SS11: Latvala makes fast start

Mikko Hirvonen was determined to put the pressure back on Rally Sweden leader Jari-Matti Latvala as day two got underway, but it was the Ford man who set the pace on the leg-opening Vargasen stage.

Latvala came through 2.2 seconds faster than Hirvonen to set the fastest time, extending his overall advantage to 19s - despite having been slower than his rival early on the stage.

"It looked like at the beginning of the stage Mikko was already two seconds ahead of me, so I was slightly stressed at that moment," Latvala admitted.

"It was a part of the stage I have never driven very well. But after that I found a good rhythm on the fast, wider roads."

Hirvonen vowed not to let his former team-mate get away, though.

"I’m trying to push really hard but obviously he can see my splits and he’s definitely fighting back," Hirvonen said.

"I’ll really, really try to keep pressure on him and go as fast as I can."

Going second fastest on the stage did at least allow Hirvonen to pull away from second-place rival Petter Solberg, who was fourth quickest and dropped 11.5s behind the Citroen. That also meant Mads Ostberg’s Adapta Ford moved back to within 8.8s of Solberg’s works car, as the former responded to some early bad luck by charging to the third fastest time.

"Out of service we had a puncture, just after tyre marking," Ostberg explained.

"I only have a used spare so we are running on the left rear with a previously used right hand tyre. I was a bit angry, so I pushed quite hard..."

Star of the stage was Ott Tanak, who set a stunning fifth fastest time despite being third on the road following his Friday morning calamity, which had left him down in 28th on the overnight leaderboard.

Tanak was slightly quicker through the stage than world champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3 WRC), and although the Frenchman took 6.3s out of next target Henning Solberg, he admitted it would not be easy to catch the sixth-placed Go Fast Ford.

"It was difficult to find the rhythm in this one, I was not so confident. The grip was changing a lot with the snow," said Loeb.