Elfyn Evans – Syndication Server

Ogier hunts down Evans in intense WRC Monte Carlo Rally Friday

Elfyn Evans leads the FIA World Championship’s season-opening Monte Carlo Rally after Friday’s leg, but is under increasing pressure from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Sebastien Ogier. Welshman Evans ( above) is one of the favorites to land the …

Elfyn Evans leads the FIA World Championship’s season-opening Monte Carlo Rally after Friday’s leg, but is under increasing pressure from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Sebastien Ogier.

Welshman Evans (above) is one of the favorites to land the 2024 title, thanks to reigning champ and Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanpera electing to run only a limited program this season. But his prospects of starting the year with a victory on the WRC’s most storied event are far from certain with nine-time winner Ogier on a charge.

Evans had been 21.6s clear of Ogier’s similar GR Yaris Rally 1 after Thursday’s pair of curtain-raising night stages, but Ogier is now looming large in the Welshman’s rearview mirror after a stunning drive over the French Alps roads near Gap saw him reduce that deficit down to just 4.5s at the end of the leg

The Frenchman won two of Friday morning’s three stages and climbed from third to second after Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville spun his i20 N Rally in the day’s second test.

Ogier, who is also running only a limited program for Toyota in 2024, had moved to within 10.7s of Evans by the day’s midpoint, with the bulk of the time being gained over the 11.38-mile, ice patch-effected stage from La Breole to Selonnet.

The Toyota duo were closely matched for much of the repeated afternoon loop, but it was again at La Bréole/Selonnet — held in darkness on its second, leg-closing run — where Ogier shone, outpacing Evans by 4.1s to set up a showdown going into Saturday’s penultimate leg.

Sebastien Ogier is in attack mode, now trailing rally leader and Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by just 4.5s. Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT photo

“It was a difficult start to the rally, but we expected that with our start position,” said Gap-born Ogier, who started fourth on the road, making for dirtier conditions than lead-off man Evans, but is looking for a record-stretching 10^th win on his home event. “Now I am glad that we managed to be very close — tomorrow will be fun.”

Evans, who was never outside the top three times on any of the opening eight stages, admitted that conditions had been difficult to read.

“It never gets easier, this rally,” he explained. “[The last stage was] very difficult in the dark. I had a lot of information, but I couldn’t see a lot of it, to be honest — I just had to trust it. It’s very difficult to read the conditions on the road. I’m happy to get through today without any issues.”

Neuville’s Hyundai remained very much in the fight at the sharp end, too, trailing Ogier by 11.6s in third. The Belgian won three of Friday’s six special stages and enjoyed a trouble-free run aside from his early-morning spin.

Third-placed Thierry Neuville is 11.6s behind Ogier’s Toyota after winning three of Friday’s stages. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Ott Tanak, who’s back with Hyundai after a single season with M-Sport Ford, was lucky to end the day only 57.5s further back in fourth after ice on a right-hander sent his i20 N Rally1 sliding into a ditch during the morning’s opening test. It took spectators only 40s to push the Estonian back on to the road. M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta also went off at the same location, with the latter dropping more than five minutes.

Adrien Fourmaux repaid M-Sport Ford’s faith in him by delivering an impressive third-best time in the morning’s third stage. The 28-year-old Frenchman is returning to the WRC’s top level having contested WRC2 for M-Sport in 2023, and he completed the top five aboard a Puma Rally1.

Andreas Mikkelsen, also returning to the WRC’s top class for the first time since 2019, ended the day more than one minute back from Fourmaux in sixth overall. Driving a Hyundai, the Norwegian found it difficult to trust the information in his pace notes with surface conditions changing constantly. He’s 28.2s ahead of the seventh-placed Munster.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin is heading a three-way fight for supremacy, besting Pepe Lopez on Friday’s final stage to secure the overnight lead by just 1.3s.

Starting Friday with a 14.2s advantage following a formidable effort in his Skoda Fabia RS on Thursday’s two night stages, Lopez saw his lead vanish in changeable conditions on Friday morning. Possibly unsettled by the challenges faced by top-level cars further up the road, the 28-year-old Spaniard opted for a more cautious approach.

In stark contrast, Gryazin threw caution to the wind in his first WRC start in a Citroen C3 Rally2, going 16.1s quicker than Lopez to seize the lead. However, after regaining the confidence he’d displayed the evening before, Lopez reclaimed the lead before midday by setting the fastest time on the morning’s remaining stages.

Repeating his performance from the morning’s opening run at St-Leger-les-Melezes/La Batie-Neuve, Gryazin once again took back the top spot only to lose 5.6s to Lopez on the day’s penultimate stage. However, Gryazin swiftly retaliated, going 4.3s quicker than anyone else as darkness descended and retaking the lead to set the stage for a tense Saturday.

Nikolay Gryazin (ABOVE) enjoyed a back-and-forth battle with Pepe Lopez for the WRC2 lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Completing the top three after a strong Friday showing was 2023 WRC2 winner and Gryazin’s teammate Yvan Rossel. The Frenchman is only 4.9s behind second-placed Lopez, with everything still to play for.

Saturday brings another full-on schedule with Esparron/Ozenet launching the day at 08.05 local time. Les Nonieres/Chichilianne and Pellafol/Agnieres-en-Devoluy follow before the trio are repeated in the afternoon, bringing the day’s total competitive distance to 74.81 miles.

WRC Monte Carlo Rally, positions after Leg One, SS8
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 1h25m28.9s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +4.5s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +16.1s
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m13.6s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m38.0s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m58.9s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m27.1s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +5m18.9s
9 Pepe Lopez/David Vazquez (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +5m20.2s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +5m25.1s

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a Rally.TV subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Evans heads Toyota 1-2-3 with dominant WRC Rally Japan win

Elfyn Evans secured a lights-to-flag victory on Sunday at WRC Rally Japan as his Toyota Gazoo Racing team locked out the top three positions on home asphalt. The Welshman (above) clinched his eighth career win, and third of the season, by finishing …

Elfyn Evans secured a lights-to-flag victory on Sunday at WRC Rally Japan as his Toyota Gazoo Racing team locked out the top three positions on home asphalt.

The Welshman (above) clinched his eighth career win, and third of the season, by finishing a dominant 1m17.7s ahead of teammate Sebastien Ogier at the final round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship. The result confirmed Evans as the runner-up in WRC points for the third time in four seasons.

Evans laid the foundations for victory early in the all-asphalt fixture when he charged to a near-two-minute advantage in Friday’s rain-soaked opening leg in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. From then on, he was able to control the rally by adapting his risk level to suit the ever-changing conditions.

Kalle Rovanpera took the final podium spot, capping off a near-perfect season for Toyota which includes repeat WRC titles for Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen, plus a third successive manufacturers’ championship victory for the Japanese marque.

Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin headed a 1-2-3 for Toyota on its home asphalt. Toyota Gazoo Racing photo

“It was not easy with the conditions we had this week, even though we had a massive gap already after Friday night,” said Evans. “A massive thanks to the team — the car’s been great and a 1-2-3 for Toyota is a fantastic result.”

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier, who’s taken in a part-time program in 2023, damaged his GR Yaris’s chassis when he slid into a barrier on Saturday. The required repairs meant he exceeded his allocated service time, collecting a one-minute time penalty which ultimately prevented him from threatening Evans’ advantage.

Ogier finished 28.8s ahead of Rovanpera, while Esapekka Lappi, driving a Hyundai i20 Rally1, held off Toyota’s fourth entry, home hero Takamoto Katsuta, to claim fourth by 20.0s.

Katsuta was fastest through nine of the rally’s 21 stages, but ended just over three minutes adrift of winner Evans due to a car-damaging and time-losing incident on Friday morning. Without that misdemeanor, the 30-year-old could well have celebrated his first WRC victory.

Ott Tanak was unable to find a decent balance with his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, and sixth place was all the Estonian could manage on his final outing for the British-based team. The 2019 WRC champ returns to Hyundai Motorsport’s lineup next season.

Ott Tanak ended his single-season detour to M-Sport Ford with an out-of-sorts sixth-place finish. M-Sport photo

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Andreas Mikkelsen was in a league of his own and took victory by more than a minute. Mikkelsen wrapped up the class title a fortnight ago at Central European Rally, and the win here in Japan was his fourth of the season.

“This one was really nice,” Mikkelsen said. “It’s been a really challenging weekend and I think our experience was key here. We made the difference on the first two stages and then from then on we tried to control it.”

Newly-crowned WRC2 champ Andreas Mikkelsen took his fourth class win of the season. McKlein/Motorsport Images

The Norwegian headed home Nikolay Gryazin and Kajetan Kajetanowicz for an all-Skoda Fabia RS WRC2 podium.

Pole Kajetanowicz’s podium secured the WRC2 Challenger crown, an accolade introduced this season for WRC2-registered crews who have not previously won a title with Rally2 machinery at WRC level.

The WRC returns in a little over two months from now, with the asphalt Alpine stages — and possible ice and snow — of the Monte Carlo Rally opening the 2024 season, Jan 25-28.

WRC Rally Japan, final positions after Leg Three, SS21
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h32m08.8s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m17.7s
3 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m46.5s
4 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m50.3s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m10.3s
6 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m28.3s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +7m33.7s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m49.6s
9 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +19m25.9s
10 Hiroki Arai/Hiroki Tachikui (Peugeot 208 Rally 4 – RC4) +22m22.7s

Final WRC Drivers’ Championship after 13 rounds
1 Rovanpera 250 points
2 Evans 216
3 Thierry Neuville 189
4 Tanak 174
5 Sebastien Ogier 133

Final WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 13 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 548 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 432
3 M-Sport Ford 287

Evans puts Toyota on brink of first WRC Rally Japan victory

Elfyn Evans (above) is poised to deliver Toyota Gazoo Racing its first home WRC after maintaining a commanding lead over teammate Sebastien Ogier on Rally Japan’s penultimate leg. The early lead built by Evans when he dominated Friday’s soaking-wet …

Elfyn Evans (above) is poised to deliver Toyota Gazoo Racing its first home WRC after maintaining a commanding lead over teammate Sebastien Ogier on Rally Japan’s penultimate leg.

The early lead built by Evans when he dominated Friday’s soaking-wet leg of the FIA World Rally Championship’s all-asphalt finale meant he could avoid taking unnecessary risks on the drier, but still treacherously slippery, roads faced on Saturday. It even began to snow at one point late in the day but, to the competitors’ relief, the shower was short lived.

Evans’ vigilant approach in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 allowed Ogier to slash his lead by almost 40 seconds over the course of the day, but the Welshman still has 1m15.0s in hand over the eight-time WRC champ heading into Sunday’s six-stage final leg.

Taking a victory here would be sweet revenge for the 34-year-old Evans after wheel damage in 2022 gifted Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville the victory. Neuville crashed on Friday, restarted the Saturday leg in his repaired i20 N Rally1, but is no longer in contention.

“It’s been pretty OK,” said Evans. “Getting caught in some rain in the penultimate stage was not so nice, and we were maybe too careful in some places, but it was always going to be a bit tricky to judge our speed today with such a big gap.”

Newly-crowned WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera completed a GR Yaris-dominated overnight top three, trailing Ogier by 25.6s at the end of Saturday’s leg. The 23-year-old Finn should have nothing to worry about on Sunday as his closest challenger, Esapekka Lappi, languishes more than one minute behind him in his Hyundai.

Having been hindered by technical gremlins on Friday, Ott Tanak clawed himself and his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 up the leaderboard to reach the overnight halt in fifth overall. But the Estonian, driving his last rally for M-Sport before returning to Hyundai, will be keeping a keen eye on his rear-view mirrors, with Takamoto Katsuta only 14.9s behind.

Ott Tanak has clawed his way to fifth in his final rally in an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1. M Sport photo

Local hero Katsuta lost a large chunk of time when he crashed his GR Yaris early in the rally, but the Japanese ace has been on an upward trajectory ever since, racking up seven fastest stage times so far.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, newly-crowned champ Andreas Mikkelsen expanded his class lead, but fell down the rally’s overall leaderboard from fourth to seventh as drier conditions allowed the more powerful Rally1 cars to assert themselves.

The Skoda Fabia RS driver is 8.3s ahead of Gregoire Munster’s M-Sport Ford Fiesta MkII. But with Munster not registered for WRC2 points in Japan, Mikkelsen’s nearest competitor for the official class win is fellow Skoda driver Nikolay Gryazin, who sits 43.3s behind.

Newly-crowned WRC2 champ Andreas Mikkelsen extended his class lead on the Japanese asphalt. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Mikkelsen secured the overall WRC2 title at the Central European Rally two weeks ago, and while a victory at this final round of the season would be an additional feather in the Norwegian driver’s cap, he faces no pressure to perform.

“We’ve put on a new setup for tomorrow,” revealed Mikkelsen, “so let’s see how it works and what the day will bring — probably a new big challenge!”

Sunday’s final leg consists of six special stages – a loop of three tests repeated twice — and culminates with the second run through the 4.67-mile Asahi Kougen test as the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Japan, positions after Leg Two, SS16
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h28m20.8s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m15.0s
3 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m40.6s
4 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m09.3s
5 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m35.3s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m50.3s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +5m11.3s
8 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Fiesta Mk II – WRC2, non-points) +5m19.6s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +5m54.6s
10 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +12m51.6s

Faultless Evans leads after soaking, dramatic WRC Rally Japan Friday

Elfyn Evans led Rally Japan by 1m49.9s overnight after streaming-wet conditions in Friday’s opening leg caught out several of his FIA World Rally Championship rivals. Torrential rainfall, thick fog and roads covered with damp leaves were just some …

Elfyn Evans led Rally Japan by 1m49.9s overnight after streaming-wet conditions in Friday’s opening leg caught out several of his FIA World Rally Championship rivals.

Torrential rainfall, thick fog and roads covered with damp leaves were just some of the challenges faced by crews on the first full day of action at the WRC’s 2023 season finale. Survival was the aim of the game and, while several of his rivals faltered, Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 driver Evans (above) barely put a wheel wrong.

A minor overshoot in the second stage of the day did not prevent the Welshman from reaching the lunchtime service halt with a 26s lead over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, his main rival for the runner-up spot in this year’s drivers’ championship.

Neuville, winner of last year’s Rally Japan, responded in the afternoon’s repeated stages by cutting Evans’ advantage by more than half with a blistering run through Isegami’s Tunnel 2. But his comeback was cut short when he crashed his i20 N Rally1 into a tree on the first corner of the following stage, Inabu Dam 2.

The Belgian wasn’t the only driver to be caught out by the conditions and joined Hyundai teammate Dani Sordo as well as M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1driver Adrien Fourmaux on the retirements list after both drivers left the road at the same location in the morning’s treacherous opening stage.

Adrien Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford Puma and Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20 N found the same picturesque resting place… Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

With Neuville out, Evans had breathing space at the top of the leader board, and with two of his Hyundai rivals sidelined, he heads a GR Yaris podium lockout for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

“It’s been tough, obviously,” confirmed the leader. “This morning, especially, was quite bad — but the afternoon was also not easy to adapt to after going from the zero-grip situation of the morning to having something you can actually drive a bit with.”

After Neuville’s exit, Sebastien Ogier became Evans’ nearest challenger — although the eight-time world champion conceded that catching up with his Toyota teammate would be a tall order.

Ogier, who’s running a part-time WRC program in 2023, slid sideways into a barrier on the afternoon’s opening stage, but was able to continue with minimal time loss. The impact did, however, damage the chassis of his GR Yaris. With the required repairs causing him to check out late from the final service of the day, he collected a one-minute time penalty.

