Midday wrap: Loeb on course for title number eight

Sebastien Loeb has completed Friday’s opening four stages leading Wales Rally GB by 17.7s. With points rival Mikko Hirvonen out after damaging his car during a spin on stage seven Loeb is firmly on course for world title number eight.

Hirvonen had actually snatched the lead from Loeb with a faster run through the event’s sixth stage, held in damp and slippery conditions. But a mistake on the next mud-coated run left his Ford Fiesta RS WRC with a holed radiator

“It was very tricky in the morning and the grip level was changing quite a lot,” said Hirvonen. “On one braking [point] it was very slippery and I was too fast into the next corner. There was a big slide and the rear touched the bank. I spun and it pulled the front of the car into a bank where there was a tree stump. The wood came through the radiator. There was no real damage but we lost all the water in the engine. We carried on for five-six kilometres but the engine started to overheat.”

Despite attempting to return to service in Builth Wells, Hirvonen was forced to stop on the road section and retire from the event. Early reports suggest it won’t be possible for his factory Ford team to repair the damage to his car’s engine, meaning Loeb will be able to celebrate becoming champion when the event finishes in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon.

Loeb said Hirvonen’s exit had relieved some of he pressure he was feeling at the wheel of his Citroen DS3 WRC. However, he added that he wasn’t planning to begin celebrating.

“For sure, for us the situation is a bit less under pressure now than it was a few stages ago because it was a big battle with Mikko,” said Loeb. “Now the situation is a bit easier but the conditions are very difficult with the grip always changing.”

Hirvonen’s exit has promoted his Ford team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala up to second with Mads Ostberg moving into third in his factory-assisted M-Sport Stobart Fiesta. Ostberg had trailed Petter Solberg prior to stage seven but moved in front when a broken damper and a puncture slowed the Citroen privateer.

Henning Solberg is fifth with Ott Tanak impressing on his World Rally Car debut in sixth. The Estonian reported a gear selector issue when he returned to service in Builth Wells. He also insisted he wasn’t taking any risks in his efforts to stay on the road in the challenging conditions.

Matthew Wilson is the leading British driver in seventh after countryman Kris Meeke dropped out of the podium fight with a spin on stage seven before an alternator glitch caused the MINI WRC Team ace further delay. As a result Meeke has slipped to 11th overall behind Kimi Raikkonen, Dennis Kuipers and Evgeny Novikov, who is representing Team Abu Dhabi for the first time.

MINI’s Dani Sordo slid off into a ditch one kilometre into stage five, where Peter van Merksteijn Jr also left the road in his Citroen.

Gymkhana FOUR legend Ken Block is 12th in his Monster World Rally Team Fiesta. Motorsport Italia MINI driver Armindo Araujo has been held back by an intercom problem throughout the morning.

Patrik Flodin heads Jarko Nikara in the Production Car World Rally Championship standings. Craig Breen is dominating the WRC Academy Cup from Alastair Fisher. His title rival Egon Kaur is third, 1m42.2s behind the Irishman.