Petter Solberg’s bid to win Rallye de France Alsace has suffered a huge blow after a front-right puncture slowed his privateer Citroen DS3 WRC.
The Norwegian’s delay has allowed Sebastien Ogier to snatch top spot in his factory Citroen. Ogier, from France, won the stage and is now 3.3s ahead of MINI ace Dani Sordo, while Solberg is now 41.3s off the lead.
“It was okay, it’s not easy to take maximum risks but we try to drive well,” said Ogier. “It’s difficult to make a difference. Now we are in a fight with Dani and we try to continue like this.”
Jari-Matti Latvala was the quickest Ford driver in third, 4.7s slower than Ogier. Kris Meeke was fifth fastest, Mads Ostberg sixth and Dennis Kuipers seventh best for the FERM Power Tools World Rally Team.
Evgeny Novikov is understood to have stopped in his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 1h47m58.1s |
| 02 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI WRC | +3.3s |
| 03 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +41.3s |
| 04 | K. MEEKE / P. NAGLE | MINI WRC | +1m12.5s |
| 05 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m21.1s |
| 06 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m36.7s |
| 07 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m19.3s |
| 08 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m44.7s |
| 09 | A. ARAÚJO / M. RAMALHO | MINI WRC | +4m03.6s |
| 10 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +4m16.7s |
| 11 | P. CAMPANA / S. DE CASTELLI | MINI WRC | +5m33.2s |
| 12 | K. BLOCK / A. GELSOMINO | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +5m33.4s |
| 13 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +5m45.7s |
| 14 | O. TÄNAK / K. SIKK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +5m46.3s |
| 15 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6m53.4s |