SS18: Loeb and Tanak share the spoils

Ott Tanak and Sebastien Loeb were equal fastest as day two of Rally Sweden was rounded off with a second visit to the Hagfors Sprint stage.

The first visit to the stage earlier today had seen Tanak claim a maiden World Rally Championship fastest stage time, but this evening Loeb equalled his pace as he continued his recovery drive after delays from a trip off the road, a spin and a puncture.

Citroen man Loeb’s performance on the stage allowed him to edge ahead of Henning Solberg and end the day in sixth position, but for Tanak (Go Fast Energy Ford) - having lost nearly half an hour in incidents so far this weekend - only pride was at stake.

At the front of the field, Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala’s lead over Mikko Hirvonen stands at 23 seconds going into day three after the Citroen - which had little grip left on its tyres - dropped a couple of seconds on the very icy stage.

Petter Solberg was able to add half a second to his advantage over Mads Ostberg, meaning 11.1s now separates them in their battle to be third and top Norwegian.

Once again, drivers further down the order thrived on the short Hagfors stage, with Citroen’s newcomers Nasser Al-Attiyah and Thierry Neuville third and fourth quickest, and Patrik Sandell showing well in fifth for MINI as he edged away from Martin Prokop in the battle for eighth.