Rally Mexico and IndyCar opener
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That's incredible from Dani Sordo.
He's quickest by 8.3s. He's angry after last night's penalty.
He's quickest by 8.3s. He's angry after last night's penalty.
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We have some splits for rally leader Kris Meeke. He's second fastest at the second split.
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Ogier has turned his stage around and is now the closest man to Sordo's fastest third split time. Who's going to win this stage?
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Sordo is coming though, and he'll likely go quickest.
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Impressive from Thierry Neuville, he goes quickest by 5.3s.
He's 35s behind Ogier in third overall heading into the day.
He's 35s behind Ogier in third overall heading into the day.
Information
That's annoying. No first split for Kris Meeke so we'll have to wait to see his time in comparison to the current leaders.
Stopwatch
Next first split in will be kris Meeke who's due shortly.
Hanninen drops a chunk and he loses fourth to Ott Tanak. He does hold fifth ahead of Paddon, the Kiwi is 25.6s behind.
Hanninen drops a chunk and he loses fourth to Ott Tanak. He does hold fifth ahead of Paddon, the Kiwi is 25.6s behind.
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Ogier's first split is unimpressive. The man in second is 2.2s down on Tanak and 2.8s slower than Sordo. He's 3.6 down on the Spaniard at the second split too.
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The real man to watch is Dani Sordo. He's 3.1s up on Tanak.
He's out of the running and 10 minutes down after multiple problems yesterday including a penalty for not finishing the super special, which we understand is still being queried.
He's out of the running and 10 minutes down after multiple problems yesterday including a penalty for not finishing the super special, which we understand is still being queried.
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Tanak is next in and he's quickest by 6.1s. Remember he's chasing fourth from Hanninen and that should be enough to take it.
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Paddon is in and mindful of the Hyundai's engine, which is behaving so far today.
"At the moment they've done a good job of fixing the car," he says. "The car is really really good to drive we're just managing the temperatures. You just have to be wary of it."
"At the moment they've done a good job of fixing the car," he says. "The car is really really good to drive we're just managing the temperatures. You just have to be wary of it."
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Paddon goes fastest by 2.8s ahead of Latvala at the top of the charts for this stage.
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Our next driver in is Hayden Paddon and he's stolen sixth from Lefebvre provisionally.
Tanak is five seconds up on Paddon at the last split, and the Estonian needs 5.6s out of Juho Hanninen to take fourth from the Finn.
Tanak is five seconds up on Paddon at the last split, and the Estonian needs 5.6s out of Juho Hanninen to take fourth from the Finn.
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To confirm, Latvala was fastest through so far and 9.1s quicker than Elfyn Evans.
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Paddon has also passed the second split now and he's exactly two seconds up on Latvala, who's at stage end and seeing dogs, not cats.
"It's running OK," said Latvala. "We tried to push a little bit more. I had two dogs I had to avoid."
"It's running OK," said Latvala. "We tried to push a little bit more. I had two dogs I had to avoid."
Stopwatch
Could M-Sport's issues be over?
Tanak is 1.9s up on Paddon at the first split.
The Estonian is fifth overall. He's 5.6s behind Juho Hanninen's Toyota going into this test.
Tanak is 1.9s up on Paddon at the first split.
The Estonian is fifth overall. He's 5.6s behind Juho Hanninen's Toyota going into this test.
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We've got some more splits coming in now and Paddon is our new fastest man through the first split.
The Kiwi is seventh overall and 9.9s behind Stephane Lefebvre. The Hyundai's all had power issues yesterday, with fuel filters mentioned as a possible cause.
The Kiwi is seventh overall and 9.9s behind Stephane Lefebvre. The Hyundai's all had power issues yesterday, with fuel filters mentioned as a possible cause.
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Elfyn Evans is at stage end after completing in 17m33s.
"The usual really, quite loose in places," says Evans of sweeping the road for the first time this weekend. "It was OK, clean enough, no problems. No issues, but I wasn't expecting any with that stage."
"The usual really, quite loose in places," says Evans of sweeping the road for the first time this weekend. "It was OK, clean enough, no problems. No issues, but I wasn't expecting any with that stage."
