So, Markko Martin has done it again. Two asphalt wins a row with what appears to be the dominant sealed-surface contender of the 2004 season – the Ford Focus – and a third win of the year, all of which takes the Estonian to within three points of passing 2003 world champion Petter Solberg for second place in the driver’s championship standings behind recently-crowned title winner Sebastien Loeb. It has been yet another consummate performance from Martin, demonstrating that he’s an equal for Loeb and Solberg in terms of being a modern rally legend, even if he has yet to match their title achievements.
He’s also adept enough to beat old hands and double world champions, such as Peugeot’s Marcus Gronholm and Citroen’s Carlos Sainz, both of whom finished behind Martin on this weekend’s Rally Catalunya. French privateer and ex-Formula 1 ace Stephane Sarrazin proved that he’s a potential star of the future with fourth place in his independently-run, year-old Subaru Impreza, pipping works ace Solberg in the process in what was a difficult rally for the Japanese team. Mitsubishi and Skoda will be buoyed by strong performances on the fast Spanish stages, while Loeb and Duval will be rueing the retirements that could have kept them in contention with Martin for victory.
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Rick (Rokie)
rtdring@yahoo.com
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