Ford continues to dominate Rally New Zealand, its two Finnish crews holding first and second positions after two days of competition. Marcus Grönholm maintains his lead, which he has marginally extended during the day, while team-mate Mikko Hirvonen - second - has consolidated his position ahead of third-placed Manfred Stohl (Peugeot 307 WRC).
 
Torrential rain in the morning caught many of the crews on the wrong tyres and, with driving rain and fog in places, it was simply a matter of keeping the car on the road for most of the contenders. Unlike yesterday, Grönholm didn’t have it all his own way and, while he won the opening stage, Australian Chris Atkinson claimed victory in the following two, the Subaru driver enjoying a better run before retiring this afternoon when a puncture caused him to go off the road.

With three victories from the day’s six stages, Marcus Grönholm takes a 50.3 second lead into the final six stages of Rally New Zealand on Sunday. Team-mate Mikko Hirvonen has had a steady run, but remains on Grönholm’s heels as the team paces its crews to ensure it claims three more points than rival Kronos Total Citroën to clinch the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers.

Having slipped to fourth last night, OMV Peugeot Norway driver Manfred Stohl has climbed back into third but is still in the thick of a battle with Daniel Sordo (Citroën Xsara WRC). Overnight the pair are split by 16.9 seconds. Fifth and sixth positions are maintained by Xavier Pons and Petter Solberg, the Norwegian suffering with the wrong tyres and a broken drive-shaft. Brother Henning Solberg, who was seventh, rolled in the penultimate stage of the day, but struggled back to the Mystery Creek service park to complete the final super special stage. He dropped to 14th overall.

MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi has had a good day, steadily upping the pace in only his second FIA World Rally Championship event. Despite losing 30 seconds with a spin, the Italian has climbed into 13th position during a difficult day.

Rally New Zealand - Results after Leg 2
 

1	Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen	Ford Focus RS WRC	2 hr 56 min 17.2sec
2	Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Focus RS WRC	2 hr 57 min 07.5sec
3	Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor	Peugeot 307 WRC	2 hr 58 min 23.4sec
4	Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti	Citroën Xsara WRC	2 hr 58 min 40.3sec
5	Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio	Citroën Xsara WRC	2 hr 58 min 55.6sec
6	Petter Solberg/Phil Mills	Subaru Impreza WRC	2 hr 59 min 42.3sec

 
Note to Editors: Attached images of rally leader Marcus Grönholm and Valentino Rossi in action are copyright free for editorial use.