Miami GP || May 5 || 16h00 (Local time)

SS14: Mechanical failure forces Latvala to retire

Charging Loeb closes on third

By Franck Drui

28 May 2011 - 22:32

Sebastien Ogier will take a lead of 21.1s into Saturday’s final stage.

Although the Frenchman was 2.0s slower than Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb through the Amboy-Santa Monica test, he was 5.7s faster than Petter Solberg, who is second overall.

Jari-Matti Latvala started the stage out of order following frantic attempts to repair a broken compression strut. However, he was instructed by his team to stop in the stage to prevent any further damage to his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Latvala’s team-mate Mikko Hirvonen occupies the final podium spot but is now just 13.1s clear of Loeb.

Standings after SS14:

Pos.	Driver	Car	Time
01	S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA	Citroën DS3 WRC	3h06m59.9s
02	P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON	Citroën DS3 WRC	+21.1s
03	M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+41.2s
04	S. LOEB / D. ELENA	Citroën DS3 WRC	+54.3s
05	M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+4m36.0s
06	F. VILLAGRA / J. PÉREZ COMPANC	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+5m30.1s
07	M. WILSON / S. MARTIN	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+6m33.3s
08	J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+7m19.2s
09	H. PADDON / J. KENNARD	Subaru Impreza	+20m36.6s
10	P. FLODIN / M. ANDERSSON	Subaru Impreza	+28m33.6s
11	M. KOSCIUSZKO / M. SZCZEPANIAK	Mitsubishi Evo X	+28m55.8s
12	D. TAGIROV / A. ZAVERSHINSKAYA	Subaru Impreza	+31m02.7s
13	K. BLOCK / A. GELSOMINO	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	+32m28.3s
14	A. KREMER / K. WICHA	Mitsubishi Evo X	+35m01.0s
15	N. FUCHS / F. MUSSANO	Mitsubishi Evo X	+35m19.5s