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6th
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From press release
Jari-Matti Latvala holds a slender lead of four-tenths of a second in Rallye de France following a thrilling day that ended with four drivers covered by five seconds ahead of tomorrow's final leg.
Latvala snatched the lead through the final stage tonight to bring his Volkswagen Polo R back to Strasbourg in front of Dani Sordo. The Spaniard lies just 1.1sec clear of Sebastien Ogier, with Sebastien Loeb still chasing victory in his final rally a further 3.5sec adrift.
This 11th round of the WRC blew apart when Thierry Neuville, leading by 13.1sec in a Ford Fiesta RS, slid wide and punctured his rear left tyre in this afternoon's opening stage. He lost nearly 90sec and dropped out of contention to fifth.
It left Sordo in front, but an increasingly confident Latvala gradually reeled in the Citroen DS3 after a day characterised by constantly changing conditions. Drivers encountered fog, rain, and mud this morning, before temporarily drier roads this afternoon offered consistency until the wet weather returned.
“It's incredible the kind of fight we're having,” said Latvala, who has yet to win a stage. “It's one of the greatest rallies I have been involved in. I was perhaps too cautious on a couple of stages but the main thing is I made no mistakes. I've dug out some little things that have been missing from my driving.”
Sordo paid tribute to his rival after the duo fought for tenths of a second throughout the day. “Latvala was really good. I lost time in the last long stage but I'm fighting with the best in the world, so that's very nice,” he said.
After a lacklustre opening day, Ogier was right back on form. He won five of the seven tests in his Polo R to propel himself into the thick of the fight.
Loeb lost a few seconds when his DS3 developed understeer this afternoon but earlier claimed his 900th career stage win.
Jari-Matti Latvala holds a slender lead of four-tenths of a second in Rallye de France following a thrilling day that ended with four drivers covered by five seconds ahead of tomorrow's final leg.
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| Jari-Matti Latvala, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRi2) |
Latvala snatched the lead through the final stage tonight to bring his Volkswagen Polo R back to Strasbourg in front of Dani Sordo. The Spaniard lies just 1.1sec clear of Sebastien Ogier, with Sebastien Loeb still chasing victory in his final rally a further 3.5sec adrift.
This 11th round of the WRC blew apart when Thierry Neuville, leading by 13.1sec in a Ford Fiesta RS, slid wide and punctured his rear left tyre in this afternoon's opening stage. He lost nearly 90sec and dropped out of contention to fifth.
 |
| Thierry Neuvile Ford Fiesta RS WRC (Photo: WRi2) |
It left Sordo in front, but an increasingly confident Latvala gradually reeled in the Citroen DS3 after a day characterised by constantly changing conditions. Drivers encountered fog, rain, and mud this morning, before temporarily drier roads this afternoon offered consistency until the wet weather returned.
“It's incredible the kind of fight we're having,” said Latvala, who has yet to win a stage. “It's one of the greatest rallies I have been involved in. I was perhaps too cautious on a couple of stages but the main thing is I made no mistakes. I've dug out some little things that have been missing from my driving.”
Sordo paid tribute to his rival after the duo fought for tenths of a second throughout the day. “Latvala was really good. I lost time in the last long stage but I'm fighting with the best in the world, so that's very nice,” he said.
 |
| Sébastien Ogier, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRi2) |
After a lacklustre opening day, Ogier was right back on form. He won five of the seven tests in his Polo R to propel himself into the thick of the fight.
Loeb lost a few seconds when his DS3 developed understeer this afternoon but earlier claimed his 900th career stage win.
 |
| Sébastien Loeb, Citroën DS3 WRC (Photo: WRi2) |