2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Season Review

The 2 Litre Rally Championship First Ran In 1975 As The 2 Litre Rally Challenge Until 2000 When The Series Changed It’s Name To The Formula Rally World Championship Between 2001 And 2003, Before It Was Then Changed To The 2 Litre Rally Championship From 2004 Onwards, The 2006 Campaign Marks The 3rd Season Under The 2 Litre Rally Championship Brand,  It’s A Seperated Championship For Rally Cars With Normally Aspirated Engines From Other Rally Championships Around The World That Include World Rally Cars With 2.0 Litre Turbocharged Engines, The Series Runs On Seperated International And National Rallies Around The World Which Were Apart Of Both Real Or Imaginary Rally Championships Around The World.
The 2 Litre Rally Championship Is Sactioned By The FIA To Make Rallying More Spectactular, Entertaining And Even More Younger.
Here’s A Look At The Calendar For The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Season, The Series Starts In Bahrain In March Before We Head To Africa For The Safari Rally In Kenya, And Then We Head To South Africa For The Rally de Erechim In Brazil, The Elpa Rally In Greece Was Next, Followed By More Gravel Rallies Of Portugal, Sardinia, Wales And South Africa, And Then It’s On Tarmac For The Ypres Rally In Belgium, Followed By The Return To Gravel For The South Swedish Rally, Germany Was The Next Rally To Be Held On Both Tarmac And Gravel, 2 Back To Back Trips To Eastern Europe With The Mecsek Rallye In Hungary And The Rajd Elmot In Poland, We Stay In Eastern Europe For The Barum Rally In The Czech Republic, Japan And Australia Are The 2 Trips To The Asia-Pacific, And The Season Will Include With 5 Tarmac Rallies In Ireland, France, Spain, The Pikes Peak Hillclimb In The USA And Finally The Rallye International du Valais In Switzerland Which Will Host The Final Round Of The 2006 Series.
Remember, The 2 Litre Rally Championship Is A Seperated Series For Rally Cars With Normally Aspirated Engines And Does Seperated Rallies From The Other Fictional And Real Rally Championships Around The World.
== Calendar ==
Round                 Event           Dates
1      Bahrain International Rally    March 24-26
2         Safari Rally, Kenya             April 7-9
3         Rally de Erechim, Brazil      April 21-23
4               ELPA Rally           May 5-7
5          Rallye De Portugal            May 12-14
6          Rally d'Italia Sardegna       May 26-28
7             Rally Of Wales             June 9-11
8         Zulu Rally South Africa       June 23-24
9                Ypres Rally         July 7-9
10          South Swedish Rally          July 14-16
11                 Rally Germany      July 21-23
12                Mecsek Rallye             August 4-6
13                  Rajd Elmot                August 25-27
14                 Barum Rally, Zlin    September 1-3
15                 Rally Hokkaido    September 15-17
16                 Rally Of Canberra  September 29-October 1
17           Cork 20 International Rally October 6-8
18                 Rallye Mont Blanc    October 20-22
19                 Rally De Catalunya   October 27-29
20            Pikes Peak Int'l Hill Climb November 3-5
21            Rallye International du Valais November 10-12
2005 Champion Simon Jean Joseph Returns To The Series In His Renault Clio S1600, Renault Were Of Course Reigning Manufactuers Champions Last Year, But Fiat Will Not Be Joining The Super 1600 Field As They Replaced Their Punto S1600 With An Abarth Grande Punto S2000, Fiat Is Of Course The 3rd Manufactuer In Rallying To Run On The New Super 2000 Regulations Next To Both Toyota And Volkswagen Who Of Course Debuted Their S2000s In A Rally In South Africa, An S2000 Car Had A Debut Win In The 2 Litre Rally Championship Last Year.
We Will Hopefully See Different Manufactuers Throughout The 2LRC Season With Super 2000, Super 1600 And Group N Production Cars Heading The Field.
This Was Of Course The 2nd Season To Feature Super 2000 Spec Rally Cars, But Super 1600 And Formula 2 Rally Cars Are Still Allowed To Compete In The Series, It Mainly Focuses On Group A, Group N, GT, Group H, 1400cc, 1600cc, 2000cc, 2WD, 4WD, FWD, RWD, Diesel, Petrol, Turbo, Modified World Rally, 4x4, Modified, Proto, Special, Classic, Formula 2000 And Hillclimb Cars Including Rallycross Cars, GT Racing Cars And Touring Cars, The Season Only Focuses On Seperated Rallies Around The World Based On The Rounds Of The World Rally Championship, British Rally Championship, European Rally Championship, African Rally Championship, Irish Rally Championship, Colin McRae Rally Championship, Celtic Rally Championship And International Rally Championship, As Well As Some International And National Rallies, The Super 2000 Rally Cars Are Build On 4 And 2 Wheel Drive, The Super 2000 Cars Like The New Fiat Abarth Grande Punto Is Build On 4 Wheel Drive While The 2 Wheel Drive Super 2000 Cars Are Build On A Touring Car Like The Audi A4, Mercedes C200, BMW 320i E90, Alfa Romeo 156, Chevrolet Lacetti, SEAT Toledo And Leon, Opel Astra Coupe, Ford Focus, Honda Accord And Civic And The Peugeot 307, 307cc And 407, Hopefully We’ll See More Of Them Throughout The Year, Of Course There Will Be Some More 4 Wheel Drive Super 2000 Cars Joining The Series By  Some Selected Rallies Also.
Round 1, Bahrain International Rally.
The First Round Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Is To The Middle East And The Bahrain International Rally, It Was Of Course Held 2 Weeks After The Opening Round Of The 2006 Formula One Season At The Bahrain Grand Prix, It Was Also Part Of The Middle Eastern Rally Championship, But This Year It Is Held As A Round Of The 2 Litre Rally Championship, This Rally Could Hopefully Be Tough For Cars With Normally Aspirated Engines, However Fiat Decided To Withdraw From The Event Because They Need Some Time To Prepare Their New Punto S2000 For The Newly Formed Intercontinental Rally Challenge As Well As The 2 Litre Rally Championship As Well As The National Italian Rally Championship, That Left The Super 1600 Cars To Lead The Field And Young Swede Patrik Sandell Had Been Leading The Rally After Day 1 In His Renault Clio S1600, But Sadly Had To Retire On Day 2, The Victory Of The Rally Went To Fellow Renault Driver And Reigning Champion Simon Jean Joseph Who Kicks Off His Season In Style, Per Gunnar Andersson Finished In 2nd Place In His Suzuki Swift S1600, And The Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah Took 3rd In His Subaru Impreza STi N12 With Co Driver Chris Patterson.
Round 2, Safari Rally, Kenya.
