Tänak hits the ground running at Wales Rally GB

Ott Tänak (Toyota) a fait un pas de plus vers le titre au Wales Rally GB. L’Estonien a conservé son avance sur Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) to secure his 6th victory of the season, the 12th of his career and his first on the Welsh event.

Le leader du championnat s’est en prime offert la victoire dans la Power Stage en devançant Sébastien Ogier, Esapekka Lappi (Citroën), tandis qu’Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) et Thierry Neuville ont terminé à égalité.

“It was a long weekend with long days and short nights. I was constantly attacking. There are still 2 races left and we have already had many problems in the past so nothing is decided.", commented the winner.

Kris Meeke (Toyota) took 4th position ahead of Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) who held off Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai). Pontus Tidemand (M-Sport) took 7th place after the retirement of his teammate Teemu Suninen whose team considered that his Ford was too damaged to compete in the final stage. Craig Breen (Hyundai) followed in 8th place.

Kalle Rovanperä won the title in WRC 2 Pro by winning the category with a large lead over his teammate Jan Kopecky, the Czech giving Skoda the double.

Petter Solberg (Volkswagen) concluded his career with a victory in WRC 2, finishing ahead of Pierre-Louis Loubet (Skoda) who moved up to 2nd in the championship. The category podium was completed by Adrien fourmaux (Ford). Jan Solans won the JWRC several minutes ahead of Tom Kristensson and won the category title.

With two rounds to go before the end of the season, Ott Tänak has a lead of 28 points over Sébastien Ogier while Thierry Neuville is at 41 points. Hyundai maintains the lead in the Manufacturers' championship, 8 points ahead of Toyota.

The WRC will resume its rights on the weekend of October 27 for the Rally from Catalonia (Spain).

Discover the analysis of Wales Rally GB carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2237 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.