Former F1 star Robert Kubica dramatically crashes outJari-Matti Latvala fights back with impressive stage six run
Sebastien Ogier has pulled clear at the top of the Wales Rally GB time sheets this morning (15 November), whilst former F1 star Robert Kubica dramatically crashed out after rolling his Citroen on stage four.With a slight overnight lead following Thursday’s opening three stages through 23.75km of the legendary Welsh forests, VW Motorsport driver Ogier immediately stamped his authority on the event at the beginning of day two.The newly crowned 2013 WRC champion was quite literally in a league of his own during the fourth stage as he blasted through Hafren nearly ten seconds quicker than any other driver. Thierry Neuville matched Ogier for the vast majority of the 32.14kms but lost several seconds after running his Ford Fiesta RS WRC wide through a hairpin.Kubica’s debut in the main WRC category unfortunately came to a premature and spectacular end as the Pole lost control of his car and slid off the road, before his Citroen DS3 WRC ended on its roof. Both Kubica and his co-driver Michele Ferrara were unharmed in the incident although Kubica’s pride will have been damaged. He wasn’t the only Citroen star to face drama, however, as Mikko Hirvonen also rolled his DS3 at high speed during stage six.Both could re-join the event tomorrow if their respective cars can be repaired but they will have each accumulated severe time penalties by that stage.There was some respite for Citroën as Dani Sordo put on a sensational show in front of the many spectators at the picturesque 4.26km RallyFest run at Sweet Lamb. The Spaniard set the fastest time of any driver, but is already out of overall contention for victory honours having incurred a five-minute penalty prior to the event. “I’m always very fast here,” he beamed. “It’s a really nice stage – I could drive here all day!”Belgian Neuville lost further time to Ogier on the short RallyFest stage and dropped even further back on the 32.13km Myherin run to close out the morning action, relinquishing second position to VW’s Jari-Matti Latvala in the process. Neuville has now slipped more than 30 seconds behind Ogier on the leader board. “Seb (Ogier) is too quick for us,” he said. “I just had so much wheel spin - I’m keeping the car on the road but we’re not moving forward!”The other Qatar M-Sport Fords of Mads Østberg and Evgeny Novikov hold fourth and fifth in the standings respectively, whilst the Volkswagen Polo R WRC of Andreas Mikkelsen rounds out the top six.The morning’s three stages in Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Myherin are repeated in identical order later this afternoon, with Ogier’s early speed and consistency already sending out a strong message after six of the 22 stages.“At the start the view is amazing and you can see almost all of the stage,” said the champion after the morning RallyFest stage in Sweet Lamb. “It must be great for spectators. It’s very muddy, but it makes a good show with the water splash and jumps.” Despite losing some of his advantage in stage six to his team-mate Latvala the champion remains confident. “No drama. We lost five seconds, which is never good of course, but it’s okay.”Briton Elfyn Evans is still challenging for WRC2 honours and is likely to be inside the top ten overall, although a number of times are still to be amended after cars were held up following the Kubica incident.Wales Rally GB - 2013 World Rally Championship - Provisional Results:After 6 of 22 stages – Top Six – Thursday 14 November1. Sebastien OGIER - Volkswagen Motorsport 14:28.3s2. Jari-Matti LATVALA - Volkswagen Motorsport +5.2s3. Thierry NEUVILLE - Qatar World Rally Team +3.2s4. Mads OSTBERG - Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team +24.7s5. Evgeny NOVIKOV - Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team +37.5s6. Andreas MIKKELSEN - Volkswagen Motorsport II +27.8s
