Fastest time for Latvala – We are happy with the second day.”

Friday’s final special stage has now been concluded – with a one-two victory for Volkswagen. Jari-Matti Latvala achieved the fastest time of 13m 55.8s on the 20.77-kilometre stretch from Clumanc to Lambruisse, closely followed by teammate Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman has succeeded in extending his lead over second-placed Bryan Bouffier (Ford) to 51.1 seconds. “On the whole, today went a lot better than yesterday did,” said a happy Ogier in summary.

Citroën driver Kris Meeke achieved the third fastest time and holds on to his third place overall, but is now more than 90 seconds behind Ogier.

We are happy with the second day.”Statements from the Volkswagen team.Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1“Thankfully we made an intelligent tyre choice today. However, the heavy rain meant conditions were once again extremely difficult. On the whole, we are happy with the second day. After all, we not only reduced the deficit but are actually ahead of Bryan Bouffier going into the final day.”Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2“Another ‘Monte’ day that once again had its highs and lows, but also a nice finish. Unfortunately we suffered a puncture after the midday service, and lost a lot of time as a result. Winning the final stage of the day and climbing back up to fifth place has given us plenty of motivation ahead of the final day. A top-five finish was our goal right from the start, and we are still on course to achieve that.”Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9“It is almost impossible to judge the conditions out on the route correctly. A lot of grip here, standing water or icy sections there – it all changes dramatically from one metre to the next. We felt the effect of that on the first special stage of the afternoon. On slicks, we had no chance of avoiding sliding on a slippery spot in a very slow curve. Fortunately we could continue, but we lost a lot of time. We were ultra-cautious on the final special stage in the dark. I am pleased to have arrived in Monaco. Tomorrow we tackle the legendary stages on the Col de Turini – a first for me.”