WRC Sardinia, WTCC Moscow
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WRC - Italy: Most of the big guns have completed the stage and SS3 is about to go live. The standings at the moment:
SS2
1 Neuville 13m28.1s; 2 Hanninen +2.9s; 3 Prokop +2.9s; 4 Mikkelsen +5.7s; 5 Hirvonen +6.9s; 6 Evans +7.8s
Overall
1 Neuville 14m47.4s; 2 Hanninen +3.9s; 3 Hirvonen +6.7s; 4 Mikkelsen +7.3s; 5 Prokop +7.4s; 6 Evans +9.4s.
SS2
1 Neuville 13m28.1s; 2 Hanninen +2.9s; 3 Prokop +2.9s; 4 Mikkelsen +5.7s; 5 Hirvonen +6.9s; 6 Evans +7.8s
Overall
1 Neuville 14m47.4s; 2 Hanninen +3.9s; 3 Hirvonen +6.7s; 4 Mikkelsen +7.3s; 5 Prokop +7.4s; 6 Evans +9.4s.
WRC - Italy: Fan favourite Henning Solberg returns to the championship in a Ford Fiesta RS this weekend. He completes today's opening stage in 13m45.0s.
WRC - Italy: Tremendous effort by Martin Prokop who finishes just 2.9s off the ultimate pace!
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Neuville has had his Weetabix this morning (other whole grain wheat breakfast cereals are available).
The Belgian goes fastest with a time of 13m28.1s!
The Belgian goes fastest with a time of 13m28.1s!
Quote
WRC - Italy: Meeke posts a time of 13m38.8s and seems rather pleased with his effort.
"I was trying to find the good rhythm. I'm quite happy with my time!"
"I was trying to find the good rhythm. I'm quite happy with my time!"
WRC - Italy: A rather despondent Hirvonen is next to cross the finish line.
"It was a really bad drive. I don't want the same mistake as in Argentina. I'm through it - that's how it is."
His time: 13m35.0s.
"It was a really bad drive. I don't want the same mistake as in Argentina. I'm through it - that's how it is."
His time: 13m35.0s.
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WRC - Italy: Ostberg reaches the finish in 13m37.5s.
"I lost a lot of time as there were a lot of bumpy sections," said Ostberg.
"I lost it in Argentina and I don't want to do that again. Not a good start."
"I lost a lot of time as there were a lot of bumpy sections," said Ostberg.
"I lost it in Argentina and I don't want to do that again. Not a good start."
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Quicker still is Mikkelsen, who posts a time of 13m33.8s.
Stopwatch
WRC - Italy: Latvala beats Ogier by 1.1s, but it's not all good news for the Finn who said he experienced a brake issue five kilometres before the finish!
WRC - Italy: Ogier completes the stage in 13m40.7s. The current points leader described the 19.81km test as "quite terrible."
WRC - Italy: Latvala is 3.1 seconds up on team-mate Ogier by the second split, but it's Mikkelsen setting the pace at the moment. The Norwegian is 3.2s quicker through the first interval.
WRC - Italy: Mads Ostberg fans will be glad to hear the Norwegian's no longer getting any grief from the thumb he fractured in Argentina last month.
Forced to sit out the final stages in South America because of the pain, Ostberg is able to drive with no problems in Sardinia.
"It's completely back to normal," he said, "but it's no problem to drive."
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WRC - Italy: The Frenchman admitted pre-event that he expects to struggle today as he sweeps the sandy gravel to leave cleaner and faster conditions for his rivals behind.
“Obviously it will be a tough job to open the road on day one, that’s for sure,” said Ogier.
“I expect to lose time because it’s quite bad to be first on the road.
“I don’t want to complain because the rules are like that but it’s a real fact that it’s a big disadvantage.”
“Obviously it will be a tough job to open the road on day one, that’s for sure,” said Ogier.
“I expect to lose time because it’s quite bad to be first on the road.
“I don’t want to complain because the rules are like that but it’s a real fact that it’s a big disadvantage.”
Lights out
WRC - Italy: Ogier is onto SS2 and we are (properly) up and running in Italy.
