WRC: Sebastien Ogier in control of Rally of Poland
Last Updated: 29/06/14 8:56am
World champion Sebastien Ogier takes a solid lead into the final day at the Rally Poland after safely navigating Saturday's 10 stages.
The 30-year-old, who tops the World Rally Championship table after the opening six races of the season, takes a lead of just over a minute into the final day, which includes only four stages.
The Volkswagen driver managed to avoid any problems on his way around, while his closest challenger and team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen stuttered after spinning on the second stage of the day before suffering a brake failure on the penultimate stage.
"It's been a good day for us. We just need to focus on getting to the finish now," Ogier told wrc.com.
Mikkelsen feels he is too far behind to challenge Ogier, adding: "The challenge is too far now so I'm just trying to control the pace and manage my tyres."
The day started with drama as Kris Meeke, Robert Kubica and Henning Solberg dropped vital time due to punctures on the opening stage, while Jari-Matti Latvala suffered suspension damage after his VW Polo hit a rock.
The same SS14 stage also saw Elfyn Evans retire after his Ford Fiesta's front-left suspension was seriously damaged and Citroen's Mads Ostberg joined him on the sidelines after rolling his car.
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville of Belgium, who was out of the top 10 after the first two days, impressed as he fought his way up the leaderboard to end the day in third place aead of Mikko Hirvonen, Juho Hanninen and Latvala.
Leading standings after third day:
1 S Ogier (Fra) Volkswagen 2:08:47.3
2 A Mikkelsen (Nor) Volkswagen +1:01.8
3 T Neuville (Bel) Hyundai +2:20.5
4 M Hirvonen (Fin) Ford +2:31.2
5 J Hanninen (Fin) Hyundai +2:45.2
6 J-M Latvala (Fin) Volkswagen +2:45.6
7 H Paddon (Nzl) Hyundai +4:10.3
8 H Solberg (Nor) Ford +4:29.5
9 K Meeke (Gbr) Citroen +4:33.0
10 M Prokop (Cze) Ford +5:18.6
