SS14: Ostberg pulls further clear of Latvala

The crews only tackled one stage this morning, the 8.98km ‘Cala Flumini’ test, which is completely new for 2014. This was the shortest stage on the rally and the only one where the sea can be viewed from the road.

If Jari-Matti Latvala wanted to put his second day disappointment firmly behind him and fight for second place, he didn’t show it on Sunday’s opening stage. The VW driver was 3.2s slower than Mads Ostberg, the man he was trying to catch.

The Norwegian’s fastest stage time increased his advantage in second place to 24.5s. Latvala, who was using hard compound tyres, said: “We were a little too careful in the beginning, I should have gone faster to be honest.”

Ostberg meanwhile, who used a couple of soft tyres on his Citroen DS3 WRC, was in confident mood when he saw the times at the stage end. “I want second place and I’m going to take it,” he said.