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SEBASTIEN
LOEB and Daniel Elena lead the Monte Carlo Rally by more
than one minute from team-mates Colin McRae and Derek Ringer.
Early
leaders, Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen, dropped out
of contention on stage nine with broken steering. The Finn
lost more than 30 minutes on the stage but decided to continue
as there is still a possibility of gaining a valuable championship
point. He currently lies in 15th position.
Many competitors
only managed to complete one stage on today's second leg.
The first test, Les 4 Chemins, was cancelled due to the sheer
volume of spectators. All competitors completed the following
Saint Antonin stage but a road accident in a motorway tunnel
blocked the road leading to the final two tests of the day.
Approximately 14 competitors were able to complete these stages
while the remainder of the field were given a notional time.
At the
end of the second leg, Citroen hold the top three positions
with Loeb in front of second placed McRae while Carlos Sainz
and Marc Marti are third. If positions stay the same over
tomorrow's final four stages, it will be a dream World Championship
start for the Citroen team.
Ford's
Markko Martin and Michael Park have moved up to fourth position
ahead of Peugeot's Richard Burns and Robert Reid. Privateers
Cedric Robert and Gerald Bedon are sixth ahead of Roman Kresta
and Milos Hulka while Ford's Francois Duval and Jean-Marc
Fortin hold the final podium position. Top ten and stage notes
below:
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1
|
Sebastien
Loeb / Daniel Elena |
Citroen
Xsara WRC |
3hrs
08mins 54.0secs |
|
2
|
Colin
McRae / Derek Ringer |
Citroen
Xsara WRC |
3hrs
10mins 01.9secs |
|
3
|
Carlos
Sainz / Luis Moya |
Citroen
Xsara WRC |
3hrs
10mins 39.0secs |
|
4
|
Markko
Martin / Michael Park |
Ford
Focus WRC |
3hrs
11mins 18.4secs |
|
5
|
Richard
Burns / Robert Reid |
Peugeot
206 WRC |
3hrs
12mins 32.9secs |
|
6
|
Cedric
Robert / Gerald Bedon |
Peugeot
206 WRC |
3hrs
14mins 05.5secs |
|
7
|
Roman
Kresta / Milos Hulka |
Peugeot
206 WRC |
3hrs
15mins 10.2secs |
|
8
|
Francois
Duval / Jean-Marc Fortin |
Ford
Focus WRC |
3hrs
15mins 30.0secs |
|
9
|
Armin
Schwarz / Manfred Hiemer |
Hyundai
Accent WRC |
3hrs
15mins 32.8secs |
|
10
|
Didier
Auriol / Denis Giraudet |
Skoda
Octavia WRC |
3hrs
15mins 35.7secs |
- Stage
seven was cancelled due to the amount of spectators
in the stage.
- Mikko
Hirvonen retired after rolling his Ford Focus WRC
on stage nine.
- Freddy
Loix retired on stage nine after an off road excursion.
- Marcus
Gronholm lost more than 30 minutes with broken steering
on stage nine.
- Many
competitors were unable to start stages nine and ten
due to a road traffic accident on route to the stages.
|
- Gilles
Panizzi was given a one minute penalty before the
start of the event after the GPS system in his Peugeot
malfunctioned during a recce. He didn't inform the
stewards of the problem.
- Gilles
Panizzi lost time on stage one when he hit a rock
hidden beneath the snow.
- Tommi
Makinen stalled at the start of stage one.
- Markko
Martin stalled at a hairpin on stage two after spinning
his Ford.
- Carlos
Sainz lost time with a spin on stage two.
- Skoda's
Toni Gardemeister retired with mechanical problems
on stage two.
- Petter
Solberg hit a bridge on stage four.
- Francois
Duval went off the road and hit a tree on stage four
but managed to reach the service area while limping
on three wheels.
- Petter
Solberg retired on stage five after understeering
off the road.
- Tommi
Makinen retired on stage five after going off the
road.
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