“You are always happy when you survive this kind of day because so many things can happen — and so many things did happen,” Ogier said. “The moment this afternoon cost us a bit of time, but we are happy to still be here because it could have cost us a lot more.”

Running first on the road, newly-crowned WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera was hindered by lingering leaves, so he took a cautious approach in his GR Yaris as he carved a cleaner line for those behind. The 23-year-old Finn’s consistency paid off as he finished the day error free in third overall, just 16.7s back from teammate Ogier.

Two-time and newly-crowned WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera took a cautious approach to hold third overall. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Toyota could have enjoyed a clean sweep of the top-four positions were it not for an error by Takamoto Katsuta on the same corner which caught out Sordo and Fourmaux. His Yaris brushed a tree and sustained radiator damage, but the local star was able to make it back to service after completing the stage in EV mode and carrying out repairs on the liaison section.

That incident, combined with the time penalties for lateness after his roadside fix, cost Katsuta more than four minutes. He languished in ninth overall as a result, although the three fastest stage times he posted throughout the day were clear signs of what could have been.

Just ahead of Katsuta, Ott Tanak was eighth on a day which saw his Puma Rally1 plagued by gremlins. Making his last start for M-Sport Ford before returning to Hyundai for 2024, the Estonian dropped almost three minutes when the car’s windows misted up on the day’s second stage and he leaked more time in the afternoon with a performance-sapping electrical issue.

Such was the rate of attrition among the Rally1 entries that several crews from the WRC2 field, the second tier of international rallying, got their chance to shine on the soaking Japanese aspahalt.

Newly-crowned WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen, driving a Rally2-spec Skoda Fabia RS, sat fourth overall at the overnight halt. Behind him was M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster, also competing in Rally2 machinery again after getting behind the wheel of a Rally1 Puma for the previous two WRC rounds.

Mikkelsen and co-driver Torstein Eriksen arrived in Japan under no pressure to perform, having sealed the coveted WRC2 crown two weeks ago at Central European Rally. Nevertheless, the duo led the category by 29.4s at the end of the leg and — even more impressive — sat just 53.6s behind the overall WRC champ, third-placed Rovanpera.

“It’s been a very good day,” said Mikkelsen. “Before lunch we had a good push and after that I tried to drive clever in the afternoon. Tricky conditions, but so far, so good.”

With the pressure off, new WRC2 champ Andreas Mikkelsen mixed it with the Rally1 crews in the torrid conditions. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Munster, who isn’t registered for WRC2 points in Japan, finished the day a mere 4.8s behind Mikkelsen, with Nikolay Gryazin a further 24.6s further back and holding sixth overall in his Skoda.

Making it four Rally2-spec cars in the top 10, former Formula 1 race winner Heikki Kovalainen proved he’s no slouch behind the wheel of a rally car, bringing his ex-Esapekka Lappi Fabia R5 10th overall at the overnight halt.

Saturday is shorter, but certainly no less challenging. Eight stages lie in store with a combined total of 52.62 miles.

WRC Rally Japan, positions after Leg One, SS8
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 1h25m22.7s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m49.9s
3 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m06.6s
4 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m00.2s
5 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Fiesta Mk II – WRC2, non-points) +3m05.0s
6 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m29.6s
7 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m44.3s
8 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m42.8s
9 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +5m07.9s
10 Heikki Kovalainen/Sae Kitagawa (Skoda Fabia – WRC2) +5m56.0s

Evans wins Rally Finland to reignite his WRC title challenge

Elfyn Evans (above) sealed a dominant WRC Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon to keep alive his chances of fighting for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title. A rally-ending crash and roll for his Toyota gazoo Racing teammate, …

Elfyn Evans (above) sealed a dominant WRC Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon to keep alive his chances of fighting for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title.

A rally-ending crash and roll for his Toyota gazoo Racing teammate, reigning WRC champ and 2023 points leader Kalle Rovanpera, had propelled Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 into the lead on Friday afternoon. The Welshman then reeled off seven back-to-back stage wins on Saturday to leave his closest challenger, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, trailing in his wake.

He extended the gap further on Sunday’s short final leg to win by 39.1s. With 25 points for the win and an additional five points for setting fastest time in the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage, Evans slashed Rovanpera’s championship advantage from 55 points to 25, with four rounds remaining and a maximum 120 up for grabs.

Evans’ Toyota Gazoo Racing team is based near the host city of Jyvaskyla, and victory extended its WRC manufacturers’ championship lead over Hyundai Motorsport to 67 points.

“It’s been a pretty good weekend,” said Evans, who also won on the high-speed gravel stages of Rally Finland in 2021. “Of course, we’re sorry for the loss of Kalle at the start of the rally, but after that it’s been really fantastic to drive this car — it’s such a joy to be behind the wheel on these roads and we’re really happy with this one. In terms of the championship, it’s also not bad that we’ve closed the gap.”

Elfyn Evans celebrates a dominant WRC Rally Finland win with co-driver Scott Martin. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Changeable conditions provided furious action on the fastest roads on the WRC calendar, with early challengers Ott Tanak and Esapekka Lappi both joining Rovanpera on Friday’s list of retirements. Engine failure sidelined Tanak’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, while Lappi emerged unscathed after crashing his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 into a tree.

Neuville enjoyed one of his strongest performances on Finland’s flat-out and undulating forest roads, but ultimately had no answer to Evans’ rapid pace. Remaining third in the championship after round nine, the Belgian finished with a hefty 57.6s margin over the third-placed Toyota of Takamoto Katsuta behind.

Thierry Neuville put in a strong showing on the super-fast Finnish stages to take second. @World/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta dueled relentlessly with Hyundai driver Teemu Suninen. The latter, starting only his second event in an i20 N Rally1, rolled the dice and bravely opted to save weight by not carrying a spare wheel through Sunday’s four-stage finale. But that still wasn’t enough to relegate the Japanese Yaris driver, who ended 4.3s clear to celebrate his fourth career WRC podium.

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala made a popular return to top-level competition after more than three years away. The 38-year-old Finna was never really in the thick of the podium battle as he used the one-off chance to familiarize himself with the hybrid Rally1 cars first introduced in 2022, but consistency rewarded him with fifth, 2m28.4s behind Suninen.

The high attrition among the Rally1 cars enabled Oliver Solberg, driving a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, to claim sixth overall, but the Swede wasn’t registered for WRC2 points. That left Sami Pajari to take the class spoils in WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, the 20-year-old Finn finishing 30.1s behind the flying Solberg in seventh overall.

Prior to Rally Finland, Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen had twice finished on the WRC2 podium in their Toksport-prepared Skoda Fabia RS, but the stars aligned to deliver their first win in the category on home gravel.

Pajari fought back from a Friday afternoon puncture to reclaim the lead on Saturday when fellow Finn Jari Huttunen retired his similar car with technical issues.

A sizeable overnight advantage meant 2021 FIA Junior World Rally champion Pajari could afford to cruise through Sunday’s final leg and he clinched the victory by 33.8s.

Sami Pajari earned his first career WRC2 class win on his home gravel. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Second in the class went to Adrien Fourmaux, driving a Ford Fiesta MkII for M-Sport Ford. The Frenchman grabbed a handful of stage wins in a field filled with quick local drivers to head third-placed Nikolay Gryazin by 34s at the finish.

After the super-fast and super-smooth stages of Finland, the action heads to some of the WRC’s roughest gravel with Acropolis Rally Greece, Sept. 7-10. Can Elfyn Evans continue his surge on the Lamia-based event, or will Kalle Rovanpera fight back on an event he won in 2021?

WRC Rally Finland, final positions after Day Three, SS22
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2h33m11.3s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +39.1s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m36.7s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m41.0s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +4m09.4s
6 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2/non-points) +9m33.6s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 winner) +10m03.7s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +10m37.5s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +11m11.5s
10 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +11m35.2s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 9 rounds
1 Rovanpera 170 points
2 Evans 145
3 Neuville 134
4 Tanak 104
5 Ogier 97

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 9 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 378 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 311
3 M-Sport Ford 205

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Attack-mode Evans stretches his WRC Rally Finland lead

Elfyn Evans (above) made major strides towards his second WRC Rally Finland victory after the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver moved into full attack mode on Saturday’s penultimate leg. The GR Yaris Rally1 driver was fastest on seven out of eight of the …

Elfyn Evans (above) made major strides towards his second WRC Rally Finland victory after the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver moved into full attack mode on Saturday’s penultimate leg.

The GR Yaris Rally1 driver was fastest on seven out of eight of the gravel road stages in the super-fast Finnish forests to extend a 6.9s lead at the start of the day into a commanding 32.1s buffer at the end of the leg, leaving Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally trailing in his wake.

Rain showers early in the day played to the Evans’ strengths, and while Neuville grappled with wheelspin in the wet conditions, the 2021 Rally Finland winner excelled. The Welshman was equally at home in the repeated afternoon loop where the drying gravel roads became increasingly rutted.

With WRC points leader Kalle Rovanpera already sidelined by a crash on Friday, victory at this ninth FIA World Rally Championship round is essential for Evans — currently second in the points behind his Toyota teammate — to keep his title hopes alive. He was delighted with his performance on a demanding day that contained more than half the rally’s competitive distance.

“Obviously, it’s a nice position to be in, but of course there are still more stages to come tomorrow,” said Evans. “The focus will be on that now and we’ll try to keep doing the same.”

Although Neuville struggled to get his Hyundai’s setup dialed in for the changeable conditions, the Belgian was consistently quicker than the remainder of the field. Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta, his closest challenger, lagged almost one minute behind in third.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville continued his setup struggles, but still consolidated the second-overall spot. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta had dropped behind Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen after spinning in the morning’s first run through the Paijala stage, but charged back to reclaim the final podium spot in the first stage after the lunchtime service halt. He yielded the position again in the following test, then surged back in front by posting a benchmark time through the day’s closing stage, Vekkula 2. The pair were split by just 6.4s at the overnight halt.

Takamoto Katsuta charged back to a preliminary podium spot after spinning in the morning. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth overall, two minutes further back. The 38-year-old Finn, who is making his first WRC start since February 2020 to gain a better understanding of the current breed of hybrid Rally1 cars, overshot a junction in the day’s penultimate stage, but relished the chance to drive on his home roads again.

