Motorsport: Solberg leads rally series

Norwegian Petter Solberg gave Subaru's new car a winning debut in Mexico today to seize the lead in the world rally championship.

The 2003 champion controlled the event from start to finish, mastering the rough gravel roads around the central Mexican city of Leon to cruise to his second successive win in three races and the 12th of his career.

Solberg beat Finland's Marcus Gronholm, driving a Peugeot, by a comfortable 34.5 seconds after 14 stages over three days.

The victory lifted the Norwegian, winner of the previous round in Sweden with the old Subaru Impreza, to the top of the standings with 20 points.

Gronholm's Estonian teammate Markko Martin is second overall with 19 points after finishing third on Sunday, helping Peugeot take the lead in the manufacturers' standings from Ford.

"To get a win with the old car in Sweden and another with the new one here is a great feeling," Solberg said.

"For sure there's still more to come from this car but I'm very happy with the progress we've made already.

"The championship is getting pretty close now... and I reckon this year will turn out to be one of the greatest battles we've ever seen."

Peugeot now have 31 points while Ford and Mitsubishi each have 23. Subaru are fourth on 20.

Finland's Toni Gardemeister, who had led the standings for Ford after the first two rounds, finished sixth behind compatriot Harri Rovanpera's Mitsubishi and slipped to third in the championship with 17 points.

"I couldn't have driven any faster today, I was flat out all the way," said Gardemeister, who suffered from flu throughout the rally.

"I made some mistakes on the opening day and had it not been for that I think I could have finished higher."

Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb cemented a fighting comeback by snatching fourth place on the final and longest stage of the rally after losing nearly four minutes with a suspension problem on Friday.

The Frenchman, winner of the season-opening Monte Carlo rally, won the last three stages and is fourth in the standings with 15 points.

"I honestly drove the final stage as though victory depended on it," said Loeb, who was 33 seconds faster than anyone else on the final 44 km stage from Alfaro to El Establo.

"It was a near perfect run, perhaps one of the best of my career. Finishing fourth allows me to stay on the heels of the championship leaders and also keeps Citroen in the frame."

Solberg's victory made up for the disappointment of last year when a time penalty cost him his hopes of winning the rally on its championship debut.

Germany's Antony Warmbold, in a privately-entered Ford, took two points for seventh place in a career best result just ahead of Mitsubishi's French driver Gilles Panizzi.

The next rally is in New Zealand on April 8-10.

- REUTERS