Rally GB, Macau GP, Bahrain WEC, NASCAR finale
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WRC - GB: That's better from Latvala, he's third fastest and will now have both Prokop and Solberg firmly within range.
WEC - Bahrain: We're into the final hour and the #7 Toyota in the hands of Sarrazin leads by 50s. It is not going to be beaten, but it looks like it is going to be close between the two out-of-sequence Porsches in second and third.
WRC - GB: Reports from the stage that Neuville hit a chicane and damaged his Hyundai's lights, while Ostberg sustained a delaminated tyre towards the end.
WRC - GB: Meeke was trimming a bit from Hirvonen early on the stage, but in the final miles it's the Finn who seizes the advantage and adds 1.2s to the gap between them in second and third.
WRC - GB: Early pace from Latvala on this stage is much more promising than it was on the Clocaenog pair.
WRC - GB: A big time loss for Ostberg late on that stage, he's 16s slower than Meeke as they both complete.
WRC - GB: Ostberg's second afternoon slump of the event is continuing - on the Aberhirnant splits he's losing time to both Meeke and Hirvonen and drifting further from the podium.
Meanwhile Meeke is coming back at Hirvonen after they swapped second on Clocaenog.
Meanwhile Meeke is coming back at Hirvonen after they swapped second on Clocaenog.
WRC - GB: Solberg lost nearly 50s to the pacesetters with that puncture, but he's likely to hang on in eighth, albeit closer to Prokop and further from Tanak.
Mikkelsen remains fastest on Aberhirnant, ahead of a closely matched pack of Tanak, Paddon, Evans and Kubica.
Mikkelsen remains fastest on Aberhirnant, ahead of a closely matched pack of Tanak, Paddon, Evans and Kubica.
Breaking news
WRC - GB: Reports from mid-stage that Solberg has picked up a rear puncture. That could jeopardise his eighth place.
Stopwatch
WRC - GB: He can't hear the notes, and now it's dark he probably can't completely see where he's going either, but still Mikkelsen is setting the early pace on SS16.
He's 6s up on Paddon, and 18s quicker than Hanninen.
He's 6s up on Paddon, and 18s quicker than Hanninen.
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WRC - GB: Darkness has very nearly fallen and the first of our pair of Saturday finale stages has just begun.
This is Latvala's summary of Aberhirnant:
"You start this stage on the hill and you climb, climb, climb.
"Then you start to come down and then you climb another hill and come down the other side of that one.
"It's quite an open stage with a young forest. Towards the end the surface is new and very stoney – it reminds me of the new road in Myherin, where they built the road up.
"It's tricky to know in this section how much you can cut, some of the rocks are quite big. If you are unlucky, maybe you could catch one of these rocks and it could give the puncture or it could hit the suspension.
"The finish is tricky as well, it's maybe 500 metres steep downhill and it's quite slippery."
This is Latvala's summary of Aberhirnant:
"You start this stage on the hill and you climb, climb, climb.
"Then you start to come down and then you climb another hill and come down the other side of that one.
"It's quite an open stage with a young forest. Towards the end the surface is new and very stoney – it reminds me of the new road in Myherin, where they built the road up.
"It's tricky to know in this section how much you can cut, some of the rocks are quite big. If you are unlucky, maybe you could catch one of these rocks and it could give the puncture or it could hit the suspension.
"The finish is tricky as well, it's maybe 500 metres steep downhill and it's quite slippery."
WEC - Bahrain: Sarrazin now leads Jani by 28s, but the Porsche has a pitstop to make. Webber is a further 38s down.
WEC - Bahrain: Now he has - that was a normal length stint. The Aussie stays in the car and gets a new set of tyres.
WEC - Bahrain: Actually Webber hasn't stopped yet. Sarrazin's was an early pitcall to take advantage of the FCY.
WEC - Bahrain: The Ligier has had another five-minute stop. That means Pla and co are unlikely to be finishing third, which will make their chances of winning the title at Interlagos pretty remote.
WEC - Bahrain: Sarrazin is only 11s behind Webber, so that's almost a full pitstop in hand.
WEC - Bahrain: Sarrazin makes his stop as scheduled. Webber will be in in probably two laps' time.
WEC - Bahrain: And what an acrobatic retrieval - a marshal picks up the offending bit of plastic, runs towards the wall and sort of rolls over it and then stands upright like a gymnast after a vault.
Yellow flag
WEC - Bahrain: Another Full Course Yellow to retrieve a bollard stranded out on the track.
Breaking news
WRC - GB:
SS15 summary:
* A blistering stage win for Hirvonen takes him back past Meeke for second
* Mikkelsen second quickest again despite lacking intercom
* No progress for Latvala, who remains 10th and admits he can't regain his rhythm
SS15 summary:
* A blistering stage win for Hirvonen takes him back past Meeke for second
* Mikkelsen second quickest again despite lacking intercom
* No progress for Latvala, who remains 10th and admits he can't regain his rhythm
Checkered flag
WRC - GB - SS15 results:
Stage times:
1 Hirvonen 8m11.2s
2 Mikkelsen +1.8s
3 Meeke +4.4s
4 Tanak +5.6s
5 Neuville +5.9s
6 Solberg +6.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Hirvonen +1m03.0s
3 Meeke +1m06.3s
4 Ostberg +1m21.0s
5 Neuville +1m32.1s
6 Evans +1m51.5s
7 Tanak +2m29.7s
8 Solberg +2m41.3s
9 Prokop +3m27.7s
10 Latvala +3m36.5s
Stage times:
1 Hirvonen 8m11.2s
2 Mikkelsen +1.8s
3 Meeke +4.4s
4 Tanak +5.6s
5 Neuville +5.9s
6 Solberg +6.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Hirvonen +1m03.0s
3 Meeke +1m06.3s
4 Ostberg +1m21.0s
5 Neuville +1m32.1s
6 Evans +1m51.5s
7 Tanak +2m29.7s
8 Solberg +2m41.3s
9 Prokop +3m27.7s
10 Latvala +3m36.5s
WRC - GB: No dramas for Ogier still, he comes through eighth fastest and firmly in the outright lead.
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WRC - GB: Latvala is still struggling, he's only ninth fastest and won't be rising from 10th overall any time soon.
"It's so difficult to get the feeling. When you are not in the fight anymore, it's difficult to get the best out of yourself. I'm just losing it."
"It's so difficult to get the feeling. When you are not in the fight anymore, it's difficult to get the best out of yourself. I'm just losing it."
WEC - Bahrain: Webber has held and even slightly reduced the gap to leader Sarrazin in the Toyota – it was 56s straight after their respective stops and is now 54s.
Stopwatch
WRC - GB: Hirvonen comes through fastest, 1.8s quicker than Mikkelsen but more significantly 4.4s faster than his sparring partner Meeke, which firmly brings the Finn back to second.
"It's a bit crazy," says Hirvonen, who has now definitely got himself at least one stage win to show for his final WRC weekend.
"It's a bit crazy," says Hirvonen, who has now definitely got himself at least one stage win to show for his final WRC weekend.
WEC - Bahrain: Bradley is now 53s up the road from championship leader Zlobin in the battle for P2. The Russian was seven points ahead coming into the race and should get 18 points for second. The recovering G-Drive Ligier of Pla, Rusinov and Canal is fourth at the moment, but has a good shot at third.
That is significant because Pla and co would then win the title if they won the race in Brazil and Zlobin finished third.
That is significant because Pla and co would then win the title if they won the race in Brazil and Zlobin finished third.
WRC - GB: Neuville comes through third fastest behind Mikkelsen and Tanak.
As Paddon has also been hinting today, rough mud isn't getting for the Hyundai at this stage in its development so matching VW/Citroen/M-Sport Ford pace isn't looking feasible today.
As Paddon has also been hinting today, rough mud isn't getting for the Hyundai at this stage in its development so matching VW/Citroen/M-Sport Ford pace isn't looking feasible today.
WRC - GB: Evans describes his driving on SS15 as "too safe" in "terrible conditions". He remains sixth.
Breaking news
WRC - GB: Ostberg's 10s penalty vanished from the system, then reappeared again.
If it did get removed, we'd have second to fourth within 1.4s again.
If it did get removed, we'd have second to fourth within 1.4s again.
