Hirvonen on a royal road

Three fastest times for Hirvonen, three for Latvala: Ford had an excellent day. A day that was made easier for the Finns when they learned that Sébastien Loeb had hit a tree stump and had to retire for the Friday specials. From then on, the Polish afternoon offered a duel between the Finnish Ford Focus drivers, holding each other in close quarters. But the duel ultimately ended after the team decided to freeze positions to protect Mikko Hirvonen's first place.

Second in the world championship, Hirvonen, with the exit of Loeb, now aims to take ten points for victory and the head of the standings. WRC. Relegated to twenty units of the French after the rally from Argentina, the Finn has since nibbled away to reduce the gap. Now he is on his way to taking the lead. And, even if there are two days of special stages remaining, victory already seems to be promised to Ford, unless bad luck surprises the Finns. Relegated to 37 seconds, Dani Sordo is already far away, while Sébastien Loeb, if he can start again on Saturday morning, will have the sole aim of finishing, without hope of scoring points in the drivers' championship.

Special winners : P. Solberg (ES1), Hirvonen (ES2, ES3, ES6), Latvala (ES4, ES5, ES7)
Leaders : P. Solberg (ES1), Loeb (ES2), Hirvonen (ES3 to ES7)