|
Athens: BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's Jari-Matti Latvala's brilliant display in the morning hit trouble on the very first stage in the afternoon as a mysterious puncture saw the young Finn overtaken by the Citroen duo of Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo in the Acropolis Rally of Greecehere yesterday.
But Latvala fought back to move into the second place by the end of the sixth stage, with fellow Finn and BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally teammate Mikko Hirvonen also climbing up to the fourth place behind Sordo to stay within striking distance of the Citroen pair.
After the first three stages in the morning of what was considered one of the most challenging in the 15-round World Rally Championship, Team Abu Dhabi driver Latvala was ahead of four-time world champion Loeb while Hirvonen was in fourth.
But Latvala finished the 11km Schimatari (fourth stage) with a left-hand front puncture which cost the young Finn the lead and the Citroen drivers forged.
"It's very strange; I just don't understand," said Latvala. "I don't understand it because we didn't cut anywhere - and there were no rocks on that stage.
Tyre trouble
"Perhaps the tyre came off the rim in one of the ruts. I don't know. I was surprised to see I lost only 11 seconds, so I'm quite happy about that," said Latvala, who has been making waves as the second driver of the BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
Loeb, who moved into the overall lead, said: "I tried really hard, maybe a bit too hard. I was on the limit and one or two times I nearly went off. I need to try and keep Latvala behind and keep the lead, so it's flat out."
Championship leader Hirvonen seemed to again suffer the disadvantage of being first on the road.
'Sliding a lot'
"I can't make the car go straight, I'm losing time no matter what I do," said Hirvonen after the fifth stage. "The car feels good, but in the rough, it's understeering and we're sliding a lot, coming out of the corners. It's definitely not the fastest way to go," said the 27-year old, who enjoys a three-point lead over Loeb in the overall tally.
On Thursday night, the Acropolis Rally of Greece got off to a ceremonial start at the foot of Athens's historic monument site in Acropolis. Yesterday, the drivers battled through rough and rocky conditions in temperatures around 32 degrees Celsius.
|
