Jari-Matti Latvala completes the top six, only 0.8 seconds off P5, followed by
Evgeny Novikov and
Stobart Ford duo,
Matthew Wilson and
Henning Solberg, all three more than 45 seconds off the duel for fifth.
"I've not so driven so well," said Latvala. "I'm not driving like I did on the test last week and I seem to have lost my feeling for asphalt. Conditions were demanding with both wet and dry roads and I didn't have the right feel for the changing grip. It should be dry this afternoon so the grip should be more consistent. The rear brakes locked in tight corners and I want the car to be soft at the rear so we will change the rear anti-roll bar in service."
Of the rest,
Munchi's Ford man
Federico Villagra rounds out the top ten, whilst in the Junior WRC, Hans Weijs Jr is narrowly ahead of 2009 Junior champion and fellow
Citroen C2 S1600 runner, Martin Prokop.
The action now continues with a repeat run through this morning's three stages, which will bring the first leg to a close.
Overall times after SS3 / Top 15:
1.
Dani Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC
35mins 33.0secs M
2.
Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC
+00mins 04.8secs M
3.
Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC
+00mins 19.1secs M
4.
Petter Solberg PSWRT
Citroen C4 WRC
+00mins 37.9secs A8
5.
Sebastien Ogier Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC
+00mins 59.2secs MT
6.
Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC
+01mins 00.0secs M
7.
Evgeny Novikov Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC
+01mins 49.4secs MT
8.
Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC
+01mins 53.5secs MT
9.
Henning Solberg Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC
+02mins 09.7secs MT
10.
Federico Villagra Munchi's Ford Focus RS WRC
+02mins 21.3secs MT
11.
Dany Snobeck Peugeot 307 WRC
+02mins 52.5secs A8
12.
Khalid Al Qassimi BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC
+02mins 52.6secs A8
13.
Conrad Rautenbach Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC
+03mins 07.1secs MT
14.
Paul Bird Ford Focus RS WRC
+03mins 12.4secs A8
15.
Hans Weijs Jr Citroen C2 S1600
+03mins 39.9secs J
Overall JWRC after SS3 / Top 3:
1.
Hans Weijs Jr Citroen C2 S1600
39mins 12.1secs J
2.
Martin Prokop Citroen C2 S1600
+00mins 00.8secs J
3.
Jordi Marti Renault Clio R3
+00mins 56.2secs J
Notable retirements:
None.
* denotes elected/able to re-start under SupeRally format.
M - denotes Manufacturer entry.
MT - denotes Manufacturer Team entry.
J - denotes Junior WRC entry.
all times unofficial
