SS14: Ogier snatches Germany lead

Sebastien Loeb’s unbeaten run of victories on ADAC Rallye Deutschland could be over after he picked up a front-left puncture on his Citroen DS3 WRC.

Loeb began today’s final stage 3.4s clear of Citroen team-mate Sebastien Ogier but has now dropped to second, 1m13.3s behind Ogier heading into Sunday’s final five stages after one of his Michelin covers failed.

“I think maybe in a straight we saw a few rocks on the road,” said Loeb. “We were taking it easy but what can we do?”

Ogier, who was under orders to hold station behind Loeb, said: “For sure I can’t be happy when my team-mate had a problem. It’s a good thing there is justice in the sport.”

Third-placed Dani Sordo has responded to Mikko Hirvonen’s threat by going second fastest, 3.4s slower than stage winner Ogier. The MINI driver’s margin over Ford pilot Hirvonen is now 33.1s.

“We think we can do a little bit better but not much,” said Sordo. “We need to push him and the car is improving all the time.”

Kris Meeke completed the stage with damaged rear left suspension on his MINI John Cooper Works WRC following a moment close to the start.

“The car got away from me under braking. We changed the set-up for the stage but the car didn’t like it. We had a big vibration for the rest of the stage but we’re still here.”

Dennis Kuipers stopped 10 kilometres into the stage with a puncture. His misfortune has elevated Kimi Raikkonen up to seventh.

“I hit nothing,” said the FERM Power Tools World Rally Team driver. “It was at the beginning so I had to stop to change. We didn’t cut, it’s unbelievable. This is really disappointing.”

Jari-Matti Latvala failed to start the stage in his works Fiesta after he stopped on the previous run.

Standings after SS14: