Wilks battles on despite problems.

After edging into the top ten of the Super 1600 class earlier in the day, County Durham driver Guy Wilks heads towards the end of the second leg of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain in 12th position in class after dropping time during a difficult day in the South Wales forests.

A stunning drive through one of the world rally championship's longest stages saw the Heighington driver move into the top ten of the Super 1600 class on the opening Resolfen 1 stage this morning despite a broken gearshift which dropped Wilks and Scottish co-driver Roger Herron around twenty seconds in their Holiways backed Ford Junior Rallye Team Puma.

But the team couldn't capitalise on their good start and dropped time in the Crychan and Halfway stages, their cause not being helped by treacherous stages which cased rally leader Marcus Gronholm to crash out on SS10 as well as a couple of other top drivers and the situation led to the organisers stopping the stage after just 19 cars had recorded a time.

The resulting time loss incurred by being given a notional time meant that after the loop of stages this afternoon, Wilks held 44th overall, just over twenty seconds down on his nearest rival, Alejandro Galanti in a similar Ford Puma.

Providing the Chris Birkbeck team encounter no problems at tonight's third and final Super Special stage at Cardiff Bay, the pair will head into tomorrow's final leg hoping to climb inside the top forty overall and top ten in class which is what Wilks was hoping for at the outset of the 1000 mile event.

With Gronholm's spectacular exit, the rally lead has been inherited by Estonian driver Markko Martin and his British co-driver Michael Park in their Ford Focus WRC who have a two second advantage over the Subaru Impreza WRC of Norway's Petter Solberg and another British co-driver Philip Mills. Spaniard Carlos Sainz and co-driver Luis Moya is third a further 27 seconds back with British drivers Richard Burns and Colin McRae fourth and sixth respectively after 12 of the planned 17 stages.

The rally finishes in Cardiff tomorrow night after the final leg which comprises of another 85 stage miles.