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Monte Carlo Rally 2016
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And Latvala is through, 2.9s down in that first split to Ogier.
Meeke is also into the stage.
Meeke is also into the stage.
Stopwatch
Ogier completes the first split, 5m29.9s.
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Report from the zero car: "It's very difficult, a lot of snow."
EXACTLY what we wanted to hear!
EXACTLY what we wanted to hear!
Mikkelsen is 22.5s adrift of Thierry Neuville who passed him on the last stage.
And our man to watch - ANDREAS MIKKELSEN - is into the stage. Remember he's the only driver with four winter tyres with studs.
Latvala joins our stage, he's third overall and 1m19.3s behind Meeke in second.
This stage is just over 10 miles, but the conditions are going to make it even more difficult than today's titanic opening stage.
Just one split and the times will be coming thick and fast. Settle in for a very exciting ride.
Just one split and the times will be coming thick and fast. Settle in for a very exciting ride.
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Green flag
And here we go. This is going to be a cracker.
Ogier is into the stage...
Ogier is into the stage...
Just to remind you, Mikkelsen is the only driver with four winter tyres (the spikey ones). Apparently the studded tyre is a 'must' down the second half of the stage which is very icy.
This is going to be intriguing and the ice is almost certainly going to cause some big issues.
This is going to be intriguing and the ice is almost certainly going to cause some big issues.
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Not long to go until the stage starts now. Here's a quick reminder of the running order providing everyone makes it to the stage.
Ogier
Latvala
Mikkelsen
Ostberg
Meeke
Neuville
Sordo
Tanak
Lefebvre
Bouffier
Paddon
Ogier
Latvala
Mikkelsen
Ostberg
Meeke
Neuville
Sordo
Tanak
Lefebvre
Bouffier
Paddon
Thanks to Seb Marshall - who partners Hyundai's Kevin Abbring - for his stage guides through the day.
Seb will be testing the new i20 R5 with Abbring in the first half of the year, before his focus switches to testing the 2017 Hyundai WRC challenger.
Seb will be testing the new i20 R5 with Abbring in the first half of the year, before his focus switches to testing the 2017 Hyundai WRC challenger.
Great news; all eyes on Mikkelsen for this test. Why don't we find out more about it with Hyundai co-driver Seb Marshall:
SS10 St Leger les Melezes-La Battie Neuve
This one’s brand new. It’s a cracking stage. It starts on one side of the mountain, then it’s up and over the col and down the other side – classic Monte. And the col’s quite high, around 1600 metres, it’s similar to Turini in height.
But it’s a bizarre stage this one. Not long after the start, you head for a ski station and you’re going past the nursery slopes and past the ski rental shop, then you pass the chairlift. On the recce I was like: “Are we in the right place?” Honestly, it was like playing one of the early Colin McRae Rally games where they really mixed the terrain up a bit – it was bizarre.
After a couple of hairpins, you switch onto an access road for the ski station, it’s proper snow from there and you’re climbing for a couple of kilometres. After the col, the descent is all in the forest. Even though it’s been sunny, there will be snow and ice in there. And this is a tricky place, the corners are nice, medium-speed corners that are quite gentle before they swap back and tighten. It’ll be so easy to make a mistake here, especially with compromised tyres.
SS10 St Leger les Melezes-La Battie Neuve
This one’s brand new. It’s a cracking stage. It starts on one side of the mountain, then it’s up and over the col and down the other side – classic Monte. And the col’s quite high, around 1600 metres, it’s similar to Turini in height.
But it’s a bizarre stage this one. Not long after the start, you head for a ski station and you’re going past the nursery slopes and past the ski rental shop, then you pass the chairlift. On the recce I was like: “Are we in the right place?” Honestly, it was like playing one of the early Colin McRae Rally games where they really mixed the terrain up a bit – it was bizarre.
After a couple of hairpins, you switch onto an access road for the ski station, it’s proper snow from there and you’re climbing for a couple of kilometres. After the col, the descent is all in the forest. Even though it’s been sunny, there will be snow and ice in there. And this is a tricky place, the corners are nice, medium-speed corners that are quite gentle before they swap back and tighten. It’ll be so easy to make a mistake here, especially with compromised tyres.
