Loeb did, however, move to quell speculation that the problem may have been a cover for something rather more tactical as the road order is expected to prove significant over the two remaining days.
“I just hit the starter button and it didn't work,” he said. “We tried everything. In the end we rolled the car back, pushed it and finally got it going. It had nothing to do with tactics.”
Loeb's problems leave him marginally ahead of team-mate Dani Sordo and Latvala, the
Citroen and Ford ‘second-drivers' currently scrapping over third place.
The Spaniard got the nod on the final stage of the day to move onto the provisional podium, although Latvala will start ahead of him on the road courtesy of the road order being decided after SS6. This came despite Latvala's attempts to dodge the problem by stopping before the end of the stage, only to lose a lot of time yet still remain a mere four tenths up on Sordo.
“It means a fantastic road position for tomorrow,” Sordo said. “But Latvala is close behind so I will try to hold my position. It won't be easy but I will take some risks.”
Unsurprisingly, with the factory Ford and Citroen teams trading times at the front of the field, the following pack have fallen behind considerably, with
Francois Duval now assuming best of the rest status, 1min 27.9secs down the road.
“It's my first time with this car on these tyres and so far it's been really good,” the Belgian revealed. “Tomorrow I'll try a softer set-up to try and find some more grip but it's okay. Jari is quite far ahead now, but I'll be watching out for Aava behind me.”
Chris Atkinson had been doing the best job of keeping the leaders honest but despite some promising initial times in the developing
Subaru Impreza, he crashed on SS4 and was forced into retirement. As such, Duval is a fine fifth in the
Stobart Ford Focus after a relatively quiet day bridging the gap between the works teams and the satellite outfits.
