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ThePeugeot 206 WRCis aWorld Rally Carbased on thePeugeot 206.It was used byPeugeot Sport,Peugeot's factory team, in theWorld Rally Championshipfrom 1999 to 2003. The car brought Peugeot themanufacturers' world titlethree consecutive years (2000 to 2002).Marcus Grönholmwon thedrivers' titlein 2000 and 2002.
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| Category | World Rally Car | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Peugeot | ||||||
| Predecessor | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | ||||||
| Successor | Peugeot 307 WRC | ||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||
| Length | 4,005 mm (157.7 in) | ||||||
| Width | 1,770 mm (70 in) | ||||||
| Height | 1,300 mm (51 in) | ||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,486 mm (97.9 in) | ||||||
| Engine | 2.0 L (122 cu in) 4-cylinder, 16-valve | ||||||
| Weight | 1,230 kg (2,712 lb) | ||||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||||
| Competition history (WRC) | |||||||
| Notable entrants |  Peugeot Sport | ||||||
| Debut | 1999 Tour de Corse | ||||||
| First win |  2000 Swedish Rally | ||||||
| Last win |  2003 Rally Catalunya | ||||||
| Last event | 2008 Tour de Corse | ||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 3 (2000,2001,2002) | ||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 2 (2000,2002) | ||||||
History
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In 1999,Peugeot Sportunveiled the 206 WRC, and it competed for the first time inthat year'sWorld Rally Championship,withFrenchtarmac veteran and long-time marque stalwartGilles Panizzinarrowly failing, against a resurgent reigning champion inMitsubishi'sTommi Mäkinen,to win theRallye Sanremo.The car was soon a success, however, and won both themanufacturers'anddrivers' championshipsin2000,Peugeot's first such accolades since their withdrawal from the WRC afterGroup Bwas banned after the1986 season,and achieved in the hands of Panizzi,Francois Delecourand Mäkinen's successor as drivers' world champion,Marcus Grönholm.
For2001,Grönholm competed alongside two refugees ofSEAT's exit from the championship at the end of 2000; compatriotHarri Rovanperäand the French1994world champion,Didier Auriol.Rovanperä and Auriol each contributed single wins, onSwedish RallyandRally Catalunyarespectively (the former to be a sole career win for the Finn, and the latter victory helped by assorted problems for the blisteringly quick debutingCitroën Xsara WRCs), before Auriol left the team at the end of the season. Grönholm, meanwhile, suffered sufficient reliability woes in the first half of the year such that he could manage no higher than fourth overall in the series, although Peugeot did fend offFord,with a 1-2 result by the two Finns on the season-endingRally of Great Britainto successfully defend the constructors' championship title.
In2002,Grönholm – despite now being paired in the factory line-up with defending2001champion fromSubaru,theBritonRichard Burns– led Peugeot to a repeat of the WRC title double aboard his 206 WRC. His dominance that year was compared toMichael Schumacher's dominance ofFormula One.In summary, Peugeot won two drivers' championships, in 2000 and 2002, and three manufacturers' titles in a row between 2000 and 2002. However, by2003the 206 WRC was beginning to show its age and was less effective against the competition, notably the newer Xsara WRC and theSubaru Impreza WRC,so it was retired from competition at the end of the season, to be replaced with the307 WRC,albeit, unlike its predecessor, based not on the production version's hatchback, but itscoupé cabrioletbody style.
The Peugeot 206 WRC was awarded theAutosport"Rally Car of the Year" in 2002, preceded by theFord Focus RS WRCand followed by the Citroën Xsara WRC. Peugeot GB created a Peugeot 206 rally championship aimed at young drivers. The championship was created to help young drivers develop their careers. The cars were built byVic Lee Racingand drivers such asTom Boardman,Luke Pinder and Garry Jennings all drove in the championship.
WRC victories
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WRC results
edit| Year | Team | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Points | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Peugeot | |||||||||||||||||
| MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | CHN | ITA | AUS | GBR | 11 | 6 | |||
 Marcus Grönholm
|
Ret | 4 | 8 | 5 | Ret | |||||||||||||
| Gilles Panizzi
|
Ret | 33 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| François Delecour
|
Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||
| 2000 | Peugeot | |||||||||||||||||
| MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | CYP | FRA | ITA | AUS | GBR | 111 | 1 | |||
| Marcus Grönholm
|
Ret | 1 | Ret | 2 | 5 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 1 | Ret | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Gilles Panizzi
|
Ret | Ret | 6 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 8 | |||||||||||
| François Delecour
|
Ret | 7 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| Sebastian Lindholm
|
5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Peugeot | |||||||||||||||||
| MON | SWE | POR | ESP | ARG | CYP | GRE | KEN | FIN | NZL | ITA | FRA | AUS | GBR | 106 | 1 | |||
| Marcus Grönholm
|
Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 1 | 5 | 7 | Ret | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Didier Auriol
|
Ret | Ret | 8 | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||||
| Gilles Panizzi
|
Ret | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Harri Rovanperä
|
1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||
| HF Grifone SRL | Gilles Panizzi
|
12 | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | 0 | - | ||||||||||
| Harri Rovanperä
|
11 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| F.P.F. Sport |  Renato Travaglia
|
5 | 2 | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| Simon Jean-Joseph | Simon Jean-Joseph
|
9 | Ret | 8 | 10 | 0 | - |
External links
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