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The second day of competitive action then and 150km’s over six stages. Opening the road would be Alberto Heller in his Puma Rally1.

Into SS7 Chivilingo 1 – 27.19 km and Kalle was fastest from Ott and Elfyn. The Welshman regained second overall, now 13.8 seconds behind Ott, and Teemu was now 8 tenths of a second behind Elfyn. Further back Kalle passed Thierry for fourth overall, the Belgian now 4.7 behind the championship leader. In WRC2 it was a good stage for Oliver despite a spin in the stage as he was fastest from Yohan and Jorge. Former category leader Sami had an issue with the dust though and was fourteenth fastest, 39.6 down on the Swede who now led the category from the Finn, a healthy 26.3 ahead. Also on the move was Gus who passed Nikolay.

Next up was SS8 Rio Lia 1 – 21.09 km and Ott took this one from Elfyn by 6.8 seconds and Thierry a further 6.8 behind. Teemu was now 11.5 behind Elfyn in their fight over second place. There was a change though between Thierry and Kalle, with the Belgian passing Kalle again back into fourth. In WRC2, Yohan was fastest from Gus and Emil. The top two overall were fifth and seventh in this one, Oliver pulling away a little from Sami.

The last stage before service, SS9 Maria de las Cruces 1 – 28.72 km and there was huge drama in this one. Where do I even start with this? The following crews all had rear tyre failures, Elfyn, Takamoto, Kalle and Alberto leading to huge time losses for them. Elfyn dropped two positions to fourth place. The Toyota team made a mistake in going with soft tyres leading to their cars dropping back. Teemu was now back into second place and Thierry up now and into third. It was such a dramatic stage that two WRC2 cars placed fourth and fifth fastest, with Nikolay and Yohan respectively taking those positions. Gus was third fastest in the category. Top three remained Oliver, Sami and Gus.

After lunch time and the service break next up was SS10 Chivilingo 2 – 27.19 km. Kalle was fastest from Elfyn and Thierry. The Welshman took a couple of seconds from the third placed Belgian. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Sami and Yohan. The Frenchman was having a much better day compared to Friday. Oliver was only eighth fastest and dropped out of the lead, now 2.5 seconds behind new leader Sami.

Next up was SS11 Rio Lia 2 – 21.09 km and Ott was quickest from Teemu and Elfyn. Thierry remained in third overall behind Teemu and Ott, but Elfyn had closed the gap a little to the Belgian. Yohan was fastest in WRC2 from Gus and Kajetan. Sami remained in the lead from Oliver and Gus whilst Yohan had now moved into fourth in the category as Emil and Nikolay dropped back.

The final stage then of the day then, SS12 Maria de las Cruces 2 – 28.72 km and would this stage deliver the huge drama that it did earlier in the day? Well, there was not the drama as earlier. Ott emerged fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The gap grew five seconds between Elfyn and Thierry. It was all change in WRC2 though. The top three fastest were Oliver, Gus and Kajetan. Meanwhile Oliver took the lead from Sami who dropped from first place to third, with Gus moving into second.

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

Classification after Day Two

1	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	2:36:16.2
2	T. Suninen	M. Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+58.3
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:12.2
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:22.9
5	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+2:02.2
6	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+4:07.2

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“Ah, we definitely had a good tyre choice, well not good, just better than the other guys. Hyundai was also quite good and covered for all the situations. Elfyn, Takamoto and Kalle, they were quite brave. Elfyn was still quite close to get it done, but just missed by ten kilometres. The tyre choice was just guesswork. We’d never done these stages and did not know how the stages would evolve.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Teemu Suninen

“It was a nice battle today; I think it was all about keeping the mind calm and focusing on all the different things and managing the tyres. We saw clearly if you attacked on the first stint you were losing time. Overall, I think it was a good day from us, but it was really tricky. The road surface is changing junction to junction, corner to corner, requiring constant management. In some sections you really had to use the tyres, or you would have been so much slower, which was intense. It would be great to finish second tomorrow; I think it would prove something from my side, but there is still one long day to go. It only counts afterwards when we finish the rally and the results come in, so we still have to keep focused.”

