Rally Mexico, Las Vegas NASCAR
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Lights out
While the final cars come through SS2, the leaders are onto the 44kms of El Chocolate.
Benito Guerra
Next through will be local favourite Benito Guerra.
The 2012 Production class champion got a one-off outing in a Citroen World Rally Car for his home event last year and finished eighth. But that wasn't enough to convince his backers to stump up for the full season they'd hinted at.
What can he do in a Fiesta this year? He reckons he can do a similar pace to Kubica, but he's not quite there yet.
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That's going to place Kubica seventh so far.
"It was OK. It will be tough in these conditions because we had a test in totally different conditions, with maximum grip. But that's how it is for everybody."
"It was OK. It will be tough in these conditions because we had a test in totally different conditions, with maximum grip. But that's how it is for everybody."
Yep, that was a false alarm, Kubica is 11s off Ogier at the end of the stage.
The WRC timing system isn't the most reliable in the world though...
Stopwatch
Kubica's splits are looking very, very good...
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Two drivers in particular have "don't shunt" high up their to-do lists this weekend. Hyundai is very, very keen for mileage and Neuville's run of incidents in his first two events for the team have not been helpful.
Kubica's tally since moving up from WRC2 is six crashes in three WRC rallies.
"My aim is to finish the event with some good experience – hopefully without mistakes like those in Sweden," he insists.
Kubica's tally since moving up from WRC2 is six crashes in three WRC rallies.
"My aim is to finish the event with some good experience – hopefully without mistakes like those in Sweden," he insists.
Four more World Rally Cars to come: Martin Prokop, Robert Kubica, local hero Benito Guerra and Hyundai debutant Chris Atkinson.
Hyundai warned that it might be off the pace this weekend as its engine isn't a strong point.
That prediction looks correct - Thierry Neuville is slowest so far despite having no particular problems.
"There was some dust, but not a lot. I had a good clean run."
That prediction looks correct - Thierry Neuville is slowest so far despite having no particular problems.
"There was some dust, but not a lot. I had a good clean run."
Elfyn Evans is on another learning mission and comes in 13s off the pace. He reckons he needs to "carry more momentum" through corners as he works to figure the Mexican stages out.
Sebastien Ogier
Top three for now is Ogier leading Mikkelsen and Ostberg.
Hirvonen is 3s off Ogier, and has a deflating front tyre, which he says he's carried for about four kilometres.
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Meeke confirms that running further down the order isn't helping on this stage - the road is still covered in loose gravel and you can't see through the dust.
"There was a twisty section through the bushes where I had to go right back to second gear where it was supposed to be fifth gear.
"There's not a lot of cleaning. There doesn't seem to be a hard base coming through."
"There was a twisty section through the bushes where I had to go right back to second gear where it was supposed to be fifth gear.
"There's not a lot of cleaning. There doesn't seem to be a hard base coming through."
Kris Meeke is our slowest man so far, five seconds off Ogier.
There are three minute gaps between cars on this rally rather than the usual two, so the organisers are trying to pre-empt dust issues, but with very little breeze in the air, it's still not shifting between cars.
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The Norwegian also reports a big issue with dust and times when "I didn't know where I was driving. Really bad."
Mikkelsen slots into third place, 1s off leader Ogier.
Next up is Andreas Mikkelsen, fresh from a maiden podium and a solid shot at his maiden win in Sweden last month.
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Is poor visibility from hanging dust going to negate the cars further down the order's road position advantage? Ostberg says there were times when he couldn't see where he was going.
"I felt I lost a lot in the dust. It was very difficult to see in some places and maybe I was a bit too careful. But it's not a bad start to the rally."
"I felt I lost a lot in the dust. It was very difficult to see in some places and maybe I was a bit too careful. But it's not a bad start to the rally."
Ostberg is slightly slower than Ogier, he comes in 0.6s behind the VW.
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"It's difficult to see a line, and we had problems with dust in some places," Ogier reports.
Stopwatch
Ogier completes the stage 3.5s quicker than Latvala, which is far from disastrous for our points leader.
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Latvala describes the stage surface as being covered in "pollution" - by which he means loose gravel rather than an oil spill.
Stopwatch
Latvala completes the stage in a time of 7m43.7s.
Breaking news
(Yes, AUTOSPORT did have to correct a typo there, having suggested Ogier was first in... In word association games, 'world championship leader' does still tend to invoke 'Ogier')
Lights out
Latvala is onto SS2, we're up and running in Mexico.
