Sunday 17 November 2013

Rally - Ogier still leads


Now where did I drop that £1 coin?

There’s no change at the top of the leaderboard now that all the forest stages have been completed in this year’s Rally Wales GB.  With just the two ‘spectator specials’ at Kinmel Park and a blast around Great Orme to do now, Sebastien Ogier is still maintaining a cushion over VW team mate Jari-Matti Latvala who actually stalled at a junction in the stage, but Andreas Mikkelsen in the third placed Polo R has lost out to Mads Ostberg.

Mikkelson commented at the end of the 19th test in Glocaenog: “We tried everything. I was going too fast, the rear right hit the bank and spun us around in fifth gear which is not so nice!” That was enough to allow Ostberg to snatch 4th place behind team mate Thierry Neuville who is hanging on to third place and top Ford driver.

As for Tony Jardine, the usual smile looks a wee bit more like a grimace this close to the finish: “The car keeps slipping on to two cylinders. We ran wide at the last hairpin, and have just got to keep it together now.”

Leaderboard after 19 (of 22) stages:
1, S. Ogier, 2h 57m 47.6s
2, J. Latvala, 2h 58m 13.6s, +26.0
3, T. Neuville, 2h 59m 0.4s, +1:18.8
4, M. Østberg, 2h 59m 26.1s, +1:38.5
5, A. Mikkelsen, 2h 59ms 43.6s, +1:56.0
6, M. Prokop, 3h 05m 06.8s, +7:19.2
7, D. Sordo, 3h 06m 04.8ss, +8:17.2
8, E. Evans, (WRC2), 3h 08m 31.8s, +10:44.2
9, J. Ketomaa, (WRC2), 3h 09m 34.9s, +11:47.3
10  M. Higgins, (WRC2), 3h 10m 33.7, +12:46.1

12, T. Cave, (WRC2), 3h 15m 39.0s, +17:51.4
22, M. Taylor, 3h 30m 13.4s, +32:25.8
23, R. Barrable, (WRC2), 3h 30m 27.7s, +32:40.1
25, T. Jardine, 3h 38m 20.6s, +40:33.0
27, E. Boland, 3h 40m 40.2s, +42:52.6
31, O. Pryce, 3h 43m 47.9s, +46:00.3
32, J. Ford, 3h 45m 15.0s, +47:27.4
33, C. Ingram, 3h 46m 52.2s, +49:04.6
36, D. McKenna, 3h 48m 48.4s, +50:41.1
36, P. Morrow, 3h 48m 48.4s, +51:00.8
37, K. Cronin, (WRC3), 3h 49m 27.8s, +51:40.2

And just a wee note to add to yesterday’s reports. It would appear that there were some glitches in the rally timing system which caused delays and that’s why results were so slow in coming through.

The organisers also had another headache at the Chirk Castle ‘spectator’ stages yesterday afternoon with more spectators arriving and trying to get in – when the car parks were already full.

So despite having tickets some folk still couldn’t get in! Pity the poor Marshals trying to sort that one out.

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