WRC Argentina
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Neuville may be fast, but Evans is just as fast! The rally leader is only 0.2s slower than his pursuer at split one.
Stopwatch
Ogier has lost 14.7s to Latvala by split two - suddenly that 37.9s gap between them in fourth and fifth doesn't look so massive. Trouble for Ogier or Latvala flying?
Stopwatch
Cracking first split from Neuville - he's fastest there by 2.6s over Latvala. What will Evans do?
Hanninen also reports that he passed Bertelli, who has rolled but is OK.
Crash
Yet more worries for Hanninen, whose Toyota has been on the verge of breaking in myriad ways all weekend. He now has an oil temperature warning light at the end of this stage.
Stopwatch
Latvala is rattling along - fastest at split two by 16.3s over Sordo. Sordo didn't have a perfect stage but Latvala's still 19.6s up on Paddon there.
Evans is now onto the stage.
Not a great first split from Ogier, he's 6.8s slower than Latvala.
They're 37.9s apart in fourth and fifth overall.
They're 37.9s apart in fourth and fifth overall.
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Not a perfect run for first man in Sordo, but he's chirpy.
"A lot of loose in the road, and we stalled the engine in one of the corners - we arrived too fast. We lost six or seven seconds. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot, a lot," he says.
He also reports that the road has got rockier than it was for the recce.
"A lot of loose in the road, and we stalled the engine in one of the corners - we arrived too fast. We lost six or seven seconds. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot, a lot," he says.
He also reports that the road has got rockier than it was for the recce.
Ogier and Tanak have started the stage. Neuville and Evans wait on the startline.
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Meanwhile, Ireland rooting for Wales today:
Stopwatch
Further back, Latvala has just put in the fastest split one time so far by a decent 4.2s over Sordo.
Latvala has no chance of improving on his current fifth place without attrition ahead, though.
Latvala has no chance of improving on his current fifth place without attrition ahead, though.
Bertelli has stepped it up in the middle of the stage - by split two he's only 8.1s slower than Sordo.
If Bertelli can keep that up, his equal-career-best eighth place is going to be safe.
If Bertelli can keep that up, his equal-career-best eighth place is going to be safe.
Rally leader Evans had a brake scare on the previous stage. They began working properly in the middle of the stage and it now sounds like they were just glazed rather than broken in any way. So should be a straight fight with Neuville over the remaining miles.
Stopwatch
Past the first split, Sordo has trimmed 7s from the gap to Bertelli ahead. Just 44s to go.
Bertelli and Hanninen onto the stage too, then it'll be Paddon and Latvala.
Lead rivals Neuville and Evans will be ninth and 10th onto the stage.
The stage did start on time, it was the timing system that was sleepy.
This is a decent comeback drive from Sordo, who looked like a potential winner until breaking a steering arm on Friday morning.
Replacing that cost him 11 minutes and he's been clawing his way forward ever since. He's 51.9s behind eighth-placed Bertelli now and took 24.9s out of the Ford privateer on the last stage. Tense little finish brewing there.
Replacing that cost him 11 minutes and he's been clawing his way forward ever since. He's 51.9s behind eighth-placed Bertelli now and took 24.9s out of the Ford privateer on the last stage. Tense little finish brewing there.
Sordo is on the Mina Clavero startline now but looks like there's a slight delay.
Information
SS17 Mina Clavero-Giulio Cesare (14.06 miles)
Run just down the road to the west of Condor and through a similar lunar landscape. Just as bumpy and rock-strewn as the stage before and after it. If anything, Mina Clavero is probably a bit more abrassive and harder on the tyres.
Run just down the road to the west of Condor and through a similar lunar landscape. Just as bumpy and rock-strewn as the stage before and after it. If anything, Mina Clavero is probably a bit more abrassive and harder on the tyres.
OK, two stages to go, the next one is about to start.
David Evans
The start to this year has offered the most different winners (four from four rallies) since 1986, when we read Henri Toivonen, Juha Kankkunen, Joaquim Moutinho and Bjorn Waldegaard for Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, Kris Meeke and Thierry Neuville.
Evans would be a fifth different winner, though that still won't beat 1986 after Peugeot driver Bruno Saby won the fifth round that year – a tragic Tour of Corsica.
The 1982 and '84 seasons also started with five different winners, so the 2017 season's next target after five winners would be 1981, which had seven different names winning the first seven rounds (Jean Ragnotti, Hannu Mikkola, Markku Alen, Shekhar Mehta, Bernard Darniche, Ari Vatanen and Guy Frequelin).
Evans would be a fifth different winner, though that still won't beat 1986 after Peugeot driver Bruno Saby won the fifth round that year – a tragic Tour of Corsica.
The 1982 and '84 seasons also started with five different winners, so the 2017 season's next target after five winners would be 1981, which had seven different names winning the first seven rounds (Jean Ragnotti, Hannu Mikkola, Markku Alen, Shekhar Mehta, Bernard Darniche, Ari Vatanen and Guy Frequelin).
If you're just joining us, there are two stages to go, Neuville has cut Evans's lead to 9.0s and we have 25 minutes till the penultimate stage begins so we're filling time with old pics, as usual.
Ogier performing miracles in a Skoda in Argentina in 2012 (LAT)
Ogier being steady and sensible in Argentina in his World Rally Car rookie year in 2009 (LAT)
We don't know who's going to win this rally, but there's a very good chance it won't be Sebastien Ogier.
All sorts of things have gone very slightly wrong for the champion through this weekend, from stray dogs to stray pace notes, and he's 53.2s off the lead and 30.2s behind third-placed team-mate Tanak.
And that means Rally Argentina is set to keep its record of being the only current WRC round Ogier has never won.
Here's an insight into what's gone wrong on Ogier's seven previous attempts at Rally Argentina:
2009
Finishes seventh in a steady and sensible South American debut, driving a Citroen C4 WRC with the Citroen Junior Team.
(Skip 2010, Argentina was an IRC round then)
2011
Leads arch-rival and team-mate Sebastien Loeb into the final morning, but rolls in Ascochinga and ultimately finishes third.
2012
Volkswagen's development and learning year leaves Ogier in a Skoda Fabia S2000. Sets some stunning times to finish seventh.
2013
Loses out to Loeb again when he slides off the road and out of the lead with a handbrake problem on his Polo R WRC. Finished second.
2014
Puncture and minor set-up issues cost time, but in the end lost out to a masterful drive from team-mate Jati-Matti Latvala. Second again.
2015
Stopped on the second stage with an electrical fault aboard the Volkswagen. Battled back through the weekend to finish 17th.
2016
Frustrated at running first on the road for two days, Ogier's was a bad-tempered event. Lost out to Paddon in final-stage thriller.
All sorts of things have gone very slightly wrong for the champion through this weekend, from stray dogs to stray pace notes, and he's 53.2s off the lead and 30.2s behind third-placed team-mate Tanak.
And that means Rally Argentina is set to keep its record of being the only current WRC round Ogier has never won.
Here's an insight into what's gone wrong on Ogier's seven previous attempts at Rally Argentina:
2009
Finishes seventh in a steady and sensible South American debut, driving a Citroen C4 WRC with the Citroen Junior Team.
(Skip 2010, Argentina was an IRC round then)
2011
Leads arch-rival and team-mate Sebastien Loeb into the final morning, but rolls in Ascochinga and ultimately finishes third.
2012
Volkswagen's development and learning year leaves Ogier in a Skoda Fabia S2000. Sets some stunning times to finish seventh.
2013
Loses out to Loeb again when he slides off the road and out of the lead with a handbrake problem on his Polo R WRC. Finished second.
2014
Puncture and minor set-up issues cost time, but in the end lost out to a masterful drive from team-mate Jati-Matti Latvala. Second again.
