Monte Carlo Rally
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Mikkelsen thinks his team leader Ogier isn't helping the stage conditions.
"He is a bit cheeky because he always leaves so much mud in the road!"
But he has no complaints and is happy enough with his own safe pace, which is keeping him around the top six.
"He is a bit cheeky because he always leaves so much mud in the road!"
But he has no complaints and is happy enough with his own safe pace, which is keeping him around the top six.
A similar pace from Mikkelsen in the third VW - he's four tenths adrift of Latvala at the finish.
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But Ogier is still 16s quicker than VW team-mate Latvala, who's just come in:
"I was expecting better conditions," says the Finn. "In the beginning it was snowing a little bit, then it got better, then at the end it felt like the mud was beginning to freeze again."
He's running on snow tyres.
"I don't know if it was the best choice, but I felt more comfortable with it."
"I was expecting better conditions," says the Finn. "In the beginning it was snowing a little bit, then it got better, then at the end it felt like the mud was beginning to freeze again."
He's running on snow tyres.
"I don't know if it was the best choice, but I felt more comfortable with it."
Ogier finishes the stage 1.3s down on Kubica, and frustrated with his tyre choice. A mix of studded tyres and super-softs wasn't the right call for mud, he now feels.
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Kubica has been telling DAVID EVANS more about his electrical problems last night, and admitting they were an after-effect of a driving error.
"We went straight on in a patch of ice in braking in the first stage and hit the front of the car. This bent the sumpguard under and made a contact or electrical short, which meant the car was stopping and starting and then the lights were on and off all of the time. It was very frustrating."
Typically, this morning, the now bearded Kubica deflected praise for his two fastest times, adding: "The tyres worked well in these conditions and we had quite a good place on the road."
He forgot to add that he remains one of the most naturally talented drivers ever - so we'll do that for him.
"We went straight on in a patch of ice in braking in the first stage and hit the front of the car. This bent the sumpguard under and made a contact or electrical short, which meant the car was stopping and starting and then the lights were on and off all of the time. It was very frustrating."
Typically, this morning, the now bearded Kubica deflected praise for his two fastest times, adding: "The tyres worked well in these conditions and we had quite a good place on the road."
He forgot to add that he remains one of the most naturally talented drivers ever - so we'll do that for him.
Stopwatch
Kubica beats Chardonnet to set the early pace and he's fastest of everyone on the previous splits at present too.
He reports more mud than ice on the road as expected.
"We are using snow tyres but they're moving a lot. It was tough."
He reports more mud than ice on the road as expected.
"We are using snow tyres but they're moving a lot. It was tough."
Info from this stage end suggest not too much ice, but plenty of mud dragged onto the road from the first pass this morning.
Stopwatch
And it's straight on to SS7, where Kubica is quickest of all (ahead of Ogier) at the first split.
This was the first of two stages that Kubica set the outright pace on this morning.
This was the first of two stages that Kubica set the outright pace on this morning.
Breaking news
SS6 summary:
* Loeb gets his tyre choice wrong, goes with stud-less rubber on any increasingly icy road... and goes fastest anyway!
* Meeke moves up from sixth to fourth overall
* Evans has a spin and falls from fifth to seventh
* Kubica still rapid - he's fourth-fastest
* Loeb gets his tyre choice wrong, goes with stud-less rubber on any increasingly icy road... and goes fastest anyway!
* Meeke moves up from sixth to fourth overall
* Evans has a spin and falls from fifth to seventh
* Kubica still rapid - he's fourth-fastest
Checkered flag
SS6 results:
Stage times:
1 Loeb 10m26.1s
2 Latvala +3.5s
3 Ogier +3.6s
4 Kubica +4.6s
5 Meeke +8.0s
6 Mikkelsen +10.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +6.6s
3 Latvala +1m14.2s
4 Meeke +1m56.8s
5 Tanak +1m57.5s
6 Mikkelsen +2m01.7s
7 Evans +2m08.8s
8 Ostberg +2m31.3s
9 Neuville +2m47.7s
10 Sordo +3m21.1s
Stage times:
1 Loeb 10m26.1s
2 Latvala +3.5s
3 Ogier +3.6s
4 Kubica +4.6s
5 Meeke +8.0s
6 Mikkelsen +10.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +6.6s
3 Latvala +1m14.2s
4 Meeke +1m56.8s
5 Tanak +1m57.5s
6 Mikkelsen +2m01.7s
7 Evans +2m08.8s
8 Ostberg +2m31.3s
9 Neuville +2m47.7s
10 Sordo +3m21.1s
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So Loeb is on what seem to be the wrong tyres - he has no studs on a stage that's getting increasingly icy, he knows it's not the right choice, and yet he's quickest...
"I was really wrong, I was really surprised by the conditions," he says. "But it was OK driving on these tyres."
"I was really wrong, I was really surprised by the conditions," he says. "But it was OK driving on these tyres."
Stopwatch
Loeb takes the stage win, 3.6s quicker than Ogier to bring his lead back up to 6.6s.
Stopwatch
Despite that fear that Loeb was on totally the wrong tyres, he's now 7s faster than Ogier on the splits as he heads towards the final part of the stage.