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Mads Ostberg
Third on the road for Mads Ostberg could be the best position, according to Latvala.
"For me," said Latvala, "third is quite a good place. The worst place is first, second is not much better, but the amount of cleaning between running second and third is usually quite big.
"Ostberg is somebody we have to watch. Obviously Sebastien will be big competition – he was very strong here last year – but Mads was also quick."
M-Sport's Mikko Hirvonen has already predicted that the only way anyone will beat the VWs this year is when they're hampered by road position.
Well Mikko, here's your first chance then...
Well Mikko, here's your first chance then...
Latvala's team-mate Sebastien Ogier says he expects Rally Mexico to be the worst event of the season for the road cleaning.
The roads around Leon and Guanajuato are completely covered in loose gravel which will be swept by the Volkswagens to expose bedrock and better grip for those following.
The roads around Leon and Guanajuato are completely covered in loose gravel which will be swept by the Volkswagens to expose bedrock and better grip for those following.
That means World Rally Championship leader Jari-Matti Latvala will be first into the stages today. The Finn said he saw this as his "good punishment" for moving to the top of the table after his win on the last round.
Here are the standings after Monte Carlo and Sweden:
1 Latvala 40 points
2 Ogier 35
3 Ostberg 30
4 Mikkelsen 24
5 Bouffier 24
6 Meeke 18
1 Latvala 40 points
2 Ogier 35
3 Ostberg 30
4 Mikkelsen 24
5 Bouffier 24
6 Meeke 18
Tanak wasn't the only WRC2 driver in the top 10 overnight, with Lorenzo Bertelli - owner of what might be motorsport's oddest/most profane Twitter handle (we'll only link to it post-watershed) - 10th.
Ott Tanak
The AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live underdog appreciation klaxon is already at full blast after last night, when Ott Tanak put his WRC2 Ford Fiesta second overall.
No offence to Tanak, whose resurgent WRC return in Sweden was one of the feel-good stories of last month's event, but he's not going to stay in the top three.
It's one thing to get a WRC2 car in the top three on a short street stage, but once we're on the gravel today, he'll rapidly drop back.
This isn't quite the Safari, but by modern World Rally Championship standards, we're in for a bit of an endurance test this weekend.
Althought today's first stage is a modest nine kilometres, it's followed by the 44.03km El Chocolate (yes, that's its real name).
And tomorrow morning includes a 53km stage, a 43km stage and two of 30km.
Needless to say, the roads aren't exactly smooth, there's plenty of loose gravel for those first onto the stages, and the high altitude saps engine power - and has sometimes been the deciding factor in the result.
Althought today's first stage is a modest nine kilometres, it's followed by the 44.03km El Chocolate (yes, that's its real name).
And tomorrow morning includes a 53km stage, a 43km stage and two of 30km.
Needless to say, the roads aren't exactly smooth, there's plenty of loose gravel for those first onto the stages, and the high altitude saps engine power - and has sometimes been the deciding factor in the result.
Welcome to Leon
In case you didn't get the idea at the airport, wait until you're on the road into Leon.
Having passed countless Benito Guerra hoardings, you come across this sign spanning the main drag.
Leon likes to shout about its round of the World Rally Championship, which makes a refreshing change.
Breaking news
Stage one took place last night. Less than a mile in length, it was the traditional curtain-raiser on the streets of host city Guanajuato.
Vast crowds, slippery asphalt, and a narrow early lead for Sebastien Ogier...
Thursday night report
...which is just as well, as he's "angry"...
'Angry' Ogier wants points lead back in Mexico
Vast crowds, slippery asphalt, and a narrow early lead for Sebastien Ogier...
Thursday night report
...which is just as well, as he's "angry"...
'Angry' Ogier wants points lead back in Mexico
We'll also be throwing in updates from MotoGP testing in Qatar, and just after the rally finishes on Sunday, it's straight into round three of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup from Las Vegas.
Rally Mexico is our main event this weekend, with the first full-length stages beginning in just over half an hour.
We'll be following every stage live as it happens bar the evening superspecials, and bringing you all the news, gossip and analysis from the service park too.
We'll be following every stage live as it happens bar the evening superspecials, and bringing you all the news, gossip and analysis from the service park too.
Airport banner
From the moment you arrive in Leon airport, you know there's a rally on – especially when you come across Hyundai's massive banner on display there.
Good morning from Mexico, good afternoon Europe, and welcome to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's coverage of Rally Mexico 2014.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Scott Mitchell, Pablo Elizalde
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