WRC Rally Germany
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Here's our report from a tightly-fought Friday in Germany: 
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And Tanak is your overnight leader.
Overall leaderboard
1. Tanak 59m22.6s.
2. Ogier +12.3s
3. Neuville +27.4s
4. Evans +37.8s
5. Latvala +38.8
6. Sordo +42.7s
7. Lappi +42.8s
8. Breen +58s
9. Mikkelsen +59s
10. Suninen +1m21.4s.
Overall leaderboard
1. Tanak 59m22.6s.
2. Ogier +12.3s
3. Neuville +27.4s
4. Evans +37.8s
5. Latvala +38.8
6. Sordo +42.7s
7. Lappi +42.8s
8. Breen +58s
9. Mikkelsen +59s
10. Suninen +1m21.4s.
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So your stage results are:
1. Tanak 5m7.5s
2. Lappi +2.1s
3. Sordo +2.3s
4. Ogier +3.2s
5. Evans +3.4s
6. Latvala +4s
7. Neuville +4.3s
8. Suninen +4.6s
9. Breen +4.8s
10. Mikkelsen +5.2s
1. Tanak 5m7.5s
2. Lappi +2.1s
3. Sordo +2.3s
4. Ogier +3.2s
5. Evans +3.4s
6. Latvala +4s
7. Neuville +4.3s
8. Suninen +4.6s
9. Breen +4.8s
10. Mikkelsen +5.2s
Stopwatch
Suninen finishes the stage in 5m12.1s, keeps him eighth of 10 cars and 10th overall going into tomorrow.
Stopwatch
Breen finishes in 5m12.3s, crucially 0.4s quicker than Mikkelsen which keeps him in eighth overall overnight.
Stopwatch
Ostberg continues to be slowest, this time finishing in 5m14.6s thanks to his engine problem.
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"I was hoping we could do something here, I pushed," says Evans.
Stopwatch
Evans comes in 0.6s quicker than Latvala, the fifth of eight drivers, meaning he keeps fourth overall and grows the gap to one second.
Stopwatch
It's a 5m11.5s time for Latvala, third slowest after Neuville and Mikkelsen.
Sordo has now made ground up on the Finn for fifth overall and Evans will brief a sigh of relief in fourth ahead - he's yet to finish the stage.
Latvala admits he made mistakes in the stage.
Sordo has now made ground up on the Finn for fifth overall and Evans will brief a sigh of relief in fourth ahead - he's yet to finish the stage.
Latvala admits he made mistakes in the stage.
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Mikkelsen: "We've found something during service, my engineer did a good job and I stopped trail braking and throwing the car into corners. I've never done it before and it takes time after 10 years [driving that way].
"It's getting better and better."
"It's getting better and better."
Mikkelsen is 0.6s away from Breen for eighth overall, so he'll be keen to see how the Citroen man gets on.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen is slowest of all, 0.9s down on Neuville and behind team-mate Sordo too.
He's repeatedly said the driving style in Germany favours the Hyundai duo.
He's repeatedly said the driving style in Germany favours the Hyundai duo.
Stopwatch
Sordo finishes the stage 0.2s slower than Lappi, beating Ogier and Neuville but losing out to Tanak.
That's just enough to keep sixth overall for the Spaniard, as it stands.
That's just enough to keep sixth overall for the Spaniard, as it stands.
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Lappi goes second fastest of four runners, with a time of 5m09.6s, he's 1.1s quicker than Ogier and 2.1s slower than Tanak.
"No, [it's still like poison], I need more mileage to understand the limit here."
Poison is a strong way to describe your car today.
"No, [it's still like poison], I need more mileage to understand the limit here."
Poison is a strong way to describe your car today.
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Tanak has swept every stage of the afternoon loop today, and lost to Ogier just once across the entire day.
Stopwatch
Tanak finishes the stage a whole 3.2s quicker than Ogier - impressive considering how short this stage is - and 4.3s up on Neuville.
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Ogier: "The good news of the day [is I'm quicker than Finland] but it's harder to compete with Ott and Toyota's package."
He adds the new-for-Finland aero package is working better here.
He adds the new-for-Finland aero package is working better here.
Stopwatch
Ogier finishes the stage in 5m10.7s, 1.1s quicker than Neuville.
His second place overall is getting ever closer to 20s.
His second place overall is getting ever closer to 20s.
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Neuville: "It was difficult but to be honest we were on it all the time, pushed very hard, OK we had a small issue. No mistakes so far, we hit the hay bale a little on the way.
"It's a different kind of roads tomorrow."
"It's a different kind of roads tomorrow."
Stopwatch
Neuville finishes the stage in 5m11.8s, and Ogier is 1s up on his time at the midway point.
At the halfway point, Neuville sets a time of 2m24.4s.
Ogier is into the stage as well.
Green flag
And Neuville is set to get the ball rolling on this stage.
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Not sure what this stage will bring? No worries, we have Gus Greensmith's co-driver Stuart Loudon to the rescue.
