Mikko Hirvonen has narrowed Sebastien Loeb’s overall advantage to 24.7s as the battle for victory on Rally d’Italia Sardegna intensifies.
Driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Hirvonen was 3.6s faster than his Citroen DS3 WRC-driving rival over Sunday’s opening Gallura test.
In the battle for third position, Petter Solberg reported an issue with his damper settings at the end of the stage and is now 7.2s behind third-placed Sebastien Ogier.
Jari-Matti Latvala was fastest through the stage, his sixth stage victory of the event.
The next stage, Monte Olia, goes live at 08:03hrs local time.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3h03m44.3s |
| 02 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +24.7s |
| 03 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +31.8s |
| 04 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +39.0s |
| 05 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m49.5s |
| 06 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +2m33.6s |
| 07 | O. TANAK / K. SIKK | FORD FIESTA S2000 | +5m22.3s |
| 08 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | SKODA FABIA S2000 | +6m17.9s |
| 09 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6m18.9s |
| 10 | N. AL ATTIYAH / G. BERNACCHINI | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +10m26.7s |
| 11 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +10m54.9s |
| 12 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +10m56.4s |
| 13 | A. ARAÚJO / R. MIGUEL | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +10m58.1s |
| 14 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMANEK | FORD FIESTA S2000 | +12m30.6s |
| 15 | E. NOVIKOV / S. PREVOT | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +12m53.7s |