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Adrien Fourmaux finds himself leading Rally Chile Bio Bío at the end of Friday, after late heartbreak for Ott Tänak turned the leaderboard upside down. A sudden issue for the Estonian on the day’s longest stage left the Hyundai driver sidelined, handing Fourmaux the rally lead by just 1.0sec over team-mate Thierry Neuville.
The Frenchman inherited the top spot when Tänak pulled up 5.6 kilometres into the day’s longest test, ending what had been a commanding performance from the Estonian – who had built an advantage of nearly 10sec after overhauling championship leader Elfyn Evans’ morning advantage.
“I can only be pleased because I think it is the first time we are leading a rally at the end of the first day, so it is positive for us but it is a shame for Ott,” said Fourmaux, who is chasing down his first-ever FIA World Rally Championship victory. “Tomorrow is going to be a different day, so let’s see.”
Neuville sat second in his similar i20 N Rally1 after a transformed afternoon following major set-up changes between loops. The Belgian struggled in the morning but found his rhythm as conditions dried, describing his car as “way better” despite admitting he was “still far from good.”
Sébastien Ogier delivered the day’s standout individual performance with a stunning stage win on SS6, beating Neuville by 3.1sec and climbing from fifth to third overall. Making his 200th WRC start this week, the eight-time world champion was another to make midday set-up adjustments after a muted morning.
“I kept pushing all day and this morning I was already on the limit, and in this last stage I cannot do more,” reflected Ogier, who trailed Fourmaux by just 2.3sec heading into Saturday.
Road-opener Evans endured a torrid afternoon as cleaning conditions hit him the hardest, with the Welshman dropping from the rally lead to fifth position by the day’s end. As well as Ogier, he was overtaken by Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari on the last test and trailed the Finn by 1.9sec overnight.
“This afternoon has been a big struggle,” admitted Evans after losing 14.2sec on the final stage alone. “I couldn’t control the rear at all.”
Takamoto Katsuta held sixth despite struggling with his Toyota’s balance, while Grégoire Munster placed seventh for M-Sport Ford after recovering from a broken gear linkage in the morning.
Kalle Rovanperä’s championship hopes suffered another setback as the defending Chile winner languished in eighth, over a minute behind the leader. The two-time champion’s day was ruined by a debeaded tyre after he ran wide and hit a bank in the morning, though he showed encouraging pace once conditions improved.
“Obviously I’m disappointed that it ended our good chances for today,” said Rovanperä. “Finally we had some good pace on this kind of road and that has not been the case probably ever this year.”
Oliver Solberg topped the WRC2 standings and is currently poised to clinch the championship title, with rivals Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith both retiring with mechanical problems. The Swede also ended the day ninth in the overall standings ahead of M-Sport Ford driver Josh McErlean, who lost over one minute after a high-speed spin on SS1.
Heavy overnight rain is expected in the vicinity of Saturday’s stages, of which there are six totalling almost 140km of competitive action.
