With 2 stages gone and 2 still to do on a rather sodden McRae Stages Rally, Euan Thorburn now leads Mike Faulkner by 5 seconds with first stage leader Shaun Sinclair now third, a further 2 seconds behind.
Conditions were treacherous before and they are getting worse. Incessant rain means that windscreens are steaming up and won 't clear even with heated screens and full blast heaters.
And yet he top two wheel drive car is holding 4th place overall. Ludlow's Joe Price in an Escort MkII is ahead of John McClory in the Subaru and the MkII of Malcolm Buchanan. In other words, there is some grip out there, the trick is finding it.
Bruce McCombie is 7th ahead of Yorkshire's Matthew Robinson in another MkII with Steve Bannister 9th and Mark McCulloch rounding off the top ten.
For the second stage in a row, Robbie Head broke an intercooler pipe and has dropped way out of contention (11th) while Fraser Wilson lost time when he hit a rock. The impact split the wheel rim in two and the tyre deflated instantly.
John McClory said: "I never liked Drummond Hill and I like it even less now." A sentiment echoed by 3 times Scottish Rally Champion Ken Wood who added: "I've never seen Drummond Hill this bad ever before."
Euan Thorburn was lucky though: "I hit a rock with the front n/s but no puncture although it knocked the steering out," while Mike Faulkner said: "It would be too easy to make a mistake today even without taking chances!"
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