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Australia WRC: Ogier closes in on lead as Mikkelsen hits trouble

Rally Australia leader Andreas Mikkelsen hit trouble in the 14.84km Valla II stage, allowing teammate Sebastien Ogier to close the gap between them at the end of the Saturday afternoon loop.

Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport

Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport

XPB Images

Andreas Mikkelsen, Anders Jäger, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport
Dani Sordo, Marc Marti, Hyundai New i20 WRC, Hyundai Motorsport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport
Dani Sordo, Marc Marti, Hyundai New i20 WRC, Hyundai Motorsport
Mads Ostberg, Ola Floene, M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC
Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport

The Norwegian's lead of 12s after SS15 was trimmed down to a mere 2.8s at the end of SS16 after his Polo R suffered a bizarre issue where the clutch pedal was bent and touching the brake pedal.

"The clutch pedal and brake pedal are pushing down together," said a disappointed Mikkelsen after the stage.

Meanwhile, having passed Hyundai's Hayden Paddon in SS15, Ogier is now within striking distance of the lead of the rally - with two short stages on Saturday and five on Sunday still left to run.

Despite a stage win for Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, the Belgian remained only fourth but gained about four seconds on teammate Paddon.

The battle for fifth raged on between Hyundai's Dani Sordo and M-Sport's Mads Ostberg, the former having closed in on the Norwegian in SS15 and then passing him in SS16, the duo now separated by a mere 0.2s.

Behind, Ostberg was followed by his M-Sport teammate Eric Camilli in seventh, the Frenchman ending up comfortably ahead of ninth-placed Ott Tanak, another fellow Ford driver.

Overall results after SS16 - Top 10:

PosDriver/CodriverCarTotal TimeGap
1 Andreas Mikkelsen
Anders Jæger
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2:13'02.2  
2 Sébastien Ogier
Julien Ingrassia
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2:13'05.0 2.8
3 Hayden Paddon
John Kennard
Hyundai NG i20 WRC 2:13'12.3 10.1
4 Thierry Neuville
Nicolas Gilsoul
Hyundai NG i20 WRC 2:13'34.8 32.6
5 Daniel Sordo
Marc Marti
Hyundai NG i20 WRC 2:14'01.1 58.9
6 Mads Ostberg
Fløene Ola
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2:14'01.3 59.1
7 Eric Camilli
Benjamin Veillas
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2:14'17.2 1'15.0
8 Ott Tanak
Raigo Molder
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2:15'18.7 2'16.5
9 Lorenzo Bertelli
Simone Scattolin
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 2:17'56.5 4'54.3
10 Esapekka Lappi
Janne Ferm
Škoda Fabia R5 2:18'21.0 5'18.8

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