SS23: Loeb fastest

Sebastien Loeb made the most of a handful of small driving errors by his Citroen team-mate Sebastien Ogier to win the first pass of the 4.58-kilometre Clarence test, which will form the rally-closing Power Stage later this afternoon.

Loeb, out of contention following his roll on Friday, can rescue some drivers’ championship points by winning the Power Stage. “I tried to push to be prepared for this afternoon,” said Loeb.

Ogier, who has fought his way into the top 10, added: “I did a lot of mistakes in that stage so I am not happy.”

Out front, Jari-Matti Latvala’s lead over Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen remains at 19.7s after the Finns set the same time through the test with Latvala reporting another moment.

“I came too fast into one corner and lost time,” said Latvala. “I’ll have to change my approach on that corner for the Power Stage this afternoon.”

Henning Solberg suffered a low-speed roll in his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta but managed to continue following a delay of almost three minutes. “I am sorry for that but I had to try,” said the Norwegian. “It was my fault but we are okay.”

New Zealander Hayden Paddon continues to lead the Production Car World Rally Championship in his Subaru Impreza. “We’ve got a good lead so we’re taking it easy,” said Paddon.