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General

Rally GB 2017

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Latvala comes in fifth fastest, 5.1s off Mikkelsen's pace and that costs him into a position.

Latvala will go onto the powerstage only 2.1s ahead of Tanak too.
And Mikkelsen is past Latvala and into fourth!
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"I cannot go much faster," says Mikkelsen, who is loving having clearance to go flat-out this morning.
And at the split, Mikkelsen has taken 2.5s off Latvala, who was only 4.2s ahead of him in fourth at the start of the stage.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen pulls himself a bit of breathing space, he's 0.7s faster than Tanak and is now 3s clear of the M-Sport Ford in a provisional fifth overall with just one stage to go.
Tanak is fastest so far, 1.2s up on Meeke.

Mikkelsen is a tenth quicker than Tanak at the split.
Tanak is the fastest so far at the split, by 0.8s over Meeke. Mikkelsen is approaching that point now.
A reminder of where things stand in the very tight battle that could decide whether the title is won today:

3 Ogier
4 Latvala +2.3s
5 Mikkelsen +6.5s
6 Tanak +8.8s
Stopwatch
Meeke is now the stage pacesetter by 1.7s over Paddon and 5.5s over Sordo.

Tanak has got going, as has Mikkelsen.
As has been the case all weekend, Lappi is much less happy with his Toyota when it comes to the second runs over stages that have already being churned up.
Of the early gaggle, Sordo is a tenth up on Lappi, Paddon looks set to beat both.
Green flag
Al-Qassimi and Sordo are onto the second run through Alwen. They'll be followed by Lappi, Paddon and Meeke, then we get into the tasty Tanak, Mikkelsen, Latvala, Ogier battle. Just 8.8s cover those four.
OK a bit more retro, by popular request from Alasdair Lindsay, part of the Autosport Academy team who put this archive delve together, here's what Sainz's Toyota looked like in 1998 after his distraught co-driver Luis Moya threw his crash helmet through the rear windscreen (Sutton Images)

OK a bit more retro, by popular request from Alasdair Lindsay, part of the Autosport Academy team who put this archive delve together, here's what Sainz's Toyota looked like in 1998 after his distraught co-driver Luis Moya threw his crash helmet through the rear windscreen (Sutton Images)

Information
Right, the penultimate stage is imminent. Back to 2017, and back to Alwen we go.

SS20 Alwen (6.46 miles)

This is the first of the north Wales forests and it's more like the Clocaenog stage used as shakedown.

There are a few more junctions in here and the grip's not always the best – especially when it's been raining and you can get this kind of black mud, which has no grip at all.

It's a great challenge and nice and quick in places. And, like Brenig, there's plenty of spectating off the B4501.
In 2000, the Marcus Gronholm era began. He finished behind home winner Burns in the rally, but second sealed the championship.

In 2000, the Marcus Gronholm era began. He finished behind home winner Burns in the rally, but second sealed the championship.

...but then Makinen's rival Sainz, who had carefully managed his performance, suffered a Toyota engine failure a few hundred metres from the rally finish and lost the title after all.

...but then Makinen's rival Sainz, who had carefully managed his performance, suffered a Toyota engine failure a few hundred metres from the rally finish and lost the title after all.

In 1998, Britain hosted the most dramatic WRC title decider so far (an honour it arguably already held for 1994 and '95). An early Makinen crash seemed set to end his title streak...

In 1998, Britain hosted the most dramatic WRC title decider so far (an honour it arguably already held for 1994 and '95). An early Makinen crash seemed set to end his title streak...

Two years later, a McRae home win wasn't enough. Tommi Makinen played it safe, carefully managing his drive to sxith and securing the single point needed to defeat rally winner McRae in the standings.

Two years later, a McRae home win wasn't enough. Tommi Makinen played it safe, carefully managing his drive to sxith and securing the single point needed to defeat rally winner McRae in the standings.

