PETALING JAYA: Proton grabbed the FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) lead and are ninth overall after the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally.
Proton driver Per-Gunnar Andersson’s cautious approach paid off and he managed to avoid mishaps as the rally continued to inflict heavy casualties. Andersson was fortunate as a high-speed crash suffered by Frenchman Sebastien Ogier enabled the Swede to inherit the lead in the S-WRC class.
Ogier, who was running sixth overall and leading the S-WRC class in his Skoda Fabia S2000, crashed only 5km from the finish line forcing him to retire from the race. Andersson is followed by Ogier’s team-mate German Kevin Abbring, who is 10th overall in a Skoda Fabia S2000.
In third place, and 15th overall, is Craig Breen in a Ford Fiesta S2000 while fourth, and 20th overall, is Bryan Bouffier in a Peugeot 207 S2000. “The Monte Carlo Rally is all about pacing yourself to the finish. There is a very fine line between driving at your limit and being careful enough not to be caught out by the tricky and changing conditions of the terrain,” said Andersson.
“We’ve had a good run so far, and, with two more days of rallying remaining, we are going to be extra cautious as the changing conditions on the special stages make it extremely difficult and tricky. “Our goal is to get the Satria Neo S2000 to a strong overall finish. If all goes well, a podium finish in the S-WRC category on our debut is on the cards.”
World champion Sebastien Loeb extended his overall lead with another dominant display. The Frenchman overcame icy conditions to finish 1:37 ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo in a Mini. Third is Ford’s Petter Solberg a further three seconds adrift. Only 59 of the 89 cars remain in the contest after the second day of the rally.
-thestar online.
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