Citroen Abu Dhabi's Kris Meeke is just 0.300secs behind Rally Australia leader Sebastien Ogier after the second day. William West / AFP
Citroen Abu Dhabi's Kris Meeke is just 0.300secs behind Rally Australia leader Sebastien Ogier after the second day. William West / AFP

Citroen Abu Dhabi’s Meeke sits second in Australia as Ogier closes in on World Rally title



Sebastien Ogier has one hand on the World Rally Championship title after grabbing a narrow lead over Citroen Abu Dhabi’s Kris Meeke on the second day of Rally Australia.

Ogier, driving a Volkswagen Polo, heads into Sunday’s final five stages with a 0.3 second lead over Meeke, who led the rally until the final night stage.

Overnight leader Jari-Matti Latvala faded to third place, 2.6 seconds behind teammate Ogier with his hopes of winning the 2015 title now hanging by a thread.

Ogier has a commanding lead over Latvala and only needs to finish in front of the Finn to take his third consecutive world title.

In a thrilling race around the New South Wales town of Coffs Harbour the top four drivers are separated by less than 10 seconds, with fourth placed Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway 9.1 seconds off the leading time.

Meeke seized the lead in his Citroen after consistent performances on the first two stages, both won by New Zealander Hayden Paddon, who is in fifth placed overall, 19.1 seconds behind the leader.

Latvala slipped from the lead after he admitted to being too cautious on the opening stages.

Ogier began to show his dominance as he won the third stage to close to within 2.6 seconds of Meeke.

He then drove superbly to overtake Meeke on the final stage and put himself in prime position to take his third Rally Australia title in as many years.

Ogier said the lingering dust was a problem on the final stage.

“I was worried about the dust near the beginning but it was OK,” he said.

“Not a good stage for me though — still a lot of dust on the road.

“I expected it would be cleaner. I didn’t find the optimal rhythm so I was not flat out.”

LEG 2 CLASSIFICATION

1. Sebastien Ogier (France) Volkswagen 2:20:51.800

2. Kris Meeke (Britain) Citroen +00:00.300

3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) Volkswagen 00:02.600

4. Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) Volkswagen 00:09.100

5. Hayden Paddon (New Zealand) Hyundai 00:19.400

6. Ott Taenak (Estonia) Ford 00:39.100

7. Thierry Neuville (Belgium) Hyundai 01:03.900

8. Daniel Sordo (Spain) Hyundai 01:10.200

9. Elfyn Evans (Britain) Ford 03:15.100

10. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) Ford 08:30.400

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The specs
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Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place

Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai

First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group

Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business

Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne

Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia

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When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.