Saturday midday wrap: Sordo heads French thriller

It’s been another morning of high drama on Rallye de France Alsace with three changes to the lead and a puncture dropping the unlucky Petter Solberg down to third.

Overnight pacesetter Dani Sordo continues to hold top spot in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC after fighting back ahead of Sebastien Ogier by going fastest on stage 12. But with a slender 0.2s advantage over Ogier, the battle for World Rally Championship glory remains wide open.

“It’s hard when you are fighting like this but really nice also,” said Sordo. “I’m really concentrating hard and my co-driver Carlos [del Barrio] is doing a really good job. The car is also going very well.”

Ogier was quickest on stage nine and fastest again on stage 11 to snatch a lead of 3.3s prior to stage 12. “It’s a big fight but okay for us,” said the Citroen factory pilot. “The downhill section was a bit difficult, there was gravel on the road because of the cars [ahead]. Dani is driving very well now, so I have to keep driving like this.”

Solberg began day two in second position but was leading after stage 10. However, a slow front-right puncture picked up halfway through the 22.26 Valle de Munster test means he has slumped 40.9s behind Sordo in his privateer Citroen.

“Petter was driving as normal and didn’t report and problems or any big cuts so we’re very disappointed,” said Solberg’s team manager Ken Rees. “It looks like it was a slow puncture from the halfway mark from looking at the splits.”

Factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala capitalised on a spin by MINI driver Kris Meeke on stage 12 to take fourth overall. While Latvala admits he hasn’t been performing as well as he could, Meeke continues to impress on his first appearance on the demanding Alsace stages.

Mikko Hirvonen is sixth in the second works Fiesta and still unable to get on terms with the leaders in his bid to close up to title rival Sebastien Loeb, who retired when his Citroen developed an engine fault on Friday’s third stage.

Hirvonen needs to finish second in order to move to the top of the drivers’ table. As things stand, however, the eight points he is due for sixth place would leave him seven points adrift of Loeb with two events remaining.

Dennis Kuipers is an impressive seventh overall for the FERM Power Tools World Rally Team following brake problems on stage 12. Motorsport Italia MINI driver Armindo Araujo lost ground when he suffered a puncture on stage 10 but holds eighth overall, one place ahead of Henning Solberg.

Mads Ostberg, who had reported a handling imbalance on his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta, has slipped to 10th place following a puncture on stage 12. Ken Block has fought back to 11th following a puncture in his Monster World Rally Team Fiesta. The Gymkhana FOUR star is 0.1s ahead of Equipe de France FFSA MINI pilot Pierre Campana.

Russia’s Evgeny Novikov began day two in 11th overall but crashed his Fiesta into retirement on stage 10.

In the battle for the Super 2000 World Rally Championship Ott Tanak remains firmly in control, while title leader Juho Hanninen is out after tearing a wheel off his Skoda Fabia on stage 12.

Yeray Lemes inherited the lead of the WRC Academy Cup when Craig Breen broke a driveshaft clouting a bank one kilometre from the end of Saturday’s second stage.

Following a 15-minute remote service halt in the town of Colmar south of the event base in Strasbourg, crews will tackle the repeat of the Hohlandsbourg stage at 1302hrs local time.