Sebastian Loeb wiped out a 13-second deficit to snatch leadership of the Rally New Zealand from championship leader Marcus Gronholm today.
The French WRC champion made up 11.3 seconds alone on the third of six stages on the second day as the four-time Rally NZ winner Gronholm struggled with a virus.
Another epic effort on the final stage of the day helped him build up a 1.7secs lead.
With seven stages planned for the final day, Loeb holds a lead over three Finns - Gronholm, his BP-Ford World Rally Team colleague Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala in a Stobart VK M-Ford.