Rally Sweden 2014
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Neuville isn't over-happy with his Hyundai at present, but he's just gone 1.2s faster than team-mate Hanninen and that will swap them round in seventh and eighth places.
Hanninen's time loss is due to running a bit wide at a corner and brushing the snow bank.
"Stupid!" is his summary.
Hanninen's time loss is due to running a bit wide at a corner and brushing the snow bank.
"Stupid!" is his summary.
Tanak is dropping away a bit on the split times, so this is going to become an all-VW fight up front. But it's a good one - they really are fighting.
Kubica is set to drop another 15s or so to the leaders. He's on a similar pace to M-Sport team-mate Elfyn Evans.
"We're driving at our own pace: slowly," says Kubica, who is determined to get to the end of this rally. He went into this stage 11th overall.
"We're driving at our own pace: slowly," says Kubica, who is determined to get to the end of this rally. He went into this stage 11th overall.
Hirvonen is a decent third quickest so far, behind only Mikkelsen and Latvala, quicker than Ogier.
Right now, top three is Ogier leading Mikkelsen by 1.6s and Latvala by 6.1s.
Tanak's yet to start the stage.
Tanak's yet to start the stage.
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Unsurprisingly Mikkelsen is happy. He's not saying too much about the lead battle he's just created, though.
"I really enjoyed it. I remember being in the Super 2000 car fighting with Seb here [in 2012] and it was great fun."
"I really enjoyed it. I remember being in the Super 2000 car fighting with Seb here [in 2012] and it was great fun."
Stopwatch
It's a stage win for Mikkelsen, 7.1s up on Ogier, whose lead is down to 1.6s!
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen is flying on the stage. His splits suggest he will close right in on team-mate Ogier for the lead.
Ostberg is slower than Latvala but only 0.3s off Ogier. He still feels he could be doing a lot better with more confidence and car familiarity.
Stopwatch
Great time from Latvala, he takes nearly 5s out of Ogier and the gap is done to 6s.
The Finn was utterly miserable at the end of the last stage, but it turned out all he needed was some fast corners.
"When it's fast and flowing, it's no problem. I've got a great feeling with my driving there, it's where it's Mickey Mouse and technical that I'm struggling."
The Finn was utterly miserable at the end of the last stage, but it turned out all he needed was some fast corners.
"When it's fast and flowing, it's no problem. I've got a great feeling with my driving there, it's where it's Mickey Mouse and technical that I'm struggling."
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Turns out he likes snow rallying...
"That is the most fantastic experience!" says Meeke. "It's the most beautiful experience you can have in a rally car. I feel like a child at Christmas."
"That is the most fantastic experience!" says Meeke. "It's the most beautiful experience you can have in a rally car. I feel like a child at Christmas."
Meeke completes SS4 and is 6s down on Ogier. As Meeke keeps on saying, this is his first ever proper snow rally (though it's getting a bit short of snow...), he's taking it gently. In that context, it's a very good time.
Ogier wasn't unhappy with his performance on that stage at all, but quicker splits are still coming in from the drivers behind. Maybe it's the competition raising its game.
Ogier has just made it to the end of SS4, but on the splits it looks like Ostberg and Latvala are set to outpace him.
Breaking news
SS3 summary:
* Ogier fastest, everyone else unhappy with road conditions worsening
* VW takes control of the top three as Tanak falls to fourth behind Latvala
* Ogier fastest, everyone else unhappy with road conditions worsening
* VW takes control of the top three as Tanak falls to fourth behind Latvala
Checkered flag
Overall positions:
1 Ogier (VW)
2 Mikkelsen (VW) +8.7s
3 Latvala (VW) +10.9s
4 Tanak (M-Sport Ford) +11.8s
5 Hirvonen (M-Sport Ford) +16.1s
6 Ostberg (Citroen) +17.7
7 Hanninen (Hyundai) +21.2s
8 Neuville (Hyundai) +21.9s
9 Meeke (Citroen) +23.6s
10 Tidemand (M-Sport Ford) +23.9s
And Kubica, Breen and Solberg are next up in 11th, 12th and 13th.
