Solberg and Loeb battle in rally

Peter Solberg of Norway drives his Subaru Impreza during the Stage 4 of the FIA World Rally Championship in Rehola, England, Friday. PHOTO: AFP

Norway's Petter Solberg had an eight second advantage over Sebastien Loeb in the showdown for the World Rally Championship title Friday.

Solberg won three of Friday's six stages of the British Rally, with Loeb winning the other three. The two are the only contenders for the world title after Spain's Carlos Sainz crashed and pulled out of the season-ending rally.

Sainz, a two-time champion, had been one of three drivers in contention for the title, tied on points at the top of the standings with France's Loeb, his Citroen teammate. Suburu's Solberg was one point behind.

Solberg, who won the British Rally last year, won the opening stage on Thursday night, a 2.25km circuit around downtown Cardiff.

The rally raced through the forests of Wales Friday, with Loeb winning stages two and three ahead of Solberg. The Norwegian then won the fourth and fifth ahead of Loeb, who won the sixth.

Solberg had a 6.2 second lead over Loeb heading into the seventh stage -- another circuit around Cardiff.

The Norwegian again was the fastest, clocking two minutes, 6.4 seconds. Loeb had the fourth quickest time, 1.8 seconds behind.

Loeb said he was torn between aiming for the driver's championship and the manufacturers' championship, particularly after Sainz retired. Citroen leads Peugeot by five points in the standings.

"I have to finish for the manufacturers' championship. They told me to push, but to be careful," Loeb said. "It's difficult to know what to do."

Solberg said his rival was playing mindgames.

"There's a lot of talk that Loeb is fighting for the manufacturers' title now, and that he's not going to push me for the drivers,'" Solberg said.

Citroen boss Guy Frequelin said Loeb should aim to finish rather than take risks to win.

"Maybe it is bad for the sport and bad for the fight between Sebastien and Solberg," Frequelin said.

"It is very clear that the manu-facturers' championship comes before the drivers' championship. We cannot take risks."

Sainz got into trouble even before the start of the day's first stage through the Welsh forests.

Part of the television equipment in his car caught fire, forcing him to douse the flames and start the stage 12 minutes late.

Then Sainz crashed on stage three and retired from the race.

Outgoing world champion Marcus Gronholm also retired. The Finn's Peugeot hit a log during the third stage, leaving his front wheels pointing in opposite directions. He completed the stage but dropped nearly 14 minutes and later pulled out.

Markko Martin also withdrew on the road section heading to the fourth stage after his team failed to fix an engine problem in his Ford. The Estonian had been third in the rally overall.