The 2015 Indianapolis 500
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WRC - Portugal: Meeke finishes the stage and he's a full 14s slower than Ogier.
That puts him 10s behind the champion in third overall, and only 1.1s ahead of Mikkelsen.
Meeke says it was tough to keep his one remaining soft tyre in shape, and admits that the VWs around him are starting to feel hard to beat.
"I was struggling to keep my right rear in line, that's where I had the one soft one.
"I came here with a bit of confidence and everyone expecting I could fight for the win. But I need some points for my season and I'm not prepared to risk everything.
"It's looking like they're starting to stretch their legs. We've got work to do."
That puts him 10s behind the champion in third overall, and only 1.1s ahead of Mikkelsen.
Meeke says it was tough to keep his one remaining soft tyre in shape, and admits that the VWs around him are starting to feel hard to beat.
"I was struggling to keep my right rear in line, that's where I had the one soft one.
"I came here with a bit of confidence and everyone expecting I could fight for the win. But I need some points for my season and I'm not prepared to risk everything.
"It's looking like they're starting to stretch their legs. We've got work to do."
Crash
WRC - Portugal: A giggling Mikkelsen confirms he spun at the final corner of the stage and took the finish line mid-spin. He thinks that was probably a reasonable line for the corner...
He's happy with his performance overall even though Ogier's progress has demoted him today. Now he's mulling how hard to push tomorrow - he really wants solid points, but he's so close to the podium too.
He's happy with his performance overall even though Ogier's progress has demoted him today. Now he's mulling how hard to push tomorrow - he really wants solid points, but he's so close to the podium too.
WRC - Portugal: Latvala is still 0.4s faster than Latvala on the splits.
WRC - Portugal: Mikkelsen comes through 7.1s down on Ogier, and it sounds like he had a late spin.
WRC - Portugal: Ostberg says the car was OK "on very, very high revs" and that he was using first gear in third-gear corners to get some life out of his boost-less engine. Unsurprisingly, he says it wasn't easy to get a rhythm.
Stopwatch
WRC - Portugal: There's the benchmark from a very determined Ogier - 25m17.9s.
The struggling Ostberg comes in 35s slower.
The struggling Ostberg comes in 35s slower.
WRC - Portugal: Latvala keeps hanging on to his stage advantage - he's two tenths quicker than Ogier still at split three.
WRC - Portugal: As well as losing second to Ogier, Meeke is set to finish the day with Mikkelsen on his tail at this rate.
At split four, Meeke has lost 9s to Ogier and 4s to Mikkelsen.
He began the stage 3.7s ahead of Ogier and 8.2s ahead of Mikkelsen.
At split four, Meeke has lost 9s to Ogier and 4s to Mikkelsen.
He began the stage 3.7s ahead of Ogier and 8.2s ahead of Mikkelsen.
WRC - Portugal: After that rogue really good split - which frankly could be the timing system going wobbly or AUTOSPORT not being able to count or the Citroen perking up again or that bit of the stage not requiring much power - Ostberg has returned to dropping time due to his lack of turbo boost.
WRC - Portugal: Ogier may be breezing past most people in front of him today, but Latvala is looking like he'll be tough to catch. Past split two and the Finn is still eight tenths quicker than his rampaging team-mate.
WRC - Portugal: Great start to this start for Tanak, he's second fastest at split one, between Latvala and Ogier.
That's not going to change too much for Tanak overall as he's in a pretty lonely fifth at present.
That's not going to change too much for Tanak overall as he's in a pretty lonely fifth at present.
WRC - Portugal: Halfway through the stage, Ogier is over 7s quicker than Meeke - he's on course to storm past into second overall.
WRC - Portugal: Still early on this long stage, but it's looking like an Ogier clean sweep of the afternoon is now on the cards - and he could be ending the day up to second place, having begun the morning down in sixth.
By split two, Ogier is 2.6s faster than Meeke, having been 3.7s behind him starting the stage.
Going alright for Latvala though - he's 0.9s faster than Ogier at split one. He must regard his team-mate as his main rival for the win now.
By split two, Ogier is 2.6s faster than Meeke, having been 3.7s behind him starting the stage.
Going alright for Latvala though - he's 0.9s faster than Ogier at split one. He must regard his team-mate as his main rival for the win now.
WRC - Portugal: Ostberg was quicker than Mikkelsen from split one to split two too, so that does seem to have been a good run from the Citroen.
Only a few tenths between Ogier, Mikkelsen and Meeke - our second-place combatants - at split one.
Only a few tenths between Ogier, Mikkelsen and Meeke - our second-place combatants - at split one.
