Defending world champion Sebastien Loeb has grabbed the lead and then relinquished it to gain a better starting position for day three of Repco Rally Australia.But he is only 0.1 seconds off first place and equal-second with main rival Mikko Hirvonen after a sensational Tweed Special Stage tonight, which has set the scene for a thrilling finish to the inaugural World Rally Championship round in the New South Wales Northern Rivers.
With a favourable road position, Loeb’s Citroen won three stages this afternoon to add to his morning’s tally of two, bumping him ahead of BP Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala on the 8.6km CTEK West 1 stage by a massive 5.3 seconds and stretching it on the nest two stages.
Two-point-six seconds faster than Hirvonen at the first split on SS23, the day’s final forest stage, Loeb slowed near the end to drop behind the Ford driver, putting the Frenchman third on the road for tomorrow’s stages.
He said: “We changed the car settings and it felt a bit better today. Fifth on the road was a good start position and we could do some good times."
The top five compressed as tight as 15.9 seconds after SS20, before Loeb moved into the lead and started to gap the field. That was until tactics and the Tweed Super Specials played their part, compressing the top three to an incredible gap of just 0.1 seconds after two days of competition.
Jari-Matti Latvala, who held the lead of the rally since SS4, explained his situation at today’s service.
“It has been harder being first on the road than I thought it would be. The first stage was wet but the others were mostly dry and I couldn't find a rhythm. I lost time in the slow corners because I slid wide too often."
Latvala also lost around 45 second on SS23, with a puncture early on the 18.75km stage effectively putting him out of contention for the win.
BP Abu Dhabi Ford teammate Mikko Hirvonen overtook Latvala on SS22 to move into second place, inheriting the lead on SS23 and day three’s lead starting position.
"It's a very tough fight against Sebastien,” explained Hirvonen.
“I had a lucky escape on SS17 today. I went off the road on a fourth gear left bend and the car went into the bushes. I bounced back onto the road without losing any speed, but if there had been a tree stump or a stone in there then I would certainly have rolled.
“I'm sorry about hitting the mailbox [on SS16] - I'll happily buy a replacement if they get in touch. We hit the same mailbox again - but a bit earlier because this time it smashed my door window!" he added after SS22.
While Latvala’s puncture dropped him back into the realms of Ogier, around 50 seconds off the lead, the top three went into tonight’s Tweed Super Specials at Murwillumbah 4.1 seconds apart – and came out split by just 0.1 seconds.
Sebastien Ogier completed his clean sweep of the tarmac stages by winning both SS24 and SS25.
Dani Sordo was faster than Hirvonen in both Tweed Super Specials to move into the lead by the smallest measurable margin in WRC, one-tenth of a second. Hirvonen and Loeb are now tied for second.
In P-WRC, the order remains the same with the margin stretching slightly and Martin Prokop now leading Richard Mason by 16.3 seconds, with another 40.1 seconds back to Australia’s Cody Crocker, in 11th.
”We’re excited about tomorrow. We’d definitely love to be on the podium in our home rally,” Crocker said.
“It would be nice to creep into the top 10 outright as well. But most of that is out of our control, so we’ll just go out and push hard from the very outset in the morning.”
Repco Rally Australia heads into day three, the rally’s longest competitive day at 124.48 kms, with the top three drivers separated by the closest margin in recent WRC history.
REPCO RALLY AUSTRALIA RESULTS After SS25
Pos Driver/car Time
1. Dani Sordo, Citroen 1h:52m:28.1s
=2. Sebastien Loeb, Citroen +0.1s
=2. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +0.1s
4. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +44.4s
5. Sebastien Ogier, Citroen +46.2s
6. Henning Solberg, Ford +2:42.4s
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +2:43.2s
8. Federico Villagra, Ford +3:59.8s
9. Hayden Paddon, Mitsubishi +9:16.0s
10. Martin Prokop, Mitsubishi +9:29.3s
P-WRC
1. Martin Prokop, Mitsubishi 2h:01m:17.6s
2. Richard Mason, Subaru +16.3s
3. Cody Crocker (AUS), Subaru +56.4s
STAGE WINS
Ogier 7
Latvala 6
Hirvonen 3
Loeb 5
Sordo 2
