Finland Day Two from SS11 - Latest stage now: SS17 End Day 2
author: Leon Botha
SPECIAL STAGE 17
Solberg who won SS17 is closing in and is only .5 of a second behind Carlos Sainz, who in turn is only .2 of a second behind Richard Burns who had a nightmare SS17 in which he lost 57 seconds. Markko Martin – Ford is now leading the rally by a massive 1m13s
At the end of the day, the rally is still wide open, and the sudden if not unexpected withdrawal of Marcus Grönholm and also Colin McRae once again proves that it ain’t over until it’s over!
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Markko MÄRTIN (EE) Total after Day 2 2:30:59.0
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Richard BURNS (GB) Total after Day 2 2:32:12.0 Trailing leader by: +1:13.0
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Carlos SAINZ (E) Total after Day 2 2:32:12.3Trailing leader by: +1:13.3
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Petter SOLBERG (N) Total after Day 2 2:32:12.5 Trailing leader by: +1:13.5
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Sébastien LOEB (F) Total after Day 2 2:33:01.6 Trailing leader by: +2:02.6
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Tommi MÄKINEN (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:33:36.4 Trailing leader by: +2:37.4
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Janne TUOHINO (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:34:24.0 Trailing leader by: +3:25.0
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Sebastian LINDHOLM (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:34:34.6 Trailing leader by: +3:35.6
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Juuso PYKÄLISTÖ (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:36:11.6 Trailing leader by: +5:12.6
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Freddy LOIX (B)Total after Day 2 2:36:53.6 Trailing leader by: +5:54.6
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Francois DUVAL (B) Total after Day 2 2:38:51.6 Trailing leader by: +7:52.6
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Ari VATANEN (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:39:54.7 Trailing leader by: +8:55.7
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Jussi VÄLIMÄKI (FIN) Total after Day 2 2:40:28.2 Trailing leader by: +9:29.2
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Armin SCHWARZ (D) Total after Day 2 2:40:31.1 Trailing leader by: +9:32.1
FULL REPORT EARLY TOMORROW MORNING
AFTER SS16
We can not confirm yet, but it seems Colin McRae is out of the rally. Markko Märtin made a timely come-back and added this stage to his tally. Solberg got the Subaru going properly and posted 2nd fastest time. 3.7 seconds down on Markko was Burns, followed by Carlos Sainz in the leading Citroën.
Sebastian Lindholm proved that he was not just a flash in the pan in SS15, when he posted a top ten fastest time again, this time 7th. He has also moved up to 8th place overall.
Markko MÄRTIN (EE) Total Time: 2:23:27.6
Richard BURNS (GB) Total Time: 2:23:44.4 Trail leader by: +16.8
Carlos SAINZ (E) Total Time: 2:24:38.4 Trail leader by: +1:10.8
Petter SOLBERG (N) Total Time: 2:24:42.4 Trail leader by: +1:14.8
Sébastien LOEB (F) Total Time: 2:25:26.0 Trail leader by: +1:58.4
Tommi MÄKINEN (FIN) Total Time: 2:26:00.9 Trail leader by: +2:33.3
Janne TUOHINO (FIN) Total Time: 2:26:44. Trail leader by: 9 +3:17.3
Sebastian LINDHOLM (FIN) Total Time: 2:26:57.7 Trail leader by: +3:30.1
Juuso PYKÄLISTÖ (FIN) Total Time: 2:27:25.0 Trail leader by: +3:57.4
Freddy LOIX (B) Total Time: 2:29:05.7 Trail leader by: +5:38.1
END OF LATEST REPORT
Marcus Gronholm has withdrawn from Rally Finland after damaging the front suspension of his Peugeot 206. Markko Martin immediately took over the lead again, but Burns who won SS15 took another 6.3 seconds from Markko.
Markko’s lead is now down to a mere 13.1 seconds. Martin’s Ford Focus has a small electrical problem, and his pace is definitely not what it was.
Carlos Sainz has opened the gap between him and Solberg even more, and Petter lost almost 8 seconds in SS15 to the Citroën driven by the Spaniard.
Lindholm – one of the Finish wildcards, posted an impressive 5th fastest time, and he is currently lying in 9th overall position.