WRC - Portugal: Here's something curious - Ostberg's boost-less Citroen was actually 7s faster than Ogier's VW between splits one and two. Odd. An Ostberg recovery or a problem for Ogier?
Confirmation that there wasn't a problem at the start, though, the organisers gave Ogier an extra minute's gap to ensure he didn't get into the slower Al Qassimi's dust.
Confirmation that there wasn't a problem at the start, though, the organisers gave Ogier an extra minute's gap to ensure he didn't get into the slower Al Qassimi's dust.
WRC - Portugal: Ostberg's lack of boost is going to hurt on this long stage. By split one he's already lost 16s to Ogier.
The best Ostberg can hope for is some damage limitation so he's not too far behind the Hyundais of Paddon and Sordo going into Sunday and has a shot at getting back into the top six.
The best Ostberg can hope for is some damage limitation so he's not too far behind the Hyundais of Paddon and Sordo going into Sunday and has a shot at getting back into the top six.
Breaking news
WRC - Portugal: Ogier has gone onto the stage a minute later than scheduled according to the timing system. Might not be anything dramatic, but slightly unusual. He already had a three-minute gap to Al Qassimi to guard against catching the Citroen midfielder.
World RX - Lydden: Second heats over at Lydden Hill at the fourth round of the World Rallycross Championship. Champion Petter Solberg was again quickest to end the day at the top of the field, with Johan Kristoffersson twice second to hold the slot heading into day two.
Mattias Ekstrom won his heat two race and is third at the close of play on day one, ahead of Reinis Nitiss and PG Andersson.
Mattias Ekstrom won his heat two race and is third at the close of play on day one, ahead of Reinis Nitiss and PG Andersson.
Lights out
WRC - Portugal: Al Qassimi has kicked us off on SS12, and now Ogier is on the startline.
He starts its 3s behind Meeke and 13s behind our leader Latvala.
Mikkelsen is still in with a shout just behind Ogier too, and there's plenty of intrigue in the Tanak, Paddon, Sordo, Ostberg region further back.
He starts its 3s behind Meeke and 13s behind our leader Latvala.
Mikkelsen is still in with a shout just behind Ogier too, and there's plenty of intrigue in the Tanak, Paddon, Sordo, Ostberg region further back.
WRC - Portugal: Ten minutes until the rally resumes for today's finale, the 23 miles of Fridao.
Here's a stage description from Kris Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle:
"All the Saturday stages are great, but the long one's the best. It's a great stage with a bit of everything in. It's got Tarmac, cobbles, fast gravel, slow gravel narrow, wide, everything.
"This isn't a high-speed rally by any means, so we're never really spending a long time flat in top gear, but we'd be in fourth and fifth for a while in this stage.
"Like I said, there are a lot of surface changes in this stage and that adds an extra something to the pacenotes – I always let Kris know when we're going onto the cobbles or back onto the gravel to help him anticipate what can be a fairly big change in the grip level.
"If we're going from gravel to Tarmac, I'd add a 'slippery' into the notes because so much of the gravel gets pushed onto the first few metres of Tarmac making it really tricky.
"On the cobbles things can get very exciting. Obviously there's not much grip around at all, but we would probably grade some of the notes back a wee bit to try to look after the tyres as well."
Meeke and Nagle go onto this stage under pressure. This morning they were closed down Latvala for the rally lead, but that gap has gone up to 10s now and Ogier has closed to within 3.7s of them.
Here's a stage description from Kris Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle:
"All the Saturday stages are great, but the long one's the best. It's a great stage with a bit of everything in. It's got Tarmac, cobbles, fast gravel, slow gravel narrow, wide, everything.
"This isn't a high-speed rally by any means, so we're never really spending a long time flat in top gear, but we'd be in fourth and fifth for a while in this stage.
"Like I said, there are a lot of surface changes in this stage and that adds an extra something to the pacenotes – I always let Kris know when we're going onto the cobbles or back onto the gravel to help him anticipate what can be a fairly big change in the grip level.
"If we're going from gravel to Tarmac, I'd add a 'slippery' into the notes because so much of the gravel gets pushed onto the first few metres of Tarmac making it really tricky.
"On the cobbles things can get very exciting. Obviously there's not much grip around at all, but we would probably grade some of the notes back a wee bit to try to look after the tyres as well."
Meeke and Nagle go onto this stage under pressure. This morning they were closed down Latvala for the rally lead, but that gap has gone up to 10s now and Ogier has closed to within 3.7s of them.
