Citroën: Just two stages to go for Meeke and Ostberg

— Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle ended day two of Rally Poland in eighth position.
— Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson moved up a place in the overall standings today, making it back to Mikołajki in ninth position.
— Just two stages and less than thirty kilometres are left to go in tomorrow’s final leg.

In the same starting order as Friday, the day’s eight stages were contested on roads that were just as quick as yesterday, with average speeds of close to 130kph.

Second in the running order, Mads Østberg had to sweep the road again in the morning. Trailing Dani Sordo by 6.1 seconds after SS10, the Norwegian moved ahead of his rival on Swietajno (SS12) to grab ninth position, just behind his team-mate Kris Meeke.

The Ulsterman was gradually closing on Robert Kubica, who was running seventh. At top speeds of around 191kph, Kris Meeke closed to within ten seconds of the former Grand Prix winner, a hero in Poland.

Thanks to a good tyre choice for the second section, both crews made up ground, edging closer to Robert Kubica in seventh place. They have two stages left to complete tomorrow before the end of the rally.

In the FIA Junior WRC, Welshman Osian Pryce lost first position on the penultimate stage due to a misfiring engine. Forced to retire this morning, championship leader Quentin Gilbert was unable to take advantage. It was Italian Simone Tempestini who inherited the class lead and will start the final day over a minute ahead of Osian Pryce and the Finn Henri Haapamaki.

The final day’s racing will be something of a sprint finish. The crews will tackle two runs on the only stage of the day, the 14.60 kilometre Baranowo test. Priority 1 and 2 drivers will start SS18 in reverse order of the overall standings at 9.10am. At 12.08pm, Baranowo will also be used for the televised Power Stage. The rally is scheduled to finish in Mikolajki at 1.35pm.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Mads Østberg: “We had to find the right feeling in the car. It wasn’t easy to start in second position on the road but compared with the drivers who started later on, our pace was pretty good. It’s all about the details, small things can make a difference in making up a little bit of time. At the midday service, we changed the set-up and made the right tyre choice. On the swept roads, we were much closer to the leaders in the afternoon and the results were encouraging.”

Kris Meeke: “Since going off during the shakedown, I’ve been struggling to find that extra bit of confidence you need to be at the front on this kind of surface. We are trying to maintain a good pace to score some points. This afternoon, we chose to go with three hard tyres and one soft. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty close the ideal balance. Despite the dust, we were very close to the times of the leaders. So it’s fairly encouraging. Robert Kubica isn’t too far ahead of us. It won’t be easy to get past him but we’ll see what we can do tomorrow!”

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

SS10 – Mazury 1 (17.70km) – Sébastien Ogier began the day with a stage win. Kris Meeke and Mads Østberg finished eighth and eleventh to retain their positions in the overall standings.

SS11 – Wieliczki 1 (13.00km) – Ott Tanak won the stage the furthest to the east on the loop. The positions remain unchanged in the overall standings with Meeke eighth and Østberg in tenth position.

SS12 – Swietajno 1 (21.25km) – Whilst Ott Tanak claimed another stage win and edged closer to the podium places, Mads Østberg moved ahead of Dani Sordo into ninth position, just behind Kris Meeke.

SS13 – Paprotki (23,15 km) – Sébastien Ogier consolidated his lead with the fastest time and Ott Tanak moved up into third overall as the crews headed back to service. Kris Meeke and Mads Østberg pulled further clear of Dani Sordo, their nearest challenger.

SS14 – Mazury 2 (17.70km) – The rally organisers cancelled the stage on safety grounds.

SS15 – Wieliczki 2 (13.00km) – With a mix of soft and hard tyres, Meeke and Østberg closed on Neuville and Kubica, who were ahead of them in the overall standings. At the front, Latvala retook third place from Ott Tanak.

SS16 – Swietajno 2 (21.25km) – Ott Tanak won the stage to reclaim third position, followed by Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen. Kris Meeke and Mads Østberg continued to close on the drivers ahead, making up eight seconds on Robert Kubica.

SS17 – Mikołajki Arena 3 (2.50km) – The final run on the Mikołajki Arena super special stage saw Sébastien Ogier consolidate his overall lead. No change in the standings for Kris Meeke and Mads Østberg, who remain eighth and ninth respectively.