WRC Finland, Red Bull Ring DTM and F3
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WRC - Finland: There's a gaggle of people running around off the pace with no confidence this morning in cars that could be in podium contention: Mikkelsen, Neuville and Sordo.
Here's Neuville, 25.8s off the pace on that stage and now over a minute off the lead overall.
"I want to come back to my usual pace but at the moment it's difficult. The crash yesterday was quite a heavy impact. We want to find the rhythm back but it will take some time."
That crash knocked down a tree, so it wasn't a small one. Here's what happened:
Here's Neuville, 25.8s off the pace on that stage and now over a minute off the lead overall.
"I want to come back to my usual pace but at the moment it's difficult. The crash yesterday was quite a heavy impact. We want to find the rhythm back but it will take some time."
That crash knocked down a tree, so it wasn't a small one. Here's what happened:
WRC - Finland: Meeke is set to drop from second to third behind Latvala, he's about 5s off the lead pace at the final split.
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WRC - Finland: Latvala completes the stage four tenths off Ogier, so is now 4.8s.
He's actually very happy with that - he may be a Rally Finland winner, but he doesn't feel he's ever really got the hang of its most legendary stage, until now.
"I've never done so well on Ouninpohja. I think that was my best run ever so far. I'm happy that time. Now I finally know how to drive in those places in the beginning.
He's actually very happy with that - he may be a Rally Finland winner, but he doesn't feel he's ever really got the hang of its most legendary stage, until now.
"I've never done so well on Ouninpohja. I think that was my best run ever so far. I'm happy that time. Now I finally know how to drive in those places in the beginning.
Breaking news
WRC - Finland: Problems for Evans, his split times are 50s off.
WRC - Finland: Latvala is only 0.2s off Ogier at the final split.
Now was Ostberg utterly mighty in the final miles or was Ogier slow there...? Let's see what Latvala does.
Now was Ostberg utterly mighty in the final miles or was Ogier slow there...? Let's see what Latvala does.
WRC - Finland: Storming end to Ouninpohja from Ostberg. He was 9s slower than Ogier at the last split then just 3s at the finish.
"I struggled a bit in the beginning, but still it's so fun!" he beams. "You cannot beat this place."
This is definitely the WRC drivers' favourite stage in the universe.
That time streaks Ostberg another 13s clear of Mikkelsen in their lower top-10 battle. In fact at that pace Ostberg could be striding forward.
"I struggled a bit in the beginning, but still it's so fun!" he beams. "You cannot beat this place."
This is definitely the WRC drivers' favourite stage in the universe.
That time streaks Ostberg another 13s clear of Mikkelsen in their lower top-10 battle. In fact at that pace Ostberg could be striding forward.
WRC - Finland: Mikkelsen finishes the stage 16s off Ogier so is now 35s adrift overall.
This is not a place where you can be quick without confidence, even if you've got a VW.
"Not a good morning for me. We don't have the confidence," he reiterates. "It's difficult to push when the feeling is not right."
His current pace is going to leave him outside the top six still.
This is not a place where you can be quick without confidence, even if you've got a VW.
"Not a good morning for me. We don't have the confidence," he reiterates. "It's difficult to push when the feeling is not right."
His current pace is going to leave him outside the top six still.
WRC - Finland: Latvala is 1.1s slower than Ogier approaching the end of the stage. Meeke made up ground at the point where everyone has been but is still 2.3s off Ogier's pace.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: By the way, that's a new record time for the full version of Ouninpohja.
And Ogier's got that chilled voice on he uses when blitzing all rivals:
"Let's see what the guys are doing behind. But not such a bad stage for me. It's very difficult to be on the limit in this kind of stage."
And Ogier's got that chilled voice on he uses when blitzing all rivals:
"Let's see what the guys are doing behind. But not such a bad stage for me. It's very difficult to be on the limit in this kind of stage."
WRC - Finland: Latvala is keeping pace with Ogier better now, just 0.4s off at the next split.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Ogier completes the stage with a time of 15m53.9s. Let's wait to hear if he had any kind of problem in that section where his time seemed slow.
WRC - Finland: Meanwhile Meeke is falling away, at split two he's lost 6s to Ogier. Can he claw something back in this next section too?
WRC - Finland: OK it seems clear Ogier got something wrong between splits two and three as pretty much everyone gained time on him there.
Latvala's deficit was 2.5s at split two but it's just 0.1s at split three.
The key is whether Ogier starts rebuilding his advantage again.
