End of Day Two. In a reversal of yesterdays fortunes Sebastien Loeb is the new leader by 55.5 seconds to Petter Solberg. Sebastien Ogier is third with Jari-Matti Latvala fourth, Mikko Hirvonen fifth, Henning Solberg sixth, Federico Villagra seventh, Martin Prokop eighth, Xevi Pons ninth & Armindo Araujo rounding out the top ten. Some notable absentees from the points scoring places are American extreme sports star Ken Block, Matt Wilson & Spaniard Dani Sordo. All three of the forementioned drivers went out on the same stage.
The first stage of the day SS10, Ibarrilla 1, was to see the demise of Citroen factory driver Dani Sordo, Stobart Ford man Matt Wilson & Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block. Todays opener & the longest test of the rally at 29.90 Km claimed Citroens Dani Sordo first. The Spaniard hit somthing near the mid-point of the stage & the car stopped dead at the 22.90 Km point of the test. Next to be removed from the top ten was Stobart Ford driver Matthew Wilson. Wilson went off on a left-hand bend & clattered over some stones & beached the Focus on a ditch with only one wheel in contact with the road. Last to go was Ken Block. The American driver was brought to a halt with rear suspension failure on a hairpin bend, 23.67 Km into the stage. All three drivers are said to be re-entering under SupeRally legislation tomorrow, unlike poor Kimi Raikkonen.
With Petter Solberg out first, cleaning the road for the rest of the field, many people expected Sebastien Loeb to take the lead early on, but he diddnt. Instead he took the lead on SS11, Durate 1, by 5.2 seconds to Solberg. Loeb set some phenomially fast stage times over the course of the day. Solberg began to fall back & ended the day 55.5 seconds behind the flying Frenchman.
In the S-WRC class, Martin Prokop holds the overnight lead with Xevi Pons in second. Prokop holds an 4.8 second cushion over the former Citroen factory driver. Pons has been struggling with a clutch problem in the Fiesta. Albert Llovera, using hand controls in his Fiat Abarth Grande Punto, is in third, benefitting from Nasser Al-Attiyah's retirement. Michal Kosciuszko is fourth while Eyvind Brynildsen is fifth.
Armindo Araujo leads the P-WRC class for Group N4 cars to Toshi Arai. The Japanese driver had some mechanical issues with the N14 spec car. Minguel Angel Baldoni holds the bottom step of the podium in the Evo XI. Benito Guerra is fourth overnight with Gianluca Linari fifth. Local man Rodrigo Salgado is in sixth in his Evo XI.
End of Day 1 positions:
1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen C4 +00:00
2. Petter Solberg Citroen C4 +00:55.5
3. Sebastien Ogier Citroen C4 +00:58.2
4. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford Focus +01:43.9
5. Mikko Hirvonen Ford Focus +01:59.9
6. Henning Solberg Ford Focus +02:25.2
7. Federico Villagra Ford Focus +09:11.8
8. Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta +16:28.0
9. Xevi Pons Ford Fiesta +16:32.8
10. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer +18:04.7
S-WRC postions:
1. Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta +00:00
2. Xevi Pons Ford Fiesta +00:08.2
3. Albert Llovera Fiat Punto +32:40.5
4. Michal Kosciuszko Ford Fiesta +32:50.3
5. Eyvind Brynildsen Skoda Fabia +34:05.0
P-WRC positions:
1. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer +00:00
2. Toshi Arai Subaru Impreza +03:39.8
3. Minguel Angel Baldoni Mitsubishi Lancer +08:14.3
4. Benito Guerra Mitsubishi Lancer +19:28.6
5. Gianluca Linari Subaru Impreza +19:42.9
6. Rodrigo Salgado Mitsubishi Lancer +31:36.3
The first stage of the day SS10, Ibarrilla 1, was to see the demise of Citroen factory driver Dani Sordo, Stobart Ford man Matt Wilson & Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block. Todays opener & the longest test of the rally at 29.90 Km claimed Citroens Dani Sordo first. The Spaniard hit somthing near the mid-point of the stage & the car stopped dead at the 22.90 Km point of the test. Next to be removed from the top ten was Stobart Ford driver Matthew Wilson. Wilson went off on a left-hand bend & clattered over some stones & beached the Focus on a ditch with only one wheel in contact with the road. Last to go was Ken Block. The American driver was brought to a halt with rear suspension failure on a hairpin bend, 23.67 Km into the stage. All three drivers are said to be re-entering under SupeRally legislation tomorrow, unlike poor Kimi Raikkonen.
With Petter Solberg out first, cleaning the road for the rest of the field, many people expected Sebastien Loeb to take the lead early on, but he diddnt. Instead he took the lead on SS11, Durate 1, by 5.2 seconds to Solberg. Loeb set some phenomially fast stage times over the course of the day. Solberg began to fall back & ended the day 55.5 seconds behind the flying Frenchman.
In the S-WRC class, Martin Prokop holds the overnight lead with Xevi Pons in second. Prokop holds an 4.8 second cushion over the former Citroen factory driver. Pons has been struggling with a clutch problem in the Fiesta. Albert Llovera, using hand controls in his Fiat Abarth Grande Punto, is in third, benefitting from Nasser Al-Attiyah's retirement. Michal Kosciuszko is fourth while Eyvind Brynildsen is fifth.
Armindo Araujo leads the P-WRC class for Group N4 cars to Toshi Arai. The Japanese driver had some mechanical issues with the N14 spec car. Minguel Angel Baldoni holds the bottom step of the podium in the Evo XI. Benito Guerra is fourth overnight with Gianluca Linari fifth. Local man Rodrigo Salgado is in sixth in his Evo XI.
End of Day 1 positions:
1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen C4 +00:00
2. Petter Solberg Citroen C4 +00:55.5
3. Sebastien Ogier Citroen C4 +00:58.2
4. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford Focus +01:43.9
5. Mikko Hirvonen Ford Focus +01:59.9
6. Henning Solberg Ford Focus +02:25.2
7. Federico Villagra Ford Focus +09:11.8
8. Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta +16:28.0
9. Xevi Pons Ford Fiesta +16:32.8
10. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer +18:04.7
S-WRC postions:
1. Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta +00:00
2. Xevi Pons Ford Fiesta +00:08.2
3. Albert Llovera Fiat Punto +32:40.5
4. Michal Kosciuszko Ford Fiesta +32:50.3
5. Eyvind Brynildsen Skoda Fabia +34:05.0
P-WRC positions:
1. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer +00:00
2. Toshi Arai Subaru Impreza +03:39.8
3. Minguel Angel Baldoni Mitsubishi Lancer +08:14.3
4. Benito Guerra Mitsubishi Lancer +19:28.6
5. Gianluca Linari Subaru Impreza +19:42.9
6. Rodrigo Salgado Mitsubishi Lancer +31:36.3
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