And roll the dice someone did. Andreas Mikkelsen bolted two winter tyres onto his VW in the last stage in hope of some snow in SS10 where he can run four studded tyres. Well, he claimed at the end of nine the choice was for that stage, but he may have been playing coy…
Either way, evidence suggests that Mikkelsen could be a genius. DAVID EVANS spoke to Pirelli's Terenzio Testoni who also provided a picture from SS10:
"It's full snow from kilometre six to 12," he said.
Evans also added: "So that's 3.72 miles for Mikkelsen to make time up on the way up the hill. And a good few icy patches on the way down, where his full-stud option will come into its own."
David Evans
Right, we’re back with 10 minutes to go and lets talk tyres.
Here’s DAVID EVANS to explain the situation:
Today is the big day on this event. And it’s a proper Monte Carlo conundrum when it comes to tyres and tyre choices. The first stage is not such a stress. OK, it’s 31 miles long, but it’s quite early in the morning, so the choice is between soft and supersoft. Then, however, we throw in the 10th stage curve ball in the shape of St Leger les Melezes to La Battie Neuve and wait for it to kick off.
The soft and supersoft simply won’t work on this stage. The crews will need at least a winter tyre, but a stud’s the sensible option. But how many? Take more than two and you could gain heaps of time on the road past the ski station, but you’ll be left for dead in the opener.
Most likely, the crews will take a supersoft and two studs. The interesting one is the afternoon re-run. Will a supersoft last in the slightly warmer conditions? If it won’t, will they be able to get enough heat into the soft on the snowy second stage in the loop. Welcome to the Monte. Roll that dice…
Here’s DAVID EVANS to explain the situation:
Today is the big day on this event. And it’s a proper Monte Carlo conundrum when it comes to tyres and tyre choices. The first stage is not such a stress. OK, it’s 31 miles long, but it’s quite early in the morning, so the choice is between soft and supersoft. Then, however, we throw in the 10th stage curve ball in the shape of St Leger les Melezes to La Battie Neuve and wait for it to kick off.
The soft and supersoft simply won’t work on this stage. The crews will need at least a winter tyre, but a stud’s the sensible option. But how many? Take more than two and you could gain heaps of time on the road past the ski station, but you’ll be left for dead in the opener.
Most likely, the crews will take a supersoft and two studs. The interesting one is the afternoon re-run. Will a supersoft last in the slightly warmer conditions? If it won’t, will they be able to get enough heat into the soft on the snowy second stage in the loop. Welcome to the Monte. Roll that dice…
Next stage is at 0852, Ogier of course will kick us off.
We'll take a short break and be back to talk tyres before the next stage gets underway.
We'll take a short break and be back to talk tyres before the next stage gets underway.
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One category we have't paid enough attention is WRC3. We've talked about its previous winners but not this year's competitors.
Young Ole Christian Veiby surprised many at Wales Rally GB in 2015, winning the JWRC by a margin only measurable by calendar.
He's leading the Monte now - which couldn't be any more opposite to GB - by 1m47.6s so far.
Young Ole Christian Veiby surprised many at Wales Rally GB in 2015, winning the JWRC by a margin only measurable by calendar.
He's leading the Monte now - which couldn't be any more opposite to GB - by 1m47.6s so far.
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We've been keeping a close eye on Gilbert as he is effectively the 2016 version of Stephane Lefebvre. That is, in the sense that Lefebvre won the 2014 JWRC title; the prize for that is a year in a Citroen DS 3 R5 in WRC2.
Gilbert won WRC2 in 2015, and is making his first WRC four-wheel-drive appearance this weekend. He had been fourth overnight and lead earlier.
"We had a puncture in the middle of the stage. We lost a lot of time," he explains.
Gilbert won WRC2 in 2015, and is making his first WRC four-wheel-drive appearance this weekend. He had been fourth overnight and lead earlier.
"We had a puncture in the middle of the stage. We lost a lot of time," he explains.
Stopwatch
Looks like Quentin Gilbert has had a puncture as well, he's dropped to fifth overall so far and could drop further. He was 2m03s slower than current stage pacesetter Kremer.
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So here's Evans and let's clear-up the situation.
"Not a good one. We had a puncture and stopped to change it," explains Evans.
Asked if he could pull the time back, he says: "Yes of course."
That's an unusually self-confident Evans, at least outwardly, and rightly so. He's only 5.8s off new-leader Kremer.
"Not a good one. We had a puncture and stopped to change it," explains Evans.
Asked if he could pull the time back, he says: "Yes of course."
