Acropolis Rally, Mugello MotoGP weekend
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Valentino Rossi
Saturday's line-up includes the first IndyCar double-header race in Detroit, the MotoGP pole fight, the Acropolis Rally's longest day, and the DTM action commencing at Spielberg.
Here's the full line-up of what to follow on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live tomorrow...
Saturday June 1 - all times GMT
5:23 Acropolis Rally SS3
6:35 Acropolis Rally SS4
7:10 DTM Spielberg practice
7:33 Acropolis Rally SS5
7:50 Formula Renault 3.5 Spa race one qualifying
7:55 MotoGP Mugello practice three
8:59 Acropolis Rally SS6
9:10 European Formula 3 Spielberg race one
10:00 Blancpain Endurance Silverstone practice
10:35 Moto3 Mugello qualifying
11:30 MotoGP Mugello practice four
12:00 Formula Renault 3.5 Spa race one
12:05 MotoGP Mugello qualifying
12:10 Acropolis Rally SS7
13:05 Moto2 Mugello qualifying
13:15 IndyCar Detroit race two qualifying
13:20 Auto GP Silverstone race one
13:25 Acropolis Rally SS8
14:05 European Formula 3 Spielberg race two
14:20 Acropolis Rally SS9
15:35 Blancpain Endurance Silverstone pre-qualifying
15:46 Acropolis Rally SS10
15:50 DTM Spielberg qualifying
19:30 IndyCar Detroit race two
An early good morning from AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live for day two of the Acropolis Rally, Mugello MotoGP, Detroit IndyCar, Spielberg DTM and Spa Formula Renault 3.5 weekend.
Acropolis Rally: Today's early start is due to the Acropolis Rally resuming in around 20 minutes.
That's a tough itinerary for crews, whose running finished in darkness on Friday night, and who will have been up at the crack of dawn to get to service this morning.
That's a tough itinerary for crews, whose running finished in darkness on Friday night, and who will have been up at the crack of dawn to get to service this morning.
Acropolis Rally: Friday featured only two stages, but they were overflowing with drama.
M-Sport man Evgeny Novikov has charged into a half-minute lead over Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala already.
Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen suffered major delays with a lost wheel and steering problems respectively, but at least both made it through the stages - unlike championship leader Sebastien Ogier.
He stopped on SS1 with fuel feed problems and will have 10 minutes of Rally 2 penalties when he rejoins today.
M-Sport man Evgeny Novikov has charged into a half-minute lead over Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala already.
Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen suffered major delays with a lost wheel and steering problems respectively, but at least both made it through the stages - unlike championship leader Sebastien Ogier.
He stopped on SS1 with fuel feed problems and will have 10 minutes of Rally 2 penalties when he rejoins today.
Acropolis Rally: Quite a bit more cloud around Loutraki this morning, but the strong winds have died down - at least at sea level.
Acropolis Rally: SS3 is underway with Sebastien Ogier first on to the stage. Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Ostberg have also started their runs.
Acropolis Rally: Ogier completes his first stage run in 11m45.7s and complains about it being "very slippery".
It's an issue Hirvonen admits to struggling with as well. The Citroen driver was fractionally faster than the championship leader with but Ostberg's Ford has outpaced the pair of them.
It's an issue Hirvonen admits to struggling with as well. The Citroen driver was fractionally faster than the championship leader with but Ostberg's Ford has outpaced the pair of them.
Acropolis Rally: After a more promising SS2 run last night, Khalid Al-Qassimi spun twice early on during his run, and lost more than a minute to current stage leader Ostberg.
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Acropolis Rally: Neuville, Latvala, Sordo and rally leader Novikov are all on their SS3 runs now. Andreas Mikkelsen preceded that foursome, falling just short of Ostberg's benchmark, but he isn't happy:
"It's better today. That's good. But I can't really find a good rhythm - I don't really have a good feeling with the car at the moment. You really need confidence and I struggle with that at the moment."
"It's better today. That's good. But I can't really find a good rhythm - I don't really have a good feeling with the car at the moment. You really need confidence and I struggle with that at the moment."
Acropolis Rally: Jari-Matti Latvala has flown through SS3 and beats Neuville's new benchmark by 15 seconds. He's a happy man. That should get him above Sordo into second and might put pressure on Novikov, who is slightly slower through the first split.
Acropolis Rally: The fight is very much on. Novikov responds to Latvala's effort by setting exactly the same time.
That means he actually extends his Friday lead with the VW, and not Sordo's Citroen, heading the chase now.
That means he actually extends his Friday lead with the VW, and not Sordo's Citroen, heading the chase now.
