Sebastien Loeb has claimed his second stage victory on Neste Oil Rally Finland after edging out Citroen team-mate Sebastien Ogier through Thursday’s closing test.
Loeb, in a Citroen DS3 WRC, was 1.1s quicker than Ogier with Citroen privateer Petter Solberg third fastest.
Solberg began the stage in seventh overall but his speed through the spectator stage means he will return to the overnight halt in Jyvaskyla in fifth overall behind the impressive Jari Ketomaa, who was sixth quickest on the stage.
Jari-Matti Latvala was the leading Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver in fourth with Mads Ostberg fifth and Henning Solberg seventh in their similar Fiestas.
Mikko Hirvonen brought his damaged Fiesta to the stage finish with only three working brakes following his stage one off. The local hero’s time was 33.7s slower than the standard set by Loeb, whose overnight advantage is 2.8s.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 20m17.5s |
| 02 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +2.8s |
| 03 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +4.4s |
| 04 | J. KETOMAA / M. STENBERG | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +7.0s |
| 05 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +12.6s |
| 06 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI WRC | +14.3s |
| 07 | O. TÄNAK / K. SIKK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +17.3s |
| 08 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +18.6s |
| 09 | K. MEEKE / P. NAGLE | MINI WRC | +20.9s |
| 10 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +25.8s |
| 11 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +31.5s |
| 12 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +32.8s |
| 13 | K. RAIKKONEN / K. LINDSTRÖM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +35.3s |
| 14 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMÁNEK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +38.9s |
| 15 | E. NOVIKOV / D. GIRAUDET | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +44.5s |