SS13: Latvala tops superspecial

Jari-Matti Latvala has claimed his first victory on an asphalt superspecial stage in the FIA World Rally Championship after he beat Sebastien Loeb to go fastest on the Celtic Manor test by 1.9s and grow his overall lead to 24.5s.

Latvala put his impressive time at the former Ryder Cup golf venue down to his decision to run worn tyres on the front of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. “The car was turning really well,” said Latvala. “I’m not usually so good on these stages but this was a fast one and it seems to suit me quite well.”

Russian Evgeny Novikov has closed to within 16.5s of sixth-placed M-Sport team-mate Ott Tanak after he beat the Estonian by 2.8s through the test to go third fastest. “It was better than I expected, a bit of fun at the end of the day with these used tyres and I enjoyed it,” said Novikov. “I am satisfied after this day.”

Petter Solberg was fourth quickest after reporting that he braked too early for one corner. Thierry Neuville was fifth fastest after dropping one second when he made a small mistake at the final hairpin. Mads Ostberg was sixth quickest after he admitted the stage surface had been more slippery than expected.

Matthew Wilson said his decision to bolt on his badly worn tyres on the front of his car triggered a bout of oversteer that made it difficult to control his Fiesta through the asphalt superspecial. He was 13th fastest behind Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi has reclaimed the lead in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship section, albeit by 0.1s over Craig Breen.