Thursday evening
SS3: Ogier in front in Mexico
Sebastien Ogier led Rally Guanajuato Mexico after claiming two wins in Thursday’s night’s three short speed tests.
The Frenchman won both runs of the 2.30km super special stage at Le?n’s race circuit in his Volkswagen Polo R to lead Thierry Neuville by 1.7sec. The Belgian led initially after winning the 1.09km street stage in Guanajuato which opened this third round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
“It’s not a big lead but it’s better than nothing,” said Ogier, who must open the roads tomorrow on slippery gravel. “Everything counts and we have done our job tonight, now we’re looking forward to the real start of the rally tomorrow.”
Tens of thousands of fans packed the narrow streets of Guanajuato for a colourful and highly-charged start ceremony filled with music, dancing and fireworks.
Neuville topped the times in the short stage that followed, the Hyundai i20 pilot just a tenth of a second faster than Lorenzo Bertelli’s Ford Fiesta RS. Ogier was third, a further 0.2sec behind with the top six covered by less than 1.5sec.
When the action switched to the circuit, Ogier showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals in both runs. Dani Sordo was second in the first pass, with Andreas Mikkelsen his closest rival in the following run.
Neuville was third in both tests to end the evening 1.6sec clear of Jari-Matti Latvala, who complained of understeering in his Polo R. Mikkelsen, Sordo and Hayden Paddon completed a top six covered by 4.6sec.
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wrc.com/mexico-ss3/
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Friday:
SS4: Latvala sets pace in Mexico
Jari-Matti Latvala took advantage of a beneficial road position to take the lead of Rally Guanajuato Mexico in Friday morning's opening stage.
The Finn, eighth in the start order, profited from roads swept clear of loose gravel by those ahead, to win the stage in his Volkswagen Polo R by a massive 22.1sec from Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20.
"The conditions weren’t easy, quite slippery. I didn’t know how I was driving but I have an advantage with the road position, that’s clear to see," said Latvala, who led team-mate and road opener Sebastien Ogier by 19.0sec in the overall standings.
Ogier suffered more than anyone in the loose gravel. "I did what I could, but from first on the road I had no grip. With hard tyres it would have been even worse," said the third-fastest Frenchman who opted for Michelin’s soft compound rubber.
Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth, almost 40sec down on Latvala’s pace. The Norwegian admitted to a couple of mistakes in his Polo R but was still nearly 10sec clear of Hayden Paddon’s i20.
Mads Ostberg completed the top six, more than a minute slower than Latvala, but said his choice of hard tyres was ‘a disaster’. Team-mate Eric Camilli lost more than five minutes after changing a rear left puncture.
In worse trouble was Thierry Neuville who spun into a bank over a crest and the impact broke his i20’s suspension, sidelining him for the day.
Click:
wrc.com/mexico-ss4/
SS4 El Chocolate 1 (54.21 km)
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SS5 Las Minas 1 (15.36 km)
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SS6: Latvala stretches early lead in Mexico
Two wins from three Friday morning speed tests enabled Jari-Matti Latvala to build a 21.2sec lead at Rally Guanajuato Mexico as the opening leg reached its midpoint.
After topping the times in the long El Chocolate stage in the mountains above Guanajuato, the Finn added a second win in the following Las Minas test before ending a successful morning with fourth fastest in the short Leon street stage.
A lower start position on the slippery gravel tracks benefited Latvala, who enjoyed cleaner and faster conditions than his rivals ahead, but he was surprised to hold such a big lead over Volkswagen Polo R team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who opened the roads.
“I didn’t expect to be so much in the lead,” he admitted. “It’s hard to know what speed you’re driving at. Sometimes you feel you can go faster but then you’re too much sideways. This afternoon I expect there will be some cleaning, but not a lot. If I can keep the same rhythm and keep taking time, that would be good.”
Ogier was second in both tests and satisfied with the morning. “I can be happy with where I am now, I should be further from the lead. My target is to keep ahead of the drivers who are just behind me in the start order. The guys further back have quite a big advantage,” said the Frenchman.
Dani Sordo retained third after two top three times in his Hyundai i20, 12.2sec further back. The Spaniard was 10.5sec ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen, who was fastest through the city street test in his Polo R.
Mads Ostberg relegated Hayden Paddon in their fight for fifth. Both regretted opting for hard compound Michelin rubber and Kiwi Paddon lost more time when he swiped a wall in Las Minas, damaging his i20’s rear suspension. The gap between them is 7.4sec.
Paddon burned his hand making repairs and received treatment from team doctors on arrival at the Le?n service park.
Ott Tanak kept out of trouble in eighth in his Ford Fiesta RS, with Martin Prokop, Lorenzo Bertelli and WRC 2 leader Nicolas Fuchs completing the leaderboard.
Benito Guerra joined Thierry Neuville on the sidelines when the Mexican damaged his Ford Fiesta RS after a heavy landing over a crest in Las Minas.
click:
wrc.com/mexico-ss6/
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