Petter Solberg’s bid for his second consecutive podium finish is in tatters after his Citroen DS3 WRC suffered a mechanical failure on Saturday’s final stage.
A distraught Norwegian reached the stage finish punching the steering wheel of his car after a power steering failure resulted in him falling 1m16.1s adrift of leader Sebastien Ogier.
Ogier’s Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb won the stage to close to within four seconds of factory Ford pilot Mikko Hirvonen, who is second overall, 43.7s behind Ogier.
Standings after SS15:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3h20m05.8s |
| 02 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +43.7s |
| 03 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +47.7s |
| 04 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m16.1s |
| 05 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +4m55.9s |
| 06 | F. VILLAGRA / J. PÉREZ COMPANC | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +5m52.9s |
| 07 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +7m00.3s |
| 08 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +12m12.6s |
| 09 | H. PADDON / J. KENNARD | Subaru Impreza | +21m58.3s |
| 10 | P. FLODIN / M. ANDERSSON | Subaru Impreza | +29m58.3s |
| 11 | M. KOSCIUSZKO / M. SZCZEPANIAK | Mitsubishi Evo X | +30m18.5s |
| 12 | D. TAGIROV / A. ZAVERSHINSKAYA | Subaru Impreza | +32m45.0s |
| 13 | A. KREMER / K. WICHA | Mitsubishi Evo X | +37m02.4s |
| 14 | N. FUCHS / F. MUSSANO | Mitsubishi Evo X | +37m20.4s |
| 15 | K. BLOCK / A. GELSOMINO | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +37m21.7s |