Hirvonen takes SS2, Solberg lost time with puncture

First proper stage of 2012 Rally Mexico, 22.12 kilometere El Cubilete changed the provisional classification order quite significantly. Winner of last night’s SS1, Petter Solberg, suffered a puncture early on in the stage, followed by a spin. Norwegian decided to continue pushing on the punctured tire and by the stage end he lost over 50 seconds to the leaders.

On top, Mikko Hirvonen was fastest of them all, closely followed by former team mate Jari-Matti Latvala. After SS2 Hirvonen leads Latvala by 1 second, and winner of all WRC sanctioned Rally Mexico events held so far, Sebastien Loeb, is third with 5,8 deficit to Hirvonen.

Ken Block had a busy morning with extra work needed in service to repair damage suffered last night in SS1 and during SS2 Block’s Fiesta developed another problem with the gearbox. American reported car being stuck in first gear and it remains to be seen if he will be able to continue.

Quote of the stage: “I was a bit worried about my tires and decided to play it safe and not push too much towards the end of the stage. The feeling is good and we’re looking ok”, said Mikko Hirvonen.

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