Loeb’s perfect opening

WORLD champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) made the perfect start to his Monte Carlo Rally title defence as he ended the first day over a minute ahead of Dani Sordo (Mini WRC).

Although he led initially, Loeb was a second ahead of the Mini WRC of Dani Sordo — the leaderboard changed dramatically on the second test. A brave tyre choice by Latvala, who had opted for a super soft compound, paid dividends. His time for the stage was 52 seconds faster than Loeb and catapulted the Finnish ace from fourth (28 seconds off the lead) to first – as he opened up a 30.5 second advantage over Loeb. Latvala’s team mate, Petter Solberg slotted into third, he was also quicker than Loeb on the second test. Sordo damaged the suspension of his Mini when he clipped a rock and nursed the car to finish fourth followed by Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen DS3).

There was little between the top duo on SS 3. However, the rally took a turn on the final stage when Latvala rolled his Fiesta after he missed a note from his co-driver, Latvala concentrating too much on the ice surface.