Mexico : Subaru World Rally Team - Leg 2The Impreza WRC2006 proved its rally leading pace throughout the morning`s stages when Petter Solberg was locked in an intense battle for first place with Sebastien Loeb.
The pair swapped the lead several times until the sixth stage of the day when Solberg dropped 23 seconds to his rival after his power steering was damaged in a collision with a rock. Petter will start tomorrow`s final Leg 37sec behind Loeb, with 60 competitive kilometres remaining.
After crashing out of Friday`s first Leg, Chris Atkinson restarted today under Superally regulations. The Australian moved back into the top ten with a string of top six times, including the third quickest time in SS12.
Petter Solberg
"Sebastien and I have had a good fight out there today. Of course, it`s a shame that the power steering problem means it`s not quite so close now but the important thing is how far ahead of the rest of the field we`ve got. I really feel that we`re back in business now. The car is improving all the time and today we`ve found some more really good things that enable me to push hard. I think we`re in for an exciting finish tomorrow. Second place would mean some useful points but I came here for a win and I`m going to try my best to get one."
Chris Atkinson
"It`s been a good day. We made some changes to the differentials this afternoon and it seemed to make quite an improvement, especially on SS12 and SS13. Overall we`ve had a clean, reliable run, with no problems to report. The car has performed perfectly all day and the only unexpected thing we`ve had to contend with was the herd of cattle on the last stage. It was a fairly tight squeeze and they took both our wing mirrors off, but we were all okay in the end."
Luis Moya, SWRT sporting director
"We are very pleased with the performance of both our drivers today. Petter proved that the car is very competitive and that we are more than capable of fighting for victory. Like Petter, everybody in the team is disappointed about the time lost with the power steering damage. We will have to see what he is able to do tomorrow. After his accident yesterday, Chris took it easier this morning but has improved all day long."
The final Leg will comprise just three stages and 60.42 competitive kilometres before a podium finish at 1230hrs in Leon. The route takes in two stages in the mountains to the east of the host city, plus one final blast through the Superspecial.
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