Latvala's deficit was 2.5s at split two but it's just 0.1s at split three.
The key is whether Ogier starts rebuilding his advantage again.
WRC - Finland: Decent stuff from Ostberg on SS4 so far. He's within 3.6s of Ogier's pace past the mid-point of the stage. And that's 8s better than Mikkelsen's managing in a VW.
WRC - Finland: Onto split two and Latvala has now lost 2.5s to Ogier, which is going to edge his overall deficit over 6s at this rate.
That's really the opposite of what Latvala was wanting at this point, especially after he started the morning so strongly.
Right now, the man with the best shot of beating Ogier appears to be Meeke.
That's really the opposite of what Latvala was wanting at this point, especially after he started the morning so strongly.
Right now, the man with the best shot of beating Ogier appears to be Meeke.
WRC - Finland: Early splits for Ouninpohja are in and Latvala is losing a little more time to Ogier. He's 0.8s down at split one.
Mikkelsen continued to struggle at first - dropping 10s within the first two splits - but then he regained 2s on Ogier in the next section. Was that a sign of a slip for the champion?
Mikkelsen continued to struggle at first - dropping 10s within the first two splits - but then he regained 2s on Ogier in the next section. Was that a sign of a slip for the champion?
WRC - Finland: Vast crowds building on Ouninpohja, where DAVID EVANS is right now - though we think his estimation that "there are at least three quarters of a million spectators in this field!" was an exaggeration prompted by the delirium of a) it being Rally Finland and b) there being an amazing Ogier vs Meeke vs Latvala lead battle.
But frankly we don't blame him.
But frankly we don't blame him.
Fans
Breaking news
WRC - Finland: In fact DAVID EVANS has been so fervently excited all week (year) about this, he wrote a whole feature about what makes Ouninpohja and every other inch of Rally Finland (except perhaps that superspecial) so extraordinary:
Why winning Finland is as good as a WRC title
Why winning Finland is as good as a WRC title
WRC - Finland: And now the most mighty of all the mighty Finland stages: Ouninpohja.
Stand aside Paul Nagle, AUTOSPORT's DAVID EVANS is your guide to this one:
SS4 Ouninpohja (21.36 miles)
Having driven this one a few times down the years, AUTOSPORT feels ready to offer an insight into the legend that is Ouninpohja.
The start for this stage has moved back a little bit, adding almost an extra mile from two years ago. Last year, the stage only ran from the Kakaristo junction to the finish (about half of this season's length).
The first section is fast, the second section is faster with rollercoaster-style jumps and then the final section is fast, but narrow.
The key thing to look out for in the first section is the big jump by the yellow house (where Markko Martin flew 52 metres in his Ford Focus RS WRC in 2003) or the rock Toni Gardemeister and Dani Sordo have both fallen foul of down the years.
The middle section is all top-gear action - it would be surprising to see the cars going anywhere near the bottom half of the gearbox.
A notable section is the approach to Kakaristo, which comes through a stunningly fast and long left where Craig Breen rolled in 2012. It's a mind-blowing stretch of road. One for the very, very brave.
Stand aside Paul Nagle, AUTOSPORT's DAVID EVANS is your guide to this one:
SS4 Ouninpohja (21.36 miles)
Having driven this one a few times down the years, AUTOSPORT feels ready to offer an insight into the legend that is Ouninpohja.
The start for this stage has moved back a little bit, adding almost an extra mile from two years ago. Last year, the stage only ran from the Kakaristo junction to the finish (about half of this season's length).
The first section is fast, the second section is faster with rollercoaster-style jumps and then the final section is fast, but narrow.
The key thing to look out for in the first section is the big jump by the yellow house (where Markko Martin flew 52 metres in his Ford Focus RS WRC in 2003) or the rock Toni Gardemeister and Dani Sordo have both fallen foul of down the years.
The middle section is all top-gear action - it would be surprising to see the cars going anywhere near the bottom half of the gearbox.
A notable section is the approach to Kakaristo, which comes through a stunningly fast and long left where Craig Breen rolled in 2012. It's a mind-blowing stretch of road. One for the very, very brave.
