Loeb leads Rally Australia

World champion Sebastien Loeb ended day two of the Rally Australia in the lead after Marcus Gronholm retired early on.

Citroen driver Loeb won three of the stages today to take a 1minute 20.5 seconds lead over the remaining Peugeot of Harri Rovanpera heading into the final day.

Gronholm, who had a comfortable overnight lead of 21.4secs on Loeb after winning a total of five stages on the event, was forced out after he crashed on the opening stage of the second leg.

The Finn had been chasing his second victory of the season after a rollercoaster year in the Peugeot 307.

Gronholm is the third works driver to retire Down Under with Ford’s Markko Martin and Petter Solberg dropping out on leg one.

However, Subaru driver Solberg continued to impress after returning to action following his retirement.

The Norwegian set the pace on a further five stages after winning two yesterday, but does not qualify for points on the event after bowing out and admits he is finding it hard without the pressure.

“When you’re out of the fight and the pressure’s off, it’s difficult to push that last little bit,” Solberg said.

“We’re out there now to experiment with the set-up a bit and have a little fun, it’s not quite a Sunday drive though.”

Northern Ireland’s Niall McShea finished second in the production category with current championship leader Jani Paasonen fifth.