After a
thrilling final leg duel with Marcus Gronholm, Subaru driver Petter Solberg
kept his nerve aboard his Impreza WRC2004 to claim his first ever victory
on Rally New Zealand. Achieving the sixth WRC win of his career, Petter
scored a maximum ten points in the Drivers' and Manufacturers'
Championships and now lies three points off the lead of the Drivers'
contest. Petter's determined performance over the past three days earned
him the Inmarsat Star of the Rally award. Marking a landmark 40th WRC win
for Japanese manufacturer Subaru, the victory was also the first for
Subaru's all-new Impreza WRC2004 - on only its second competitive outing.
Mikko Hirvonen was seventh and collected not only valuable experience of
the rally and his car, but important Championship points for both himself
and the team. Rounding off a successful event for the Japanese marque,
Australian driver Dean Herridge won the Group N classification in a Subaru
Impreza WRX STI.

Stage Reports

[...]

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