The third and final stage of the Polish Rally opened in the worst possible way for Hyundai Motorsport. Andreas Mikkelsen, second until the start of SS16, hit a dirt bank and thus damaged his right rear tire, thus losing the chance to fight for the victory and take home the podium.
The Norwegian’s tyre, after being damaged in the impact, was destroyed kilometer after kilometer of the 20.80 kilometer Gmina Mrągowo 1, causing Mikkelsen to lose almost 1 minute to his rivals.
The consequence was obvious and inevitable: losing both second and third place in the overall standings to Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux. For Mikkelsen, Super Sunday is already over, with no more chance of taking home more points than he can bring home (those awarded to those who finish ninth).
As regards the general ranking, it is worth mentioning Thierry Neuville’s arrival in the Top 5. The world championship leader overtook debutant Martins Sesks, who last night had kept him behind by just 1 tenth of a second. Today the change of position arrived, but by then it is too late to seize the two points lost last night.
The special classification for Super Sunday was important. Ott Tanak, back in the race after his second retirement yesterday, achieved the best special time in 10’43″5.
The Hyundai Motorsport driver now leads the Sunday standings with a 1.2″ lead over Kalle Rovanpera – leader in the overall standings of the event – and a 2.5″ margin over the second Toyota, that of Elfyn Evans. Adrien Fourmaux also did well, fourth at 4.4″ while the Top 5 is completed by Thierry Neuville, already 12.5″ behind.
In WRC2 Sami Pajari controls and manages his advantage over Robert Virves, which is around half a minute. Oliver Solberg is still in contact with the Estonian for the second position, because between the two there are 3″8 with 3 stages to go.
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