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RALLY: Round 11 of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship, End of Leg 2

19 September 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Didier Auriol leads the China Rally after an enthralling battle with Subaru's Richard Burns. Dicing for seconds over today's 148 competitive kilometres, the Toyota driver took command of the leaderboard this afternoon and holds an 11 second advantage over Burns with only six stages to run on tomorrow's final Leg.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz has climbed up the order to third position, having overhauled Subaru's Juha Kankkunen on the opening stage this morning, and following the demise of Tommi Makinen on special stage 14, Makinen retiring with suspension failure.

"I am very happy with the way things have gone today," said Auriol. "The car has felt very good and we have just been trying to avoid trouble."

Leg 3 of the China Rally starts from Huairou at 06:30 hrs local (CET+5) for the concluding six special stages and 86 competitive kilometres. The route takes the crews to the northeast of the town before the finish at Jin Shan Ling, in the shadow of the world's greatest man-made creation, the Great Wall of China, at 14:39 hrs local.

Provisional Results after Leg 2

1. Didier Auriol          Toyota Corolla WRC
2. Richard Burns          Subaru Impreza WRC99
3. Carlos Sainz          Toyota Corolla WRC
4. Juha Kankkunen         Subaru Impreza WRC99
5. Harri Rovenpera         SEAT Cordoba WRC
6. Volkan Isik          Toyota Corolla WRC
7. Toshihiro Arai          Subaru Impreza WRX
8. Hamed Al Wahaibi         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
9. Gustavo Trelles         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
10. Fumio Nutahara         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

Group N
1. Toshihiro Arai          Subaru Impreza WRX
2. Hamed Al Wahaibi         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
3. Gustavo Trelles         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

2-Litre
1. Alister McRae          Hyundai Coupe Evo II
2. Kenneth Eriksson         Hyundai Coupe Evo II
3. Wen Fan          Peugeot 106 Rallye

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