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"When you're really fighting for the win, you get this spirit to go even faster through the corners," explains Mikkelsen. As Ogier has demonstrated here, clearly.
And that's Mikkelsen cleared this test, 7m44.7s giving him the third quickest time here. With no positions to protect, it seems our returning crews from yesterday are free to push and enjoy these roads.
There's still a few of our Friday retirees making their way through stage 14. Tanak goes second quickest, a 7m43.1s only 0.3s slower than Ogier. Suninen comes next, 7m49.1s enough for sixth fastest so far. Only Mikkelsen to go.
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Ogier might have reclaimed a little time through here, but their fight is still close to neck-and-neck. Neuville remains in the hunt. Roll on Monti di Ala.
Classification after SS14 (Coiluna-Loelle 2)
1. Ogier 2h27m57.6s
2. Neuville +6.8s
3. Latvala +44.7s
4. Lappi +49.2s
5. Paddon +1m18.7s
6. Ostberg +1m24.2s
7. Breen +2m19.2s
Classification after SS14 (Coiluna-Loelle 2)
1. Ogier 2h27m57.6s
2. Neuville +6.8s
3. Latvala +44.7s
4. Lappi +49.2s
5. Paddon +1m18.7s
6. Ostberg +1m24.2s
7. Breen +2m19.2s
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A determined Ogier is not messing about. He knows his slow time through Monte Lerno earlier was costly, and he wants to make amends.
"It's a big push for me, because I was so angry with the last stage this morning. I stalled on the previous one at the start line, so we need to push."
"It's a big push for me, because I was so angry with the last stage this morning. I stalled on the previous one at the start line, so we need to push."
Stopwatch
Ogier goes quickest! A time of 7m42.8s extends his lead over Neuville by 3.9s.
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Neuville can't explain what happened to cause that puncture.
"I have no idea. I punctured 3-4km before the end. I was still able to drive but I was losing turn-in. That's part of the game."
Stage end reporters ask him if, with only one spare onboard for this entire loop, he'll be more cautious now.
"No," he replies bluntly. Game on.
"I have no idea. I punctured 3-4km before the end. I was still able to drive but I was losing turn-in. That's part of the game."
Stage end reporters ask him if, with only one spare onboard for this entire loop, he'll be more cautious now.
"No," he replies bluntly. Game on.
Neuville completes the stage, finishing 0.5s slower than Lappi. He was 1.7s up at one point, so given his front right isn't looking quite right, that's pretty good.
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Neuville's front right tyre is going down! His car is sinking to one side, but he's still going at full chat! What impact might this have?
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Latvala cleared rocks by hand in the recce for this event, and that extremely cautious approach is still evident here.
"This stage was not so great for me in the morning. There were quite bad rocks in some places in the beginning. I was cautious in the beginning but I started to push later. I'm quite satisfied with the time."
"This stage was not so great for me in the morning. There were quite bad rocks in some places in the beginning. I was cautious in the beginning but I started to push later. I'm quite satisfied with the time."
Latvala arrives at stage end 0.8s slower than Lappi in their battle over third. Latvala's gap over Lappi in third place is down to 4.5s.
Stopwatch
Neuville's flying. He's 1.4s up on Lappi at fourth split. But Ogier's gone better still, 0.3s faster than Neuville at first split!
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Now where have we heard this quote before?
"Just when I finished the rallycross track, I faced my dust and had problems going in a straight line! We lost maybe one second."
That's not Craig Breen again, but rather Lappi. Looks like it's not a one-off issue then. Drivers beware!
"Just when I finished the rallycross track, I faced my dust and had problems going in a straight line! We lost maybe one second."
That's not Craig Breen again, but rather Lappi. Looks like it's not a one-off issue then. Drivers beware!
Stopwatch
Speaking of Lappi, he crosses the line with a 7m46.2s, quickest through up to now. We'll see how long that lasts with Neuville and Ogier to come.
