Loeb leads as Hirvonen falls

11/11/11 has been said to be the luckiest day of the year, for some at least. It wasn't for a certain Ford-mounted Finn though.

Mikko Hirvonen went into Wales Rally GB only 8 points behind title rival, seven-times World Champion Sebastian Loeb. Indeed, it shaped up to be a thrilling fight between Loeb, Hirvonen & Jari-Matti Latvala, in the other works Ford. The commitment from all three drivers was a sight to behold, but Hirvonen dropped out of the fight, the rally and the fight for the World title with a spin on SS7. A spin is innocent enough sounding, however when you hit a hidden tree stump and damage your radiator, it can and did spell disaster. Hirvonen retired on the road section after the stage, and even after efforts by the Ford mechanics to repair the Fiesta, it was discovered the overheated engine was 'dead', spelling retirement for the Finn.

“It was very tricky in the morning and the grip level was changing quite a lot. On one braking [point] it was very slippery and I was too fast into the next corner. There was a big slide and the rear touched the bank. I spun and it pulled the front of the car into a bank where there was a tree stump. The wood came through the radiator. There was no real damage but we lost all the water in the engine. We carried on for five-six kilometres but that was it.”

“Like you said it’s over for sure. I have to thank the team for a really good effort and all the help. Unfortunately we have to look to the future and see what we can do in the future.” said Hirvonen.

With Hirvonen out of the picture, Jari-Matti Latvala will be going all out to score Ford's first win in Wales since 2007, when, ironically, Hirvonen took the win & Loeb came third. Latvala cut Loeb's 17 sec advantage after SS7 to just 1.1 secs after SS11. It could be argued that Loeb is just cruising, but the real racer within him will be trying to overcome his brain and fight Latvala. The next 2 days will tell if Loeb decides to cruise or take his eighth World Title in style.

Behind the battle for first, Mads Ostberg was thrown a life-line before the rally when an anonymous backer stepped in and produced the necessary funds for Ostberg to compete. He currently lies 3^rd, over 1 min off the leading duo. Fourth is four-times winner of Wales Rally GB, Petter Solberg. The Norwegian is 7.8 secs behind countryman Ostberg, but 40 secs on SS7 with a puncture and broken damper.

Fifth is the older of the Solberg brothers, Henning. He currently lies fifth, with Ott Tanak showing great pace in sixth. Tanak is also the only driver in the Top 10 on Mack tyres, with the rest on Michelins.

Only 5 secs separates Tanak, Kimi Raikkonen (seventh) and Kris Meeke (eighth). Meeke lost time this morning with an issue with the alternator, which he and co-driver Paul Nagle were forced to stop mid-stage to rectify. The 2009 Intercontinental Rally Champion is sure he could have been third had it not been for his problems. Nevertheless, he took his second fastest stage time of his MINI WRC career on SS9. Team-mate Dani Sordo's car made an unexpected trip to a ditch on SS5, a very uncharacteristic error, owing to the conditions.

Matthew Wilson lost well over a minute because of the conditions on SS11, dropping him to ninth whilst Dennis Kuipers is tenth.

A combination of mud, rain and fog have caused major headaches for some drivers. Sordo went out, as mentioned above, on SS5. Peter Van Merksteijn Jr. crashed out too, and Matt Wilson lost a lot of time on SS11.

Patrik Flodin leads P-WRC comfortably by over 2 mins after rally leader Jarkko Nikara crashed out on SS11. Flodin himself lost time with a spin too on SS7, but the 9 deficit was nullified when Nikara crashed out. Flodin is also sporting a new co-driver in Timo Alanne, due to Goran Bergsten's work commitments. Michal Kosciuszko is second, 20 secs ahead of Martin Semerad in third, who was slowed by an engine problem.

“It was quite okay today but the conditions were tricky. We still need to get used to each other and build a good relationship but it’s working well so far.” said Flodin, who is looking to cement second in the P-WRC table.

In the WRC Academy, Craig Breen commands a 4 min lead over Egon Kaur, who is in turn holds a 33 sec lead over Alastair Fisher, who slid off the road on SS11. Breen began the event with 20 points between himself and Kaur, but with his pace he has narrowed the gap to 13 points. Provided he can hold the lead of the rally to the end, and win seven more stages, he could become the first winner of the WRC Academy, and the €500,000 scholarship prize it entails.