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WRC Rally Mexico

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Here's a rundown of SS6:  - Elfyn Evans forced out after co-driver Daniel Barritt taken to hospital with suspected concussion- Fuel pressure issues costs Thierry Neuville time on previous stage and remains in the bottom half of the top 10- Sebastien Loeb overshoots on SS6 and loses third place to Ott Tanak
SS6:1 Meeke
2 Ogier +0.3
3 Mikkelsen +1.8
4 Tanak +2.3
5 Sordo +4.3
6 Loeb +6.3
7 Latvala +6.7
8 Neuville +12.5
9 Lappi +14.5
10 Tidemand +58.6 Overall after SS6:1 Sordo
2 Meeke +12.3
3 Tanak +19.4
4 Loeb +19.9
5 Ogier +27.4
6 Mikkelsen +30.2
7 Latvala +56.2
8 Neuville +1.17.9
9 Lappi +1.32.8
10 Tidemand +3.18.0
 
Stopwatch
Loeb has definitely lost some time due to that overshoot. He's still showing good pace but won't be quickest.  Yep, he loses 6s after missing a junction on the stage and is pushed out of the podium positions by Tanak. Without that, a first stage win could have been there for the taking.   A bit of rustiness perhaps for the legend, but he hasn't lost an inch of his pace.
Stopwatch
Right, Suninen in.  The Finn went wide and hit a bank he says. Whether that is the one caught on the onboard or not is unsure, but Suninen who thought he had a puncture is unhappy.  Straight behind is Dani Sordo who posts the fifth fastest time, 4s off the quickest time. He maintains his lead over Meeke but it is now reduced to just over 12s.
Stopwatch
Apologies for sinking to that awful French cliché. I'm reliably informed that it is hardly ever used by actual French people.  Safe to safe that Loeb has recovered from that little contretemps and back on his way.  Suninen close to the end of the stage now. We await his time.
Stopwatch
Loeb well into the stage now in the second Citroen. First split shows the nine time champion just 0.5s behind the leading pace of Meeke.  But that's all undone with an overshoot before the second split. Scare bleu!
Reports that Teemu Suninen has had an issue during the stage.  He has another wild moment as well! The Finn understeers and clips a soft bank to bring the M-Sport Fiesta back on track. A near miss there.  
Stopwatch
And just like that, BANG. Fastest time from Meeke by a whisker over 0.3s from Ogier.  Now Senor Sordo, what can the Hyundai leader do?
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen through in the Hyundai and is slightly slower than Ogier, who extends his lead over the Norwegian to  2.8s.  2017 winner Kris Meeke onto the stage and is already fastest by 4s at the first split! Rapid pace from the Northern Irishman.  
Stopwatch
Now, here comes Tanak. About the only Toyota driver to have enjoyed some success in Rally Mexico today.  He's just 2s off Ogier but tempers his enthusiasm at the flying finish. Did we expect anything less?  
Stopwatch
Latvala through the stage and seems to have lost some time to Ogier there.  He's 6.4s slower than the Frenchman but beats Neuville to go second  Team-mate Lappi is also through but cannot beat the Hyundai. He and Latvala have suffered with a temperature-induced engine issues which have forced the team to switch off the Anti-Lag System (ALS) on the Yarris'.  Lappi's mood is not improving: "still the same as this morning" bemoans the Finn.
Crash
NEAR MISS FOR OGIER!  The M-Sport driver seems to have hit something as he crosses the flying finish.  All good though and the champion posts a 16m57.0 to go fastest  Phew! 
*Neuville! Excuse me. Whatever his name, the Belgian is not a happy man this afternoon. He remains ninth at the moment as we wait for Ogier to come in.
Neville through the stage with a 17m09.2.  But more importantly, has his team sorted his engine problems?  "The engine was running. I'm really upset because we lost the time. Okay it's like this now but there was still a possibility to catch one or two positions this afternoon. Now everything seems to be much more difficult. It will put us into more trouble tomorrow with the road position."
Stopwatch
First split time from Latavala and he is already 3.3s up on Neuville! Great start to the stage from the Finn.  He builds on that advantage at the second split (14km) and moves to nearly 5s ahead.  First split from Ogier showed the Frenchman 1s up on Neuville but it is Latvala on top as it stands on SS6
Stopwatch
One man who knows Neuville first-on-the-road plights today is the defending champion Ogier. The Frenchman suffered badly last time out in Sweden but reverted to some canny tactics on the final day to claim valuable Power Stage points.  Any chance Neuville will adopt the same in Mexico?  No split times yet from Ogier so we can't compare the two title protagonists as Jari-Matti Latvala enters the stage in the Toyota  Neuville clocks a 4m18.0 at 6km, 10m02.1 at 14km  
Neuville needs a clean stage here after the troubles he has endured in Mexico.  First on the road won't help today as he languishes in ninth place.  Ogier onto the stage now as he looks to improve on his fifth.
SS6 is go and Neuville is off and running!