Stopwatch
Here we go. Neuville has breached the first split, and he's faster than Lappi at the same point! Ogier will begin defending his lead in only a few seconds time...
It's a gain for Paddon over Ostberg, though only a marginal one. A 7m53.4s time puts Ostberg 0.6s down on Paddon here, closing their gap overall to 5.5s.
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Paddon took a combination of soft and hard tyres in an attempt to catch Ostberg in fifth place ahead. Has it worked? Paddon's non-commital for now.
"I think it's ok for this loop. It's definitely a big call but you've got to try things sometimes. We've got to see what happens in the next one. I'll tell you at the end of the loop whether it's worked or not!"
"I think it's ok for this loop. It's definitely a big call but you've got to try things sometimes. We've got to see what happens in the next one. I'll tell you at the end of the loop whether it's worked or not!"
Stopwatch
That didn't last long for Breen, as Paddon comes in with a 7m55.3s. That's only 0.8s up on Breen though.
Stopwatch
Esapekka Lappi's fastest so far through our first split, 1.1s quicker than Breen, our fastest driver of those to finish at this point.
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"I knew it was a straight road, but when I couldn't see I balked a bit and lost a second or two," says Breen at stage end, assessing the damage of that dusty moment.
Breen demonstrating a common Sardinia pitfall - dust. There's a mickey-mouse style, low speed spectator area late in this test, and Breen has to slow down after getting caught in his own dust. He then crosses the line with a 7m58.5s, fastest so far.
Evans is in, setting a scarcely believable 8m00.0s. It's not unbelievable because it's a fast time, it's just an amazingly rounded number. You couldn't do that if you tried!
Breen's 3.0s up on Evans at the halfway mark, as Paddon resumes his battle with Ostberg over fifth place.
Craig Breen heads onto stage, albeit with little to aim for. He's 52.3s down on Citroen team-mate Ostberg ahead, but over 5 minutes clear of WRC2 category leader Jan Kopecky. Staying in seventh is what he'll need to aim for.
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Elfyn Evans sets off into Coiluna-Loelle's dry, dusty roads. What can we expect from this particular stage? Evans himself breaks it down for us.
SS14 Coiluna-Loelle (9.28 miles)
This is a fantastic stage. There are some really big, fast jumps at the start and then it just gets quicker and quicker all the way to the end. Just before the finish you come into what’s like a rallycross kind of bowl in quite an open area with another big jump. The trees are really close to the side of the road in this one, so you have to be really precise with where you put the car.
SS14 Coiluna-Loelle (9.28 miles)
This is a fantastic stage. There are some really big, fast jumps at the start and then it just gets quicker and quicker all the way to the end. Just before the finish you come into what’s like a rallycross kind of bowl in quite an open area with another big jump. The trees are really close to the side of the road in this one, so you have to be really precise with where you put the car.
David Evans
Almost as interesting as the lead fight is the battle to be top Toyota. Seven seconds separates Jari-Matti Latvala’s third place from Ott Tanak in fourth.
“It’s interesting to battle with Esapekka,” Latvala told Autosport, “we will make some changes for the afternoon, it’s more sunny and it will be more rough – we will go a bit stiffer to try to maintain the pace.
“There is some more margin, but after three zeroes, I don’t want to take that risk.”
Asked if he would rather let Lappi pass than take the risk, he said: “For Thierry and Sebastien, the pace they are at you have to take some risks. For me the podium is the aim. I will fight Esapekka, but I won’t take unnecessary risks.”
Asked if he expected Tommi Makinen to step in and bring the fight under control, Latvala laughed and said: “No, no I don’t expect him to have a word. Let’s keep going, let’s keep fighting.”
Lappi definitely hasn’t given up.
“I will try to catch these seven seconds,” he said. “I try to be clean and very fast, but for sure you need to take some risks to get this time back and you need some luck with the rocks.”
So, can he catch J-ML? Lappi paused, paused some more, waited, then nodded.
Told by Autosport that his answer was a good one, the Finn grinned: “But I didn’t say a thing!”
“It’s interesting to battle with Esapekka,” Latvala told Autosport, “we will make some changes for the afternoon, it’s more sunny and it will be more rough – we will go a bit stiffer to try to maintain the pace.
“There is some more margin, but after three zeroes, I don’t want to take that risk.”
Asked if he would rather let Lappi pass than take the risk, he said: “For Thierry and Sebastien, the pace they are at you have to take some risks. For me the podium is the aim. I will fight Esapekka, but I won’t take unnecessary risks.”
Asked if he expected Tommi Makinen to step in and bring the fight under control, Latvala laughed and said: “No, no I don’t expect him to have a word. Let’s keep going, let’s keep fighting.”
Lappi definitely hasn’t given up.
“I will try to catch these seven seconds,” he said. “I try to be clean and very fast, but for sure you need to take some risks to get this time back and you need some luck with the rocks.”
So, can he catch J-ML? Lappi paused, paused some more, waited, then nodded.
Told by Autosport that his answer was a good one, the Finn grinned: “But I didn’t say a thing!”
It's not just Ogier vs Neuville we'll need to keep an eye on this afternoon. Toyota team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi are locked in a battle over third place, separated by only 5.3s heading into this afternoon.
How will Rally Italy's B-plot play out? DAVID EVANS spoke to this story's main protagonists.
How will Rally Italy's B-plot play out? DAVID EVANS spoke to this story's main protagonists.
David Evans
Ogier’s issued towards the end of Monte Lerno this morning was down to rutted road conditions present the latter part of that stage. He complained about movement from the car, so M-Sport changed dampers and springs aboard his Fiesta WRC, replacing it with identical spec parts. It was only a precautionary change, as it transpired there was no damage present to the roll bar or spring.
Coincidentally, team-mate Elfyn Evans complained of the same thing. When he came into service at Alghero, he went straight to take his wheels off as he was so sure there was damage to the car. Again, there was nothing wrong.
Monte Lerno’s closing sections are really rutted. There’s a lot of water gathered in the surface, so I wonder if this Ogier not feeling comfortable when his car is in those ruts and moving about within them. Argentina is a fine example of this, where he lost time in second passes of stages which had developed deep rutting.
That road at the end of Monte Lerno is soft enough that might begin to rut out after 10 or so cars have come through. The concern is the road’s not going to change second time through, it’ll only get worse, so there’s a worry it will be a tricky section for him.
Coincidentally, team-mate Elfyn Evans complained of the same thing. When he came into service at Alghero, he went straight to take his wheels off as he was so sure there was damage to the car. Again, there was nothing wrong.
Monte Lerno’s closing sections are really rutted. There’s a lot of water gathered in the surface, so I wonder if this Ogier not feeling comfortable when his car is in those ruts and moving about within them. Argentina is a fine example of this, where he lost time in second passes of stages which had developed deep rutting.
That road at the end of Monte Lerno is soft enough that might begin to rut out after 10 or so cars have come through. The concern is the road’s not going to change second time through, it’ll only get worse, so there’s a worry it will be a tricky section for him.
Speaking of Ogier time-loss, he dropped 14.6s to Neuville through Monte Lerno's first pass this morning. What's the root cause? DAVID EVANS has a feeling Ogier might be in a bit of a rut, so to speak...
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First of all, we've found out why Ogier dropped 2s to Neuville in less than a mile through that re-run of the Ittiri stage we first saw on Thursday night. He stalled his Fiesta WRC at the start line. Oops!
Welcome back! After a brief taste of what might be coming this afternoon, Rally Italy's Saturday afternoon leg is about to get underway properly with a rerun of Coiluna-Loelle, our first stage from this morning.
We'll be back at 3pm (BST) for our next stage of Rally Italy. See you then!
