WRC Tour of Corsica
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Thankfully David Evans survived his little chat with the McRae fan.
"There’s plenty of McRae fever in this part of the world. This bloke would well remember Colin’s stunning Tour de Corse back-to-back wins in 1997 and 1998. The superstar Scot is the only non-Frenchman ever to win two in row. Back to the brolly… the chap wasn’t overly impressed at having his picture taken, but he wouldn’t have minded if he’d known it was for RCL."
"There’s plenty of McRae fever in this part of the world. This bloke would well remember Colin’s stunning Tour de Corse back-to-back wins in 1997 and 1998. The superstar Scot is the only non-Frenchman ever to win two in row. Back to the brolly… the chap wasn’t overly impressed at having his picture taken, but he wouldn’t have minded if he’d known it was for RCL."
Plenty of drivers were complaining about how ‘slimy and slippery’ SS5 was. This was due to yesterday’s awful weather, which is perfectly demonstrated by this great snap by David Evans of a fan with a serious case of Colin McRae fever.
Welcome back to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live. We’re almost ready to get back underway in Corsica, where Jari-Matti Latvala is just 1.7s behind overall leader Elfyn Evans.
News
As mentioned before here is the full report from SS5, where Latvala closed the gap to leader Evans. 
We will be back at around 12:50pm UK time for AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's coverage of SS6 in Corsica. In the meantime keep your eyes peeled for a full report from SS5.
So, what a morning we have had in Corsica. Elfyn Evans is still desperately searching for his first WRC win but Jari-Matti Latvala isn't going to let him have it easy.
Here are the big talking points heading into SS6 this afternoon:
. Jari-Matti Latvala is fastest through SS5 and closes the overall gap to leader Elfyn Evans to just 1.7s.
. Kevin Abbring falls to fourth overall after deciding to run with the hard tyres.
. Robert Kubica stops twice on the stage with a suspected puncture.
. Craig Breen loses the WRC2 lead to Julien Maurin
. Jari-Matti Latvala is fastest through SS5 and closes the overall gap to leader Elfyn Evans to just 1.7s.
. Kevin Abbring falls to fourth overall after deciding to run with the hard tyres.
. Robert Kubica stops twice on the stage with a suspected puncture.
. Craig Breen loses the WRC2 lead to Julien Maurin
Crash
Romain Dumas has stopped again. Seems as though he has caught Kubica syndrome.
Overall standings after SS5:
1 Evans 1h14m00.2s
2 Latvala +1.7s
3 Mikkelsen +27.8s
4 Abbring +29.1s
5 Meeke +43s
6 Ostberg +47.5s
7 Sarrazin +1m07.5s
8 Paddon +1m14.3s
9 Bouffier +1m14.6s
10 Tanak +1m34s
1 Evans 1h14m00.2s
2 Latvala +1.7s
3 Mikkelsen +27.8s
4 Abbring +29.1s
5 Meeke +43s
6 Ostberg +47.5s
7 Sarrazin +1m07.5s
8 Paddon +1m14.3s
9 Bouffier +1m14.6s
10 Tanak +1m34s
Checkered flag
SS5 results:
1 Latvala 26m50.5s
2 Mikkelsen +4.5s
3 Ogier +14.4s
4 Meeke +17.2s
5 Sordo +18.8s
6 Paddon +20.6s
1 Latvala 26m50.5s
2 Mikkelsen +4.5s
3 Ogier +14.4s
4 Meeke +17.2s
5 Sordo +18.8s
6 Paddon +20.6s
That means Lappi is only 2.2s behind new leader Maurin. Game on.
Stopwatch
Incredible stuff in WRC2 from Esapekka Lappi. He is 29.4s faster than Breen and 4.6s up on Maurin.
So here is our overall order:
1 Evans
2 Latvala
3 Mikkelsen
4 Abbring
5 Meeke
6 Ostberg
7 Sarrazin
8 Paddon
9 Bouffier
10 Tanak
1 Evans
2 Latvala
3 Mikkelsen
4 Abbring
5 Meeke
6 Ostberg
7 Sarrazin
8 Paddon
9 Bouffier
10 Tanak
Bouffier and Sarrazin are both through as well and they can't repeat yesterday's heroics. Bouffier is ninth fastest, Sarrazin 13th.
