Tour de Corse Final Leg Toyota Review

Wednesday 6 May - LEG THREE (STAGES 13 - 18) Final day dramas blunt Auriol and Sainz's Corsican challenge A drama-filled final day of the 1998 Rally of France in Corsica saw the two Toyota Castrol Team Corolla WRCs of Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz finish sixth and eighth respectively. A broken clip on an intercooler pipe left Auriol in sixth place, while Sainz fought a fierce battle for second spot until a damaged wheel led to a tyre deflation in SS15. That dropped the Spaniard from a podium place at the finish of the rally, an event which was won by Colin McRae in a Subaru. After an encouraging second day of the rally, in which Sainz held second place and Auriol fifth, the two Corolla WRCs were all set to add points to their championship scores. However, when Auriol suffered a broken clip on an intercooler pipe in the first stage of the day, he immediately lost time. "It was difficult to repair the problem which was down low in the engine where it was very hot. We tried but it was impossible, so we had to go through the next stage like that as well" said Auriol, a six-time winner of the Corsican event. He was able to hang on to sixth position, adding to his championship score and climbing into fifth in the Drivers' series. Team-mate Sainz and co-driver Luis Moya seemed all set to maintain their championship lead, and were engaged in a fantastic battle with the Subaru of Piero Liatti. The duo were running head-to-head as they went into SS15. "The battle was so close that we had to take a gamble. Running without the ATS mousse in Michelin's tyres meant slightly less weight, plus other benefits, but no insurance in case of tyre damage. Unfortunately we damaged a wheel in a drain and the air came out, causing the tyre to go down. We had to stop and change it, losing three minutes. After that our chances were over" said the Spaniard. The sixth round of the World Championship saw Toyota maintain second place in the Manufacturers' series. However, Toyota Motorsports' President Ove Andersson admitted that it was a disappointing finish to the rally. "We had to take our chances today but, unfortunately, it didn't work out. Now we have to look forward to Argentina and Greece, gravel events where the Corolla should work well" he admitted. There was Toyota one-two success in the FIA Teams' Cup category, as Saudi driver Adbullah Bakhashab passed Toyota Sweden team-mate Volkan Isik in dramatic fashion just one stage from the finish to claim the honours for the first time.