Another big day for Loeb

A new demonstration was given today by Sébastien Loeb on the roads of the Rally of Portugal. The Citroën driver posted six best times in as many special stages to enter the final day 26 seconds ahead of Mikko Hirvonen.

Published on 04/04/2009 à 18:28

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Six special stages and six best times for Sébastien Loeb who first reduced the gap separating him from Mikko Hirvonen this morning (+18??0) before taking the lead and in turn seeking to overtake his main rival.

Starting in third position this morning, the five-time World Champion took advantage of better conditions to take 44??8 from Mikko Hirvonen, leader trapped by his position. “There was really nothing more we could do,” comments the Ford driver. “Fortunately, we will no longer open the road tomorrow. There's a long day left and I'm going to attack. »

“I attacked a lot again,” explains Loeb. “The minimum was to have a twenty second lead for the last day. The last stages will not be easy. We will have to continue to attack, especially by opening the road. »

Dani Sordo was unable to make up for lost time this morning. The Spaniard remains in third place, almost a minute behind Sébastien Loeb. The second Citroën driver is nevertheless well anchored in his third place with more than a minute ahead of Petter Solberg, fourth.

The two Stobart drivers follow each other in less than a second in fifth place: Matthew Wilson ahead of Henning Solberg. Evgeny Novikov and Mads Ostberg are in the top 8.

Five special events are on the program for the final day, including a new visit to the Estadio Algarve, the last test of the rally, at 14h00.