Blog

The second day then, with 97km’s over nine stages. The startlist looked like this – Breen, Solberg, Loubet, Greensmith, Katsuta, Fourmaux, Neuville, Lappi, Tänak, Evans, Rovanperä. Craig returned under the restart rules of SuperRally and would open the road therefore.

The first one then, SS10 Elva 1 – 11.73 km and it would start well with Elfyn going fastest by 6 tenths of a second over Kalle, with Ott a further 8 tenths back. The Finn said that it was a bad stage and Elfyn said that the grip was a bit inconsistent, yet somehow, they were fastest of them all. Two of the youngsters Takamoto and Adrien were battling over sixth, with the Frenchman holding an advantage of just 1.6 seconds over the Toyota Challenge driver.

Into SS11 Mäeküla 1 – 10.27 km and normal service resumed with Kalle going fastest from Elfyn and yes, Ott third. Craig was putting a very good performance together, enjoying the stage and just 1.1 seconds slower than Thierry, the M-Sport Ford driver going sixth fastest. In the WRC2 category, Teemu and Andreas were going well the top two drivers in the field and they set the exact same time in this stage. There was rain in this one, but it didn’t affect the drivers too much.

The third stage of the day then, SS12 Otepää 1 – 17.08 km and once again the top three were Kalle, Elfyn and Ott. Craig had held the early benchmark before being knocked off the top spot, showing great pace indeed and taking fourth fastest in the end. There were some position changes though, with Takamoto going past two cars and into fifth overall and his teammate Esapekka had a tyre off the rim after a landing in the stage. Gus had the same problem and they were now in seventh and ninth overall respectively. Thierry also gained a place, moving into fourth place.

The final stage of the morning loop then, SS13 Neeruti 1 – 7.60 km and once again Craig set the early benchmark before Elfyn and Kalle came through. The stage winner? Well, it was the Finn who now increased his lead over Elfyn to 19.1 seconds.

After the service break, SS14 Elva 2 – 11.73 km was once again taken by Kalle from Elfyn and Ott. These three were giving a masterclass on how to set great pace, without going to close to disaster. In the WRC2 class, Teemu was faster than Andreas again, just keeping the gap between them to 13 or so seconds, whilst Emil took the best time.

We had a swap around between Elfyn and Ott in SS15 Mäekülä 2 – 10.27 km, with Ott second fastest from Elfyn who was third, whilst Kalle took yet another stage win, his fifth of the day. Amazing stuff!

Normal service resumed on SS16 Otepää 2 – 17.08 km, with the fastest three being Kalle, Elfyn and Ott. The Finns lead was now 29.4 seconds. Amazing stuff and really given that he’d opened the road throughout Friday, what incredible consistency.

Just two left then with SS17 Neeruti 2 – 7.60 km getting some rain falling after Oliver Solberg had finished. The crews came through and could not knock the Swede off the top, but eventually Elfyn and Kalle came through and went faster pushing him down to third fastest, while they took the two top spots, the Finn edging Elfyn by just a tenth! In the WRC2 class, Marco Bulacia was fastest from Emil and Andreas.

The final stage then, SS18 Toyota Tartu 2 – 1.66 km and we had a new stage winner, with Adrien fastest from Oliver and Ott! In fact, Elfyn set an identical time as the Estonian, but it was good to see a different top two for sure!

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

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä (1^st)

“I enjoyed today a lot. To begin with this morning, I felt there was not so much grip, but then we changed the setup a bit and we started to have really good times. Every stage we were gaining a bit more time, and pushing hard but not with too much risk. Everything felt in control. Whenever we’ve had tricky low-grip conditions this year it seems that I’m able to drive well and still push quite hard and this has been nice. Tomorrow is a long day still, so we need to keep a good pace with no mistakes.”

Elfyn Evans (2^nd)

“It’s been a good day behind the wheel, even if we’re not ending it where we wanted to be. But Kalle’s been really strong and I had no answer to him today. He’s been a slight step ahead all the time and now he’s built up quite an advantage over us. The positive thing is that we’re a big step ahead of where I was on this rally last year when I really struggled, and it’s great to be in a one-two position for the team. But there’s still a long way to go tomorrow and it’s not easy with the ruts and the conditions out there.”

