| 2004 Wales Rally GB | |
| Native Name: | 60th Wales Rally of Great Britain |
| Round: | 12 |
| Previous Round: | 2004 Rally Japan |
| Next Round: | 2004 Rally d'Italia Sardegna |
| Startdate: | September 16, 2004 |
| Enddate: | September 19, 2004 |
| Stages: | 19 |
| Stagekm: | 394.03 |
| Overallkm: | 1298.12 |
| Surface: | Gravel, mud |
| Teamsstart: | 83 |
| Teamsfinish: | 42 |
The 2004 Wales Rally GB (formally the 60th Wales Rally of Great Britain) was a rallying autosports race held over four days between 16 and 19 September 2004 and operated out of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It was the twelfth round of the 2004 World Rally Championship (WRC) and the 60th running of the event. Contested over 19 stages, the rally was won by Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg. Sébastien Loeb finished second for the Citroën World Rally Team and Ford driver Markko Märtin came in third.[1]
The 2004 Wales Rally GB was the twelfth round of the 2004 World Rally Championship (WRC) after taking a two-week break since the previous race of the season in Japan.[2] It was held over four days from Thursday, 16 September to Sunday, 19 September 2004.[3] The rally headquarters was set up in Cardiff but some stages of the rally were altered. One new place the rally went to was Epynt forest with parts of the Rhondda and Resolven combined to form a new stage. The stage in Rheola returned to the event but was revised to make it faster and the rally concluded in Cardiff instead of Margam Country Park the previous year.[4] Before the event, Sébastien Loeb led the Drivers' Championship with 84 points, ahead of Petter Solberg in second and Markko Märtin third. Carlos Sainz was fourth on 50 points, and Marcus Grönholm was three points adrift in fifth.[5] Citroën were leading the Manufacturers' Championship with 137 points; Ford stood in second on 102 points, 33 in front of Subaru. Peugeot were fourth on 73 points and Mitsubishi rounded out the top five with 17 points. Citroën had so far been the most successful team over the course of the season with Ford claiming one victory with Märtin in México and Subaru had taken three wins apiece.
With pressure from the South Wales Police who initiated a campaign against speeding, the rally was under threat from cancellation as several drivers had been observed exceeding the local speed limit in the 2002 event, and the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), announced it would investigate whether the roads were suitable for the large amount of rally traffic.[6] On 12 December 2003 the Wales Rally GB was granted a provisional slot on the 2004 WRC calendar pending a formal road review by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) after the FIA chose not to downgrade the event which would have made the event illegible to count for championship points.[7] Five towns in England were mooted as alternative bases in the event Wales was deemed unsuitable.[8] The FIA president Max Mosley later held discussions with the chief constable of South Wales Police Barbara Wilding and the Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain.[9] At the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on 24 March, the MSA presented a traffic management report that confirmed the roads the rally used were safer than the national average. The council later confirmed that the rally would be given the go-ahead but would be monitored by FIA observers until its future as a championship round was secure.[10]
87 crews registered to compete in the rally.[11] The starting order for Leg 1 was "Priority 1" (P1) and P2 WRC drivers in the order of the current classification following the previous race of the 2004 season, followed by all other drivers as decided by the MSA. Solberg, the previous season's champion, set off first, followed by Loeb, then Sainz.[12]
All dates and times are BST (UTC+1).
