Cardiff Super Special Stage:

The Northallerton crew gained one place on the muddy Super Stage held on Thursday evening in Cardiff.  Kankkunen and Tuohino were joint fastest on 2:19.5 with Sainz in the Ford in third place.  Britain's Richard Burns came home in 14th.

Of the Lancia men, Steve starts Friday morning in 73rd position (2:41.2), with Rodney Bennett climbing to 113th (2:53.7) from his seeding of 142.

Builth Wells Service Halt:

Having completed 4 special stages, car number 74 has climbed to 68th overall.  The crew have found the going to be extremely slippery, with mud being the order of the day.

The car is performing perfectly and has not missed a beat, despite the atrocious conditions.

More to come later...

12:10...  The main concern at the first service point centered around the primary fuel pump; this had ceased to work en-route to the Cardiff Super Stage and the auxiliary pump had to be invoked.  Unfortunately the auxiliary pump is not capable of scavenging to the very bottom of the tank and with the road sections between servicing being so long this year Steve was doubtful as to whether they would be able to make the round trips.

Investigation this morning revealed that the fuse had in fact melted, leading the service crew to suspect the wiring; the primary and auxiliary pumps were duly piggy-backed and all seems to be well.  It is hoped that time can be found to effect a more permanent fix by the end of the day.

Other work undertaken by a very wet and sodden service crew included replacing the off-side front trackrod end; tyre damage suggests heavy contact with something sharp and hard!  This work was completed without drama and the Delta headed out once more into the gloom of the Welsh forests.

More to come later...

15:30...  Two fourth gear spins in quick succession caused hearts to stop in the Walkers Integrale (car 74) this afternoon, testimony to the total lack of traction throughout the forest tracks of Wales this week.  The car is running perfectly, a slightly damaged rear bumper being the only casualty of getting too near the surrounding undergrowth for comfort!

The lights will be fitted at the up-coming service halt in readiness for another 30 miles of slip-sliding through the first leg of this three day rally - for the next section will be in attempted in pitch dark!  Things are starting to get interesting...

Gronholm currently leads the pack in his Peugeot.  McRae (Ford) then leads Auriol (Seat) with Burns trailing in 10th place.

More to come later...

20:35...  Final service of the day saw Steve and JR emerge from the darkness of of Myherin with the car intact.  Visibility had been a constant problem with the screen misting up, defying every attempt by the heating system to pierce the gloom.  The car is now heading for Parc Ferme with the driver, co-driver and service crew craving a hot meal and some hard won sleep.

Colin has taken overall control of the event with Marcus lying second.  Richard has fought his way to fifth but still has 58 seconds to claw back, however his car is now fighting fit and the scene is set for a pitch battle over legs two and three.  Everyone has reported the stages to be 'ice like', with the mud claiming many scary moments for all concerned.

More tomorrow...

Swansea Service Halt:

13:00...  Stage 9 - Rhondda 2 - saw Steve and JR climb back up from their over-night position of 85th to 71st - the screen no longer misting up thanks to the higher temperature of this Welsh November morning.  The Walkers Lancias completed the stage incredibly close together, with Steve and JR just getting the verdict in 78th place, with Rodney and Rob in 80th.

Stage 10 - Rheola 1 - found Steve edging away, with an impressive 59th fastest, to Rodney's 80th.  So by the time the Integrale pairing got to Swansea they were in 65th and 73rd positions overall.  The sight of the two machines being serviced side by side caused quite a stir, a fitting finale for these superb cars.

Both Deltas continue to run sweetly, although the event itself is now running slightly behind schedule.  The stages are expected to get worse as the crews press on into leg two, many of the fastest crews are reporting a whole series of heart stopping moments.  Other than snow and ice, few drivers can remember experiencing so little traction and grip.

More to come later...

14:35... Colin rolls out of first place!

The crew are ok but the Ford is out of the rally!  Marcus Gronholm has inherited the lead, but Richard Burns is now only 3 seconds behind him.  To become World Champion Richard has to win this event with Marcus finishing less than 5th!  So the stakes are hoting up at the head of the field.

More to come later...

15:05...  The two Lancias leave Swansea service once more, this time heading for Rheola2 and Margam 1.  The tracks are now cutting up badly - Steve commenting that he wouldn't drive a Land Rover down some sections!

However both cars are coping with the conditions and believe it or not, the sun has just popped out.  Apart from the odd skirmish with the scenery the biggest problem facing Steve occurred when he came to leave the motorhome, only to discover that his zip would not fasten.  Why was his zip undone I hear you ask?  I know not the answer, nor dare I pose the question!

Months of dry pasta finally drove JR to devour several bacon butties - being a co-drive is a hard life!

More to come later...

15:28...  The rigours of competing on a 28 mile stage became all-too-apparent when the brake pads decided to melt!  These monster stages are certainly proving to be a massive test on man (sorry, men and women) and machine.

More to come later...

17:45...  Just back from Margam 1 and the boys are lying 53rd and 60th.  Muddier, slippier, even more frightening!  Steve had an excursion into a ditch which blacked out the lights for a while and Rodney had the biggest stomach churner for many a year as he put a front wheel over the precipice - and it was the driver's side wheel - very careless!

Both cars are running superbly well, neither missing a beat.  Rodney is hoping that on-going negotiations with a potential sponsor come to fruition for next year, but declared that either way he'll be contesting a major championship.

The cars are now heading for the second visit to the Cardiff Super Special Stage then a well earned rest.

More to come later...

The second and final run around the Super Special gave rise to a 1-2-3 for Subaru, with Solberg, Burns and Kankkunen taking the honours.  Gronholm came in 17th, which still leaves him a whole minute ahead of Sainz in the overall list.  Although Burns has achieved his first goal of leading the rally, for the British driver to take the World Rally Championship, Gronholm must slip below 5th place; currently this would mean the Finn loosing 1 minute 24 seconds to his competitors.

More tomorrow...

The Last Day!

Still 52.31 gruelling miles to go!

Both Deltas coped well with everything that Brechfa could throw at them this morning, Steve clocked 55th fastest which equates to 52nd overall, with Rodney posting 63rd quickest which left him 58th.

Special Stage 16 - Trawscoed - found the Northallerton pairing in 52nd and Rodney/Rob just two places adrift!  This makes Steve 50th and Rodney 55th overall with just one stage to go.

With 17.48 miles of Margam 2 remaining, Gronholm would have to loose 71 seconds to the chasing pack for him to drop below 5th place, so despite Richard Burn's best efforts, its looking like the Finn will be crowned World Champion very shortly.

Whilst waiting to set off for the final stage, Steve drew up alongside Carlos Sainz and said - "you used to drive my car!".  The two drivers spoke for some time about the legendary Lancias; Steve then chatted with Kankkunen, who had used the car that Steve sold to Rodney Bennett.  Kankkunen maintains that the Delta is one of the best cars he ever drove!

More to come shortly...

14:32...  Richard wins the Network Q Rally for the third consecutive time and Marcus becomes World Champion!

16:00...  FINISHED!!!  BOTH LANCIAS FINISH!!!

Its official, both Integrale Deltas have completed the final stage of Margam 2, with 46th and 52nd overall to their credit.

So well done to both crews - Steve, JR, Rodney and Rob and a special thanks to Steve's support team - Kate Richardson and Chris Coward (motorhome and admin), and Tony coward, Chris Blake, Barry Atkinson and Paul Simms (spanner men) - a job well done everyone.

18:00...  Two Integrale Deltas approach the ramp in Cardiff to signify completion of the 2000 Network Q Rally - 236 stage miles and 700 road miles behind them.  Steve reports that both cars ran faultlessly right up to the end; the only moment of concern today being a puncture after stage 16 - the conditions had become so treacherous that the crew were only aware of the deflated tyre once they commenced the road section!

You can expect news of Lancia's exploits to appear in Motoring News and Autosport.  So if you want a keep sake of the most famous international rally of all time competing on its last World Rally Championship event, then order your copy now!

Smith and JR at work in the Halfway Special Stage