2015
Stopped on the second stage with an electrical fault aboard the Volkswagen. Battled back through the weekend to finish 17th.
2016
Frustrated at running first on the road for two days, Ogier's was a bad-tempered event. Lost out to Paddon in final-stage thriller.
Autosport's hotel is situated next door to Villa Carlos Paz's most fever bar… this place is full of rally memorabilia. The owner clearly spends much of the rally standing next to one of the many many water crossings seeing how many bumpers adorn the walls.
Quite a long road section to the next stage, which starts in 50 minutes. We have one or two things to pop in here in the meantime while they're making their way to Mina Clavero.
Information
SS16 SUMMARY:
* Neuville trims Evans's lead to 9.0s with two stages to go
* Tanak goes quickest and gains just a little on Neuville
* Sordo begins closing in on Bertelli for eighth
* Rally2 man Ostberg takes 10th from Tidemand
* Neuville trims Evans's lead to 9.0s with two stages to go
* Tanak goes quickest and gains just a little on Neuville
* Sordo begins closing in on Bertelli for eighth
* Rally2 man Ostberg takes 10th from Tidemand
Information
SS16 RESULTS
Stage times:
1 Tanak 13m07.0s
2 Neuville +1.3s
3 Evans +3.8s
4 Breen +4.2s
5 Ogier +7.1s
6 Sordo +10.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Evans
2 Neuville +9.0s
3 Tanak +23.0s
4 Ogier +53.2s
5 Latvala +1m31.1s
6 Paddon +4m39.9s
Stage times:
1 Tanak 13m07.0s
2 Neuville +1.3s
3 Evans +3.8s
4 Breen +4.2s
5 Ogier +7.1s
6 Sordo +10.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Evans
2 Neuville +9.0s
3 Tanak +23.0s
4 Ogier +53.2s
5 Latvala +1m31.1s
6 Paddon +4m39.9s
And Ostberg is already past Tidemand and into 10th. Tidemand's WRC2 lead is approximately five years so he's in no hurry. He was the class of the second-division entry for this rally anyway and attrition on Friday left him with no opposition.
Ostberg is the first of the Rally2 drivers today, and because he retired pretty late on yesterday his penalties were minimal and he's already on the cusp of the points.
He restarted classified 11th, but only 30s behind the WRC2 Skoda of Tidemand.
By contrast Breen is 1h20m43.7s behind the leaders with the combined penalties for missing Friday's final stages and all of yesterday. Citroen had tried to get him back out for Saturday after his leg one gearbox failure but an oil leak before he left service scuppered that.
His team-mate Meeke is missing today - his second crash of the weekend yesterday was a nasty one. Meeke and co-driver Nagle were unhurt, their Citroen less so.
He restarted classified 11th, but only 30s behind the WRC2 Skoda of Tidemand.
By contrast Breen is 1h20m43.7s behind the leaders with the combined penalties for missing Friday's final stages and all of yesterday. Citroen had tried to get him back out for Saturday after his leg one gearbox failure but an oil leak before he left service scuppered that.
His team-mate Meeke is missing today - his second crash of the weekend yesterday was a nasty one. Meeke and co-driver Nagle were unhurt, their Citroen less so.
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"We had no brake pedal for half the stage," says Evans. "For the first half of the stage it was going right to the floor. Then it came back, like a miracle. We have to go and have a look at it."
This is going to be very, very close.
Evans is through - third-fastest behind Tanak and Neuville, he loses 2.5s of his lead.
The gap is down to 9.0s with two stages left...
The gap is down to 9.0s with two stages left...
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"If we keep that rhythm, it will be fine," says Neuville as he compares his time to the chasing Tanak. "Elfyn's tyre will work pretty well there. It was a good stage. It went well for me."
Neuville is in, second fastest, 1.3s off Tanak. All eyes on Evans...
That stretches the gap between the third and fourth placed M-Sport team-mates out to half a minute with two stages to go. Superb weekend from Tanak.
By: Matt Beer
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