Acropolis Rally: Robert Kubica is 11th fastest overall on SS3, and leading the handful of WRC 2 runners who have completed their runs so far.
Acropolis Rally SS3 results:
Stage times: 1 Latvala; 2 Novikov + 0.0s; 3 Sordo + 13.5s; 4 Neuville + 15.4s; 5 Ostberg + 16.9s.
Overall positions: 1 Novikov; 2 Latvala+ 30.9s; 3 Sordo + 43.8s; 4 Neuville + 1m06.5s; 5 Mikkelsen + 1m32,3s.
Acropolis Rally: Strange to see that as the gap between first and second but the Ford/VW fight has fired into life today.
Having return with 10 minutes of Rally 2 penalties, championship leader Ogier has lost a further 22.3s early today, finishing eighth-fastest on SS3.
Having return with 10 minutes of Rally 2 penalties, championship leader Ogier has lost a further 22.3s early today, finishing eighth-fastest on SS3.
Acropolis Rally: Robert Kubica has extended his advantage in WRC 2 - he's more than 45 seconds clear now, and remains tenth overall.
Acropolis Rally: Now we have a bit of a lull before SS4 kicks off at around 6:35 GMT.
With Ogier far from where he's used to being, it's a perfect time to read the most recent offering from AUTOSPORT's rallies editor David Evans, this time on the Frenchman's Monaco Porsche exploits.
Ogier: stepping out of the comfort zone
With Ogier far from where he's used to being, it's a perfect time to read the most recent offering from AUTOSPORT's rallies editor David Evans, this time on the Frenchman's Monaco Porsche exploits.
Ogier: stepping out of the comfort zone
DTM - Spielberg: With practice reduced in its new-for-2013 weekend format, DTM track action does not kick off until Saturday mornings. This weekend the series is at Austria's ex-Formula 1 venue Spielberg, where practice will commence shortly.
BMW and Audi have one win each so far this season thanks to Augusto Farfus and Mike Rockenfeller, with Mercedes up against it at present. Reigning champion Bruno Spengler's consistency is keeping him in the hunt too.
DTM standings after two of 10 rounds:
1 Mike Rockenfeller 29
2 Bruno Spengler 28
3 Augusto Farfus 25
4 Gary Paffett 20
5 Christian Vietoris 19
6 Dirk Werner 18
DTM - Spielberg: Last year's Spielberg DTM race was one of the best of the season, as Edoardo Mortara resisted intense pressure from champions Martin Tomczyk and Gary Paffett to take his first victory in the series.
DTM - Spielberg: AUTOSPORT has just arrived at Spielberg and thankfully has blue skies to deal with. The track is still damp though, which will mean a tricky practice session which is due to begin in around 35 minutes time.
DTM: Spielberg: As you can see from this though, the threat of more rain (although hopefully not to the level seen yesterday) is never far away.
Acropolis Rally: The start of SS4 is slightly delayed but Sebastien Ogier should be getting the action underway shortly.
Acropolis Rally: Ogier is indeed part-way through his run, while Hirvonen has just started his - and is slightly slower through the first split.
The dust is hanging in the air and could be an issue with two minute gaps between the cars.
The dust is hanging in the air and could be an issue with two minute gaps between the cars.
Acropolis Rally: Hirvonen is quicker than Ogier through the third split while Mads Ostberg is slower in the first and second.
Whether it's a timing screen issue or not but Al-Qassimi - fourth on the road - is not showing up in the first split but Martin Prokop has.
Whether it's a timing screen issue or not but Al-Qassimi - fourth on the road - is not showing up in the first split but Martin Prokop has.
Acropolis Rally: Hirvonen falls one tenth of a second shy of Ogier while Ostberg has a less impressive run and is almost seven seconds back.
Meanwhile, Al-Qassimi has lost a chunk of time - a lot in every split. It amounts to about 45 seconds.
Meanwhile, Al-Qassimi has lost a chunk of time - a lot in every split. It amounts to about 45 seconds.
Acropolis Rally: Most drivers are one or two seconds up or down on Ogier through the first part of SS4 - but not Latvala. He's just over 7s quicker than his fellow VW driver in the first split and 10s in the second.
Acropolis Rally: Andreas Mikkelsen looked like he was going to usurp Ogier at the top of the SS4 timesheet but a mistake in the fourth part of the stage cost him 15s, the Norwegian reckons, which drops him behind Hirvonen and Ostberg.
Acropolis Rally: And just as Mikkelsen falters, Neuville goes quickest, three seconds faster than Ogier who is holding on near the front despite running first.
Acropolis Rally: A problem for Novikov! He's lost three minutes in the first split alone, while Latvala smashes Neuville's benchmark by 16 seconds.
