Tänak extends WRC 2 lead in Poland

Team-mates Ott Tänak and Jari Ketomaa continued their fierce duel for supremacy in WRC 2 during a shortened second day at LOTOS 71st Rally Poland - and Tänak came out on top to lead by 14.9sec.

The Estonian started with a 3.9sec overnight lead over Drive DMACK colleague Ketomaa and was faster through the opening three tests to widen his advantage.

The second pass through two stages in neighbouring Lithuania were cancelled due to heavily rutted roads, and while Ketomaa clawed back a few tenths in the final country test, Tänak remained in charge in his Ford Fiesta R5.

Martin Kangur is their closest pursuer in a Fiesta S2000 despite a sticking throttle, but the Estonian is 1min 45.0sec from the lead. Sébastien Chardonnet holds fourth in a Citroen DS3, a further 18.9sec behind.

The top six is completed by Yazeed Al Rajhi and Ukraine’s Valeriy Gorban. Gorban’s Mini John Cooper Works dropped behind the Saudi Arabian after going off the road in the opening test and damaging his car’s suspension in the next test.

Karl Kruuda started in fourth but was hindered by problems with the pop-off valve in the engine of his Peugeot 208 T16. That became academic when the Estonian rolled in SS9.

Bernardo Sousa continued to lose time with an engine misfire in his Fiesta RRC when he changed up through the gearbox. The Portuguese pilot eventually solved that, but went off the road twice in the penultimate test. He is ninth.