SS10: Andersson fastest again in Sweden

Mads Ostberg will take a slender lead of 0.4s into the final stage of Saturday morning’s opening loop.

Ostberg started the day’s first test 14.8s up on Mikko Hirovnen at the wheel of a similar Ford Fiesta RS WRC but has lost ground on each stage this morning cleaning the loose surface road for the drivers running behind.

After completing the Fredriksberg run, Ostberg said: “It was very difficult with a lot of snow on the road. I was pushing hard but I can’t do any more without pushing up to my limit and making mistakes. I’m still feeling confident but it’s not as much fun fighting with the drivers behind when you’re not as quick as them.”

Petter Solberg completed the stage with the second fastest time but his efforts to close on the leaders suffered a blow when he picked up a 10-second time penalty for a late arrival at the time control prior to the stage start.

“I lost time at the end when I did a mistake not so far from the finish,” said Solberg. “I lost a few seconds but it’s not bad.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, third fastest on the stage, is now 7.6s behind Solberg, despite reporting that his Fiesta’s windscreen was misting up towards the end of the stage.

Sebastien Loeb completed the run with a rear-right puncture on his Citroen DS3 WRC. He was 12.7s slower than stage winner PG Andersson’s fastest time. “I thought there was something else broken but finally it was a puncture,” said Loeb. “I don’t know why.”

Despite going fastest, Andersson said he was adopting a cautious approach in his privately-entered Fiesta RS WRC. “I want to be fast but I need to stay on the road to learn the car. It feels like I’m back to zero,” said the former rally leader.

Standings after SS10: