The second day of the Central European Rally 2024 has come to an end. Thierry Neuville took the event lead on the day.
SS3, Klatovy 2
Sebastien Ogier kicked off the second day with a stage win. As the Frenchman set a time 1.5 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Katsuta and 2.2 seconds slower than Ogier. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.5 seconds slower than Neuville.
SS4, Strašin 1
Elfyn Evans topped the fourth stage of the Central European Rally 2024. With a time 1.6 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville. Ott Tänak finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Neuville and four seconds slower than Evans. Sebastien Ogier set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Ogier.
SS5, Šumavské Hoštice 1
Ott Tänak capped off the morning loop with his first stage win of the weekend. As the Estonian set a time 0.3 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville. Sebastien Ogier had the third fastest time on the stage, three seconds slower than Neuville and 3.3 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans finished with the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 9.3 seconds slower than Evans.
SS6, Klatovy 3
Takamoto Katsuta took home his first stage win of the Central European Rally 2024 on SS6. With a time 0.4 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville. Sebastien Ogier finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Neuville and one second slower than Katsuta. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Ogier. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, with a time 1.7 seconds slower than Evans.
SS7, Strašin 2
Thierry Neuville topped the seventh stage of the weekend. As the Belgian set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take the stage win. Ott Tänak finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Evans and 1.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Sebastien Ogier was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, with a time 1.2 seconds slower than Ogier.
SS8, Šumavské Hoštice 2
Sebastien Ogier capped off the second day of the Central European Rally 2024 in the same fashion he started it in. As the eight-time World Champion set a time 0.5 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the stage win. Ott Tänak had the third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Neuville and 0.8 seconds slower than Ogier. Elfyn Evans finished with the fourth fastest time on the stage, 7.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 7.7 seconds slower than Evans.
Mikkelsen Crashes Out
Andreas Mikkelsen would crash out of the event on SS5. Mikkelsen would slide off the road into a fence which destroyed his i20 rally1. His car would block the road leading to SS5 getting red-flagged and ultimately cancelled.
The first day of the Central European Rally 2024 has come to an end. Nikolay Gryazin leads the WRC2 class after the day’s two stages.
SS1, SSS Velká Chuchle
Miko Marczyk kicked off the first day of the weekend with a stage win. As the Polish driver set a time 0.9 seconds faster than fellow countryman Kajetan Kajetanowicz. Filip Mares finished with the third fastest time on the first stage of his home event. As Mares finished 0.5 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz and 1.4 seconds slower than Marczyk. Citreon drivers Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin tied for fourth on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Mares.
SS2, Klatovy 1
Nikolay Gryazin took home the stage win on the first full stage of the Central European Rally 2024. With a time 1.9 seconds faster than Filip Mares. Miko Marczyk finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 3.8 seconds slower than Mares and 5.7 seconds slower than Gryazin. Kajetan Kajetanowicz set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Marczyk. Marijan Griebel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.7 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz.
What To Expect From Day Two Of The Central European Rally 2024
The first full day of the event will see drivers contest 110.64 km across 6 stages. With the longest being the 26.69 km Strašin stage which serves as stages 4 and 7. The shortest stage is the 11.78 Klatovy stage which serves as stages 3 and 6. The day features a 30-minute midday remote service zone. Yohan Rossel is the first point-scoring WRC2 driver on the road following the Rally1 cars and non-point-scoring WRC2 cars. Nikolay Gryazin is second on the road in class and Kajetan Kajetanowicz is third. Gryazin takes a 1.7-second lead over Filip Mares into the day. Miko Marczyk is third, 2.4 seconds behind Mares and 4.1 seconds behind Gryazin.
The first day of the Central European Rally 2024 has come to an end. Sebastien Ogier leads after the day’s two stages.
SS1, SSS Velká Chuchle
Sebastien Ogier kicked off the weekend with a stage win. As the Frenchman set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta to take the stage win. Andreas Mikkelsen finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Katsuta and 1.1 seconds slower than Ogier. Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux tied for the fourth fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
SS2, Klatovy 1
Thierry Neuville took home the stage win of the second stage of the Central European Rally 2024. With a time one second faster than championship rival and Hyundai teammate Ott Tänak. Sebastien Ogier finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Tänak and 1.1 seconds slower than Neuville. Andreas Mikkelsen set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Ogier. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
What To Expect From Day Two Of The Central European Rally 2024
The first full day of the event will see drivers contest 110.64 km across 6 stages. With the longest being the 26.69 km Strašin stage which serves as stages 4 and 7. The shortest stage is the 11.78 Klatovy stage which serves as stages 3 and 6. The day features a 30-minute midday remote service zone. Thierry Neuville is first on the road followed by Ott Tänak and event leader Sebastien Ogier. Ogier takes a 0.9-second lead over Thierry Neuville into the day. Andreas Mikkelsen is third, 0.8 seconds behind Neuville and 1.7 seconds behind Ogier. The rally1 driver in last (not named Jourdan Serderidis) is Grégoire Munster who is 9.5 seconds off the lead.
The Central European Rally 2024 shakedown stage has come to an end. Ott Tänak and Miko Marczyk topped the stage in their respective classes.
Rally1
Ott Tänak topped the Central European Rally 2024 shakedown stage with a time 0.2 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Ogier and 0.3 seconds slower than Tänak. Thierry Neuville set the fourth fastest time, 0.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. Sami Pajari rounded out the top five on the shakedown stage, with a time 0.1 seconds slower than the reigning event winner Thierry Neuville.
WRC2
Miko Marczyk took home the fastest time in the WRC2 class. With a time 0.2 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Rossel and 0.9 seconds slower than Marczyk. William Creighton set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Gryazin. Maxime Potty rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.9 seconds slower than Creighton.
What To Expect From Central European Rally Day One
The first day of the Central European Rally 2024 kicks off with two stages totalling to 14.33 km. Thierry Neuville will be first on the road for the Rally1 drivers, followed by Ott Tänak and Sebastien Ogier. For the first time since Croatia being first on the road is an advantage for Neuville. As he will get the cleanest road and not have any debris on the road for the first pass of each stage. This is great for the Belgian as he can take home the championship this weekend. However, that inquires fending off Ott Tänak who will also get a decently clean road. As far as WRC2 goes, Filip Mares will be first on the road due to him being a local driver. Mares will start before all the Rally1 cars and be followed by Marijan Griebel.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with Round 11 the Central European Rally.
Championship Rundown
Oliver Solberg leads the WRC2 championship heading into the Central European Rally. As the Swede holds a 12-point lead over Yohan Rossel*. Solberg will be attending the event this weekend as will Rossel. However, Solberg is out of point-scoring rounds meaning he can’t score any points for the championship this weekend. Rossel on the other hand can, however, this is his final point-scoring round. Sami Pajari is third in the championship, 3 points behind Rossel and 15 behind Solberg. Pajari is not competing in the WRC2 class this weekend. Nikolay Gryazin is fourth in the championship, 42 points behind Pajari and is out of championship contention. Lauri Joona is also out of championship contention as he sits fifth 8 points behind Gryazin.
Event Rundown
Day One
The first day of the Central European Rally 2024 kicks off with two stages totalling to 14.33 km.
Day Two
The first full day of the event will see drivers contest 110.64 km across 6 stages. With the longest being the 26.69 km Strašin stage which serves as stages 4 and 7. The shortest stage is the 11.78 Klatovy stage which serves as stages 3 and 6. The day features a 30-minute midday remote service zone.
Day Three
As per usual the third day of an event is the longest. As the third day of the Central European Rally 2024 will see drivers contest 123.46 km across 6 stages. With the longest stage being the 24.33 km Beyond Borders stage which serves as stages 10 and 13. The shortest is the 17.35 km Schärdinger Innviertel stage which serves as stages 11 and 14.
Day Four
The fourth and final day of the event will see drivers contest 54.08 across 4 stages. The longest stage is the 14.87 km Passauer Land stage which serves as stages 16 and 18. The shortest stage is the 12.17 km Knaus Tabbert Am Hochwald stage which serves as stages 15 and 17.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with Round 11 the Central European Rally 2024.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville continues to hold the championship lead heading into the Central European Rally 2024. With Neuville holding a 29-point lead over the Estonian. Sebastien Ogier is third in the championship, now 41 points behind Neuville and 12 points behind Tänak. Elfyn Evans is fourth, 5 points behind Ogier. Adrien Fourmaux rounds out the top five in the championship, with the Frenchman sitting 21 points behind Evans.
Event Rundown
Day One
The first day of the Central European Rally 2024 kicks off with two stages totalling to 14.33 km.
Day Two
The first full day of the event will see drivers contest 110.64 km across 6 stages. With the longest being the 26.69 km Strašin stage which serves as stages 4 and 7. The shortest stage is the 11.78 Klatovy stage which serves as stages 3 and 6. The day features a 30-minute midday remote service zone.
Day Three
As per usual the thrid fay of an event is the longest. As the third day of the Central European Rally 2024 will see drivers contest 123.46 km across 6 stages. With the longest stage being the 24.33 km Beyond Borders stage which serves as stages 10 and 13. The shortest is the 17.35 km Schärdinger Innviertel stage which serves as stages 11 and 14.
Day Four
The fourth and final day of the event will see drivers contest 54.08 across 4 stages. The longest stage is the 14.87 km Passauer Land stage which serves as stages 16 and 18. The shortest stage is the 12.17 km Knaus Tabbert Am Hochwald stage which serves as stages 15 and 17.
The third and final day of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 has come to an end. Yohan Rossel held on to take the event win.
SS13, Laraquete 1
Oliver Solberg kicked off the final day with a stage win. As the Swede set a time 14.1 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin. Gus Greenmsith finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 16.2 seconds slower than Solberg and 2.1 seconds slower than Gryazin. Yohan Rossel was fourth fastest on the stage, two seconds slower than Greenmsith. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 8.6 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS14, Bio Bio 1
Oliver Solberg also took the stage win on SS14 of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. With a time 5.6 seconds faster than Jan Solans. Gus Greensmith finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 6.9 seconds slower than Solberg and 1.3 seconds slower than Solans. Yohan Rossel set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Greensmith. Jorge Martinez and Nikolay Gryazin tied for fifth fastest on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS15, Laraquete 2
Oliver Solberg also took home the stage win on SS15. With a time 6.5 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith. Jan Solans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 10 seconds slower than Solberg and 3.5 seconds slower than Greensmith. Yohan Rossel was fourth fastest on the stage, 4.2 seconds slower than Solans. Fabrizio Zaldivar rounded out the top five on the stage, 6.7 seconds slower than Rossel.
SS16, Bio Bio 2 Wolf Powerstage
Oliver Solberg capped off Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 with a stage win. As the Swede set a time 0.3 seconds faster than Jan Solans. Jorge Martinez finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 5.3 seconds slower than Solberg and 5 seconds slower than Solans. Yohan Rossel was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower run Martinez. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.10 seconds slower than Rossel.
The third and final day of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä held on to take the event win.
SS13, Laraquete 1
Sebastien Ogier kicked off the final day with a stage win. As the Frenchman set a time 5.6 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 9.2 seconds slower than Ogier and 4.2 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Esapekka Lappi was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Lappi.
SS14, Bio Bio 1
Sebastien Ogier also took home the fastest time on the fourteenth stage of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. With a time 0.2 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to top the stage. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Ogier and 0.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.9 seconds slower than Tänak. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.2 seconds slower than Evans.
SS15, Laraquete 2
Sebastien Ogier was also the fastest driver on SS15. With the Toyota driver setting a time 1.5 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Thierry Neuville finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Ogier and 0.7 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SS16, Bio Bio 2 Wolf Powerstage
Sebastien Ogier also took home the stage win on the sixteenth stage of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 to complete a clean sweep of the day. Ogier would set a time 0.1 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to top the stage. Ott Tänak finished with the third fastest on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Ogier and 2.2 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Neuville.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville continues to hold the championship lead after Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. However, Neuville would lose points to his Hyundai stablemate Ott Tänak. As Neuville now only holds a 29-point lead over the Estonian compared to the 34-point lead he had heading into the event. Sebastien Ogier remains third in the championship, now 41 points behind Neuville and 12 points behind Tänak. Elfyn Evans also remains in the same position, as he is still fourth, now 5 points behind Ogier. Adrien Fourmaux rounds out the top five in the championship, with the Frenchman sitting 21 points behind Evans.
Driver Quotes
Toyota
Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal
“This is a great result for our team. A perfect Sunday for the first time this season feels really good, especially after the devastating blows we felt on the final days of the past two events. Our drivers did a magnificent job today pushing until the end of the last stage. This result will boost the whole team and give them extra motivation for the two remaining events. Kalle and Elfyn both drove really well the whole weekend and either would have deserved to win the rally. Seb did really quick times on every stage he did and thanks to his speed and his fighting spirit today, we take away really important points for the manufacturers’ championship. Lastly, Sami did exactly what we were looking for this weekend, driving consistently and bringing the car home with a really mature performance, gaining more and more experience. So, all in all, it has been a really positive rally for us.”
Kalle Rovanperä – 1st Overall
“This win feels really good for us. It was a tough weekend and it always feels good when you’ve really had to fight for a victory. It wasn’t easy at any point with all of the weather and everything, but we did a good job. On Friday I wasn’t feeling so comfortable, but we made it through without any big mistakes and when conditions became difficult we could make some big gaps. It was important to push today as well and together with our team-mates we scored really important points for the manufacturers’ championship and we can be very happy with that. A big thanks to the team: the car was really strong this weekend.”
Elfyn Evans – 2nd Overall
“It’s been a good weekend more or less from the start to the end. We showed some good performance and it’s an amazing result for the team and I’m happy to be a part of that. The conditions didn’t go in our favour yesterday but Kalle did well with the strategy and has driven really well, so congratulations to him. Today we had more wet conditions and quite a bit of fog around too, but we managed to get through cleanly with no issues and still some decent speed. The result has really helped in the manufacturers’ championship and we just need to focus on continuing in the same way now until the end of the year.”
Sami Pajari – 6th Overall
“It’s really nice to reach the finish of this rally. Thank you to the team, because it has been such a pleasure to drive this great car again. Friday was quite promising for us and we could show some pace. Then there was a lot of learning on the following two days with tricky conditions but that’s part of the game. To get safely through the whole rally was the main plan, so we need to be happy with that and at least we could show good pace on some of the stages. Now I can’t wait for Central European Rally which will be another new challenge with a lot to learn.”
Sebastien Ogier – 36th Overall
“t’s nice to finish the weekend on a positive note and really help the team today to bring the manufacturers’ championship back alive. I still feel a bit disappointed with myself and the mistakes we made on the previous days which were very costly, because we had amazing speed and won most of the stages we finished. But that’s not enough in rallying: you need to put it all together and we didn’t do that this weekend. I had a lot of fun driving the car and I want to thank the team for all their efforts improving the car, as it’s never felt so good on gravel. We are going in the right direction and we will keep on pushing up to Rally Japan.”
Hyundai
Cyril Abiteboul- Team Principal
“This has been a very difficult rally for us, and a complete contrast to where we were at Acropolis Rally earlier this month. We didn’t have the package to win this weekend, and so we focused on the championship battles and avoiding the pitfalls we saw over the weekend. In that respect, it is mission accomplished, but we depart Chile with the gap we had built in the manufacturers’ standings now halved. It is imperative that we give our drivers a more competitive car for the last two tarmac rallies, where we hope to unleash the full potential of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid and rebuild our advantage. On a final note, I would like to extend my congratulations to Janne on a fantastic career in rallying, and wish him all the best in his ‘retirement’. He is a character like no other and he will be dearly missed by everyone in the team. ”
Ott Tänak – 3rd Overall
“It is difficult to take many positives form this weekend; we were a bit lucky that Ogier hit trouble on Friday but other than that, there was nothing we could do to take the fight to the Toyotas. We gave Rally Chile our maximum and scored everything we could. Now we go to two tarmac rallies and in normal circumstances our road position should be good for us. The fight for the manufacturers’ title is not over yet, but we need to work hard for it.”
