a birthday party for the Championship to be held on the Rally Show site on the Saturday evening.

Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship Manager, Mark Taylor said, “We are simply delighted to be able to accept this invitation and bring the spectacle of the premier British championship to the crowds at Chatsworth. It means that all of us associated with it; competitors, rally organisers, teams and sponsors can have a mid-summer party to celebrate fifty years of glorious British rallying.”

There was excitement too from the Rally Show Director, Malcolm Neill who added “To have such an influx of top quality modern rally cars and their drivers is a real boost for us in the second year that we have staged this unique event. It will be a personal pleasure to have many of the people with us who have given so much to British rallying over the last fifty years. We are also trying to have examples of the cars to demonstrate that have succeeded in the BRC in order to complete the picture. It should make for a very impressive party!”

Entries will officially open in February for the various rallies and stage sessions. Anybody considering entering is advised to register their name and interest on the web site at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment. For more information visit: www.therallyshow.org

Istanbul Rally to open 2008 IRC season

The Istanbul Rally will open the IRC season this year from 4th to 6th April. Following the decision to drop the Safari Rally from the IRC calendar due to political difficulties in Kenya, the IRC organisers are delighted to welcome Turkey back as its replacement this year.

The rally will be based in Istanbul, where two continents meet, and will take in a challenging route of gravel stages similar to last year’s event. The Istanbul Rally will start on Friday 4 April and finish in the afternoon on Sunday 6 April, opening this year’s IRC season in spectacular style.

Jacques Behar, the President of IRC series promoter Eurosport Events, said: “We are delighted to welcome Turkey back onto the IRC calendar this year, after our reluctant but necessary decision to drop the Safari Rally. We wanted to find an alternative gravel rally for this year as quickly as possible – but of course it had to be of the same excellent quality as the rest of the events on the series. I’m very pleased to say that we have now managed to put together a rally that is truly worthy of opening the 2008 IRC season, where we aim to consolidate the success we enjoyed last year.”

The IRC will feature two new rallies – in Portugal and Spain – this year. An improved television package from Eurosport, featuring dynamic live broadcasts straight from the service park, will bring the excitement and scenery of the world’s special stages to 112 million homes across the world in 59 countries (but sadly not in South Africa - ED). - Credit: www.rally-irc.com.

Herewith is the revised 2008 IRC Calendar: Rally 1: 04-06 April - Turkey, Istanbul Rally (gravel) Rally 2: 09-10 May - Portugal, Rally Portugal (gravel) Rally 3: 27-28 June - Belgium, Ypres Westhoek Rally (asphalt) Rally 4: 11-12 July - Russia, Rally Russia (gravel) Rally 5: 01-02 August - Portugal, Rally Vinho di Madeira (asphalt) Rally 6: 22-23 August - Czech Rep., Barum Rally Zlin (asphalt) Rally 7: 12-13 September - Spain, Principe de Asturias Rally (asphalt) Rally 8: 25 -27 September - Italy, Rally Sanremo (asphalt) Rally 9: 23-25 October - Switzerland, Rally du Valais (asphalt) Rally 10: 7-9 November - China, Rally China (gravel)

Rallying is the most thrilling form of motorsport today, attracting an international audience of tens of millions each event. With boundless levels of talent, the drivers and navigators mesmerise these spectators with their gravity-defying antics. But, what got them started in sport? What makes them tick? Drivers and navigators: please send me these answers to evanrothman@gmail.com!

6

New SuperSpecial stage for WRC Rally Poland

Reading up on the latest WRC news at www.wrc.com. I was interested to see that the organisers of WRC Rally Poland (who will be hosting the country’s inaugural WRC event in 2009) have announced that brand new SuperSpecial stage complex with permanent grandstands will be built for their rally next year.

The new complex will follow a figure-of-eight configuration, and will allow two cars to compete head-to-head on the stage. The organisers believe that building will begin at the end of February this year, so that the basic track may be used in June as part of this year’s 65th Rally Poland (which is the third round of the European Rally Championship and the fourth round of the Polish Rally Championship). The whole complex has a completion deadline date of January 2009.

Andrzej Witkowski, president of Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation said: “The new venue will make the competition yet more attractive. For rally sports fans it will be an excellent and safe arena from which to watch and admire the skills of the best drivers in Europe and - next year - the world.”

Witowski also confirmed the event will continue to be based in the town of Mikolajki, in the north-east of the country, until 2014.

Rally Poland will step up to WRC status in June 2009 when it hosts host one of the 12 rallies that will make up the season. The gravel rally is expected to be part of the WRC on alternate years from then on. - Credit: www.wrc.com

Galli gives up name for charity

Newly named Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Gigi Galli has announced his 2008 charitable aspirations by auctioning the naming rights to his Stobart Ford Focus RS WRC07 for each individual round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship.

