Petter snatches the lead in Japan

Petter Solberg leapt into the lead of Rally Japan on stage four, putting a gap of 8.5sec between himself and second placed Sebastien Ogier.

Still suffering from the fever he picked up on Tuesday, Solberg also had to contend with a flat right-hand rear tyre three kilometres before the end of the 27km Sikot test - but still managed to set the fastest time.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi team driver Jari-Matti Latvala was closest to Petter’s stage time - six-tenths adrift - while Dani Sordo rounded off the top three times.

Running first through Friday’s stages, championship leader Sebastien Loeb was seventh quickest, 14sec slower than Solberg but feeling better about his pace than he had been after SS3.

“The [road] cleaning was much less here,” he said. “It’s damper and there’s less gravel so I had a better feeling.”

After the short 3.57km Koyka stage (SS5) crews will return to the Tsukisamu Dome for a 30-minute service.