| Date | Time | No. | Stage name | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 - 183.31 km | |||||
| 16 September | 19:05 | SS1 | Cardiff Super Special 1 | 2.45 km | |
| 17 September | 07:13 | SS2 | Brechfa 1 | 29.98 km | |
| 08:01 | SS3 | Trawscoed 1 | 27.97 km | ||
| 10:09 | SS4 | Brechfa 2 | 29.98 km | ||
| 10:57 | SS5 | Trawscoed 2 | 27.97 km | ||
| 14:28 | SS6 | Rheola 1 | 32.48 km | ||
| 17:34 | SS7 | Rheola 2 | 32.48 km | ||
| Leg 2 - 120.72 km | |||||
| 18 September | 09:03 | SS8 | Crychan 1 | 13.45 km | |
| 09:33 | SS9 | Epynt 1 | 13.33 km | ||
| 10:05 | SS10 | Halfway 1 | 18.58 km | ||
| 12:05 | SS11 | Crychan 2 | 13.45 km | ||
| 12:34 | SS12 | Epynt 2 | 13.33 km | ||
| 13:07 | SS13 | Halfway 2 | 18.58 km | ||
| 16:09 | SS14 | Margam 1 | 27.55 km | ||
| 17:54 | SS15 | Cardiff Super Special 2 | 2.45 km | ||
| Leg 3 - 90.00 km | |||||
| 19 September | 07:43 | SS16 | Rhondda 1 | 30.00 km | |
| 10:46 | SS17 | Rhondda 2 | 30.00 km | ||
| 12:05 | SS18 | Margam 2 | 27.55 | ||
| 14:15 | SS19 | Cardiff Super Special 3 | 2.45 km | ||
| Source:[14] | |||||
| Driver | Co-driver | Team | Car | Time | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Petter Solberg |  Phil Mills |  555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza S10 WRC '04 | 3:42:39.5 | 10 | |
| 2 | 3 |  Sébastien Loeb |  Daniel Elena | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:42:45.8 | +6.3 | 8 |
| 3 | 7 |  Markko Märtin | Michael Park | Ford Motor Co. Ltd. | Ford Focus RS WRC '04 | 3:45:33.2 | +2:53.7 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 |  Carlos Sainz | Marc Martí | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:46:21.6 | +3:42.1 | 5 |
| 5 | 8 |  François Duval | Stéphane Prévot | Ford Motor Co. Ltd. | Ford Focus RS WRC '04 | 3:47:20.8 | +4:41.3 | 4 |
| 6 | 6 |  Harri Rovanperä | Risto Pietiläinen | Marlboro Peugeot Total | Peugeot 307 WRC | 3:49:24.4 | +6:44.9 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza S10 WRC '04 | 3:49:47.8 | +7:08.3 | 2 |
| 8 | 16 |  Manfred Stohl | Ilka Minor | Manfred Stohl | Peugeot 206 WRC | 3:52:59.6 | +10:20.1 | 1 |
| Position | Driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza S10 WRC '04 | 3:42:39.5 | 10 | |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:42:45.8 | +6.3 | 8 |
| 3 | 3 | 7 | Markko Märtin | Michael Park | Ford Motor Co. Ltd. | Ford Focus RS WRC '04 | 3:45:33.2 | +2:53.7 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Carlos Sainz | Marc Martí | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:46:21.6 | +3:42.1 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | 8 | François Duval | Stéphane Prévot | Ford Motor Co. Ltd. | Ford Focus RS WRC '04 | 3:47:20.8 | +4:41.3 | 4 |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | Harri Rovanperä | Risto Pietiläinen | Marlboro Peugeot Total | Peugeot 307 WRC | 3:49:24.4 | +6:44.9 | 3 |
| 7 | 7 | 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza S10 WRC '04 | 3:49:47.8 | +7:08.3 | 2 |
| Retired SS10 | 5 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Marlboro Peugeot Total | Peugeot 307 WRC | Accident damage | 0 | ||
| Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 92 | Daniel Elena | 92 | Citroën Total WRT | 150 | ||||||
| 2 | Petter Solberg | 64 | Phil Mills | 64 | Ford Motor Co. Ltd. | 112 | ||||||
| 3 | Markko Märtin | 59 | Michael Park | 59 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | 91 | ||||||
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | 55 | Marc Martí | 55 | Marlboro Peugeot Total | 76 | ||||||
| 5 | Marcus Grönholm | 47 | Timo Rautiainen | 47 | Mitsubishi Motors | 17 | ||||||
| Position | Driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | ||||||||
| 18 | 1 | 33 | Guy Wilks | Phil Pugh | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 4:16:25.6 | 10 | |
| 20 | 2 | 36 | Kris Meeke | David Senior | McRae Motorsport | Opel Corsa S1600 | 4:18:26.2 | +2:00.6 | 8 |
| 21 | 3 | 35 | Kosti Katajamäki | Timo Alanne | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 4:19:05.1 | +2:39.5 | 6 |
| 23 | 4 | 43 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 4:26:13.4 | +9:47.8 | 5 |
| 24 | 5 | 46 | Xavier Pons | Oriol Julià Pascual | RACC Motor Sport | Fiat Punto S1600 | 4:29:24.6 | +12:59.0 | 4 |
