Kalle Rovanpera closes the second stage of the Rally Poland as leader of the general classification after a day in which he did well to take the lead in the first tests this morning and manage the small advantage until the end of the morning lap.
In the afternoon lap, however, the 2-time world champion changed gear and his direct rivals were unable to keep up, thus trailing Andreas Mikkelsen by 9″4 and Elfyn Evans by 16″1.
Rovanpera won most of today’s tests, while Mikkelsen and Evans had a less brilliant afternoon. The Norwegian didn’t have the pace to worry Rovanpera, while Evans was slowed by a delaminated tire in the first afternoon test.
At that point the Welshman preferred not to take too many risks, because if he had damaged another tire he would have been forced to retire, as he no longer had spare tires to arrive with 4 intact tires at the Service Park.
The games for the general classification of the event already seem more defined, with Adrien Fourmaux firmly in fourth place with the first Ford Puma Rally1 in the classification. The debutant Martins Sesks closes the Top 5 in an admirable way. The Latvian, at the wheel of a Ford Puma Rally1 not equipped with hybrid propulsion, gritted his teeth throughout the afternoon and, despite losing 15.7 seconds to Thierry Neuville, remained ahead of the Belgian by just 1 tenth of a second.
The World Championship leader, however, was the author of a very competitive afternoon, but not finishing in the Top 5 for such a short time is a mockery of gall. This makes him lose 2 championship points which would have been very useful for him in the chase for the Drivers’ title. Tomorrow, like Evans and Tanak, he will give his all to bring home as many points as possible offered by Super Sunday and the Power Stage.
Gregoire Munster had the satisfaction of finishing sixth and faster than Takamoto Katsuta. So far the Dutchman has had his best weekend since he raced in a Rally1 car, but tomorrow he will have to complete the job in the last 4 special stages of the programme.
Of note is Ott Tanak’s second retirement. Hyundai Motorsport decided to stop the Estonian at the end of the morning lap to preserve the car for tomorrow, when the 2019 world champion will be able to chase the extra points guaranteed by Super Sunday and the Power Stage.
Sami Pajari continues to dominate WRC2 with a margin of 32.6 seconds over the first of his rivals, Estonian Robert Virves on Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The fight for second place and the podium is still very open, because Oliver Solberg is third at 2.9 seconds from Virves, while Josh McErlean is fourth at 5.9 seconds from Solberg.
The second stage of the Polish Rally ends here. The Polish Rally will resume tomorrow morning for the last stage with Special Stage 16, the 20.80 kilometer Gmina Mrqgowa 1. The first car will enter testing at 9:00 am Italian time.
WRC 2024 – Rally Poland – Ranking after SS15
Pos. | Pilot/Navigator | Car | Time/Detachment |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Rovan pear / Halt | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | 2h00’44”0 |
2 | Mikkelsen/Eriksen | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +9″4 |
3 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +16″1 |
4 | Fourmaux/Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +37″0 |
5 | Seks/Francis | Ford Puma Rally1 | +58″2 |
6 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +58″3 |
7 | Munster/Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +1’24″5 |
8 | Katsuta/Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +1’41″9 |
9 | Pajari/Malkonen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +5’46″5 |
10 | Virves/Lesk | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +6’12″8 |
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