Sordo strengthens his hold on second as Loeb continues to lead
The Mini WRC of Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio dropped behind Ford’s Petter Solberg on the first of Friday’s three Monte Carlo Rally stages, but regained the position on the second stage, run in rainy and icy conditions. On the day’s third stage, run in the dry, Sordo strengthened his grip on second as Solberg was delayed when he damaged a rim; the damage resulted in a puncture.
While Solberg remained third overall, his edge over the surging Mikko Hirvonen in his Citroen was just 20.8 seconds at the end of the day. (text continues after photo)
Campana, running on studded tires, finished the second stage in third behind the Citroens of Hirvonen and rally leader Sébastien Loeb. He held onto his seventh overall position at the end of the day’s final stage.
The day ended in Monte Carlo, where Saturday’s competition will begin in the afternoon and continue into the evening. Saturday’s action will include two stages run on the challenging Col de Turini, a mountain pass in the Maritime Alps just behind Monaco. The rally will conclude with a single 5-kilometer “power” stage on Sunday.—Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
