WRC Rally Mexico
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Well, the early splits don't look like your average Rally Mexico here at all. Ogier is slower buy 1.4s than Neuville at split two.
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Latvala – who struggled in the last stage with his engine – has lots 1.4s to Neuville at the first split. We'll keep an eye on that one.
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At the first split in SS3, Ogier is just 0.2s up on Neuville. They're a lot closer than the previous test.
Lights green
Right, SS3 is live.
Information
SS2:1 Meeke
2 Sordo +2.8
3 Loeb +4.3
4 Ogier +6.6
5 Evans +6.8
6 Tanak +8.5
7 Mikkelsen +13.0
8 Latvala +14.1
9 Suninen +14.2
10 Neuville +18.7
11 Lappi +26.6 Overall after SS2:1 Meeke2 Sordo +3.8s 3 Ogier +5.1s 4 Loeb +5.5s 5 Tanak +6.9s 6 Evans +7.9s 7 Mikkelsen +12.7s 8 Latvala +13.1s9 Neuville +15.2s 10 Suninen +15.6s 11 Lappi +26s
2 Sordo +2.8
3 Loeb +4.3
4 Ogier +6.6
5 Evans +6.8
6 Tanak +8.5
7 Mikkelsen +13.0
8 Latvala +14.1
9 Suninen +14.2
10 Neuville +18.7
11 Lappi +26.6 Overall after SS2:1 Meeke2 Sordo +3.8s 3 Ogier +5.1s 4 Loeb +5.5s 5 Tanak +6.9s 6 Evans +7.9s 7 Mikkelsen +12.7s 8 Latvala +13.1s9 Neuville +15.2s 10 Suninen +15.6s 11 Lappi +26s
David Evans
The next stage is straight up next, so quickly, here's Paul Nagle to run you through it. SS3/7 El Chocolate (19.53 miles)
"This is first two thirds of the full length El Chocolate stage from last year. "The last four or five miles of this stage are so fast, probably the quickest section of the whole event, it’s really flowing, fifth and sixth-gear stuff through a valley. "The start is pretty typical Mexico, twisty and quite tight in places. It’s nice that they’ve split this stage up because the three miles or so in the middle – the section they’ve taken out and we use as road section this year – is really twisty and doesn’t really add much."
"This is first two thirds of the full length El Chocolate stage from last year. "The last four or five miles of this stage are so fast, probably the quickest section of the whole event, it’s really flowing, fifth and sixth-gear stuff through a valley. "The start is pretty typical Mexico, twisty and quite tight in places. It’s nice that they’ve split this stage up because the three miles or so in the middle – the section they’ve taken out and we use as road section this year – is really twisty and doesn’t really add much."
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Loeb is in and he's third quickest on his first proper stage returning to the WRC. He's 4.3s slower than Meeke, and that's a nice run for him.
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Don't freak out, but Loeb will be the next to complete the stage. His final split is just 1s down on Sordo. Impressive.
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"I lost a little but at the end because of the tyres," says Sordo. "It's the first stage, I'm happy to finish."
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Suninen arrives and is eighth quickest. Sordo arrives second quickest, 2.8s down on Meeke.
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Sordo is looking tidy here, by the way. He's second quickest at the final split despite missing the last event in rotation with Hayden Paddon.
It's real, pinch yourself. Pictures show Loeb and Daniel Elena tackling the stage. It looks clean and tidy. No change there then.
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Loeb isn't quite as close to Meeke at the second split, 3.5s down. But different drivers have done better in different parts of this stage so we'll wait until the end before making a final call on performance.
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Evans explains his time loss from the last split to the stage end: "It felt like the tyres were moving around a lot it's difficult to tell whether it's the conditions or the tyres wearing."
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Evans arrives and he's third quickest, 0.2s behind his team-mate Ogier. That puts him fourth overall behind Meeke, Ogier and Tanak.
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"Difficult, I think we're benefitting more from the ruts than cleaning," says new rally leader Meeke. "The first part of the stage is like a beach with sand blowing. I'm happy with my tyre choice."