Martin 2h02'48"4 124.0 km/h
Burns 2h03'01"5 + 00'13"1
Sainz 2h03'54"9 + 01'06"5
Solberg 2h04'01"2 + 01'12"8
Mcrae 2h04'23"4 + 01'35"0
Loeb 2h04'38"0 + 01'49"6
Makinen 2h05'11"5 + 02'23"1
Tuohino 2h05'43"1 + 02'54"7
Lindholm 2h05'58"1 + 03'09"7
Pykalisto 2h06'21"8 + 03'33"4
Loix 2h07'49"2 + 05'00"8
Duval 2h09'06"0 + 06'17"6
End of latest update
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WRC Release
Sebastien Loeb - Citroen Xsara - battling to stay with Colin McRae
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In SS14 Marcus Grönholm broke something on the right front suspension, and came crawling out of the stage, losing more than 1 and a half minute to Markko Märtin.
Martin took over the lead, but he also did not drive on his normal pace, as Burns took 11.4 seconds from Markko, and is now in second position only 19.4 seconds off the top podium position.
Colin McRae is pulverising his two team mates and won the stage beating Sébastien Loëb by 7 and Carlos Sainz by 12 seconds.
Richard Burns had a puncture for most of the stage, but still posted 2nd quickest time. Remember what we said earlier this morning? This is going to be the danger man!
Loix’s problems with the Accent seem to increase and he is now running on three cylinders.
Duvan lost the brakes on his car, and had to drive without any through the last two corners – so what?
It is great to see the representative of the RallyStar® editor’s age group, Ari Vatanen, now starting to post top ten stage times. He has now moved into 15th spot. Come on ARI!!!!!!
The Top Ten after SS14
Martin Total Time: 1h55'49"5 at an average of 123.7 km/h
Burns Total Time: 1h56'08"9 Trailing leader by: + 00'19"4
Mcrae Total Time: 1h56'28"0 Trailing leader by: + 00'38"5
Solberg Total Time: 1h56'59"9 Trailing leader by: + 01'10"4
Sainz Total Time: 1h57'00"5 Trailing leader by: + 01'11"0
Gronholm Total Time: 1h57'00"9 Trailing leader by: + 01'11"4
Loeb Total Time: 1h57'35"5 Trailing leader by: + 01'46"0
Makinen Total Time: 1h58'08"3 Trailing leader by: + 02'18"8
Tuohino Total Time: 1h58'31"3 Trailing leader by: + 02'41"8
LindholmTotal Time:1h58'59"1Trailing leader by:+ 03'09"6
End of latest report.
Special Stage 13
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51 year old Ari Vatanen making a good come back after 5 years!
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Burns claim his second stage victory and Martin sets 6th fastest time - but loses on .9 of a second to Marcus! 6 Places from 2nd to 7th is covered by one second.
Gronholm now leads the rally by 4.6 seconds from Martin, who has a half a minute gap on Burns.
Top 10 after SS13
Gronholm 1h40'02"0 at 123.3 km/h average.
Martin Total 1h40'06"6, trailing by + 00'04"6
Burns Total 1h40'37"4, trailing by+ 00'35"4
Mcrae Total 1h41'02"9, trailing by + 01'00"9
Solberg Total 1h41'16"6, trailing by + 01'14"6
Sainz Total 1h41'22"7, trailing by + 01'20"7
Loeb Total 1h42'03"5, trailing by + 02'01"5
Makinen Total 1h42'21"1, trailing by + 02'19"1
Pykalisto Total 1h42'30"6, trailing by + 02'28"6
Tuohino Total 1h42'41"1, trailing by + 02'39"1
More to follow.
Special Stage 12 – Marcus takes back the lead by beating Markko by 4.9 seconds. He now leads the event by 3.7 seconds
McRae took 2 seconds from Burns but the top ten positions remained the same.
TOP TEN POSTIONS AFTER SS12
Gronholm Total1h35'11"5 at and average speed of 123.3 km/h for the event.
Martin Total1h35'15"2 Trailing by:+ 00'03"7
Burns Total1h35'49"0 Trailing by:+ 00'37"5
Mcrae Total1h36'12"4 Trailing by:+ 01'00"9
Solberg Total1h36'25"3 Trailing by:+ 01'13"8
Sainz Total1h36'32"0 Trailing by:+ 01'20"5
Loeb Total1h37'11"0 Trailing by:+ 01'59"5
Makinen Total1h37'29"1 Trailing by:+ 02'17"6
Pykalisto Total1h37'35"0 Trailing by:+ 02'23"5
Tuohino Total1h37'44"5 Trailing by:+ 02'33"0
SPECIAL STAGE 11
Marcus Grönholm posted his fifth stage win in SS11, but could beat Markko Märtin by a mere 1.9 seconds. This means that Martin is now leading by only .7 of a second.
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Richard Burns in action
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The attack for stage positions we predicted yesterday came when Harri Rovanpera in his Peugeot posted third fastest time. He will probably keep at it, to at least prove that he is quick and that yesterday’s mishap could happen to anybody.
More to follow later
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