Rally Mexico, WTCC opener
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Good morning, or good afternoon depending on where you are. Enough snow and ice and asphalt, it's time to go gravel rallying for the first time in the 2015 World Rally Championship. Hello, Rally Mexico.
Kris Meeke, Citroen, Mexico WRC 2015
WRC - Mexico: Weather watch. from DAVID EVANS…
There's still some cloud around, but all the excitement about overnight rain has died away. It is cold up on the top of El Chocolate though, with weather crews reporting a lot of mist and temperatures around four degrees.
It won't take long for the sun to burn that mist off, though.
There's still some cloud around, but all the excitement about overnight rain has died away. It is cold up on the top of El Chocolate though, with weather crews reporting a lot of mist and temperatures around four degrees.
It won't take long for the sun to burn that mist off, though.
WRC action in Mexico is going to dominate our weekend, incidentally, but you can also keep up with events from the World Touring Car Championship opener in Argentina and the Las Vegas NASCAR weekend too.
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: The plan for today: a loop of three full-length stages, run twice. The first go ends with the Leon street stage, the second with the superspecial, which will take us through to about 1am UK time.
WRC - Mexico: Sebastien Ogier has won both WRC rounds so far this year. But he's NOT going to win this weekend. He's absolutely adamant about that...
Ogier says even podium a long shot in Mexico
That's because under 2015 rules, the championship leader runs first on the road until Sunday on every rally, which means Ogier gets the most dusty stage conditions for the majority of this rally - and won't have much time to catch up once the order flips to reverse rally standings for Sunday's finale loop.
Ogier says even podium a long shot in Mexico
That's because under 2015 rules, the championship leader runs first on the road until Sunday on every rally, which means Ogier gets the most dusty stage conditions for the majority of this rally - and won't have much time to catch up once the order flips to reverse rally standings for Sunday's finale loop.
WRC - Mexico: So as the championship standings currently look like this...
1 Ogier 53
2 Neuville 30
3 Mikkelsen 30
4 Latvala 19
5 Ostberg 14
6 Evans 14
7 Tanak 12
8 Paddon 10
9 Meeke 10
10 Sordo 8
...that means Thierry Neuville isn't going to have a great Friday and Saturday either, but Kris Meeke and the yet-to-score Robert Kubica could shine.
1 Ogier 53
2 Neuville 30
3 Mikkelsen 30
4 Latvala 19
5 Ostberg 14
6 Evans 14
7 Tanak 12
8 Paddon 10
9 Meeke 10
10 Sordo 8
...that means Thierry Neuville isn't going to have a great Friday and Saturday either, but Kris Meeke and the yet-to-score Robert Kubica could shine.
WRC - Mexico: But as DAVID EVANS underlines in his stage notes, our opener might not be a drama for Ogier:
Los Mexicanos is the first stage proper of this year's Rally Mexico.
Starting from Just outside Guanajuato, this one climbs steadily for the duration of its six miles.
Interestingly, the crews don't expect this one to clean massively – first on the road last year, Latvala only dropped 3.5 seconds to the fastest time.
Los Mexicanos is the first stage proper of this year's Rally Mexico.
Starting from Just outside Guanajuato, this one climbs steadily for the duration of its six miles.
Interestingly, the crews don't expect this one to clean massively – first on the road last year, Latvala only dropped 3.5 seconds to the fastest time.
Lights out
WRC - Mexico: Ogier is up and running on this stage.
Quote
WRC - Mexico: Throughout the build up to this event, the common line from all the drivers has been about how much they are looking forward to the rally, says DAVID EVANS.
It has, they say, some of the best roads and the best atmosphere around. Quite literally, it's a fiesta. This picture from yesterday's pre-event presser doesn't quite tell the same story…
It has, they say, some of the best roads and the best atmosphere around. Quite literally, it's a fiesta. This picture from yesterday's pre-event presser doesn't quite tell the same story…
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: We did have two short spectator stages last night, that aren't going to bear much relation to the rest of the weekend. But Ogier does technically lead for now.
Thursday night report
Thursday night report
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: Ogier completes Friday's opener with a 7m36.7s time.
WRC - Mexico: And Ogier didn't follow that up with a tirade about running order rules. He was pretty calm and chatted about the weather.
