Rally GB, Macau GP, Bahrain WEC, NASCAR finale
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WRC - GB: AUTOSPORT's journey to the Deeside service park yesterday meant a journey through the centre of Chester (whisper it quietly, but the AUTOSPORT hotel is across the border in England) and past the Northgate Arena – the scene of scrutineering for any Chester-based RAC Rally. Cue much chatter about 1995, Colin McRae and massive fever.
Unfortunately, the N has slipped on the side of the building, so it now reads Zorthgate Arena, which isn't quite so fever. How disrespectful.
Unfortunately, the N has slipped on the side of the building, so it now reads Zorthgate Arena, which isn't quite so fever. How disrespectful.
F3 - Macau GP: Sean Gelael's preparation for the Macau Grand Prix included... a Maths exam on Wednesday evening.
The tall Indonesian has just started at the University of Bath, and had to take the exam in his hotel room in real time with his fellow students.
As if that's not bad enough. he's got an essay and a case study to hand in next week. Pressure!
The tall Indonesian has just started at the University of Bath, and had to take the exam in his hotel room in real time with his fellow students.
As if that's not bad enough. he's got an essay and a case study to hand in next week. Pressure!
Barriers
WRC - GB: Last year, high winds knocked over the barriers outside the press office in Deeside. The organisers modified the fencing for this year and were confident it would be up to the job.
Looks like the Welsh weather had other ideas…
Approaching lunchtime in the UK, here's a summary of what's already happened on Friday...
WRC: Sebastien Ogier holds an early lead over Jari-Matti Latvala as the VWs leave the rest standing. But there are only two Polos in the fight as Andreas Mikkelsen has crashed.
Macau F3 GP: Felix Rosenqvist hasn't had a great European F3 season, but a Macau win would be an incredible way to turn it around. Earlier today he upstaged the likes of Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon to take pole.
Macau WTCC: Champion Jose Maria Lopez hasn't been to Macau before. He's a fast-learner, though, and he's on pole for Sunday's opener.
Bahrain WEC: Porsche set the pace yesterday and its #14 car stayed on top in the Friday morning session. Qualifying is in a few hours' time, and will run without the #1 Audi as it needs a new chassis.
Homestead NASCAR: That all kicks off later today with practice and qualifying, but right now it's not quite 7am in Florida.
WRC: Sebastien Ogier holds an early lead over Jari-Matti Latvala as the VWs leave the rest standing. But there are only two Polos in the fight as Andreas Mikkelsen has crashed.
Macau F3 GP: Felix Rosenqvist hasn't had a great European F3 season, but a Macau win would be an incredible way to turn it around. Earlier today he upstaged the likes of Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon to take pole.
Macau WTCC: Champion Jose Maria Lopez hasn't been to Macau before. He's a fast-learner, though, and he's on pole for Sunday's opener.
Bahrain WEC: Porsche set the pace yesterday and its #14 car stayed on top in the Friday morning session. Qualifying is in a few hours' time, and will run without the #1 Audi as it needs a new chassis.
Homestead NASCAR: That all kicks off later today with practice and qualifying, but right now it's not quite 7am in Florida.
F3 - Macau GP: Lucas Auer was a bit concerned in one of the sessions when he arrived at the Melco hairpin to find Roberto Merhi snarled up behind Jordan King, who couldn't get around the corner.
Auer stalled, and then despaired that his session was over. Having recently tested a Formula Renault 3.5 car he thought he'd never get it restarted, but then he remembered he was in an F3 and it fired up first time.
Auer stalled, and then despaired that his session was over. Having recently tested a Formula Renault 3.5 car he thought he'd never get it restarted, but then he remembered he was in an F3 and it fired up first time.
Mikko Hirvonen and Malcolm Wilson
WRC - GB: Huge focus this weekend on Mikko Hirvonen as he makes his final WRC appearance, and right now he's in the thick of the podium battle with Citroen pair Ostberg and Meeke.
Last night M-Sport’s usual pre-event Happy Hour media event had a more sentimental feel to it than usual – it was Mikko and Jarmo Lehtinen’s last one.
Moving tributes were the order of the night, followed by fish, chips and the odd glass of champagne to celebrate the Finn’s time with Malcolm Wilson and his company.
WTCC - Macau: It was in Wales that Hirvonen came agonisingly close to beating Sebastien Loeb to a WRC title not so long ago.