Tanak comes in 10th quickest, slightly slower than his team-mate. That's helping Latvala make third very secure.
Position-wise, Evans's spin has dropped him behind Meeke and Mikkelsen overall, and he sits just in front of Ostberg now in what should shake out as seventh overall.
Stage order so far:
1 Latvala
2 Ogier
3 Kubica
4 Meeke
5 Mikkelsen
6 Chardonnet
7 Neuville
8 Prokop
9 Evans
10 Ostberg
And Sordo is through now 11th fastest.
Evans was 16.9s off the pace after his spin.
1 Latvala
2 Ogier
3 Kubica
4 Meeke
5 Mikkelsen
6 Chardonnet
7 Neuville
8 Prokop
9 Evans
10 Ostberg
And Sordo is through now 11th fastest.
Evans was 16.9s off the pace after his spin.
Stopwatch
Loeb's first split is in, and in that section he's 2.3s faster than Ogier.
Crash
A spin for Evans, but he doesn't think it cost him too much:
"We had a spin in there that was completely unnecessary. Something was coming up a bit fast and I panicked a bit and grabbed the handbrake, but it turned out the grip was better than expected."
"We had a spin in there that was completely unnecessary. Something was coming up a bit fast and I panicked a bit and grabbed the handbrake, but it turned out the grip was better than expected."
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Meeke reports that there's fresh snow falling and new ice forming.
"It was white in places where the ice notes were telling me it was clean. You just had to go on your own judgement."
Just waiting for the timing system to co-operate a touch more before we update you on where everyone's slotting in.
"It was white in places where the ice notes were telling me it was clean. You just had to go on your own judgement."
Just waiting for the timing system to co-operate a touch more before we update you on where everyone's slotting in.
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Neuville is running a mix of snow tyres and super-soft slicks, and he thinks he needed studs:
"It was the wrong information that we had. I don't know what happened, but for me the stage was 60 per cent ice and I struggled a lot. With a slick tyre the car was quite unbalanced."
Loeb is set to be in the same position tyre-wise.
"It was the wrong information that we had. I don't know what happened, but for me the stage was 60 per cent ice and I struggled a lot. With a slick tyre the car was quite unbalanced."
Loeb is set to be in the same position tyre-wise.
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Ostberg is the first man to cover the stage on just winter tyres, a choice he describes as "scary".
Asked if Citroen is using him as a "guinea pig" to test options for Loeb, Ostberg suggests that he doesn't know what the interviewers mean... though he adds that using someone further back to try out tyre options was "a good idea"...
Asked if Citroen is using him as a "guinea pig" to test options for Loeb, Ostberg suggests that he doesn't know what the interviewers mean... though he adds that using someone further back to try out tyre options was "a good idea"...
Stopwatch
Ogier comes in fractionally faster than Kubica, and the world champion refuses to say what tyres he's on as he knows the interviews are broadcast in the service park and he doesn't want to give anything away.
He doesn't sound wildly happy about how that stage went.
Now Latvala supplants Ogier as the stage pacesetter, by a tenth.
He doesn't sound wildly happy about how that stage went.
Now Latvala supplants Ogier as the stage pacesetter, by a tenth.
Stopwatch
Now Latvala's setting the pace, he's 5.4s faster than Ogier at split one.
Stopwatch
Rapid start from Chardonnet this afternoon - he's quicker than both Kubica and Ogier on the early splits.
Kubica's pace hasn't been so stunning as yet, he's 3.7s down on Chardonnet and 2s off Ogier.
Kubica's pace hasn't been so stunning as yet, he's 3.7s down on Chardonnet and 2s off Ogier.
Robert Kubica
Kubica was the fastest man of all on the last two stages before lunch. He had to retire from Thursday night when electrical problem that hampered him on SS2 stopped the RK Ford completely on the following road section, but so far he's progressed back from 66th to 31st overall.
He's 10 minutes away from the lead, and if he can keep matching the frontrunners and stay out of trouble, you wouldn't totally rule out a point or two. Sometimes with Monte attrition you can be a long way adrift here and still score.
The running order is the same as this morning, so initially we have our two Rally2 runners in Citroen young gun Sebastien Chardonnet and ex-Formula 1 star Robert Kubica, then it's the main field in 2014 championship order.
So Ogier is third on the road, Loeb is 14th.
So Ogier is third on the road, Loeb is 14th.
DAVID EVANS' verdict on those tyre choices:
"For the first time in the event, Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier have gone with significantly different tyre packages... leader Loeb takes four winter tyres and two super-soft racers, while Ogier has four studded tyres and two super-soft racers.
"Citroen's feeling is obviously that there's going to be less ice around in the afternoon."
"For the first time in the event, Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier have gone with significantly different tyre packages... leader Loeb takes four winter tyres and two super-soft racers, while Ogier has four studded tyres and two super-soft racers.
"Citroen's feeling is obviously that there's going to be less ice around in the afternoon."
