- While it is still difficult to establish a clear hierarchy, this first day of the Rally Chile offered us some very competitive special stages, in which the order often shifted. If the Toyotas seemed to show a better pace, the Hyundais returned to form after the assistance like Ott Tänak, leader as he returned to his hotel room in Concepción.
- If Sébastien Ogier left his mark on the afternoon loop with 2 scratch times and a 2nd place in 3 special stages, it was the Estonian who emerged victorious in the second round of the day after seeing the Toyota score the mark in the earlier premiere. Nothing to get excited about, however, because everything is still very open. Indeed, Elfyn Evans had a hard time on the last outing of the day to come back just 4 tenths behind Ott Tänak, failing to take the best time of SS5 by only 2.1.
- Behind the leading duo, two Toyota drivers would like to join in the fun, notably Kalle Rovanperä. Back after almost two months, the reigning double world champion remains in ambush. Although he says he lacked pace, the Finn is only 7.1 and could be a real threat this Saturday if he manages to make the right adjustments to his Yaris during the night. His compatriot Sami Pajari also stood out. Despite his youth and his lack of experience behind the wheel of a Rally1, the child from Lahti made a good impression with a promising 4th place, 9.3 behind Ott Tänak. An astonishing Grégoire Munster completes the Top 5 at 10“7.
- For his part, Adrien Fourmaux must be biting his fingers. Author of the best time during the last special, the Northerner appears 1’01 from the lead. A gap due to a one-minute penalty for a score 6 minutes late during SS5 which can be explained by an alternator failure that he had to change. Without it, he would currently be third overall.
- Finally, the championship leader certainly lost less time than expected. Never in contention for a best time due to his position as opener, Thierry Neuville conceded 30.3 on his compatriot and is 6th overall. This bodes well for Saturday as Sébastien Ogier will start ahead of him on the road this time after his misfortunes in the first loop. “ I could never drive fast, regretted the Belgian. I just pushed through. Every time I tried to push, I lost the car (…) I think we made a mistake with the settings. Maybe it was the right direction this afternoon but it was too late (…) Let’s see what we can improve for tomorrow when I should have a better position on the road. Maybe this will help. »
General ranking
- In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin remains the strong man. The Russian leads the way with a 10.2 lead over Oliver Solberg who must win to secure the title this weekend. Behind, Yohan Rossel gained a position during this second loop, reaching 3rd place, 11.5” from Gryazin.
The resumption of the Rally Chile is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. this Saturday with SS7, and will still be followed on AUTOhebdo.
The complete classification of the Rally Chile
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