Loeb keeps Sardinia lead despite Finnish charge

CAGLIARI, Sardinia (Reuters) - World champion Sebastien Loeb remained leader of the rally of Sardinia after Saturday's second leg despite Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen finishing first and second on all six stages.

The Finnish pair, who benefited from not being first out on the gravel roads, knocked Loeb's Citroen team mate Daniel Sordo of Spain down to fifth from second overnight.

"There are no big problems," France's Loeb told the official wrc.com Web site.

"We knew if it was dry we could lose time running first on the road this morning, and yes, we have lost some."

Four-times champion Loeb ended the day 29.4 seconds ahead of Hirvonen, who leads the Frenchman by five points in this season's overall standings.

Latvala, with exactly the same time as his compatriot after 266km of competitive stages, moved up to third having been seventh after Friday's first leg with Italy's Gigi Galli fourth in his Ford.

Norway's Petter Solberg looks to be out of the running ahead of Sunday's final leg after tyre problems and a puncture slowed him down.

"We have an issue with the new hard tyres we're running this year and the way we get temperature into them so they work correctly," Subaru team principal David Richards said.

Sardinia is the sixth rally out of 15 this season.