Intro:

Jari-Matti Latvala gains narrow 1.6 second lead over Dani Sordo on penultimate day of Rally of Spain on Saturday (October 26).

Script:

The 2013 Rally of Spain continued on Saturday with six Super Special asphalt stages.

New World Champion Sebastien Ogier saw his overnight lead reduced by Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala early on.

A puncture for Ogier moved both Sordo and Latvala ahead, 31.4sec clear of third placed Thierry Neuville.

Ogier ended the unfortunate stage in sixth, and 46.8 seconds off the lead,

Sordo and Latvala reached the midpoint of Saturday's competition with the duelling pair tied on exactly the same time after the event's opening six asphalt stages.

Sebastien Ogier was first to complete the test, which offered three bonus points to the fastest driver. Having lost almost a minute with his earlier puncture, Ogier had no option than to push flat-out.

Latvala, finished two-tenths slower than Ogier.

And with Sordo following him through the Spanish driver shrewdly opted to slow down and finish second, 1.2 seconds behind Latvala.

That means that Latvala will be the first man out for Sunday's gravel stages, forcing him to act as a 'roadsweeper' for Sordo, who will begin the day 1.6 seconds adrift of his Rally rival.

Thierry Neuville was the stage winner, allowing him to end the day ahead of Ogier in third overall.