Strong emotions on the roads of the Croatia Rally, the fourth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC). After eight stages, nothing separates the top two overall, and the third is not far behind either.
After Thierry Neuville’s (Hyundai) dominance in the morning, the afternoon of Friday started with the Belgian setting the pace in SS5 (Platak 2) by being 1.5s faster than Elfyn Evans (Toyota). Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) set the third fastest time.
One might have thought Neuville would continue to stand out at the top, but in the next stage, he was hindered by a puncture. Evans took advantage, set the fastest time, and took ten exact seconds from his rival to be just 0.1s behind overall. Ott Tänak (Hyundai) set the third time in Ravna Gora-Skrada.
In SS7 (Jaškovo-Mali Modruš Potok 2), there was a change in the lead. Ogier was the fastest with a 0.3s lead over Evans, with the Briton rising to the top of the overall standings after Neuville set the fourth time. Tänak was in between them.
The day ended in the Krašić-Sošice stage with the eighth special, in which Ogier dominated by beating Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford) by 9.2s. Neuville was third at 9.4s, with Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) in fourth, Tänak in fifth, and Evans in sixth.
The times showed that at the end of Friday, Neuville and Evans are tied at the top of the overall classification, with Ogier in third just 6.6s behind. Further back is the fourth-placed Tänak, 41.1s behind, with Fourmaux fifth at 52.7s.
Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën) a remporté toutes les spéciales de l’après-midi en WRC2 et en WRC2 Challenger. En WRC2, le pilote bulgare a une avance de 31,3s sur Yohan Rossel (Citroën), tandis qu’en WRC2 Challenger, il devance Pepe López (Skoda) de 2m02,5s – qui est troisième en WRC2.
Dans le WRC3, le dominio de Romet Jürgenson se poursuit. L’estonien, au volant d’une Ford, a déjà 1m04,3s d’avance sur Tom Rensonnet (Ford) même s’il n’a imposé son rythme que dans l’une des spéciales de l’après-midi. Taylor Gill (Ford) est monté à la troisième place en échangeant de position avec Norbert Maior (Ford) dans l’ES 8.
Classements:
The leaderboards after Friday#WRC | #CroatiaRally 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/JRxMbu8Av6
— World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 19, 2024