WRC - Portugal: This has to be the biggest rally map in the history of rally maps. AUTOSPORT has placed its cup of tea on the service park in Matosinhos just to offer some sort of scale. And it's the map that's big, not the tea that's small, by the way.
WRC Portugal map
NASCAR - Charlotte: Way back on Thursday night, the NASCAR Sprint Cup field qualified at Charlotte. They won't be racing until Sunday night, and they had Friday off, but all that rest will come in handy when the race gets going as it's the season's longest at 600 miles.
They've just had the first of two Saturday practice sessions, with Kurt Busch fastest ahead of polesitter Matt Kenseth. Champion Kevin Harvick, who looked like Kenseth's main rival on pure speed until slumping to eighth in final qualifying, was oddly far down the order in 30th.
They've just had the first of two Saturday practice sessions, with Kurt Busch fastest ahead of polesitter Matt Kenseth. Champion Kevin Harvick, who looked like Kenseth's main rival on pure speed until slumping to eighth in final qualifying, was oddly far down the order in 30th.
Crash
WRC - Portugal: While we wait for today's final stage - the longest of the rally at 23 miles - to start, DAVID EVANS has been catching up with the drivers who crashed this morning. Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville have now made their way back to service.
Here's Evans on the incident that left him with a singed Fiesta:
"There was a rock on the inside of the corner and I caught it with some lock on. It pulled the wheel open and broke a brake line, which is where the fire came from.
"I didn't actually know the car was on fire. When we got out, I went to the boot to get the tools to try to see if I could fix the wheel - then Dan shouted: 'It's on fire...'.
"I was very glad to get the fire out, but really disappointed that we've missed out on so many miles."
And here's Neuville on his shunt:
"I braked too late for a right corner, hit the bank and rolled. That's racing; too optimistic. I lost too much time yesterday and tried to come back.
"The radiator and the steering was broken, I knew we couldn't get out [of the stage]. It was tricky for Dani [Sordo team-mate], it was a narrow place and he had to push us out of the way."
Both cars will be back tomorrow, but both drivers have ruled out a big push for the powerstage win - Neuville tried that last time out in Argentina... and crashed spectacularly.
Here's Evans on the incident that left him with a singed Fiesta:
"There was a rock on the inside of the corner and I caught it with some lock on. It pulled the wheel open and broke a brake line, which is where the fire came from.
"I didn't actually know the car was on fire. When we got out, I went to the boot to get the tools to try to see if I could fix the wheel - then Dan shouted: 'It's on fire...'.
"I was very glad to get the fire out, but really disappointed that we've missed out on so many miles."
Elfyn Evans damage, WRC Portugal 2015
And here's Neuville on his shunt:
"I braked too late for a right corner, hit the bank and rolled. That's racing; too optimistic. I lost too much time yesterday and tried to come back.
"The radiator and the steering was broken, I knew we couldn't get out [of the stage]. It was tricky for Dani [Sordo team-mate], it was a narrow place and he had to push us out of the way."
Both cars will be back tomorrow, but both drivers have ruled out a big push for the powerstage win - Neuville tried that last time out in Argentina... and crashed spectacularly.
Breaking news
Formula E - Berlin Templehof: That was one of the inaugural FE's season more dominant wins, and it's left Lucas di Grassi in a very strong position with just three rounds remaining.
Here's the full report, results and updated championship standings:
Berlin Formula E race report: Di Grassi dominates
Here's the full report, results and updated championship standings:
Berlin Formula E race report: Di Grassi dominates
Breaking news
WRC - Portugal - SS12 summary:
* Ogier takes a second straight stage win and closes on Meeke for second
* Latvala brings his lead up to 10.7s
* Paddon leaps past Sordo and Ostberg into sixth
* Ogier takes a second straight stage win and closes on Meeke for second
* Latvala brings his lead up to 10.7s
* Paddon leaps past Sordo and Ostberg into sixth
GP2 - Monaco: It's debateable if it was showboating or not, but Stanaway made a spectacular slide on the power exiting the final corner Anthony Nogues on the last lap.
Fortunately, Stanaway didn't emulate Jochen Rindt in 1970, or Bjorn Wirdheim in the Formula 3000 race in Monaco in 2003, by throwing the race away at the last gasp.
Fortunately, Stanaway didn't emulate Jochen Rindt in 1970, or Bjorn Wirdheim in the Formula 3000 race in Monaco in 2003, by throwing the race away at the last gasp.