Breaking news
Quite a spread of tyre choices this afternoon, here's what Michelin has just reported:
Loeb: 4 snow + 2 super-soft slicks
Ogier: 4 studded tyres + 2 super-soft slicks
Latvala: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Tanak: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Evans: 4 studded + 2 snow
Meeke: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Mikkelsen: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Ostberg: 4 snow + 2 super-soft slicks
Loeb: 4 snow + 2 super-soft slicks
Ogier: 4 studded tyres + 2 super-soft slicks
Latvala: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Tanak: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Evans: 4 studded + 2 snow
Meeke: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Mikkelsen: 2 snow, 2 studded, 2 super-soft
Ostberg: 4 snow + 2 super-soft slicks
This afternoon is a repeat of this morning's three stages. The first had a lot of fog, and even five hours later, that doesn't seem to have shifted.
The following pair of 16-milers were increasingly clear this morning, which meant more and more mud, but TV crews are suggesting that there could be a little snow on the way.
The following pair of 16-milers were increasingly clear this morning, which meant more and more mud, but TV crews are suggesting that there could be a little snow on the way.
Breaking news
This morning was all about the see-saw battle between Loeb and Ogier, as the returning hero's lead grew from 13s to 28s, then shrank to just 3s:
Monte Carlo Rally Friday am report
Monte Carlo Rally Friday am report
Michelin
Welcome back to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live for the Friday afternoon of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally.
Here are the big questions facing us over the next 2-3 hours of stage action:
* What will the weather do? Will the crews face snow, fog, ice, mud or all four?
* Can Loeb fend off Ogier for the rally lead?
* Can M-Sport's young chargers get back in podium contention?
* Is someone poised for a tyre-choice masterstroke that turns the leaderboard inside-out?
* Will Kubica keep setting fastest stage times?
* Can Meeke, Mikkelsen or Ostberg get into the top five?
* What is going on in this picture? Is that what a teenage Bibendum looks like?
Time for the crews to head to service and Race Centre Live to slow the pace while they do so.
We'll keep you updated with any major news from service, and resume full coverage at 1.30pm UK time for the next leg of this incredible Loeb vs Ogier fight.
We'll keep you updated with any major news from service, and resume full coverage at 1.30pm UK time for the next leg of this incredible Loeb vs Ogier fight.
Breaking news
SS5 summary:
* Loeb's lead over Ogier shrinks from 24s to 3s as he encounters muddier conditions
* Slow times for Tanak and Evans cement Latvala's third place
* Meeke closes in on Evans for fifth and inches away from Mikkelsen
* Loeb's lead over Ogier shrinks from 24s to 3s as he encounters muddier conditions
* Slow times for Tanak and Evans cement Latvala's third place
* Meeke closes in on Evans for fifth and inches away from Mikkelsen
Checkered flag
SS5 results:
Stage times:
1 Kubica 15m13.2s
2 Ogier +0.8s
3 Latvala +15.7s
4 Loeb +22.1s
5 Meeke +25.3s
6 Mikkelsen +27.8s
7 Ostberg +27.9s
8 Sordo +36.1s
9 Tanak +38.7s
10 Chardonnet +40.4s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +3.0s
3 Latvala +1m10.7s
4 Tanak +1m35.0s
5 Evans +1m48.4s
6 Meeke +1m48.8s
7 Mikkelsen +1m51.4s
8 Ostberg +2m01.1s
9 Neuville +2m28.5s
10 Sordo +2m44.4s
Stage times:
1 Kubica 15m13.2s
2 Ogier +0.8s
3 Latvala +15.7s
4 Loeb +22.1s
5 Meeke +25.3s
6 Mikkelsen +27.8s
7 Ostberg +27.9s
8 Sordo +36.1s
9 Tanak +38.7s
10 Chardonnet +40.4s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +3.0s
3 Latvala +1m10.7s
4 Tanak +1m35.0s
5 Evans +1m48.4s
6 Meeke +1m48.8s
7 Mikkelsen +1m51.4s
8 Ostberg +2m01.1s
9 Neuville +2m28.5s
10 Sordo +2m44.4s
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Loeb confirms that running 14th on the road is an unhappy place to be on a stage where there isn't much ice and snow, just a lot of mud being pulled onto the course by the cars ahead:
"In some places it's very, very dirty," he admits, and says he's having to "take some risks" to stay on this pace.
"In some places it's very, very dirty," he admits, and says he's having to "take some risks" to stay on this pace.
Loeb completes the stage and his lead over Ogier has plunged from 24s to just 3s!
Tanak describes the stage as "really tricky and challenging" but says he's "enjoyed it a lot".
His time isn't stunning and he's now 24s behind Latvala in fourth overall, but still with a 13s cushion over Meeke.
His time isn't stunning and he's now 24s behind Latvala in fourth overall, but still with a 13s cushion over Meeke.
Solberg completes the stage slowest so far.
Final split for Loeb, and he's 16.3s slower than Ogier! His lead is set to tumble.
Tanak is having a harder stage too. He's a bit quicker than team-mate Evans, but is set to lose about 20s to Latvala. He shouldn't fall into range of Meeke and Mikkelsen, though. Expect the Estonian to stay fourth when he comes in.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Scott Mitchell
Published:
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