Loeb leading into final day in Italy
Sebastien Loeb is looking secure in the lead of the Rally d'Italia, having kept his rivals comfortably at bay through a second day of running first on the road
With only four stages scheduled for Sunday, Loeb's 28.3-second lead over Mikko Hirvonen should be sufficient - even though the Ford driver gained two places and closed on Loeb by 27s during today's six stages.
Now that Loeb's Citroen looks out of reach at the front, the focus is on the battle for second, with just 11.2s covering Hirvonen, Sebastien Ogier (Citroen) and Petter Solberg (Solberg Citroen) in second to fourth.
Ogier moved up to third with his first stage win on SS12, and inched clear when Solberg struggled a little on the next stage. The Frenchman will start leg three 6.3s behind Hirvonen and 4.9s ahead of Solberg.
Mads Ostberg is still in line for fifth for Stobart Ford, with Dani Sordo completing the day in sixth despite some throttle issues with his Mini.
Ott Tanak continues to lead S2000 in seventh overall, leading Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hanninen by just under 50s.
Leading positions after SS14: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 2h57m05.7s 2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 28.3s 3. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 34.6s 4. Petter Solberg Solberg Citroen + 39.5s 5. Mads Ostberg Stobart Ford + 1m44.9s 6. Dani Sordo Mini + 2m29.0s 7. Ott Tanak MM Ford + 5m19.6s 8. Juho Hanninen Red Bull Skoda + 6m08.2s 9. Matthew Wilson Stobart Ford + 6m12.5s 10. Nasser Al-Attiyah Barwa Ford + 10m16.7s
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