Stage 15: Sainz piles on the pressure
Carlos Sainz is not allowing Richard Burns to dominate leg two of the Rally Australia, cutting the Subaru driver's lead to just 1.2s after setting the fastest time on Stirling East
Sainz had been slipping back from Burns all morning, but this impressive time has brought him right back into contention. A victory for Toyota would secure the manufacturers' title for the Japanese company in their final season of WRC competition before heading for Formula One.
The stage was one of the longest yet. SEAT's Toni Gardemeister lost over two minutes and dropped to seventh, though the exact nature of his problem is still unclear.
Despite Gardemeister's delay, Freddy Loix is still under pressure from a SEAT, as Harri Rovanpera has moved up to fifth and is also closing on Mitsubishi's number two driver.
The other result of Gardemeister's problem was to bring a Ford Focus back into the points, the subdued Thomas Radstrom now being elevated to sixth position. Also making progress was Formula Two leader Kenneth Eriksson, who has now moved ahead of Yoshihiro Kataoka and into the overall top ten.
Positions after Stage 15, Stirling East:
|
1 |
Richard Burns |
Subaru Impreza |
2h02m53.9s |
|
2 |
Carlos Sainz |
Toyota Corolla |
2h02m55.1s |
|
3 |
Tommi Makinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer |
2h04m33.6s |
|
4 |
Freddy Loix |
Mitsubishi Carisma |
2h06m31.8s |
|
5 |
Harri Rovanpera |
SEAT Cordoba |
2h06m49.7s |
|
6 |
Thomas Radstrom |
Ford Focus |
2h07m48.2s |
|
7 |
Toni Gardemeister |
SEAT Cordoba |
2h07m50.6s |
|
8 |
Marcus Gronholm |
Peugeot 206 |
2h08m27.5s |
|
9 |
Neal Bates |
Toyota Corolla |
2h08m37.2s |
|
10 |
Kenneth Eriksson |
Hyundai Coupe |
2h13m33.3s |
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