Mikko Hirvonen has hit back in his efforts to win Rally d’Italia Sardegna by beating Sebastien Loeb through the first stage of the afternoon.
Hirvonen dropped 2.7s behind Citroen DS3 WRC driver Loeb after stage four but has reduced that gap to 1.2s in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
“The car was moving quite a lot in the end of the stage but it looks okay,” said Hirvonen, who also trails Loeb in the battle for the World Rally Championship title.
Russian Evgeny Novikov began the stage in third overall but has slipped to fourth behind Sebastien Ogier. Mads Ostberg has dropped from fourth to sixth after reporting a soft brake pedal in his M-Sport Stobart Fiesta.
Petter Solberg completes the top five in his self-run Citroen. His older brother Henning Solberg suffered a broken driveshaft in his Fiesta and has fallen to eighth overall.
Dani Sordo is up to seventh in the surviving factory MINI John Cooper Works WRC.
Standings after SS5:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 59m09.3s |
| 02 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1.2s |
| 03 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +27.0s |
| 04 | E. NOVIKOV / S. PREVOT | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +27.4s |
| 05 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +30.5s |
| 06 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +35.8s |
| 07 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +1m02.8s |
| 08 | O. TANAK / K. SIKK | FORD FIESTA S2000 | +1m37.2s |
| 09 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMANEK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +1m47.1s |
| 10 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m49.3s |
| 11 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m55.0s |
| 12 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | SKODA FABIA S2000 | +2m08.2s |
| 13 | N. AL-ATTIYAH / G. BERNACCHINI | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +2m15.3s |
| 14 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m48.9s |
| 15 | A. ARAÚJO / R. MIGUEL | MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS | +2m52.0s |