Neuville regains control in Catalonia

Thierry Neuville has regained the lead of the Rally de Catalunya. The Hyundais still monopolize the top three after Kris Meeke's accident.

Published on 26/10/2019 à 11:40

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Thierry Neuville took over the leadership of Rally of Catalonia at the end of the first passage of the second stage. The Belgian offered himself two new scratches to catch Sébastien Loeb and return to service with more than 11 seconds ahead of the nine-time champion WRC.

If Dani Sordo was briefly taken over by Kris Meeke, the Spaniard remains on the provisional podium. The Northern Irishman made a mistake on SS8, tearing off a wheel and hitting the safety rail.

It is now Ott Tänak (Toyota) qui est le plus proche adversaire des i20 WRC. Vainqueur de l’ES9, l’Estonien est revenu à une dizaine de secondes du podium provisoire en devançant son coéquipier Jari-Matti Latvala. Le Finlandais précède les Ford d’Elfyn Evans et de Teemu Suninen.

Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) keeps a steady pace despite its admission of powerlessness. The six-time WRC champion has moved up to 8th place but should no longer be able to regain places on a regular basis. His teammate Esapekka Lappi did not return to competition after suffering an engine failure the day before.

Mads Ostberg (Citroën) retains the lead in WRC 2 Pro with more than 22 seconds ahead of Kalle Rovanperä (Skoda). Jan Kopecky (Skoda) follows in 3rd place ahead of Gus Greensmith (Ford).