Sebastien Loeb became the new leader of Rally GB on Friday’s final stage after a puncture cost Jari-Matti Latvala more than one minute.
Following a clean run through the short Sweet Lamb test (SS6) Latvala carried a 4.5sec rally lead into the repeat of the Myherin stage. But a left-hand rear puncture five kilometres from the start line meant the Ford Focus driver emerged from the test in sixth.
Sebastien Loeb was the stage winner, to top the day one leaderboard 1.8 seconds ahead of fellow Citroen C4 WRC driver Petter Solberg. Sebastien Ogier was third quickest through the stage to end the day third overall, a slender 1.8sec behind Solberg.
Overall standings after SS7:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sébastien LOEB | Citroën C4 WRC | 1h15m34.6s |
| 02 | Petter SOLBERG | Citroën C4 WRC | +1.8s |
| 03 | Sébastien OGIER | Citroën C4 WRC | +3.6s |
| 04 | Mikko HIRVONEN | Ford Focus WRC | +42.2s |
| 05 | Dani SORDO | Citroën C4 WRC | +48.9s |
| 06 | Jari-Matti LATVALA | Ford Focus WRC | +1m07.0s |
| 07 | Henning SOLBERG | Ford Focus WRC | +2m30.5s |
| 08 | Matthew WILSON | Ford Focus WRC | +3m19.3s |
| 09 | Mads OSTBERG | Subaru Impreza WRC | +3m38.3s |
| 10 | Kimi RAÏKKONEN | Citroën C4 WRC | +4m27.1s |
| 11 | Andreas MIKKELSEN | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +5m10.2s |
| 12 | Ken BLOCK | Ford Focus WRC | +5m28.2s |
| 13 | Jari KETOMAA | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +5m43.0s |
| 14 | Khalid AL QASSIMI | Ford Focus WRC | +6m28.5s |
| 15 | Eyvind BRYNILDSEN | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +7m20.2s |