The Acropolis Rally, the seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is more than living up to its reputation of being the car-breaker of the season and the rate of attrition is quite unprecedented. At the conclusion of the second leg, only six of the 14 manufacturers' registered cars are still running…! Mitsubishi Motors' drivers have however established complete control of the Group N production car class. After two of the rally's three days, promising Argentine driver Gabriele Pozzo leads a train of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs with fellow South American Gustavo Trelles in hot pursuit.

Today's route, covering 159.57 competitive kilometres, has taken the crews to the north of the host town of Itea on the Adriatic Sea for seven special stages. The longest and toughest day of the rally has again been fought out in hot and dry conditions, but the teams have welcomed an exceptional ruling by the event stewards who, for safety reasons, have allowed the crews to shed their full fireproof overalls for lighter protective clothing due to the intense heat.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N G. Trelles / J. del Buono

In a season where reliability has been under question, Ford has, surprisingly, taken control of a rally renowned for being the toughest test of man and machinery. Britain's Colin McRae, who has won in Greece on two previous occasions, has led the event since stage 3 yesterday and now has a 48.1 second advantage over Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz. Both Ford Focus World Rally Cars have barely missed a beat, and the crews have fared considerably better than their rivals. Running first on the road today, McRae feared the worst and anticipated sweeping the surface of loose gravel but contrary to expectations, the Scot has lost little time and in fact extended his lead going into the final day's competition.

Fellow countryman Richard Burns holds third position in the Subaru Impreza, but is three minutes adrift of his arch rival. Privateer Toshihiro Arai is a remarkable fourth overall in his Impreza but the battle for this position is intense. Behind him is four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, who is a mere four seconds away from overhauling the Japanese driver. The Skoda of Armin Schwarz holds sixth and Francois Delecour, the last of the registered crews, holds 13th position in the Peugeot 206.

It has however been one of the toughest days in recent World Championship rallying with a total of eight manufacturers' cars now on the sidelines. The boulder-strewn gravel roads took their toll on both SEAT Cordobas; Didier Auriol was the first casualty, broken suspension bringing him to early demise, while team-mate Toni Gardemeister snapped the steering arm. Marcus Gronholm ultimately retired with engine failure, but only after attempting to limp to the service parc on three wheels.

In Group N, Gabriel Pozzo, who is just 20 years old, is in his first season competing outside his native Argentina, let alone at World Championship level, and has confirmed that he is one of the brightest talents to emerge from South America by forging into a convincing Group N lead in his Lancer Evolution. He is in 12th place overall, in front of many highly modified cars.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N M. Stohl / P. Muller