Source: wrc.com
Exactly one week after making the perfect start to the Rally de Espana, Frenchman Sébastien Loeb was at it again on day one of the Tour de Corse.
Six wins from six stages enabled Citroen's defending world champion to extend his lead throughout the day and after 119 competitive kilometres the Frenchman brought his C4 back to Ajaccio 32.3sec in front. Mikko Hirvonen, Loeb's chief rival for the 2008 drivers' title, was his closest challenger on three of Friday's stages and moved up to second following the retirement of Dani Sordo on SS3. But as Mikko brought his Focus RS WRC back to the service area this evening he admitted he didn't have an answer to Loeb's speed today. The BP Ford team's asphalt weapon, Francois Duval, rounded off Friday's competition third. The Belgian felt he had been disadvantaged in the early stages by a start position of eighth on the road. But while there wasn't a lot of movement in the top places, the three-way fight for fourth was extremely tight and promises to be just as exciting on Saturday. At the close of play only a handful of seconds separated Subaru World Rally Team drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson and Jari-Matti Latvala of the Stobart VK M-Sport Team. Solberg finished SS6 just ahead of Latvala, who was closely pursued by Atkinson. Battling a heavy cold Toni Gardemeister holds seventh but his illness had made it an uncomfortable time in his Suzuki SX4 WRC. Ford Focus driver Andreas Mikkelsen holds eighth - the final points winning place - but could have been far higher had he not mistakenly booked in early to the first stage and collected an 80 second penalty. Subaru World Rally Team driver Brice Tirabassi completed the day ninth but was struggling to find the correct set-up for his Impreza WRC2008. Photos: Citroën Sport
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