Sébastien Loeb took the outright lead in the Sonora Rally with a superb stage victory for Bahrain Raid Xtreme as Prodrive Hunters dominated second-day proceedings in Mexico.
Partnered by Fabian Lurquin in his BRX Prodrive Hunter, Loeb secured a 2 mins 45 secs victory on the 162-km second stage from overnight leader Nasser Al Attiyah, to grab a slender three seconds overall advantage over his chief rival in the World Rally-Raid Championship.
The result means the nine-time World Rally Champion still has control in the WRRC title race, in which he led Al Attiyah by 16 points heading into the third round in Mexico. It was an outstanding day for the Prodrive Hunters, which set four of the five fastest times on a stage guarded by giant cacti, and it could have been better.
Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq, last year’s Rallye du Maroc winners, finished the day holding third place overall in their Hunter, despite losing front wheel drive over the last 45 kilometres to be fifth on the stage.
Brazilian brothers Marcos and Cristian Baumgart powered the two other Hunters to the third and fourth fastest times, also securing top ten overall positions on only their second full competitive stage in the car.
