22h
The problem encountered by Neuville in SS5 was a loss of fuel pressure. This problem was resolved through support.
22h
Daniel Barritt, Evans' co-driver, actually suffered in the crash. The abandonment could well be permanent for the Welshman.
22h
Malcolm Wilson has just confirmed that Evans will not leave this afternoon as his Fiesta is too damaged. The Welshman could even definitely give up.
22h
#RallyMexico SS5: Another time in the top 3 (and 3rd overall)! “He’s not bad in slalom either. @SebastienLoeb ! His experience of @FIAWorldRX maybe ?! » #WRC #CitroënRacing pic.twitter.com/TofLfeXX0c
— Daniel Elena (@DanosElena) March 9, 2018
22h
M-Sport is changing the entire rear end of Evans' Ford. The mechanics only have half an hour to repair the Fiesta WRC.
22h
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) leads for the first time at Rally Mexico. The Spaniard took control by signing two consecutive scratches (SS3 and SS4) taking advantage of a good position on the road. His Hyundai i20 WRC returned to service more than 16 seconds ahead of the Citroën C3 WRCs.
Kris Meeke occupies second place even though the Northern Irishman suffered a scare in Leon's super special when he hit a plant in a hairpin. The Englishman is one second ahead of his teammate Sébastien Loeb, who is making his first return to the WRC since the 2015 Monte-Carlo Rally. The six-time winner of the Mexican event is taking advantage of a swept road ahead of him.
The nine-time WRC champion leads the first Toyota led by Ott Tänak by just over three seconds. The Estonian is the only one to have kept a good pace while the Yaris WRC suffer from engine overheating. Jari-Matti Latvala is only in seventh place behind Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) and Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai), while Esapekka Lappi is only tenth behind Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) .
As expected, the Championship leader lost time opening the road this morning. The Belgian was in seventh position before losing almost half a minute on the last course after encountering an engine problem.
In WRC 2, Pontus Tidemand (Skoda) is in the lead with more than two minutes ahead of Gus Greensmith (Ford), followed closely by Jari Huttunen (Hyundai) slowed down by a puncture. Kalle Rovanperä (Skoda) retired from the first special of the day.
The crews will compete in the second passage from 23 p.m. French time.
21h
Tänak: “We had the same problem on all the cars. I tried to do my best with these concerns. We're going to have to deal with this all day. You keep all the power if you accelerate hard. »
21h
Daniel Elena: “Rallying is a bit like cycling. The hardest part was getting used to the new ES and the car. The temperatures are hard to bear. My back is holding up well (after the Dakar accident). »
21h
Kris Meeke (Citroën) almost lost a lot of time. The Northern Irishman hit a plant at the final hairpin of Leon's super special, SS5 of the Rally Mexico, just 1,11km long, but was able to complete the course two seconds behind Teemu's scratch. Suninen (M-Sport), author of a time of 1'03"7.
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) encountered engine problems. The Belgian lost more than 26 seconds on the course.
Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) remained on a good pace two tenths behind, tied with Ott Tänak (Toyota). His compatriot Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) followed seven tenths behind while leader Dani Sordo (Hyundai) finished half a second behind.
Dani Sordo now has more than 16 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke. Sébastien Loeb follows his teammate by a second while remaining in third row ahead of Ott Tänak, Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai). Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) climbs to seventh place ahead of Teemu Suninen, the two Finns having benefited from the problems of Thierry Neuville who fell to ninth position ahead of Esapekka Lappi (Toyota).
21h
Loeb: “A good morning for me. I found the right pace even though I benefit from a good position on the road. The tires are very soft with these temperatures, but we made the right choice. I'll try to stay at a good pace. I'm enjoying it in any case, these new WRCs are fun to drive. »
21h
Sordo: “For sure we have a good position on the road, but I would prefer to be at the top of the Championship and sweep. It will be difficult for the tires this afternoon. »
21h
Evans: “I stayed in 6th gear when I lost control of the car and didn't have enough power to regain it. We jumped out of the car immediately thinking we were going to give up. I'm not going to be the most popular among mechanics. »
21h
Another good time from Loeb who finished 2 tenths behind Suninen who retained the scratch. The nine-time WRC champion remains 3rd.
21h
Meeke's mistake in the super special:
Meeke vs. (fortunately not a) #RallyMexico LIVE on https://t.co/twccZ0hRvh #WRCLive #WRC pic.twitter.com/t2UVC7ZUJA
— WRC (@OfficialWRC) March 9, 2018
21h
Sordo ensures by finishing half a second from the provisional scratch. The Hyundai driver should retain the lead at midday.
21h
Meeke: “I was the only one to opt for hard tires. I don't know if it was the right choice because it changed the balance of the car quite a bit. I made this choice last year and it paid off but the temperatures are really high. It wasn't too important. »
21h
Suninen takes the benchmark by ahead of Mikkelsen by a tenth. The M-Sport driver is in 9th position.
21h
Evans limits the damage by setting the 5th time, 1″8 behind Mikkelsen’s provisional scratch. The M-Sport driver is in 12th place following his rollover in the previous special.
21h
Meeke sets the 5th time, 1″9 behind the benchmark. The Citroën driver lost time by hitting... a plant in a hairpin just before the finish. The Citroën driver could have lost big in this incident.
21h
Latvala: “I saw Neuville arriving slowly, as if he was in “liaison” mode. His car was making a weird noise. Concerning us, we also had mechanical problems and we had to move with caution. I hope we can resolve this in support. We should be competitive again. »
