Rally Japan: SS23 - Latvala slashes Miko's lead.

SS23 - Sikot 1 (27.76km): Latvala fastest through a very wet and slippery SS23; Andersson second - despite overshooting a junction; Hirvonen third; Petter Solberg fourth; Gardemeister fifth - even though he had an off and went into a ditch; Wilson sixth; Henning Solberg retired; Rautenbach retired; Group N leader Ketomaa retired; Novikov heads the PWRC category; Hirvonen leads overall by 6.4 seconds.

Top ten stage times for SS23:

Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Miikka Anttila (FIN) Ford Focus RS WRC 07
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Miikka Anttila (FIN) Ford Focus RS WRC 07
© PHOTO 4

SS23 - Sikot 1 (27.76km): Latvala fastest through a very wet and slippery SS23; Andersson second - despite overshooting a junction; Hirvonen third; Petter Solberg fourth; Gardemeister fifth - even though he had an off and went into a ditch; Wilson sixth; Henning Solberg retired; Rautenbach retired; Group N leader Ketomaa retired; Novikov heads the PWRC category; Hirvonen leads overall by 6.4 seconds.

Top ten stage times for SS23:

1. Jari-Matti LatvalaBP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 17mins 49.5secs M
2. P-G AnderssonSuzuki WRT SX4 WRC+00mins 12.3secs M
3. Mikko HirvonenBP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 +00mins 13.8secs M
4. Petter SolbergSubaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008+00mins 26.5secs M
5. Toni GardemeisterSuzuki WRT SX4 WRC+00mins 33.7secs M
6. Matthew WilsonStobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07+00mins 42.7secs MT
7. Chris AtkinsonSubaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008+00mins 44.9secs M
8. Sebastien LoebCitroen Total WRT C4 WRC +00mins 47.2secs M
9. Dani SordoCitroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 00.2secs M
10. Evgeny NovikovMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX+01mins 39.7secs P

Overall times after SS23:

1. Mikko HirvonenBP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 2hours 49mins 48.7secs M
2. Jari-Matti LatvalaBP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 +00mins 06.4secs M
3. Sebastien LoebCitroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 42.8secs M
4. Chris AtkinsonSubaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008+03mins 17.3secs M
5. Toni GardemeisterSuzuki WRT SX4 WRC+05mins 12.8secs M
6. Matthew WilsonStobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07+05mins 17.5secs MT
7. P-G AnderssonSuzuki WRT SX4 WRC+05mins 18.6secs M
8. Federico VillagraMunchi's Ford Focus WRC 07+13mins 02.0secs MT
9. Petter SolbergSubaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008+13mins 21.2secs M
10. Evgeny NovikovMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX+15mins 07.5secs P
11. Juho HanninenMitsubishi Lancer Evo 9+16mins 07.1secs P
12. Toshi AraiSubaru Impreza WRX STi+16mins 16.3secs P
13. Dani SordoCitroen Total WRT C4 WRC +17mins 00.0secs M
14. Eyvind BrynildsenMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX+17mins 59.6secs P
15. Takuma KamadaSubaru Impreza WRX STi+18mins 48.6secs P
16. Mirco BaldacciMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX+19mins 56.4secs P
17. Eiichi IwashitaMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX+26mins 18.2secs N4
18. Fumio Nutahara Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X +26mins 20.6secs P
19. Evgeniy VertunovSubaru Impreza WRX STi+28mins 12.6secs P
20. Katsuhiko TaguchiMitsubishi Lancer Evo X+28mins 41.3secs P

Overall PWRC after SS23:

1. Evgeny NovikovMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX3hours 04mins 56.2secs P
2. Juho HanninenMitsubishi Lancer Evo 9+00mins 59.6secs P
3. Toshi AraiSubaru Impreza WRX STi+01mins 08.8secs P

Notable retirements:

SS1. Conrad RautenbachPH Sport-Citroen C4 WRCWent off the road. A8*
SS2. Hiroshi Yanagisawa Subaru Impreza WRX STiEngine. P
SS6. Daniel SordoCitroen Total WRT C4 WRCTurbo. M*
SS6. Francois DuvalStobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07Crashed. MT

SS17. Henning SolbergMunchi's Ford Focus WRC 07Suspension. MT*
SS18/SS19. Petter SolbergSubaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008Went off the road. M*

SS23. Henning SolbergMunchi's Ford Focus WRC 07Suspension. MT*
SS23. Conrad RautenbachPH Sport-Citroen C4 WRCWent off the road. A8*
SS23. Naren KumarSubaru Impreza WRX STiRetired P
SS23. Jari KetomaaSubaru Impreza WRX STiRetired N4

* denotes elected/able to re-start under SupeRally format.

M - denotes Manufacturer entry.
MT - denotes Manufacturer Team entry.
P - denotes Production Car WRC entry.

all times unofficial

Read More