Second man Crocker Leads
After no driver scored points on the APRC opening rally in New Caledonia, steady driving brought second finisher reigning champion Cody Crocker maximum points at the Red Devil Rally Queensland. Crocker drove a new Subaru from the Motor Image team while runaway winner Simon Evans (Mitsubishi Evo IX) had led from start to finish but was ineligible for APRC points. MRF team driver Katsuhiko Taguchi finished third is his Evo IX and led teammate Gaurav Gill's Evo X until Gill punctured on the final stage, dropped a lot of time and finished the rally on three wheels. In fourth place and third highest points scorer was the New Zealand girl Emma Gilmour, making her debut as Crocker's teammate. Evans' brother Eli retired when his Subaru engine stopped in a water crossing, Jean-Louis Leyraud rolled his Subaru while New Zealander Hayden Paddon struggled with differential problems. Two young drivers qualified on this event for the APRC Pirelli Star Driver regional shoot-out, Nathan Quinn and Eli Evans.

Final classification Queensland Rally - Australia
1 Simon Evans/Sue Evans        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX  2h21m19.1s
2 Crocker/Atkinson             Subaru Impreza            2h22m48.8s
3 Taguchi/Stacey               Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX  2h24m10.5s
4 Gilmour/Smyth                Subaru Impreza            2h29m09.2s
5 Quinn/Green                  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX  2h31m33.4s
6 Gill/MacNeall                Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X   2h31m43.7s


Fiat wins in Italy
Abarth's face last weekend was saved by 6.1 seconds - the winning margin for their newly signed driver Luca Rossetti when he beat Paolo Andreucci's Peugeot on the 93rd Targa Florio. Current Italian championship leader Renato Travaglia debuted the Italian team's Skoda and finished third. The second Abarth driver Umberto Scandola has finished 6th. The first orthodox group N car was the Subaru Impreza N14 driven by Andrea Navarra which finished 11th. The rally was held on a single day and had 9 special stages. Travaglia is leading the Italian Championship with 28 points followed by Rossetti and Andreucci 18 points and Cavallini 14 points.


Peugeot wins in France
Old Peugeot 206WRC cars finished one-two at the French asphalt championship Rallye Alsace Vosges, driven by Patrick Henry and Marc Barbe. Henry won by almost 4 minutes.. The Renault Clio R3 with Emmanuel Guigou was third while the first Super 2000 car, the Fiat Abarth driven by Gal Ludovic was 7th.

Other news
Petter Solberg has been shopping. His eight year old Xsara WRC will appear in Sardinia (22-24 May) with a revised nose section, which improves the under bonnet cooling. This modification first appeared on the Kronos run works cars in Mexico 2006 after which Sebastien Loeb broke a spell of bad luck and went on to win his next five rallies...

Contractual difficulties have threatened Indian driver Gaurav Gill's PCWRC plan to contest the Sardinia world championship rally in a Subaru.

Second championship win this year came in the All-Japan series for Norihiko Katsuta in his Impreza N14

3mmm
photo 1: The podium in Australia
photo 2: Fiat Abarth - Rossetti
photo 3: Subaru - Katsuta