Loeb returns to Sordo in Mexico

Dani Sordo (Hyundai) made a daring choice by opting for a mixture of soft and hard tires for the second pass of the first stage of the Rally from Mexico, while most of its competitors preferred soft tires to face the high temperatures.

The Spaniard resisted in the first two special stages but lost a little time on Ortega's final route (SS8). He retains the lead in Rally Mexico, but his lead has been reduced to less than eight seconds.

It's now Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) which is its closest opponent. The six-time winner of the event scored two consecutive scratches to return to the lead of the race.

His teammate Kris Meeke struggled more. After two spins, the Northern Irishman slipped to fourth place, around ten seconds behindOtt Tänak (Toyota). The second Citroën driver sees Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) come back to less than eight seconds. The five-time world champion remains under threat from his former teammate Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) who is less than a second from the Top 5.

Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) follows in seventh place, more than half a minute behind the Norwegian. The Finn is still plagued by mechanical problems and suspected an alternator problem at the end of SS8.

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) follows in eighth place. The Championship leader lost dozens of seconds again on the last course, probably following a steering problem.

Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) and Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) both retired after going off the road on the second pass of El Chocolate. The two Finns were ninth and 11th in the general classification respectively.

The first stage of the Rally Mexico will end with two passages of the 2,3km Autodromo de Leon super special stage contested from 3 a.m. French time.