Rally Poland 2017
Live Text
Sort by
Information
SS12 RESULTS
Leading stage times:
1 Tanak 10m39.8s
2 Paddon +3.0s
3 Latvala +4.0s
4 Neuville +6.1s
5 Sordo +10.9s
6 Ostberg +12.9s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Neuville +3.5s
3 Latvala +7.2s
4 Paddon +41.7s
5 Ogier +1m10.9s
6 Sordo +1m11.9s
7 Suninen +1m35.1s
8 Hanninen +2m01.5s
9 Lefebvre +2m05.8s
10 Ostberg +2m08.2s
11 Evans +2m35.6s
12 Mikkelsen +3m11.5s
Leading stage times:
1 Tanak 10m39.8s
2 Paddon +3.0s
3 Latvala +4.0s
4 Neuville +6.1s
5 Sordo +10.9s
6 Ostberg +12.9s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Neuville +3.5s
3 Latvala +7.2s
4 Paddon +41.7s
5 Ogier +1m10.9s
6 Sordo +1m11.9s
7 Suninen +1m35.1s
8 Hanninen +2m01.5s
9 Lefebvre +2m05.8s
10 Ostberg +2m08.2s
11 Evans +2m35.6s
12 Mikkelsen +3m11.5s
Ogier leaps out of the car to inspect the damage to his Fiesta.
Crash
Ogier's car has got damage at the front.
That emphatically drops Ogier to fifth, now 29s behind Paddon and only a second ahead of Sordo.
Crash
Trouble for Ogier in the final miles! He's lost half a minute!
Stopwatch
Ogier is the fastest man on the section between splits two and three so far, but he remains on course to lose fourth to Paddon.
Quote
Paddon comes in with the fastest time so far by a decent 7.9s margin over team-mate Sordo.
"I'm enjoying it a lot more today," says Paddon. "The roads are quite fast. This one was a bit trickier with more mud. The speed up front is very high, but we're pushing on at a good speed."
"I'm enjoying it a lot more today," says Paddon. "The roads are quite fast. This one was a bit trickier with more mud. The speed up front is very high, but we're pushing on at a good speed."
That's not a great first split for Neuville - he's 3.5s slower than Tanak there!
That sort of pace suggests there'll be a change of lead.
That sort of pace suggests there'll be a change of lead.
Stopwatch
Paddon isn't just going to inch past Ogier for fourth at this rate, he'll be storming clear. The gap was 1.1s and at the latest split Paddon is 7.3s faster.
Stopwatch
The leaders are now taking to the stage, and based on the first split times Paddon looks like he's going to grab fourth from Ogier here.
Ostberg is fastest so far and takes 4s out of the gap to Lefebvre, so that's now just 2.4s.
David Evans
Think of an adjective to describe Thierry Neuville's opening day of Rally Poland on Friday. What do you reckon? Impressive. Consistent. Speedy. Any one of those would have worked. What did he come up with.
"Efficient." Must admit, I didn't see that one coming.
Neuville however, saw my question coming: "The road in the afternoon was it as bad as the…"
"Yes."
"… as bad as the…"
"Yes!"
Drivers are always full of things being worse than ever before, but Neuville was adamant he hadn't seen it as bad as this before.
"The road was gone, just full ruts. It's hard to actually go forward at times like this. For sure, it was a bit slower. It was tricky, slippery and difficult. The only way to drive the car is if you are comfortable with it and comfortable to drive and push in these conditions."
"Efficient." Must admit, I didn't see that one coming.
Neuville however, saw my question coming: "The road in the afternoon was it as bad as the…"
"Yes."
"… as bad as the…"
"Yes!"
Drivers are always full of things being worse than ever before, but Neuville was adamant he hadn't seen it as bad as this before.
"The road was gone, just full ruts. It's hard to actually go forward at times like this. For sure, it was a bit slower. It was tricky, slippery and difficult. The only way to drive the car is if you are comfortable with it and comfortable to drive and push in these conditions."
Stopwatch
Or maybe not - Tanak's strong end to the stage pays off in his battle with Neuville too. The leader only manages to put 1.3s onto the cushion to Tanak after all.
Stopwatch
Meanwhile the flying Neuville is now 5.2s faster than Tanak at split two. His lead is going to soar today if these first few miles are any indication.
Good news from Breen to start the day: much more confident with the Citroen this morning. That "petrified" feeling has been left behind on Friday.
Stage start looks like it's been knocked back to 8.21am local time, which is not far off.
Information
British Rally Championship leader Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss came here for one of their WRC2 prize drives from the Drive DMACK Trophy, but sadly a big crash yesterday morning means they're not rallying today.
Before all that, though, they did put together our stage descriptions for the weekend, so here's their view of what's coming next:
SS11 Baranowo (9.66 miles)
This stage is a really important one for Dale and I – we've had a few punctures in here in the past. Ott [Tanak] had the same last time.
If it's wet this one will really cut up and leave a good few rocks around just under the surface. If you catch one of those rocks at the wrong angle, it can knock a tyre off the rim in no time.
This one was a crucial stage last time out and – even though the organisers have worked on the layout of the stage, turning the thing around a little bit – I reckon it could be the same this year.
Before all that, though, they did put together our stage descriptions for the weekend, so here's their view of what's coming next:
SS11 Baranowo (9.66 miles)
This stage is a really important one for Dale and I – we've had a few punctures in here in the past. Ott [Tanak] had the same last time.
If it's wet this one will really cut up and leave a good few rocks around just under the surface. If you catch one of those rocks at the wrong angle, it can knock a tyre off the rim in no time.
This one was a crucial stage last time out and – even though the organisers have worked on the layout of the stage, turning the thing around a little bit – I reckon it could be the same this year.
Autosport
Good morning and welcome back to Autosport Live for day two of Rally Poland. Here's how we left things last night - Thierry Neuville versus Ott Tanak versus Jari-Matti Latvala for the lead, with Sebastien Ogier falling away: 
Some good news for Ogier - Paddon is actually a bit slower than him on the superspecial, so Ogier holds fourth overnight by 4.5s.
That probably won't make much difference to Evans being 11th overnight, though.
There's a bit of a turn-up - Evans goes fastest on the stage of anyone so far.
He was quickest here last night too, the DMACKs clearly liking the broken concrete surface.
He was quickest here last night too, the DMACKs clearly liking the broken concrete surface.
Quote
"Tomorrow is the key of the rally," says Tanak. "There are new stages and they're long and pretty tricky."
Stopwatch
Tanak trims 0.2s from Neuville as he beats Latvala on that one, so Neuville and Tanak go into day two just 1.3s apart in first and second places.
Tanak and Latvala now take to the head-to-head stage.
Ogier has picked up windscreen damage from stones kicked up from Neuville's car in the parallel sections. Will Ogier finish the day fourth or fifth? We'll have to wait for Paddon to come through to find out, but either way he has a lot of ground to recover tomorrow.
Quote
"The road conditions are going to be important tomorrow," says Neuville. "I'll try to stay in the lead tonight. Hopefully it will be enough. Tanak is driving now and it will be hard for him to get 1.5s."
(Sorry)
David Evans
It’s 1.5 miles long and mainly on broken concrete. The cars run side-by-side, which can cause dust issues. Dust issues are less likely today given that sufficient rain has fallen to double the volume of water in the Masurian Lake District. If this were Finland in the eighties, a name change might well have been required: we’d be reporting on the 2000 Lakes Rally. Or at least the 1034 Lakes Rally.
And yes, you’re right, it’s this superspecial stage that Jari-Matti Latvala crashed on in 2009. Just don’t mention it to him. Certainly don’t mention the fact that it cost Ford a one-two result. And absolutely don’t mention the deep dark period he went through for weeks after, convinced his career was finished. Don’t mention any of that.
And whatever you do, don’t show him this picture of him pushing a stricken Ford Focus RS WRC over the line.
And yes, you’re right, it’s this superspecial stage that Jari-Matti Latvala crashed on in 2009. Just don’t mention it to him. Certainly don’t mention the fact that it cost Ford a one-two result. And absolutely don’t mention the deep dark period he went through for weeks after, convinced his career was finished. Don’t mention any of that.
And whatever you do, don’t show him this picture of him pushing a stricken Ford Focus RS WRC over the line.
