Daniel Sordo meanwhile remained third, despite not scoring there after he crashed out, while
Mikko Hirvonen moved up to fourth as a result of his third place finish. Manfred Stohl dropped to fifth.
In the Manufacturers' series, Kronos Citroen saw their 23 point cushion reduced back to 15 points following BP Ford’s 1-3 finish.
News from the Manufacturers' teams:
Manufacturer 1.
Kronos Total Citroen:
[
Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and
Daniel Sordo, car #2]
Sebastien Loeb has vowed that he will push as much as he can on day one in Japan in order to ensure he doesn't lose too much time sweeping away the loose gravel. Loeb added that while running first on the road on Friday will be a disadvantage he is going to wait and see how things pan out on before deciding whether or not to push and go for the victory. Furthermore while he has yet to win the event, the WRC has only visited the country twice to date and both times Loeb has finished second.
"We've only competed twice in Japan," he noted. "In 2004, I was fighting for first place until Saturday morning before changing my tactics. Last year,
Citroen, Daniel [Elena] and I were 'programmed' to finish third, which meant that I could score six points and clinch my second world title. This year, it's hard to say what will happen. [
BP Ford team leader] Marcus [Gronholm] told me he wants to win all the remaining rallies on the calendar. On my side, every time an event starts, I always want to be the fastest - and to win it. On top of that, I need to score as many manufacturers' points as possible for Kronos Racing. I think I'll start as quick as I can like usual, trying not to lose too much time while sweeping the road and then I'll see what happens after that on the second leg."
