WRC Rally Poland: Thierry Neuville takes narrow lead over Ott Tanak
Thierry Neuville edged ahead of Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala to take a narrow Rally Poland lead at the end of Friday afternoon

After a false start when the loop-opening Chmielewo stage was cancelled due to spectator overcrowding, the rally produced three different leaders in as many stages.
Latvala's Toyota was less happy as the roads became more rutted - conditions in which he felt he had done insufficient testing to get a decent set-up.
He hung on to his morning lead for one stage before Tanak moved ahead, but it was Neuville who was notching up fastest times and the Hyundai hit the front on Stare Juchy - the day's last full-length stage.
Tanak then went a touch quicker than Neuville on the evening Mikolajki Arena superspecial, meaning Neuville holds a lead of just 1.3 seconds overnight, with Latvala another 5.3s back in third.
As the morning rain finally stopped and conditions began to dry, running first on the road went back to its usual status of being a huge impediment - with Sebastien Ogier reduced to ploughing mud clear for those behind.
But he felt there was more to "analyse" than just the road conditions, as he went only 11th, 10th and eighth fastest on the afternoon's main stages and the gap to the front ballooned to 35.1s.
Much happier with his Hyundai after lunchtime set-up changes, Hayden Paddon closed what had been a 36.3s gap to Ogier to 4.5s by the end of the day, with team-mate Dani Sordo tagging along too.

M-Sport's World Rally Car debutant Teemu Suninen provided the sensation of the afternoon when he won the Wieliczki stage on his first full day in the top class - prompting the unusual reaction of "oh, really?" from the WRC2 regular when he was informed.
Consistently strong pace from Suninen brought him past Juho Hanninen's Toyota into seventh as the afternoon progressed.
Stephane Lefebvre heads Mads Ostberg in a close battle for ninth, both of them getting ahead of and pulling clear of Elfyn Evans as the DMACK tyres struggled in the conditions.
Bar a repeat of his Thursday win on the superspecial, Evans spent the afternoon being reeled in by the recovering Andreas Mikkelsen, who had much more faith in his repaired Citroen after set-up changes at service.
Citroen's upturn didn't extend to Craig Breen, as he struggled massively for confidence even once his car was back to four-wheel-drive. He will start Saturday back in 25th place.
Autosport's Live Rally Poland coverage resumes from 7am UK time on Saturday
LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS10:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 56m21.2s |
2 | Ott Tanak, M.Jarveoja | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 1.3s |
3 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC | Toyota | 6.6s |
4 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 35.1s |
5 | Hayden Paddon, S.Marshall | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 39.6s |
6 | Dani Sordo, M.Marti | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 51.7s |
7 | Teemu Suninen, M.Markkula | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 1m11.0s |
8 | Juho Hanninen, K.Lindstrom | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC | Toyota | 1m28.9s |
9 | Stephane Lefebvre, G.Moreau | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 1m37.0s |
10 | Mads Ostberg, O.Floene | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 1m42.7s |

Rally Poland WRC: Jari-Matti Latvala leads four-way lead battle
WRC Rally Poland: Neuville and Tanak swap lead, Ogier drops time

Latest news
Laser Tools Racing continues in BTCC with Hill
The Laser Tools Racing name that was carried to British Touring Car Championship titles in 2020 and 2021 will continue in the series after all with Jake Hill.
McLaren to share F1 reserve driver Schumacher with Mercedes
Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be also made available as a stand-in to McLaren, the Woking team has announced.
NASCAR Next Gen car gets safety upgrades for 2023 season
NASCAR unveiled some changes to the Next Gen car for the 2023 season, with most enhancing its safety aspects.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi and that McLaren IndyCar DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has gotten on top of its mechanical woes.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.