Burri takes advantage in IRC 2WD Cup
The battle for IRC 2WD Cup honours was turned on its head on day two of Rallye Monte-Carlo when the overnight pacesetters both hit trouble.
Erstwhile leader Pierre Campana dropped out of contention when his Clio R3 picked up a front-right puncture 12 kilometres into the 23.05-kilometre St Jean en Royans-Font D’Urle stage on Thursday morning.
The engine glitch that had hampered second-placed Andrea Crugnola on Wednesday remained a problem for the young Italian Clio driver. Although it was cured for the last two stages, he reported the engine was down on power.
But with no studded tyres for the snow-hit stages seven and eight, Crugnola’s engine was the least of his worries as he dropped to eighth in the category, 4m21.9s off the lead.
Michael Burri, in a Citroen DS3 R3, holds the advantage heading into day three with Renaud Poutot second in a similar car. Campana is third with Adrien Tambay, a rally novice and the son of ex-Ferrari and Renault Formula One racer Patrick, fourth in a Peugeot 207 R3T.
Gonon shines in IRC Production Cup battle
Florian Gonon underlined his dominance of the IRC Production Cup section of Rallye Monte-Carlo by setting the top three fastest time overall on Thursday’s final stage.
The multiple Swiss champion was 28 seconds slower than stage winner François Delecour through the snow-hit route, an impressive feat given that Gonon’s Annie Spiers Subaru Impreza utilises fewer competition components than Delecour’s Peugeot.
Co-driven by fellow Swiss Sandra Arlettaz, Gonon completed day two in 13th overall, almost 10 minutes clear of category rival Vojtech Stajf in another Impreza.
Patrick Artru is the leading Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer driver in 28th overall.
Elena in battle to make Monte top 60 cut-off
Daniel Elena will start the third and final day of the centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo anxious to make up at least one position on the overall leaderboard to ensure he can tackle the event’s four closing stages on Friday night.
Elena, who has co-driven Sébastien Loeb to seven world rally titles, is making a rare appearance behind the wheel of a Citroën DS3 R3.
In keeping with one of the event’s long-stranding traditions, only the leading 60 competitors at the completion of the Montauban sur l’Ouveze stage on Friday morning will be permitted to tackle the nighttime tests, including two runs over Col de Turini, one of the highlights of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier.
Monegasque Elena is currently in 61st overall, 1m59.7s adrift of Olivier Bacle.
Wallenwein on target for Monte-Carlo finish
Mark Wallenwein remains on target to achieve his aim of finishing Rallye Monte-Carlo at his first attempt.
The Škoda Auto Deutschland driver, who is making his debut appearance in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, completed Thursday’s four stages in 23rd overall in his Fabia Super 2000.
He would have been higher up in the overall classification had it not been for a troubled eighth stage when he damaged his car’s right-rear wheel hitting a rock. Unable to make repairs at the completion of the test, Wallenwein drove the 51 kilometres back to service in Valence, where he arrived with the right-rear worn down to the rim.
“I was very happy that the impact with the rock was to the rear of the car so we managed to reach service,” said the 23-year-old German promise. “In general we are on course to come to the finish in Monaco, which has been our goal from the very beginning.”