2007 Rallye Catalunya - Leg Two

Leaderboard after Leg 2

1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4

2hr 30min 45.5sec

2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4

2hr 30min 58.4sec

3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 31min

29.1sec

4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr

31min 58.0sec

5. F Duval/P Pivato B Citroen Xsara

2hr 32min 43.6sec

6. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 2hr

33min 17.3sec

7. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr

33min 44.1sec

8. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 2hr 34min

12.7sec

9. X Pons/X Amigo E Subaru Impreza 2hr

35min 04.5sec

10 H Solberg/C Menkerud N Ford Focus RS 2hr 38min

49.5sec

1. BP-Ford

2. Citroen Total

3. Subaru

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

6. Munchis Ford

1. BP-Ford

BP-Ford drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen were fastest through today's second leg of Rally de España in a Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns won four of the eight asphalt speed tests in the Catalonian mountains south of Barcelona to consolidate third position on this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen strengthened their grip on fourth in another Focus RS after a day of consistently fast times.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "Today was much better now that the sun was shining and the roads were drier. It would have been nicer to have had this yesterday because the rain destroyed my rally then. I've been very evenly matched with the two guys ahead. The goal is to keep the pressure on them and not let them relax or feel comfortable. One spin for them and I am there."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "I was driving to the maximum for most of the day but I couldn't take any time back from Loeb and Sordo so I steadied my pace on the final two stages. I proved I have the speed to match them in the dry but the gap was just too big after yesterday. I was also trying to do everything I could to increase the gap over Duval to help the team's title challenge. I broke a mousse insert in my front left tyre on the penultimate stage. I should have changed it but didn't and the car was sliding a lot as a result on the final test."

2. Citroen Total

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC profited from the second day of the 2007 Rally Catalunya to hold on to the lead they pulled out on Day 1, while Dani Sordo/Marc Martí follow in second place with the second Citroën Sport car.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "The gaps have remained pretty much the same and we had a completely trouble-free run with the C4 which performed perfectly. Tomorrow we will have to stay concentrated for the four stages still to come."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "We could have gone quicker today but there was no reason to, but it was great to see so many fans out on the stages."

3. Subaru

Despite recording some top four stage times today, the Subaru World Rally

Team trio of Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson and Xevi Pons remain in the same

positions as they ended leg one. With one day of competition remaining the

drivers lie sixth, eighth and ninth respectively.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It's not been a bad day for us. We've gone

steadily with no problems and the whole package has been working well. The

car is getting better all the time, but we still have to keep working to

take it forward a bit more."

Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: "We've managed to hold position, which is

okay. The idea was to move up a place but after a mistake on the second

stage we backed out of the challenge and we've pretty much settled for

eighth now. We're driving at a comfortable pace, trying not to take any

risks and concentrating on getting to the finish."

Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo: "Yeah, today I'm very happy. My feeling in the car

is improving with every stage. We made a little change to the setup and now

I'm more comfortable, so it's not bad. The car was perfect, no problems, it's

just a shame that yesterday we lost so much time. But okay, since then it's

been fine, and we've learned a few things that should help in Corsica too."

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

The OMV Kronos Citroen WRT has defended its good fifth place on the second

day of the "Rallye RACC Catalunya", the eleventh run to the FIA World Rally

Championship. Furthermore, Francois Duval (Bel) and his French co Patrick

Pivato in the Citroen Xsara WRC even extended their lead on their immediate

pursuer, Subaru-driver Petter Solberg (Nor), to up to over 33 seconds. This

was also due to two third places on special stages 7 and 10. Tomorrow,

Sunday, it will be essential to secure this position since moving up seems

improbable due to the rather big time gap.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: Retired (accident)

Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato: "Weather conditions were perfect today, no

rain, bright sunshine. But we've already pushed the Citroen Xsara WRC as far

as it would go. If no top-place driver drops out we'll focus on securing

fifth place tomorrow"

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

Finns Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila have set the pace for the Stobart VK

M-Sport Ford rally team by finishing leg 2 of Rally RACC Catalunya Costa

Daurada in seventh position. Latvala showed the biggest improvement of the

top drivers overnight, setting competitive stages times all day.

Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "The dry roads today have made things much

better than yesterday. When the surface is consistent then it makes it

easier for me to concentrate and learn how to drive better and really it has

been a good chance for me to get more experience on tarmac. I am working

better with the car now and my feeling is improving after every stage.

However, I must also remember that this is my first time here and I don't

want to get caught out tomorrow and spoil what has been a very good first

attempt at this event. It is extremely important for me to finish here as

the things I have learnt on this rally will be fresh in my head when we go

to Corsica next week. I have to be smart, think ahead and be prepared for

Corsica; what I take from this event will be important for the next one."

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "This has been another good day for me

and the last two stages today were definitely the best of the rally so far.

The most important thing for me has been my increased consistency. In Monte

Carlo my speed was very up and down but now I am more in control and am able

to keep the speed level all of the time. My driving has improved so much

when I look back as to how I tackled these stages last year. There were some

very nice stages today, my tyre choice has been perfect and I have been very

happy with the car. Some parts were difficult because we are doing these

stages for the first pass and I didn't know how fast I could go and probably

took some corners a bit too slowly. I know the stages tomorrow quite well so

hopefully I can maintain a good performance through these also."

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "The weather has been a great help today. My

driving is getting better all the time now and because the roads were

consistently dry, it meant I could focus on my tarmac driving technique. I

tried something new to try and carry more speed through medium speed

corners. This was starting to work this afternoon but it will take time and

it's something that just can't be rushed; there is still more to come. Even

though it was dry the conditions were still tricky in places as there was

quite a lot of gravel dragged out onto the road. We had a spin at the start

of the second stage. It was a fourth gear, right hand corner that tightened

and I ended up sliding down the road backwards in between two barriers; we

were very lucky to get away with it. The other stages today have been much

better for me and I'm starting to get more confidence."

6. Munchis Ford

No information available.

7. Skoda Czech Rally Team

Jan Kopecký-Filip Schovánek crashed out of Friday's leg and did not restart.

__________________________________________________________________

Remaining Event Schedule

Sunday 7 October: Leg 3 Salou - Salou

Serv G PortAventura (10 mins) 07.30

SS15 Riudecanyes 1 16.32km 08.15

SS16 Colldejou 1 26.51km 09.16

Serv H PortAventura (30 mins) 10.54

SS17 Riudecanyes 2 16.32km 11.59

SS18 Colldejou 2 26.51km 13.00

Finish Salou 14.50

Total 85.66km

Rally total 352.87km