Loeb Takes 3rd Straight Stage Win in Rally Bulgaria

Sebastien Loeb seems to be enjoying the unknown routes of Rally Bulgaria this weekend, as the Frenchman has taken his 3rd consecutive stage win on Friday and further distanced himself from 2nd placed Dani Sordo.

Citroen was going for a podium sweep in Bulgaria in Day 1, after Loeb was heading Junior Team's Sebastien Ogier and Citroen Total teammate Dani Sordo. However, bad luck struck for Ogier during SS3, as the Frenchman misheard a pace note and missed a junction, causing him a one-minute delay at the end of the stage. Consequently, Sordo now moved to second place, some 21 seconds behind Loeb.

Until that point, Citroen was occupying the Top 5 positions in the rally, as 4th placed Citroen privateer Petter Solberg was followed by the second Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn managed a sensational morning run in Bulgaria, being less than a minute down from Loeb at the end of SS3.

Ogier's troubles demoted him to 7th overall, meaning that 5th place now belongs to Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, who sits less than half of second behind Raikkonen in the overall classification. As admitted by team boss Malcolm Wilson prior to this weekend's event, Bulgaria will see a struggling Ford on the roads, as the team's second driver Jari-Matti Latvala lost more than a minute after only 3 stages and is 6th overall.

Per Gunnar Andersson is currently placed 8th overall, ahead of Frigyes Turan and Stobart's Matthew Wilson.