Loeb leads after Thursday’s Superspecial

Sebastien Loeb holds the overnight lead of Wales Rally GB tonight (Thursday) after setting the fastest time through the opening Cardiff Bay Superspecial.

In showery rain and howling winds, the seven-time world champion completed the short asphalt test at the Cardiff Barrage in 1min 16.1sec, seven-tenths quicker than his Citroen Total team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who was his closest rival. Dani Sordo was third, also driving a Citroen C4 World Rally Car.

With little to gain, but an awful lot to lose, on the night time sprint, most drivers adopted a cautious approach before the action switches to six gravel stages in the mid Wales countryside on Friday.

Citroen privateer Petter Solberg crossed the flying finish in the fourth fastest time - 1.6sec slower than Loeb. “We took it very calm,” he said. “It was wet and very slippery so we took it easy. If you’re not careful you can lose everything in this sort of stage, so I am quite happy - no big attack yet.”

Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth, and the leading Ford driver after a similar approach. “Let’s take it carefully,” he said at the stage end. “It’s important to get the right feeling first - and that’s how you get good results here. You can’t attack too much here - you need to be realistic and respect the conditions.”

The opening section of Wales Rally GB continues on Friday morning, with the opening 32km Hafren stage scheduled to start at 0938hrs.

Standings after SS1: