Hirvonen out on SS13

Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen’s difficult time on Rally Deutschland continued on SS13, when the Finn retired 14km from the start line with a transmission problem.

Hirvonen began the stage fifth overall, 2min 27sec off the leaders and 16sec behind his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. But at a hairpin corner 3.5km before the finish, the Finn’s Ford Focus RS WRC rolled to a stop after losing all drive.

Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen tried to fix the problem but were soon forced to admit defeat and retire from today’s competition.

Following his retirement on the last round in Finland, and subject to the outcome of the rally tomorrow, Hirvonen’s bid for the 2010 drivers’ title could become a mathematical impossibility.

At the head of the field, Citroen works team drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo continued their dominant form, taking the two fastest times on SS12 and SS13.

Sordo was quicker than Loeb on both occasions, but the Spaniard denied he had resumed the fight with his team-mate. “I’m still out for second place, but keeping the speed up helps me stay concentrated,” he explained.

Heading to the remote service before Panzerplatte, Loeb’s overall lead stood at 23.1sec.

Stobart Ford team driver Francois Duval reported a high water temperature and lack of turbo boost during the stage. As a result of Hirvonen’s exit, however, the Belgian moved up to fifth.

Overall standings after SS13: