MARKED MAN
Ford Stays Forcus, 1-2 in Mexico
By KEVIN MA

The WRC returned to North America for the inaugural Rally Mexico, and Ford was able to fend off challenges from Citroen, Peugeot and Subaru to claim a 1-2 with Markko Martin taking the crown. The Estonian's victory, however, was nothing but lucky as his major opponents Sebastien Loeb, Harri Rovanpera and Petter Solberg all suffered from major problems and put them out of contention, while Martin's mistakes early in the rally were far too minor to cost him anything.

Loeb, who tried to make history by taking three straight victories in a row, encountered a major problem while leading as his Citroen Xsara lost oil pressure after hitting a rock in Stage 6, the Frenchman was forced out and his retirement was costly as he lost points in the point-standings.

Meanwhile, the new Peugeot 307 continued to suffer various problems and prevented Marcus Gronholm and Rovanpera from advancing. With a broken steering arm, Rovanpera lost over 15 minutes while running up front, while a power steering problem was far too costly for Gronholm, as the Finn finished 6th on Day 2 and stayed in that position despite some fast time on Day 3.

The "Push Through the Pain" award went to World Champion Petter Solberg and his co-driver Phil Mills. Solberg's Impreza failed to start (flat battery) at the service control at the end of Leg 1, and he received unauthorized help while pushing the car through the designated area. Despite his effort, he was given a five-minute penalty before the start of Day 2, and promptly took him out of the leaderboard. The Norwegian was able to charge back, and finished fourth in the end.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz performed well despite sad news from the Madrid train bombing. Sainz battled with Martin's teammate Francois Duval for much of Day 2 and 3, and he wasn't too far behind from Martin. A victory would be a nice tribute to his home country, but his challenge ended when he rolled his car early on Day 3 at SS13 -- there went his chance to win along with his second place finish.

Duval's second place finish was his career best, while Solberg's young teammate Mikko Hirvonen finished fourth overall.