WRC Tour of Corsica
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That time has definitely been decent for Tanak in the overall standings, Sordo comes in 5.2s slower after they were equal for fourth on SS1.
Tanak adds that his driving feels much better than it has in Corsica before, but he's just not content with what he's done to the Fiesta's set-up.
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Tanak's view: "The stage itself is very nice, but I don't know why but on the wide roads we are struggling a lot with the balance. We made changes and for sure it's not nice."
Good pace from Neuville at the latest split, though. He's on a similar pace to Meeke and Ogier and 1.5s quicker than Tanak there.
Tanak is second fastest to Ogier of the cars at the finish so far. He's 4.4s off his team-mate's pace. Splits suggest he'll move clear of Sordo and be battling Neuville for third overall.
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"It is better," says Latvala. "I had a better stage. But I can still see that on dry Tarmac I'm not driving well enough. I'm still hesitating a bit with the notes in some places. I need to improve the driving. The car is fine but I know myself."
Latvala completes the stage 9.2s slower than Ogier and he's been losing time to the drivers ahead of him overall through the stage too. Looks like he'll remain around seventh.
Stopwatch
Meanwhile Meeke continues to inch away, at split two his advantage on the stage edges up to 2.6s. A reminder that he started this one with an outright lead of 5.7s over Ogier.
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"A good feeling on this stage," says Ogier. "It's a different characteristic, more smooth. We changed some things on the car and it's a little bit better. Not perfect, but better."
Stopwatch
Ogier completes thes tage in 18m25.5s.
Gosh - at split one all the Michelin runners are within 2.9s of each other. DMACK man Evans is 24.8s off the pace.
Breen is a couple of tenths off his third place rivals at split one, while Ogier and Latvala are both past the final split with the Toyota now 7.9s off the Ford's pace. Compared to the podium group he's chasing, it looks like Latvala will be dropping further away in seventh.
Tanak drops a bit of time to Ogier by split two, where he's 2.2s slower - though it's Neuville/Sordo/Breen that we really need to compare Tanak to as they come through.
And on that front, here's Sordo at split two and he's 2.3s slower than Tanak there.
And on that front, here's Sordo at split two and he's 2.3s slower than Tanak there.
Stopwatch
Superb first split for Meeke - he's 2.2s faster than Ogier there.
Neuville is close to Ogier at split one (1.4s off) but his third place overall is looking vulnerable to Tanak as the Estonian is 2s faster.
Stage pace at split one so far: 1 Tanak, 2 Ogier, 3 Neuville, 4 Sordo, 5 Latvala
Tanak is certainly looking good for pulling clear of Sordo, after their absolutely equal times for fourth on SS1 the Ford is 2.7s faster than the Hyundai on SS2 so far.
Stopwatch
Tanak is the pacesetter on this stage so far. Currently equal fourth overall with Sordo, he's 0.6s quicker than second-placed M-Sport team-mate Ogier on the early split one times.
Rally leader Meeke has now begun SS2.
Rally leader Meeke has now begun SS2.
David Evans
There will be plenty of talk of cutting on this rally and this picture shows exactly the gamble the drivers are taking. It’s a constant balance of risk and reward, particularly for Sebastien Ogier at the front of the field. The Ford Fiesta WRC-driving Frenchman knows that every extra grain of sand he pulls out into the road will compromise the traction of those following. Equally, every grain of sand he searches for at the side of the road risks a puncture – particularly when it comes to hopping back onto the stage, going up and over the razor-sharp edges which can so easily slice through a sidewall.
Better start to this stage for Latvala. His time compared to Ogier isn't massively relevant as they're not in the same outright fight, but to be only 2.3s slower than the Fiesta at split one bodes well for Latvala getting closer to the group tussling for third.
While Meeke and Ogier are 5.7s apart up front, there's then a close early podium battle with Neuville, Sordo, Tanak and Breen covered by 5.9s.
Latvala trails this group after losing a bit of confidence on SS1, then Paddon, Evans and Lefebvre complete the main runners.
Hanninen is still in the rally but lost 14 minutes by hitting a bridge and setting his Toyota on fire earlier.
Latvala trails this group after losing a bit of confidence on SS1, then Paddon, Evans and Lefebvre complete the main runners.
Hanninen is still in the rally but lost 14 minutes by hitting a bridge and setting his Toyota on fire earlier.
Green flag
Ogier and Latvala have begun SS2.
In the overall battle it's Meeke versus Ogier for the lead - five seconds apart.
In WRC2, Mikkelsen is 2.2s ahead of Camilli and the unregistered multi-discipline superstar Sarrazin.
