Ogier Leads Rally GB after Day 2
Sebastien Ogier continues to pull away at the front of the Rally GB field after the Frenchman had played second fiddle to Andreas Mikkelsen on the first stage of the evening through Dyfnant, but topped the final stage of the day, Aberhirnant. Citroen's Kris Meeke fell further away from the WRC champion with third and fourth fastest times on the night stages, leaving him 35.7s behind the leader and needing to keep an eye on closing third place man Mikkelsen, who'd moved to within 25s of Meeke on the final test and still has a hope of taking second plave in the championship from Jari-Matti Latvala.
Mikkelsen had set his fastest time on Dyfnant despite his lights pointing up at the trees rather than the road, an incredible feat as he struggled to see the road in front. The closest battle in the top six rages behind Mikkelsen, with Ott Tanak in fourth 14.7s ahead of Dani Sordo. Hayden Paddon was able to continue after an earlier crash with Martin Prokop on a road section, and despite having problems with confidence in the car, holds sixth 23.6s behind Sordo.
Elfyn Evans backed up a strong day after Friday's puncture by setting the second fastest stage time on Aberhirnant behind Ogier, and could yet come into the battle ahead. He's just 6s behind Paddon heading into the final day of his home event. Eighth-placed Mads Ostberg had a torrid day in the Welsh forests and fell further adrift of the drivers ahead on a vital weekend for Citroen, which needs his manufacturer points to fend off Hyundai for second in the championship.
LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS15:
Pos ... Driver ... Team ... Car ... Gap
1 Sebastien Ogier Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen 2h40m25.2s
2 Kris Meeke Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 35.7s
3 Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen 1m00.4s
4 Ott Tanak M-Sport World Rally Team Ford 2m41.1s
5 Dani Sordo Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai 2m55.8s
6 Hayden Paddon Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai 3m13.9s
7 Elfyn Evans M-Sport World Rally Team Ford 3m18.3s
8 Mads Ostberg Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 4m21.9s
9 Stephane Lefebvre Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroen 5m32.6s
10 Robert Kubica RK World Rally Team Ford 6m31.8s
14th November, 2015