Day 3am: Loeb close to victory

The Frenchman completed the opening stage of the day 3.5s faster than closest rival Markko Martin, although the Estonian hit back with the fastest time on SS12. He took 6.4s out of Loeb's lead, but the event leader retains a 40.3s advantage with just two stages left to run this afternoon.

There has been no change in the overall standings at the front, with the field now somewhat spread out on times. With just two stages remaining, it will likely take misfortune to befall one of the top runners to cause a change in position.

Marcus Gronholm remains on course for third, with the second fastest time on SS12 further boosting his cause. Carlos Sainz is on for a solid fourth, and a useful injection of championship points.

The battle for fifth is the closest in the top ten, with Gilles Panizzi leading Francois Duval by 17.4s. The Ford youngster took 4.9s out of the Peugeot star on SS11, and a further 2s on SS12, but will need to go much faster if he wants to snatch fifth by the end of the event.

Colin McRae and Phillipe Bugalski are running comfortably in sixth and seventh respectively, each more then a minute ahead of their chasing rival.

Richard Burns outpaced Peugeot privateer Cedric Robert on both of the morning's stages to take a comfortable hold on ninth place. The Briton must now hope that one of the runners ahead of him hits trouble to allow him to sneak some crucial championship points.