# 2006 Rally Catalunya

The 42º Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada, the fourth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season, took place from March 24 to 26, 2006.

## Report

The rally was the first all-tarmac event of the season. The event was marred by an accident in the JWRC category which resulted in the death of the co-driver Jörg Bastuck. Eventually the rally saw the second win of the season for the reigning world champion Sébastien Loeb, although the early pacesetter was Ford's Marcus Grönholm. After winning the first three stages, he suffered turbo problems on stage five but fought back from tenth place to eventually take third place. Ahead of Grönholm was the first podium for Spain's Dani Sordo with a fast run that was publicly acknowledged by Loeb. Further down the field, the twice previous Rally Catalunya winner Gilles Panizzi disappointed with a tenth-place finish. Panizzi promptly left the Red Bull Škoda Team and has not competed in a WRC round since.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:22:01.7 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Dani Sordo | Marc Martí | Citroën Xsara WRC | 3:22:49.9 | 48.2 | 8 |
| 3. | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | 3:23:47.5 | 1:45.8 | 6 |
| 4. | Alex Bengué | Caroline Escudero | Peugeot 307 WRC | 3:24:03.6 | 2:01.9 | 5 |
| 5. | Jan Kopecký | Filip Schovánek | Škoda Fabia WRC | 3:24:58.9 | 2:57.2 | 4 |
| 6. | François Duval | Patrick Pivato | Škoda Fabia WRC | 3:25:39.5 | 3:37.8 | 3 |
| 7. | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC2006 | 3:25:49.9 | 3:48.2 | 2 |
| 8. | Stéphane Sarrazin | Stéphane Prévot | Subaru Impreza WRC2006 | 3:26:38.1 | 4:36.4 | 1 |
| JWRC |||||||
| 1.(17.) | Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | Citroën C2 S1600 | 3:46:04.0 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2.(18.) | Bernd Casier | Frédéric Miclotte | Renault Clio S1600 | 3:46:46.3 | 42.3 | 8 |
| 3.(19.) | Kris Meeke | Glenn Patterson | Citroën C2 S1600 | 3:47:09.4 | 1:05.4 | 6 |
| 4.(21.) | Jozef Béreš jun. | Petr Starý | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 3:48:02.1 | 1:58.1 | 5 |
| 5.(24.) | Michał Kościuszko | Jarek Baran | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 3:50:34.6 | 4:30.6 | 4 |
| 6.(25.) | Conrad Rautenbach | David Senior | Renault Clio S1600 | 3:50:53.1 | 4:49.1 | 3 |
| 7.(26.) | Fatih Kara | Cem Bakançocukları | Renault Clio S1600 | 3:52:00.3 | 5:56.3 | 2 |
| 8.(30.) | Brice Tirabassi | Jacques-Julien Renucci | Citroën C2 S1600 | 3:54:45.4 | 8:41.4 | 1 |

## Retirements

* Xavier Pons - accident (SS10)
* Luca Betti - accident (SS12)
* Julien Pressac - engine (SS12)
* Barry Clark - withdrawn (SS2)
* Aaron Burkart - accident (SS2)

## Special stages

All dates and times are CET (UTC+1) from 24 to 25 March 2006 and CEST (UTC+2) in 26 March 2006.
| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS1 | 08:05 | Querol 1 | 25.43 km | M. Grönholm | 13:36.7 | 112.1 km/h | M. Grönholm |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS2 | 08:53 | el Montmell 1 | 24.13 km | M. Grönholm | 12:35.6 | 115.0 km/h | M. Grönholm |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS3 | 12:33 | Querol 2 | 25.43 km | M. Grönholm | 13:44.4 | 111.1 km/h | M. Grönholm |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS4 | 13:21 | el Montmell 2 | 24.13 km | S. Loeb | 12:31.8 | 115.6 km/h | M. Grönholm |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS5 | 16:31 | Colldejou | 26.51 km | S. Loeb | 15:42.1 | 101.3 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (24 MAR) | SS6 | 17:24 | Riudecaynes | 11.60 km | S. Loeb | 7:45.3 | 89.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS7 | 07:50 | Duesaigues 1 | 11.50 km | M. Grönholm | 7:47.8 | 88.5 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS8 | 08:36 | Vilaplana 1 | 28.32 km | M. Grönholm | 16:36.4 | 102.4 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS9 | 09:59 | Margalef - la Palma d'Ebre 1 | 15.85 km | S. Loeb | 9:35.2 | 99.2 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS10 | 13:09 | Duesaigues 2 | 11.50 km | D. Sordo | 8:04.7 | 85.4 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS11 | 13:55 | Vilaplana 2 | 28.32 km | M. Grönholm | 16:44.7 | 101.5 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (25 MAR) | SS12 | 15:18 | Margalef - la Palma d'Ebre 2 | 15.85 km | S. Loeb | 9:33.2 | 99.6 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 MAR) | SS13 | 07:53 | el Lloar - la Figuera 1 | 22.43 km | M. Grönholm | 12:41.5 | 106.0 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 MAR) | SS14 | 09:05 | Pratdip 1 | 26.47 km | M. Grönholm | 15:36.5 | 101.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 MAR) | SS15 | 11:56 | el Lloar - la Figuera 2 | 22.43 km | M. Grönholm | 12:41.5 | 106.0 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (26 MAR) | SS16 | 13:08 | Pratdip 2 | 26.47 km | M. Grönholm | 15:40.6 | 101.4 km/h | S. Loeb |

## Championship standings after the event
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ESP | FRA | ARG | ITA | GRC | GER | FIN | JPN | CYP | TUR | AUS | NZL | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 36 |
| 2 | Marcus Grönholm | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 27 |
| 3 | Dani Sordo | 8 | 16 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 |
| 4 | Manfred Stohl | 4 | 18 | 3 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 |
| 5 | Petter Solberg | Ret | Ret | 2 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 6 | Toni Gardemeister | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 6 | Daniel Carlsson | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 8 | Gigi Galli | Ret | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Alex Bengué | | | | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Stéphane Sarrazin | 5 | | | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Henning Solberg | Ret | 8 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Chris Atkinson | 6 | 11 | 7 | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 13 | Thomas Rådström | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 13 | Jan Kopecký | 11 | 13 | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 15 | Kosti Katajamäki | | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 15 | Gareth MacHale | 16 | | 6 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 15 | François Duval | Ret | | | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 18 | Mikko Hirvonen | 7 | 12 | 14 | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 18 | Xavier Pons | 9 | 7 | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ESP | FRA | ARG | ITA | GRC | GER | FIN | JPN | CYP | TUR | AUS | NZL | GBR | Pts |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Manufacturer | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| Rank | Manufacturer | MON | SWE | MEX | ESP | FRA | ARG | ITA | GRC | GER | FIN | JPN | CYP | TUR | AUS | NZL | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44 |
| 2 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 14 | 12 | 4 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 42 |
| 3 | Subaru World Rally Team | 5 | 3 | 12 | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 31 |
| 4 | OMV-Peugeot Norway | 6 | 4 | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 21 |
| 5 | Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 6 | Red Bull Škoda Team | 3 | 0 | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 |