Rally Poland 2016
10h
While Lappi has a lead of almost 20 seconds at the head of WRC2, Lappi is fighting for 2nd place in the category against Evans. The Finn regained the advantage over the Welshman in SS19 for a 1″5 lead.
09h
Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) lost more than four minutes in the 19th special stage of Rally Poland after tearing off a wheel following a spin. The Frenchman tried to reach the finish, forcing Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) to slow down due to the yellow flags displayed. The Championship leader failed almost 15 seconds behind Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) who was the fastest by completing the 8,55km in 4'32''2.
Andreas Mikkelsen (Volkswagen) was closest to Hayden Paddon with 1”8 behind. Ott Tänak (Ford) follows 2”1 ahead of the Hyundais of Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville.
Ott Tänak maintains a lead of 18 seconds over Andreas Mikkelsen before competing in the second pass of the final stage's special stages. Hayden Paddon is almost 6 seconds behind the Norwegian. Thierry Neuville and Jari-Matti Latvala complete the top five, the Finn ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier by more than 13 seconds, but the Championship leader could see his time adjusted. Craig Breen (Citroën) inherits seventh place. Éric Camilli (Ford) maintains a little more than nine seconds ahead of his teammate Mads Ostberg. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) finally climbs into the top ten and is only three seconds behind the Scandinavian who precedes him. Stéphane Lefebvre is expected to retire as the damage to the DS 18 WRC seems too great and he will have no assistance at his disposal.
09h
Tänak sets the 3rd time, 2″1 behind Latvala’s scratch. The Estonian only lost 3 tenths to Mikkelsen. “It hasn't changed too much compared to the previous stages. It remains complicated. »
09h
Mikkelsen sets the 2nd provisional time, 1″8 behind his teammate Latvala and thus ahead of Paddon by 1″4. The Norwegian further consolidates his 2nd place. “It was really complicated, the roads were very tricky. Tänak continues to ride very well and it will be hard to catch him. »
09h
Paddon sets the 2nd provisional time, 3″2 behind the Latvala benchmark. The Hyundai driver remains in 3rd place.
09h
Neuville takes 2nd provisional time, 3″5 behind Latvala. The Belgian arrived too quickly on a chicane (where Sordo hit the bales) and had to cut it. “I missed braking. Fortunately I had room to pass on the side. »
09h
Latvala took the provisional scratch in 4'32″2, 4 seconds better than Ostberg. “I didn’t really understand what happened. I just saw the marshals and saw that it was Lefebvre stopped at the side of the track. » The Finn takes almost 15 seconds from his teammate Ogier, but the Frenchman's time could be adjusted.
09h
Ogier finished 10″9 behind Ostberg after dropping the pace to respect the yellow flags.
09h
With Lefebvre moving slowly, the marshals had no choice but to neutralize the special. The pilots must take their foot off the gas.
09h
Lefebvre trying to reach the finish:
SS19 @SLefebvreRallye is driving with heavy damage! #RallyPoland @AbuDhabiRacing1 @OfficialWRC pic.twitter.com/26fNG0lDbF
— Rally Poland (@rajdpolski) July 3, 2016
09h
Lefebvre hit an embankment and tore off the left rear wheel of his DS 3. The Citroën driver seemed close to retirement while he was in 7th place ahead of Breen who had just finished 4″2 behind Ostberg.
09h
Sordo hit a bale of straw on the stage and damaged the front of his Hyundai. The Spaniard ranked 2″2 behind Ostberg who has the provisional best time in 4’36″2 with a 1″5 lead over his teammate Camilli.
09h
The Sady special, 8,55km long and which will serve as the Power Stage, has already started.