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It was a small stage, yet it was not insignificant. If that last test is anything to go by, Neuville's car is fighting fit, and Ogier still needs to recapture his rhythm.
Classification after SS13 (Citta di Ittiri-Coros)
1. Ogier 2h20m14.8s
2. Neuville +2.9s
3. Latvala +40.5s
4. Lappi +45.8s
5. Paddon +1m08.7s
6. Ostberg 1m13.6s
7. Breen 2m05.9s
Classification after SS13 (Citta di Ittiri-Coros)
1. Ogier 2h20m14.8s
2. Neuville +2.9s
3. Latvala +40.5s
4. Lappi +45.8s
5. Paddon +1m08.7s
6. Ostberg 1m13.6s
7. Breen 2m05.9s
That's all 11 of our factory entries safely through stage 13, as Mikkelsen's 1m29.1s puts him second fastest here, a mere 0.1s off Lappi who wins this stage.
Teemu Suninen can't match Lappi either, 1.2s off his compatriot's pace with a 1m30.2s.
We'll wrap things up here and take a break once our WRC crews are all safely through. We've got a long liaison section ahead before Coiluna-Loelle kicks off in around 90 minutes time.
Friday retiree Tanak is next, a 1m29.6s good enough for third quickest here.
Friday retiree Tanak is next, a 1m29.6s good enough for third quickest here.
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Now this is interesting. Ittiri's twisty racecourse test might only be 0.87 miles long, but it's allowed Neuville to almost halve his gap to Ogier ahead.
Ogier clocks a 1m31.3s, 2.3s behind Lappi and more importantly 2.0s slower than Neuville. That lead gap is now down to 2.9s.
That's quite some loss given how short a section of stage it is.
Ogier clocks a 1m31.3s, 2.3s behind Lappi and more importantly 2.0s slower than Neuville. That lead gap is now down to 2.9s.
That's quite some loss given how short a section of stage it is.
Thierry Neuville is safely through, 0.3s slower than Lappi who remains quickest.
A quick check-in with proceedings at Ittiri shows Jari-Matti Latvala putting in the slowest time so far, 1.7s off his Toyota team-mate Lappi. Our leading duo Neuville and Ogier will be next, in that order.
David Evans
The Hyundai team changed the fuel tank on Thierry Neuville’s i20 Coupe WRC during today’s 30-minute lunchtime service – the first time the team has ever been done this during an event.
The Korean squad noticed a drop in fuel pressure on the run from the final morning stage, when the car automatically switched to the reserve fuel pump. The decision was made to change the tank.
Team principal Michel Nandan told Autosport: “There was no leak, no smell of fuel in the car, but we assumed there must have been something in the tank when the pressure for the fuel was too low.
“We didn’t do this job before with Hyundai. It’s not a problem for the team to do it, but what can be a problem is that you cannot do anything else when you are working on the tank. For us, this was OK – there was nothing else that we needed to do.”
A series of fuel pressure checks confirmed the change of tank had worked.
“We know everything is working well,” said Nandan, “we fired the car up and it was running with no problem.
“It was a big job, but the guys did a very good job and got it done with very good time.”
The Korean squad noticed a drop in fuel pressure on the run from the final morning stage, when the car automatically switched to the reserve fuel pump. The decision was made to change the tank.
Team principal Michel Nandan told Autosport: “There was no leak, no smell of fuel in the car, but we assumed there must have been something in the tank when the pressure for the fuel was too low.
“We didn’t do this job before with Hyundai. It’s not a problem for the team to do it, but what can be a problem is that you cannot do anything else when you are working on the tank. For us, this was OK – there was nothing else that we needed to do.”
A series of fuel pressure checks confirmed the change of tank had worked.
“We know everything is working well,” said Nandan, “we fired the car up and it was running with no problem.
“It was a big job, but the guys did a very good job and got it done with very good time.”
By: Matt Beer
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