The 2 Litre Rally Championship Headed To Africa For Round 2, The Legendary Safari Rally In Kenya, And It Was The First Rally For Fiat’s All New Abarth Grande Punto, It’s A 4 Wheel Drive S2000 Car With A 2.0 Litre Normally Aspirated 4 Cylinder Engine, All WRC Cars Are Much Too Expensive To Run In This Championship As Well As The New Intercontinental Rally Challenge Which Is Running Just Group A, Group N, Super 2000, And Super 1600 Rally Cars, The Same Goes With The European Rally Championship Which Is Of Course Running The Same Regulations, And Just This Year, The British Rally Championship Is Just Running Both Group N And Super 1600 Cars For This Year’s Series, An S2000 Car Is Way Much Too Expensive Then A World Rally Car, And Fiat Ignored The Humor Of Entering The World Rally Championship, And So They Focused On The Intercontinental Rally Challenge As Well As This Year’s 2 Litre Rally Championship As A Full Factory Rally Team, The Car Then Took It’s Debut Victory With Giandomenico Basso Winning The Rally, The Only S1600 Car On The Podium Was The Suzuki Swift S1600 Of Per Gunnar Andersson, And Local Man Alastair Cavenagh Took 3rd In His Subaru Impreza STi N10.
Round 3,  Rally de Erechim, Brazil.
The Series Headed To South America And The Rally de Erechim In Brazil, It’s Of Course The 3rd Gravel Rally In A Row And It’s Most Difficult For The Crews As They Battle Their Way Through The Hot Temperatures In The Country, This Is The First Appearance In The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship For Young Italian Umberto Scandola, This Is His First Trip To South America And It’s Going Pretty Well For Him, He Took The Lead At The End Of Day 1, His Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Who Won The Last Round In Kenya For The New Grande Punto S2000 Was Also Doing Pretty Well Throughout The Rally, However He Could Not Match The Pace Of His Fellow Country Man And Young Fiat Team Mate On The Stages Of Days 2 And 3, 2nd Place Would Go To Basso And A 1-2 Finish For Fiat On Their 2nd Ever Gravel Rally With The All New Grande Punto S2000, Simon Jean Joseph In His Two Wheel Drive Renault Clio Super 1600 Did Not Match The Pace Of The 4 Wheel Drive S2000s In Front Of Him, And At The End, He Would Finish The Rally In 3rd Place, The Frenchman Is Of Course Trying To Defend The Championship That He Won Last Year, But At The Front It Was  Umberto Scandola Who Had Led From The Start, And He Took His First Win In The 2 Litre Rally Challenge, And 2nd For Fiat With Their All New Grande Punto Super 2000.
Round 4, ELPA Rally.
It Was Off To Europe For Round 4 Of The Series And The ELPA Rally In Greece, It’s Another Gravel Event For Many Of The Crews And The Teams, This Might Be The Ruffest Rally On The Calendar, Fresh From Winning At Erechim Umberto Scandola Match Times On These Stages To Take The Lead On The First Day, However He Then Suffered A Puncture On Day 2, And It Dropped Him To 6th, However He Climbed His Way Up The Field And Would Finish The Rally In 2nd Place, Giandomenico Basso Was Running 3rd After Day 2, But He Would Then Retire From The Rally After He Hit A Rock And Breaking The Rear Suspension Of His Grande Punto, With The Fiats Suffering Problems, Simon Jean Joseph Took The Lead In His Renault Clio S1600 On Day 2, The Frenchman Would Then Take Victory At This Rally, Sadly For Fellow Renault Driver Patrik Sandell He Would Crash Out Of The Rally On Day 2, Fellow Swede Per Gunnar Andersson Was Proving Himself Strongly On This Rally, He Would Finish 3rd In The Rally In His Yellow Suzuki Swift S1600, The Swede Is Currently 4th In The Drivers Championship, Suzuki Are Of Course Catching Renault In The Manufactuers Championship, Local Driver Aris Vovos Would Finish In 4th In His Renault Clio Super 1600, Greece’s Leading Driver Was Going Well In The Rally Since The Start, Despite A Problem With The Setup With His Car, He Was Proving Himself A Winner Of Greek Crews Here, The Estonian Urmo Aava In The 2nd Suzuki Swift Would Finish In 5th Overall, This Is Of Course His First Rally Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, He’s Of Course A Full Factory Driver For Suzuki In The JWRC In The World Rally Championship, And He’s Also Doing Some Selected Rounds In The 2 Litre Rally Championship Also, And Taking 6th And The Fastest Turbocharged Group N Car Driver In The Field Was The Bulgarian Dimitar iliev In His Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, Of Course The Rally Is Of Course Part Of The Greek, Imaginary Greek, Balkan And Eastern European Rally Championships, The Real 2006 Event Is An Asphalt Rally, While The Imaginary Version Is A Gravel Event, Victory For Jean Joseph On The ELPA Rally, He Leads The Championship Heading For The Next Round In Portugal.
Round 5, Rallye De Portugal.
Round 5 Was The Rallye De Portugal, Mainly Part Of The World Rally Championship Until 2001 When It Was Dropped From The Calendar Because Of Pour Weather Conditions And Spectactor Problems At The 2001 Edition, This Year’s Rally Is Based In Faro And It’s The Fifth Gravel Rally In A Row Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Which Has Been Part Of The Series Since 2002, And Fiat Were Back On Top Form, Umberto Scandola Had Been Leading After Day 1, However, He Suffered Some Fuel Pressure Problems On Day 2, Allowing His Team Mate Giandomenico Basso To Take The Lead Of The Rally Onwards, The New Abarth Grande Puntos On Their First Rally In Portugal Were Really On The Pace, Championship Leader Simon Jean Joseph Didn’t Match Times With The Fiat Drivers On This Rally, But He Was Able To Put His Renault Clio S1600 To 3rd Place Just Ahead Of PG Andersson In His Suzuki Swift S1600 Who Had Suffered Some Mechanical Troubles On Day 1, He Had Been Down In 10th Before Climbing Up The Order And Would Eventually Finish In 4th, Local Driver Armindo Araujo Would Finish In 5th Place And Was The Fastest Group N Car In The Rally, He Has Been The National Portuguese Champion Ever Since 2003, And He’s Battling For His 5th Title In The Series In His Galp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR, He’ll Of Course Be Entered In The PWRC In The World Rally Championship Real Soon, Hopefully We’ll See Him In The 2 Litre Rally Championship For A Full Season Soon, And Taking 6th Place In The Rally Was Another Local Driver Bruno Malgalhaes In His Peugeot 206 S1600, He’s Only Young And Fresh To The Series, Hopefully We’ll Might See Him Entered A Full Season In Some Selected International Rallies, No Such Problems For Fiat At The Front Umberto Scandola Tried So Hard To Try Matching Times With Team Mate Basso, But In The End Giandomenico Was Able To Take A Well Deserved Victory And His 2nd Of The Season.
