Rally Monte Carlo
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Result for SS2 (with Hanninen and Evans to run)
1 Neuville 15m01.1s
2 Ogier +7.8s
3 Meeke +15.8s
4 Tanak +19.4s
5 Breen +25.4s
6 Sordo +26.6s
1 Neuville 15m01.1s
2 Ogier +7.8s
3 Meeke +15.8s
4 Tanak +19.4s
5 Breen +25.4s
6 Sordo +26.6s
Juho Hanninen (Yaris) and Elfyn Evans (Fiesta) appear to have been shuffled back down the order in the melee of the SS1 accident. The order is shuffled. Will it be to the benefit or the detriment of the two drivers?
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Craig Breen is through, he's only 25.4s slower than Neuville, and he's in a 2016 WRC car. He's only 9.6s slower than Kris Meeke, who's driving the 2017 Citroen C3 WRC!
"I'm in a little race of my own," says Breen. "I didn't think I drove so well. I'm quite happy to get to the end of that one."
"I'm in a little race of my own," says Breen. "I didn't think I drove so well. I'm quite happy to get to the end of that one."
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Kris Meeke will be the next driver through. He completes the stage in 15m16.9s. That's third quickest and 15.8s slower than Neuville.
"It was quite tricky," says Meeke. "It's difficult to see it's patchy. It's a steady start."
He's nonchalant when asked is he surprised that Neuville is so far ahead. It's a long rally after all.
"It was quite tricky," says Meeke. "It's difficult to see it's patchy. It's a steady start."
He's nonchalant when asked is he surprised that Neuville is so far ahead. It's a long rally after all.
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Tanak completes and he's third fastest. He's 19.4s down on Neuville, 11.6s down on Ogier. He reports he's struggling to find a rhythm.
We'll recap the overall order at the end, but it will be out of whack given many drivers were either held up or didn't complete SS1 because of Paddon's crash.
We'll recap the overall order at the end, but it will be out of whack given many drivers were either held up or didn't complete SS1 because of Paddon's crash.
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Latvala completes, 28.4s down on Neuville. This is looking like an increasingly special time by Neuville.
"It was a demanding stage," says Latvala. "There was damp places, dry conditions and ice. I was very careful on the ice. I just wanted to make sure we didn't do any mistakes. If you're confident on the ice you can make the time."
Lefebvre has stopped in the second Citroen C3 WRC.
"It was a demanding stage," says Latvala. "There was damp places, dry conditions and ice. I was very careful on the ice. I just wanted to make sure we didn't do any mistakes. If you're confident on the ice you can make the time."
Lefebvre has stopped in the second Citroen C3 WRC.
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Kris Meeke has only dropped 0.1s to Ogier at the second split. On the stage that puts him 6.1s down on Neuville at that point.
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Sordo has completed the stage and he's 26.6s down on Neuville.
Further back in the stage, Ott Tanak is just over three seconds slower than team-mate Ogier at the second split.
Jari-Matti Latvala is next up and he well off Neuville at the last split. He was 27s down on the Belgian at that point.
Further back in the stage, Ott Tanak is just over three seconds slower than team-mate Ogier at the second split.
Jari-Matti Latvala is next up and he well off Neuville at the last split. He was 27s down on the Belgian at that point.
Incidentally, no Belgian has won the Monte in the WRC era. Freddy Loix took a second place in the IRC days in 2009 and 2011.
Neuville is still unhappy with the suspension setup on his Hyundai, but nevertheless he can't be too upset. He's leading the Monte!
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Disappointment for British fans, Kris Meeke is 4.7s down at the first split on Neuville.
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Neuville completes and he goes 7.8s quicker than Ogier.
Ladies and gentleman, Thierry Neuville is your Rally Monte Carlo leader.
Ladies and gentleman, Thierry Neuville is your Rally Monte Carlo leader.
Kris Meeke is into the stage. We didn't get a chance to see his pace in SS1 as the stage was cancelled before he reached the first split. How does the Citroen match the Hyundai, Ford and Toyota?
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Ogier seems happy with his run through SS2.
"It's tricky. There's quite a bit of gravel. Not a bad stage. There's an icy section."
Tanak is 1s down at the first split.
"It's tricky. There's quite a bit of gravel. Not a bad stage. There's an icy section."
Tanak is 1s down at the first split.
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Sordo has dropped further time at the second split and it's unlikely he'll challenge the front too. He's 10.9s down on Neuville.
Meanwhile, Sebastien Ogier has completed and he's managed a 15m08.9s. Neuville is 5.3s up at the last split.
Meanwhile, Sebastien Ogier has completed and he's managed a 15m08.9s. Neuville is 5.3s up at the last split.
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At the first split, Jari-Matti Latvala is someway off the pace. He's dropped 9.6s to Neuville at that point.
