Chile Rally 2024, SS12: fog helps Rovanperä | FP

The second day of the Chile Rally also brought about continuous upheavals at the top of the general classification, with the South American stage which at this moment therefore cannot provide a number one candidate for the final victory. The only certain thing is that the eight-time world champion will not be on the podium, regardless of the final position Sebastien Ogier. In full comeback after yesterday’s puncture, the Frenchman was betrayed by bad luck after hitting a stone which caused irreparable damage to his Toyota, such as to force him to retire and almost certainly abandon the fight for this world title. year, which will see an all-Hyundai derby between Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville, in turn ready to battle and divided by a ten-second gap for third place in Chile, all behind Elfyn Evans.

SS7-SS9: Ogier raises the white flag

The short gap between the two at the end of yesterday allowed for Evans not only to catch up on Tänak, but also to overtake the Estonian Hyundai driver at the start of the day, taking the lead in the ranking. All this at the end of a convincing performance by the Welshman from Toyota, in a top-5 that included world championship leader Thierry Neuville, able to take advantage of a subpar performance from Munster. However, the theme linked to the fight for the title returned forcefully, especially on the occasion of the following special stage: more than due to Tänak’s mistake, which ‘gave’ 2nd place to Rovanperä (winner of the stage), the Chilean rally turned his back on Sebastien Ogier. A few kilometers from the finish line, the Frenchman hit a large stone in his path, breaking the steering arm and having to retreat for the damages suffered. An episode that could almost certainly put an end to the world championship hopes of the eight-time world champion, with the fight for the world championship close to being limited to the Hyundai duo formed by Tänak and Neuville. The latter, in addition, moved up to fourth position after his good performance in SS9, which finished behind Evans in second place.

SS10-SS12: Fog offers an assist to Rovanperä

Compared to the last test of the Chilean morning, nothing has changed in terms of the author of the fastest lap, with Evans once again in front of everyone. The real change, if anything, came during the penultimate test of the day in the round of Lota 2characterized by heavy fog. The Welshman, who enjoyed an advantage of almost 14 seconds over Rovanperä, lost it all to the Finn, thus slipping into second position ahead of the two Hyundais of Tänak and Neuville, the latter author of his first success of the season in Chile. In the twelfth and final special of the day it was Fourmaux who achieved the best performance, with Rovanperä still maintaining the leadership ahead of Evans, Tänak and Neuville, ever closer to the podium awaiting the last day scheduled tomorrow before the Power Stage final, also live on television on Sky Sport F1 at 6.05pm.

Rally Chile 2024, ranking after SS12 (Top-10)