Acropolis Rally: It's unclear what Novikov's issue was, having lost more than four minutes in total, but it's far easier to understand what it means for the rally - Latvala now holds a commanding lead.
Sordo dropped another 10 seconds on Latvala - whose co-driver passed him a rare compliment after his SS3 run - which means the VW driver is now 15.6s clear.
Sordo dropped another 10 seconds on Latvala - whose co-driver passed him a rare compliment after his SS3 run - which means the VW driver is now 15.6s clear.
Acropolis Rally: Robert Kubica finishes his run 38s quicker than his nearest rival, and the WRC 2 leader says Novikov has suffered a puncture.
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Acropolis Rally: Novikov hobbles home but is surprisingly calm: "I think we hit the same stone Jari-Matti hit last year, got a puncture and broke something in the right-rear suspension."
Can he make up the time: "I think yes."
Can he make up the time: "I think yes."
Acropolis Rally: That problem has dropped Novikov down to eighth, with Neuville now in to a podium position.
Acropolis Rally SS4 results:
Stage times: 1 Latvala; 2 Sordo + 10.9s; 3 Neuville + 16.1s; 4 Ogier + 19.3s; 5 Hirvonen + 19.4s.
Overall positions: 1 Latvala; 2 Sordo +15.6s; 3 Neuville + 43.5s; 4 Mikkelsen + 1m23.8s; 5 Al Attiyah + 2m09.4s.
Stage times: 1 Latvala; 2 Sordo + 10.9s; 3 Neuville + 16.1s; 4 Ogier + 19.3s; 5 Hirvonen + 19.4s.
Overall positions: 1 Latvala; 2 Sordo +15.6s; 3 Neuville + 43.5s; 4 Mikkelsen + 1m23.8s; 5 Al Attiyah + 2m09.4s.
DTM - Spielberg: 15 minutes into DTM practice and Augusto Farfus is on top. Track conditions are improving and times have already dropped from the 1m36s mark down to the 1m27s.
Acropolis Rally: Not long for the drivers to wait at all until the start of SS5, where it will be interesting to see what, if any, lasting damage there is for Novikov's Ford.
FR3.5 - Spa: It's another wet and foggy start to the day at Spa, meaning that the track action is delayed for the second day running. As it stands no start time has been set for the first session of the day, and the schedule is already over half an hour behind.
MotoGP - Mugello: The action at Mugello is underway with Moto3 practice, topped by Maverick Vinales, with 10 minutes before third practice starts for the premier class.
Marc Marquez has undergone his medical checks this morning after his bruising, high-speed fall yesterday, and will test his fitness in this session.
Marquez's fall was not Honda's only trouble in Friday practice as they struggled, but Jorge Lorenzo will hope his Yamaha's practice-topping pace will be evident for the rest of the weekend.
Marc Marquez has undergone his medical checks this morning after his bruising, high-speed fall yesterday, and will test his fitness in this session.
Marquez's fall was not Honda's only trouble in Friday practice as they struggled, but Jorge Lorenzo will hope his Yamaha's practice-topping pace will be evident for the rest of the weekend.
MotoGP - Mugello: Marc Marquez definitely will ride this morning but his race participation is still in doubt.
Honda's Livio Suppo described the Spaniard's fitness as "so-so" when asked by AUTOSPORT's Simon Strang just now.
Honda's Livio Suppo described the Spaniard's fitness as "so-so" when asked by AUTOSPORT's Simon Strang just now.
Acropolis Rally: SS5 is underway, with Sebastien Ogier completing a trouble-free run. He is now 18th overall.
FR3.5 - Spa: Qualifying for race one was supposed to be starting now, but we still haven't had the Formula Renault Eurocup cars on track to kick things off as the fog lingers in the trees.
As a form guide, it's worth noting that in very similar conditions yesterday morning local star Stoffel Vandoorne was quickest in free practice, ahead of championship leader Kevin Magnussen.
As for the afternoon session, fastest man Nico Muller and his Draco team admitted last night that they had gone for outright performance on his run that yielded the fastest time in dry conditions. That might come as a relief to those just behind if they left a bit on the table for the sessions that matter.
As a form guide, it's worth noting that in very similar conditions yesterday morning local star Stoffel Vandoorne was quickest in free practice, ahead of championship leader Kevin Magnussen.
As for the afternoon session, fastest man Nico Muller and his Draco team admitted last night that they had gone for outright performance on his run that yielded the fastest time in dry conditions. That might come as a relief to those just behind if they left a bit on the table for the sessions that matter.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Peter Mills, Mark Glendenning, Jamie O'Leary, Glenn Freeman, Scott Mitchell, Gary Watkins, Charles Bradley
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