Day 2 of the Roger Albert Clark Rally began with the dissapointing announcement that Kris Meeke had retired from the event due to engine issues. The departure of one of the favorites shifted the focus to the closely contested battle between rally leader Osian Pryce and Oliver Solberg, setting the stage for a day filled with anticipation and intensity.
The opening stage saw Solberg making a strong statement by setting the fastest time by just one second over Pryce, putting both drivers on identical overall times and setting the scene for a gripping day 2.
Solberg's presence on the stages began to command attention. The young talent was not only growing into the event but also relishing the challenges thrown at him. His confidence and enjoyment of the rally became unmistakably evident on (SS9), where Solberg showcased his prowess by clocking in seven seconds faster than Osian Pryce, thus securing the overall lead.
While Solberg and Pryce engaged in a captivating duel for the top spot, Marty McCormack maintained a fairly comfortable third position. His consistent and competitive driving throughout the rally positioned him well, creating a gap to Jason Pritchard in fourth.
Solberg now looked in his groove and so it proved setting another fastest time through sweet lamb (SS10) by another nine seconds to extend his lead to sixteen overall and complete a hat-trick of stage wins.
With Solberg starting to dominate and extend his lead Pryce needed to respond on the penultimate stage (SS11) before service, He did just that ending Solbergs clean sweep of stage wins setting a time three seconds faster to close the gap to thirteen overall.
Any hopes of a comeback for Pryce were extingiushed on SS12 with the supreme Solberg twelve seconds faster than his nearest rival, SS13 in the dark got better for the Swedish driver doubling his overall advantage through Sweet Lamb 2.
The final stage of day 2 ended with Solberg claiming his sixth stage win of the day to hold a lead of 45s over Pryce with Marty McCormack 2:36s off the leader.
With another three days to go Pryce has the opportunity to reset and go again tomorrow, But the signs look ominous for the superb Solberg.
TOP 10 AFTER DAY 2
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