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Stopwatch
Neuville takes more time out of Ogier; he's taken 3.4s up to the second split.
Keep in mind, Neuville has 0.7s in the bag over Ogier thanks to going quickest on the first stage.
Keep in mind, Neuville has 0.7s in the bag over Ogier thanks to going quickest on the first stage.
It looks like the stage is relatively dry according to the weather crews. However there is a tricky section halfway through the test.
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Sordo is 2.6s slower than team-mate Neuville. He's 2.4s slower than Sebastien Ogier.
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Ogier has reached the first split and we have a time, he's completed in 3m38.9s. Next up is Thierry Neuville who was slower through each split on SS1, but took over four seconds out of Ogier between the last split and stage end to go fastest.
Jari-Matti Latvala is also into the stage, hoping to complete his first full stage in a Toyota, which has returned for 2017.
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Ogier is through the second split now, he's managed that in 8m06.6s. Will he lose more time to Neuville? There's three splits in total.
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Neuville is rapid through SS1, he's taken 2.4s out of Sebastien Ogier. The Belgian is having a decent night so far.
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Neuville and Sordo are well into SS2 now. We're missing Hayden Paddon after he crashed out on SS1.
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Green flag
And SS2 is now underway, according to Hyundai.
According to the timing screens, Sebastien Ogier is now due into the stage at 2318hrs local time, 2218hrs GMT.
Here's a statement from Christian Tornatore, race director of the Monte Carlo Rally.
"SS1 has been cancelled due to the crash of Paddon and Kennard. The crew is unharmed. A spectator passed out. The emergency services have been called to rescue him. SS2 is maintained as expected at 11.07 p.m."
"SS1 has been cancelled due to the crash of Paddon and Kennard. The crew is unharmed. A spectator passed out. The emergency services have been called to rescue him. SS2 is maintained as expected at 11.07 p.m."
We're waiting for confirmation that SS2 is underway, Ogier should have entered the stage by now. More info as soon as we receive it.
Two minutes until SS2 gets underway. Hopefully it will be the first stage where we'll see all of the new 2017 cars finish the stage to give us an idea of where they sit in the pecking order.
If you're a relative newcomer to WRC 2017, or just want to familiarise yourself with the teams and drivers, here's a rundown.
There's just under 10 minutes to go until SS2 gets underway. Here's Citroen's Kris Meeke to take you through the second stage.
SS2 Bayons-Breziers 1 (15.83 miles)
"This is a new one. There are some hairpins just after the start of this stage and the road’s just about as wide as these cars. It’s a case of just driving the car through there, no heroics. After that you get a bit of an Ypres kind of feel about the road, there are quite a few square corners.
"The big difference between here and Ypres though is that you don’t get solid ice in the summer in Belgium! Here you come out of some corners and the road is just full ice.
"You can’t describe to anybody what the feeling is like when you are driving on slicks on ice – you’ve got absolutely nothing. There have been times in the past when I’ve come out of corners and had some boy running alongside the car taking photos of me. It’s that slow!"
SS2 Bayons-Breziers 1 (15.83 miles)
"This is a new one. There are some hairpins just after the start of this stage and the road’s just about as wide as these cars. It’s a case of just driving the car through there, no heroics. After that you get a bit of an Ypres kind of feel about the road, there are quite a few square corners.
"The big difference between here and Ypres though is that you don’t get solid ice in the summer in Belgium! Here you come out of some corners and the road is just full ice.
"You can’t describe to anybody what the feeling is like when you are driving on slicks on ice – you’ve got absolutely nothing. There have been times in the past when I’ve come out of corners and had some boy running alongside the car taking photos of me. It’s that slow!"
Information
Just to confirm the tweet below, SS2 will start at 2207hrs UK time.
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There's no point running down the times from SS1, but here are the two that completed the stage competitively without a hold-up.
1 Thierry Neuville 12m10.2s
2 Sebastien Ogier +0.7s
Could Latvala or Meeke have put Toyota or Citroen at the top respectively? We'll never know. But hopefully we'll see a proper fight through the rest of the weekend.
1 Thierry Neuville 12m10.2s
2 Sebastien Ogier +0.7s
Could Latvala or Meeke have put Toyota or Citroen at the top respectively? We'll never know. But hopefully we'll see a proper fight through the rest of the weekend.
Information
More on the cancellation of SS1 of Rally Monte Carlo.
The cars are in a convoy to SS2 as we speak, which is due to start at 2157hrs GMT.
The cars are in a convoy to SS2 as we speak, which is due to start at 2157hrs GMT.
Information
While tonight's schedule may be affected by the crash on the first stage, SS2 is due to get underway at 2257hrs local time or 2157hrs GMT
By: Geoff Creighton
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