Breaking news
WRC - Finland - SS3 summary:
* Ogier goes quickest and inches ahead of Meeke to lead by just 0.4s
* A frustrated Latvala falls to third, 4.4s off the lead
* Tanak goes third quickest but breaks a damper in the process
* Kubica discovers his diff problem was actually a sensor problem, then gets a puncture, but is somehow still ninth overall
* Ogier goes quickest and inches ahead of Meeke to lead by just 0.4s
* A frustrated Latvala falls to third, 4.4s off the lead
* Tanak goes third quickest but breaks a damper in the process
* Kubica discovers his diff problem was actually a sensor problem, then gets a puncture, but is somehow still ninth overall
Checkered flag
WRC - Finland - SS3 results:
Stage times:
1 Ogier 10m49.4s
2 Meeke +0.8s
3 Tanak +3.8s
4 Latvala +4.7s
5 Paddon +4.8s
6 Evans +5.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +0.4s
3 Latvala +4.4s
4 Tanak +6.9s
5 Paddon +9.4s
6 Evans +13.2s
7 Ostberg +14.9s
8 Mikkelsen +19.5s
9 Kubica +29.2s
10 Neuville +38.8s
Stage times:
1 Ogier 10m49.4s
2 Meeke +0.8s
3 Tanak +3.8s
4 Latvala +4.7s
5 Paddon +4.8s
6 Evans +5.3s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Meeke +0.4s
3 Latvala +4.4s
4 Tanak +6.9s
5 Paddon +9.4s
6 Evans +13.2s
7 Ostberg +14.9s
8 Mikkelsen +19.5s
9 Kubica +29.2s
10 Neuville +38.8s
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WRC - Finland: Kubica continues to hang on in there, he's ninth fastest on the stage and overall.
It turns out the problem wasn't as serious as the differential, but things are still tricky:
"We had a sensor problem, so we disconnected the sensor. I have no handbrake. It was quite a difficult stage, I had no confidence. Then we had a puncture at the last corner. We have to get the rhythm back and try to concentrate on driving. Too many things happened."
It turns out the problem wasn't as serious as the differential, but things are still tricky:
"We had a sensor problem, so we disconnected the sensor. I have no handbrake. It was quite a difficult stage, I had no confidence. Then we had a puncture at the last corner. We have to get the rhythm back and try to concentrate on driving. Too many things happened."
WRC - Finland: Thank goodness Hyundai has Paddon. Sordo is as far off the pace as Neuville and they're both going to struggle to stay in the top 10 at present.
Sordo says missing Finland last year - when he only had a six-round programme - means he hasn't got the confidence he wants.
Sordo says missing Finland last year - when he only had a six-round programme - means he hasn't got the confidence he wants.
WRC - Finland: Kubica is among the latest to join the stage. Considering he was reporting a differential problem on SS2, his pace is pretty reasonable and should keep him in the top 10.
Crash
WRC - Finland: Here's Tanak, and he's third quickest on the stage behind Ogier and Meeke.
That places him fourth overall behind Ogier, Meeke and Latvala, ahead of Paddon...
...but he's got bad news:
"I went too fast into a corner and I went full sideways. We broke a damper. It's more or less finished for us."
There was some swearing in there too.
With no service today, having a broken damper is not good at all and only going to get worse.
That places him fourth overall behind Ogier, Meeke and Latvala, ahead of Paddon...
...but he's got bad news:
"I went too fast into a corner and I went full sideways. We broke a damper. It's more or less finished for us."
There was some swearing in there too.
With no service today, having a broken damper is not good at all and only going to get worse.
WRC - Finland: Despite having a pretty brilliant morning so far, Paddon is grimacing and feels he's overdriving.
"Got to tidy up a bit in a few places," he concludes.
It's going alright so far, Hayden.
"Got to tidy up a bit in a few places," he concludes.
It's going alright so far, Hayden.
WRC - Finland: Evans comes through fifth fastest and holds that position overall for now (though it'll change).
Paddon's searing early speed tailed off a bit but he pretty much matched Latvala and he's fourth overall.
Paddon's searing early speed tailed off a bit but he pretty much matched Latvala and he's fourth overall.
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WRC - Finland: Here's Meeke's insight on how that went:
"This one was quite slippery. All about trying to carry that momentum. For sure there are a few places where you're sliding laterally down the road and you just have to manage it. It's a beautiful place.
"The car is working extremely well. Ogier had a good time there running first on the road. I don't know if it's better to be first on the road or back a bit, but that's how it is."
"This one was quite slippery. All about trying to carry that momentum. For sure there are a few places where you're sliding laterally down the road and you just have to manage it. It's a beautiful place.
"The car is working extremely well. Ogier had a good time there running first on the road. I don't know if it's better to be first on the road or back a bit, but that's how it is."
