Loeb settles in for the finish

The Citroën Total team duo continues to lead the debates in this Rally of Catalonia, penultimate event of the WRC. On the evening of the second stage, it’s Sébastien Loeb who gained the upper hand over his teammate, even if, in any case, the Frenchman is clearly a priority for victory with a view to winning the world title. However, the two drivers were less dominant than the day before. On Friday, Loeb and Sordo shared the best times during the day's six stages. This Saturday, the Frenchman achieved two fastest times (SS7 and SS11), while Sordo only took the lead in SS9. The other three stages were, however, dominated by Citroën C4 drivers, Sébastien Ogier (SS8 and SS10) and Petter Solberg (SS12).

Thus, the Reds' mission unfolds according to the developed strategy. Loeb and Sordo open up a maximum gap on Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus), so that the Frenchman is not under pressure on Sunday and is in the best possible situation to start the finish of the event. The second place promised to Dani Sordo would allow Sébastien Loeb to take four points from the Finn, leader of the world championship.

Behind Loeb and Sordo, separated by less than two seconds, the positions are well established. Mikko Hirvonen is third, 48??5 behind the leader and has a 22??4 lead over Petter Solberg. The Norwegian is showing his advantage on the Catalan asphalt but the fight for the podium seems lost, barring an error from Hirvonen on Sunday. On the other hand, the 2003 world champion was able to maintain his lead over Sébastien Ogier, having a twenty-second lead before the last six special stages of the Rally. Jari-Matti Latvala is sixth, one minute behind the Citroën Junior team driver. Tenth, Dany Snobeck is still ahead of Conrad Rautenbach, Ogier's teammate, by twelve seconds.