Rally of Catalonia 2019
12h
The second pass of the first stage of the Rally de Catalunya is scheduled to start from 15:26 p.m.
12h
Mads Ostberg (Citroën) leads the WRC 2 Pro with almost 17 seconds ahead of already crowned Kalle Rovanperä (Skoda). Jan Kopecky (Skoda) completes the top three in the category ahead of Gus Greensmith (Ford).
12h
Sébastien Loeb took the scratch in the 38,85km La Fatarella – Vilalba, the longest stage of the Rally de Catalunya. With a time of 26'30''9, the nine-time WRC champion, who had an advantage here with his hard tires, was 2 seconds ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo. Hyundai achieved a hat-trick with Thierry Neuville at 3”5.
Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) again suffered from the failure of his power steering and lost almost 3 minutes.
Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) was closest to the Hyundais with almost 4 seconds behind, ahead of Ott Tänak (Toyota), Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) and Kris Meeke (Toyota). Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) and Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) struggled more.
Dani Sordo takes the lead of the Rally de Catalunya one second ahead of Thierry Neuville. Ott Tänak climbs to 3rd place ahead of Elfyn Evans. Kris Meeke fell to 5th position, maintaining only 7 tenths ahead of Sébastien Loeb. Esapekka Lappi finds himself 7th ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala and Teemu Suninen. Sébastien Ogier is more than 3 minutes behind the leader of the race.
12h
Fourmaux retired in SS2 following an oil leak on his Fiesta R5 entered in WRC 2.
12h
And it is Loeb who sets the benchmark with a 2″1 lead over Sordo. Full success for Hyundai which places its i20 WRC in first place on this ES. The nine-time WRC champion moved up to 6th place, 7 tenths behind Meeke. “Our hard tires worked better even if it was more complicated on the first two courses. »
12h
Sordo takes the provisional scratch with a 1″4 lead over his teammate Neuville. Loeb is the only one capable of beating this benchmark. In any case, the Spaniard took the lead of the race with a second ahead of the Belgian even though he suffered a rear-left puncture at the end of the special!
12h
Suninen is further behind with a delay of 18 seconds on the provisional scratch. The M-Sport driver is almost 5 seconds behind his compatriot Latvala in the general classification. “It was complicated to manage the tires. »
12h
Loeb is currently the fastest in the special, just ahead of his teammate Sordo. As a reminder, the nine-time WRC champion is the only one to have focused solely on hard tires.
12h
Lappi sets the 4th time, 5 seconds behind Neuville. The Citroën driver finds himself only 8 tenths behind Meeke in the general classification. “It’s hard for everyone. It was okay on the asphalt but then the tires overheated when we got back to the dirt. I'm happy to be at the finish without having made any mistakes. »
12h
Latvala ranks around ten seconds from the provisional reference and now finds himself 11s behind his teammate Meeke in the general classification. “I'm suffering from understeer, I hope we can sort that out at service. »
12h
Nice performance from Evans who ranks 4 tenths behind Neuville and who is only 3″4 behind Tänak in the general classification. “The road was quite slippery, but the sensations were good. »
11h
Meeke signs the 3rd fastest time, 8″3 behind Neuville. The Northern Irishman is almost 4s behind his teammate Tänak in the general classification.
11h
Neuville improves the provisional scratch with 3″8 ahead of Tänak. The Estonian is 6″5 behind the Belgian in the general classification. “I tried to attack very hard but it wasn't easy, especially on the asphalt with the mediums. I am still satisfied with my choice of tires. »
11h
Ogier ranks 2'47 behind Tänak and is now more than 3 minutes from the lead of the race. The Frenchman will finally be able to benefit from the assistance. “I feel really good,” he quips. I can't do much anymore. »
11h
Tänak finished with a time of 26'38″2. “I tried but it’s hard. We are fighting against Neuville now. This is only the 3rd ES. »
11h
Lappi started at a great pace, being tied with Meeke in the first part.
11h
Ogier's delay climbs to almost 2 minutes in the 4th intermediate. The rest of the weekend already seems to be over for the Frenchman.
11h
Good start to the special for Latvala who is closest to his teammate Meeke with 3 tenths behind. Evans is a little further behind with a second behind the Toyotas.
11h
Neuville continues his effort with a 2”2 lead over Tänak. The Belgian intends to consolidate his lead in the general classification.
11h
The 3rd partial sees Ogier clocking in 1'20 behind Tänak... And there is still a way to go before assistance.