WRC - Finland: Meeke comes through 0.8s off Ogier. He loses the rally lead but he's still only 0.4s behind Ogier overall.
WRC - Finland: Neuville continues to drop time, he finishes the stage 21s off the pace and is now nearly 40s off the overall lead already.
Where's the Neuville who nearly won here in the M-Sport Ford in 2013?
He admits that shunting on the shakedown yesterday (in a tree-demolishing incident) has sapped his confidence.
"I'm trying to get my pace back. I need to get the feeling then I can do more. I'm just not confident to push."
Where's the Neuville who nearly won here in the M-Sport Ford in 2013?
He admits that shunting on the shakedown yesterday (in a tree-demolishing incident) has sapped his confidence.
"I'm trying to get my pace back. I need to get the feeling then I can do more. I'm just not confident to push."
WRC - Finland: Meeke is continuing to match Ogier, into the final splits and he's only 0.7s off the VW.
Meanwhile Paddon and Tanak are setting the pace (quicker even than Ogier and Meeke) on the early splits. They went into this one chasing the top three.
Meanwhile Paddon and Tanak are setting the pace (quicker even than Ogier and Meeke) on the early splits. They went into this one chasing the top three.
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WRC - Finland: That puts Latvala 4.4s behind Ogier overall.
"We had a bit of a moment at the beginning of the stage," says the frustrated Finn.
"It was surprisingly slippy and I couldn't get the best feeling with the driving.
"I lost some valuable seconds."
"We had a bit of a moment at the beginning of the stage," says the frustrated Finn.
"It was surprisingly slippy and I couldn't get the best feeling with the driving.
"I lost some valuable seconds."
WRC - Finland: Latvala finishes 4.7s slower than Ogier, falling behind his team-mate overall. Will both be behind Meeke too?
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WRC - Finland: Ostberg is third fastest for now, 6s off Ogier and that brings him 5s clear of Mikkelsen in their overall fight, which is likely to be somewhere outside the top six.
Ostberg duly flagellates himself:
"I'm lifting where I don't need to lift and you can't do that at this level. I'm a bit upset with myself for that."
Ostberg duly flagellates himself:
"I'm lifting where I don't need to lift and you can't do that at this level. I'm a bit upset with myself for that."
WRC - Finland: Meeke's second split is in and he's lost a bit of time but is only one tenths off Ogier's pace still.
WRC - Finland: Latvala's pace is now 3.5s off Ogier at split four.
It's looking like Meeke vs Ogier for the lead at present.
It's looking like Meeke vs Ogier for the lead at present.
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WRC - Finland: Mikkelsen completes the stage a disappointing 11s off Ogier's pace, which means he's already 19s down overall after two full-length stages.
"It was an OK stage, not really, really perfect. There are so many places where I braked a little bit where I could have gone faster.
"I don't really have the confidence yet on this type of surface. It should be good in the end."
But he's going to be a long behind by the time that confidence clicks in at this rate.
"It was an OK stage, not really, really perfect. There are so many places where I braked a little bit where I could have gone faster.
"I don't really have the confidence yet on this type of surface. It should be good in the end."
But he's going to be a long behind by the time that confidence clicks in at this rate.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Meeke is fastest of all at the first split! Seven tenths faster than Ogier.
Latvala's time loss to Ogier is back up to 2.2s further onto the stage.
Latvala's time loss to Ogier is back up to 2.2s further onto the stage.
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WRC - Finland: Ogier gives one of those calm, measured summaries that he tends to when about to blast into the lead of a rally:
"It's hard to find the perfect rhythm because some corners are slippery and others a bit better.
"When you are first on the road without any lines, it's hard to judge that.
"I could have taken a few more risks on this stage and gone a little faster, but it's not too bad."
"It's hard to find the perfect rhythm because some corners are slippery and others a bit better.
"When you are first on the road without any lines, it's hard to judge that.
"I could have taken a few more risks on this stage and gone a little faster, but it's not too bad."
WRC - Finland: Between splits one and two, Latvala is fastest and trims 0.2s back from Ogier. That leaves him 1.5s down on the stage after that slightly poor start.
Mikkelsen is now 7s slower than Ogier as he nears the end, while Ogier has reached the finish.
Mikkelsen is now 7s slower than Ogier as he nears the end, while Ogier has reached the finish.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Mitchell Adam, Mark Glendenning, Jack Benyon
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