Friday:
SS1 Acqua Doria - Albitreccia 1 (49.72 km)
Sebastien Ogier laid down the gauntlet to his rivals by winning the opening speed test at the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour de Corse on Friday morning.
Although he was briefly headed in the early splits by Kris Meeke and Thierry Neuville, Ogier completed the marathon 49.72km test south-east of Ajaccio 4.0sec faster than Meeke, and delivered a warning that there was more to come.
“It’s not so easy to find a rhythm,” said the Volkswagen Polo R driver. “I think my notes were a bit too slow and slowing me down a bit but maybe it’s better that way at the start of such a long rally.”
Meeke was 0.6sec faster at the opening split after 8.20km but a spin cost several seconds and the Ulsterman was delighted to net second fastest in Citroen’s DS 3.
“I spun at a hairpin not far into the stage. I immediately got back into the rhythm and without that time I would have been quickest. Not so bad on a dirty road,” he explained.
Dani Sordo was only 0.8sec behind Meeke in his Hyundai i20, the Spaniard struggling with understeer and brake issues near the finish. Team-mate Thierry Neuville reported similar problems en route to fourth, 4.0sec behind the Spaniard, the Belgian complaining that he could not commit to the apex of corners.
Fifth-placed Hayden Paddon lamented inconsistent pace notes that were too fast in places and too slow in others, while Jari-Matti Latvala was over-cautious and struggled to find a rhythm.
Andreas Mikkeslen was more than 20sec off Ogier’s pace in his Polo R, the Norwegian feeling his left foot had ‘gone to sleep’ due to a vibration feeding back through the brake pedal.
Conditions were dry and sunny, with temperatures forecast to climb to 26˚C this afternoon, and all the leading drivers opted for Michelin’s hard compound tyres for the opening two stages.
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SS2 Plage du Liamone - Sarrola-Carcopino 1 (29.12 km)
A dominant Sebastien Ogier claimed a second consecutive stage win to increase his lead of the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour de Corse on Friday morning.
He topped the times by 8.7sec on the 29.12km test from Plage Liamone through the mountains to Sarrola-Carcopino, extending his advantage to 14.7sec in his Volkswagen Polo R as the opening leg of the 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship reached its midpoint.
The stage is the only one on the rally that was driven last year, but conditions could not be more different with clear blue skies and sunshine a contrast to 2015’s torrential rain.
“We have some work to do on the set-up to make it perfect but it’s a good start,” said Ogier. “There’s a very long way to go and I prefer to try to get a good feeling at the moment, but I pushed a bit more than in the first stage."
Thierry Neuville was second fastest to overhaul Hyundai i20 team-mate Dani Sordo for third in the standings, but the Belgian remained unhappy with his car’s balance. “Sometimes I have huge oversteer and sometimes understeer,” he said.
Neuville was 2.8sec behind Kris Meeke on the leaderboard, the Briton a content fourth in the stage in Citroen’s DS 3, and 1.4sec clear of a confused Sordo. The Spaniard was happier with his i20’s handling and pushed hard but his reward was only sixth quickest.
Hayden Paddon was fifth, still unhappy with inconsistent pace notes but relieved to have survived a close call in a village early in the stage. “I thought the bend was flat out but the rear of the car thought differently…the rear was coming out full sideways in the fast stuff,” said the Kiwi.
Andreas Mikkelsen was third in the stage to climb to sixth overall in his Polo R, 0.8sec behind Paddon and 1.6sec ahead of a lacklustre Jari-Matti Latvala. “Maybe the set-up in the test went in the wrong direction and my driving isn’t the greatest either,” said Latvala.
Craig Breen and M-Sport duo Mads Ostberg and Eric Camilli completed the leaderboard, ?stberg admitting he was ‘quite lucky’ after hitting rocks on the outside of a bend.
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SS3 Acqua Doria - Albitreccia 2 (49.72 km)
Kris Meeke’s hopes of challenging Sebastien Ogier at the head of the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour de Corse leaderboard went flat after he stopped to change a puncture in Friday afternoon’s opening speed test.
Meeke started the second pass of the 49.72km marathon less than 15sec behind Ogier, and was tied with the Frenchman at the first split after 8.20km. However, a puncture on Citroen’s DS 3 forced Meeke to stop and replace the wheel.
He restarted seconds after team-mate Craig Breen passed and followed the Irishman to the finish, conceding 2min 27.2sec to Ogier and any realistic chance of victory.
“We had a puncture early on, no idea where,” said Meeke. “We decided to stop and restarted just after Craig went by. We caught him within another kilometre which was a bit frustrating. When the dust came up from his car I couldn’t see the road, but I didn’t want to disturb his rally.”
Ogier demoralised his rivals by winning the stage, his third consecutive fastest time, by 15.0sec in his Volkswagen Polo R. “It was very hot and the tyres were moving a lot. I tried to save them but I didn’t have a rhythm and couldn’t really push. It was tough but enjoyable,” he said.
Thierry Neuville was second fastest to replace Meeke in second overall in his Hyundai i20. He was happier with the handling and brakes than this morning but astonished at Ogier’s pace.
A revitalised Jari-Matti Latvala was third, despite fighting with the brakes in his Polo R for the final 20km. It propelled the Finn from seventh to fourth, 6.2sec behind Dani Sordo’s i20.
Craig Breen was distracted by glimpses of the chasing Meeke but moved up to sixth, relegating Hayden Paddon, who was also overtaken by Latvala and Mikkelsen. Paddon overheated the front tyres on his i20 shortly after the midpoint while Mikkelsen, like many, struggled with brake issues late in the stage in the high temperatures.
Mads Ostberg was overhauled by Eric Camilli after problems with the brake cooling in his Ford Fiesta RS, while Lorenzo Bertelli yielded more than four minutes with broken intercom.
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SS4 Plage du Liamone - Sarrola-Carcopino 2
Sebastien Ogier completed a clean sweep of wins in Friday’s opening leg speed tests at the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour de Corse to build a strong lead in pursuit of his fourth world drivers’ title.
He won all four twisty and bumpy asphalt special stages on the Mediterranean island in a Volkswagen Polo R, completing the first of three days’ competition with a 44.0sec lead over Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 after almost 160km of action.
Under clear skies and in high temperatures which demanded skilful tyre and brake management, Ogier showed a degree of caution but still opened a 14.7sec lead in this morning’s two stages in the mountains near Ajaccio. Victory in both tests when they were repeated put the Frenchman into a dominant position.
“We made no mistakes, a tough but enjoyable day,” he said. “I really enjoyed the beautiful stages and beautiful weather. Everything was there to enjoy a good rally day.”
Handling problems frustrated Neuville this morning. With the balance improved this afternoon, the Belgian was happier, despite overheating his tyres in the final speed test after attacking too hard.
Jari-Matti Latvala filled the final podium place in a Polo R, 14.0sec behind Neuville. A mix of set-up issues and an over-cautious approach left the Finn in seventh midway through the leg, but a much-improved afternoon catapulted him into third.
His advantage over fourth-placed team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen was 1.3sec. The Norwegian’s problems were mainly physical – his left foot ‘going to sleep’ due to a vibration feeding back through his Polo R’s brake pedal.
Craig Breen and Hayden Paddon completed the top six. Breen had a trouble-free day in Citroen’s DS 3 in contrast to Kiwi Paddon.
Inconsistent pace notes that were too fast in places and too slow in others sapped his confidence initially. Overheating tyres and two punctures in the final two stages added to his woes as he ended 7.5sec adrift of Irishman Breen.
Eric Camilli’s Ford Fiesta RS held seventh with WRC 2 leader Elfyn Evans, Dani Sordo and Mads Ostberg completing the leaderboard. Sordo was third until he dropped almost two minutes in the final stage changing a puncture.
Ogier’s closest challenger this morning was Kris Meeke. The Ulsterman held second until a puncture early in the penultimate stage required him to stop and change it and he ended in 11th.
After overnighting in Bastia, drivers face another 169.04km of bumpy mountain roads tomorrow, comprising two identical loops of two stages in the north of the island.
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