WRC Argentina
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WRC - Argentina: Neuville is well over halfway through the stage now, passing the second split in 4m29.1s.
Ostberg follows him through 3.4s quicker.
Ostberg follows him through 3.4s quicker.
WRC - Argentina: Indeed, Ostberg is through and 2.9s up on Neuville.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Neuville is through the first split with a 2m24s.
Ostberg in the Citroen is next through.
Ostberg in the Citroen is next through.
WRC - Argentina: Both Neuville and Ostberg are into the stage now, as we await the first split times.
WRC - Argentina: The tracker shows Thierry Neuville is on the road in stage 5, we are underway.
WRC - Argentina: Something to watch for on this stage is Latvala's pace.
The Finn loved the quick early part of the stage because it reminded him of the 1000 Lakes Rally, and he was quickest on this test earlier in the day.
Meeke had a puncture on that test too, so look out for a better comparison between the two this time around.
The Finn loved the quick early part of the stage because it reminded him of the 1000 Lakes Rally, and he was quickest on this test earlier in the day.
Meeke had a puncture on that test too, so look out for a better comparison between the two this time around.
Crash
WRC - Argentina: Tanak's not the only one in strife, here's a reminder of everyone else hitting trouble so far on this hugely eventful day.
Ogier: Out with a probable engine issue
Mikkelsen: Delayed by spinning, damaging a tyre and then his suspension collapsing
Ostberg: Delayed slightly by intermittent engine problems
Evans: Slightly delayed behind Neuville's delayed car
Neuville: Delayed by damaging a tyre, then getting caught behind (and nerfing) Mikkelsen's limping car
Sordo: Delayed by power steering failure
Paddon: Delayed by most of his car failing
Add in Tanak's woes and Robert Kubica not even getting here, and Lorenzo Bertelli crashing, and that's why there are so many WRC2 runners in the top 10.
Ogier: Out with a probable engine issue
Mikkelsen: Delayed by spinning, damaging a tyre and then his suspension collapsing
Ostberg: Delayed slightly by intermittent engine problems
Evans: Slightly delayed behind Neuville's delayed car
Neuville: Delayed by damaging a tyre, then getting caught behind (and nerfing) Mikkelsen's limping car
Sordo: Delayed by power steering failure
Paddon: Delayed by most of his car failing
Add in Tanak's woes and Robert Kubica not even getting here, and Lorenzo Bertelli crashing, and that's why there are so many WRC2 runners in the top 10.
Quote
WRC - Argentina: SS5 is a repeat of today's second stage, Villa Bustos - Tanti.
Our stage guide-man for the weekend is current rally leader Kris Meeke, who said the following about this test.
"The Villa Bustos-Tanti stage reminds me a lot of the shakedown stage we did on Wednesday. It’s incredibly fast, like a motorway for the first 10 kilometres and then it narrows down towards the finish.
"Like the other stages, it’s typical Argentina in that it’s quite sandy and slippery. The rain has really hit the roads hard this year, washing away a lot of the gravel and leaving a lot of bedrock showing through.
"Definitely, this surface won’t be cleaning anything like Mexico or Sardinia and running where I am [10th on the road] it can be tricky to avoid the big rocks being pulled into the road by the cars ahead.”
Our stage guide-man for the weekend is current rally leader Kris Meeke, who said the following about this test.
"The Villa Bustos-Tanti stage reminds me a lot of the shakedown stage we did on Wednesday. It’s incredibly fast, like a motorway for the first 10 kilometres and then it narrows down towards the finish.
"Like the other stages, it’s typical Argentina in that it’s quite sandy and slippery. The rain has really hit the roads hard this year, washing away a lot of the gravel and leaving a lot of bedrock showing through.
"Definitely, this surface won’t be cleaning anything like Mexico or Sardinia and running where I am [10th on the road] it can be tricky to avoid the big rocks being pulled into the road by the cars ahead.”
NASCAR - Richmond: Second practice for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup round at Richmond has just finished, and Kasey Kahne was quickest.
That's quite a good turnaround given that he had to sit out the first 15 minutes of practice one as a punishment for his Hendrick Chevrolet repeatedly failing pre-qualifying technical inspections last week at Bristol.
Brad Keselowski had topped practice one.
Qualifying takes place later today, with the race on Saturday night.
That's quite a good turnaround given that he had to sit out the first 15 minutes of practice one as a punishment for his Hendrick Chevrolet repeatedly failing pre-qualifying technical inspections last week at Bristol.
Brad Keselowski had topped practice one.
Qualifying takes place later today, with the race on Saturday night.
WRC - Argentina: If you are just joining us, Ott Tanak has proved that he is prone to being beaten by water.
After the 'Titanak' incident on the last rally (see below) the Estonian has now retired after hitting a rock in a watersplash here in Argentina.
After the 'Titanak' incident on the last rally (see below) the Estonian has now retired after hitting a rock in a watersplash here in Argentina.
