Jari-Matti Latvala holds a narrow lead over Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg after the first four stages of the Rally of Great Britain.
Ford driver Latvala moved from his overnight fifth place following the superspecial to lead the rally by winning SS2 Hafren. He then dropped back to third when his Focus ingested too much water in a watersplash on the Sweet Lamb stage and lost a few seconds on the following climb. But another stage win on Myherin put Latvala back in front by 1.4sec over Loeb (Citroen)–- who led briefly after SS3 – and 1.9sec over Solberg (Solberg Citroen).
Loeb's teammate Sebastien Ogier is still very much in contention, running 7.1sec behind Latvala in fourth place. It has been a disappointing start for Mikko Hirvonen, though. The Ford driver is only sixth, 25.7sec off the lead and just behind Citroen Junior's Dani Sordo.
Farther back, Mads Ostberg's return in the Adapta Subaru has been marred by a spin, smoke from the car and an intercom problem, but he has managed to hang on in eighth. Kimi Raikkonen (Citroen Junior) is fending off Ken Block (Monster Ford) in 10th.
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford 38m33.0s
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 1.4s
3. Petter Solberg Citroen + 1.9s
4. Sebastien Ogier Citroen + 7.1s
5. Dani Sordo Citroen + 23.7s
6. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 25.7s
7. Henning Solberg Ford + 1m20.9s
8. Mads Ostberg Subaru + 1m38.8s
9. Matthew Wilson Ford + 1m45.7s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Citroen + 2m17.5s