Esapekka Lappi (7^th)

“It’s not been the easiest day. It felt good on the second stage this morning and then on the next one we had the tyre come off the rim when we were landing from a jump. We were landing a bit sideways but I think it was bad luck and part of the game. It came very early in the stage so there was no chance to continue without stopping to change it, and we lost a lot of time. After that it was tricky to find the right rhythm for the driving but there were still some good stage times, even though it’s not worth risking a stupid mistake now in this position.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak (3^rd)

“It has been a smooth day with no dramas. We have been discovering a bit more with the car and making some good steps, so from that point of view it has been a productive day. We have been doing all we can to find a positive way forward, looking at lot for the next rally in Finland. There are definitely areas we have found to improve; the potential is there. We need more development on the car, for sure, but it’s been encouraging. There’s only one day remaining and nothing really to push for in terms of our position but the rally itself is still quite interesting – the conditions are constantly changing, and we need to stay focused.”

Thierry Neuville (4^th)

“We have faced another day of tricky and changing conditions. Somehow, on the rhythm we have been driving, we have been having fun with no real pressure. We moved up to fourth place after Esapekka’s puncture this morning, and from there we could only continue in the same way without taking any risks. You need to keep concentrated and basically have a clean, smooth drive through the stages. We used the opportunity to test a few different things on the car, but overall, it’s been about making it through safely. We have seen that we struggle in certain situations, which we need to work on, but it’s all good preparation for Rally Finland where we hope to make a step forward.”

Oliver Solberg (19^th)

“Things have been getting better today. We have been able to push and set some fast split times. I am getting increasingly confident in the car. I just need more mileage. I have never done this type of road in the WRC, nor in this car. I was a bit annoyed yesterday, but I realised I just need to drive and get used to it. We had a huge moment in SS16 after bottoming out in a rut, sideways over a jump – this is proper rallying! I was happy to set some top-four times this afternoon, improving our pace despite not pushing too hard. We will keep working and making progress.”

Tomorrow (Sunday)

With almost 78km’s over six stages still to run, there is still a big challenge ahead for the crews, especially given that there is no service break, so the day is as tough as any other day. Kalle is in a great position to extend his lead in the championship, and also Toyota will increase their lead over Hyundai as well, should it all finish as it stands. However, this is motorsport and anything can happen, so let’s wait and see.

After Thursday’s evening stage, we had Craig in the lead from Kalle and Elfyn. Moving into Friday, the first full day of stages, the startlist looked like this – Rovanperä, Neuville, Tänak, Breen, Katsuta, Evans, Greensmith, Loubet, Lappi, Solberg, Fourmaux. The crews faced just under 140km’s over the eight stages, with a service break between the two loops.

First up came SS2 Peipisääre 1 – 24.35 km and after Ott set the early pace, Elfyn came through with the fastest time moving into the overall lead, with Kalle holding second and Ott third. The early leader, Craig was fourth fastest, but as he got a penalty as well, fell down to fifth overall. The penalty was for not using electric mode in the HEV zone. Ott also got the same penalty.

Next up was SS3 Mustvee 1 – 17.09 km and we had the same top three, with Elfyn taking a second stage win from Ott and Kalle. The Welshman’s lead over his teammate was now 12.6 seconds. Further down the leaderboard, there was a swap in positions with Adrien moving ahead of Oliver, the Frenchman now into seventh overall. Meanwhile, Thierry was really struggling in the stages, only setting the fifth best time and now over 22 seconds from the leader.

Onto SS4 Raanitsa 1 – 21.45 km and Elfyn made it three in this one winning the stage from Kalle and Ott again. There was drama for Craig though who went off the road when setting a very good pace and unfortunately, he broke the steering and he was out for the day. A big shame for the leading M-Sport Ford driver, who was showing good pace before this. Everyone behind moved up a place, but the biggest gainer was Takamoto who jumped up four positions and into seventh overall.

The last stage then before the service break, SS5 Vastsemõisa 1 – 6.70 km and once again it was Elfyn fastest from Kalle and Ott and they remained the top three overall as well. In the WRC2 class, Emil held the lead from Andreas and Teemu. Hayden and John were making good progress, finishing the stages and gaining good knowledge about their i20rally2 out there.

After the break, Elfyn won SS6 Peipisääre 2 – 24.35 km from Kalle and Ott again, these three were really dominating the top places. Thierry dropped another place falling behind Esapekka and into fifth overall, and further down the positions Pierre-Louis moved up moved ahead of Takamoto and into seventh place.