That's an unusually self-confident Evans, at least outwardly, and rightly so. He's only 5.8s off new-leader Kremer.
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Here's Armin Kremer
"i think Evans had a puncture, we also had an issue and had a spin. Oi, Oi, Oi."
Big impact on the rear for the German.
"i think Evans had a puncture, we also had an issue and had a spin. Oi, Oi, Oi."
Big impact on the rear for the German.
We're going to stick around for the WRC2 battle. We've already lost Julien Maurin this morning, we await Elfyn Evans hoping that the issue is a puncture and nothing more serious.
On Thursday, Evans had a puncture on SS1, by the time we reached the end of Friday morning he was back in the lead overturning a gap of 1m17s.
On Thursday, Evans had a puncture on SS1, by the time we reached the end of Friday morning he was back in the lead overturning a gap of 1m17s.
Checkered flag
And the rally overall:
1 Ogier 1h59m53.9s
2 Meeke +20.1s
3 Latvala +1m39.4s
4 Neuville +2m24.8s
5 Mikkelsen +2m47.3s
6 Ostberg +3m32.4s
7 Lefebvre +5m22.5s
8 Bouffier +5m52.9s
9 Tanak +7m12.1s
10 Sordo +9m35.3s
1 Ogier 1h59m53.9s
2 Meeke +20.1s
3 Latvala +1m39.4s
4 Neuville +2m24.8s
5 Mikkelsen +2m47.3s
6 Ostberg +3m32.4s
7 Lefebvre +5m22.5s
8 Bouffier +5m52.9s
9 Tanak +7m12.1s
10 Sordo +9m35.3s
Checkered flag
So here's the SS9 order:
1 Ogier 30m47.8s
2 Meeke +10.6s
3 Latvala +31.3s
4 Neuville +37s
5 Mikkelsen +1m13.5s
6 Ostberg +1m13.9s
7 Paddon +1m25.2s
8 Bouffier +1m34.3s
9 Tanak +1m46.3s
10 Lefebvre +1m50.5s
1 Ogier 30m47.8s
2 Meeke +10.6s
3 Latvala +31.3s
4 Neuville +37s
5 Mikkelsen +1m13.5s
6 Ostberg +1m13.9s
7 Paddon +1m25.2s
8 Bouffier +1m34.3s
9 Tanak +1m46.3s
10 Lefebvre +1m50.5s
Bouffier is in, 1m34.3s down on Ogier.
Paddon - running under Rally 2 after yesterday's off - drops in seventh on the stage.
Paddon - running under Rally 2 after yesterday's off - drops in seventh on the stage.
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Information
Sordo hit a bank which has damaged the rear and possibly bent the suspension.
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Stopwatch
That's a massive loss for Sordo. A puncture should take three to four minutes to change, but Sordo has lost over six minutes to Ogier.
Looks like Elfyn Evans has a problem, we'll keep an eye on that.
Looks like Elfyn Evans has a problem, we'll keep an eye on that.
Stopwatch
Lefebvre is in and he's +1m50.5s down on Ogier. It would have been great to compare the Frenchman's times to Eric Camilli, but the new M-Sport driver had a typical Monte shunt yesterday and broke the roll cage.
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No reports of issues for Tanak.
"Quite tricky and in some places we didn't have anything. It was a steady run."
"Quite tricky and in some places we didn't have anything. It was a steady run."
Stopwatch
Tanak is in now and he's slowest so far. He's 1m46.3s down on Ogier.
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Looks like Sordo stopped to change a puncture. He was quicker than Neuville which is encouraging but frustrating for the Hyundai outfit.
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And there's the battle we were alluding to earlier, Neuville has taken Mikkelsen for fourth overall.
But the Norwegian may well retake it in the next stage with his tyre choice.
"It was ok actually," says Neuville. "I was very carefull to be honest. We've improves the suspension, we just tried to do a better setup on the car."
But the Norwegian may well retake it in the next stage with his tyre choice.
"It was ok actually," says Neuville. "I was very carefull to be honest. We've improves the suspension, we just tried to do a better setup on the car."
Neuville completes and he's 37s down on Ogier.
We could get Tanak or Sordo next. It should be Sordo but he stopped on the stage earlier then restarted.
We could get Tanak or Sordo next. It should be Sordo but he stopped on the stage earlier then restarted.
By: Matt Beer
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