WRC – Ogier in the lead in Mexico, Latvala on the carpet

Sébastien Ogier had a slight lead over his opponents at the end of the two opening super specials of the Rally of Mexico contested last night, but the serious things started today with the five special stages on the program for the morning of the first stage. The Volkswagen driver secured three scratches, including the best time in the El Chocolate special (SS6 30,6km long) to have a 13-second lead over Mads Ostberg upon returning to mid-stage service. . “We didn't have the best starting position, but we still managed to get into the lead, so we can be happy. Good job, even if I was perhaps too careful on SS4. I’m sure the grip will be better this afternoon,” commented the leader.

The Norwegian put up a good resistance to the Frenchman this morning by signing two consecutive scratches to take the lead in the event before losing ground while struggling with a car that was letting dust into the passenger compartment. The pilot M-Sport will have to maintain his pace to get back on the Polo R WRC and at the same time resist the attacks of Mikko Hirvonen who is only five seconds behind the Fiesta RS WRC while taking advantage of the best position on the road following his victory in the qualifying special held the day before.

However, the results at the end of this first morning are mixed for Volkswagen Motorsport. Jari-Matti Latvala actually retired from the start of the stage, damaging his suspension following an impact against a stone. The Finn will be able to start again tomorrow in Rally2 but will only be able to aim for points in the Power Stage and units in the Manufacturers' Championship.

Thierry Neuville Conversely, he made a very good start, protecting his fourth place with very consistent times. The Belgian is only eight seconds behind Mikko Hirvonen and can hope to get on the provisional podium after adopting a cautious approach for the first pass. Dani Sordo completes the top five with his DS3 WRC. The Spaniard is already almost 40 seconds behind the second Qatar WRT driver, suffering from a poor position on the road. Nasser Al-Attiyah occupies sixth place ahead of Ken Block and Benito Guerra who is competing in his first WRC rally. The Citroën driver is threatened by the Fiesta RS WRC of Martin Prokop which is only nine seconds behind. Martin Prokop and Michal Kosciuszko complete the top ten.

Evgeny Novikov and Chris Atkinson are still in the race but the two drivers were not spared this morning. The Russian encountered electronic problems forcing him to make makeshift repairs and is several minutes out of the top ten. The Australian damaged a wheel when he hit a stone in the first special of the stage and stopped on the connecting course to change it. Despite his penalty, the Citroën driver still has hope of finishing in the points.

The second passage of the special stages will start from 20:33 p.m. The day will end with two passages of the super special closing the first stage.