Neuville snatches the lead after an eventful afternoon loop
The first seven stages of the WRC’s only snow rally resulted in a pulsating battle for the lead with six cars separated by about 10s for most of the day.
A late rise from Neuville, however, helped the Belgian take a 4.3s lead overnight over Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, who briefly kept the lead on his way into the afternoon loop.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans took the lead after winning stage 4, an advantage he had until the last stage, where he lost 7.9 s against Neuville who fought for the grip on worn tires in the last spectator test in UmeĆ„ center. The Welshman dropped to third overall, 7.3s behind.
Teammate Esapekka Lappi is only 8.8 s behind a fourth place after a strong display in this return to the WRC with Toyota, which saw the Finn briefly lead the rally after winning stage 2.
Hyundai’s Oliver Solberg held fifth after slipping from second place in the afternoon, but the Swede remains in the hunt for victory.
Ott Tanak’s bad luck continued after Hyundai was forced to interrupt the car due to a hybrid problem after the Estonian closed within 1.1 s of the lead after winning stage 5.
It also turned out to be a difficult Friday for M-Sport, highlighted by Craig Breen retiring after burying his Puma in the snow on stage 2.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Teammate Gus Greensmith struggled with gearbox and hybrid problems and a run-in with a snow bank that left him well on the run as ninth, behind his teammate Adrien Fourmaux, who produced a measured drive to finish the day in eighth place.
The leaderboard was shaken after the first of the afternoon stages when Evans produced a flashy display to not only win the test but also jump from third to a 1.6s rally lead.
Despite facing a heavily tracked stage, Evans took a full 16.3 s from his teammate and then rally leader Rovanpera, who struggled most to be first on the road and face the dirt and ruts that were created. The Finn dropped to fourth overall as a result.
Evans finished the test 1.7 s faster than Lappi while Solberg maintained his second overall position by logging the third fastest time. However, the Swede was lucky not to lose significant time after a meeting with a snow bank at the flying finish.
Tanak maintained his strong start and finished 0.2 s behind Solberg as fourth while Fourmaux delivered his best showing so far to achieve the fifth best time.
The infamous snowdrifts demanded another victim when Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta slipped next to a right-hander and got stuck in the snow for a short while. Luckily, a group of spectators was on hand to push the Japanese driver out on the road again, but the incident cost him 39s.
Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
The lead battle ended after stage 6 was won by Tanak despite losing hybrid power during the last 10 km of the 27.8 km long run.
The Estonian took 4.1s on rally leader Evans, who felt he was a little too careful through the stage. Although he was frustrated by the hybrid problem, the run jumped him to second in the overall standings, just 1.1 s behind Evans and 1.1 s ahead of Lappi in third place.
Like Evans, Solberg was left for a cautious run through the stage that cost him 8.5 s, which dropped him to fourth overall.
Neuville finished the stage fifth ahead of Rovanpera, who lost two more places under conditions he considered to be among the worst he had ever faced. It left only 8.9 s which covered the top six.
Behind Greensmith’s day worsened as the Briton lost valuable time on a journey through a snow bank and lost power as a result of the snow clogging the front of his Puma.
Tanak’s problem at the end of the stage would come back to haunt him as Hyundai was forced to remove the car due to a technical problem before the start of stage 6.
“Unfortunately, a problem with the hybrid kit triggered a red light on car # 8 and according to FIA rules, and as a precautionary measure, we will need to retire Ott Tanak’s car for today,” read a statement from Hyundai.
“We will investigate the issue when the car is back in operation.”
Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Hyundai’s rally hopes remained intact through Neuville, who immediately won the day’s penultimate stage after a brave effort when darkness fell.
Rovanpera showed their closest rival with just over 3.4 s shy but decisive ahead of Lappi and Evans, which brought the Finn back to the lead.
After starting the afternoon as second overall, Solberg lost more time after a deck game left the Swede without enough grip, which cost him 14.3s.
Rovanpera took the last stage victory of the day with 1.1s from Neuville, which was enough to take the rally lead when Evans fought for the grip. It was a similar story for Lappi and Solberg, who lost 9.1s and 15.8s respectively due to worn rubber.
The rally continues on Saturday with crews who will take on six stages.