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Looking back at history of Rally Catalunya, one notes it has similarities to Deutschland. Both were originally formed by amalgamation of two smaller rallies and both were subsequently added to the championship series as a result of succesful lobbying.
First run as championship event in 1991 although only as part of the drivers' series, Catalunya is curious if not unique or classic event. Even if official name contains reference to Spain, just about everyone knows the rally as catalan phenomena. And indeed, it is organised by RACC, the catalonian automobile club and not the national one.
During the years there are areas where event has made considerable steps and one of them is good crowd control and improvement of safety. For a mediterranean event. Hot blooded bull-fighting mentality is hard to control but organisers have succeeded quite well if compared to for example neighbouring Portugal.
One famous location above any other in this event is the hairpin under bridge at La Fullaca, made immortal by Gilles Panizzi in 2002 on his way to win when he made a 360 degree doughnut on the hairpin. As dougnuts are expressedly forbidden by the regulations, Gilles might have faced penalty.
Being a tarmac event, corner cutting is always an issue. To get fastest line across bends, drivers steer partly onto gravel, spreading gravel and dirt for late runners and also for themselves in case of repeated stage. See for yourself on the picture right.
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| 1991:
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Schwarz, Armin
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Toyota Celica GT-4 (ST165)
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83.93 km/h
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| 1992:
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Sainz, Carlos
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Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD (ST185)
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81.79 km/h
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| 1993:
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Delecour, Francois
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Ford Escort RS Cosworth
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91.63 km/h
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| 1995:
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Sainz, Carlos
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Subaru Impreza 555
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93.02 km/h
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| 1996:
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McRae, Colin
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Subaru Impreza 555
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92.77 km/h
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| 1997:
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Makinen, Tommi
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
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93.51 km/h
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| 1998:
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Auriol, Didier
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Toyota Corolla WRC
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92.97 km/h
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| 1999:
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Bugalski, Philippe
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Citroen Xsara Kit Car
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89.93 km/h
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| 2000:
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McRae, Colin
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Ford Focus WRC 00
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92.98 km/h
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| 2001:
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Auriol, Didier
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Peugeot 206WRC (2000)
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94.32 km/h
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| 2002:
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Panizzi, Gilles
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Peugeot 206WRC (2001)
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97.54 km/h
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| 2003:
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Panizzi, Gilles
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Peugeot 206WRC (2002)
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97.26 km/h
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| 2004:
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Martin, Markko
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Ford Focus RS WRC 04
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95.46 km/h
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| 2005:
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Loeb, Sebastien
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Citroen Xsara WRC
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96.27 km/h
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| 2006:
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Loeb, Sebastien
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Citroen Xsara WRC
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102.89 km/h
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| 2007:
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Loeb, Sebastien
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Citroen C4 WRC
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104.38 km/h
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No-go areas and crowd control has improved a lot
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Sainz and fans at La Fullaca bridge, famous for Panizzi's doughnut
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Corner cutting by Burns. Note how much gravel and dirt cutting spreads to tarmac.
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Driver wins
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Loeb, Sebastien (3)
Auriol, Didier (2)
McRae, Colin (2)
Panizzi, Gilles (2)
Sainz, Carlos (2)
Bugalski, Philippe (1)
Delecour, Francois (1)
Makinen, Tommi (1)
Martin, Markko (1)
Schwarz, Armin (1)
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Manufacturer wins
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Citroen (4)
Ford (3)
Peugeot (3)
Toyota (3)
Subaru (2)
Mitsubishi (1)
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