Sébastien Ogier/Julian Ingrassia (VW) lead the 52 RallyRACC after Friday's first loop

14/10/2016

The 65 teams taking the start today encountered yet a new challenge, in form of sometimes heavy rain, which compounded their performance from the very first stage of the morning. With drivers constantly trading places in the standings, Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen) seemed set on consolidating his lead. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai), though, is threatening him only a mere 4''4 s behind, and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen) is 5''7s away from the Frenchman. Further back are Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (4th fastest, + 10''2s for Hyundai), Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jaeger (+ 13''5s, for Volkswagen), and Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (+ 17''6s, on Hyundai). The top six men certify Volkswagen and Hyundai's supremacy, as they managed to pull a substantial gap on the Fords and Citroëns. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle rolled in the first stage and slightly damaged their Citroën.

The day's program opened with Caseres special stage, where Thierry Neuville's fastest time earned him the provisional leadership. But that was overturned after Bot, where Jari-Matti Latvala claimed the scratch time and Sébastien Ogier took the lead in the standings (becoming, in fact, the third leader after three stages!). The cars were closely matched on performance, and the most important thing under the stubborn rain was to make no mistakes on the grip-deprived surfaces.

As in previous years, the 38.95 kilometres and five surface switches of Terra Alta stage will likely turn out to be decisive for the final result. Latvala was the fastest through again, while Ogier clung to the lead (with Neuville and Latvala hot on his heels, all within 6 seconds). The incidents list included Hayden Paddon's Hyundai losing power and throttle, as well as Kris Meeke's roll. Craig Breen received a 10 second penalty for arriving one minute late at Terra Alta time control after the tyre change between the two loops.

Local driver Dani Sordo is fourth overall (+ 102 off the lead) and keeps his chances open for the second loop. After the regrouping and tyre change in Ascó (this time, without technical assistance allowed), the three stages will be re-run.

In WRC2, Jan Kopecký (Skoda) heads the field. Local driver José Antonio Suárez (Peugeot) retired after an off-road incident in Caseres.

Provisional clasiffication after the first loop on Day 2, 52 RallyRACC
1 - Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 41'39''1
2 - Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC), +4''4
3 - Jari-Matti Latvala/Mikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), +5''7
4 - Daniel Sordo/Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC), +10''2
5 - Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jaeger (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), +13''5