SS14: Ogier sneaks into Acropolis lead

Sebastien Ogier has snatched the lead of the Acropolis Rally, albeit by a scant margin of 0.1s following Sunday’s first stage.

Ogier moved ahead of Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb after going 2.3s faster than the seven-time world champion through the test.

“It’s not enough to be comfortable but it’s not so bad,” said Ogier, who admitted deliberately dropping time on Saturday’s final stage to gain a more advantageous road position for Sunday.

Loeb, who is running first on the road and sweeping away the loose surface gravel for the drivers running behind, said: “I feel I had a very good drive, pushing very hard but there was a lot of loose gravel so for sure we lose a lot of time.”

The other big mover on the stage was Mikko Hirvonen, who overtook Petter Solberg for third with a rapid run in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. “It’s still there so we definitely have to go for it and really try hard,” said the Finn. “That was a really good drive but we have to stay calm and focussed. I was close to the edge but no moments.”

Solberg said: “It went okay but I did a couple of mistakes pushing hard and trying. It’s going to be a very tough fight. A podium is very important today.”

While Hirvonen was fast in his Fiesta, team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala was faster still to win the stage. “I got a stone in the car, which was distracting but otherwise it was a good stage,” he said.

Standings after SS14: