SS4, Cuttoli II: Panizzi takes second

The Frenchman shaded overall leader Jesus Puras by 0.6secs on the 17km Cuttoli run, with Auriol a further 1.5secs down. The trio were in a different league to the rest of the field, with reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm the best of the rest, over six seconds slower.

Francois Delecour proved the quickest of the drivers not behind the wheel of a Peugeot or Citroen with the fifth fastest time in his Ford Focus. It was enough to push him into a points scoring position, ousting Markko Martin's Subaru from sixth overall.

Subaru's Richard Burns proved to be the best of the world title contenders, going sixth quickest. Joint points leaders Colin McRae and Tommi Makinen were eighth and 10th over the stage, the Finn in particular losing a lot of time on the leaders. He was a huge 17secs down on Panizzi's benchmark.

But Makinen continues to head McRae and Burns in the overall standings. He currently lies eighth, with McRae 12th and Burns 14th. Just as in Sanremo, the trio are going to have to work hard to score a single point.

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For full rally live timings, click here.

For rally itinerary, click here.

For full entry list, click here.