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Latest News - February 2009
Skoda drivers made a big impression on the latest round of the World Rally Championship in Norway. Patrik Sandell and Per-Gunnar (P-G) Andersson both Swedes and former Junior World Rally Champions took the fight to the big boys in two rather different Fabias.
Sandell bagged a fairytale result, winning the Production World Rally Championship class on Rally Norway in his new Super 2000 Fabia, while Andersson ultimately retired, but not before hed turned the form book upside down by moving his old but effective Fabia WRC up to fifth place overall on the championships only snow rally. Sandells victory was his first in the P-WRC and the first in the series for a Super 2000 specification car.
He'd been involved in a tense lead battle with Norwegian Subaru Impreza driver Andreas Mikkelsen, but moved into a comfortable lead when Mikkelsens car flew off the road on the second of the rallys three days and the Norwegian lost too much time to remain in contention.
Sandell took a healthy two-minute lead into Sundays final stages and despite losing time on the first stage, when he overshot a junction, crossed the finish line in his Red Bull Rallye Team koda Fabia S2000 with a class lead of 44.1sec.
Its our first win, and our first time in a new car with new team so its an amazing feeling. said Sandell. We had a really good rhythm right from the start and today has been absolutely perfect. Now we just have to find a good set-up for the car on gravel and tarmac.
Andersson, who lost a factory drive when Suzuki pulled out of the championship over the winter, had driven superbly to move his privately-run Fabia WRC (left)up to fifth place. P-G battled with Norwegian brothers Henning and Petter Solberg former World Champion Petter in a Citroen and Henning in a Ford before a clutch problem forced him out on day two. P-G set the fastest time of all on two of the 12 special stages he completed.
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