2023-06-03 22:30:58
©HYUNDAI
Round 6 of the 2023 WRC season, Rally Italia Sardinia, ran the 8SS of the third day on Saturday, June 3, with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville taking the lead. Team-mate Esapekka Lappi is 2nd, 36.4 seconds behind, and Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera is 3rd, 1’50.7 behind. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta retired after finishing SS9.
Saturday’s route was 8SS, 135.46km, looping 4 stages west of Olbia where the service was held. The four stages, “Coiluna-Loelle (16.28km)”, “Su Filigosu (19.57km)”, “Erula-Tula (21.92km)” and “Tempio Pausania (9.04km)” are not long but bumpy and sharp. Rocks are strewn about, and there is also a water splash for deep river crossings.
In the opening SS8, Neuville, chasing the top two, set the best time, 1.1 seconds behind Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier. Lappi finished fourth on the stage, 1.8 seconds behind Ogier, which put Ogier in the lead by 1.7 seconds. In the back, Takamoto Katsuta of Toyota suffered damage to the front due to a water splash 14km from the start and lost time. His teammate Elfyn Evans has caught Katsuta and moved up to fifth overall.
In the following SS9, Neuville set a consecutive best with 2.2 seconds ahead of Lappi. Ogier ran the SS 3rd fastest time, 2.0 seconds behind Lappi, and Lappi regained the lead, albeit only 0.3 seconds. Katsuta, who suffered heavy damage to his machine in the previous stage, gave first aid after the finish and headed to SS9, but he stopped again. At this point, he gave up on continuing the rally.
HYUNDAI
In SS9, Tänak, who was in 7th place overall, stalled his engine due to a water splash. I was forced to finish in EV mode with the water-covered engine stopped. Tänak’s Ford Puma Hybrid Rally 1 was unable to restart the engine and decided to retire before SS10.
On SS10, which ran the longest 21.92km of the day, Ogier set a convincing best time with a 13-second lead over Lappi, who was battling for the lead. Lappi, who continued with a damaged front left tire, shrugged, saying, “The tire ran out of life just before the finish. I can’t go any faster in these slippery conditions.” Even Evans, running in 5th, hit the front section with a water splash. He managed to keep going, but lost nearly two minutes on this stage alone.
While many crews had problems, Neuville took the lead on SS11 by 3.0 seconds over Ogier for the third time of the day. Lappi, who had run out of tires, was only able to achieve the 5th fastest time in the SS, 8.5 seconds behind the best. Not only has the gap to Ogier widened to 18.2 seconds, but Neuville has closed to 6.5 seconds.
After the service at Olbia, the afternoon section was run again on the same route as the morning session. In SS12, Lappi was 3.0 seconds ahead of Neuville, marking the first best time of the day. Ogier, whose engine power went down due to a water splash, was 3rd fastest, 7.7 seconds behind. This reduced the gap to Lappi to 10.5 seconds. After finishing the stage, Ogier checked the machine and headed to the next SS13.
Neuville is the best for SS13 where heavy rain started to fall just like the day before. Lappi, who was third fastest, was 6.2 seconds ahead of Ogier, who suffered damage to the right side of his car, closing the gap to 4.3 seconds. In addition, Neuville was approaching 7.4 seconds behind, and the battle between the top three was finally chaotic. At the back, the water splash that swallowed Tänak in the morning stalled Evans’ engine. He too was forced to drive in EV mode. Hyundai’s Dani Sordo, running in 6th place, stopped due to a drop in oil pressure, but managed to complete the stage with emergency measures.
On SS14, with the rain still falling, the leader Ogier went off the track at the left corner 1.4km from the start. The crew was unharmed, but his Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 slipped off the embankment. Neuville, who marked the second fastest time behind Sordo on this stage, overtook Lappi, who said, “I slowed down when I saw Ogier off the track,” and took the lead by 23.8 seconds.
Neuville, who finished the day at the end of SS15 with the best result, widened the gap to 36.4 seconds from Lappi, who was in 2nd overall ahead of the final day. Neuville, who recorded five best times on this day alone, said, “First of all, I’m relieved that I was able to finish today. It was a tough day, but the feeling in the car was getting better and better. Hyundai 1-2. But tomorrow I want to come back with clever driving,” he said with a smile.
Despite Ogier and Katsuta leaving the line of battle, Toyota’s tenacious Kalle Rovanpera was 1’50.7 behind the leader, finishing 3rd overall on the podium. Evans, who had trouble with water splash twice, finished a tough day in 4th place with a difference of 5:36.5. In addition, Sordo, who dropped to 21st place on the previous day’s track off, has returned to 5th place, which is within the winning range.
TOYOTA
The 4th day of the competition will consist of 4SS from SS16 to SS19, and the SS distance will be 46.02km. The opening SS16 will start at 14:05 on June 4, Japan time.
WRC Sardinia provisional results after SS15
1. T. Neuville (Hyundai i20N Rally 1) 3:10:36.9
2. E. Lappi (Hyundai i20N Rally 1) +36.4
3. K. Rovanpera (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1) +1:50.7
4. E. Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1) +5:36.5
5. D. Sold (Hyundai i20N Rally 1) +6:27.9
6. A. Frumeau (Ford Fiesta RS Rally 2) +8:11.7
7. A. Mikkelsen (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +8:37.4
8. T. Suninen (Hyundai i20N Rally 2) +10:46.4
9. E. Lindholm (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +11:08.3
10. K. Kaetanovic (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +11:40.5
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