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: Neuville comes in and beats Ogier's time by a second.
Quote
WRC - Mexico: Neuville says he made a mistake on that stage and "the time won't be the best", and he's also concerned that his Hyundai is sucking a lot of dust into its cockpit.
WRC - Mexico: Mikkelsen is third of the three so far, 3s off Neuville's pace.
"It was fine, a little bit tricky in some places and I could've been a little bit faster. I have to get into a good rhythm for this rally."
This is only Mikkelsen's second time here, and the first one featured a couple of shunts, so he's got experience to gain.
"It was fine, a little bit tricky in some places and I could've been a little bit faster. I have to get into a good rhythm for this rally."
This is only Mikkelsen's second time here, and the first one featured a couple of shunts, so he's got experience to gain.
WRC - Mexico: Latvala is also slower than those ahead at the mid-stage split, while TV crews are reporting that Ostberg has spun his Citroen early on the stage.
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: Tyre news from DAVID EVANS:
Ogier and Neuville are crossing hards and softs with one hard spare. Mikkelsen the same but with two hard spares.
Meeke, Ostberg, Latvala, Sordo, Evans and Tanak four hards and one soft spare. Paddon five hard tyres.
Ogier and Neuville are able to use the softer tyre, running in the deeper gravel near the front of the field. But as the line cleans, the abrasive harder base needs the harder compound of Michelin.
Ogier and Neuville are crossing hards and softs with one hard spare. Mikkelsen the same but with two hard spares.
Meeke, Ostberg, Latvala, Sordo, Evans and Tanak four hards and one soft spare. Paddon five hard tyres.
Ogier and Neuville are able to use the softer tyre, running in the deeper gravel near the front of the field. But as the line cleans, the abrasive harder base needs the harder compound of Michelin.
Crash
WRC - Mexico: Ostberg's time loss from that spin is 9s so far.
Latvala is in and he's fractionally quicker than Mikkelsen in third. The Finn reckons hard tyres haven't been good for him there.
"There's a little bit of a cleaning line, but I think in this stage the best performance is with soft tyres. They are definitely giving you more support."
Latvala is in and he's fractionally quicker than Mikkelsen in third. The Finn reckons hard tyres haven't been good for him there.
"There's a little bit of a cleaning line, but I think in this stage the best performance is with soft tyres. They are definitely giving you more support."
Crash
WRC - Mexico: A frustrated and slightly sweary Ostberg says that spin happened because his gearbox popped him into neutral unexpectedly - and it happened in Sweden too.
"Unbelievable," he summarises.
He lost 11s with that problem.
"Unbelievable," he summarises.
He lost 11s with that problem.
WRC - Mexico: Elfyn Evans comes in with a steady 7m42s.
So the adamant-he's-not-going-to-win Ogier is still second fastest on the stage and still leading the rally overall.
But we're yet to see the cars that should really benefit from their road positions.
So the adamant-he's-not-going-to-win Ogier is still second fastest on the stage and still leading the rally overall.
But we're yet to see the cars that should really benefit from their road positions.
Crash
WRC - Mexico: No sign of next man Ott Tanak yet and radio traffic at the end of the stage suggests the M-Sport driver has gone off.
Quote
WRC - Mexico: It seems Tanak's gone a far way off the course, as the following Hayden Paddon couldn't see the crashed Ford.
"No, haven't seen Ott in there anywhere. Not sure."
"No, haven't seen Ott in there anywhere. Not sure."
WRC - Mexico: Paddon is fifth fastest, just ahead of Evans.
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: Meeke completes the stage as our fastest man so far, half a second ahead of Neuville.
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: SS3 is not quite done, but SS4 is about to begin. Here are DAVID EVANS' notes:
El Chocolate is the daddy of the day at 26.42 miles.
Last year Latvala dropped around half a second per mile sweeping the surface clean.
This stage runs in a big loop north towards the town of Rincon de Ortega before turning south again.
There are three big climbs and descents in this stage, going from 2284 to a power-sapping 2781 metres.
This stage actually passes the town of El Chocolate, where Cocoa was reckoned to have been first used to make a drink. The first ever hot chocolate was quite a different matter to what it is today – it was actually served cold, but with chillies in!
El Chocolate is the daddy of the day at 26.42 miles.
