Live text
WRC Tour of Corsica
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Live Text
Sort by
Twitter
Twitter
Twitter
Twitter
Twitter
Twitter
The early splits make good reading for championship leader Ogier - he's 6.8s clear of team-mate Ott Tanak and 8s up on Latvala at split one.
Hyundai's asphalt specialist Dani Sordo is Ogier's closest rival so far, 2.6s off the champion.
Hyundai's asphalt specialist Dani Sordo is Ogier's closest rival so far, 2.6s off the champion.
Green flag
Ogier and Latvala are onto the stage.
Twitter
Information
Craig Breen, a man who knows this place well from the ERC, is our guide to today's stage. Here's what's about to begin:
SS1 Pietrosella-Albitreccia (19.38 miles)
Twisty. One word, that’s all you need. It’s just twisty. The first seven kilometres [4.56 miles] is new, or new in this direction. It’s actually the reverse of the powerstage in 2015 and it’s all second and third-gear stuff where we’re climbing all the way.
It joins the stage from last year at the hairpin where there were some pictures of Kris and I following each other [Meeke stopped to change a puncture then joined straight after Breen on the second run at the Acqua Doria – Albittreccia stage].
From there on, it’s the same as the first one from last year and I really like it: it’s narrow, technical, tricky and really quite abrasive on broken concrete and asphalt. I’ve used bits of this road for tests before, it’s good.
SS1 Pietrosella-Albitreccia (19.38 miles)
Twisty. One word, that’s all you need. It’s just twisty. The first seven kilometres [4.56 miles] is new, or new in this direction. It’s actually the reverse of the powerstage in 2015 and it’s all second and third-gear stuff where we’re climbing all the way.
It joins the stage from last year at the hairpin where there were some pictures of Kris and I following each other [Meeke stopped to change a puncture then joined straight after Breen on the second run at the Acqua Doria – Albittreccia stage].
From there on, it’s the same as the first one from last year and I really like it: it’s narrow, technical, tricky and really quite abrasive on broken concrete and asphalt. I’ve used bits of this road for tests before, it’s good.
David Evans
This year’s is the shortest route since the World Rally Championship returned to the French island, offering 197 miles of competition compared with 243 last October and 207 miles in 2015.
The final day’s two stages remain identical to last year, but Friday and Saturday contain around 20% less mileage than in 2016. The shorter route comes courtesy of the limited time available to the organisers to re-prepare the itinerary, six months instead of a year.
The more familiar route has brought its benefits, as last year’s winner Sebastien Ogier pointed out: “The recce was quite relaxed, we have only seven kilometres new at the start of the first stage, but otherwise it was OK and nice and simple recce.”
The final day’s two stages remain identical to last year, but Friday and Saturday contain around 20% less mileage than in 2016. The shorter route comes courtesy of the limited time available to the organisers to re-prepare the itinerary, six months instead of a year.
The more familiar route has brought its benefits, as last year’s winner Sebastien Ogier pointed out: “The recce was quite relaxed, we have only seven kilometres new at the start of the first stage, but otherwise it was OK and nice and simple recce.”
Form-wise, three of the WRC's four manufacturers have already won in 2017 - M-Sport Ford in Monte Carlo with Sebastien Ogier, the new Toyota with Jari-Matti Latvala in Sweden and then the hitherto troubled Citroen team with Kris Meeke in Mexico. That just leaves Hyundai, which ironically was dominating in both Monte Carlo and Sweden with Thierry Neuville before he crashed.
Neuville won in Corsica in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with Peugeot in 2011, incidentally.
Neuville won in Corsica in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with Peugeot in 2011, incidentally.
Information
A World Rally Championship classic for most of the series' history, Corsica disappeared from the WRC calendar in the late 2000s in favour of a new Rally France on the mainland in national hero Sebastien Loeb's Alsace home region.
When that proved less financially viable without Loeb on the scene, Corsica was borrowed back from the European Rally Championship relatively late in the day in 2015 and has stayed on the calendar.
Its initial proposal was for a relatively radical itinerary of very few, very long stages and while that was toned down a touch for modern WRC needs, this weekend's route is still just 10 stages across three days - four today, four tomorrow (two repeated loops of two each time) and then two on Sunday.
When that proved less financially viable without Loeb on the scene, Corsica was borrowed back from the European Rally Championship relatively late in the day in 2015 and has stayed on the calendar.
Its initial proposal was for a relatively radical itinerary of very few, very long stages and while that was toned down a touch for modern WRC needs, this weekend's route is still just 10 stages across three days - four today, four tomorrow (two repeated loops of two each time) and then two on Sunday.
Twitter
Twitter
Good morning and welcome to Autosport Live's coverage of the new World Rally Championship era's first proper asphalt round - it's time for the Tour of Corsica 2017.
By: Matt Beer
Published:
Lap:
