Saturday
SS9 Pantperthog 1 (9.64 km)
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SS10 Dyfi 1 (21.12 km)
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SS11 Gartheiniog 1 (11.34 km)
Fog and greasy gravel roads greeted drivers for Saturday’s second leg of Dayinsure Wales Rally GB.
Three quickfire speed tests were on the menu and leader Sebastien Ogier eased through them with no problems in his Volkswagen Polo R. He won the middle stage in Dyfi to all but maintain his overnight advantage at 36.3sec over Ott Tanak.
“I did a good loop and pushed as hard as I could,” he said after the finish of Gartheiniog. “I lost some time in this stage with a flare which distracted me. The smoke was like a wall in the road and I couldn’t see anything in the corner. I had to brake a lot.”
Tanak won the opener in Pantperthog and the Estonian summed up the tricky conditions he faced in his pursuit of Ogier. “It was very foggy. Yesterday we lost a lot of time to Seb in the fog so I tried hard. Maybe I was a bit chicken in the fast stuff!” said the Ford Fiesta RS pilot.
Thierry Neuville retained third in his Hyundai i20, extending his advantage over team-mate Hayden Paddon to 7.3sec. The Belgian had a scare when he hit a Dyfi bank but recovered to win Gartheiniog.
Paddon eased clear of Kris Meeke’s Citroen DS 3 in fifth but the Kiwi was frustrated with his driving.
“These conditions don’t suit my style of driving. I can’t attack and I’m losing time everywhere. I like to use a lot of the road but in conditions like this you have to stay in the line because out of the line there’s a lot of mud. I have to drive the car straighter and it’s not my natural way,” he explained.
Meeke had two slow punctures and has used all six of his soft compound Michelin tyres. He has five more stages to complete before the end of the day with no opportunity to take onboard additional rubber.
Sixth-placed Dani Sordo was unhappy with his i20’s handling while Mads Ostberg, 37.5sec behind, lost time with a stall in Pantperthog. The Norwegian incurred a 10sec penalty after leaving the Deeside service late this morning when mechanics had to make an unplanned suspension change.
click:
wrc.com/gb-ss11/
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SS12 Pantperthog 2 (9.64 km)
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SS13 Dyfi 2 (21.12 KM)
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SS14 Garteinog 2 (11.34 KM)
Ott Tanak reeled off three consecutive special stage wins to eat into Sebastien Ogier's lead at Dayinsure Wales Rally GB on Saturday.
The Estonian dominated the second pass through Pantperthog, Dyfi and Gartheiniog in his Ford Fiesta RS to reclaim 11.5sec from the Frenchman. He reduced the gap between the pair to 24.8sec with two speed tests remaining in the penultimate leg.
Although the fog had subsided, the gravel forest tracks remained greasy but Tanak was enjoying them. “This kind of polished road is definitely good news for our tyres. They are working well in these conditions so I pushed hard,” he said.
Ogier insisted there was no easing off in his Volkswagen Polo R. “I’m still pushing as much as I can. We’re doing everything we can to try to keep the gap because we know tomorrow it will be hard to keep Ott behind us,” he said.
Thierry Neuville claimed top three times in all three tests to retain third in his Hyundai i20, 14.4sec ahead of team-mate Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander made changes to his i20’s set-up and while he felt more comfortable, they made no improvement to the traction.
With no more spare tyres available, Kris Meeke steered a cautious path through the stages in his Citroen DS 3. The Ulsterman was more than a minute ahead of Dani Sordo, with Mads Ostberg continuing to fend off Jari-Matti Latvala in seventh.
?stberg’s co-driver, Ola Floene, was nursing a bizarre injury. The Norwegian was sporting a bite mark on his hand and believes he may have been the victim of a snake!
Stephane Lefebvre and Eric Camilli completed the leaderboard.
click:
wrc.com/gb-ss14/
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SS15 Aberhirnant (13.91 KM)
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SS16 Cholmondeley Castle (1.80 KM)
Ogier, who sealed his fourth consecutive world title in Spain earlier this month, completed the second and penultimate leg with a 33.8 sec advantage over the Estonian. Thierry Neuville was third, a further minute adrift in a Hyundai i20.
Although conditions were better than yesterday, fog and greasy dirt roads in mid-Wales ensured driving was far from simple. But Ogier, who has led since the start in his Volkswagen Polo R, kept T?nak at bay during eight speed tests covering 99.91km.
Tanak won four of the first six special stages in his Ford Fiesta RS to cut the Frenchman’s lead from 37.3sec to 24.8sec. But his hopes were dashed when Ogier regained a large chunk of time in the dank and muddy penultimate test at Aberhirnant.
“I tried to go flat out for the whole day, pushing hard all the time,” said Ogier. “Tomorrow I’ll do what I can and see if it is enough.”
Neuville is chasing the runners-up position in the drivers’ championship and was relieved to escape unscathed after mounting a bank this morning. He pulled away from team-mate Hayden Paddon to end 12.6sec clear.
Paddon could not get to grips with the tricky conditions. The mud required a straighter and more precise driving line, in contrast to the Kiwi’s aggressive style, and although he modified his i20’s set-up, he could not improve the traction.
After being in the thick of the podium fight, a lacklustre Kris Meeke slipped back. The Ulsterman used both spare wheels after two slow punctures this morning in his Citroen DS 3. With no opportunity to take onboard additional tyres, he steered a careful path through the rest of the day to preserve fifth.
click more:
wrc.com/gb-day-two/
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