2004 Telstra Rally Australia

Rally Australia moved back to its November date, running from November 11-14, based in Perth.

World Rally Championship Round 16

Sébastien Loeb had already clinched the WRC this year by the time crews came to Perth for the final round. With the absence of Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Škoda, it was a somewhat diminished international entry. Citroën only brought Loeb (Sainz was carrying an injury) whereas Subaru brought Solberg and Hirvonen, Peugeot Grönholm and Rovanperä, and Ford brought Märtin and Duval. There was nevertheless a strong Group N entry and a total of 62 cars. One to watch was Chris Atkinson with Glenn Macneall in a Group N Subaru, fresh from almost winning the ARC.

Solberg crashed out on the first day, while Märtin retired early with engine problems. Grönholm lead on the first day but crashed out on the first stage of Day Two. After that, Loeb was never headed and could drive strategically, opening up a lead of over a minute by the end of that day. Solberg rejoined under super rally rules and took some stage wins on the final day, but Loeb extended his lead over Rovanperä. Chris Atkinson caught the attention of the Subaru World Rally Team management with his fine fifth place, and was soon to be signed up for a full-time WRC drive.

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena at Rally Australia 2004

Results and entry list

Entry list

PlaceDriverCo-DriverCarTime
1Sébastien LoebDaniel ElenaCitroën Xsara WRC3:39:46.8
2Harri RovanperäRisto PietiläinenPeugeot 307 WRC3:41:41.9
3François DuvalStéphane PrévotFord Focus RS WRC ’043:43:27.0
4Mikko HirvonenJarmo LehtinenSubaru Impreza S10 WRC ’043:45:47.2
5Chris AtkinsonGlenn MacneallSubaru Impreza WRX STi3:56:42.4
6Xevi PonsPascual Oriol JuliàMitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII3:57:22.9
7Cody CrockerGreg FolettaSubaru Impreza WRX STi3:57:30.1
8Toshihiro AraiTony SircombeSubaru Impreza WRX STi3:59:19.1
9Niall McSheaMichael OrrSubaru Impreza WRX STi3:59:42.5
10Mirco BaldacciGiovanni BernacchiniMitsubishi Lancer Evo VI4:02:43.1
11Ed OrdynskiIain StewartMitsubishi Lancer Evo VII4:03:02.6
12Fumio NutaharaSatoshi HayashiMitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII4:06:17.8
13Nasser Al-AttiyahChris PattersonSubaru Impreza STi4:09:49.3
14Antony WarmboldGemma PriceFord Focus WRC ’024:14:05.9
15Norihiko KatsutaMitsuhiro YamamotoSubaru Impreza WRX STi4:16:28.1
16Sebastian VollakMichael KölbachMitsubishi Lancer Evo VI4:16:37.2
17David HillsDavid CallaghanMitsubishi Lancer Evo VII4:20:25.1
18Jim MardenStuart PercivalSubaru Impreza WRX STi4:21:20.3
19Fabio FrisieroGiovanni AgneseSubaru Impreza WRX STi4:22:17.0
20Tolley ChallisGray MarshallMitsubishi Lancer Evo VII4:32:41.5
21Ryo FunakiHiroyasu SonodaSubaru Impreza WRX4:38:52.4
22Robert WhyattMike DaleMitsubishi Lancer Evo V4:40:59.7
23David GouldWayne MarshallHonda Civic VTi4:49:57.3
24Keith HedgelandSally HigginsSubaru Impreza WRX STi4:52:12.1
25Michael CivilLee TierneyMitsubishi Lancer Evo V4:52:22.6
26Neil HerbertMark SforcinaSubaru Impreza WRX5:01:44.0
27Rui WangSong XiaoVolkswagen Polo 16V5:15:00.0
28Shaofeng WangJunwei FangVolkswagen Polo 16V5:24:14.7
29James AndersonJohn ConeyHonda Civic VTi5:41:55.9

Stage results

Route

The event again started on Thursday evening with the super special at Gloucester Park, repeated on the Friday and Saturday evenings. The first full day went south, the second day east and the final day south-east to the Bunnings complex. Slightly longer at 388 km of special stages.

Itinerary and stage plots

Other event documents

not available yet