Rallye Monte Carlo – after stage 5, St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac
All 47 of the original starters left Valence early this morning for the second day of this opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Four of those started under SupeRally regulations after retiring during last night's opening action. They face two identical clockwise loops of three speed tests in the Ardèche region, split by a return to Valence for service. The six special stages cover 116.96km.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, lying third after last night's action in a Focus RS World Rally Car, consolidated their placing this morning with third fastest time on each test of the opening loop. The Finns returned to service in Valence having extended their advantage over Chris Atkinson from 14.6sec to 57.5sec.
"The roads were dry, with only a few damp patches," said Hirvonen. "I felt more comfortable than last night but the asphalt is changeable and it was difficult to find confidence with the new tyres. I had a stiffer car set-up and it felt good. I'm trying to keep my pace close to Sordo but I'm not trying to fight him. There's no point in me slowing down either because I need to learn about the tyres at full speed. Drivers have been cutting corners so I must be careful now as there may be stones in the bends."
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila set about regaining the time lost last night when they stopped to change a wheel on their Focus RS. The Finns restarted in 18th and climbed to 15th after posting sixth fastest time on the opening 29.52km test from St Pierreville to Col de la Fayolle. They were seventh in the 16.30km Burzet - Lachamp Raphael and eight in the 12.66km St Martial - Le Chambon - Beleac to return to service just 23sec outside the top 10 leaderboard.
"I can't find my confidence yet with the new tyres," said 22-year-old Latvala. "The car was too soft this morning so I will stiffen the settings this afternoon. The car was rolling a little and it was tricky in the braking points and in the corners so it will be more stable with harder settings. But the car is fine, I only need to look in the mirror to find the problem – me!"
Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr climbed from an overnight 11th to 10th this morning in a third Focus RS. "The roads were damp, which made it slippery," said Al Qassimi. "Drivers ahead of us are cutting the corners and that drags dirt onto the roads. I still need to learn how Pirelli's tyres work and where the grip is because the grip level changes with every corner."
Leaderboard after stage 5 of 19
1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4 1hr 00min 18.8sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4 1hr 00min 42.3sec
3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 01min 23.5sec
4. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 1hr 02min 21.0sec
5. F Duval/E Chevailler B Ford Focus RS 1hr 02min 51.9sec
6. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 1hr 02min 37.7sec
7. G Galli/G Bernacchini I Ford Focus RS 1hr 03min 09.5sec
8. J-M Cuoq/P Janvier F Peugeot 307 1hr 04min 01.7sec
9. F Romeyer/T Fournel F Peugeot 206 1hr 05min 55.6sec
10 K Al Qassimi/M Orr UAE Ford Focus RS 1hr 05min 58.3sec