Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastian Ogier increased his lead further during the first stage of the afternoon, increasing the gap from fellow Polo WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala by 4.6s. This was despite having to drive on increasingly aggressive and rough roads along with battling the illness which has hindered Ogier throughout the event.
Latvala finished the stage in second position despite a strong push, completing the stage in 22:07.3s. The stage was hard on the car though, forcing Latvala to not push as hard as he would have liked in a bid to save the tyres.
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver, Mikko Hirvonen, managed to keep hold of third position. He also remains third overall in the competition, though the distance from second place Latvala did open up by a further 15.1s.
Mads Ostberg continued his impressive charge, moving up to 15th position overall from 27th at the end of the previous stage, but the push may have shortened the life of his tyres.
The third Volkswagen Motorsport driver, Andreas Mikkelsen, finished the stage in seventh position but failed to stop at stage end for an interview due to smoke coming from the front of his Polo WRC.
Car 2, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“It’s a tough day, it’s really hot and I’m sure it’s tough for the tyres too. They were moving a lot. They’re not destroyed, but it’s hard. I think I’m going to need them (the spare wheels).”
Car 4, Ostberg/Andersson
“It was very rough, very hard for the car and for the tyres. We just tried to go, we managed to push. We’ll see how long the tyres last. We’re on a mission.”
Car 5, Novikov/Minor
“It was quite rough and quite difficult for the tyres I think, but generally it was okay. It was fine.”
Car 6, Al-Attyah/Bernacchini
“It’s very hard, we tried to push to keep Mikkelsen behind, I know he’s fast but I think we made really good time. It was hard but I’m happy. We need to keep up this pace.”
Car 7, Latvala/Anttila
“It’s an interesting battle going on. Mikko has 6 tyres, we have four. When I was ahead I tried to keep going, I tried to save the tyres but I didn’t want to back off. This time I’m not concentrating forward, I’m just looking at the middle.”
Car 8, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It was good, it looks a bit better.”
Car 10, Al Qassimi/Martin
“I like a rough kind of stage, it makes you challenge yourself and battle Mother Nature. We made a few changes. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”
Car 12, Kosciuszko/Szczepaniak
“We hit something with the right-rear, so we lost too much time. It’s not driving well, we need to go.”
Car 15, Kuipers/Buysmans
“It’s a bit tougher, but the grip is better. The loose gravel is off the road. It’s still a difficult stage. We’re going to try and build up the rhythm this afternoon. We’ll see.”
Car 21, Prokop/Ernst
“It was really, really bad for my Fiona (the car). It was so rough and so sharp in places. It was hard on the tyres, I’m surprised there was no big problem.”
Car 31, Lappi/Ferm
“It was actually a very clean stage for us. Very good. An absolutely perfect situation.”
Car 32, Wiegand/Christian
“There was no problem, but where the stage is rough you shouldn’t touch the big stones. I took it carefully to save the car and think about the championship.”
Car 51, Chardonnet/De La Haye
“The situation is very clear. I’m just driving to finish the rally.”
Car 59, Bouffier/Panseri
“The race is very hard, it’s very difficult and rough so we must drive very carefully.”
Car 74, Kubica/Baran
“The transmission is gone again. Around 15km I was down to using one hand again. Then all the time changing the gear with the clutch. I think we’ve done a good job.”
Car 79, Barrable/Loudon
“The stage is very rough, but we adapted the stage so there was no drama.”
Car 81, Moura/Costa
“My suspension is in bad condition, for a Group N car it’s too rough in that stage.”
Car 83, Magalhães/Magalhães
“I have a better setup than in the morning and I pushed, it’s okay.”
Car 102, Tidemand/Floene
“The brakes are quite hot, but otherwise everything is okay.”
Car 109, Aasen/Engan
“There’s only two more stages then it’s done. We were not successful, but that’s rallying.”