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WRC - Spain: Ostberg comes through third fastest, 2.8s down on Ogier. Good effort from the driver seeking to confirm his 2014 plans.
"It's not perfect but it is clean. It was quite good for us."
"It's not perfect but it is clean. It was quite good for us."
WRC - Spain: Now Hirvonen replaces Novikov at the foot of the stage leaderboard. He's 1.7s slower than the Ford man.
WRC - Spain: Novikov comes through, and props up the times. He's 5.1s slower than Ogier.
WRC - Spain: A bit of a sluggish first sector from Ogier but he bounces back and trounces Latvala and Sordo by the second split.
4m25.1s for the 2013 world champion, and he takes second from Sordo in the rally! He's now just 10.4s behind Latvala.
4m25.1s for the 2013 world champion, and he takes second from Sordo in the rally! He's now just 10.4s behind Latvala.
Quote
WRC - Spain: Thierry Neuville comes through 1.5s quicker than Latvala, so the M-Sport Ford man heads the stage so far on a 4m27.6s.
"You can see it is the best. The car is working good now, some changes on the settings. I'm happy with that."
"You can see it is the best. The car is working good now, some changes on the settings. I'm happy with that."
WRC - Spain: "I'm happy with that," says Sordo, who then dismisses any issues with the wind that's building.
WRC - Spain: Sordo comes through 0.2s slower than the rally leader.
WRC - Spain: Sordo's down during the first split, but picks it up by the second. He's still down, but it's close.
Quote
WRC - Spain: Latvala's in. He completed the all-gravel stage in 4m29.1s.
"It's definitely better," he says of the conditions, being first on the road. "There is more grip on the ground but still in some place it's slippery. It's difficult opening on the road."
"It's definitely better," he says of the conditions, being first on the road. "There is more grip on the ground but still in some place it's slippery. It's difficult opening on the road."
Breaking news
WRC - Spain: Rally aside, there's a lot to play for this weekend. Mads Ostberg, seventh and two minutes down, reckons these stages will decide the 2014 driver market.
WRC - Spain: We're underway on SS13. Latvala is on the stage.
WRC - Spain: These are the leading positions heading into Rally Spain's final stages:
1 Latvala; 2 Sordo +11.5s; 3 Ogier +14.4s; 4 Hirvonen +53.1s; 5 Neuville +1m19.0s.
WRC2 leader Robert Kubica is poised to wrap up the title. He needs a top two finish, remember.
1 Latvala; 2 Sordo +11.5s; 3 Ogier +14.4s; 4 Hirvonen +53.1s; 5 Neuville +1m19.0s.
WRC2 leader Robert Kubica is poised to wrap up the title. He needs a top two finish, remember.
WRC - Spain: First up is SS13, which is re-run of the seven-kilometre Gandesa stage.
Hello and welcome to the final third of AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's weekend coverage.
We will be bringing you live updates from the conclusion of Rally Spain, where there's 14.4 seconds covering the top three.
Jari-Matti Latvala has extended his advantage over Dani Sordo but Sebastien Ogier flew on the morning loop and is now right back in contention.
Latvala stretches lead as Ogier recovers
Well that really is it from Race Centre Live, but join us again tomorrow when we'll have what promises to be a dramatic conclusion to the event.
VLN - Nurburgring: And former World Touring Car champion Rob Huff failed to finish on his series debut, sharing Rotek Racing's Audi TT with Robb Holland and Charles Ng.
F3 Cup - Snetterton: Carlos Sainz Jr and Antonio Felix da Costa qualified for the Macau Grand Prix by finishing first and second in Carlin Dallara-Volkswagens.
Sainz beat da Costa by 0.9s with third going to category debutant Esteban Ocon - who is going to Macau with Prema and may well drive for the team in next year's European championship.
Sainz beat da Costa by 0.9s with third going to category debutant Esteban Ocon - who is going to Macau with Prema and may well drive for the team in next year's European championship.
That's it for Race Centre Live today, but before we go, two little snippets from what went on elsewhere today...