Thierry Neuville – 4th Overall
“A tough weekend for us, made more challenging by the weather conditions. Since Saturday, things started to go a bit better for us in terms of set-up and the profile of the stages, which gave us a bit more confidence and a decent rhythm. There was no need to take big risks, we just managed our result. We tried to push a bit more in the Power Stage but we had fog for a couple of corners that cost us important seconds and a few points but at the end of the day, I’m happy with the outcome.”
Esapekka Lappi – Retired SS15
“This has not been our weekend. Today was much more challenging in terms of conditions with the overnight rain and low cloud affecting visibility. There was some light at the end of the tunnel but our task was to attack today and try to mix up the points, but we failed to do that. Finally, I need to thank Janne for 15 seasons together. We were both rookies when we started and we climbed up the hill to be professionals together, and now this journey comes to an end. I’m sure we still sit together in a rally car, but not professionally. He has been the loudest laugher of the team – you might not see him, but you
can hear him from very far away. We will miss his jokes and sense of humour.”
M-Sport
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
“It is definitely a case of what could have been here, the one minute time penalty really hampered the overall result for Adrien, which was a huge shame. However, that’s rally sometimes and despite this disappointment we can still look back on another positive weekend. Two stage wins, another demonstration of the speed of the Puma from both Adrien and Gregoire, and solid results from them both in some really tricky conditions.”
“I am also happy for Grégoire and Louis that they have got a solid result after the last two tricky events.”
“For Mārtiņš and Renārs, I guess it wasn’t quite what they had hoped for. A small mistake with big consequences on Friday, and a tough last stage with no rear spoiler, but I think they still did a great job and got an insight into the experience that they need to learn to get to the top of the WRC – one of the key reasons to bring them here.”
Adrien Fourmaux, 5th overall
“First time here in Chile, and I really enjoyed the stages. The fans were great with us and cheered us on all the time. We enjoyed the rally; it was really a shame what happened on Friday with the issue with the alternator and the water pipe, but that’s part of the game.”
“We managed to get a top-five result so we can be pleased with that, now we go back to Tarmac to finish the season.”
Grégoire Munster, 7th overall,
“I’m happy with our Friday performance, we showed good pace and were competitive with the front guys. Saturday was a bit more difficult in the morning, they were new stages for us but we improved in the afternoon in tricky conditions. In the fog we managed to do a third-fastest time in SS11, which was really great for us.”
“Sunday was tricky again with the rain and fog but we managed to stay out of trouble and not make any mistakes throughout the weekend. The goal was to bring the car home, which was important for us after a good effort on Friday.”
Mārtiņš Sesks, 24th overall
“First of all I think it was really challenging to be here in Chile for the first time. Our first two Rally1 outings were quite smooth really from our side. But here we found many new challenges, and everyday was different. We caught a double puncture on Friday unfortunately, and since Saturday it was just about keeping it safe and learning as much as we can.”
“Some new experience for us, especially with losing the aero on Sunday. I think it’s better to have these challenges now, when we’re not really fighting for anything. It’s better to know how to cope with it now than in the future when there’s more at stake.”
The second day of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 has come to an end. Yohan Rossel leads the WRC2 class after the day.
SS7, Pelun 1
Yohan Rossel kicked off the day with a stage win. As the Frenchman set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Jan Solans to top the stage. Gus Greensmith finished third fastest on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Rossel and 2.5 seconds slower than Solans. Oliver Solberg was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Greensmith. Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.7 seconds slower than Solberg.
