Baldacci spins, but stays out front in P-WRC

Mirco Baldacci continues to lead the way in the Production Car WRC category of this year’s Rally New Zealand after a trouble-free afternoon aboard his Mitsubishi - but it’s fellow Lancer driver Juho Hanninen who has been fastest on each of the four stages.

Hanninen’s chances of challenging for a third P-WRC win of the season were knobbled when he put his car on its side on the first stage this morning, but the Finn has still been pushing like mad. "It’s tough, this rally," said Hanninen. "After rolling twice last year, I don’t think the rally likes me - but, after driving those roads this afternoon, I still like the rally! I will push again tomorrow, but, hey, the gap is big."

At the front of the field, Baldacci’s advantage was 9.8 seconds, which was two less than when he’d come back to Mystery Creek after the first loop. "I had a spin," explained the San Marino driver. "It was in the first stage out of service. I was on the line, on the line, on the line and then spin. Terrible, Twenty seconds have gone there. Bang. Okay, then it was not so bad. My only problem today has been in the slow corners. My car is set-up for the fast places, where it is working really well, but in the slow I’m not getting the traction."

Martin Prokop moved past Fumio Nutahara for second in P-WRC on the final long stage of the day, but by the close of play just two seconds separated the pair. "I didn’t have much confidence this morning," said Prokop. "It’s better in the afternoon, but still in the really fast places I don’t know this car as well as I would like. Maybe I’m dropping some time there. It’s so different to drive here; this pace is really not the same as anywhere else that I’ve competed before."

Nutahara knows New Zealand very well and admitted he was loving every minute of his time on the Kiwi roads. "They are very exciting to drive," he said. "But I have to be patient with the car. I can’t force anything. The car has been perfect for me, now I have to think about tomorrow. It’s so close, a big battle."

And right in the thick of that fight is 17-year-old Evgeniy Novikov. The Russian Mitsubishi driver promised more pace through tomorrow’s six stages. "I haven’t been taking risks today," he said. "We can go faster."

Leading non-Mitsubishi driver was Jari Ketomaa in fifth spot. The Finn found more confidence in his Subaru as the day progressed, but he was almost a minute off Novikov’s Lancer at the end of the day.

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