SS7, Manukau Super 1: Sainz thrills

The Ford driver didn't move in the overall leaderboard, and with Saturday's running positions already decided on SS6, the super special was a chance for fans to see rally cars compete head-to-head.

Petter Solberg's Subaru was second quickest, just two tenths of a second slower than Sainz. The Spaniard's team mate Colin McRae and the Peugeot of Harri Rovanpera held third and fourth positions.

Reigning champ Marcus Gronholm was next up in fifth, managing to claw back a second on rally leader Kenneth Eriksson in the Hyundai. Gronholm's team mate Didier Auriol was sixth fastest, but he shared that spot with Freddy Loix after the Belgian set an identical time in the Mitsubishi Carisma.

Carlos Sainz, Ford, 1m21.6s
Petter Solberg, Subaru, +0.2s
3 Colin McRae, Ford, +0.8s.1s
Harri Rovanpera, Peugeot, +01.3s
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot, +01.8s
Didier Auriol, Peugeot, +01.9s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +01.9s


1 Kenneth Eriksson, Hyundai, 1h14m57.2s
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot, +17.4s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, +22.7s
Colin McRae, Ford, +32.0s
Petter Solberg, Subaru, +41.3s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +46.1s
Alister McRae, Hyundai, +47.1s
Francois Delecour, Ford, +47.8s
Richard Burns, Subaru, +48.0s
Possum Bourne, Subaru, +51.5s