Drama was the theme of day 2 on Rally Guanajuato Mexico, round three of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship, as many of the top drivers fell victim to the Mexican scenery.
Overnight leader Sebastien Ogier was first on the road for todays action but still managed to set some competitive times as he bid to maintain the rally lead. Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke won the first stage of the day and moved up the order. Meeke leapfrogged his rivals moving up to third place but on stage four the Citroen driver crashed just 1.5 km into the test putting him out of contention.
The battle of the morning was between Volkswagon Motorsport’s Ogier and Hyundai World Rally Team’s Thierry Neuville. The Belgian went second fastest on stage three and won the fifth test while Ogier trumped the field on stages four and six. The Frenchman led Neuville by 8.9 seconds as the crews entered service.
Ott Tanak suffered a dramatic exit on the first stage of the morning as the Estonian plunged into a lake. Both Tanak and co-driver Raigo Molder emerged from their Ford Fiesta RS WRC without injury. Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon also suffered an early exit as he broke his suspension on stage four.
The evening loop of stages saw the emergence of Jari Matti Latvala. The Volkswagen driver won stage seven and eight and finished second on nine. With Ogier taking the win on the super special stage 10 the Frenchman leads the Finnish driver by just 13.5 seconds heading into day 3. Thierry Neuville rolled out of the days action on stage 8 having suffered a puncture earlier in the test.
Tomorrow sees crews tackle another eight stages with over 160 kilometers of competitive action.