Oliver Solberg is not registered to score WRC2 points this week but climbed to sixth overall in his Skoda Fabia RS. Behind him, Sami Pajari is in line to celebrate victory in WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, after his closest challenger, Jari Huttunen, retired.

The 21-year-old Pajari had set the pace for much of Friday’s opening leg, but fell behind Huttunen as a result of a left-front puncture. He trailed his fellow Finn and Skoda Fabia RS driver by 12.9s heading into the penultimate day, but clawed back an amazing 10.0s in the wet-weather opener, the 11.77-mile Vastila 1 stage.

After being caught napping, Huttunen then doubled his buffer with a strong response on the legendary roads of the 12.54-mile Paijale stage, but later pulled off the road in the second pass of Vekkula. A technical issue meant he went no further and promoted Pajari back to the WRC2 top spot.

Sami Pajari claimed the WRC2 lead following Jari Huttunen’s tech-related retirement. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

The youngster, who sits seventh in the overall rally standings, leads M-Sport Ford Fiesta MkII driver Adrien Fourmaux by 33.9s going into Sunday’s short final leg. Victory in Finland would be the first at this level for Pajari and his co-driver, Enni Malkonen.

Just four tests covering 32.09 competitive miles make up Sunday’s final leg. Drivers face two runs each on the classic roads of Moksi-Sahloinen and Himos-Jamsa. The second pass of the latter forms the bonus points-paying, rally-closing Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Finland, leading positions after Day Two, SS18
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2h08m07.0s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +32.1s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m27.8s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m34.2s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m39.5s
6 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2/non-points) +8m05.0s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +8m17.5s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +8m51.4s
9 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m42.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m02.6s

Evans grabs WRC Rally Finland lead as Rovanpera crashes out

Elfyn Evans (above) was thrust into the lead of WRC Rally Finland when Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s untouchable streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg. Home hero Rovanpera, who brought a commanding 55-point lead …

Elfyn Evans (above) was thrust into the lead of WRC Rally Finland when Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s untouchable streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg.

Home hero Rovanpera, who brought a commanding 55-point lead into the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship was running first car on the road, yet reeled off five consecutive fastest times through the super-fast gravel stages in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Heading into the day’s seventh test, 9.64-mile Myhinpaa 2, the 22-year-old Finn was leading second-placed Evans by 5.7s and looking comfortable.

But a rare mistake 6.9 miles after the start brought a disastrous end to the reigning WRC champ’s day when he lost control of his GR Yaris, hit a rock in the roadside ditch, and rolled end over end. Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged from the wreckage unscathed, despite the force of the impact being strong enough to tear a rear wheel from the car.

Kalle Rovanpera was bossing the Finnish stages — until a costly error ended his hopes of a home win. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

“It didn’t really feel like we should have crashed,” said Rovanpera on his return — minus his stranded car — to the service park in Jyvaskyla. “Being the first car and not seeing a line to follow, especially for the rear wheels, maybe there was some mud that the rears got into? It was a full slide, full lock, and I couldn’t straighten the car. Then we hit something hard in the ditch — maybe bedrock.”

Evans, currently second in the WRC points, inherited the top spot from his stranded teammate and negotiated the remaining two stages almost error-free to head Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally by just 6.9s overnight.

“A bit of a half-spin in the final stage didn’t help, but overall it’s been an OK day,” said Evans, who was frustrated to give away 2.8s to Neuville thanks to that moment in the Harju 2 finale. “We’re pretty happy overall and obviously we’ve still got a lot of driving to do tomorrow.”

Mistakes were punished brutally on the central Finland gravel roads, and Rovanpera wasn’t the only victory contender to come unstuck. Fellow Finn Esapekka Lappi crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 into a tree in SS4 while running fourth overall, while M-Sport Ford saw its chances of a decent result end before they’d barely began.

M-Sport Ford team leader and three-time Rally Finland winner Ott Tanak, who led the event after Thursday’s evening’s short super special stage in downtown Jyvaskyla, retired his Puma Rally1 in Friday’s second stage with terminal engine failure and his M-Sport teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed in the same test.

Neuville’s day wasn’t without drama, either. The Belgian reported a lack of rear traction during the morning’s loop of stages and struggled for visibility under scattered rain showers on multiple occasions. By the end of the day, he headed Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who won the morning’s opening stage, by 9.5s.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville struggled for traction and visibility, but is only 9.5s out of the lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

In fourth overall and definitely still within reach of a podium place is Teemu Suninen. The Finn is contesting his second rally aboard an i20 N Rally1 and trailed Katsuta by 12.4s at the overnight halt after building his speed throughout the day.

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, a three-time Rally Finland winner, rounded out the top five on his first WRC start since 2020. The 38-year-old Finn is using the one-off event to gain a better understanding of the hybrid Rally1 cars that have competed in the WRC’s headlining class since 2022, and despite prioritizing bringing his GR Yaris safely to the finish, he’s only 54.9s behind Suninen.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Jari Huttunen showed he’s lost none of the speed which carried him to the 2020 WRC3 title as the 29-year-old Finn leads the way in WRC2 after Friday’s opening leg.

A year ago, Huttunen was driving a top-level Ford Puma Rally1 at his home WRC round. This year he’s out to prove a point against the WRC2 regulars after a lack of funding has left him unable to contest a full program in the class.

Huttunen led after Thursday’s super special stage in Jyvaskyla, but was quickly demoted to the second spot by fellow Finn Sami Pajari, who romped to an impressive four stage wins in a similar Skoda Fabia RS on Friday morning.

Pajari ran as high as sixth on the overall leader board, but disaster struck the 21-year-old Finn in the day’s penultimate stage when he punctured and shipped 11.1s, limping through the 5.68 miles of Halttula 2. That misfortune handed Huttunen an overnight lead of 12.9s.

WRC2 leader Jari Huttunen is out to prove a point in his Skoda after struggling for 2023 funding. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Nikolay Gryazin made a steady start in his Skoda, but climbed to third after increasing his pace throughout the day and trails Pajari by just three-tenths of a second heading into Saturday’s second leg.

Saturday’s second leg is the rally’s longest leg, with eight special stages totaling 99.84 competitive miles. The loop of four morning stages are repeated in the afternoon, and with more rain in the forecast, there’s the potential for more shocks and drama on the WRC’s fastest event.

WRC Rally Finland, leading positions after Day One, SS10
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +51m34.4s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6.9s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +16.4s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +28.8s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m23.7s
6 Jari Huttunen/Antti Haapala (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m14.1s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m27.0s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m27.3s
9 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m28.8s
10 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +3m36.4s

Evans back to winning ways with WRC Rally Croatia dominance

Elfyn Evans stormed to victory at Rally Croatia on Sunday afternoon, moving the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings in the process. An error from Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on Saturday morning had …

Elfyn Evans stormed to victory at Rally Croatia on Sunday afternoon, moving the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings in the process.

An error from Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on Saturday morning had propelled the Welshman to first overall. After that, he distanced himself from M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver Ott Tanak to win by 27.0s in his GR Yaris Rally1.

The triumph, his first since Rally Finland in the fall of 2021 and the first of his career on an all-asphalt WRC round, elevated Evans from fifth to first in the drivers’ championship standings. After round four of 13, he leads Toyota teammate Sebastien Ogier by three points, with Tanak just one point further back in third.

After taking the win, Evans reflected on the loss of his friend and rival, Ireland’s Craig Breen, who was killed testing his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 in a pre-Rally Croatia test.

“Obviously we’ve been working towards this for a long time, but it all feels so insignificant at the moment — that’s the bottom line,” said Evans. “After the focus of the weekend, we’re all back to missing our friend now. Straightaway after coming across the finish line, that’s all we can think about. We promised Craig’s family we would enjoy the weekend, and we’ve done that. We’re all thinking of them right now.”

Winners Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin pay tribute to Ireland’s Craig Breen. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Evans’ Toyota Gazoo Racing team preserved its unbeaten Rally Croatia record, making it three wins in three events, while also increasing its WRC manufacturers’ championship lead over Hyundai Motorsport to 29 points.

The 2023 WRC season’s first all-asphalt rally delivered tremendous action, and Tanak looked set to become a real threat to Evans as he set a furious pace early on Saturday afternoon. However, a transmission issue toward the end of the penultimate leg obstructed the Estonian’s charge and he cruised to Sunday’s finish 31.6s clear of Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi.

Lappi lacked confidence on some of the dirtier sections of road, but consistency rewarded him with his first podium for Hyundai — a welcome boost after crashing out from the lead in the previous round in Mexico.

Esapekka Lappi bounced back from his Mexico crash to finish third for Hyundai. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Behind Lappi were a trio of Toyotas headed by defending WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera, 19.7s in arrears. The Finn had fallen outside of the overall top 10 after changing a wheel in Friday’s second stage, but hauled himself back up the leaderboard with an impressive recovery drive. He passed Ogier during Sunday’s final morning to claim fourth overall, edging his teammate by just 9.7s.

Ogier, who led the points before this rally, despite choosing to run only a limited WRC campaign this season, was left to rue what could have been. Although he trailed winner Evans by 1min28.0s at the finish, he’d also stopped to change a wheel while leading on Friday and received further blows in the form of time penalties. In total, the eight-time champ’s time loss amounted to roughly two-and-a-half minutes, ending his chances of making it three wins from his three 2023 starts so far.

Takamoto Katsuta made it four Toyotas in the top six, ahead of seventh-placed Pierre-Louis Loubet, who nursed his Puma to the finish with bent steering.

Completing the runners in the WRC’s headlining hybrid Rally1 class, Thierry Neuville, who’d led after Friday, then crashed out on Saturday, restarted with the aim of grabbing maximum bonus points on the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage — a mission the Belgian duly accomplished after gambling on carrying no spare tires in his Hyundai i20 N to save weight.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Yohan Rossel secured his second victory in as many 2023 starts, having led the class from Friday’s opening stage.

The Frenchman took control from the get-go and never faltered in his Citroen C3. He did, however, come under some pressure from Skoda Fabia RS driver Nikolay Gryazin, whose Saturday afternoon charge ate into his lead. The pair entered Sunday’s four-stage finale just 11.5s apart, but Rossel, who also won WRC2 at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, delivered a faultless drive to keep his rival 16.1s behind at the finish.

