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Only 600m separates SS11 and 12 in terms of distance, so after this one it'll be straight into Monte Lerno.
Two stages are still to be completed before Saturday's service break, and Elfyn Evans is about to start the first of those.
David Evans
Toyota men Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi start day two third and fourth respectively, separated by just 4.4s. After an overly cautious start (don’t forget this was the fella who was stopping and moving rocks on the recce, such is his paranoia about more suspension damage…) Latvala realised he had to crack on as the day progressed.
“I was pushing more and more in the last stage,” he said. “I was more like my old self and then I told myself: “Calm down Jari-Matti!” It was good to see the speed and I will need that to stay ahead of Esapekka today.”
Lappi grinned on hearing Latvala’s comments, he added: “I think I need to start playing some mind games with him… but I don’t really know how to!”
With Mads Ostberg’s Citroen just 16s behind Lappi, Toyota’s sporting director Kaj Lindstrom said there was no room for team orders.
“They both want to be the quickest Finn today,” he said, “let’s see what happens…”
“I was pushing more and more in the last stage,” he said. “I was more like my old self and then I told myself: “Calm down Jari-Matti!” It was good to see the speed and I will need that to stay ahead of Esapekka today.”
Lappi grinned on hearing Latvala’s comments, he added: “I think I need to start playing some mind games with him… but I don’t really know how to!”
With Mads Ostberg’s Citroen just 16s behind Lappi, Toyota’s sporting director Kaj Lindstrom said there was no room for team orders.
“They both want to be the quickest Finn today,” he said, “let’s see what happens…”
DAVID EVANS was at the Toyota service area this morning, and has more on that brewing battle for third...
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The second stage of the day is not too far away now. Jari-Matti Latvala gives us a description of a test that could prove decisive in his battle for third with team-mate Esapekka Lappi.
SS11 Monti di Ala (17.72 miles)
"The first section is a very compact surface, there’s a lot of rocks inside and outside – you have to be very precise here. The road is generally quite fast over a lot of crests and in an open area. After that we have more long straights, it’s a bit quicker and then we come to this big downhill section which is really bumpy with a lot of loose gravel – this section has always been difficult.
The last part of the stage is more flowing, but somehow more technical. But it’s the first part of the stage which is more abrasive and harder for the tyres."
SS11 Monti di Ala (17.72 miles)
"The first section is a very compact surface, there’s a lot of rocks inside and outside – you have to be very precise here. The road is generally quite fast over a lot of crests and in an open area. After that we have more long straights, it’s a bit quicker and then we come to this big downhill section which is really bumpy with a lot of loose gravel – this section has always been difficult.
The last part of the stage is more flowing, but somehow more technical. But it’s the first part of the stage which is more abrasive and harder for the tyres."
A quick look at our battle in WRC2. Jan Kopecky has just completed the stage 1.8s quicker than class leader Stephane Lefebvre to narrow Lefebvre's lead. This could be a very intriguing battle today.
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Tanak's fastest stage time is relatively meaningless to the overall classification after he retired his Yaris WRC yesterday, but some of those gaps have closed overall..
1 Ogier 1hr43m50.9s
2 Neuville +17.7s
3 Latvala +41.4s
4 Lappi +42.3s
5 Ostberg +1m02.8s
6 Paddon +1m08.3s
7 Breen +1m39.1s
1 Ogier 1hr43m50.9s
2 Neuville +17.7s
3 Latvala +41.4s
4 Lappi +42.3s
5 Ostberg +1m02.8s
6 Paddon +1m08.3s
7 Breen +1m39.1s
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Mikkelsen completes the stage 3.4s slower than Tanak's benchmark.
"We are just trying to enjoy and learn the stages," he says. "Not so much to drive for, would be nice to be in a fight but we will try to take the maximum from today. I went for used tyres in here as the following stages are longer."
"We are just trying to enjoy and learn the stages," he says. "Not so much to drive for, would be nice to be in a fight but we will try to take the maximum from today. I went for used tyres in here as the following stages are longer."