Last year Latvala dropped around half a second per mile sweeping the surface clean.
This stage runs in a big loop north towards the town of Rincon de Ortega before turning south again.
There are three big climbs and descents in this stage, going from 2284 to a power-sapping 2781 metres.
This stage actually passes the town of El Chocolate, where Cocoa was reckoned to have been first used to make a drink. The first ever hot chocolate was quite a different matter to what it is today – it was actually served cold, but with chillies in!
WRC - Mexico: Back after missing Sweden with a broken collarbone from a cycling tumble, Dani Sordo is only seventh quickest on this one so far.
WRC - Mexico: Still to come: Martin Prokop, Robert Kubica, Lorenzo Bertelli and Benito Guerra.
WRC - Mexico: Great stuff from Kubica - he comes in fourth fastest, 1.8s off Meeke's pace.
"Quite a smooth stage for us, not too bad. We're lacking a bit of power uphill on acceleration but it's OK."
"Quite a smooth stage for us, not too bad. We're lacking a bit of power uphill on acceleration but it's OK."
Red flag
WRC - Mexico: The stage is being stopped after Bertelli comes through. There's still no news on Tanak's accident, beyond that he's gone far enough off the road that following crews haven't been able to see him.
WRC - Mexico: El Chocolate is under way, though, with Mikkelsen slightly faster than Neuville and Ogier at the opening split.
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: Good news with confirmation that both Ott Tanak and co-driver Raigo Molder are both unhurt after their crash on SS3.
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: Although Meeke was our pacesetter on SS3, Ogier still had enough in hand from his Thursday night superspecial performance to retain the outright lead - by 0.2s from Neuville and 1.2s from Meeke.
Crash
WRC - Mexico: Paddon has stopped on SS4, and reports from TV crews on the stage suggest he's damaged the left rear of his Hyundai.
Breaking news
WRC - Mexico: And now Meeke has stopped near the start of the stage too!
The pacesetter on SS3, and the frontrunner with the best road position of all, has come to a halt early on SS4.
Awaiting news on what's caused Meeke's drama.
The pacesetter on SS3, and the frontrunner with the best road position of all, has come to a halt early on SS4.
Awaiting news on what's caused Meeke's drama.
Checkered flag
SS3 results:
(After more results system refreshing than is ever ideal...)
Stage times:
1 Meeke 7m35.2s
2 Neuville +0.5s
3 Ogier +1.5s
4 Kubica +1.8s
5 Latvala +3.3s
6 Mikkelsen +3.6s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Neuville +0.2s
3 Meeke +1.2s
4 Mikkelsen +3.3s
5 Latvala +3.6s
6 Kubica +4.1s
7 Sordo +10.3s
8 Evans +12.3s
9 Ostberg +12.4s
10 Paddon +18.3s
(After more results system refreshing than is ever ideal...)
Stage times:
1 Meeke 7m35.2s
2 Neuville +0.5s
3 Ogier +1.5s
4 Kubica +1.8s
5 Latvala +3.3s
6 Mikkelsen +3.6s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Neuville +0.2s
3 Meeke +1.2s
4 Mikkelsen +3.3s
5 Latvala +3.6s
6 Kubica +4.1s
7 Sordo +10.3s
8 Evans +12.3s
9 Ostberg +12.4s
10 Paddon +18.3s
WRC - Mexico: Back on El Chocolate, both Meeke and Paddon have stopped, and Ostberg is quickest on the splits early on.
Latvala and Mikkelsen have both lost 9s to Ogier in the middle of the stage.
Latvala and Mikkelsen have both lost 9s to Ogier in the middle of the stage.
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: Ogier completes El Chocolate on a time of 29m41.5s.
WRC - Mexico: Ogier is going to emerge from the long stage with a pretty decent lead on the rally he definitely, definitely won't win (he insists) - he's pulled 13s clear of Neuville by the end of SS4 and his other main rival Meeke is out.
WRC - Mexico: Ogier continues to pull away from his rivals - Mikkelsen completes SS4 and he's 19s off his champion team-mate's pace.
Stopwatch
WRC - Mexico: But here's someone outpacing Ogier - Kubica is fastest of all at the early splits now!
By: AUTOSPORT staff, David Evans, Stuart Codling, Scott Mitchell
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