SS19, Vavatsinia 2: McRae puts the hammer down
Colin McRae blasted through the 19.02km Vavatsinia stage (SS19) over 17 seconds faster than the quickest time on the same stage earlier today and in so doing dealt a seemingly terminal blow to Richard Burns victory ambitions
Burns was over seven seconds slower than the Ford star at a time when he badly needed to be faster. Now the most likely battle looks to be between Burns's Subaru and Carlos Sainz's Ford for second place. Sainz too was quicker than Burns on SS19 and is now less than 10 seconds away from Burns, while McRae is a full 18 seconds ahead.
Just three relatively short stages now lie between McRae and victory.
Freddy Loix is still in full flow as he tries to lift fourth place from Toshi Arai. Loix took the Mitsubishi through the stage fourth quickest, but Arai is not about to give up the place lightly and was only 1.5s slower in the Subaru. Loix is now 22.5s behind.
Alister McRae now looks as though he will only get into the points if someone ahead of him hits trouble. The Hyundai driver is seventh, but over a minute behind FIA Teams Cup driver Pasi Hagstroem in the Toyota Corolla. McRae lost ground to the Finn on Vavatsinia and the leading privateer is on course for the final drivers' championship point.
For SS19 Vavatsinia results click here.
For full results table click here.
For full entry list click here.
For the itinerary click here.
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