Central European Rally 2023
10h
In WRC2, Yohan Rossel went off the road!
Trapped by the wet grass on the outside of a bend, the Frenchman was unable to get his Citroën back onto the asphalt and crashed into the trees! The crew got out of the car, but it already seems to be over for the two French...
10h
Grégoire Munster is the last of the Rally1s to cross the finish line, 15″3 behind Kalle Rovanperä.
The Finn therefore takes the scratch on this SS3 and gets closer to Thierry Neuville at the head of the rally! For Sébastien Ogier, it is an event already compromised after his puncture…
ES3 Ranking
General ranking after ES3
10h
Let us also remember that Pierre-Louis Loubet is riding for the first time with his new co-driver, Benjamin Veillas.
After the divorce with Gilsoul, Loubet chose his new co-pilot
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For the second Frenchman entered in the premier category, Pierre-Louis Loubet, it was also a difficult start to the day: with an increasingly dirty road, the Corsican lost 18 seconds on Kalle Rovanperä and set the 6th provisional time.
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For Teemu Suninen too, it’s complicated this Friday morning. The Finn, usually less comfortable on asphalt, loses 21″6 to Kalle Rovanperä on this special.
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Difficult special stage also for Takamoto Katsuta who lost 18″9 on this 13 kilometer course.
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It was a good time for Esapekka Lappi, who finished only 1″8 behind the best time and took the second provisional time.
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Sébastien Ogier loses a lot of time on this 3rd special!
The Frenchman crossed the line 41″9 behind Rovanperä! He arrives with a puncture in the right front tire! What a catastrophic start to the day for the eight-time world champion!
Ogier: “Amazing, incredible. What to say ? I can’t wait for Michelin to be back…”
10h
Very difficult passage for Ott Tänak who loses 9″6 to Kalle Rovanperä on this special! The times get slower and slower as we pass!
10h
With a time of 7'12″7, Thierry Neuville gave up 4″5 on Kalle Rovanperä! His lead over the Finn drops to just 1″4 overall. The Belgian complains about the spectators who removed the signs at the rope points…
Neuville: “I had trouble seeing the road. I opened every window possible to let some air in, but it gets very, very dirty! “It’s a bit of a plea to the spectators because they took down anti-cut signs and all of a sudden the road was really muddy, so they should keep them in place because for us it was really dangerous.”
10h
In these rainy conditions, it is perhaps Kalle Rovanperä, first on the road, who has the best starting position.
The rope points are already very muddy after the first cars have passed, and the road is getting dirtier and dirtier...
10h
Bad news for Elfyn Evans: at fault yesterday during SS2 with a few seconds lost, the Welshman lost more time on this 3rd special and failed 3″4 behind Kalle Rovanperä.
The gap climbs to 8″2 between the two men, in favor of the Finn.
Evans: “Quite muddy, especially on the ropes so it's not easy to make your way to get grip. Difficult start. »
09h
Here is the first reference time of this SS3 achieved by Rovanperä, in 7'08″2.
Rovanperä: " It's difficult. There is a lot of water, much more than expected, a lot of gravel which is already muddy on the road. It will be a big challenge. »
09h
It is the turn of the runner-up in the championship, Elfyn Evans, to take the start of this 3rd special. The Welshman will have to give everything this weekend if he wants to maintain a chance of the title against his teammate.
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We remind you that the Finn has the possibility of being crowned world champion for the second time in a row at the end of the Central European Rally. Here's how :
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Let's go for this second day of this Central Europe Rally! Kalle Rovanperä is the first to hit the track on this SS3!
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Here is the starting order for this 2nd day, still in championship order:
- Rovanperä
- Evans
- Neuville
- Thank you
- Ogier
- Lapland
- Feel it
- Sunny
- loubet
- Munster
09h
Weather-wise, a cold and rainy day awaits the drivers today! In Rally1, all drivers will start the first loop on wet tires.
Suninen, Lappi, Tänak, Neuville and Ogier will start with a single spare wheel.
09h
On the program today, in the Czech Republic: six special stages and 121,80 kilometers of timed course!
09h
Besides Rally1, there will be a great battle in WRC2. Yohan Rossel, in search of the title in the category, is favorite for this event: the Frenchman started his weekend perfectly and finds himself in the lead after the first two specials.
Central Europe: Yohan Rossel leads a three-way match in WRC2