1 Ogier (VW)
2 Mikkelsen (VW) +8.7s
3 Latvala (VW) +10.9s
4 Tanak (M-Sport Ford) +11.8s
5 Hirvonen (M-Sport Ford) +16.1s
6 Ostberg (Citroen) +17.7
7 Hanninen (Hyundai) +21.2s
8 Neuville (Hyundai) +21.9s
9 Meeke (Citroen) +23.6s
10 Tidemand (M-Sport Ford) +23.9s
And Kubica, Breen and Solberg are next up in 11th, 12th and 13th.
Checkered flag
SS3 times:
1 Ogier (VW) 5m38.4s
2 Mikkelsen (VW) +5.7s
3 Latvala (VW) +6.6s
4 Tanak (M-Sport Ford) +7.8s
5 Hirvonen (M-Sport Ford) +8.0s
6 Ostberg (Citroen) +10.9s
1 Ogier (VW) 5m38.4s
2 Mikkelsen (VW) +5.7s
3 Latvala (VW) +6.6s
4 Tanak (M-Sport Ford) +7.8s
5 Hirvonen (M-Sport Ford) +8.0s
6 Ostberg (Citroen) +10.9s
Breen completes 12th quickest. The misfire seems to have gone and he's happy despite road conditions being a bit of an adventure, or as he puts it: "Jesus, there's a lot going on in there."
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"The road is getting slower and slower and slower and slower," Henning Solberg confirms.
Remember Ogier wasn't sure if being first on the road was good or bad?
The consensus down the field is that it's definitely GOOD for him, bad for everyone else.
There is less and less ice/snow, more and more mud on the road as those further down the startlist come through.
The consensus down the field is that it's definitely GOOD for him, bad for everyone else.
There is less and less ice/snow, more and more mud on the road as those further down the startlist come through.
Just got Tidemand, Solberg and Breen to come to round off our WRC field, but Ogier is already on the startline of Finnskogen poised to commence the next stage.
Tanak loses time to the VWs, he's fourth quickest and drops 12s behind Ogier in the overall standings. That means he falls to fourth overall behind Latvala.
Neuville is the faster of the Hyundais on that stage, which brings him right onto team-mate Hanninen's tail in a battle for what is going to be sixth place.
A smooth run for a careful Kubica, who is 16s off Ogier's best time, and sixth quickest of those through so far. He's lost 4s to Meeke, who he is chasing for 10th.
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Our latest puzzled rally driver is Hirvonen, who is fourth quickest.
"I thought it was a good drive, but the boys in front are going really, really fast," he muses.
"I thought it was a good drive, but the boys in front are going really, really fast," he muses.
With everyone falling away from Ogier at the moment, the man to watch is going to be Tanak now. He's 12th on the road and was 4s behind Ogier after SS2.
After another wise and careful run from Elfyn Evans, here's Mikkelsen, who is 6s off Ogier. That'll bring Ogier's lead up to about 9s overall.
"This stage was not easy - very Mickey Mouse," says Mikkelsen. "Sometimes I struggled a bit with changing gear because it's wheelspinning so much.
"But I'm happy enough with my start."
"This stage was not easy - very Mickey Mouse," says Mikkelsen. "Sometimes I struggled a bit with changing gear because it's wheelspinning so much.
"But I'm happy enough with my start."
Ostberg is next up. Three years ago, this rally was the making of his WRC career, as after a few seasons of underdog promise in a private Subaru, he led in Sweden on his debut for M-Sport Ford's satellite Stobart squad, and finished second.
Since then, he's been tipped for a Sweden win every year, but it's yet to come.
He loses 11s to Ogier and 4s to Latvala on that stage, and admits his confidence isn't great in only his second WRC rally for Citroen.
Since then, he's been tipped for a Sweden win every year, but it's yet to come.
He loses 11s to Ogier and 4s to Latvala on that stage, and admits his confidence isn't great in only his second WRC rally for Citroen.
Latvala came into this stage just behind Tanak in fourth place, ahead of Ostberg and Hanninen.
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Oh dear, Latvala is 6.6s slower than Ogier and is very, very unhappy:
"The driving is bad. I don't have an explanation. I don't like the gearbox in the car, it's not changing gear very well.
"But I cannot explain the times - Sebastien had an incredible time."
"The driving is bad. I don't have an explanation. I don't like the gearbox in the car, it's not changing gear very well.
"But I cannot explain the times - Sebastien had an incredible time."
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Meeke is 12s down on Ogier, but not unhappy about that. The snow rally rookie was 10th overall after SS2.
"It's so easy to make a mistake, and it's changed a lot since the recce. It's very, very white. You come through an open field and it's hard to tell where the road is.
"But I'm really, really enjoying it."
"It's so easy to make a mistake, and it's changed a lot since the recce. It's very, very white. You come through an open field and it's hard to tell where the road is.
"But I'm really, really enjoying it."
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Ogier completes without problems. He can't quite work out if being first on the road on the disappearing ice is a good or bad thing.
"It's OK, quite soft ground - the ice is not really hard. So it's difficult for me to estimate if my position is an advantage or a disadvantage.
"We'll try to push because we expect it to be difficult for the first car on the road."
5m38.4s is his time.
"It's OK, quite soft ground - the ice is not really hard. So it's difficult for me to estimate if my position is an advantage or a disadvantage.
"We'll try to push because we expect it to be difficult for the first car on the road."
5m38.4s is his time.
Lights out
Ogier is onto the stage, so we're back underway after that pause to cross the border.
When Petter Solberg was in the WRC, Rally Sweden's annual dip into Norway meant the field went right past his house.
Now he's focused on rallycross, but big brother Henning is currently 15th early on his comeback rally.
The Norwegian crowd's eyes are going to be on home heroes Mikkelsen and Ostberg, currently second and fifth.
VW hasn't put much pressure on Mikkelsen so far, but he knows this event is his best chance yet for a first WRC podium, now he has nearly a year of experience in the Polo under his belt. He's just three seconds behind rally leader and team-mate/team leader Ogier.
Now he's focused on rallycross, but big brother Henning is currently 15th early on his comeback rally.
The Norwegian crowd's eyes are going to be on home heroes Mikkelsen and Ostberg, currently second and fifth.
VW hasn't put much pressure on Mikkelsen so far, but he knows this event is his best chance yet for a first WRC podium, now he has nearly a year of experience in the Polo under his belt. He's just three seconds behind rally leader and team-mate/team leader Ogier.
The imminent SS3 Kirkener is another short one, just seven kilometres like our earlier run through Torsby. It's followed immediately by the 16km of Finnskogen.
Snowplough
Here's some evidence of how lacking in snow Karlstad is. This snowplough is currently the area's most pointless vehicle.
Pirelli is back in rallying's big time this weekend for the first time since Sebastien Loeb won the 2010 Rally GB.
Henning Solberg's bolted on the Italian boots for his first WRC appearance since this rally last year – and the Norwegian could be onto a good thing.
Unlike DMACKs and Michelins, Pirelli's studs are moulded into the tyre early in the production process (they are drilled and glued into DMACKs and Michelins) which should mean a better level of stud retention.
That could become a hot topic as the rally goes on. Without much snow at the moment and with the ice likely to be broken on the first runs through stages, there will be a lot of gravel on the roads when stages are repeated, and that's not great news for snow tyres and their studs.
That was why a lot of frontrunners barely bothered with yesterday's shakedown, as they were already frantically saving tyres for the rally weekend.
Henning Solberg's bolted on the Italian boots for his first WRC appearance since this rally last year – and the Norwegian could be onto a good thing.
Unlike DMACKs and Michelins, Pirelli's studs are moulded into the tyre early in the production process (they are drilled and glued into DMACKs and Michelins) which should mean a better level of stud retention.
That could become a hot topic as the rally goes on. Without much snow at the moment and with the ice likely to be broken on the first runs through stages, there will be a lot of gravel on the roads when stages are repeated, and that's not great news for snow tyres and their studs.
That was why a lot of frontrunners barely bothered with yesterday's shakedown, as they were already frantically saving tyres for the rally weekend.
Our next stage, Kirkener, is underway in 20 minutes. The field has crossed the border into Norway, which is where the majority of today's action takes place.
Jaffa
This event is Breen's World Rally Car debut in the WRC, and his Ford Fiesta RS WRC shows a touching tribute to the part the late Gareth 'Jaffa' Roberts, his former co-driver, played in getting the Irishman to this level.
He might have been frustrated by a misfire, but Craig Breen was far from slow on that stage - he's 12th overall, 2.4s behind Kubica and just under 5s from a top-10 spot.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Scott Mitchell
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