paul
Team Owner
http://www.wrc.com/en_GB/News/NewsDetail/2...eugeotSpeed.htm
Colin McRae says that seeing the speed of the Peugeot 206 World Rally Cars in last week's Rally Finland was almost as big a disappointment as his own fiery retirement on the final day of the fast, gravel event.
Team-mate Carlos Sainz reckoned the 206s were half a second faster per kilometre faster than the rest of the field in Finland and if the French team carry that pace on into the gravel rounds of New Zealand and Australia, McRae says his championship chances won't look good.
"I was disappointed about the speed the Peugeots were going," McRae told Motorsport News. "We were quicker than last year and there is a definite improvement generally on gravel. But they have made so much of an improvement.
"I can’t think of many things to do to the Focus, because we have made a lot of improvements recently. There is still stuff to come, for sure, but not a huge amount."
McRae is now 17 points behind leader Marcus Gronholm in the drivers' title battle as the championship heads to Rallye Deutschland next week and September's Sanremo Rally. Both are tarmac events, the surface on which Peugeot has held the upper hand this year. But McRae knows just how quickly things can turn around in the WRC.
"I think we'll be closer in New Zealand and Australia, given the nature of the roads, but the championship situation isn't looking too good. At the moment I think you'd put money on Gronholm for the world championship, but two retirements and two wins and it all changes."
Colin McRae says that seeing the speed of the Peugeot 206 World Rally Cars in last week's Rally Finland was almost as big a disappointment as his own fiery retirement on the final day of the fast, gravel event.
Team-mate Carlos Sainz reckoned the 206s were half a second faster per kilometre faster than the rest of the field in Finland and if the French team carry that pace on into the gravel rounds of New Zealand and Australia, McRae says his championship chances won't look good.
"I was disappointed about the speed the Peugeots were going," McRae told Motorsport News. "We were quicker than last year and there is a definite improvement generally on gravel. But they have made so much of an improvement.
"I can’t think of many things to do to the Focus, because we have made a lot of improvements recently. There is still stuff to come, for sure, but not a huge amount."
McRae is now 17 points behind leader Marcus Gronholm in the drivers' title battle as the championship heads to Rallye Deutschland next week and September's Sanremo Rally. Both are tarmac events, the surface on which Peugeot has held the upper hand this year. But McRae knows just how quickly things can turn around in the WRC.
"I think we'll be closer in New Zealand and Australia, given the nature of the roads, but the championship situation isn't looking too good. At the moment I think you'd put money on Gronholm for the world championship, but two retirements and two wins and it all changes."