WRC Tour of Corsica: Jari-Matti Latvala closes on Elfyn Evans' lead
Jari-Matti Latvala closed the gap to Tour of Corsica leader Elfyn Evans to just 1.7 seconds after a blistering run through a slippery and treacherous first Saturday stage

Once again the Casamozza-Ponte Leccia stage was cancelled due to flooding and landslides, meaning the day started with a second run through the 22.6-mile Francardo-Sermano stage.
World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier, who rejoined under Rally2 after a gearshift problem heading to parc ferme on Friday night, was the early pacesetter but was quickly bettered by Volkswagen team-mate Latvala coming in 14.4s faster.
Andreas Mikkelsen came closest to beating the Finn but fell short by just 4.5s. He did however climb to third overall.
This left all eyes on M-Sport Ford driver Evans. The Welshman didn't set the timing screens alight but was steady through the splits.
He completed the stage seventh fastest overall, 21.2s slower than Latvala, but crucially he was able to hold on to his overall lead.
Like many other drivers, Evans complained that the stage surface was "slimy" after Friday's poor weather.
"It was slimy and difficult," said Evans. "We will do what we can in the afternoon, we can't do any more."
Hyundai's Kevin Abbring, who was second on Saturday, fell to fourth overall as he struggled through SS5.
He was 31.6s down on Latvala through the stage, which he blamed on a slow puncture and poor tyre choice.
"We had a slow puncture but we didn't hit anything," said Abbring. "At 15km it didn't feel good at all. The hard tyres were definitely worse on this surface."
Kris Meeke was the biggest mover. He jumped up the overall standings to fifth ahead of Citroen team-mate Mads Ostberg. He was fourth fastest through the stage, 17.2s behind Latvala.
Stephan Sarrazin couldn't repeat his Friday afternoon heroics, finishing the stage only 13th fastest amid a loss of boost, which meant he dropped a place to seventh overall.
Bryan Bouffier maintained his overall position in ninth. He was also ninth fastest on the stage.
Ott Tanak jumped into the top 10 with Dani Sordo, who was fifth fastest through SS5, 20.2s behind.
Friday morning joint-leader Robert Kubica stopped twice on stage with a suspected puncture to put him out of contention.
Craig Breen lost his WRC2 lead after Julien Maurin was 29.4s faster through the stage. Esapekka Lappi also jumped Breen into second in class, topping the WRC2 stage classification in the process.
LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS5:
-
Why Britain needs a crazy WRC round
WRC Tour of Corsica: Jari-Matti Latvala deposes leader Elfyn Evans

Latest news
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
Daytona 24, Hour 15: Porsche takes lead amid trouble for MSR Acura
Porsche Penske Motorsport moved to the front of the Daytona 24 Hours in the 15th hour after the erstwhile-leading Meyer Shank Racing Acura developed an oil leak issue.
Vandoorne: Dashboard, steering wheel glitch caused Diriyah FE attack mode penalty
A blank dashboard caused Stoffel Vandoorne's 24-second Diriyah E-Prix penalty, as an electronics glitch on his DS Penske Formula E car meant he couldn't arm attack mode.
Five things we learned from Vasseur's first Ferrari F1 press call
Ferrari has undergone a winter of upheaval ever since it was announced that boss Mattia Binotto was stepping away from the Formula 1 squad.
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
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
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.