Challenging conditions shake up the order on Saturday.
Kalle Rovanperä snatched the lead of Rally Chile Bio Bío from team-mate Elfyn Evans as dense fog engulfed Saturday afternoon's stages, turning the battle for victory on its head.
The 23-year-old Finn will head into Sunday's final leg with a lead of 15.1sec over his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID colleague Evans, benefiting in part from the tricky weather conditions that reshaped the leaderboard.
Evans had been in commanding form earlier in the day, winning three of the morning’s four stages to build a 13.6sec cushion. But his advantage evaporated on the penultimate Lota test, where dense fog descended in the mountains, reducing visibility to near zero.
As the last of the top runners on the road, Evans bore the brunt of the deteriorating conditions and slowed his pace to a crawl at times. Rovanperä, in contrast, stormed into the lead with a time more than 20 seconds faster before extending the gap in similarly treacherous conditions on the final stage of the day, María Las Cruces.
Ott Tänak held third, trailing Evans by 18.5sec after a day of high drama which also saw Sébastien Ogier bow out of contention. The Frenchman’s bid for a ninth title was dealt a hefty blow when he struck a rock on SS8 which broke a bolt on his Toyota’s steering arm.
“They were really difficult conditions,” said Rovanperä. “Huge fog, and some of the most challenging stages of the year, I think. I have never done anything like this, it’s crazy. You drive and you are just trying to stay on the road - it’s a big challenge.”
Evans, still hunting his first WRC win since Japan last November, was understandably disappointed to lose the lead but acknowledged there was little he could do. “I couldn’t see past the bonnet,” he revealed. “It was crazy.”
Behind Tänak, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville mounted a strong comeback and climbed from sixth on Friday to finish the day 43.7sec off the lead in fourth. While the Belgian is now unlikely to wrap up his maiden drivers' title this week, he remains well-placed to do so at next month’s Central European Rally, barring any major setbacks.
Adrien Fourmaux also made good progress, moving from eighth to fifth in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID. Hampered by a one-minute time penalty on Friday, the Frenchman charged past team-mate Grégoire Munster and Toyota rookie Sami Pajari, who ended the day in sixth and seventh respectively.
It was another tough day for Esapekka Lappi. Already off the pace, the Finn’s troubles deepened when he picked up a two-minute time penalty for clocking in early for SS11. He finished Saturday a distant eighth overall in his Hyundai, whileWRC2 frontrunners Nikolay Gryazin and Gus Greensmith rounded out the top 10.
The rally resumes Sunday morning where two challenging stages, each run twice, lay in wait. The quartet add up to 54.8km of competitive action.
Saturday Classification:
1. K Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris 2h 25m 14.3s
2. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +15.1s
3. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Hyundai i20 N +33.6s
4. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N +43.7s
5. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Ford Puma +1m 23.0s
6. S Pajari / E Mälkönen FIN Toyota GR Yaris +1m 49.5s
