Rally GB 2017
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And a strong start to the afternoon for Neuville, he's quickest on Gartheiniog so far by 2.7s over Mikkelsen.
"It's good, it's good, it's going well," says Neuville. "We have to continue fighting. Obviously it won't be enough for the championship like this, but we'll keep going and see what happens."
"It's good, it's good, it's going well," says Neuville. "We have to continue fighting. Obviously it won't be enough for the championship like this, but we'll keep going and see what happens."
That's the kind of swing Neuville really needs to turn the WRC title battle around here.
Speaking of crazy, we're absolutely not trying to jinx this whatsoever. But with Neuville up to second behind a runaway leader in Evans, we're in the same position we were in around about now on Rally Argentina in April - and then this happened: 
The three title rivals are now on the stage - Neuville, Ogier, then Tanak. Who are running Neuville-Tanak-Ogier in the order.
That won't be enough to prolong the championship fight to Australia unless Tanak and Neuville pull more points back on Ogier on tomorrow's powerstage, or anything crazy happens.
That won't be enough to prolong the championship fight to Australia unless Tanak and Neuville pull more points back on Ogier on tomorrow's powerstage, or anything crazy happens.
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"We've been playing with the dampers and it's been helping, but Andreas is going faster all the time so there's a battle on now!" says Latvala.
Latvala comes in second fastest to Mikkelsen, 0.4s slower. So he hangs on to fifth overall by 4.3s from the Hyundai.
David Evans
I've never ever seen crowds like this on the Welsh version of Rally GB. People are abandoning their cars and literally running across the fields to get to the stages. I haven't seen this since 1995 and Colin McRae's heyday.
News from the organisers there that there'll be a delay to the next stage due to spectator issues.
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Meeke was still third fastest on the stage, 1.9s off Mikkelsen and therefore 2.4s behind him overall.
Crash
Problems for Meeke - he's arrived at the stage end with the top part of his rear wing missing - to his bafflement.
"I didn't have a moment, I was happy with my run, really enjoyed it," says Meeke. "The rear wing...?"
"I didn't have a moment, I was happy with my run, really enjoyed it," says Meeke. "The rear wing...?"
Meeke, Latvala and Neuville are now splashing their way through this wet and muddy stage.
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"The last corner I was too sideways and I didn't get any speed out of the corner," says Mikkelsen. "Before that it was fine, but the end was really bad."
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen comes in fastest so far, 1.7s up on Paddon. And on the splits, Mikkelsen's added 1.9s to what had been a half-second advantage over Meeke in their fight for sixth overall.
Mikkelsen is next onto the stage, and comfortably fastest at the split.
He took sixth from Meeke before the regroup and is now firmly setting his sights on Latvala's fifth place.
He took sixth from Meeke before the regroup and is now firmly setting his sights on Latvala's fifth place.
Sordo comes in second to Paddon and is now 9.8s behind him, but like his team-mate he's rebuilt a bit of the gap to Hanninen in 10th.
Stopwatch
That's a strong run from Paddon, he's 3.6s faster than Lappi and 5s quicker than Hanninen, so his cushion to Hanninen overall is back up to 15.1s. They're provisionally eighth and 10th.
"I'm starting to enjoy it a little bit more," says Paddon. "I'm not at my best and still short on confidence, but today's conditions are more consistent and more enjoyable."
"I'm starting to enjoy it a little bit more," says Paddon. "I'm not at my best and still short on confidence, but today's conditions are more consistent and more enjoyable."
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And having closed on the Hyundais this morning, Hanninen is a bit off Paddon on the split here.
"It's really, really, really slippy now," says Hanninen. "It's like a different stage."
"It's really, really, really slippy now," says Hanninen. "It's like a different stage."
Hanninen loses 1.4s to Lappi on that one, but still has a comfortable 20s cushion after this morning.
Stopwatch
Lappi is the first of the major players through, setting a time of 7m44.4s. He was slightly faster than team-mate Hanninen at the split.
David Evans
Evans was totally relaxed at lunch and thinks they've got enough left in the tyre even with the weather drying out.
DMACK admitted it was a real gamble to take six softs with these two stages in particular so abrasive, but the overnight rain and low temperature have helped.
Evans said his mission was to get this far still in the lead and with life in the tyres still.
You could tell from his body language that to be 49s up here was more than he ever dreamed of. His rivals look like they're resigned to Evans and DMACK winning this.