| 26 | 6 | 49 |  Luca Betti | Michele Rosso | Meteco Corse | Fiat Punto S1600 | 4:32:53.6 | +16:28.0 | 3 |
| 32 | 7 | 44 | Alan Scorcioni |  Silvio Stefanelli | H.F. Grifone SRL | Fiat Punto S1600 | 4:44:48.1 | +28:22.5 | 2 |
| 34 | 8 | 47 | Luca Tabaton | Gisella Rovegno | H.F. Grifone SRL | Fiat Punto S1600 | 4:46:01.3 | +29:35.7 | 1 |
| Retired SS16 | 31 | Mirco Baldacci | Giovanni Bernacchini | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | Accident | 0 | ||
| Retired SS11 | 45 |  Per-Gunnar Andersson | Jonas Andersson | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | Brakes | 0 | ||
| Retired SS9 | 41 | Natalie Barratt | Carl Williamson | Risbridger Motorsport | Renault Clio S1600 | Engine | 0 | ||
| Retired SS8 | 34 | Alessandro Broccoli | Giovanni Agnese | Sab Motorsport | Fiat Punto S1600 | Engine | 0 | ||
| Retired SS8 | 50 | Oliver Marshall | Craig Parry | Prospeed Motorsport | Renault Clio S1600 | Engine mounting | 0 | ||
| Retired SS8 | 51 | Larry Cols | Filip Goddé | Renault Sport | Renault Clio S1600 | Excluded | 0 | ||
| Retired SS7 | 37 | Luca Cecchettini | Nicola Arena | Autorel Sport | Renault Clio S1600 | Steering | 0 | ||
| Retired SS7 | 39 | Nicolas Bernardi | Jean-Marc Fortin | Renault Sport | Renault Clio S1600 | Accident | 0 | ||
| Retired SS7 | 40 | Guerlain Chicherit | Mathieu Baumel | Citroën Total | Citroën Saxo S1600 | Accident | 0 | ||
| Retired SS6 | 42 | Mathieu Biasion | Eric Domenech | Power Car Team | Renault Clio S1600 | Accident | 0 | ||
| Retired SS4 | 32 | Urmo Aava | Kuldar Sikk | Suzuki Sport | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | Accident | 0 | ||
| Retired SS2 | 48 | Conrad Rautenbach | Mark Jones | Birkbeck Rallysport | Opel Corsa S1600 | Gearbox | 0 | ||
| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winner | Car | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 (16 Sep) | SS1 | Cardiff Super Special 1 | 2.45 km | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 2:19.9 | Per-Gunnar Andersson |
| Leg 1 (17 Sep) | SS2 | Brechfa 1 | 29.98 km | Guy Wilks | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 19:37.9 | Guy Wilks |
| SS3 | Trawscoed 1 | 27.97 km | Mirco Baldacci | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 18:51.3 | Mirco Baldacci | |
| SS4 | Brechfa 2 | 29.98 km | Nicolas Bernardi | Renault Clio S1600 | 20:00.2 | ||
| SS5 | Trawscoed 2 | 27.97 km | Mirco Baldacci | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 19:16.4 | ||
| SS6 | Rheola 1 | 32.48 km | Mirco Baldacci | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 20:49.7 | ||
| SS7 | Rheola 2 | 32.48 km | Mirco Baldacci | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 21:01.2 | ||
| Leg 2 (18 Sep) | SS8 | Crychan 1 | 13.45 km | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 8:31.7 | |
| SS9 | Epynt 1 | 13.33 km | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 8:51.6 | ||
| SS10 | Halfway 1 | 18.58 km | Mirco Baldacci | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 11:52.0 | ||
| SS11 | Crychan 2 | 13.45 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 8:32.8 | ||
| SS12 | Epynt 2 | 13.33 km | Guy Wilks | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 9:02.4 | ||
| SS13 | Halfway 2 | 18.58 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 11:58.2 | ||
| SS14 | Margam 1 | 27.55 km | Guy Wilks | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 17:20.3 | ||
| SS15 | Cardiff Super Special 2 | 2.45 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 2:21.2 | ||
| Leg 3 (19 Sep) | SS16 | Rhondda 1 | 30.00 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 17:11.1 | Guy Wilks |
| SS17 | Rhondda 2 | 30.00 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 17:07.4 | ||
| SS18 | Margam 2 | 27.55 | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 17:34.1 | ||
| SS19 | Cardiff Super Special 3 | 2.45 km | Kris Meeke | Opel Corsa S1600 | 2:18.4 | ||
| Drivers' championships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | ||
| 1 | 2 | Guy Wilks | 26 | |
| 2 | 1 | Nicolas Bernardi | 24 | |
| 3 | 1 | Kosti Katajamäki | 22 | |
| 4 | 2 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | 21 | |
| 5 | Urmo Aava | 16 | ||
Rory Kennedy
Yorgo Philippedes