Thierry Neuville

“We were trying to do the job as best as we could today, but I think I did a little bit too much tyre management in the middle stage of the second loop. We got a little bit closer to second place, which was the target, but it was not a problem-free afternoon. We lost the hybrid between the first and second stage of the afternoon, and on the last one I lost all power and had to do a reset, so we were late leaving the start line. Unfortunately, that lost us a few seconds, but it is what it is. Tomorrow is going to be another challenge with two shorter stages, but we’re going to do the maximum we can. It is not going to be easy, as there is a high risk of fog, which could turn around the whole classification if it is really impactful.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“This morning we knew that tyre wear might be high, but we weren’t anticipating it to be quite as high as it was. The grip levels and temperatures are relatively low here, but the roads today were extremely hard and aggressive for the tyres. It was just a pity that we couldn’t see out the final five kilometres of the morning loop: it seems I went too quickly at the beginning of the stage even if it didn’t feel that way, and we dropped a lot of time. At least we could claw some back this afternoon and there’s still an opportunity to fight for the podium. Thierry still has a decent gap with not so many kilometres to come, but we will of course try our best.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Clearly, we were a bit too optimistic to take soft tyres this morning. Already at the end of the first stage it was quite clear that the tyre wear was much more than we had expected. In the afternoon it was still really difficult to manage even with the hard tyres on the car, but they were still in quite good condition for the last stage, where we lost some time in the dust behind another car. At least for the drivers’ championship it’s good for us to be only one place behind Elfyn at the moment, and we’ll see what we can do in the Power Stage tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today’s stages were totally different to yesterday and the surface was very, very abrasive. Already in the first kilometres of the first stage, I could feel so much grip and at this point I knew that I needed to save the tyres. The afternoon was easier for the tyre choice, but wear was still very high, and we had an issue with one tyre in the second stage. We lost a lot of time today, so now I just want to finish the rally with a good feeling, and I will of course try to push for some extra points on the Power Stage.”

Sunday

Well, with 54km’s over four stages on the final day, what would the final day hold for the teams and crews? The four stages are completely new to the crews. Can Ott and Martin hold on to take a popular victory for M-Sport, or will there be further drama out there? Can Elfyn and Scott pass Thierry and Martijn and take third place?

In WRC2 can Oliver and Elliott hold on for victory or will be see more drama and the top positions change again?

The first full day of action saw the crews tackle 112km’s over six stages. As championship leader, Kalle would open the road. What could the Finn do on the first day to stay close to those who would have an advantage further down the start list?

First up was SS1 Pulperia 1 – 19.77 km and Ott set the early pace from Teemu and Elfyn making a great start despite being second on the road. Just 4.9 seconds covered the top three. There was drama for Esapekka though. The Finn would roll out of the stage and that would be the end of his event as well. Meanwhile his teammates were doing better giving the Hyundai team something to cheer for. It was big crash for EP, but he and Janne were fine. In the WRC2 category the top three was Oliver, Sami and Nikolay, again the top three covered by just a little under 5 seconds.

Time for SS2 Rere 1 – 13.34 km and Elfyn continued his great start winning the stage from Kalle and Pierre-Louis. The Welshman jumped two places and into the lead, with Teemu now second, just a tenth from his former teammate and Ott dropped down to third, but just 1.8 seconds from the new leader. In WRC2 the top three was Sami, Gus and Oliver. Sami moved into the lead and Oliver dropped to second and Nikolay remained in third.

Into SS3 Rio Claro 1 – 23.32 km and it was another stage win for Elfyn from Ott and Teemu. The Welshman continued to hold the lead and in fact had opened the gap to Teemu. There was drama for Ott teammate though, with Pierre-Louis losing control and rolling out. The top three in WRC2 remained Sami, Oliver and Nikolay.

After the service break, Teemu won SS4 Pulperia 2 – 19.77 km from Ott and Thierry. The Finn jumped one place and into the lead as Ott moved into second overall, whilst Elfyn was now in third. Sami was continuing to set the pace in WRC2, winning the stage from Nikolay and Oliver. The Finn continued to hold the lead in the category as well.

Ott then took SS5 Rere 2 – 13.34 km from Thierry and Teemu, the result being the Estonia moved back into the lead from Teemu and Elfyn was still third. Once again, Sami was fastest from Oliver and Emil in WRC2.

Ott took SS6 Rio Claro 2 – 23.32 km from Teemu and Thierry. The Belgian’s pace brought him up into fourth overall, whilst Kalle suffered a spin in the stage. The top three remained Ott, Teemu and Elfyn. Sami also continued to lead WRC2 from Oliver and Nikolay.

Let’s check out the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	58:43.7
2	T. Suninen	M. Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+4.2
3	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+12.7
4	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+27.7
5	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+38.7
6	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+45.6
7	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+1:38.4

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“It’s been a quite consistent day and the afternoon loop was actually quite drama free, so clearly a lot about tyre management. I would say we did quite well. It was difficult to make the right choice on tyres and either tyre compound would have good, but I would say it played out quite well. The feeling in the car was quite consistent and I had a good rhythm in the stages.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Teemu Suninen

What a day! I think we did a good job, we were driving very well and pretty much on the limit the entire time, with a few moments here and there, but we are still here and in a really good position with just a few seconds between us and the lead. The car was really enjoyable to drive. I am happy with my performance. I think we managed some small issues well and didn’t lose too much time. I want to go for the win, but tomorrow is like a whole new rally. It is very different profile, and I am still learning the car in different conditions, how to manage the tyres – which will be really important tomorrow. There is a lot of new things, but I will try to keep pushing.”

Thierry Neuville

“Today has been a bit of a struggle. This morning whenever I tried to attack, I was almost going off, which is not the situation you want on such a challenging event. It was a bit better this afternoon, but road position is making a huge difference here. We are struggling on the loose gravel, the car just can’t get grip and slides around, but in the afternoon loop we were able to find some grip and it was much more drivable. It is good to have made a place and to have got ahead of Kalle, which was our target for a good road position for tomorrow, however there are still four cars behind us who are in a better place.”

Esapekka Lappi

“Both Janne and I are ok, which is the main thing, but unfortunately our roll cage is damaged, and we are unable to continue in Chile. I braked too late on the last corner of SS1 Pulperia 1 and to try and save the situation, I turned in a bit earlier. There was a gravel bank just in front of the concrete, and I think the front tyre dug into the gravel which caused us to roll. It had been a very challenging stage and I felt I was too safe, braking too early throughout; I just didn’t have the normal rhythm.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We had a really good morning, but it wasn’t easy. The grip levels were really low and today’s stages were particularly technical. It was very fast in places, but also quite blind, so with the grip as it was, the pacenotes were really critical. Somehow the road seemed to be cleaning more in the afternoon, which was a bit of a surprise and made things quite difficult for us, and I also just didn’t have the best feeling behind the wheel. But given our starting position this morning, it’s quite OK to at least be in the fight tonight. We’ll have a better position for tomorrow and can look to fight from there.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“Today was quite difficult for us. The stages were definitely looser and more slippery than I had been expecting. Where it had been drying up, it was a big challenge to open the road. We changed the setup of the car a bit for the afternoon, and it was certainly a bit better in that sense, but the road cleaning was still a big factor: the surface was a bit messier with no clear lines to follow, so it was tough. Then I had a half-spin in the final stage and dropped a place, which was not good for the road position for tomorrow, but hopefully we can still start to fight back.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today’s stages were really difficult. They were mainly new for everyone, and we knew the grip would be not so high, but it was even more slippery than expected. There were also quite a lot of blind corners, so you really needed to trust the pacenotes and the car. In the morning I was driving on the careful side with no rhythm, but in the afternoon, I had a much better feeling. With my engineer, we changed quite a lot in the service and the car felt a lot better. The pace was also there, but I was still making some mistakes and losing a bit of time. Tomorrow will be a big challenge also with long stages and we’ll be the third car on the road, but I will do my best.”

Saturday

Well, it was a great return to the stages in Chile and what does day two hold for us? Well, it is the longest day in terms of competitive kilometres with 154km’s over the six stages. Can Ott continue to lead, or will Elfyn and Teemu fight back? What will Thierry do, or even Kalle?

What will happen in WRC2 as the fight for victory continues between Sami and Oliver? Can Gus get into the mix as well? How about Nikolay who holds third in the category?

For the first time since 2019 the crews and teams are heading to South America. The last time this round was included on the calendar was in 2020, but the round was cancelled prior to the start due to the political unrest in the country at the time.

This seasons rally has 320km’s over sixteen stages. The longest day is Saturday with 154km’s over six stages.

Following Thursday’s shakedown, crews will take to the first stage of Rally Chile, Pulperia 1 (19.77km), at 8:35am on Friday morning.

Five more stages follow on Friday, increasing the competitive distance to 112.86km

Saturday presents the longest day of the weekend, as the 154.00km distance is made up of two loops of three demanding stages.

The final four tests will take place on Sunday, with the second pass of El Poñen (13.86km) offering Power Stage points to round off the rally.

Let’s hear as always from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Greece was a good result for us, and the championship is looking better for us again, but we need to focus hard for the next event because Rally Chile is going to be another big challenge. The last time we were there, I was driving a Rally2 car, and we had a good weekend. But I think that after four years and with a lot of new stages, it is going to feel more like a new rally anyway and it’s going to be a challenging event for everyone. The roads are nice, but the conditions can be very tricky, and the grip can change a lot. Still, I’m looking forward to it and hope it can be a good rally for us.”

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Chile was a nice event when we went there for the first time back in 2019 but also a very challenging one. The roads remind me a bit of Wales in points, but the rally will be happening at a different time of year on this occasion and only a few of the stages will be the same. It will almost be like a new rally with a lot of new pacenotes to write, so it could be a difficult week. There isn’t so much knowledge from the past we can use, but I am looking forward to it, nonetheless. We’re going to give it everything, as we will keep doing until the end of the year.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s going to be a big challenge for all of us to go back to Chile after four years. I have some nice memories from there in 2019 when we had a good weekend in WRC 2. Of course, I haven’t been there in a top-category car before, so that will be an extra challenge for me. The roads are quite fast but also very tricky, and there will be a lot of new stages this time. It’s going to be a very important rally for the team and for me also. It won’t be easy, but I will try to do my best and hopefully we can have a good weekend.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Chile has only been run once before and this time there are going to be a lot of new stages, so our previous experience does not help our preparations too much. Because of this, the recce will be very important. Last time in Chile it was quite tough for me as I had a big crash, but we go back this year with the target of having a good rally and finishing the weekend on the podium. For this to happen we will need consistency, a great feeling in the car and a setup that works well on the roads. If we can get all of those things to align, we will be fast.”

Esapekka Lappi

“The first thing I will do to prepare is to look at the onboards from when I was there in 2019, but a lot of the stages we will be taking on are new for this year. I will also try to remember how the surface behaved in different conditions and what the feel of the car was like. While there are some technical sections, overall, the rally is quite fast, which reminds you of Estonia and Finland a bit. However, the grip level you get at those events is not there in Chile. It is not the roughest rally, so we won’t have to think about saving the car too much, but we will need to have confidence to be fast. As always, the goal is to finish on the podium.”

Teemu Suninen

“Most of the stages at the event are new, so our preparations will be different. Making good pace notes on the recce will be key to being successful. The roads in Chile are normally fast, but we still expect them to be slower than those at Rally Estonia and Rally Finland as they are a bit more technical. The surface is quite smooth, so we won’t have to think as much about the car lasting well, we can just push it to the limit from start to finish. Our focus is purely on ourselves, trying to improve our pace from Finland and finish as high as possible.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“Most of the rally seems to be new again this year, also the weather plays a big part there, but all together stages should be very similar to what we have experienced in New Zealand or in Welsh forests.

“Sport is always at maximum effort whatever the conditions. As it’s a case of more or less a new event again, we don’t know what kind of stages we will see. Generally, rhythm wise, there used to be all kinds of stages in Chile from twisty and slow to fast and smooth. New roads always make it challenging, and it takes extra effort to make the notes perfect.  As the event is overseas and quite unique, we need to guess the car setup and hope all decisions are correct when we arrive at the start of stage one!

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“It’ll be an amazing experience to go to Chile for the first time! It’s the first time for me rallying in South America, so I’m pleased about that. It looks like the rally will be a really nice event, quite slippery in some places from what I can tell, and that means it’s very important to be clever and to avoid any mistakes and stay on the line. There isn’t too much space to make mistakes. I think it’ll be an interesting rally.”

Grégoire Munster

“The challenge for Rally Chile will, of course, be driving in the top category. Everything is new for us in the car and in the team, as we’ll be working with different mechanics and engineers too. It’s a fun challenge ahead, I’ve never been to Chile before, and most of the stages are new so we cannot base much from previous onboards. We’re looking forward to it, I just want to make the best out of it and enjoy the rally. I hope to see improvements in our pace over the weekend and just really live the full experience of driving a Rally1 car.”

Alberto Heller

“I’m really excited about the rally, it’s a pleasure for me to drive in my home country, in my national rally. This is a great opportunity for me, the idea is to have the car in the middle of the road, drive through and try to build speed corner by corner. But the first challenge is to finish the rally, enjoy it with my people, and have an amazing experience to remember!”

WRC2 Competitors

Toksport

Oliver Solberg

“This rally hasn’t been in the WRC since 2019,” said Oliver, “and I didn’t compete in that year. I did, of course, watch all the coverage and in our preparation for this week, me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] have been watching as many videos as we could find of the event and the roads.

“What can I say? They look fantastic. The place looks amazing. Who wouldn’t be excited by those stages? They look in places a lot like Wales, but there’s just a bit of everything in there: some fast and flowing sections and some tighter, twistier bits.

“To be honest, it’s not such a disadvantage for us not having driven in Chile before – only one of the stages is the same from 2019 and the first and third days are completely different.

“For me, the aim is to carry on doing what we have been doing all this year: just driving our own speed. OK, the [WRC2] championship hasn’t gone our way, but I’m really proud of the results we’ve achieved in the WRC – sixth in Finland was fantastic and seventh in Portugal was also really strong. We’ve been six times in the top-10 overall. It would be nice to make that seven.”

“Of course,” said Oliver, “I competed in North America a few times in the US and in México and I absolutely love it over there. I heard so many stories from my dad about driving in Argentina and about the passion from the fans down there – we’ll be on the other side of the [Andes] mountains, but I think the feeling is going to be the same.

“The ceremonial start in 2019 was one of the best in the championship and going to a place called Los Angeles for this year’s ceremonial start is going to be very cool on Thursday night.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport WRC2

Emil Lindholm

“A new event is always exciting and involves more preparations than rallies I’ve run before. It has been helpful to talk to other crews about their experiences to have an idea of what to expect when we head out for recce. Unlike some of the rougher events, we expect the time gaps in Chile to be small, so the driving needs to be precise. I think we should have a good package, and even though the starting field we have in WRC2 is very competitive, I believe that with a consistent performance we should be able to score a podium.”

Fabrizio Zaldivar

“For me, Rally Chile will be a special event as it is in my home continent: South America. Our last event in Finland did not end how we wanted; our hope is that we can show a better performance in Chile. I feel now more confident in the car and know what it takes to be fast, but it is a new rally for me, so I don’t quite know what to expect. To have a clean weekend and finish towards the front of the field will be our target and I will try my best to do it.”

Summary

This will likely be a really important round in deciding this seasons championship. If Elfyn can finish ahead of his teammate, then with two rounds left after this event it will be game on between them.

 

In terms of possible winners, there are a few, but it is hard to look past Ott and M-Sport taking victory. They scored a good win last time this event took place in 2019. Other drivers that could go well include Esapekka and Teemu who drove for Citroen and M-Sport in 2019 and took fifth and sixth overall. However, their starting position on day one will certainly benefit them. Can they make the most and take a podium, or maybe even victory?!