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Credit: Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
While we wait for Neuville to kick off proceedings in stage nine - remember, we've got a slight delay inherited from earlier - one last glamour shot to sum things up. It's not that often we see cars caked in mud on Rally Italy, but they all had a 'bath' of sorts today. Still a stunning backdrop, even with black clouds overhanging too.
David Evans
Toyota Gazoo Racing technical director Tom Fowler has explained the set-up changes they’ve made to all three Yaris WRCs in an effort to get the cars turning in better through the afternoon.
Ott Tanak, Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi all complained of similar symptoms when they were aiming for the apex this morning.
Fowler told Autosport: “Talking to the drivers and listening to their explanations, it was quite difficult to gauge the degrees of severity [of the issue], but we’ve looked at the data and we can see it’s roughly the same issue.
“We have softened the front differential set-up in service. That should give us better turn-in, but the trade-off will be a slight compromise in the acceleration and traction out of the corners.
“At the same time, we have advised the drivers on what they can do with the centre differential [map] to help the car in various conditions. By no means is this a disaster; talking to Jari-Matti, it’s clear this is a conditions thing – rain on top of a clay-type surface is always going to be very slippery. And if you look at the drivers, it’s hard to read much into this morning. Even for the running order, the grip has got better-worse-better-worse, it’s just not clear where the best place was.”
Ott Tanak, Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi all complained of similar symptoms when they were aiming for the apex this morning.
Fowler told Autosport: “Talking to the drivers and listening to their explanations, it was quite difficult to gauge the degrees of severity [of the issue], but we’ve looked at the data and we can see it’s roughly the same issue.
“We have softened the front differential set-up in service. That should give us better turn-in, but the trade-off will be a slight compromise in the acceleration and traction out of the corners.
“At the same time, we have advised the drivers on what they can do with the centre differential [map] to help the car in various conditions. By no means is this a disaster; talking to Jari-Matti, it’s clear this is a conditions thing – rain on top of a clay-type surface is always going to be very slippery. And if you look at the drivers, it’s hard to read much into this morning. Even for the running order, the grip has got better-worse-better-worse, it’s just not clear where the best place was.”
Toyota's trio were not particularly happy with how their respective Yaris WRCs were handling this morning, and judging by their inability to keep up with Ogier and Neuville, it's not quite been remedied yet. David Evans checked in with Toyota earlier to find out what changes were planned to redress that balance.
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SS5/9 Monte Baranta (6.69 miles)
This is the reverse of a stage that was used a few years ago – we also used some sections of this at shakedown yesterday. It starts off in a quarry section for spectators, then we’re over the jumps from shakedown and onto the finish. Again, in places this stage should clean quite a bit.
By the time we get to this stage, tyre management will be really important. It’s not the longest of loops in terms of kilometres, but it will be very, very hard on the tyres.
This is the reverse of a stage that was used a few years ago – we also used some sections of this at shakedown yesterday. It starts off in a quarry section for spectators, then we’re over the jumps from shakedown and onto the finish. Again, in places this stage should clean quite a bit.
By the time we get to this stage, tyre management will be really important. It’s not the longest of loops in terms of kilometres, but it will be very, very hard on the tyres.
Welcome back everyone to Friday's final test, a re-run of this morning's final stage, Monte Baranta. It's a stage with much different character compared to that earlier Tula stage which shook up the order so drastically earlier, but I'll let Seb Marshall explain why.
Aside from Ole Christian Veiby continuing to drop more time with his steering issues, almost a minute in fact, it seems our WRC2 support category drivers are keeping things as sensible through stage eight as their senior counterparts did.
So, we'll take this brief moment of calm to take a break of our own. We'll be back in around 20 minutes, just before Friday's final test kicks off. Stick around!
So, we'll take this brief moment of calm to take a break of our own. We'll be back in around 20 minutes, just before Friday's final test kicks off. Stick around!
Stopwatch
What's that done to the overall classification? Not much, though Ostberg is now slipping dangerously close to Paddon behind him in the emerging tussle over seventh position.
1. Ogier 1h27m48.6s
2. Neuville +10.5s
3. Tanak +16.2s
4. Suninen +34.7s
5. Latvala +38.3s
6. Lappi +41.6s
7. Ostberg +58.3s
8. Paddon +58.6s
9. Breen +1m23.0s
1. Ogier 1h27m48.6s
2. Neuville +10.5s
3. Tanak +16.2s
4. Suninen +34.7s
5. Latvala +38.3s
6. Lappi +41.6s
7. Ostberg +58.3s
8. Paddon +58.6s
9. Breen +1m23.0s
Paddon arriving allows us to run down the stage gaps from our ten remaining WRC contenders on Tergu-Osilo. Neuville takes a stage win, though his gain on Ogier ahead is negligible.
1. Beuville 8m53.5s
2. Ogier +0.4s
3. Tanak +1.6s
4. Latvala +2.8s
5. Suninen +3.0s
6. Lappi +4.5s
7. Evans +5.6s
8. Paddon +9.3s
9. Breen +10.7s
10. Ostberg +12.2s
1. Beuville 8m53.5s
2. Ogier +0.4s
3. Tanak +1.6s
4. Latvala +2.8s
5. Suninen +3.0s
6. Lappi +4.5s
7. Evans +5.6s
8. Paddon +9.3s
9. Breen +10.7s
10. Ostberg +12.2s
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Paddon comes to the line eighth quickest, 9.3s off team-mate Neuville.
"It's just impossible to choose the right tyres. A hard tyre should work in here every single time. It seems everything we do today is wrong," he says at stage end.
"It's just impossible to choose the right tyres. A hard tyre should work in here every single time. It seems everything we do today is wrong," he says at stage end.
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Asked if he's happy about his performance here in stage eight, it's a straightforward response from Ostberg.
"Nope. I'm not. I just feel stupid to make the same mistake two times. Same tyres, same information and same mistake, so it doesn't feel so good," he says, referring to his tyre selection rather than any potential off mid-stage.
"Nope. I'm not. I just feel stupid to make the same mistake two times. Same tyres, same information and same mistake, so it doesn't feel so good," he says, referring to his tyre selection rather than any potential off mid-stage.
What are Ostberg and Paddon up to? Not much. Citroen's number two is in, a 9m05.7s putting him slower than team-mate Breen, while Paddon is only marginally faster than Breen in the splits.
"That last one was ok," Suninen says as a brief reference to his stage win. He then spends the rest of his interview talking about how his tyre choice wasn't optimal and is frustrated with the ensuing time loss. No dwelling on past success. Trademark Suninen.
He won the previous stage, but Teemu Suninen can't repeat that feat here in stage eight, 3.0s slower than Neuville putting him fifth quickest so far with Ostberg and Paddon still to come.
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Turns out there's no mechanical gremlins here for Breen, just a tyre gamble gone wrong.
"I've put the hards on here again because we've nothing to lose really, but it's still wet and damp. Bad day," he sums up. He's still gone one test left to suffer through before his Friday is over.
"I've put the hards on here again because we've nothing to lose really, but it's still wet and damp. Bad day," he sums up. He's still gone one test left to suffer through before his Friday is over.
Breen finishes and is a fair bit slower than anyone else, 10.7s off Neuville with a 9m04.2s. Could his stall-inducing handrbake issue still be playing up?
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"I pushed like a swear word and the time is not good. I'm not happy," says Latvala, with absolutely zero censorship from your rally reporter. That's how he put it!
"I had one hard tyre. I tried to save the soft tyres," he proposes as a rationale for his time loss.
"I had one hard tyre. I tried to save the soft tyres," he proposes as a rationale for his time loss.
Latvala completes stage eight, fourth quickest with an 8m56.3s and 2.8s off Neuville's fastest time.
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Here's Elfyn Evans at stage end, slowest so far and 5.6s off Neuville's pace.
"There's nothing wrong, but when you're 13 minutes down, what do you do?" he says, clearly not enjoying his driving after a broken steering arm this morning ruined his chances.
"We need to be here and get to the end of the rally, just to be a safeguard for the manufacturer's points I guess."
"There's nothing wrong, but when you're 13 minutes down, what do you do?" he says, clearly not enjoying his driving after a broken steering arm this morning ruined his chances.
"We need to be here and get to the end of the rally, just to be a safeguard for the manufacturer's points I guess."
Just a quick dip back into WRC2 while we wait for Evans to finish - last year's Junior WRC runner-up Nicolas Ciamin has moved into third, capitalising on Veiby's steering woes. It would be his first WRC2 podium should he make it last until Sunday.
Evans continues the trend of being slower than those to run before, 3.0s behind Neuville at the fourth split. That's 0.6s slower than Lappi at this point.
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Lappi had no clue he was so slow relative to Neuville, Ogier and Tanak before learning his stage time, it seems.
"I thought this went well. I was really clean but the time is really bad. It's really difficult to find a perfect speed it seems," he tells stage end reporters.
"I thought this went well. I was really clean but the time is really bad. It's really difficult to find a perfect speed it seems," he tells stage end reporters.
Tanak's Toyota team-mate Esapekka Lappi comes in much slower than those before him, 4.5s off Neuville's pace-setting time thus far.
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"What can we do? We do our best, but that's how it is for the moment," says Tanak at stage end.
When probed for a root cause to his lack of pace relative to Neuville and Ogier, he responds with a wry smile. "I don't know. There's always reason for something."
When probed for a root cause to his lack of pace relative to Neuville and Ogier, he responds with a wry smile. "I don't know. There's always reason for something."
Tanak is in too, an 8m55.1s slowest of three so far. That's 1.6s off Neuville's time.
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Ogier's lost 0.4s to Neuville after being ahead in every split, and it wasn't a trouble-free run for the reigning champion.
"Yeah, so far it's a good loop. [I] just had an issue with the shifting in this stage, a big mis-shift when I was in between gear and I lost a second maybe."