The likes of Ogier have been very good about the tyre situation. They're not calling DMACK's pace an unfair advantage, they appreciate that Evans has endured some tough times this season and are happy for him.
If they can get through these next two stages, the rest of the route looks good for the DMACKs. He knows the soft tyre can get him through tomorrow's stages and get through him quicker than the others. He's broken the back of it now.
DMACK admitted it was a real gamble to take six softs with these two stages in particular so abrasive, but the overnight rain and low temperature have helped.
Evans said his mission was to get this far still in the lead and with life in the tyres still.
You could tell from his body language that to be 49s up here was more than he ever dreamed of. His rivals look like they're resigned to Evans and DMACK winning this.
The likes of Ogier have been very good about the tyre situation. They're not calling DMACK's pace an unfair advantage, they appreciate that Evans has endured some tough times this season and are happy for him.
If they can get through these next two stages, the rest of the route looks good for the DMACKs. He knows the soft tyre can get him through tomorrow's stages and get through him quicker than the others. He's broken the back of it now.
Green flag
Al-Qassimi is first onto the stage.
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Information
Here's a reminder of what's coming up when the first afternoon stage starts in just a moment:
SS12 Gartheiniog (7.83 miles)
Elfyn's favourite. Even though there are a couple of really tight hairpins in the stage, this one still flows very nicely. And there's good news for this year, the organisers have extended the stage at the start by about 800 metres, which means the cars will come charging up the road really into a tricky right-left sequence with some great spectating on offer there (from car park H).
SS12 Gartheiniog (7.83 miles)
Elfyn's favourite. Even though there are a couple of really tight hairpins in the stage, this one still flows very nicely. And there's good news for this year, the organisers have extended the stage at the start by about 800 metres, which means the cars will come charging up the road really into a tricky right-left sequence with some great spectating on offer there (from car park H).
David Evans
Ogier wasn't banking on falling to fourth, but he made clear at the start of the day that he had no intention of trying to hunt down Evans today:
"We can see that Elfyn is going well on his tyre and that's going to carry on," Ogier told Autosport.
"All we can do is focus on our nearest Michelin rival and try to fight with those guys. There's nothing to do about Elfyn. It's OK. It's like this, he struggled on the previous rally so somehow it's deserving for him to have the advantage."
"We can see that Elfyn is going well on his tyre and that's going to carry on," Ogier told Autosport.
"All we can do is focus on our nearest Michelin rival and try to fight with those guys. There's nothing to do about Elfyn. It's OK. It's like this, he struggled on the previous rally so somehow it's deserving for him to have the advantage."
Just about to resume for the mini loop of Gartheiniog and Dyfi back to back.
Autosport
We're going to pause for half an hour while the cars are at the regroup before they launch into Gartheiniog and Dyfi again. Here's a round-up of the day so far: 
A WRC2 update from JACK BENYON:
In WRC2, Pontus Tidemand is dominating after wrapping up the championship earlier this season. He's over 40s clear of his pursuers.
The real story yesterday was Kalle Rovanpera, who retired on SS5 with a broken radiator. The 17-year-old was 14th in class before that.
Frontrunners Ole Christian Veiny (Skoda) and Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) both stopped to change wheels yesterday so are out of the lead battle.
The real battle is for second, currently held by British Rally Championship frontrunner and Welshman Tom Cave. He's battling four cars including Eric Camilli (who's fighting for second in the championship), Eyvind Brynildsen and another BRC driver in David Bogie.
WRC2 after SS11
1 Pontus Tidemand 1h56m24.5s
2 Tom Cave +58.1s
3 Eric Camilli +1m00.3s
4 Eyvind Brynildsen +1m21.9s
5 David Bogie +1m25s
6 Pierre-Louis Loubet +2m00.3s
In WRC2, Pontus Tidemand is dominating after wrapping up the championship earlier this season. He's over 40s clear of his pursuers.
The real story yesterday was Kalle Rovanpera, who retired on SS5 with a broken radiator. The 17-year-old was 14th in class before that.
Frontrunners Ole Christian Veiny (Skoda) and Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) both stopped to change wheels yesterday so are out of the lead battle.
The real battle is for second, currently held by British Rally Championship frontrunner and Welshman Tom Cave. He's battling four cars including Eric Camilli (who's fighting for second in the championship), Eyvind Brynildsen and another BRC driver in David Bogie.
