Leg two round-up Bugalski in strong position

Now with the final stage of the day cancelled to ensure spectator safety and Puras out of the rally, Bugalski is in a very strong position. Only Peugeot's Didier Auriol looks to have any hope of beating 'Bug' with only the third leg left to run.

"Didier is still quite close," admitted Bugalski, but I feel relaxed and quite confident. I am ready for the fight."

Leg two started as leg one had finished, with Puras in control. The Spaniard was quickest through the opening stage and looked set to pull away from the field. Thereafter Bugalski though stopped the rot, going fastest on each of the next three stages and setting second best time to Auriol on what turned out to be the last stage of the day, SS11 Escaladei 2.

Both Citroen drivers suffered at times from brake problems, but ultimately it was a fuel pressure problem for Puras that settled the in-house Citroen battle beyond doubt. The Spaniard's Xsara T4 stopped on the road section after SS11 and he was out of his home event.

Auriol put in a spirited chase, despite frequently talking his chances down, and is certainly close enough to benefit from any problems Bugalski may have tomorrow.

Of the rest, Gilles Panizzi was the most consistent quick man, and he goes into the overnight halt in third place, with Tommi Makinen not far off and lining him up in his sights. Carlos Sainz, Francois Delecour and Freddy Loix are locked in battle for the minor places and the final few points.

At the tail end of this battle is Subaru's Richard Burns. Although the Englishman has spent today undoing the time loss from yesterday's gearbox dramas he remains confident that he can at least get into the points.

Britain's second remaining works WRC runner Alister McRae had a character-building day in the Hyundai, losing time with turbo wastegate problems and a puncture. He finished the leg in 11th place.



Philippe Bugalski, Citroen, 2h24m42.3s
Didier Auriol, Peugeot, +27.7s
Gilles Panizzi, Peugeot, +1m10.4s
Tommi Makinen, Mitsubishi, +1m22.8s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, +2m23.5s
Francois Delecour, Ford, +2m23.9s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +2m26.3s
Richard Burns, Subaru, +2m45.8s
Simon Jean-Joseph, Peugeot, +3m49.4s
Bruno Thiry, Skoda, 4m45.6s