SS2: Loeb moves up

Sebastien Loeb has made up two places in the battle for victory on Wales Rally GB. The Citroen ace, the winner of the FIA World Rally Championship on eight occasions, started the stage in fourth place but has now climbed to second, despite going 0.4s slower than stage victor Petter Solberg in a factory Fiesta.

The Norwegian’s overall lead increases to 2.3s with Mads Ostberg, who was second overall after the opening test, slipping to third after the Adapta driver feared he picked up a puncture. “I hit a stone and thought I had a punctured and started to slow down,” said Ostberg. “I lost two seconds because of that and couldn’t make it back up.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, in the second works Fiesta, was 4.4s slower than Solberg after a scare three kilometres into the test when he ran wide off the road and nudged a pile of logs. He completed the stage with a piece of wood wedged between a rim and tyre. He was fifth fastest and falls to fourth overall.

Thierry Neuville, who chose to run at the head of the field at the ceremonial start in Llandudno on Thursday evening, was 46.3s slower than Solberg. He said: “It’s a little drier than the stage before but still some parts are very slippery.”

Problems for Prokop, Tanak

Martin Prokop and Ott Tanak have both reported frustrating starts to Wales Rally GB after their Ford Fiesta RS WRCs were struck by mechanical glitches.

Prokop’s Czech Ford National Team Fiesta suffered a loss of sixth gear early in the opening stage, which is starving the machine of outright speed. Tanak, meanwhile, said he is being slowed by a powersteering fault in his M-Sport-run car, which also developed on the first stage.

With crews prevented from carrying out major repairs at the upcoming remote service halt in Newtown, both drivers are likely to have to soldier through the day’s closing stages with their respective woes.

“It’s really difficult on the high-speed sections and we have to slow down to save the engine,” said Prokop. “Hopefully the gearbox will last all day because we can’t change it at the remote service.”