SS11 Dyfnant 1 (19.02 km)
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SS12: Ogier delayed by Neuville roll
Wales Rally GB leader Sebastien Ogier was held up after stopping midway through the treacherously slippery Dyfnant stage when Thierry Neuville rolled.
Neuville's Hyundai i20 was upside down in the road 9.1km into the stage. Ogier stopped after being flagged down by the Belgian’s co-driver, Nicolas Gilsoul, as spectators tried to move the car.
"He was blocking the road so we had to stop for some time. The co-driver told us to stop completely. They managed to move the car and we carried on," explained Ogier.
Rally officials examined the onboard video footage from Ogier’s Volkswagen Polo R to see how long he was stationary before adjusting his stage time by 31sec - enough for the Frenchman to be credited with fastest time.
Ogier was then fastest through the following Aberhirnant by 3.3sec from Kris Meeke’s DS 3. With just the short Chirk Castle stage remaining before the end of a long morning, Ogier led Meeke by 28.9sec.
Conditions worsened further as the rain continued. "There was a lot of water in there, I was aquaplaning in sixth gear," explained Meeke after Aberhirnant.
Andreas Mikkelsen retained third, 28.3sec behind Meeke, despite a broken rear right damper on his Polo R after puncturing when he hit a hole earlier. Despite that he won the Dyfnant stage.
Mads Ostberg’s stay in fourth lasted just one stage. The Norwegian went off the road in Dyfnant and lost 90sec, dropping to eighth. It promoted Ott Tanak to fourth and the Estonian Ford Fiesta RS driver was 8.2sec ahead of Dani Sordo in fifth.
Hayden Paddon completed the top six despite a head-on collision with Martin Prokop after both took the wrong route following Aberhirnant. The Kiwi, who also had a gearshift problem, continued with a damaged i20 but Prokop retired his Fiesta RS.
click:
wrc.com/gb-ss12/
SS12 Aberhirnant 1 (13.91 km)
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SS13 Chirk Castle (2.06 km)
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SS14 Dyfnant 2 (19.02 km)
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Ogier eases clear of Meeke
Sebastien Ogier remained on course for his eighth FIA World Rally Championship victory of the season after extending his lead during Saturday's storm-lashed second leg of Wales Rally GB.
He won four special stages through mid-Wales' windy and rain-soaked forests in his Volkswagen Polo R to increase his lead over Britain's Kris Meeke's DS 3 to 35.7sec with just tomorrow's short day to come.
Ogier steadily stretched his advantage this morning, but briefly lost the lead after stopping behind Thierry Neuville's crashed Hyundai i20 which was blocking the road in the first pass through the treacherously muddy Dyfnant test.
Officials viewed his onboard video footage before crediting him with the time for which he was stationary and the Frenchman was back at the top.
"Conditions were very tough. There was a lot of water but the stages weren't as bad as we expected. There was so much water that it washed away the mud and the grip was actually good," said Ogier, who struggled to concentrate this morning after last night's tragic events in Paris.
Nine stages covering 142.32km offered a tough challenge, especially with the final two tests in wild conditions and darkness.
Meeke delivered an error-free day. He refused to risk all in pursuit of the three-time world champion, focusing instead on banking points for Citroen in its tussle with Hyundai for the runners-up slot in the manufacturers' championship.
He headed Andreas Mikkelsen by 24.7sec. The Norwegian punctured and broke his Polo R's rear right damper after hitting a hole this morning, but won two stages to keep alive his slim hopes of securing second in the drivers' championship.
Mads Ostberg, Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo fought for fourth. Ostberg twice had control of the position in a DS 3 but a puncture and a trip into a ditch sent him tumbling to eighth. Sordo took advantage, but a gearchange glitch and a brush with a barrier allowed Tanak ahead, despite a spin.
The Estonian's Ford Fiesta RS headed Sordo's i20 by 14.7sec, with Hayden Paddon completing the top six despite a gearshift problem and a head-on collision with Martin Prokop after both took the wrong route on a liaison section. Prokop's Fiesta was too damaged to continue.
Elfyn Evans was only 4.4sec behind Paddon, with Stephane Lefebvre and Robert Kubica completing the leaderboard behind Ostberg, the Pole overcoming a broken driveshaft.
click:
wrc.com/wales-saturday-wrap/
SS15 Aberhirnant 2 (13.91 km)
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