SS25: Hirvonen moves into top spot

Mikko Hirvonen has moved into the lead of Rally Australia after Jari-Matti Latvala slowed to boost his team-mate’s chances of winning the drivers’ world championship for the first time.

Latvala admitted stopping his Ford Fiesta RS WRC shortly before the stage finish to enable Hirvonen to move ahead and gain 25 points.

“I stopped before the yellow board,” said Latvala. “We decided as a team that Mikko has a better chance for the drivers’ championship so I wanted to support him. Of course every driver who wants to win needs to have a tactical approach. I needed to see the bigger picture and help the team.”

Hirvonen, who now leads by 15.1s, said: “Unfortunately Jari-Matti lost his chances of the title a few months ago and he’s helping me now. I appreciate it a lot because it helps me in the title fight. It’s a long way to go but I lost the title by one point [in 2009] so I know that every point counts.”

Citroen responded to Ford’s move when it ordered Sebastien Ogier, who was ninth at the start of the stage, to drop behind team-mate Sebastien Loeb who has moved into 10th position. “He started a bit late to give me a chance to score one point,” said Loeb.

Ogier added: “I received a team order and I respected this.”

When asked if the loss of a potential two drivers’ championship points would spell the end of his title chances, Ogier said: “I have no comment about that. You can draw your own conclusion but no comment for me.”

Peter van Merksteijn Jr reported a scare when he nearly went off the road close to the stage start in his Citroen. Production Car World Rally Championship leader Hayden Paddon was also in trouble when he ran wide and nudged a bank in his Subaru Impreza.