JWRC: Citroen Rally Catalunya leg two summary

Leg 2 : Prokop stays in the fight for victory

Leg two of the Catalunya Rally got underway in drier weather than had been the case the day before. Nonetheless, the drivers still found damp and dirty patches on the stages this morning, forcing them to drive cautiously. On the menu for the day were two identical loops of four stages, including a re-run of the shakedown but in the other direction.

Martin Prokop, the leading C2 Super 1600 driver, started the opening loop of stages carefully. Having got past his main rival Urmo Aava, who picked up a puncture the Czech driver was assured of second place in the Juniors. He held onto the place all the way to the end of the leg and is now less than a minute behind the leader especially thanks to two fastest times. In fifth place, Conrad Rautenbach was still looking for a comfortable rhythm in the morning but he picked up his pace during the second loop. The German Aaron Burkart, who went off the road yesterday, consolidated his position during the morning in tricky conditions. He gained two places compared to the day before and ended up ninth. Finally, Yeray Lemes who was on sparkling form yesterday got off to a lightning start and set his first ever fastest stage time on the World Championship on SS8. Unfortunately the Spaniard fell victim to an oil leak on the re-run of the stage (SS12) that forced him to retire on the last stage of the day. Having lost more than 16 minutes on SS12, he is 15th overnight and will not start tomorrow in the SupeRally system.

In the C2-R2 classification, Yoann Bonato is still leading. He is now eighth after a consistent rally in which he has been able to keep his place and his margin over his main rivals. Behind him, Gilles Schammel has also fulfilled his objective for the day. The Kronos Junior Team driver has put in a good performance and is now 10th, ahead of his team mate and rival Shaun Gallagher. The Irishman has little left to gain, with his lead of the rookie championship and the C2-R2 classification over the six rounds of the championship. He is more than a minute behind Schammel, in 12th place. The young Vilius Rozukas is still getting to know these stages and is taking no risks with a solid performance. He returns to parc ferme in 13th place. Stefano Benoni got to grips with this rally quickly, setting second-fastest C2-R2 time on the opening stage of the day. Unfortunately he went off on SS8, Coll del Grau 1, ending up on his roof. He decide to not re-start under the super rally rules.

Yoann Bonato (F)
Co-driver Benjamin Boulloud (F)
(Citroen C2-R2)

" I looked after my place throughout the leg. I didn't take any unnecessary risks by pushing too hard in the morning on the dirty sections of road. I've been driving carefully all day and I'm happy with my position. The car is working well so I'm going to carry on like this tomorrow. "

Aaron Burkart (D)
Co-driver Michael Kolbach (D)
(Citroen C2 Super 1600)

" Today, I was much more careful than I was yesterday. I didn't want to make the same mistake. We had a few scares because of loose gravel on the road, but everything went well for us generally. "

Shaun Gallagher (EI)
Co-driver Clive Jenkins (GB)
(Citroen C2-R2)

" Everything went well for me during the second leg. I'm keeping up a good rhythm without attacking. My position leading the rookie championship and the C2-R2 classification allows me to relax a bit. I'm hoping just to keep the same rhythm tomorrow. "

Yeray Lemes (E)
Co-driver Rogelio Pe