Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jari-Matti Latvala is feeling the pressure after a morning of tough stages, with Citroen’s Kris Meeke now sitting just 6.1s from the Finnish driver’s position. Though Andreas Mikkelsen, also in a Volkswagen, has slipped back, he still retains third position within the event.
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s Kris Meek took the win on SS10, the longest stage of the weekend’s event, with a time of 25:40.5s. Praising tyre choice and a considered approach to the task at hand, he finished 2.4s clear of Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier, who had been battling hard after a tough morning at the leading-end of the pack.
Third position over the gruelling stage was awarded to Jari-Matti Latvala, who was maintaining a solid pace in his Polo R WRC, despite having to administer an earlier post-stage repair. He finished the stage 5.1s behind Meeke.
Nasser Al-Attiyah still leads WRC2, though it was Esapekka Lappi who took the stage win within the category. He brought his Skoda Fabia R5 over line in 26:33.1s.
Pontus Tidemand was the second fastest in WRC2, finishing in his Skoda a mere 2.9s behind Lappi, which shows the pace of the drivers is incredibly close.
Al-Attiyah was the third fastest, but retained his lead within the class. Blaming a loss of concentration and a lack of grip, he finished the stage stating that he would go on to push and focus.