The fight for second place in Bulgaria swung back in Dani Sordo’s favour on SS12, when a stage win for the Spaniard meant he extended his lead over Petter Solberg to more than six seconds.
Solberg was Sordo’s closest rival though the stage, but said he had adopted a cautious approach when his car felt nervous on dirty sections of asphalt.
Sebastien Loeb was third quickest and will take a comfortable 33 second lead into this afternoon’s two final stages. Before that, crews return to Dolna Banya for a 30-minute service.
Standings after SS12:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sébastien LOEB | Citroën C4 WRC | 2h37m50.3s |
| 02 | Dani SORDO | Citroën C4 WRC | +33.4s |
| 03 | Petter SOLBERG | Citroën C4 WRC | +39.9s |
| 04 | Sébastien OGIER | Citroën C4 WRC | +2m02.5s |
| 05 | Mikko HIRVONEN | Ford Focus WRC | +3m06.1s |
| 06 | Jari-Matti LATVALA | Ford Focus WRC | +4m09.4s |
| 07 | Per Gunnar ANDERSSON | Ford Focus WRC | +4m56.8s |
| 08 | Frigyes TURAN | Peugeot 307 WRC | +6m18.6s |
| 09 | Matthew WILSON | Ford Focus WRC | +8m40.3s |
| 10 | Henning SOLBERG | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +11m41.6s |
| 11 | Kimi RAIKKONEN | Citroën C4 WRC | +13m12.3s |
| 12 | Thierry NEUVILLE | Citroën C2 S1600 | +13m32.4s |
| 13 | Hans WEIJS | Citroën C2 S1600 | +14m26.8s |
| 14 | Denis KUIPERS | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +14m43.0s |
| 15 | Eyvind BRYNILDSEN | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +15m44.6s |