Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans fought a mighty duel across eight stages on the opening day of WRC Rally Croatia ending the 120km racing section tied to the tenth of a second.
Friday started off looking like it was going to be a Neuville rout winning three of the four morning loop stages to hold an 8.6 second lead over Toyota title hope Evans. The Welshman won the stage that his rival didn’t, keeping the lead in single-digit sight.
Such was the intensity of the fight, the leading pair left third-placed Ogier over 21 seconds behind as everyone returned for a breather at the midday service. Muddy conditions, and even flurries of snow, led to changeable grip levels with Ogier, running sixth on the road, one of the worst-hit by dirt being dragged onto the road.
Despite encountering a slow puncture in SS1 and being caught in a localised rain shower in SS5, the Frenchman’s strong performance in SS8 propelled him back into contention.
Once refreshed and re-fettled, where necessary, Neuville continued his relentless assault building his lead to 10.1 seconds over Evans. Stage six saw Evans take the lead by 0.1 seconds after Neuville picked up a puncture.
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“There was a stone in the road. I tried to avoid it but it must have been close because it immediately punctured the tyre. Was about 2km from the end. The stage was ok, after the puncture I was just trying to survive,” said the Belgian.
Ogier, trailing by 18 seconds, found his second wind and put himself back in contention by winning the last two stages of the day, leaving a not insurmountable gap of 6.6 seconds.
Tänak was an anonymous fourth, lacking confidence in his i20 N’s handling. The Estonian said: “At some points we were really frustrated, and our morning was going really downhill. The first loop was quite a struggle; I was fighting with the car while trying to set better times and that caused me to have some moments. Only this afternoon did things come together a bit more and become more consistent in the car. We still didn’t have too much confidence to be committed, but tomorrow we will get back in the car for another show.”
Adrien Fourmaux was within striking distance in his M-Sport Ford Puma after setting the second fastest time on the final stage. Takamoto Katsuta was well off the pace and puzzled by his lack of speed compared to the front-runners.
Citroën pairing Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin were in a class of their own at Croatia Rally on Friday, opening a commanding lead of more than two minutes over the remainder of the WRC2 field.
Citroën pairing Nikolay Gryazin and Yohan Rossel were in a class of their own at Croatia Rally on Friday, opening a commanding lead of more than two minutes over the remainder of the WRC2 field.
Bulgarian Gryazin, making just his second FIA World Rally Championship start in a Citroën C3 Rally2, set the tone early by going 10.8sec faster than team-mate Rossel on the rally’s opening test, leaving his rivals playing catch-up over the next seven stages.
He would complete Friday with seven stage wins, whilst Rossel, also on his second start of the season, claimed one stage win and is well-placed to match his Rallye Monte-Carlo podium finish, 31.1sec behind Gryazin.
Rallye Monte-Carlo runner-up Pepe López is making his Croatian debut this weekend and, despite his limited knowledge of the broken asphalt stages, the Spaniard positioned his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 comfortably in the third spot on the podium. He ended day one 20.1sec clear of Nicolas Ciamin, who is locked in a see-saw battle with fifth-placed Lauri Joona.
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