Australia: Latvala leads ahead of Ogier

Le rally began on Thursday evening, with two passages in the special in the town of Murwillumbah. Two specials won by Sébastien Ogier, first leader of the event. This Friday morning, the Citroën driver remained leader until the end of SS3. He then handed over command to Jari-Matti Latvala, author of three best times during the morning.

This morning of racing was marked by the formidable fight between Latvala, Ogier, Sordo, Loeb and Hirvonen. No driver was unworthy, each gaining and losing time depending on their preference for winding or fast stages.

Second at 1??1 from Latvala, Sébastien Ogier had a breathtaking start to the race: “Everything is going well since we managed to stay in the leading group after super special stages unrelated to those we are taking today . I am particularly pleased to have been able to find the right rhythm from the first stage, because I had difficulty achieving it until now. I am aware of having a good position on the road. Thanks to the wind, there is not a lot of stagnant dust and I benefit from good racing conditions. »

In terms of performances, it is also worth highlighting the best time of Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus) in SS4, the longest of the rally with its 22,41 km. The leader of the World Championship proved that the sweeping phenomenon is not prohibitive for the opener. Less comfortable in the winding special stages, the Championship leader occupies provisional 5th place, 16??6 behind his teammate.

On the trouble side, Sébastien Loeb feared being confronted with an engine problem at the end of this same SS4. It was in fact just a screw, stuck in the crankset and preventing the five-time World Champion from accelerating fully! After a little bit of mechanics on the side of the road, the Citroën driver was able to continue his race without being worried. The only driver in the top 5 not to have scored a scratch, Loeb remains confident in his ability to regain points from Hirvonen this weekend.

The morning of the race was disrupted by environmental protesters, who caused the cancellation of SS6 by placing large stones on the road. SS11, which takes the same route, will also be canceled this afternoon. There are therefore only 25 kilometers left for the five tenors of the WRC to establish the hierarchy of this first step!