 World champion Loeb is chasing a fourth straight win this year |
Triple world champion Sebastien Loeb maintained his lead over Marcus Gronholm after day two of the Rally of Italy in Sardinia on Saturday. Frenchman Loeb, driving a Citroen C4, heads the Ford of Finland's Gronholm by 36.5 seconds after winning four of the penultimate day's six stages.
Former champion Gronholm won stages four and six to stay in touch despite suffering from a puncture.
Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, also in a Ford, was 1:30.2 adrift in third.
"I finished the second stage and realised that the spare wheel had been knocked out of the rear of the car," Gronholm told www.wrc.com.
"I also had a rear puncture so I had to drive steadily through the next stage."
Loeb, chasing a fourth straight win this year, leads Gronholm by three points in the championship, while champions Ford are nine clear of Citroen in the manufacturers' standings.
The Rally of Italy is the seventh round of the 16-leg world championship.
Rally Sardinia standings after day two:
1. Sebastien Loeb (Fra) Citroen C4 3hr 12min 45.6sec
2. Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Ford Focus 36.5sec behind
3. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin) Ford Focus 1:30.2
4. Dani Sordo (Spa) Citroen C4 2:22.4
5. Henning Solberg (Nor) Ford Focus 2:32.7
6. Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru Impreza 3:02.6
7. Toni Gardemeister (Fin) Mitsubishi Lancer 5:21.5
8. Manfred Stohl (Aut) Citroen Xsara 5:44.8
9. Juho Hanninen (Fin) Mitsubishi Lancer 9:43.3
10. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) Ford Focus 12:15.8
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