WRC - GB: Over to Clocaenog Main, where Prokop has a puncture at the end of the stage. That's likely to be a place gained for Latvala.
Breaking news
WRC - GB:
SS14 summary:
* Meeke takes second place from Hirvonen
* Ostberg has a penalty applied for a late check-in this morning and falls to fourth
* Mikkelsen is second quickest despite having no intercom
SS14 summary:
* Meeke takes second place from Hirvonen
* Ostberg has a penalty applied for a late check-in this morning and falls to fourth
* Mikkelsen is second quickest despite having no intercom
Checkered flag
WRC - GB - SS14 results:
Stage times:
1 Meeke 4m44.8s
2 Mikkelsen +1.4s
3 Hirvonen +1.8s
4 Ogier +1.9s
5 Neuville +2.3s
6 Paddon +2.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +1m09.6s
3 Hirvonen +1m10.7s
4 Ostberg +1m11.0s
5 Neuville +1m33.9s
6 Evans +1m50.3s
7 Tanak +2m31.8s
8 Solberg +2m42.9s
9 Prokop +3m19.9s
10 Latvala +3m35.5s
Stage times:
1 Meeke 4m44.8s
2 Mikkelsen +1.4s
3 Hirvonen +1.8s
4 Ogier +1.9s
5 Neuville +2.3s
6 Paddon +2.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +1m09.6s
3 Hirvonen +1m10.7s
4 Ostberg +1m11.0s
5 Neuville +1m33.9s
6 Evans +1m50.3s
7 Tanak +2m31.8s
8 Solberg +2m42.9s
9 Prokop +3m19.9s
10 Latvala +3m35.5s
WRC - GB: Ogier comes through a safe fourth fastest, and the first few cars are already at the end of Clocaenog Main too, where Mikkelsen is again setting the pace despite having no intercom.
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WRC - GB: Latvala admits he's not quite back up to speed yet.
"It's so slippery. I didn't expect it to be this slippery. For sure my rhythm wasn't the best, and I had problems trying to get it back again.
"The time is nothing special but maybe it will get better from here."
"It's so slippery. I didn't expect it to be this slippery. For sure my rhythm wasn't the best, and I had problems trying to get it back again.
"The time is nothing special but maybe it will get better from here."
WRC - GB: Latvala is through, but he's only 10th quickest. That takes a bit of time out of ninth-placed Prokop, but it's hardly the surge we'd been hyping.
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WRC - GB: Meeke deposes Mikkelsen at the top of the SS14 times, and he's fast enough there to jump Hirvonen for second place.
Hirvonen reacts with a determined laugh.
"He did well on that stage. It's really slippery... bloody hell. We'll try again."
The Citroen is now 1.1s ahead of the M-Sport Ford, and Ostberg has lost a bit more ground and is 11s off now.
Hirvonen reacts with a determined laugh.
"He did well on that stage. It's really slippery... bloody hell. We'll try again."
The Citroen is now 1.1s ahead of the M-Sport Ford, and Ostberg has lost a bit more ground and is 11s off now.
WRC - GB: Ostberg doesn't believe the 10s penalty he's received for a late check-in this morning is fair, as he's sure he was on time.
"But all we can do is try to fight back," he admits.
"But all we can do is try to fight back," he admits.
WEC - Bahrain: Conway and Bernhard have both stopped, handing over to Sarrazin and Webber respectively. The gap between them is now 54s, with Lieb in between them in second.
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WRC - GB: Evans, fifth fastest on the stage so far and still sixth overall, is asked if his home stages are fun today.
"Not when it's this slippery," he replies.
"Not when it's this slippery," he replies.
Bloodhound
WRC - GB: You could be forgiven for thinking the Volkswagen is the fastest thing in the service park this week and you'd be partly right.
And partly completely wrong.
There's another car in service which is designed to go a little bit quicker than the Polo R WRC.
This one has (or will have) 421 times more power than the Polo (you have no idea how long that maths took...) and goes 1000mph not just 120.
Bloodhound's here!
And here's a shot of its lovely exhaust. Which is also considerably bigger than the one on the Volkswagen.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Peter Mills, Gary Watkins, Marcus Simmons, Jonathan Noble
Published:
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