Day 2am: Petter in control

Solberg was second quickest behind Loeb on the first stage of the morning, SS10, and then won the following 28.68km Drosohori stage. After that the world champion appeared to back off, coming in fourth and sixth in the next two stages, which allowed the undoubted stars of the morning, Rovanpera and Loeb, to cut his lead to under a minute.

Rovanpera is the only works Peugeot 307 driver still in the fight after team leader Marcus Gronholm ran into terminal suspension problems on SS11 while running fourth overall. The Finn stopped on the stage after his left rear suspension triangle broke. Although there was a remote service area at the end of the run, and new regulations allow two mechanics to work on the car using the tools and spares carried in the car, the parts required were not on board.

In any case, team-mate Rovanpera stormed through the morning with abandon. The Finn stormed through the SS12 Rengini stage, which he also won yesterday, making up for the time he'd lost after a poor SS11. He then posted the second fastest time in SS13, just a second slower than Loeb, to continue his pursuit of Subaru's Solberg.

Loeb may have had a disappointing first day, but the Frenchman was the fastest man of the morning. With two stage wins he turned a distant fifth place at the end of day one in to a charging third place on day two. At his current pace he will move into second overall before the afternoon is out. Solberg will have to keep an eye on the Frenchman.

Fourth is now Francois Duval. The Belgian is the only Ford driver left in the running, although team-mate Markko Martin has taken advantage of the new SupeRally regulations which allow competitors to rejoin the following leg of a rally if they are forced to retire. Duval had a steady morning and only lost his third place to the storming Loeb on SS13.

Daniel Carlsson's privateer Peugeot 206 WRC is still in an impressive fifth place ahead of the factory Mitsubishi of Gilles Panizzi. The new Lancer is having its most successful outing to date and Panizzi is working hard to keep the factory Subaru of Mikko Hirvonen behind him. Manfred Stohl holds the last points scoring place in eighth.