The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup hold 14th position at the end of the second leg of the Cyprus Rally, a day in which the field has been decimated and driving rain has wreaked havoc and caused the cancellation of stage 14.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart F. Delecour / D. Grataloup

It has been a stark contrast to yesterday, torrential rain turning what had been dry roads into mud baths of African proportions. While in Limassol the weather remained clear and in the high 20s, this afternoon’s stages were awash with torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightening and chilly eight-degree temperatures. All round, the conditions have taken their toll on the crews, with six leading drivers retiring and others lucky enough to limp back to service in Limassol for much-needed repairs. It was always going to be a tough day, the longest in the event with eight stages - three of which were 30 kilometres - and a total of 14 hours behind the wheel for the 47 crews who took the restart this morning. The severe weather also caused the cancellation of stage 14, deteriorating road conditions and the possibility of an ambulance - should it have been needed - not being able to pass through the stage, forcing the organisers to abandon it for safety reasons.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart F. Delecour / D. Grataloup

François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup have continued to push hard, a trouble-free run in the opening two stages helping them pick up valuable seconds. However, a broken drive-shaft in stage 9 cost them precious time, before the heaven’s opened and they dropped six and a half minutes to stage winner Petter Solberg (Subaru) when the windscreen wipers broke during a storm in stage 12.

"The wipers stopped working just before the end of stage 11, but it wasn’t raining so much and not a problem", said François. "We tried to repair them but the linkage was broken and we had to start stage 12 with nothing. There was a storm, hailstones and lots of mud and we had to stop twice to clean the screen. With just the rain it would have been okay, but with all the mud it was impossible to see. It’s very strange, sunny in Limassol and terrible in the mountains; it has been an odd day, frustrating. On the clean stages we had the car felt good, and there’s still 80 competitive kilometres to go so anything can happen to anyone and we’ll continue to push".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart A. McRae / D. Senior

Mitsubishi Motors drivers fill most of the leading positions in the Group N category on the Cyprus Rally, the third round of the 2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship. Bulgarian Dimitar Iliev has put in a stunning drive to hold second in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, behind Proton driver Karamjit Singh, with Uruguayan veteran Gustavo Trelles third in another Lancer Evolution.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N D. Iliev / P. Sivov

Dimitar Iliev started the rally aiming to learn, as he has never previously competed on loose surfaces, but the young Bulgarian has exploited his Lancer Evolution to great effect to hold an impressive second place.

"It’s been very difficult today in these conditions, but the important thing for me is to gain experience, because this is all new. I am just aiming to keep the same speed tomorrow", Iliev said.

Gustavo Trelles had a chance of winning until he became one of the many victims of the rally’s longest stage, Foini, when he lost five minutes changing a puncture on his Lancer Evolution, although he is still third.

"We didn’t have so much luck today, but a lot of other drivers have also had problems, so to be third tonight is not so bad. I think in these conditions, anything can still happen", Trelles predicted.

Lithuania’s Saulius Girdauskas has climbed to fourth in his Lancer Evolution and is only a few seconds behind Trelles, but he is also under pressure from Italy’s Luca Baldini. Norway’s Bernt Kollevold completes the points-scoring positions in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT. All of the Mitsubishi drivers are also vying for the Mitsubishi Trophy, which will offer the victor a prize of 5,000,000 yen at the end of the season. Tough conditions have led to a ferocious retirement rate, the victims including overnight lead Luis Perez-Companc, whose Lancer Evolution slipped off the road.