WRC - Spain: It's ultra-close at the front with tomorrow's gravel stages to come, and don't count out Neuville or Ogier, thanks to their superior road positions.
Read a full recap of this afternoon's action here.
WRC - Spain: Positions after SS9: 1 Latvala, 2h06m08.9s; 2 Sordo, +1.6s; 3 Neuville, +29.3s; 4 Ogier, +46.5s; 5 Hirvonen, +57.8s; 6 Novikov, +57.9s; 7 Ostberg, +2m28.4s; 8 Prokop, +3m06.7s; 9 Paddon, +3m08.6s; 10 Kubica, +4m07.6s.
WRC - Spain: SS9 times: 1 Latvala, 2m36.3s; 2 Neuville, +0.1s; 3 Sordo, +0.4s; 4 Ogier, +0.7s; 5 Prokop, +0.8s; 6 Ostberg, +0.9s; 7 Hirvonen, +1.0s; 8 Novikov, +2.4s; 9 Wiegand, +6.8s; 10 Al-Qassimi, +7.5s.
WRC - Spain: Kubica is only 12th quickest, but is still best of the WRC2 men and retains 10th spot overall.
Unfortunately for Elfyn Evans, he's crashed out of second in WRC2 in the stage. Wiegand takes the spot instead.
Unfortunately for Elfyn Evans, he's crashed out of second in WRC2 in the stage. Wiegand takes the spot instead.
WRC - Spain: Plenty of drivers commenting on how ridiculous this stage is for a WRC event. Al-Kuwari is the latest.
Al-Kuwari has set the 10th best time in the stage, one place shy of Al-Qassimi, and is 8.9s behind his rival overall.
Al-Kuwari has set the 10th best time in the stage, one place shy of Al-Qassimi, and is 8.9s behind his rival overall.
WRC - Spain: Ostberg takes a little time out of Hirvonen, but more importantly increases his advantage over eighth-placed Paddon to 40.2s.
Paddon, in fact, drops to ninth overall as Prokop, who had been close behind, produces a stunning time to go fifth quickest.
Paddon, in fact, drops to ninth overall as Prokop, who had been close behind, produces a stunning time to go fifth quickest.
WRC - Spain: Neuville is only 0.1s slower than Latvala, limiting the deficit - with a more favourable road position - to 29.3s.
He's put 0.6s into his gap to Ogier too and is now 17.2s ahead of the world champion.
Next through are Hirvonen and Novikov, with the Finn 1.4s faster than the Russian and grabbing fifth spot overall back as a result.
He's put 0.6s into his gap to Ogier too and is now 17.2s ahead of the world champion.
Next through are Hirvonen and Novikov, with the Finn 1.4s faster than the Russian and grabbing fifth spot overall back as a result.
WRC - Spain: Sordo is 0.7s slower than Latvala, meaning he ends day two 1.6 seconds behind the VW man.
The Spaniard agrees that the stage was ultra-slippery.
The Spaniard agrees that the stage was ultra-slippery.
Stopwatch
WRC - Spain: Latvala comes through 0.7s faster than Ogier. The Frenchman is now 46.5s off the lead heading into tomorrow's gravel day.
"Hardest stage of the rally," says Latvala. So slippery and so hard to know how much to push.
"Hardest stage of the rally," says Latvala. So slippery and so hard to know how much to push.
Stopwatch
WRC - Spain: And Ogier is finished already. 2m37.0s is the first time set.
"That's a stupid stage," he remarks as he reaches the time control.
"That's a stupid stage," he remarks as he reaches the time control.
Green flag
WRC - Spain: SS9 is live. Expect the leading times to be just over a minute.
VLN - Nurburgring: World Touring Car champion Rob Huff is in action today on the Nordschleife, and has taken pole in his class on his series debut.
Huff is sharing an Audi TT, run by Rotek Racing, with fellow WTCC racers Charles Ng and Robb Holland.
Huff is sharing an Audi TT, run by Rotek Racing, with fellow WTCC racers Charles Ng and Robb Holland.
Sebastien Ogier is wearing a black armband during Rally of Spain, in memory of his former Porsche team-mate Sean Edwards. Ogier raced alongside the Englishman during this year's Monaco Supercup race.
