Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak took home a dominant win at the event. Winning by just over 40 seconds.
Day One
Day one of Rally Chile BioBio started with 6 special stages totalling 112.86 km. Ott Tänak picked up where he left off in Chile taking the first stage win of the weekend. However, his lead would be short-lived. As Elfyn Evans would take the lead on SS2. Evans maintained the lead until SS4 when Teemu Suninen took the rally lead. While also winning his first stage in a Rally1 car. Suninen only held the lead for one stage before Ott Tänak took it back. Tänak remained the event leader at the end of the first day. Taking a 4.2-second lead over Suninen into day two.
Day Two
The second day of Rally Chile BioBio was the Ott Tänak show. With the Estonian taking all but two stage wins on the day. Kalle Rovanperä was the only other driver to win a stage on the day. Tänak ended the second day with a 58.3-second lead over Suninen. The win was Tänak’s to lose at this point, but Tänak didn’t want to celebrate too early. As he knows better than anyone that a lead, even of that size can disappear in an instant.
Day Three
The third and final day of Rally Chile BioBio was the Thierry Neuville show. With Neuville winning three of the day’s four stages. However, none of that mattered in the end as Tänak held on to take the rally win. Tänak wasn’t pushing at all on the final day as expected. Neuville battled with Teemu Suninen for second place. That was until Suninen crashed out on SS15, handing Neuville second and Toyota the manufacturers championship. Kalle Rovanperä took home the Powerstage win.
Drivers’ Championship Standings
Kalle Rovanperä remains in the drivers’ championship lead as expected. Rovanperä now leads Elfyn Evans by 31 points heading into the Central European Rally later this month. Thierry Neuville also remains in his position, staying in third now 31 points behind Evans. Neuville’s championship hunt is officially over. Ott Tänak stayed in fourth despite taking the event win. However, the gap between him and Neuville has shrunk to just 9 points. It’s possible for Tänak to move into a top-three position by the season’s end. Sebastien Ogier stays in fifth, now 47 points behind Tänak. Esapekka Lappi still sits on the edge of a top-five position, just one point behind Ogier.
Tänak Shines
Ott Tänak has had a rough 2023 season. With the Estonian only having one win before Rally Chile BioBio. It doesn’t help matters that the Puma Rally1 has been extremely unreliable. Tänak has had strong performances, but every time he does it seems that the car gives out. It’s been an unfortunate year for the 2019 championship. As Tänak has proven that he is still one of the best drivers in the championship. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Tänak but unfortunately, it seems to have come too late. As Tänak’s championship hopes have been over for a while. Hopefully, Tänak can start building himself up for next season, whether or not that’s with M-Sport is a different story.
Suninen Shines
Teemu Suninen may have retired on the penultimate stage of Rally Chile BioBio, but that doesn’t take away from his performance. There aren’t many drivers who can say they beat Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans on multiple stages during an event. Especially with just three events worth of experience in a car. Suninen was the second-best driver this weekend behind Tänak. It may have had something to do with road position on the opening day, or it could be a showing sign that Suninen can compete with the big guys.
Lappi and Loubet Roll Out
Esapekka Lappi was set to move into the top five of the drivers’ championship. However, that all came crashing down on the first stage of Rally Chile BioBio. As the Fin would go too tight into a corner and hit something that caused his car to roll. Lappi and his co-driver were okay after the crash that left his i20 with half of a rear end. Just two stages later Pierre-Louis Loubet would suffer the same fate as Lappi. Loubet looked like he was going to have his best event of the season. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t keep it up and rolled out of the event. Loubet also tore half of his rear end off in the crash.
Rally Chile BioBio Links
How Tires Changed Rally Chile BioBio
Day One Recap: WRC1
Day Two Recap: WRC1
Day Three Recap: WRC1
Suninen Crashes Out Of Rally Chile BioBio
Roope Korhonen has won the 2023 WRC3 championship after Diego Dominquez retired from Rally Chile BioBio.
WRC3 Champions
Roope Korhonen takes home his first WRC3 championship this season. Korhonen has won every event he’s competed in WRC3 this season. WRC3 drivers are allowed to elect 5 rounds to score points in, Korhonen has only competed in 4 events, however, that doesn’t seem to make a difference as only 4 events are counted. Diego Dominquez has competed in all 5 of his rounds as of the end of Rally Chile BioBio. The championship race would’ve continued if Domiquez hadn’t suffered a mechanical issue on the opening stage of the final day. All Dominquez had to do was finish the event to guarantee a top-two finish at the event. As only two drivers were competing in the class. However, all Korhonen would’ve had to do from that point was score 5 or so points to win the championship anyway.
Eyes On WRC2
Roope Korhonen has already made it known he has his eyes set on WRC2. It’s likely that Korhonen will compete in the Central European Rally in the WRC2 class later this month. Korhonen did compete at his home event of Secto Rally Finland in a WRC2 car, he finished 19th in the WRC2 class. What’s next for Diego Dominguez is unknown at this point, but, it’s likely, that he’ll also look to move into the WRC2 class. Whether or not Korhonen will compete in his fifth WRC3 event is unknown, however, it doesn’t sound like he’ll have to.
Disappointing End For Domiquez
Diego Dominguez had a disappointing end to his season. Dominguez was a strong driver and one of the favourites to win the WRC Junior Championship and the WRC3 championship. However, due to a mechanical issue, he lost the WRC3 championship. It’s a disappointing end to the season for one of the better up-and-coming drivers in the WRC.
The fourth and final day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Oliver Solberg held on to take the WRC2 class win.
SS13, Las Pataguas 1
Gus Greensmith opened up the final day of Rally Chile BioBio with a stage win. With Greensmith setting a time 2.5 seconds faster than Emil Lindholm to win the stage. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Lindholm. Oliver Solberg posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Sami Pajari rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.4 seconds slower than Solberg.
SS14, El Poñen 1
Class leader Oliver Solberg took the stage win on SS14. Posting a time 0.3 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to win the stage. Gus Greensmith finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Pajari. Nikolay Gryazin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.6 seconds slower than Greensmith. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.4 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS15, Las Pataguas 2
Nikolay Gryazin took the stage win on the 15th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Gryazin would set a time 4 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to win the stage. Oliver Solberg finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Greensmith. Bruno Bulicia posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Solberg. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Bulicia.
SS16, El Poñen 2, Powerstage
Jorge Martinez took his first stage win of the event on the final stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Martinez would set a time 1.3 seconds faster than Oliver Solberg to win the stage. Gus Greensmtih finished third fastest on the stage, 3 seconds slower than Solberg. Bruno Bulicia posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Bulicia.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team has won the 2023 Manufacturers championship. Find out more below.
Back To Back To Back Champions
The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally team have won their third consecutive Manufacturers championship. The Japanese manufacturer has won the championship since 2021. Taking home the championship this weekend looked like a long shot after Rovanperä and Evans struggled on the third day due to tires. However, that didn’t seem to matter. Rovanperä and Evans managed to finish third and fourth overall. Both drivers were promoted to these positions after Teemu Suninen crashed out on SS15.
Toyota’s 2023 Season
Toyota hasn’t had as dominant of a season as the 2022 season. As Kalle Rovanperä has only won 3 events this season. However, the story this year has seemed to be on Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. As Ogier has also taken 3 wins this season, but has only driven 6 events so far this season. Elfyn Evans took 2 wins so far this season, including at Secto Rally Finland. Toyota has only lost three events so far this season, making the manufacturers’ championship victory easier. The team started the year where they left off with a win in Rallye Monte-Carlo. Sebastien Ogier won the event to becoming the winningest driver at the event. Kalle Rovanperä didn’t take his first win of the season until Vodafone Rally De Portugal. Evans won the Croatia Rally, while Ogier won Rally Mexico. Ogier also won Safari Rally Kenya which Toyota took home a podium sweep at. Rovanperä was back to his winning ways in Estonia, Evans won Secto Rally Finland and Rovanperä won Rally Greece.
