Rally de España – after stage 2, El Montmell 1
Torrential rain forced organisers to cancel last night's start ceremony for this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship after the seafront roads in Salou became flooded. Instead drivers, officials and team personnel paid their tributes to ex-Ford driver and world champion Colin McRae during an emotional 15-minute ceremony at the rally base. Although the rain stopped overnight, the two speed tests north-east of Salou were still wet as drivers left under clear, but cool conditions, early this morning for the opening action.
BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers and championship leaders Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen made a perfect start by winning the opening 25.43km Querol test in their Focus RS World Rally Car. As the temperatures rose and the roads began to dry, the 39-year-old Finnish driver was less confident in the mixed conditions and posted a cautious third fastest on the following 24.14km El Montmell test. He returned to the PortAventura service park in third.
"The first stage was slippery but there was more grip on the second stage than I thought and I didn't have the confidence to attack on the abrasive surface," said Grönholm. "I could have driven faster over the first 10km but I just drove too carefully. I chose soft compound dry weather tyres and that was the right choice for both stages. There are a lot of trees alongside the roads and even though the sun came out, it didn't dry out in the shaded areas. It's tricky driving in mixed conditions and tyre choice will be hard now because the open areas will be dry, but it will stay wet in the shady parts."
Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were fourth on both tests to hold fourth overall in their Focus RS, 27.1sec from the lead. Hirvonen fitted the same tyres as Grönholm but admitted: "At the start of the first stage, on damp roads, I had no confidence. I was seven seconds slower than Marcus on the first 4km. It was the right tyre choice, it was just a struggle for me in those conditions. The car is happy, it's just the driver that isn't! I will try to push harder on the second pass."
Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech are 19th in another BP-Ford Focus RS on their Spanish debut. "The stages were wet in places and damp in others," said Al Qassimi. "It was also foggy in the first stage so it was difficult to see the corners and pick the best lines - very tricky. We made a few changes to the pace notes in the second stage which will help for the second pass."
Leaderboard after stage 2 of 18
1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4 26min 56.1sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4 26min 59.8sec
3. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 27min 00.5sec
4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 27min 23.2sec
5. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 27min 30.3sec
6. F Duval/P Pivato B Citroen Xsara 27min 42.7sec
7. X Pons/X Amigo E Subaru Impreza 27min 45.8sec
8. M Stohl/I Minor A Citroen Xsara 27min 47.3sec
9. J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 27min 47.7sec
10. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 27min 53.4sec