Round 6, Rally d'Italia Sardegna.
The 6th Round Was The Rally d'Italia Sardegna, Of Course It Was Part Of The WRC Since 2004, And It’s The 6th Rally To Be Run On Gravel And It’s Only The 2nd Season Of The Event To Be Part Of The 2 Litre Rally Championship, It’s The Home Country Of Fiat Who Have Entered Some Grande Puntos For This Event Including The Ones Of Scandola And Basso, Scandola Matched Many Stage Times Of Day 1 To Lead The Rally Over His Team Mate Basso, Simon Jean Joseph Is Not Able To Match The Pace Of The Fiats Throughout This Rally In His Two Wheel Drive Machine, And In The End He Would Have To Settle For 3rd Overall Again, Well There Were Dramas Coming Up, Patrik Sandell’s Unlucky Season Continues, He Retired On Day 1 With Transmission Failure In His Renault Clio S1600, And This Is Andrea Navarra On His First Drive In The Abarth Grande Punto S2000, It Was Going Well For Him At This Rally Until He Crashed Out Also On Day 2, Thankfully He And His Co Driver Were Okay, But Their Car Is Destroyed, And PG Andersson Lost Many Times With Mechanical Troubles On Day 1, His Gearbox Failed Forcing Him To Push His Car Into Service, And The Suzuki Boys Did A Quick Job Replacing The Gearbox, However 5 Minutes Were Lost And Andersson Would Drop Down The Order And Would Eventually Finish The Rally In 10th Overall, Andersson’s Misfortune Left Suzuki To Turn To Their Estonian Charge Urmo Aava, He Too However Had Problems With His Tyres On Day 1, But He Drove Strongly To Bring His Car Home In 4th Place, Great Work From Armo, We Would Hopefully See Him Prove Strongly Next Year, Local Driver Luca Betti Took 5th Place In His Renault Clio S1600, He Of Course Was The 2nd Renault To Finish Inside The Top 10, Patrik Sandell Would Have Finished 5th In This Rally Before He Went Out Of The 2006 Rally Sardinia, This Was Awesome Driving For The Renault Privateer, But He Wasn’t Able To Match The Pace Of The S2000 Cars, However He Was Ahead Of An S2000 Fiat Grande Punto Of Another Local Driver Paulo Andreucci, He Usually Competes In The Local Italian Championship As Well As Entering As A Guest Entry At Some Italian Rounds In The International Series, And The 2 Litre Rally Championship Was One Of Them, He Would Finish In 6th Place, Umberto Scandola Was In Charge At The Front Of The Field Since The Start, And At The End He Would Win His Home Rally, With Giandomenico Basso Taking 2nd And Dominating Another 1-2 Finish For Fiat At Their Home Rally.
Round 7, Rally Of Wales.
The Rally Of Wales Was The Venue For Round 7 Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, It Was Of Course Part Of The British Rally Championship, Well Not This Year, The Rally Is Now A Free Event And It’s Now Used For The 2 Litre Rally Championship, Umberto Scandola Headed Into The Rally Looking Like A Dark Horse, He’s Now Fighting For The Drivers Championship With Simon Jean Joseph After Winning In Sardinia, The Fiat Driver Really On The Pace Here On The Grande Punto’s Debut Rally In Britain, However, He Then Picked Up A Puncture, And He Lost 20 Minutes Trying To Change It, He Dropped From The Lead To 13th Place, His Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Was 2nd In The Rally, But Then He Would Slide Off The Road On Day 2 And He Was Force To Retire, Britain’s Kris Meeke Was Going Well In This Rally In The Citroen C2 S1600, He Would Then Finish In 2nd And Give Citroen Their First Podium Of The Season, Scandola Recovered For Must Of This Rally, The Italian Would Then Finish In 3rd As Simon Jean Joseph Took Victory And Kept On To His Lead In The Drivers Championship, There Were Dramas Throughout The Rally And This One Was Most Spectactular, The Young Patrik Sandell In His Renault Clio S1600, Enjoying The Countryside, He Didn’t, He Crashed Out Of The Rally By Rolling Off The Road And Into The Welsh Trees, Retirement Also For Urmo Aava In His Suzuki Swift S1600, The Estonian Went Off The Road And Ended Up In A Ditch, And It Was Rally Over And Conrad Rautenbach, The Man From Zimbabwe, He Was 6th After Day 1 Until He Was Forced Into Retirement With Broken Suspension In His Renault Clio, The Suzuki Drivers Were Going Well Here And Guy Wilks On His First Outing In The 2006 2LRC Was Going Well Here, He Finished In 4th Overall While His Team Mate PG Andersson Who Lost Time Throughout This Rally With Troubles In His Suzuki Would Finish The Rally In 6th Place, James Wozencroft Took 5th Place In His Suzuki Ignis S1600, This Is His First Drive In The S1600 Car In The 2LRC, He Made His Debut In A Suzuki Last Year And Winning The Starts Of The Future Cup In The British Rally Championship, We Would Hopefully See More Of Him When He’s Entered For Some Selected International Rallies, The 2004 British Rally Champion David Higgins Is Entered At This Rally And He Was Doing Really Well Despite Developing Some Turbo Pressure Problems On The Opening Day, He Was Able To Finish In 6th Place And Was The Fastest Driver In A Group N Car In His Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII Prepared By Mellors Eliot Motorsport, He Had Troubles With The Car In The British Series Last Season, But Now He’s Proving Well With The Mitsubishi This Year.
Round 8,  Zulu Rally South Africa.
Round 8 Was Back In Africa And The Zulu Rally, Of Course This Was Also The 1st Round Of The Newly Formed Intercontinental Rally Challenge When The Real Rally Saw Alistair McRae Take Victory In A Group N Mitsubishi, He Was Of Course Former A WRC Driver, The 1995 British Rally Champion And Brother To Colin McRae Who Was Also A Rally Champion, The Real Rally Took Place In May, How Would The Imaginary Version Go?, Umberto Scandola Had Been Leading At The Start Of This Rally, But All His Hard Work Would Go To Waste As He Rolled Out Of The Rally, And Fiat’s Miserable Weeknd Would End As Giandomenico Basso Went Out On Day 2 With Transmission Failure, With Both The Fiats Gone It Was Now Up To Simon Jean Joseph To Win The Rally, The Renault Was Going Pretty Well Throughout Day 1, It’s Now Been A Year Since The S2000 Rally Cars Were Debuted In South Africa Including This Volkswagen Polo S2000 Here Been Driven By Local Hero And Ex Daewoo Works Driver Enzo Kuun, He Of Course Competes With This Car In The South African Rally Championship And The Zulu Rally Was Of Course Apart Of It, It Was Going Very Well For Him Here, He Took The Lead On Day 2 When Jean Joseph Lost Time With A Puncture, Kuun Was A Former Winner Of A South African Event In The 2 Litre Rally Championship And The South African Rally Championship, He Kept Out Of Trouble Which Hit Him Throughout The Years, Serge Damseaux Had Been 3rd After Day 1, However He Then Had Some Engine Problems On Day 2, And It Dropped Him To 8th, However He Was Able To Recover And To Finish 5th On The Final Day, Another Toyota Did Finish In 3rd Place Came Courtesy Of The Team Total Corolla S2000 Driven By Etienne Lourens, Victory For Enzo Kuun At The Zulu Rally And It Was The First Victory For Volkswagen In The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, Volkswagen Aren’t Having A Full Season In The Series This Year, They’re Doing Some Selected Events.
