WRC 2
Thursday
midpoint
update

The German declared himself happy with his driving, but acknowledged the hazardous mix of ice and asphalt had kept things interesting at the wheel. “Everything’s okay, but we’ve had a lot of small but big moments!” he said.

Behind him, there were no changes to the top three. Armin Kremer holds second in a Group N specification Subaru Impreza, but said he struggled to control the car under braking on the numerous icy sections.

Ukrainian driver Yuriy Protosov, also in an Impreza, is 1m28sec further back in third. “There’s been a lot of ice,’ he said. “The surface changes from asphalt to ice all the time and it’s hard to find the grip.

Rashid Al Ketbi (Skoda Fabia S2000) is a distant fourth, 13 minutes behind Protosov, with Ricardo Trivino (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) five minutes further back. Lorenzo Bertelli (Subaru Impreza) completes the remaining WRC 2 runners.