RALLY DE ESPANA - AFTER STAGE 9
Sixty-one of the original 66 starters left Salou this morning for the second leg of this fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Six of those are competing under SupeRally rules having retired yesterday. They face another 111.36km of competition, split into two identical loops of three asphalt speed tests north and west of the Costa Daurada holiday resort.
BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were quickly back on the front-running pace which they displayed yesterday until turbo troubles slowed their Ford Focus RS World Rally Cars.
The duo shared fastest time on the opening 11.50km Duesaigües test. Grönholm was then quickest through the 28.33km Vilaplana stage, the longest of the rally, by 0.9sec from Hirvonen. The 38-year-old Finn ended his morning with second fastest in the 15.85km test from Margalef to La Palma d'Ebre. Having started the day in 10th, Grönholm returned to the PortAventura service in sixth and his sights set on climbing even higher.
"Yesterday was disappointing but that is in the past and we are now back fighting for points," said Grönholm. "Fourth is my target. We’ve set good times this morning and we're still faster than Loeb. We have good speed but there is more to come and our pace here leaves me confident that we can fight with Loeb in Corsica also on the next round. The car is easy to drive and while it might not look the most spectacular on the stages, the times are great."
Hirvonen rounded off his morning with fourth fastest in the final stage, the 25-year-old Finn returning to service having climbed from an overnight 14th to 12th in his BP Ultimate and Castrol-branded Focus RS.
"We've set strong times this morning and that's all I can do," he said. "While I would have liked to be leading, I know that I can fight with Loeb in this car. My start position today is good. Second on the road means there isn't any dirt on the road that the drivers further back will have to put up with. I'm not driving at maximum pace - but fast enough."
Leaderboard after stage 9 of 16
1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 1hr 50min 25.7sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 1hr 51min 03.9sec
3. X Pons/C Del Barrio E Citroen Xsara 1hr 51min 39.0sec
4. A Bengue/C Escudero F Peugeot 307 1hr 52min 08.5sec
5. J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 1hr 52min 26.5sec
6. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 52min 40.9sec
7. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 1hr 53min 05.3sec
8. S Sarrazin/S Prévot F Subaru Impreza 1hr 53min 08.2sec
9 F Duval/ P Pivato B Skoda Fabia 1hr 53min 15.3sec
10 C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 1hr 53min 39.7sec
____________________
Rick (Rokie)
rtdring@yahoo.com
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