MADRID, 1 November 2004 — Markko Martin won his second consecutive World Rally Championship race yesterday to clinch the Rally of Catalunya.
The Estonian, driving a Ford, followed up his recent victory in the Rally of Corsica by beating Finland’s Marcus Gronholm into second place on the Costa Brava.
Martin’s victory, by a margin of 23.2 seconds, puts him within three points of passing 2003 world champion Petter Solberg for second in the drivers’ standings.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb has already sewn up the world championship with just next month’s Rally Australia to go. Norwegian Solberg is in second place in the overall standings with 82 points, three ahead of Martin’s 79.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, fourth in the world championship, marked his final appearance in front of his home fans by finishing third in a Citroen Xsara. Sainz will retire at the end of the season. Mitsubishi made an impressive return to the championship, with both Daniel Sola and Gianluigi Galli finishing in the points, while Gilles Panizzi could have joined them had it not been for poor tire selection on the opening leg that ultimately left him 12th.
