Rally New Zealand (6-9 May 2010) – Day 2
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia had already experienced leading the Rally New Zealandduring the first leg, but they spent the whole of the second day at the front of the overallclassification. They will start the final day 5.3 seconds ahead of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena,at the wheel of their Citroën C4 WRC.
The route on the second day of the Rally New Zealand took competitors to the south of Auckland.Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia had an early start from the service park at 0604 to head for NewFranklin (SS10).
On dry roads, the Citroën Junior Team crew didn’t hesitate in overhauling Petter Solberg and Jari-MattiLatvala, who had started in front of them. By the end of the day’s opening stage, Sébastien Ogier hadalready claimed the overall lead. Having set fastest time on the all-asphalt Hampton Downs stage,Sébastien and Julien built up a cushion of 14.4 seconds by midday service.
“I really couldn’t have done any better,” said the Frenchman. “We pushed as hard as we could from startto finish. The first two stages went well, but then we lost a bit of time with road-sweeping on the thirdstage. I’m torn now between wanting to attack and playing it safe, in order to build up my knowledge ofthe stages and accumulate the maximum experience possible. This morning though, we obviously wentfor the first option!”
The second loop of stages presented a similar scenario to the first. While Sébastien Loeb made his wayback up the leaderboard with a string of fastest times, the Citroën Junior Team driver stayed in front ofeveryone else to consolidate his first place.
“It’s been a really good day,” said Sébastien Ogier at final service. “Leading the field at the end of daytwo, on our first visit to New Zealand, is a more than satisfactory result. It’s important for us to get to thefinish tomorrow in order to build up the maximum experience on this type of terrain. Our competitorsknow the final day’s stages well, and we will be first on the road. So this is a big challenge for us but weare going to keep on pushing as that will be the only way that we can defend our position!”The final day of the Rally New Zealand consists of two loops of two stages including the epic WhaangaCoast test: often described as the most beautiful stage in the entire championship. The action is far fromover with more than 80 competitive kilometres left to run over the final day.
THE RALLY BY NUMBERSSébastien Ogier / Julien IngrassiaSS10: New Franklin 1 (20.82 km) 2nd +4’’1 1stSS11: Baker 1 (18.37 km) 2nd +6’’1 1stSS12: Te Akau Coast 1 (30.89 km) 3rd +27’’2 1stSS13: SSS Hampton Downs 1 (4.68 km) 1st 1stSS14: New Franklin 2 (20.82 km) 2nd +10’’4 1stSS15: Baker 2 (18.37 km) 2nd +8’’7 1stSS16: Te Akau Coast 2 (30.89 km) 2nd +14’’5 1stSS17: SSS Hampton Downs 2 (4.68 km) 1st 1st
Fastest stage timesDay 1 – SS1: Petter Solberg (Citroën C4) – SS2: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C4) – SS3 and SS4: DaniSordo (Citroën C4) – SS5 and SS6: Ogier – SS7: Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4) – SS8: P. Solberg – SS9:Ogier and Loeb.Day 2 – SS10 to SS12: Loeb – SS13: Ogier – SS14 to SS16: Loeb – SS17: Ogier.Best performers: Loeb, 8 fastest times including 1 equal-fastest – Ogier 6 fastest times including 1equal-fastest – Sordo and P. Solberg, 2 each.Leaders: SS1 and SS2: P. Solberg – SS3 and SS4: Sordo – SS5 and SS6: Ogier – SS7: Latvala – SS8and SS9: P. Solberg – SS10 to SS17: Ogier.
Classification at the end of day two:1. Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C4 3:05’40’’42. Loeb / Elena Citroën C4 +5’’33. Latvala / Anttila Ford Focus +33’’24. Sordo / Marti Citroën C4 +47’’55. P. Solberg / Mills Citroën C4 +53’’66. Hirvonen / Lehtinen Ford Focus +1’00’’27. Wilson / Martin Ford Focus +3’04’’98. H. Solberg / Minor Ford Focus +5’46’’49. Ketomaa / Stenberg Ford Fiesta +8’17’’710. Villagra / Perez Companc Ford Focus +8’28’’8...