Round 9, Ypres Rally.
Round 9 Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Was Held On Tarmac And The Ypres Rally In Belgium, Last Month Umberto Scandola’s Rally Ended In Dramatic Fashion When He Took His Abarth Grande Punto S2000 Into A Lake, But In The Imaginary Version Of This Rally, He Went Out Of It After Crashing His Car, Thankfully No Injuries To Report For Both Scandola And His Co Driver, Simon Jean Joseph Never Put A Foot Wrong At This Rally, He Led From Every Stage And He Took Victory At Ypres, He Now Leads The Championship By 5 Points Over Scandola, Giandomenico Basso, The Winner Of The Real Rally Was 2nd To Jean Joseph For Must Of This Rally, The Italian And The Abarth Grande Punto S2000 Usually Were Faster Than The S1600 Cars For Must Of These Events, But At This Rally, The Renault S1600 Had Setted The Most Pace Than The Fiat S2000, Local Hero And Ex WRC Driver Freddy Loix In His Citroen C2 S1600 Was Going Well For Most Of This Event, He Then Developed Some Issues With Tyre Choice, He Had Chosen The Hard Tyres Than The Soft Ones On Day 2, And He Would Eventually Finish 3rd Overall At This Rally, Per Gunnar Andersson Was Running 3rd After Day 1, But His Rally Was Then Over When His Suzuki Went Off The Road And Out Of The Event, And The Most Dramatic Accident Was To Happen At This Came Courtesy Of Fellow Swedish Driver Patrik Sandell In His Renault Clio S1600, On Day 2, He Copied Scandola’s Accident By Taking His Clio Into The Lake, Thankfully No Injuries For Sandell And His Co Driver Emil Axelsson, But The Car Has Really Sunken To The Bottom, All Is Left To Save The Helmet That Is Sitting On Top Of The Drowning Renault, Renault Have Of Course Entered 4 Works Clios For This Rally, Sandell Was One Of Them, Fatih Kara From Turkey Was Also Entered For This Rally, And 2 Local Drivers Bernd Casier And The Winner Of Last Year’s Ypres Rally Kris Princen Who Had A Slow Start To The Rally, He Had Been 10th On Day 1 Until He Setted Times Stage By Stage To Nearly Reach The Podium, He Was Of Course Was The Fastest Belgian Driver In The Field, While Team Mate Casier Finished 6th, And Urmo Aava Once Again Finished 5th In His Suzuki Swift S1600 Despite Some Brake Problems For The Estonian On Day 1, He Would Eventually Fight His Troubles And Get To The End Of The Rally, Bernd Casier Had Some Gearbox Issues On Day 1, But He Eventually Finished The Rally In 6th Place In His Clio After Moving Up The Field.
Round 10, South Swedish Rally.
Round 10 Was Back On Gravel And To Scandinavia For The South Swedish Rally, Simon Jean Joseph And The 2 Fiat Drivers Were Absent From This Event Allowing Per Gunnar Andersson To Win His Home Event With Peter Zachrisson Finishing 2nd In His Suzuki Ignis S1600, And Patrik Sandell After Having A Rough Season So Far Was Finally Given A Podium Finish In His Renault Clio S1600, Finishing 4th And Running The Fastest Group N Car In The Rally Was Local Driver Patrik Flodin In His Subaru Impreza STi N12, This Was Great Stuff From This Man Who Won The Real Rally Back In May, Calle Ward Would Finish In 5th Place In His Mobil 1 Helmia Racing Renault Clio Sport, And He Was The Fastest N3 Car Driver In The Field, And Taking 6th Place In The Rally Was Another Group N Subaru Of Oscar Svedlund Who Is Driving For The Subaru Swedish Dealer Team, The Former Driver For Volkswagen Scoring His Best Result Yet.
Round 11, Rally Germany.
Round 11 Was Rally Germany And It’s A Mixed Gravel And Tarmac Rally Which Was Of Course Been Featured In Colin McRae Rally 2005, And This Is The Rally That Drivers Really Need To Win, Umberto Scandola And Giandomenico Basso Were Back In Their Abarth Grande Punto S2000s As Well As Simon Jean Joseph And His Renault Clio S1600, Scandola Started The Rally Strongly, The Young Italian Setted More Times On These Stages To Lead The Rally, On Day 2 Scandola Was Much Quicker On Most Of These Stages And His Lead In The Rally Was Extended By A 5 Second Advantage Over The Rest Of The Field, Giandomenico Basso Had Been Running 2nd For Most Of This Rally, But The Italian Hit A Rock On The Road On Day 2 And It Damaged The Front Suspension Of His Car, He Struggled For Most Of These Stages Until He Was Eventually Forced To Retire Afterwards, The Most Dramatic Accident Was Going To Happen In This Rally And That Was Of The Renault Clio S1600 Of Patrik Sandell, His Car Went Off The Road On Day 1 And Into The Vineyards, His Car Was Stuck And He Was Out, Thankfully He And His Co Driver Got Out Of The Car Safely, And More Accidents Happened On This Rally, Dieter Depping In His Volkswagen Polo S2000, He Rolled Out On Day 2, And His Car Got Stuck In A Ditch, And Niki Schelle In His Suzuki Swift Super 1600, His Car Hit A Tree And It Injured His Co Driver Michael Wenzel, He Was Forced To Retire From The Event After Day 2 While Wenzel Was Taken To Hospital, Another Local Driver Aaron Burkart Who Had Been Running 5th After Day 1, However He Then Had To Push His Citroen C2 S1600 To Service After His Gearbox Failed On Him At The End Of The Last Stage Of The Day, And His Team Did A Promising Job To Prepare The Gearbox, It Was Prepared But 3 Minutes Were Lost, And No Chance Of A Top 5 Finish In His Home Event, But He Did Claw His Way Up From The Field, And He Would Still Finish In 5th Place, Armin Schwarz Who Was Entered For This Rally In His BMW 320i E90 S2000, However He Got To A Slow Start And Had Been Down In 10th After Day 1, But He Setted More Times Stage By Stage And Nearly Got Into The Final Podium Place By Finishing 4th, This Was A Great Job For The Former WRC Driver Now Experiencing In The 2 Litre Rally Championship In A 2 Wheel Drive Super 2000 Car Based On The Touring Car That BMW Are Competing In The World Touring Car Championship, He Was Also The Fastest 2 Wheel Drive S2000 Car Driver In The Field, Taking 2nd In Rally Germany Was Per Gunnar Andersson In His Suzuki Swift S1600, It Had Been A Great Year For The Swede Who Is 4th In The Drivers Championship, And So Far He Was Ahead Of Championship Leader Simon Jean Joseph Who Was Disappointed To Not Win This Event To Keep His Lead For The Title, The Renault Driver Still Finished 3rd, It Wasn’t All Good News At Suzuki, Urmo Aava Retired On The Opening Day With A Blown Engine, The Estonian Had Been Running 5th After Stage 2, Taking 6th Place In The Rally Was The Volkswagen Golf IV Kit Car Of Austrian Kris Rosenberger, He Was Of Course The Fastest Kit Car Driver In The Rally, But There’s No Catching, Umberto Scandola At The Front, Victory In Germany Went To Him And He’s Now Hoping To Take The Lead Of The Championship, The S2000 Fiats Had More Power Than The S1600 Cars Throughout The Season, They Could Hope To Win More Rallies During The Season.
