Jari-Matti Latvala leads a four-way battle for top spot at Rally Poland in wet and muddy conditions on the opening full day of action. Toyota Gazoo Racing driver carved his way up the order as the first drivers on the course profited from conditions thanks to a smoother surface before rutting the muddy track for the following chargers.
After SS5 Latvala heads up a 4.5-second advantage over Thierry Neuville in the Hyundai Motorsport i20 – who jumped above Ott Tanak with victory on SS5 – as Sebastien Ogier rounds out the top contenders in fourth just 7.3 seconds behind leader Latvala. Hayden Paddon heads up the rest of the field, albeit 36.3 seconds off Ogier, with Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo narrowly behind him in sixth.
Juho Hanninen has jumped to seventh on the timesheet for Toyota despite picking up a 10-second time penalty infringement with Teemu Suninen, in the M-Sport Ford fold, ahead of SS1 leader Elfyn Evans who has endured a tough opening morning.
A nightmare Rally Poland has continued for Citroen with best-placed driver Stephane Lefebvre down in 10th and already over a minute off the pace.
Craig Breen in the sister Citroen lost a chunk of time on SS4 due to damage four-wheel drive, while Esapekka Lappi also fell from contention due to a reported broken whee
2017 Rally Poland leaderboard after SS5 (Top 15):
1. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC 29m 25.8s M
2. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +4.5s M
3. Ott Tanak EST M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +5.0s M
4. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +7.3s M
5. Hayden Paddon NZL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +43.6s M
6. Dani Sordo ESP Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +45.7s M
7. Juho Hanninen FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC +1m 01.1s M
8. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 11.6s
9. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 17.5s
10. Stephane Lefebvre FRA Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +1m 18.1s M
11. Mads Ostberg NOR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 26.0s
12. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +2m 44.7s M
13. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Printsport Oy Skoda Fabia R5 +2m 59.7s WRC2
14. Pontus Tidemand SWE Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5 +3m 06.8s WRC2
15. Gus Greensmith GBR Gus Greensmith Ford Fiesta R5 +3m 22.0s WRC2
Notable others:
25. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +7m 34.3s M
28. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC +14m 10.7s M
WRC2 results:
1. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Printsport Oy Skoda Fabia R5 32m 25.5s WRC2
2. Pontus Tidemand SWE Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5 +7.1s WRC2
3. Gus Greensmith GBR Gus Greensmith Ford Fiesta R5 +22.3s WRC2