WRC Italy, Barcelona MotoGP
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WRC - Italy: Paddon is only 0.2s down on Ogier in the final split and could well challenge Latvala's time.
First up though is Tanak who is gunning for fourth off Sordo.
First up though is Tanak who is gunning for fourth off Sordo.
WRC - Italy: Neuville's chances of challenging Tanak look over as he goes slower again than Sordo, 14.4s off Latvala.
The Belgian suggests he could have a gearbox problem.
The Belgian suggests he could have a gearbox problem.
WRC - Italy: Sordo will not be happy with his time, he's 7.1s down on Latvala and his tyres look worn.
Tanak is only 3.3s behind Sordo and the Spaniard could be in trouble here.
Tanak is only 3.3s behind Sordo and the Spaniard could be in trouble here.
WRC - Italy: Looking at Tanak's split time, he's lost some time to Ogier in the middle of the stage.
WRC - Italy: Evans is up next, just over 10s off Latvala's new benchmark.
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WRC - Italy: Latvala goes fastest, 0.2s quicker than Ogier and he maintains second overall in the process.
"Good stage, good rhythm. there was some nasty dust, at times I saw nothing."
"Good stage, good rhythm. there was some nasty dust, at times I saw nothing."
WRC - Italy: Tanak is up on Ogier in the first split, the only one so far quicker than him.
Ostberg completes, 13.4s behind Ogier.
Ostberg completes, 13.4s behind Ogier.
WRC - Italy: Ostberg is next up.
Ogier doesn't sound too concerned about his clutch problem.
"At the moment it's not really costing me time."
Ogier doesn't sound too concerned about his clutch problem.
"At the moment it's not really costing me time."
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Ogier finishes the stage in 15m21.1s, but we have no split times for him so we have no idea how close the cars are behind in terms of pace.
WRC - Italy: Thanks to some decent maths, we have worked out that Ogier is fastest through the first split by 0.4s ahead of Latvala.
WRC - Italy: Ogier has started the stage but is not showing up on the timing screen, which could be confusing.
At least the stage is live.
At least the stage is live.
WRC - Italy: An update on Esapekka Lappi: The WRC2 runner hit a wall on the last stage, but did get going again and completed the stage in 33 minutes. The usual time for that stage is around eight minutes.
WRC - Italy: Still no reason for the stage delay, but the updated start time is 14:53 (BST), a 20 minute delay.
Checkered flag
IndyCar - Toronto: And they've flagged the session. Montoya finishes the morning on top ahead of Pagenaud, with Josef Newgarden rounding out the top three.
IndyCar - Toronto: Ah, there we go - Scott Dixon has stopped out on the track. It looks like the Kiwi had a mechanical problem; there's no indication that he hit anything.
WRC - Italy: Ogier should be into the test now, but the stage has been delayed slightly.
No reason why as of yet, we''ll keep you posted.
No reason why as of yet, we''ll keep you posted.
Red flag
IndyCar - Toronto: Red flag with two minutes to go. We haven't seen the reason yet.
WRC - Italy: There are a few acute battles to watch out for in the next stage, with Latvala and Ogier close in third and fourth being the main one.
The Volkswagen team-mates are separated by 3.5s with ogier sweeping the roads and at a disadvantage.
Not far behind, Ott Tanak stole fifth from Thierry Neuville on the last stage and the gap is 0.9s.
Paolo Andreucci - WRC2 leader - is also incredibly only 8.2s behind fellow countryman Lorenzo Bertelli in the battle for Italiam supremacy.
Bertelli - in WRC machinery - is ninth, with Andreucci 10th
The Volkswagen team-mates are separated by 3.5s with ogier sweeping the roads and at a disadvantage.
Not far behind, Ott Tanak stole fifth from Thierry Neuville on the last stage and the gap is 0.9s.
Paolo Andreucci - WRC2 leader - is also incredibly only 8.2s behind fellow countryman Lorenzo Bertelli in the battle for Italiam supremacy.
Bertelli - in WRC machinery - is ninth, with Andreucci 10th
IndyCar - Toronto: It has been a quiet start to the weekend for Honda, with only Graham Rahal mixing it up with the Chevys in the top 10 at the moment. He's currently P7.
IndyCar - Toronto: Juan Pablo Montoya takes his turn at the top now at 1m00.6343s. Pagenaud has improved his previous time and is P2.