Round 12, Mecsek Rallye.
Round 12 Was Back On Tarmac And To Eastern Europe For The Mecsek Rallye In Hungary, And It’s Going To Be A Close Battle In The Championship Between Simon Jean Joseph And Umberto Scandola Going Into This Rally, And It Was The Fiat Driver Who Didn’t Disappoint, Scandola Had The Most Control Of The Rally, And Once Again The S2000 Cars Were On The Pace, The Italian Had Led For The Most Of This Rally Was Heading For Victory, His Championship Rival Simon Jean Joseph Was Hoping On Winning This Rally To Keep His Lead In The Drivers Championship, However, His Rally Would End With A Broken Driveshaft On Day 2, This Is The Champion's First Retirement Of The 2006 2LRC, PG Andersson Also Retired From The Rally When He Rolled His Suzuki Swift S1600 On Day 1, Thankfully With No Injuries To Report To Him And His Co Driver, Young Estonian Urmo Aava Was Going So Well Throughout This Rally, He Would Finish 3rd For Suzuki After Andersson Crashed Out And Finishing 4th Was Local Driver Zsolt Kakuszi In His Volkswagen Polo S1600 Who Of Course Was A Guest Entry, Another Local Driver Robert Butor Took 5th In His Citroen C2 S1600, And Taking 6th Was Peter Keller, Another Local Driver In His Suzuki Ignis S1600, Giandomenico Basso In His Abarth Grande Punto Developed Some Understeer Troubles On Day 1, But The Italian Was Able To Finish In 2nd Behind His Young Team Mate Scandola, Who Wins The Rally And Takes The Lead In The Drivers Championship.
Round 13,  Rajd Elmot.
It Was Off To Poland For Round 13 And The Rajd Elmot, This Is Of Course The 2nd Rally In Eastern Europe To Be Held All On Tarmac, After Suffering A DNF And Losing His Lead In The Championship, Simon Jean Joseph Was Hoping To Try And Get Back On Track To Chase Umberto Scandola, However He Would Then Crash Out Of The Rally Early, Scandola Was Now Leading The Championship Going Into This Rally, The Italian Knew That His Rival Was Out, And He Needs To Push More To Get To The Title, However His Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Took The Lead On Day 2, The Fiat Pairing Were Really Dominating In This Rally, The 3 Times National Polish Rally Champion Leszek Kuzaj Driving A Group N Subaru Impreza STi N12, He Was Going Well Running In 3rd Place At The End Of Day 1, He Could Not Match The Pace Of The S2000 Cars Ahead Until He Lost 3rd Place To PG Andersson’s 2 Wheel Drive Suzuki Swift S1600 On Day 2, Kuzaj Was The Fastest Polish Driver And Fastest Group N Car In The Field, Only 20 Years Old And Driving A Suzuki Swift S1600 Was Fellow Polish Driver Michal Kosciuzko, It Was Going Pretty Well From Him Throughout This Rally, Despite A Bad Tyre And Setup Choices On Day 2, He Was Able To Finish In 5th Place Ahead Of Fellow Suzuki Driver Urmo Aava Who Completed The Top 6 In His Swift S1600, Basso Took The Victory In Elmot With Team Mate Scandola Taking 2nd Place To Complete Another 1-2 Finish For Fiat While Per Gunnar Andersson Would Finish In 3rd In His Suzuki Swift S1600.
Round 14, Barum Rally, Zlin.
And So To Round 14, The Barum Rally In Zlin In The Czech Republic, It’s A Legandary Rally To Be Held On Some Broken Tarmac And It’s The 3rd Eastern European Round To Be Held On Asphalt, After 2 Non Finishes In The Last 2 Rallies, Simon Jean Joseph Needs To Rescue His Season To Score And Try To Catch Umberto Scandola In The Championship, And He Did Quite That, He Led The Rally After Days 1 And 2 Over His Italian Rival, Championship Leader Scandola Still Flying The Fiat Flag, The Cars Are Much Faster Than The S1600 Clios All This Season, It’s Going To Be A Close Battle During The Remaining Rounds Of The Series, Scandola Would Go Into The Final Day Of The Rally In 2nd Place, Giandomenico Basso Was Still Going Well In His Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000, However He Would Be In 4th Place For Most Of This Rally, Guy Wilks Of Course Who’s Entered For This Rally For The Works Suzuki Team Was Going Well, The Brit Was Able To Match Times With The S2000 Cars After Day 3 When He Took 2nd From Scandola And He Would Get His Best Finish In The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, Well Team Mate Per Gunnar Andersson Suffered Many Wrong Setups With His Suzuki S1600, The Swede Then Suffered Gearbox Problems On Day 2, And He Would End Up In 12th Before He Would Eventually Finish In 8th, Urmo Aava Also In A Suzuki Swift S1600 Lost Some Many Time With Mechanical Troubles, His Gearbox Broke On Day 1 And He Was Then Force To Retire On Day 2 With A Broken Driveshaft, Patrik Sandell Who Is Having An Unlucky Season In The Renault Clio S1600 Was Still Struggling, He Completed Day 1 However On Day 2, He Crashed Out, The Young Swede’s Season Was Going Very Bad When On These Rallies He’s Entered In, After Winning The Real Life Event In A Turbocharged Group N Car Last Month Roman Kresta Fell To 14th On Day 1, But He Setted More Times Stage By Stage And He Would Nearly Finish In The Top 4 With 5th Place In His Ford Fiesta S1600, This Was Good Work For The Local Hero Who Is Driving A Stobart Backed Car Which Was Ran By The Stobart World Rally Team Which Are Competing In The World Rally Championship, And Kresta Is Of Course Competing With This Car In The British Rally Championship, Another Local Driver Who Is Just 24 Years Old And Has Been Rallying Since The National Czech Series In 2001, Martin Prokop In His Citroen C2 S1600 Was Going Well, He Would Eventually Finish The Rally In 6th Place Despite A Bad Setup With His Car On Day 1, The Youngster Is Really The One To Watch In The Future, No Such Troubles For Simon Jean Joseph, He Led The Rally And He Would Win The 2006 Barum Rally, And He Would Hope To Score Points At The Next Round To Catch Umberto Scandola In The Championship, The Italian Finished Behind Guy Wilks’ S1600 Suzuki.