Checkered flag
WRC - Portugal - SS12 result:
1 Ogier 16m58.7s
2 Latvala +1.9s
3 Meeke +3.7s
4 Mikkelsen +4.2s
5 Tanak +10.0s
6 Paddon +12.1s
7 Kubica +15.6s
8 Sordo +19.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Meeke +10.7s
3 Ogier +14.4s
4 Mikkelsen +18.9s
5 Tanak +1m01.4s
6 Paddon +1m30.5s
7 Sordo +1m31.6s
8 Ostberg +1m35.0s
9 Kubica +2m44.8s
10 Prokop +5m12.4s
1 Ogier 16m58.7s
2 Latvala +1.9s
3 Meeke +3.7s
4 Mikkelsen +4.2s
5 Tanak +10.0s
6 Paddon +12.1s
7 Kubica +15.6s
8 Sordo +19.5s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Meeke +10.7s
3 Ogier +14.4s
4 Mikkelsen +18.9s
5 Tanak +1m01.4s
6 Paddon +1m30.5s
7 Sordo +1m31.6s
8 Ostberg +1m35.0s
9 Kubica +2m44.8s
10 Prokop +5m12.4s
WRC - Portugal: Great run to the stage finish from Paddon - sixth-quickest time vaults him ahead of both Ostberg and Sordo into the same place overall.
GP2 - Monaco: 1 Stanaway; 2 Marciello; 3 Sirotkin; 4 Canamasas; 5 Leal; 6 Pic.
Checkered flag
GP2 - Monaco: Kiwi rookie Richie Stanaway hands Status Grand Prix its maiden GP2 win in its sixth start.
WRC - Portugal: Latvala explains that he switched to all hard tyres for this start after taking more than he expected out of his remaining softs on the previous stage. He's not surprised to have lost a bit of time to Ogier but is content enough.
Formula E - Berlin Tempelhof: Di Grassi grinds to a halt a few corners after crossing the line. Over the radio, he confirms he has a car problem.
Formula E - Berlin Tempelhof: D'Ambrosio and Buemi complete the podium. Here's the full result:
1 Di Grassi
2 D'Ambrosio
3 Buemi
4 Duval
5 Piquet
6 Heidfeld
7 Sarrazin
8 Vergne
9 Bird
10 Liuzzi
11 Prost
12 Da Costa
13 Alguersuari
14 Speed
15 Abt
16 Chandhok
17 Pic
18 Duran
19 Senna
20 Trulli
1 Di Grassi
2 D'Ambrosio
3 Buemi
4 Duval
5 Piquet
6 Heidfeld
7 Sarrazin
8 Vergne
9 Bird
10 Liuzzi
11 Prost
12 Da Costa
13 Alguersuari
14 Speed
15 Abt
16 Chandhok
17 Pic
18 Duran
19 Senna
20 Trulli
WRC - Portugal: Latvala finishes the stage 1.9s slower than pacesetter Ogier.
That means he leads Meeke by 10.7s, Ogier by 14.4s and Mikkelsen by 18.9s.
That means he leads Meeke by 10.7s, Ogier by 14.4s and Mikkelsen by 18.9s.
GP2 - Monaco: Racing Engineering driver King was launched at a 45 degree angle over the back of Pierre Gasly's DAMS car's rear wheels.
King told his team over the radio that he was just winded in the incident. Gasly continues in 10th place.
King told his team over the radio that he was just winded in the incident. Gasly continues in 10th place.
Formula E - Berlin Tempelhof: Di Grassi weaves as he crosses the line to take his second victory of the season.
Crash
GP2 - Monaco: Big shunt for Jordan King at the chicane.
Formula E - Berlin Tempelhof: Just one lap to go for Di Grassi, who has driven immaculately. He leads D'Ambrosio by eight seconds, with Buemi safe in third.
WRC - Portugal: It's at the end of this stage that Ogier (who has saved more tyres than anyone else) really got going. After being fractionally faster than his team-mate all the way, rally leader Latvala is 1.5s slower than Ogier as he passes the final split.
Ogier said to DAVID EVANS at lunchtime that if he was within about 19s of the lead going into Sunday's stages, he'd feel it was game on for the win. It's certainly going to be less than that...
Ogier said to DAVID EVANS at lunchtime that if he was within about 19s of the lead going into Sunday's stages, he'd feel it was game on for the win. It's certainly going to be less than that...
WRC - Portugal: Considering Ostberg has no boost, Sordo is making heavy weather of pulling away from him in sixth. The Hyundai is only 1.7s faster than the poorly Citroen on this stage.
By: Matt Beer, Jack Benyon, Mitchell Adam, Mark Glendenning, David Evans, Edd Straw, Peter Mills, Gary Watkins, Glenn Freeman
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