Making History
Toyota moves one step closer to becoming the manufacturer with the second most manufacturer championships in WRC history. The team currently sits just one manufacturer win behind Citroen for the second most. They sit 3 behind Lanica for the most. Since rejoining the WRC in 2016 Toyota has won 4 manufacturers championships. The Japanese team has been nearly unstoppable for the past 5 or so seasons. As they have been able to hire some of the top drivers in the sport, from Ott Tänak to Kalle Rovanperä, the team hasn’t had a lack of talent in their lineup.
The fourth and final day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak held on to take the rally win.
SS13, Las Pataguas 1
Thierry Neuville started the final day of Rally Chile BioBio with a stage win. Posting a time 4.8 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to win the stage. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Suninen. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.8 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS14, El Poñen 1
Thierry Neuville also took the stage win on SS14. With Neuville setting a time 2.4 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to take his second consecutive stage win. Ott Tänak finished with the third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Suninen. Elfyn Evans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.0 seconds slower than Tänak. Kalle Rovanperä once again rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3 seconds slower than Evans.
SS15, Las Pataguas 2
Thierry Neuville also took the stage win on the 15th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Neuville posting a time 6.7 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take his third consecutive stage win. Takamoto Katsuta finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. Kalle Rovanperä once again rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 11.5 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS16, El Poñen 2, Powerstage
Kalle Rovanperä took home the stage win on the final stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Rovanperä would set a time 3 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than Tänak.
Teemu Suninen has crashed out of Rally Chile BioBio. Find out more about his crash and what it means for Suninen below.
Oh No
Teemu Suninen was on pace to finish second overall at Rally Chile BioBio. It was also set to be his best event in a Rally1 car. Unfortunately, just 7 km into SS15 Suninen went off the road. His rally was ended as a result of the crash. Suninen joins teammate Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport driver Pierre-Louis Loubet as the only drivers to crash out of Rally Chile BioBio in the Rally1 class. Suninen’s crash out didn’t involve as many rolls as Lappi or Loubet’s outs, however.
What Suninen Being Out Means
With Teemu Suninen out it promotes Thierry Neuville to second place, 44.6 seconds behind Ott Tänak heading into the Powerstage. It was suspected Neuville wouldn’t get a team order for Suninen to move over so Neuville could take the much-needed championship points. However, even if that order was issued it has no effect now as Suninen is out and Neuville is in second. With nearly 45 seconds separating Neuville from Elfyn Evans who sits third, second is Neuville’s spot to lose at this point.
There is also an upside for Kalle Rovanperä in all of this. As now the reigning drivers champion sits fourth overall heading into the final stage. Meaning now Rovanperä will take home fourth place points as opposed to fifth from the event. This still isn’t the result Rovanperä was hoping for however, as he had an outside chance of winning his second drivers championship on his birthday (today).
Gearing Up For The Powerstage
The final stage of Rally Chile BioBio is set to get underway shortly. The Powerstage will start up in just under an hour’s time from this article being posted. Will Ott Tänak hold on to take his second win of the season? Who will win the coveted 5 bonus Powerstage points? All of that will be answered soon enough.
Tire issues on day three of Rally Chile BioBio changed the rally completely, but how? Find out below.
For Context
Day three of Rally Chile BioBio saw drivers face 154 km of stages, with each loop being 77 km. The Pirelli tires used by drivers couldn’t hold up to the sheer heat and length of the loops. With most drivers ending each of the morning stages with completely worn tires. By the end of the morning loop over half the field of WRC1 drivers had grinded their wheels down to the rim. Changing all tires between the stages wasn’t an option. At most you could change two of your tires, but that still left two worn-out tires on the car. The soft compound tires stood no chance to the conditions, but what about the hard compound? They didn’t fare much better. Sure nobody ended the stage completely on a rim unless they got a puncture, which in any case was changed mid-stage. Drivers in the afternoon loop were completely on tire-preserving duty. Nobody was really pushing, but more on that in a second.