Sainz lost out again in '95, going in on level points with McRae after controversial team orders in Spain. McRae overcame plenty of drama to blitz Sainz and take a home win and become Britain's first World Rally champion.

Sainz lost out again in '95, going in on level points with McRae after controversial team orders in Spain. McRae overcame plenty of drama to blitz Sainz and take a home win and become Britain's first World Rally champion.

But for British fans, that 1994 event was all about McRae putting his wild formative years behind him and delivering a home victory.

In 1995 he did that again, and this time it was worth a whole lot more.
1994 was a wild, wild one. Title rivals Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol both had multiple crashes and dramas, there was huge controversy over logs placed on stages, and Auriol ended up champion despite finishing half an hour behind in sixth after adventures that included rolling.

1994 was a wild, wild one. Title rivals Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol both had multiple crashes and dramas, there was huge controversy over logs placed on stages, and Auriol ended up champion despite finishing half an hour behind in sixth after adventures that included rolling.

Anyway, time for more titles-decided-at-Rally-GBRACLombard nostalgia.
Actually, tonnes of pressure of expectation - but that's been the case ever since rivals began to suspect that Wales would be one of the events where DMACK's tyre was dynamite. And that pressure hasn't stopped Evans completely controlling this event.
No pressure, Elfyn.
From 1994 to 2000, Colin McRae and Richard Burns ensured Rally GB was won by a Brit every year (except the anomalous non-championship crazy snow and Armin Schwarz event of 1996).

Since Burns in 2000, there hasn't been a British winner here. In two and a half hours' time, that run of home woe looks set to be ended - and not by the man who's been Britain's main rallying hope of recent seasons, but by a Welsh local who didn't even have a World Rally Car drive this time last year and has never won a WRC round before, running a tyre that has never won in the WRC either.
Information
SS19 results:

Leading stage times:

1 Latvala 4m51.1s
= Neuville
3 Meeke +0.8s
4 Tanak +1.0s
5 Ogier +1.1s

Overall leaderboard:

1 Evans
2 Neuville +43.4s
3 Ogier +48.2s
4 Latvala +50.5s
5 Mikkelsen +54.7s
6 Tanak +57.0s
Evans loses time at the end of the stage, though, and comes in only seventh fastest. He still leads by 43.4s.
Stopwatch
Oh hello Elfyn Evans, fastest on the split by 1.5s even though you've got an enormous lead.
How the podium/title fight looks now:

2 Neuville
3 Ogier +4.8s
4 Latvala +7.1s
5 Mikkelsen +11.3s
6 Tanak +13.6s
Only fifth fastest for Ogier. He loses 1.1s to Latvala so is now just 2.3s ahead with two stages to go.
Ogier's split time is 1.7s off Neuville, but a touch quicker than Latvala there. It was the last part of the stage where Latvala really got on it. Ogier had 3.4s back to Latvala in their third/fourth battle starting this one.
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That was a bit of a mixed bag for Neuville:

"Not that happy about this stage. It was quite slippy in the beginning, so I smoothed the rhythm to keep it nice and tidy. But one time near the end I got lost on the pace notes so I had to slow down."
Neuville matches Latvala's fastest stage time! Now we wait to see how that compares with Ogier as Neuville pushes to cement second.
Stopwatch
But Latvala has a strong end to the stage and goes quickest by 0.8s over Meeke and 1.0s over Tanak.

That pulls Latvala a 4.3s cushion to Mikkelsen for fourh overall.

"The first 3kms were very, very slippy but after that when you get on the hard surface the grip was getting better and then I tried to push," says Latvala.
Meanwhile at the split, Latvala is 0.9s faster than Mikkelsen but 0.9s slower than Tanak. Latvala started the stage just 1.9s clear of Mikkelsen in fourth.
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"That was not really perfect, I messed up a little bit in the beginning of the stage," says Mikkelsen admits. "Not bad but not perfect."
Mikkelsen comes in 1.3s slower than Tanak, so his advantage overall is down to 2.3s with two stages to go.

By: Matt Beer

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