Rovanperä emerges from fog to lead Rally Chile, Evans loses ground

• Fog was the main protagonist of this Saturday afternoon, on the Rally Chile. The last two special stages of the day took place in very particular conditions, with thick fog making visibility almost zero on certain sections of the course. Under the fog and rain, Kalle Rovanperä came out the best: the Finn was not disturbed by the weather and took the lead in the Chilean round this Saturday evening, with a small lead of 15″1 over Elfyn Evans.
• The Welshman, who was leading at the start of the second loop, failed to find confidence in this very British weather. Elfyn Evans lost a lot of time in the fog, and above all lost contact with Kalle Rovanperä. He will have to attack on Sunday if he wants to win his first rally of the season.
• Ott Tänak also suffered a lot in these hellish conditions. The Estonian is now relegated to 33″6 from the leader, and has even seen Thierry Neuville to come within just ten seconds of the podium. The Belgian, the championship leader, gave his all to finish ahead of his teammate at Hyundai, in vain. This Saturday evening, Ott Tänak takes back three points from Thierry Neuville in the championship… provided that both drivers finish the event on Sunday afternoon, of course!

160km/h+, zero visibility, absolute faith in the pacenotes. Rallying offers a challenge like nothing else.#RallyChile #WRC pic.twitter.com/IU2wxnIZpo

— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) September 28, 2024

• Penalized one minute yesterday due to a mechanical problem that put him behind schedule, Adrien fourmaux was keen to shine this Saturday: this is what the Frenchman did, climbing back up to 5th place with a scratch during SS12. The Northerner showed excellent pace during this second day, to the point of perhaps having some regrets with this heavy penalty…
• It was a hard learning experience for rookies Sami Pajari and Martins Sesks, who played it safe in the fog. The Finn managed to finish in 6th place, overtaking Gregoire Munster at the last minute, while the Latvian – forced to retire on Friday – will be relieved of the opening task on Sunday.
• In WRC2, the fog also changed things: Oliver Solberg, who led the category, suffered a puncture on SS11 and lost the lead in the Rally Chile. Nikolay Gryazin now leads the Rally2 class ahead of Gus Greensmith. Yohan Rossel also lost a lot of time in the fog: the Frenchman is in 3rd place, 18 seconds behind the leader. Nothing is decided yet, neither for the title nor for the victory!

WRC – Rally Chile
General ranking after ES12

ALSO READ > The 2024 Rally Chile program