Thierry Neuville’s FIA World Rally Championship title hopes had been bolstered on Saturday because the Hyundai ace (above) emerged from the plot twists of one other punishing day at Acropolis Rally Greece with a commanding general lead.
The Belgian, who began the penultimate leg third, climbed to the highest as his i20 N Rally1-driving manufacturing facility teammates, Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo, suffered misfortunes in what has confirmed to be simply the season’s most brutal rally thus far.
Tanak had led by 21.8s after Friday’s grueling opening leg, however Greece’s unforgiving, rock-strewn gravel phases took their toll early on Saturday. Pressured to cease twice inside six miles to vary wheels, the Estonian’s problem fell aside as he dropped 4 minutes and plummeted down the leaderboard to fourth.
Sordo, making his first top-level look since June’s Rally Italy Sardinia, briefly inherited the lead. However, like so many earlier than him, the Spaniard was undone by the unforgiving street circumstances. A collision with a rock triggered a rear-tire blowout, which price round 50s and negated his benefit instantly.
However Neuville, whose Friday had been considerably marred by a misfiring engine, managed to outlive the rock-related carnage. Fastidiously pacing himself and conserving his Pirelli tires, he steered his Hyundai away from any potential disasters to finish the day with a lead of 53.7s over Sordo.
Sebastien Ogier, Neuville’s closest championship challenger regardless of beginning the 2024 season on a part-time schedule solely, clung to 3rd general, the eight-time WRC champ ending Saturday 1m20.9s adrift of the lead in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is holding on to 3rd, however seems set to lose floor to Thierry Neuville within the WRC title battle.
With 18 factors provisionally secured (they’ll be confirmed provided that Neuville finishes Sunday’s closing leg), the rally chief and his co-driver, Martijn Wydaeghe, are on track to increase their WRC factors lead, which stood at 27 factors over Ogier initially of the rally.
“There’s one other day left, so in the mean time there is no such thing as a conclusion but,” insisted Neuville, who’s completed WRC title runner-up 5 instances, however is but to make the ultimate step. “We have to see the place we find yourself tomorrow — that’s the one factor that counts.
“Up to now we’ve had an excellent administration of our rally and, regardless of some points on Friday, nothing main occurred. From the start, our method was to watch out with the automobile when it was wanted and we one way or the other acquired by way of. I attempted to adapt my driving model a bit within the ruts and never put the automobile too sideways with the chance of hitting stones — that’s the one factor you are able to do.
“It’s a lottery on the market and we don’t know what’s going to occur. Tomorrow we have now to see what the climate will likely be like and the way exhausting we have to drive for the additional factors. There are plenty of issues we nonetheless need to handle.”
Sordo’s tire blowout obliterated the rear bodywork on his i20 N, and with no mid-day service, he and co-driver Candido Carrera had been pressured to patch up the automobile as finest they might. The duo even resorted to sporting ski goggles to maintain the mud out as they fought to retain second place.
Dani Sordo inspects the injury to his Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The Spaniard saved going and holds second general on the in a single day halt. Jaanus Ree/Purple Bull Content material Pool
Ogier, who received three of the day’s six phases, may solely mirror on what may need been. After main early on Friday, his rally was derailed by a turbocharger failure that price him greater than two minutes. His Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans has fared far worse at this tenth spherical of the season; affected by related turbo points on day one, the Welshman’s title hopes took a devastating blow when he rolled his automobile on Saturday’s penultimate stage and was pressured to retire.
Tanak trailed Ogier by virtually two minutes in fourth general, whereas M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 teen Gregoire Munster, who’d been looking down a top-five spot in Friday’s opening leg, crashed out on Saturday’s third stage.
In WRC2, the second tier of worldwide rallying, Finland’s Sami Pajari surged forward of in a single day chief Robert Virves, ending Saturday with a comparatively snug 27.7s class lead.
Estonian Virves had held a slim 1.5s benefit coming into the penultimate leg and, after 30 miles of aggressive motion within the morning loop, the hole had solely elevated to three.9s.
Nevertheless, it was Pajari’s commanding run by way of the day’s fourth stage, Aghii Theodori, that proved pivotal. On a softer street floor in comparison with the sooner phases, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver outpaced Virves by 16.4s, propelling himself into the WRC2 lead.
A puncture on the repeat go by way of Aghii Theodori additional prevented any hopes of a comeback from Virves and, by the day’s shut, the Skoda Fabia RS driver discovered himself trailing Pajari by what may show an insurmountable margin.
Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Sami Pajari pulled out the stops in Saturday afternoon’s opening stage to seize the WRC2 lead. Jaanus Ree/Purple Bull Content material Pool
A tough, robust Acropolis Rally Greece concludes on Sunday, when crews face three extra particular phases totaling 33.59 aggressive miles. A rally-closing second run by way of the 11.36-mile Eleftherohori stage would be the bonus points-paying Wolf Energy Stage.
WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, positions after Leg Two, SS12
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 3h01m05.3s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +53.7s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m20.9s
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m19.2s
5 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 chief) +5m06.1s
6 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +5m33.8s
7 Yohan Rossel/Florian Barral (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +6m00.3s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +6m58.1s
9 Georg Linnamae/James Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +8m33.9s
10 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m23.2s
Take a look at WRC.com, the official house of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the last word WRC expertise, join a Rally.TV subscription to observe all phases of each rally reside and on demand, at any time when and wherever.