Oliver Solberg finished third on the road in his Skoda, but was not registered for WRC2 points in Croatia (WRC2 drivers nominate seven rounds to secure championship points). That left Emil Lindholm to complete the podium in his Fabia after fighting back from a broken transmission linkage on Friday. The Finn was a hefty 1m11.4sec adrift of the front-running pair, although he did have 51.0s in hand over fourth-placed Adrien Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford Fiesta.

Yohan Rossel made it two WRC2 wins from two 2023 starts in his Citroen C3. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Next event for the WRC is Rally Portugal, May 11-14. Running over fast and technical gravel roads inland from Porto, it’s one of the oldest and most popular rounds in the championship. Reigning WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera was last year’s winner, and will be looking to take his title defense up a gear with a repeat this time around.

WRC Rally Croatia, final positions after Day Three, SS20
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h50m54.3s
2 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +27.0s
3 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +58.6s
4 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m18.3s
5 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m28.0s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m22.5s
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicola Gilsoul (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +4m22.6s
8 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2 winner) +7m51.3s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m07.4s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS) +9m16.7s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 4 rounds
1 Evans 69 points
2 Ogier 66
3 Tanak 65
4 Rovanpera 64
5 Neuville 53

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 4 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 154 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 126
3 M-Sport Ford 108

Evans closes in on WRC Rally Croatia win after Neuville crashes

Elfyn Evans is closing in on his first FIA World Rally Championship victory since the fall of 2021 after seizing the Rally Croatia lead during Saturday’s penultimate leg. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver ( above) assumed control of the challenging …

Elfyn Evans is closing in on his first FIA World Rally Championship victory since the fall of 2021 after seizing the Rally Croatia lead during Saturday’s penultimate leg.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver (above) assumed control of the challenging asphalt event early in the day when Thierry Neuville, who had led by 5.7s on Friday evening, crashed into retirement on the second stage.

Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 stepped out of line and collided with a concrete block, which caused severe damage to the car’s rear suspension. With the Belgian going no further, that handed Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 a healthy lead of 22.6s at Saturday’s halfway point.

But the dynamic changed when M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak cranked up the heat after the mid-leg service in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, and slashed Welshman Evans’ buffer by almost half with just two of the day’s stages remaining. However, the Estonian was impeded by a technical fault which cost valuable time late in the day and he ended the leg 25.4s off the lead.

Second-placed Ott Tanak turned up the pressure, but was impeded by a late technical issue. M-Sport photo

A victory for Evans, should he succeed in keeping Tanak’s Puma Rally 1 at bay, would be his first since the 2021 Rally Finland, more than 18 months ago.

“If Ott had problems, I wouldn’t wish that on him,” the Welshman said after the day’s final stage. “It’s not nice to exploit a gap like that, but OK, there’s still a long way to go.”

Esapekka Lappi brought his Hyundai to the overnight halt in third overall, despite lacking confidence in some of the sections where corner cutting from the earlier cars had thrown gravel onto the asphalt. A half spin in the afternoon’s first stage didn’t help matters, although the Finn pressed harder in the afternoon and trailed Tanak by just a half minute at close of day.

Eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier started Saturday on the back foot, having been handed a one-minute time penalty for a safety breach — an incorrectly fastened safety harness on Friday’s second stage. The Frenchman, who is running only selected events in 2023, was then lumbered with a further 10-second penalty after a technical issue on the road section caused him to make his own repairs and check in late to the first stage.

But the GR Yaris driver, winner here in 2021, climbed from seventh to fourth overall after taking three fastest stage times. Behind him were Toyota teammates Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta, both of whom leapfrogged M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet as he struggled to find traction on hard compound tires.

Sebastien Ogier fought back to fourth overall after a spate of penalties. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, overnight leader Yohan Rossel saw his buffer reduced by almost two-thirds as a charging Nikolay Gryazin turned up the heat.

Rossel is aiming for back-to-back Croatia WRC2 victories in his Citroen C3, but struggled to come up with a response to the furious pace set by Gryazin throughout Saturday’s second leg.

Having started the day with a half-minute lead, Rossel was on the receiving end of several Gryazin blows as the Skoda Fabia RS driver stormed to fastest WRC2 times on four of the day’s eight stages.

“The conditions are not the same as yesterday,” said Rossel, who enters Sunday’s final leg a mere 11.5s ahead of Gryazin. “It’s quite similar to a gravel rally! The feeling is quite good when the road is completely dry, but when we have a lot of mud and gravel [from the cuts], it’s impossible to drive for me. But the rally is not finished — we will see tomorrow.”

Nikolay Gryazin went on a Saturday tear, finishing just 11.5s off of the WRC2 lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Sunday’s final leg north of Zagreb features the widest roads of the weekend. The opening 8.17-mile Trakoscan-Vrbno stage starts close to a 13th-century lakeside castle amid stunning scenery and is followed by the 8.76-mile Zagorska Sela-Kumrovec test. Both are driven twice, taking the day’s total to 33.85 competitive miles, with the second run through Zagorska Sela-Kumrovec as the rally-closing, points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Croatia, leading positions after Day Two, SS16
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h20m05.7s
2 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +25.4s
3 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +55.4s
4 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m49.4s
5 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m51.4s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m25.9s
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicola Gilsoul (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +2m32.1s
8 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +6m40.2s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +6m51.7s
10 Emil Lindholm/Rita Hamalainen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m02.4s