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This afternoon’s first stage, SS6, is the repeat of this morning’s last – the specially developed 2.58km Sagama section. A challenging morning saw Meeke, Mikkelsen and Kubica out of the rally for today, but at the top, the battle continues.
 Ogier, sitting third overall, is first on the road again this afternoon. ‘Just a short stage, but in the middle it was quite rough. We’ll try to have a clean drive this afternoon – that’s the plan.’ he reported. He completed the stage equal second fastest with Dani Sordo, but it was fellow VW driver Jari Matti Latvala that took the stage victory. ‘I tried to improve on this short stage.’ reported Jari Matti. ‘The car is a little stiffer this afternoon. Hayden Paddon is driving very well, I must say, but I’m not here for a holiday so of course I’m going after him.’ he smiled. A time of 2:07 means that he’s reduced Paddon’s rally lead by 4.1 seconds, as he completed the stage down in sixth and now has an 18.8 second overall lead. Neuville’s pace saw him complete the stage fourth fastest, three tenths of a second ahead of a feisty Mads Ostberg. ‘A difficult morning, now everything is perfect – let’s enjoy it.’ Ostberg commented, with a certain dose of determination. After this morning’s driveshaft problem, Evans is back with a fully functioning Fiesta RS WRC and finished seventh fastest, 4.5 seconds down on Latvala. The teams now head into the longer stages of the afternoon, beginning with the 22km stage of Is Aruttas, which begins at 15:50 local time. Story and photo: iRallylive.com |
