Loeb leads Cork '20' International Rally

World Rally Sebastien Loeb, co-driven by Daniel Elena in their Citroen C4 WRC set fastest time on all eight stages of the opening leg of the Murphy Construction Cork '20' International Rally, the final round of the Global Group Irish Tarmac Championship.

Overnight, they lead their team mates. Dani Sordo/Mark Marti by one minute and 29.3 seconds.

Such was the Frenchman’s dominance he was able to test more components of his Citroen C4 in advance of Rally Ireland in November.

Loeb was 12.3 seconds faster than his team mate, Dani Sordo in the Citroen Xsara on the opening stage with Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen third – 11.6 seconds further adrift.

Hirvonen punctured on the second test and lost over four minutes as he stopped to change the wheel.

Loeb was in a class of his own, stage by stage he went further ahead and ended the day with a comfortable lead.

Sordo, even though he had no brakes for the final stage of the day, was still second fastest on the stage near Macroom.

He’s over two and a half minutes clear of third placed, Mark Higgins, who lost time with a puncture.

He’s also had to contended with an understeer problem in his Subaru WRC.

Eugene Donnelly (Subaru), in fourth, is on course to take the Irish Tarmac title, he clawed back time on the eighth and final stage of the day to move to within 5.1 seconds of Higgins, his only title rival.

Eamonn Boland (Subaru) is fifth overnight followed by Hirvonen, who was outside the top 50 after the

puncture on S.S. 2.

Aaron MacHale, Michael Barrable and Group N leader, Colm Murphy complete the top ten.

Gareth MacHale (Ford Focus WRC) is 16th, having lost time with a spin and a broken driveshaft on S.S. 5.

Patrick Elliott crashed out on the first stage.