SS6, Te Papatapu 2: All change
With Leg Two's running order being decided on overall positions after SS6, there was all change on the leaderboard as the rally re-ran through Te Papatapu. The last two stages on Leg One are super specials so it seems tactical driving was the name of the game as drivers jockeyed for the ideal running position. Colin McRae was fastest through SS6 and Sweden's Kenneth Eriksson now leads Rally New Zealand
McRae was 11 seconds faster than Petter Solberg's benchmark time when the Norwegian topped the timesheets in the first run through. The Scot made best use of the path he had cleared earlier in the day to finish four seconds clear of team mate Carlos Sainz.
Kenneth Eriksson was third fastest and now has overall lead of the rally, after the previous pacesetter Marcus Gronholm finished more than 30 seconds off McRae's time. Gronholm has moved down to second on the leaderboard, 18 seconds behind the Hyundai driver.
Richard Burns was fourth quickest, with Freddy Loix a further second back in fifth. Possum Bourne again mixed it with the big boys with his sixth fastest time, and another Subaru driver, Toshi Arai, was seventh fastest.
The rally now heads back to Auckland for two crowd-pleasing super specials.
Colin McRae, Ford, 10m49.1s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, +04.1s
Kenneth Eriksson, Hyundai, +4.8s
Richard Burns, Subaru, +08.3
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +09.6s
Possum Bourne, Subaru, +12.1
1 Kenneth Eriksson, Hyundai, 1h13m32.7s
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot, +18.5s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, +25.6s
Colin McRae, Ford, +34.1s
Petter Solberg, Subaru, +44.0s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +46.1s
Alister McRae, Hyundai, +47.5s
Francois Delecour, Ford, +47.9s
Richard Burns, Subaru, +48.5s
Possum Bourne, Subaru, +50.2s
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