For decades the Eddie Stobart transport company has upheld an idiosyncratic tradition of identifying its many trucks by allowing their drivers to choose a female’s name to brand it with. The fact that thousands of people are currently on the waiting list to name a Stobart truck demonstrates the popularity of the iconic UK-based logistics firm; now part of the newly-formed Stobart Group.

This tradition has since been employed by its motorsport wing which has seen cars named by their drivers in the WRC, British Rally Championship, Production World Rally Championship and the Fiesta SportingTrophy.

Galli bounced on the idea of auctioning the naming rights to his car for charity after he heard the story of a Cumbrian businessman who paid a large sum of money to have the name of a loved one on one of the Eddie Stobart trucks; the amount then entirely donated to charity

by Eddie Stobart Ltd. Approximately one month before each event a new auction is opened online to the public and the highest donation receives the right to brand the Stobart Focus RS with their choice of female name. The beneficiary is an Italian skiing charity headed by former Olympic skier Deborah Compagnoni. Bids for Rallye Monte-Carlo have recently closed with the winner choosing Peppa

Image: RallyStuff.Net

as the name which will be emblazoned on Galli’s car for the opening round of the 2008 season.

For more information and a chance to have your own choice of name on a Stobart World Rally Car please visit http://www.airraidsiren.it/gigigalliweb1/stobart_gb.htm. - Credit: www.stobartmotorsport.com.

Monte Carlo to join IRC in 2009

Following a historic agreement between Michel Boeri, the President of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), and Jacques Behar – the President of Intercontinental Rally Challenge, promoter Eurosport Events – the Monte Carlo Rally will form part of the IRC in 2009.

The 77th Monte Carlo Rally will open the IRC series in January next year, at the start of a season that will take in between 10 and 12 rallies over three different continents.

René Isoart, the Clerk of the Course for the ACM, commented: “With the new alternation system put in place by the FIA, we looked at a number of possibilities in order to keep the organisation of the Monte Carlo Rally going. The IRC is the perfect solution. In its debut season, this series has demonstrated all its dynamism, value and potential. The idea won us over, so we are very happy to join this intercontinental series in 2009 and benefit from some exceptional media coverage that highlights the fundamental values of rallying : a healthy majority of amateurs, some stunning landscapes, a diverse field, close competition, and the

emphasis firmly on the talent of individual drivers and co-drivers.”

Jacques Behar added:”It’s a massive honour for the IRC to start the 2009 season with the Monte Carlo Rally, the most prestigious event in the history of the sport. We have put in place an innovative media strategy around the IRC, the objective of which is to bring rallying to the people, especially via live television. We are going to continue developing this coverage into the future, and we will be delighted to offer all the fans of the Monte Carlo Rally, as well as of sport and rallying in general, live international coverage of this legendary event through the Eurosport network.” - Credit: www.rally-irc.com (IMAGES AND TEXT).

Is the future of WRC Rally Monte Carlo in doubt?

The latest and most shocking news to come from the WRC media machine this past week is that the world’s most famous and most prestigious rally, the WRC Rally Monte Carlo, may never return to the WRC. The FIA has embarked on a new rotation of WRC venues, with venues for 2008 repeated in 2010 and 2009 venuews in 2011. No event will be run twice in succession, meaning that the WRC Rally Monte Carlo will not be the opening event in 2009. According to last week’s Autosport magazine, the majority of the board of the ACM (Automobile Club de Monaco) would like to see the event return to the WRC calendar, but others would be “glad to be free from the restrictive event itineray of the championship”, reported www.rallye-info.com.

The IRC, the Intercontinental Rally Championship, will be hosting a Monte Carlo rally. This rally, which could be up to six days in length, including a non-competitive “concentration run” from Paris, seperate days in Vercours, Valence, Gap and an overnight visit to the famous Col de Turini.

According to www.rallye-info.com, Rene Isoart (a senior official at ACM) stated: “Next year, we do not have to worry about the constraints of the WRC. We can recreate the atmosphere of night stages, take three service parks, run the rally in the week.. everything is possible. The pleasure is not the same in the WRC, the atmosphere is less special, the magic is lost and there are fewer of our old friends here. This rally has existed for a long time - before the WRC was created.”

WRC Commission president Morie Chandler countered: “It’s their choice if they want to be part of the WRC. The WRC does not revolve around Monte Carlo.”

There seems to be no escaping politics in sport...

The 2009 IRC season is likely to include former WRC classics such as Safari and San Remo. When asked what he thought of Monte Carlo being missed off next years WRC calendar, Sebastien Loeb commented: “Who says that I will not still be there? We will see.. but it’s a pity in any case for the WRC because Monte Carlo is a mythical event. Also, Corsica and Germany are not there either next year, a sad year for the French public. Do I plan to make start in IRC Monte 2009? Why not?....”

