Sebastien Ogier leads Rally GB as Robert Kubica rolls
Sebastien Ogier pulled clear in the lead of Rally GB on Friday morning, while Robert Kubica crashed out
Ogier started leg two with M-Sport Ford's Thierry Neuville and his own Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala within five seconds of his first place.
But the 2013 champion kicked Friday off with a blistering stage win on Hafren, immediately stretching over 10 seconds clear.
Latvala raised his game by the loop-closing Myherin stage, admitting that as well as set-up changes, waking up a bit had helped his pace.
That stage win allowed Latvala to stabilise Ogier's lead at 13s.
It also brought Latvala up to second place, as Neuville struggled on Myherin and slowed his pace to try to understand why he was going wrong. He is now 35s off the lead and 22s behind Latvala.
Citroen had a terrible morning. First Kubica rolled out of seventh place on his top-class debut on Hafren, then Mikko Hirvonen had a big accident on Myherin while fourth and poised to take third from Neuville. Both DS3 crews were unhurt.
The only positive point for Citroen was that Dani Sordo won the short Sweet Lamb stage, though he is out of podium contention due to his five-minute pre-rally penalty for using a ninth chassis.
The morning's incidents mean M-Sport pair Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov now complete the top five, with Andreas Mikkelsen on the Russian's tail.
Leading positions after SS6: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Ogier VW 54m25.8s 2. Jari-Matti Latvala VW +13.5s 3. Thierry Neuville M-Sport Ford +35.4s 4. Mads Ostberg M-Sport Ford +57.4s 5. Evgeny Novikov M-Sport Ford +1m07.6s 6. Andreas Mikkelsen VW +1m08.8s 7. Martin Prokop Czech Ford +2m50.6s 8. Elfyn Evans M-Sport Ford +3m47.1s* 9. Jari Ketomaa Autotek Ford +3m56.6s* 10. Mark Higgins Symtech Ford +4m13.4s* * WRC 2
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