Matti Latvala will start Sunday's final leg of the Rally of New Zealand in first place after championship pace setters Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen slowed on Saturday for strategic reasons. Loeb, in a Citroen, and Ford's Hirvonen allowed Latvala to leapfrog them to ensure neither was first away on Sunday morning on the gravelly roads of the country's North Island. Finland's Latvala led countryman and team mate Hirvonen by 9.3 seconds after the second day, with Loeb's Citroen a further four seconds back. Hirvonen had started day two 27.8 seconds in front of Loeb but the Frenchman gradually whittled the lead away and finally got ahead on the penultimate stage. Loeb, bidding to win five consecutive world rally titles, had planned to finish the second day 20 seconds in front of Hirvonen to counteract the effects of being first car away Sunday. However, near the end of the 13th stage, when it became clear he was not going to reach his 20-second target, Loeb slowed before the finish line and slipped four seconds behind Hirvonen. Latvala then set a quick time to overtake both leaders and ensure he would start day three first. “I knew we would lose time but we lost more than I thought,” said Hirvonen. “I'm in a good position and all I can do now is try to be faster than all of them tomorrow... I have a good road position and but Loeb has a better one so it will be difficult.” Loeb's Spanish teammate, Dani Sordo, was fourth overall, 15.7sec off the lead. The top four have opened up a significant break over the rest of the field, with fifth-placed Belgian Francois Duval one minute 40.9 seconds off the pace.