The WRC media machine will be in overdrive for the next few weeks thanks to those comments. The IRC seems to be gathering great momentum, but at the cost of the WRC? It would be a great pity if these two championships were to clash. The sport of rallying would be the victim and the loser... - Credit: www.rallye-info.com.

There are many cars on our roads used to dominate the regional, national and international rallying today, and with vehicles as above, and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Series and Subaru Impreza WRX STI generations, road cars are inspired by their rallying participation. Fancy a road car as a rallying machine? Send me your thoughts, as well as your letters, stories and opinions to evanrothman@gmail.com.

8

Subaru WRT: Marking the change to Pirelli

WRC Rally Monte Carlo marked the first competitive outing of the World Rally Championship with Pirelli as the single tyre supplier. The control tyres will be used by all manufacturer teams throughout the year, and present limited tread and compound choices on each event. The cutting of tyres and anti-deflation mousse are two elements have also been banned. Tyre choice may have become easier, but no less critical.

The first of Pirelli’s offering is their PZero asphalt tyre which is a cut slick designed for use in dry and damp conditions. On the cards for asphalt rallies such as Rallye Deutschland, it is available in two compounds. The soft tyre is more suited to smooth but cool surfaces and wetter roads, and the hard tyre excels on hotter and more abrasive surfaces. Subject to the highest lateral loads of all, the challenge with these tyres will be for drivers to preserve the tread over long stages and adapt quickly to variations in grip and surface conditions.

Pirelli’s gravel tyre is an all-new item that has arguably the most punishing role of all. Having to cope with the rigours of potholes and rocks that line gravel routes the world over, they have been specifically strengthened to resist punctures from cuts and abrasions, with the ban on anti-deflation mousse. Many gravel rallies will likely be decided by the speed with which drivers adapt to a change in driving style that can push the tyres to their limit without undue risk of punctures. Available in soft and hard compounds, the former is suited to soft ground and mud as found on Rally GB, and the latter abrasive gravel such as in Greece.

The third tyre available is Pirelli’s Sottozero, which takes the place of wet weather/snow hybrid courtesy of the option to use multiple metal studs to provide extra traction. It is available in only one tread pattern and one compound – a clear change from the range of options available last season. This tyre is used on rallies such as Monte Carlo where the asphalt routes are interspersed by snow and ice.

The Sottozero is also available as a dedicated ice tyre, which is much narrower to exert more pressure on the road surface and increase the level of grip. Featuring a single deep-cut tread pattern and compact metal studs, this tyre is used for specialist events such as Sweden where the entire route is expected to be snow-covered. Once again, this tyre is available in only one compound.

- Credit: www.swrt.com.

9

Russian Rally Cup: Rally Ermak Review

I was not at all surprised to learn that Russia has a strong national rallying championship, as well as strong supporter base. What surprised me was that the Russians have now opened their national championship to foreigners for the first time, meaning that foreign teams and drivers were able to score points towards the end-of-the-year championship titles.

Round of the 2008 Russian Rally Cup got under way recently in the cold and snow-filled Perm region near the Ural mountains.

According to reports this rally is highly regarded for its infrastructure, technical facilities and media service, and this year was no different.

Rally Ermak, one of the nine events in the Cup and the first of three snow-based rallies, is characterised by narrow roads winding through dense forests lined with high snow banks, similar to that of WRC Rally Sweden.

New to this year’s championship is the Mitsubishi Cup for crews, launched by the official distributor of Mitsubushi Motors in Russia, ROLF, along with five-times Russian Rally Cup champion Andrey Zhigunov who serves as technical director for the Cup too.

What drew my attention to this event was that the world’s first non-Prodrive Subaru Impreza N14 car was entered - yes, that is the brand new Impreza! It was driven by Sergey Uspensky, who owns Uspensky Rally Technica Team. His team-mate is the very talented Evgeniy Vertunov (who rallied last year’s Impreza for this event), a bright star in the Production World Rally Championship. Vertunov used this event in preparation for his entry into the WRC Rally Sweden this weekend.

Another future rallying ace is Evgeniy Novikov (17 years old), who showed great skill in last year’s Russian Rally Cup. He has been tipped by the leading WRC drivers as a future champion, so it is worth remembering this young Russian’s name.

Rally Ermak presents its own unique challenges for competitors. With the average temperature of last year’s event hovering at the icy cold -45 degrees Celsius most cars in last year’s event battled to start or even to get their engines to switch on and their plastic bodywork froze with the frost and cracked immediately as the engine warmed up the surrounding panels… So for this year’s Rally Ermak, organisers set up an indoor service park!

