If the opening leg of the Propecia Rally New Zealand was a relatively drama-free day, then the second leg was the complete opposite. There were accidents, rolls and spins galore as the crews struggled to get the right tyres for the conditions.
The stages were again damp at the beginning of the day but the big talking point this morning was tyre choice. The crews had to choose their tyres for the first loop of three stages 2.5 hours before actually starting them, 100Kms from service. In the time it took for them to get to the start of the first of the three, the rain began to fall and while some got their choice right, others certainly didn't.
The BP-Ford drivers, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen both complained that they had too hard tyres for the wet conditions for the first loop of stages, expecting drier conditions. Although it affected their stage pace, they still maintained their dominance at the head of the field.
But one man who definitely got his choice right was Chris Atkinson, the Australian taking two stage wins from three, to move up from his overnight position of ninth to within six seconds of Henning Solberg in seventh by the mid-day service.
Two more drivers who got it just right were the Kronos Total Citroen pairing of Dani Sordo and Xevi Pons. Sordo extended the gap between himself and Manfred Stohl in fourth, while Pons closed the gap to the Austrian and was just 7.4 seconds off fourth place as the crews returned to Mystery Creek.
Stohl spent the morning lamenting his wrong tyre choice, on the basis of what he indicated was incorrect information prior to selecting his rubber at the day's first service. His team-mate Henning Solberg had a distinctly average morning, setting times which did not reflect the speed he showed in Australia three weeks ago before he went off the road. He arrived at service in eighth place, one position behind brother Petter.
Petter was another driver to be plagued with problems early in the day. His intercom failed on the first stage and then he suffered a broken driveshaft on the third, as well as having completely the wrong tyres. He still maintained six place throughout the day though.
The Stobart VK Ford M-Sport drivers also had a torrid morning. Matthew Wilson slid wide and hit a bank with the rear of his car, losing his spare wheel in the process but carried on with little time loss to the end of the first stage. He also suffered from a misting screen on a later stage, losing more time in the process. Running first on the road didn't seem to be too much of a problem but he was another driver who had taken a hard compound tyre, hoping for dry conditions.
Luis Perez Companc was less lucky. He also hit a bank and then broke a wheel in the third stage, losing almost two minutes to Wilson. Valentino Rossi enjoyed his second day of the event, disappointed by the early weather which he felt spoiled his enjoyment of the stages but with the exception of a spin in the morning, enjoyed a clean run and improved his confidence and speed with every kilometre.
Following the mid-day service, the crews headed out again, hopefully this time with the right tyres. However, not all got it right. In contrast to their morning, both Sordo and Pons got it wrong and Manfred Stohl, who had definitely got it right, caught and passed Sordo for third place in the first of the afternoon's three stages. Chris Atkinson's day was soon to come to an end though, as he picked up a puncture, slid off and was then unable to change the wheel on the soft ground and was forced to retire. Henning Solberg appeared to be getting back on the pace, until the penultimate stage when he rolled but managed to continue. However, he had dropped 14 minutes to the leaders and lost his windscreen in the process.
Petter Solberg got his tyre choice wrong again for the afternoon stages but still posted a third fastest time on the penultimate test to hold sixth overnight. Matthew Wilson and Luis Perez Companc were much happier now they had the right tyres, although Wilson subsequently lost launch control and the driver's side windscreen wiper but was enjoying his first visit to New Zealand.
But the Fords of Gronholm and Hirvonen maintained their dominance on the event, ending the second day in first and second overall. The team needs just three points from this weekend to wrap up the Manufacturer's championship and both drivers will be aiming squarely for that on the final leg.
Day 2 Results:
1 M. GRÖNHOLM 2:56:17.2
2 M. HIRVONEN +50.3
3 M. STOHL +2:06.2
4 D. SORDO +2:23.1
5 X. PONS +2:38.4
6 P. SOLBERG +3:25.1
7 L. PEREZ COMPANC +8:41.1
8 J. LATVALA +11:08.1
13 V. ROSSI +16:45.8
-WRC.com
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