Sport | Other Sports
Red-hot Latvala warms to Welsh winter wonderland
Organisers earlier cancelled more than 100 kilometres of the competition due to treacherous weather conditions
- Staff Report
- Published: 23:53 December 6, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila overcame savage weather conditions to lead Wales Rally GB following yesterday's opening leg.
The BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team pair leads this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 12.9 seconds in their Focus RS World Rally Car after wintry weather decimated the schedule.
Teammates and fellow Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are 29th in another Focus RS WRC after crashing yesterday afternoon.
Following the previous night's start ceremony next to Cardiff's festive winter wonderland show, competitors discovered winter was not quite so wonderful when they entered the remote forests more than 150 kilometres north.
Speed test
Snow and ice covered the gravel tracks in many places and organisers the previous night cancelled more than half of yesterday's scheduled 123.68 kilometres of competition on safety grounds.
More freezing temperatures overnight brought the cancellation of both passes of the already shortened Hafren speed test due to ice.
So the day was reduced to two identical loops of two special stages near Aberystwyth in mid-Wales, before two passes in darkness over a short spectator-friendly test further south. Just 49.7 kilometres remained but the weather continued to do its utmost to disrupt proceedings.
Ice lurked in exposed areas and the early morning sunshine was replaced by hail.
This afternoon lightning preceded torrential rain and few drivers were unhappy to see the back of such treacherous conditions.
Latvala was fastest through the 18.28 kilometres Myherin, the longest stage of the day, to complete the opening loop in third, just 3.9 seconds from the lead.
Standings
Rally of Great Britain standings after Friday's opening stages:
1. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 31:20.5, 2. Sebastien Loeb (FRA) Citrokn C4 at 12.9, 3. Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE) Suzuki SX4 22.5, 4. Mads Ostberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 24.0, 5. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 27.4, 6. Dani Sordo (ESP) Citrokn C4 32.2, 7. Frangois Duval (BEL) Ford Focus 52.0, 8. Sebastien Ogier (FRA) Citrokn C4 54.8, 9. Henning Solberg (NOR) Ford Focus 1:04.7, 10. Matthew Wilson (GBR) Ford Focus 1:33.0
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