SS18: Flying Latvala closes in on Ogier

Jari-Matti Latvala threw caution to the wind in pursuit of his first WRC victory, setting the fastest time on the Jordan Rally’s 18th of 20 stages. The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver took a further 4.9 seconds out of Sebastien Ogier’s lead, bringing the margin to 5.3 seconds.

Latvala arrived at the flying finish sporting damaged front bodywork, a signifier of how hard he has had to push.

“It [the damaged bumper] is nothing serious,” he said. “When I’m attacking I’m taking some risks and cutting more than usual and that’s where the damage has come from. It’s going to be tight. Unbelievable! I don’t know what I need to do [to win] but for sure I will be in charge.”

Ogier deftly balanced risk with pace to set the second fastest stage time, 1.6 seconds quicker than his Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb.

“I drove almost perfectly in this stage,” said Ogier. “Any faster than that would be crazy. It’s not pressure, I’m just trying to do my best.”

“Ogier was very fast in this one,” said Loeb. “There were a lot of stones on the road but I did okay. Latvala is incredible this afternoon.”

Splitting the two Citroens, remarkably, was Henning Solberg, returning under Superally regulations after retiring yesterday. Solberg was surprised to be third fastest, 0.9 seconds quicker than Loeb.

“The car is going like hell now,” said Solberg. “It feels like it’s not the same car. Ay-ay-ay!”

Mikko Hirvonen continued to keep his powder dry for the Power Stage, setting the fifth fastest time, 11.6 seconds behind his factory Ford team-mate.

“I’m looking after my tyres for the final stage,” he said. “It looks like Loeb is trying to save his tyres as well.”

Henning Solberg’s team-mate Mads Ostberg, another of yesterday’s retirements, was sixth: “We’re testing now and testing’s always interesting. But it’s frustrating to be around people who are still in it and fighting for the lead.”

Seventh fastest, and pulling away from M-Sport Stobart Ford’s Matthew Wilson in the battle for fifth overall, was Kimi Raikkonen, who brought his DS3 WRC round 3.4 seconds faster than Wilson’s Fiesta.

“It’s okay,” said Raikkonen. “We’re doing better than on previous rallies.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with the car,” said Wilson. “We seem to have no grip whatsoever, like it’s floating on top of the road. We changed a couple of things at service but nothing we haven’t done before.”

Overall standings after SS18: