Sebastien Loeb's run of stage wins has come to an end - but he will still start as favourite to win the Tour de Corse.

Loeb lost out narrowly to Ford Focus driver Francois Duval but has an overall lead of 52.4seconds in Corsica.

"I tried to slow down a bit, so it's okay not to be fastest," the Frenchman explained.

"The day has been pretty much perfect. We didn't want to take any risks, especially with punctures, so we preferred to take two spares.

"My job is to do a good rally here, and that's what I'll do tomorrow.

"I'll try to stay on the road and not make any mistakes."

Mikko Hirvonen finished today in second, still off Loeb's pace but ahead of his team-mate Duval.

"I thought if everything was right I could keep him [Duval] behind, but I don't know whether we've both been driving 110% all the time," said Hirvonen.

"We haven't taken all the risks we could but we've been driving at a good speed. For tomorrow, I'll try to keep my second place; thinking about the title fight - that's the most important thing."

Duval will start tomorrow third, just 4.3secs behind Hirvonen.

"Mikko is in a good position, and it's important he stays there," he said.

"I'll continue in the same rhythm. The most important thing is I stay on the road. Third is good."

Further back in the field, Jari-Matti Latvala and Subaru's Petter Solberg were battling for fourth spot.

It was Latvala who came out on top, with a 22-second advantage over Solberg.

Chris Atkinson completed the day in sixth, almost two minutes ahead of Urmo Aava.