WRC - Italy: We're 5 minutes away from SS8 now, the 16.71 mile Grighine Sud (south) test.
Jari-Matti Latvala gives us a brief outline of the stage:
"This stage has a combination of a lot of really fast open sections with some narrow, more tricky, technical places between the walls and bushes. The rhythm’s not always coming on this one."
Jari-Matti Latvala gives us a brief outline of the stage:
"This stage has a combination of a lot of really fast open sections with some narrow, more tricky, technical places between the walls and bushes. The rhythm’s not always coming on this one."
IndyCar - Toronto: Pagenaud is replaced at the top by another Penske - Will Power moves to P1 at 1m01.1666s.
IndyCar - Toronto: The drivers have been greeted with a slightly damp track for the start of the weekend, although the weather is expected to improve for Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Pagenaud is the early session leader at 1m01.2969s; about 1.3s down on Sebastien Bourdais' pole time from the Saturday race last year, when the event was a double-header.
Simon Pagenaud is the early session leader at 1m01.2969s; about 1.3s down on Sebastien Bourdais' pole time from the Saturday race last year, when the event was a double-header.
Quote
FR3.5 - Hungaroring: In the afternoon’s second 50 minute session, Gravity-managed Lotus Formula 1 junior Albon went quickest on his first flying lap, a position he held until the final quarter of an hour.
But Albon will not race this weekend, after Lotus came to an agreement to run its regular 2015 driver Meindert van Buuren.
“I think we were P1 for a fair distance in the afternoon, and then when we fitted new tyres at the end I was missing some experience and lost out in traffic management," said Albon.
“The Michelins are completely different to the Hankooks I am familiar with in F3. In F3 we are gaining half a second if you do a really good job on new tyres. In this, it’s nearly two seconds, which is just massive.
“I found FR3.5 quite weird, to be honest. I took time to get used to the FR2.0 car, I am still getting used to F3, but I felt really comfortable driving the 3.5 straightaway. It has so much grip.
“I am 100% not driving this weekend now. There were a lot of things going on, but I just concentrated on my job and left all the politics for the others to sort out. I really enjoyed it and would love to race for them next year."
But Albon will not race this weekend, after Lotus came to an agreement to run its regular 2015 driver Meindert van Buuren.
“I think we were P1 for a fair distance in the afternoon, and then when we fitted new tyres at the end I was missing some experience and lost out in traffic management," said Albon.
“The Michelins are completely different to the Hankooks I am familiar with in F3. In F3 we are gaining half a second if you do a really good job on new tyres. In this, it’s nearly two seconds, which is just massive.
“I found FR3.5 quite weird, to be honest. I took time to get used to the FR2.0 car, I am still getting used to F3, but I felt really comfortable driving the 3.5 straightaway. It has so much grip.
“I am 100% not driving this weekend now. There were a lot of things going on, but I just concentrated on my job and left all the politics for the others to sort out. I really enjoyed it and would love to race for them next year."
FR3.5 - Hungaroring: Signature European Formula 3 driver Alexander Albon was delighted with his performance for Lotus in today’s Formula Renault 3.5 practice sessions at the Hungaroring.
“It was very last minute,” said Albon, who has previously sampled Lotus’s car during winter testing at Motorland Aragon.
“I got the call-up yesterday. Luckily they had the seat fitting. At Motorland there is run-off everywhere, whereas here it is just walls, so you couldn’t go out and attack. I was fourth in the first session, which obviously I was really happy with. The car was very good, and it just felt comfortable straight away."
“It was very last minute,” said Albon, who has previously sampled Lotus’s car during winter testing at Motorland Aragon.
“I got the call-up yesterday. Luckily they had the seat fitting. At Motorland there is run-off everywhere, whereas here it is just walls, so you couldn’t go out and attack. I was fourth in the first session, which obviously I was really happy with. The car was very good, and it just felt comfortable straight away."
Green flag
IndyCar - Toronto: Green flag for the opening practice session of the weekend.
After what can only be described as a shambolic Formula 3 European Championship round at Monza two weeks ago - which was called off after poor driving standards - The FIA has called the teams to a meeting at its Geneva base.
F3 teams summoned by FIA
F3 teams summoned by FIA
Monza F3 Stroll crash safety car
More breaking news courtesy of AUTOSPORT.com.
The Race of Champions is coming to London. The event will be held at the Olympic Stadium, the new home of West Ham United.
Race of Champions returns to London
The Race of Champions is coming to London. The event will be held at the Olympic Stadium, the new home of West Ham United.
Race of Champions returns to London
Race of Champions London announcement
WRC - Italy: Esapekka Lappi has stopped for a good reason, he's hit a wall and knocked it down barely a mile into the stage.
The Finn is competing in the Fabia R5 on its second rally, after a strong second place in Portugal in the WRC2 category last time out.
The Finn is competing in the Fabia R5 on its second rally, after a strong second place in Portugal in the WRC2 category last time out.
Lappi/Skoda/Sardinia
Crash
WRC - Italy: What was shaping up to be a brillaint battle this weekend between Paolo Andreucci and Esapekka Lappi in WRC2 is over, as Lappi has stopped on SS7.
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: We have another extended gap - just under an hour (16:33BST) - before the next stage, Grighine Sud.
Hayden Paddon told DAVID EVANS that he wasn't going to push this afternoon. If that's the case, his SS7 time looks even more impressive.
Here's what Paddon had to say: "The car’s giving me confidence and I feel comfortable in it – that’s the big difference.
"I’m not pushing. We had a couple of moments this morning, but they were just things which were hidden and we didn’t have them in the notes."
Hayden Paddon told DAVID EVANS that he wasn't going to push this afternoon. If that's the case, his SS7 time looks even more impressive.
Here's what Paddon had to say: "The car’s giving me confidence and I feel comfortable in it – that’s the big difference.
"I’m not pushing. We had a couple of moments this morning, but they were just things which were hidden and we didn’t have them in the notes."
Breaking news
WRC - Italy: Another action packed stage there. Here's a quick roundup:
Tanak bounces back from a difficult previous stage to top the times on SS7. he takes fifth from Neuville
Paddon extends his lead over Latvala to 19.9s.
Sordo (seventh) and Neuville (sixth) struggle on this stage, with Neuville losing fifth to Tanak.
Tanak bounces back from a difficult previous stage to top the times on SS7. he takes fifth from Neuville
Paddon extends his lead over Latvala to 19.9s.
Sordo (seventh) and Neuville (sixth) struggle on this stage, with Neuville losing fifth to Tanak.
WRC - Italy: Here's the rally overall.
1 Paddon 56m33s
2 Latvala +19.9s
3 Ogier +23.4s
4 Sordo +39.3s
5 Tanak +42.6s
6 Neuville +43.5s
1 Paddon 56m33s
2 Latvala +19.9s
3 Ogier +23.4s
4 Sordo +39.3s
5 Tanak +42.6s
6 Neuville +43.5s
WRC - Italy: SS7 result:
1 Tanak 7m48.7s
2 Paddon +2.2s
3 Ogier +2.6s
4 Latvala +3.3s
5 Ostberg +4.9s
6 Neuville +7.8s
1 Tanak 7m48.7s
2 Paddon +2.2s
3 Ogier +2.6s
4 Latvala +3.3s
5 Ostberg +4.9s
6 Neuville +7.8s
WRC - Italy: Paddon is in and crucially he's quicker than overall second placed man Latvala, so he loses no time on this stage, in fact he extends his lead. That's a great result for Paddon.
He's 2.2s down on Tanak there, second overall.
He's 2.2s down on Tanak there, second overall.
WRC - Italy: Next up is Paddon, can the rally leader unseat #TiTanak? We have no splits for him so far.
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: TANAK GOES QUICKEST. The Estonian is 2.6s up on Ogier and after a poor SS6, that's a timely time for Tanak!
WRC - Italy: Prokop is next up, 6.7s down on Ogier.
He was solid seventh overall before this stage, after leading the rally-opening superspecial yesterday.
He was solid seventh overall before this stage, after leading the rally-opening superspecial yesterday.
WRC - Italy: Neuville is 0.8s quicker than Sordo at the stage end. That will erode Sordo's fourth place advantage to 4.2s over Neuville.
WRC - Italy: Sordo is next up and comes in 6s down on Ogier and fourth on the stage so far.
We don't have a first split for Ogier, but Tanak has just gone quickest of anyone through that split so far, of the times we do have.
We don't have a first split for Ogier, but Tanak has just gone quickest of anyone through that split so far, of the times we do have.
By: Matt Beer, Jack Benyon, David Evans, AUTOSPORT staff, Mark Glendenning, Peter Mills, Alex Kalinauckas
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