I hope we dont lose Spa, it is a ultimate race track (after the Norschliefer or however its pronounced).

Na, Ive been to last years British GP but Im setting myself up for my next motorsport event, Wales Rally GB in December (go to http://www.walesrallygb.comwww.walesrallygb.com for more details). Speaking of which, yesterday saw the conclusion of the WRC season-opener in Monte Carlo. Heres the top 8 (& their co-drivers), retirements plus the best of the Brits.

Monte Carlo results
1: Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautainen (Ford) 4h11m43.9s(A brilliant way to kick-start your debut with a new team. 1st asphalt win for Gronholm
2: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Kronos Citroen) +1m1.8s (A mistake on Fridays final stage cost Seb a 4th consecutive Monte Carlo)
3: Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkkanen (Astra Peugeot) +1m23.1s (Good start to the season, shame Toni doesnt have a full season he deserved after last year)
4: Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor +1m42.3s (OMV Peugeot) (Promising start, winning the final 2 stages)
5: Stephane Sarrazin/Stephane Prevot (Subaru) +3m20.2s (Better Monte Carlo then last year)
6: Chris Atkinson/Glenn Macneall (Subaru Australia) +5m2.4s (1st points on asphalt and showing good adaptation to the surface)
7: Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford) +6m19.5s (Good effort but experienced problems that Ford were fearing could happen)
8: Dani Sordo/Marc Marti (Kronos Citroen) +7m15.2s (Excellent World Rally Car debut)

Best Brits
15: Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr (VK Stobart Ford) 21m1.3s (Faced with a steep learning curve, he achieved his goal of a finish)
21: David Higgins/Ross Butler (Mitsubishi Lancer) +32m47s (21st overall, yes, but 2nd in the Production Cup)

Retirements (mainly front-runners & PWRC drivers)
1: Petter Solberg/Phil Mills (Subaru) (Out at the end of day 1 with oil leak, Monte Carlo has never been good for Petter)
2: Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini (Mitsubishi) (Crashed on Stage 4, rejoined but out with mechanical problems on Stage 9)
3: Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato (Skoda) (Performing well till he crashed on Stage 9)
4: Jasen Popov (Mitsubishi) (Off the road on Stage 12)
5: Henning Solberg (OMV Peugeot) (Out on final stage with mechanical problems)

Drivers Championship (Round 1/16)
1: Gronholm (10)
2: Loeb (
3: Gardemeister (6)
4: Stohl (5)
5: Sarrazin (4)
6: Atkinson (3)
7: Hirvonen (2)
8: Sordo (1)

Manufacturers Championship (Round 1/16)
1: Ford (14)
2: Citroen (11)
3: Peugeot (6)
4: Subaru (5)
5: Skoda (3)

Production Cup
1: Fumio Nutahara (10)
2: David Higgins (
3: Nasser Al Attiyah (6)
4: Stefano Marrini (5)
5: Jari Matti Latvala (4)

Next round of the WRC is 3-5 Febuary which also sees the start of the Junior WRC.