WRC Poland, Assen MotoGP, Norisring DTM and more
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MotoGP - Assen: Rain is getting a little heavier. Nothing substantial, but enough for everyone to dive back into the pitlane after their exploratory laps.
MotoGP - Assen: Riders are pouring out on to the circuit. It could also be pouring with rain in a minute as a few spots are dropping in the pitlane.
Green flag
MotoGP - Assen: The green light comes on and the third MotoGP practice session of the weekend commences.
Checkered flag
WRC - Poland: So with the Wieliczki stage done, here is how things stand:
SS4 times:
1 Mikkelsen 5m48.3s
2 Paddon +0.7s
3 Kubica +1.1s
4 Meeke +1.5s
5 Hanninen +1.7s
6 Latvala +3.1s
7 Ogier +3.2s
8 Ostberg +3.4s
9 Hirvonen +4.2s
10 Neuville +4.9s
Leaderboard after SS4:
1 Mikkelsen
2 Ogier +0.4s
3 Meeke +5.7s
4 Hanninen +6.7s
5 Ostberg +9.5s
6 Paddon +21.1s
7 Neuville +23.2s
8 Latvala +23.8s
9 Hirvonen +30.8s
10 Kubica +35.6s
SS4 times:
1 Mikkelsen 5m48.3s
2 Paddon +0.7s
3 Kubica +1.1s
4 Meeke +1.5s
5 Hanninen +1.7s
6 Latvala +3.1s
7 Ogier +3.2s
8 Ostberg +3.4s
9 Hirvonen +4.2s
10 Neuville +4.9s
Leaderboard after SS4:
1 Mikkelsen
2 Ogier +0.4s
3 Meeke +5.7s
4 Hanninen +6.7s
5 Ostberg +9.5s
6 Paddon +21.1s
7 Neuville +23.2s
8 Latvala +23.8s
9 Hirvonen +30.8s
10 Kubica +35.6s
MotoGP - Assen: We will be keeping a close eye on the likes of Alvaro Bautista and Cal Crutchlow in this session as they try and make improvements and avoid having to participate in Q1 later on today.
MotoGP - Assen: The MotoGP field take part in the third practice session for the Dutch TT in a moment.
Aleix Espargaro topped the first day of practice and broke Casey Stoner’s 2012 lap record in doing so - the combination of a softer tyre and knowledge from the post-race Barcelona test paying dividends for the Forward Racing rider.
Espargaro sets record pace in FP2
WRC - Poland: That excellent time from Paddon has been followed by bad news for the Kiwi.
There was oil trailing from his car as he pulled away from the end of the stage, and now he's parked up further down the road to investigate the problem.
Paddon had just moved ahead of Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville into sixth overall before that issue.
There was oil trailing from his car as he pulled away from the end of the stage, and now he's parked up further down the road to investigate the problem.
Paddon had just moved ahead of Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville into sixth overall before that issue.
Checkered flag
Moto3 - Assen: The third practice session has just finished and championship leader Jack Miller is fastest of all at 'The Cathedral'.
1 Jack Miller 1m43.482s; 2 Niccolo Antonelli +0.169s; 3 Niklas Ajo +0.197s; 4 Efren Vazquez +0.285s; 5 Danny Kent +0.440s; 6 Alex Marquez +0.519s.
1 Jack Miller 1m43.482s; 2 Niccolo Antonelli +0.169s; 3 Niklas Ajo +0.197s; 4 Efren Vazquez +0.285s; 5 Danny Kent +0.440s; 6 Alex Marquez +0.519s.
WRC - Poland: Kubica isn't second quickest for long as Hyundai's rookie Hayden Paddon has just pinched the place from him.
Running further down the order on this fast and dusty road is certainly helpful, but even so that's a great run for the "very surprised" Paddon, who insists his driving "wasn't so good."
Running further down the order on this fast and dusty road is certainly helpful, but even so that's a great run for the "very surprised" Paddon, who insists his driving "wasn't so good."
Andreas Mikkelsen
WRC - Poland: Rally Poland's first full day is spent mostly in Lithuania, but a 12.89km stage in its main host country is underway now to kick us off.
And it's already spicing things up nicely: Andreas Mikkelsen has retaken the rally lead from Sebastien Ogier, and Robert Kubica has just completed the stage second fastest of the 10 cars so far!
Good morning and welcome back to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live for Friday June 27.
WRC - Poland: With only the Mikojaki Arena superspecial left to run today (at 7:00pm), we are going to call it a day here on Race Centre Live.
Be sure to tune into WRC Live Radio to hear how that pans out this evening and our end-of-loop report will be on the AUTOSPORT website shortly after the stage has finished.
We will be back tomorrow at 8:45am to properly begin our MotoGP coverage from Assen, as well as bringing you live updates from a plethora of other motor racing categories.
Be sure to tune into WRC Live Radio to hear how that pans out this evening and our end-of-loop report will be on the AUTOSPORT website shortly after the stage has finished.
We will be back tomorrow at 8:45am to properly begin our MotoGP coverage from Assen, as well as bringing you live updates from a plethora of other motor racing categories.
Checkered flag
WRC - Poland: So, a change at the top of the overall classification thanks to Mikkelsen's performance in that stage.
SS2: 1 Hanninen 9m05.1s; 2 Mikkelsen +0.8s; 3 Ogier +1.7s; 4 Meeke +2.0s; 5 Ostberg +2.1s; 6 Neuville +6.4s.
Overall: 1 Mikkelsen 16m00.4s; 2 Ogier +0.4s; 3 Meeke +4.4s; 4 Hanninen +5.3s; 5 Ostberg +6.3s; 6 Neuville +16.4s.
SS2: 1 Hanninen 9m05.1s; 2 Mikkelsen +0.8s; 3 Ogier +1.7s; 4 Meeke +2.0s; 5 Ostberg +2.1s; 6 Neuville +6.4s.
Overall: 1 Mikkelsen 16m00.4s; 2 Ogier +0.4s; 3 Meeke +4.4s; 4 Hanninen +5.3s; 5 Ostberg +6.3s; 6 Neuville +16.4s.
WRC - Poland: Paddon is next up. His car sounds much better than it did on the previous stage and it's a good time by the Kiwi, who finishes the test 16.4s behind his Hyundai team-mate.
Stopwatch
WRC - Poland: And Hanninen posts the quickest time of the stage! His 9m05.1s is 0.8s quicker than Mikkelsen's previous best and it pushes him up to fourth overall.
WRC - Poland: Kubica reaches the end after 9m33.4s of running. Looks like the former F1 driver has had a roll within the stage! Fortunately, there were plenty of spectators on hand to help out and he lost very little time all things considered.
WRC - Poland: Kubica's split times look rather worrisome. He was 1.0s down at the first, but a massive 25.2s at the second...
WRC - Poland: Poor old Prokop is continuing to suffer with his recurring back issue. The Russian's time at the end of that is 15.0s behind Mikkelsen's best.
WRC - Poland: Hyundai man Neuville is next up and posts a time of 9m11.5s to go fifth quickest.
WRC - Poland: Evans ends the stage 23.5s slower than Mikkelsen, but better news for compatriot Meeke, whose time is just 1.2s off the ultimate pace.
"It's just absolutely beautiful," remarked the Citroen driver upon completion of the stage.
"It's just absolutely beautiful," remarked the Citroen driver upon completion of the stage.
WRC - Poland: A rather disappointed Hirvonen reaches the finish and he seems flummoxed by his lack of pace. The Finn's time is 13.7s slower than Mikkelsen's.
WRC - Poland: If our maths is any good, we reckon Mikkelsen is now the rally leader by 0.4s as well.
Stopwatch
WRC - Poland: Cracking run by Mikkelsen, who goes 0.9s faster than Ogier!
WRC - Poland: Latvala crosses the finishing line 9.2s off team-mate Ogier. A better showing by Ostberg, however, who is just 0.4s slower than the rally leader.
WRC - Poland: Ogier completes SS2 in 9m06.8s.
WRC - Poland: Second sector times are in and Latvala is 7.8s down at 9.50km. Ostberg is 1.3s off the pace at 5.30km.
WRC - Poland: Latvala has lost 5.6s at the 5.30km split.
WRC - Poland: First split time on the board by Ogier is 2m48.9s. Let's see what Latvala can do in comparison...
Lights out
WRC - Poland: Kruklanki has gone live and rally leader Ogier is the first to tackle the 17.24km stage.
WRC - Poland: Karl Kruuda is fourth in the drivers' championship at the moment, but Ott Tank and Jarl Ketomaa are quicker than him on this stage.
Victory this weekend for Ketomaa would lift the Finn well into the championship mix.
Sixth in the points is Peru's Nicola Fuchs, who is the fourth quickest of the WRC 2 drivers on this first stage.
Victory this weekend for Ketomaa would lift the Finn well into the championship mix.
Sixth in the points is Peru's Nicola Fuchs, who is the fourth quickest of the WRC 2 drivers on this first stage.
WRC - Poland: Lorenzo Bertelli, who won in Italy earlier this month, has a sufficient points advantage to retain his WRC 2 lead despite his absence, however.
WRC - Poland: Our second stage of the day gets going at 4:30pm. We'll have a quick glance at what is happening in WRC 2 at the moment, especially since the top three drivers in the category are absent from Rally Poland.
Will their rivals take the opportunity to enhance their title credentials?
Will their rivals take the opportunity to enhance their title credentials?
Checkered flag
WRC - Poland: Most of the top drivers have completed the opening stage. The standings at the moment:
1 Ogier 6m54.0s; 2 Mikkelsen +0.5s; 3 Meeke +3.7s; 4 Kubica +5.1s; 5 Ostberg +5.5s; 6 Hanninen +6.6s.
1 Ogier 6m54.0s; 2 Mikkelsen +0.5s; 3 Meeke +3.7s; 4 Kubica +5.1s; 5 Ostberg +5.5s; 6 Hanninen +6.6s.
WRC - Poland: Hyundai's Juho Hanninen and Hayden Paddon are the last of the big guns to complete the stage. Hanninen does so 6.6s slower than Ogier, while Paddon's i20 sounds like a bag of rusty old nails.
He seems unconcerned by the noise and his time is 11.9s off the ultimate pace.
He seems unconcerned by the noise and his time is 11.9s off the ultimate pace.
WRC - Poland: And here's home hero Kubica, who sets the fourth fastest time - just 5.1s behind Ogier's benchmark.
WRC - Poland: Prokop and Solberg are the next pair to reach the finish.
Solberg is using DMACK tyres on his Ford Fiesta RS for the first time this weekend. The Norwegian has used Pirelli rubber so far this season, but he believes DMACK’s soft compound option will work well in the soft and sandy conditions.
He's 16.5s down already...
Solberg is using DMACK tyres on his Ford Fiesta RS for the first time this weekend. The Norwegian has used Pirelli rubber so far this season, but he believes DMACK’s soft compound option will work well in the soft and sandy conditions.
He's 16.5s down already...
WRC - Poland: Neuville makes it safely to the finish and does so 11.3s slower than Ogier to slot in to a provisional fifth place.
WRC - Poland: Reasonable starts by both Evans and Meeke, who finish 11.6s and 3.7s off the ultimate pace respectively.
"It was very loose, more loose than I expected," said Evans.
"I was quite surprised by that. Shocked at the conditions more than anything."
"It was very loose, more loose than I expected," said Evans.
"I was quite surprised by that. Shocked at the conditions more than anything."
WRC - Poland: Not the best of starts by Hirvonen, who has lost 13.0s to Ogier already.
WRC - Poland: Great time set by Mikkelsen who is just 0.5s shy of matching Ogier's best time.
By: Dan Cross, Matt Beer, Marcus Simmons, Glenn Freeman, Andrew van Leeuwen, Sam Smith, Kevin Turner, David Evans, Mark Glendenning, Charles Bradley, AUTOSPORT staff
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