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WRC Rally Finland
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No mention of him hitting that debris earlier - he wasn't asked - but here's Neuville's thoughts on his day.
"Not a good performance I would say but in this condition we can't do more than that.
I didn't take any risk because I couldn't play for any position. We just had to do the job, which we knew was difficult."
"Not a good performance I would say but in this condition we can't do more than that.
I didn't take any risk because I couldn't play for any position. We just had to do the job, which we knew was difficult."
Neuville is in with a 6m54.9s, 16.5s up on Mikkelsen.
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"I suddenly lost the rear, it snapped, so I can't go on the accelerator to save it but I need to go on the brake for the next corner," Mikkelsen explains.
Suddenly lost the rear? And an errant car part in the corner immediately before? Hmm. Let's see if Neuville can glean any more insight..
Suddenly lost the rear? And an errant car part in the corner immediately before? Hmm. Let's see if Neuville can glean any more insight..
Mikkelsen is in with a 7m11.4s. Let's see if he has anything to say about his spin earlier.
Neuville is 12.9s up on Mikkelsen at the penultimate split - most of which came from the first sector where Mikkelsen had that spin. Breen is 1.3s slower than Neuville at the first split.
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Quick WRC2/Rovanpera update - he's moving again. Will he make the end? No-one really knows, Rovanpera included. We'll let you know once our WRC crews are done and dusted for the day.
But if it's one corner before Mikkelsen had his brush with the trees, not after, how did it get there? It doens't particularly look like a Hyundai front or rear bumper either. After a day of remarkable calm things are starting to get a bit strange.
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There's what looks like a bumper of some kind on the racing line of the corner immediately before where Mikkelsen went off. Neuville clips it moments after starting but is unaffected.
That was strange. He was a bit too greedy trying to widen the angle of that corner. He's on his way though and there's no obvious damage.
Crash
...and Mikkelsen spins almost immediately. He's way off line heading into a square left, way over to the right hand side and clipped some trees on the way in.
Green flag
Mikkelsen has started...
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A quick check-in with Seb Marshall for a guide to our final stage. Buckle up!
SS13/19 Pihlajakoski (9.25 miles)
This is one of only two stages which are completely unchanged from last year’s route. It’s a great stage which is quite narrow at the start but then turns out onto a classic, wide Finnish road – and it’s then like this all the way through. There’s one chicane in from last year, and actually it’s not really it’s a chicane, it’s going round two sides of a triangular junction. This is the sort of road we come here for.
SS13/19 Pihlajakoski (9.25 miles)
This is one of only two stages which are completely unchanged from last year’s route. It’s a great stage which is quite narrow at the start but then turns out onto a classic, wide Finnish road – and it’s then like this all the way through. There’s one chicane in from last year, and actually it’s not really it’s a chicane, it’s going round two sides of a triangular junction. This is the sort of road we come here for.
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So, a quick rundown of the WRC2 standings just before our final stage of the day kicks off. Veiby's definitely out but Rovanpera might limp on and try to fight for a podium.
1. Rovanpera 2h14m35.2s
2. Pietarinen +2.0s
3. Huttunen +50.1s
4. Greensmith +2m21.4s
5. Loubet +3m36.7s
1. Rovanpera 2h14m35.2s
2. Pietarinen +2.0s
3. Huttunen +50.1s
4. Greensmith +2m21.4s
5. Loubet +3m36.7s
There's a twist in the Rovanpera tale. Kalle might have to take his statement of retirement back - it appears they've fashioned a DIY fix for their broken front left suspension, using a ratchet strap and a steering arm.
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It appears Veiby crashed out. Both he and co-driver Stig Rune Skjaermoen are OK but his Skoda team suspect there's rollcage damage. That wouldn't just force his retirement today but would rule out a Sunday return under Rally2 as well.
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Back to that WRC2 drama and Kalle Rovanpera has just confirmed his own retirement. His front left damper is done and so too is his Saturday on Rally Finland.
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As for the overall standings, Latvala is edging closer to Ostberg, his deficit down to single digits now. Lappi has displaced Paddon for fourth, and Suninen is hovering behind with potential to reclaim fifth place.
Overall classification after SS18 Paijala
1. Tanak 2h06m27.0s
2. Ostberg +34.4s
3. Latvala +42.7s
4. Lappi +1m21.4s
5. Paddon +1m28.7s
6. Suninen +1m40.2s
7. Ogier +2m05.2s
8. Evans +2m10.2s
9. Breen +2m49.9s
10. Neuville +3m30.8s
11. Mikkelsen +7m40.3s
Overall classification after SS18 Paijala
1. Tanak 2h06m27.0s
2. Ostberg +34.4s
3. Latvala +42.7s
4. Lappi +1m21.4s
5. Paddon +1m28.7s
6. Suninen +1m40.2s
7. Ogier +2m05.2s
8. Evans +2m10.2s
9. Breen +2m49.9s
10. Neuville +3m30.8s
11. Mikkelsen +7m40.3s
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Right, so putting that Skoda WRC2 drama aside for a minute (we'll come back to that), here's the top 10 stage times from our main WRC competitors. Lappi makes it two stage wins in a row, and it's another Toyota 1-2-3.
SS18 Paijala
1. Lappi 11m31.1s
2. Latvala +5.7s
3. Tanak +7.2s
4. Ostberg +9.2s
5. Evans +9.3s
6. Suninen +9.6s
7. Ogier +10.0s
8. Neuville +14.2s
9. Paddon +16.6s
10. Breen +16.9s
SS18 Paijala
1. Lappi 11m31.1s
2. Latvala +5.7s
3. Tanak +7.2s
4. Ostberg +9.2s
5. Evans +9.3s
6. Suninen +9.6s
7. Ogier +10.0s
8. Neuville +14.2s
9. Paddon +16.6s
10. Breen +16.9s
Veiby doesn't appear to have made it very far into the stage either, based on a complete lack of split times. So it's likely he pulled up within the first five kilometres.
Amazingly Rovanpera still leads WRC2 after that stage. By all of two seconds. But unless he's the best mechanic on the planet, it looks to be game over. It's an undeserving end to what had been a fantastic drive from him.
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Rovanpera is as bemused as the rest of us by this.
"I have to say, I have no idea," when asked what caused the failure.
"We hit on one braking n the ruts there was something that gave us a bit of a bump, after that we drove 8km normally and I felt something broke and we lost everything from there.
"I don't know what happened. I'm really sorry," he says. I'm not sure he needs to apologise for that, there's no obvious impact damage anywhere.
So can he nurse the car home through the final stage and keep himself in the WRC2 fight?
"I think not."
"I have to say, I have no idea," when asked what caused the failure.
"We hit on one braking n the ruts there was something that gave us a bit of a bump, after that we drove 8km normally and I felt something broke and we lost everything from there.
"I don't know what happened. I'm really sorry," he says. I'm not sure he needs to apologise for that, there's no obvious impact damage anywhere.
So can he nurse the car home through the final stage and keep himself in the WRC2 fight?
"I think not."
His tyre looks absolutely fine, and so too does the wheel. That's bizarre, frankly.
The entire front left suspension mount, strut, springs and all just shot through the front left engine vent. As failures go that's pretty spectacular.
Crash
He's still driving through the stage as quickly as he can but that front left conrner is disintegrating quickly. And we believe Ole Christian Veiby in the other works Skoda has stopped in this stage too. Catastrophe.
Crash
Drama in WRC2. It's going wrong quickly for Skoda.
Rovanpera's left front suspension arm has gone straight through the bonnet!
Rovanpera's left front suspension arm has gone straight through the bonnet!
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No time showing up yet for Tanak but he's still leading comfortably.
"I've been really careful now. It's very hot, the tyres are moving so it's not very precise. We can't take any risk so we're trying to be cautious."
He mentioned a power steering issue at the end of the previous stage. So is he nursing a problem or just driving carefully?
"I'm driving carefully, yes," he responds.
"I've been really careful now. It's very hot, the tyres are moving so it's not very precise. We can't take any risk so we're trying to be cautious."
He mentioned a power steering issue at the end of the previous stage. So is he nursing a problem or just driving carefully?
"I'm driving carefully, yes," he responds.
Is the Tanak train running out of steam? He's 7.1s behind Lappi at the penultimate split. It's the slowest he's been all day. Which speaks for how fast he's been today.
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Ostberg isn't optimistic that tyre wear will come back to bite Latvala. He sounds like a driver who's accepted his fate.
"It was OK. To be honest I don't know how he can do that with only one spare. It's the limit for me," he said.
"I have two extra spares. I feel the weight all the time, I was hoping to gain at some point but there's not a lot of kilometres left, so he can manage."
"It was OK. To be honest I don't know how he can do that with only one spare. It's the limit for me," he said.
"I have two extra spares. I feel the weight all the time, I was hoping to gain at some point but there's not a lot of kilometres left, so he can manage."
Stopwatch
Ostberg puts in an 11m40.3s. That's another 3.5s conceded to Latvala, reducing their gap to only 8.3s.
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Tyre wear is becoming a universal issue but there's no caution or saving rubber from Latvala.
"It was a bit difficult in the small road with these tyres. The fight is going on and I try to push with Mads so the time is considerably OK compared to the others, aside from Esapeakka."
"It was a bit difficult in the small road with these tyres. The fight is going on and I try to push with Mads so the time is considerably OK compared to the others, aside from Esapeakka."
Latvala sets an 11m36.8s. 5.7s slower than Lappi.
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Paddon mentions manufacturer points again. He's been given a job to do by his paymasters at Hyundai and he's sticking with it. Lappi won't score as there are two Toyotas already ahead, so there's no points difference as far as teams are concerned.
"Our tyres were really bad after the last one so we took the call to take it easy in this one. Looking at Lappis tyres his were equally bad, so he might struggle in the last one."
His front left tyre looks extremely worn. Our final stage is going to be interesting for this battle over fourth place.
"Our tyres were really bad after the last one so we took the call to take it easy in this one. Looking at Lappis tyres his were equally bad, so he might struggle in the last one."
His front left tyre looks extremely worn. Our final stage is going to be interesting for this battle over fourth place.
He condeded 7.0s to Suninen too, which is worth keeping an eye on.
Stopwatch
Paddon has finished the stage, and he's been demoted to fifth place. An 11m47.7s puts him 16.6s being Lappi, dropping him 7.3s behind in the overall classification.
Suninen's given up on chasing Lappi by the sounds of it, remarking that he was setting similar times to his Ford team-mates being a positive.
Stopwatch
Paddon's now 12.8s slower than Lappi at split five - that's fourth place gone if it stays like this.
It's an 11m40.7s for Suninen, 9.6s slower than Lappi. So at least he recouped a few tenths at the end there, most likely down to Lappi's wayward slide in the closing metres earlier on.
By: Matt Beer
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