Ford still on course for NZ one-two

Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen set a fastest time apiece in the long Te Akau South and North stages, with Gronholm then going quickest in the Mystery Creek superspecial that brought Saturday's action to a close.

They will go into day three 50.3 seconds apart, and over two minutes clear of the rest of the field.

"We have no panic at all and I'll try not to do anything stupid," said Gronholm.

Manfred Stohl had lost third to Dani Sordo at the end of leg one and was under pressure from the second Kronos Citroen of Xevi Pons by the end of the morning loop.

But having switched to a more suitable tyre compound at the lunchtime service, Stohl went on a comeback charge - not only reclaiming third, but pulling away from Sordo, despite some mechanical concerns.

"It was a good run," said Stohl after passing Sordo in SS9. "There was a strange feeling in the engine but I think it was okay."

Sordo felt that his inexperience on this event was beginning to show.

"It's the first time (here) for me and it's very difficult," he said. "No problems with the car."

Henning Solberg and Chris Atkinson began the afternoon battling for seventh, but both have now fallen out of the top ten after accidents in the Te Akau stages.

A frustratingly minor incident forced Atkinson to retire from the leg. His eighth-placed Subaru suffered a puncture in SS9 and slid slightly off the road. It proved impossible to get the undamaged Impreza back onto the course, and the ground was too soft for the crew to jack the car up and replace the punctured tyre.

Although Solberg's crash was more dramatic, he was able to get back to service. The Norweigan had gradually picked up the pace as he regained confidence after his ferocious accident in Australia, only to lose 13 minutes when he rolled his OMV Peugeot in SS10.

Despite losing the windscreen and suffering overheating problems, Solberg made it through the road section and actually set the third fastest time in the Mystery Creek superspecial. He ended the day 14th, a minute and a half behind Valentino Rossi, who appeared to be enjoying himself hugely as he edged ever nearer to the WRC pace.

Leading positions after leg two:

Pos  Driver         Make              Time
 1.  Gronholm       Ford        2h 56:17.2
 2.  Hirvonen       Ford            + 50.3
 3.  Stohl          Peugeot       + 2:06.2
 4.  Sordo          Citroen       + 2:23.1
 5.  Pons           Citroen       + 2:38.4
 6.  P Solberg      Subaru        + 3:25.1
 7.  Perez Companc  Ford          + 8:41.1
 8.  Latvala        Subaru       + 11:08.1
 9.  Baldacci       Mitsubishi   + 11:12.4
10.  Mason          Subaru       + 12:28.1
11.  Hanninen       Mitsubishi   + 12:56.2
12.  Al-Attiyah     Subaru       + 16:09.3
13.  Rossi          Subaru       + 16:45.8
14.  H Solberg      Peugeot      + 18:15.2
15.  Atkinson       Subaru       + 18:30.4
16.  Sumner         Mitsubishi   + 18:59.9
17.  Wilson         Ford         + 19:53.3
18.  Kamada         Subaru       + 20:56.8
19.  Taylor         Mitsubishi   + 21:43.8
20.  Dorosinskiy    Subaru       + 24:54.1