Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja seized the lead of Rally Chile BioBío after stage five, nudging Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin down to second place in a dramatic first day of competition. Tänak, driving for M-Sport Ford, ended the opening day just 0.4 seconds ahead of Evans, who initially led the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship until he was overtaken after the midday service.
Evans laid down an impressive pace throughout the early stages, winning SS2 by 6.6 seconds over his Toyota teammate Sébastien Ogier. However, the slippery conditions soon caught out Ogier, who clipped a bank on SS3, puncturing a tire and forcing a costly change that dropped the eight-time champion from the lead to 15th place overall.
The challenging Chilean roads also claimed the M-Sport Puma Rally1 of Martins Sesks and Renars Francis, who retired after picking up two punctures on the same stage and being unable to continue due to a lack of spare tires. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm also suffered a puncture on SS3, although they managed to avoid any significant contact with the surrounding landscape.
Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen impressed in the non-points scoring GR Yaris Rally1, holding third place at midday before being overtaken by Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. Rovanperä ended the day in third, 2.2 seconds ahead of Pajari and 1.4 seconds in front of Gregoire Munster and Louis Louka in their M-Sport Ford Puma—a standout effort from the young Luxembourger.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria faced a challenging day in their Ford Puma, dropping time due to a one-minute penalty after arriving late to stage five following repairs. Despite the setback, Fourmaux stormed back with a strong final stage, finishing just 0.2 seconds shy of Ogier’s best time.
Championship leader Thierry Neuville, paired with Martin Wydaeghe, brought his Hyundai i20 N home in sixth place after spending the day opening the road, as he has consistently done since taking the lead in the championship earlier in the season. Lappi finished seventh, just ahead of Fourmaux, while Ogier clawed his way back into ninth, running without hybrid power in the day’s final stage.
In the WRC2 category, Nikolay Gryazin leads after nearly rolling his Citroen C3 in the final stage. Close behind, Oliver Solberg sits 10.2 seconds adrift in his Skoda Fabia RS, with Yohan Rossel just 1.2 seconds further back in third, setting up an exciting battle for the weekend ahead.
