In WRC, Ott Tänak saw his 2024 Rally Poland end on the first special stage this Friday! An accident with a deer costs the 2019 world champion dearly. Conversely, Andreas Mikkelsen celebrates his return by taking the lead in the rally!
WRC, Tänak retires and Mikkelsen surprises everyone!
Leader yesterday evening, Ott Tänak’s rally ended prematurely this morning in the first special following an accident with a deer. A cruel retirement for the Estonian, the big favourite for victory and who was leading in the intermediate times. At the same time, Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) took advantage of his position on the road to set the best time just ahead of Martins Sesks who was making his debut on a non-hybrid Rally1! SS3 was interrupted and then cancelled while some drivers had already arrived. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) was thus credited with the best time. The morning loop ended with a new scratch time from Mikkelsen! At midday, the Norwegian was leading the rally with a 7s4 lead over Sesks (Ford) and 11s9 over Elfyn Evans (Toyota).
This afternoon, Kalle Rovanperä, surprise guest of this Rally Poland replacing Sébastien Ogier, sets a first scratch time in SS4 and takes the lead of the event by two tenths ahead of Mikkelsen. In the following special, a red flag is shown to the Norwegian who finally gets a fixed time allowing him to take back the first place! Thierry Neuville sets a new scratch time. In SS7, the spectators make themselves known again and cause another interruption and then cancellation of the special. Adrien Fourmaux is then credited with the best time. The day ends in the Mikołajki Arena where Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä both set the reference time. The general classification changes by tenths of a second.
At the end of this first day of racing, Andreas Mikkelsen is therefore leading the 2024 Rally Poland ahead of Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans! Adrien Fourmaux steals fourth place from Matins Sesks by two tenths. Thierry Neuville is seventh and will have a rather complicated position tomorrow on the road. Nevertheless, with Tänak’s move to Super Rally, the Belgian can make a big move in view of the championship!
WRC-2, Kajetanowicz rewards the fans!
Oliver Solberg (Skoda) saw his day begin on Friday with a filter problem which deprived him of power and caused him to lose a lot of time. Sami Pajari (Toyota) took the opportunity to take the lead in the WRC-2 category. Behind, we find Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda) who attacks to delight his home fans. The podium is completed by Josh McErlean (Skoda) who continues to surprise us this year!
While waiting for Saturday, which promises to be a very competitive day on this 2024 Rally Poland, discover the top 10 at the end of this Friday:
1. A. Mikkelsen (Hyundai)
2. K. Rovanperä (Toyota) +1s8
3. E. Evans (Toyota) +2s
4. A. Fourmaux (Ford) +7s5
5. M. Sesks (Ford) +7s7
6. G. Munster (Ford) +21s3
7. T. Neuville (Hyundai) +29s8
8. T. Katsuta (Toyota) +32s3
9. S. Pajari (Toyota Rally2) +2mins15s6
10. K. Kajetanowicz (Skoda Rally2) +2mins24s5
Article published on 06/28/2024
