At the end of day 2, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (Hyundai) lead the 52 RallyRACC

14/10/2016

A fantastic second half of the day ended with Dani Sordo and Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC) on the lead of the 52 RallyRACC CATALUNYA-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2016. The event has been clearly marked by the rain, which was pervasive throughout the morning in the three stages. Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC. +17''s) is second overall, and Andreas Mikkelsen-Anders Jaeger (VW Polo R WRC) is third, lagging some  35''1s behind. A thrilling full-asphalt day is scheduled for tomorrow, with 139.8 km spread over eight timed special stages.

The 65 teams taking the start on the gravel day of the event 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, was threatening him only a mere 4''4 s behind, and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen) was 5''7s away from the Frenchman. Further back sat Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (4^th 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 certified Volkswagen and Hyundai's supremacy, as they managed to pull a substantial gap on the Fords and Citroëns. In the first stage, Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle rolled and slightly damaged their Citroën but made it to the time control after losing 40.9 seconds.

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 might 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. 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 was fourth overall, +102 off the lead.

A different second part
After the regroup in Ascó, and the change of tyres, as there was not service between the two loops today, the second part started with an amazing Dani sordo, who took the provisional lead after two consecutive fastest times in Caseres and Bot, slowly increasing his advantage over Sébastien Ogier, who was undoubtedly penalized by going out on the stages in first position and being forced to clean the surface of the standing water, although the rain stopped during the afternoon.

Dani Sordo was about to do a hat-trick in the last stage of the second loop, but it was Kris Meeke who set the fastest time in the second pass over Terra Alta. The Irish rider improved a lot in the afternoon after his incident in the morning, which prevented him to be in the battle for victory. An excellent result for Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (Hyundai) at the end of this second day, as they finished in the lead with an advantage of 17''0 seconds over Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen), who will be benefited tomorrow by their starting position, as they will be the first on the road, contrary to Dani Sordo, who will start from fifth and will find the surface a bit dirtier.

Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jaeger (Volkswagen) lost quite a lot in this second loop, as they finished the day 35''1 away from the lead. As well as Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, who were delayed by a spin in Caseres 2, where they lost their Hyundai's front fender and they could not take risks during the next two stages because their radiator was completely unprotected. The fifth position is now for Hayden Paddon/John Kennard, who had several problems with their Hyundai during the day. Today's only relevant retirement was that of Jari-Matti Latvala-Miikka Anttila, due to a damaged suspension at the end of the second pass through Caseres. It was not a very good day for the Citroën driven by Craig Breen/Paul Nagle, and of the Fords, the best classified was Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene in sixth.

Over at WRC2, the last stage allowed Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (Skoda) to take the lead from Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (Skoda), who had been in first position since the retirement of Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda) at the beginning of the day. The Spanish duo of José Antonio Suárez/Cándido Carrera also retired during the first stage of the day after damaging his Peugeot quite badly.

Saturday on tarmac
The third day of action includes eight timed special stages, starting at Vilaplana (6.28 km), which will be raced only once. Then, the repeated stages of Alcover-Capafonts (19.93 km), Querol (21.26 km) and El Montmell (21.14 km) will precede the close of the day, a short street special stage (2.24 km) in Salou's waterfront. The cars will cover 522.51 km of tarmac, including the 139.18 km of timed sections. A 30' service is scheduled at PortAventura World after the first loop.

Provisional standings at the end of Day 2, 52 RallyRACC
1 - Daniel Sordo/Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC), 1h18'44''4
2 - Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), +17''0
3 - Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jaeger (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), +35''1
4 - Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC), +46''3
5 - Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC), +47''5
6 - Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), +54''3
7 - Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroën DS3 WRC), +1'06''3
8 - Craig Breen/Scott Martin (Citroën DS3 WRC), +1'44''6
9 - Ott Tänak/Raigo Mölder (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), +2'04''4
10 - Eric Camilli/Benjamin Veillas (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), +3'44''3

12 - Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia R5, 1st WRC2), + 4'09''3