Ogier said: "I was really, really shocked when I learned this. I was testing and learned this from my girlfriend. I met him only a few times, but immediately the connection was really good and he was really a fantastic guy. When I raced with him in Monaco it will always stay in my memory now and it’s a fantastic memory."
WRC - Spain: Half an hour remains before the final stage of leg two, the mile-long blast around Salou town centre gets underway.
Remember though, what happens there has no bearing on tomorrow's running order - that's already been decided based on the positions after SS8.
Remember though, what happens there has no bearing on tomorrow's running order - that's already been decided based on the positions after SS8.
WRC - Spain: Positions after SS8: 1 Latvala, 2h03m32.6s; 2 Sordo, +1.2s; 3 Neuville, +29.2s; 4 Ogier, +45.8s; 5 Novikov, +55.5s; 6 Hirvonen, +56.8s; 7 Ostberg, +2m27.5s; 8 Paddon, +2m58.2s; 9 Prokop, +3m05.9s; 10 Kubica, +3m56.8s.
WRC Spain: SS8 times: 1 Neuville, 15m36.8s; 2 Ogier, +2.8s; 3 Latvala, +3.2s; 4 Sordo, +4.3s; 5 Novikov, +4.8s; 6 Hirvonen, +12.2s; 7 Ostberg, +14.1s; 8 Paddon, +22.5s; 9 Prokop, +23.4s; 10 Kubica, +30.1s.
WRC - Spain: Terrific times from both Evans and Wiegand as Kubica's WRC2 rivals both climb ahead of Al-Qassimi and Al-Kuwari in the overall order.
WRC - Spain: Kubica is 10th quickest and only 6.7s slower than Prokop on the stage.
He's 50s behind Prokop in the overall rankings and more than four minutes ahead of Al-Qassimi.
He's 50s behind Prokop in the overall rankings and more than four minutes ahead of Al-Qassimi.
Crash
WRC - Spain: Prokop drops only 0.9s to Paddon and stays within 7.7 of the Kiwi. He's ninth.
Next through is Al-Kuwari, and that's because Al-Attiyah has crashed in the fifth split. We're hearing both crews are OK.
Next through is Al-Kuwari, and that's because Al-Attiyah has crashed in the fifth split. We're hearing both crews are OK.
WRC - Spain: Ostberg and Paddon have now cleared the stage and are the two slowest men through so far.
Ostberg is 1.9s slower than Hirvonen and continues to drop back from the Finn.
Paddon is another 8.4s slower, but based on the splits so far, he should hang on to eighth overall from Prokop.
Ostberg is 1.9s slower than Hirvonen and continues to drop back from the Finn.
Paddon is another 8.4s slower, but based on the splits so far, he should hang on to eighth overall from Prokop.
WRC - Spain: Fifth-placed Hirvonen comes through 12.2s adrift of Neuville's pace-setting time.
Bad news for the Finn, who says he destroyed his right-rear tyre by pushing too hard early on. He's lost fifth to Novikov, who comes through 7.4s quicker.
Novikov's M-Sport Ford is now 1.3s ahead of Hirvonen's Citroen.
Bad news for the Finn, who says he destroyed his right-rear tyre by pushing too hard early on. He's lost fifth to Novikov, who comes through 7.4s quicker.
Novikov's M-Sport Ford is now 1.3s ahead of Hirvonen's Citroen.
Stopwatch
WRC - Spain: Neuville sets the fastest time so far, 2.8s faster than Ogier and 3.2 up on leader Latvala.
Neuville increases his hold on third with that and reduces his overall deficit to the lead to 29.2s.
More importantly for M-Sport's Belgian is that he's pocketed the maximum PowerStage score for this even - crucial in his fight for second place in the championship.
Neuville increases his hold on third with that and reduces his overall deficit to the lead to 29.2s.
More importantly for M-Sport's Belgian is that he's pocketed the maximum PowerStage score for this even - crucial in his fight for second place in the championship.
By: Jamie O'Leary, David Evans, Scott Mitchell, Matt Beer
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