WRC Poland, British GP supports
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WRC - Poland: Rally Poland organisers have increased the gap between drivers from two to three minutes.
A water pump issue has meant that Elfyn Evans will almost certainly be late to the stage.
A water pump issue has meant that Elfyn Evans will almost certainly be late to the stage.
WRC - Poland: The first splits are in, Ogier registers a time of 2m52.7s.
WRC - Poland: Our overall rally leader Ogier gets the stage underway.
He's currently got a lead of 5.1s over Mikkelsen.
He's currently got a lead of 5.1s over Mikkelsen.
WRC - Poland: Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle has the low-down on the second stage of the day.
SS11 Wieliczki (7.99 miles)
This is quite a straight forward stage which starts with a big wide road, which is nice and fast and flowing.
We used this part last year, so we have notes for the first seven kilometres (4.34 miles).
In the middle, we turn off and onto a narrower section for about four kilometres (2.48 miles), which is where this one’s different from last year, before getting back onto a wider road to the finish.
SS11 Wieliczki (7.99 miles)
This is quite a straight forward stage which starts with a big wide road, which is nice and fast and flowing.
We used this part last year, so we have notes for the first seven kilometres (4.34 miles).
In the middle, we turn off and onto a narrower section for about four kilometres (2.48 miles), which is where this one’s different from last year, before getting back onto a wider road to the finish.
WRC - Poland: And we're now going to have the WRC2 field coming through, led - by miles - by Esapekka Lappi. He's 50s clear of Skoda team-mate Pontus Tidemand in class, and not only that - he's running between Prokop and Abbring's World Rally Cars in 13th overall. Amazing.
Esapekka Lappi, Skoda, WRC Poland 2015
Breaking news
WRC - Poland - SS10 summary:
* Ogier goes fastest and extends his lead over Mikkelsen to 5.1s
* Mikkelsen complains that dust hanging in the air is causing major visibility problems for him
* Tanak has a spin but flies thereafter. He's still close behind Latvala in fourth
* Kubica has a spin and loses sixth to Neuville
* Paddon goes second quickest and pulls clear of Neuville and Kubica
* Ogier goes fastest and extends his lead over Mikkelsen to 5.1s
* Mikkelsen complains that dust hanging in the air is causing major visibility problems for him
* Tanak has a spin but flies thereafter. He's still close behind Latvala in fourth
* Kubica has a spin and loses sixth to Neuville
* Paddon goes second quickest and pulls clear of Neuville and Kubica
Checkered flag
WRC - Poland - SS10 results:
Stage times:
1 Ogier 8m54.9s
2 Paddon +1.3s
3 Mikkelsen +3.0s
4 Latvala +3.6s
5 Tanak +3.8s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +5.1s
3 Latvala +14.4s
4 Tanak +20.5s
5 Paddon +37.2s
6 Neuville +49.4s
7 Kubica +59.7s
8 Meeke +1m17.4s
9 Sordo +1m24.5s
10 Ostberg +1m30.6s
Stage times:
1 Ogier 8m54.9s
2 Paddon +1.3s
3 Mikkelsen +3.0s
4 Latvala +3.6s
5 Tanak +3.8s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +5.1s
3 Latvala +14.4s
4 Tanak +20.5s
5 Paddon +37.2s
6 Neuville +49.4s
7 Kubica +59.7s
8 Meeke +1m17.4s
9 Sordo +1m24.5s
10 Ostberg +1m30.6s
WRC - Poland: We haven't said much about Hyundai's fourth driver Kevin Abbring this weekend, and that's because he's been running at a conservative learning pace. He's currently battling with Martin Prokop for 12th.
WRC - Poland: It's a similar story for Kubica - he had a spin near the start of the stage and had to turn around and sort things out. He admits his arm injury was a problem as he tried to catch that one.
That's dropped Kubica down to seventh behind Neuville, 10s off the Hyundai.
That's dropped Kubica down to seventh behind Neuville, 10s off the Hyundai.
Robert Kubica, RK Ford, WRC Poland 2015
BSS - Moscow: Catsburg takes the pole for the Reiter Lambo team with a 1m36.908s, which puts him just over a tenth up on Winkelhock in the Phoenix Audi.
Siedler is a similar margin down on Winkelhock in third aboard his Rinaldi Ferrari.
The session was stopped just under a minute early after fourth-placed Estre beached his Attempto McLaren.
Siedler is a similar margin down on Winkelhock in third aboard his Rinaldi Ferrari.
The session was stopped just under a minute early after fourth-placed Estre beached his Attempto McLaren.
Crash
WRC - Poland: Tanak has set a blistering pace through the rest of the stage - he reveals that he spun early on.
"We had to go back and turn around."
From that point on, he's been comfortably fastest on the stage, and what was a 7.5s deficit at split one is down to 3.8s at the end.
That keeps him firmly in podium contention, 6s behind Latvala.
"We had to go back and turn around."
From that point on, he's been comfortably fastest on the stage, and what was a 7.5s deficit at split one is down to 3.8s at the end.
That keeps him firmly in podium contention, 6s behind Latvala.
WRC - Poland: Looks like a similar case for Kubica. After losing 17s to Ogier at split one, he's only dropped another 2s from split one to split two.
WRC - Poland: Tanak might have made a mistake in the first part of the stage as his second split is better - he's gained a second back on Ogier in that section so his deficit so far is down to 6s.
WRC - Poland: At this rate Paddon might have a shot at taking fourth from Tanak.
Paddon's not at all happy with his driving style on that stage, but admits he "can't complain" about the times as he's the only man on the same planet as Ogier this morning.
Paddon's not at all happy with his driving style on that stage, but admits he "can't complain" about the times as he's the only man on the same planet as Ogier this morning.
WRC - Poland: Great stuff from Paddon, he's second quickest on the stage, just 1.3s behind Ogier.
And Kubica might have a problem, he's lost 17s by the first split.
And Kubica might have a problem, he's lost 17s by the first split.
WRC - Poland: Dani Sordo is through, nothing outstanding but better than ninth place rival Ostberg so his advantage over the Citroen grows to 6.1s and he inches a bit closer to Meeke for eighth. That gap is now 7.1s.
WRC - Poland: Bad start for Tanak - at split one he's equal slowest of the cars in so far (along with M-Sport team-mate Elfyn Evans, who stalled on the startline).
WRC - Poland: Great pace from Paddon on the splits so far, this is definitely going to pull him further away from Neuville and give Kubica a tough target to aim for.
Lights out
WRC - Poland: Tanak is now onto the stage. Can he at least get back on the podium even if the win is now out of reach?
Kris Meeke comes through a bit slower than Neuville. He's down to eighth overall now after struggling with tyre wear yesterday afternoon, having initially looked like the man most likely to give the VWs some underdog hassle.
Kris Meeke comes through a bit slower than Neuville. He's down to eighth overall now after struggling with tyre wear yesterday afternoon, having initially looked like the man most likely to give the VWs some underdog hassle.
WRC - Poland: Thierry Neuville is in next. He's in a close battle for fifth with team-mate Hayden Paddon and local hero Robert Kubica, all covered by 6s.
Split times so far suggest this one has gone better for Paddon than Neuville.
"Not a perfect stage," says Neuville and admits to a couple of mistakes.
Split times so far suggest this one has gone better for Paddon than Neuville.
"Not a perfect stage," says Neuville and admits to a couple of mistakes.
WRC - Poland: So our lead gaps now look like this:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +5.1s
3 Latvala +14.4s
Tanak - it's down to you... but he's got 16s to recover from his brake and tyre problems yesterday afternoon.
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +5.1s
3 Latvala +14.4s
Tanak - it's down to you... but he's got 16s to recover from his brake and tyre problems yesterday afternoon.
Quote
WRC - Poland: Latvala also falls away from Ogier, coming in 3.6s slower.
He agrees that it was hard to see through the dust, but he thinks the situation will improve on the following stages as we get further into the morning.
"It was difficult. It's not very nice. But that's the situation that there is.
"Sometimes if you are the first car on the road that's the benefit you get. Hopefully we can get the advantage on the next stage."
He agrees that it was hard to see through the dust, but he thinks the situation will improve on the following stages as we get further into the morning.
"It was difficult. It's not very nice. But that's the situation that there is.
"Sometimes if you are the first car on the road that's the benefit you get. Hopefully we can get the advantage on the next stage."
BSS - Moscow: Lamborghini led the way in the first two 15-minute sessions of qualifying with Reiter driver Catsburg.
The Dutchman topped the times with a Q2 best of 1m36.976s, which put him nearly half a second up on Mies in the fastest of the WRT Audis.
The Dutchman topped the times with a Q2 best of 1m36.976s, which put him nearly half a second up on Mies in the fastest of the WRT Audis.
Reiter Lamborghini, Moscow Blancpain 2015
WRC - Poland: Ostberg didn't seem too fussed about dust and visibility, his problem was that the new set-up he's tried to revive his fortunes doesn't seem great.
Quote
WRC - Poland: Mikkelsen is very unhappy about the level of dust hanging in the air, he says two minute gaps aren't good enough and has been urging his team to call for three minute gaps for the rest of the morning.
"We're trying to fight for a victory and I cannot see," he says.
"We're trying to fight for a victory and I cannot see," he says.
WRC - Poland: Not good for Latvala either, he's 4s off the pace at split two.
WRC - Poland: Mikkelsen gets to the stage end 3s slower than Ogier, so falls 5.1s behind in the overall lead battle.
WRC - Poland: And while his rivals are dropping time to him, Ogier is at the stage end telling reporters that there was quite a lot of loose gravel and he expects to lose time to his pursuers...
Hmm. He can probably chill about that.
Hmm. He can probably chill about that.
WRC - Poland: This is looking good for Ogier - Mikkelsen has lost another second to him on the next split, and Latvala is 2s off him at split one.
WRC - Poland: Mikkelsen's first split is in and he's lost 1.5s to Ogier there. He'd gone into the day second to his world champion team-mate, just 2.1s behind.
WRC - Poland: Quick word on Ostberg, who begins the day 10th.
He was massively off the pace throughout Friday, then suddenly emerged second quickest on the last full-length stage and had no real idea why. His times on the splits so far today suggest he's back to a more moderate pace this morning as he battles with the similarly muted Dani Sordo for ninth.
He was massively off the pace throughout Friday, then suddenly emerged second quickest on the last full-length stage and had no real idea why. His times on the splits so far today suggest he's back to a more moderate pace this morning as he battles with the similarly muted Dani Sordo for ninth.
Lights out
WRC - Poland: Ogier and Mads Ostberg are onto SS10 to get our day going.
Ogier's lead rivals Mikkelsen, Latvala and Tanak are respectively third, fourth and 11th on the road.
Ogier's lead rivals Mikkelsen, Latvala and Tanak are respectively third, fourth and 11th on the road.
WRC - Poland: Kris Meeke's co-driver Paul Nagle has been talking us through the Poland stages, here's his guide to our Saturday opener:
SS10 Mazury (10.99 miles)
If Rally Poland did slow stages – which it doesn't – this would be that stage.
There are a few more junctions in here than in the rest of them and that does knock some of the speed off and slows the tempo down a little bit.
SS10 Mazury (10.99 miles)
If Rally Poland did slow stages – which it doesn't – this would be that stage.
There are a few more junctions in here than in the rest of them and that does knock some of the speed off and slows the tempo down a little bit.
Good morning and welcome back to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live ready for day two of Rally Poland (plus a bit of GP2, GP3 and more).
This man - Sebastien Ogier - moved into the WRC lead yet again yesterday afternoon. Lead battle over then? Probably not.
That's because no one retired yesterday, so Ogier is first on the road once more this morning, with a load of road cleaning to do, and Andreas Mikkelsen, Jari-Matti Latvala and Ott Tanak close behind and with better stage conditions.
It's not wide open - Ogier's a bit too good - but it's not over.
This man - Sebastien Ogier - moved into the WRC lead yet again yesterday afternoon. Lead battle over then? Probably not.
That's because no one retired yesterday, so Ogier is first on the road once more this morning, with a load of road cleaning to do, and Andreas Mikkelsen, Jari-Matti Latvala and Ott Tanak close behind and with better stage conditions.
It's not wide open - Ogier's a bit too good - but it's not over.
Sebastien Ogier, WRC 2015
We're going to wrap up our live coverage for there from now. Check the AUTOSPORT news pages later for the full report from the afternoon following tonight's superspecial.
AUTOSPORT Live's WRC coverage resumes from 7.15am UK on Saturday morning - will Ogier being first on the road again let Mikkelsen overhaul him or even Tanak get back into the fight?
AUTOSPORT Live's WRC coverage resumes from 7.15am UK on Saturday morning - will Ogier being first on the road again let Mikkelsen overhaul him or even Tanak get back into the fight?
WRC - Poland - SS8 summary:
* Ogier maintains narrow lead over Mikkelsen
* Latvala goes quickest to close to within 8.1s of the lead
* Tanak struggles with worsening brake problems and falls to fourth
* Kubica moves up to sixth overall with fifth-fastest time
* Meeke goes off and struggles with worn tyres, dropping him away from fifth-place battle
* Evans tumbles outside the top 10 with high tyre wear
* After struggling all day, Ostberg comes within 0.8s of winning the stage
* Ogier maintains narrow lead over Mikkelsen
* Latvala goes quickest to close to within 8.1s of the lead
* Tanak struggles with worsening brake problems and falls to fourth
* Kubica moves up to sixth overall with fifth-fastest time
* Meeke goes off and struggles with worn tyres, dropping him away from fifth-place battle
* Evans tumbles outside the top 10 with high tyre wear
* After struggling all day, Ostberg comes within 0.8s of winning the stage
Checkered flag
WRC - Poland - SS8 results:
Stage times:
1 Latvala 7m36.2s
2 Ostberg +0.8s
3 Ogier +1.4s
4 Mikkelsen +1.6s
5 Kubica +4.9s
6 Paddon +5.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +1.9s
3 Latvala +8.1s
4 Tanak +13.3s
5 Paddon +35.4s
6 Kubica +38.9s
7 Neuville +40.6s
8 Meeke +1m05.5s
9 Sordo +1m14.6s
10 Ostberg +1m15.1s
Stage times:
1 Latvala 7m36.2s
2 Ostberg +0.8s
3 Ogier +1.4s
4 Mikkelsen +1.6s
5 Kubica +4.9s
6 Paddon +5.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Ogier
2 Mikkelsen +1.9s
3 Latvala +8.1s
4 Tanak +13.3s
5 Paddon +35.4s
6 Kubica +38.9s
7 Neuville +40.6s
8 Meeke +1m05.5s
9 Sordo +1m14.6s
10 Ostberg +1m15.1s
WRC - Poland: Another very strong stage from Kubica, who's having a great afternoon.
He's fifth quickest, and that takes him past Neuville into sixth overall.
He's fifth quickest, and that takes him past Neuville into sixth overall.
WRC - Poland: Tanak comes through with severely worn tyres too, plus brake worries, and loses another 12s, which drops him back to fourth overall.
WRC - Poland: This is a stage of turnarounds. Like Ostberg, Sordo has had a pretty mediocre day so far, but he's a reasonable sixth quickest here, he's kept his tyres in shape, and he's stayed ahead of Ostberg for what will probably be ninth.
By: Matt Beer, Jack Benyon, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff, Alex Kalinauckas, Edd Straw
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