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Meeke is fastest by 6.6s, so just tailed off slightly after the third split. But still, that gives him the rally lead, 5.5s ahead of Ogier.
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LOEB LOEB LOEB. His first split is second quickest so far, just behind his team-mate Kris Meeke. Game on!
Meeke will be the next in and he's flying.
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Mikkelsen manages third fastest and 6.4s down on Ogier.
He's started the stage.
Sorry. Get used to excited over-use of Loeb-related sentences in capitals this weekend. Because...HE'S BACK!
Sorry. Get used to excited over-use of Loeb-related sentences in capitals this weekend. Because...HE'S BACK!
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Evans is 1.8s down on Meeke's rapid second split, so those two will likely duke it out for the stage win. BUT WHAT ABOUT LOEB?
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"It's extremely slippy, it's very tough," says Tanak. "We tried our best." That was a good effort for his first gravel stage in the Toyota Yaris.
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Elfyn Evans is rapid at the first split as well, within a second of Meeke. Tanak completes and he's only 1.9s slower than Ogier.
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Meeke is 5.6s up on benchmark Sebastien Ogier, the Northern Irishman and last year's winner is flying.
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"My driving is bad and then some small things," says Lappi. "It's very slippy all the time so I can't have any confidence." He's always so hard on himself.
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Lappi completes his first stage in Mexico; he's 20s down on Ogier and slowest so far.
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Meeke, Evans and Suninen are into the test now. Last year's winner, Meeke, is fastest by 2.1s at split one. Keep an eye on him. Sordo and Loeb are the next cars to start. They know each other pretty well.
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Latvala is 7.5s slower than Ogier despite being quicker than him at the first split. "It felt really good in the first split," says Latvala. "The power went down halfway through the stage. It's not the same as last year as we had temperature issues last year. We are losing the power."
Latvala is SLOWER than Ogier at the second and third splits. So unlikely the Finn will top Ogier here.
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Ogier arrives, 10.1s up on Neuville on the first stage proper. "It's going to be a killer for us, I couldn't see a line and it was still loose," says Ogier. "It's going to be quicker for the guys behind."
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Latvala is still the quickest person at the first split, despite a flurry of additional cars.
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At the mid-way split, Ogier is 5.9s up on Neuville. He's 10.1s up at 24kms. That's A LOT!
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Neuville's time is 17m27.6s. "Slippy!" says Neuville. "I tried to do my best. I feel like I'm not 100% comfortable. We have to get used to it [losing time] a bit. We will see!"
Lappi, Tanak and Mikkelsen are all into the stage now.
Guess who won this rally 10 years ago? Yes, that really was 10 years ago. HE'S BACK!
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There's three minutes between cars on this event to avoid any problems with dust, so we do have a bit of a gap between cars. At the first split, Ogier is 1.8s quicker. Latvala is another 1.2s quicker than Ogier in turn.
Even though he's sweeping, the onboard camera looks no less quick or dramatic. These new-generation World Rally Cars are so fast, it's spectacular to watch.
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Neuville has reached the first split seemingly without issue. The aim here is to see how much time the Belgian loses to the drivers further back, who should have a cleaner road and therefore be able to go faster.
David Evans
All drivers have taken five soft Michelins except Meeke who goes with three softs and two hards. How the Citroen man has worked the mix of tyres is hard to fathom - certainly nobody was forthcoming with that intel.
Elfyn Evans on the tyre choice: “It’s a really tricky one. You can think about crossing the tyres and taking a mix, but that compromises the balance of the car. "On the other hand, will the soft last? How much loose will there be about? It’s hard to know.”
We’ll soon find out.
Elfyn Evans on the tyre choice: “It’s a really tricky one. You can think about crossing the tyres and taking a mix, but that compromises the balance of the car. "On the other hand, will the soft last? How much loose will there be about? It’s hard to know.”
We’ll soon find out.
By: Matt Beer
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