SS7: Loeb rapid on asphalt opener

Sebastien Loeb cemented his position as the leader of RallyRACC-Rally de Espana by going fastest through the grueling all-asphalt 45.97-kilometre El Priorat stage, the longest of Spain’s world championship qualifier.

Loeb’s performance in his Citroen DS3 WRC means he now heads Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala on the mixed-surface round by 34.9s.

“It’s a long stage but the car was very well balanced, which is very important on a long stage like this,” said the defending world champion following his run through Saturday’s first test. “It was a very good drive, constant start to the end, with no mistake.”

Latvala impressed by recording a time just 4.3s slower than Loeb, an established asphalt expert. He was thrilled at the stage finish: “It’s the best performance on this stage ever, I have never been so quick but on the other hand it’s not enough. We are taking two spares [compared to Loeb’s one] so we have a bit of extra weight. It means there are some places towards the end where the rear of the car is sliding a bit but it is going very well on Tarmac.”

Sebastien Ogier’s efforts to recover the time lost on Friday with a puncture suffered a setback when he picked up another deflation. He was 1m44.4s slower than Citroen team-mate Loeb as a result and has slipped behind MINI WRC Team aces Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke as a result. “It was a rear puncture but this time I was completely in the middle of the road,” he said. “Yesterday it was my fault but today I really don’t know.”

Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen stays in third but was surprised that his time was slower than that of his rivals. “I really don’t understand my time, that’s unbelievable because I felt I had a really good stage. I’m amazed, that’s all I can say.”

Mads Ostberg reported a vibration at the front of his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta nearing the stage end. Team-mate Henning Solberg revealed that he is suffering from a fever, while Evgeny Novikov said a powersteering glitch had slowed his Citroen.

Standings after SS7: