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SS16 starts nine minutes later than scheduled and is the 1.4km Ittiri Arena stage, which also played its part as SS11 this morning, in which Ogier took a win of just two tenths over Thierry Neuville.
This afternoon’s running of the stage was completed quickest by Thierry Neuville – the Belgian has showed signs of some solid pace throughout the rally so far but has been hindered with technical issues.’The mechanics did an incredible job in such a short time – a new gearbox, new steering rack, it’s all fixed.’ he explained – we can expect to see more good things from him this afternoon. Kris Meeke also had a fantastic stage, despite being first on the road. He was second quickest, seven tenths down on Neuville and pleased with his performance – ”This morning was good experience – in the wrong circumstances of course. It’s a different challenge for the afternoon.’ Kris commented. Third fastest was Latvala – he’s clearly continuing to push hard in the hope of overtaking Mads Ostberg for fourth overall. He’s 1.2 seconds slower than Neuville, but it’s enough to reduce the gap to Ostberg to just 7.3 seconds, as Ostberg completed the stage seventh quickest. Ogier, Tanak and Paddon round out the top six – this means Ogier takes three seconds out of Paddon, reducing his rally lead to nine seconds. It’s getting closer and closer, but Hayden is continuing to put in a mature and consistent performance. ‘We’re not focused on the times – although I’m pleased not to have lost more on this one. The enxt ones will be crucial.’ he admitted. The next stage is the 22.49km Monti Di Ala’ – it proved to be a challenge earlier today, with the morning seeing plenty of mechanical breakages and punctures. Story: iRallylive.com
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