SS15 – Ogier claims win while others drop pace

The final stage of day 3, the exhausting 37.67km Amarante 2, proved it wasn’t to be taken lightly by bombarding the drovers with loose gravel, dust and exposed rocks. Despite this though, Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier pushed on even though he had concerns over his choice of tyres. It was a tactic that paid off, as the Frenchman claimed the stage win with a time of 26:05.0s.

Volkswagen Motorsport II’s Andreas Mikkelsen was second quickest over the stage. He ran faster than Ogier in the first four sectors, but a struggle for grip in the fifth cost him the win. He finished 2.6s slower than Ogier.

Again, it was a one-two-three for Volkswagen thanks to Latvala. Again, he showed solid pace in the early sectors with a pace quicker than that of Ogier. The final sectors got the better of him though, resulting in a third place finish 4.3s slower than Ogier.

Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team’s Kris Meeke continued with his more relaxed pace, thanks in part to the extra weight of the two spare wheels. However, he still leads the event with a 45.3s advantage over Ogier.

In WRC2, Pontus Tidemand made the previous stage worries a thing of the past by powering through to take the lead of the class again. He brought his Skoda Fabia R5 over the line in 25.59.7s, leaving him with a 32s lead overall in WRC2.

Scott Pedder also put in a blistering performance, finishing in his Skoda Fabia R5 second fasted in WRC2 with a time of 26:00.6, just 0.9s from Tidemand. Jan Kopecky took third later in the running with a pace just 5.3s away from the class leader, Tiedmand.