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McRae and Grist lead Cyprus
Ford Rallye Sport drivers Colin McRae and Nicky Grist extended their lead on this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship during a dramatic second section of this second leg. A torrential rain storm, with thunder and lightning crackling through the mountains, turned the twisty gravel tracks into a muddy morass and the 29.99km test from Foini to Koilinia saw four top drivers retire and several more encounter problems.
However, McRae, who again opted for Pirelli's mud tyres, was in inspired form in the wet behind the wheel of his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Second fastest on both the 11.25km Platres - Saittas and Foini - Koilinia enabled the 33-year-old Scot to stretch his lead over Marcus Grönholm from 2.0sec to 25.4sec.
"We made our tyre choice based on information from our gravel crew and it was right," said McRae. "Foini was easily the most treacherous stage I've ever driven. The road was like a river with water flowing down the ruts and big rocks sticking out of the water. We seemed to aquaplane at every bend but I'm sure it was the same for everyone else. We had to drive so slowly that it was difficult to judge the pace."
Round 5 : Cyprus Rally 2002 (19 - 21 Apr 2002)
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
END OF LEG 2
1 5 MCRAE FORD GB A
8 3:08:50.5 --:-- 3:08:50.5 **:**.* **:**.*
2 2 GRONHOLM PEUGEOT FIN A
8 3:09:16.7 --:-- 3:09:16.7 +0:26.2 +0:26.2
3 10 MAKINEN SUBARU FIN A
8 3:10:35.3 --:-- 3:10:35.3 +1:44.8 +1:18.6
4 1 BURNS PEUGEOT GB A
8 3:10:45.6 --:-- 3:10:45.6 +1:55.1 +0:10.3
5 3 ROVANPERA PEUGEOT FIN A
8 3:10:55.4 --:-- 3:10:55.4 +2:04.9 +0:09.8
6 6 MARTIN FORD EE A
8 3:11:03.9 --:-- 3:11:03.9 +2:13.4 +0:08.5
7 14 ERIKSSON SKODA S A
8 3:11:27.6 --:-- 3:11:27.6 +2:37.1 +0:23.7
8 11 SOLBERG SUBARU N A
8 3:11:31.1 --:-- 3:11:31.1 +2:40.6 +0:03.5
9 17 SCHWARZ HYUNDAI D A
8 3:11:36.4 --:-- 3:11:36.4 +2:45.9 +0:05.3
10 30 STOHL FORD A A
8 3:14:46.1 --:-- 3:14:46.1 +5:55.6 +3:09.7
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