The much-feared second pass on the 25.87-kilometer Aghii Theodori did the damage imagined on the eve, but not in the way everyone expected.
The surface, made even rougher and more treacherous by the first passage of the cars made this morning, was the drivers’ worst enemy, but not in terms of punctures. The Pirelli compounds held up very well to the challenge, but Elfyn Evans and, almost, Ott Tanak, had to pay the price.
Evans, who has been out of the Top 10 since yesterday due to obvious and significant turbo problems on his GR Yaris Rally1, was the first to make the mistake of pulling the handbrake to rotate the car on a downhill right-hand bend, but the wheels of the left chain pivoted on the grooves left by the passages of the preceding cars.
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were then passengers in their Yaris, which was now resting on its roof and unable to move forward. Fortunately, spectators helped the British crew continue, although the windscreen was completely cracked.
Evans, who finished the test five minutes behind the leaders, admitted he had no idea whether he would be able to continue the rally or not.
A few minutes later, at the same hairpin, it was Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja’s turn. The Estonian Hyundai crew did the same thing that caused their Toyota colleagues to flip, but a quick and timely countersteer from Tanak prevented the #8 i20 N Rally1 from finishing its stage on its roof.
In this way, Tanak managed to maintain fourth place in the overall standings, even coming close to challenging Sébastien Ogier for the special victory. The Frenchman, however, won the stage with a half-second advantage over the Estonians and with a 5.5″ advantage over the leader of the World Championship and the rally, Thierry Neuville.
The Belgian continues to manage his margin over his rivals and Dani Sordo tried to do the same. The Spaniard continues to race with a car damaged on the right side after the delamination of a tire during the morning and this, from an aerodynamic point of view, is a significant handicap.
Sordo completed the stage 18.1 seconds behind Ogier, managing to maintain 27 seconds on the Frenchman, thus defending second place with just one special stage remaining in today’s stage.
Adrien Fourmaux was less fortunate, having to stop in practice to change a damaged tyre. The M-Sport driver, however, has not been in the top positions since yesterday, so he has not lost any significant positions.
The situation was difficult in WRC2, with Robert Virves, Fabrizio Zaldivar, Josh McErlean and Lauri Joona all stopping in qualifying to replace a damaged tyre. Sami Pajari took advantage once again to increase his advantage over his rivals and further consolidate his lead in the overall standings of the event.
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