Gronholm extends lead
Rossi improves to 13th place
Finland's Marcus Gronholm emerged unscathed from a day of carnage to open up a big lead after the second day of the Rally of New Zealand yesterday.
Gronholm won three of yesterday's six stages around Waikato to head into today's final leg with a commanding 50.3 second lead over his Finnish team-mate Mikko Hirvonen.
Austria's Manfred Stohl, driving a Peugeot, finished the day in third place with Spain's Dani Sordo fourth in a Citroen. Both were more than two minutes behind Gronholm.
Italian MotoGP ace Valentino Rossi climbed 10 places to finish the day 13th, but is almost 17 minutes off the pace.
The 27-year-old Yamaha rider failed to progress beyond the first day at his only previous appearance in the British round of the 2002 world rally championship but has been driving more cautiously this time.
Gronholm, who is assured of finishing second behind Sebastien Loeb in this year's drivers' championship, is bidding to join Frenchman Carlos Sainz as the only four-time winners of the New Zealand Rally.
He took the opening stage of the day but then drove slower as the course was pounded by torrential rain.
Gronholm also claimed the ninth stage and capped the day with victory in the final stage of the day, a short super special.
Ford will clinch their first manufacturers' title in 11 years if either Gronholm or Hirvonen wins today.
"We have to come to the finish, not do anything stupid," Gronholm said.
"We just hope everything works in the car but so far so good."
Yesterday's six stages were all conducted in wind and rain and marred by a series of spin and rolls and bizarre retirements.
Australia's Chris Atkinson, driving a Subaru, won two of the stages, but had to retire when he punctured a tyre and slid off the road and was unable to change the wheel on the soft ground.
Norway's Petter Solberg broke a drive shaft though he still managed to limp across the line in sixth place, while his younger brother, Henning, ended the day in 14th position despite rolling his Peugeot and finishing without a windscreen.