2006 Monte Carlo Rally

The 2006 Monte Carlo Rally (formally the 74th Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo) was the first round of the 2006 World Rally Championship. The race was held over three days between 20 and 22 January 2006, and was won by Ford's Marcus Grönholm, his 19th win in the World Rally Championship.[1]

2006 Monte Carlo Rally
74th Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo
Round 1 of the 2006 World Rally Championship
Next event →
View of the casino - the official start place of the Monte Carlo Rally
Host countryMonaco Monaco
Rally baseMonte Carlo
Dates runJanuary 20, 2006 – January 22, 2006
Stages18 (366.39 km; 227.66 miles)
Stage surfaceTarmac / Ice / Snow
Overall distance1,336.13 km (830.23 miles)
Statistics
Crews51 at start, 43 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFinland Marcus Grönholm
United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team
Ford Focus RS WRC 06
Marcus Grönholm's car in the service park.

Report

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The first event of the season saw many changes from the previous year. The new season saw just two full manufacturer teams compete (Ford and Subaru).[2] Citroën supported a semi works effort through the Kronos team. Stobart increased their profile by creating a team using old Fords. OMV Peugeot Norway used the Peugeot 307 while Skoda maintained their presence through a team sponsored by Red Bull.

On the drivers front, Ford had a new lineup consisting of two time champion Marcus Grönholm and the promising young driver Mikko Hirvonen.[3] Kronos used Citroëns twice world champion Sébastien Loeb alongside Xavier Pons.[4] Subaru retained Petter Solberg with Stéphane Sarrazin[5] and Chris Atkinson[6] due to share the second seat depending on the surface. Stobart used a mixture of drivers alongside Matthew Wilson in his first full year. Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg used the previously unloved Peugeot 307s. There were no places for Markko Märtin who fired an angry broadside before the Monte Carlo Rally at the direction the sport was taking.[7] Toni Gardemeister lost his place at Ford along with Roman Kresta, both not doing enough to impress Malcolm Wilson during 2005. François Duval didn't find a seat after his erratic 2005 season, and there was still no place available for Colin McRae despite two promising performances for Skoda in 2005.

Results

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Pos. Driver Co-driver Car Time Difference Points
WRC
1.   Marcus Grönholm   Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:11:43.9 0.0 10
2.   Sébastien Loeb   Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC 4:12:45.7 1:01.8 8
3.   Toni Gardemeister   Jakke Honkanen Peugeot 307 WRC 4:13:07.0 1:23.1 6
4.   Manfred Stohl   Ilka Minor Peugeot 307 WRC 4:13:26.2 1:42.3 5
5.   Stéphane Sarrazin   Stéphane Prévot Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 4:15:04.1 3:20.2 4
6.   Chris Atkinson   Glenn MacNeall Subaru Impreza WRC 05 4:16:46.3 5:02.4 3
7.   Mikko Hirvonen   Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:18:03.4 6:19.5 2
8.   Dani Sordo   Marc Marti Citroën Xsara WRC 4:18:59.1 7:15.2 1
PCWRC
1.(17.)   Fumio Nutahara   Daniel Barritt Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 4:37:59.1 0.0 10
2.(21.)   David Higgins   Ross Butler Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 4:44:30.9 6:31.8 8
3.(29.)   Nasser Al-Attiyah   Chris Patterson Subaru Impreza 4:55:13.2 17:14.1 6
4.(39.)   Stefano Marrini   Tiziana Sandroni Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:08:59.1 31:00.0 5
5.(41.)   Jari-Matti Latvala   Miikka Anttila Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5:12:08.5 34:09.4 4

Special stages

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All dates and times are CET (UTC+1).

Day Stage Time Name Length Winner Time Avg. spd. Rally leader
1
(20 JAN)
SS1 08:33 St Sauveur Sur Tinee - Beuil 1 22.22 km   S. Loeb 15:14.0 87.6 km/h   S. Loeb
SS2 09:31 Guillaumes - Valberg 1 13.60 km   M. Grönholm 9:37.2 84.8 km/h
SS3 10:19 Pierlas - Ilonse 1 23.22 km Cancelled
SS4 14:25 St. Sauveur Sur Tinee - Beui 2 22.22 km   S. Loeb 14:43.9 90.5 km/h
SS5 15:23 Guillaumes - Valberg 2 13.60 km   F. Duval 9:43.3 83.9 km/h
SS6 16:11 Pierlas - Ilonse 2 23.22 km   M. Grönholm 18:47.6 74.1 km/h   M. Grönholm
2
(21 JAN)
SS7 07:53 Sigale - Bif. D10/D110 22.54 km   S. Loeb 16:50.4 80.3 km/h
SS8 09:06 St. Antonin - Toudon 1 20.22 km   S. Loeb 14:41.2 82.6 km/h
SS9 10:19 La Tour Sur Tinee - Utelle 1 18.73 km   S. Loeb 15:41.5 71.6 km/h
SS10 14:30 St. Antonin - Toudon 2 20.22 km   S. Loeb 14:21.2 84.5 km/h
SS11 15:43 La Tour Sur Tinee - Utelle 2 18.73 km Cancelled
SS12 16:38 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 1 31.25 km   S. Loeb 24:03.1 78.0 km/h
3
(22JAN)
SS13 07:55 Col de Braus - La Cabanette 1 12.60 km   S. Loeb 12:16.2 61.6 km/h
SS14 08:23 Col St. Roch - Lantosque 1 14.45 km   T. Gardemeister 11:20.0 76.5 km/h
SS15 08:56 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 2 31.25 km   S. Loeb 24:07.0 77.7 km/h
SS16 11:44 Col de Braus - La Cabanette 2 12.60 km   S. Loeb 11:38.5 64.9 km/h
SS17 12:12 Col St. Roch - Lantosque 2 14.45 km   M. Stohl 10:56.4 79.3 km/h
SS18 12:45 La Bollene Vesubie - Sospel 3 31.25 km   M. Stohl 23:02.8 81.4 km/h

Championship standings after the event

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Drivers' championship

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Pos Driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
ESP
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
ITA
 
GRC
 
GER
 
FIN
 
JPN
 
CYP
 
TUR
 
AUS
 
NZL
 
GBR
 
 Pts 
1   Marcus Grönholm 1 10
2   Sébastien Loeb 2 8
3   Toni Gardemeister 3 6
4   Manfred Stohl 4 5
5   Stéphane Sarrazin 5 4
6   Chris Atkinson 6 3
7   Mikko Hirvonen 7 2
8   Dani Sordo 8 1
Pos Driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
ESP
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
ITA
 
GRC
 
GER
 
FIN
 
JPN
 
CYP
 
TUR
 
AUS
 
NZL
 
GBR
 
 Pts 
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

Manufacturers' championship

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Rank Manufacturer Event Total
points
MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
ESP
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
ITA
 
GRC
 
GER
 
FIN
 
JPN
 
CYP
 
TUR
 
AUS
 
NZL
 
GBR
 
1 BP Ford World Rally Team 14 14
2 Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team 11 11
3 OMV-Peugeot Norway 6 6
4 Subaru World Rally Team 5 5
5 Red Bull Škoda Team 3 3
6 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 0 0

References

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  1. ^ "Monte Carlo Rally". Juwra.com. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Rally boss rejects talk of crisis". bbc.co.uk. 2006-01-18. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  3. ^ "Hirvonen confirms switch to Ford". bbc.co.uk. 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  4. ^ "Loeb switches to Kronos for 2006". bbc.co.uk. 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  5. ^ "Subaru keep asphalt ace Sarrazin". bbc.co.uk. 2005-12-05. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  6. ^ "Atkinson extends his Subaru deal". bbc.co.uk. 2005-11-21. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  7. ^ "Angry Martin wants rally overhaul". bbc.co.uk. 2006-01-12. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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