With their second place in Mexico, Petter and Phil took a good step up in the drivers championship. They now have 20 points and is number five on the list. Loeb is back in lead, and Hirvonen is second.

Next event is Rally Jordan, 1 – 3 April.

Drivers standings, 2 of 13 events;
1. Sebastien Loeb, France 43p
2. Mikko Hirvonen, Finland 37p
3. Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland 25p
3. Sebastein Ogier, France 25p
5. Petter Solberg, Norway 20p
6. Henning Solberg, Norway 16p
7. Dani Sordo, Spain 12p
8. Matthew Wilson, UK 6p

We made it to the podium! A fantastic effort from everybody in the team this weekend, and hopefully this is just the start of it!

- I am absolutely mega-happy right now, I’ve been controlling this the whole weekend. I were not afraid to be first on the road on Saturday, even though I knew I were going to loose half a second per kilometer. It were my choice, and I knew I could still be top three, which were the main target for the weekend. There will be some strategic thinking before Jordan, but I must say this looks good for the rest of the season!

An amazing weekend is finished her in Mexico, with the Petter Solberg World Rally Team on the podium. It was a thriller to the final end, but Petter and Phil just got the second place in front of Sebastien Ogier who ended third. Sebastien Loeb won the event.

Overall classification Rally Mexico 2010

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter Solberg, Citroën + 24,2
3. Sebastien Ogier, Citroën +25,3
4. Hirvonen, Ford +1.47,5
5. Latvala, Ford +2.15,1
6. Henning, Ford +2.48,0
7. Villagra, Ford +10.13,4

- It was very loose, I did a mistake in the last corner, might have lost some time there. Still trying for second place.

Petter Solberg at the end of leg 2 press conference, together with Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb. - Three Citroën’s on the podium!

Team Manager, Ken Rees, at the end of leg 2 press conference (a little bit distracted at the moment….).

Petter Solberg discussing with the team before Flexi Service Saturday evening. From the left; FX, Ken, Cardy, Ole Johan, Petter, Maxime, Jean Philippe and Tom.

Day 2 in Mexico is done, with Petter and Phil still on the podium. Sebastien Loeb is in the lead, Petter is second and Sebastien Ogier is third.

Being the rally leader after day 1, also means that you have to be first on the road the next day, which in Mexico is not an advantage. – It’s been so slippery today. All that sand and gravel were a real challenge, said Petter Solberg after the final stage of the day. – Even on the second run through it was slippery. But, we are doing really good, and have been on the pace today anyway, so I’m very happy with the day. The car feels good, so will push real hard tomorrow to keep my second position, and to get some more fighting.

Only 3 more stages to go tomorrow, first car will be on the road from 0843 (local time). 4 stages were scheduled for tomorrow, but SS20 is already cancelled due to bad road-conditions.

Overall classification Rally Mexico day 2

1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter, Citroën +55,5
3. Ogier, Citroën +58,2
4. Latvala, Ford +1.43,9
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.59,9
6. Henning, Ford +2.25,2
7. Villagra, Ford +9.11,8
8. Prokop, Ford +16.28,0
9. Pons, Ford +16.32,8
10. Araujo, Mitsubishi +18.04,7

- The day has been exactly as planned. It’s much more tricky and slippery compared to yesterday, and we expected a loss of about 40 seconds. Still more stages to go, nothing is final yet. I’m very happy with the car.

Overall classification 13 of 22 stages
1. Loeb, Citroën
2. Petter, Citroën +17,8
3. Ogier, Citroën +19,9
4. Latvala, Citroën +1.20,7
5. Hirvonen, Ford +1.31,0
6. Henning, Ford +1.42,2
7. Villagra, Ford +6.33,4

- It’s loose out there, but I knew that. Everything OK up to 21k, but lost a bit on the last 7k’s. I don’t have problem with being first on the road.

Sordo, Block and Wilson stopped on stage.

Itinerary day 2
0754 SS10 Ibarrilla 1 29,90km
0917 SS11 Duarte 1 23,27km
1008 SS12 Derramadero 1 23,28km
1121 SS13 Coca Cola Street Stage 1,50km
Service Poliforum Service Park
1252 SS14 Ibarrilla 2 29,90km
1415 SS15 Duarte 1 23,27km
1506 SS16 Derramadero 2 23,28km
1621 SS17 Super Special 3 2,21km
1626 SS18 Super Special 3 2,21km

The second day of Rally Mexico is just about to start. 9 more stages are waiting to be tackled. Petter and Phil, who is leading the rally at this moment, will be first car on the road today. Three long stages will be run twice, and there is also 3 super specials. The Ibarilla stage, the first one of the day, reaches its highest point at almost 2600 meters above the sea, and the thin air makes it so hard for the engine to “breath” that it could loose almost 30 % of its capacity.