TRIER, Germany, 26 July 2003 — Estonian Markko Martin mastered the longest and trickiest timed stage of the Rally of Germany yesterday to take the overall lead from Briton Richard Burns.
World championship leader Burns, in a Peugeot, set the early pace with the fastest time in the first two of the day’s seven stages. Ford driver Martin was in third place overall when he clocked the fastest time in the third of three sprints on asphalt through the vineyards of the Mosel Valley to move into second.
Then came the tough Panzerblock-Ost section, a 35.42-km stretch in a military range, on tank-proving grounds with many changes of surface. Martin was again fastest to take the lead from Burns, who was only fourth best in the stage.
Burns, chasing his first win of the year, was second overall 12.3 seconds back with his teammate Marcus Gronholm, the defending world champion, in third position 21.9 seconds off the pace.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, who won the rally when it made its world championship debut last year, was fourth in a Citroen, 22.7 seconds behind the leader after four of 22 timed stages over the three days of the event.