This weekend Loeb is in Macau rather than Deeside, but as this video shows, a part of him remains firmly in rally land:
This weekend Loeb is in Macau rather than Deeside, but as this video shows, a part of him remains firmly in rally land:
F3 - Macau GP: Nick Cassidy has done a great job proving the T-Sport car and the NBE engine, taking third on Thursday and seventh after the second session, in which he lost over two tenths in the final sector when he made a mistake on his best lap.
He even outdid Max Verstappen as fastest Macau rookie on Thursday.
He even outdid Max Verstappen as fastest Macau rookie on Thursday.
Colin McRae
WRC - GB: A little over 20 minutes before our afternoon loop begins, which is quite a nice time slot for reading and enjoying DEREK RINGER's tale of his 1990 RAC Rally alongside Colin McRae.
When our sister publication Motorsport News asked Ringer to contribute to its comprehensive Rally GB preview, the idea was to focus on the pair's breakthrough 1994 RAC win, but Derek reckoned the one that really made the difference was an incredible battle of survival to sixth place in 1990:
The RAC Rally that made McRae
WRC - GB: Welcome back to Wales. The second run through Gartheiniog has just begun.
Here's a quick reminder of everything that happened this morning:
Rally GB Friday morning report
And here's how the WRC field stands:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +9.5s
3 Ostberg +40.1s
4 Hirvonen +44.6s
5 Meeke +52.3s
6 Neuville +52.9s
7 Evans +1m06.4s
8 Tanak +1m31.4s
9 Paddon +1m40.3s
10 Prokop +1m41.2s
11 Solberg +1m47.2s
12 Kubica +2m05.8s
Out of leg one: Mikkelsen; Hanninen.
Here's a quick reminder of everything that happened this morning:
Rally GB Friday morning report
And here's how the WRC field stands:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +9.5s
3 Ostberg +40.1s
4 Hirvonen +44.6s
5 Meeke +52.3s
6 Neuville +52.9s
7 Evans +1m06.4s
8 Tanak +1m31.4s
9 Paddon +1m40.3s
10 Prokop +1m41.2s
11 Solberg +1m47.2s
12 Kubica +2m05.8s
Out of leg one: Mikkelsen; Hanninen.
Stopwatch
WRC - GB: Latvala makes a cracking start to the afternoon, taking 2.7s out of Ogier's lead at the very first split of SS5.
Quote
WRC - GB: Latvala's been giving us guide to the stages this weekend, here's what he had to say about Gartheiniog:
"This stage is quite open. You are driving more on the hillside, you are a little bit on the side of the mountain all of the time and it’s really quite fast.
"The grip level in here is usually quite high. There is more gravel on the top of the road here."
"This stage is quite open. You are driving more on the hillside, you are a little bit on the side of the mountain all of the time and it’s really quite fast.
"The grip level in here is usually quite high. There is more gravel on the top of the road here."
Stopwatch
WRC - GB: A superb statement of intent from Latvala there, as he takes 5.7s out of Ogier's lead, bringing it down from 9.5s to 3.8s.
Quote
WRC - GB: Ogier explains where that time went:
"Nothing special, just a bad stage for me. I made a couple of small mistakes.
"You can see all the mud - I have to clear the mud, and there's a lot in Wales."
There is, and it's going to be there all afternoon now the National rally has been through the stages churning things up too...
"Nothing special, just a bad stage for me. I made a couple of small mistakes.
"You can see all the mud - I have to clear the mud, and there's a lot in Wales."
There is, and it's going to be there all afternoon now the National rally has been through the stages churning things up too...
WRC - GB: Hirvonen comes through 12s slower than Latvala, but the times he'll be comparing himself to are the Citroens of Ostberg and Meeke, who he's grappling with for third place.
WRC - GB: Ostberg is precisely a tenth quicker than Hirvonen, so the gap from third to fourth inches up from 4.5s to 4.6s.
Twitter
WRC - GB: Looking at a tweet from Ogier, we think we've just learned the French word for mud.
WRC - GB: Why did Hirvonen's time tail off near the end of that stage...?
"Because it's so bloody slippery," he declares.
"Because it's so bloody slippery," he declares.
WRC - GB: Latvala says with 160 cars having come through the stage, there are now deep ruts in the mud.
