P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The longest day of WRC Rally Chile started with rainy and muddy conditions in the morning which dried out over the afternoon loop. Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais ended Saturday’s run of six stages with a lead of 6.3 seconds over his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin with Adrien Fourmaux and […]
The longest day of WRC Rally Chile began with rainy and muddy conditions in the morning, but the conditions dried out over the afternoon loop. Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais closed Saturday’s six stages with a 6.3-second lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, with Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria in third place overall. Despite a good start from the leading Hyundai driver, Evans capitalized on conditions reminiscent of Rally GB to snatch the lead from stage nine. Ogier pushed past Fourmaux to move into second place overall, while Neuville struggled and dropped to fourth. After lunch, Ogier cut into Evans’ lead on dry roads, ultimately reclaiming the lead and finishing the day with a 6.3-second cushion.
Meanwhile, Fourmaux and Neuville fell further behind the leaders in the afternoon, finishing 26.8 and 41.7 seconds respectively behind. Pajari and Salminen maintained fifth place, keeping Rovanperä at bay by almost 33 seconds. Munster and Louka had a solid afternoon, but Katsuta charged hard to claim seventh place by the day’s end. The day saw the early retirement of Chilean driver Alberto Heller and a fuel pump issue for Josh McErlean. Ott Tanak re-started with a new engine, promptly winning the first two stages before returning to service to conserve his car for Super Sunday.
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg dominated with four stage wins, while Rossel and Gryazin each took a stage. Solberg stands to win the WRC2 Championship if he secures victory at Rally Chile, currently holding a 30.2-second advantage over Gryazin.
