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WRC Rally of Portugal
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Crash
Trouble for Lefebvre: the tracking system shows him stopped in the final miles of the stage.
Provisional rally order, which Ostberg could shake up, is 1 Latvala, 2 Meeke, 3 Tanak, 4 Breen, 5 Evans, 6 Paddon, 7 Ogier for now.
Lefebvre, the pretty quick Ostberg and Lappi still to come on this stage.
After that rapid first split, Hanninen has faded off and ends the stage slowest of the 10 cars so far. That drops him behind Neuville to what is currently 10th overall but he's likely to drop lower.
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Meeke is only seventh quickest, noting "there's deep ruts already - you have to commit to the rut, not the line you want".
Fine margins though - seventh quickest = only 4.3s off quickest = second overall in the rally behind Latvala now, 5.0s off.
Fine margins though - seventh quickest = only 4.3s off quickest = second overall in the rally behind Latvala now, 5.0s off.
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That was a technical scare for Paddon, one he's very nonchalant about:
"The car stopped. I had to do a complete reset and start again. But hey, not going to get frustrated."
"The car stopped. I had to do a complete reset and start again. But hey, not going to get frustrated."
Stopwatch
Hanninen is now fastest at split one, with Ostberg second quickest, 0.2s down.
Crash
Ouch, that's not a good time from Paddon in the end - he's slowest so far at the finish, a full 9.7s off Latvala's pace.
That drops Paddon from first to fifth already with quick men like Meeke and Ostberg yet to appear.
That has to be a problem or an error.
That drops Paddon from first to fifth already with quick men like Meeke and Ostberg yet to appear.
That has to be a problem or an error.
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Breen comes in fifth fastest - only 2.5s off Latvala on this super-close stage. That places him a provisional third overall for now.
Is Breen still the happiest man in the entire universe?
"I'm on top of the world looking down on creation. The car is awesome. My notes are working really, really now. It's a nice place to be."
Yes. Breen remains the happiest man in the entire universe.
Is Breen still the happiest man in the entire universe?
"I'm on top of the world looking down on creation. The car is awesome. My notes are working really, really now. It's a nice place to be."
Yes. Breen remains the happiest man in the entire universe.
Not a great second split for rally leader Paddon - he's slowest so far at that pit. 'Slowest' only means 3s slower than fastest, and at the moment he hasn't quite lost the outright rally lead to Meeke.
So prior to the likes of Paddon, Meeke and Ostberg turning up, rally order is 1 Latvala, 2 Tanak, 3 Evans, 4 Ogier
Sordo is slowest so far, though the margin are slender, and now Evans is in and goes second fastest to Latvala, just 1.3s off.
Meeke is only fourth fastest at split one, though there's not a lot in it - pacesetters Breen and Paddon are only 1.2s up on him there.
Tanak is second quickest to Latvala of the drivers in so far, and that edges him 2.4s ahead of Ogier for a provisional second overall - with the caveat that the likes of Paddon, Meeke and Ostberg are yet to come.
Meeke is in the thick of the lead fight too and he's just begun the stage.
Stopwatch
Rally leader Paddon equals Breen for the fastest time at split one.
Paddon's already pulled two seconds on overall lead rival Latvala there.
Paddon's already pulled two seconds on overall lead rival Latvala there.
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Better from Neuville, second fastest so far with a 2.5s deficit to Latvala. That puts them 12.8s apart overall, though that's not a hugely representative stat as they were second and 12th after SS2.
Neuville is figuring out why he's not really been on the pace so far on this rally. Inadequate lairy-ness levels.
"Probably I was not driving sideways enough. I struggle a bit with the rear of the car and it's difficult to keep it in the line. I probably wasn't fully committed in places. To carry speed you have to go really sideways and that's not what I like or what I'm used to."
Neuville is figuring out why he's not really been on the pace so far on this rally. Inadequate lairy-ness levels.
"Probably I was not driving sideways enough. I struggle a bit with the rear of the car and it's difficult to keep it in the line. I probably wasn't fully committed in places. To carry speed you have to go really sideways and that's not what I like or what I'm used to."
Stopwatch
Further back, Breen is quickest of everyone so far at split one by half a second over Tanak.
Rally leader Paddon has started the stage.
Rally leader Paddon has started the stage.
Stopwatch
Latvala is in and he's an ample 4.3s quicker than Ogier.
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Ogier is through with a 10m29.5s and firmly in the 'my road position is a disadvantage' camp:
"This one is much more dry and I'm not so confident we can have a good time. It's very slippery for us here."
"This one is much more dry and I'm not so confident we can have a good time. It's very slippery for us here."
We're a few cars away from rally leader Paddon beginning the stage still.
Basically everyone is insisting their road position is a disadvantage today. Those early in the order say they're cleaning the road, those behind say the road is breaking up for them as so many cars have been through creating ruts.
Basically everyone is insisting their road position is a disadvantage today. Those early in the order say they're cleaning the road, those behind say the road is breaking up for them as so many cars have been through creating ruts.
Stopwatch
Very close on the splits on this one, perhaps fulfilling Marshall's prediction that it's pretty straightforward here. Latvala is fastest by 2.2s over Ogier at split one, Tanak is now quickest at split one but only by 0.9s by Neuville.
The WRC2 cars are through SS2, and with this being one of the mandatory rounds for the class (in which drivers can skip events) there's an ample entry.
But that's not stopping WRC refugee Andreas Mikkelsen doing what he's done on every WRC2 round he's turned up for this season - he's leading by 16.1s over Teemu Suninen already.
But that's not stopping WRC refugee Andreas Mikkelsen doing what he's done on every WRC2 round he's turned up for this season - he's leading by 16.1s over Teemu Suninen already.
