SS17: Sordo holding on

Spaniard convinced he’s done enough to hold second despite Solberg’s progress

By Franck Drui

21 January 2012 - 21:02
SS17: Sordo holding on

Petter Solberg has taken yet more time out of Dani Sordo on Rallye Monte-Carlo but with a margin of 18.3s over the Norwegian, Spaniard Sordo believes he has enough of a gap to hold the position heading into the final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo on Sunday.

“Petter needs to push a little harder because I think we have enough of a gap now,” MINI driver Sordo told World Rally Radio after setting a time of 13m17.5s.

Solberg was fastest through the stage in 13m05.0s in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, 12.5s quicker than Sordo. “Everything is so nice and easy - it’s great,” said Sordo. “Okay we had to be a bit careful in the damp areas but I’m so happy and I’m really enjoying this rally.”

Sebastien Loeb kept his overall lead firmly intact with the second fastest stage time in his Citroen DS3 WRC, 7.7s down on Solberg.

Francois Delecour was third fastest in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta with Pierre Campana impressing with the fourth quickest time in his factory MINI.

In the battle for ninth position, Martin Prokop continues to keep Armindo Araujo at bay after they both took 13m32.5s to complete the stage.

Crews are now heading back to Monaco for service and the overnight halt. The final test, the 5.16-kilometre Power Stage, gets underway on Sunday at 10:11hrs local time.

Standings after Day 4:

Pos.DriverCarTime
01 S. LOEB / D. ELENA Citroën DS3 WRC 4h29m12.1s
02 D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO MINI WRC +2m41.6s
03 P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSON Ford Fiesta RS WRC +3m00.7s
04 M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN Citroën DS3 WRC +4m05.6s
05 E. NOVIKOV / D. GIRAUDET Ford Fiesta RS WRC +6m00.8s
06 F. DELECOUR / D. SAVIGNONI Ford Fiesta RS WRC +6m55.7s
07 P. CAMPANA / S. DE CASTELLI MINI WRC +8m21.3s
08 O. TÄNAK / K. SIKK Ford Fiesta RS WRC +10m27.2s
09 M. PROKOP / J. TOMANEK Ford Fiesta RS WRC +16m06.3s
10 A. ARAÚJO / M. RAMALHO MINI WRC +16m09.6s
11 M. WILSON / S. MARTIN Ford Fiesta RS WRC +18m39.2s
12 K. ABBRING / L. VANNESTE SKODA Fabia S2000 +18m42.2s
13 H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR Ford Fiesta RS WRC +20m11.3s
14 C. BREEN / G. ROBERTS Ford Fiesta S2000 +24m07.6s
15 B. BOUFFIER / X. PANSERI Peugeot 207 S2000 +27m19.0s
16 M. BURRI / S. REY Peugeot 207 S2000 +30m08.1s
17 C. ROBERT / Y. PERRET Citroën DS3 R3T +31m58.8s
18 O. BURRI / J-J FERRERO Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +34m45.3s
19 S. CHARDONNET / T. DE LA HAYE Renault Clio R3 +36m33.2s
20 P. NOBRE / E. PAULA MINI WRC +38m38.0s

WRC

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