Evans takes the lead after wet weather masterclass

World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans delivered a wet weather masterclass to vault from fifth to first in Rally Chile as overnight leader Adrien Fourmaux slipped to third.

Toyota’s Evans transformed a 13.1s deficit into a 5.6s lead over team-mate Sebastien Ogier as wet weather shook up the leaderboard after nine of 16 gravel stages.

Hyundai’s Fourmaux managed to hold onto third [+9.3], with reigning world champion Thierry Neuville slipping to fourth, 18.8s adrift.    

Heavy overnight rain followed by further showers served up extremely wet and slippery conditions for two of the three morning stages. 

It seemingly played into the hands of those at the top of the order as the returning Ott Tanak lit up the timing screens, after undergoing an engine change following Friday’s retirement. The Hyundai driver posted fastest times on stages seven and eight to lift himself up the leaderboard. 

However, Tanak’s progress came to a halt as the Estonian initially headed to stage nine, before deciding to return to the service park. 

Evans was the driver that made the most of the conditions as the Welshman surged from fifth to second after stage nine. Evans was second fastest in stage seven, 1.4s slower than pacesetter Tanak, but the Toyota driver was crucially faster than leader Fourmaux and the remainder of the top four: Neuville, Ogier and Sami Pajari.

Ogier admitted he was far too cautious in the stage after dropping 16.4s in the run through Pelún [15.65km]. Ogier responded in stage eight to post a time quicker than his rivals in the battle for victory, albeit only 0.2s quicker than the charging Evans.

Heading into the final stage of the morning, only 4.9s separated the top four. Fourmaux managed to hang onto the lead by 0.9s from Evans, while Neuville was 0.6s ahead of Ogier, with Pajari 17.4s behind in fifth.

The final stage of the morning loop was much drier than the previous two tests, although still damp, as sunshine had replaced the overcast and gloomy conditions. 

It proved to be a stage that turned the leaderboard on its head. Leader Fourmaux and team-mate Neuville dropped significant time fighting for grip, while rivals Evans and Ogier made inroads on the pair. 

Evans posted the second fastest time which was 10.2s quicker than Fourmaux scrambling for grip on the polished road. Evans’ effort was, however, enough to reclaim the rally lead. Ogier was also faster than Fourmaux and Neuville as the eight-time world champion jumped from fourth to second overall. 

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

“I had no rear grip so I think the tyre on the rear was giving up,” said Fourmaux. “The balance of the car was quite tricky to drive. I’m happy because we did a really good stage considering that.

“The gap is really close and I expect the afternoon conditions to be more similar for all of the drivers because for us the road was polishing a lot. It was not easy. It has been a good morning.”

Neuville declared that he had managed his tyres too much in the stage, although a brief off road excursion contributed to his 22.7s time loss, which dropped the Belgian to fourth, ahead of Pajari. 

Rovnapera, who was first there, claimed the stage win to hold onto the sixth position that he claimed in stage eight after Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta lost time to a spin. Katsuta ended the loop in eighth behind M-Sport’s Grgeoire Munster, who was the sole remaining Ford Puma after Josh McErlean and privateer Alberto Heller retired due to mechanical issues in stage seven. 

Oliver Solberg remains on course to claim a maiden WRC2 time after extending his class lead over Nikolay Gryazin to 29s, as the pair rounded out the top 10 in the overall classification. If Solberg stays ahead of Gryazin, the title will be secured. 

A second pass through the stages will ring Saturday’s action to a close.