SS15: Loeb hits trouble in Mexico

Sebastien Loeb will pick up a 50-second time penalty for starting stage 15 of Rally Guanajuato Mexico five minutes behind schedule.

Loeb completed the morning loop of stages with an advantage of 19.7 seconds over Sebastien Ogier, but will trail his Citroen team-mate when the penalty is applied after suffering a gearbox problem prior to starting the stage.

“We were really late on the road section because of massive traffic,” said Loeb. “We were at the starting line in the [allocated] minute but I lost the gears and couldn’t change the gear any more. We were in third gear and it was impossible to take the start in this position and we had to work a lot on the car. It seems we’ve fixed the gearbox connection with a part from the rear bumper. It’s okay now.”

Ogier said he was concerned that the problem that hit Loeb’s car could also strike his DS3 WRC: “It’s not like this I want to change the lead,” said Ogier. “I hope it’s not a big problem for him. We have the same car and the same team and it cannot be good for me as well.”

Mikko Hirvonen says he is “taking it cautiously” in his factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC as he maintains his grip on a comfortable third place.

Jari-Matti Latvala has a replacement gearbox in his Fiesta, which was fitted at midday service in Leon. The change, coupled with a different approach to his driving, has paid dividends after he set the second fastest time. “My team told me to concentrate more on taking the line and it’s worked,” he said.

Henning Solberg has suffered a repeat of the powersteering problems that hampered his Fiesta this morning and has dropped behind his younger brother Petter in the overall standings as a result. Petter Solberg was fastest on the run, his fourth stage victory of the rally in his DS3 WRC.

Standings after SS15 (before Loeb’s penalty):