"I am very happy," said 'Hollywood'. "We drove very carefully. The day has been good for us. We will have the same tactic tomorrow, because we don’t want to take any risks. We just need to finish. We faced no major problems."
Petter's brother Henning was third and he finished proceedings another 36.6 seconds adrift. Like all the runners he found conditions tough - but luckily for him he managed to avoid the carnage and get his
Stobart Ford Focus back to service, avoiding rocks which he said were as big as 'modern televisions or like washing machines'.
"I'm in third, can you believe it? I was very excited on the last stage and was praying my car would make it through with no problem," he reflected. "It’s been a fantastic day for me and the conditions we faced on those three stages were the worst I have seen for a while.
"We had a small problem with the engine which dropped us some time and played with my concentration but to end the day on the podium is a great result and hopefully we can maintain this through tomorrow."
Further down the order
Mikko Hirvonen is fourth and while he lost around 2.5 minutes this morning in SS9 and SS10 with brake and suspension problems, he had a slightly less traumatic afternoon, topping the times in SS11 and SS13 - even though he finished the last two stages with his rear bump on fire from the heat of the exhaust.
"I've never driven a rally this rough," said Mikko. "I saved the car and tyres this afternoon to come home in one piece. I'm sure everyone will take it easier tomorrow and not take risks. The stages are in better condition and my aim is simply to finish, not to attack."
Urma Aava completes the top five in his privately entered C4 WRC and while a puncture dropped him from fifth to 13th this morning, he fought his way back and even took his second stage win of the event in Pissia 2. The Estonian lies over a minute off Hirvonen and 11.2 seconds off Britain's
Matthew Wilson in sixth.
"The second loop was very good," noted Aava. "We will try to keep the same pace tomorrow and avoid problems."
Dani Sordo ended up in seventh, with punctures in SS11, SS12 and SS13 costing him dear. It was the last test of the day though, that was especially punishing and he finished it on three wheels - and with no spares left, conceded nearly 4.5 minutes.
