Elfyn Evans claimed two of the three Saturday morning stages to extend his Rally Chile lead as reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä emerged as his nearest rival.
Evans, who was handed a three-second overnight lead following a change to his notional stage one time, completed a trio of abrasive gravel stages with a 11.3s margin over Toyota team-mate Rovanperä.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak slipped from second to third some 17.4s in arrears, while championship leader Thierry Neuville hauled his Hyundai from sixth to fourth [+48.8s].
Toyota’s rising star Sami Pajari continued his impressive drive to hold fifth [+1m03.4s] in only his second Rally1 outing, ahead of M-Sport duo Gregoire Munster [+1m24.5s] and Adrien Fourmaux [+1m24.9s]. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi rounded out the top eight, while M-Sport’s Martins Sesks rejoined the rally after his Friday retirement.
Managing tyre wear was the main objective through Saturday’s rough stages, which was reflected in the tyre choices by the crews. Four hards and two softs was the favoured package, while Sébastien Ogier gambled by taking four softs and two hards.
It appeared Ogier’s choice was inspired, as crews tackled a damp mountainous run through stage seven (Pelon, 15.66km) as the Frenchman set a blistering time from second on the road.
It stood until rally leader Evans completed his pass, pipping his team-mate by 0.9s to claim a second stage win of the event. Importantly, Evans was 4.1s quicker than Tänak to extend his rally lead over the Hyundai to 7.1s.
Rovanperä appeared much more comfortable on the abrasive gravel as the Finn closed to within 4.4s of second-placed Tänak.
“I would say it is a bit better for me today feeling-wise, let’s see if we can find some speed today,” said Rovanperä.
“It is not going to be easy the whole loop, managing the tyre wear is key and also driving in the line.
“It is quite humid in the car today, I don’t know why I’m sweating so much, maybe I need to go for a run.”
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
Championship leader Neuville was only two tenths of a second slower than Tänak, which helped the Belgian climb to fifth overall. Munster, who admitted he wasn’t fully awake, slipped to sixth after dropping 27.4s on the tricky slippery roads.
Lappi was also caught out by the slippery conditions resulting in the Finn ripping the…
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