Rally Mexico, Las Vegas NASCAR
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Meeke has started the superspecial - Rally Mexico's final day has begun!
Right, we're about ready for some rally action. Are you?
Latvala luncg
Even with his team-mate in second, Ogier can reclaim the WRC points lead with victory today.
He'll gain seven points on Latvala (who is five points clear at present), so even if JML wins the powerstage he needs the 2013 champion to finish outside the top three.
Being a WRC leader is clearly hungry work. Here's Latvala tucking into a salad sandwich at lunchtime yesterday. Brown bread as well, good lad, Jari-Matti.
There were thunderstorms last night, and while it shouldn't cause too many issues (plenty of sunshine now), there are a few puddles on the loop-opening superspecial.
Just the four stages to see us home today – but one stands out just a little bit.
SS19 is first up, the fifth running of the 4.42km superspecial. That'll kick things off in about 10 minutes times.
Then it's the big one. Guanajuatito. A 55.92km brute of a stage.
That alone is more than twice as long as the rest of today's stages put together. Derramadero (11.63km) and the El Brinco powerstage (8.25km) will round out the rally.
SS19 is first up, the fifth running of the 4.42km superspecial. That'll kick things off in about 10 minutes times.
Then it's the big one. Guanajuatito. A 55.92km brute of a stage.
That alone is more than twice as long as the rest of today's stages put together. Derramadero (11.63km) and the El Brinco powerstage (8.25km) will round out the rally.
So what's in store for today?
First of all, the running order. Kris Meeke has the pleasure (or curse) of taking to the stages first. Thereafter it's: Mikko Hirvonen; Chris Atkinson; Benita Guerra; Martin Prokop; Elfyn Evans; Thierry Neuville; Jari-Matti Latvala; Sebastien Ogier; Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg.
Mikkelsen and Ostberg follow the WRC frontrunners as they are returning under Rally 2 regulations after individual woes yesterday.
There's no Robert Kubica today, with M-Sport confirming late last night he would not return after damaging his Ford Fiesta's rollcage with a second roll in two days.
First of all, the running order. Kris Meeke has the pleasure (or curse) of taking to the stages first. Thereafter it's: Mikko Hirvonen; Chris Atkinson; Benita Guerra; Martin Prokop; Elfyn Evans; Thierry Neuville; Jari-Matti Latvala; Sebastien Ogier; Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg.
Mikkelsen and Ostberg follow the WRC frontrunners as they are returning under Rally 2 regulations after individual woes yesterday.
There's no Robert Kubica today, with M-Sport confirming late last night he would not return after damaging his Ford Fiesta's rollcage with a second roll in two days.
Little tip for AUTOSPORT Plus subscribers - there is a plethora of World Rally Championship statistics available to you at the click of a button.
Thanks to our statistical partner FORIX, you can access loads of information about the WRC, its events and drivers.
So if you want to see the numbers that have made up the 2014 season so far, you could click here.
Similarly, if you'd like a statistical insight into Rally Mexico specifically, then follow this hyperlink.
Thanks to our statistical partner FORIX, you can access loads of information about the WRC, its events and drivers.
So if you want to see the numbers that have made up the 2014 season so far, you could click here.
Similarly, if you'd like a statistical insight into Rally Mexico specifically, then follow this hyperlink.
Breaking news
Sebastien Ogier
So, what was the state of play after Saturday?
* Sebastien Ogier's lead over Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala is more than a minute as the Frenchman made it 12 stage wins from 18 with a trio of victories on the afternoon loop
* Thierry Neuville has a comfortable grasp of third place and could deliver a first podium for Hyundai's i20 World Rally Car just three rounds into its new WRC programme
* Elfyn Evans is on course for a career-best fourth, while Kris Meeke claimed a stage win for Citroen with the fastest time on the day-ending superspecial
Want more? Here's our full report:
Ogier closes in on Mexico victory
Hello and welcome to the final day of Rally Mexico on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live.
We're based in North America this weekend (there's NASCAR Sprint Cup action to come from Las Vegas too) – and our Sunday coverage starts with the culmination of a dramatic third round of the World Rally Championship.
We're based in North America this weekend (there's NASCAR Sprint Cup action to come from Las Vegas too) – and our Sunday coverage starts with the culmination of a dramatic third round of the World Rally Championship.
And on that note, we at AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live will leave you to it.
Remember, we'll be back tomorrow at 14:30 GMT to bring you Rally Mexico's climax and the NASCAR Sprint Cup round from Las Vegas.
Stick with AUTOSPORT.com for a full report from Saturday's action in Mexico, which we'll bring you as soon as the two superspecials have been run in about an hour's time.
Will anyone (or anything) stop the dominant Ogier? Can Neuville deliver Hyundai a podium just three rounds into its modern WRC programme? And will Elfyn Evans hang on to a career-best fourth?
Thanks for joining us and see you tomorrow, when we will get the answers to those questions - and maybe some twists, too.
Remember, we'll be back tomorrow at 14:30 GMT to bring you Rally Mexico's climax and the NASCAR Sprint Cup round from Las Vegas.
Stick with AUTOSPORT.com for a full report from Saturday's action in Mexico, which we'll bring you as soon as the two superspecials have been run in about an hour's time.
Will anyone (or anything) stop the dominant Ogier? Can Neuville deliver Hyundai a podium just three rounds into its modern WRC programme? And will Elfyn Evans hang on to a career-best fourth?
Thanks for joining us and see you tomorrow, when we will get the answers to those questions - and maybe some twists, too.
Thierry Neuville, WRC Mexico
Breaking news
Robert Kubica's rally is over - his M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC's rollcage has been damaged by that roll earlier, so he will not be returning tomorrow.
Checkered flag
SS16 results:
1 Ogier 4m40.2s
2 Hirvonen +0.3s
3 Latvala +2.3s
4 Neuville +5.7s
5 Meeke +7.5s
6 Evans +10.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier 3h33m19.7s
2 Latvala +58.5s
3 Neuville +4m33.9s
4 Evans +5m18.9s
5 Prokop +7m58.2s
6 Guerra +10m29.7s
1 Ogier 4m40.2s
2 Hirvonen +0.3s
3 Latvala +2.3s
4 Neuville +5.7s
5 Meeke +7.5s
6 Evans +10.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier 3h33m19.7s
2 Latvala +58.5s
3 Neuville +4m33.9s
4 Evans +5m18.9s
5 Prokop +7m58.2s
6 Guerra +10m29.7s
Big, big effort from Hirvonen - he's second quickest, and only 0.3s slower than Ogier. What a fight that could have been between him, Ostberg and Latvala for second...
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Meeke's now through, as is Hirvonen. The former slots into fourth.
"Not so bad," is Meeke's verdict. "Still hanging in there and starting to enjoy it a bit more."
"Not so bad," is Meeke's verdict. "Still hanging in there and starting to enjoy it a bit more."
"Great day, very happy with that," says Ogier, who does indeed come through quicker than his team-mate.
He's now 58.5s clear of Latvala. And there are still two superspecials to come.
He's now 58.5s clear of Latvala. And there are still two superspecials to come.
More on that rough stage. Latvala says "it wasn't too bad" but preceded that by admitting it was a bit tough.
He's pleased with his driving thus far, despite being a minute behind his team-mate in second.
He's pleased with his driving thus far, despite being a minute behind his team-mate in second.
Ogier shades Latvala at the first split, so this could be five stage wins in a row.
In comes Latvala, and he's quickest. It's 4m42.5s, which is 3.4s faster than Neuville.
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"There are a couple of bad bits in there that caught me out," adds Evans, before adding that losing more time - 4.8s - to Neuville isn't a big concern. "It's about keeping clean and keeping out of trouble."
"The jump was flat out," confirms Neuville, who then adds that "the road was getting worse and worse" as the stage continued.
Potential for someone (Ogier?) to trip up over holes in the ground? Well, it probably wouldn't stop him. He's already got away with hitting a rock.
Potential for someone (Ogier?) to trip up over holes in the ground? Well, it probably wouldn't stop him. He's already got away with hitting a rock.
Prokop beats Guerra's time but is then immediately usurped by Neuville - who completes the stage in 4m45.9s.
The Belgian, by all accounts, gave it the beans over the El Brinco jump.
The Belgian, by all accounts, gave it the beans over the El Brinco jump.
Guerra overturns the deficit and ends SS16 0.5s quicker than the Hyundai driver.
Atkinson's through, 4m56.4s - Guerra's 0.5s slower through the first split.
This will be the final stage we cover on Race Centre Live today, so let's hope it's a cracker!
SS16 is live.
In case you were wondering - no, we're not ignoring on-stage action!
El Brinco, a much smoother 8.25km stage, should start in a couple of minutes time.
After a somewhat tepid couple of stages, everyone will probably break down on these shorter runs.
El Brinco, a much smoother 8.25km stage, should start in a couple of minutes time.
After a somewhat tepid couple of stages, everyone will probably break down on these shorter runs.
Twitter
Our tally might have a non-counting stage win for Ogier in it. If anyone can spot it, they win five Race Centre Live points.
Why don't you tweet the First Lady of WRC Live @becsywecsy and see if we can get this answered on-air.
Worth a shot...
Why don't you tweet the First Lady of WRC Live @becsywecsy and see if we can get this answered on-air.
Worth a shot...
Sebastien, any ideas how many wins that is?
Hmm...A bit of mental maths...and we reckon that's 41 stage wins for VW this year.
Looking back, Ogier's got 28 - seven on the Monte, 10 in Sweden and now 11 here. Latvala won five on his way to victory on Rally Sweden; three on the Monte before that and the one here in Mexico.
Mikkelsen, meanwhile, has four from Sweden.
28+9+4=41...right? Or should AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live stick to typing?
Looking back, Ogier's got 28 - seven on the Monte, 10 in Sweden and now 11 here. Latvala won five on his way to victory on Rally Sweden; three on the Monte before that and the one here in Mexico.
Mikkelsen, meanwhile, has four from Sweden.
28+9+4=41...right? Or should AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live stick to typing?
Breaking news
So, let's look back on SS14/15:
* Ogier racks up VW's 40th stage win of 2014 and pushes his advantage over Latvala to almost a minute
* Neuville streaks clear of Evans as he bids to deliver Hyundai's i20 WRC its first podium
* Hirvonen overhauls WRC2 leader Protasov for eighth as he continues to recover from Friday problems
* Ogier racks up VW's 40th stage win of 2014 and pushes his advantage over Latvala to almost a minute
* Neuville streaks clear of Evans as he bids to deliver Hyundai's i20 WRC its first podium
* Hirvonen overhauls WRC2 leader Protasov for eighth as he continues to recover from Friday problems
Speaking of R5 Fiesta drivers...stunning effort from Ott Tanak. What a shame he had that early incident.
He's just gone eighth quickest - eighth! - on that long stage. That's not a short blast through the streets, that's a full-on, 43km stage. Very, very impressive - he's quicker than Guerra and Atkinson and only 3.8s slower than Prokop.
You can see why DAVID EVANS considers the R5 to be rallying's saviour...
He's just gone eighth quickest - eighth! - on that long stage. That's not a short blast through the streets, that's a full-on, 43km stage. Very, very impressive - he's quicker than Guerra and Atkinson and only 3.8s slower than Prokop.
You can see why DAVID EVANS considers the R5 to be rallying's saviour...
Hirvonen and Meeke are a few minutes behind Guerra and Atkinson, but are about a minute quicker on the longer stages (we have the longest of all to go tomorrow) and can take anywhere between 15s and 30s on the other runs.
Hirvonen is up to eighth now, ahead of Protasov, but Meeke's still 10th - 10.7s slower than Yuriy.
Hirvonen is up to eighth now, ahead of Protasov, but Meeke's still 10th - 10.7s slower than Yuriy.
It's not that inconceivable for Hirvonen/Meeke to overhaul the likes of Atkinson and Guerra.
They should both overhaul Protasov's R5 Fiesta on this stage.
They should both overhaul Protasov's R5 Fiesta on this stage.
Checkered flag
SS15 results:
1 Ogier 30m19.8s
2 Latvala +3.7s
3 Hirvonen +10.4s
4 Meeke +16.4s
5 Neuville +17.2s
6 Evans +45.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier 3h28m39.5s
2 Latvala +56.2s
3 Neuville +4m28.2s
4 Evans +5m08.4s
5 Prokop +7m45.5s
6 Guerra +10m14.0s
1 Ogier 30m19.8s
2 Latvala +3.7s
3 Hirvonen +10.4s
4 Meeke +16.4s
5 Neuville +17.2s
6 Evans +45.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier 3h28m39.5s
2 Latvala +56.2s
3 Neuville +4m28.2s
4 Evans +5m08.4s
5 Prokop +7m45.5s
6 Guerra +10m14.0s
Hirvonen does indeed beat Meeke - by 6s - with the VWs again proving too strong for either Ford or Citroen.
That's 40 stage wins for the season for Volkswagen, and Ogier's fourth in a row. He's on a roll!
Ogier finishes the stage and duly knocks his team-mate off top spot, completing the stage in 30m19.9s.
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Latvala reiterates the point that this stage seems to be more difficult second time around. 30m23.5s though is still the fastest time through so far.
"To be honest it was really slippy. It was more difficult to find the grip, the grip level was changing a lot."
"To be honest it was really slippy. It was more difficult to find the grip, the grip level was changing a lot."
Evans loses a lot of time to Neuville, he's 24s slower in the end.
Latvala's yo-yoed on this stage quite a lot. He was a few seconds down on Ogier, then clawed it back to 0.8s, but is now further away from his team-mate again.
Meanwhile, Meeke is holding steady just a few seconds behind Latvala - though Hirvonen's picked up his pace and could beat the Citroen man to best-of-the-rest honours on this stage.
Meanwhile, Meeke is holding steady just a few seconds behind Latvala - though Hirvonen's picked up his pace and could beat the Citroen man to best-of-the-rest honours on this stage.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Scott Mitchell, Pablo Elizalde
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