Abbring was then asked if he would change to the soft tyre now if he could. "Yes" was his reply, unsurprisingly.
Quote
David Evans earlier described Kevin Abbring as a brave boy for deciding to run with the hard tyres. Unfortunately for Abbring the gamble hasn't paid off.
"We have a slow puncture. We didn't hit anything. 15km in it didn't feel good at all. The hard tyres are definitely worse on this surface."
"We have a slow puncture. We didn't hit anything. 15km in it didn't feel good at all. The hard tyres are definitely worse on this surface."
Abbring completes the stage 31.6s down on Latvala. This drops him from second to fourth overall behind Latvala and Mikkelsen.
Lefebvre is the third slowest man through. A lot of French words flying around before he was asked if he enjoyed the stage, to which he replied with a firm "no".
Crash
'Sportscar class' leader Romain Dumas has stopped. Least his livery is a beauty.
Prokop has had a torrid time. He is 1m06.2s off the pace of Latvala.
Sordo is fifth fastest. Pretty solid time from Sordo, he is 1.8s up on Paddon and only 1.6s behind Meeke. In the overall standings he is 20.2s behind Tanak in seventh.
Quote
Paddon is also in. He is faster than Evans by 0.6s. Once again the mud on the stage was a problem as was his hard and soft tyre choice.
"They've compacted the mud into the surface. The tyres were the wrong choice."
"They've compacted the mud into the surface. The tyres were the wrong choice."
Tanak is way off the pace, 39.3s off the pace to be precise.
Crash
Kubica has stopped again.
Quote
Evans, like many others, struggled with the slimy surface on the stage.
"It's slimy and difficult for sure. We will do what we can again, we can't do anymore."
"It's slimy and difficult for sure. We will do what we can again, we can't do anymore."
Crucially he still holds the overall lead by 1.7s.
Evans is at the stage end and he is 21.2s slower than Latvala.
Quote
Here is Mr Meeke:
"To be honest you have to concentrate on your own rhythm. It's more slimy and difficult to trust grip. It's real muddy."
"To be honest you have to concentrate on your own rhythm. It's more slimy and difficult to trust grip. It's real muddy."
Quote
Ostberg is 29.9s slower than Latvala and 12.7s behind Meeke who has just finished the stage. Here is what Ostberg thought of the stage:
"Yeah it was difficult much more slippery. I changed my setup for more grip but it didn't work."
"Yeah it was difficult much more slippery. I changed my setup for more grip but it didn't work."
Evans has lost a bit of time through the final split. Could the Welshman lose his lead?
Quote
Mikkelsen is also at the stage end. He is 4.5s down on his team-mate Latvala:
"The mud today is quite a lot. you're sliding from corner to corner like Monte Carlo."
"The mud today is quite a lot. you're sliding from corner to corner like Monte Carlo."
Quote
Here is what he had to say:
"It's Evans I'm looking for. I knew he was strong there yesterday and that I had to improve. It's almost more difficult today.
We had a couple of little moments. It's so so muddy and so so slippy."
"It's Evans I'm looking for. I knew he was strong there yesterday and that I had to improve. It's almost more difficult today.
We had a couple of little moments. It's so so muddy and so so slippy."
Stopwatch
Latvia sets a blistering pace. He is 14.4s quicker than Ogier at the stage end.
Stopwatch
Ogier finishes the stage 26.4s up on Neuville.
Quote
Neuville is through and he is not happy at all:
"Horrible, the conditions are horrible. I took it steady because there's no reason to make a mistake."
"Horrible, the conditions are horrible. I took it steady because there's no reason to make a mistake."
Mikkelsen is now on it, he is the fastest through the third split. The three VW drivers are trading blows at the moment.
Crash
Kubica is now on the move again. He was barely into the stage before he stopped.
Crash
Kubica has stopped out on stage.
Evans is currently 6.2s down on Latvala.
By: Matt Beer
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