Day 2 standings - Rallye Monte Carlo.

[kam_baker]

Sebastien Loeb increases his overnight lead to nearly a minute and is now well on course to take his fifth win on the Monte; Daniel Sordo drops back - seemingly opting to settle for the runners-up spot; Mikko Hirvonen completes the top 3...

Overall times after SS8 / Day 2 - Top 20:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 1hour 36mins 44.9secs M
2. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +00mins 56.6secs M
3. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07 +01mins 22.8secs M
4. Chris Atkinson Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2007 +02mins 28.6secs M
5. Francois Duval Stobart Ford Focus WRC 07 +02mins 42.6secs M
6. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2007 +03mins 09.6secs M
7. Gigi Galli Stobart Ford Focus WRC 07 +05mins 21.1secs M
8. Jean-Marie Cuoq Peugeot 307 WRC +05mins 27.9secs A8
9. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07 +06mins 55.8secs M
10. Henning Solberg Stobart Ford Focus WRC 07 +06mins 58.7secs A8
11. P-G Andersson Suzuki WRT SX4 WRC +07mins 26.1secs M
12. Matthew Wilson Stobart Ford Focus WRC 07 +07mins 43.2secs A8
13. Frederic Romeyer Peugeot 206 WRC +08mins 21.3secs A8
14. Toni Gardemeister Suzuki WRT SX4 WRC +08mins 38.4secs M
15. Ales Broccoli Renault Clio +13mins 08.4secs A7
16. Olivier Burri Subaru Impreza +13mins 58.4secs N4
17. Laurent Carbonaro Peugeot 307 WRC +14mins 42.6secs A8
18. Patrick Artru Mitsubishi Lancer +14mins 55.1secs N4
19. Eddie Mercier Renault Clio +15mins 36.2secs A7
20. Ludovic Cluzel Mitsubishi Lancer +16mins 20.7secs N4

Notable retirements:

SS6. Khalid Al-Qassimi BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07 Went off the road. A8

* denotes elected to re-start under SupeRally format.

Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]:

"The day went well. We adopted a quick pace to try to increase our lead and I was pleased with the performance of our C4 WRC. Its set-up was well suited to the conditions. I also happy with the way our Pirelli tyres performed. They worked well in today's rather cold, damp conditions. We can't afford to drop our guard, however, because there are still two more difficult days to come."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I am fairly pleased. We have increased our lead. Dani is going fast though and we have to stay watchful. The gap to Ford seems big but there is still the risk of a puncture. Everybody will take more risks during the second loop and the roads will be covered with dirt. I drove carefully in SS3 in order to preserve my tyres. The tyres seem to behave nicely. I drove fast with a clean style. There are many spectators and being a Frenchman in a French car does help a lot!"

Daniel Sordo [Citroen Total WRT]:

"Our day can be divided into two parts. Everything went well this morning but we had a technical problem on SS6 this afternoon and that affected the handling of my C4 from about halfway into the stage. We had to continue like that for the next two stages but we managed to hold on to second place, although the incident showed that this rally is far from over. Plenty can still happen before Sunday's finish."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I am fairly pleased. We did not drive on the apex of the curves because we did not want to take any risks with our tyres."

Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"I've not settled for third because second is possible and I will be close to full attack tomorrow. I was faster this afternoon and last year I was quick on tomorrow's stages, which are quite abrasive, so I will try my hardest. It won't be easy but I'm not giving up because there are still two days remaining in this rally. I'm still trying to learn Pirelli's tyres and that's not easy in these conditions. I thought the new tyre rules (which essentially restrict drivers to control rubber) would make the competition tighter and I'm closer to the leader than I was in 2007. I'm developing a better feeling with them and learning as I go on."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The roads were dry, with only a few damp patches. I felt more comfortable than last night but the asphalt is changeable and it was difficult to find confidence with the new tyres. I had a stiffer car set-up and it felt good. I'm trying to keep my pace close to Sordo but I'm not trying to fight him. There's no point in me slowing down either because I need to learn about the tyres at full speed. Drivers have been cutting corners so I must be careful now as there may be stones in the bends."

