SS11: Burns is the boy
It was Richard Burns' turn to lead the way on SS11 as his Leg Two dogfight with Colin McRae stayed right on the boil. The Subaru star was 2.7s quicker than the Ford ace over the 17.48km Amboy 1 stage. Burns has now nibbled into the Scot's overall lead which stands at 39.7s as the teams head into the Calamuchita service area
The two Britons were the class of the field and it was a revived Tommi Makinen who ran them closest. The Finn, who had suffered with driveline problems in the previous two stages, was back on it to set the third fastest time, 6.7s behind Burns.
Didier Auriol's challenge is in serious trouble though. The Frenchman lost a minute and a half on SS10 with throttle problems and he has now dropped a further 2m40s to sink to ninth place overall.
But Auriol's Peugeot team mate Marcus Gronholm is in much better shape. He set the fourth fastest time to consolidate his grip on fourth place overall, edging closer to third placed Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard set a relatively poor time to be seventh quickest over the stage.
Francois Delercour was fifth quickest over the stage and has now moved ahead of Mitsubishi's Freddy Loix to be seventh overall.
F1 in race to finalise standalone Saturday sprint rules for Baku
F1 in race to finalise standalone Saturday sprint rules for Baku F1 in race to finalise standalone Saturday sprint rules for Baku
Explained: What caused F1 GPS problems in Australian GP practice
Explained: What caused F1 GPS problems in Australian GP practice Explained: What caused F1 GPS problems in Australian GP practice
Mercedes rules out early introduction of F1 car upgrades
Mercedes rules out early introduction of F1 car upgrades Mercedes rules out early introduction of F1 car upgrades
F2 Australia: Iwasa secures pole in disrupted wet qualifying
F2 Australia: Iwasa secures pole in disrupted wet qualifying F2 Australia: Iwasa secures pole in disrupted wet qualifying
The Mexico maestro keeps cool among the WRC chaos
The Mexico maestro keeps cool among the WRC chaos The Mexico maestro keeps cool among the WRC chaos
How the WRC title fight ignited in Sweden's winter wonderland
How the WRC title fight ignited in Sweden's winter wonderland How the WRC title fight ignited in Sweden's winter wonderland
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.