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 | |  Saturday, 18 May, 2002, 22:19 GMT 23:19 UK Makinen edges in front  Tommi Makinen was flying in his Subaru  Latest standingsFinland's Tommi Makinen overhauled compatriot Marcus Gronholm to lead the Rally of Argentina going into Sunday's third and final leg.
Subaru's four-time world champion Makinen leads by 0.5 seconds after whittling away Gronholm's 1 minute 40 second overnight advantage. Gronholm was hampered by problems with hydraulics in the Peugeot on Saturday's opening two stages but Makinen kept the pressure up by winning four of the day's eight stages. World champion Richard Burns of England - in a Peugeot 206 WRC - was third, 34.7 seconds behind after winning the day's first test and sharing the last on an identical time with Gronholm.
But despite finishing stage 18 two seconds slower than the Peugeot pair, it was the charging Makinen's day. He was second in the opening test - number 10 - and won the 11th, 12th and 15th stages. He took 82 seconds off Gronholm in the first two tests before the leader's Peugeot team fixed the hydraulic problem, allowing him to finish second on stage 12 and third on stage 15. "Tomorrow is going to be a good battle," said Makinen. "We've had a good fight today and there will be no escape until the end of the rally, however it turns out." Subaru's Norwegian Petter Solberg and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, of Ford, moved into fourth and fifth respectively overall. Meanwhile, Scotland's Colin McRae, last year's winner, climbed to sixth place in the Ford Focus, after winning the 14th and 16th stages. "I'm back in a good rhythm," he said. "There's a big gap ahead of us so we'll just have to concentrate on driving steadily and see what happens to those in front."
Peugeot's third driver, Finn Harri Rovanpera, was forced to retire when his engine failed on the road section before the second stage. Belgium's Freddy Loix suffered the same fate with a broken throttle on his Hyundai, while Skoda's Argentine driver Gabriel Pozzo lost time with power-steering failure. The race - which crisscrosses the mountains bordering Argentina's second city of Cordoba - attracted 500,000 spectators on Friday. Organizers were forced to abandon the first stage because it was felt the size of the crowd was a threat to safety. Gronholm currently leads the World Drivers' Championship after winning two of the season's opening five rallies. He has 31 points, ahead of Gilles Panizzi on 20 points and Burns on 19. Makinen is fourth with 14 points. The final four stages of leg three of the rally are set to be completed on Sunday. Leading times after the second of three legs of the Rally of Argentina: 1 Tommi Makinen (Finland) Subaru three hours, 15 minutes 01.5 seconds | |
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