WRC - Italy: The weather in Alghero today? It’s absolutely roasting. We have no idea what the exact temperature is, but it’s a lot. And it’s not getting any cooler, which will put engines and transmissions under higher than normal stresses, especially with today’s long stages.
WRC - Italy: The current drivers’ championship order also defines today’s running order, with leader Ogier first into the stages, and we reckon that Latvala will therefore have the edge thanks to starting second - the position that benefits most from the road sweeper ahead.
WRC - Italy: And here's the current championship standings after five of 13 rounds:
1 Sebastien Ogier 112
2 Jari-Matti Latvala 88
3 Andreas Mikkelsen 48
4 Mads Ostberg 48
5 Mikko Hirvonen 40
6 Kris Meeke 32
(25 for a win, 3 for powerstage win)
Full season statistics on Forix
WRC - Italy: Here is today’s itinerary with UK start times:
SS2 Terranova Nord 1 10:35am
SS3 Terranova Sud 1 11:13am
SS4 Coiluna-Crastazza 1 12:08pm
SS5 Loelle 1 12:44pm
SS6 Terranova Nord 2 2:57pm
SS7 Terranova Sud 2 3:35pm
SS8 Coiluna-Crastazza 2 4:30pm
SS9 Loelle 2 5:06pm
SS2 Terranova Nord 1 10:35am
SS3 Terranova Sud 1 11:13am
SS4 Coiluna-Crastazza 1 12:08pm
SS5 Loelle 1 12:44pm
SS6 Terranova Nord 2 2:57pm
SS7 Terranova Sud 2 3:35pm
SS8 Coiluna-Crastazza 2 4:30pm
SS9 Loelle 2 5:06pm
WRC - Italy: It also promises to be a demanding day with just a 15-minute remote service in Budduso, during which competitors can only fit spares carried in their cars.
WRC - Italy: Today’s leg is also the longest of the event, with almost 160km of running including the popular Terranova stages.
WRC - Italy: With regards to today, however, drivers will be tackling well-known stages in and around scenic hills and undulating forests south of Olbia.
WRC - Italy: The service park moving to the opposite side of the island isn’t the only change for 2014 as around a third of this weekend’s route is new compared to last year, but much of the added distance has been used in previous editions of the rally and we endeavour to mention them along the way.
WRC - Italy: The drivers enjoyed a decent lie-in this morning, not leaving service until 09:00 local time. That’s partly because they didn’t get back from last night’s Cagliari stage until after midnight.
The good news for the drivers is that they didn’t have to do the 140-mile, three-hour journey to Alghero - which replaces Olbia as the base and location for the service park this year - in their rally cars.
The cars were packed onto transporters laid on by the organisers, leaving crews to relax on the back seat.
Volkswagen’s trip back was probably the easiest, however, with a private plane ensuring the journey flew by.
The good news for the drivers is that they didn’t have to do the 140-mile, three-hour journey to Alghero - which replaces Olbia as the base and location for the service park this year - in their rally cars.
The cars were packed onto transporters laid on by the organisers, leaving crews to relax on the back seat.
Volkswagen’s trip back was probably the easiest, however, with a private plane ensuring the journey flew by.
WRC - Italy: The event celebrates its 10th anniversary on the Mediterranean island this year, so it was only fitting that the capital town of Cagliari welcomed the rally for the first time last night.
Mikko Hirvonen won the 1.30km asphalt test in the harbour area, beating M-Sport team-mate Thierry Neuville and current championship leader Sebastien Ogier by 0.2 seconds.
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WRC - Italy: But today we focus our attention on what’s going on in Sardinia as the sixth round of the 2014 World Rally Championship is due to properly get underway in about 10 minutes.
Tin-top racing fans will also be catered for this weekend, with our expert reporters primed and ready to keep you updated with everything going on in the BTCC at Oulton Park and the WTCC in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday.
WRC - Italy: We will be following every stage of Rally Italy as it happens over the next three days, bringing you all the news, gossip and analysis from the service park too.
WRC - Italy: Good morning and welcome to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live’s coverage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2014.
By: Dan Cross, Mark Glendenning, Matt Beer, David Evans, Kevin Turner, Scott Mitchell, Peter Mills
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