Reigning world champion Rovanpera was one of the few to avoid punctures or mechanical issues to complete the day’s six stages with a 2m08.9s lead over Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, with M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux third [+3m13.3s].
The trio will bank 18-15-13 championship points respectively under the new-for-2024 scoring system if they finish the rally tomorrow.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans started the day in second but dropped to fifth after picking up two punctures across the morning. The Welshman climbed to fourth when a fuel system issue stuck title rival Neuville, which dropped the Hyundai from second to fifth.
Evans ended the day in fourth [+5m35.6s] to bag a provisional 10 points, despite suffering another two punctures. Neuville nursed his car through in fifth [+11m48.6s] to scoop a provisional eight points, while top WRC2 runner Gus Greensmith held sixth overall [15m02.0s].
Forecast rain for the afternoon prompted Hyundai to fit its snorkel for the first time this weekend, joining Toyota and M-Sport-Ford, who have run their Safari-spec intakes throughout the rally.
It didn’t have to work too hard in the first stage of the loop [Soysambu, 29.32km], which was bone dry but full of the hazardous fesh-fesh sand.
Dust was however an issue for Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who rejoined the rally on Saturday after crashing out on Friday’s stage six. A broken side window made conditions in the cabin particularly challenging as dust found its way inside. Tanak also revealed that he was carrying another yet to be defined issue.
Team-mate Esapekka Lappi navigated through the stage fifth fastest, but Hyundai’s Safari Rally misfortune continued when Neuville slowed. The Belgian appeared to be battling a fuel system problem that required two stoppages in the stage. Neuville eventually engaged EV mode to reach the stage end, having slumped from second to fifth overall and dropping 2m38.7s in the process.
“I have absolutely nothing to say,” said a frustrated Neuville.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
After working on the car, he was able to fire up the engine and head to the next stage.
Katsuta pipped team-mate Evans by 2.6s to win the stage, inheriting second overall following Neuville’s drama. Rovanpera was third fastest, but the Finn actually extended his rally lead to 2m20.2s.
Likewise, M-Sport’s Fourmaux climbed into the podium…
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