Метка: Toyota Racing

Toyota expects Ferrari to remain quickest in Spa WEC despite BoP hit

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


David Floury, technical director of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, believes that its Italian rival will maintain at least some of the the advantage it showed last time out at Imola before tactical errors when it rained allowed the Japanese manufacturer to come through to win. 

Floury intimated that that the BoP changes for the Spa 6 Hours on Saturday will not fully close up the field in the WEC’s Hypercar class. 

“The picture should be similar but with smaller gaps,” said Floury. 

Asked if the Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar will remain in the ascendent, he replied: “I think so.”

He pointed to Ferrari’s pace in this race last year when it claimed a podium behind the two Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMHs as further evidence that it will still be strong around the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. 

“Ferrari showed its pace last year, and I don’t expect a different picture,” he explained. 

Ferrari has taken a 12kg hit in minimum weight under the BoP for Spa as well as losing 4kW (5bhp) in maximum power, whereas the Toyota has gained 4kg and lost 1kW. 

The Toyota will go to the grid 21kg heavier than in 2023, though with 3kW more power. 

Ferrari’s 499P, meanwhile, is 13kg heavier than last year and has 3kW less power. 

When asked to comment on the BoP changes, Floury replied: “Next question.”

Manufacturers, teams and drivers are forbidden from talking about on the BoP in the WEC sporting rules on pain of sanction by the stewards. 

Floury believes that Toyota will have a fight on its hands to repeat the Imola victory this weekend at Spa in the face of an expected performance deficit to Ferrari.

“We will need to be clever to win here,” he explained referencing a weather forecast that is predicting a dry weekend. 

“And this time it looks like we will not be helped by the weather: we will have to be even more clever.”

Floury suggested that the balance between Toyota and Porsche will be similar to Imola last month when they battled over the final spot on the podium behind the Ferraris through the dry period of the race. 

“It was very close: it was a tiny gap — it could have gone one way or the other,” he said.

Ferrari looked set for a 1-2 finish on home ground in Italy before opting to leave both its factory cars and the sister satellite entry from AF Corse out on slicks when it rained. 

It admitted to tactical errors, which included not splitting the strategies on the two works cars.

That allowed the #7 Toyota shared by Kamui Kobayashi, Nick de Vries and Mike Conway to take the victory. 

Practice for the Spa 6 Hours, round three of the 2024 WEC, kicks off at 11:30 local time on Thursday.

Read Also:

  



Source link

2025 WRC Rally1 prototype “not so exciting” after first test

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Evans was offered a brief taste of the future when he piloted a modified Toyota GR Yaris during his pre-event Croatia Rally test last month.

Fan vision captured from the test showcased the GR Yaris running with revised aerodynamics centred around the rear wing, which appeared to conform to the FIA’s proposed 2025 regulations. It is understood Toyota is the only team that has attempted to create and test a 2025 prototype.

The FIA intends to reduce the performance of Rally1 cars for next season by removing hybrid power alongside a reduction in aero and air restrictor, to bring the cars more in line with Rally2 vehicles. This combined with a proposed upgrade kit for Rally2 cars is hoped to create a larger entry of competitors to battle at the sharp end of rallies next year.

The new regulations have been strongly opposed by WRC teams and drivers, with the former requesting the current rules stay in place until the end of 2026.

Asked for his opinion on the car following the test, Evans was blunt in his response stating it was “as expected” before elaborating further.

“I can tell you that it was not so exciting,” he said.

“I started and finished my run, so I guess if that is your definition of driveable, then I guess it was.”

Pressed on if this is the right direction for the WRC next year, he replied: “My opinion is quite clear.”

The FIA is understood to be working on a compromise with teams regarding the 2025 technical regulations, which could be communicated to stakeholders this month, before June’s World Motor Sport Council meeting. 

FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley offered further details of the proposed rule changes for 2025 during a media roundtable in Croatia. 

“At the start of the five-year Rally1 process it was very clear that the hybrid element was a three-year contract, and that is what we have with [supplier] Compact Dynamics, but we are not changing the concept of Rally1,” he said. 

“The only discussion we are having about changing Rally1 is to modify the rear wing. We want to take one plane of the rear wing off, we will keep the top plane.

“The changes are half of the spoiler, it is removing the hybrid unit, and it is compensating the weight difference, which means a smaller restrictor so effectively the power to weight ratio is negated.”

 
Read Also:



Source link

Toyota shuffles its WRC manufacturer points scorers for Portugal

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Reigning constructor world champions Toyota will field both its part-time drivers in the same event for the first time this season in Portugal next week as it looks to widen its seven-point gap over Hyundai in the championship.

As a result, Toyota has nominated current world champion Rovanpera and eight-time world champion Ogier to score manufacturer points alongside this year’s title contender Elfyn Evans. Rovnapera has won the previous two Portugal WRC rounds, while Ogier is a five-time winner of the event – sharing the record for the most victories with Markku Alen. It means the team’s other full-time driver Katsuta will be fighting purely for driver points on Portugal’s gravel roads.     

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala stated at the start of the season that the manufacturers crown was the team’s first objective and says the championship’s new points system has made harder to make an impact. 

“It will be great to have all four of our drivers with us in Portugal. This year we wanted to bring them all together on at least one rally and this was a good opportunity to do it,” said Latvala.

“With the new points system, it’s been difficult to make big differences in the manufacturers’ championship so far. In Portugal we will have three drivers that have won the event before, plus Taka who has also been very fast, so it’s a strong line-up for this rally.

“Kalle has been very successful there the last two years, while Seb has won it five times before. Elfyn’s road position could be more challenging, but he just needs to keep concentrating on maximising his points against his championship rivals.

“Taka has also been driving very well and has the capability to fight for the podium. But we know the competition will be strong and I’m sure it will be another big fight for the top positions in Portugal.”

While Katsuta says he won’t have the “stress” of fighting for manufacturer points, the Japanese driver has a podium in his sights having come close on two occasions in the past, finishing fourth in 2021 and 2022.

“Portugal is basically my favourite rally of course and I will try to do my best,” Katsuta told Motorsport.com.

“I’m not scoring points for the team so there will be no stress and no pressure. I will try to do the maximum that I can.

“My main target is to get a podium as I have finished fourth twice there. If the pace is really good all weekend I will try to push as much as I can.”

Read Also:



Source link

Toyota weighs up third Hypercar for WEC

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Japanese manufacturer has revealed that it could take a leaf out of arch-rival Ferrari’s book and run a third car on a satellite basis in the future.

But Toyota WEC race director Rob Leupen has revealed that it is already too late to put such a plan into place for next season and that an extra full-season entry in the Hypercar class could not come on stream before 2026.

«We see what Ferrari is doing with its customer or satellite car, and we like that,» Leupen told Motorsport.com.

«Clearly running an extra car gives you more possibilities, so it is something we are looking into. We are reviewing it.»

The lead time involved in building an additional car and setting up the infrastructure to run it would make it impossible for a third GR010 to arrive in the WEC in 2025, explained Leupen.

«If we were going to do it next year, we would have had to have made the decision already, and at the moment nothing is decided,» he said.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

«It cannot be a short-term decision because we know what the lead times for all the components would be in the current circumstances.»

Toyota favours going the Ferrari route: the factory AF Corse team runs the additional 499P LMH for this year driven by Robert Kubica and works drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman on a customer basis.

«We are not at the stage yet where we say this is how we want to do it, but if you ask me, the way Ferrari does it, I like that,» said Leupen.

He stressed that the complexities of running a four-wheel-drive LMH would mitigate against the direction Porsche has taken by selling its 963 LMDh to privateer teams.

An additional Toyota would not be able to accrue WEC manufacturer’s points and instead would compete in the World Cup for Teams in which the extra AF Ferrari and the Jota and Proton Competition Porsches currently participate.

What is unclear is if there would be room for an additional Toyota the year after next.