He credits his turnaround in performance to focusing on how to make the car work in the ruts, but also "having a bit of a calm-down".
He credits his turnaround in performance to focusing on how to make the car work in the ruts, but also "having a bit of a calm-down".
WRC - GB: Meeke is storming back into the podium fight after his earlier jump-start penalty. He's third quickest through SS5 and he's now within 1.9s of Hirvonen for fourth.
Neuville is tagging along as well, the Hyundai slightly quicker than Ostberg and Hirvonen on Gartheiniog and 4.5s behind Meeke in sixth overall.
Can Evans get involved too?
Neuville is tagging along as well, the Hyundai slightly quicker than Ostberg and Hirvonen on Gartheiniog and 4.5s behind Meeke in sixth overall.
Can Evans get involved too?
WRC - GB: Evans is slightly slower than those ahead, that keeps him seventh overall, 16s behind Neuville. He's slipping into a bit of a lonely spot at the moment.
Breaking news
Audi
WEC - Bahrain: There's only going to be one Audi R18 running in Sakhir qualifying when it begins shortly after a week of bizarre problems for the team.
GARY WATKINS gets to the bottom of the issue that has caused three monocoque changes for Audi since it reached Bahrain.
Audi makes changes after chassis damage
WRC - GB: A bit of a star turn from Henning Solberg on SS5, he popped in with the fifth-fastest time as he tries to regain ground after some engine stutters this morning.
Meanwhile there are problems for Paddon - he's working hard on his Hyundai on the road section between Gartheiniog and Dyfi due to power steering problems.
Meanwhile there are problems for Paddon - he's working hard on his Hyundai on the road section between Gartheiniog and Dyfi due to power steering problems.
Checkered flag
WRC - GB - SS5 results:
Stage times:
1 Latvala 8m48.6s
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Meeke +6.2s
4 Neuville +10.1s
5 Solberg +10.4s
6 Ostberg +11.9s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +3.8s
3 Ostberg +46.3s
4 Hirvonen +50.9s
5 Meeke +52.8s
6 Neuville +57.3s
Stage times:
1 Latvala 8m48.6s
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Meeke +6.2s
4 Neuville +10.1s
5 Solberg +10.4s
6 Ostberg +11.9s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +3.8s
3 Ostberg +46.3s
4 Hirvonen +50.9s
5 Meeke +52.8s
6 Neuville +57.3s
Breaking news
WRC - GB:
SS5 summary:
* Latvala hacks Ogier's lead down from 9s to 3s
* Meeke goes third-quickest and closes in on Ostberg and Hirvonen for third overall
* Solberg moves up from 11th to ninth with the fifth-fastest time
* Power steering worries drop Paddon to 11th
SS5 summary:
* Latvala hacks Ogier's lead down from 9s to 3s
* Meeke goes third-quickest and closes in on Ostberg and Hirvonen for third overall
* Solberg moves up from 11th to ninth with the fifth-fastest time
* Power steering worries drop Paddon to 11th
Quote
WRC - GB: Ogier is striking back at Latvala early on the Dyfi stage. He's 2s quicker so far.
And here is Latvala's rundown of what Dyfi involves:
"This is in the same kind of area as Gartheiniog, the same forest really – just across the road, so the nature is the same. If we are having a lot of rain and it’s wet, because these roads are more open, they can dry out a little bit quicker.
"I like these stages, though – good start to the event."
And here is Latvala's rundown of what Dyfi involves:
"This is in the same kind of area as Gartheiniog, the same forest really – just across the road, so the nature is the same. If we are having a lot of rain and it’s wet, because these roads are more open, they can dry out a little bit quicker.
"I like these stages, though – good start to the event."
F3 - Macau GP: Young Catalan Alex Palou has done a fine job on his debut in an FIA-spec F3 car, with Fortec Motorsport.
Palou, who starred in Euroformula Open this year, has attacked the circuit fearlessly and qualified 14th.
Shame about his late off in second qualifying, that brought the session to a temporary close.
Palou, who starred in Euroformula Open this year, has attacked the circuit fearlessly and qualified 14th.
Shame about his late off in second qualifying, that brought the session to a temporary close.
Stopwatch
WRC - GB: Ogier completes SS6 and says it was much more manageable for the first man on the road than Gartheiniog had been.
"This one was better, the first one was completely broken and destroyed.
