Monte Carlo Rally
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Stage order so far:
1 Kubica
2 Ogier
3 Latvala
4 Ostberg
5 Neuville
6 Mikkelsen
1 Kubica
2 Ogier
3 Latvala
4 Ostberg
5 Neuville
6 Mikkelsen
Neuville drops 5s to Ostberg, but he's still pulling away from his Hyundai team-mate Sordo on the splits. The Spaniard is next man up behind the Belgian overall at present.
Ostberg reaches the finish and is 7s faster than Mikkelsen.
The drivers to watch for Ostberg are Citroen team-mate Meeke and Hyundai's Neuville, currently either side of him in a battle for seventh.
On the splits, Ostberg is faster than Neuville but a bit slower than Meeke.
Ostberg said he was trying to save the studs in his snow tyres as increasing patches of asphalt were appearing on the stage, but he's not sure he succeeded.
The drivers to watch for Ostberg are Citroen team-mate Meeke and Hyundai's Neuville, currently either side of him in a battle for seventh.
On the splits, Ostberg is faster than Neuville but a bit slower than Meeke.
Ostberg said he was trying to save the studs in his snow tyres as increasing patches of asphalt were appearing on the stage, but he's not sure he succeeded.
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It's Mikkelsen's turn to be the unhappy VW. He completes the stage fourth fastest so far and a full half-minute off Kubica, Ogier and Latvala:
"Not a very good stage, the rhythm was terrible," says Mikkelsen.
"We tried to save some studs for the next stage."
"Not a very good stage, the rhythm was terrible," says Mikkelsen.
"We tried to save some studs for the next stage."
Looking at Evans's early splits, which are on a similar level to Mikkelsen's, Latvala has a good shot at getting back ahead of at least one of the M-Sport Fords too.
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Third-fastest for Latvala, just 2s off Ogier this time after losing half a minute to him as he struggled on SS3.
"A lot better than the first one. I didn't have a good feeling at all on the first one," Latvala admits.
"That was very tricky with the ice and snow, and there was big fog. I didn't feel comfortable, so I drove it very carefully."
This is going to pull Latvala well clear of Mikkelsen. The Norwegian closed to within 3.9s of his team-mate as Latvala floundered on SS3, but Latvala is on course to add over 20s to that gap here.
"A lot better than the first one. I didn't have a good feeling at all on the first one," Latvala admits.
"That was very tricky with the ice and snow, and there was big fog. I didn't feel comfortable, so I drove it very carefully."
This is going to pull Latvala well clear of Mikkelsen. The Norwegian closed to within 3.9s of his team-mate as Latvala floundered on SS3, but Latvala is on course to add over 20s to that gap here.
Latvala is basically matching Ogier's pace on this one, and everyone else so far is a long way off the speed the first two VWs and Kubica are showing.
Ogier completes the stage and he's three seconds slower than Kubica.
The champion says he was struggling to keep the studs in his snow tyres on that one, which made it "very slippery".
The champion says he was struggling to keep the studs in his snow tyres on that one, which made it "very slippery".
Stopwatch
Kubica is through, he's back ahead of Ogier at the later splits so could be our early pacesetter.
"Very slippery, very difficult conditions," is his summary.
"Very slippery, very difficult conditions," is his summary.
At split one (which we do have) Latvala was on the same pace as Kubica and Ogier, which was 5s faster than Mikkelsen was doing.
Stopwatch
Ogier is now fastest of all at the mid-stage split, though Kubica is only 1.5s down.
Mikkelsen is 4s slower, and we're missing that split for Latvala though he is still moving at the right speed on the tracking system.
Mikkelsen is 4s slower, and we're missing that split for Latvala though he is still moving at the right speed on the tracking system.
Ott Tanak
No apologies for being as excited as we are about what Loeb is doing, but also we need to give a massive shout for M-Sport's two young guns Tanak and Evans.
To be third and fourth (just a tenth apart) with so little Monte experience, and still driving what is basically last year's car against upgraded opposition, is pretty remarkable.
Stopwatch
And intrigue straight away on SS4, where Kubica is a few tenths faster than Ogier at the first split.
Sadly Kubica is somewhere outside the top 60 overall after last night's major electrical problems.
Sadly Kubica is somewhere outside the top 60 overall after last night's major electrical problems.
Checkered flag
SS4 is already under way, but first, let's recap the standings from SS3:
Stage times:
1 Loeb 10m23.9s
2 Ogier +15.0s
3 Evans +22.7s
4 Mikkelsen +22.8s
5 Ostberg +30.6s
6 Tanak +31.4s
7 Neuville +33.3s
8 Kubica +35.0s
9 Meeke +35.5s
10 Sordo +37.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +28.3s
3 Tanak +1m10.0s
4 Evans +1m10.1s
5 Latvala +1m18.8s
6 Mikkelsen +1m22.7s
7 Meeke +1m35.3s
8 Ostberg +1m39.3s
9 Neuville +1m40.1s
10 Sordo +2m02.2s
Stage times:
1 Loeb 10m23.9s
2 Ogier +15.0s
3 Evans +22.7s
4 Mikkelsen +22.8s
5 Ostberg +30.6s
6 Tanak +31.4s
7 Neuville +33.3s
8 Kubica +35.0s
9 Meeke +35.5s
10 Sordo +37.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Loeb
2 Ogier +28.3s
3 Tanak +1m10.0s
4 Evans +1m10.1s
5 Latvala +1m18.8s
6 Mikkelsen +1m22.7s
7 Meeke +1m35.3s
8 Ostberg +1m39.3s
9 Neuville +1m40.1s
10 Sordo +2m02.2s
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Loeb's verdict:
"That was not easy. There is a lot of fog in the stage, so in some fast sections you have to trust the notes 100 per cent, and when it's a new stage, that's tricky.
"But we made no mistakes. There was some mud in some places, but the time is not too bad..."
Not too bad/astonishingly brilliant - one of the two.
"That was not easy. There is a lot of fog in the stage, so in some fast sections you have to trust the notes 100 per cent, and when it's a new stage, that's tricky.
"But we made no mistakes. There was some mud in some places, but the time is not too bad..."
Not too bad/astonishingly brilliant - one of the two.
Stopwatch
Loeb completes the stage, comfortably fastest and extending his rally lead to 28s.
Tanak is in, fifth fastest and just behind Ostberg in the times.
"It's really, really crazy how tricky it is," he says of the ice and fog.
"It's really, really crazy how tricky it is," he says of the ice and fog.
Stopwatch
Loeb continues to fly - he's an amazing 16s quicker than Ogier at split two.
And now at split two, Tanak has fallen away from Evans's pace and is around the same time as Neuville and Ostberg.
Prokop, Sordo and Solberg have all made it through.
Prokop, Sordo and Solberg have all made it through.
Tanak is still going well too, on a similar pace to flying M-Sport team-mate Evans at split one.
Stopwatch
First split for Loeb - he's 6s quicker than Ogier!
We've still got some major names to come through SS3, but SS4 is also about to begin for Chardonnet and Kubica.
Juha Kankkunen still holds the record for Aspres-les-Corps - Chauffayer, says DAVID EVANS, largely because the stage hasn’t been used since he rocketed his Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD through the 16-miler in 14m57s.
This stage doesn’t have any significant climbs, but there are undulations for the whole route – and a couple of changes of tempo in the road as well.
After a typically narrow start, the stage widens for the middle section before it gets narrow and more slippery towards the finish.
Juha Kankkunen still holds the record for Aspres-les-Corps - Chauffayer, says DAVID EVANS, largely because the stage hasn’t been used since he rocketed his Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD through the 16-miler in 14m57s.
This stage doesn’t have any significant climbs, but there are undulations for the whole route – and a couple of changes of tempo in the road as well.
After a typically narrow start, the stage widens for the middle section before it gets narrow and more slippery towards the finish.
That time from Evans definitely places him ahead of overnight third-place man Latvala. For where he fits in overall we have to wait to see Tanak and Ogier's pace.
Flying Welsh superstar Evans is the least excited person at the stage end:
"It was OK, I didn't feel we were too wild. We just tried to be clean and tidy."
"It was OK, I didn't feel we were too wild. We just tried to be clean and tidy."
Stopwatch
Great time from Evans - he's second quickest! He nips in ahead of Mikkelsen and only 7s off Ogier.
Meeke says he's ignoring how he compares to everyone else and focusing on a rhythm he feels comfortable in. And it's plenty decent enough for the man who was a shock third here last year.
Stopwatch
Stage pace so far:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen
3 Ostberg
4 Neuville
5 Kubica
6 Meeke
7 Latvala
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen
3 Ostberg
4 Neuville
5 Kubica
6 Meeke
7 Latvala
Meeke finishes the stage sixth fastest, 20s off Ogier's pace and just behind Neuville and Kubica.
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Neuville comes in fourth fastest in the Hyundai, 3s slower than Ostberg and just ahead of Kubica.
"It's very, very difficult. My aim is to finish this rally, I'm focused on that."
"It's very, very difficult. My aim is to finish this rally, I'm focused on that."
Good pace from Evans again this morning, he's fourth fastest behind Ogier, Mikkelsen and Neuville at split one.
Slight maths failure a moment ago - Mikkelsen doesn't quite pass Latvala, but he does close to within 3s of his team-mate, who was third overnight.
Ostberg completes the stage 15.6s slower than Ogier, so 11s up on Latvala.
On the splits, Neuville is closest to Ogier and Mikkelsen's pace right now.
On the splits, Neuville is closest to Ogier and Mikkelsen's pace right now.
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Better pace from Mikkelsen, who is 8s slower than Ogier and takes second on the stage. That'll thrust him past Latvala overall.
"What a stage... I thought today was going to get easier, but wow. So, so difficult. So much ice and it's getting colder, so more ice than I expected.
"Also with the fog there was no visibility at all. When you're supposed to look at the ground to see where the grip is and there's no visibility, it's very difficult. I played it safe."
"What a stage... I thought today was going to get easier, but wow. So, so difficult. So much ice and it's getting colder, so more ice than I expected.
"Also with the fog there was no visibility at all. When you're supposed to look at the ground to see where the grip is and there's no visibility, it's very difficult. I played it safe."
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Latvala is slower than Kubica on the splits, and says he "took it very, very easily" on a stage full of black ice.
His stage time is now up and he's lost 27s to team-mate Ogier.
"There was no reason to take any risks on this stage, there are better stages to come," Latvala insists.
But still, Jari-Matti, you might want that half-minute you've just dropped.
His stage time is now up and he's lost 27s to team-mate Ogier.
"There was no reason to take any risks on this stage, there are better stages to come," Latvala insists.
But still, Jari-Matti, you might want that half-minute you've just dropped.
Stopwatch
Kubica is comfortably quicker than Chardonnet as the first cars come through, but Ogier beats that by 20 seconds.
Tyre choices for the morning: the three Citroens and Neuville have five studded tyres, the rest of the pack have four studded tyres and two non-studded options.
Stopwatch
As you'd expect, Ogier is our initial pacesetter on SS3, 14.2s faster than Kubica at split one.
AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live is now on top of the 2015 running order regulations (in terms of Rally2 drivers turning up first, THEN championship order thereafter) so to clarify, here's the order in which drivers are coming through this morning:
Chardonnet - Kubica - Ogier - Latvala - Mikkelsen - Ostberg - Neuville - Meeke - Evans - Prokop - Sordo - Solberg - Tanak - Loeb - Bertelli
Chardonnet - Kubica - Ogier - Latvala - Mikkelsen - Ostberg - Neuville - Meeke - Evans - Prokop - Sordo - Solberg - Tanak - Loeb - Bertelli
This morning's opening stage is completely new in this configuration, explains DAVID EVANS, although stretches of the road from La Salle en Beamont-Corps (SS3/6) were last used in 1987.
The tricky section here comes at 1200 metres between Hameau de Villelonge and the Col de l'Holme – plenty of ice and snow still sitting in wait for around three miles there.
The tricky section here comes at 1200 metres between Hameau de Villelonge and the Col de l'Holme – plenty of ice and snow still sitting in wait for around three miles there.
Breaking news
Robert Kubica
So why is Kubica 66th? DAVID EVANS explains:
Robert Kubica put his new team to the test last night when he arrived back in service far later than planned following an electrical problem on his Lotos-backed Ford Fiesta RS WRC on last night's two stages.
The Pole eventually stopped on the road back from SS2. We know this, because we were following him and watched him getting pulled over by the police for driving with no lights on.
The local plod stayed for a while before moving on down the N202, but Kubica's efforts to get going again were thwarted by a starter motor which wouldn't play ball – despite being hit repeatedly with a wheel brace.
Unfortunately, in terms of technical insight David Evans and WRC Live's Colin Clark (and we've grabbed Colin's Twitter picture here to illustrate Kubica's struggle) were unable to contribute much beyond offering a slightly shifty bump start…
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Scott Mitchell
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