Loeb Leads Turkish Rally After First Day

Topics:  Rally of Turkey

VOA Sports
June 3, 2005

French rally driver Sebastien Loeb has overcome wet, slippery conditions to take the lead after the first day of the Turkish Rally auto race in Kemer, Turkey.

Loeb took the lead early, but then had trouble with the rocky, slippery course. The Citroen driver was able to recover and win seven of the eight stages with a total time of 1:54:07 hours.

Italian Gigi Galli in a Misubishi is second, 1:09 back, with Marcus Gronholm of Finland third in a Peugeot.

Loeb leads the overall season standings with 45 points. Subaru's Petter Solberg of Norway is tied for second, with Markko Martin of Estonia in a Peugeot 11 points back.

The Turkish rally covers 348 km over three days. It is the seventh stop on the 16-event World Rally Championship circuit. The event ends Sunday. Some information for this report provided by AP.