FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2000

Swedish Rally - Peugeot 's 206 WRC secures first win

Peugeot's 206 WRC has scored its first win in the World Rally Championship - and it only had to wait until the second event of the season. It was also a first win at world championship level for Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen.

There was just a touch of apprehension in the air during the first special stage of today's third leg. The cause of the tension? Peugeot's Finnish star Marcus Grönholm had clipped a rock, which might not have caused any serious damage but it did cost him 10 seconds. On the following stage Marcus ceded a couple of seconds to defending world champion Tommi Mäkinen, his main rival. But Marcus remained a model of controlled confidence and retained the lead he had held from the second stage of the opening day to secure victory on the 49th Swedish Rally.

Another 18 hundredths slipped away on SS18...and Marcus dropped 3.4 seconds on the penultimate stage, which left him with 16 seconds in hand prior to the final competitive section of the event.

The final 21 kilometres provided a compelling, top-class battle between the top three drivers and Marcus gave away a good 10 seconds because of snowfalls, which had at last started to make their presence felt on the Swedish stages.

At the finishing line, the two duelling Finns emerged from their respective cars and embraced warmly. Marcus ended the event six seconds to the good...six precious seconds that were more than enough to cement his success. He said: "It hasn't really sunk in yet. Tommi's show of friendship really touched me and I'm proud to have given Peugeot its first points of the campaign."

The crew of the second Peugeot 206 WRC, François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup, finished seventh overall after putting in a superb performance throughout the event. François was penalised by his lack of knowledge of the specialised terrain on this particularly technical event. He was delayed this morning by the same rock Marcus hit and also had a few differential problems that caused his car to understeer significantly.

François said: "Despite our difficulties, the 206 WRC is a great car. When the differential is working properly, it's an absolute joy to drive."

This result vindicates the colossal work put in by Peugeot Sport's engineering staff and Michelin's tyre technicians. It earned Peugeot 11 points in the World Rally Championship.

Peugeot Sport director Corrado Provera said: "This victory confirms the outstanding potential of the 206 WRC. We dedicate this success to Jean-Pierre Nicolas and all our colleagues at Peugeot."