Right, now it's time for SS6 and describing the challeng ahead is Paul Nagle SS6 Duarte-Derramadero (16.18 miles)  "This stage and the first stage on Saturday morning are the most tricky of the whole rally.  "The first section of this stage is new to most of us, I think it was last run in 2007. From the start it’s twisty and technical, taking us in through a couple of small, typically Mexican villages. After a slot right, we go down past the place where Stephane [Lefebvre] crashed last year and Thierry [Neuville] had a big crash a couple of years ago. It’s really fast down there for the next few miles, but the road surface is really sandy. The last section is part of that 50-mile Guanajuato stage from a couple of years ago. "This is really fast into the village of Derramadero with a massive jump and hairpin right on the entry. Just before the village there are a couple of compressions, a couple of dips – these used to be flat, but they’ve resurfaced the road so we’re not really sure if they will be this time.  "The last mile or so is new to everybody, we’ve never used this piece of road before."
SS5: 1 Suninen 
2 Mikkelsen +0.1 
3 Loeb +0.2 
4 Tanak +14.6 
5 Sordo +0.5 
6 Latvala +0.5 
7 Ogier +0.7 
8 Tidemand +1.8 
9 Evans +1.9 
10 Meeke +2.0   Overall after SS5: 1 Sordo 
2 Meeke +16.6 
3 Loeb +17.9 
4 Tanak +21.4 
5 Ogier +31.4 
6 Mikkelsen +32.7 
7 Latvala +53.8 
8 Suninen +57.8 
9 Neuville +1.09.7 
10 Lappi +1.22.6 
11 Tidemand +2.23.7 
The big news coming out of Service however, is that Elfyn Evans has been forced out of the afternoon loop after co-driver Daniel Barritt was taken to hospital following a suspected concussion. The pair rolled several times on SS4  
ℹ️UPDATE #Neuville: we identified an unforeseen over consumption of fuel in @thierryneuville’s car which caused a loss of fuel pressure in SS5. Thierry is now on the way to the afternoon loop of stages. #WRC #HMSGOfficial #RallyMexico
Welcome back to our live coverage of the third round of the World Rally Championship from Mexico. Plenty of drama from the morning loop, not least for championship leader Thierry Neuville! The Belgian lost a heap of time in SS5 (Street Stage Leon) after suffering a fuel pressure issue, leaving his Hyundai team frantically working to get the i20 out for SS6 (Duarte-Derramadero). But don't worry, he has made it! Things did get worse for Neuville, who had to open his door during the stage as he tried to locate the fuel bypass valve behind his seat. The door then slammed shut, jamming Neuville's arm resulting in a nasty bruise. Ouch!
Autosport
That's enough sycophantic Loeb-loving for a while, lets both have a break. No Autosport Live for the superspecial coming up, but we will have a report of the morning loop just after it on our website around 2045hrs. Autosport Live will be back for SS6 at 2200hrs UK time. Adios for now. 
Information
Here's a rundown from SS4: - Elfyn Evans rolls out of third position- A second fastest time gives Sebastien Loeb third overall- Dani Sordo extends his lead to 15.5s over Kris Meeke- Ott Tanak holds fourth and extends his gap to Ogier
Information
SS4:
1 Sordo 
2 Loeb +1.9s3 Tanak +3.4s
4 Meeke +5.6s
5 Mikkelsen +8.6s
6 Latvala +8.9s
7 Neuville +10.2s8 Ogier +10.3s
9 Lappi +13.5s
10 Suninen +17.6s
11 Evans +2m39.6s Overall after SS4: 1 Sordo
2 Meeke +15.1s
3 Loeb +18.2s
4 Tanak +21.7s
5 Ogier +31.2s
6 Mikkelsen +33.1s
7 Neuville +43.7s
8 JML +53.8s
9 Suninen +58.3s
10 Lappi +1m19.6s
11 Evans +2m54.8s
Stopwatch
Loeb's in and he's second quickest, 1.9s off Sordo. Evans roll has handed Loeb a podium spot at the end of this loop.
Right, Loeb's next. Watch the compressions, oh wise one.
Stopwatch
Sordo arrives and unseats Tanak as the fastest man on the stage.  The rally leader extends his gap to 15.1s overall. That's a good scalp.
Stopwatch
Suninen is in and his learning continues, 17.6s slower than the benchmark time.
Information
It was a roll says Evans at stage end. They hit a compression and rolled.
Stopwatch
Evans' net time loss is 2m36.2s, and a podium spot is gone.
Sordo is into the stage as our current rally leader, after taking the spot with a brilliant time on (translated) The Chocolate stage.   
It sounds like Meeke had a moment at those bumps too. We were right to pick them out as a place of interest on this stage.  Luckily he made it through without trouble. The same can't be said for Evans.  Evans' team-mate Suninen could be suffering in the Welshman's dust here. 
Crash
ELFYN EVANS AND DAN BARRITT HAVE STOPPED. They've hit the bump badly that we referred to a couple of updates ago. Unclear exactly what's happened but they're trying to get going again. 

That's a podium spot gone. Guess who is inline to inherit it? Seb Loeb. 
Stopwatch
We do have splits for Meeke and Mikkelsen, and Meeke is comfortably quicker at split three. We'll keep an eye on that.  Meanwhile next to complete the stage is Meeke and he goes second, 2.2s slower than Tanak. A good morning for Meeke so far all in all. 
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen is in and he's second quickest to Tanak by 5.5s.
There's a nasty bump towards the end of this stage, well actually it's a double bump, which chucks the car nose first into the road.  It might be more hairy on TV than in reality, but it still looks dramatic/worrying/cool.
Rally leader Kris Meeke is into the stage. No car parks visited in 2018 yet.
Stopwatch
Onboard shows just how hard Tanak is pushing, there's more than a hint of Mk2 Escort about his Yaris, in the sense that it's sideways, not broken or anything.  All the Mk2-ing is clearly paying off as he's fastest by 5.5s over the 10 mile stage. 

By: Matt Beer

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