"If I can stay on this pace, it's not too bad in the tricky conditions."
"This one was better, the first one was completely broken and destroyed.
"If I can stay on this pace, it's not too bad in the tricky conditions."
WRC - GB: Latvala loses 3.4s to Ogier on that stage, which brings the lead gap back up over 7s.
Quote
WRC - GB: Latvala is a bit puzzled by that.
"I thought I was driving well. It seems Ogier managed to do it a bit better on that stage."
"I thought I was driving well. It seems Ogier managed to do it a bit better on that stage."
WRC - GB: Ostberg is dropping a few seconds to Hirvonen on this stage, he's set to lose third place to the M-Sport Ford and could be under threat from Meeke too.
Quote
WRC - GB: Ostberg does indeed fall from third to fourth overall, but is now 1.4s behind Hirvonen.
He's gloomy, though...
"I struggled too much and didn't have a rhythm. It feels very, very, very bad. I don't have a clue what we can do."
He's gloomy, though...
"I struggled too much and didn't have a rhythm. It feels very, very, very bad. I don't have a clue what we can do."
WRC - GB: Neuville is also faster than Ostberg too, bringing him closer to the top five. The Belgian describes conditions as "horrible", but acknowledges that everyone will be finding the same.
Quote
WRC - GB: Meeke stays fifth overall, but he's slowest of the six drivers in so far.
"Strange," he muses. "I had a good rhythm in the first one and thought I had it here too.
"It's purely about confidence here. It's so, so slippery. It's like a Monte Carlo Rally on gravel.
"If you hit the slippery parts at the right angle, you can carry a lot of speed, but otherwise you're just understeering.
"I'm going to stay focused and try to get the third place."
"Strange," he muses. "I had a good rhythm in the first one and thought I had it here too.
"It's purely about confidence here. It's so, so slippery. It's like a Monte Carlo Rally on gravel.
"If you hit the slippery parts at the right angle, you can carry a lot of speed, but otherwise you're just understeering.
"I'm going to stay focused and try to get the third place."
WRC - GB: Great stage for M-Sport at the moment, as Evans comes in fourth fastest, just behind team-mate Hirvonen. It won't make any difference to his seventh place overall, but it keeps him in touch.
Peugeot 205
WRC - GB: Commentary is interrupted as Motorsport News editor KEVIN TURNER has just sent the newsdesk some swoon-inducing pornography that was too distracting to ignore.
WRC - GB: Another stunning time for Henning Solberg, who does often produce these seemingly random bursts of incredible pace as he settles back in on his occasional WRC appearances. He's just gone fourth fastest on Dyfi.
Solberg needs to keep churning in those times, he's got a 36.2s gap to Evans ahead in seventh.
Solberg needs to keep churning in those times, he's got a 36.2s gap to Evans ahead in seventh.
WRC - GB: Paddon made it to the stage but he's having to limp through without any power steering. That's hard work and slow work, as he loses a minute to the leaders.
WRC - GB - SS6 results:
Stage times:
1 Ogier 12m51.7s
2 Latvala +3.4s
3 Hirvonen +10.4s
4 Solberg +10.9s
5 Evans +12.7s
6 Neuville +13.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +7.2s
3 Hirvonen +1m01.3s
4 Ostberg +1m02.7s
5 Meeke +1m10.4s
6 Neuville +1m10.8
Stage times:
1 Ogier 12m51.7s
2 Latvala +3.4s
3 Hirvonen +10.4s
4 Solberg +10.9s
5 Evans +12.7s
6 Neuville +13.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Latvala +7.2s
3 Hirvonen +1m01.3s
4 Ostberg +1m02.7s
5 Meeke +1m10.4s
6 Neuville +1m10.8
F3 - Macau GP: Poor old Dan Wells has had a tough time with Toda Racing.
The hard-working Hong Kong-based Wiltshireman has had brake, handling and engine issues, as well as thumping the wall in first free practice.
Toda will bolt a new mill in for the race, meaning he'll serve a grid penalty that will put him at the back.
The hard-working Hong Kong-based Wiltshireman has had brake, handling and engine issues, as well as thumping the wall in first free practice.
Toda will bolt a new mill in for the race, meaning he'll serve a grid penalty that will put him at the back.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Peter Mills, Gary Watkins, Marcus Simmons, Jonathan Noble
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