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"We have a transmission problem," says a dejected Neuville. "We're on one wheel drive."
Neuville is through, but he's lost a whopping 1m23.9s to Ogier.
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Ogier confirmed he'll need to make some repairs, Mikkelsen appears as though he'll be OK for now.
Mikkelsen says the water that's caused the pair problems is about seven kilometres from the finish - so slightly before the third split.
Mikkelsen says the water that's caused the pair problems is about seven kilometres from the finish - so slightly before the third split.
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Mikkelsen is through, 17.3s down, but he's had a similar issue.
"We went off. We came round the corner and suddenly there was water and we lost control of the car. Luckily we came back on the road."
"We went off. We came round the corner and suddenly there was water and we lost control of the car. Luckily we came back on the road."
Crash
Or maybe we spoke too soon - damage to Ogier's wing on the front-left, and the front wheels aren't straight.
"There was a big big water splash in the stage. I couldn't turn and I need to look at the car," he says.
"There was a big big water splash in the stage. I couldn't turn and I need to look at the car," he says.
Stopwatch
Ogier completes the stage in 12m47.9s.
No sign of any troubles for the world champion so far - and it looks as though his advantage will increase further, with Mikkelsen dropping more time.
No sign of any troubles for the world champion so far - and it looks as though his advantage will increase further, with Mikkelsen dropping more time.
Neuville, Ostberg, Sordo and Tanak all onto the stage as well now.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen was pretty close to his team-mate's time through the first split, but by the second he's lost 3.6s to Ogier.
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Confirmation of those changes in WRC2 shows Ahlin in the lead. The tight battle we were all hoping for is shaping up nicely so far.
Stopwatch
Both of the leading VWs onto Svullrya now. Ogier's benchmark through the first split is 3m14.2s.
And another lead change in WRC2, as Ahlin now takes over up front.
Here's the man who'll be covering Ahlin in the BRC all year with some more info on him.
JACK BENYON: Someone to watch for British fans this weekend is Fredrik Ahlin. He may be a Swede, but he's competing in the British Rally Championship this year with CA1 Sport, headed by Colin McRae's ex-engineer Martin Wilkinson.
Ahlin doesn't have too many excellent results on his resume through accidents and plenty of bad luck, but on stage times alone he's up there with the best WRC2 has to offer.
Here's the man who'll be covering Ahlin in the BRC all year with some more info on him.
JACK BENYON: Someone to watch for British fans this weekend is Fredrik Ahlin. He may be a Swede, but he's competing in the British Rally Championship this year with CA1 Sport, headed by Colin McRae's ex-engineer Martin Wilkinson.
Ahlin doesn't have too many excellent results on his resume through accidents and plenty of bad luck, but on stage times alone he's up there with the best WRC2 has to offer.
Ogier will of course be first up, in a couple of minutes' time.
David Evans
SS4:Svullrya 15.05 miles
The only completely new stage on the Rally Sweden route. With a good ice base, the drivers will really look forward to this one, with wide, fast roads giving them the chance to play with the cars at full speed.
The only completely new stage on the Rally Sweden route. With a good ice base, the drivers will really look forward to this one, with wide, fast roads giving them the chance to play with the cars at full speed.
As we wait for the remainder of those delayed WRC2 runners to come through, we're already preparing for this morning's third and final stage - Svullrya. Here's a quick preview from our man on the ground...
Change of lead in WRC2: Skoda man Tidemand is 5.5s faster than Evans and that gives him the class lead by 5.3s.
Why was Foulon so far up the order? A bit of a quirk of the system of drivers running in championship order for the first two days.
He was 10th in WRC2 on the Monte, but only three of the cars ahead are entered for Sweden as well, because drivers don't have to contest every round in the support series.
That's why Czech driver Hubert Ptaszek is second in the WRC2 start order behind Evans, having been seventh on the Monte.
As we get a bit further into the season and the points and entries settle down, it'll get less weird.
For now, there's a six-minute gap from Foulon to Lappi in the start order, which is a wise move as the Skoda was four minutes quicker on SS2.
He was 10th in WRC2 on the Monte, but only three of the cars ahead are entered for Sweden as well, because drivers don't have to contest every round in the support series.
That's why Czech driver Hubert Ptaszek is second in the WRC2 start order behind Evans, having been seventh on the Monte.
As we get a bit further into the season and the points and entries settle down, it'll get less weird.
For now, there's a six-minute gap from Foulon to Lappi in the start order, which is a wise move as the Skoda was four minutes quicker on SS2.
Onto WRC2. Evans leads this officially, but by the end of SS2 he wasn't the top WRC2-spec car overall.
That honour went to Toyota protege Teemu Suninen in his ORECA-run Ford, but he's not registered for WRC2 this weekend, so Evans remains officially the leader.
Good news for his pursuers: after getting caught behind Foulon's slow Mitsubishi on SS2, the Skodas will be free to charge this time as organisers have adjusted the gaps between cars to ensure the quicker WRC2 contenders don't catch the tentative Lancer.
That honour went to Toyota protege Teemu Suninen in his ORECA-run Ford, but he's not registered for WRC2 this weekend, so Evans remains officially the leader.
Good news for his pursuers: after getting caught behind Foulon's slow Mitsubishi on SS2, the Skodas will be free to charge this time as organisers have adjusted the gaps between cars to ensure the quicker WRC2 contenders don't catch the tentative Lancer.
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SS3 summary:
* Ogier wins stage and extends his lead over Mikkelsen to 6.6s
* Neuville takes third from Meeke but they're falling away from VWs
* Latvala loses another two minutes with his broken driveshaft
* Tanak and DMACK show strong pace - fourth on the stage and sixth overall
* Ogier wins stage and extends his lead over Mikkelsen to 6.6s
* Neuville takes third from Meeke but they're falling away from VWs
* Latvala loses another two minutes with his broken driveshaft
* Tanak and DMACK show strong pace - fourth on the stage and sixth overall
Stopwatch
SS3 results:
Stage times:
1 Ogier 9m32.3s
2 Mikkelsen +6.6s
3 Neuville +13.5s
4 Tanak +15.2s
5 Ostberg +16.5s
6 Sordo +17.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +6.9s
3 Neuville +18.2s
4 Sordo +22.2s
= Meeke +22.2s
6 Tanak +27.3s
7 Ostberg +29.4s
8 Paddon +35.3s
9 H Solberg +51.9s
10 Breen +53.2s
Stage times:
1 Ogier 9m32.3s
2 Mikkelsen +6.6s
3 Neuville +13.5s
4 Tanak +15.2s
5 Ostberg +16.5s
6 Sordo +17.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +6.9s
3 Neuville +18.2s
4 Sordo +22.2s
= Meeke +22.2s
6 Tanak +27.3s
7 Ostberg +29.4s
8 Paddon +35.3s
9 H Solberg +51.9s
10 Breen +53.2s
And now Breen's down to 10th overall, as Henning Solberg nips in 6s quicker and pinches ninth from him.
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Breen is ninth quickest, 35s off the pace and established in ninth overall, 17s adrift of Paddon ahead.
"I'm just trying to improve stage by stage, that's all we can do really," he says. "And enjoy it. And by God, I'm enjoying it."
"I'm just trying to improve stage by stage, that's all we can do really," he says. "And enjoy it. And by God, I'm enjoying it."
The inexperienced Camilli is sounding perplexed by all this. He's 49s off the pace on the stage and now 1m29s off the overall lead, so will be well outside the overall top 10. M-Sport's newcomer reports his feeling is good so he can't understand why he's so far away.
Breen is onto the stage, and he's 4s off Paddon's pace and comfortably clear of the likes of Camilli and Al Qassimi.
And as Paddon comes in slowest of the drivers who have a full set of driveshafts, the battle for sixth is spreading out a little.
Tanak holds it, 2.1s ahead of Ostberg and 8s up on Paddon.
The Kiwi says he was distracted by a water temperature alarm going off but it's nothing to worry about.
Tanak holds it, 2.1s ahead of Ostberg and 8s up on Paddon.
The Kiwi says he was distracted by a water temperature alarm going off but it's nothing to worry about.
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So that means the fight for third is now 18s off leader Ogier, and it's Neuville with a 4s advantage over a tied Meeke and Sordo in that group.
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"It was quite a hard ice base in places, with a little bit of snow," says Meeke. "I thought my rhythm was OK, but obviously not good enough. Road position is key in these conditions."
Stopwatch
Meeke is through, fifth quickest on the stage and losing 4s to Neuville, which means the Hyundai moves into third place overall.
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He adds he has "no idea" what caused the driveshaft breakage. "Just mechanical bad luck."
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"Not easy," says Latvala. "Even in the fast stage I feel it's slipping all the time and I can't keep it going. I'll try what I can."
Latvala's total time loss for the stage is 1m52s, so he's already well over two minutes off the lead. This is going to be a long weekend.
If you're among those who've just joined us, Latvala suffered a broken driveshaft near the end of today's opener.
If you're among those who've just joined us, Latvala suffered a broken driveshaft near the end of today's opener.
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Tanak completes the stage a second quicker than Ostberg, which means he's now 2.1s ahead in the fight the two of them and Paddon are having over sixth. That also means Tanak's DMACK car is the top Ford at present, as the men who lost their M-Sport WRC seats at the end of 2015 outpace their respective replacements.
Meeke is half a second off the Hyundais at split one. It seems he started the stage a minute late to reduce the chance of catching Latvala's hobbling VW ahead.
Sordo is through, "a little bit disappointed" with his pace as he loses 4s to team-mate Neuville in their fight with Meeke for third.
Latvala's time loss reaches 1m10s by split two.
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Ostberg says he's still finding everything "all a bit new" in these conditions in the M-Sport Ford.
And looks like Meeke started the stage a minute late. Not sure why yet, but he is up and running.
By: Matt Beer
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