Loeb closing in on victory

Having begun the day with a 40.5-second advantage over Marcus Gronholm, Loeb was able to drive calmly through today's opening loop and still edge further away.

With only two full-length stages and the Estadio Algarve superspecial remaining this afternoon, Loeb now leads by 48.5 seconds and Gronholm has resigned himself to second place.

"I'm not in a hurry to do anything stupid," said Gronholm. "I'm trying to finish. Maybe he will break down, but I don't think so."

What had been a close battle for third has now been resolved in Mikko Hirvonen's favour, as the Ford driver pulled clear of Petter Solberg this morning.

"I really tried, but I have to say there was no sweat, the car was perfect," said Hirvonen.

"I'm trying absolutely my best, we can't do more than that," said Solberg.

Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala continue to hold secure fifth and sixth positions, but the fight for seventh turned around again as Daniel Carlsson moved back ahead of Henning Solberg - both Solberg brothers having struggled to match their nearest rivals on the opening loop.

"I didn't drive so well, but that was only me," said Solberg. "Nothing wrong with the car or tyres. I'll try to push him again."

Carlsson was pleasantly surprised to pick up the position.

"We made some more changes to the car yesterday and now it seems to go faster without really trying," said the Kronos Citroen driver.

Should any of the top eight cars hit trouble then Gigi Galli could yet inherit a point, as he currently runs a minute behind Solberg despite a worrying brake problem in today's first stage.

Standings after SS15:

Pos  Driver    Make     Time
 1.  Loeb      Citroen  3h25:58.1
 2.  Gronholm  Ford     +    48.5
 3.  Hirvonen  Ford     +  1:58.1
 4.  Solberg   Subaru   +  2:35.7
 5.  Sordo     Citroen  +  4:34.6
 6.  Latvala   Ford     +  5:16.4
 7.  Carlsson  Citroen  +  7:32.3
 8.  Solberg   Ford     +  7:57.0
 9.  Galli     Citroen  +  8:51.7
10.  Stohl     Citroen  + 12:11.1

All Timing Unofficial