Round 15, Rally Hokkaido.
The Series Headed To The Far East For Round 15, Rally Hokkaido In Japan, The Rally Was Held As A Round Of The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, But It’s Also Held As A Round In The 2 Litre Rally Championship, It’s Fiat Versus Renault In The Manufactuers Championship, Scandola Versus Jean Joseph In The Drivers Championship, Simon Jean Joseph Came To Japan To Try And Defend His Title From Last Year, The Clio S1600 Having Much Pace Then The Group N Cars Struggled For Most Of This Rally, However, His Problems Continued On Day 2 When He Suffered Some Throttle Problems And Then He Got Himself A 5 Minute Penalty For Leaving Service, The Frenchman Would Then Finish In 8th Overall, The Fiats Weren’t In Trouble At The Front, Scandola From Most Of This Rally, The Italian Could Extend His Lead In The Championship With His Rival Still Struggling Through The Gravel Roads Of Japan, Japan Was Of Course The Home Country Of Suzuki, Per Gunnar Andersson Grabbed 2nd Place After Jean Joseph’s Problems, The Swede Would Eventually Finish In 2nd In The Rally, Patrik Sandell’s Season Really Hit Him Hard, But He Was Able To Finish In 3rd Place In His Renault Clio S1600, Giandomenico Basso Was Running 3rd After Day 1, But On Day 2 He Would Roll His Grande Punto S2000, He Was Then Force To Retire Due To Damage From That Crash, Grabbing 4th Place In The Group N Mitsubishi Was Local Hero Katsuhiko Taguchi, He Finished Ahead Of Another Local Driver Toshihiro Arai In His Subaru Impreza STi N12, While The 2nd MRF Tyres Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Of Finland’s Jarkko Miettinen Would Finish In 6th, So Scandola Won The Rally To Extend His Lead Over Joseph By 5 Points.
Round 16, Rally Of Canberra.
It Was Off To Australia For The Rally Of Canberra Which Is Round 16 Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, And The Chase Is Hotting Up Between 2 Drivers Fighting For The Title, Simon Jean Joseph Of France In His Renault Clio S1600, Versus The Fiat Abarth Grande Punto Of Umberto Scandola Of Italy, We’re Up For One Amazing Battle Of The 2 Heavyweights Of This Year’s 2 Litre Rally Championship, Simon Jean Joseph Look Liked The Man On The Mission To Fight Scandola For The Championship, The 2005 Champion Was Going Well Through The Stages Of Day 1 Leading The Rally, Until His Failed Radiator Put A Stop To His Clio On Day 2, That Was Left To Scandola To Win This Rally To Keep His Lead In The Championship, The Italian Was Fighting For The Lead In All Of This Rally, And He Did Well In The Rally To Finish In 2nd Place, Local Hero Neal Bates Led The Rally From The Start, And He Took The Victory Driving In His Toyota Corolla Sportivo, It Was Also The First Victory For Toyota In The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship, Per Gunnar Andersson Had A Puncture On Day 1, But He Managed To Keep His Position Of 3rd Place Ahead Of Giandomenico Basso Who Missed Out On A Podium Finish And Would Have To Settle For 4th, Simon Evans Took 5th Place In His Toyota Corolla Sportivo, And Dean Herridge Took 6th In His Subaru Impreza WRX.
Round 17, Cork 20 International Rally.
It Was Back In Europe For Round 17 Of The Series And The Cork 20 International Rally In Ireland, Been Part Of The Irish Rally Championship, The Cork 20 Rally Also Allows International Drivers To Compete Throughout The Years Too, The Rally Was Mainly Of Course Part Of The Imaginary Irish, Imaginary British, Celtic And The International Rally Championships, And It’s Now Of Course Part Of The 2 Litre Rally Championship, Umberto Scandola Started The Rally In The Lead After Day 1, The Italian Was Pushing More Harder To Try And Keep His Championship Rival Simon Jean Joseph At Bay For The Title, On Day 2 Scandola Setted More Times On The Stages To Keep His Lead, He Would Stay There Heading Into Day 3, Scandola’s Fiat Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Who Was 2nd On The Road After Day 1, He Was Going Pretty Well Until Day 2 Saw His Rally End After Clipping A Hay Bale Chicane Which Damaged His Grande Punto’s Radiator, The Italian Retired, Simon Jean Joseph Setted More Times Than Scandola Throughout The Rally, But He Wasn’t Able To Challenge The Italian And His S2000 Grande Punto With His Clio S1600 At This Rally, The Frenchman Would Finish In 2nd Place, Per Gunnar Andersson Would Take 3rd Place For Suzuki, And They Are Still 3rd In The Manufactuers Championship With Only 4 More Rallies Left.
Round 18, Rallye Mont Blanc.
