Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Oliver Solberg held on to take home his second win of the season.
Day One, Solberg Vs. Pajari
The first day of Rally Chile BioBio was a battle between Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari. Pajari would come out on top by day’s end, taking a 13.3-second lead over Solberg into the second day. For the rest of the class, it wasn’t the greatest day. Nikolay Gryazin ended the day third, 51.4 seconds behind Pajari.
Day Two, Solberg Takes Control
The second day of Rally Chile BioBio wasn’t as good as the first day. Sami Pajari lost his lead to Oliver Solberg on the first stage of the day. This came after Pajari got caught in the dust of a Rally1 car. Pajari was quick to regain the lead, taking it back on the fourth stage of the day. However, Pajari’s lead was short-lived, as Solberg regained the lead just two stages later. Solberg entered the final day of the event with a 25.3-second lead over Gus Greensmtih. Pajari fell to third, 43.9 seconds behind Solberg.
Day Three, Solberg Holds On
The third and final day went rather smoothly for Solberg. Despite attacks by both Greensmith and Pajari, Solberg maintained the lead. Solberg was able to finish the event with a 25.8-second lead over Greensmith. Sami Pajari maintained third. Local driver Jorge Martinez won the Powerstage, Solberg finished second and Greensmith third.
Championship Rundown
Shockingly Andreas Mikkelsen remains in the WRC2 championship lead after Rally Chile BioBio. Mikkelsen now only leads the championship by 4 points, however. With Yohan Rossel remaining second in the championship. Gus Greensmith also remains in the same position of third, now sitting just 5 points behind Rossel. Both Rossel and Greensmith have one round left to compete. Rally winner Oliver Solberg moves up to fourth in the championship. Solberg now sits 8 points behind Greensmith. Solberg’s season is over, however. Sami Pajari dropped to fifth in the championship, now sitting 5 points behind Solberg. Pajari’s season is also over.
Disappointing Event For Rossel, Greensmtih
Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith went into Rally Chile BioBio with a chance to take the championship lead. However, neither of them would move into the championship lead. As both drivers had a rough event. Greensmith managed to finish second overall, 25.8 seconds behind Solberg. Despite having a rough first day. Rossel also had a rough first day of the event. Ending the first day 7th in class. However, Rossel pushed back to finish the event 4th, 33.3 seconds behind Pajari. For the two drivers, it’s a disappointing event as their championship hopes are likely over.