Hirvonen still leading after SS11 in Sweden

On Saturday’s opening stage of Rally Sweden, overnight leader Mikko Hirvonen almost doubled his lead over second placed Sebastien Loeb, taking it to more than 10 seconds for the first time.

Day two of the rally began in darkness at 0600hrs, when drivers left Karlstad for the 85km drive north to Hagfors and a 15 minute service. With the sun rising, and in a temperature of -21 degrees Celsius, they then embarked on the 18km journey west to the start of Vargasen.

Ford Focus driver Hirvonen was first to complete the stage, and reached the finish control with his car’s dashboard showing a positive set of split times compared to Loeb. "A good start but I’m having to push really hard," he said, "After the recce this one was full gravel so it’s really hard on the tyres. It’s okay, but for sure Seb will push like hell."

Loeb was next to complete in his Citroen C4 but had no immediate answer Hirvonen’s speed. "Mikko’s going very fast, and I don’t know why," he said. "Yesterday was the same. I tried my best but the stage conditions are difficult, there’s a lot of gravel around."

Loeb’s Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo was third fastest, but unhappy with his feeling in the car. "It’s really bad, I just don’t have confidence with the handling; I’m getting lots of understeer, especially at the end of long corners," he explained.

Ford’s number two driver Jari-Matti Latvala was fourth fastest, but endured an uncomfortable time in the freezing temperatures. "I can’t close the roof vent properly, so it was blowing in cold air during the stage and that was quite distracting" he said. "Other than that the stage was okay, I think, but the guys ahead are going fast."

Despite a misting windscreen, Marcus Gronholm set the fifth fastest time in his Stobart team Ford Focus. But after stopping during Friday’s competition with an electrical glitch, the Finn remained a long way down the overall standings, almost 14 minutes behind Hirvonen.

Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier set the sixth fastest time, but arrived with his C4 WRC missing its rear wing. "I don’t know when that happened, but I thought the back end was moving around a bit," he said at the stop control. "It’s very bad luck to happen now with so many high speed sections."

Loeb fights back through delayed Sagen

Sebastien Loeb responded to rally leader Mikko Hirvonen’s push through SS9 by going fastest through the 14.23km Sagen which followed and clawing back 3.9sec of the Finn’s advantage.

Last run in 2004, the return of the classic Sagen stage proved a huge draw for thousands of spectators who trudged through the snow to watch from the roadside. Unfortunately the stage proved so popular that organisers had to delay the start by 45 minutes until the crowds were safely positioned. The rest of this morning itinerary is likely to be delayed as a result.

First to complete, Hirvonen denied the pre-stage delay had affected his concentration, but the Ford driver sounded disappointed by his performance. "Not such a good drive this time, but that’s okay, the rally is still going on," he said. "We clipped snowbank, which destroyed the front bumper, but that’s no problem. It was a very slippery stage; maybe it will be better for the boys behind."

Sure enough Sebastien Loeb, the next driver through, was faster by 3.9 seconds. "Not bad; nearly as much as Mikko took this morning so it’s a good fight," he said. "The stage was really beautiful, I enjoyed it. It’s very wide with a good surface and constant gap. I’m quite happy, but I’m still behind."

Dani Sordo was fourth fastest, just 0.3sec behind Hirvonen’s time. "I’m happy with my time, it’s much quicker than the last stage and my car is handling much better" said the Spaniard."

Behind Sordo in the overall standings, and aiming to catch him today, Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala instead dropped six second further back. "Compared to Dani I’m losing time through stage and I don’t know where I’ve got it wrong," he said.

A late surprise on the Sagen timesheet came from Marcus Gronholm, running tenth on the road, who punched in the second fastest time - sandwiched between Loeb and Hirvonen.

Gronholm, who loves this stage so much he named his restaurant in Finland after it, said it was his best performance in the Stobart Ford Focus to date: "On the splits I was similar Loeb at the start but maybe then I was too nervous and the times were not there. But okay, this was the best stage for me so far."

Close shave for Sordo in SS11

Citroen Total team driver Dani Sordo had a lucky escape on the Fredriksberg stage after clipping a snowbank in a sixth-gear section and losing control of his C4 WRC.

The Spaniard dropped around 15 seconds in the incident, and reached the finish line with right-hand panel damage to his Citroen and a missing rear spoiler. With a big grin on his face, Sordo said he couldn’t understand how he had got away with it.

"We were going so fast in sixth when we hit the bank, then there was snow everywhere and I remember seeing trees and thinking it’s finished now," he explained. "Then, somehow, we were back in the middle of the road and we were alright. It’s incredible!"

Rally leaders Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb were the quickest drivers though the stage, with Loeb a slender 0.2sec ahead of his rival. Hirvonen’s lead over Loeb in the overall standings narrowed to 6.7seconds, and the pair pulled further ahead of the chasing pack, still led by Sordo almost 30 seconds further back.

Fourth placed Jari-Matti Latvala closed the gap on Sordo by six seconds - despite another frustrating stage in his Focus. "I really struggled with the car in this stage," he said. "I’m looking forward to trying a different set-up this afternoon."

More than a minute behind Latvala, Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier holds fifth place in his spoiler-less C4 WRC. "The handling is not perfect without it, I had to be a bit careful in the high speed sections," he said.

Results after 11 stages