WRC Rally of Portugal
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Just like this morning there's a short break before the final stage at Amarante, due to start at five past the hour - and here's the Autosport guide to the lengthy stage:
SS15 Amarante (23.33 miles)
This is an absolute classic and one of the drivers’ favourites on the route. It’s totally different to the first two stages, generally wider and even faster. The surface is generally harder packed, more abrasive and offering more grip than the others. That was last year… this time around the organisers have loaded sand into this stage in an effort to repair the ruts from last year and to contain the effects of a harsh winter.
If you thought the drivers talked about the beach a lot yesterday, just wait until they go through this one.
SS15 Amarante (23.33 miles)
This is an absolute classic and one of the drivers’ favourites on the route. It’s totally different to the first two stages, generally wider and even faster. The surface is generally harder packed, more abrasive and offering more grip than the others. That was last year… this time around the organisers have loaded sand into this stage in an effort to repair the ruts from last year and to contain the effects of a harsh winter.
If you thought the drivers talked about the beach a lot yesterday, just wait until they go through this one.
Here's a rundown after that latest stage:
SS14 leading times
1 Latvala 13m41.3s
2 Neuville +0.6s
3 Ogier +1.4s
4 Evans +5.0s
5 Suninen +5.9s
6 Sordo +6.2s
Overall classification
1 Neuville 2h51m40s
2 Evans +28.0s
3 Sordo +43.3s
4 Suninen +52.2s
5 Lappi +1m04.9s
6 Ostberg +2m34.4s
7 Breen +4m13.7s
8 Lefebvre (WRC2) +11m24.2s
SS14 leading times
1 Latvala 13m41.3s
2 Neuville +0.6s
3 Ogier +1.4s
4 Evans +5.0s
5 Suninen +5.9s
6 Sordo +6.2s
Overall classification
1 Neuville 2h51m40s
2 Evans +28.0s
3 Sordo +43.3s
4 Suninen +52.2s
5 Lappi +1m04.9s
6 Ostberg +2m34.4s
7 Breen +4m13.7s
8 Lefebvre (WRC2) +11m24.2s
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"When you improve the car you make it faster, that is the most important thing," says Latvala of his pace after his delays yesterday.
Stopwatch
Latvala tops the stage times! His 13m41.3s is 0.6s quicker than Neuville, that's the second stage his topped today.
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"There were still some tricky corners near the end," says Ogier with the stage now drying after the rain, "I did a small mistake and went wide, maybe lost a second."
Ogier only just fails to beat Neuville's time - he's 0.8s off in second, a 13m42.7s.
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"Was a bit cautious over there," says Mikkelsen of the wet part of the stage, "but not so much to fight for in that way. We are doing a clean stage otherwise, driving clever."
First of the Rally2 runners Mikkelsen comes in with a 13m53.0s - 11.1s off Neuville's time.
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"I din't know with the tyres in the abrasive parts so I pushed a little bit more," says Neuville. "When you're not pushing it's a little more difficult. I knew that the last 30% of the stage was humid and suddenly there was standing water."
Stopwatch
Neuville blitzes them all - sets a 13m41.9s which is 4.4s quicker than Evans. His overall lead is back up to 28s.
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"The grip was very low most of the way through," says Evans, "just towards the end there was some corners that were like ice. A soft tyre choice would have been better. But you're not to know that when it's bone dry."
Stopwatch
Evans goes fastest - a 13m46.3s, 1.2s under Sordo.
Meantime Evans split times are virtually neck and neck with Sordo, and Neuville is 2.6s under Evans after four splits.
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"I tried to push like hell," says Sordo, "in the middle of the stage the hard tyres work like hell, I was surprised. Some standing water at the end, some tricky places."
Sordo is in and he's 0.3s slower than Suninen, a 13m47.5s
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"It's important to be faster than him," says Suninen on his fight with Lappi. "But hard tyres, no grip at all, we were OK where it was a bit more dry."