The Rallye Mont Blanc In France Was The Venue For Round 18, The Rally Is Based On The Mountain Ski Resort Town Of Morzine Located In The French Alps Just Close To The Swiss Border, This Is Of Course The Home Event For Renault And For Simon Jean Joseph, Joseph Has Also Of Course Competed Here As Part Of The French And Imaginary French Rally Championships That Took Place Here, It’s Not Just The Home Event For Renault Or Jean Joseph, But Also Citroen And For Brice Tirabassi, He Was Of Course Entered At This Rally, And He Took An Early Lead On Day 1, For Umberto Scandola The Italian Needs To Finish In This Rally To Keep His Lead In The Standings, And The Fiat Driver Was Really Going Well To Move Up To 2nd Place, Per Gunnar Andersson Was Struggling Through These French Asphalt Roads, There Was Worst To Come When His Brakes Failed On Day 2, He Had To Tip Toe Through Most Of These Stages, But The Brakes Were Fixed For The Final Day, And He Would Finish Inside The Top 10, Bryan Bouffier Was One Of The Local Drivers Entered For Mont Blanc And He Was Going Very Well Through The Stages, Despite A Rough Tyre Choice On Day 2, He Was Able To Finish In 4th Place In His Peugeot 206 S1600, Giandomenico Basso Who Had Been Down In 9th Following Brake Issues In His Fiat Abarth Grande S2000 Was Able To Climb Up The Field And Would Finish In 5th, And Former West European Rally Cup Winner Enrique Garcia Ojeda Would Finish In 6th Place With His Peugeot 206 S1600 Despite Some Electrical Problems On Day 1, The Spaniard Was Able To Claw Back Inside The Top 10, But What About At The Front?,  Brice Tirabassi, The JWRC Champion In 2003 Was Able To Take Victory At The Mont Blanc Rally And The First For Citroen In The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Umberto Scandola Would Finish In 2nd To Extend His Lead In The Championship, And Simon Jean Joseph Was Not Happy To Be 3rd In The Rally, But He Needs To Catch Scandola In The Fight For The Title With Only 3 Rounds Left.
Round 19, Rally De Catalunya.
Round 19 Was The Rally De Catalunya In Spain, And There Was Drama Just Before The Start Of The Event, The First Day Of Rain Left The Rally De Catalunya In A Washout After Torrential Rain And Thunderstorms Hit The Catalan Region This Week, The Near Final Tarmac Event In Europe Was Then Cancelled, But Thankfully The Opening Stage, The Rally Stages Weren’t Hit But Lots Of Work Has Been Done By The Emergency Services Just In Time For The 2 Days Of Competition, The Ceremorial Start Still Went Ahead Under Bad Weather Conditions, The Organisers Had No Choice But To Cancel The Stages Of Day 1 Allowing The Cars To Get Off From The Podium And Into Parc Ferme, After Much Rain And No Rally Action, The Spectactors Had A Chance To See The Cars Not At Full Rally Speed In A Parade In Salou, The Rain Then Stopped And The Sun Came Out In Time To Find Out Who Would Win The 2 Litre Rally De Catalunya, And The First Stage Was Through The First Run Through Duesaigues, The First Man Onto The Stages Was The Young Swede Per Gunnar Andersson In His Suzuki Swift S1600, He Took An Early Lead And He Would Stay There Until The End Of The Day, The Suzukis Are Able To Challenge The Renaults And The S2000 Fiats At This Rally, Of Course There’s Rally Is An Important Job In The Battle Of The Group N Cars Fighting The Super 1600 And Super 2000 Ones Like The Mitsubishi Here Been Driven By David Colldecarrera In The RACC Motorsport Car, And He Was Going Pretty Well, He Was Fifth After Day 1, The S2000 Puntos Are Of Course Group N Cars And Championship Leader Umberto Scandola Is Hoping On Keeping His Lead In The Championship Over Joseph In This Rally, But He Could Not Match The Pace Of The Frenchman’s Clio After Day 2, He Would Then Start Day 3 In 4th Place, Jean Joseph Is Like The Man On The Mission, He’s Chasing The Rally Leader Going Into Day 3, And It Will Be A Close Battle With PG Andersson In The Leading Suzuki, In 4th Place Is The 2nd Grande Punto Of Giandomenico Basso He Would Then In That Position And Take 3rd In The Drivers Championship, Another Local Driver Pedro Burgo Driving A Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Pushed Hard Through The Miles Of These Stages, He Knew There Was One More Day Left Of The Event, But He Pushed Way Too Hard Clipping A Wall And Damaging The Rear Suspension, Burgo Would Restart Day 3 But Down In 14th Place, And Roads Were Getting Drier And Drier, Ex WRC Driver Jesus Puras Is Driving A SEAT Leon S2000 At This Rally, He Knows The Rally Because He Was Entered In The World Rally Championship By Citroen, His Experience Was Troubled When He Noticed He Didn’t Have Any Brakes, And That Costed Him Precious Time And He Would Finish Down The Order, 2001 JWRC Champion And Spanish Rally Championship Leader Dani Sola Struggled With His Citroen C2 S1600, And His Dramas Weren’t Over Yet, Even Without Day 1, This Rally Would Have Been A Nightmare, And Then He Would Hit A Bank In Which Damaged His Rear Axle, And With The Axle Change Needed, It Was A Tough Time For The Mechanics, At The End Of Day 2, Sola Was Down In 15th Overall, The Former European Rally Champion Renato Travaglia Is Also Taking Part In This Rally At The Wheel Of The Peugeot 206 S1600, The Italian Suffered Steering Problems At The End Of Day 2, And That Dropped Him To 10th Overall, But It Got Better For Him On The Final Day, When He Setted Some Good Times On The Stages And Was Able To Finish The Rally In 5th Overall Not Bad, Well Still Having A Dreadful And Struggling Season In The 2RLC, Patrik Sandell Wanted To Try And Stay Away From Trouble, But Trouble Found Him Anyway, He Crashed His Renault Clio S1600 Out On The Final Day, Thankfully No Injuries To Report For Both Driver And Co Driver, That’s Another DNF For Sandell, His 10th Of 2006 Since The Start Of The Season In Bahrain, Not Good For The Young Swede And Reigning JWRC Champion, Local Driver Enrique Garcia Ojeda Put In An Awesome To Take 6th In His Peugeot 206 S1600, He Had Been Struggling On Day 2 With Some Brake Problems, But He Managed To Get To The End Of The Rally And A Top 5 Finish,  Per Gunnar Andersson Had Led The Rally From The Start And Stayed There Until The End, The Swede Took Only His 2nd Win Of The Season Finishing Ahead Of Championship Leader Scandola And Jean Joseph, The Fight For The Title Is Going On Between These 2 Drivers With Only 2 Events Left.
Round 20,  Pikes Peak Int'l Hill Climb.
The Near Final Round Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Was The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb In The USA, It’s A Single Stage Rally And It’s Shared Between Rally Cars And Hillclimb Cars, Umberto Scandola Is Fighting For The Title With Simon Jean Joseph, And If The Italian Wins This Event He Would Become 2006 2LRC Champion, Scandola After The First Two Days Stayed In The Lead Until The End, And At Last The Victory And The Drivers Championship Went To The Young Italian Scandola, He Would Be Back To Offend His Title Again In 2007, And Fiat Will Be Back, Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Took 2nd And Help Fiat To Wrap Up The Manufactuers Championship Going Into The Final Round In Switzerland, And Simon Jean Joseph Is To Lose Out On The Title Despite His 3rd Place, We Hope To See Him Again In 2007 On The Works Renault’s Near Final Rally.