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UPDATE: Latvala actually started ahead of Bertelli as planned, small timing glitch there.
After two splits, the Finn is 4.7s up on Evans.
After two splits, the Finn is 4.7s up on Evans.
Information
Jari-Matti Latvala hasn't started the stage as planned, but we think that's because Lorenzo Bertelli has slotted in front of him. Bertelli was three minutes late out of service. He ground to a halt on SS2 yesterday.
If you're wondering why Latvala's so far down the order, he really struggled sweeping the roads yesterday and lost over two minutes to leader Meeke.
Makes you feel sorry for 2016-spec Sebastien Ogier, who did that on every round last year, doesn't it...
If you're wondering why Latvala's so far down the order, he really struggled sweeping the roads yesterday and lost over two minutes to leader Meeke.
Makes you feel sorry for 2016-spec Sebastien Ogier, who did that on every round last year, doesn't it...
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Gorban is over 20s down on Evans in split one, the Ukranian in an outdated 2016-spec Mini John Cooper Works WRC.
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Elfyn Evans has reached the first split which is irrelevant currently as we wait for some comparable times. Valeriy Gorban is also into the stage. Jari-Matti Latvala next.
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Here's your running order:
Evans
Gorban
Latvala
Bertelli
Lefebvre
Paddon
Tanak
Hanninen
Neuville
Sordo
Ogier
Meeke
Evans
Gorban
Latvala
Bertelli
Lefebvre
Paddon
Tanak
Hanninen
Neuville
Sordo
Ogier
Meeke
Green flag
Elfyn Evans is into our stage. He struggled with an elusive alarm in the car last night – which all the M-Sport cars suffered from – but also comes into the event with a five minute penalty:
And one other element to get you caught up on as we kickoff Live this afternoon, the new 2017 WRC cars been struggling for power in the Mexican heat:
David Evans
You may already be aware that we lost stages yesterday evening due to a traffic jam causing chaos.
As always, our man DAVID EVANS brings you update and insight on the ground in Mexico with this piece:
As always, our man DAVID EVANS brings you update and insight on the ground in Mexico with this piece:
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Lets have a look at the upcoming stage, which is around five minutes from getting underway.
Kris Meeke's co-driver PAUL NAGLE gives us some insight:
SS9 Media Luna (17.03 miles)
"Starting just north of Leon, this stage runs in an anti-clockwise loop, slotting left at the junction in Agua Zarca.
"This takes us onto the road used on the 50-miler last year, heading through Buenos Aires. This one’s a mix of a few stages we’ve used in the past.
"The start is fast, but there have been quite a few washaways which you have to be a bit careful of – they can really throw the car in the air. And there are some big, big corners in this early section.
"The middle section is a bit narrower and more technical, generally slower before it speeds up again towards the finish."
Kris Meeke's co-driver PAUL NAGLE gives us some insight:
SS9 Media Luna (17.03 miles)
"Starting just north of Leon, this stage runs in an anti-clockwise loop, slotting left at the junction in Agua Zarca.
"This takes us onto the road used on the 50-miler last year, heading through Buenos Aires. This one’s a mix of a few stages we’ve used in the past.
"The start is fast, but there have been quite a few washaways which you have to be a bit careful of – they can really throw the car in the air. And there are some big, big corners in this early section.
"The middle section is a bit narrower and more technical, generally slower before it speeds up again towards the finish."
Autosport
To get us started, here's Autosport's report from a frantic and dramatic first day of action yesterday.
Kris Meeke is your rally leader as many drivers struggled with power issues within their 2017 machines.
Kris Meeke is your rally leader as many drivers struggled with power issues within their 2017 machines.
Autosport
Hello and welcome to what seems like an odd time to start-up Autosport Live. But Mexico and St Petersberg time zones mean coverage starts a bit late.
Coming up is the next leg of Rally Mexico with SS9. Thanks for joining us for the action.
Coming up is the next leg of Rally Mexico with SS9. Thanks for joining us for the action.
By: Matt Beer
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