Leon, Mar 15: Estonian Markko Martin won the Mexico Rally on Sunday, comfortably holding his overnight lead in the race which had been his to lose after nearest rival Carlos Sainz crashed during the 13th stage.
"The main factor was to stay out of trouble and not to have any problems, and we had a good car to do that," 28-year-old Martin told reporters. "It was running quite nicely for us, normally I'd go a lot faster." Second-placed Francois Duval, the youngest driver in the championship at 23, said he was happy with the result. "There were no mistakes. This morning I was third after Carlos (Sainz) and now I'm second."

Final positions in the Mexican rally on Sunday following the fifteenth and final special stage of the third leg: 1. Markko Martin (Estonia) Ford 4:06:46.2 2. Francois Duval (Belgium) Ford 42.5 secs behind 3. Carlos Sainz (Spain) Citroen 1:20.9 4. Petter Solberg (Norway) Subaru 3:14.7 5. Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) Subaru 3:36.2 6. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot 3:58.4 7. Jussi Valimaki (Finland) Hyundai 11:16.9 8. Gilles Panizzi (France) Mitsubishi 11:30.6 9. Anthony Warmbold (Germany) Ford 14:00.4 10. Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Peugeot 19:20.3


Drivers standings: 1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 20 points 2. Martin 20 3. Gronholm 16 4. Duval 14 5. Solberg 13 6. Sainz 10 7. Janne Tuohino (Finland) Ford 5 8. Hirvonen 4 9. Freddy Loix (Belgium) 4 10. Panizzi 4


Manufacturers standings: 1. Ford 40 2. Citroen 30 3. Peugeot 21 4. Subaru 19 5. Mitsubishi 5


Bureau Report