Hirvonen admits to tactical slowing

Ford driver Hirvonen had been on course to take a slender lead over Loeb into Saturday, but dropped nine seconds to the world champion in today's final stage - putting him 2.6 seconds behind overall and guaranteeing that Loeb will be first into the snowy stages tomorrow.

Hirvonen initially insisted that he had been delayed by tyre problems rather than slowing for tactical reasons, but he has since admitted that he deliberately chose to switch positions once he realised Loeb was gaining on him in the stage.

"I knew I would lose time on the stage because it was twisty," he said. "When we saw how much time we had dropped to Loeb mid-stage, I decided to slow.

"My lead would have been so small that it made sense to take the advantage of starting behind him tomorrow. I can follow his split times and react accordingly. It won't be easy but I like to be the guy chasing and not being chased."

Loeb said he was disappointed to be first on the road again tomorrow, but is delighted that he is leading the rally, having feared he would struggle to match the Fords in Norway given his previous lack of success on snow.

"I could see that Hirvonen's tyres weren't in ideal shape going into the last stage," he said. "I don't know whether he slowed down deliberately to hand me the lead, but the fact remains that we're in front this evening.

"With the gap standing at less than three seconds, I would have preferred to have been second on the road tomorrow, but I don't think running first will be an insurmountable problem. We shall see."

Citroen boss Olivier Quesnel reckoned Hirvonen was starting to crack under the pressure from Loeb, who had remained within seven seconds of the lead all day despite running first on the road from the outset.

"Sebastien drove magnificently and I think he's succeeded in sowing a seed of doubt in the mind of our opponent," said Quesnel.

"I believe he's gained the upper hand psychologically, and we will need to push that advantage home tomorrow."