SS7 Wadern-Weiskirchen (5.76 miles)
Depending on what the weather’s doing, this final stage of the loop could be a slight compromise on tyres. This whole event is about juggling what you’ve got in terms of tyres, but if it’s really hot it could be a bit of a struggle.
There are quite a few narrow, nadgery places in this stage and it will be especially tricky where it dives into and under the trees.
It’s in some of those slower places that you can get a bit of corner cutting – the organisers have put some straw bales out to keep people from cutting too deeply.
And, unlike last year, they had the bales in position when we were coming through on the recce, so there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises!
SS7 Wadern-Weiskirchen (5.76 miles)
Depending on what the weather’s doing, this final stage of the loop could be a slight compromise on tyres. This whole event is about juggling what you’ve got in terms of tyres, but if it’s really hot it could be a bit of a struggle.
There are quite a few narrow, nadgery places in this stage and it will be especially tricky where it dives into and under the trees.
It’s in some of those slower places that you can get a bit of corner cutting – the organisers have put some straw bales out to keep people from cutting too deeply.
And, unlike last year, they had the bales in position when we were coming through on the recce, so there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises!
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And we're back for the final stage of today, which kicks off in under 10 minutes.
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I think it's fair to say there's a top three in their own league, and a mighty scrap for fourth in store later this evening.
With the final stage of the day set for this evening, rejoin us for live coverage in around an hour.
With the final stage of the day set for this evening, rejoin us for live coverage in around an hour.
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And your overall leaderboard:
1. Tanak 54m15.1s
2. Ogier +9.1s
3. Neuville +23.1s
4. Evans +34.4s
5. Latvala +34.8s
6. Sordo +40.4s
7. Lappi +40.7s
8. Breen +53.2s
9. Mikkelsen +53.8s
10. Suninen +1m16.8s
1. Tanak 54m15.1s
2. Ogier +9.1s
3. Neuville +23.1s
4. Evans +34.4s
5. Latvala +34.8s
6. Sordo +40.4s
7. Lappi +40.7s
8. Breen +53.2s
9. Mikkelsen +53.8s
10. Suninen +1m16.8s
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With the regular WRC field through the splits, the stage times are:
1. Tanak 11m3.2s
2. Ogier +0.3s
3. Neuville +3.4s
4. Evans +4.8s
5. Latvala +6.8s
6. Breen +8s
7. Sordo +9.5s
8. Lappi +10.5s
9. Mikkelsen +11.5s
10. Suninen +11.7s
1. Tanak 11m3.2s
2. Ogier +0.3s
3. Neuville +3.4s
4. Evans +4.8s
5. Latvala +6.8s
6. Breen +8s
7. Sordo +9.5s
8. Lappi +10.5s
9. Mikkelsen +11.5s
10. Suninen +11.7s
Stopwatch
Suninen finishes the stage, beating just Lappi and Ostberg with his time of 12m47s.
Stopwatch
Breen finishes the stage eight seconds quicker than team-mate Ostberg, which gives you an idea of the Citroen engine woes.
He's now very close to losing ninth overall to Mikkelsen, with the gap under a second.
He's now very close to losing ninth overall to Mikkelsen, with the gap under a second.
Stopwatch
Ostberg is slowest of all, which is no surprise considering his engine problem.
His time is 12m53.9s, 7.9s slower than the car in front - Sordo.
His time is 12m53.9s, 7.9s slower than the car in front - Sordo.
Stopwatch
Evans finishes the stage just 0.5s slower than Latvala, clawing back enough time to remain fourth overall by 0.4s.
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Latvala is feeling increasingly comfortable and says the differential changes mentioned by David Evans have worked for him.
Stopwatch
Latvala is fourth fastest now, 12m42.5s is his time, beating Sordo, Mikkelsen and Lappi.
That will help protect his buffer of fifth and it looks like he will gain ground on Evans who is 0.9s ahead and Evans is over a second slower late in his stage run.
That will help protect his buffer of fifth and it looks like he will gain ground on Evans who is 0.9s ahead and Evans is over a second slower late in his stage run.
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"The style reminds me of when I did this rally with Thierry in Monza as his passenger, his driving style was strange and I feel I'm doing the same," says Mikkelsen. "It means no trail braking, which has been my style for the last five years!"
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen finishes the stage 1.5s quicker than Sordo, he's the third quickest through too.
That's a much-improved performance and will help him reel in Breen in eighth overall, just two seconds split them.
That's a much-improved performance and will help him reel in Breen in eighth overall, just two seconds split them.
Mikkelsen and Latvala are on course to beat Sordo's time of 12m46s.
Stopwatch
Sordo beats Lappi by 1.4s, which moves him into sixth overall. That battle is far from decided.
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Lappi: "I just don't know what to do, clearly I am not brave enough but I still feel on the limit. I need to analyse and find out what Ott is doing differently tonight."
By: Matt Beer
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