Mikko Hirvonen went into leg two of Rally Sweden with a 6.2-second lead over reigning world champion Sébastien Loeb.
Hirvonen, driving a factory Ford Focus, had trailed his World Rally Championship rival after four stages but swept in front with the fastest time on stage five.
And the Finn held onto his advantage throughout the afternoon as Loeb admitted he had struggled running first on the road on the repeated stages, which had become significantly rutted following the first pass in the morning.
“I wasn’t happy with me or the car at first but then we changed the centre differential and damper settings for stage four and it made the car more consistent,” said Hirvonen. “I will continue to attack in the morning because I know my lead isn’t big enough.”
Loeb’s Citroën Racing team-mate Dani Sordo had taken a two-second lead into Friday’s first stage after winning the opening superspecial on Thursday evening. Although he impressed in the morning, he slipped to third after complaining of a handling imbalance.
Jari-Matti Latvala, in the second works Focus, is fourth overnight. He was quickest on stage six but otherwise said he had struggled for speed. Nevertheless, he is almost 40 seconds clear of fifth-placed Sébastien Ogier.
Double world champion Marcus Gronholm, making a one-off return to the WRC in a Focus, should have been sixth overnight but, instead, languishes in 29th position after an electrical fault left him stranded on stage six for 13 minutes.
Petter Solberg also suffered a day of woe. After crashing on Thursday’s superspecial, he suffered a difficult run through stage five when he went off before colliding with Matthew Wilson’s Focus after the Briton momentarily stalled his car’s engine while braking for a downhill right-hander.
Kimi Räikkönen's hopes of a points finish ended on stage six when he got stuck in a snow bank for 25 minutes.
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