Acropolis Rally, Mugello MotoGP weekend
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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.
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.
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 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.
Acropolis Rally: That problem has dropped Novikov down to eighth, with Neuville now in to a podium position.
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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: Robert Kubica finishes his run 38s quicker than his nearest rival, and the WRC 2 leader says Novikov has suffered a puncture.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: The start of SS4 is slightly delayed but Sebastien Ogier should be getting the action underway shortly.
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.
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: 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: 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
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
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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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.
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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: 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.
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: SS3 is underway with Sebastien Ogier first on to the stage. Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Ostberg have also started their runs.
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: 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: 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.
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.
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
Dario Franchitti
NASCAR and IndyCar qualifying wrap up day one of AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live.
It's been a great day for Russia, with Evgeny Novikov storming away in the Acropolis Rally and Daniil Kvyat taking a clean sweep of European Formula 3 poles in Austria.
Narain Karthikeyan was only announced as a Super Nova Auto GP driver this morning, but he's gone on to top every session at Silverstone so far, including qualifying.
And in MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo was quickest at Mugello but the big news was Marc Marquez's escape from a violent crash, and second-place man Valentino Rossi's return to form.
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Denny Hamlin
NASCAR - Dover: Denny Hamlin on his pole: "It feels awesome. Two in a row here at Dover, which everyone knows is my worst racetrack. I've got great team-mates though - I've studied them and if you learn from the best, you get better."
Checkered flag
NASCAR - Dover - qualifying results: 1 Denny Hamlin; 2 Martin Truex Jr; 3 Kyle Busch; 4 Matt Kenseth; 5 Ryan Newman; 6 Mark Martin; 7 Kevin Harvick; 8 Brad Keselowski; 9 Joey Logano; 10 Jamie McMurray.
NASCAR - Dover: Hamlin keeps pole as Busch ends up third behind Truex. All Toyota front two rows.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Peter Mills, Mark Glendenning, Jamie O'Leary, Glenn Freeman, Scott Mitchell, Gary Watkins, Charles Bradley
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