The French driver took a slight advantage over Ott Tanak inside Central European Rallyeven if only fourteen seconds separate the first three in the classification before the last three stages of the event. Sébastien Ogier won two of the three asphalt stages to extend his lead over the Estonian to five seconds, while Elfyn Evans I was third.
The performance of the Gauls earns him 18 provisional championship points to boost Toyota’s manufacturers’ title hopeswhile their rivals took 15 and 13 units respectively. The general chief, Thierry Neuvillefinished fourth of the day, forty seconds behind, and temporarily added 10 points, after two errors in the eleventh stage cost him half a minute and the lead of the rally.
It’s a setback for the Belgian, who can win the championship if he beats Ott Tanak by two points. For his part, Takamoto Katsutahis teammate, Sami Pajari and Grégoire Munster They occupied the following positions, up to seventh place, while Adrien Fourmaux He retired due to damage to the rear of his car.
Thierry Neuville’s problem in the morning focused attention on the fight for the lead between Sébastien Ogier, Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans.separated by just eight seconds. The first stage of the afternoon, a second passage through Granit und Wald, took place on the side of the Estonian, who repeated his victory from the morning on the spot.
The stage was mostly dry, unlike the previous hours, but there were still some wet spots, as explained by the 2019 world champion, who was three and a half seconds faster than the Frenchman, reducing his gap to just one second. The Welshman also gave his best, although he could only match his teammate’s record.
Resigned to the idea that the gap with the leading group was too large to be reduced, Thierry Neuville showed consistency to finish fourth, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari, Andreas Mikkelsen and Grégoire Munster. The Japanese driver gained a few seconds after discovering he was exceeding the speed limit by 8 km/h. in the virtual chicane of the morning pass.
Sébastien Ogier responded to his rival in the following special, where he wonbut what was more important, Ott Tanak took three seconds: “We had to react, Ott [Tanak] “It was fast in the last one, we had to be fast in this one, the road was drier, so we have to be better.”
The leader of the classification was the Frenchman’s closest rival on the stage, nine tenths behind, as the Belgian focused on getting the car back, while the Estonian and Welshman lost time.
“In the dry, a lot of brands have improved, I had a little doubt about that. I should learn to ignore what my old [su padre, Gwyndaf Evans] “He says sometimes,” Elfyn Evans said. “He takes my notes in gravel, you have to give me everything with a pinch of salt, but it’s not always that easy to do.”
Sébastien Ogier managed to gain even more distance from Ott Tanak in the last special of the day after beating his time by a second, with his teammate two seconds behind to set up a tough battle for victory on Sunday. In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin opened up a gap of almost two minutes over Filip Mares, while Yohan Rossel’s title hopes are almost lost after an early morning error which left him a quarter of an hour behind.
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