WRC2 after SS11
1 Pontus Tidemand 1h56m24.5s
2 Tom Cave +58.1s
3 Eric Camilli +1m00.3s
4 Eyvind Brynildsen +1m21.9s
5 David Bogie +1m25s
6 Pierre-Louis Loubet +2m00.3s
Crash
Ostberg's Adapta team says it's game over - his car is being retired at the regroup due to that electrical problem that's been tormenting him all weekend.
An update on events in the paralle National contest from JACK BENYON:
There's been plenty of talk about the new WRC cars, but the shorter National Rally is the cause of some attention in the media centre given the exotic and flamboyant machinery. This Ford Escort Mk2 definitely falls into the latter category!
The event, 60 miles in total, is under way at Cholmondeley (pronounced Chum-lee) Castle. Scot Bruce McCombie is the first away and the favourite after winning last year. He's not had a great start, fifth on the superspecial, but he'll be moving forward on the gravel stages proper. Skoda Fabia R5 driver Tom Preston is fastest through so far.
There's been plenty of talk about the new WRC cars, but the shorter National Rally is the cause of some attention in the media centre given the exotic and flamboyant machinery. This Ford Escort Mk2 definitely falls into the latter category!
The event, 60 miles in total, is under way at Cholmondeley (pronounced Chum-lee) Castle. Scot Bruce McCombie is the first away and the favourite after winning last year. He's not had a great start, fifth on the superspecial, but he'll be moving forward on the gravel stages proper. Skoda Fabia R5 driver Tom Preston is fastest through so far.
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SS11 summary:
* Neuville takes second from Tanak
* Evans fastest again and extends lead to 49.3s
* A small mistake from Meeke drops him from fifth to seventh
* Hanninen second fastest and closes on Paddon and Sordo
* Paddon takes eighth back from Sordo
* Neuville takes second from Tanak
* Evans fastest again and extends lead to 49.3s
* A small mistake from Meeke drops him from fifth to seventh
* Hanninen second fastest and closes on Paddon and Sordo
* Paddon takes eighth back from Sordo
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"Pretty good," says Evans. "Quite slippery, more slippery than expected. We were just trying to have a clean and tidy run and it seemed to work OK."
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SS11 results:
Leading stage times:
1 Evans 15m02.6s
2 Hanninen +1.8s
3 Neuville +3.6s
4 Mikkelsen +4.3s
5 Paddon +7.7s
6 Ogier +8.2s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Evans
2 Neuville +49.3s
3 Tanak +50.5s
4 Ogier +56.8s
5 Latvala +1m10.3s
6 Mikkelsen +1m15.0s
7 Meeke +1m15.5s
8 Paddon +2m00.1s
9 Sordo +2m07.4s
10 Hanninen +2m10.2s
Leading stage times:
1 Evans 15m02.6s
2 Hanninen +1.8s
3 Neuville +3.6s
4 Mikkelsen +4.3s
5 Paddon +7.7s
6 Ogier +8.2s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Evans
2 Neuville +49.3s
3 Tanak +50.5s
4 Ogier +56.8s
5 Latvala +1m10.3s
6 Mikkelsen +1m15.0s
7 Meeke +1m15.5s
8 Paddon +2m00.1s
9 Sordo +2m07.4s
10 Hanninen +2m10.2s
Stopwatch
Evans is in and fastest again - four out of four for this morning and his overall lead is now a massive 49.3s.
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"He's going fast," says Tanak of Neuville. "We do all we can."
Tanak loses quite a lot of time to Neuville at the end of the stage, and loses second in the rally too!
Neuville now heads Tanak by 1.2s and Ogier by 7.5s. Great morning for Hyundai's title hope.
Neuville now heads Tanak by 1.2s and Ogier by 7.5s. Great morning for Hyundai's title hope.
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"If I need to take too many risks, I trust my feeling," says Ogier.
Ogier is in and he's 4.6s slower than Neuville, so the gap between the title rivals is up to 7.5s.
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"I tried my best but the road is getting more and more slippy on this one so running behind is really difficult," says Neuville, who thinks he lost a couple of seconds going wide at a hairpin. "But we did our job."
Neuville completes the stage second fastest so far, 1.8s behind that great run from Hanninen.
By: Matt Beer
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