Wales Rally GB - Day 2

After another commanding performance on Saturday afternoon's four stages Jari-Matti Latvala will take a 24.5-second lead into the final day of Rally GB, proving that it was a Ford-dominated loop once again, with Latvala and team-mate Petter Solberg setting two fastest times apiece.

But while that allowed Latvala to stretch his advantage, when Solberg was not winning stages he was losing a little time to relentless pursuer Sebastien Loeb, the gap between the Ford number two and the Citroen team leader now being just 6.4s.

Adapta Ford driver Mads Ostberg lost ground in the podium fight during the afternoon, feeling the decision to take two spare wheels rather than one upset the balance of his car, drifting 19s away from Loeb.

Citreon also took another positive with Loeb's team mate Mikko Hirvonen feeling much happier with his Citroen in less muddy conditions, yet that did not translate to an increase in pace and he remains a distant fifth, only 12s clear of M-Sport Ford's Ott Tanak, whose team-mate Evgeny Novikov is next up.

Thierry Neuville, Matthew Wilson and Martin Prokop continue to hold the remaining points-paying positions, with Chris Atkinson just outside the top 10, driving his WRC Team Mini Portugal car with uncharacteristic caution!

Welsh driver Tom Cave, driving for the PROTON Motorsports team, completed the second day of his Wales Rally GB in 15th place and second in SWRC, improving his overall and SWRC placings during the course of the day. Despite admitting to a wrong tyre choice for the morning stages, the 20 year-old maintained his composure to complete what he described as a frustrating day.

Meanwhile in the closely contested National category of the rally IRDC chairman Shaun Martin and co-driver Anthony Concannon continue to make steady progress through the field, experiencing a spectrum of Welsh autumn weather; bright sunshine to heavy showers and the end of the second day sees the crew now 15th overall and enjoying a trouble-free run.

A section of Halfway forest near Llandovery saw Shaun's Subaru Impreza flat out in 5th gear for almost a minute, engine bouncing on the rev limiter. Later on the same stage; thankfully the slower quarry section the Subaru spun, giving the popular Southern Car Club crew an unwanted surprise but on the positive side of things, Shaun's newly installed hydraulic handbrake seems to be working well!

The crews are now taking some well-earned rest in preparation for what the final day of Wales Rally GB has in store for them.

Leading positions after SS13:

Pos. Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford 2h18m05.3s
2. Petter Solberg Ford + 24.5s
3. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 30.9s
4. Mads Ostberg Adapta Ford + 49.9s
5. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 1m22.4s
6. Ott Tanak M-Sport Ford + 1m34.4s
7. Evgeny Novikov M-Sport Ford + 1m50.9s
8. Thierry Neuville Citroen Junior + 3m25.9s
9. Matthew Wilson M-Sport Ford + 4m39.8s
10. Martin Prokop Czech Ford + 5m29.2s

15th September, 2012