Whistling Thorns O Service Notes
Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi) - rally leader: Makinen knocked the tracking off on the front right wheel of his Mitsubishi after hitting a rock towards the end of Section 12, causing a puncture
"The rock was exactly the same colour as the road and I didn't see it at all."
(Peugeot) - second, +8m05.0s: "The last 20-30km were very hard, very bumpy. I slowed down a lot, in fact I was waiting for the call to let Francois (Delecour) past."
(Skoda) - third, +18m25.0s: The Skoda crew are having to rebuild old shock absorbers to keep the Octavias on the road as they have no more spares. On every stage the shocks are sticking.
"One side of the rear was really solid, the other side is very soft. It's making the car bounce around a lot and making the car difficult to drive, but I'm very confident of finishing third."
(Ford) - fourth, +21m21.0s: Delecour did catch up with Harri Rovanpera and was slowed up considerably in the dust thrown up by the Finn's Peugeot in the last 5km, but the Frenchman wasn't upset.
"It's normal for Harri to continue," he said. "I cannot catch Armin, but I will try."
(Skoda) - fifth, +53m01s: The power steering on Thiry's Octavia broke 40km into Section 12, leaving the Belgian to drive 70km without the aid and was completely exhausted when he reached service. To compound his problems, he had a right front puncture as well.
For Sect. 12, Orien results click here.
For full live timings table click here.
Sect. 12, Orien: Delecour pushing hard
Sect. 13, Maili Tisa: Makinen wins!
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