Start action

Start action

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

The WEC grid is on course to expand to 40 cars next year at the same time as manufacturers look certain to be obliged to run two cars.

With the arrival of Aston Martin with two Valkyrie LMHs, an expansion of the current one-car Cadillac, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini Hypercar programmes would potentially mean the grid is oversubscribed.

Asked if there would be room for an additional Toyota with a continued expansion of the Hypercar field, Leupen replied: «How many cars does Porsche run? How many cars does Ferrari run? So why should we not run three?»

Leupen added that there could be an overlap between the GR010 LMH and the hydrogen combustion prototype it is planning to develop after the reveal of the GR H2 Concept at last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

The new hydrogen class is not set for an introduction into the series until at least 2027.



Source link

Toyota not “getting over excited” over WEC Imola triumph

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


David Floury, technical director at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, made the claim after Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway took victory in the Imola 6 Hours after Ferrari made two key strategic errors.

«I don’t think we should be over-excited because it was a race decided on a tyre call, not on pure pace,» he said.

«If you look at pure pace on fastest lap time, Ferrari is four tenths faster than us. We won without being fastest, so it was won on strategy and team execution.»

He added that the lack of pace of the GR010 in comparison with Ferrari’s 499P LMH was «not something we are happy with».

Floury paid tribute to Kobayashi’s drive over the final two hours to seal the victory when rain started to fall.

The Japanese driver, who is also team principal of the TGR WEC squad, had to go into extreme fuel-save mode over his final stint to avoid the need for a late splash-and-dash stop at the same time as fending off a challenge from the factory Porsche 963 LMDh with Kevin Estre at the wheel.

«When we started the final stint we were scratching our heads a bit, wondering how we were going to manage it,» explained Floury.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

«Kamui did a fantastic job-saving energy while staying in front.

«We did the job today: the team did the perfect execution and Kamui was brilliant at the end.»

Ferrari was in the ascendency for nearly four hours in Sunday’s race before delaying the change from slicks to wet-weather tyres on both factory cars and the customer or satellite AF Corse entry when it started to rain.

The Italian manufacturer admitted to making tactical mistakes after the race, saying that it misinterpreted its weather forecast.

It also revealed that a plan to split its strategies on the two factory cars was not executed as a result of what it described as a communication problem.

The victory for Toyota on Sunday follows a disappointing performance in the Qatar 1812Km WEC season-opener in March, in which it scored a best result of fifth, a lap in arrears of the winning Porsche Penske Motorsport entry.

A Balance of Performance change helped shake up the order at Imola, although Floury hinted that he believes that the playing field has yet to be fully levelled in the Hypercar class yet.

He talked about the discrepancies in straightline speed between the cars after both qualifying and the race.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Floury described the 5-6km/h difference in top speeds between the 499P and the GR010 as «big in a BoP world» after qualifying and then suggested that Ferrari was «out of sight» post-race.

A new component in the BoP known as «power gain» is set for introduction in the Hypercar class of the WEC this year with the aim of levelling the performance profiles of the cars down the straights.

A plus or minus figure will be applied to the maximum power figure for each car above 210km/h (130mph) to more accurately match their acceleration and top speeds.

The system was trialled by some manufacturers during the pre-Qatar Prologue test and had looked set for an Imola introduction.

The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly run the WEC, have yet to reveal to the manufacturers when it will be introduced.

Read Also:



Source link

New points system offered “zero reward” from “mega” WRC battle

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Toyota driver has been among the most critical of the new points system and again brought the subject back into question after finishing second behind team-mate Sebastien Ogier.

Evans scooped 19 points from the weekend, picking up 15 for finishing second on Saturday before claiming three from the Super Sunday classification and one from the Power Stage.

His tally matched title rival Thierry Neuville, who finished third, to ensure Evans continues to trail the Hyundai driver by six points in the championship standings. 

Another quirk of the points structure saw Ott Tanak claim 20 points, one less than rally winner Ogier after finishing fourth. Tanak picked up 10 points after ending Saturday fourth but earned six points from finishing second in the Sunday standings, and four points from the Power Stage.

After being involved in a “mega” battle for the win with Neuville and Ogier throughout the rally before a mistake on stage 18, Evans felt his efforts were not sufficiently rewarded.

“Of course, there was a lot of joy from it [the close fight with Neuville] but at the end of it all even though we have had a mega weekend, it feels like there is zero reward for it given the new points structure,” Evans told Autosport when asked about his tense battle for the win.

“Adrien [Fourmaux] spent 15 minutes changing his steering arm and he has got 13 points and we have come away with 19 points and Ott has got 20 points. It is difficult to feel joy and you can clearly see that on the podium, everybody is in the same boat.”

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: M-Sport

The new points system is being monitored by the FIA, but the intention is for the system to see out the season according to the governing body’s road sport director Andrew Wheatley.

“The rules are set year by year and if you want to change the points system in the year you have to have unanimous agreement of every registered competitor and that is incredibly difficult to do,” said Wheatley on the Friday of the event.

“The intention of the points system is to let it run for the year and we are constantly monitoring it to understand what the implications are and what the opportunities are. We have had a couple of ends of the spectrum. I don’t think we have had anybody reporting at the end of a Sunday stage saying that they are just driving round.

“What it has done so far is it has achieved its target [to improve the action on Sundays] however we have both ends of the spectrum and we have to see if we are still achieving the target at the middle or the end of the season.”

In addition to frustrations over the points system, Evans rued a “big error” in taking more hard tyres than his rivals, which he felt contributed to his costly spin in stage 18 that ended his victory hopes.

“I am just so disappointed with my tyre choice this morning it was quite a big error to go so brave,” added Evans.

“The conditions were worse than what we expected, and we knew there would be pollution [on the road] and we didn’t quite expect it to be as bad as it was.

“Of course, the spin happened as a result of the hard tyre on the rear, so it was definitely a mistake to go with that choice today.”

Read Also:



Source link

Ogier takes shock lead as Neuville, Evans crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ogier started the morning 11.6 seconds adrift of Neuville but similar accidents for both Neuville and Evans have pushed the eight-time world champion into a 9.1s lead over Evans.

Evans and Neuville both reached the end of stage 18 with damaged cars — with the latter, who started the day leading by 4.9s, now dropping to third, 10.2s in arrears.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak survived a moment in stage 18 to maintain fourth [+1m02.3s] while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux handed fifth overall to Takamoto Katsuta [+1m57.1s]. Katsuta also leads the Super Sunday classification by 3.9s from Tanak.

Sunday morning began with a blast through the wide and open roads of stage 17 [Trakoscan-Vrbno, 13.15km] with the lead trio all opting for different tyre strategies to add extra intrigue to the victory battle. Rally leader Neuville selected one hard and four softs, while Evans chose three hards and two softs and Ogier opted for two hards and three softs.

Evans’ decision appeared to help the Welshman on the increasingly dirty road as the early runners dragged gravel onto the surface. The Toyota driver managed to take 2.3s out of leader Neuville to chop the deficit down to 2.6s with three stages remaining.

“I’m pretty surprised already, lots of pollution and quite slippery especially at the end of stage — overall quite good,” said Evans.

Neuville wasn’t overly concerned by Evans’ attack and felt confident his tyre decision would come back to him as the loop progressed.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“We have different tyre choices, this one will be really dirty on the second pass,” said Neuville. “For the next one I think we have better tyres.

“It’s OK, it’s a dirty road in the morning and we lose a bit of time, but we’re going to push hard.”

Ogier struggled to find the feeling behind the wheel of his GR Yaris but was able to match Neuville’s time to remain 11.6s adrift of the leader.

The stage was won by Katsuta, who took an early lead in the Super Sunday classification. The Toyota driver was 1.8s faster than Fourmaux with Evans third fastest. Tanak was fourth quickest despite battling a stage he claimed was “full of gravel”.

But the rally was turned on its head in stage 18 [Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec, 14.24km] as Neuville, Evans and Fourmaux all hit trouble.

Fourmaux was the first to make an error as he clipped an anti-cut device, which damaged his front right. The M-Sport driver pulled off the road to fix the car and eventually reached the stage end after losing more than 16 minutes.

“After a corner I snapped the steering arm, sometimes it bends, sometimes it breaks,” said Fourmaux. “This time it breaks. We need to score some points today, so we need to regroup and look forward to the Power Stage.”

Tanak also had what he called “more than a moment” running off the road, on his way to winning the stage, but he fared much better than lead duo Evans and Neuville.

Evans clipped a bank with the left rear of his GR Yaris, which pitched the car into a spin, costing the Welshman a vital 19.6s.

“It was just a slippery place, hit the rear hard on the left and it just took off and spun the car unfortunately,” said Evans.

Minutes later, rally leader Neuville ran into a bank, this time with the right rear of his i20 N, resulting in damage to the front and rear wing. The Belgian, who dropped 23.3s to third overall, blamed the incident on a late pacenote.

“There was a lot of corners, when I got the pacenote it was far too late,” said Neuville. “We lost 20 seconds to Ogier so it’s a shame because everything was going well.”

Ogier was third fastest in the stage but inherited the lead ahead of a repeat of the morning stages, which will conclude the rally.



Source link

Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead «something special»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Neuville and Toyota driver Evans incredibly clocked identical overall times to sit tied for the lead on Friday night after 119.74 competitive stage kilometres.

Neuville claimed three of the four morning stages on the way to opening up a 10.1-second lead over Evans until a puncture on stage six cost the Belgian valuable time.

Evans moved into a 1.6s lead before Neuville responded on the final test to match Evans at the top of the leaderboard.

While the top two couldn’t be separated on times, only 6.6s covered the top three following Sebastien Ogier’s stunning victory on stage eight.

The hard-fought battle has arrived while the championship’s future is firmly in the spotlight as discussions continue among the teams and the FIA to resolve next year’s Rally1 technical regulations.

The FIA wishes to remove hybrid power and decrease the performance of the cars through a reduction in aero and the air restrictor, although these proposed changes have been strongly opposed by the teams.

Asked about the battle for the rally victory, Latvala told Autosport: “It is exciting. In the morning it was looking like it was going to be a tough day for us because Thierry was so strong on the first stage, and I thought our chances were not going to be so great.

“But the drivers improved over the day and eventually having exactly the same time with Thierry and Elfyn is something special.”

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Hyundai’s WRC programme manager Christian Loriaux added: “It shows the World Rally Championship is exciting and it is close, and it is worth existing, that is for sure. It [Thierry and Elfyn sharing the lead] is quite amazing.”

Evans is among a group of drivers keen for the current Rally1 regulations to remain in place next year and believes the close battle is proof the technical formula works.

“It is good. We know that the technical formula has worked for many years now and the cars and the battles are always close — like I’ve always said, that side works,” Evans told Autosport.

Reflecting on his own performance across the eight stages, Evans felt he left some time on the table, particularly in the final stage, but ultimately was satisfied with his Friday showing.

“There were quite a few things [we could have done better], but overall, it was still quite a good day,” he said.

“I was disappointed with the last stage as I think there was time left in there.

“I think the third stage I was a bit too careful in a few places, but you have to try and find that balance in those conditions to get to the end and go quickly.”

Although the pacesetter for much of Friday, assisted by a road position advantage, Neuville admitted that he had “to give everything” to recover the lost ground after the puncture, and tame his i20 N.

“I mean it was definitely a good fight out there,” said Neuville. “We had to give everything in every stage.

“We are in the lead equal with Elfyn but we lost important seconds this afternoon with our puncture and I was just generally struggling a bit with the balance of the car.

“It got a bit better toward the end of the day, but the last stage was massive dust, so there was lots of cleaning and there was not much more we could have done.”

The rally continues on Saturday although rain showers are expected to add to the challenge for the crews.

Read Also:



Source link

Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Neuville and Toyota’s Evans couldn’t be split after 119.74 competitive stage kilometres, ending the day with identical overall times.

Neuville had been in control of the rally, winning three of the four morning stages that contributed to a 10.1-second lead over Evans, before knocking a tyre off the rim in stage six.

This strife helped Evans close to within 0.1s before the Welshman moved 1.6s in front. However, Neuville fought back on the day’s final stage to claim a share of the lead.

Sebastien Ogier also hauled himself into the victory fight with a stunning final stage effort to close to within 6.6s of the lead pair.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who steadily found improvements after a slow start to the rally held fourth, 41.1s in arrears, while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five [+52.7s].

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta [+1m37.8s], Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen [+2m37.8s] and M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster [+3m07.3s] completed the Rally1 field.

The weather threw a curveball to crews at the start of the afternoon as light snow began to fall at the start of stage five [Platak, 16.63km].

Neuville was first to tackle the conditions that became increasingly wet with every pass, particularly for the Rally1 crews. The Hyundai driver admitted that the surprise weather change made the stage “dangerous” but his run was good enough to claim a fourth stage win.

“It is very dangerous to be honest as we had now information from the route note crew and, at that speed we are going, there are plenty of surprises,” said Neuville.

“You have to trust your feeling and keep you eyes wide open. Nobody told us it was going to snow in there.”

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Evans posted the second-fastest time, 1.5s slower than Neuville as the deficit to the rally leader increased to 10.1s.

Starting sixth on the road, Ogier faced the dampest conditions but was still able to post the third-fastest time, 5.4s slower than Neuville.

Fourmaux managed to close the gap to fourth to 3.9s after edging Tanak by 0.4s, despite having a moment in the stage.

In contrast, Tanak’s struggles behind the wheel of his i20 N from the morning continued into the afternoon. The Hyundai driver reported an issue with his rear tyres.

“It snowed so much and I had some issues with the rear tyre,” said Tanak. “Some set-up changes are necessary. I think the tyres don’t really matter at the moment.”

All Rally1 crews made it through the stage unscathed as Mikkelsen, Katsuta and Munster rounded out the top eight.

Dry conditions returned for stage six [Ravna Gora – Skrad, 10.13km], which proved to be the most dramatic of the day.

Rally leader Neuville clipped a rock after the second split, knocking his front-right tyre off the rim, resulting in a 10s time loss to nearest rival Evans.

“There was a stone in the road, which I tried to avoid, but I was so close and it immediately punctured the tyre,” said Neuville.

Evans took the stage win by 1.1s from Ogier, who survived running wide onto the grass at a tight left-hander.

There were signs of a Tanak recovery as the Estonian benefitted from some “small improvements” on the car to clock the third-fastest time, 2.0s slower than Evans. The Hyundai driver was 3.8s faster than Fourmaux to extend his gap over the Frenchman in the fight for fourth to 7.7s.

The battle at the front then took a twist on the penultimate stage of the day as Evans overhauled Neuville.

Evans was able to complete stage seven [Jaskovo — Mali Modrus Potok, 9.48km] with a time 1.7s faster than his Hyundai rival that arrived amid concerns that his left-rear tyre had come off the rim.

“I know I can go faster but I don’t trust, I will make mistake so have to take it slow,” said Neuville.

Ogier claimed stage seven by 0.3s to edge closer to Evans and Neuville as the Frenchman continued to hold third overall. Tanak also pulled further clear of Fourmaux as the former beat the Ford driver, who was fighting his Puma in the stage, by 5.4s.

The final stage of the day belonged to Ogier, who delivered a head-turning effort, 9.2s faster than next best Fourmaux, the latter taking advantage of a set-up tweak.

Ogier was 9.4s faster than Neuville and 11s quicker than Evans to surge into the victory fight. But Evans’ deficit to Neuville in the stage meant the pair ended the day leading the rally on identical times.

Saturday’s leg of the rally features eight stages, comprising 108.7 kilometres.



Source link