Sebastien Loeb narrowly avoided a head-on collision on the Sagen stage of Rally Sweden today.
The seven-time World Rally Champion was slowed down by spectators and cameramen as he approached a corner and found leading Super 2000 driver Patrik Sandell coming in the opposite direction. The pair avoided a collision and both arrived at the end of the stage, Loeb with the fastest time.
Sandell had spun at the corner and was trying to get his Skoda Fabia S2000 turned around when the Frenchman arrived in his Citroen DS3 WRC.
"There was a lot of movement coming in this place from the spectators," said Loeb. "I saw one person telling me to slow right down, so I did and then I crossed Sandell. It was a surprise, but I knew something was coming from the people moving."
Despite his spin, Sandell remains the leading S2000 driver in the rally, more than a minute ahead of Martin Prokop's Ford. Sweden is not a round of the official S-WRC series this year.