"Yeah, so far it's a good loop. [I] just had an issue with the shifting in this stage, a big mis-shift when I was in between gear and I lost a second maybe."
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"Not so easy. This one is quite abrasive," says Neuville.
"I tried to do the loop with not so much soft tyres to save some tyres for the rest of the weekend, so tyre wear is quite high. I don't know about the time, maybe I was too careful with the tyres."
"I tried to do the loop with not so much soft tyres to save some tyres for the rest of the weekend, so tyre wear is quite high. I don't know about the time, maybe I was too careful with the tyres."
It's a really short test here, as Neuville pulls in already with a 8m53.5s stage time.
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And guess what? We're back into WRC action already! Before we focus in on Neuville and Ogier, who leads us out, here's a quick recap of what's to come from stage eight with Seb Marshall, co-driver to Hayden Paddon.
SS4/8 Tergu-Osilo (8.78 miles)
Best stage of the rally. This one’s just beautiful. It’s double-width, up over a col then downhill for a stretch and it’s just a great, great place.
While the road is lovely, this stage is unbelievably hard on the tyres – I think this is where Pirelli used to do a lot of their tyre testing because the surface just works them so, so hard.
There’s very little loose on top, it’s just down to the bedrock. But, like I said, it just flows so nicely.
SS4/8 Tergu-Osilo (8.78 miles)
Best stage of the rally. This one’s just beautiful. It’s double-width, up over a col then downhill for a stretch and it’s just a great, great place.
While the road is lovely, this stage is unbelievably hard on the tyres – I think this is where Pirelli used to do a lot of their tyre testing because the surface just works them so, so hard.
There’s very little loose on top, it’s just down to the bedrock. But, like I said, it just flows so nicely.
Checking in with our WRC2 'juniors' once more, Pieniazek limped through this stage with a puncture, dropping another 1m16s after his stage six dramas. Lefebvre looks on track to extend his lead a little further, 3.2s up on second placed Kopecky at the fourth split.
Veiby's steering woes still appear to be in effect, as he drops a further 1m29.8s.
Veiby's steering woes still appear to be in effect, as he drops a further 1m29.8s.
Stopwatch
How do those times alter the overall? It's mostly about everyone bar Ogier gaining a place from Mikkelsen's retirement, plus recouping lost ground for stage winner Teemu Suninen, who takes back places from Latvala and Lappi which he'd lost in the previous test.
1. Ogier 1h18m54.7s
2. Neuville +10.9s
3. Tanak +15.0s
4. Suninen +32.1s
5. Latvala +35.9s
6. Lappi +37.5s
7. Ostberg +46.5s
8. Paddon +49.7s
9. Breen +1m12.7s
1. Ogier 1h18m54.7s
2. Neuville +10.9s
3. Tanak +15.0s
4. Suninen +32.1s
5. Latvala +35.9s
6. Lappi +37.5s
7. Ostberg +46.5s
8. Paddon +49.7s
9. Breen +1m12.7s
Stopwatch
Paddon's in, and with no reporters on hand to query his slowest time, we'll skip straight to reviewing our times in stage seven.
1. Suninen 10m34.8s
2. Ogier +1.9s
3. Neuville +4.3s
4. Latvala +8.0s
5. Tanak +8.3s
6. Lappi +8.9s
7. Ostberg +11.2s
8. Evans +12.4s
9. Breen +14.9s
10. Paddon +15.6s
Mikkelsen - No time
1. Suninen 10m34.8s
2. Ogier +1.9s
3. Neuville +4.3s
4. Latvala +8.0s
5. Tanak +8.3s
6. Lappi +8.9s
7. Ostberg +11.2s
8. Evans +12.4s
9. Breen +14.9s
10. Paddon +15.6s
Mikkelsen - No time
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As we wait for Paddon to finish, here's a visual depiction of Mikkelsen's retirement, courtesy of the WRC themselves.
Road position is not helping either Mads Ostberg or Hayden Paddon. He's quicker than Evans or Breen but that's all, 11.3s behind Suninen. Paddon is already 13.6s behind Suninen with one split left.
Stopwatch
He's dropped a little time with a rough run through that chicane which caught out Breen, but Suninen gets the job done, going quickest by 1.9s from Ogier. That puts him back ahead of Latvala and Lappi.
Suninen's 3.5s up with one split remaining! Can he snatch stage victory away from his M-Sport team-mate?
Breen completes stage seven, his 10m49.7s time slowest so far. That overshoot cost him about ten seconds, as he finishes 13s off Ogier's time, which remains fastest for now. But let's see what Teemu Suninen can do...
Breen's dropped off a little, now 2.2s slower than Ogier with one split remaining. And as I write that, he goes off! He's gone straight on at a chicane, nudging a hay bale. He's back on his way, but that'll have cost him several seconds.
Latvala comples stage seven third quickest thus far, 6.1s slower than Ogier but marginally faster than both his Toyota team-mates Tanak and Lappi.
By: Matt Beer
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