Loeb spins when he’s winning

Sebastien Loeb completed Saturday morning’s loop of stages with his rally lead intact but slimmed to 2.5 seconds after a spin on Halfway.

The Citroen team-leader acknowledged he was probably pushing too hard before the incident - as he fought to defend his position from a hard charging Petter Solberg.

Solberg was fastest though the stage and happy to have emerged from the slippery conditions with nothing more serious than a half spin. “The most important thing is not to make any mistakes,” he said. “I can push harder, but I’m trying to keep a consistent speed.”

Mikko Hirvonen was third fastest, despite having to swerve to avoid a flock of sheep which had wandered onto the road. Dani Sordo slipped to fifth overall after going straight on at a hairpin. “There were two crests before it and my co-driver made a mistake and called the wrong note. It’s okay. It happens,” he said.

Jari-Matti Latvala was second fastest through the stage to move ahead of Sordo into fourth overall.

Crews will repeat the morning’s four stages after a 15-minute remote service at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells.

Overall standings after SS11: