SS2: Hirvonen loses ground

Mikko Hirvonen fell back from third to fifth place on stage two of ADAC Rallye Deutschland as he struggled for confidence in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

While Hirvonen’s team-mate Sebastien Loeb stormed further ahead at the front of the field, Hirvonen was only seventh-quickest and dropped behind Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford World Rally Team) and Thierry Neuville (Citroen Junior) in the podium battle.

"I just don’t have a good feeling and don’t have any rhythm," said Hirvonen. "I’m really struggling. I’m just being too cautious all the time. It’s not a good drive at all. I’m not just cautious on the gravel, on other places as well. I just don’t have good confidence now."

Although Latvala moved up from fourth to third, he felt his Ford’s set-up was too soft - a problem he cannot rectify until the midday service.

"This is a rally where Sebastien is super strong, I don’t expect to be able to fight with him, but still I’m a little bit down about the speed," Latvala confessed.

The Finn is just 1.8s ahead of Neuville, while Hirvonen is now a further 4.5s back.

At the front, Loeb was quickest by 4.4s over second-placed Petter Solberg, to stretch his outright advantage over the Norwegian to 9.6s.

"It was okay, a good drive, no mistakes. It’s difficult here in Germany, especially in the vineyards, with only two passes on the recce because everything is new. I tried not to make any mistakes and not to do too much, and it was okay," said Loeb.

Solberg reckoned he was on course to stay closer to Loeb until a problem struck, although he preferred not to elaborate on the nature of his issue.

"It looked good but I had a small problem and that’s why we lost quite a lot. This can happen sometimes. But it’s okay, we’re doing the best we can," said Solberg.

Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo are within 5s of Hirvonen in sixth and seventh places, while Mads Ostberg is falling away in eighth as brake worries continue to affect his Adapta Ford.