Rally notes -- Leg 2

Colin McRae is out of the rally. He hit a car in the section and went off the road - tearing the front and rear wheels off the Focus. Ford team manager Malcolm Wilson admitted it was 'not a very good end to the season'.

Richard Burns' co-driver Robert Reid commented on the slippy, rough final stage of the day: 'It's not really a plac to stick your neck out.'

Toyota driver Didier Auriol stated the section was very hard. 'It was very foggy,' he said. 'I saw nothing. I just tried to keep on the road.'

Stage 14 - Sweet Lamb 2:

Makinen enjoyed a quick stage, but stated he was concentrating on learning the course for next year's event.

Marcus Gronholm's Peugeot arrived successfully, but the engine died. He managed to restart the car and proceded on to the final stage at Myherin.

Stage 13 - Myherin 1:

The stage was stopped after John Papadimitriou crashed and blocked the stage. The remaining cars were later led through the stage, taking the time of the slowest competitor to complete the stage without a problem. With time running late, it was decided to send these cars back to parc ferme in Cheltenham, leaving only the first 65 cars to complete the final two stages of the day. They will rejoin the event for leg three, having again all taken the time of the slowest competitor tthrough those final stages.

Martin Brundle crashed 3kms into the stage, landing nose first into a ditch. The spectators pulled the Toyota out, and he made it to the finish, although the car is damaged. They set off for the service area, but temperatures got too high and the car had to be retired.

Richard Burns put in a blistering stage time, despite having what he described as a 'big moment. We ran virtually backwards in fourth gear. We were very lucky.'

Carlso Sainz visited another ditch during the stage.

The Skodas of Armin Schwarz and Bruno Thiry suffered problems after strong runs in the top 10 for both. Schwarz is running on three cylinders, while Thiry has complained of a lack of boost.

Thiry's co-driver Stephane Prevot said the pair did not know what the problem was with the car, although he admitted it had cost them around 20 seconds in Sweet Lamb.

'It's not a big problem though,' he said. 'He's [Thiry] very happy with the car. It's a big surprise. Nobody was thinking we could go that quick with the car.'

Many drivers are critical of the conditions going through the forest as the earlier 30 minute delay means they are running in much darker conditions than they had expected, without their heavy duty lights fitted.

Stage 12 - Sweet Lamb 1:

The start was delayed 30 minutes due to the traffic in the area. At 1445, the remaining four stages of the day were declared full, and spectators were being turned away -- an indication of the level of interest in this year's event.

Carlos Sainz slid off at a hairpin and went into a ditch. The Toyota had to be towed out by spectators. He lost 4.5 minutes in that stage.

McRae spun his Focus and stalled during the section.

Toni Gardemeister is out of the rally. He is stuck just 1km from the end of the stage with a broken clutch, and cannot drive the SEAT any further.

Stage 11 - Tywi:

Delecour dropped three minutes with continuing transmission problems. The Peugeot team is planning a gearbox change at service.

Auriol spun and stalled mid-stage, losing 20 seconds. 'We had the wrong tyres, no traction and braking was really difficult.'

Burns stopped on road section with a small fire caused by an oil leak. Continued to service where the crew descended on the Subaru

C McRae reported a misfire and wrong tyre choice on SS11.

A McRae crashed out 8kms into the stage to become the first major retirement of the event. He rolled the Huyundai, causing considerable front end damage.

Group N leader Manfred Stohl crashed from the lead of Group N on SS11, and is now confirmed to be out of the rally.

F2: Renault mechanics are replacing Tapio Laukkanen's gearbox during the service interval at Builth Wells. The move is said to be precautionary, and Laukkanen confirmed the problem had not lost him any time.

Stage 10 - Esgair Dafydd:

Makinen confirmed the damage was actually to the shock absorber. 'We will try to go to service, but we will lose a lot of time.'

Stage 9 - Crychan:

Makinen has broken his suspension, after hitting a bank. The Finn has left oil and brake fluid on the track. It is not clear whether he will be able to continue through stages 10 and 11 until the next service stop at Builth Wells.

Radstrom has damaged his bumper on the stage.

Stage 8 - Radnor:

Makinen, Sainz and Auriol were among the first drivers through Radnor to comment on how slippery the stage was.

Mitsubishi driver Makinen also suffered an electrical problem on the stage, although he said this had not slowed him down too much.

Both Sainz and Colin McRae complained about spectators on the stage during their runs. 'It's terrible,' said McRae. 'You can't concentrate when people are standing like that. It's crazy.'

Burns's time took him into the lead: 'I like all these stages, but you have to be confident in the car, tyres and notes to go as quick as you can.'

McRae appeared at the end of the stage with damage to the car caused by a collision with a tree at the Hereford service prior to SS8. McRae: 'There are only three trees in the whole of the car park, and I hit one of them!'

Martin Brundle went slow in the section. He was not suffering a problem. 'I was much too cautious,' he said afterwards. 'I was just taking too long. I am feeling under pressure, but relieved to get the first stage out of the way.'