Information
SS9 summary:
* Neuville sets the pace and grabs the rally lead from Tanak
* Latvala struggles in the ruts but stays within 5s of the lead too
* Paddon closes right in on Ogier for fourth
* Mikkelsen gains on Evans for 11th
* Neuville sets the pace and grabs the rally lead from Tanak
* Latvala struggles in the ruts but stays within 5s of the lead too
* Paddon closes right in on Ogier for fourth
* Mikkelsen gains on Evans for 11th
Information
SS9 RESULTS
Leading stage times:
1 Neuville 7m07.4s
2 Paddon +1.5s
3 Tanak +3.2s
4 Sordo +4.4s
5 Suninen +6.1s
6 Latvala +6.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Neuville
2 Tanak +1.5s
3 Latvala +5.4s
4 Ogier +33.9s
5 Paddon +37.9s
6 Sordo +51.0s
7 Suninen +1m09.3s
8 Hanninen +1m21.6s
9 Lefebvre +1m36.2s
10 Ostberg +1m39.5s
11 Evans +2m03.0s
12 Mikkelsen +2m48.1s
Leading stage times:
1 Neuville 7m07.4s
2 Paddon +1.5s
3 Tanak +3.2s
4 Sordo +4.4s
5 Suninen +6.1s
6 Latvala +6.1s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Neuville
2 Tanak +1.5s
3 Latvala +5.4s
4 Ogier +33.9s
5 Paddon +37.9s
6 Sordo +51.0s
7 Suninen +1m09.3s
8 Hanninen +1m21.6s
9 Lefebvre +1m36.2s
10 Ostberg +1m39.5s
11 Evans +2m03.0s
12 Mikkelsen +2m48.1s
Things to watch in the final minutes of this stage: the little battle between Lefebvre and Ostberg over ninth, and whether Suninen's going to get another stage win.
Mikkelsen does indeed take 15s off Evans, though it could've been a fair bit more. Mikkelsen felt he might've picked up a slow puncture early on so trod carefully. They're now 45s apart.
Ogier may well find himself dropping to fifth before today is done. Paddon's taken 4s out of their 11s gap by halfway through this stage, so with the rest of Stare Juchy to go then the superspecial, it's going to be pretty close.
But tomorrow, someone else is first on the road.
But tomorrow, someone else is first on the road.
Stopwatch
More of the same for Ogier so far on this stage - he's lost 5s to Neuville already by split one.
Information
SS8 summary:
* Shake-up at the front: Neuville fastest but it's Tanak who takes the lead as Latvala falls to third in a top three covered by 1.7s
* Ogier continues to fall away as Paddon and Sordo loom
* Mikkelsen shows some pace for Citroen
* Suninen third quickest and snatches seventh from Hanninen
* Shake-up at the front: Neuville fastest but it's Tanak who takes the lead as Latvala falls to third in a top three covered by 1.7s
* Ogier continues to fall away as Paddon and Sordo loom
* Mikkelsen shows some pace for Citroen
* Suninen third quickest and snatches seventh from Hanninen
Information
SS8 RESULTS
Leading stage times:
1 Neuville 10m03.3s
2 Sordo +1.2s
3 Suninen +3.4s
4 Paddon +3.9s
5 Tanak +3.9s
6 Mikkelsen +5.2s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Latvala +1.0s
3 Neuville +1.7s
4 Ogier +27.0s
5 Paddon +38.1s
6 Sordo +48.3s
7 Suninen +1m04.9s
8 Hanninen +1m11.7s
9 Lefebvre +1m28.0s
10 Ostberg +1m31.7s
Leading stage times:
1 Neuville 10m03.3s
2 Sordo +1.2s
3 Suninen +3.4s
4 Paddon +3.9s
5 Tanak +3.9s
6 Mikkelsen +5.2s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Latvala +1.0s
3 Neuville +1.7s
4 Ogier +27.0s
5 Paddon +38.1s
6 Sordo +48.3s
7 Suninen +1m04.9s
8 Hanninen +1m11.7s
9 Lefebvre +1m28.0s
10 Ostberg +1m31.7s
Third fastest for Suninen, still really pretty excellent and it takes him past Hanninen into seventh overall.
Information
Here's Osian Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss's description of this one:
SS9 Stare Juchy (8.38 miles)
Dale and I reckon this has to be one of the most technical stages in the loop – if not in the rally. For most of the way it's really quite narrow with less room to slide the car, but at the same time the surface of the road is softer here than in most of the other roads.
During the recce we saw the odd rock starting to appear and you just know that with the passage of the whole field of rally cars, those rocks are going to dig out and sit and wait on the line for the second run of the stage.
The end of the stage brings some respite with the road getting a bit faster towards the finish.
SS9 Stare Juchy (8.38 miles)
Dale and I reckon this has to be one of the most technical stages in the loop – if not in the rally. For most of the way it's really quite narrow with less room to slide the car, but at the same time the surface of the road is softer here than in most of the other roads.
During the recce we saw the odd rock starting to appear and you just know that with the passage of the whole field of rally cars, those rocks are going to dig out and sit and wait on the line for the second run of the stage.
The end of the stage brings some respite with the road getting a bit faster towards the finish.
Green flag
Pressing on - Ogier's already starting the next stage.
By: Matt Beer
Published:
Lap:
