Dani Sordo has reclaimed second place on Rallye Monte-Carlo as the battle for the runner-up spot on the world championship season-opener continues to intensify.
Sordo, in a factory MINI John Cooper Works WRC, was 0.4s faster than world champion and rally leader Sebastien Loeb through Thursday’s second stage to move 10.3s clear of Petter Solberg, who slips back to third in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
“I tried to go faster but it was difficult to push in this stage because it was some places very slippery,” said Sordo. “I tried to do my best.”
Despite losing second place, Solberg continues to impress on his return to the factory Ford line-up following an absence of more than a decade: “It was okay, no major problem. It’s just very difficult on the ice. I knew it would be tricky. My tyre choice is working well, we lost quite a bit to Loeb but this is how it is.”
Citroen driver Loeb was second fastest with his overall lead now standing at 1m9.6s with one stage left before midday service in Valence. He said: “The stages are nearly clean but tricky in some places because they are humid. The tyres were working well in this stage.”
Mikko Hirvonen has climbed ahead of Evgeny Novikov and Sebastien Ogier into fourth overall after going third fastest through the stage in his Citroen DS3 WRC. “This one was a little better,” said the Finn. “It takes a bit of time to find the rhythm and to be confident with the grip level but it’s not too bad. I’m learning all the time and for sure I want to finish the rally.”
Francois Delecour reported a problem with the intercom in his Fiesta, which made it virtually impossible for him to hear the instructions of his co-driver Dominique Savignoni.
Briton Matthew Wilson lost a few precious seconds stalling his Go Fast World Rally Team Fiesta at the stage start, while Armindo Araujo said he found it difficult to find optimal braking points in his MINI.
Sweden’s PG Andersson continues to top the Super 2000 World Rally Championship leaderboard for Proton.