WRC Rally GB 2009 – Day 2 Results

RALLY-WRC-Wales-Gb 09

©willyweyens-rallyworld

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
RALLY OF GREAT BRITAIN
(22 - 25 OCTOBER 2009)
RALLY NEWS

Sébastien Loeb continues to head the field after the second day of competition in the Rally of Great Britain and the Frenchman now only needs to maintain the pace through tomorrow’s final four stages to claim an unprecedented sixth world title. Championship rival Mikko Hirvonen must finish ahead of Loeb to win his first World Championship, but the Finn lost time today and is struggling to close the gap. Dani Sordo has overhauled Petter Solberg for the final provisional podium position.

Today’s route took in another six stages and 138.16 competitive kilometres, and rain, mud and strong winds provided the classic conditions for which Rally GB is renowned. Hirvonen started the day just 5.3 seconds behind Loeb and closed the gap to 2.9 seconds after the first stage. However, the Finn then lost more than 10 seconds in each of the following two stages, slipping to 25 seconds behind. The pattern was repeated this afternoon and with the shortest day of competition on Sunday, the Finn is running out of stage kilometres to make inroads on his rival.

Sordo overhauled Petter Solberg in the first stage when the Norwegian had problems with the windscreen wipers in the pouring rain. The gap between the two has extended during the day and Solberg then lost more time when he narrowly escaped an incident in a ditch. Sébastien Ogier is adrift in fifth position, ahead of Henning Solberg, Matthew Wilson and Jari-Matti Latvala.

Rally of Great Britain - Results after Day 2

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 2hours 32mins 21.4secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 30.2secs M
3. Dani Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 20.1secs M
4. Petter Solberg Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +01mins 44.1secs MT
5. Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +04mins 21.6secs MT
6. Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC +05mins 22.8secs MT
7. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC +06mins 30.0secs MT
8. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +08mins 02.5secs M

9. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +12mins 00.1secs A8
10. Aaron Burkart Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +16mins 28.2secs A8
11. Eyvind Brynildsen Skoda Fabia S2000 +17mins 15.7secs P
12. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo +19mins 11.9secs N4
13. Martin Prokop Mitsubishi Lancer Evo +19mins 29.9secs P
14. Steve Perez Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC +20mins 16.3secs A8
15. Toshi Arai Subaru Impreza N14 +20mins 46.7secs P
16. Martin Semerad Mitsubishi Lancer Evo +21mins 37.9secs P
17. Bernardo Sousa Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 +22mins 35.2secs P
18. Mark Tapper Mitsubishi Lancer Evo +22mins 45.6secs P
19. Dennis Kuipers Ford Focus RS WRC +23mins 09.3secs A8
20. Mattias Therman Mitsubishi Lancer Evo +28mins 58.9secs N4

Photo: Willy Weyens