Midday wrap: Ogier leads drama-filled rally

Citroen’s Sebastien Ogier leads Rallye de France Alsace by five seconds after the opening loop of four stages as the battle for the world championship was turned on its head following a dramatic start to the event.

Sebastien Loeb, the title leader and the winner in France last season, was in front after two stages only to hit trouble 26 kilometres into stage three when the engine in his Citroen DS3 WRC is understood to have failed, putting him out.

Mikko Hirvonen, who began the event 15 points behind Loeb in the title standings, should have capitalised on the Frenchman’s misfortune but a mistake early in the stage put him briefly off the road. With four stages run the Ford driver is 1m00.1s off the pace in his Fiesta RS WRC.

But there have been no such problems for Ogier, who could close to within four points of Loeb in the battle for the world title if he maintains his overall lead.

“I’m okay, the car is working well although we need to change a bit the set-up because I’m not completely happy,” said Ogier. “We never had a problem with the car so it’s a shame it happened for Seb. I have a good opportunity to come back [in the championship] but for sure there are still a lot of stages to go.”

Petter Solberg, who is five seconds off first place, praised the handling of his privateer Citroen prior to entering midday service in Strasbourg. “The car works fantastic, everything is going right and you can see it in the times,” said the Norwegian.

Dani Sordo has made a sensational start to Rallye de France in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. The Spaniard set a trio of top-three stage times to the extent he’s 6.6s adrift of Ogier. Sordo’s team-mate Kris Meeke is fourth with Mads Ostberg fifth after overcoming brake woes on the third stage at the wheel of his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta.

Hirvonen is down in sixth following his stage three delay, which was caused when he went too fast into a corner and skated off the road on a patch of gravel and into a ditch. The impact tore the front-left tyre off its rim and damaged the car’s steering.

“I just went off a few kilometres from the start,” said Hirvonen. “There was so much mud in the wheel, the whole car was vibrating so much that I couldn’t see outside. The car was jumping, it was very difficult to drive. I am really far behind now, I have to step on it to get some points.”

Hirvonen’s Ford team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, one of the few leading drivers to opt for the soft compound Michelin tyre for the morning loop, also hit trouble on stage three when he went off into a field and got stuck.
“I went off on a right/left combination and lost the rear of the car on the left,” said Latvala, who is a distant seventh. “I got on the grass and got stuck. We needed people to help us get back on.”

Latvala lost almost 1m30s in the incident but hit back on the next stage when he went fastest. Armindo Araujo is eighth in his Motorsport Italia MINI with Dennis Kuipers impressing in his FERM Power Tools World Rally Team Fiesta in ninth.

Ken Block recovered from a spin on stage three to hold 10th in his Monster World Rally Team Fiesta. Peter van Merksteijn is 14th after reporting several spins in his Citroen.

Former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen retired on the road section heading to stage three when a bizarre collision with Henning Solberg forced him into a ditch and retirement. Solberg was able to carry on, albeit with a dent on the left-hand side of his Fiesta. He is 12th overall, one place behind Super 2000 World Rally Championship leader Ott Tanak, who profited when rival Juho Hanninen suffered a puncture on his Skoda Fabia on stage three.

Craig Breen heads the WRC Academy Cup after his title rival Egon Kaur crashed out on the third stage. Spaniards Yeray Lemes and Jose Suarez are second and third respectively.