Japan Rally: Ford World Rally Team - Finish
Ford today extended its record-breaking points scoring run in the FIA World Rally Championship after claiming a double points haul on the Rally Japan. BP- Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen finished the demanding three-day event in sixth in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car with team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Tománek in seventh in a similar car. A third privately-entered Focus RS of Antony Warmbold and Michael Orr was ninth.
The result was Ford`s 57th consecutive points finish in the championship, a record which dates back to the opening round of the 2002 series in Monte Carlo. All 57 scores have come with the Focus RS World Rally Car, blending a mixture of speed and reliability to create a record that no other manufacturer has achieved in the sport`s history. BP-Ford remains third in the 2005 manufacturers` standings.
Rally Japan was based in Obihiro on the country`s northernmost island of Hokkaido. Drivers faced 26 speed tests on narrow gravel roads covering 350.18km. Torrential rain during the opening day made the tracks extremely slippery and they also became heavily rutted to create an additional challenge for competitors.
Both Gardemeister and Kresta were competing in Japan for the first time and their inexperience of the special stages meant they gave away a considerable advantage to their rivals. Gardemeister took some time to become acclimatised to the Japanese roads but started today`s third and final leg north-west of Obihiro in eighth in his Castrol-branded Focus RS. The 30-year-old Finn climbed two places during the five speed tests, covering 85.94km, to record his 11th points finish from 13 rallies this year. He remains fifth in the drivers` championship.
"Today`s stages were the best of the rally," said Gardemeister. "They were really tricky and muddy but a lot more flowing and driveable and they were enjoyable to compete on. I didn`t push too hard today because I wanted to correct my pace notes for next year. I`ve made a lot of corrections throughout the rally but that will help when I return next season. It`s hard to be competitive when everyone else has driven these stages before. On Friday I didn`t trust my notes and had no real confidence in them, but they improved as the weekend went on.
"Before the rally I heard from other drivers that this was a difficult event but it turned out a lot harder than I imagined. The car was good all weekend and I`m pleased with the result," he added.
Kresta, ninth overnight, also moved up two places to finish 59.7sec behind his team-mate and the result lifted him to eighth in the drivers` standings. "I drove carefully this morning," said the 29-year-old Czech. "The team kept me well informed of Daniel Carlsson`s split times behind us and I drove at a pace that kept me ahead of him - no more. I didn`t want to make any mistakes and concentrated on scoring points for Ford.
"It was a very difficult rally but I`ve learned a lot and made many changes to my pace notes. It was good to have a battle with Toni yesterday and I`m pleased to have set times that were comparable to his," added Kresta.
Warmbold recovered well after losing time on the opening day. He posted third fastest time on the penultimate stage but admitted to being disappointed with his final result. "I was hoping for a top six finish and if I hadn`t lost time on Friday then that might have been possible. But my stage times were good," he said.
The championship returns to the Mediterranean later this month for the first of two asphalt rallies on consecutive weekends. The Rallye de France - Tour de Corse is based in Corsica`s capital town, Ajaccio, on 20 - 23 October.


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