Rally Japan Leg 2

Rally Japan Leg 2
11th Round FIA WRC 2006
2 September 2006

Overall Leaderboard after SS 21


The day began with BP-Ford World Rally Team's Marcus Gronholm on top of the leaderboard, but the fourth and fifth stages of the day saw the Finn suffer a spin and an off which caused him to relinquish the lead to Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team's Sebastien Loeb which the Frenchman held until the end of the second leg.



Mikko Hirvonen, in true form, found himself driving without pressure during the second Leg of Rally Japan. Hirvonen ended the day nearly three minutes ahead of Subaru World Rally Team's Chris Atkinson and over a minute behind his team-mate, Gronholm. Hirvonen stated that manufacturer points were the goal in Japan.

The battle for fourth overall came down between Subaru's Chris Atkinson and OMV-Peugeot Norway World Rally Team driver Manfred Stohl. Stohl, who held fourth coming into the second leg, gave away his position early in the day, and found himself gradually slipping further and further behind Atkinson as the day progressed. Stohl stated that he was going to be cautious and not drive his Peugeot 307 beyond its limit to try and match pace with Atkinson.



Dani Sordo held sixth overall at the end of the second day. Sordo, who is competing in his first Rally Japan in a World Rally Car, commented that he began to gain confidence of the event, and despite the rally taking place on gravel rather than his preferred tarmac, Sordo managed to post several competitive times throughout the day.

Subaru's Petter Solberg began the day in eighth overall, but several competitive stage times - though no stage wins - saw the Norwegian move into seventh on the leaderboard by the end of the day but was marginally behind Dani Sordo by the end of the leg.



Amid a flurry of problems, home-round favourite Toshi Arai completed the day eighth overall. Arai suffered an off-stage incursion which resulted in a major loss of time. Driving through a line of trees which damaged the side of his Impreza WRC 06, Arai managed to finish the stage and return to the afternoon's service to complete the day without major difficulty.

Luis Perez Companc, contesting his first event in the 2006-spec Ford Focus, completed the event as the highest placed Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver after a series of problems (failed turbo charger and getting stuck in a ditch while allowing Atkinson to pass during a stage) for his team-mate Matthew Wilson. Wilson will return for the final leg of stages after having his turbo charger replaced.



Gareth MacHale continues to drive a clean rally and claimed the 10th overall time at the end of the second day. MacHale, driving the 'slow and steady wins the race philosophy', has said that his goal is to gain experience and prepare for future years in a World Rally Car in Japan. Earlier in the year, it was MacHale, following a similar style of driving, who found a surprise points finish in the Corona Rally Mexico.

(photo & story: wrc.com)