SS8, Lota 1
Jan Solans took home his first stage win of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. With a time 5.5 seconds faster than championship leader Oliver Solberg. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 8.3 seconds slower than Solans and 2.8 seconds slower than Solberg. Nikolay Gryazin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Gus Greensmith rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 4.9 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS9, Maria Las Cruces 1
Oliver Solberg capped off the morning loop with his first stage win of the day. As the Swede set a time 5.6 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to take the stage win. Gus Greensmith finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 9.6 seconds slower than Solberg and four seconds slower than Rossel. Nikolay Gryazin was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Greenmsith. Jan Solans rounded out the top five on the stage, 4.1 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS10, Pelun 2
Jan Solans took home his second stage win of the day on the tenth stage of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. As the Spaniard set a time 2.1 seconds faster than Oliver Solberg. Yohan Rossel finished with the third fastest on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Solans and 0.1 seconds slower than Solberg. Gus Greensmith was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Rossel. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing two seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS11, Lota 2
Nikolay Gryazin topped the second day’s penultimate stage. With a time 2.6 seconds faster than Jan Solans. Yohan Rossel finished with the third fastest on the stage, 5.5 seconds slower than Gryazin and 2.9 seconds slower than Solans. Gus Greensmith set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 6.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Kajetan Kajetanwoicz rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 18.9 seconds slower than Greensmith.
SS12, Maria Las Cruces 2
Oliver Solberg capped off the second day of Rally Chile Bio Bio with a stage win. As the Swede set a time 10.5 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished with the third fastest on the stage, 23.4 seconds slower than Solberg and 12.9 seconds slower than Rossel. Gus Greensmith was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Gryazin. Alberto Heller rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 17.5 seconds slower than Greensmith.
The second day of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä leads the event after the days six stages.
SS7, Pelun 1
Elfyn Evans kicked off the day with a stage win. As the Welshman set a time 0.9 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to top the stage. Kalle a Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 1.4 seconds slower than Evans and 0.5 seconds slower than Ogier. Ott Tänak was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.7 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS8, Lota 1
Kalle Rovanperä set the fastest time on the eighth stage of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. As Rovanperä set a time 9.7 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take the stage win. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 10.7 seconds slower than Rovanperä and one second slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmaux was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.1 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS9, Maria Las Cruces 1
Elfyn Evans capped off the morning loop with his second stage win of the day. As Evans finished eight seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the stage win. Ott Tänak was third fastest on the stage, 9.3 seconds slower than Evans and 1.3 seconds slower than Neuville. Kalle Rovanperä set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, two seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SS10, Pelun 2
Elfyn Evans took home his third stage win of the day on SS10. As the rally leader set a time 2.3 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to take his fourth stage win of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Evans and one second slower than Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.9 seconds slower than Neuville.
SS11, Lota 2
Thierry Neuville took home his first stage win of the weekend on SS11. With a time five seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to top the stage. Grégoire Munster finished third fastest on the stage, 10.3 seconds slower than Neuville and 5.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Adrien Fourmaux set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Munster. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 7.9 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS12, Maria Las Cruces 2
Adrien Fourmaux capped off the second day of Rally Chile Bio Bio 2024 with a stage win. As the Frenchman set a time 0.8 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 9.5 seconds slower than Fourmaux and 8.7 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.9 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.2 seconds slower than Evans.
Quotes
Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal
“I must say that we are really satisfied with our performance today. Kalle and Elfyn have been doing an amazing job and driving really well. The conditions have been very tough but they have both shown that if you manage it, you can make big time differences. We’re also really happy with how Sami has been performing. The most important thing for him is to get the experience, so he took it carefully in the fog because feeling the limits of the car is more difficult in such extreme conditions, and that is the right approach for him. It was disappointing for Seb that he had to stop this morning, but he will be back tomorrow and I know his motivation will be high because he’s been driving extremely fast so far this weekend.”
Kalle Rovanperä – 1st Overall
“Overall it’s been a positive day for us. The feeling was definitely better than yesterday. As I expected, the tyre wear was a big factor this morning and on the last stage it was a challenge to keep the pace until the end of the loop. Then we could gain something in the afternoon when the weather got a bit damper and trickier. I would say it was the foggiest conditions I’ve ever driven a rally car in, but we managed it well: we could keep it quite safe and still have good pace. There’s still a long day to go tomorrow and it will be important to secure this one-two for the team and also try to bring as many points as we can from the last day.”
Elfyn Evans – 2nd Overall
“I think we can be pretty pleased with our performance today. We had a good morning loop – maybe just a bit careful on the middle stage managing the tyres. The afternoon was tougher. It started off pretty well in the first stage of the loop but then we hit very bad fog on the second one, where we couldn’t even see the edge of the road. It was very difficult and we lost a lot of time there. We also fitted our soft tyres there and couldn’t really make use of them, whereas Kalle used his on the last one where it was wetter and did a great job to take advantage. That was a bit of a double whammy for us, but overall it’s been going well and we’ll try to carry on the same way tomorrow.”
Sami Pajari – 6th Overall
“Today the stages were more technical and something new for me to learn driving the Rally1 car. The conditions were also really tricky already in the last stage of the morning and especially this afternoon. In SS11 I was expecting some fog but I was surprised just how bad it was. I decided to just try and drive clever in those conditions, as it would be so easy to make a silly mistake because you can only see a few metres in front. Still we could enjoy some sections today: the first stage of the afternoon was really good and the last one was also going better even in damp conditions. The car has been really nice to drive the whole weekend and I’m sure we can have a good feeling again tomorrow.”
Sebastien Ogier – 39th Overall
“With the time we lost yesterday we had to push this morning and starting near the front we knew we would have to face tough conditions. We made a brave tyre choice and I think it was working well. Unfortunately, very close to the end of SS8, there was a rock in my line and we clipped it in the wrong moment when the front of the car was fully loaded under braking, and it damaged the suspension. It’s not what any of us wanted and it’s two rallies in a row where we had amazing speed and we didn’t convert it. It’s frustrating but we’ll be back tomorrow and I hope my team-mates can still bring a strong result for the team.”
Hyundai
François-Xavier Demaison – Hyundai Technical Director
“A difficult day for the crews out there, but at the end of the day we love rallying because of the extreme conditions. Thierry did exactly what he needed to do today to ensure a good start position for Sunday, so a great day for him with no mistakes. Ott made a small mistake this morning and then was not on the optimal tyre choice for this afternoon, but while we hoped for more he has provisionally scored good points for the manufacturers’ championship. Esapekka had an even more challenging day, losing his front bumper in the first few kilometres which made the car difficult to drive, and while he had an improved setup for the second loop his time penalty dropped his motivation and he saved his tyres for tomorrow. As a team we have to ensure we score as many points as possible, but it is a complicated situation: a mix of pushing to get the maximum, but not pushing too much to risk what we have achieved today. ”
Ott Tänak – 3rd Overall
“We had a good morning loop, despite losing the rear in the low grip conditions and spinning the car – thankfully, everything was fine and no harm done. Our times weren’t very close to the Toyotas today; yesterday was so messy it didn’t show, but today we could see we couldn’t get up to the speed where we needed to be. We expected the complete opposite conditions on those final stages, it was a really tough call. While the drivers’ championship might not be up to us anymore, the manufacturers’ fight is still tight so we definitely need to score as many points as possible tomorrow.
Thierry Neuville – 4th Overall
“I’m definitely pleased with today. We were able to close the gap to the podium as well – which would have been an even better position overnight, but we didn’t force it too much in the last stage. Yesterday was very challenging and didn’t go well, but today we had a clear target of fourth that we achieved very quickly in the morning, so the afternoon was about protecting that. We can’t afford to make mistakes now. We have a better road position for tomorrow, so we need to make sure we benefit from some road cleaning and score as many points as we can.”
Esapekka Lappi – 8th Overall
“The car is back in once piece which is positive, but it was really not enjoyable out there. I was struggling for grip and I don’t understand why – we tried a lot of things but I just couldn’t make them work. It is a shame about our penalty; we had just put the soft tyres on so my motivation afterwards was to not destroy them to save them for tomorrow, so we drove slowly after that. There was also very heavy clouds on both the long stages and the visibility was pretty much non-existent, so I didn’t want to risk anything. We will try and pick ourselves up for tomorrow.”