Rally GB: Hirvonen resists Loeb

At the end of the first day of the Rally Great Britain, Sébastien Loeb leads the proceedings with four fastest times out of six, but is less than six seconds ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. The fight for the world title is tight.

Published on 23/10/2009 à 17:24

⁰ View comments)

Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen are on another planet. If the two men are not absolutely aiming for victory, each wants to finish ahead of the other on Sunday noon to win the 2009 world crown. This battle takes them to the top of the WRC and pushes back their competitors, who can no longer aim for victory, barring an incident with the two favorites.

After the first six specials of this day, Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo, both on Citroën C4, are fighting for third place, more than forty seconds behind the leader of the event, Sébastien Loeb. Behind, the gaps are enormous. Conrad Rautenbach (Citroën C4), eighth, is almost five minutes behind Sébastien Loeb, after only six stages.

Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen shared the sctach times this Friday, the Frenchman pocketing the best time in the three stages of the morning, as well as in the short SS5. Mikko Hirvonen, dominated at the start of the day, regained confidence in the afternoon, gaining more than three seconds from his rival to obtain the title of World Rally Champion.

« It was difficult this afternoon, I didn?t understand why I was slower here (in SS6) and in the first (SS4) », declares the Frenchman at the end of this day. “ Each time, I lacked grip and the car understeered. » If the five-time world champion has often tried not to open the road on Saturday on dusty roads, this time, the situation is different on the dirt, even the English mud. “ I'm happy to be the first on the road tomorrow. However, Mikko is very fast and this is a very exciting fight. The most important thing is that I am in front at the moment and we will see what we can do tomorrow. »

For his part, Mikko Hirvonen was able to catch up with the Citroën driver, gaining more than three seconds in the afternoon. “ It was very slippery, I tried to fight to get back but I didn't know if I was close », affirms the Finn, who was deprived of his rival's part-times in the last special. “ It's a big duel. I had a lot of fun. My driving was not perfect but it was better this afternoon. »