Round 21, Rallye International du Valais.
The Final Round Of The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Was The Rallye International du Valais In Switzerland, Fiat Could Be Crowned Champions If Either Their Win Or Finish In The Rally, Or The Manufactuers Title Could Go To Renault If Simon Jean Joseph Wins Or Finishes In The Event, The Newly Crowned Champion Scandola Started The Rally Well He Won The Opening 2 Stages And He Kept On To His Lead At The End Of Day 1, It’s Not Just The Super 1600 Or Super 2000 Rally Cars Contested At This Rally But Also The Group N Production Cars Like This Alfa Romeo 156 Here Driven By Frenchman Patrick Bernardini, Driving For The French Alfa Romeo Dealer Team, He Didn’t Have An Easy Time On Day 1, He Would End The Day In 11th Spot, Simon Jean Joseph Running Well Despite Losing His Title In The USA, The Frenchman Settled More Times Than The Rally Leader To Go 2nd At The End Of Day 1, Scandola’s Fiat Team Mate Giandomenico Basso Was 3rd After Day 1, But He Did Have A Puncture On Stage 3, But He Avoided That Problem And Kept On Going Until The End, Former 2 Litre Rally Champion Francois Chatriot Made A Return To The Series At The Wheel Of The Group N BMW 320i E90, He Knew That This Was The Last Round Of The Championship, The Frenchman Was 5th Until He Broke The Rear Suspension On Stage 4, And He Was Slipping Down A Bit, But He Did Get To The End Of The Rally Finishing Down In 16th Place, Switzerland’s Leading Rally Driver Olivier Burri In His Group N Subaru Impreza STi N12, He Was Already The National Swiss Champion 5 Times, Here He Is Entered For This Round Of The 2 Litre Rally Championship, And He’s Doing Pretty Well, 4th Overall At The End Of Day 1, This Was Great Stuff From The Winner Of The Rally Many Times Since 1993, After Experiencing A Round At His Home Event In Spain, Dani Sola Swapt His Citroen C2 S1600 To A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, He Was Back Driving A Group N For The First Since 2004, And He Would Finish In This Rally In 8th Place, Despite For Him To Switch To Soft Tyres For Day 1, Also Driving A Mitsubishi Was Renato Travaglia, It’s Going Pretty Well For Him At This Rally, But He Would Finish Down In 12th, On Day 2, Scandola Would Have The Final Victory For His Abarth Grande Punto S2000, But Sadly On Stage 15, His Engine Gave Up Stopping The New Champion, He Was Out, Giandomenico Basso Now Took The Lead Of The Rally, And He Was Going On The Limit Here On Day 2, Fiat Could Now Take The Manufactuers Championship, Now Up To 2nd In The Rally Was Olivier Burri In His Subaru, He Was Also The Fastest Group N Car Through The Field, And He Moved Up Ahead Of Last Year’s Champion Simon Jean Joseph, This Was The Frenchman’s Last Drive In The Clio S1600, But We’ll Still Be Seeing Him Next Year, Urmo Aava Was Happy To Finish In 4th Place After Per Gunnar Andersson Went Out Of The Rally Early With Gearbox Problems And Local Driver Herve Taverney Would Finish In 5th Place In His Renault Clio Williams, The Fastest A7 Car In The Field, And Completed The Top 6, Was Another Local Driver Peter Marcel Driving In A Peugeot 206 S1600, But There’s No One Stopping Basso And Fiat, The Final Win Of 2006 Went To The Reigning Intercontinental Champion And His S2000 Car, It Has Much More Power Than The Super 1600 Car, Olivier Burri Was Able To Finish In 2nd In His Group N Subaru, A 4 Wheel Drive 1-2, And Simon Jean Joseph Finished 3rd On His Final Rally With The Clio S1600.
And Here Are The Championship Standings.
Scandola The Crown Champion With 300 Points, Jean Joseph 2nd With 295 Points And Basso 3rd With 295 Points.
Drivers Championship.
Pos           Driver      Pts.
1  Umberto Scandola    300
2  Simon Jean Joseph  295
3  Giandomenico Basso 290
In The Manufactuers Standings, Fiat Are The Champions With Their All New Abarth Grande Punto S2000, Renault In 2nd With 295 Points, And Suzuki 3rd With 290 Points.
Manufactuers Championship.
Pos             Make Pts.
1               Fiat 300
2              Renault 295
3              Suzuki 290
We’ll Hope That Scandola And Fiat Will Be Back As Ever In 2007.
This Was Of Course The First Season Of The 2 Litre Rally Championship To Have A Driver Win A Title Driving A 4 Wheel Drive Group N Super 2000 Car, And Fiat Were The First Manufactuer To Win The Title With An S2000 Car, They Also Have Dominated In The Intercontinental Rally Challenge And The National Rally Championship In Italy Also, Fiat Will Of Course Be Returning As A Works Team In The 2 Litre Rally Championship In 2007, Umberto Scandola Became The First Italian To Take The Title In 2 Litre Rally Championship, We Will Be Seeing More Developments Of Both The Punto S2000s And Their Drivers Again In 2007.
Scandola Said “The Development Of The Car Was Very Good, It Was Great In The Testing And We Cannot Wait About What The New Year Will Bring, We Would Be Seeing More New Manufactuers To The Series And We Could Be The Main Defenders To Them, I’m So Proud To Be The First Champion From Italy And For Fiat Also, The Car Can Prove Itself Well On Both Tarmac And Gravel, And We’ll See About The Snow Events That Are Coming In, It’s Struggles A Bit More Than The Group N Cars But It Has More Speed Than The Group N Cars, They Have Turbocharged Engines While We Have A Normally Aspirated Engine But By That Moment, We Are Still Fast”,
He Was So Fast To Win It, And He Will Be Back To Defend His Title Again In 2007.
And So That Was The 2006 2 Litre Rally Championship Season, The Series Will Be Back Running Some Selected Rallies Around The World In 2007 Beginning With The Monte Carlo Rally, There Will Be Some Different Rallies On The Calendar, But We Would Still Have Some Of The Same Rallies That We Had In 2006, And Peugeot Will Be Joining In The Action With Their All New 207 S2000, And Renault And Honda Will Be The First Manufactuers To Enter R3 Spec Cars That Will Be Ready For Next Year, The French Brand Will Be Debuting The R3 Spec Clio Based On The Current Generation, And Honda Will Be Joining As A Manufactuer In The 2 Litre Rally Championship, Debuting The New Civic R3 Based On The Current Generation Of The Car.
We Will See You Again Next Year When The 2 Litre Rally Championship Returns To Monte Carlo In January.Category:Non Touring Car
Category:Non Series