WRC Rally of Spain: Andreas Mikkelsen fastest on Barcelona streets
Andreas Mikkelsen was quickest on the Barcelona street stage that opened the World Rally Championship's Rally of Spain on Thursday evening
With the field using gravel tyres for the 1.988-mile asphalt test in the part of the city that once hosted Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuich Park, Mikkelsen did his utmost to wear his Michelins down to make them more appropriate for the stage.
He sacrificed a set of soft gravel tyres from his Friday allocation as a result, but felt the tactic was worth it and duly set the pace by 1.8 seconds over Volkswagen team-mate Sebastien Ogier.
Hyundai held the top spot for a long while, initially with Dani Sordo - despite the home favourite feeling he was down on power - then with shakedown pacesetter Thierry Neuville.
Though they were pushed back by the VWs, Neuville held on to third, while Sordo ended the night fifth behind Ogier's title rival Jari-Matti Latvala in the third Polo.
Citroen duo Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg were sixth and seventh, ahead of Mikko Hirvonen in the best of M-Sport's Fords.
Robert Kubica was 11th quickest, while Ken Block began his sole WRC appearance of 2014 with a minor brush with the barriers and 15th place.
LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS1:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andreas Mikkelsen, O.Floene | Volkswagen Motorsport II | Volkswagen | 3m39.1s |
2 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | Volkswagen Motorsport | Volkswagen | 1.8s |
3 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 2.9s |
4 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Volkswagen Motorsport | Volkswagen | 3.1s |
5 | Dani Sordo, M.Marti | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 3.6s |
6 | Kris Meeke, P.Nagle | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 4.0s |
7 | Mads Ostberg, J.Andersson | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 4.6s |
8 | Mikko Hirvonen, J.Lehtinen | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 5.9s |
9 | Martin Prokop, J.Tomanek | Jipocar Czech National Team | Ford | 7.2s |
10 | Hayden Paddon, J.Kennard | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai | 8.4s |
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