The rain arrived in SS7 Mustvee 2 – 17.09 km and the top three were the same, but with Kalle now winning the stage from Ott and Elfyn. Running first on the road was an advantage, and the Finns made the most of it, reducing the gap to their teammate to just 14 seconds.

Just two more stages then and SS8 Raanitsa 2 – 21.45 km was taken by Kalle, now taking his stage wins to two, whilst Elfyn was second and Esapekka third. The gap between the Toyota teammates was just 10.9 seconds. The rain was really changing things out on the stages with the lead change happening in WRC2 as well. Andreas took the lead from Emil who fell from the lead to fourth in class.

The final stage of the day then, SS9 Vastsemõisa 2 – 6.70 km and Kalle had the best of the conditions, running first and setting the pace good enough to win the stage from Thierry and Adrien! It was a big mix up for sure! Meanwhile, the other two Puma crews had huge moments, sliding wide. Gus kept going, but Pierre-Louis ended up on his side and lost about two minutes and fell to ninth overall. Adrien, Takamoto and Gus all moved up one place each, now holding the three positions ahead of the Frenchman.

Here is the top ten and the views of the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä (1^st)

“This morning the conditions were quite dry so there was a lot of cleaning for us, but I think we managed quite well and we didn’t lose too much time. Then in the afternoon the rain came and it was quite tricky, but we had some good times. In the last one it was heavy rain and I knew it was not going to get any better for the guys behind, so I pushed a lot and we could get the lead. Elfyn has been really fast the whole day, and now that we will be close together in the road order, we will try to do our best to fight, but we also need to think about the points for the championship.”

Elfyn Evans (2^nd)

“It’s not been a bad day. This morning was very good, I was happy with the feeling inside the car and everything was working really well. This afternoon it was a bit more difficult with the conditions changing all the time, so it was hard to be perfect and easy to be a little bit too careful at times. We had very bad conditions in the last one, which was obviously less than ideal for us. But there’s a long way to go and it’s all to play for still, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Esapekka Lappi (4^th)

“We lost a bit of time this morning because of a small issue with the brakes, which were not giving me the confidence that you need on this rally. But I think we managed that quite well and were still in a good position, and once the team could fix it in the midday service the times were better in the afternoon. We were maybe a bit unlucky sometimes with the rain showers but rallying is an outdoor sport so we can’t complain! I think we’re about where we expected to be, in a position to be there if something happens in front.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak (3^rd)

“Conditions were constant in the morning, but that was the opposite of what we faced this afternoon with demanding, inconsistent roads. There was water here and there, some dry places and it was just a lot more difficult. The issue in the final stage wasn’t as dramatic as it looked; a pipe came off from the windscreen heater and we had no visibility. The weather was tough anyway, so it was probably better not to see what was happening outside. Hopefully, we’ve been able to learn something in these circumstances and can take that forward. It’s important for us to get as much information from the car as we can. We are still in the competition and remain fully committed. Normally, I’d like to be competitive in Estonia; sadly, it’s not really happening so far this year but as we’ve seen today anything can change, so it’s not over yet.”

Thierry Neuville (5^th)

“At the end of today, things are pretty much as we expected. We knew it was going to be a tough one for us. Generally, my target throughout the day was to improve the handling of the car. I wasn’t 100% confident but I was able to drive with good speed, set some good split times in some stages and have some fun in the tricky conditions. We had mixed feelings about the morning loop, the first two stages went well, but after that we went wrong with the set-up to try and find something to suit these very narrow sections. We arrived at midday service in fourth and wanted to keep that position. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to, but we are just seven seconds away. This is a special event; I don’t want to put my rear wheels in the ditches when I don’t know what’s there; instead, we try to stay out of trouble and hope for another clean day tomorrow. The weather forecast certainly looks interesting.”

Oliver Solberg (27^th)

“We’ve made it to the end of the day at Rally Estonia, but it’s fair to say things have not gone to plan so far. After a tough morning where we really struggled to find any grip, we had a puncture on the first stage this afternoon, then touched a big rock in a corner on the stage after and the power steering broke. We tried to fix it but couldn’t and lost a lot of minutes with time penalties and fighting the issue through the next stages. I can tell you it’s not easy driving these cars without power steering! But we’re still here, so let’s try and stay positive, go again tomorrow, and hope for better.”

Tomorrow (Saturday)

The second day will see the crews tackle 95km’s over nine stages. Can Kalle keep the lead, or will we see Elfyn or Ott move into the lead? One thing is for sure; The drama is not over.