The Finnish pilot survived difficult foggy conditions to achieve his fourth victory of the 2024 WRC season at Rally Chile. The current world champion and his co-driver, Jonne Halttunen They overcame complicated stages to beat their teammate, Elfyn Evansfor more than twenty seconds, while Ott Tanak He completed the podium in the last gravel event of the year.
He initially struggled to gain speed on Friday and admitted his riding style was not suited to the Chilean dirt sections. However, he managed to bring his GR Yaris back to third position, ten seconds behind the leader, while The Estonian took a four-tenths lead over the Welshman before the intervention of the stewards..
Toyota requested a review of the theoretical time given to its driver after the first stage was canceled for spectator safety reasons once three vehicles had completed the stage. Elfyn Evans' new record propelled him into the lead of the rally by three seconds heading into Saturday.when weather conditions disrupted the test.
The abrasive plates were better suited to Kalle Rovanpera's style, so the Finn ranks second ahead of Ott Tanak after the eighth special. However, these two victories allowed the Welshman to extend his lead over the Finn to eleven seconds before thick fog and rain took over the rally.
Elfyn Evans, with his soft tires, was unable to take full advantage of the advantage due to the visibility and lost almost half a minute, and gave the lead to the current world champion, who saved everything for the last stage of the day to open a margin of fifteen seconds on his teammate and add up the 18 points at stake.
Ott Tanak's bid for hard tires failed in wet conditions, leaving the Estonian half a minute behind in third place, while championship leader, Thierry Neuvillewho did an impressive job of limiting the damage after suffering on Friday, moved up from seventh to fourth, but the difficult weather continued on Sunday, before easing in the Power Stage, where Kalle Rovanpera confirmed his victory.
Sébastien Ogier topped Sunday's standings to salvage points in a rally that promised much, but ended with the eight-time champion acknowledging his title hopes were over, choosing to limit his comments to the FIA's decision to fine him 30,000 euros for his comments about the stewards.
In the stages he took the lead on Friday morning, before losing a tire when hitting a rock, and the wheel change took almost two minutes, but his hopes were dashed when a rock broke a bolt of the front suspension of your GR Yaris. . Sébastien Ogier's breakneck speed in Sunday's stages was unmatched and he scored 12 points after beating Kalle Rovanperafor just a tenth in the final Power Stage, while Elfyn Evans secured 21 points after finishing third on Sunday.
Thierry Neuville crossed the finish line in fourth position, but his championship lead was reduced to 29 points over Ott Tanak with two rounds remaining in the seasonwhile Toyota's double reduced the gap in the constructors' championship with Hyundai to just 17 units.
Adrien Fourmaux He brought his Ford Puma home to fifth place after a difficult Friday dashed his podium hopes. A problem with the alternator, which required repair on the road, caused damage and he lost about six minutes, while close to the points, and he managed to score two points on Sunday by finishing ahead who finished sixth in his second time in Rally1.
Grégoire Munster produced perhaps his best performance of the year to finish seventh after battling for a top-five finish on Friday, although Esapekka Lappi He struggled to realize the potential of his i20 N throughout the event and retired shortly after the end of Rally Chile.
He was in the category for the third time with a non-hybrid Ford Puma, but his hopes were cut short when he suffered a double puncture on Friday, when he only had a spare wheel, and made him abandon prematurely, but he re-entered Saturday to complete the rest of the sections of the Chilean event.
In WRC2, He increased his title chances by winning the category and finishing eighth overall. The Frenchman took the lead on Sunday after the stewards deducted forty seconds after considering that Olivier Solberg This hampered him in one of the stages, although he could have sealed his crown if not for a puncture which dropped him to fourth place.
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