Sébastien Ogier remains in control

Sébastien Ogier (Citroen C4 WRC), at the top of the Rally from Turkey since SS3, confirmed his position in the afternoon, setting two best times on the four special stages of the second loop. However, the Frenchman only slightly increased his lead since he only gained seven tenths from Dani Sordo (Citroën C4 WRC), to count, at the end of SS8, 2??8 ahead of the ?Spanish. “ It was a good day. But it's going to be a difficult challenge », Comments the Frenchman, who will have to open the road on Saturday. “ But I prefer to do that. We'll see tomorrow. »

For his part, Dani Sordo (Citroën C4 WRC) does not inherit the role of opener and should avoid sweeping too much on Saturday. In addition, the Spaniard is less than three seconds behind the leader of the event and could catch up quickly on the second day. “ This is a very good position, we will benefit from swept roads tomorrow », Comments Sordo.

In ambush since the start of the event, Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus WRC) finished in third place, nine seconds from the lead of the Rally. The Finn is also very well placed to return to the forefront on the second day. As for his teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus WRC), he is in sixth place in the general classification and hopes to benefit from even cleaner roads than his predecessors on the Turkish route.

Petter Solberg (Citroën C4 WRC) is fourth, a good position, but more than nine seconds behind Mikko Hirvonen. Sebastian Loeb (Citroën C4 WRC) is even further away, fifth, 25??3 behind Sébastien Ogier, sixteen seconds behind Mikko Hirvonen, but he will at least be able to benefit from a clean road on Saturday. “ It was a difficult afternoon », Comments the Frenchman, who lost more in the second loop than in the first. His lead gap increased from 7??8 to 25??3, while his delay over Mikko Hirvonen increased from 4??8 to 16??1. “II don't know why the feeling was less good this afternoon. I had less grip on certain stages. Luckily, I'll have more tomorrow. We will do our best. »

However, even behind, the six-time World Champion maintains his chances of returning to the forefront on Saturday. In addition, this Friday, there is still the Istanbul super special (2,2 km) to compete. The Citroën C4 WRCs, always at ease on the asphalt, could grab a few tenths there.