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Atkinson, Duval fight now for P3 not P4 |
Chris Atkinson has promised to keep 'pushing hard' on Sunday during the final leg of the Rallye Monte Carlo in order to hold off Francois Duval and hang on to third position.
Atkinson and Duval began the day battling for P4 and 14 seconds separated them going into the opening stage. Initially Chris took first blood and was quicker than the Stobart Ford 'guest' driver in Labatie 1, but he then lost out in SS10 and SS11 and going into the mid-day service they were separated by 10.1 seconds.
By that point however the fight had taken on greater significance and after Daniel Sordo's exit - due to mechanical problems in Lamastre 1 - they were now squabbling for the final place on the rostrum.
Chris came out fighting though on the repeat loop in the afternoon - setting the second quickest time in his Impreza WRC in SS12 and the fastest time overall in SS13.
Although he was one second slower than Francois in SS14 he finished proceedings 20 seconds clear and is determined to do his all to take third - what would be only his second ever WRC podium result.
"We were pushing today, and it was so tough! It's a bigger gap than I had here last year but the adrenaline and pressure is just the same," said the Subaru #2.
"Some say that SS10 is the most dangerous stage as it's so fast and flowing, but I love it. I won the stage last year and on the second pass today I was pushing to increase the gap over Duval. I had a good feeling through there, but I was still buzzing half an hour afterwards.
"It's great to be in third, but we have some difficult stages tomorrow, especially the Col de Turini. It's a stage that can be dry until you start and then spectators put snow on the road which just makes it so hard to know what to expect going into each corner.
"Duval knows it a little better than I do, so it's going to be a challenge but for sure I want third and we'll be pushing hard to the end."
Duval meanwhile has progressively upped his speed as he has got more and more familiar with his Focus RS WRC07. He knows though that he desperately needs to finish as it could be vital if he one-off outing with the Stobart squad is to be extended and that seems to be weighing on his mind.
Indeed he reckons the gap to Chris is now too big - has he conceded defeat? Time will tell. Certainly it sounds like it...
"Today has went well and my feeling of the car has improved a lot and the slower stages feel really good," said Duval post-SS14. "I think we can still improve on the fast sections. We are getting more used to the car every stage but I still think we need to be careful tomorrow. The gap ahead to Atkinson is too much for me to catch as the conditions on the stages tomorrow are likely to be tricky, especially if you are pushing."
