Dani Sordo is leading what turned out to be a boiling battle for the lead of the 2013 WRC Rally France; Thierry Neuville went into the second day of action with a 9.3-second lead, and extended that gap to 13 seconds by Saturday morning’s final stage (SS10), but a puncture on his left-hand rear tyre in SS11 dropped him back to fifth, handing Sordo first place.
Jari-Matti Latvala maintained his position behind Sordo; he’s now just 0.6 seconds behind the Spaniard and looking to take the lead. Behind the duo are World Champions Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb who are also locked in a battle for the lead.
Loeb was initially fourth this morning, but he lost it to Ogier on SS9, however, the nine-times World Champion fought back on SS10 and re-took the position. At the end of SS11, both Frenchmen benefited from Neuville’s puncture and gained one position; Ogier then snatched third from his rival on SS12. The duo are separated by 3 seconds only, with Loeb just 5.5 seconds off the lead.
It is worth mentioning that Sebastien Loeb celebrated his 900th stage win by going quickest on SS10.
Overall standings after SS13:
