SS4 : First stage triumph for Loeb

Sebastien Loeb has taken his first stage victory on this year’s Rally Guanajuato Mexico.

The defending world champion edged Citroen team-mate Sebastien Ogier by 0.4 seconds on the final gravel stage of Friday morning. As a result he has cut Ogier’s overall margin to 1.2 seconds.

“Ogier is very fast since this morning but it’s okay,” said Loeb. “I’m happy with the car and the balance. We have no power [because of the altitude] but it’s the same for everybody.”

Ogier reported dropping a few seconds in dust clouds created by Jari-Matti Latvala, who picked up a slow rear-left puncture approximately four kilometres into the stage. Nevertheless he set the second fastest time.

Petter Solberg recorded the third quickest time and remains third overall after hardening the suspension settings on his Citroen DS3 WRC, which is eligible for manufacturers’ championship points for the first time on this event.

Mikko Hirvonen, the world championship leader, was pleased with his run through the stage, the final one he will have to ‘clean’ in his role opening the road for the drivers running behind. “This stage went really and I was very happy how I drove on that one,” said the Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver.

While Hirvonen was satisfied at the completion of the run, there was frustration for Hirvonen’s team-mate Latvala, whose puncture cost him more than two minutes and dropped him down the leaderboard. “I did not hit anything and I have no idea what happened,” said Latvala.

Crews are now heading back to Leon for the all-asphalt Leon Street Stage, a 1.33-kilometre test close to the permanent service park, which gets underway at 12:12hrs local time.

Standings after SS4: