SS13: Loeb on a charge

he duel between the two Citroen Total World Rally Team drivers got off to an explosive start on the Jordan Rally’s second day of competition as Sebastien Loeb went fastest, taking 6.7 seconds out of team-mate Sebastien Ogier’s overnight lead of 31.6 seconds.

Loeb’s time of 8m30.6s was 3.8s faster than his closest rival, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala.

“I couldn’t have hoped for more,” said Loeb. “I’m just trying to go as fast as possible.”

“I wasn’t so happy with that,” said Latvala. “I lost time on the Tarmac section.”

Latvala had made set-up changes at yesterday’s lunchtime service after finding his Fiesta RS WRC nervous on the sealed surface areas of the course.

Petter Solberg, third fastest in the stage, was just 0.3 seconds slower than Latvala in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

“It’s working quite well but this is going to be a long day,” he said. “We’re trying as hard as we can.”

Latvala’s team-mate Mikko Hirvonen found his position in today’s running order much more conducive to fast times. Yesterday he was first on the road and described the virgin gravel surface as “like driving on ball bearings”.

“There’s so many rocks we’re hitting,” he said after SS13. “It’s better today running fifth on the road. In places there’s more grip, especially under braking. You can just find the line and there’s grip.”

Hirvonen was 6.6 seconds adrift of Loeb’s time and 0.9 seconds faster than Ogier, whose cause may have been aided by the Tarmac sections of the stage.

“I’m relatively happy with the performance, given our starting position,” Ogier said.

The results of the stage did not affect the order of the top five overall, but it brings Loeb, Latvala and Solberg closer. Hirvonen is 2m30.8s behind Ogier in sixth overall.

Mads Ostberg and Henning Solberg, both restarting under Superally regulations after retiring yesterday, were sixth and seventh fastest but out of overall contention.

M-Sport Stobart Ford’s Matthew Wilson set the eighth fastest stage time, 3.6 seconds faster than Kimi Raikkonen in ninth. Raikkonen lies sixth overall but Wilson is just 8.4 seconds behind.

SWRC leader Nasser Al-Attiyah stopped on the stage - his Ford Fiesta S2000 reportedly suffering an engine problem.

Standings after SS13: