Stage 12: McRae out but Burns charging
Colin McRae has been forced out of the Rally Australia after crashing on the first stage of leg two
The Ford Focus driver had been lying third overall before the accident, but his demise means that the battle for victory looks set to be fought out by Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz.
Burns set the fastest time on SS12 to take the lead from Sainz by a mere 1.4s. The two Mitsubishi's run third and fourth, Makinen falling back but still on target for his fourth world title.
Francois Delecour is not taking part in the second leg of the rally, his Peugeot has been withdrawn after losing so much time with gearbox problems on Friday's stages.
Gustavo Trelles has been confirmed as the 1999 Group N champion despite retiring from the event with broken suspension. His only rival, the increasingly impressive Hamed Al Wahaibi, also dropped out of the Australian round towards the end of leg one, meaning that the title will stay with the Uruguayan.
Positions after SS12, Murray Pines 1:
|
1 |
Richard Burns |
Subaru Impreza |
1h28m23.9s |
|
2 |
Carlos Sainz |
Toyota Corolla |
1h28m25.3s |
|
3 |
Tommi Makinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer |
1h29m39.3s |
|
4 |
Freddy Loix |
Mitsubishi Carisma |
1h30m27.3s |
|
5 |
Toni Gardemeister |
SEAT Cordoba |
1h30m54.4s |
|
6 |
Harri Rovanpera |
SEAT Cordoba |
1h31m28.9s |
|
7 |
Thomas Radstrom |
Ford Focus |
1h32m01.9s |
|
8 |
Neal Bates |
Toyota Corolla |
1h32m30.0s |
|
9 |
Marcus Gronholm |
Peugeot 206 |
1h32m57.3s |
|
10 |
Yoshihiro Kataoka |
Mitsubishi Lancer |
1h35m37.6s |
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