How Tires Changed Rally Chile BioBio
Normally during a rally event drivers aren’t completely focused on tire preservation. Besides on the final day in which most drivers try to save tires for the Powerstage. Sure tire preservation is a part of rallying on any weekend. However, in most cases, you don’t see drivers pretty much just drive through the stage with no push. That’s basically what happened on day three of Rally Chile BioBio. I mean when Kalle Rovanperä isn’t pushing it at all you know there’s an issue. Normally drivers aren’t losing a handful of seconds due to tires unless they get a puncture. That’s also what happened on day three. As nobody was safe. Everyone from Ott Tänak to Oliver Solberg in WRC2 had tire issues. But why is this? Is it the length of the loops? Is it just conditions? Was it another factor? The short answer is, it’s the length and the conditions. A lot of times on the stages the drivers were overheating their tires. Causing the tires to lose tread faster as a result. This was merely a result of the conditions, seeing as the stages took place on warm gravel on a generally warm spring day. Add that to the 20+ km on each stage and you have achieved a great way to destroy any tire in sight.
Why Did Tire Preservation Change The Event?
Simply put, tire preservation took away drivers’ chances at gaining time and being able to push. Ott Tänak was the only one to benefit from the tire chaos on the day. By extending his lead to some 58 seconds ahead of Suninen. Without the tire troubles, Tänak would likely only lead by about a dozen seconds. With nobody pushing it opened up a lot of time for Tänak to take. Mind you Tänak wasn’t exempt from the tire problem, but he didn’t get hit hard by it either. He did just enough to preserve the tires whilst gaining time. The tire issue changed drivers’ mindsets from winning to just wanting to finish. Sure both of those things are on drivers’ minds during any event, but when nature is against you, you turn to survival. Hopefully, the tires don’t prove to be as big of an issue on the fourth and final day of Rally Chile BioBio.
The third day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Oliver Solberg took the lead in the WRC2 class from Sami Pajari on the day.
SS7, Chivilingo 1
Oliver Solberg started the third day with a stage win. With Solberg posting a time 6.7 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to win the stage. Jorge Martinez finished third fastest on the stage, 4.6 seconds slower than Rossel. Gus Greensmith set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Martinez. Emil Lindholm rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.1 seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS8, Rio Lia 1
Yohan Rossel took home the stage win on the eighth stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Rossel would set a time 2.1 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to take the stage win. Emil Lindholm finished third fastest on the stage, 6.2 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nikolay Gryazin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2 seconds slower than Lindholm. Oliver Solberg rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS9, Maria De Las Cruces 1
Nikolay Gryazin won the final stage of the morning loop. Posting a time 0.8 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to take home the stage win. Gus Greensmith finished third fastest on the stage, 0.9 seconds slower than Rossel. Sami Pajari set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.6 seconds slower than Greensmith. Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.8 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS10, Chivilingo 2
Gus Greensmith took the stage win on the first stage of the afternoon loop of Rally Chile BioBio day three. Greensmtih would set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to take the stage win. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 3.4 seconds slower than Pajari. Emil Lindholm posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Rossel. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.5 seconds slower than Lindholm.
SS11, Rio Lia 2
Yohan Rossel took his second stage win of the weekend on SS11. Posting a time 12.5 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to win the stage. Kajetan Kajetanowicz finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Greensmith. Sami Pajari set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz. Oliver Solberg rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.2 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS12, Maria De Las Cruces 2
Oliver Solberg ended day three of Rally Chile BioBio the same way he started it with a stage win. Solberg would set a time 17.2 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to win the stage and take the class lead. Kajetan Kajetanowicz finished third fastest on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Greensmith. Yohan Rossel posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 7.5 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 10.8 seconds slower than Rossel.