WRC - Argentina: With SS5 coming up shortly, here's a recap of the overall rally positions so far:
1 Meeke
2 Latvala
3 Ostberg
4 Sordo
5 Evans
6 Prokop
7 Neuville
8 Al Qassimi
9 Al-Kuwari
10 Protasov
1 Meeke
2 Latvala
3 Ostberg
4 Sordo
5 Evans
6 Prokop
7 Neuville
8 Al Qassimi
9 Al-Kuwari
10 Protasov
WRC - Argentina: Speaking of Volkswagen, it seems as good a time as any to introduce another one of DAVID EVANS' images.
Here's a man with a Volkswagen on his head.
Evans said: "Surely that interviewer only needed to ask one question. Why?"
Here's a man with a Volkswagen on his head.
Evans said: "Surely that interviewer only needed to ask one question. Why?"
Rally Argentina colour
Twitter
WRC - Argentina: Volkswagen is certainly one of the most sporting teams in the service area, at least on twitter anyway:
@VolkswagenRally: Hats off 2 @krismeeke. Well done! And Kris has a gr8 co-driver in #PaulNagle. #YouKnowWhatWeMean @AMikkelsenRally @RallyAustralia #AllSmiles
Can't say we're much of a fan of the spelling of 'gr8' though.
@VolkswagenRally: Hats off 2 @krismeeke. Well done! And Kris has a gr8 co-driver in #PaulNagle. #YouKnowWhatWeMean @AMikkelsenRally @RallyAustralia #AllSmiles
Can't say we're much of a fan of the spelling of 'gr8' though.
Quote
WRC - Argentina: Elfyn Evans managed a victory of his own before the official rally even started, as he won the wheel change challenge.
Our man in the service area DAVID EVANS was there to outline the events:
Elfyn Evans showed great pace on Thursday, collecting his first win in the World Rally Championship. Unfortunately for Evans and co-driver Dan Barritt, it came in the inaugural wheel change challenge rather than following a weekend of competition across the toughest South American stages. He and co-driver Dan Barritt changed a wheel on their Ford Fiesta RS WRC in 46.00 seconds – 1.03 faster than anybody else to lift the first trophy of the weekend.
The race involved the crews getting out of their belts, removing the spare wheel changing the left-rear, putting the changed wheel back in its carrier, grabbing a flag off a not unattractive local lady, running back to their car and waving it.
Thierry Neuville was second, amid rumours he might have slackened his nuts off prior to the start, with Sebastien Ogier third. There’s a sentence you don’t write every day.
Evans told AUTOSPORT: “Beating Sebastien Ogier and everybody is why we came to Argentina… It would be nice if we were celebrating a similar result on Sunday night!
Like all of the crews, Dan and I spend a lot of time practicing our wheel changes and, while this was a bit of fun, we’re all competitive and it’s nice to win.”
Our man in the service area DAVID EVANS was there to outline the events:
Elfyn Evans showed great pace on Thursday, collecting his first win in the World Rally Championship. Unfortunately for Evans and co-driver Dan Barritt, it came in the inaugural wheel change challenge rather than following a weekend of competition across the toughest South American stages. He and co-driver Dan Barritt changed a wheel on their Ford Fiesta RS WRC in 46.00 seconds – 1.03 faster than anybody else to lift the first trophy of the weekend.
The race involved the crews getting out of their belts, removing the spare wheel changing the left-rear, putting the changed wheel back in its carrier, grabbing a flag off a not unattractive local lady, running back to their car and waving it.
Thierry Neuville was second, amid rumours he might have slackened his nuts off prior to the start, with Sebastien Ogier third. There’s a sentence you don’t write every day.
Evans told AUTOSPORT: “Beating Sebastien Ogier and everybody is why we came to Argentina… It would be nice if we were celebrating a similar result on Sunday night!
Like all of the crews, Dan and I spend a lot of time practicing our wheel changes and, while this was a bit of fun, we’re all competitive and it’s nice to win.”
Elfyn Evans Rally Argentina
WRC - Argentina: SS5 is coming up at 19:47 GMT. We'll keep you up to date with the latest coming out of Argentina.
WRC - Argentina: Protasov is through and sets a 40m21.7s, 23.3s up on Al-Kuwari.
That's good enough for the stage win, although he is still over a minute down on Al-Kuwari.
That's good enough for the stage win, although he is still over a minute down on Al-Kuwari.
Twitter
WRC - Argentina: M-Sport have confirmed Tanak's fate:
Unfortunately @OttTanak damaged the front-left wheel of his Fiesta in the water splash at the start of SS4. Both he and Raigo are okay #WRC
Unfortunately @OttTanak damaged the front-left wheel of his Fiesta in the water splash at the start of SS4. Both he and Raigo are okay #WRC
WRC - Argentina: Atttention can turn to Yuriy Protasov now, the erstwhile WRC2 leader. We'll keep an eye on his splits, as the WRC cars make their way towards SS5.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Al-Kuwari is also through, and takes the WRC2 stage lead from Ketomaa with a 40m45s.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Ketomaa is through with a 42m12s.
