Hirvonen in the lead, Loeb in ambush

Four special stages were on the program this Friday, the day after the short super special, which saw the domination of Sébastien Loeb.

Mikko Hirvonen quickly took the lead on his home turf, despite his opening position. “ It was very slippery, a little wet, he confided upon the arrival of SS2. It wasn't perfect but it's a good start. » At the end of the 22 kilometers of Jukojarvi, the Finn, leader of the world championship, managed to achieve the best time. Sébastien Loeb, second, is not far away (+2??9) and remains in ambush.

After a very good performance the day before (five cars in the Top 6), Citroën still manages to monopolize the first places, with the 2nd time of Loeb and the 3rd and 4th times for Dani Sordo (C4) and Petter Solberg (Xsara). But the news from the Citroën Junior Team is less good. While Sébastien Ogier is only eighth, Evgeny Novikov makes a mistake and damages his car.

In SS3, Sébastien Loeb appears behind and falls to fourth place in the general classification. Again author of the best time, Mikko Hirvonen stands out, counting more than 7?? ahead of Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo. “ I wasn't confident this morning, confides the Frenchman. Le Rally from Finland is always something special. We changed the set-up of the differentials and suspensions, it seems better to me. »

The five-time world champion is indeed more on the pace and sets the scratch time for the following two specials (SS4 and SS5). He takes 5??5 from Mikko Hirvonen and places himself in second position in the general classification, 3” from the Finn. Behind, only Sordo (+6??11) and Latvala (+6??15) can keep up. Unlike Petter Solberg, victim of a double puncture on SS5 which cost him dearly. The pilot of Formula 1, Kimi Räikkönen, is in 19th place, 3'41" behind the leader.

Resumption of competition at 12:02 p.m., with the sixth special stage of the weekend.

Special stage winners: Loeb (SS1, SS4 and SS5), Hirvonen (SS2 and SS3)

Provisional classification:
1. Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus, 32?21??7)
2. Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4, +3??6)
3. Dani Sordo (Citroën C4, +11??6)
4. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus, +15??5)
5. Mads Östberg (Subaru Impreza, +38??7)