THIERRY NEUVILLE LED ORLEN 74TH RALLY POLAND ON FRIDAY NIGHT AMID A THRILLING THREE-CAR BATTLE ON SODDEN ROADS. Driving a Hyundai i20, he headed Ott Tänak’s Ford Fiesta by 1.3sec, with Jari-Matti Latvala a further 5.3sec behind in a Toyota Yaris.
All three led during the first full day of this eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship as heavy rain and mud provided little grip on the sandy tracks.
The early starters fared best this morning as they churned up the soft gravel in their wake. The roles were reversed this afternoon as they ploughed through water-filled ruts and thick sludge to leave a quicker line for those behind.
Neuville quickly relegated Elfyn Evans, who won last night’s curtain-raising speed test, despite clipping a bank. Latvala shrugged off the handicap of broken windscreen wipers to edge ahead and finish the morning with a 4.5sec advantage, the biggest lead of the day.
He was less confident as conditions changed and Tänak deposed him, but the Estonian’s reign at the top was brief. A charging Neuville won two consecutive speed tests, taking his tally to four, to regain top spot.
Tänak missed a junction and stalled his engine this morning, while an over-cautious Latvala was unhappy with the set-up of his Yaris in the afternoon mud.
Sébastien Ogier was in the thick of the fight early on. As road opener he endured the worst of the afternoon conditions and slipped to fourth, 35.1sec off the lead and ending the day with a smashed windscreen.
Hayden Paddon was a risk-free fifth, the Kiwi closing on Ogier all afternoon in his i20. The gap was 4.5sec. Team-mate Dani Sordo hated the inconsistent grip but was sixth, despite a stall and a spin.
Teemu Suninen excelled in seventh on his World Rally Car debut. The Finn won the afternoon’s opening test on only his sixth stage at the top level. Juho Hänninen, who overcame a final stage misfire, Stéphane Lefebvre and Mads Østberg completed the leaderboard.
Andreas Mikkelsen hovered at the bottom of the leaderboard until he damaged his Citroën C3’s rear left suspension against a tree and dropped 90sec. He was 12th.
Craig Breen drove all morning with just two-wheel drive after his C3 broke a driveshaft. He dropped more than seven minutes and the afternoon was little better, the Irishman unhappy with the set-up and admitting: “I’m absolutely petrified of crashing.”
Esapekka Lappi was the only major retirement. He was fifth when he damaged the front right suspension after cutting a corner.
Saturday’s longest leg packs almost 145km into nine stages, journeying north towards the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Four stages are driven twice either side of service, before a final test at Mikolajki Arena.
Leaderboard at SS10 end Friday:
2017 Rally Poland leaderboard after SS10 (Top 15):
1. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 56m 21.2s M
2. Ott Tanak EST M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1.3s M
3. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC +6.6s M
4. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +35.1s M
5. Hayden Paddon NZL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +39.s M
6. Dani Sordo ESP Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +51.7s M
7. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 11.0s
8. Juho Hanninen FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC +1m 28.9s M
9. Stephane Lefebvre FRA Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +1m 37.0s M
10. Mads Ostberg NOR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 42.7s
11. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +2m 02.3s
12. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +2m 48.5s M
13. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Printsport Oy Skoda Fabia R5 +4m 20.5s WRC2
14. Pontus Tidemand SWE Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5 +4m 25.6s WRC2
15. Pierre-Louis Loubet FRA Ford Fiesta R5 +5m 46.9s WRC2
Notable others:
26. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +9m 26.0s M
42. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing WRC +41m 58.2s M
WRC2 results:
1. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Printsport Oy Skoda Fabia R5 1m 00m 41.7s WRC2
2. Pontus Tidemand SWE Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5 +5.1s WRC2
3. Quentin Gilbert FRA Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5 +2m 09.5s WRC2