Peugeot number one Marcus Gronholm has lost his Cyprus Rally victory after stewards ruled the water pumps fitted to the 307 WRCs did not conform to the technical regulations. As a result, Citroen's Sebastien Loeb has been declared the new winner.
gronholm
Peugeot Sport has confirmed that they will not appeal, following the exclusion of Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera from the Cyprus Rally, in which the former finished first, while the latter was fifth.
The result of Sunday's Cyprus Rally, the fifth round of the 2004 FIA World Rally championship, in which Marcus Gronholm claimed his maiden win in the new Peugeot 307 WRC, are to remain provisional until tomorrow [Wednesday].
The fifth showdown of the 2004 season takes Peugeot Sport to the twisty gravel mountain stages of Cyprus which recently celebrated its entry into the European Union.
SS8 - Fredriksberg (20.13 kms): Gronholm fastest through SS8; Martin second; Hirvonen third; Solberg fourth; Loeb fifth; Duval sixth; Sainz went off the road; Paasonen leads the PCWRC category; Martin leads the overall event by 30 secs.
SS5 - Laborel-L'Aubergerie (20.18 kms): Gronholm fastest through SS5; Loeb second; Martin third; Duval fourth; Sainz fifth; Hirvonen sixth; Solberg seventh; Galli went off the road - retired; Aava leads the JWRC category; Gronholm leads the overall rally by 10secs.
The all-new Peugeot 307 WRC has made a flying start to its world rally career by leading the Monte Carlo Rally throughout four stages of leg one, thanks to Marcus Gronholm.