Kalle Rovanperä has surged ahead of Elfyn Evans to take the lead of Rally Chile after a dramatic and fog-filled SS11, shaking up the standings in the 11th round of the World Rally Championship.
Evans appeared to be in control, extending his lead to 13.6 seconds with another stage win to kick off the afternoon session. However, the thick fog that engulfed the Lota stage turned the rally on its head, as visibility plummeted to near zero.
Rovanperä, who was stunned by the conditions, remarked, “I don’t think I have ever been driving in that kind of condition in a rally car.” Despite the challenges, the Finnish driver managed to go second fastest on the stage, only five seconds behind Thierry Neuville, who closed in on his Hyundai team-mate Ott Tänak, narrowing the gap to just 14.2 seconds.
Evans, however, was hit hardest by the fog, losing a staggering 19.1 seconds to Rovanperä. The Welshman dropped to second place, now trailing his Toyota team-mate by 5.5 seconds. “I couldn’t see beyond the bonnet, so I don’t know how you’re meant to rally in those conditions really,” Evans said. “It’s crazy, but OK.”
Further down the order, Sami Pajari lost ground to the M-Sport Ford drivers Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster, choosing to back off in the treacherous conditions. Fourmaux sits 3.3 seconds ahead of Munster, who himself is 4.6 seconds clear of Pajari.
Esapekka Lappi, already isolated in eighth place, compounded his troubles by checking in two minutes early to SS11, incurring a two-minute penalty. Accepting his fate, Lappi eased off the pace to conserve his car and tires.
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg’s lead evaporated after a puncture forced him to stop and change a tire, costing him a minute and a half and dropping him back in the standings.
The rally continues to be a battle of attrition, with the extreme weather conditions adding an extra layer of unpredictability to an already challenging event.
