Leg 2: Round up and quotes

Kankkunen, who started the day as leader, won the final stage of the day extending his lead over the Peugeot of Marcus Gronholm to 15 seconds. The Subaru driver said: 'There won't be team orders between me and Richard, because if I slow down, Marcus will pass me after the first stage. We have to go for it.'

Gronholm won SS11 (Tywi) for Peugeot, taking 16 seconds out of Burns' lead and closing to just 2.8seconds. It was the closest he would get on day 2, but the Finn is looking forward to the final day, and another strong showing with the 206WRC. 'Third is a good position for tomorrow, but it will be a short night, we're so late. The car has been fantastic, no problem. But we are still only halfway. Tomorrow is a long day, and anything can happen. I hope it's not raining -- that would help us.'

Colin McRae had held on to fourth place during the afternoon for Ford, but a crash on the final stage ended the Scotsman's rally. He ran off the road at a tricky corner on SS15, into a ditch and then colliding with a car that had crashed out at the same point during the previous run through the stage. The impact was heavy, but both Colin and co-driver Nicky Grist were unhurt. It was a disappointing end to his season which left him with two wins, but also eight successive non-finishes.

McRae's exit moved Harri Rovanpera into fourth place in his final event for SEAT. 'Fourth place is excellent. Today I gave 100%, tomorrow a little bit more.' Team mate Toni Gardemeister was also having a strong run until clutch failure forced his retirement. Gwyndaf Evans added to SEAT's strong showing in his first run in the WRC car, running into the top five.

Toyota pair Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol had a frustrating day in the team's final event. Auriol lost time with a wrong choice of tyres that saw him in braking and handling difficulties, while Sainz slid into a ditch on SS12. 'It was a difficult day,' said the Spaniard. 'We lost 4mins in a stupid slow place. I'm very disappointed with myself . The car is OK, just stupid bad luck.'

Huge crowds for the final four stages to the day caused delays, with traffic congestion holding up competitors and causing confusion in the overall order with time penalties. There was also a question mark over whether the drivers, once they had driven the 86 miles back to Cheltenham, would get the mandatory six-hour break before the Cheltenham restart at 0515 on Tuesday.

The first Special Stage of the final leg of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain is due to start at 0729, and is the first of 122.46 competitive miles that will determine the winner, and also settle the battle for second place in the championship between Didier Auriol and Richard Burns.

Don't miss a moment of the exciting climax to the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship here on Autosport.com