SS19: Acropolis victory almost in sight for Loeb

With only the Superspecial to go, victory on the Acropolis Rally of Greece is almost in sight for Total-Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb’s time through the 15km Aghia Sotire stage wasn’t the fastest, but with a lead of 1min 18.8sec he only needed to stay out of trouble to remain on target for his 41st WRC win. “It was very rough in there so it was important to slow down in some places,” he said.

But the Frenchman said he couldn’t afford to relax until the end of the 4.6km Superspecial at Tatoi. “I heard a noise on the rear suspension during the stage, so I will take it steady on the Superspecial,” he said.

Petter Solberg held steady in second - on course for his best WRC finish since Rally Portugal in 2007 and a fantastic debut result for the new Impreza WRC2008. “It’s incredible,” said Solberg. “I’ve been dreaming about this.”

Third placed Mikko Hirvonen was already thinking about the implications of the result on the next rally. “Third place would give me a perfect road position in Turkey,” he said. “After our start I was worried that Sebastien would be leading the championship by a long way. If he ends up with a one point lead that will be fantastic.”

Estonian Urmo Aava continued his successful rally and holds fourth place overall - potentially his best ever WRC finish. “I think we did enough in there to keep Sordo behind, but I was taking it carefully,” he said.

Dani Sordo rounds out the top five in the second Total-Citroen team C4. If he keeps the place he will take five points in the manufacturers’ competition.