WRC Italy, Barcelona MotoGP
Live Text
Sort by
WRC - Italy: Rally leader Paddon has now begun the stage. Kubica is the second man at the finish, 9s down on Meeke. If you're just joining us, Meeke and Kubica (and Sordo, who'll be next) are all under Rally 2 so not relevant overall. The same applied to Mikkelsen, and now he's crashed again anyway.
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: Latvala is moving again... or maybe not.
This is surely it for his victory charge, just as he looked to be closing in on Paddon and Ogier.
Tracking system suggests Latvala IS on the move again.
This is surely it for his victory charge, just as he looked to be closing in on Paddon and Ogier.
Tracking system suggests Latvala IS on the move again.
Crash
MotoGP Barcelona: Eugene Laverty has crashed at Turn 5.
MotoGP - Barecelona: Jorge Lorenzo has just equalled Aleix Espargaro's time of 1m41.158s from Friday and the Yahama rider is now second in the times for Q2.
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: Latvala has stopped on the tracking system!
WRC - Italy: After winning the last stage, Latvala is losing ground this time. He's 6s down on Ogier at the second split.
But it's not Ogier who's fastest, Ostberg is our pacesetter by a couple of seconds so far.
Meeke is first man to the finish with a 24m37.9s time.
He reports that the organisers don't seem to have repaired the stage since last year so ruts and rocks are a problem. That could be more of a headache than loose gravel, negating the disadvantage of running early.
But it's not Ogier who's fastest, Ostberg is our pacesetter by a couple of seconds so far.
Meeke is first man to the finish with a 24m37.9s time.
He reports that the organisers don't seem to have repaired the stage since last year so ruts and rocks are a problem. That could be more of a headache than loose gravel, negating the disadvantage of running early.
Crash
WRC - Italy: VW radio traffic suggests Mikkelsen has taken a wheel off his car, which would make it a not-ideal two mistakes in as many days.
WRC - Italy: Ogier is now onto the stage and fastest so far at the first split, though he's only comparing to the Rally 2 runners at present.
Ostberg (fighting for fifth overall) and Latvala (third overall) are next in, but our underdog superstar rally leader Paddon is a long way down the start order - which is great for tension-building.
Ostberg (fighting for fifth overall) and Latvala (third overall) are next in, but our underdog superstar rally leader Paddon is a long way down the start order - which is great for tension-building.
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: That 400th Polo stage win won't come from Mikkelsen - he's just stopped on the tracking system.
WRC - Italy: Evans's co-driver Dan Barritt's thoughts on the 22.8-mile Coiluna – Loelle stage we've just begun:
"This is the first of two stages with a big and famous jump. The jump on this one comes quite near the start and it's a really long jump.
"On the recce we saw they had done something to start of the jump, the ramp if you like; it'll be interesting to see what this does to the car when we start to fly. The approach to this jump is so fast, flat-out and it's blind – you're looking at the sky. You aim the car and fly.
"The rest of the stage is pretty quick then there's a hairpin right about 10km [six miles] from the finish where there's always loads of fans."
"This is the first of two stages with a big and famous jump. The jump on this one comes quite near the start and it's a really long jump.
"On the recce we saw they had done something to start of the jump, the ramp if you like; it'll be interesting to see what this does to the car when we start to fly. The approach to this jump is so fast, flat-out and it's blind – you're looking at the sky. You aim the car and fly.
"The rest of the stage is pretty quick then there's a hairpin right about 10km [six miles] from the finish where there's always loads of fans."
WRC - Italy: Volkswagen's stat guru Helge Gerdes has just fed us another big number... if a Polo R WRC wins SS13, it will be the 400th stage win in the world championship for the car. Not bad for a motor that only competed for the first time two and a bit years ago.
Lights out
WRC - Italy: We had a slight delay to the start of SS13 but it's now up and running, starting with Rally 2 men Meeke, Kubica and Mikkelsen, all of whom are outside the top 40 overall.
FR3.5 - Hungary: Formula Renault 3.5 championship leader Oliver Rowland continued his recent strong form with pole for race one at the Hungaroring this morning - but he had to fend off a surprise performance from a flying rookie to do it.
Here's the full report and results from PETER MILLS:
Hungary FR3.5 qualifying report
Here's the full report and results from PETER MILLS:
Hungary FR3.5 qualifying report
OLiver Rowland, Fortec, Hungary FR3.5 2015
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: Meanwhile Bertelli confirms that all is still not well with the oil leak on his Ford so he's going back to service. He hopes to rejoin tomorrow to at least finish his home rally on the road.
WRC - Italy: What a day ahead for Paddon. He's the last of the main competitive WRC runners onto the stage, so has the least of the loose gravel (and that did help him yesterday) but with Ogier now fifth on the road due to the abundance of Rally 2 runners, the difference in conditions isn't as dramatic as it was when the champion was first onto the stages.
With Tanak a minute behind in fourth, Paddon could take it relatively easy and still be quite confident of a maiden WRC podium in third if he doesn't fight the VWs.
However if he can hold Ogier and Latvala off... but that would take a pretty amazing pace today and tomorrow, and with amazing pace comes risks.
This is going to be good.
With Tanak a minute behind in fourth, Paddon could take it relatively easy and still be quite confident of a maiden WRC podium in third if he doesn't fight the VWs.
However if he can hold Ogier and Latvala off... but that would take a pretty amazing pace today and tomorrow, and with amazing pace comes risks.
This is going to be good.
Checkered flag
WRC - Italy - SS12 results:
Stage times:
1 Latvala 13m51.2s
2 Ogier +2.8s
3 Paddon +3.1s
4 Tanak +7.7s
5 Ostberg +9.3s
6 Evans +12.7s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Paddon
2 Ogier +7.1s
3 Latvala +21.6s
4 Tanak +1m01.6s
5 Ostberg +1m56.5s
6 Neuville +2m01.1s
Stage times:
1 Latvala 13m51.2s
2 Ogier +2.8s
3 Paddon +3.1s
4 Tanak +7.7s
5 Ostberg +9.3s
6 Evans +12.7s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Paddon
2 Ogier +7.1s
3 Latvala +21.6s
4 Tanak +1m01.6s
5 Ostberg +1m56.5s
6 Neuville +2m01.1s
WRC - Italy: Paddon finishes the stage and he's lost just three tenths to Ogier!
Great effort, he keeps his lead at over 7s.
Great effort, he keeps his lead at over 7s.
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: Looks like we've lost Lorenzo Bertelli - albeit in less contentious/dramatic circumstances than last time.
He had an oil leak last night and ended up in a huge repair effort as it proved a complex one to fix. He was set to start out of position this morning but looks like he's turned back and headed for service instead.
He had an oil leak last night and ended up in a huge repair effort as it proved a complex one to fix. He was set to start out of position this morning but looks like he's turned back and headed for service instead.
Lorenzo Bertelli, WRC Italy 2015
WRC - Italy: At split two, Paddon is actually four tenths faster than lead rival Ogier.
Neuville is in next, and he's lost 4s to Ostberg in their super-tight battle for fifth.
Neuville is in next, and he's lost 4s to Ostberg in their super-tight battle for fifth.
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Latvala finished the stage 2.8s faster than Ogier, which brings the gap between them for second and third overall down to 14.5s
Meanwhile at his first split Paddon is matching Ogier to the tenth and only losing 0.3s to Latvala.
Meanwhile at his first split Paddon is matching Ogier to the tenth and only losing 0.3s to Latvala.
WRC - Italy: Latvala is now 3s faster than Ogier at the next split.
Ostberg - who was puzzled by his lack of speed on Friday - is in and second quickest, 6s down on Ogier. He's in a very, very close battle with Neuville for fifth.
Ostberg said this stage wasn't anything too special for him, "but we are not losing 20s either so it's a bit more normal."
Ostberg - who was puzzled by his lack of speed on Friday - is in and second quickest, 6s down on Ogier. He's in a very, very close battle with Neuville for fifth.
Ostberg said this stage wasn't anything too special for him, "but we are not losing 20s either so it's a bit more normal."
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Ogier comes through a commanding 13s faster than Mikkelsen (who isn't pushing massively hard today as he's only 43rd overall), but Latvala is 2s faster than the sister VW on the splits still.
WRC - Italy: Dani Sordo is just completing our Rally 2 runners, then we'll get into the actual lead/podium battle as Ogier turns up.
Ogier is at the final split and quickest on the stage so far, but Latvala is the fastest man in the middle of the test - though he has ground to make up after a mistake late on Friday dropped him 20s behind his team-mate.
Rally leader Paddon is on the startline right now.
Ogier is at the final split and quickest on the stage so far, but Latvala is the fastest man in the middle of the test - though he has ground to make up after a mistake late on Friday dropped him 20s behind his team-mate.
Rally leader Paddon is on the startline right now.
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Fastest man now is Andreas Mikkelsen, yet another Rally 2 runner, because too much of his Friday looked like this...
...after he damaged his VW's suspension.
Andreas Mikkelsen
...after he damaged his VW's suspension.
WRC - Italy: Robert Kubica is through the stage 7.5s slower than Meeke. Both men crashed yesterday so are way down the order under Rally 2. Kubica reports some problems with the intercom there.
Quote
WRC - Italy: He's finding positives about being the road sweeper today too:
"We've never run first on the road, so it's good to learn," says Meeke as he sets a 14m11.5s benchmark.
Further back in the start order, Ogier and Latvala are the stage pacesetters so far.
"We've never run first on the road, so it's good to learn," says Meeke as he sets a 14m11.5s benchmark.
Further back in the start order, Ogier and Latvala are the stage pacesetters so far.
WRC - Italy: First man on the stage this morning is Kris Meeke, running under Rally 2 today.
DAVID EVANS: Kris Meeke is running a different specification today. As well as making the car look respectable again, the team softened the DS 3 WRC down to more of a Portugal than Argentina-type set-up.
As well as offering a bit more traction (albeit at the cost of some precision in today's higher-speed stages) the softer Citroen should give Meeke more confidence.
The specification change was by no means an excuse for the Dungannon driver, however. He said: "Don't get me wrong, the set-up's not the reason we tipped her over…"
DAVID EVANS: Kris Meeke is running a different specification today. As well as making the car look respectable again, the team softened the DS 3 WRC down to more of a Portugal than Argentina-type set-up.
As well as offering a bit more traction (albeit at the cost of some precision in today's higher-speed stages) the softer Citroen should give Meeke more confidence.
The specification change was by no means an excuse for the Dungannon driver, however. He said: "Don't get me wrong, the set-up's not the reason we tipped her over…"
Quote
WRC - Italy: Evans's co-driver Dan Barritt is doing our stage descriptions today, here's his guide to SS12:
"We've used this stage before, but in the opposite direction.
"This is a typical stage of this region, a lot like Monte Lerno which is coming a bit later.
"It's a hard base with quite a lot of loose on top and generally pretty quick in places."
"We've used this stage before, but in the opposite direction.
"This is a typical stage of this region, a lot like Monte Lerno which is coming a bit later.
"It's a hard base with quite a lot of loose on top and generally pretty quick in places."
WRC - Italy: We kicked off the morning with the very short Ittiri Arena stage just before 7am.
Sebastien Ogier was fastest by two tenths over Thierry Neuville, and that edged the champion a little closer to first-time rally leader Hayden Paddon.
Here's how they stand going into SS12:
1 Hayden Paddon
2 Sebastien Ogier +7.4s
3 Jari-Matti Latvala +24.7s
4 Ott Tanak +57.0s
5 Mads Ostberg +1m50.3s
6 Thierry Neuville +1m50.5s
7 Martin Prokop +2m12.6s
8 Lorenzo Bertelli +4m09.2s
9 Paolo Andreucci +4m11.2s
10 Elfyn Evans +4m18.4s
Sebastien Ogier was fastest by two tenths over Thierry Neuville, and that edged the champion a little closer to first-time rally leader Hayden Paddon.
Here's how they stand going into SS12:
1 Hayden Paddon
2 Sebastien Ogier +7.4s
3 Jari-Matti Latvala +24.7s
4 Ott Tanak +57.0s
5 Mads Ostberg +1m50.3s
6 Thierry Neuville +1m50.5s
7 Martin Prokop +2m12.6s
8 Lorenzo Bertelli +4m09.2s
9 Paolo Andreucci +4m11.2s
10 Elfyn Evans +4m18.4s
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: DAVID EVANS fresh from the service park:
"Tyre news for this morning is pretty straightforward: everybody is running two hards and two softs except for Jari-Matti Latvala who us running all hard Michelins. Rally leader Hayden Paddon and his Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville have taken two spare hard tyres whereas the others only have one.
"The covers ‘only’ have to last 36 miles before the tyre fitting zone in Budduso.
"Question is: will anybody run softs through the 26-mile Monte Lerno stage at 1036? The sun's coming up and the ambient was already 23 degrees by 7am local time."
"Tyre news for this morning is pretty straightforward: everybody is running two hards and two softs except for Jari-Matti Latvala who us running all hard Michelins. Rally leader Hayden Paddon and his Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville have taken two spare hard tyres whereas the others only have one.
"The covers ‘only’ have to last 36 miles before the tyre fitting zone in Budduso.
"Question is: will anybody run softs through the 26-mile Monte Lerno stage at 1036? The sun's coming up and the ambient was already 23 degrees by 7am local time."
WRC - Italy: We've already had one short stage (starting before 7am local time!) to commence the morning - and more of that in a moment - but we're about to get today's main action under way with the 14 miles of Monti di Ala.
Good morning and welcome back to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live for a long day of WRC, MotoGP, Formula Renault 3.5, IndyCar and more.
WRC - Italy: Here's our end of day report, and don't forget to check back at 05:50am for tomorrow's action.
It's the longest day (in distance) in the WRC since the 2002 Safari Rally.
Paddon still leads at the end of Friday
Thanks for sticking with us today, come back bright and early tomorrrow for a whole host of motorsport action on AUTOSPORT.com.
It's the longest day (in distance) in the WRC since the 2002 Safari Rally.
Paddon still leads at the end of Friday
Thanks for sticking with us today, come back bright and early tomorrrow for a whole host of motorsport action on AUTOSPORT.com.
Paddon/RallyItaly/2015
WRC - Italy: And the rally order heading into Saturday:
1 Paddon 1h35m8.5s
2 Ogier +8.8s
3 Latvala +25.8s
4 Tanak +57.1s
5 Ostberg +1m50.4s
6 Neuville +1m51.7s
1 Paddon 1h35m8.5s
2 Ogier +8.8s
3 Latvala +25.8s
4 Tanak +57.1s
5 Ostberg +1m50.4s
6 Neuville +1m51.7s
WRC - Italy: So here is the SS10 order:
1 Latvala 9m28.9s
2 Ogier +1.2s
3 Paddon +12.4s
4 Ostberg +13.2s
5 Tanak +16.6s
6 Neuville +17.5s
1 Latvala 9m28.9s
2 Ogier +1.2s
3 Paddon +12.4s
4 Ostberg +13.2s
5 Tanak +16.6s
6 Neuville +17.5s
WRC - Italy: Paddon is through third and 12.4s down on Latvala.
"Something is broken or we have a flat tyre on the rear. We thought ;we better take it easy' so we lost a lot of time there."
"Something is broken or we have a flat tyre on the rear. We thought ;we better take it easy' so we lost a lot of time there."
WRC - Italy: Tanak is in, 16.6s slower than Latvala's benchmark.
He'll move up to fourth overall thanks to Sordo's demise.
He'll move up to fourth overall thanks to Sordo's demise.
WRC - Italy: Drama at the end of the day then for Sordo.
Neuville is 17.5s down on Latvala.
He explains that he had no boost for that stage, the turbo pipe was gone but he made a makeshift repair to get the car to the finish of the day.
Neuville is 17.5s down on Latvala.
He explains that he had no boost for that stage, the turbo pipe was gone but he made a makeshift repair to get the car to the finish of the day.
Quote
WRC - Italy: Sordo has lost a wheel. He will struggle to get that back to the services.
"We hit something at the edge of one of the slow speed corners," said the Spaniard.
Devastating for Sordo, who was fourth and not far off the leaders.
"We hit something at the edge of one of the slow speed corners," said the Spaniard.
Devastating for Sordo, who was fourth and not far off the leaders.
Crash
WRC - Italy: Sordo is through next, the Spaniard is 1m22.9s slower than Latvala. Sordo has had a problem.
By: Matt Beer, Jack Benyon, David Evans, AUTOSPORT staff, Mark Glendenning, Peter Mills, Alex Kalinauckas
Published:
Lap:
