P1racenews AI automatic summary:
After the opening super special stage in Jeddah on Wednesday evening, won by Ott Tanak in his final WRC event, the first full day of WRC Saudi Arabia was about road position and tyres. The opening gravel stage was relatively smooth and the one where Sebastien Ogier pounced, beating Elfyn Evans’ time by a massive […]
After Ott Tanak won the opening super special stage in Jeddah in his final WRC event, the first full day of WRC Saudi Arabia focused on road position and tyres. Sebastien Ogier seized the opportunity on the smooth gravel stage, beating Elfyn Evans by a significant 12.8 seconds to put pressure on the championship leader. Martins Sesks briefly took the rally lead with favorable road position, but a puncture in stage six allowed Toyota’s Sami Pajari to move to the front.
Pajari’s lead was short-lived as tyre issues struck him in stage seven, leading to Adrien Fourmaux and Hyundai taking over the rally lead. With the title chase unfolding, Ogier was in position to win by a single point after Kalle Rovanperä passed Evans for eighth place. Yaris crews faced road cleaning challenges, with Tanak cementing fourth position ahead of Neuville in fifth.
Takamoto Katsuta held a strong sixth, while Gregoire Munster struggled in the top ten. Josh McErlean and Nasser Al-Attiyah faced challenges with tyre issues and penalties, affecting their positions. In WRC2, Oliver Solberg led the way, with Gus Greensmith ahead of Kajetan Kajetanowicz due to Gryazin’s puncture.
Thursday’s action will conclude with another run over the Jeddah Super Special later in the evening.