Tricky conditions caused by a snowstorm before the rally made going tough, resulting in top drivers falling out of the event. Even 2006 Russian Rally Cup champ Alexander Zheludov fell victim: he overshot a junction and flew 40m in the air to land in a field, unable to resume the rally.

The end result was promising for the future of the Russian Rally Cup. Evgeniy Novikov (the 17 year old driver) won the event, followed by Evgeniy Vertunov.

10

This week’s favourite WRC rally car: 1982 Lancia 037

Fiat and Lancia were long locked in battle for WRC supremacy, even though Fiat owned Lancia. With the birth of Group B rallying in the World Rally Championship, and Audi, Ford, Toyota, et al, vying for top honours, Lancia designed and entered the Lancia 037 in 1981 and debuted in competition in 1982.

During the Group B days, regulations were not as restrictive as they currently are in terms of homologation rules. To comply with the FIA, only a handful of production models were required to be built. In fact, only 200 hand-built models were sold by the company in order to homologate the WRC car. The project number for this Lancia model was 037, and this is the name by which the car has been known ever since. Abarth, those genius Italian tuners (who are part of the Fiat family) did much of the design work for Lancia. It featured a mid-engine layout, with a longitudinally-mounted motor. An independent double wishbone suspension was used for both the front and rear axles, while power was transferred to the rear wheels. This meant that it was the last of the breed of two-wheel drive cars before the onslaught of 4WDs. Powering the 037 was a beefy 2,0-litre motor, which developed 280 bhp. For the Evolution 2 model, the engine’s capacity was increased to a 2,1-litre that pushed out 325 bhp!

A five-speed manual transmission was employed, and apparently enabled the 037 to reach a top speed of 175km/h. On dirt.

The 1982 WRC Rally Costa Smeralda (Italy) saw the debut of this WRC monster. Two cars were entered, and unfortunately both retired from their first event with gearbox problems. Poor reliability meant that the Lancia 037s were often seen retiring from events, but it did manage a few wins in its first season.

1983 proved somewhat better for the Lancia 037, bringing the WRC Manufacturers’ title to the team! (Walter Rohrl steered this rally machine to many victories that season, despite fierce competition from the mighty Audis).

For 1984 Lancia released their Evolution 2 model of the rally car, but Audi’s four-wheel drive cars proved too strong. In 1985 Peugeot’s 205 T16 won the championship. By mid-1985 Lancia replaced the 037 with the Delta S4, and we all know about the success of that beast!

11

Past WRC Master: Gilles Panizzi

The world of rallying has seen many bright rallying stars come and go over the many years of its existence. Gilles Panizzi is one of the more colourful such characters who wowed the WRC crowds with his sharp driving and enthusiasm.

Born in Roquebrune in France on 19 September 1965, Panizzi participated in many rallies in his homeland before breaking into the WRC. He entered his first WRC event in 1990, the WRC Rally Monte Carlo, and finished fourth in the Group N class giving him a dream debut to international rallying.

He competed in the French Rally Championship in 1991 and in 1992 he dominating the first five rounds of the championship with the speed and skill that gave him the nickname “Tarmac Expert“.

For 1993 he signed up to drive for the Peugeot Talbot Sport team for the French Rally Championship, and impressed all once more. He became heavily involved in the development of the Peugeot 306 S16, and took it to victory in 1996 and 1997 in the French Rally Championship.

Peugeot made their return to the WRC fold in 1998 with the Frenchman at the steering wheel. He competed in four events in the 206 WRC rally car in 1999, but the following year proved successful: he won two rounds of the WRC, namely WRC Rally Corsica and Sanremo.

Carving his name into rallying’s history books as a tarmac master, he won the 2001 WRC Sanremo and finished second place on the WRC Rally Corsica and Catalunya.

His most successful season in WRC was 2003, which saw him climb the top step of the podium on three occassions: WRC Corsica, Catalunya and Italy. He finished sixth overall in the championship standings that year.

In 2004 Panizzi switched from Peugeot to drive for Mitsubishi, and took part in 11 rallies until Mitsubishi decided to withdraw from the 2004 championship to focus their energies on developing the 2005 Lancer WRC machine.

FAST FACTS FAST FACTS

He has not had a competitive WRC drive since the beginning of 2005.

Nationality: French Active years: 1990–2006 Teams: Peugeot, Mitsubishi World rallies: 71 Championships: 0 Wins: 7 Podium finishes: 14 Stage wins: 91 Points: 134 First world rally: 1990 Monte Carlo Rally First win: 2000 Tour de Corse Last win: 2003 Rally Catalunya Last world rally: 2006 Rally Catalunya