Stopwatch
Neuville - winner of the last two rallies - was miles off the pace on SS2 and had no clue why. He's started SS3 better, fastest at split one by a tenth over Ogier and four tenths over Latvala.
Information
Meanwhile, onto the next stage - and it's described for us by RALLY LEADING co-driver Seb Marshall:
SS3 Caminha (11.24 miles)
This is an exact reverse of last year's stage. Traditionally this is the stage with the least grip, even though the surface looks like it should give good grip. We should expect this one to be the fastest of the loop.
The locals have felled a lot of the trees in this stage. When you get up on the top, it's quite hard to find a point of reference. When you come up over, you look and wonder: 'Where does the road go?'… a la firebreaks in the UK forests.
At the same time, that felling does open up some of the corners and make them a bit quicker when you can see through them. In all honesty, it's a fairly strasightforward stage.
SS3 Caminha (11.24 miles)
This is an exact reverse of last year's stage. Traditionally this is the stage with the least grip, even though the surface looks like it should give good grip. We should expect this one to be the fastest of the loop.
The locals have felled a lot of the trees in this stage. When you get up on the top, it's quite hard to find a point of reference. When you come up over, you look and wonder: 'Where does the road go?'… a la firebreaks in the UK forests.
At the same time, that felling does open up some of the corners and make them a bit quicker when you can see through them. In all honesty, it's a fairly strasightforward stage.
We also have a healthy gaggle of older-spec World Rally Cars, and it's another returnee leading the class there - Martin Prokop is already nearly a minute clear of Valeriy Gorban's Mini (ahhhh, the Mini) and Jean-Michel Raoux in an old-school Citroen DS3.
Crash
There are four 2017 Citroens out this weekend as Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi rejoins the field, but there were problems getting his car going in service this morning and he's already picked up a one-minute penalty.
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SS2 summary:
* Paddon flies to the fastest time and takes rally lead...
* ...but Latvala is close behind...
* ...and so is Meeke
* Ogier settles into sixth as he cleans the road
* Neuville is a baffled 12th for no clear reason
* Breen loves everything
* Paddon flies to the fastest time and takes rally lead...
* ...but Latvala is close behind...
* ...and so is Meeke
* Ogier settles into sixth as he cleans the road
* Neuville is a baffled 12th for no clear reason
* Breen loves everything
Information
SS2 results:
Leading stage times:
1 Paddon 15m44.3s
2 Latvala +1.0s
3 Meeke +1.2s
4 Tanak +3.9s
= Breen +3.9s
6 Ostberg +4.7s
7 Ogier +5.6s
8 Evans +8.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Paddon
2 Latvala +2.4s
3 Meeke +3.1s
4 Ostberg +4.6s
5 Breen +5.8s
6 Ogier +6.2s
= Tanak +6.2s
8 Evans +8.3s
9 Sordo +8.7s
10 Hanninen +10.7s
11 Lappi +11.6s
12 Neuville +12.7s
Leading stage times:
1 Paddon 15m44.3s
2 Latvala +1.0s
3 Meeke +1.2s
4 Tanak +3.9s
= Breen +3.9s
6 Ostberg +4.7s
7 Ogier +5.6s
8 Evans +8.0s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Paddon
2 Latvala +2.4s
3 Meeke +3.1s
4 Ostberg +4.6s
5 Breen +5.8s
6 Ogier +6.2s
= Tanak +6.2s
8 Evans +8.3s
9 Sordo +8.7s
10 Hanninen +10.7s
11 Lappi +11.6s
12 Neuville +12.7s
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"It was tough and slippery, much more soft," says Lappi. "I think the benefit I had was in the beginning and the last part was getting worse and worse.
"But the time is surprisingly OK. I thought it would be worse."
"But the time is surprisingly OK. I thought it would be worse."
Lappi is through, only 11th fastest in the end. That puts him 11th overall.
Healthy sized World Rally Car entry this weekend.
Healthy sized World Rally Car entry this weekend.
It's not just as simple as 'driver further down the order gets clearer road' here.
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"It was starting to dig a lot in there now," says Ostberg. "Some big ruts now. I had to slow down to avoid some big, big rocks.
"In some places I do have an advantage because of the starting position but in other places I don't."
"In some places I do have an advantage because of the starting position but in other places I don't."
Decent time from Ostberg, he's sixth quickest, 4.7s off Paddon.
That places him fourth overall behind Paddon, Latvala and Meeke.
That places him fourth overall behind Paddon, Latvala and Meeke.
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Lefebvre says he thought he had a puncture on that stage but it doesn't look like he actually did.
It's tailed off for Lappi on the next part of the stage after that great middle split. He's back to eighth at split three from second.
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Neuville isn't slowest anymore as Lefebvre's in now and is only 11th.
Key stat: 11.1s between one Citroen young gun and the other. Breen is fourth, Lefebvre 11th.
Key stat: 11.1s between one Citroen young gun and the other. Breen is fourth, Lefebvre 11th.
Only ninth on the stage and ninth in the overall standings for Hanninen. Though, in fairness, that's a place ahead of form man Neuville!
Stopwatch
A few slower times coming up next - Toyota's Juho Hanninen and Citroen's Stephane Lefebvre aren't going great guns.
Then joint overnight leader Ostberg is looking in pretty good shape but the star splits are coming from WRC rookie Esapekka Lappi - the WRC2 champion is second only to Paddon at split two on his first fully-fledged stage as a factory Toyota driver in the top class!
Then joint overnight leader Ostberg is looking in pretty good shape but the star splits are coming from WRC rookie Esapekka Lappi - the WRC2 champion is second only to Paddon at split two on his first fully-fledged stage as a factory Toyota driver in the top class!
By: Matt Beer
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