Sebastien Ogier delivered a stunning time in stage five to lead the Central European Rally from World Rally Championship title rival Kalle Rovanpera while Thierry Neuville and Gregoire Munster made costly mistakes.
Ogier took a 1.6s advantage into Friday morning’s stages, but managed to end the loop with his lead increasing to 3.9s over Rovanpera, as the Toyota pair began to pull clear of the chasing pack on the tricky asphalt stages.
The opening test Granit und Wald, held in Germany, however belonged to Hyundai as the manufacturer executed 1-2-3 lock out with Neuville topping the times from team-mates Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux. Only 0.4s separated the trio with Ogier, starting first on the road, fourth fastest having reported that the stage featured dust and would clean.
Ogier was, however, faster than Rovnapera, which resulted in his lead extending to 2.7s over the Finn. Ogier’s nearest title rival Elfyn Evans was down in eighth hampered by a five-second penalty for hitting a hay bale on Thursday’s opening stage, which Toyota will appeal.
Rovanpera then set the pace as the crews crossed the border into Austria for stage four [Böhmerwald]. Rovanpera pipped Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari to the stage win by 0.1s, with Ogier 2.1s off the pace. Ogier again reported dust on the road and expected the times from those behind to be quicker. Rovanpera’s effort cut Ogier’s lead down to 0.6s.
However, Ogier responded in stage five, Col de Jan, held across the border in Czechia. The test known for its bumpy roads and numerous cuts had been earmarked as the key stage of the rally. Damp patches on the road increased the challenge, although it didn’t prevent Ogier from setting a blistering time – 3.3s faster than Rovanpera. The pair were in a league of their own with Evans the next best, some 12.9s adrift.
“That was a challenging one, and it was in places, especially in the beginning it was not easy to be on the limit everywhere,” said Ogier. “It was ok, there was one slidey moment in the mud. In some other places I could have done more, but in this kind of conditions it is nearly impossible to be on the limit everywhere.”
Tanak emerged as the quickest Hyundai with the fourth fastest time, which was enough to help the Estonian climb to third overall, albeit 22.7s behind Ogier.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“There is no story to tell. In the slippy parts the car is so stiff and then when you get on the tarmac it is so soft like a boat. It is difficult to understand where we are. Incredible,” said a frustrated Tanak, who was 17.8s off the pace in stage five.
Evans ran wide at a left hander but was shocked to lose so much time in the test to Ogier. Evans did benefit from the cleaner road conditions from being second on the road to climb from eighth to fourth overall [+24.2s].
The stage did however catch out Neuville and Munster. Neuville suffered two wild moments that resulted in damage to his front right wheel and a puncture on his rear right. The latter was caused by misjudging the landing on a jump, resulting in his i20 N clouting a bank. Neuville dropped to eighth after losing 1m20.3s in the stage.
Moments later, the same jump caught out M-Sport-Ford’s Munster as the Luxembourger almost rolled his Ford Puma after contact with the bank. The result was an instant retirement due to damaged right rear suspension in the impact, which also caused punctures to his front and right rear wheels.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta climbed to fifth overall ahead of Fourmaux, who was fighting to keep his car on the road in the worsening road conditions. Forumaux had been sitting third 3.2s off the pace before the stage.
Sami Pajari was among those to lose time due to the changes in road conditions, ending the loop in seventh, ahead of Neuville and M-Sport’s Josh McErlean, who was fortunate to avoid a puncture after contact with a rock in stage five that bent a steering arm.
Newly crowned WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg led the Rally2 field but is not eligible to score WRC2 points this weekend, which promoted Alejandro Cachon to the lead of the WRC2 class.
Crews will repeat the trio of stages to conclude Friday’s leg of the event.
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