Mcrae And Ford Lead Pirelli Charge

Colin McRae (Ford-Pirelli) leads the Pirelli attack in Germany after a difficult day through the vineyards of the Mosel region. Despite several days of heavy rain this morning's stages were mainly dry but with each passing car, more and more dirt was dragged onto the roads to make them treacherously slippery.

All of the Pirelli teams have used, exclusively, the brand new RX pattern PZero tyre (generally one compound softer on the Subarus than on the Fords) and that has kept McRae in the hunt for points. This has become especially important after mechanical problems badly delayed World Championship leader Marcus Gronholm and opened the door for the points gap to be closed to the Finn.

A late problem denied Petter Solberg (Subaru-Pirelli) a place in the points tonight although the Norwegian is still capable of regaining a top six place before the finish of the rally on Sunday.

The nature of the event changes tomorrow as crews must tackle the damaging roads of the Baumholder military ranges. Driving must be pin-point accurate as the broken edges of the concrete roads and the ever-present 'hinkelsteins' that also mark the edge of the roads can rip tyres and suspension to shreds.