The last day of competition of the Rally of Croatia, the third round of the WRC 2022, opened with the first two specials of the 4 scheduled which presented a very important novelty linked to the Top 3.
Thierry Neuville has succeeded in his aim, overtaking Craig Breen and thus climbing to third place in the general classification of the first seasonal event which is held entirely on asphalt.
The Hyundai driver achieved an exceptional time in Special Stage 18, the Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 of 14.09 kilometers, winning it and beating Breen by 12 “3. him an advantage of 7 “8.
The Belgian’s choice of tires is perfect: 3 Soft and 3 Hard. Thanks to the softer compounds he made the difference especially in the first part, and from that moment on he built his advantage over all his rivals.
If things have changed for third place, the same cannot be said for the fight for victory. Kalle Rovanpera increased his advantage over Ott Tanak, the only rival for the success of this event, to 28 “4.
The excellent performances of Gus Greensmith and Pierre-Louis Loubet – both M-Sport drivers at the wheel of two Ford Puma Rally1s – respectively third and fourth in PS18, should be noted.
PS17, on the other hand, was won by Esapekka Lappi, who, apart from being out of action since the first special of the race, made a mistake in the next special by misinterpreting a crossing, thus losing several seconds and the possibility of repeat.
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