Tire Issues
WRC1 drivers weren’t the only ones with tire issues on the third day of Rally Chile BioBio. As some WRC2 drivers also had issues. Namely the two front runners in Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg. The tires weren’t as big of an issue for the WRC2 drivers as they don’t go through tires as fast as WRC1 drivers. However, they were still affected. It seems that the Pirelli’s aren’t built to take 77 km of hot gravel a loop.
Solberg Wins Round Two
Oliver Solberg was in a battle with Sami Pajari for the WRC2 class lead coming into today. Solberg swiftly took the class lead on SS7. However he would lose it shortly after on SS10. Solberg was able to regain the lead on SS12 to take a 25.3-second lead over Gus Greensmith into day four. Sami Pajari sits 43.9 seconds behind Solberg. However, that doesn’t mean the battle is over. As Pajari will likely look to gain back time to take his second event win of the season. While Solberg will look to also take his second and complete his first points-scoring event since Portugal.
The third day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak retained the rally lead amid tire issues for all drivers.
SS7, Chivilingo 1
Kalle Rovanperä opened up the day with a stage win. With Rovanperä posting a time 1.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take his first stage win of the weekend. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Teemu Suninen set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 9.3 seconds slower than Evans. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.7 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS8, Rio Lia 1
Ott Tänak took home his first stage win of the day on the eighth stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Tänak setting a time 6.8 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 6.8 seconds slower than Evans. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS9, Maria De Las Cruces 1
Ott Tänak also took the stage win on SS9. Posting a time 7.6 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to win the stage. Teemu Suninen finished third fastest on the stage, 8.1 seconds slower than Neuville. WRC2 driver Nikolay Gryazin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 25.9 seconds slower than Suninen. WRC2 driver Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS10, Chivilingo 2
Kalle Rovanperä took home the stage win on the 10th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Setting a time 2.4 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third quickest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS11, Rio Lia 2
Ott Tänak took home the stage win on SS11. Posting a time 2.8 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Suninen. Thierry Neuville set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.6 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.5 seconds slower than Neuville.
*SS12, Maria De Las Cruces 2
Ott Tänak ended day three of Rally Chile BioBio with a stage win. With Tänak setting a time 7.8 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 5 seconds slower than Neuville. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, finishing 1 second slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, 27.5 seconds slower than Suninen. *Rovanperä may be awarded time due to getting stuck behind Grégoire Munster for part of the stage.
Tire Trouble For Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers normally don’t face many reliability issues. However, day three of Rally Chile BioBio was a weird one. Sure the reliability issue wasn’t to do with the Toyota’s it was to do with the tires. The tire issue would cause both Rovanperä and Evans to lose time. Evans was hit harder by tires, however. Having a double puncture on SS9. Takamoto Katsuta wasn’t exempt from the tire issue. The Toyota drivers just haven’t seemed to preserve the tires well enough. The tire issue for Toyota seems to have stemmed from the drivers using all soft tires. Due to the amount of kilometres driven on the morning loop the soft tire compound wasn’t able to hold up through all three stages. Rovanperä had to take a safe approach to SS9, Evans and Takamoto Katsuta grinded their tires down to the rim.
Not Only A Toyota Issue
The issue with tires doesn’t seem to be just an issue for Toyota. As Thierry Neuville and Teemu Suninen have also reported issues with their tires. Neuville would say at the end of SS9 “It was the first good stage for me since the beginning of the weekend. There is lots of cleaning and the tires are quite hot, but I think I did quite well in there. Without the puncture this morning, we could have had a perfect loop.” Even the M-Sport drivers have been having issues, Heller ended SS9 with just a rim and rubber shrapnel. Munster had issues, as did Tänak. Tänak would say on SS7, “Extremely demanding. I was not sure if my tyre choice was correct, but now I think it’s okay. The road is so hard, it’s tough.” Tänak would switch to all hands for SS9. Regardless of tire issues for everyone else, it seemed as if the Toyota drivers got the harder end of the stick.
The second day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Sami Pajari leads the WRC2 class of cars after the day’s stages.
SS1, Pulperia 1
Oliver Solberg started the weekend with a stage win. Posting a time 0.1 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to win the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.7 seconds slower than Pajari. Gus Greensmith set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 6.8 seconds slower than Gryazin. Jorge Martinez rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS2, Rere 2
Sami Pajari took home the stage win on the second stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Pajari setting a time 4.3 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to win the stage. Oliver Solberg finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nikolay Gryazin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Solberg. Marco Bulicia rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS3, Rio Claro 1
Stage three would be won by Oliver Solberg. With Solberg posting a time 2.5 seconds faster than Sami Pajari to win the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 5.6 seconds slower than Pajari. Gus Greensmith set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Emil Lindholm rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS4, Pulperia 2
The fourth stage of Rally Chile BioBio was won by Sami Pajari. Pajari set a time 3.1 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to win his second stage of the weekend. Oliver Solberg finished third fastest on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Gryazin. Emil Lindholm posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3 seconds slower than Solberg. Gus Greensmith rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2 seconds slower than Lindholm.
SS5, Rere 2
Sami Pajari also took home the stage win on SS5. With Pajari Posting a time 1.1 seconds faster than Oliver Solberg to win the stage. Emil Lindholm finished third fastest on the stage, 2 seconds slower than Solberg. Kajetan Kajetanowicz set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.1 seconds slower than Lindholm. Gus Greensmith rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz.
SS6, Rio Claro 2
Sami Pajari also took home the stage win on the 6th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Pajari setting a time 4.9 seconds faster than Oliver Solberg to win the stage. Emil Lindholm once again finished third fastest on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Solberg. Kajetan Kajetanowicz posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Lindholm. Gus Greensmith once again rounded out the top five, finishing 1.8 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz.
Caution: Barbed Wire
In rallying you encounter all different types of obstacles, animals, potholes, jumps, people, gates, etc. Normally barbed wire isn’t on the list, however Gus Greensmith got caught up in some barbed wire during day two. Greensmith would reveal he had barbed wire wrapped around one of his wheels during some of the afternoon stages. The barbed wire wouldn’t cause Greensmith to lose much time. That doesn’t take away from just how odd it is, however.
Bulicia Out
Marco Bulicia would retire from day two of Rally Chile BioBio on the road section between SS5 and SS6. This would come as a result of Bulicia ripping his tire off and damaging his suspension on SS5. Bulicia sat 9th in the WRC2 class heading into SS5, 31 seconds behind Jorge Martinez.
Pajari Vs. Solberg
Day two of Rally Chile BioBio was a battle between Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg. Pajari would lead the WRC2 class by 13.3 seconds over Solberg at the end of day two. However, the two drivers were head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the class. With Nikolay Gryazin sitting 38.1 seconds behind Solberg and 51.4 seconds behind Pajari at the day’s end. It sounds like the Pajari, Solberg battle will continue on day three of the event.
Trouble For Rossel
Yohan Rossel has had an unfortunate start to Rally Chile BioBio. As Rossel sits 7th in the WRC2 class, just under 2 minutes behind Pajari. Rossel had a chance to take the WRC2 championship lead back this weekend. However, if things continue this way tomorrow there’ll be a slim chance of Rossel taking that championship lead back. It doesn’t help matters that Rossel was experiencing engine power issues on some of the afternoon stages. Nevertheless, Rossel will push on tomorrow and try to claw back time.
Oh No Solberg
Oliver Solberg may sit second in the WRC2 class after the second day. That didn’t mean the Swede was trouble-free throughout the day, however. As on the final stage, Solberg would break one of his suspension arms, with 20 km left to drive on the stage. Solberg was able to push on and set the second-fastest time on the stage despite the issue. Although the issue didn’t appear to be major either.