SS6: 0923hrs Port Waikato (18.18km)
Both Subaru drivers made a bright start to leg two, despite difficult conditions. The expected rain hit as the crews negotiated the coastal test and visibility was restricted to 100m in places. Both drivers were helped by a tyre choice that suited the mixed conditions. Petter’s 10m 31.3s effort was the fourth fastest through the stage, and Chris Atkinson was seventh quickest on 10m 33.5s, despite clipping a log at one point. The Australian moved up from ninth to eighth overall and he was in a more confident mood: “It’s going better this morning. We made a small change to the car last night and I can definitely push harder now.” Both Subaru drivers found it hard to hear their pace notes due to problems with their intercoms: not ideal on a stage where they were travelling flat-out in fifth or sixth gear for much of the time. At the head of the field, Finland’s Marcus Gronholm continued to set the pace, despite choosing tyres that were too hard for the tricky conditions on the stage.
Fastest Time: Marcus Gronholm (Ford) 10m 25.3s

SS7: 1001hrs Klondyke (13.88km)
As crews went into the narrowest stage of the event the rain persisted and some of the hilly sections of the route were shrouded in fog. Mud made the gravel tracks treacherous and, as Chris Atkinson explained, it was very hard to judge exactly how hard to push: “One moment it’s quite fast and grippy, but then all of a sudden there’s no grip at all.” Despite the difficult conditions, Chris set the outright fastest time through the stage and his soft-compound Pirelli tyres proved the perfect choice. Although he remained eighth overall, he gained 21.8s on seventh-placed Henning Solberg. Petter had chosen a slightly harder tyre compound than Chris and, as the conditions deteriorated, he found he couldn’t match the pace of his team-mate. Apart from that, the Norwegian had no problems to report and remained in sixth position overall with an 11m 54.0s effort. Gronholm was second fastest through the test behind Chris and extended his lead over Mikko Hirvonen to 41.9s.
Fastest Time: Chris Atkinson (Subaru Impreza WRC2006) 11m 18.9s

SS8: 1034hrs Wairamarama (31.58km)
Subaru’s Australian ace continued to fly as the crews attacked the first long stage of the day. Chris racked up another best stage time and was an impressive 19.5s quicker than the second-fastest driver, Xavier Pons. The 26-year-old edged closer to Henning Solberg in the overall standings. Petter set a time of 23m 12.5s and said he had two problems: a damaged wheel rim and then a broken front-left driveshaft about seven kilometres from the finish. Gronholm still led the rally from Hirvonen and all the crews were mightily relieved to be heading back to service after a difficult morning.
Fastest Time: Atkinson (Subaru Impreza WRC2006) 22m 23.3s

Driver Quotes - From service D (after SS8)

Petter Solberg:

“It’s been a very difficult morning, not really what I was hoping for. I had an intercom problem on the first stage and could only hear Phil a little bit in my right ear. On the second stage things were okay but the road was extremely muddy and I think I made the wrong tyre choice. Then on the final stage the front-left drive shaft broke about 7km before the finish line. The mechanics will get it fixed now, and we’ll get out again and hope for a better afternoon.”

Chris Atkinson:

“It’s a different world to yesterday, but I can’t put my finger on why it’s so much better. The conditions this morning have been very muddy and tricky and I’ve never seen rain like we had on the first stage – at some points I couldn’t see the road at all. The other two stages were okay. We lost a bit of little bit of time at the end of the long one (SS8) but it wasn’t a big problem. The set up feels good, so I don’t think we’re going to change anything in service.”

SS9: 1518hrs Te Akau South (31.92km)
Chris’s impressive charge came to a frustrating end when he was forced to retire from leg two on the first stage after the Mystery Creek service halt. About seven kilometres into the stage he hit a rock, which tore the front-left tyre from his car and caused him to slide off the road. Although the car didn’t hit anything, the damage caused by the initial impact with the rock was too severe for him to carry on. Petter was fifth quickest through the stage, which was fairly dry in places and didn’t suit the soft tyre compound he had chosen. His 19m 00.1s effort meant he held on to sixth position overall. Gronholm won the stage and extended his lead over Hirvonen to exactly 50s.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 18m 37.4s

SS10: 1601hrs Te Akau North (32.64km)
Petter’s choice of soft Pirellis for the afternoon’s loop of stages paid dividends when the rain returned on the second Te Akau test. The 32-year-old posted the third quickest time of 18m 14.8s. “Everything was better through this stage,” said the Norwegian, who gained 15s on the fifth-placed Citroen of Xevi Pons. The gap to the Spaniard was now 45s. Petter’s brother Henning Solberg rolled his Peugeot, but was able to continue. Valentino Rossi continued to impress and set the ninth-fastest time through the stage. Mikko Hirvonen won his first stage of the event, but trimmed just three-tenths of a second from the lead of team-mate Gronholm.
Fastest Time: Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) 18m 08.2s

SS11: 1815hrs Mystery Creek Super Special 2 (3.14km)
Conditions were dry for the short run around Mystery Creek Event Centre that brought leg two of Rally New Zealand to a close. Petter ended the day by setting the eighth fastest time through the stage, a 3m 03.1s, but more importantly he only dropped one second to his main rival, Pons. Gronholm won his eighth stage of the event to maintain his healthy advantage over Hirvonen, while Manfred Stohl consolidated third position after a day-long scrap with Sordo, Looking increasingly at home in his privately-entered Impreza WRC2005, Rossi was seventh quickest through the final stage of the day. That left him 13th overall and he said he was happy with his progress: “I had a much better feeling with the car today.”
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 2m 59.5s