SS8: Hirvonen fights back

Mikko Hirvonen has claimed his second stage win on Philips Rally Argentina, edging out Citroen team-mate and rally leader Sebastien Loeb in the process as the battle for victory on round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia intensifies.

Hirvonen, from Finland, started day two 0.1s behind Loeb but slipped back when Loeb topped the timesheets on Saturday’s first test. However, the Finn’s performance on stage eight means the gap out front is down to a slender 2.4s heading to the longest stage of the day, the 39.74-kilometre Intiyaco-Golpe de Agua run.

“I really enjoyed that stage, it was fantastic with all those jumps,” said Hirvonen, who has yet to win in Argentina and has been told by Citroen bosses he is free to challenge team leader Loeb for the victory.

Loeb was 1.5s slower than Hirvonen in third. He said: “Yes I lost a bit of time. I done a few mistakes because I pushed too hard at the start and I was off the line. It was not easy.”

Petter Solberg continued his charge up the leaderboard following his retirement on Friday afternoon with the second fastest time, a mere 0.5s slower than the standard set by Hirvonen. The factory Ford driver said he was on a “big push” in his efforts to move back into the point-scoring positions.

Dani Sordo reported that he was struggling for confidence in his Fiesta, which he said was “moving about a lot” on a mixture of soft and hard compound tyres. “Some places I am over the limit, some places I am too slow,” said the Spaniard, who was fifth fastest. “It’s not very good.”