2002 Peugeot 206 WRC
For Sale
Campaigned in the 2002 and ‘03 World Rally Championships and driven by Peugeot World Champions Ari Vatanen & Timo Salonen for each of their final WRC rallies.
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2002 Peugeot 206 WRC
Ex-Timo Salonen, Ari Vatanen, Gilles Panizzi and Harri Rovanperä
Driven by Salonen and Vatanen in their final WRC rallies
Winner of the European Rally Championship’s 2003 Mogul Šumava Rally
Multiple winner and podium finisher in French national championships
Retains exceptional original documentation, including FIA Passport
Excellent history with a library of sensational images
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An incredible example of Peugeot’s evocative and historic 206 WRC, which was rallied by World Champions and Works drivers alike.
The tumultuous yet thrilling Group B years of the World Rally Championship came to sad end in 1986, but it was Peugeot that had ended that fabled era on top. Amid controversy over the Rallye Sanremo, where all the results were annulled after Italian officials were deemed to have illegally disqualified the French team to hand their native Lancia team the win, it was Peugeot Sport and Juha Kankkunen who received the final Group B Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles with the iconic 205 T16.
Peugeot Sport wouldn’t return to top level WRC until 1999, but, when they did, it was definitely worth the wait.
From the mid 1990s and through to the mid 2000s the World Rally Championship had rediscovered its magic and enjoyed a revival to near Group B levels of popularity. Drivers were again household names and everyone knew the likes of Burns, McRae, Mäkinen, Sainz, Grönholm and Solberg, while a young Sébastien Loeb began his journey to become the most successful driver in WRC history. What’s more the new PlayStation generation phenomenon would see the championship winning cars immortalised forever in the minds of fans around the world, who had grown up driving them from their bedrooms and living rooms.
1999 was naturally a season of learning for Peugeot Sport, which only began the season on Round 6 at its home Tour de Corse rally, but that didn’t get in the way of three results in the top seven places and an incredible 2nd place for Peugeot stalwart Gilles Panizzi.
But with the new millennium came the age of Peugeot. From 2000 to 2002 the dominant French team achieved a trio of consecutive Manufacturers’ Championships, as well as two Drivers’ titles for Grönholm in 2000 and ’02. The 206 WRC had not just carried on from its Group B predecessor numerically, but had been significantly more successful too.
This 206 WRC, chassis 17, began active service for Peugeot’s Works-supported satellite team Bozian Racing in 2002 and contested five World Championship rounds. Gilles Panizzi, who also drove for the Works team in ’02, was at the controls of chassis 17 for the Rallies of Sweden, the Acropolis and Great Britain. Gilles had placed as high as 5th on Stage 12 in Greece, but was forced to retire with transmission trouble two stages before the end and his best result with the car was 11th in Great Britain.
Round 9 was Rally Finland and home-grown hero Timo Salonen, who won the World Championship for Peugeot in 1985 and drove his 205 T16 to victory in the team’s final Group B era win in 1986, was given the chance to drive chassis 17 in his last WRC rally before retiring from the series. But it was during Round 4 in Catalunya, with Peugeot Works driver Harri Rovanperä at the helm, that the car achieved its best result of its WRC career and came home 7th.
The 2003 season began, as is tradition, with the Rally Monte Carlo and the treacherous January conditions clearly suited Czech driver Roman Kresta. Results like a 5th place on Stage 9 meant that the Peugeot was running as high as 7th in the overall standings and, after the final stage, finished 10th only minutes behind eventual winner Loeb. Kresta retained the car for Round 2 in Sweden, where he placed 14th.
A break in its WRC duties afforded chassis 17 the chance to enter Round 5 of the European Rally Championship (which was also Round 1 of the Czech Championship), during which Kresta was dominant and took 8 of 12 stage wins to come home 1st overall. A month later in April, Kresta was leading the Czech Championship’s Round 2 with four stage wins before retiring on Stage 6.
By June the Peugeot was back in the WRC and Juuso Pykälistö took over for Round 7 in Cyprus, where two top-ten finishes saw him steadily climb the rankings before retiring on Stage 11.
For Rally Finland, the Peugeot was once again handed over to one of the sport’s legends for his final WRC drive. Ari Vatanen hadn’t competed in the category since 1998, but scored four incredible top tens to place 11th overall out of a bumper 71-car entry. Quite an exceptional way for the 51 year old to bid farewell to the WRC.
Cédric Robert captained chassis 17 for its final two WRC events, Rounds 11 and 13 in Sanremo and Catalunya, putting the Peugeot in the top ten in Italy and finishing 11th in Spain – albeit having scored a stage best of 5th!
Now retired from the WRC, the Peugeot began a new career from 2004 to 2011 in the French national gravel and tarmac championships. Needless to say that, as full bore WRC car, chassis 17 enjoyed a succession of outstanding results. Over these eight years the Peugeot delivered 14 podiums, six of which were wins.
More recently the car has been returned to its 2002 Peugeot Total livery and is an outstanding example of the iconic 206 WRC. Importantly, this car is accompanied by a wealth of history including its original event-stamped FIA Passport and a library of images. With the values of Group B cars now stratospheric, cars from this equally evocative and historic era represent extraordinary value indeed.
2002 Peugeot 206 WRC Race Results
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Race Date
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Race
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Drivers
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Car No.
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Result
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Race Date
1st – 3rd February 2002
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Race
WRC Round 2 Uddeholm Swedish Rally
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Drivers
Gilles Panizzi/ Hervé Panizzi
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Car No.
24
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Result
16th
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Race Date
21st – 24th March 2002
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Race
WRC Round 4 Rally Catalunya
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Drivers
Harri Rovanperä/ Risto Pietiläinen
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Car No.
23
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Result
7th
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Race Date
24th – 26th May 2002
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Race
France Tarmac Round 2 Rally of Sainte-Baume
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Drivers
Cédric Robert/ Gérald Bedon
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Car No.
8
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Result
2nd
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Race Date
13th – 16th June 2002
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Race
WRC Round 7 Rally Acropolis
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Drivers
Gilles Panizzi/ Hervé Panizzi
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Car No.
23
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Result
Retired SS14
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Race Date
8th – 11th August 2002
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Race
WRC Round 9 Neste Rally Finland
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Drivers
Timo Salonen/ Launo Heinonen
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Car No.
33
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Result
14th
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Race Date
6th – 8th September 2002
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Race
Turkey Round 6 Anatolian Rally
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Drivers
Juuso Pykälistö/ Esko Mertsalmi
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Car No.
2
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Result
Retired
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Race Date
14th – 17th November 2002
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Race
WRC Round 14 Network Q Rally Great Britain
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Drivers
Gilles Panizzi/ Hervé Panizzi
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Car No.
23
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Result
11th
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Race Date
24th – 26th January 2003
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Race
WRC Round 1 Rally Monte Carlo
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Drivers
Roman Kresta/ Miloš Hůlka
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Car No.
22
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Result
10th
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Race Date
7th- 9th February 2003
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Race
WRC Round 2 Uddeholm Swedish Rally
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Drivers
Roman Kresta/ Miloš Hůlka
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Car No.
24
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Result
14th
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Race Date
13th – 15th March 2003
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Race
ERC Round 5 Czech Republic Round 1 Mogul Šumava Rally
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Drivers
Roman Kresta/ Miloš Hůlka
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Car No.
3
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Result
1st
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Race Date
18th – 19th April 2003
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Race
Czech Republic Round 2 AAA Auto Valašská Rally
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Drivers
Roman Kresta/ Miloš Hůlka
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Car No.
1
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Result
Retired SS6
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Race Date
20th – 23rd June 2003
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Race
WRC Round 7 Cyprus Rally
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Drivers
Juuso Pykälistö/ Esko Mertsalmi
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Car No.
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Result
Retired SS11
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Race Date
7th – 10th August 2003
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Race
WRC Round 9 Neste Rally Finland
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Drivers
Ari Vatanen/ Juha Repo
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Car No.
26
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Result
11th
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Race Date
3rd – 5th October 2003
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Race
WRC Round 11 Rally San Remo
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Drivers
Cédric Robert/ Gérald Bedon
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Car No.
23
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Result
9th
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Race Date
24th – 26th October 2003
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Race
WRC Round 13 Rally Catalunya
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Drivers
Cédric Robert/ Gérald Bedon
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Car No.
21
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Result
11th