Loeb leads Hirvonen in Finland

The world champion had been quickest through last night's superspecial and then won all three stages in this morning's first loop.

His Ford rival Mikko Hirvonen was never far behind, though. The Finn matched Loeb's time exactly in SS2 and is only 3.9 seconds adrift after the fourth stage.

Hirvonen is now Ford's only hope for victory in Finland, however, as his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala crashed out in SS3. The younger Finn had been running third when he crashed in a ditch after a crest in the Mokkipera stage.

Both Latvala and co-driver Mika Antilla were unhurt in the accident but their Ford Focus sustained sufficient front end damage to end their day. Initial reports from the crew indicated that a suspension problem might have developed shortly before the crash.

Semi-works Citroen driver Urmo Aava has now moved up to a stunning third, having passed the factory Citroen team's Dani Sordo in SS4. The Estonian leads the Spaniard by 1.8 seconds going into the next loop, although the leaders are now 16 seconds clear of their tussle.

Privateer Ford runner Andreas Mikkelsen has also impressed this morning by establishing himself in fifth place, right on Aava and Sordo's tails. He is just in front of a similarly right battle between Stobart Ford pair Gigi Galli and Henning Solberg, and works Subaru duo Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg, with just 11.7 seconds covering third to ninth positions at present.

Pos  Driver      Car       Time
 1.  Loeb        Citroen   22:20.6
 2.  Hirvonen    Ford      +   3.9
 3.  Aava        Citroen   +  16.9
 4.  Sordo       Citroen   +  18.6
 5.  Mikkelsen   Ford      +  20.4
 6.  Galli       Ford      +  22.7
 7.  Atkinson    Subaru    +  24.9
 8.  Solberg     Ford      +  25.4
 9.  Solberg     Subaru    +  28.6
10.  Ostberg     Subaru    +  42.6