In WRC2, Mikkelsen is 2.2s ahead of Camilli and the unregistered multi-discipline superstar Sarrazin.
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Right, we're back in business. SS2 is five minutes away and here is Craig Breen's guide to it:
SS2 Plage du Liamone-Sarrola-Carcopino (18.09 miles)
Exactly the same as last year!
This is the first stage where we’ll get a comparison with the cars from last year – it’s identical in length to 2016 (where Ogier’s fastest time was 18m39.6s).
I’ve done this stage in both directions and it’s been used in all sorts of layouts. It’s a bit less abrasive than the first one, which will mean it’s less of a stress for the tyres, especially on the second run through when the ambient temperature has come up a little bit. A
part from a five or six kilometre section in the middle where the surface is quite broken, it’s generally a really good bit of road, it’s newer, wider – double-width with a white line [in the middle] in places. It does have some kerbs to look out for, though.
SS2 Plage du Liamone-Sarrola-Carcopino (18.09 miles)
Exactly the same as last year!
This is the first stage where we’ll get a comparison with the cars from last year – it’s identical in length to 2016 (where Ogier’s fastest time was 18m39.6s).
I’ve done this stage in both directions and it’s been used in all sorts of layouts. It’s a bit less abrasive than the first one, which will mean it’s less of a stress for the tyres, especially on the second run through when the ambient temperature has come up a little bit. A
part from a five or six kilometre section in the middle where the surface is quite broken, it’s generally a really good bit of road, it’s newer, wider – double-width with a white line [in the middle] in places. It does have some kerbs to look out for, though.
As Ott says, we have a pause now before the next stage. Back in half an hour for the build up to part two of what's looking enticingly like a great Meeke versus Ogier battle on the Corsican asphalt.
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And Sarrazin is quick too: he's third among the R5 cars in 13th overall, right on the tail of Mikkelsen and Camilli!
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Autosport
David Evans
There's relatively little damage to the Toyota considering what happened to Hanninen.
As he drove away, the car was running perfectly - it wasn't crabbing or anything. But there's plenty of fire damage from what must've been brake or hydraulic fluid spilling and igniting. You'd almost say it looks like someone just walked up to the back and torched it!
I'm off to try to find him on the road section to see how he's getting on.
As he drove away, the car was running perfectly - it wasn't crabbing or anything. But there's plenty of fire damage from what must've been brake or hydraulic fluid spilling and igniting. You'd almost say it looks like someone just walked up to the back and torched it!
I'm off to try to find him on the road section to see how he's getting on.
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"It was quite a slow left-hand corner and it just slid wide," Hanninen adds to Autosport's DAVID EVANS.
That cost Hanninen 14 minutes but he is at least still running. But there's no midday service today, just a tyre change zone, so the crew won't have any team help to fix anything that needs sorting.
If he can keep going all day then to do so in a car that's already whacked a bridge and been on fire would be a very WRC achievement.
If he can keep going all day then to do so in a car that's already whacked a bridge and been on fire would be a very WRC achievement.
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"I went wide and hit a bridge," Hanninen confirms. "A few hundred metres after that we stopped to see and there was a fire on the right rear. It took a long, long time to finish that fire."
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Crash
Hanninen has made to the finish. Toyota reports the smoke was caused from the after-effects of him smacking a bridge.
David Evans
A real treat for this weekend will be a pair of Porsche 911s out, with Jean-Mathieu Leandri joining R-GT class regular Romain Dumas. Dumas’ car is the familiar 997 while Leandri’s is a slightly older 996. Both will face a class race with 1993 Corsica winner Francois Delecour’s Abarth 124.
And in WRC2, no one's getting close to early lead rivals Mikkelsen and Camilli for now.
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SS1 order:
1 Meeke 19m56.5s
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Neuville +11.0s
4 Tanak +13.9s
5 Sordo +13.9s
6 Breen +16.9s
7 Latvala +22.4s
8 Paddon +28.6s
9 Evans +31.9s
10 Lefebvre +36.4s
1 Meeke 19m56.5s
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Neuville +11.0s
4 Tanak +13.9s
5 Sordo +13.9s
6 Breen +16.9s
7 Latvala +22.4s
8 Paddon +28.6s
9 Evans +31.9s
10 Lefebvre +36.4s
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SS1 summary:
* Meeke surges into an early lead over Ogier
* Hanninen looks quick on the splits but then stops with a smoking Toyota near the finish
* Neuville and Sordo both close to Ogier on splits before fading
* Meeke surges into an early lead over Ogier
* Hanninen looks quick on the splits but then stops with a smoking Toyota near the finish
* Neuville and Sordo both close to Ogier on splits before fading
By: Matt Beer
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