Monte Carlo Rally 2016
Live Text
Sort by
Ostberg is through, second quickest to Mikkelsen for now, 14s off his pace. But the M-Sport man is sat in a lonely fourth, it's Neuville's final time we really need to see.
Well the signs are that Neuville was pushing on a bit more there...
Quote
Mikkelsen on his stage: "Really difficult. I tried to push hard on the Tarmac but as soon as I found ice I took it very careful. I hope I wasn't too careful..."
Twitter
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen comes in 17.4s faster than his team-mate - but Neuville is hugely faster at the previous split, 20s up on his rival for second place and 35s quicker than Ogier!
Quote
Easy run for Ogier now, but he's missing Meeke.
"It's a shame. Kris deserves better than that. They were very fast this weekend and we had to do a strong performance to stay ahead. It would have been better to continue that fight to the end," he says.
"It's a shame. Kris deserves better than that. They were very fast this weekend and we had to do a strong performance to stay ahead. It would have been better to continue that fight to the end," he says.
Stopwatch
Ogier has reached the stage finish in a time of 23m30.4s.
Twitter
Got splits from Bouffier now, he's doing fine but has lost a couple of seconds to Lefebvre, who he's chasing for fifth overall.
Stopwatch
At the final split, Mikkelsen is a massive 15s quicker than Ogier. That's not necessarily a problem for the leader, he really doesn't have to be pushing if it gets icy.
Got a missing split from current sixth-placed man Bouffier but no hint of trouble on the tracking system just yet.
Stopwatch
That was definitely a good section for Hyundais - Sordo is now fastest of all at split three, 1.7s quicker than Mikkelsen.
He's on course to take quite a chunk out of the gap to seventh-placed Tanak here.
He's on course to take quite a chunk out of the gap to seventh-placed Tanak here.
Neuville steps things up and is now second fastest at split three, but it's Mikkelsen who's beating him by 4s.
Sordo is still rapid at split two, but Mikkelsen is now the pacesetter overall there.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen is storming this one, he's now 4.7s up on Ogier at split three, and he's 5s quicker than key rival Neuville at split two.
Stopwatch
Things are looking better for the new Hyundai overall, though - Sordo is fastest of all at split one.
That speed is giving Mikkelsen what he needs in his fight with Neuville - he's a couple of seconds quicker than the Hyundai at split one.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen is the pacesetter on this stage so far, 2.7s up on Ogier - who can afford to be pretty chilled.
Everyone's opting for dry tyres for this stage, so if there is any ice around, those areas are going to be tricky.
Twitter
Twitter
The gearbox was working perfectly but it's been affected when we went off the stage on SS12
Meeke says his gearbox problem was self-inflicted and came from his quick trip off the road on the last stage.
Twitter
And confirmation of another significant retirement...
Twitter
With Meeke gone, this is what the rally order will look like when we get going again with Sisteron in half an hour:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +2m17.1s
3 Neuville +2m47.2s
4 Ostberg +4m29.0s
5 Lefebvre +7m42.9s
6 Bouffier +7m47.1s
7 Tanak +10m31.9s
8 Sordo +11m14.3s
9 Evans +15m54.1s
10 Kremer +17m51.1s
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +2m17.1s
3 Neuville +2m47.2s
4 Ostberg +4m29.0s
5 Lefebvre +7m42.9s
6 Bouffier +7m47.1s
7 Tanak +10m31.9s
8 Sordo +11m14.3s
9 Evans +15m54.1s
10 Kremer +17m51.1s
Here's the full story of Meeke's departure after one of the best drives of his career: 
Crash
Confirmation from Meeke that it's over due to a gearbox problem on his Citroen.
Meeke's exit will elevate Mikkelsen and Neuville to second and third places.
Meeke was extremely concerned about his Citroen at the end of the previous stage, leaping out of it and inspecting it rather than talking to the media. TV crews had reported he'd been off the road, though he only lost 2s to leader Ogier and was still within half a minute of the world champion.
Crash
Meeke has been put up as an official retirement on the results board...
Information
Big - and bad - news: reports of gearbox problems for Kris Meeke.
Twitter
The drivers are now heading for a regroup (no service for now), then another road section, then it's time for a classic Monte stage: Sisteron.
That starts in just over an hour, so we'll slow the pace for now and go and look for more pictures of Piero Liatti.
That starts in just over an hour, so we'll slow the pace for now and go and look for more pictures of Piero Liatti.
Information
SS12 summary:
* Drivers with studded/winter tyres thrive - and Hyundai sets a 1-2-3 on stage pace with Neuville, Paddon and Sordo
* That revitalises the podium battle as Neuville halves the gap to Mikkelsen in third and closes to within 30s
* Latvala retires before the stage start due to damage from shunt on SS11
* Ogier only seventh quickest but extends lead to 29s as Meeke has a minor off
* Drivers with studded/winter tyres thrive - and Hyundai sets a 1-2-3 on stage pace with Neuville, Paddon and Sordo
* That revitalises the podium battle as Neuville halves the gap to Mikkelsen in third and closes to within 30s
* Latvala retires before the stage start due to damage from shunt on SS11
* Ogier only seventh quickest but extends lead to 29s as Meeke has a minor off
Twitter
Twitter
Stopwatch
SS12 results:
Stage times:
1 Neuville 11m39.6s
2 Paddon +13.4s
3 Sordo +15.5s
4 Ostberg +31.3s
5 Mikkelsen +33.9s
6 Suarez +43.8s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +29.1s
3 Mikkelsen +2m17.1s
4 Neuville +2m47.2s
5 Ostberg +4m29.0s
6 Lefebvre +7m42.9s
7 Bouffier +7m47.1s
8 Tanak +10m31.9s
9 Sordo +11m14.3s
10 Evans +15m54.1s
Stage times:
1 Neuville 11m39.6s
2 Paddon +13.4s
3 Sordo +15.5s
4 Ostberg +31.3s
5 Mikkelsen +33.9s
6 Suarez +43.8s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +29.1s
3 Mikkelsen +2m17.1s
4 Neuville +2m47.2s
5 Ostberg +4m29.0s
6 Lefebvre +7m42.9s
7 Bouffier +7m47.1s
8 Tanak +10m31.9s
9 Sordo +11m14.3s
10 Evans +15m54.1s
Twitter
Twitter
By: Matt Beer
Published:
Lap:
