WRC Rally Germany
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By the way, Tanak is currently going fastest on this stage.
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Neuville is informed that his title rival Ogier has had a massive delay.
"That's part of the game, it's a very tricky stage," says Neuville.
"That's part of the game, it's a very tricky stage," says Neuville.
Let's also just add that runaway leader Tanak is 23 points behind Ogier and 44 off Neuville right now, by the way.
Not bad for Neuville there, he's slower than Sordo but faster than everyone else.
He gets back to within 1.6s of Latvala for what will now be third, and has built a 19s cushion over Lappi behind.
What a turnaround for Hyundai on this stage.
He gets back to within 1.6s of Latvala for what will now be third, and has built a 19s cushion over Lappi behind.
What a turnaround for Hyundai on this stage.
Latvala finishes the stage 5.7s slower than Sordo, so Sordo is through into what will now be second by 5.1s.
That Ogier drama will of course bring Sordo up to second too.
It looks like that was a temporary problem, an off or maybe a tyre change for Ogier, as at the subsequent splits he's keeping up the same pace as the other WRC drivers. But that 1m40s time loss is so painful on a rally where the pack is close together and there haven't been many retirements - and it will move Neuville up to fourth too.
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"It's good, I'm happy with the car and with the performance on this stage," declares Sordo. "In the morning also this stage was nice for us. Now we try to do well in the next one because it looks like the Toyotas are faster on the next stages."
Stopwatch
Sordo smashes the times so far, coming in 6.9s faster than Breen. The splits suggest he'll breeze past Latvala into third here.
Breen was fastest of the last group of cars through, and that's pulled him to within 7.4s of Lappi for sixth.
Onboard camera footage from Ogier looks OK now - perhaps not full, full speed - but the times are 1m40s off the rest of the WRC field. That would drop him right to the foot of the top 10 at this rate.
Crash
Yes - Ogier IS in trouble - he's nearly two minutes down at split two!
Crash
Suggestions from TV crews on the stage that Ogier was moving slowly... We're waiting to see his split times to see the extent of the problem.
Mikkelsen is faster than Ostberg but 4.7s slower than Suninen - so the gap from the Hyundai in eighth to the M-Sport Ford in ninth falls to 11s.
David Evans
Ogier is onto the stage too.
At service, he told Autosport in more detail about where he can look to further explore the limits of his Ford Fiesta WRC. The Frenchman admitted there was a little bit more to come from him and his motor, but it came with big risks.
“I’ve been on the limit for the whole event already,” he said. “We’ve had two big moments, both of them in sixth gear when we went to the grass a little bit – I was a bit optimistic.
"But, I have to try. The places I can try and push even that bit harder are in the second loop of stages. On the first time around, you are always having a bit of a look, but then next time through we can give it absolutely everything and that means finding the place to brake that bit later or something like this.
“We’ve got to give it a go. We need to get closer to Ott. It’s about being at the absolute maximum without being stupid.”
At service, he told Autosport in more detail about where he can look to further explore the limits of his Ford Fiesta WRC. The Frenchman admitted there was a little bit more to come from him and his motor, but it came with big risks.
“I’ve been on the limit for the whole event already,” he said. “We’ve had two big moments, both of them in sixth gear when we went to the grass a little bit – I was a bit optimistic.
"But, I have to try. The places I can try and push even that bit harder are in the second loop of stages. On the first time around, you are always having a bit of a look, but then next time through we can give it absolutely everything and that means finding the place to brake that bit later or something like this.
“We’ve got to give it a go. We need to get closer to Ott. It’s about being at the absolute maximum without being stupid.”
At the latest split, Sordo is 1.5s faster than Latvala - that would be enough to jump him into third.
Already at split one Neuville has lost another 1.8s to Latvala and Sordo. He is at least slightly faster than Lappi, who'd be the next man to threaten him, but 0.9s slower than Breen.
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Ostberg gets blitzed by Suninen by 7.1s and is now 16.1s M-Sport's young gun for ninth.
"I'm not so happy to see my time in there, because the feeling with the car is better but the time is worse," says Ostberg.
"Sometimes I guess you have to drive a more difficult car to gain on a specific stage like this. I just need more time in the car basically to understand how you need to drive it."
"I'm not so happy to see my time in there, because the feeling with the car is better but the time is worse," says Ostberg.
"Sometimes I guess you have to drive a more difficult car to gain on a specific stage like this. I just need more time in the car basically to understand how you need to drive it."
Also looking like Breen's going to get closer to Lappi for sixth on this stage.
Third-place rivals Latvala and Neuville are absolutely equal at split one.
Third-place rivals Latvala and Neuville are absolutely equal at split one.
Sordo's looking good again on the long stage, fastest of anyone so far at split one, a second up on Breen.
Further down the road, Suninen is 5s quicker than Ostberg and 3s up on Mikkelsen.
Further down the road, Suninen is 5s quicker than Ostberg and 3s up on Mikkelsen.
Stopwatch
The early splits are coming in from the long Panzerplatte, and Suninen is nearly 4s faster than Ostberg already. He's surely got a shot at catching Mikkelsen for eighth now.
David Evans
He started the afternoon 13th in WRC2."/>
Gus Greensmith is bracing himself for a tough run through his second favourite stage of the season - Pazerplatte - this afternoon.
While working on his broken driveshaft yesterday afternoon, a process that involved tapping the hub end of the shaft to remove it, he managed to whack his left thumb with the hammer.
Such was the swelling, the medics stepped in to help him out. Now, if you’re prone to getting queasy over medical matters, look away now and read no more…
“They drilled the thumb in three places,” the M-Sport driver told Autosport. “What’s worse, they had to drill through the nail and I’m absolutely phobic about anybody touching my nails. “The thinking in drilling is it that it will relieve the pressure and stop the swelling. I didn’t get any sleep last night, the thumb was throbbing so badly.
"But I’ll just have to get on with it and drive pretty much one-handed. We’ve got to carry on, there’s a long way to go and anything can still happen on this rally.”
He started the afternoon 13th in WRC2.
Speaking of Greensmith, he's had a very tough week that started with a test crash that hospitalised his regular co-driver Parry, and then after a strong start to the rally a broken driveshaft dropped him down the WRC2 order. But there was more pain to come...
Information
WRC2 driver Greensmith's co-driver Loudon has all the info on the monster stage that the WRC drivers are just beginning:
SS12 Panzerplatte (23.96 miles)
There are parts of Panzerplatte which is just like the Arena stage before, where we have lots of corners coming in very quick succession. But then there are some real fast places in there as well – not least the Gina Jump!
What makes this stage a real challenge is not just the length, speed and rhythm changes and constant focus, but the grip beneath the car. You can’t believe how many times the surface changes from good Tarmac to broken concrete to what looks like gravel, then back to asphalt… it’s incredible!
This is definitely one of the most abrasive asphalt stages of the season, so again it’s going to be a case of looking after the tyres. The feeling is a bit different in the car from the vineyards where you hang in the belts as the driver slows the car from top gear into a hairpin, but Panzerplatte is a legend of a stage. I can’t wait!
SS12 Panzerplatte (23.96 miles)
There are parts of Panzerplatte which is just like the Arena stage before, where we have lots of corners coming in very quick succession. But then there are some real fast places in there as well – not least the Gina Jump!
What makes this stage a real challenge is not just the length, speed and rhythm changes and constant focus, but the grip beneath the car. You can’t believe how many times the surface changes from good Tarmac to broken concrete to what looks like gravel, then back to asphalt… it’s incredible!
This is definitely one of the most abrasive asphalt stages of the season, so again it’s going to be a case of looking after the tyres. The feeling is a bit different in the car from the vineyards where you hang in the belts as the driver slows the car from top gear into a hairpin, but Panzerplatte is a legend of a stage. I can’t wait!
Tanak says he was a fair amount happier with the feeling on that stage than he was on the morning Panzerplatte runs. And now onto the big version of the stage...
Information
SS12 results
Leading stage times
1 Sordo 5m23.9s
2 Ogier +0.2s
3 Tanak +0.7s
4 Latvala +1.3s
5 Breen +2.4s
6 Neuville +3.1s
Overall leaderboard
1 Tanak
2 Ogier +13.6s
3 Latvala +42.4s
4 Sordo +43.0s
5 Neuville +44.3s
6 Lappi +53.9s
7 Breen +1m02.5s
8 Mikkelsen +1m29.5s
9 Suninen +1m45.2s
10 Ostberg +1m54.2s
Leading stage times
1 Sordo 5m23.9s
2 Ogier +0.2s
3 Tanak +0.7s
4 Latvala +1.3s
5 Breen +2.4s
6 Neuville +3.1s
Overall leaderboard
1 Tanak
2 Ogier +13.6s
3 Latvala +42.4s
4 Sordo +43.0s
5 Neuville +44.3s
6 Lappi +53.9s
7 Breen +1m02.5s
8 Mikkelsen +1m29.5s
9 Suninen +1m45.2s
10 Ostberg +1m54.2s
Tanak comes in half a second slower than Ogier. His lead remains 13.6s. That'll do.
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Asked if he reckons that time might be enough to attack Tanak, Ogier makes one of those big raspy pffffff type noises of uncertainty, then adds: "He is fast. We're trying our best. It was a good, clean stage for us."
Second-fastest to Sordo by just 0.2s is a good start for Ogier's afternoon, and he's 0.3s faster than Tanak at the split.
Ogier is second-fastest to Sordo on the split. He hasn't given up on chasing Tanak for the win here just yet.
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Neuville says that was just Sordo being too fast for him.
"I could not match his time. I had a really good stage but he obviously had something."
"I could not match his time. I had a really good stage but he obviously had something."
Stopwatch
So the podium fight is now...
3 Latvala
4 Sordo +0.6s
5 Neuville +1.9s
6 Lappi +11.5s
7 Breen +20.1s
3 Latvala
4 Sordo +0.6s
5 Neuville +1.9s
6 Lappi +11.5s
7 Breen +20.1s
Neuville comes in fourth fastest, 3.1s behind Sordo - his team-mate passes him for fourth!
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Here are Latvala's thoughts: "It's a great battle. I thought I had a good run, but obviously Dani is driving even better than me".
Neuville is 2.2s slower than Sordo at the split - at that pace he'll fall back to fifth...
Latvala completes the stage 1.3s slower than Sordo. He stays ahead overall, but only by 0.6s. Now to see how all that compares to Neuville...
Latvala is 0.9s slower than Sordo at the split.
Sordo's delighted with that, but after the morning what he really wants to see is whether that pace is still there when we get off the military ranges and onto the normal roads later.
Stopwatch
Storming time from Sordo, fastest so far by 2.4s over Breen.
That builds his gap back to the chasing Lappi to 10.9s. But will it leave him fifth, fourth or third?
That builds his gap back to the chasing Lappi to 10.9s. But will it leave him fifth, fourth or third?
David Evans
The Hyundai team has put yesterday's gearbox back into Thierry Neuville's i20 Coupe WRC. After further investigation the Korean squad is confident there was no damage to the transmission from yesterday's oil leak.
“We looked and we found nothing to show damage,” said team principal Michel Nandan. “We inspected the oil and there's nothing there, so it's gone back in.”
Asked what difference it would make, Neuville said: “It's a bit more locked, so under braking we shouldn't have one wheel snatching and locking up. It's not going to make a massive difference, but it should mean that we can get a little bit closer to Dani's times.”
Having to run with that not-ideal differential this morning was the main thing Neuville said was compromising his pace.
“We looked and we found nothing to show damage,” said team principal Michel Nandan. “We inspected the oil and there's nothing there, so it's gone back in.”
Asked what difference it would make, Neuville said: “It's a bit more locked, so under braking we shouldn't have one wheel snatching and locking up. It's not going to make a massive difference, but it should mean that we can get a little bit closer to Dani's times.”
Having to run with that not-ideal differential this morning was the main thing Neuville said was compromising his pace.
By: Matt Beer
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