Warren Nel

The final day then of this rally, the seventh round of this year championship. What would the stages bring to the results at the end of the rally and ultimately the championship standings?

Just 63 km’s over four remaining stages stood in the way for the crews to navigate. Of course, Ott and Martin returned to the action and were looking to fight for the maximum points available on the final day given the points structure.

First up then was SS16 Gmina Mrągowo 1 – 20.80 km and Ott was incredibly committed through this, setting such a fast time that even the later runners would not beat it. Kalle came closest but was still 1.2 off the time set by the Estonian crew, whilst Elfyn was third and moved into second overall as well. There was some drama for former rally leader Andreas as he took a hit on the rear right of his i20 when going through the narrow section of the stage, damaging the tyre and this led the bodywork to be damaged by the flailing rubber. He lost two positions, falling behind Adrien who was driving so well, the Frenchman was now into third overall.

Next was SS17 Mikołajki 1 – 10.73 km and Ott was fastest again from Adrien and Thierry, just nine tenths of a second covering the top three. The other news from this stage was that Thierry moved ahead of Andreas and the Belgian was now in fourth overall.

Onto the penultimate stage then, SS18 Gmina Mrągowo 2 – 20.80 km and this time it was rally leader Kalle that was fastest from Ott and Adrien third, again just 1.8 seconds covering the top three again. Andreas also dropped a further position, falling behind Martins, the Latvian now back into fifth place overall.

It was time then for the final stage, SS19 Mikołajki 2[Power Stage] – 10.73 km and Ott set the early pace before Thierry came through and beat his teammate’s time. Next to finish was Adrien who was ahead of Elfyn in the Sunday standings, and he would have a strong finish to the rally. Unfortunately, Elfyn had yet another puncture and after setting a good pace earlier in the stage there was a rock on the line which damaged the tyre on his GR Yaris. The Welshman lost more time and was only seventh fastest in the stage. The top five was Thierry, Ott, Kalle, Adrien and Takamoto.

Meanwhile Kalle and Jonne had taken victory for Toyota, their thirteen of their career, with Elfyn and Scott taking second position and Adrien with co-driver Alex was third for M-Sport Ford.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Poland

1	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:33:07.6
2	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+28.3
3	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+42.7
4	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:10.8
5	M. Sesks	R. Francis	Ford Puma Rally1	+1:47.0
6	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+2:16.6
7	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+2:18.0
8	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+2:26.7
9	S. Pajari	E. Mälkönen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally2	+7:50.7
10	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Škoda Fabia RS	+8:12.7

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It has been an amazing week and quite a tough week: we have been working hard and I feel quite tired now! With the limited preparation we had, it was not so easy on this kind of fast rally where you need to keep pushing. I think we did everything we could, working all the time with the tight schedule that we had and keeping to our plan on the stages, and it all paid off in the end. Sunday was still an important day with many kilometres and technical stages. We tried to keep the pace we had yesterday, be safe enough to bring home the win but also grab some more points. At the finish we managed to bring quite a lot of points for the team, which was the aim for us when we got the call from the team on Tuesday, so I think it was a good idea to come!”

Elfyn Evans

“At the end of the rally our overall position is good. The Sunday points are almost just as important, and we tried to get as many as we could today. It was all going OK, but unfortunately, we had an issue in the Power Stage with a puncture: there was a rock on the line and there was not a lot I could do. We only lost a few seconds, but with this points system a small issue like that can penalise you a lot, so it was disappointing to finish the rally this way. Our speed this weekend was not bad: Friday was good with the road position we had and Saturday was also going well until the tyre issue. It’s definitely the case that the feeling in the car is much better than in the previous rallies. We need to carry that forward, build on what we learned here and look to do a good job in Latvia.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Congratulations Kalle, Jonne and the whole team for this result. For me, it has been a difficult rally. I was struggling a lot on Friday morning, and this cost me afterwards, with a more difficult starting position for Saturday and Sunday. It was hard to do much on this final day and get the good result we wanted for the team. At the same time, I was learning a lot about how to drive well in this kind of condition. We had some good sections and some good feelings, and we need to bring that to the next rally in Latvia, and also improve the things that were not so good so that we can be better there.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Mission accomplished. We knew this event would be difficult for us, but we kept the motivation high. There was no reason to push more than what we felt comfortable with considering we were first on the road on Friday and didn’t have great conditions on Saturday. There was no real chance for us to work on the set-up, so I just had to follow my gut and push hard for the Power Stage. We were balancing the risks we could take and the speed we needed to go, but in the end, we take home some good points and look forward to what is to come.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend. Had we not had the tyre off the rim, I think we could have kept the pressure on Kalle and be fighting for the podium. I felt we had a bit of bad luck as we had been using the banks tactically this rally to keep up the speed through the corners, but it is what it is. After that, it was just about getting the car to the finish to secure the points for the team.”

Ott Tänak

“We did everything we could today, but it is obviously a huge shame our weekend finished so early so we could not know where we could be. I’m sure we had the pace to compete, I had an OK feeling in the car and felt fine, so I am pretty sure the basis is there. Obviously, our road position for the past two days has made it difficult to make a conclusion; we need to carry on and hopefully improve a bit in between now and Latvia and see how we go there.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“For sure I have enjoyed my first time competing in Poland! The stages here are truly incredible, so unbelievably fast, and we can be really happy with the pace we’ve shown.

“It’s really encouraging to get a podium on the first of three fast gravel rallies, so I’m looking forward to Latvia and Finland. We’ve had three third places this year already, so now the goal is to reach for the top two positions.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“It was an incredible weekend. Every first time is very special, as I am so thankful for this opportunity to M-Sport, WRC Promoter, Rally Latvia, and our partners. We really did not expect to finish fifth. But I enjoyed every second of this active learning.”

Grégoire Munster

“We are quite satisfied with our pace, and we had our best stage result in stage four, being second fastest. The gap compared to the fastest has been reduced, so it is a step forward. We learned a lot this weekend that we can carry into Rally Latvia, where we will try to benefit from our start position and have a good result.

“We also managed to keep Takamoto Katsuta behind, who is a far more experienced driver and who is normally performing well on these types of rallies. We also missed out on a point on the Power Stage by a couple of seconds, but overall I’m happy about the weekend.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

““I’m happy with this result. Of course, you know me, I always want to win, but given the conditions and the place on the road and everything else, I think second here is as good as we could have hoped for and expected. “Running further up in the order on Friday, the road was quite dirty, and it was hard to find a clean line. Driving in those kind of conditions, there’s not so much grip around and it can be difficult to find confidence – especially when the roads are high-speed and narrow.

“Friday was a tough one. Saturday was better, the car was giving me a bit more confidence and things working more as we like it. We went into Saturday in fifth place and came out in second with some stage wins – I was happy with that.

“For the final day it was a little bit more of the same, the stages weren’t quite so fast – a bit more twisty and technical. We were around 30 seconds off the lead, and it wouldn’t have made sense to push all-out for the win. We came here needing some good points and we’ve done that. If I’m completely honest, I’m a bit disappointed. We won Royal Rally before this, and I was feeling good for the fast rallies.

“Rally Poland is definitely a little bit different to any event I’ve done before, with the soft surface and the ruts and it did take us a while to dial the car in. From here we go to Latvia for another fast event – I know those roads a little bit more, so I’m really looking forward to being back out in the Škoda in just over two weeks.”

 

Summary

Well, what a return to Poland. Let’s deal with the spectator problems first and this was the original reason this event was left off the calendar for the last seven years, with spectators standing in dangerous places in the last time this round was in the WRC in 2017. Sadly, on Friday and Saturday we did see a return of some people behaving in the same way and this led to some stages being red flagged, delayed and some crews being given notional times.

Let’s have a chat then about the top three.

First up Kalle and Jonne. What a drive from the champions. Receiving a call on Tuesday asking them to come and compete after the incident involving Seb and Vincent during recce and virtually zero preparation with special dispensation to complete a short recce after shakedown on Thursday, to then come through and take victory is incredibly amazing.

 

Next up their teammates Elfyn and Scott. They showed great pace all weekend, overcame two tyre failures to finish on the podium 28 seconds from the winner, who knows what would have happened? They have however closed the gap to Thierry and Martijn in the fight for this season’s championship, which is a good thing. They’ll hope that they can do the same thing in Latvia next time out.

 

It was another great drive from Adrien and Alex to a third podium of the season. They set a few top three times on a rally which they had never competed at before and delivered a consistent drive, avoiding any problems. It is fantastic to see the young crew really delivering and leading M-Sport Ford’s charge this year. Long may it continue.

 

Here’s the points standings –

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 7

1	T. Neuville	136
2	E. Evans	121
3	O. Tänak	115
4	S. Ogier	92
5	A. Fourmaux	91
6	K. Rovanperä	63
7	T. Katsuta	58
8	A. Mikkelsen	29
9	D. Sordo	27
10	E. Lappi	23

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 7

1	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	311
2	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	301
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	156

 

Next up is Rally Latvia taking place from the 18^th to the 21 of July, giving the teams and crews time to prepare. Look out for my preview ahead of that weekend.

The second full day of this rally would have 124km’s over seven stages. Could Andreas hold on to his lead or would the Toyota duo of Kalle and Elfyn move past the Hyundai crew? Of course, Ott and Martin would return to the action and open the road throughout the day.

Well, first up was SS9 Świętajno 1 – 18.50 km and Kalle was fastest from Elfyn and Andreas. The Finns pace brought the gap to Andreas down to just half a tenth of a second in their battle over the lead and amazingly Elfyn was only another 1.1 seconds back in third.

The slightly longer SS10 Gołdap 1 – 19.90 km was again won by Kalle from Elfyn this time, whilst the former leader Andreas fell to third place, 4.6 seconds behind the new leader. Thierry was third fastest in the stage and gained one place, moving into sixth overall.

Into SS11 Czarne 1 – 22.40 km, the longest stage of the day and Andreas hit back with the fastest time from Elfyn and Kalle and with the two crews behind the leader going faster, the lead which Kalle held was reduced to just 2.1 between them all.

The short SS12 Mikołajki Arena 3 – 2.50 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Adrien. Elfyn was just four tenths of a second behind his teammate.

After the service break next was SS13 Świętajno 2 – 18.50 km and Kalle was fastest again from Andreas, whilst Elfyn had a rear tyre delaminate, losing all the tread but not fully exploding. The Welshman lost 7 seconds in the final sector of the stage and was now behind Andreas and in third.

Just two stages left then to decide the finishing positions at the end of Saturday and the first of these was SS14 Gołdap 2 – 19.90 km. Kalle was again fastest from Thierry this time and Andreas third. Elfyn still held third but was now 13.3 seconds from Kalle. Further back, Thierry, with his great pace was now just 2.4 seconds behind Martins who had driven brilliantly all day and was still holding fifth overall.

Time then for the final stage of the day, SS15 Czarne 2 – 22.40 km and Kalle made it six stage wins from seven, with Elfyn second fastest and Andreas third. The cool news was that Martins held off Thierry for fifth place at the end by just one tenth of a second. There were moments for both of the crews in this one meaning it could have gone either way.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:00:44.0 2 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +9.4 3 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +16.1 4 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +37.0 5 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +58.2 6 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +58.3 7 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:24.5 8 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:41.9 9 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +5:46.5 10 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +6:12.8

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“I tried my best the whole day. The morning loop was better than yesterday, but it was still tricky like expected for us with some small surprises. I would have wanted to be a bit faster there, but it was a good fight. The afternoons are definitely more enjoyable, as I know better what’s coming and can drive with more of a normal pace and feeling about the stages. Nothing is certain yet. The gap is small for tomorrow, which is still quite a long day with a different type of stages. I think it will be tougher than today, maybe the toughest day for me in terms of our preparation and pacenotes: we need to work a lot this evening and try to be quick tomorrow. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but we’ll keep trying our best.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a big fight out there today, especially this morning when it was all quite tight. It was a clean morning from our side, and we were feeling pretty good in the car. Unfortunately, we had a setback with the tyre issue in the first stage of the afternoon. It was very sudden, and I wasn’t sure what had happened at first. but we just lost the tread completely. We lost a bit of time, and when it’s this tight, that was pretty much the end of the fight for today. We tried what we could but couldn’t claw back the time. Still, overall, it’s been a better weekend for us up to this point. Tomorrow is a new day with a lot of points up for grabs. We’ve got to try and keep a good rhythm, keep doing what we’ve been doing all weekend, and see what that brings.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“The feeling in the car today was much better than yesterday. The only frustrating thing is that the times were not so good, but I think this was coming from the conditions that we had with our road position. They were very difficult, especially during the second loop in the afternoon, running first on the road with a lot of cleaning. Even under braking it was difficult to know how much grip there was because there was a lot of sand in the ruts. When it was wide and high-speed without so many ruts, we could have similar split times to the leaders, but when it was narrow and rutted, I was losing a lot of time. Tomorrow I’ll try to do my best and improve my driving and try to find more confidence to push in the next two rallies.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I think we have to be happy with our day, we drove really well today. Rovanperä is obviously very fast, so we have to take big risks. I took the risks I was willing to take knowing the car still has to finish for the points, so I was happy with the outcome. We used a slightly different strategy on the second loop with some more hard tyres, and on the first stage after service this looked like a good choice, but on the second and third stage the wear was not so high. Tomorrow, we need to keep the pressure on Rovanperä, there are 60 kilometres to do tomorrow so it’s a decent day with some tricky stages, so if we push it we can gain a lot of time. We will discuss it as a team and tomorrow we will see.”

Thierry Neuville

“We pushed hard across every stage today trying to catch the next two positions; we got Gregoire very quickly and we knew that if we wanted to catch Martins, we had to push more this afternoon. Considering there was still a lot of cleaning this afternoon, I think we have done a really good job. I am satisfied but really disappointed for that 0.1, I lost it in one corner and missed a few tenths there. We are struggling here a bit this weekend, but it is expected being first on the road, we knew it would be difficult being sixth overnight. The stages are really fast, they can be really fun when you are driving but then you look at the stage times and it’s not quite the same. Tomorrow we will push even harder and hope to close that 0.1 second gap to make it into the top five and bring home as many points as we can from Super Sunday.”

Ott Tänak

“Together with the team we decided to retire for the day after midday service in order to fully focus on tomorrow. Unfortunately, after yesterday we had to open the road today which is obviously pretty challenging here. We have still been trying to get into the rhythm for tomorrow where we can score ourselves some good points. Yesterday our running was very limited so our time on the stages this morning was important in understanding the speed and adjust to it so hopefully we can push for some Super Sunday points.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“Generally, the day has been a little bit better today,” said the Monster energy athlete. “I think we’ve been in the top-three [WRC2] times all day, which has allowed us to climb back up a little bit.

“Tomorrow is going to be a big fight, with [Robert] Virves still quite close behind us. In the last stage today, me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] were just giving it everything. We were pushing like hell. We cannot do that all day tomorrow, but let’s see where we are and what the times are like.”

 

Summary

Well, what a day. Apart from a brief interruption with some spectators on the first stage just being in the wrong places.

What does Sunday hold for the crews then? Well, there are four stages with 63km’s before the end of the rally. Who will walk away with the top points from Sunday and can Kalle take the win, or will either Elfyn or Andreas move back up?

After the action got underway with the short stage on Thursday evening, the first full day of action got going with stage two. Ott held the lead for Hyundai with his teammate Thierry second and Elfyn was third after Thursday’s stage.

Into the first stage then, SS2 Stańczyki 1 – 29.40 km and there was early amazing pace from Ott and Martin who despite being second on the road were setting stage winning pace. Unfortunately, they collided with a deer on the stage heavily damaging the front of their i20 and putting them out for the day. The big news was that Andreas was fastest from Martin Sesks who was in the non-hybrid Puma and Kalle third fastest. All three crews gained positions and moved into the top three overall.

Next up was SS3 Wieliczki 1 – 12.90 km and it was a surprise to see Thierry set the fastest time from Elfyn, but the stage was actually cancelled after they completed. The reason? Some spectators were not standing in the right places, and it was not safe to continue. All the other crews were given a notional time. Elfyn gained one position and moved into third overall.

Onto SS4 Olecko 1 – 13.20 km and Andreas was showing great pace, winning the stage from Gregoire and Elfyn. It was interesting to see Martin maintain such great pace holding second overall from Elfyn who was 4.5 seconds behind the Latvian.

After the tyre fitting zone the second run of SS5 Stańczyki 2 – 29.40 km and Kalle found his way to the fastest time with Elfyn second and Martin third. The decision by Toyota and their crews to run hard tyres in this one was inspired as they saw those who ran the softs all round fall back, but the way to run them was highlighted by Andreas who had the two softs on the rear and the hards on the front. The Norwegian was finding the balance tricky and lost 14.4 seconds. Kalle emerged in the lead, just two tenths ahead.

The following stage, SS6 Wieliczki 2 – 12.90 km was again taken by Thierry with Elfyn and Takamoto setting the same time for joint second. Once again, we saw a notional time given as the stage was red flagged due to spectators in the wrong places again, just like earlier. The top two changed again as Andreas and Elfyn moved into the top two positions.

The final proper stage of the day, SS7 Olecko 2 – 13.20 km and Adrien won the stage with Elfyn and Andreas second fastest. Once again, the spectators ruined things by crossing the stage and the stage was stopped and then later cancelled.

The final stage then of the day, SS8 Mikołajki Arena 2 – 2.50 km was won by Takamoto and Kalle was second with the same time as his teammate and Andreas was third.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1   A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 59:43.7

2   K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1.8

3   E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +2.0

4   A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +7.5

5   M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +7.7

6   G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +21.3

7   T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +29.8

8   T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +32.3

9    S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +2:15.6

10 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +2:24.5

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Andreas Mikkelsen

“It has been a good day at Rally Poland. It is a shame we couldn’t do more stages, but all in all a positive day. I was far too cautious on the long stage after mid-day service: I am used to the Rally2 cars where you have to be really careful in the ruts, but with these tyres you can just throw the car in. It’s one of the learnings I can take advantage of moving forward; I love this event, and I want to bring a fight to the guys tomorrow. It will be a proper battle, with no road cleaning and the top guys starting in front of me, so a completely different day to today.”

Thierry Neuville

“A really tough and challenging day. The temperature in the car was crazy, and we’re pretty exhausted after a long Friday. Let’s see what the weather will do overnight – if it’s dry, it won’t be much easier than it was today, but we could have more chances to catch positions if it rains. It could be an interesting day with wet and slippery conditions, but today we made the most out of the situation we faced.”

Ott Tänak

“It was really bad luck for us today. Looking back at the onboard, we were on a straight section but the time between the deer emerging from the bush and the impact was only 0.26 seconds. There was no time to react and avoid the situation. The opening stage with very loose gravel wasn’t the easiest, but we felt okay in the car for those first kilometres. It is disappointing that we finished early, and we will come back fighting, however it isn’t going to be easy. We can see that opening the road is losing a lot of time, so it will be a challenging task to score those Super Sunday points, but we will do our best for sure.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“This morning everything was quite tricky for me given our preparation, even more than I was expecting. With the preparation time we had, and after such a long time without driving a fast rally or even a test, it’s not been easy to make good and precise pacenotes for these speeds. I just tried to find a pace, where I was comfortable and to finish the loop without any mistakes. Then in the afternoon we could show our pace straightaway, and it was more enjoyable. I think we did all we could, it was a clean day with no mistakes and our position is not bad tonight considering everything. Tomorrow, I hope we can be stronger in the first pass and let’s see what we can do.”

Elfyn Evans

“We had quite an OK start this morning, getting used to these high-speed stages. The grip was quite changeable and difficult to judge, but everything was working fine in the car and the speed was OK considering the road position and the cleaning that we had to do. This afternoon was pretty similar, but we were able to get closer to the front, and on the whole it’s been a pretty clean day with no mistakes. Let’s see what’s possible tomorrow – and what the weather does overnight, because if it rains a lot that will obviously make things less straightforward.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“In the morning loop, I was struggling quite a lot. I think I went in the wrong direction with the car setup after my test. It was not really feeling good or consistent, it was hard to have trust and keep a good pace, and we were losing a lot of time. But with the help of the engineers, we changed what we could during the day, and it started to feel better in the afternoon. We’ve found the right direction, and tonight we can change even more to make it better tomorrow. Our road position might be more difficult if it’s dry, but the weather is uncertain: hopefully for me it rains and that could be better for us.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a tough day,” said the Škoda driver. “We’ve struggled for confidence and some grip today. The surface has been really tricky, it’s been cleaning and getting quicker and quicker for the cars behind. We will work with the team for the set-up on the car tonight and let’s go again in the morning.”

Summary

Well, it was a tricky day out there for the crews and, but more so for the organisers. Having to stop stages when spectators are standing in dangerous places or even walking on the live stage is not very good and is one of the original reasons that the event was not selected for a number of seasons after the 2017 event.

They will not want that to continue during the Saturday’s stages which will see the crews tackle 124km’s over seven stages.

The championship moved to the next round and a return to Polish roads for the first time since 2017. On that occasion Thierry was victorious from former teammate Hayden and Seb Ogier was third, that being the first year the Frenchman was driving at M-Sport Ford.

The rally has still been run as part of the European championship in the seasons between the last WRC round and this year.

The big news to report on before we talk about the stages and hear from the drivers is that during recce earlier this week Seb and co-driver Vincent were involved in a road crash with a normal vehicle and as a result, they are not going to take part. Instead Kalle and Jonne have been allowed to take their place and will drive the rally for Toyota.

Let’s hear from the drivers then and take a look at the stages.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Poland is an event that I really enjoy. As a fast gravel rally with some prominent jumps and crests, the stages can be really exciting, and we can have a lot of fun. We need to make sure that we have the right setup and good pace notes from the start, as we haven’t done any testing on Polish roads. In terms of setup, we need a lot of grip and traction, but I don’t think it will be hugely different to other gravel rallies we have competed in this season. Starting first could be a huge advantage or disadvantage depending on how much cleaning of the road we will be doing, but we will have to see when we get there. We expect to be consistent and fast to bring home some decent points for all three championships.”

Ott Tänak

“My memories of Poland are great – it’s a rally that I have enjoyed a lot. It has very fast, demanding roads that can change massively depending on the weather, but I am really looking forward to it. I really like the profile of this event, and it’s similar to where I learnt to drive in Estonia. I was really close to winning my first ever rally in Poland, but it didn’t happen. Since then, I have finished on the podium a few times, so I know I can perform well but still have some room for improvement. Hopefully we can find a good feeling in the car to give us the amount of confidence needed to push across the whole weekend.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I am very excited to be back with the team in Poland after their recent success in both Portugal and Sardinia. Rally Poland is a super-fast event with a sandy surface, so you can make the most of the ruts in a stable and fast car like ours. I haven’t driven the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 competitively on gravel yet, but with two days in the car before the event I am hoping to find the right setup for the weekend there so I can be ready to take my fight to the front of the field. Road position is also crucial at this event and very dependent on the weather, so it will play a major part in my weekend. I am hoping to be fighting for the important positions throughout the weekend. I have had two podiums and a win here and I would like to replicate these good results once again.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“After a difficult couple of rallies for us, we’re definitely hoping to find better form on these faster rallies coming up. Even though they’re quite similar in character, they will each have their own challenges. The overriding memory of Rally Poland from the past is that it’s a pretty fast rally: it will definitely be a change of pace from the last event in Sardinia. It’s also a rally where the roads tended to deteriorate quite a lot, so the second pass can pose a challenge. There will be sections that we’ve driven in the past, but the pacenotes we have been quite old, so in that way it’s more like a new rally and probably quite a busy recce making fresh notes.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m excited to go to Rally Poland for the first time. My pre-event test last week was my first taste of Polish gravel roads, but everything went well. The stages look to be a bit similar to Estonia: very high speed and with a bit of a soft surface in sections. It’s going to be a big challenge, but I like this kind of fast rally, so I’m really looking forward to it. I obviously don’t have old pacenotes, but I can watch some onboards from previous years to prepare. Drivers who were there when Poland was last in the calendar will maybe have an advantage, but I just need to try to do my best. I hope to get a good feeling and solid result, ready to push in Latvia and Finland where my targets will be higher.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“It will be my first time competing in Poland next week, but it will be the first fast gravel event of three, so I want to build on this one to improve our pace for the next two. We plan to get a good result, and to forget what happened in Sardinia. We’ve been working with the team so we can start to meet expectations again and hopefully get back on the podium soon. We’re going to do our best; the only thing I know from this rally is that its quite fast and quite sandy! So there will be a lot of learning, but we can use our experience to support us and see what we can achieve.”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m looking forward to taking on the next three fast gravel events coming up. We had a good pre-event test in Estonia last week, being able to drive the Puma at such high speeds is just unbelievable. It’s really the best way to experience the car, so I can’t wait to start! Poland is going to be important because the set-up we establish there is going to be the base for the next two rallies. The surface in Poland can be a bit softer and there can be some rutting, which we didn’t see on the test, so that will be an interesting discovery.

“I’m happy to be experiencing a new event, this time we will be a bit more on the same level with the other crews in terms of stage knowledge, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out!”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“I’m really excited to be back competing in Poland! We have some great memories here, especially after winning the ERC round last year! For sure this year is a completely different game, this will be our first event in a Rally1 car. The testing we did last week was something incredible, and a completely different experience to anything I’ve done before! The car reacts so quickly, and how fast it goes round corners is just so unique and indescribable to anyone who hasn’t driven the car.

“It will be a big challenge to get up to speed, but this is the goal for Poland. We will be driving non-hybrid to get use to the aerodynamics of the car, get to know the team and to get more and more ready to be in good shape for Latvia. The goal is to get the mileage, finish the rally and learn as much as we can.”

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“Competing at home is always something really nice and winning Royal Rally was very cool, but there was another part to this plan – and that was to get the head into the right place for the fast gravel. It’s quite a different rhythm, car set-up and, of course, feeling in the car when you come to events like Poland from rallies like Portugal or Sardinia.

“I feel like we’re really in a good shape now after the win. The feeling, especially on the second day in Sweden, was really strong with the car. We know the roads are a little bit different in Poland, they can be softer, sandier and with more ruts on the second pass, but still to be going through the forests and the countryside flat-out is the same.

“I never drove this rally before, but I think everybody knows how incredible the stages can be, Thursday night’s super special is really well known and will be very cool to drive for the first time. I’m also looking forward to the fans and the atmosphere – this is another big aspect of this rally.

“For a result, I think you know me well enough now to know the approach for this season is to push for the wins, but to also have a big eye on the title. Going off the road in Portugal was tough and then not starting in Sardinia – even though we weren’t scoring points – was not so ideal. Winning Royal Rally of Scandinavia was a good reset and it’s given me and Elliott [Edmondson] good confidence going into the second half of this year’s WRC2 series.”

Let’s take a look at the stages.

Rally Poland commences on Thursday morning with Shakedown, followed by SSS1 Mikołajki Arena (2.50km) in the evening.

Friday’s itinerary features two loops of Stańczyki (SS2/5, 29.40km), Wieliczki (SS3/6, 12.90km) and Olecko (SS4/7, 13.20km) before closing with another run of Mikołajki Arena (SSS8, 2.50km).

Saturday has the longest competitive distance of 124.10km across seven stages: Świętajno (SS9/13, 18.50km), Gołdap (SS10/14, 19.90km), Czarne (SS11/15, 22.40km) and SSS12 Mikołajki Arena 3 (2.50km).

Sunday concludes the weekend with four stages, including the Power Stage: SS19 Mikołajki 2 (10.73km).

Summary

It is great to have this round back on the calendar and it will be very interesting to how the weekend’s stages deliver the standings at the end of each day and how each crew deal with the challenge of each stage.

Any of the top regular crews could stand on the podium and it will be the crew that is the fastest that keeps out of trouble who wins.

Enjoy!

We’re really getting into the mid-part of this season’s championship and the top two crews will continue to fight for the points which they hope will take them to their first drivers and co-drivers’ championship’s.

The crews will face 266km’s over sixteen stages with the longest day being Saturday with 149km’s over eight stages. In another unusual move is that Friday’s action does not start till the afternoon with the first stage at UK time due to get underway at around half past two. Shakedown starts at just after 8am UK time on Friday as well, giving the event quite a different feel along with no service on any of the days.

Let’s hear from the crews.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Italia Sardegna is a very technical rally, so we need to have a faultless drive across the weekend. We need really accurate pacenotes and a good setup; the difference in stages between the first and second pass can be huge, so we need to be able to adapt the car to those changes as well. The heat, tyre wear and length of the days are some of the biggest challenges we face throughout the event. This paired with the little amount of sleep we get due to long road sections makes it a unique challenge. Our approach to the weekend is the same as usual: we will be pushing for the best possible result considering the conditions, car and other important factors that can influence a rally. There’s no pre-event test and shakedown is not representative at all of the remainder of the rally, so that will be the biggest obstacle for us. However, we will work to overcome this and bring home the best result possible.”

Ott Tänak

“I would say we had a good and solid weekend in Portugal, so we want to build on that and it’s a bit easier now that we have more pace. Sardinia has some big challenges; it can be very slippery and hard to get the necessary amount of grip. That paired with the very hot temperatures makes everything much more of a challenge. Running the same tyres over the first and second loop makes it harder to put a strong package together, so we need a lot of traction from the setup, especially when we start early on the road. It’s an event where rallying is a lot more interesting, and I always prefer that. We were very close to the win in Portugal before the puncture ruined it, so our plan is to do better this time in Sardinia.”

Dani Sordo

“Sardinia is a very similar surface to Portugal, but a bit more slippery in places. Portugal gave me good preparation for the event; I completed some good gravel kilometres at the last round. This year’s event is a lot more condensed, so we need a really fast start to get us the best possible road position for Saturday onwards. It’s an event where road position is really important, so we will see what we can do to optimise that. We need a lot of precision in the car because some passes are really narrow, meaning even more grip is needed to get the car through each pass safely. The target is definitely to finish on the podium, but it would be really nice to go one step further and fight for the victory.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“For us, Portugal was a difficult weekend, but it’s still quite early in the season and we just have to aim for some stronger rallies ahead. Every rally is important, and we need to try and make the most of the opportunity in Sardinia. We definitely made some progress with the feeling in the car in Portugal and we’re working with the team to try and come up with some further improvements for Sardinia, even though it’s difficult with the limited testing we have. It’s quite a similar rally to Portugal in some ways and maybe trickier in others, but I’m sure we can turn things around and make it a better weekend.”

Sébastien Ogier

“We have been on a good run recently with our wins in Croatia and Portugal and we would of course like to try and carry on like this – so the target for Sardinia has to be to continue the sequence if we can. I think we are in a good position: we had a good test there recently, and in Portugal when the surface was sandier and more like Sardinia the car was working well, so hopefully that can be the case there as well. It’s always a difficult challenge with long stages and the need for tyre management, but it’s a rally that I learned to love and to master over my career and I hope we can have another successful trip there.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“My result in Portugal was not what I wanted but I had a good feeling with the car during the weekend and I hope we can take that feeling into the next rally in Sardinia. The gravel and the surface on this rally are a bit different, so there are some things that we need to adjust, but we had a good test in Sardinia recently and I know that the engineers and the whole team are working hard to be stronger there. Usually, I don’t feel as confident on this event with the more slippery surface, but our starting position should be good for Friday, and I will try to find confidence from the beginning.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“Sardinia is one of the rallies I have the most experience; we know it’s a rough event, a bit smaller in mileage than previous years, but we know the competition will be very high. It’s going to be like a sprint rally, and we will do our best to get the best result as possible. We are now fourth in the championship, and we want to be back in the podium places.

“Sardinia is a small island, it’s really rough and normally a really warm event. There’s a lot of rocks when you’re going through the second pass of the stages, so it’s going to be quite tough on the car, the mechanics, and the crews so its going to be an interesting rally to follow. There are some beautiful landscapes to enjoy, so let’s have some fun!”

Grégoire Munster

“We’re really looking forward to Rally Sardegna. We know from previous years that the weather can be tricky; we went from extreme rainy conditions to sunny and hot weather last year, so we will have to see what it is like this time. For this year, the itinerary is similar to 2022 with the rally based in Alghero, so we’re lacking a bit of experience there but we’re hoping to carry some momentum and lessons from Portugal to Sardinia. We’re looking forward to continuing our learning curve!”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“Sardinia is a tough rally,” said Oliver. “We were leading [WRC2] last year when we had our suspension problem. I have to say, it’s one I don’t have so much experience of, so it’s good to go there without quite the same stress of driving for the points.

“All around, this is a hard rally. The weather is usually hot which gives the car and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and I quite a big work out.

“It’s important for us to get back out and competing again. Like you can imagine, Portugal was disappointing. It’s always so frustrating to crash, but it’s even worse when your opposition hits trouble too. We know that could have been a good score for us, but OK. That’s done. We only look forward and we look to make a good, positive story from Italy.

“It’s always really nice to go to Italy. We did events like Monza, Sanremo, Alba before and it’s always the same – there’s so much passion for the sport in Italy. I love it!”

William Creighton

“Sardinia has got a lot of similarities to Rally Portugal, it’s more technical but it has got the same challenge of rough stages and trying to manage the tyres. There are things that I want to improve on after Portugal so it’s nice to be heading to a similar rally to continue building experience in WRC2 category and the Fiesta Rally2.”

Summary

We are set then for a really quick rally, but how much jeopardy will the lack of any service on any of the days throughout the weekend play into the round and ultimately decide the final standings.

Elfyn and Scott will want to outscore Thierry and Martijn after the Belgian paring increased their championship lead last time out.

Who could win this weekend then? Well, it’s hard to look past two parings with Ott and Martin and Seb and Vincent both benefitting from good road positions.

Enjoy the rally!

The final day of round five for this season’s championship. Two Toyota’s returned to the startlist with Kalle and Takamoto rejoining following their problems on Saturday. The double world champion would open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS19 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 – 19.91 km and the fog had descended overnight causing a huge lack of visibility on the stage. Seb was fastest from Thierry and Ott, meaning that the Frenchman was opening up his lead a little bit more. There was a change further back in the positions with Adrien passing Dani for fourth position. In WRC2, Sami was fastest from Josh and Jan and the Irishman supported by Motorsport Ireland had reduced the gap to the category leader to just three seconds.

Into SS20 Fafe 1 – 11.18 km the stage which had a huge amount of fog throughout the stage and would be the power stage later and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Seb. Kalle was saving tyres for the power stage later and would set the 11^th best time in amongst the WRC2 leaders. In WRC2, Sami was fastest from Josh and Jan who dropped behind Josh, the gap just one tenth of a second between first and second place.

Time then for the penultimate stage, SS21 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 – 19.91 km and Ott set the pace from Thierry and Adrien. The Estonian took a few seconds out of Seb, but it was clear that the Frenchman was managing the gap by keeping a good, controlled pace. In WRC2 Jan was fastest from Yohan whilst Josh who was having problems with understeer in his Skoda fell behind the Spaniard into second position.

Time then for the final stage, SS22 Fafe 2[Power Stage] – 11.18 km and although Kalle was first into the stage a number of crews could not beat his time, until Thierry and then Ott came through pushing hard with the result that Thierry won the stage from Ott, Kalle third, Seb fourth and Takamoto fifth.

Seb won the rally from Ott in second and Thierry came in third. In WRC2, Jan Solans took victory with Josh taking second position and Lauri was third. Each crew in WRC2 took their best ever result in the category and this was also the first win in the category for the Yaris Rally2.

Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally de Portugal

1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3:41.32.3 2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +7.9 3 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:09.8 4 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:47.8 5 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:48.9 6 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +6:36.0 7 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Citroën C3 +11:48.4 8 J. Solans R. Sanjuan Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +11:52.9 9 J. McErlean J. Fulton Škoda Fabia RS +11:56.1 10 L. Joona J. Hussi Škoda Fabia RS +13:40.3

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“To take another win feels great. It’s nice to achieve some more cool numbers and I have to enjoy and cherish these moments. I had nothing against being tied on five wins for a few years with Markku Alén because for me he’s a legend and I have huge respect for him, but I’ve been asked many times when I was going to take the record and now finally it happened. It was another intense fight for everyone to follow and for us in the car there was no moment to relax. I think the way we managed everything was close to perfect: we could always stay in contention for the win without taking maximum risk when it didn’t feel 100 per cent.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“A big thank you to the team for fixing the car after the disappointment of yesterday, and sorry to them for losing such important points. It was nice to be back out today, but it was not easy, cleaning the road was even tougher than we expected. On the Power Stage we really tried our best, I thought it was a good drive and a clean run, but the road was cleaning so much that the guys behind came a bit faster. Still, we got a few points so we did what we could to help the team. It was not the weekend we wanted but we will come back stronger.”

Elfyn Evans

“This morning things were going a bit better than yesterday, but in the third stage we had a rock impact on the underside of the car that damaged the radiator. After that we had to get the car through in EV mode, and we managed to make a repair to get to the finish but unfortunately, we didn’t get any extra points from the day. We definitely found a better feeling in the car but there are still a couple of areas to work on. At least we have some answers from the weekend. We’ll try to turn things around and have a stronger rally in Sardinia.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Of course, it’s quite disappointing still that we retired yesterday because we could have had a much better result. But I had a very good feeling with the car here, it felt really good until that moment yesterday. Today was not so easy because we were without hybrid for some stages and the road position wasn’t good for us, but it was nice to at least get some points. I tried to keep pushing every stage as much as I can and learned a lot. There are some positives to take and now I focus on Sardinia, try to prepare well and keep pushing.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“The outcome is not too bad, it was just very unfortunate to pick up the slow puncture, but otherwise I would say very positive. Without the puncture, I think I could have gone for the win. On Friday I was struggling the most, but after I was slowly getting used to the car and that let me find a good rhythm. On Saturday the stages were very different, and overnight I was able to understand what I needed to do differently from Friday to make the most of the car. We are not far away from being in a place where I feel confident controlling the car, but it’s still a bit difficult to make the car match my driving style. I am looking forward to Sardinia, it’s a rally I usually enjoy and I’m hoping to take my performance one step further.”

Thierry Neuville

“It’s been a great Super Sunday for us once again after another positive day on Friday. A very challenging and difficult weekend but we finished with the result we needed, plus another five points in the Power Stage. We’ve increased the lead in the championship for us by 24 points, which is a strong lead to have before Sardinia where another challenging weekend is waiting for us. We want to continue to push and be consistent in the car; it wasn’t the greatest Saturday, but Friday and Sunday were really good, and the pace was right in the Power Stage, so that was promising. We will come back and fight for important points in Sardinia.”

Dani Sordo

“Today was a little bit difficult with the conditions we had in the morning, but the first two days were really promising. Of course, I’m happy to get to the end of the day with some really good points, and for my first weekend back with the team I think we have still managed to help them get back to the top of the manufacturers’ championship. It was a good gravel rally to start with, one that I know well, and it’s a good one to enter before Sardinia. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do back in the car at the next event, and I want to thank the team again for helping me finish the weekend in the top five.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“I think we can be really happy, because it wasn’t so easy to be third on the road on the opening days! I think we have shown really good pace considering that, keeping close to the leaders and fighting today [Sunday] with the top guys who are fighting for the victory. It’s been a fantastic rally, a really good atmosphere with all the fans watching, it’s really nice. The car has been perfect, no issues at all and we’re pleased with our performance. It gives us confidence for the next rally in Sardinia.”

William Creighton

“It’s always a tricky weekend, we’ll have to come back again to get a full, clean Portugal rally. If you do that here, it gets you a good result. The stages weren’t as rough this year as previously, and that made Friday really enjoyable. After Friday, I think the stages were quite different, a lot more sand, and we struggled to get a nice feeling.

“But we’ve made good steps today [Sunday], we’re always learning, and we’ve got to keep working to improve. Sardinia is very like Portugal, so it’s a good practice for that. Thank you to everyone at M-Sport and the MI Rally Academy for keeping me and Liam right.”

Grégoire Munster

“Rally Portugal didn’t end well for us, we got hooked up in a cut and landed stuck on a ditch by the sump guard, and unfortunately, we couldn’t continue. All in all, we learned plenty during this rally. By opening the road on Saturday, we had to do a lot of cleaning; it wasn’t easy, but it was good learning for us. We also saw our times improve throughout the weekend on the second passes, on a rally that was basically new for us, we felt this was good practice and we had a good feeling in the car. We will carry the experience on to Sardinia in a couple of weeks.”

 

Summary

Well, what an amazing rally and what a victory for Seb, their second of the year and also in a row. It was also a record breaking sixth win for the Frenchman, moving him ahead of Markku Alén who won this rally five times.

It was a good rally for Ott who showed good pace, fighting for victory and taking a good points haul. It bodes well for the upcoming rallies.

Thierry made mistakes, but came through and took third place, increasing his championship lead over Elfyn.

 

Next rally is Rally Italia Sardinia, taking place from the 31^st of May to the 2^nd of June.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round five

1 T. Neuville 110 2 E. Evans 86 3 O. Tänak 79 4 A. Fourmaux 71 5 S. Ogier 70 6 T. Katsuta 49 7 K. Rovanpera 36 8 E. Lappi 23 9 A. Mikkelsen 14 10 O. Solberg 12

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round five

1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 219 2 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 215 3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 110

The second full day of this event would see the crews tackle 145km’s over nine stages. Gregoire Munster would open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS10 Felgueiras 1 – 8.81 km and Kalle was fastest from Ott and Thierry. The Estonian’s pace moved him into third place with Takamoto dropping behind from the podium. In WRC2, Sami found some good pace, winning the stage from Josh and Oliver. The Swede continued to lead the category from Yohan and Gus whilst Josh climbed the leaderboard into fourth place pushing Jan down to fifth in the category.

The was a twist in the tail in the following stage, SS11 Montim 1 – 8.69 km, a tricky stage for some. Elfyn, Thierry and Takamoto all had spins in the stage showing how tricky it was. Seb set the pace from Ott and Adrien, but it was happened after the Frenchman had finished the stage. Coming last on the road before the WRC2 crews, Kalle lost the rear of his Yaris and although he caught it the car hit the side of the road spinning and ending up on its side and with the underside against a tree. Next car through was Oliver and incredibly he also lost control of his car at the next corner, spinning and rolling his Fabia. In the space of just a few minutes both category leaders were out for the rest of the day. Kris Meeke set the pace in the WRC2 category from Sami and Jan.

Next up was the longest stage of the rally, SS12 Amarante 1 – 37.24 km, a really amazing stage with different road surfaces, some tarmac and cobbled road sections between the gravel sections. Ott was fastest from Seb and Dani and the Estonians time took him past Seb and into the lead, but just two tenths of a second separated them. In WRC2 Yohan was quickest from Gus and Sami and the Frenchman continued to lead the category.

Into SS13 Paredes 1 – 16.09 km and there was yet another stage win for Seb, from Adrien and Thierry. The Frenchman moved back into the lead as Ott was only sixth fastest in the stage. In WRC2 Josh was fastest from Jan and Georg and Yohan who had been leading suffered a puncture and fell from the lead to fourth place, now a minute and a quarter from the new category leader Gus with Josh up to second overall and Jan holding third.

Following service, the second run of SS14 Felgueiras 2 – 8.81 km saw Ott set the fastest time from Thierry and Dani. Seb was fourth in the stage and saw his lead trimmed by 3.2 seconds. However, the drama happened in WRC2 with Gus going wide and getting beached on the edge of the road. He was out sadly even though the car was not damaged. They could not get the car to move. Sami was fastest from Yohan and Georg. Meanwhile we had a new leader again in the category as Josh moved into the lead from Jan and Yohan.

Onwards to SS15 Montim 2 – 8.69 km and Ott was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. Seb continued to lead, showing the right level of pace to manage the gap to Ott, especially after what happened to Kalle earlier. It was another stage win in WRC2 for Sami from Yohan and Josh. The Irishman whose co-driver is James Fulton was still leading the category by 9.3 seconds with a charging Yohan now 22.5 back from the leader.

Just three stages remained and first of these was the run of SS16 Amarante 2 – 37.24 km. Ott as usual set the pace before Seb came through and went 4.1 seconds faster and Adrien was third. The Frenchman in his Puma was having an excellent rally. Meanwhile in the Hyundai camp, Dani was actually faster than Thierry and now just 1.5 seconds separated the pair and a possible third position for the Spaniard. In WRC2 Josh saw his lead trimmed to just 1.3 seconds as he saw Jan go a full eight seconds faster. Top three fastest times in the category were set by Sami, Jan and Kris.

The final proper stage of the day then, SS17 Paredes 2 – 16.09 km and the top three times were set by Seb, Thierry and Adrien. There was drama for Kris in WRC2, as he rolled his Hyundai out of the rally. Such a shame for the former winner of this event. There was a change in the lead again in WRC2, as Jan passed Josh. They were both being closed down by a charging Yohan though in his Citroen.

The short run of SS18 SSS Lousada – 3.36 km, the spectator special was taken by Adrien, with Ott and Thierry going second and third. There were no changes in either category for position.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3:01.55.8 2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +11.9 3 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:11.4 4 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:25.6 5 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:32.9 6 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +3:23.8 7 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Citroën C3 +9:25.5 8 J. Solans R. Sanjuan Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +9:35.2 9 J. McErlean J. Fulton Škoda Fabia RS +9:43.2 10 Y. Rossel A. Dunand Citroën C3 +9:46.8

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a good day for us. It was a tricky one: we didn’t expect so many things to happen this morning, and unfortunately for our team we lost two cars. But I was happy with my consistency and I was able to push in some key moments to make a bit of a difference. This afternoon was very demanding. In the first two stages I lost a bit of ground but I planned to push on Amarante and luckily it worked well for us and we managed to create a bit more of a gap again. Now we have to finish the job tomorrow: the gap is not enough for us to relax. There are still a lot of kilometres and some new sections.”

Elfyn Evans

“Today was always going to be difficult with our road position. It was tricky to make up any places on pace alone, so we were mainly trying to learn and find a better feeling with the car, playing with a few things in the setup and trying to put something better together for tomorrow. Some things were improved, some things not so much and we were still struggling with the balance. Our road position should at least be a bit better tomorrow so there’s an opportunity there and we need to try our best.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“This morning started well. We definitely had a better feeling today with the car setup and could do a good time in the first stage. But then in the second one I just missed my braking point in a fairly straightforward place, and we went off. There was a bit of confusion with the pacenote in the previous corner and I was maybe still thinking about that and missed the braking, point. But it was my mistake in the end and it’s a big disappointment – especially when we started strongly, and I think it could have been a good day for us. Now we’ll try to do our best for the team tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today’s stages were a bit more sandy like we expected. Still, the car was working well, and it was very nice to drive. I tried to manage the pace in the first two stages but was not really in a good rhythm. Then in the third stage I pushed from the beginning, I felt very good and like everything was under control. But in one place I slightly lost the line and went a bit wide and hit the bank on the outside. Right now, it’s very disappointing because I had the pace, it was looking good, and I still had room to push more. It’s hard to accept but this is rallying, so I just need to understand what I did wrong and then move on. We still have tomorrow, and we will keep pushing.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“Altogether it was a solid day. The car in the afternoon was working quite well for us, not too bad in the ruts, but the long stage didn’t quite work out and it was difficult to go smoothly so we couldn’t build as good of a run as we wanted. Aside from that, it was quite a good day. Tomorrow’s new stage will make our job a bit trickier; because it’s narrow and slow, the characteristics are very unusual for Portugal. It’s a different game tomorrow but it’s still going to be super tight. We need to gain as many points as possible, so let’s see how the conditions and road position help us as well.”

Thierry Neuville

“We are happy being in third place overnight – if someone had told us we would be here yesterday we wouldn’t have believed them. Today was both challenging and long, and not necessarily the best day for us, but nonetheless we are happy to be taking this many points home. Tomorrow we need to be to be on top of our game; we will push over all four stages and see what happens. We have the advantage of a good road position and there are still good points on offer, but we know the competition is still strong so we will work hard to make the most of it.”

Dani Sordo

“It was up and down today; in some stages I was feeling confident, in others less so. The first few stages in the morning were great for me, so it was a clear opportunity to take home some good points. At the end of the day, we are in fourth place, and I want to say a big thanks to the team for helping us get there. Making sure I could help get them as many points as possible was an important part of my Saturday. I will get back together with the team to work out tomorrow’s plans, we want to maximise our takings from the new points system but overall, I am feeling confident for a good final day.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“We had a very good feeling in the car on the opening stage of the day, setting a third fastest time after the team did a fantastic job resolving the issues from yesterday.

“During SS11, we came across Kalle [Rovanperä] and Jonne [Halttunen] off the road and I became distracted, missing the next note. We ran off [the] line and clipped the bank on the outside of the next corner, where we rolled the car.

 

“Elliott and I are completely fine, but due to the condition of the car we have decided that we will not continue tomorrow (Sunday).”

 

Summary

One final day beckons for the crews and with 62km’s over just four stages, will there be one final twist in the rally?

The championship moves onto the fifth round and there are just six points separating the top two crews from Hyundai and Toyota.

Interestingly Toyota have four cars entered for this round with their two world champion crews joining Elfyn and Takamoto in the entry list. At Hyundai, Dani and his co-driver Candido join the two regular crews for their first round this year. M-Sport have their usual crews and Adrien will hope that he can continue to target good results and will be third on the road throughout Friday.

The crews have 337km’s over 22 stages with the longest day being Saturday at 145km’s. Let’s hear from the drivers.

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Success in Portugal comes down to the same factors as always. We need consistency, a good setup and confidence in the car. Road conditions and position will also make a huge difference to how we perform: whenever it’s raining we will be fast, when it’s dry we will struggle more because everyone knows the stages well. I was happy with the car in the pre-event test, and we focussed on a setup that would bring me the necessary confidence to push in very slippery conditions. This more precise car is needed for all the corner combinations, but I still need some of the traction we focussed on in Kenya. My goals are to optimise our performance on Friday and Saturday before pushing on Sunday for maximum points, I would love to finish on the top step of the podium.”

Ott Tänak

“After Croatia, it’s great to go back to a rougher surface. Portugal is really enjoyable – it’s an event I am looking forward to. It’s a fast rally with high speeds and usually smooth on the first run and very rough on the second. During this part of the season, it starts to get warmer, and Portugal is one of the first rallies where it can get quite challenging for the car and the tyres. The contrast from the first to the second loop is noticeable because of how the soft roads can become so rutted. We have already done the pre-event test and there is definitely still work to do, but I am really looking forward to pushing hard.”

Dani Sordo

“I’m really excited to be back in the car, especially in Portugal. It’s always a special rally for everyone – both drivers and spectators. It is a unique challenge for the car because of the temperatures and profile of the stages, so getting the right setup is key to doing well in Portugal. We worked a lot on the pre-event test to try and perfect this so we can push hard next weekend. It will be interesting with a lot of the part-time field being so competitive this season, and with road position being another important factor in going well on this kind of gravel, there will be a huge push across a cleaner line at the back of the order. The ultimate goal in my mind is to win, but I am hoping to claim as many points as possible from the weekend for the team.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We’re into a busy part of the season now with rallies coming thick and fast, and our focus moves back to gravel for the next events. Portugal can be quite a nice rally with some fast and flowing sections, but recently it’s also become more of a challenge in terms of how rough the roads can get, especially in some of the classic stages further south that we drive on Friday. Like always on gravel, road position could be a factor but it’s also a rally that can really depend on the weather. We just have to focus on doing the best job we can with the conditions we have and try to take the maximum from the weekend.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m looking forward to these next rallies on gravel and I’m confident that they can be good events for me. Portugal especially is a rally that I like, and I know the stages pretty well, and our car should work well there. There are some famous stages like Fafe with many jumps, and some stages that are very rough with a lot of rocks, especially on Friday. But if it’s going well, I will try to push as much as I can. As I’m not registered to score points for the team on this event, I have no pressure on that side, and I can just focus on driving fast and trying to do my best.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m excited to be returning to Portugal after a year away. It’s a country that I have a lot of good memories of, maybe a bit more from when the rally was in the south rather than the north. Still, the atmosphere is always great there and I look forward to that. It’s a rally where normally we should not be at a disadvantage with our road position, and maybe it can even benefit us a bit – but it’s too early to say for certain because there can also be heavy rain there sometimes. It will be my first time competing on gravel for a while, but we had a good test last week and I’m looking forward to the rally.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“I’m really looking forward to Portugal. It’s a rally that I really like. There’s a lot of fans and a great atmosphere, and the stages have very nice characteristics. They seem to suit me quite well: we’ve had some really nice success there in the last two years. Of course, our aim will be to try and win again this year, but it’s never easy. All of the top drivers know the stages quite well, so the pace is usually pretty high, and it can be quite a close fight there. Maybe our road position could help us, but we will have to see what the weather does, because rain can really change things quite a bit.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“Rally Portugal is a really famous and spectacular rally! The roads are all in the middle of the mountains, so they’re really technical and we normally have very tough conditions where the temperatures are quite high. It’s really demanding for the cars and the crew.

“It’s going to be my fourth time in Portugal, I really like it as a rally, especially when you finish the Power Stage at Fafe and there are so many fans there watching. I’m looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere and hopefully achieving another good result.”

Grégoire Munster

“We had a good pre-event test, with two days of testing last week. Portugal will be a lot like Sardinia, a bit of a tricky one for us because we don’t have a lot of experience compared to our fellow competitors. Thanks to my great idea to roll the car on the first stage of the rally last year, it means we lack the knowledge of the stages, so we will try to grab a lot of experience in both Portugal and Sardinia to move forward into the second part of the season’s gravel rallies with confidence.”

William Creighton (WRC2)

“This will be my first gravel rally in the WRC with the Fiesta rally2, and I’m looking forward to it after our podium on BRC’s Severn Valley stages. Rally Portugal is always enjoyable with a good atmosphere but it’s a big challenge; Friday will be difficult with extremely rough stages and no service. It looks like it’s going to be a warm rally too, so it’ll be a proper challenge for the me, Liam and the car!”

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“Honestly, this event is one of the best. Everything about Portugal is special. The history, the people, the stages, they’re all so cool. It’s a fantastic place to come and drive a rally car.

“It’s been a while since I was in the car for Safari (March 28-31), but I’ve been doing plenty of training out in the buggies and flat out on the quadbikes since then. We will have a test before the rally, but I think we have a fairly good idea of what to expect from this one. The weather can sometimes be quite interesting – we’re a long way to the west in Europe and near to the coast, so rain can come quickly.

“I would like the rain! Especially on the first day. We’re going to be running further up on the road and if it stays dry, the grip is going to get better and better for our competitors running behind us on the road. If it’s wet, we have a small advantage – or certainly no disadvantage!

“The competition will be strong this year, maybe even the strongest across the whole season. There will be a lot of very, very good drivers out there and some of them in new cars. It’s going to be interesting to see how this one goes. I think we have the speed we need to win and I think we have a good chance – we’re joint leaders of the championship, so we know a win would be good enough to give us a bigger lead. That’s what we’re aiming for.

“And this year, no donuts…”

Summary

We are set for a great rally and possibly a new championship leader at the end of the event. With Thierry opening the road, it is hard to see him finishing on the podium. With that in mind as long as Elfyn can finish more than six points ahead, we could see the change at the top. The variable however comes with the points system and its effect on the championship standings so far.

Who can win this rally then? Well, either Kalle or Seb could take victory for Toyota, but if their teammate Elfyn can stay close to the top three by the end of Friday, perhaps he could figure in the fight as well? Ott and Dani though will want to spoil the hopes of Toyota and with a good road position for both of them, they could be in the mix as well. Finally, Adrien, who is third still in the championship standings could also be in the mix for the podium.

In WRC2 I suspect there will be an almighty battle between Gus, Oliver, Nikolay, Yohan, Sami and Teemu for the podium positions and the top step. William will be making his debut on gravel in the Fiesta Rally2 and will hope that he can learn a lot to take to future events for M-Sport.

The action gets underway with shakedown on Thursday morning at 8am UK time, before the first stage at 7pm the same evening.

Enjoy!

The final day then and with 54.78km’s over four stages would we see a straightforward drive to the finish, or perhaps we would have some drama instead!? Gregoire would open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS17 Trakošćan – Vrbno 1 – 13.15 km and Takamoto started really well, winning the stage from Adrien and Elfyn. Thierry was fifth fastest and this meant that Elfyn had closed the gap to the Belgian to just 2.6 seconds. It was game on for the win. In WRC2, the top three remained Nikolay, Yohan and Pepe both in the stage and on course for the WRC2 podium.

The following stage, SS18 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 – 14.24 km, though had huge drama though and being the first run of what would be the power stage this would be significant! First of all, Adrien clipped a anti-cut device and broke his steering arm. He drove across the bridge and pulled off at the side of the road. Once the steering arm was replaced he completed the stage. There was fifteen minutes lost which is quite amazing really. Then Elfyn also had a spin, collecting a tree branch on the way and lost 19.6 seconds. Then Thierry came through and also went off the road, quite badly damaging his car. He lost 23.3 seconds and fell to third behind Seb and Elfyn. Ott won the stage though from Takamoto and Seb. In WRC2 Yohan was fastest from Nikolay and Nicolas.

Time then for the penultimate stage and Takamoto was fastest from Elfyn and Ott. Seemed the drama was not over as Seb understeered off the road and went up a bank. The Frenchman completed the stage with the fourth fastest time, his lead now from Elfyn just 6.4 seconds.

Onto the final stage then SS20 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2[Power Stage] – 14.24 km and Adrien was super committed through the stage and his time was not overcome. The closest driver was Ott, who was 3.8 behind the Frenchman, Seb was third fastest, Takamoto fourth and Elfyn fifth.

Seb had won the rally from Elfyn and Thierry was third. In WRC2, Nikolay won the category from Yohan and Pepe.

Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Croatia Rally

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:40:23.6
2	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+9.7
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+45.8
4	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+58.6
5	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:55.5
6	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+4:01.0
7	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+5:11.0
8	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Citroën C3	+9:21.3
9	Y. Rossel	A. Dunand	Citroën C3	+9:59.5
10	S. Pajari	E. Mälkönen	Toyota GR Yaris	+10:22.7

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m very happy to take this victory. It’s been a tough weekend: we knew that coming here with our start position, but we pushed the whole weekend, we never gave up, and put the pressure on as much as we could. I think I never had so many moments in one rally, pushing the limits like this, but most importantly we brought it home with a win. One hundred podiums is a nice number and it’s great to reach it with a victory. I enjoy every opportunity I have to drive these cars and it’s nice to see we still have some speed. I’m super happy for the team, even if we can’t make so much difference in the points. It’s been a great team performance and let’s keep pushing like this.”

Elfyn Evans

“There’s a feeling of disappointment today. It started off pretty well in the first stage this morning, but we were too optimistic with our tyre choice and with the hard tyre it was a struggle in the second stage: this corner was quite full of mud and the rear came around. You’ve got to be in it to win it and it didn’t work out today. Still, the weekend was generally pretty good with a big fight the whole way through and second place at the end. It’s a great team result and nice to battle with Seb. It doesn’t feel like the team has been fully rewarded for that one-two in terms of points, but that’s how it is.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a good weekend for me as I was gaining more and more confidence throughout. Already on Saturday, some stages felt good, and I just tried to continue in the same way and I had an even better feeling in the car. I was a bit disappointed with the Power Stage where I was a bit too careful, but everything else went well today. We were fastest on Super Sunday and scored some good points for the team, which makes me very happy, and it was a good result for the team overall. Next time I want to be better from the start of the rally and then the result can be much better, but it’s been a good weekend overall.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“While we didn’t finish how we would have wanted; we have been well rewarded for our great drive on Friday and Saturday. Those are important points and despite not scoring many today, we were still the third-best performers – equal with Elfyn – and we only lost one point to Ott. SS18 was really tricky, and I tried my best to avoid an impact immediately hitting the brakes but there was nothing I could do. I am happy to still be in the lead and to retain the advantage, however Portugal is going to be tough for us from our road position.”

Ott Tänak

“It’s incredible to finish as the second highest-scoring crew. Our weekend was tough once again; we started from a very bad place, and I gave away some time in the beginning. We recovered a bit on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday we tried to experiment a bit ahead of today to try and help us maximise our road position, which was also tricky. We were always just a bit too far behind to get enough dirty road, so it was a constant challenge, but we managed to collect some good points. I’m hoping to have a better feeling on gravel from Portugal and be more competitive, as the target will be to start taking back some points.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I was expecting to be a bit closer to the front during this event, even though I knew I was going to struggle here. I haven’t done the rally in the last few years, so it was a struggle, especially as there is so much pace note information to take on. When I don’t know the stage by heart, it is hard to have the commitment you need to fight at the front, and the speed here is very high. I was missing confidence in the driving, but we were going in the right direction, but I was hoping for more.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“I’m just happy we had a trouble-free event! This can now launch our season, which didn’t start exactly how we wanted. It was a very demanding event, with difficult stages where you need full commitment. So, to finish the rally, we are really happy, and with the improvement in the gaps to the other crews from 1.5s/km on Friday to around 0.5s/km at the end of the weekend, it’s all heading in a good direction.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s been a good weekend for us. We’ve been fighting with Ott for the first two days, we were missing a bit of performance sometimes, and were trying things with the set-up. But we found something really good on Friday’s last stages. Then the rain was supposed to come so we had to change things, we had to make a guess based on the conditions, but once we went back to the set-up we had on Friday the car felt really good.

“We’ve been able to push a lot. We made one mistake, a small mistake with big consequences, which is a shame. But it’s like that, you have to be perfect everywhere here. We stayed on the road, but we hit a concrete pole [on SS18] so we just decided to fix it and push really hard on the Power Stage to score the points. We got the maximum points, which is great, my first Power Stage win, and this is really positive.”

William Creighton (WRC2)

“Overall, a tricky weekend with some drama on Friday night and today, but I guess that’s rally Croatia. The positive is that we showed good pace at points throughout the weekend and whilst we still have a lot of work to do, it’s promising with not so much experience in the Fiesta Rally2. A big thanks to everyone at M-Sport for looking after Liam and myself during a busy few weeks, and of course the support from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy who have supported me all the way.”

Summary

Well, what an astonishing rally! Seb and Vincent came through the drama of the final day to take victory. His teammate came in second place and with Thierry third and the Belgian was not allowed to increase his championship lead over Elfyn.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4

1	T. Neuville	86
2	E. Evans	80
3	A. Fourmaux	59
4	O. Tänak	53
5	S. Ogier	45
6	T. Katsuta	45
7	K. Rovanpera	31
8	E. Lappi	23
9	A. Mikkelsen	14
10	O. Solberg	12

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 4

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	176
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	169
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	96

 

 

The championship moves onto Portugal next month to be held from the 9^th to the 12^th of May.