Chris Atkinson [Subaru WRT]:

"I'm happy with today – we started ok this morning, and then made some setup changes during the midday service which worked better. In the afternoon loop we pushed hard to finish with two third fastest stage times to keep fourth overall after today. There's a long way to go, but we're in a good position and going well. Tomorrow's stages are very fast. I went well on them last year although now there are slight changes to the routes, but I am looking forward to continuing the fight tomorrow."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "We've had a good morning generally; it's not quite where we want to be but fourth is good and we've had some good split times. The conditions on the roads were so tricky though. There's no ice or rain around, but the surface is covered in a slime and is really slippery. The top three guys have obviously got a good feeling and they're going away on their own, but we're in a good battle with Duval and Petter is right behind. Francois is quick so we'll have to push hard, but we gained some time on him in the last two stages."

Francois Duval [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"The car is feeling much better today with the tyres, brakes and also the pacenotes. The feeling I have is good so today has been very productive and you can see this with my second fastest stage time. I enjoyed the stages today and things in the car are working well. The changes we made to the car last night helped a lot today."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "That was not easy as there were some sections which were very slippery compared to others. The changes we made to the car last night have helped a lot and the car feels more comfortable today but I still think there is some work to be done. We are still getting used to the car and this takes time. I think the pacenotes are slow in places so we just haven't got the rhythm yet, no major problems though."

Petter Solberg [Subaru WRT]:

"Today has not been so bad for us and we are still in sixth position overall. We pushed hard today in tricky conditions that were very demanding. The top four stage times are good, but we had some difficulties this afternoon so we will make some changes before day three. There is more to come so I hope we can find more time tomorrow."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "It's going ok today, I am quite happy. We lost some time yesterday in the first stage, but this morning we have had some good runs and no problems, and we keep pushing so we will see. We're all doing what we can with the current car, and it's not going badly at the moment. Loeb and Sordo are fast, but in the last stage [SS5] we weren't so far per kilometre off Mikko. The Pirellis are predictable and we have had no problems with them, you just have to be so so careful. If you get a puncture you just have no chance."

Gigi Galli [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"We have learnt a lot today and I really love this car. I feel like I'm starting to get used to it and the feeling is now more comfortable. We improved a lot on the second pass today but there are still damp patches on the road meaning things are still a bit slippery. We lost some time with the power steering problem but we have also got more used to the tyres and they are feeling better now. There are so many spectators which makes it exciting but I'm still concentrating on getting to the finish."
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The first stage was tricky because there were some dry corners and some damp ones which made parts slippery and harder to find a good rhythm. It has been a good morning but I just have to change a couple of notes for the second pass this afternoon. There has been no problems with the car I am just getting more comfortable with it which helps with my confidence."

Jari-Matti Latvala [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:

"I couldn't find any confidence driving with the new tyres. The car was fine and I only needed to look in the mirror to find the problem – me! The car was too soft and rolling a little so I stiffened the settings for this afternoon to make it more stable. That made a big difference. My driving was better but I'm still not at the pace I want to be. I'm driving sideways too much and that's where I'm losing the time. I need to drive more smoothly tomorrow. I've made small changes to the differential set-up tonight to see if that helps."

Henning Solberg [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"Today has been quite confident for me and I am learning more every corner. I have never been a tarmac expert but for sure the feeling is getting better. Everything went well today with no mistakes and this is the most important thing for me. I like the new Pirelli tyres and am starting to get used to the feeling on them. OK we still need to work hard to see what they can do but I don't want to do anything stupid so I'll just take things steady."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "I was not happy with the first stage but things seemed to get better on the last one. We are just taking things step-by-step and seeing where we can end up. The tyres felt great in the dry but we are just trying to adapt to the damp sections. We are here to learn and finish the rally that is the most important thing."

Per-Gunnar Andersson [Suzuki WRT]:

"Today has been very good for us, as we've had no real problems and we've been able to set some good times. The encouraging thing is that we have already been able to go quicker than some cars and drivers with more experience. I'm going to stick to a steady pace, because the priority for me is to finish."

Matthew Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:

"Today has gone well for us but the difference in temperature was very noticeable on the last stage tonight as it was getting colder and becoming slipperier and also darker so this obviously made conditions quite tricky. Apart from that there were no dramas but I am concentrating on being careful and not clipping anything on the side of the road. Now the tyres have no mousse, this is very important."
Speaking in the mid-day service] "When it's dry my confidence is really high but in the wet I am still learning to manage these new tyres as it is becoming very slippery. We hit a rock on the first stage and I thought we might have got a puncture but luckily we finished the stage OK. The car feels really good and the times got better as the morning went on so we will see how we get on this afternoon."


Toni Gardemeister [Suzuki WRT]:

"We had a few issues today but nothing major: it's already clear that we have a lot of potential so I'm happy and I know where we can improve. I'm actually surprised by how quick we have been already when things are working well. There's a very long way still to go on this rally, so tonight we will get the car back to perfect order and see what we can do: tomorrow's stages are very nice."

Notable retirements:

Khalid Al Qassimi [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]: [retired from day 2 in SS6 – went off the road]

"This afternoon we were trying some different tactics and we had ninth in front of us and were chasing that position. We were doing well in the stage, if you look at the split times and ninth place looked achievable. Then, as we approached the flying finish of the stage, the final corner had gravel across it and the car simply broke away from me. We hit a rock by the side of the road and it took the left front suspension corner off the car. It's a shame but any driver in that situation would push to gain a place. However, something like this can happen at any time and it's all part of the learning process. As long as the car is repairable, we will try some new techniques tomorrow, to try to get closer to the pace of the other drivers."

[Speaking in the mid-day service] "The roads were damp, which made it slippery. Drivers ahead of us are cutting the corners and that drags dirt onto the roads. I still need to learn how Pirelli's tyres work and where the grip is because the grip level changes with every corner."

Team principals:

Olivier Quesnel [Citroen Total WRT - team principal]:

"Both Citroën Sport crews came through today's stages in the Ardèche Mountains very well. There were plenty of potential pitfalls, but Sébastien and Daniel superbly defended their lead and even managed to increase their cushion at the top. Dani and Marc also got off to a first class start but were then slowed by a minor technical problem. They succeeded in limiting the damage, however, and are still second this evening. Both our cars have been on the provisional podium since the start of the rally but we continue to be wary because there are still two long legs to come."

Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - team director]:

"It was a much better day for Mikko and he has reduced the gap to Dani Sordo in second. I'm pleased Jari-Matti is in the points and if he continues at the same pace, I'm sure he can climb higher. It's disappointing for Khalid because this was his best performance on a WRC event."

David Richards [Subaru WRT – team principal]:

"With a solid and reliable performance today we are on target for both cars in the top five. Although tomorrow is the longest day of the event, Monte Carlo has a sting in the tail with five stages on Sunday without a full service."

Malcolm Wilson [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT - team boss]:

"It has been a solid second day for the team and really there have been no major problems, except Gigi's small issue with the power steering. But he still managed to maintain his overall position and stay within the points. We have still kept our overnight positions with both nominated crews in the points which is very promising. The road conditions have been better here than we all expected and it has made things easier for our guys; especially as it's their first event in the car."

Osamu Honda [Suzuki senior managing executive officer]:

"At what is still the start of our first event, we are finally living our dream in one of the toughest forms of motor sport. Competition is in Suzuki's DNA, from motorbikes to cars. We are finding out of course that the top category of the World Rally Championship is extremely challenging, but competition like this is the best way for us to express our deep passion for our cars. Like the slogan says, for us it is a Way of Life!"

Paul Hembery [Pirelli - motorsport director]:

"So far we've seen our tyres set some excellent stage time and meet with the approval of all the key players in this 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. None of them have encountered even the slightest puncture, apart from those who made a driving mistake. There's still a long way to go of course, but here at Pirelli we're extremely satisfied with the results so far."