Rallye Monte Carlo : OMV Peugeot Norway - Leg 2
One half of the OMV Peugeot Norway WRT has reason to be satisfied with day two of the 74th Rallye Monte Carlo. Manfred Stohl lies in excellent third overall place after twelve of 18 special stages. He is only missing 2,9 seconds on second-placed Finn Toni Gardemeister.
Henning Solberg, on the other hand, was less successful. After having chosen the wrong set of tyres in the morning, the Norwegian lost a lot of time in the afternoon due to a spin and ensuing technical problems.

Marcus Grönholm (Fin/Ford) at the top was able to expand his lead to over two minutes. But it was three-time Monte winner Sebastien Loeb (Fra/Citroen) who became “man of the day” by winning all special stages on day two.

Into the right direction
Up to now Manfred Stohl has achieved more than he had dared to hope. Originally his main focus at the season`s WRC premiere in Monte Carlo had been on getting to know his new Peugeot 307 WRC more intimately. But the OMV duo Stohl and co-driver Ilka Minor soon found the right rhythm. Stohl: “We didn`t know our exact standing after the tests last weekend. But the initial special stage times gave us confidence. We also didn`t make any grave mistakes up to now – and so this comes from that. But Sunday will be tough and the time differences aren`t exactly huge.“

The Austrian is referring to the 2,9 seconds he lies behind Gardemeister but also to the 32 seconds he still has on Loeb. Stohl: “There is still a tough fight to come with Gardemeister. If Loeb keeps on performing like he did today we will hardly be able to cope with him. If I want to reach the podium I`ll have to beat Gardemeister – and I want to. But Toni know this rally inside-out. After all he came in second last year.“

Engine trouble after spin
It was a day to forget for Henning Solberg. Wrong tyres in the morning and eventually a spin on the last special stage of the day – which caused problems with the engine power. The Norwegian of the OMV Peugeot Norway WRT was able to finish the stage but had to park his Peugeot 307 WRC immediately afterwards in order to prevent engine failure. Solberg: “We don`t know what really happened. But it is better to give up now and rather compete again tomorrow thanks to SupeRally. Since this problem occured on the last special stage of the day and we`ve already lost a lot of time we don`t mind the five-minute-penalty. At least we`ll try to really put our foot down on the last leg.“

Gronholm close to first victory in Principality
If everything goes according to plan Marcus Grönholm will win the 74th Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo. The Finnish Ford driver is already leading by over two minutes. Even three-time winner Sebastien Loeb won`t be able to catch up in spite of having won all special stages on day two. Currently he lies in fourth place but place two should be within reach. The second Austrian private team, Red Bull Skoda, lies in places eight (Gilles Panizzi) and 13 (Andreas Aigner) which means that both would score in the manufacturer`s WRC.

Tags: omv, monte-carlo, peugeot-307, yassen-popov, manfred-stohl,