SS8, Ascochinga 2: McRae fastest again
Colin McRae took his fastest stage tally to six after flying through the re-run of the 28.83km Ascochinga test just 1.5 seconds quicker than rival Richard Burns. The British drivers hold the top two spots in the overall standings, but McRae still maintains a 40-second lead going in to Leg Two
After stuttering slightly with perhaps too hard a tyre on SS7, McRae bounced back on SS8 as the Pirellis warmed up on his Ford Focus WRC, retaking the initiative on the final timed section of the day.
Third through SS8 was the second Ford of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard has had a magnificent day to remain in third overall, staying just ahead of Tommi Makinen's Mitsubishi despite being plagued with a painful back.
Marcus Gronholm seems to have recovered from the turbo problems that afflicted his Peugeot 206 WRC earlier on in the day, posting the fifth fastest time of the stage. The Finn lies sixth overall in the standings just behind team mate Didier Auriol who could only manage the eighth quickest time through SS8. Petter Solber's Subaru separated the two French on that last stage - the Norwegian finishes the day seventh overall.
The first of Saturday's stages SR Calamuchita 1 gets underway at 13:16 UK time.
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