Mikkelsen is showing to have lost two minutes in a split, but the TV pictures show him attacking the stage, so this is merely a timing error.
Mikkelsen will be the final WRC car through, but doesn't look that quick either.
Teemu Suninen is nearing the end of the stage, but isn't looking threatening to Tanak's fastest time. His final time of 7m59.3s reflects that, only beating team-mate Evans and Breen in here.
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"The car is perfect on these roads. We are on the hard tyre which isn't best for this wetter stage but I had a good run," says Tanak.
Stopwatch
Ott Tanak is through, and with little left to fight for he's a man possessed! He beats Neuville by 1.4s to provisionally win the stage.
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"First stage of the day, I was not really sharp enough but it's OK," says Ogier. "I'm certainly not trying to control anything it's too early for that."
Stopwatch
And right on cue, he has finished the stage. He drops 1.2s to Neuville but that's no big disaster, his rally lead is still 17.7s.
Unfortunately there are no split times for Ogier through here, so we will have to wait for his final time to see if he can extend his rally lead over Neuville.
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"We tried, but there's a lot of standing waters in places so it was tricky. We tried to keep it on the road and go as fast as we can," says Neuville.
Stopwatch
And it's a fastest time for Neuville! A 7m52.8s is 1.9s up on Lappi's achievement, but Neuville is worried about Ogier's time that will come next.
Thierry Neuville is hunting down championship rival Ogier today, and you can tell from his driving. The Belgian is setting the timing screens alight.
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"He [Lappi] is pushing very hard, that's a very good start," admitted Latvala. "I didn't have 100% confidence between the rocks so lost a little bit of time in this stage."
Stopwatch
Latvala is 3.5s slower than Lappi through here, which means he now only holds third position by 0.9s! This could be a big battle between the Toyota team-mates.
Jari-Matti Latvala is nearing the end of the stage, but we have no split times for him so have no idea how he is doing in relation to Lappi.
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"We made one mistake towards the end when we came off the rallycross track, but otherwise a pretty clean stage and I enjoyed it a lot," says Lappi.
Lappi is chasing down his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala for third position.
Stopwatch
Wow! Lappi stops the clock at 7m54.7s, 3.8s quicker than Ostberg's benchmark. Lappi is on a mission this morning.
Ostberg may have just set the fastest time so far, but Esapekka Lappi's split times suggest the Toyota driver could be about to take that off him.
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"It's a good thing to beat Hayden Paddon on this stage because this stage is referred to as New Zealand!" jokes Ostberg. "I put a special effort in and I enjoyed it."
He is now 5.5s ahead of Paddon in fifth overall.
Stopwatch
And he has! Ostberg sets a time of 7m58.5s to take another 2.3s from Hayden Paddon overall.
Ostberg was 3.2s up on Paddon heading into this stage, and looks set to extend that if his current pace remains.
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"I enjoyed it," says Paddon. "It's a bit muddy in the quarry there but the conditions are nice to drive, I enjoy it when it's like this,"
Stopwatch
And Paddon does it, setting a time of 8m00.8s to beat Evans by 3.8s. He'll be looking at Ostberg's time however, with the pair separated by just a handful of seconds.
Paddon is 4.1s up at the final split on Evans. The New Zealander was unhappy on Friday with the road conditions but looks to be back on it today.
Evans' scratch time does look under threat however, with Paddon and Ostberg both currently going faster in the stage.
Stopwatch
Craig Breen is now safely through, and completes the stage 2.5s down on Evans.
Not too bad seems a fare assessment of the stage too. At the splits Breen is 1.5s down on Evans, although Hayden Paddon is 1.8s up.
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"Not too bad," Evans says when asked about opening the road. "There were some big puddles of standing water which wasn't expected but overall it was OK."
Stopwatch
We have a first stage time of Saturday. Evans completes in 8m04.6s.
Elfyn Evans meanwhile is nearing the end of the stage, but we don't have many split times for the Welshman. We will update you when we can.
Craig Breen is in stage and looks to be in a determined mood, attacking Saturday's opening stage with big slides.
By: Matt Beer
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