Stopwatch
Suninen pips Lappi by 0.9s. Again it's nip and tuck with the Finnish pair!
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"It's really nice to be in the fight, especially with a fellow Finn," says Lappi of his fight with Suninen. "It's changed to damp like this [snaps fingers], I was quite lucky to stay on the road but this can be a surprise for many drivers."
Stopwatch
Lappi is quick again - sets a 13m48.1s to top the times.
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"I was caught out by the rain really," says Ostberg on his sppin, "it was raining in the beginning and it was very slippery on the hard tyres, with the light gravel I couldn't see it was slippery. We tried things on the set-up that dind't work out." He confirms his car is OK after the spin.
Ostberg cuts the beam at 14m50.5s - 47.9s off Breen's mark after his half-spin.
Replays show Lappi having a on-two-wheels tank slapper moment, but he's still going and going quickly.
He's back underway after plenty of help from spectators, but he's lost more than 40s!
Crash
Ostberg has half spun and is stuck with his rear wheels in a dip!
Stopwatch
Breen is first in and sets a 14m02.6s
David Evans
Here’s a slightly random one for you… anybody interested in the comparative size of bananas in the World Rally Championship should note that those supplied to round six in Portugal are more than twice the size of those on offer in Mexico. #WRCfruitnews
Lights green
The second stage of the loop - Cabeceiras de Basto - is underway, Breen again first out.
Information
A rundown of where we are after this latest stage:
SS13 leading times
1 Evans 10m48.6s
2 Ogier +1.5s
3 Suninen +3.5s
4 Lappi +5.6s
5 Neuville +6.3s
6 Latvala +8.7s
Overall classification
1 Neuville 2h37m58s
2 Evans +23.6s
3 Sordo +37.7s
4 Suninen +46.9s
5 Lappi +58.7s
6 Ostberg +1m25.8s
7 Breen +3m53.0s
8 Lefebvre (WRC2) +10m34.5s
SS13 leading times
1 Evans 10m48.6s
2 Ogier +1.5s
3 Suninen +3.5s
4 Lappi +5.6s
5 Neuville +6.3s
6 Latvala +8.7s
Overall classification
1 Neuville 2h37m58s
2 Evans +23.6s
3 Sordo +37.7s
4 Suninen +46.9s
5 Lappi +58.7s
6 Ostberg +1m25.8s
7 Breen +3m53.0s
8 Lefebvre (WRC2) +10m34.5s
Here's a reminder of the Autosport guide to the stage:
SS14 Cabeceiras de Basto (13.85 miles)
This stage was new last year and is very similar in nature to the first one. If anything, this one is slightly more narrow in places, but it still offers some lovely undulating roads – not dissimilar in places to the original climb up Pikes Peak when it was still gravel.
It is, however, soft. And it will dig out into deep ruts, especially on the second run.
SS14 Cabeceiras de Basto (13.85 miles)
This stage was new last year and is very similar in nature to the first one. If anything, this one is slightly more narrow in places, but it still offers some lovely undulating roads – not dissimilar in places to the original climb up Pikes Peak when it was still gravel.
It is, however, soft. And it will dig out into deep ruts, especially on the second run.
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"We were a bit optimistic with the hard," says Latvala on tyres, "we were afraid of the tyre wear. It wasn't the greatest stage for myself but OK we learned something."
Latvala does a 10m57.3s - sixth quickest.
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"Of course we've been talking at the service," says Ogier on Ford's tyre choices, "I said I would start like this and I think they [his team-mates] were thinking the same anyway."
Ogier is second fastest on the stage - sets a 10m50.1s. Makes it a Ford 1-2-3.
Reports are that it is raining at the end of the next stage - those on soft tyres such as the Hyundais could be at an advantage.
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"You always want to fight," says Mikkelsen, "at the moment we're trying to do the best we can."
Mikkelsen sets a 10m59.7s - sixth fastest of eight.
By: Matt Beer
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