"There's a long way to go. Its unbelievable, lethal!"
"There's a long way to go. Its unbelievable, lethal!"
WRC - Argentina: At the sharp end, the overall rally standings:
1 Meeke 1h29m39.5s
2 Latvala +28.7s
3 Ostberg
4 Sordo
5 Evans
1 Meeke 1h29m39.5s
2 Latvala +28.7s
3 Ostberg
4 Sordo
5 Evans
WRC - Argentina: The WRC2 drivers are next through, Ketomaa first.
WRC - Argentina: Here are the top five SS4 times.
1 Meeke 38m12.5s
2 Latvala +13.4s
3 Ostberg +27.1s
4 Sordo +27.7s
5 Evans 39.9s
1 Meeke 38m12.5s
2 Latvala +13.4s
3 Ostberg +27.1s
4 Sordo +27.7s
5 Evans 39.9s
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Meeke finishes the stage, 38m12.5s. That's 13.4s up on Latvala, extending his rally lead to 28.7s.
He's almost made back the time he lost to Latvala after a puncture on the last stage.
He's almost made back the time he lost to Latvala after a puncture on the last stage.
WRC - Argentina: There's a brief pause now as Tanak should be coming through.
His trip into water for the second rally in a row - this time hitting a rock in a watersplash - has ruled the M-Sport driver out of proceedings on this stage.
His trip into water for the second rally in a row - this time hitting a rock in a watersplash - has ruled the M-Sport driver out of proceedings on this stage.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Meeke is 11.4s ahead of Latvala in the final split, he should be the next car through to finish the stage.
WRC - Argentina: Prokop should be the next car through, and then Meeke. We await the Brit with bated breath.
WRC - Argentina: So the order on SS4 so far:
1 Latvala
2 Ostberg
3 Sordo
4 Evans
5 Neuville
1 Latvala
2 Ostberg
3 Sordo
4 Evans
5 Neuville
Quote
WRC - Argentina: Latvala is in, 26.4s up on Neuville and 14s ahead of Ostberg.
"It was a big challenge. I'm really happy. The brakes were getting really bad toward the end."
"It was a big challenge. I'm really happy. The brakes were getting really bad toward the end."
WRC - Argentina: Kris Meeke is through the fifth split, 9s up on Latvala's time. The Brit is on course to set the fastest time of the stage so far.
Another Brit, Elfyn Evans, is through, ahead of Neuville but behind Ostberg.
Another Brit, Elfyn Evans, is through, ahead of Neuville but behind Ostberg.
WRC - Argentina: "The car is working, said Ostberg at the end of the stage.
"I had a plan before the rally and I need to stick to it."
Latvala is 21s up on Ostberg through the final stint.
"I had a plan before the rally and I need to stick to it."
Latvala is 21s up on Ostberg through the final stint.
WRC - Argentina: Ostberg is also through, 12.7s quicker than Neuville.
WRC - Argentina: Neuville finishes the stage with a time of 38m52.3s.
"Incredible, the car was jumping around," said the Belgian.
"Incredible, the car was jumping around," said the Belgian.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Meeke keeps up his brilliant pace, 6.8s quicker than Latvala through the fourth split.
WRC - Argentina: Neuville and Ostberg are through the final split, Ostberg 11.4s quicker at that point.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: It's an intriguing battle between Latvala and Meeke, as Latvala is further up the stage.
He's just gone through the fifth split, 14s ahead of the fastest person through that point so far, Ostberg.
Meeke has ben quicker through the earlier splits, though.
He's just gone through the fifth split, 14s ahead of the fastest person through that point so far, Ostberg.
Meeke has ben quicker through the earlier splits, though.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Meeke is through the third split, and again he's up on Latvala, by just over 5s this time.
WRC - Argentina: Sordo is through the first stint, he's 5s up on Neuville's benchmark.
Talking of Neuville, Ostberg has bettered his sector 5 time by 9.8s, both Citroens going well on this stage.
Talking of Neuville, Ostberg has bettered his sector 5 time by 9.8s, both Citroens going well on this stage.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Latvala is through the fourth section of SS4, 13.1s quicker than Neuville.
That puts him a net 6s ahead of Ostberg in the running so far.
That puts him a net 6s ahead of Ostberg in the running so far.
Stopwatch
WRC - Argentina: Meeke is really flying now, 4.4s up on Latvala after the second stint.
The Brit struggled with a puncture on the last stage, but is certainly pushing now.
The Brit struggled with a puncture on the last stage, but is certainly pushing now.
By: David Evans, Jack Benyon, Matt Beer, Peter Mills, Mitchell Adam
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