Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) leads rally Australia after the second leg, but he could be forced to hand over the win to his Ford teammate Mikko Hirvonen, second of the rally, and in better position in the championship's standings.
The accidents of Citroën drivers Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier put both Ford factory cars in the lead on Friday, with Mikko Hirvonen in first position ahead of his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala. But Hirvonen, who was forced to start first and clean the road on Saturday, could not defend his position in front of Latvala, who was able to take the lead and finish the day in first position, 22.7 seconds in front of his team mate.
But Latvala knows he will probably have to slow down in order to let the win to Hirvonen, who stands only 36 points behind Loeb and would be able to close on to the seven-time world champion in championship standings. Loeb, who was back on Saturday thanks to super rallye regulations, stands only in 16th position before the last loop on Sunday, and has no hope to score points, except in the power stage. Sébastien Ogier also came back on race in super rallye, and he was able to move up to 11th on Saturday evening, and is still targeting the points zone.
Petter Solberg still holds third position aboard his private Citroen DS3, almost one minute behind Latvala. He is followed by Matthew Wilson (Ford Stobbart) who moved up from his fifth place after his teammate Henning Solberg’s mechanical issues.
Classification after day 2 :
1. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) in 2.43’47”4
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 22”7
3. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 59”5
4. Wilson-Martin (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 5’53”7
5. Al-Qassimi-Orr (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 9’24”4
6. Paddon-Kennard (Sybaru Impreza WRX Sti) + 13’29”2
7. Kosciuszko-Szczepaniak (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) + 13’32”1
8. Salyuk-Cherepin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 15’33”1
9. Guerra-Rozada (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 16’35”0
10. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 17’00”8
Etc.
The accidents of Citroën drivers Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier put both Ford factory cars in the lead on Friday, with Mikko Hirvonen in first position ahead of his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala. But Hirvonen, who was forced to start first and clean the road on Saturday, could not defend his position in front of Latvala, who was able to take the lead and finish the day in first position, 22.7 seconds in front of his team mate.
But Latvala knows he will probably have to slow down in order to let the win to Hirvonen, who stands only 36 points behind Loeb and would be able to close on to the seven-time world champion in championship standings. Loeb, who was back on Saturday thanks to super rallye regulations, stands only in 16th position before the last loop on Sunday, and has no hope to score points, except in the power stage. Sébastien Ogier also came back on race in super rallye, and he was able to move up to 11th on Saturday evening, and is still targeting the points zone.
Petter Solberg still holds third position aboard his private Citroen DS3, almost one minute behind Latvala. He is followed by Matthew Wilson (Ford Stobbart) who moved up from his fifth place after his teammate Henning Solberg’s mechanical issues.
Classification after day 2 :
1. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) in 2.43’47”4
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 22”7
3. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 59”5
4. Wilson-Martin (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 5’53”7
5. Al-Qassimi-Orr (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 9’24”4
6. Paddon-Kennard (Sybaru Impreza WRX Sti) + 13’29”2
7. Kosciuszko-Szczepaniak (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) + 13’32”1
8. Salyuk-Cherepin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 15’33”1
9. Guerra-Rozada (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 16’35”0
10. Novikov-Giraudet (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 17’00”8
Etc.