Multiple world champion
Sebastien Loeb has put himself in a commanding position following the second day of the Rallye Monte Carlo.
Loeb was just 12.7 seconds up on his team-mate
Daniel Sordo this morning, before the action commenced with the 29.52 kilometre-run through St Pierreville 1, the longest test of the event. After there were patchy sections of ice and snow on the two night stages on Thursday, conditions were a lot less tricky today, not that it influenced who was quickest.
Indeed Seb was fastest straight out of the blocks, 8.3 seconds up on Sordo in SS3 and while Dani fought back in SS4 and was 2.7 seconds quicker, after that it all went one way with the Frenchman again fastest in SS5.
Loeb consequently returned to the mid-day service at Valence having almost doubled his overnight lead to 23.5 seconds.
The Frenchman then stretched that cushion further this afternoon completing a clean sweep on the repeat loop. Furthermore with Sordo 'only' fourth fastest in SS6 and SS7 and fifth quickest in SS8 due to a broken front differential, Loeb completed day 2 with a 56.6 second lead and well on course to take a record fifth Monte win.
Mikko Hirvonen meanwhile is still third but he has dropped further and further back, now 1 minute 22.8 seconds off P1. Although the Finn closed the gap a bit to Daniel Sordo this afternoon - setting two second quickest times in Burzet 2 and St Martial 2 - he remains more than 25 seconds adrift in his Focus.
Subaru's
Chris Atkinson and
Stobart Ford 'guest' driver,
Francois Duval complete the top five, with the former having now eked ahead a bit, the gap having gone up from around 7 seconds at lunchtime to 14 seconds post-SS8.
Petter Solberg had been in contention for P4 this morning, but he struggled this afternoon - in part due to an engine problem - and now lies almost 30 seconds off Duval and quite possibly too far back now to challenge unless Chris or Duval have difficulties.
